River of Shadows (Underworld Gods #1)(29)

He shakes his head. “No. I’ve heard stories, of course. That he always has to wear gloves because if he touches you, you’ll die. And that his face is a skull and he wears a cloak and he eats babies for breakfast.”

“Let me guess, rides a skeleton horse?”

“Skeleton unicorn,” he corrects me with a smile, my eyes going wide. “And it’s an ugly, nasty, bloodsucking beast. Those horns are dangerous.”

“A unicorn? Seriously? What about dragons?”

He laughs. “No dragons. But there are a few species of dinosaurs wandering about.”

“Dinosaurs!” I exclaim. “You got to be kidding me.”

“What, so dragons and unicorns you’ll totally believe but dinosaurs, creatures that literally did exist on our planet, are far-fetched?”

He’s got a point. “Well, since dinosaurs are real, what are mermaids and unicorns doing here?”

“This is the Underworld for all the worlds. Not just our own. There are other worlds out there with creatures you can’t even imagine. This place is your best bet for seeing them. Eero once told me he saw an alien.”

I frown. “You talked to Eero?”

“Well, yeah. We all live or work at the resort.”

“I don’t understand. If Eero was my father’s business partner, then why did he want to prevent me from rescuing my father, and, dare I say, try to kill me?”

“Jealousy,” Rasmus says. “He didn’t want your father to become more powerful than him.”

“So how powerful is Eero?”

A dark look comes over his eyes. “Enough that he’s been reincarnated his whole life. The closest a shaman has gotten to eternal life, but not close enough. Not for him, anyway. Rumor has it that he’s actually the legendary shaman V?in?m?inen, who is the hero of Finland’s national epic, the Kalevala.”

Shit. That’s pretty big.

“You know, I wanted to become Eero’s apprentice,” Rasmus admits quietly, voice hushed with shame. He picks up the tea pot and pours the hot, fragrant liquid into the wood cups. “But I’m glad he turned me away. Your father is a good man, Hanna. One of the best. If it had been Eero teaching me…”

I study him in the firelight and for the first time I feel like I’m really seeing Rasmus. A contradiction. A boy on one hand, a man on the other. Someone who wants to be good, someone who craves the ability to be bad. Someone happy with something as simple as flame ferns, someone who wants all the power in the universe.

He looks at me as he passes me my tea. “What are you thinking about?” he asks warily.

“You mean you don’t know?” I ask as I take a sip. The tea smells invigorating, like a cedar forest on a crisp snowy day, and tastes just as good.

His brows come together. “No. I can’t pick up on your thoughts anymore.”

Good, I think, though I hide my smile behind the cup.





Chapter 8





The Trade





A rustling sound wakes me up. My eyes fly open, the towering birch tree branches coming into focus overhead, low clouds behind them. It’s daylight. Another gray morning. And I know I’m not alone.

I sit up and gasp.

There’s a woman with long copper-red hair crouched down, her back to me, rifling through Rasmus’ backpack.

The woman jumps, startled, and whirls around with preternatural grace.

“I’m sorry,” she says in a breathy voice. “I thought you were sleeping.”

I stare at her slack-jawed for a moment. Her bright green eyes, pale skin, and dress made of leaves, flowers and twigs make her look fairy-like, as do the small smooth antlers growing out of her head.

“Who are you?” I ask, my heart pounding like a jackhammer. “Where’s Rasmus?”

She shakes her head, eyes impossibly big. I look down at her hands and see she’s clutching a Cliff bar, the sight of something so plastic and mundane in the hands of something earthy and ethereal is throwing my mind into a tizzy.

“The trees told me he needed help,” she says. “He may have been trying to summon my father, Tapio. I’m his daughter, Tellervo, but you can call me Telly.” She points off into the forest with the Cliff bar. “I came from there, but I didn’t see or smell your friend. He is mortal, is he not?”

“Yes.” I say, sitting up straighter, my back killing me from having passed out on the forest floor like I did. “A shaman.”

“I figured,” she says. “Not many mortals believe in the Gods enough to call on us. I do hope he’s all right.”

“Well, considering he left his backpack behind, I don’t think he was planning on running out on me,” I say, easing up to my feet.

“That would be your first thought?” Telly asks, getting to her feet as well. She’s nearly as tall as I am. “Doesn’t sound like much of a friend.”

“He’s helping me find my father,” I tell her. “We’re heading to Shadow’s End.”

Telly shudders. “I don’t think you want to do that.”

“It’s where my father is imprisoned.”

She nods slowly, her brows furrowing comically. “And I suppose your father isn’t a God, is he?”