The Mist Children

by E. C. Hibbs

  You’re already amazing, Tuomas said. I can sense how much power you have.

  That’s because my Mama is touched by the Great Bear Spirit, Aki said proudly. Did you know that?

  I did, smiled Tuomas.

  And then when I was sleeping in her tummy, she gave the power to me as well! Aki clapped his hands gleefully. Are you going to carry on teaching me, Mama? Is that why you’ve come? Can we make a shockwave? Or can you tell me a story? Tell me about the mage who skinned people to wear them like a coat! No… no, the one about the Great Mage who came down from the sky!

  A lump rose in Tuomas’s throat. Lumi had been right. He was truly just a child.

  I need to ask you a question first, baby, Lilja said carefully. Did you send… something… out to the other children?

  Aki squirmed. Am I in trouble?

  No, no, she said. I just need you to tell me, alright?

  Aki clasped his ears, as though trying to tear them from his head. They don’t want me to tell you.

  Who, baby?

  Neither of them had to guess what he meant, but Tuomas realised what Lilja was doing. She needed to know about the draugars from his own lips.

  They say I’ll be in trouble if I tell you, said Aki, still pulling at his ears.

  No, you won’t, Lilja insisted. I’m your Mama, I’m the only one who can say you’re in trouble, aren’t I?

  Yes…

  So, tell me. Come on. It will be alright.

  Aki sank down onto his knees and crawled towards them. The movement was hampered by his baggy coat, which hid his torso, making him look like the floating head which had appeared in the channel. The sight sent a shiver of alarm through Tuomas before he could stop it.

  Aki glanced at him. Why is he scared of me, Mama?

  Where their bodies sat on the beach, Lilja dug her elbow into Tuomas’s side.

  I’m not, he said quickly. I promise, Aki. I’m not scared of you. Are you going to be a good boy and tell us what happened?

  Aki stopped crawling and dropped himself onto his backside. The shimmering Nordjarvi framed him like a halo.

  I’m lonely, he said sadly. I’m so lonely, Mama! They said they were my friends, but they weren’t, not really! They said they loved me because I was going to be the best mage ever, and that if I went with them, I’d be even better, but then they pulled me into the hole, and I tried to come back, and…

  He broke off and started to cry. Water spilled out of his mouth.

  Tuomas felt Lilja trembling beside him. She had been bracing herself to have to hear that last part, when she’d thrust a burning torch into his face. For her sake, he was relieved it hadn’t come.

  But what did you want? he asked. Why did you make the other children sick?

  I was lonely! Aki yelled. I never had any friends with Mama and Uncle Kari, and it was my birthday! I wanted friends! And they said they could get me some; I just needed to give them my power, and they would bring more friends than I could ever play with!

  He covered his face with his hands and wept so loudly, his voice echoed all around.

  They took me, Mama! They wouldn’t let me come back to you, and now they’re making me do bad things! They just wanted my power, so they could take people away and eat them up! I couldn’t stop them! And then, when that man in the boat cut me, they pulled him down too because they can’t do it without me!

  He snivelled pitifully. I’m sorry, Mama. I love you. I love Uncle Kari too. I just wanted friends...

  Lilja whimpered. Tuomas moved closer to her and pressed his taika against hers in comfort. He could tell she wanted nothing more than to run to Aki and enfold him in her arms, but the trance held her back. There was nothing physical here; nothing to hold.

  See? You didn’t kill him, he whispered. They’re just using him.

  He’s still my little boy, she cried. Aki? It’s alright. I’m not angry with you at all. Thank you for telling me the truth. Now, I need you to tell me one more thing. How do we get you away from them?

  Aki kept his face buried in his sleeve. I want to come home!

  I know. We’ll get you home. You just need to tell us how we can do that.

  Aki wiped his tears on his coat and looked up.

  Tuomas jumped. His eyes had turned completely white.

  Aki? Lilja said carefully. Baby, it’s alright, I’m here. Stay with me.

  But Aki shook his head. The movement was juddering and unnatural, like he was using muscles atrophied from years of lying under the ice. Mist started to creep around his ankles.

