by Kate O'Hearn
“Loosen up, Freya. You’re too uptight.” Loki laughed. He rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Now, where are we going?”
“Muspelheim,” Archie said.
“I know that, ghost! I meant via which root of Yggdrasil. I don’t know of any direct tunnel to Muspelheim from here. Urd said she told you where it is.”
Quinn pulled out the Midgard map and lay it down on the ground. He pointed to the spot Urd had indicated.
Loki studied it for a moment and nodded. “Machu Picchu—that makes a lot of sense. The Incas knew all about the realms. Some of them must have found the tunnel and tried to reach Muspelheim. Maybe they even saw a fire giant or two. They would have viewed them as sun gods.”
Archie frowned at the map. “Is that Brazil?”
Loki looked at him and snorted. “No wonder you’re an idiot! Is that what they’re teaching in school these days?”
“Hey,” Archie cried.
Freya quickly stepped in. “No, Archie. It’s in the Andes of Peru. By the time I was old enough to go on the reapings, Machu Picchu was already abandoned. But Mother says it was once a wondrous place.”
Quinn picked up the map and stowed it away. “And that’s where we’re going.”
15
FLYING ON THE BACK OF the black dragon, they reached the first of the northern settlements just before sunrise.
As they passed over the homes, Freya immediately felt powerful emotions rising from the people below. The closer they got to cities, the more intense the feelings became.
“I can feel the people from here,” Freya said. “Everyone is terrified.”
“Of course they are,” Archie said. “Earth is being invaded by monsters—it’s like a disaster movie!”
By midmorning they approached a large city and witnessed the source of everyone’s fear. “Look!” Quinn shouted. “Are those frost giants?”
“That’s them,” Freya said.
Ahead of them was a long line of frost giants standing taller than the highest buildings and moving steadily north. Military jet fighters flew at them from all directions, launching their rockets. But the weapons did little more than irritate the giants. When the jets flew closer to use their guns, the giants simply swatted them away like flies.
“They look so much bigger here than they did in Asgard. Earth doesn’t stand a chance,” Archie moaned.
Suddenly Loki veered sharply in the sky, nearly tossing Freya and the others off his back. Seconds later a rocket shot past the dragon’s side.
“Hey, they’re shooting at us!” Archie cried.
“They can’t tell us apart from the invaders!” Freya leaned forward on the dragon’s back. “Loki, take us higher—away from the fighting!”
Instead of following Freya’s advice, Loki glided lower in the sky and used his large, powerful wings to maneuver expertly between the giants and the military fighters.
They glided up to a tall building and landed on the roof. Even before everyone had climbed off his back, he was returning to his normal form. They ran up to the edge of the roof and witnessed the sickening sight of a world in trouble. Frost giants were storming through the city, kicking buildings out of their way and challenging anything that came at them. Perched on most of the frost giants’ shoulders were masked Dark Elves. Their hands were moving too fast to follow. But with each movement, a jet fighter was knocked magically out of the sky.
Beyond the long line of frost giants was an even more terrifying sight. Fire giants—looming taller than the frost giants, their skin and hair flaming red and glowing, while their clothing was engulfed in living flame. All they had to do was touch a building and it became a raging inferno.
“Where are we?” Archie asked, gazing all around.
“Montreal, Quebec,” Loki answered. “Or rather, what’s left of it.”
“I’ve never seen a fire giant before,” Skye said in a whisper. “They’re even more frightening than the frost giants.”
“They’re meaner, too,” Loki said.
As the long line of giants swept past them on their journey north to the Asgard tunnel, several stopped and turned in their direction.
“Uh-oh,” Archie said. “I think they can feel us. Get ready to fly, everyone.”
“Not yet,” Loki said. “But stand back. I want to see just how much power the Vanir gave me to work with.”
“They couldn’t give you power,” Quinn said.
Loki looked back at him. “Wanna bet?”
