Page 174 of North Is the Night
“I have to help Väinämöinen. I need you to fend for yourself. Can you do that?”
She nods, trying to control her trembling.
I cup her head and pull her close, planting a quick kiss on her frozen lips. “Die, and I’ll kill you.”
She nods again, stepping back. “Go, be a hero.”
Turning away, I run back across the snow, axe in hand. I come around the side of the burning hut. Väinämöinen stands in the middle of the clearing, swinging his sword in graceful arcs, swiping at any wolf that dares to get too close. All around him, his sled dogs grapple with the other wolves. They’re no match for the larger beasts, but they’re a good distraction. Several wolves already lie dead in the snow.
Lumi has yet to join the fray. She stands back, lobbing balls of fire, keeping Väinämöinen’s movements contained as he ducks and bobs, fending off flame and fang. Tucking my axe in at my belt, I race over to the shaman’s pack, unrolling a stockpile of all his other weapons from the hut. I take the full quiver and belt it at my waist. Then I grab the bow and stand. I nock an arrow and pull back on the string.
Twang.
The arrow whizzes through the air, landing with a squelch in the eye of a large white wolf. It yips in pain and crumples at Väinämöinen’s feet. The shaman follows the direction of the arrow to where I stand, framed by his burning hut. Smiling, he swings wide with his sword, spinning just in time to knock a leaping wolf from the air.
“Come on, you witch,” he shouts across the snow at Lumi. “You came here for me, so kill me if you can! Stop sending these mongrels to do your work for you.”
I loose another arrow. This time it sails over the shaman’s head, landing with a thud next to Lumi’s hand on the rail of her sled. The witch jerks her hand away, scowling at me. I loose another arrow.
Lumi snarls, batting it from the air with a swipe of her magical staff. With eyes only for Väinämöinen, the witch jams the end of her staff deep into the snow. Flipping the edges of her white cape off her shoulders, she strides forward, unsheathing a pair of short swords. Her intention is clear: she doesn’t need magic to best the shaman in a sword fight. “It’s over, Väinämöinen,” she calls. “Great hero of Kalevala. Surrender yourself to me, and maybe I’ll let the meddlesome girl live.”
Before the shaman can respond, a trio of wolves descend on him. I loose an arrow, felling one, but two more close in. I take off at a run and loose another arrow, but it flies wide, barely grazing the beast’s hip. It’s just enough to make him angry. He turns on me with a guttural snarl, fangs bared.
Racing to the shaman’s side, I scare the two wolves back. Dropping my bow at my feet, I pull my axe, and swing wide. A russet wolf dodges and circles back in front of me. I back several paces, facing the burning hut, until I’m back-to-back with Väinämöinen. The wolves continue to circle us as Lumi crosses the snow, her swords raised.
“Take care of the wolves,” he grunts at me, pulling a shorter sword out of the scabbard hidden at his back and handing it to me. I barely get my fingers around the hilt before he’s slamming a dark wolf in the ribs with a blast of blue light. He strides across the open snow, daring the witch to face him.
I’m distracted for a moment by a growling wolf. He’s young and overeager, hardly more than a pup. I make quick work of him.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Väinämöinen calls out to the witch. As he walks, he blocks the lunges of two desperate wolves with more blasts of his light magic. “Ajatar is a poison in your mind. Stop letting her control you. There is still time for you to go in peace.”
The witch snarls, flicking her long hair off her shoulders. It flutters in the wintry wind like a banner. “You think my mother guides my steps? I want this formyself, shaman. Your magic is all I’ve ever wanted!”
“Possessing my magic won’t bring you what you seek,” he says calmly.
For the briefest of moments, Lumi pauses. Her face shifts from agony to sadness... then to rage. “You don’t know what I seek.” Her eyes flash with white-hot need. There will be no walking away from this. She’s set on her course. Väinämöinen knows it too. His shoulders dip in resignation. When Lumi starts running, he does too. As he runs, he grazes a hand up the blade of his sword from hilt to tip. Flames erupt down the metal.
The shaman and the witch meet in a clash of iron. Sparks fly off his flaming sword as she parries and lunges, cleaving the air with her two sharp blades. He ducks and spins in the ankle-deep snow to match her.
They’re both masters. Each time I think he has her, she dances away unscathed. Twice, Lumi’s blade connects to his skin at leg and elbow. Blood seeps from his wounds. He can’t get close enough to strike her, his long sword requiring wider strokes.
I do my best to reach him. I fight back a grey wolf, matching him snarl for snarl. Too late, I see another wolf leap from the darkness to take Väinämöinen from behind. But the wolf yelps in pain, crumpling to the ground with an arrow in its side.
I spin around to see Aina standing before the flaming hut in Tuoni’s crown and Väinämöinen’s too-large jacket, bow in hand. She lets another arrow loose. It goes wide, but close enough to scare a wolf away. It opens the space I need to break through and join Väinämöinen. He swings low again, forcing Lumi to dance back. Then he swings high with his powerful backhand. Lumi jumps to the left, escaping the blow.
It’s just the distraction I need.
Raising my axe, I plant my feet, square my shoulders, and throw. The axe spins haft over blade. Lumi screams in pain as it thuds into the meat of her shoulder. She drops her right-hand sword with a whimper and staggers back. I cover the distance, picking up her discarded sword. Now I have two, and she only has one.
With a panting breath, Lumi jerks the axe free from her shoulder. Blood runs freely from the wound, staining her pristine white clothes. Her right arm hangs uselessly at her side. “I’ll kill you for that, you irksome little insect.”
“You can try,” I taunt, daring to give her sword a twirl with my wrist.
Lumi raises her other sword and points imperiously at me. All around the clearing, the remaining wolves howl. They have a new order.Kill the girl.
Väinämöinen faces the injured snow witch while I fight the wolves. The clang of swords rings out across the snow. I block countless attacks. As I drop and spin, I slip on a patch of ice. It gives a bold russet wolf the opening he needs. He lunges for me, teeth bared. Väinämöinen lunges to the side, placing himself between me and the charging wolf.
“No!” I scream.
