30

Siiri

I sit across the fire from V?in?moinen as he puffs on his pipe. “Tell me what happened,” I repeat. “What did the Witch Queen do to you?”

He breathes out a cloud of smoke, filling the hut with the smell of sweet grass and raspberries. “It’s true, I was immortal once. But then I crossed into Tuonela.”

“And crossing into Tuonela drained your immortality?” Dread sinks into my chest. If the journey could take so much from one as strong as him, what might it take from me?

“No, it wasn’t the crossing that did me in,” he explains. “It was the Witch Queen. Tuonetar cursed me. Her wretched curse changed my immortality.”

“Changed it? How?”

Leaning away, he taps the burning leaf inside his pipe out onto the hearthstone. With a sweep of his tattooed hand, he scatters the smoldering ashes. “She’s a devious witch, Siiri, not one to be crossed. She was furious at me for sneaking into her realm.”

“I’ve heard this story,” I whisper. “You went to find Antero Vipunen, the great giant.”

He nods. “Yes, Vipunen was a shaman... and my friend. He was powerful. When he died, he took his wisdom with him to Tuonela. They buried him there, body and soul. I had no choice, Siiri. I had to find him. I had to retrieve the lost spells he carried into death.”

“The stories say you found him.”

He nods again. “I did... but not before the death gods found me first. Siiri, I learned more than I wanted.” He looks at me across the fire.

“I saw death with new eyes. I thwarted the Witch Queen’s attempts to detain me. I found Vipunen. He was almost too far gone. It took all my cunning to wrest the lost spells from him. And then, I’m afraid, I did something reckless.”

I lean forward, elbows on the table. “What did you do?”

He holds my gaze, the flames dancing in his eyes. “I stole something from the Witch Queen. I took it right out from under her nose. Then, I escaped like a thief in the night.

“Oh, she tried her hardest to stop me. In the end, I had to transform myself into a slippery snake and wriggle my way through her nets. But I made it. I returned to life.”

“What did you take?” I whisper, unable to keep my eyes from darting looks around the hut in search of some magic sword or amulet.

Before the shaman can reply, a thundering roar echoes across the clearing outside.

“Was that—”

“Shhh. Wait.”

We sit quiet, unmoving. Our gazes lock as we wait to hear it again. I silently pray, hoping beyond hope that my senses didn’t deceive me. The shaman heard it too. Surely that must mean...

A second roar, weaker this time.

“It’s Kal,” I cry, leaping to my feet.

V?in?moinen taps out his pipe on the hearthstone. “I think your bear is back. Now we shall see who hides inside.”

We collect our boots and coats from around the hut.

He grunts as I reach for the door, pulling me back. “You’re waiting here.”

“Not a chance.” I plop his large fur hat on my own head.

“Siiri, I can’t protect you and fight the v?ki at the same time—”

“I don’t need your protection. I told you, Kal’s my friend.”

He grabs his axe. “Don’t be a fool. At best, the v?ki is using you to get to me. At worst, that bear is injured, and the v?ki now searches for a new vessel. What better vessel than a girl with more strength than sense?”

“I’m going.”

“You’ll get yourself killed.”

“Then I’ll get to Tuonela either way. Now move , old man.” I jerk open the door, buffeted by a burst of frigid winter air. I hurry out into the dark, my feet crunching in the deep snow.

“Siiri—godsdamn it—wait!” V?in?moinen calls after me, slamming the door shut.

Snow falls light and quiet. From the shadowy woods at the other end of the clearing, the massive form of the bear emerges. When he spots me, Kal lets out another weak cry. V?in?moinen steps in front of me, holding his axe in both hands.

Kal stumbles forward across the snow, his gait slow. Behind him, the snow is dark, stained with his blood.

“He’s hurt,” I cry, trying to dart around the shaman.

One tattooed hand clamps down on my shoulder. “Stay.”

