by Kate O'Hearn
“Who’d have ever believed this?” Orus cawed as he stayed close to Freya. “For years we’ve remained invisible to human soldiers. Now we’re actually flying with them and they’re here to protect us.”
“I guess war does change the rules,” Freya admitted. When they approached the plaza, she understood what the soldiers were concerned about. There were hundreds of people gathered in the area. Their feelings of fear confirmed to Freya that they weren’t tourists visiting old ruins. These were desperate people looking for any kind of protection from the invaders.
“Greta,” the sergeant shouted. “Keep your team in the air until we secure the area and make it safe for you to land.”
Freya acknowledged the message and flapped her wings to climb higher in the sky. With Quinn and Skye close beside her, they heard the crowds shouting and saw their fists waving in the air at the sight of the winged visitors. These people didn’t see her as a black-winged angel, as so many in the past had. To them, Freya and her friends were part of the invasion.
“This isn’t good,” Orus cawed. “They’ll tear us apart if they get the chance.”
“We won’t give them the chance,” Freya said.
When the soldiers touched down, the crowds rushed forward, and the soldiers were forced to fire their weapons in the air to drive them back. But with tensions running so high, it wouldn’t take much to turn the situation into a violent riot.
“Quinn, Skye, follow me,” Freya called. She descended and landed on the tallest stone structure above the flat plaza. “Keep your wings open and get ready to fly if they try to climb up after us.”
Freya stood at the edge of the stone structure and looked out at the people rushing at the soldiers. She took a deep breath and released the loudest Valkyrie howl she could manage.
Civilians and soldiers alike covered their ears and tried to escape the harsh sound. But they couldn’t—the howl of a Valkyrie could be heard for miles, and it echoed through all the Andes Mountains.
“Hear me!” Freya called, using the special Valkyrie power that allowed her to be understood by anyone, no matter what language they spoke.
The gathered masses shook their heads and tried to clear their ears.
“We are here to defend Earth, not conquer it,” she started. “You need only look at the soldiers with us to see the truth. We are on a special mission. If we succeed, the giants will leave Earth. I am from Asgard, and my companions are from Vanaheim. Our realms are in as much danger as yours. We, like you, are fighting the giants, and our worlds, like yours, will fall if we fail.”
Freya’s senses told her that the people were listening. Many still had doubts, but at least their hostility was fading. “We know a way to defeat the giants and we know that there is a special place we can go to stop them. The tunnel to that place lies here, buried deep below the ground of Machu Picchu.”
Confusion rose in the crowds. An older man came forward and shouted in Spanish, “How can we trust you? It’s demons like you that are destroying our world.”
“We are not demons,” Freya called. “And we are united with you in our struggle against the giants! Please, will you help us find the tunnel that will lead us to the realm of the fire giants? It is there that we will stop them.”
“Freya,” Orus cawed. “You can’t promise that when it’s likely we’ll fail.”
“If we fail, it kinda won’t matter what Gee promises,” Archie said. “Earth will be toast anyway.”
“Look at them,” Freya said. “They’re terrified and helpless to stop the giants. Let me give them a little hope, if only for a while.” She turned back to the crowds. “To help us is to help yourselves. It’s the one thing you can do against the giants.”
That struck a chord with the people. They nodded, and their posture changed.
“Greta,” the sergeant called. “Where do we go? Where is the tunnel?”
“Quinn, use the map. Where’s the tunnel?”
Quinn pulled out Urd’s map. It showed the details of Machu Picchu, including the two peaks behind them. Using them as the starting point, he looked at the map and then toward the stone structures. “It’s down there, just past the Central Plaza, in a place called the Temple of the Sun.”
Freya opened her wings and jumped off the structure. She landed among the soldiers. “We need to find the Temple of the Sun.”
“Temple of the Sun?” a middle-aged woman asked nervously in perfect English with a strong Spanish accent. She was small and round and dressed in a colorful poncho and full skirt that was characteristic of the area. “It is down here, not far at all. I can show you.”
The woman turned to the crowds and called out in Spanish. Freya understood she was telling everyone they needed to find the Temple of the Sun.
Soon the masses of crowds parted and formed a path. The soldiers completely surrounded Freya and the two Vanir to ensure that no one came within touching distance. After a short walk, the woman stopped and pointed to a cluster of walled-off ruined structures. “It is that one,” she said.
“Gee, look, it’s the only place here with a round tower.”
Archie was right. While the other structures were square, angular buildings, the Temple of the Sun was a perfect semicircular structure built into the surrounding rock to match the natural environment.
“How do we get into the tunnel?” the sergeant asked Freya.
Freya shrugged. “I don’t know. But if the Incas knew that this was the tunnel to Muspelheim and knew what would happen to anyone who ventured there, it’s likely they would have blocked it off completely.”
“There is a large sacrificial stone inside,” the woman said. “It is in here that the priests performed the sacrifices to the gods for a prosperous harvest and to gain insight into the future. No one was allowed inside but them.”
Freya turned to the woman. “How do you know so much?”
“I am a tour guide here. Or at least I was until the giants came. Now we all come here seeking protection from the Ancient Ones.” She looked at Freya and the Vanir and bowed her head. “Ancient gods like you.”
