51

Lysa

Clouds covered the sky, and the wind coming off the ocean had a bite to it, especially up here on the widow’s walk at the top of the Mimirin institution. The narrow pathway ran along the length of the highest point of the roof, and it was maybe five feet across, with wrought-iron railings running along either side before the roof sloped sharply downward. Up here, we had a stunning view of the city of Merellä to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Thirteen towers protruded around the edges of the building, and atop each one was a glass atrium containing a solitary Ögonen. They stood tall and motionless, staring emptily at the far-off horizons.

I warily eyed the Ögonen, and their semi-opaque skin looked murky in the gray light. Dagny knelt down, writing on the tiles with the ashy end of burnt sage, and Pan took out the things we’d gathered for the lysa, all brought in the large wicker purse Dagny had.

I suddenly remembered the time a few years ago when Finn and Mia had taken me and the kids on a picnic up high in the bluffs. It had been quite the hike, and the air was cold and windy. Finn had started a fire and we’d roasted marshmallows, all crowded around together. To entertain the kids, I had read from Liam’s favorite book, Dragons of Every Size.

With the seven of us crowded around the fire—Mia was pregnant with the twins at the time—Finn, Mia, and I took turns doing voices of different mythical reptiles. Finn did the gruff dragon with two wings and four legs, Mia, the excitable wyvern with two wings and two legs, and I took on the smarmy wyrm with no wings and no legs. All the kids stared up at us, laughing, their eyes big and wide and glowing from the dancing flames.

Their eyes looked much like those of the Ögonen, and the warm memory suddenly went cold.

“Do we really have to do it up here?” I asked. I didn’t exactly feel safe around the Ögonen, not since they kept giving me horrific visions of spiders. Just being up here, I felt like I could feel bugs crawling on my skin.

“Yes,” Dagny replied firmly. “Normally, their cloaking would dampen our attempts, but if we get close enough, and we tweak a few things, we can use them to amplify your lysa. This is especially necessary because you don’t know who exactly you’re looking for.”

“But we can do it?” I asked nervously, and as she sketched a few runic symbols on the tiles, I began to wonder if this was a mistake.

“Lie down,” Dagny commanded. “I want the top of your head to rest against my knees.”

I did as she said, and the cold from the tiles quickly seeped through my sweater, sending a chill down my spine. It reminded me of the times Sunniva and the Ögonen had tried to do memory recovery, and the burning agony that followed it.

I shivered at the thought of it, and Pan noticed and draped the fleece blanket over me.

Dagny held crystals against my temples—twin violet fluorspar crystals that I’d spent the morning tracking down in the market while Pan had gotten the sour withania root juice I drank before we climbed up here. Dagny said it would take time for me to soak it all up.

“So,” she said, “I need you to close your eyes, like you’re going to sleep, and start imagining the setting. Once you’ve got a clear image, let me know, and then you need to project who you want to invite into the lysa.”

“I don’t know how to do that,” I said.

“Yes, you do. All trolls have at least a tiny bit of psychic power,” she insisted. “We can do persuasion, so we can project. Lysa is the same basic principle as persuasion, except that persuasion is a command and a lysa is a conversation.”

“Okay.” I closed my eyes and tried to envision a setting.

I chose the meadows in Sweden. Verdant green fields of bright wildflowers rushing up to meet the snowcapped mountain. It all felt so vast and infinite, like staring up at the starry night sky far away from the cities.

Despite the size, and even though I’d only been there once before, it felt familiar and safe. A lot like coming home.

“Ready,” I said finally.

“Now just project,” Dagny said.

I thought of her, the ethereal woman with her long wavy hair, and I tried to will her into the meadow in my mind. Slowly, the meadow grew around me, feeling more solid, more real. The grass tickled my ankles, and the sun warmed my skin. I could even smell the linnea flowers.

But the woman remained a ghost, a mere memory of when I last saw her.

“You need to project,” Dagny repeated emphatically.

“Push out your thoughts,” Pan clarified. “Like you’re shouting in your mind.”

I took a deep breath and tried again, picturing her in my mind and shouting for her. As I did, the world shimmered and bowed, and the sun seemed to shine brighter, haloed by a bright sun dog. The ground trembled underneath my feet.

And suddenly, she was there, standing on the other side of the meadow.

I ran toward her, excitedly yelling, “You’re here! You’re actually here!”

“You summoned me?” The wind blew her silken hair and ruffled the feathers that dripped around her shoulders.

“We needed more time to talk.”

She turned, walking toward the mountains on the far side of the meadow valley, and the long flowered train of her dress dragged along the grass. “You didn’t find my message clear?”

“Not really, no,” I admitted as I followed her. “You said I needed to stop something, but you didn’t tell me how. Or who you are.”

“Oh, binrassi, isn’t it obvious?” she asked with a weary smile.

“I’m sorry, but it really isn’t.” I stopped and let out a frustrated sigh. “Are you here to help me or not?”

She turned around and smiled more broadly at me. “That might be the first sensible thing you’ve said.”

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“Yes.” She stepped toward me. “I’m here to help. Do you remember what I told you?”

“That the world will burn if I don’t stop it,” I said, but she only stared at me, so I added, “And to follow the lone white elk.”

She cocked her head, listening to a far-off rumbling. “To stop the world from burning, you must do as I say.”

“Okay,” I replied uncertainly.

“Do you hear that?” Her wide, dark eyes set on the horizon, toward the increasingly thunderous sound.

Before I could answer, she took off running toward it, and I chased after her. Over the rolling hills, I saw the antlers, and then the herd crested the hill. Hundreds of giant woolly elk with their broad velvety antlers; their massive hooves shook the earth. They curved across the land, rounding their way down into the valley, loping toward us.

“We should get out of the way,” I said nervously.

“No.” She smiled serenely. “We called for them.”

“Why?”

“It’s the only way.” She stayed perfectly still, and the elk parted around us. The giant beasts trampled the earth as they flowed past us.

And then, walking slowly and towering over the rest, was the albino woolly elk. The cinnamon-red eyes were on me as he broke away from the others, taking cautious strides toward us.

I stepped closer, and when he lowered his head, I reached out, gently petting the coarse fur of his snout.

“What are you doing here?” I asked softly.

Pale, long lashes fluttered as the beast blinked at me, and then suddenly, he threw his head back and let out an ear-shattering bleat. He stumbled backward, and the rest of the herd scattered.

The white elk fell to the ground with a final, laborious breath, and that’s when I saw the blood pouring from the underside of the animal, spilling into the ground.

The woman started laughing, cackling really. Both of her arms were soaked with blood. In one hand she held a massive dagger, and in the other she held the giant, still-beating heart of the elk.

“What did you do?” I screamed.

“I got what I needed.” Her appearance shifted—her lips puffier, her eyes slightly smaller, and the hook-shaped scar appeared on her cheek.

The woman in the gown of flowers was Illaria, Eliana’s twin sister.

“You were the only one the albino elk would come to, so I disguised myself as Senka and invaded your mind. You fell for it much faster than I thought you would.”

“What have you done?” I felt dazed and sick, and the sky was crumbling around us. Clouds fell like meteors and crashed into the dirt.

Illaria just threw back her head as she laughed, and before my eyes, she disappeared into the air, letting hostile winds carry her away.

I collapsed to my knees, next to the body of the beautiful albino elk. Tears spilled down my cheeks as I petted his snout one last time. “I’m sorry.” And then the lysa collapsed around me.