  I can’t, he said, water dribbling down his front.

  Aki, Lilja said again, I know you can hear me. Listen to me. We’re going to work this out. We will get you away…

  They say I belong with them, Aki rasped. They say I’m their best mage, they are my friends, and they have brought me new friends… I belong down there, with them, they say.

  No, you don’t! Lilja cried, unable to keep the panic out of her voice. You belong with me!

  They won’t let me come home…

  Aki twisted around to peer towards the sky, but his eyes rolled in his head and Tuomas wasn’t sure if he could see anymore. The air became thick. It reminded Tuomas of the night he and Lilja had gone to the Nordjarvi, and he’d sensed something terribly wrong.

  Aki, what have the draugars done with the souls? he asked, trying a different tack. There’s nine of them. Niko, Inga, Eevi, Paavo…

  They’re down here, said Aki. With every word, his voice grew more distorted. Down here, with me. With us. They will always be with us.

  He shuddered. They’re saying you’re trying to take me away. And the souls… you’ll take them away, too. But the souls belong to them. I belong to them. So do all the other mages… Elvind, Joni, Annika, Runa… We belong to them.

  Lilja reached towards him. No, no, baby. Don’t listen. We’re going to help you.

  Aki snapped his head back so he was looking straight at Tuomas.

  You will belong to them, he said, Son of the Sun.

  Behind him, the Nordjarvi exploded. Mist flew into the sky; Draugars snatched Aki by the legs and dragged him through the hole in the ice. Lilja screamed and tried to grab him, but he was gone before she could even touch his fingers.

  Tuomas struck his drum as hard as he could. The note sent out a shockwave, flinging the creatures away, and at the same time slammed him back down into his body. He felt Lilja land next to him, breathless, crying in horror.

  Then Tuomas opened his eyes, and saw why.

  They were on the beach again, side by side as they had been before, the fire burning at their feet. But the draugars were still there, leering out of the dark sea, teeth bared, and coming straight towards them.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Tuomas screamed. The draugars lunged forward from the misty water, webby hands outstretched. He flung his arms up in an attempt to shield his face.

  But nothing happened.

  He peered over his elbow tentatively, and let out a gasp of relief. The circle he and Lilja had cast was still in place. The draugars had all stopped outside it, snapping angrily at the air, their long nails raking against it. They were only a few feet away, but Tuomas had never been so happy to have laid down a barrier in his life.

  “We’ve got to get out of this,” Lilja muttered as the draugars surrounded them. The creatures swept over the top of the dome until the two of them were completely encased by slippery bodies.

  Tuomas eyed the tiny area of exposed shingle left between them and the edge of the circle.

  “How long will it hold?” he asked.

  “Not long enough. Maybe if we make a shockwave…”

  The draugar nearest to Tuomas leered at him, pulling its bloated lips right back to expose rows of crooked teeth. He stared through the thin shell of air. It suddenly stopped snapping and looked straight at him. Its red eyes shone, as though hot embers were burning behind them.

  Son of the Sun, it snarled inside his head.

/>   Tuomas recoiled in fright. It started clawing again, water dripping from its mouth like a rabid animal. Panic flared through him and he kicked out at it – and broke the circle.

  The draugars immediately swarmed both of them. Wet hands seized their limbs and tugged at their hair. Tuomas tried to throw them off but they quickly overpowered him.

  “Stupid boy!” Lilja shouted.

  “I’m sorry! I didn’t think!” he cried.

  The mist forced itself down his throat and made him retch. He could taste the undercurrent of Aki’s magic, but now it was drowned out by the smell of rotting flesh; the pull of complete nothingness from the void between Worlds.

  The breath was forced from his lungs as one of the draugars straddled him. It ripped his drum away and threw it aside.

  Taika! it grinned horribly, then tore his tunic down the middle, exposing the pink scar on his breastbone. He threw a punch, but the draugar snatched his wrists and pinned them above his head with one hand.

  “No!” he screamed.

