by Linsey Hall
“It will be impossible if I decide to eat you.”
I blanched. “That’s a fair point. But I promise, I will do everything in my power to get you an apple.”
The fox looked toward Cade.
Cade nodded his head once. “On my honor.”
“Good.” The fox turned to point his nose toward the roaring river. “If you follow the water downstream, it will lead you to a clearing. Continue to follow, and eventually you will come across Utgard.”
“How will we know it is the proper place?” Cade asked.
The fox laughed, a strange, rusty sound. “Oh, you will know. There is no fortress like it. But breaking in may be nearly impossible.”
“We’ll manage,” I said. “And we’ll make sure you receive an apple.”
“Beware of Utgard-Loki’s games. He is smart and powerful, and you will not win.”
“Utgard-Loki?” Cade asked.
“The trickster of the Jötunn. Beware of him.”
I thought I recognized the name from my research, but I didn’t recall much else.
“We’ll be wary,” I said.
The fox settled back down and stared at us. ”You should go now.”
I saluted. “Thank you for the help.”
Cade duplicated my thanks, and we both spun and hurried away toward the river.
I could feel the fox’s gaze burning into my back as we strode away. It might have been made of ice, but it sure was hot.
“I think this realm is going to be trouble,” Cade said.
“Agreed.” I reached the edge of the river and turned to head downstream.
The water smelled fresh and icy, and it splashed and swirled as it traveled over the rocks dotted through the river. It had to be ten miles across, at least. Silver fish jumped within, each the size of a whale, but with gleaming white fangs. It was nearly impossible to keep my eyes off of them.
We walked as quickly as we could, as much to keep warm as for the sake of speed.
As we walked, I touched my comms charm to ignite the magic. It was a cool and handy device, courtesy of the Protectorate, and I could get used to it.
“Ana? Rowan?” I asked.
“Hey!” Ana’s voice crackled through. “Where are you? Have any luck?”
“I’m in Jötunheimr, and no luck yet, but we’re on the trail. What about you? Have you found the crystals?”
“Not yet, but we’re close,” Ana said.
“Is Rowan there? Is she okay?”
“She’s in the other room. She’s fine. But her magic is still broken. She’s… having a slightly hard time.”
“To be expected.” But it still made my heart ache. “Well, good luck with it. I’m going to go and focus on not getting killed.”
“I should do some of that myself. Good luck. Love you.”
“Love you back.” I glanced at Cade.
I loved him, too. No question.
But now was not the time to share that tidbit.
A harsh screech rent the air, sending ice through my veins. I flinched and looked up, searching the sky. The leafless canopy was far above, the skeletal branches of the trees shrouded in clouds.
“Can you see it?” I asked.
“Nothing.” He squinted upward. “I think it’s far ahead of us and above the clouds.”
“So, in the same direction that we’re headed?”
“Aye.”
“Perfect. The giant fox wasn’t scary enough.”
He chuckled.
We trooped along in silence, our footsteps crunching on the icy ground. My jacket wasn’t doing much to keep me warm, and Cade’s sweater didn’t look much better. But as long as we kept moving, we’d be okay.
“Fates, I hope Idun is still alive,” I said. “Being trapped in this realm would be awful.”
“They need her for her apples. They wouldn’t kill her.”
He was likely right, and I clung to his words.
The screeching noise continued intermittently as we ran.
“My guess is giant bird.” I panted.
“If he’s anything like that fox, I’d prefer not to meet him.”
I grinned.
By the time we reached the edge of the forest, my feet were pretty numb. I’d have to do some serious healing soon, but I’d save my energy for now.
The field in front of us was barren. Maybe once it had grown crops, but now, it was a flat expanse of nothing.
I shivered. “We’ll be exposed out there.”
“Too exposed.”
I reached for his hand. When his warm fingers closed around mine, heat shot up my arm. In this chill weather, I could use a lot more than that.
As I used Loki’s power to make us invisible, I wondered what Utgard-Loki would be like. I did not want to meet the trickster Jötunn if I could help it. No thanks.
We started across the field at a slow jog, following the massive river that cut through the middle. When a large shape swooped down from the clouds, my steps faltered.
Holy fates, that was a big eagle.
“Cade.”
“I see it.”
The thing had to be the size of a 747. Every time it flapped its wings, a massive burst of wind blew my hair back and stung my cheeks. Worse, the eagle began to circle us. Like a vulture.
“I don’t like what he’s doing,” I said.
The eagle dived low, right in front of us. My heart jumped into my throat.
“I like this even less,” Cade said.
The eagle landed ten feet away, his massive claws pounding onto the earth and shaking the ground all the way up to my teeth.
“Who goes there?” the eagle demanded. His voice was a terrifying screech that sent shudders across my skin. He was so tall that I had to crane my head back to see him, and his beady eyes watched me with interest.
I looked at Cade, but he was still invisible.
“I can smell you, invisible ones.”
Whelp, the jig was up. And no way we could outrun him. The fox, maybe. A giant wind-creating eagle? Nope.
“Birds can smell?” I asked.
“I can! I’m no ordinary bird. I am Corpse Swallower.”