I wrestle against his grip. “Let me go—”

“Wait.” His eyes are locked on the bear as Kal weaves his way across the clearing. In the barn beyond the hut, the dogs yip, desperate to be set loose. They scratch at the wood of the door, growling and barking in alarm. As we watch, Kal takes one more lumbering step. He grunts, falling into the snow.

“Kal!” I jerk free of V?in?moinen and rush forward, falling to my knees at the bear’s side.

“Be careful, Siiri.”

I inspect Kal’s injuries, and tears fill my eyes. “Oh no,” I murmur. They look bad. The wolves have torn his flesh, nearly opening his side with their sharp teeth. The muscles are shredded so deeply, I can see bone. There are similar wounds at his scruff and along his haunch.

“How did he ever make it to me?”

“Magic,” says the shaman, now standing at my side. “This bear should have been dead days ago. Whatever possesses him is powerful indeed.”

I place both hands on the rough fur of Kal’s shoulder. “You have to help him, V?in?moinen. Please . Save him.”

The shaman crouches down. “It will be easier to extract the soul within if we let the bear die—”

“Let this bear die, and I’ll kill you. Otso hear me, you will save him.”

He huffs. “Call on Otso all you want, girl. That scoundrel still owes me for all the times I pulled his feet from the flames of trouble.”

I feel Kal’s labored breathing slow. “Please, help him.”

With a muttered curse, V?in?moinen drops to his knees at my side, his axe falling into the snow. Reaching out with his weathered hands, he inspects the bear’s wounds. “He knocks at death’s door,” he surmises with a grim frown.

“Surely there must be something you can do. You mentioned a healing song, before. You must know dozens of those. Try one now.”

He shakes his head, his beard and hair dusted with falling snow. “No, he’s too far gone.”

“ Look at him! Look how he still breathes. He’s alive, V?in?moinen. How can you act as though he’s already dead?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t—”

“Don’t give up so easily. Please , V?in?moinen, where is your heart?”

With a grunt, he grabs me by the shoulder, pulling me back. “Gods, fine. Out of the way, girl. Stand back, or I’ll open him up with my axe here and now.”

I scramble to my feet, taking two steps back.

“This is madness.” The shaman’s hands do a walking dance over the bear’s form, his fingers tapping the shredded sinew and flexing over the exposed bone. “Utter madness. Doesn’t understand the complexities of healing magic...”

“Just try. I owe him that much.”

“Yes, but I owe him nothing. And this will cost me more than you know.”

I wait, watching the shaman work. In moments, his shoulders go still, his hands splayed over the bear’s motionless form.

“Do not stop me once I’ve started,” he intones, his voice somehow deeper, laced with a power that has me trembling more than the winter cold.

“I won’t.”

“Take up my axe,” he adds without turning around. “If anything comes out of this bear, kill it. Do you understand? If anything pulls me into the bear, run. Back to the hut, and bar the door.”

Dropping to one knee, I pick up the shaman’s axe, my cold fingers wrapping around the worn wooden shaft. “I’m ready.”

The shaman places his hands directly on the worst of the bear’s wounds and begins to sway from his shoulders. A low hum emanates from deep in his chest. The sound builds, flowing out of him like water from a spring. As V?in?moinen’s hands move, the song changes. Words chime out, ringing with magic, their power filling the air.

The fine hairs on my arms prickle under my coat. My breath catches in my chest as I inch around the shaman’s back, stepping closer to Kal’s head. A blue-white light glows in the shaman’s eyes. He’s lost in the trance of his song as his hands move in their dance.

In moments, his palms, too, begin to glow, as he pushes his healing magic out through his hands into the bear. The light curls in wisps and smoky tendrils, seeking entry into Kal through his many wounds. A tear slips down my cheek as the muscles and sinew stitch themselves back together with threads of blue-white light.