He turned forward again and raised his staff. The jewel at the end glowed brilliant green. When the closest giant was no more than two steps away, Loki called, “Alpeera.”
The jewel exploded in a blazing flash of green lightning that struck the giant and knocked him backward into the others. The ground shook as three giants lost their balance and fell, landing on a multistory parking garage and collapsing it to the ground. The giant who took the blast lay still as his chest smoldered.
“Wow!” Archie cried. “It worked.”
As the other giants saw their companions go down, they roared in fury. The stomping of their feet charging toward the building rattled the ground like an earthquake.
“Uh, Loki . . . ,” Freya cried as she drew her flaming sword. “Would you please use that thing again and stop those giants before they get here and squish us!”
Loki raised his staff. “Alpeera!”
Once again, the green jewel sent a blast of lightning at the frost giants. It knocked them to the ground with explosive impact.
Everyone on the roof cheered as the giants went down. But their joy was short-lived as fire giants charged in their direction.
“Loki!” a fire giant roared. “I know it’s you! You’re dead!”
For a third time, Loki used the staff, but even though the blazing green lightning struck the approaching fire giant in the chest, it had little effect on him.
“Well, isn’t this disappointing,” Loki said, casually inspecting his staff. “It doesn’t seem to work on fire giants. I think we might be in trouble. . . .”
Freya looked back to Quinn and Skye. “I’ve got my sword, but it won’t do much against them. What can you do?”
“More than that,” Quinn cried. “Skye, you’re with me. Freya, do what you can to slow them down—we need time to prepare a spell!”
Freya looked up at Orus on her shoulder. “Get into the air and stay back. They’re too big for you.”
“They’re too big for all of us!” Orus cawed, and he launched off Freya’s shoulder and took flight.
“Archie, stay here,” Freya ordered as she flapped her wings and took off. She circled around him once and called, “Remember, you’re a ghost. They can’t hurt you. Even if this building goes down around you, you’ll be okay! Stay here and I’ll be back for you.”
“Be careful!” Archie cried.
Freya nodded and focused on the first fire giant. Quinn and Skye were beside her. “Do what you can to keep him focused on you,” Quinn ordered. “We’re going for his legs.”
Freya nodded and let out a loud Valkyrie howl, calling the giant’s attention to her. The closest fire giant saw her in the air and shouted, “I hate Valkyries!”
He swatted at her, and Freya felt the blast of searing-hot air. But she was fast enough to dart out of the way of the giant’s fiery hand.
“Come on, you can do better than that!” Freya teased. “Here I am—come and get me, Fire-Face!” She raised her sword and dived forward toward the giant’s burning ear. The heat from his flaming head singed her skin, but in a quick maneuver, she was able to pierce her sword right through his earlobe. “Now you can wear an earring!”
The giant screamed and slapped his hand up to his ear, missing her by a breath. Distracted by the pain in his ear, he failed to see Quinn and Skye at his knees. As Freya moved in for a second attack, she stole a look down and saw that the two Vanir had joined hands and were casting a spell.
Moments later the fire giant roared as he tried to move and
found that his two legs were magically fused together.
“Freya, knock him over!” Quinn shouted.
Freya dived at the giant again. But she didn’t need to touch him. The fire giant behind him swatted at her but missed. His hand struck the trapped fire giant with a blow so hard, it knocked the restrained giant off his feet and into a large, round building. The impact was enough to tip the building over, taking the flaming fire giant down with it.
There was little time to celebrate. No sooner had one fire giant gone down than there were two more to take its place. Working as a team, Freya, Quinn, and Skye managed to bring down four more giants. But they weren’t down for long, as Dark Elves arrived quickly and used their magic to release the spell restraining their legs.
“It’s the Dark Elves,” Quinn cursed. “There are too many here. Their combined powers are greater than ours.”
“Just do what you can!” Freya called as she flew at another giant.
Fighting the giants was like trying to push back the ocean with a spoon. They couldn’t possibly win, even with the Vanir’s powers and her skill with a sword.
