“We want to help,” I say, fighting how very small and insignificant I feel. “We want to stop whoever is doing this.”

“Then you must hurry,” the hiisi says. “Five stones have been breached, five shards have been taken.”

“But there are more than a dozen tonttukivi marked on our map,” I say. “How will we stop them if we don’t know where to go?”

“There is an order to these things.” Branches shiver above me. “And the tietäjä knows.”

“A tietäjä?” I suck in a breath. “A tietäjä is helping the Order of Louhi?” It doesn’t make sense. It’s anathema, going against everything the tietäjät stand for.

“Only a tietäjä could. The next shard is in Lumikuuro. Perhaps there you’ll find your friends.”

Never heard of the place, but I hadn’t heard of Kuusikylä either and maybe that’s the whole point. “How do we get there?”

“Follow the path.” The branches crackle and creak as the tree trunks groan, drawing back to clear a trail through the woods.

The light changes again from buttery yellow to cold blue as sudden twilight descends over the glade. It’s as if the forest is being swallowed by a humongous mouth full of shadow.

“But there’s so much I need to know,” I say. “Please, you have to help us.” How did the tietäjä get the shards? What do they want with the Sampo? Are they draining Natalie and the others of their magic? The wind gusts, ripping away my pleas.

First things first. I hurry back to Morgan as the stone archway bursts apart like the head of a dandelion. Shielding my face, I bend over Morgan to protect him too. The expected flakes of stone feel more like icy kisses thanks to the wind. When the wind dies down, the archway is gone, and the summer woodland starts vanishing faster than I can haul Morgan to his feet. The pathway is disappearing!

“Wake up!” I yell into his face and shake his shoulders so hard I’m afraid he’ll get whiplash. Finally, his eyes flutter open, and he groans. “We have to hurry. You need to walk.”

Eyes half closed, he manages to stagger to his feet, using me like a crutch under his arm. Left foot, right foot—I force our feet to move along the path that’s now scattered with leaves all fire red and burnished gold.

“Where are we going?” Morgan asks, still groggy but leaning less heavily on me now.

“Where we need to. Just keep walking.”

Autumn slips into winter and still the path winds through the trees. I gulp down mouthful after mouthful of icy air. What if the hiisi was lying? What if this is a trap? I glance over my shoulder. There’s nothing behind us except a yawning emptiness swirling with noodles of mist. The woodland has completely disappeared.