Shit. That rang a bell. Corpse Swallower was a giant eagle that ate corpses and made the wind with its wings.
“You are the great and mighty Hraesvelgr?” I asked, deciding that flattery was my safest bet.
“Of course I am. And what are you?”
I squeezed Cade’s hand, then dropped the illusion, leaving him hidden but revealing myself. “I am Bree Blackwood, the Valkyrie Dragon God.”
The eagle whistled through its beak. “Are you really? And who is your invisible friend?”
So much for protecting Cade. I dropped the illusion from him.
“I am Belatucadros,” he said.
“Ah, the War Wolf. I have seen you from the sky. You fight well, War Wolf.”
Cade inclined his head. “Thank you, Great Hraesvelgr.”
His pronunciation was a little off, but the eagle ruffled his feathers, clearly liking the term “Great”.
“I hope you’re not going to eat us,” I said.
“If you die, perhaps. I don’t do the killing—just the eating. Though you look tiny and bony. What are you doing here, tiny bony ones?”
“You aren’t the first one to call us tiny and bony.”
“The fox?” Hraesvelgr said. “That interloping, no-good, egg-sucking son of a rat.”
I didn’t think the fox was quite that bad, but I didn’t want to get in the middle of a Norse monster grudge-fest. I’d leave that to Ratatoskr.
“We are seeking Idun,” I said. “You must see everything from up there in the sky. Have you seen her?”
“I have not. But would that I had.” The eagle’s gaze took on a faraway cast. “Her apples are the most coveted in the land.”
Everyone wanted a piece of those apples.
“We’ve been told that she may have been abducted to Utgard,” Cade said. “Is it near here?”
“I can,” I said.
He huffed. “Well, of course you can, Valkyrie. But the wolf cannot.”
“He can run up walls and jump higher than you’ve ever seen.”
The eagle screeched a laugh. “Not over the walls of Utgard!” I thought he would roll over with laughter. “What an idea!”
“Can you tell us how to get in, then? Or perhaps give us a ride?”
His laughter died abruptly. “A ride?!”
“Um, I mean. Of course not! But perhaps there is a way in? Or some advice you can give us?”
He frowned at me—it should have been impossible, given that he had a beak and not lips, but he definitely made a thoughtful frowny face. “Perhaps I could. But only if you swear to me to bring me one of Idun’s apples.”
“Really?” Man, these apples were popular. “Do you need more strength? I know you’re not dead.”
“Of course not. Do I look like I need more strength?” He stretched his wings wide, and they cast us in shadow. He was wider than a city block, and sent ice through my veins. This eagle could chomp me down in one gulp.
“Of course you don’t need more strength!” I said. “But I assumed, since you also don’t need more life, correct?”
“Correct. But I have a friend whose health is flagging. It will help him.”
Well, that was reasonable. “I promise that I will beg Idun on your behalf. I cannot make any promises, as her apples are not my own, but I will try.”
The eagle gave me a keen look. “I like your answer. It’s honest. What of you, War Wolf?”
“I vow to help her.”
The eagle nodded. “See to it that you uphold your end of the bargain. I will come after you if you fail to convince Idun.” He snapped his beak. “You will not like it.”
I winced, getting the feeling that he would bend his corpses-only rule. “I swear, we will.”
Actually, I wasn’t even sure we could convince Idun. But that was a problem for another time.
The eagle stared at us, turning his head so he could pin us with one beady eye. It was like he was trying to put all of his creep factor into that one single glare. He was laser focusing it on us by shooting it through one eye.
It worked, because I shivered. Finally, though, I had to say something. “We can’t get you an apple until you tell us how to get into Utgard.”
He stared for a few seconds more. “Just making sure I put the fear of Hraesvelgr into you.”
“Don’t worry. I feel it.” The words felt silly, but the shaking in my legs didn’t. I was going to have to work hard to convince Idun, because I did not want this eagle on my tail.
“I heard the funeral song today,” Hraesvelgr said. “They bury their dead outside Utgard’s walls—to the east.”
I didn’t need to ask how he knew that, given his choice of food.
“If you hurry, you can find the Jötunn at the graveside. Use your invisibility and follow them back into Utgard.”
“Which way is east?” This wasn’t earth, and I could see no sun to guide us.
The eagle jerked his beak over his right shoulder. “That way. You are currently heading north.”
“Thank you.”
“But I warn you!” he said. “Do not play the trickster’s games. Do not let him even see you.”
“Utgard-Loki?” Cade asked.
“The very same.” Hraesvelgr turned his head again. “Now, do not forget your end of the bargain! Or I will hunt you to the ends of Yggdrasil.”
I gulped and nodded, believing everything he said.
Then he took off, powerful wings carrying him high into the sky. The blast of wind blew me off my feet, sending me slamming onto the ground. Cade crashed down next to me.
Pain flared through my tailbone, and I flopped down onto my back, watching the enormous eagle fly into the clouds.
“There sure are a lot of giant animals in this realm,” I muttered.
Cade groaned. “I think I prefer Ratatoskr.”
“At least he’s just a moody gossip.” Aching, I climbed to my feet.