  Lilja managed to get an arm free and pulled a knife from her belt. She swung at the draugar and managed to gouge its leg, but another pounced on her and she was quickly restrained again. The one on top of Tuomas barely reacted to the wound. It drew itself over him until its hollow nose socket was inches from his face. Its nails appeared on his skin.

  Taika, he heard it whispering. Taika, so much taika! Give it to us! Come with us!

  He screamed again. The creature above him had transformed into Kari, coming in for the kill…

  An arrow shot over his head.

  The draugar on his chest flew backwards with an awful screech. Before Tuomas could even look to see what had happened, someone leapt onto the shingle beside him, swinging a bow around like a club, and smacked the rest of the creatures away.

  Tuomas could hardly believe his eyes.

  It was Elin. He would recognise that long black braid anywhere.

  She wrenched another arrow from a quiver on her back, nocked it and shot it between the shoulder blades of the draugar atop Lilja. It collapsed, lifeless. Taking advantage of the confusion, Lilja kicked the others off and grabbed her drum. Tuomas did the same and they both slammed the hammers down. A shockwave blew and sent the draugars cartwheeling back towards the water.

  Elin bent double as the blast hit her, just managing to stay on her feet. She started staggering towards Tuomas, but the adrenaline flooded out of her and she crashed to her knees. She dropped her bow and coughed, spraying the shingle with blood.

  “What are you doing here?” Lilja asked, too stunned to move.

  “I’m sorry,” Elin spluttered. “I followed you…”

  The draugars hesitated at the shore, then suddenly spun around and headed straight for Elin. They snatched handfuls of her clothes, held her arms behind her back, and dragged her into the sea.

  Tuomas bolted after her, but the draugars were too quick for him. A wave closed over Elin’s head, and in a heartbeat, all of them were gone.

  Tuomas flung his drum aside and went to jump into the water, but a single beat rang out and his feet stopped still. His legs snapped together and he toppled onto his front.

  “Lilja, let me go!” he roared.

  “No, it’s a trap! If you go after her, they’ll take you, too!”

  “Let go!”

  He thrashed about and tried to crawl forwards with his hands, but Lilja hit her drum again to restrain him even harder. Pressure crashed down on his arms and left him as immobile as a fish caught in a net.

  “Elin!” he shouted. No answer came except the crackle of the fire and the rhythmic hiss of waves on stones.

  After several dreadful seconds, Lilja lifted her hammer from the drumskin. The pressure around Tuomas’s body instantly vanished. He lay there trembling, too shaken to even cry.

  “How could you do that?” he breathed. “I could have reached her!”

  “And they would have reached you,” she replied carefully as she knelt beside him. “I couldn’t let that happen.”

  “You chose me over her?” Tuomas cried.

  Lilja looked straight at him, her eyes rimmed with tears.

  “I’ve already lost someone to those monsters. I will not lose another. And certainly not the Son of the Sun.”

  Anger rose inside Tuomas like a bubbling spring.

  “There it is,” he snarled. “Save the Son of the Sun. The special one. The Spirit in human form. That’s all I am, isn’t it? Of course, you could afford to lose Elin, but not me! Nobody else is important or worth saving, are they?”

  Lilja gasped as though he had slapped her. Then her brows shot down and she hauled him to his feet. She held him by the front of his tunic and thrust her face forward.

  “How dare you,” she hissed. “I sacrificed everything for that girl and her family. But yes, Tuomas, this time I chose you!”

  She threw him away so hard, he fell over again. Then she stormed to the back of the beach and tried to control her sobs.

  Guilt twisted Tuomas’s gut. He knew he’d hurt her, but he couldn’t bring himself to apologise. His own pain was too overwhelming. It turned his muscles into stone and his bones felt as brittle as twigs. He wanted to crumble under the weight of himself, but his body betrayed him, trapping him in one single form.

  He slammed his fist on the shingle. Grit flew in all directions. He kept hitting until his wrist hurt and beads of blood laced his knuckles.

