Áibmoráigi was protected by such a thick cloaking spell that even trolls couldn’t see through it. The entrance to the city looked like it was blocked by a giant boulder, but the Älvolk and thrimavolk alike had a powerful and painful incantation that allowed us to see through the spell. It was called leat fámus, and Sumi was capable of performing it.

But there were nearly fifty of us going to Áibmoráigi, and it would take a very long time for her to do it to everyone. Not to mention that doing the leat fámus fifty times in a row could be very draining and likely damaging to her.

“Have you tried it yet?” Pan asked. He sat beside me, his arm on the back of the bench behind me. Elof and Dagny sat across from us, with Sumi sitting at the corner with her feet propped up on Finn’s now empty chair.

“On a small scale,” Elof said tentatively.

“Two drunk townies and that fella named Knut,” Sumi amended, and sipped her tea.

“But it’s impossible to know if it works until we get to Áibmoráigi,” Elof clarified.

“So how do you do it?” I asked.

“I channel Eliana,” Sumi said.

I shook my head. “What?”

“Álfar blood has unique properties,” Sumi said. “It has an amplifying effect on our supernatural abilities, but its potency fades with time. So Eliana is more effective than Jem.”

“Wait, are you stealing her blood?” I asked in horror.

Sumi snorted. “No, of course not. I just hold her hands.”

“And you think that will work?” Pan asked.

“We hope it does,” Elof said.

61

Summit

Patrik had arranged the transport, a series of Mercedes Sprinter fifteen-passenger vans. They were more luxe than we needed, but they held all of us in four vehicles, so it worked.

Pan, Jem, Sumi, Eliana, and I joined the Ten in their van, and Sumi drove because she knew the way best. It was a long drive across the Swedish landscape. Eliana sat in the back, chatting up the Ten, but eventually, even she ran out of things to talk about, and the van fell into silence.

At some point in the afternoon, when the road had been long but there was still a long way to go, and we were all getting restless, the Omte among us had to do something to pass the time.

Knut started first, low and slightly tremulous, then Jennet joined in, harmonizing with him, singing an old Omte folk song.

Sing, sing the heroes

The worm is full of flowers

Hush, hush the morning light

Down falls the darkest night

And now the end is ours.