Page 32 of Goddess of Light
“That is the idea,” she says carefully.
“You sound unsure,” Tapio says.
“Because there is a risk to all of this, of course,” she says. “And frankly, I didn’t think Hanna was ready. I’m willing to be proven wrong, of course. I want to be proven wrong.”
“What’s the risk?” Tellervo asks.
“Losing her humanity,” Vellamo says. “To gain the powers of a God, there is a tradeoff. I fear Hanna might not remember exactly who she is after a taste of immortality.”
“So she’s immortal now?” Rasmus says. He’s practically whining, and that’s when I realize what his problem is: he’s jealous of her. That’s all this has ever been; perhaps it’s why he willingly kidnapped her to begin with all those months ago, why he was eager to turn against her and do his mother’s bidding. Hanna not only has their father’s love, but now, her mother is a bona fide Goddess.
“I don’t think she’s fully immortal,” Vellamo says. “But even so, I don’t know how her transformation will affect her humanity.”
“As long as it can help us,” Tapio says. “As long as she can help us get our revenge.”
Vellamo raises her chin, her eyes sparking with determination. “We’re going to get our revenge, with Hanna’s help or not. This is why I was heading towards north. I want to find the Keskelli and see if they will join our side. Do you happen to have influence on them, Tapio?”
“The Keskelli? I’ve never even encountered one. They are trolls, are they not? My connection is only to flora and fauna. Anything sentient or close to human is beyond my reach.”
“Then you’re heading in the right direction,” I tell Vellamo, brushing the snow off my shoulders. “The Keskelli are found outside the Star Swamp, and that’s where we’re headed anyway.”
“Why are you going there?” she asks.
“Because Castle Synti is the last place Louhi would think to find us. Besides, she’s taken over my home. It’s only fair I take over hers.”
“I see your logic,” she says. “It’s petty. I like it.” She places her sword in her other hand. “Lead the way, Daughter of Death.”
I nearly tell her she should be the one leading us, but from the steadfast gleam in her eyes, I swallow down my humility and fear and nod.
I start walking again, flanked by Vellamo, the Forest Gods behind us, then Rasmus and the Magician. We march for what seems like forever, past strands of forest, where Tapio communicates with the undead deer who tell us they haven’t seen any Old Gods ahead. We go through more thickets of bushes, stopping to snack on the plump, frozen berries to gain enough energy to continue. Rasmus seems to need the sustenance most of all, as the only one of us who is completelymortal. He might have my mother’s demon blood, but it doesn’t do him much good.
After that, we continue until the bushes fade to straggly sticks, their leaves, berries, and bark stripped by hungry reindeer, which we pass along with grouse and a curious fox or two, who poke their heads out of their burrow in the snow, and then after a while, it’s just the frozen void, a landscape of undulating snow and ice.
Until it abruptly ends at the top of a ridge that gently slopes down toward the Star Swamp.
“There she is,” I say under my breath. Before us is a frozen wasteland, a bog pockmarked with black holes. Usually, you can see the stars shining in them, similar to the Magician’s face, but they’ve been covered with snow. The only way you know the pools are there is because of the way they indent the landscape.
“Strange,” Vellamo says. “I’ve never seen them frozen over.”
She’s right. I haven’t seen them like this before either.
Rasmus sniffs the air. “There’s magic being used. I can smell it. There’s a spell keeping the pools frozen.”
“But why?” Tellervo asks.
“So we can cross safely,” the Magician tells us. “So others can’t fall into Oblivion.”
I glance at him, feeling hope for the first time. “You mean to tell me someone is trying to protect us?”
“Us, or perhaps just themselves,” he says with a shrug. “Either way, this is a good sign. Maybe we’ll find our allies at Castle Synti in the end.”
I stare at him for a moment, wishing I could read him better. There’s something about his way that makes me think there’s something wonderful ahead. I guess I’m just too cynical at this point to believe him.
I keep my hope in check. “Well, let’s hurry then before the magic gives out. Everyone, stay away from the pools, just in case. I don’t want to test the theory if we don’t have to.”
We hurry down the slope and then walk single file, picking our way between the pools, the bog mercifully hard beneath our feet. All of us feel the urgency now, the need to keep going as fast as we can, until, eventually, the icy façade of Castle Synti rises into view atop a small crest.
At first, I think the place is completely abandoned, but as we get closer, I see movement in the snow. As my eyes adjust, I realize I’m looking at people—hundreds of people, humans, dressed in puffy white-and-black uniforms.