by E. C. Hibbs
“Lumi, listen,” he said. “Aino – the mage at Einfjall – said a demon like that is controlled by a wicked mage. It tried to run off with me. Do you know why?”
Her ears twitched.
“If you are asking me who sent it, then no, I do not know.”
Tuomas sighed.
“I’ll ask Lilja. I know she’s not telling me something.”
He turned around. Lilja and the Earth Spirit were still speaking in hushed voices. Then the Spirit gave a gentle nod.
“He is contained,” she assured. “All is well.”
At that, Lilja visibly relaxed. “Thank you.”
The Spirit turned on her heel and vanished into the air, as though she was nothing but smoke. The leaves and flowers which had made her fell to the floor in a pile.
Tuomas’s eyes grew wide.
“Where did she go?” he asked.
“You heard her: to speak with the other Earth Spirits,” Lilja replied abruptly. Her voice sounded tighter than normal, as though her throat was swollen.
She kept her back to him and settled by the hearth. In one smooth motion, she laid her drum beside her and picked up a bowl of the cloudberries, flicking them into her mouth.
Then she buried her face in her hands.
Tuomas and Lumi glanced at each other in alarm. Lilja sniffed loudly, breathing hard as she struggled to get herself under control.
Tuomas took a tentative step towards her.
“Lilja?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” she said, the words strangled by a sob.
“You’re not. What’s wrong?”
She wiped her cheeks with her sleeve. Tuomas knelt next to her and laid a hand on her arm, but she jerked away as though burned.
“Sorry,” he muttered, backing away from her.
He twisted his hands together nervously. His eyes moved to the food and he considered taking some, but the unease came back and turned his stomach over.
Lilja coughed, wiping her face one last time. She looked over her shoulder at him.
“I told you I was fine,” she said, softer now. Her tears had gone, but her eyes were still bloodshot.
Tuomas bit his lip. It was now or never.
“Lilja, I need to talk to you.”
She went still. He half-expected her to shrug it off or ignore him, but then she gave a tiny nod and motioned to the space on the other side of the fire.
“I know. Sit down,” she said.
Tuomas did as he was told. He looked at her expectantly through the flames. Lilja didn’t meet his eyes straightaway; instead she laid a hand on her drum, as though drawing strength from the symbols. Her thumb rested over the bloodstain.
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Tuomas could tell she was struggling to find where to begin. But he sat still, forcing himself to be patient.
“I knew about the demon before I met you,” she said in the end.
Tuomas nodded. “I gathered that. Did you know it was coming after me?”
“Yes. I hoped it wouldn’t find you, but it’s drawn to power. When I saw the Spirit of the Lights ripped out of the sky, I knew it wasn’t natural – that you had done it. So I headed out to Akerfjorden. To protect you, to take you away; I didn’t really have a plan. I just knew I needed to get to you first.”
She put another cloudberry in her mouth and sucked on it.
“I knew about it… because I saw it made,” she said, her words heavier than stone. “Kari made it.”
Tuomas’s blood froze.
Kari? Her brother?
“I tried to stop him,” Lilja continued. “He intended to send it after you so he could steal your taika. He was with me when you were born; we both knew how powerful you were. When I refused to help, he set it on me. But I managed to get my drum and I summoned the Great Bear Spirit. It said it couldn’t kill him, because he had split his souls, but would take him to a place where he wouldn’t be able to do harm.”
She motioned to the cave around them and Tuomas’s mouth fell open.
“He’s here?” he gasped.
“I don’t know where,” Lilja said. “I don’t want to know.”
Tuomas stared at her, and then at Lumi, who looked just as alarmed.
Lilja watched him closely, gauging his reaction. The fire reflected in her eyes and lit up her face at strange angles. There was a desperation to her that Tuomas had never seen before – it was obvious how difficult this was for her to talk about. He supposed this was the first time she ever had.
“What the Earth Spirit said just now, that he is contained,” Tuomas ventured. “She meant Kari?”
