The Mist Children

by E. C. Hibbs

  “Yes. Is that why you have come? I know it set you a charge.”

  “That’s not the only reason. Lilja said you know the most about draugars. Her and Henrik both came here looking for answers. So have I.”

  The Spirit regarded him. Then it slid its leafy hand down his arm and pulled him back towards the cave mouth.

  “Such topics are best left for more mutual ground,” it said.

  Tuomas didn’t resist as it led him out of the ashen desert. He wanted to get as far away from that terrifying river as he could.

  As they left, the light dimmed, until there was nothing but silence and raging water.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Eventually, they emerged back into the forest. The only light came from the torches scattered about the trees; the grey sky had turned dark and the clouds edged with fading gold. Tuomas could see a veil of rain across the faraway hills, which reminded him eerily of Lumi’s aurora. It wouldn’t be long before it turned to snow, and as summer descended upon the World Above, this one would be locked in winter.

  “I need your help,” Tuomas said. “I want to free the souls that have been taken, before I trap the draugars. Can I do that? Aki as well? And Elin and Sisu, they were taken while still alive, just like those three Poro kids on the Nordjarvi –”

  “Please stop rambling,” the Spirit said.

  Tuomas took a deep breath. “Please. I know Henrik and Lilja came and tried to pull back their loved ones –”

  “It is not possible. If it were, it would have been done.”

  “But why? All because the draugars won’t take anything unless it’s an equal exchange?”

  “Precisely,” said the Spirit. “For as powerful as her son is, and had the potential to be, Lilja was still stronger than him when she stood where you stand now. Still, they would not have taken her in his place.”

  “Because she was older,” Tuomas finished. “It was the same with Henrik. He was older than Runa. But I’m more powerful than either of them. Everyone’s been forcing the Son of the Sun matter down my throat enough; I might as well embrace it completely.”

  “In these circumstances, that is most unwise,” the Spirit warned.

  “I don’t care!” Tuomas snapped impatiently. “I need my brother back! Mihka needs his father; Lilja needs her son! And Elin…”

  His voice broke as he spoke her name. He held a hand to his mouth and struggled not to cry. His knees wobbled and he knelt on the ground.

  “Please. I’ve never begged for anything. I will give you whatever you demand. All my reindeer, my tools, my blood, anything. Just help me bring them back.”

  A breeze whistled by and rustled the Spirit’s leafy body. Some of the edges peeled back to expose the empty air beneath the shape they formed. More leaves fell from the canopy like golden snowflakes.

  The Spirit extended a hand to Tuomas and touched his cheek.

  “Your power must be used to draw the creatures out so they can be restrained. Nothing more,” it said gently. “You cannot save the souls. I am sorry.”

  Tuomas shook his head. “No, that can’t be.”

  “I am afraid it is,” the Spirit said.

  “But I need to save Elin… and Paavo…”

  “You cannot. They are gone.”

  The rain reached them and cascaded through the branches. It soaked Tuomas immediately, plastering his hair against his scalp, running down his face and mixing with his tears. He clutched his drum to his chest, sank onto the floor and wept like a child.

  “I came here so you could help me!” he cried. “Please! There has to be a way!”

  “The Great Bear has already given you your way,” the Spirit replied, its voice unchanging. “Now you must follow it. Come with my brethren to the lake, tempt out the draugars, summon the Great Bear and let their reign of terror end.”

  Tuomas stayed still. He wanted nothing more than for the damp ground to swallow him and let him lie in the dark forever. He didn’t want to move or think. Every flash in his mind was as painful as if boulders had been dropped on top of him. It was colder than frostbite; sharper than even Kari’s blade. It hurt in a place so deep within him, he could barely comprehend where it was.

  Then he froze. His eyes roved over the fallen leaves, slotting the pieces together in his mind.

  “Wait…” he whispered. “It’s an equal exchange they want, right?”

  “That is correct,” said the Spirit.

  Tuomas nodded to himself, one hand going to his drum.

  “Then what about a greater exchange?”