V?in?moinen’s song grows louder. The dogs in the barn fall silent. Nothing moves. Even the snow seems to wait as the shaman’s haunting music fills the air. At the first sign of the bear stirring, the song stops. Kal lifts his head with a soft grunt. Then he blinks his eyes open, eyes that glow with the same light reflected in V?in?moinen. “Oh...” the shaman says. The light fades from his eyes with a blink, and his crystalline blue gaze is now cloudy with tears. “All this time, you were with her?”

“Is Kal all right?” I whisper, looking from the shaman to the bear.

V?in?moinen leans forward, brushing the soft fur of the bear’s cheek with a shaking hand. “Old friend... it took you long enough to find me again.”

“You know who’s inside?”

“Oh yes, I know him as well as I know myself.”

“Who is it?”

V?in?moinen lets out a barking laugh. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

I huff, offering him his axe. “I’m weary with wondering. Please, just tell me.”

He gets to his feet with a tired groan, taking the axe. “Oh, we can do much better than that. I will show you.”

My heart skips with relief as Kal stands up too, weak and heavily scarred, but alive. “You can extract the soul with Kal still alive?”

“It’s easy now that I know he wants to come out. You do want to come, right?” he adds at the bear. Kal heaves an irritated grunt. V?in?moinen chuckles, tucking his axe into his belt. “Right, then. Siiri, would you like to meet the crafty scoundrel who led you north on an impossible quest to find the greatest hero of the ages?”

“Just work your magic, old man,” I say excitedly.

“Do you see what I’ve had to put up with?” he says to the bear, jabbing a thumb my direction. “How you didn’t leave her beneath the ice, I’ll never know.”

I smile despite myself at Kal’s indignant growl. “He seems to like me more than you do.”

“He’s always had terrible taste in women,” the shaman replies. Turning his back to me, he faces the bear directly. “Up you get then. You’ve been trapped in there for long enough.”

I take a step back as Kal pushes off the ground with his massive front paws. He brings himself to his full height, towering over me and the shaman.

“This shouldn’t hurt him,” V?in?moinen says. “Either of them. But it may be a bit unpleasant to watch.”

“What are you going to— argh —” I cry out, falling on my backside into the snow. One arm covers my eyes as white light blasts from V?in?moinen’s glowing hands and slams into the bear’s massive chest. Kal is tossed backwards, landing in a heap in the snow.

“What did you do? If you hurt him—”

“Wait,” the shaman rasps. He looks like he’s aged a hundred more years. The magic clearly took its toll on him. If Lumi came out of the woods now, she could knock him down as easily as plucking a tulip by the root.

I offer him my arm for support. “Are you well? Can I fetch you some water or—”

“Just wait . Watch. He’s coming out now.”

Holding the tired shaman up with both hands, I turn to look. The bear stirs, but Kal doesn’t rise. Something rises from him—a man, dressed head to toe in trapper’s furs. He appears solid in form, and yet he stands inside the bear. The trapper lifts his hands, inspecting them in the moonlight, as if surprised to see that they’re truly his.

V?in?moinen’s hand on my arm tightens as he chokes back a sob. “Come on out, you old fool.”

Slowly, the trapper steps fully out of the bear.

I gasp, taking in his bearded face, the lines creasing the corners of his eyes, already so well known to me.

“Good to see you again,” he calls. “You look like death, old man.”

“You’ve kept me waiting so long,” V?in?moinen replies. “Come.” He holds out a trembling hand. “Come to me now.”

The other V?in?moinen walks on swift feet, glancing from the shaman to me. Holding my gaze, he smiles. “Hello again, Siiri.”

“If you’re V?in?moinen,” I say to the shaman to my right, “Then who is this?”

“I’m V?in?moinen,” the bear spirit replies.

I blink, trying to puzzle this together. It makes my head hurt. “I don’t understand.”

“We don’t often understand it ourselves,” Bear V?in?moinen says with a smile. “Soul magic is so old, it’s all but forgotten. We’ve never claimed to know how all of it works.”

“Hence, how we found ourselves in this little conundrum.” My V?in?moinen gestures between them.

