Page 39 of Goddess of Light
A general raises his hand. “My lord, we could go back through the portal and rally more troops from the Upper World. Gather them here at Synti Castle?—”
I shake my head. “No,” I say firmly. “The portal would require a shaman to go with you, to ensure it is open for your return, and I can’t spare any of them. We have to make do with the troops we have. Besides, drawing too many soldiers here would give away our position. We must stay hidden if we expect to survive this, at least for now.”
I don’t add that any more mortals brought here would only compound my guilt at having dragged them into this mess against their will.
General Pekka, who has been studying a faded map of Tuonela in his hands, speaks up. “Shadow’s End is heavily fortified. Seems the only way in is through Death’s Passage. We might be sitting ducks.”
“It’s not the only way in. We can go by sea as well.”
“And there’s the underground cave system,” Lovia says. “There are access points all along the realm.”
“You’re correct,” I tell her. “But I would approach that with caution. It would be a terrible place to get stuck.”
I look around, hoping for more input, but all I see is uncertainty in their eyes and feel the pressure mounting behind my ribs. I wish I had all the answers.
“We must know their weaknesses,” Vellamo says. “Their strength is not just in soldiers, or the savagery of the Old Gods, but in twisted magic.”
“Ley lines,” Torben muses. “This world has them, as does the world above, right?”
“There are ley lines here,” I say slowly. “But to be honest, I’ve never paid them much attention. I know in the Upper World, they are conduits for magic, but here, everything is a conduit. They aren’t anything special.”
“Except Louhi knew where they were,” Rasmus says.
My gaze snaps to his, and I’m tempted to tell him to shut up.
“What do you mean?” Lovia asks.
“I meanLouhi knew where the ley lines were,” Rasmus says. “There’s a map here somewhere of them.” He looks around. “Or, I don’t know, she probably took it with her, but she said the ley lines were important. It’s where the Old Gods would rise from the ground.”
I narrow my eyes at him, not wanting to believe a word he’s saying.
“He’s right,” Ilmarinen says, his voice raw and barely audible. “Her magic opened the ley lines. They were a conduit she corrupted.”
“Okay, so Rasmus just proved his worth,” I say to the Magician. “Now can I kill him?”
General Pekka snorts. At least someone here thinks I’m funny, though I wasn’t really joking.
Torben nods thoughtfully. “Perhaps if we restore order to the ley lines, their monstrosities weaken.”
“I can forge a device, the sampo, to stabilize the ley lines,” Ilmarinen says. “If we combine that with the power of three shamans, we might be able to at least put the Old Gods back in their place.”
“And this device you speak of,” Lovia says, “how long would that take?”
“A week,” Ilmarinen says. “Perhaps.”
“We don’t have a week,” I practically growl. “We’ll be found out by then, and Louhi will bring her army to us. We won’t have the element of surprise.”
“Maybe I can do it,” Torben says.
“I was once a skilled blacksmith before I was brought to this wretched land,” Ilmarinen tells him. “No offense, but you don’t have what it takes to forge the sampo. I would be quicker, but my strength has been drained along with my magic.”
“Let’s call this plan B, then,” I say. “If you can get it done sooner, then great.” I look to everyone else. “What else do we got in terms of ideas?”
“When we attack, I can redirect the waterways, flood certain valleys,” Vellamo says. “If we channel them into narrow routes, our enemies may be forced into traps.”
“Skeletons don’t drown,” Lovia points out.
“No,” Vellamo says patiently, “but where water goes, so do my serpents. They will tear them all apart.”