  The Spirit looked at him suspiciously. “What are you talking about?”

  Tuomas sat up.

  “They took Elin to try and draw me out,” he said. “I know they want me more than anyone else. If I give them what they want, I could bargain for the others. Couldn’t I?”

  For the first time, a semblance of panic flashed across the Spirit’s face.

  “You would sacrifice yourself?”

  Tuomas shrugged.

  “Why not? There’s no point in me sticking around now. I might as well do something good, for once.”

  “Think about what you are proposing!” the Spirit insisted, grasping his hands urgently. “You would give up not just your taika, but your soul! You would be trapped with them forever!”

  “If my taika is that powerful, they can live off it forever. I don’t care. It will stop them from having to spread the sickness if they can just rely on me.”

  “You must not! You are the Son of the Sun!”

  Tuomas’s frustration suddenly rose to the surface. He leapt to his feet and pushed the Spirit away.

  “I don’t care about that!” he exploded. “I don’t care who I am, or what soul I got stuck with, or why that means I should do anything! You know what I should have done? I should have saved Elin! I should have saved all of them! They’re all gone because of me!”

  He shook his head coldly, then turned on his heel and sprinted back through the woods. He fixed his eyes on the lake. With every step, he hit the drum, letting his taika grow and twist as large as he could bear. He imagined it sweeping across the land like a beacon. It would be impossible to miss.

  “No! Stop!” the Spirit shouted after him. Then its voice swelled, booming through the trees in a silent scream. Stop him!

  The rain drove at Tuomas; long grass tangled about his feet as though trying to hold him back. He tore through them. The leaves swirled before him on the path, but he bent his head and ran on, beating them away.

  He noticed movement on either side of him. A group of white reindeer were running there, antlers down. Among them were more Earth Spirits, some upon the animals’ backs, others in the air or on the ground. They came closer, meaning to cut him off.

  Tuomas thought quickly. He didn’t break his stride for a moment, stepped up on a fallen log to give him lift, and leapt as high as he could. As his feet left the ground, he spun in the air and hit out a fast beat on his drum. With every strike, a circle formed around him. But this time, it was tainted; it felt heavier and tugged at his souls in a way he’d never experienced before. This wasn’t to keep evil out, but to keep everything out.

  The circle sealed as he landed. The reindeer and Spirits surrounded him in a perfect ring. Tuomas took a step forward, and those in front of him backed off. It had worked. They couldn’t step inside his barrier.

  But he was still trapped by them. He could see the lake just over the sea of antlers. In the darkness, it didn’t even look like water; more like a massive hole cleaved straight through the ground.

  More Earth Spirits appeared out of the trees, in the branches, standing among the ghostly herd. They pressed against the boundary and tried to reach him.

  “Tuomas Sun-Soul!” one of them cried. “Please, do not do this!”

  But Tuomas shook his head.

  “Let me pass.”

  “We cannot!” another of the Spirits replied. “Stop what you are doing! You must not sacrifice yourself!�
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  Tuomas didn’t listen. He brought the hammer onto his drum and sent a line of power straight through to the lake. Then he pushed and the reindeer suddenly parted down the middle, just like the avalanche. Without wasting a moment, he ran between them.

  The lake came closer and closer. He closed his eyes, drawing up the memory of those slimy pale limbs, the protruding bones, the snapping teeth.

  You want me? he thought. Come and get me.

  “Tuomas!” the Spirits shouted after him. “Stop!”

  He jumped into the boat and pushed off from the bank. As soon as the prow cut through the water, tendrils of mist began to creep across the surface. He let it entwine around him, making sure it had sensed him, then leapt overboard.

  Every single muscle in his body contracted; it felt as though he was being stabbed with a thousand knives. Paavo had once warned him that if he was ever to fall into cold water, the temperature would kill him faster than drowning, and he had never believed it more than now. It took all his self-control to not gasp in pain.