A muscle twitched in Lilja’s jaw. “That was a private conversation.”
“I’m sorry, I overheard,” he said.
Lilja heaved a sigh. “Yes. She meant Kari.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Tuomas admitted. “What happens now? You said in Einfjall that the demon can be killed?”
“Yes. Your friend injured it, didn’t she?” replied Lilja. “I did as well. When it attacked me, I sliced it with a knife. But I was hurt myself; I didn’t go for the heart. That’s the only way to kill it.”
She sighed and rubbed her face again as more tears threatened to spill over.
“When I summoned the Great Bear Spirit, and it brought Kari down here, the demon got away. I knew it would obey the last order Kari gave it: to find you and keep you for him. The Bear said it was up to me to make sure that didn’t happen. So as soon as I’d recovered, I started on my way to Akerfjorden.”
Tuomas took a shaky breath.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I didn’t want to frighten you. And when I saw the Spirit of the Lights with you… well, that complicated things.”
Lilja glanced at Lumi. “With all due respect, White Fox One.”
Lumi nodded, but remained silent. Her tail swept softly back and forth.
The shadows seemed to close in around them, until even the fires appeared dimmed. Tuomas breathed deeply, trying to take it all in.
He finally understood why Lilja had been so quiet and abrupt when it came to her brother. How could anyone reckon with such a dark burden, all alone, out there in the frozen night?
“Thank you for telling me,” he said.
Lilja sniffed back a sob, determined to not let him see it.
“You’re welcome.”
Quietness descended on the cavern, broken only by the crackling of burning logs. The two of them picked at the food without speaking. Then tiredness overcame Tuomas, and he barely recalled lying down before slumber swept him away.
Chapter Seventeen
He wasn’t sure how long he slept. When he awoke, the fires were still burning strong. He couldn’t tell if new logs had been added to them or if the old ones had somehow not come apart yet. The darkness was unchanged; no holes in the walls or ceiling allowed any daylight to seep through. But he supposed he wouldn’t have been able to tell either way. If this place was the opposite of the World Between, which was currently in the middle of the Long Night, then it would be the Long Day here.
He sat up carefully. His neck was stiff from lying on the hard floor. He massaged it with one hand and looked around, letting his eyes readjust.
Lilja was still on the other side of the fire, also asleep, curled into a foetal position. Tucked up like she was, with her plaits tumbling about her face, she almost looked like a child rather than the woman she was. Her cheeks were still flushed from crying, and her eyes twitched in the grip of a dream. One hand was thrown out before her, resting on her drum.
Lumi, however, was nowhere to be seen. Tuomas wasn’t sure whether he was expecting to see her asleep too. Did Spirits even need to sleep?
He got to his feet and walked towards the wall where she had been standing, in case he had somehow missed her in the shadows. But there was nothing except the stunning murals.
In the flickering firelight, they almost seemed to be moving, like the Lights might dance acr
oss the sky. He ran his fingers over the nearest one, of horrid-looking creatures emerging from a lake.
Some of these stories, he’d never even heard of before. Would Henrik know about them? He would have to ask when he got back to Akerfjorden.
Just thinking of home tugged at his heart. It was almost easy to forget he’d hadn’t even been away for a month yet. And he was still no closer to saving Mihka. What must poor Sisu be thinking? Tuomas could imagine the leader bent over his son: the only family he had left, never taking his eyes off him for fear he might slip away.
Tuomas opened the pouch at his belt and drew out the lock of hair. Its whiteness shone. Even the roots were bleached; all of Mihka’s natural black had disappeared like grass under snow. He would never get it back, Tuomas was sure of that. This was who he would always be: touched by the fox fires.
“Don’t worry,” Tuomas muttered, closing his fist around the hair. He put it back in the pouch and pulled the drawstring closed so not a single strand could escape.
The food was still around the hearth. He pulled a leg from one of the roasted ptarmigans and bit off a mouthful. The meat was tender, seasoned with lingonberries. Before long, he had devoured it down to the bone, which he dropped into one of his pouches for later.
