AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hanna!” I hear my father’s voice bark from down in the crypt. “Bring my son to me.”
Oh fuck.
I’m about to turn and run when suddenly, everything starts to spin a little. My arm feels like it’s on fire, and then it feels deadly cold, like ice is creeping up it, taking over my limbs. I stare down at where her nails dug into me and see black swirling underneath my skin, like my veins have been injected with smoke.
Immediately, my horns punch through the cap on my head, and I feel myself doubling over as the cold blackness starts to take over my body.
“I was just subduing him,” not-Hanna calls out as she reaches up and grabs me by the horns, forcing my body to twist as she leads me down the narrow, winding stairs to the cellar.
I grind my teeth together, trying not to cry out, to show any fear. I feel like that might only anger my mother as not-Hanna leads me past the wine cellars and dungeons into the crypt and the chapel of the Sect of the Undead.
Down the aisle, lined with pews and snakes and statues with bleeding eyes and razor crowns, is my mother in my father’s body, standing at the altar.
With horror, I see she’s not alone.
Sarvi is beside her, manacles over each hoof, weights on both wings, and a large collar around their neck, the chains leading to the ceiling. On the altar’s table lay jars and potions next to a broadsword with glittering red gems on the hilt.
“So, this is where we got married,” my mother/father says, nodding at not-Hanna as she brings me down the aisle toward her. “Pity I wasn’t invited to the wedding.”
I try for a moment to fool her, to pretend I have no idea what’s going on.
“Father,” I manage to say. “What’s going on? What did Hanna do to me?”
My father’s eyes narrow at me, and for a moment, they glow green.
Sheis coming through.
“Oh, Tuonen,” he says, though it’s turning into Louhi’s voice now. “You are such a terrible liar. It’s hard to believe that you’re my son. Your father has corrupted you too much with his goodness.”
If neither Sarvi nor I were in such a predicament, I would have laughed at that. I don’t think my father is known for being the epitome of good, but I suppose, compared to my mother, he will always have that distinction.
I knew my mother was bad, but seeing her like this, knowing the truth, I realize I’ve deeply underestimated her.
Still, I try.
“I don’t understand,” I say, trying to twist away from not-Hanna’s grip on my horns, but the ice in my veins barely lets me move. “What are you doing to Sarvi? They’re your most loyal servant.”
“I haven’t done anything yet,” my mother says with a raise of her chin. “And you know that horse isn’t my servant. They’re nothing but a spy, operating on your behalf. I saw Sarvi take flight. Didn’t take me long to fly up after them and bring them down. With Sala’s help, of course. I couldn’t do any of it without the help of my adopted daughter, who is a better child than you or Lovia will ever be.”
I grind my teeth together. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because,” she says, “it is time to take back what is rightfully mine. My father married me to Tuoni because he wanted the demon blood to rule again one day. All I had to do was bide my time, but Tuoni grew bored of me. He cast me aside. Can you imagine getting married, putting in the days, the weeks, the eons, and then having that marriage severed?”
“You took on Ilmarinen,” I point out with a groan, the cold pain still rolling through me. “You made him your new husband.”
“I had no choice. I needed him for my magic. Now, he’s obsolete, depleted, with nothing left to give. What better time than now to put my plans into motion? The Old Gods have been depending on me to raise them, to build an army to do their bidding. And that’s just what I’m going to do.” She pauses andsmiles. I don’t see my father’s face anymore; the more I look at her, the more it looks like my mother’s demon features. “And you’re going to help.”
“I will not help you,” I manage to say.
“But I need the horn of a living god,” she says, pouting. “And you have such lovely horns, Tuonen.”
I stiffen. She can’t be serious.
“Use your own,” I tell her.
“I already have. It wasn’t enough. Though I suppose I could get it from Sarvi here,” she says, looking at the unicorn. Sarvi’s head snaps up briefly, though it’s quickly weighed down again by the iron collar.
“Sarvi is a servant,” I tell her. “Father’s most loyal one. They are not a god.”