“We aren’t gods,” Freya said. “We just come from another realm.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?” she asked.
“Not to me,” Freya said. “Would you please take us in and show us the stone?”
The woman bowed again and led them into the maze of structures that surrounded the entrance to the temple. “It is this way.”
They entered the temple and went into a small chamber with two large windows on opposite ends.
“Wow!” Archie cried as they went toward the area of sacrifice. “That’s not a stone. It’s the top of the mountain! How’re we going to lift it?”
The altar stone was lying on the floor and took up most of the chamber. It was at least three yards long and two yards wide. To the casual viewer, it looked as though it was a natural stone that was part of the mountaintop and that the temple had been built around it. But as Freya bent down and inspected the stone more closely, she could see it had actually been placed there. Casting out her senses, she could feel a cavern beneath it. Grasping the corner of the massive stone, she started to lift.
The stone shifted a bit, but as she continued to strain, Freya realized that she couldn’t lift it.
Panting, she stood up and looked at Quinn. “It’s under here. I can feel it. But I’m not strong enough to lift it on my own.”
“We can all help,” the sergeant said. “Hook ropes on it and pull through that window.”
Freya shook her head. “It will take more than all of us together to shift it.”
“Gee, you’re not giving up, are you?” Archie asked.
“No, but it’s going to take more than strength to move it.”
“Like what?” the sergeant asked.
Quinn and Skye were doing their own inspection. “Magic will shift it,” Quinn informed them. “Whoever placed this here didn’t want others moving it to access the tunnel.”
&n
bsp; “Maybe it was to stop the giants from coming up,” the sergeant offered. “There haven’t been any sightings of them here in Peru.”
Freya shook her head. “Believe me, if they wanted to come through here, that rock wouldn’t stop them. No, they either don’t know about it or, more likely, they can’t fit through the tunnel and had to take another route.”
“But we’ll fit through it,” Quinn said. He looked at the sergeant. “Would you take your people out of here and move the crowds back? We don’t want anyone hurt.”
The sergeant nodded and ordered most of his soldiers out of the temple. A few minutes later, one called through the window, “All clear out here, sir!”
“All right,” he said. “It’s up to you now.”
Freya stepped up to Quinn and Skye. “Please tell me you have enough power left to do this.”
“I hope so,” Quinn said. He took Skye’s hand and then looked at Freya. “Give me your hand as well. Let’s see if that Aesir blood of yours holds any power.”
Freya took Quinn’s hand and stood facing the ancient stone. As the two Vanir started to cast a spell, she felt a strange tickling sensation go through her.
Her mind burst with wild, vivid colors, and she could feel a power older than time itself. It was a natural power that came from all around them—from the earth below their feet, the blue sky above them, from the trees in the mountains surrounding them, from the animals and all the people anxiously waiting outside the temple. Finally she felt the presence of the Great Cosmic Tree itself.
As the moments ticked by, the Vanir’s spell grew louder and more intense. Because it was spoken in an ancient tongue, Freya couldn’t understand the words, but she could see the result. The stone that had lain undisturbed for millennia started to tremble. Dust rose from the dry ground, and a rumbling arose from deep inside the earth. Soon the massive stone started to lift.
Freya stole a look at Quinn and saw his eyes were closed in deep concentration. Skye’s were the same. The stone was moving slowly, as though it were on a hinge. The back edge was staying put, but the front was lifting like a trapdoor. Higher and higher it climbed until the bottom of the stone finally lifted out of the pit, revealing the narrow tunnel beneath it.
A whoosh of stale, hot air blasted Freya’s and the Vanir’s hair back. It smelled of sulfur and earth.
When the stone was secured, standing on its long edge, Quinn and Skye opened their eyes. Their faces were covered in a thin film of sweat from the effort.
“Awesome . . . !” Archie breathed.
The soldiers beside them were speechless. They stared at the massive stone and then back to the two Vanir who had moved it with only the power of thought. The sergeant came forward and touched the edge of the stone to ensure it was secure. It wouldn’t move.
He looked back at Freya and the Vanir. “Remind me never to annoy you kids.”
“It wasn’t me,” Freya said. “It was them.”
“It was all of us,” Skye said. “We can manipulate the energy of life. Without it, we have no magic.” She turned to Freya. “I never knew Valkyries had so much power in them.”
“Me? Really?” Freya said. “All I have are strong senses.”
Quinn shook his head. “No. You have much more than that. But it’s wild and untrained. With a little practice you could be as powerful as the Vanir.”
“Cool!” Archie cried. “Gee, you gotta learn to do that!”
“We’ve got to survive this war first,” Orus cawed.
“And to do that, we have to go down there.” Freya pointed into the dark tunnel.
The sergeant nodded. “I’ll gather my soldiers together. We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready.”
“Wait,” Freya said. “You’re not coming with us.”
“Yes, we are,” the sergeant said. “We’re your escort. We’ve signed on to support your mission, and we’re going to follow that through.”
Freya shook her head. “You can’t. Earth is the only realm that can support human life. I assure you, you’ll die if you try to follow us.”