He tasted metal on his tongue. He frowned, wondering if he’d bitten his cheek and drawn blood, but when he inspected his mouth, there was nothing. Then he caught a whiff of that strange heavy scent from before.
He wrinkled his nose in disgust. Had something died in here?
Nerves gnawed at his belly. Where had Lumi gone?
His hand went to his belt, running over his knives until he reached the drum. Should he try to summon her back?
No, he thought. The memory of his last attempt was still fresh in his mind. And Lilja was sleeping more soundly than he’d seen in days. He didn’t want to annoy her again by waking her.
“Lumi?” he called, as loudly as he dared.
Lilja stirred.
Tuomas hurried towards the entrance to the caves. He watched her for a moment, worried he had disturbed her, but she just let out a groggy moan and curled even tighter into herself.
A soft breeze whistled through the tunnel beside him and swept his hair into his face. He tasted the strangeness again, filling his mouth; piercingly cold.
Something told him she had gone down here. Maybe she’d left in search of the corruption she had sensed when they arrived. That had to be the same thing he was smelling, and it was coming from this direction.
He glanced back at Lilja. She had told him to stay close.
But if there was danger in this World too, surely it was best for Lumi to stay with them. For as beautiful as it was, he wanted to learn what he needed from the Earth Spirits and then get out.
It had been hard to pinpoint out in the open, but down here in the depths of the earth, he sensed something dark lingering at the edge of each shadow. Something purely of the Spirit realms, where no human had ever set foot before.
He turned back to the cave entrance. He didn’t want to be alone here.
“Lumi?” he hissed into the darkness. The cave swallowed his voice; not even the tiniest echo answered him.
He gritted his teeth and hurried down the tunnel.
Despite the torches along the walls, the gloom immediately enveloped him. The temperature plummeted, and his breath misted in front of his face.
Wasn’t it summer here? Was he going to walk back into winter?
He shook his head and told himself not to think stupid things. It had been awkward just getting into the World Below, getting out was likely the same.
“Lumi?” he called.
Her name bounced back and echoed around him.
There was no answer. He cursed her light feet.
“Lumi, where are you?”
Still nothing.
He pressed on, sucking in his stomach as the passageway became narrower. He pulled his drum around so it was off his waist, and held it close to protect the delicate skin from the sharp rocks.
He groaned in dismay when he noticed the path branching off into two openings. Only the one on the left was lit by torches.
He didn’t remember this from earlier. And which route had she taken? Did she even know where she was going?
“Lumi!” he called again, louder this time.
A voice came back, but it wasn’t hers.
“Tuomas, is that you?”
He froze. That was a cry he recognised, and it turned his blood cold.
“Paavo?”
“Yes, I’m here! I’m stuck! Help me!”
The voice was coming from the right-hand tunnel. Tuomas didn’t waste a second and bounded down it.
“Keep talking, help me find you!” he yelled.
He ran for what seemed like forever, following the contours of the passageway with his hands. Every now and then, he hit a piece of rock jutting out from the wall, but didn’t feel any blood, so he kept going. With every step, Paavo’s voice became louder.
His heart pounded in his ears. How did his brother get into this place? How long had he been here? Ever since the morning Tuomas had set out from Akerfjorden, when nobody had seen him?
“Where are you?” Paavo cried desperately. “Help me!”
“I’m coming! I’m almost there!” Tuomas called.
He was close. The voice sounded as though it was just on the other side of the wall.
He bounded forwards blindly and his foot caught a shallow step, sending him stumbling onto all fours. Then he looked up, and noticed the tunnel curving around a bend, faint light just visible on the walls.
He bound his drum back onto his belt and walked towards it, one hand held before his eyes to shield them. After so long in the darkness, even the soft glow was blinding. The horrid smell was stronger here and his stomach rolled with nausea.
He crept around the corner, and his breath caught in his throat.
