Page 159 of North Is the Night
She scoffs. “Is that the word he uses? I shouldn’t be surprised that he claims to have helped me. That shaman took everything from me.”
“I know exactly what he took from you,” I counter. “What he tookforyou—”
“We will not speak of it!”
Aina places a hand on my arm. “Siiri, this is not the way.”
I shrug away from her, with eyes only for the goddess. “The ancient forest giant Antero Vipunen told him where to find your daughter. She was held hostage by the Witch Queen beneath the Kipumäki. You tried to free her, but spells kept the door sealed even from you. He taught you the spells needed to break her out.”
A single tear slips down the witch’s pale face. “Stop. No more.”
“Hope no longer dwells in this dark place,” I intone. “She is free.Youfreed her. We ask you to give this new hope a chance. Let me take Aina with me. Together, we’ll work with Väinämöinen to restore all that was lost. We will restore the balance. We will bring peace to the Finns. Surely, that will please the death gods too.”
Aina places a gentle hand on my shoulder as she steps around me. She looks tenderly at the witch. “I’m so sorry, Loviatar,” she whispers. “I know the grief you’ve lived with these long years. It takes the bravest of mothers to give a child away.”
Loviatar glares at her.
“But you don’t regret setting her free of this place. Any good mother would have done the same.” She steps closer. “I only ask for the same chance you had,” she pleads. “Let me protect my son. Let me leave with him before the other death witches tear us apart.”
Loviatar’s face is impossible to read. She cups Aina’s cheek with all the tenderness of a mother. “You cannot get something for free, little mouse. Not in this realm.”
Aina stiffens. “Name your price.”
“Set me free,” the witch commands. “My daughter and I have waited a lifetime to be together again. Now it is you who thwarts me. You’ve proved to be no more merciful than my wretched mother.”
I glance between them, confused.
Aina’s gaze is resolute as she mirrors the death witch’s stance. “My mercy is boundless,” she counters. “As are my love and fidelity. But I must be met halfway, Loviatar. I will not negotiate with you on that score. That price has already been set.”
Loviatar hisses in frustration. “You still doubt my love?”
“Just tell me her name,” Aina whispers. “Trust me as I am trusting you. We can all escape here together. We can be free. Please, Loviatar, meet me halfway.”
I try to puzzle out their argument, glancing between them. “Your daughter? Is that what this is about?”
The witch stands across from us, her eyes unblinking.
“You want to see your daughter again?” I press. “We can make that happen. I’ll talk to Väinämöinen. Between the two of us, we can find a way. We can bring her to you—”
“No,” the witch snarls. With a sweep of her arm, she grabs Aina, pulling her in against her chest, her clawed hand at Aina’s throat.
Aina cries out in surprise, her hands clasping the witch’s wrist.
I drop my hand to the top of my axe.
“Don’t even think about it.” The witch tightens her hold at Aina’s neck, her fingernails pinching Aina’s fair skin tightly enough to draw blood. “You will not bring my daughter back to this place. Swear it, shaman.”
I search her face, sensing her fear. “You’re scared. You know she’s not safe here.”
“None of us are,” Aina says through the hand at her throat.
“Swearit,” the witch presses.
“I swear,” I reply, taking this bold chance. This witch is spilling my Aina’s blood. There’s nothing I won’t do to make it stop. “I shall never bring your daughter to Tuonela... on the condition that you let me leave now with Aina.”
The witch hisses in rage, black magic creeping down the veins of her arms. Her eyes shift from pools of fog to orbs of darkest night. Her voice takes on a breathy rasp. “You challenge a death goddess, mortal?”
“I offer a bargain. Give me Aina now, and I swear on the All-Mother, I will do everything in my power to keep your daughter from this place.” I take a step closer, all my hunting instincts humming inside me. “But keep my Aina from me, and I will personally shove your precious child through the veil and drop her squealing at the Witch Queen’s feet.”