  He noticed Elin’s bow nearby, the ground red from her own blood. He picked it up and all the fight drained from him, leaving only hollowness. He stared at the curved ash limbs in disbelief.

  She had been so worried about him, she had followed, despite how weak she was? Had she been crouching in the bushes behind the beach the whole time? What had she heard?

  Time seemed to slow down. He heard the clamour of approaching voices and feet, and when he turned around, he noticed a crowd of people spilling out of the trees. Many were panting; they must have come running when they heard the commotion. Every face was a knot of fright.

  Enska quickly took in the scene and ran to Lilja. She fell into her father’s arms with a whimper. She pressed her face against his shoulder, tears streaming down her cheeks, then her eyes flickered to Sigurd. He and Alda had seen the bloody shingle.

  “Where’s Elin?” Alda cried. “She wasn’t in the hut… why’s her bow here?”

  Sigurd stumbled towards Tuomas and snatched the bow out of his hands.

  “What were you doing?” he demanded. “You didn’t take her with you, did you?”

  Tuomas shook his head.

  “Did she come after you?” Sigurd pressed. “Where is she? Tuomas, answer me!”

  Lilja pulled herself free from Enska’s grasp and quickly wiped her tears away so Sigurd wouldn’t see them.

  “The draugars were here. They took her. Like Sisu.”

  Sigurd stared at her. The moment hung between them, drawn out into eternity.

  Alda let out a terrible cry and her legs crumpled beneath her. Sigurd flew to her side. Lilja watched in silence, her expression completely broken.

  In the crowd, those from Einfjall covered their mouths; some began to cry. Their neighbours pulled them close to comfort them, making the sign of the hand, turning away from the evil still hanging in the air. At the front, Aino staggered forward and grabbed hold of Tuomas. Her eyes blazed with tears.

  “What happened?” she demanded. “What were they doing here? Did you summon them?”

  “No,” Tuomas said tersely. “I tried to stop them…”

  A log tumbled in the fire and sent sparks shooting into the night.

  Enska took off his coat and wrapped it around Lilja’s shoulders. The sudden weight made her stumble; she fell forward onto her hands and knees with a cry. She clutched her drum close. Through her trembling fingers, Tuomas saw the painted image of Aki on the lake.

  “What can we do?” Sigurd asked frantically. “We have to do something!”

  Aino loo
ked over Tuomas’s shoulder at the sea.

  “Was she still alive? We could go after her, get her back?”

  Tuomas suddenly froze. His mind raced; a thousand thoughts tumbled over each other. In an instant, he saw all the wary looks thrown his way; felt Lilja’s restraint around his legs; heard Mihka’s accusing words mix with Alda’s cries. He remembered the avalanche and the night he had held his hand in the flames as easily as if it were water.

  His rage returned, stronger than ever, until it felt as though an inferno was roaring throughout his entire body. He glanced at the fire and an idea sparked like a lightning strike.

  The Great Bear had said that the Earth Spirits would help him draw the draugars out so they could be trapped. But before that, could he manage to bring back those who had been taken?

  He wriggled out of Aino’s arms and picked up his antler hammer.

  Lilja spun around to look at him.

  “What are you doing?”

  Before anyone could react, Tuomas grabbed his drum, beat it furiously and ran towards the fire. There was no fear, no trace of it at all. Determination and anger coursed in his blood. His taika swelled around him, denser and more powerful than he had felt in weeks.

  Lilja leapt to her feet and bolted after him.

  “Stop!” she shouted. “Where are you going?”

  He ignored her. He couldn’t tell her – she would follow him. He filled his head with thoughts of a single huge mountain; a cluster of turfed huts; Elin’s face when he had first met her. Then he screwed his eyes shut and leapt into the flames.

  They surrounded him and swept him away. The heat pulled him apart and pushed him back together again. He spun and twisted around himself, hanging in empty air, sparks and ashes flying into his hair and down his neck like snowflakes. Then he took another step forward and his shoes met solid rock.

  He swept the embers off his clothes and looked around. It had worked. He was no longer on Anaar. He was standing in the central fire pit at Einfjall.