Page 69 of North Is the Night
Lumi has prayed for this moment. She’s prayed for Väinämöinen to fall within her grasp, but the gods have not seen fit to answer her prayers.
I smile, gazing up at the river of light in the sky.
The gods answer me.
“Ututyttö,” I cry out to the night. I cut my palm open on the blade of my axe, spilling my blood onto the white snow. “Maiden of the Mist, I beseech you. Hide us from this witch’s eyes. Help us!”
The wolves snarl, calling out as they race behind us.
“I want that bear alive,” Lumi calls across the snow.
“Goddess,please,” I pant, squeezing my bleeding palm. “Help us, or we die.”
A boom echoes across the vast open space. Kal slides to a halt, his eyes wide. I do too, swaying on my feet from fatigue. All around us, the snow rises off the tundra, swirling and billowing in the air. The foxfire tints the mist blue-green. We hear the wolves’ confused yips as the eerie fog envelops us.
“Ututyttö has listened,” I cry. “She’s helping us, Kal.”
Behind us, Lumi shrieks, pounding her light staff, trying to pierce the fog. A fork of lightning casts a bright light overhead, but it just makes the fog shine greenish white. The fog swirls so thick, I can hardly see my hand before my face.
I grip Kal’s fur and climb onto his back. He grunts, lowering himself to the ground to let me on. “Run,” I whisper.
He takes off, his massive form bounding across the snow. I hold on tight, snow whipping at my cheeks as the bear races forward. Behind us, the wolves yip as the witch shouts.
Crack.
The ground beneath Kal’s feet rumbles and shakes; I feel it through his body. Deep thunder echoes off the trees. I know this sound like I know the beating of my own heart. “Oh gods, no—”
We’re not on a frozen tundra. This is a frozenlakeand Lumi is breaking the ice with her magic staff.
“You’re mine, Väinämöinen,” the witch screams. “Show yourself, coward! Save them if you dare!” All around us, the wolves howl, circling closer, tightening their trap.
I lean over to whisper in Kal’s ear. “Keep running. We can make it.”
But the bear grunts, shrugging his shoulders as if he wants me to get off.
“Kal, no—”
He rises up on his hind legs, and I shriek, falling backwards into the snow. I roll to my feet, hands outstretched towards him. “Kal, come on.”
He drops back down and gives me a push with his snout, urging me to keep moving.
“I can’t find him without you. Kal,please—”
He shoves me once more. Spinning around, he stands up on his back feet. With a mighty roar, he slams his paws down on the ice.
I gasp, feeling it weaken under me. A deep rumble echoes across the ice. “Kal, don’t—”
The bear turns his head, his eyes now glowing blue-white, lit from within by a magic that gives him impossible strength. The same light shines from his open mouth. The look on his face is clear.
Run.
He turns away from me and pushes up onto his hind feet again. He towers in the mist, twice as tall as any man. With another roar, he slams his front feet down onto the ice until it splits. From deep in the fog, a wolf yelps, followed by a splash.
I scramble to my feet, inching away from the crack. Kal tries to balance with his front and back paws on different floes, his heavy weight tipping them. His eyes still glow with magic as a wolf leaps from the swirling mist onto his back. Kal roars, twisting around to dislodge it. He and the wolf both cry out in panic, their claws scratching the ice as it tips.
“No!” I scramble backwards, too afraid to stand.
“Take them alive,” the witch shrieks. “I need that bear alive, you fools!”
