And shamanism is a form of magic. Does that mean—no, I’m not even going to consider it. It’ll only set me up for even greater disappointment and humiliation.

“Think you can do it again?” Toivo asks.

I survey the surrounding trees. The eyes are staring at me again, but not in a threatening way, more like they’re waiting for something. Waiting for me.

Magic or not, I can do this. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly before finding the words.

“Thank you,” I say, switching to Finnish again. “Thank you for leading me to them, but now we really need your help to protect the hiisi and the Sampo. Can you help us again?”

The forest remains quiet. The snow has stopped falling and the wind has died down completely. Natalie and the other liekkiöt have vanished. The silence is unnatural, unnerving, and everyone exchanges anxious glances while studying the shadows.

The dangling eyes swivel their gazes away from me, toward a particularly dense patch of darkness. The shadows melt together as if the darkness is liquid. It ripples and shakes, slowly taking form.

Everyone else scrambles away. I stand my ground.

“Is that what I think it is?” Katya’s voice quavers.

The forest answers before I can as the shadow beast lumbers forward on four gigantic paws. It opens its mouth and roars.

30

The bear rears up on its hind legs, batting at the air with immense paws that end in scalpel-sharp claws. Its fur is mottled gray, like the very shadows it materialized from. It drops to all fours and stares at me, then at everyone else in turn, as if weighing us up. Its shiny black eyes are far more intelligent than any ordinary bear’s, and I can sense it judging us.

“Are we going to die?” Aysha whispers.

“No. It’s here to help,” I say in a voice much calmer than I feel.

“Are you sure?” Morgan stands beside me, his elbow bumping mine.

“Bears are sacred, and this is no ordinary bear.”

Toivo offers his thanks in Finnish to the creature with more reverence than I thought possible from my brother. He even addresses the bear as Metsän Kuningas—King of the Forest. The creature exhales a puff of white steam in Toivo’s direction before turning on powerful legs and lumbering through the trees.

“We should follow it,” I say, and no one argues, limping and leaning on each other for support as we move forward. It’s only Katya who looks skeptical. She keeps blue sparks dancing between her fingers, as if that’ll be enough to defend us.

It’s easier going, walking in the bear’s enormous footprints. Toivo, Aoife, and Morgan seem to be gaining more strength, too. They walk a little straighter and aren’t leaning so heavily on each other.