17. Suomenlinna

Later, she had no idea how they even left the building. She was still conscious, but everything seemed to be covered in thick fog. She couldn’t grasp a serious thought, there was nothing in her head. She only realised that they found an exit when the fresh and cold night air hit her face. She had completely lost any sense of time during her stay in the old warehouse. She had no idea which day it was, but it had to be December already. Lilja blinked when Jyrki pulled her out on the streets. The sky was black, but there was still some light around her. It took her a while to realise that it was snow. She remembered that there had been a thick layer of snow on the ground the days before Jyrki’s birthday party, but the evening itself was still blurry. But she had no time to think about it further, as Jyrki took her hand again and dragged her through the deep snow. Lilja groaned, her legs were heavy as stone and her back ached. She didn’t really know why, since she didn’t do something physically exhausting. It had to relate to her psychic powers.

“Lilja, I am sorry, I know that you are exhausted”, Jyrki said with a pitying tone. “But we have to move, or they will find us and kill us. We would not survive another fight”. Lilja nodded, she completely understood Jyrki’s reasoning, hell, she knew herself they had to get out of here. But she wasn’t sure if she could walk any further. She braced herself against the cold wind, her leather jacket didn’t provide much aid against the gusts. She felt something else around her shoulders then and the familiar scent of pepper and lemon. Jyrki was now only wearing a thin shirt. She already wanted to give the jacket back to him, but he shook his head. “I am an Undying, I do not feel the cold”. She was grateful, she had to admit that. Jyrki’s jacket was big enough that it covered her whole hands and reached down to the middle of her tights. It made the cold wind less treacherous.

After what seemed like hours of walking, they reached a hidden pier down at the harbour. Many of the other Undyings where already there, crouching down in the boats that where anchored there. Lilja recognised Vilho’s bulky figure, and Pasi, Pekka, Juho, and the girl, Suvi next to him. She hadn’t seen the last two since the traumatic evening at the club, but Jyrki seemed to be happy to see all his friends in safety. Lilja was only half awake when the tall Undying led her down to one of the boats that was tied to the quay wall. “Where are we going”, Lilja mumbled, tiredly leaning her head on Jyrki’s shoulder. “Do you know Suomenlinna? The old fortress offshore? It has been an estate of my family since its build in the 1750s and belongs to the underworld. Our old headquarters are not safe any more, the beast and his co-conspirators know how to get in. But Suomenlinna is a fortress, the sea around it and its thick stone walls are not the only protection. Hundreds of Warlocks have woven their protective spells into its walls”. Lilja nodded, everyone in Helsinki knew Suomenlinna. “And we will be safe there?”, she asked quietly. “For now, yes. And we can take the time to heal and to reorganise our force”. “That is good”, she yawned, and before they even started their journey, she fell asleep. Jyrki looked down on the sleeping figure in his arms and reached into his pockets to give the Ankh back to her rightful owner. For now, his little kultaveri would be safe, but he knew the beast’s hunt was not over yet. It was only a question of time until he would strike again.