  He held his drum tightly as he descended. The protective circle stayed all around him like a bubble. He kept it strong, in case the Earth Spirits somehow reached him and tried to pull him out. The light drew further away, until it was so small, it looked like a faraway star, and he hung suspended in an endless dark. But it wasn’t like the World Above. The pressure made his throat want to burst. His taika screamed in protest, but he pushed it back under control.

  He realised he must be at the edge of the void between the Worlds. Ignoring the pain, he flipped onto his front and kicked deeper. He could hold his breath for a little over a minute: more than enough time to act.

  He didn’t have to wait long before a pair of red eyes appeared out of the gloom. Then more came, surrounding him, white teeth clicking together eerily.

  Their voices slithered around his head like a thousand worms.

  So much taika…

  All this taika…

  All this youth…

  And it comes to us willingly…

  We knew it would.

  Tuomas raised his drum before him.

  You know who I am, he said, in the silent, powerful words of a mage.

  The draugars hissed excitedly. Stringy green fronds trailed behind them like scraps of clothing.

  Son of the Sun! they snarled in unison. We knew you would come! We saw how you looked at that girl! We knew!

  I’ve come to bargain with you, Tuomas replied as steadily as he could. Where’s the little boy who you stole away five years ago?

  One of the draugars swept the perimeter of his circle, gnashing its teeth.

  We did not steal! it growled at him. He came to us… just like you…

  You sensed his magic, and lured him away from his mother and uncle, Tuomas snapped back. You called to him from Lake Nordjarvi and told him a pack of lies, so he wouldn’t know any better than to go with you! And you’ve been taking advantage of his power ever since!

  The creatures sneered horribly. The loose skin around their eyes wrinkled as they moved.

  He belongs to us, they said. All of the little mages belong to us, and so do the souls they have brought to us, down here in the depths!

  They pushed closer, pressing their bodies against the circle. Tuomas quickly sent out another surge of taika to keep them at bay. He spun in the water, trying to watch all of them, in case one managed to somehow break through and sneak up behind him.

  His lungs were starting to ache. He needed to act fast.

  Here is my bargain, he said. Release Aki and all the people you’ve taken with him, including the girl you stole last night. Let them be free, and promise to never go after them again. Do this, and you can have me instead. Just like you’ve always wanted.

  A wave of anticipation swept over the draugars. Tuomas couldn’t even see how many there were anymore; they extended too far into the darkness for him to count them. They glided about like a school of disgusting fish, forming clouds of sliver bubbles; some glanced at him hungrily and pointed their webby fingers. The slippery sound of them filled his ears.

  At last! they whispered, forming an eerie chorus which cut through the lake like a knife.

  So much taika…

  The taika from the Son of the Sun…

  Tuomas clapped a hand over his mouth to try and keep his breath.

  All of them, he insisted. Release Runa and all the others too.

  The creatures turned their eyes back to him. The movement was perfectly synchronised, as though they were one huge entity. It sent shivers down his spine, but he held his nerve.

  All? they sniggered. Can you bring forth the food you ate as a child, Son of the Sun?

  Tuomas’s gorge rose. They had consumed all of them? There wasn’t a single soul left from the previous plagues? The idea of it was so unnatural, it almost made him sick.

  Then all those you took this time, he countered quickly. Every single one.

  It is lucky our feasting has not yet begun, the draugars replied cruelly. But it will soon! Oh, so soon! So much taika…

  Tuomas swallowed hard. Every fibre of his body was urging him to take a breath. The muddy darkness swirled around him; he felt death and decay touching his skin like a physical thing. The moment he let down his barrier, there would be no escape.

  A strange calm descended upon him. It didn’t matter that he would be stuck down here with them forever. Everyone else would be free, the children cured of the plague.

  Once again, it was a small price to pay.

  We accept your bargain, Son of the Sun, the nearest draugar hissed. Your taika… your youth… your souls… for them.

  Tuomas nodded. Deal.

  The draugars in front of him slowly parted, tendrils of mist slithering around them. In the middle of the cloud, Aki appeared, rubbing his eyes, as though he had just awoken from a long sleep.

