Page 57 of North Is the Night
Kivutar steps into theforest clearing, her sisters trailing in her wake.
“You monsters,” Lilja shouts, scrambling to her feet. “You’re rotten to the core—no—” She struggles as Riina and Satu hold her by the arms, keeping her from lunging at the goddess of suffering. “Get off me—”
“Lilja, please,” Satu cries.
The witches laugh. Behind them, Kalma is silent, watching us with those black, unblinking eyes. I think I hate her the most. She’s the one who took us all in the first place. I still wear her bruises on my arm. I’m not sure if they’ll ever heal.
Vammatar steps past me. With a flick of her hand, she summons a floating ball of light that illuminates the clearing, making us all blink at its brightness. With another flick of her hand, Satu’s mantle flutters away, revealing Inari’s bloody corpse.
“Don’t touch her,” Riina snarls. “You have no right, witch.”
Vammatar smirks. “I see you’ve figured out our little magic trick,” she says in that simperingly sweet voice. “The other girls remain trapped in this forest. To free them, you’ll have to draw their blood.”
“We suggest aiming a little lower,” Kivutar adds, nudging Inari’s body with her toe. “Try hitting something less vital.”
I exchange a horrified glance with Satu.
“Free your friends, and you’ll all be treated to a magnificent feast,” Vammatar declares. She waves her hand once more, and a table appears, nestled in the trees. Lit with two dozen flickering candles, it groans under the weight of a magnificent feast. The smell of roasted meats and vegetable pies wafts tantalizingly close. “Free them... or return to your rooms for another feast of bread and water.”
I can see the way the others weaken. They’re still starving, I remind myself. They don’t have the strength to challenge the witches.
“We only have to draw blood?” Riina asks.
Satu grabs at her arm. “Riina, no.”
“Silence,” the witch commands, slapping Satu with an invisible hand.
The girl whimpers, rubbing the stinging spot on her cheek.
“That’s it,” Vammatar says with a smile at Riina. “A little blood, one tiny drop, and they’ll be—well, they won’t be free. None of you are free,” she adds, making her sister laugh. “But they’ll be human again.”
I look to the body on the ground. “What happens to Inari now?” I ask.
“Oh, we’ll take care of this one,” Vammatar replies. She snaps her fingers, and Kalma steps forward on silent feet, her tattered, soiled robes dragging over the ground as she drops to her knees beside our dead friend.
“No!” Lilja cries.
“Don’t touch her,” says Riina, still holding on to Lilja’s arm.
“Please, haven’t you done enough?” Satu says through her tears.
As we watch, Kalma reaches out her skeletal hands, gently cupping Inari’s face. Then the witch leans over and exhales into Inari’s mouth. The foul smell of her breath makes me gag all over again. I can’t imagine tasting her stink in my mouth. In moments, the body twitches. Then Inari’s eyes flutter open. They’re cloudy and unblinking.
“Gods, help us,” I say on a breath.
Kalma leans away and Inari sits up, her head lolling awkwardly on her badly damaged neck. Her animated corpse stands, hands dangling uselessly at her sides. We all take a horrified step back as Inari turns to face Kalma.
“There we are,” Vammatar coos. “Good as new.”
I search the dead girl’s face, looking for some sign of life in her eyes. “Inari?”
“Oh, she’s not Inari anymore,” says Vammatar. “We’ll call herPeuratyttö. Deer girl. It fits, no?”
Kivutar gives a raspy laugh. “Sister, you are too clever.”
Vammatar flicks her hair off her shoulder. “Come, Peuratyttö. Your friends have a long night ahead of them. Let’s leave them to their happy hunting.”
Inari shuffles forward, following the call of Vammatar.
