Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 125422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
“We found you,” she cries into me. “Oh Gods, I had hoped you were alright.” She pulls away and that’s when I notice how beat up and broken she looks, one shoulder bandaged and soaked with blood. “We were coming to get you.”
Vellamo, Tellervo, and others hover nearby, unsure but hopeful. We embrace, a huddle of worn gods reunited.
We have only a moment’s grace. The cavern feels too still, as if holding its breath, and there’s urgency in the air. I pull back to look at them, scanning faces. Everyone is thinner, more worn. They carry visible wounds and invisible scars. My father’s eyes flick past me. “How did you escape?”
“It wasn’t easy,” I admit. I look down at Rauta who wags his tail proudly. “I had help.”
My father gives his dog a proud smile before his grin fades. “And Sarvi?” he asks, fragile hope in his tone.
I shake my head. “My mother…she took both our horns for her magic. To unleash the saints and conjure Rangaista.”
“Shhhhh,” Tellervo says, a finger to her mouth, looking around warily. “Don’t utter that name here.”
“Why not?” Hanna asks. Her tone sounds strange and I notice her hair is lighter, her eyes burning like liquid metal. What the hell happened to her?
“Because we’re too close to Shadow’s End,” Tellervo says, whispering frantically. “Can’t you feel it? We should leave this place.”
I frown at her. “Where is Tapio and the rest of your family? I know you left Shadow’s End in the middle of the night before Louhi could get to you. I hoped you all…”
I trail off. Her eyes brim with tears and when I look at everyone else, they look equally haunted.
“What happened to them?” I ask quietly.
“Slaughtered by the Old Gods,” my father says, his teeth grinding together.
“Fuck,” I gasp, feeling sick with sorrow. “Was it—?”
“Not the one we shouldn’t speak of,” he says quickly, then nods at Tellervo. “You’re right, we shouldn’t say his name. Not here, under the ground from which the Old Gods used to slumber.” He eyes me up and down. “Where did you come from, anyway?”
I jerk my head back. “Vipunen. He kept me confined to his cave for who knows how long. I wanted to go back to rescue Sarvi, or come and find you but he told me I should stay. So I did until I couldn’t take it anymore.”
His eyes brighten. “So Sarvi is alive.”
“As far as I know. Captured by her. Used for her own gain. But we’ll get them back.”
My father puts his hand on my shoulder. “That we will.” He looks over the rest of the troops who stare at him as if waiting their next command. Who are these humans and where did they come from? I have so many questions.
“Alright,” my father says to the crowd. “We move forward and—”
Before he can finish, Rauta growls.
We freeze before a sudden commotion makes us all jerk upward. The hole in the cavern’s roof darkens, shadows twisting through it. A foul stench fills the air, followed by a mounting pressure that makes my ears pop. There’s something familiar about the smell and with horror I realize why I recognize it.
“It’s him,” I whisper in horror. “It’s him.”
“Enemy incoming!” my father yells, thrusting his sword into the air. “Hold the line!”
Soldiers scramble, raising swords and spears. The Magician, whom I’ve never seen away from the City of Death, steps forward, hands raised, face a void. Hanna clenches her fists until they burst into flames—most unexpected—while Lovia gets into a fighting stance and readies her blade.
Something massive and malevolent appears at the lip of the hole above, peering down into our sanctuary with glowing crimson eyes. It’s the hulking outline and monstrous silhouette of none other than Rangaista.
So we meet at last.
A hiss, low and dreadful, reverberates through the cavern, filling it with the terrible smell that makes everyone cough, fragments of rock raining down. Rangaista’s burning eyes fix on us. Time slows. I see Hanna move closer to my father, Lovia stepping protectively near Torben and Tellervo. Vellamo’s hand tenses on her spear. The Magician’s stance shifts, readying some sort of magic. Soldiers form ranks despite the shock. Fear crackles in the air.
The demon’s presence sends waves of unease washing through me. I realize I left Vipunen’s cave because I couldn’t stand waiting. Now we’re trapped here under the gaze of this monstrous being. The irony isn’t lost on me. Vipunen warned about deviations leading to unpredictable outcomes. If I hadn’t left…would this confrontation be happening differently? It’s too late to question it now. We’ve been dealt these cards and now we have to play them.
Rauta snarls, hackles raised. I rest a calming hand on the dog’s back, though I can’t calm myself. My father’s grip on his sword is white-knuckled, his jaw set. Lovia stands tall, shoulders squared, no hesitation in her stance. I quickly pick up my sword and hold it firmly in my grip, adrenaline spiking through me.