  They held him before Tuomas, just outside the circle, their long fingers clutched around his arms and legs. Then the others appeared, and Tuomas’s heart leapt.

  There, floating limp in the water, he could see the ghostly bodies of nine people; among them Paavo, Sisu, Eevi… and Elin. They looked like they were made from the mist itself: their flesh drifted and hair waved like smoke. He wasn’t sure what was keeping their souls together, but it just needed to work for just a little longer.

  Aki looked at Tuomas with his white corpse eyes.

  I saw you yesterday, he said, twisting his coat nervously. They said you were going to take me away.

  The need to inhale was almost unbearable, but Tuomas forced himself to ignore it. He lowered his hand so Aki could see all of his face.

  I’ve come to take you back to your Mama, he said. It’s alright. They’re going to let you go.

  The draugars snarled at his words, but Tuomas ignored them.

  All you need to do is swim up there. He raised his arm towards the surface. It’s not far. And then the Earth Spirits will be able to help. Your Mama will be waiting for you.

  Aki hesitated. You promise?

  Tuomas nodded as best he could. He glanced at Paavo, then Elin, committing their faces to memory.

  I promise. But you need to go now, alright? And take your new friends with you.

  The ache in his chest swelled. He coughed, unable to hold it in, and a jet of bubbles streamed out of his mouth.

  Aki, go now! he cried.

  Before the little boy could protest, the draugars flung him upwards, followed by the misty souls. Once he felt movement, Aki started to kick, and grew smaller and smaller as he ascended towards the faraway light. Tuomas watched, biting his lips to keep them together.

  Aki reached the surface and thrust his hand into the air.

  It was done. They were out. Safe.

  Tuomas kept his eyes on Elin and Paavo, bid them a silent farewell, and let the last of the breath leave his lungs.

  He sucked in icy water and immediately choked. Pressure crashed on his ribs, burning him, closing his throa
t. He thrashed about; mouth stretched wide in a scream of agony. The drum slipped from his grasp and drifted into the darkness.

  At once, the circle collapsed. The draugars darted forwards and swarmed him, pulling at his clothes, his hair; slimy fingers pressing over his face. It felt like they were going to rip him apart.

  And he was drowning.

  He hadn’t expected it to hurt so much. It made him cough, which in turn forced more water down his throat, and brought forth another bout of coughing…

  Suddenly, he was the Great Mage again, under the ice of the Mustafjord. How much time would it take? How long would he be here, gasping, slowly dying?

  He started to lose the feeling in his fingers. His kicking slowed. The draugars seized him tight and began nibbling his flesh. Their nails pressed on his chest and opened the old scar over his heart. He tasted his own blood in the water and his eyes rolled back in his head.

  Tuomas braced himself, and waited for the end.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  She fled deep into the World Above, far away, so not even a trace of her Lights would be seen. She spun in the labyrinth of stars, fury tearing at her, pulling her in a hundred different directions. She felt the souls of the dead shudder around her as they sensed her uncontrollable rage. They knew she hadn’t been this angry for centuries – this was even worse than when she had attacked the insolent boy at the beginning of the Long Night.

  But Tuomas…

  The nerve of it! To not only doubt her power, but to openly defy her! And to manipulate the equality she had given to him… it was disgusting! He was lucky she had only pinned him to the ground. When he had thrown that insolent comment in her face, it had taken all her strength to not do exactly what he’d suggested. It wouldn’t have been the first time she had torn his soul out. Leaving him alone was the only thing she could have done to protect him.

  He had struck her too deeply, disrespected her too much. If she returned now, she wasn’t sure what she would do to him.

  The Sun Spirit rose over the Northlands. Unable to cast her aurora, she decided to distract herself, and floated towards the tear in the skin. Once again, she shuddered as she inspected it. It seemed to have stabilised itself since Tuomas had opened it; no more stars had fallen and the cleft was no larger. She tried to draw the two edges together but they resisted each other and drew apart again.