He was in another cavern, much smaller than the last, with only a single fire which threw out a pitiful amount of heat. Beside it stood a large cairn of rocks, all balanced atop each other until they formed a hollow dome. And inside, just visible through the gaps, was Paavo.
Tuomas ran over. Paavo was horribly pale, bones protruding under his skin. He looked ill – almost dead.
“Are you alright?” Tuomas asked breathlessly. “What are you doing down here? How did you even get here?”
“They took me. The Earth Spirits,” Paavo whimpered, his cheeks streaked with tears. “I offended them – I went to kill a reindeer for you, for a new sleeping sack. I was in such a hurry, I forgot to honour them.”
Tuomas’s heart pounded. Was this what he had sensed was wrong? The Earth Spirits had never intended to help them after all?
“When was this?” he asked. “The morning I left?”
Paavo nodded. “Yes, I went to the herd, but the Spirits were waiting for me.”
Tuomas stared at him. He had never heard of anything like this happening before. If someone was disrespectful to the Spirits, they usually suffered misfortune in a more subtle way. Their animals might sicken, or their hunt fail. They might be struck down with illness themselves. They wouldn’t be taken into a Spirit realm like this.
But then he remembered Lumi’s retaliation on Mihka; how shocking and seemingly impossible that was. Nothing was impossible anymore.
“How are you here?” Paavo asked. “Are you by yourself?”
“No, I’m here with one of the wandering mages,” Tuomas explained quickly. “Her name’s Lilja. She’ll be able to help you.”
“Can you help me get out? I can’t break through from the inside. There’s some kind of magic holding this thing together.”
He pushed at the rocks to demonstrate, and sure enough, they stayed exactly where they were.
Tuomas inspected the cairn. There was nothing obvious keeping it in place, but when he extended a hand, he could feel power radiating off it. It was strong; no kind of physical effort woul
d break the rocks apart. The smell was stronger around it too – he couldn’t tell if it was coming off the structure or from within it. The Earth Spirits obviously hadn’t wanted Paavo to go anywhere.
Was this really fitting of forgetting to utter thanks? How long were they planning to keep him down here?
“Try drumming,” Paavo suggested, noticing the instrument at his belt. “You should be good enough at it by now!”
Tuomas smirked.
“There’s only one way to find out.”
He untied the drum, warming it over the tiny fire with one hand and drawing his circle with his other. Then he raised the hammer and began a beat, letting his own summery power build in the same quick crest as he had used to summon Lumi.
But this time, he kept control of it, forcing it towards the cairn, directing its heat deep into the rocks. He took up a chant, pouring more energy into it with every breath, until the drumming became erratic and goosebumps rose on his arms.
Then, with an almighty crash, the stones blew apart.
Startled, Tuomas broke off the chant. A wave of exhaustion slammed into his chest and he fell to the ground.
The cavern swam before his eyes. His hands twitched uncontrollably; the drum rolled away on its edge. It passed through the circle, breaking its spell, before clattering down.
So this is why you aren’t supposed to come out of a trance too early, Tuomas thought weakly.
His life-soul was loose. He could feel it floating somewhere above his body, still attached but not yet settled. It was like being drunk. He tried to command himself to sit up, but his arms and legs seemed miles away.
Paavo stepped out of the pile of fallen rocks. He glanced around, stretched, testing his freedom. He smiled broadly.
“Thank you,” he said, words tinged with a relieved laugh. “It feels so good to finally be out of there!”
Tuomas went to smile back, but then he paused.
Paavo’s mouth was higher on his face than it should be. When he was inside the cairn, it had been hard to notice, but now it was clear as day.
Paavo turned to him, and Tuomas let out a gasp of horror. His eyes were as hollow as a dead tree. One was milky white: completely blind.
Paavo placed both hands on the back of his head and pulled. The skin broke apart, peeling away like a piece of clothing, and revealed a sallow-skinned man, a long scar across his throat, the flesh puckered and bloodshot as though it had lain in water. His hair was sandy blonde, stringy with dried sweat, hanging over his empty eyes.