Above them, jet fighters saw Freya and the Vanir fighting against the giants and joined in the attack. But even working together, they were badly outmatched.
Behind Freya, frost giants roared Loki’s name. When she circled back, she was stunned to see the Loki she knew was gone. He had changed and grown into one of the largest, most ferocious-looking frost giants she’d ever seen.
Everyone knew Loki was part frost giant. But Freya had never seen him in his true form. He was as terrifying as he was big. In fact, he towered over the other giants around him. Loki still had his recognizable long dark hair, but his face had taken on frost giant features: a large bulbous nose, protruding forehead, and full lips. His eyebrows were so bushy, she could barely see his eyes. His body was heavily muscled in his large green leather armor. But there was no mistaking the fact that this was still Loki.
The magic of the staff had grown with him. Loki wielded it like an expert and knocked over any giant who dared to come near. When he fired a blast of power at the frost giants, the effect was devastating and killed every frost giant it struck.
The frost and fire giants lost interest in Freya and the Vanir and started to go after Loki.
“Loki, look out!” Freya shouted.
Loki turned toward his attackers and charged. In the middle of the dense city, the powerful giants came together in an explosive, rolling battle that completely destroyed everything around them. Buildings fell like dominoes, and roads and bridges were torn up under the strain of the fight.
From somewhere in the middle of the melee, Loki shouted her name. His voice was deep, guttural, and rolling like thunder—but his message was clear. “Freya, get everyone outta here; you know what you must do!”
Freya had grown up on the battlefields of Earth and thought she’d seen a lot. But she’d never witnessed anything like this. The violence of the fight was worse than anything she could imagine. Nothing could withstand the impact of the wrestling giants, and before long, the beautiful city of Montreal lay in ruins.
“Go!” Loki roared again.
Freya turned away, flying toward Quinn. “Where’s Skye?”
“She’s gone to get Archie,” he called. “Loki’s right; we can’t stop the giants. We have to go!”
Moments later Skye fluttered back to them with Archie clutched in her arms. Freya flew closer. “I’ll take him. It’s easier for me to carry him.”
Archie shook his head. “No, Gee, not right now. You need to keep your sword arm free in case more giants come after us. I’m too much of a burden.”
“But Quinn and Skye have their magic—it’s stronger than me and my sword.”
“Not now,” Skye admitted. “The Elders were right. In Midgard, the Vanir lose their powers. Ours are fading fast. You must protect us until we reach Muspelheim, where they should be restored.”
“They’re right,” Orus called. “Let’s go—we can’t help Loki or Midgard now.”
Freya hesitated a moment longer and watched Loki fighting the other giants. Though he was taller and, by the looks of it, a lot stronger than the others, he was badly outnumbered.
It wasn’t long before he was overwhelmed by giants. The last thing Freya saw was Loki going down and all the others moving in to tear him apart. She was sickened to realize there was nothing she could do.
Loki and Earth were lost to the giants.
16
MAYA AWOKE TO THE SOUND of screaming. Opening her eyes, she discovered that she was buried in thick rubble. She started to cough as the settling dust filled her lungs. She took stock of the situation. She was sore, but nothing new was broken. Lying on her side, she found she was buried, but not trapped, in the rubble.
She could feel that the giants had gone. In the ruins of the house, Kai was buried to her left and just starting to stir. Grul was on her right. The raven was alive, but barely. The soldiers in the house were dead. Farther down the long corridor, Brundi was unconscious but very much alive. Mims was conscious and starting to panic as she tore through the remains of the house.
“Mom!” Mims cried again. “Where are you?”
“Maya?” Grul moaned.
“I’m here,” she said urgently. “Just hold on. I’ll get us free!”
Maya started to push back debris. A heavy ceiling beam was lying across her body, but the rubble beneath it kept its weight from crushing her. She’d been lucky. If it had hit her fully, she knew it would have broken her wings again, maybe even worse. With a bit more digging, she freed herself and then started to dig for Grul.