Cade joined me, and we set off, running northeast, toward Utgard. I used Loki’s power to conceal us from any other watchers—though I doubted its power if our enemy had a good sense of smell—and we held hands to keep track of each other.
After a while, dread began to curl in my stomach. There was nothing but white mist ahead of us, and we’d been running for ages. Had we missed it? Was it impossibly far?
Then my eyes focused on it.
The mist was not mist at all. It was solid ice. I squinted, using Heimdall’s power, and the ice began to reveal details.
It was a wall.
I tilted my head back, trying to see to the top.
And I couldn’t.
“Crap, Cade. Do you see that?”
“The castle that is as big as a planet? Because aye, I do.”
“I don’t think it’s a castle, exactly.” I craned my neck to take in either side of the thing. “It’s a walled city.”
“We could run through the corridors like mice. If the Jötunn are truly large enough to make that their home, we won’t have a chance against them. Not in a fight.”
“The mouse plan is a good one.” I’d pretend to be a rodent to avoid meeting a hostile being who was that big. “Come on.”
We turned right, heading toward the east and keeping at least two miles between the city walls and us. As we ran, I began to pick up the faint sound of wailing. It had a melodic quality—some kind of funeral dirge.
I picked up the pace. “We’re getting closer.”
“I hear it.”
By the time we’d skirted around part of the city and caught sight of the funeral, I had no breath left to spare. I managed a gasp, however, at the sight of the Jötunn.
Most of them were, in fact, giants. There were blue ones made of ice, and others who looked more like huge humans. A few smaller individuals milled around their feet, but they only went up to the giants’ ankles. All of them wore ancient Norse clothing—cloaks and furs, accented with gold and silver.
Cade and I slowed to a halt, taking it in. There were at least fifty of them, all gathered around a mound of earth. Who had been strong enough to dig a grave in this frozen ground?
I supposed that was the least of my worries.
I watched as they finished the funeral, my interest piqued but my heart thundering. I caught snippets of words, but didn’t understand much. The songs sounded depressing as hell, though. Perfect for a funeral.
As they turned to go back to the castle, I squeezed Cade’s hand.
This was our moment.
We followed them closely, keeping our footsteps silent as we approached a huge gate set into the wall. Up close, I realized that the icy castle wall was mixed with stone—almost like a weird concrete. The enormous gate creaked open, and the Jötunn filed through. We followed, hurrying to keep ahead of the last giant.
It took some fancy footwork to avoid being squished beneath a huge boot, but we managed. As we crossed under the gate, a frisson of magic streaked across my skin.
Oh, shit.
It was some kind of protective charm.
Cade’s hand tightened on mine, his own version of cursing.
Before I had a chance to decide if we should lunge into the city or back out, the Jötunn turned to look at us, their massive faces peering down.
Only then did I realize that our invisibility was gone.
The protective charm.
Just our luck. Their city gates were fortified against invisibility.
The massive gate slammed down behind us, trapping us within the city of giants.
We were screwed.
10
I stared up at the giants, panicky ideas racing through my head.
I could fly away, but that would leave Cade unable to escape. I could….
“Go,” he hissed, dropping my hand.
As if.
“Not going anywhere.”
“We’re screwed if we’re both captured.”
“We’ve broken out of plenty of places before. And I’m not leaving you.” Not when I’d just realized I loved him. And also because it would be freaking cowardly and miserable.
One of the giants stepped forward, glaring down at us with an angry face that looked like a cross between a pug and a human. But cleverness lurked in his dark eyes. He wore rough clothing made of animal skins—but what animal was big enough to clothe a giant?
I really didn’t want to find out.
“Why do you invade during our time of grief?” he demanded.
Oh, shit. How the heck was I supposed to answer that?
None of my answers sounded good, and did I really want to reveal our motives? No.
We needed to buy time until we could sneak away and find Idun.
“I wanted to see the greatness of Utgard-Loki.” I almost winced. That sounded totally ridiculous. Who would buy that? But the giant straightened, reminding me of Boris when I’d complimented him. Play to his pride. “I see that you are even more impressive than I expected.”
“Of course I am.” He frowned. “Now tell me why you are really here.”
Dang. But at least I now knew he was Utgard-Loki. The one we were supposed to avoid at all costs.
“We seek answers.” My mind raced. “Someone—um, not you—has abducted Idun. The goddess with the apples of immortality.”
“Not us?” His brow lowered. “You sound like you are, in fact, accusing us.”
“No!” I held up my hands, placating. “Of course not! But we were advised to come here to seek our answers. That you might have…someone to help us find her. Or direct us toward her.”
A murmur went through the crowd of giants. Clearly annoyed. Offended, even.
“You think to impose upon our hospitality?” Utgard-Loki said. “You sneak in here and think to steal information from us?”
“Of course not!”
He scowled, his heavy brow drawing low over his eyes. He snapped a finger at someone behind us.
I turned and looked up, just in time to see a massive hand come down. I nearly peed my pants, but the hand just pinched the back of my jacket and lifted me up. I swung in the air, rising higher and higher. A hundred feet up.