Chapter Fifty-Five

The Little Knife

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"Just a little cut, and then gone! Forever!"

-Marisa Coulter, the Golden Compass (2007)

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The Prince of Smiths, the half-Dwarf known as Thorin, stares into the blazing, crimson fires of his forge, feeling a sense of dread burning in his veins. He has seen the purpose of the little knife, the one that the Thain must carry.

But it is not for the Thain to wield- not that little knife. It is only his task to bring it to the demon with a child's teeth, the monster on the side of light and goodness. That one will wield the little knife that is edged with poisonous wormwood and icy death, and take vengeance for the blood of his heart.

That, at least, is what the fire says.

That little knife will find the heart of poisoned blood, and cut the festering canker from his family's flesh, so that it is gone, never to return. That, too, is what the fire says.

But Thorin fears for his apprentice, and the lady he loves. He fears greatly.