By the time she found him, Grul was in rough shape. His back was broken and a wing was bent at a terrible angle.
Maya’s hands trembled as she freed him. “Is it very bad? Are you in much pain?”
“I—I can’t feel anything.” The raven panicked. “Maya, I can’t move!”
“Calm down, Grul. You’re alive—that’s all that matters to me.”
Kai climbed from the debris beside her. His face and black hair were gray from building dust. “How is he?”
Maya fought to keep control. “His back is broken. He’s paralyzed. But he’s alive!”
“Mom!” Mims screeched as her panic intensified. “Maya! Kai! Where are you? I need your help!”
“Go.” Grul moaned. “Leave me and help Sarah.”
Maya refused to release Grul and carried him through to the back bedroom that housed Sarah and the baby. The strong sound of Michael’s cries was a relief to her. At least he was alive. But as she stumbled through the remains of the doorway, she felt Sarah’s life force fading.
“Maya, over here. Hurry!” Mims cried. “Please, we have to save her.”
The house had been cast into darkness by the attack, but with her Valkyrie vision, Maya was able to pick her way through the bedroom. Mims had cleared most of the rubble away from her mother.
Sarah was lying on the floor beside the bed with Michael sheltered in her arms. It was obvious to see that Sarah had protected him from the collapse with her body.
“Mom, please . . . ,” Mims cried.
Maya handed Grul to Kai and then lifted the baby away from Sarah. She placed Michael in Kai’s other hand. “Get them both out of here and stay on the beach. If the giants come back, don’t wait for us—just fly away. We’ll be right out.”
Mims was holding her mother’s hand. “Maya, please, help her.”
Kneeling beside her young cousin, Maya looked at Sarah. The damage to her human aunt was fatal. Nothing could save her now. Mims’s growing Valkyrie senses already told her the truth, but she couldn’t accept it.
“I’m so very sorry I can’t save her. I just don’t have that kind of power,” Maya said.
Mims shook her head. “I can’t lose her. Please . . .”
Maya sighed sadly. “You know there’s only one thing I can do, and that’s to end her pain.”
“She’s goin
g to die?” Mims sniffed.
Maya nodded. Her aunt had been struck by the giant’s fist. That she managed to save her baby was proof of her love. It tore at Maya to have to tell Mims the truth. “Her time has come. It’s too soon, but I can’t change that.”
“Will you reap her?” Mims choked through her tears. “Please, don’t let her suffer.”
Maya felt her own eyes welling up. Sarah was a good woman who didn’t deserve this violent end. “She named you, so you’ve already given her your name. We’ll reap her together, you and me, so you can always be together.” She took Mims’s hand and spoke the words she’d said so many times before. But this time, their meaning had never meant more.
“Sarah Angelo, your time has come. Let us end your suffering.”
Together they reached up and gently caressed Sarah’s forehead. Maya made certain her little finger grazed along the dying woman’s skin. Her throat constricted as she said, “Come, join us now. . . .”
“Mom . . .” Mims wept as her mother took her final, unsteady breath.
Soon her spirit rose and looked around in wonder. She glanced down at her body and then frowned at the gold-and-black Valkyrie symbol blazoned on the back of her hand. “Am I dead?”
Maya nodded. “I’m sorry, Sarah. It was the giants.”
“What happens now?” she asked in confusion. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“You won’t,” Maya said gently. “That symbol on your hand means you belong with the Valkyrie Myriam-Elizabet. Mims reaped you, so you will stay with her.”
“But the baby?” Sarah panicked.
“Michael is unharmed. You kept him safe. He’s with Kai outside.”
“Mom . . .” Mims threw her arms around her ghost mother and held her tight. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you . . . ,” she sobbed.
Sarah held her daughter the same way she had in life. “It’s all right, sweetheart. The worst is over and they can’t hurt me anymore.” She looked at Maya and nodded. “Thank you. Now I can stay with my family.”
“Sarah . . . ?”