“How shall we do this?” says Bear V?in?moinen. “It’s too late to recall me in the usual way.”

“I tried that for years, and you never returned,” V?in-?moinen replies with a scowl.

“I couldn’t hear you, old friend.”

“I’ve been alone for so long. I had all but given up hope.”

“There is always hope,” Bear V?in?moinen replies. “We made sure of that. Whatever else comes our way, hope will remain.”

V?in?moinen offers a tattooed hand. “No more waiting. Take my hand. We will be one again.”

Bear V?in?moinen nods, stepping forward. The moment they touch, the same blue-white light bursts from their joined hands. I’m rocked off my feet again, landing in the snow several feet back. I squint into the blinding light as the two V?in?moinens become one.

As soon as it begins, it’s over. I wince, blinking in the dark and shading my eyes from the afterimage, to find only one V?in?moinen standing before me. He takes deep breaths, his eyes still glowing as he pats his arms, his chest. He flexes the strong, tattooed fingers of his hands.

I scramble back onto my feet. “V?in?moinen?” I venture.

An incandescent smile lights his face. He’s looking at me with new eyes. Gone are his suspicion and resentment. Gone are his anger and frustration. The haunted look I’ve seen him wear so often is replaced with something softer. Now, I see love. It overflows from him. Protection. Contentment. Pride.

“Siiri.” He says my name like a song. Stepping forward, he wraps me in a tight embrace, laughing and crying. I don’t understand, but I let him hold me until he’s ready to break away.

I take in the set of his shoulders, the faint glowing light in his eyes. “Are you—you’re you again? You’re whole?”

He nods, still smiling. “I am whole, thank Ilmatar.”

A grunt behind him has us both turning. Across the snow, the bear is stirring.

“Kal—”

“Siiri, no.” The shaman holds tight to my wrist. “You need to leave him now.”

“But he might still be hurt,” I protest.

“He’s fine. He is only a bear now. He’ll be scared and confused. We have to let him go.”

Kal takes deep, panting breaths, taking in his surroundings. He looks at us. The light in his eyes is gone. He’s just a bear.

Reaching for the knife at his belt, V?in?moinen cuts his palm, squeezing a few drops of his blood onto the snow. “Otso, brother of the forest, I thank you for your shared fellowship these long months. I return your servant to you. Go in peace, friend.”

I hold out my hand, and he drags the blade across my palm too. I wince, squeezing a few drops of my own blood to the snow. “Thank you for seeing me safely to V?in?moinen.”

The bear grunts. Far off in the distance, a pair of wolves howl. Turning, the bear trots off, disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

“Lumi is coming,” I whisper, listening to the wolves. “V?in?moinen, we’re running out of time.”

“I know,” he replies, sheathing his knife at his hip. “Kal was a vessel used by Lumi to keep my soul contained. She preferred to contend with an angry bear over an angry shaman.”

I bristle with anger at hearing her name. “What do you intend to do now?”

“We have little enough time,” he says, jerking open the door of his hut. “Lumi is on her way north. She’s recruiting wolves to fight for her as we speak. When she thinks she has the numbers, she’ll come for me.”

“How do you know?”

“I saw her,” he replies. “As the bear, I heard her plans. She won’t come until she’s sure of her victory. We have only days now.”

I follow him into the warmth of the hut. “But—why does she want to find you so badly? Is this to do with your curse?”

“Yes. Fetch me that drum.”

I grab the painted drum while he settles himself at his low worktable. “What happened to you? What did you take from Tuonetar, and why do so many people now want you dead?”

He sighs, taking up the drum I offer him. “That’s just the thing. I can’t die, Siiri.”

I let myself fall into the pile of furs on the other side of the table. “What?”

“I can’t die,” he repeats. “That’s my wretched curse.”

I search his face. “I don’t understand.”

“I can only be killed,” he continues. “And whoever kills me will claim my magic.”