The soldier looked doubtful. “We have our orders. We’ll take you as far as we can, and then if we see signs of trouble, we’ll stop.”
Freya could tell there would be no arguing with him. He was a dedicated soldier, trained to follow orders. “I won’t stop you from following us, but this is foolish.”
“Let me be the judge of that,” the sergeant said.
While the sergeant pulled his team together, Freya walked out of the stone temple and drew her flame sword. Having been crafted by the power of the dwarfs, nothing could hurt or dull the enchanted gold blade. She used the tip to carve her ornate Valkyrie mark on the wall. If her mother or the others tried to follow, they would know where to start.
When it was time to enter the tunnel, Freya led the way, with Archie, Quinn, and Skye close behind. The eight soldiers followed at the rear. As they descended deeper, the soldiers turned on their flashlights.
Tina gasped as she touched the wall. “Sir, feel this—it’s warm.”
The sergeant touched the wall with his bare hand. “It feels organic, not like rock.”
Freya looked back at them. “It is. We told you, we are following one of the roots of Yggdrasil. That wall is a living root.”
“That tree you keep talking about is actually real?” the sergeant asked.
Freya nodded. “Of course it’s real. Yggdrasil connects all the realms. Without it, we’ll all die. So it must be protected.”
Awe rose from all the soldiers as they each took turns touching the root of Yggdrasil.
Archie burst into laughter. “Look at their faces—that’s priceless! Maybe we should tell them that Santa Claus is real too. I bet they’d believe us!”
Freya grinned and whispered to him, “Be nice. Remember, your expression was exactly the same the first time you saw me.”
Orus was on Freya’s shoulder, watching the soldiers with concern. “I don’t know if it’s a good thing that humans learn that the realms and Yggdrasil are real. It could make things difficult for us.”
“How?” Freya asked. “They can’t live outside Midgard, so visiting or even making war on the other realms is impossible.”
“I’ve seen human determination,” Orus said. “They’ll find a way eventually.”
“And we’ll be ready for them if they do,” Freya finished.
* * *
After two days and nights in the dark, narrow tunnel, the temperature increased and the soldiers started to suffer the first signs of realm-change difficulties. Progress slowed, and Freya was feeling the pressure to keep moving without them. But at the same time, she knew she couldn’t leave them behind.
As they stopped for a break, Sergeant Romin couldn’t catch his breath. He was in his fifties and feeling the pressure more than the younger soldiers. Freya sensed his heart was beating too fast, struggling to pump his thickening blood around his body. It would soon become dangerous for him.
“Now do you believe us?” she asked the panting sergeant. “By tomorrow we’ll be out of the influence of Midgard completely and heading toward Muspelheim. You must believe me when I say it will kill you. Look at your people. You’re all sick. If you go much farther, I promise you you’ll die.”
The sergeant lifted his head and frowned, not at Freya but at Archie, standing beside her. He squinted and then jumped. “There’s someone beside you!”
Freya nodded. “This is my friend Archie. He’s been with us all along.”
“I don’t understand,” the sergeant said. “How? I haven’t seen him.”
“That’s because, technically speaking, I’m dead,” Archie explained. “On Earth, I’m a ghost, which is why you couldn’t see me. But as I pass into the other realms, I regain my physical presence. Now that we’re in an area of transition between realms, I’m becoming solid just as you’re getting weaker.”
“You’re—you’re really a ghost?” the sergeant asked.
Freya nodde
d. “I reaped Archie when he was critically wounded in Chicago. This is what I’ve been trying to tell you. Midgard is unique. Only in death can humans visit the other realms—otherwise, the journey to the realms kills them.”
“So you’ve gotta go back,” Archie insisted. “Look at you. It’ll only get worse if you stay.”
“But our orders . . .” The sergeant panted.
“Your orders weren’t to die,” Freya insisted. “Your commanders wouldn’t expect you to go to the bottom of the ocean without proper protection. This is the same thing. Living humans can’t survive this environment.”
The sergeant struggled to his feet. Like all the other soldiers, he was ghostly pale and could barely breathe. His lips and fingertips were turning blue. “So,” he gasped, “if you touched me, you would reap me, and I could continue this mission.”
Freya nodded. “Theoretically, yes, but I wouldn’t touch you because it would kill you. So you must all go back.”
Before Freya could stop him, the sergeant grasped her bare hand. She shouted in protest, but it was too late. In an instant, and completely against her will, Freya’s Valkyrie powers reaped him.
“No!” she cried as she watched his body fall to the ground, dead.
18
“WE NEED TO GET TO safety!” Maya called to Kai as they headed east in the sky. Between them they were carrying Brundi, Mims, Sarah, and the baby. They followed the trail the giants had made and saw that they were moving north, heading toward the tunnel to Asgard in northern Canada.
Maya changed direction and led them south toward Colorado Springs, in the direction of the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station. It was one of the most secure places in the country and central command for all the defending military forces. They had originally declined its sanctuary and chosen the California safe house instead. But now Maya and Kai agreed it was the safest place for Brundi, Mims, and the baby.
They flew down toward a large circular tunnel entrance where a carved sign read, CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN COMPLEX. They soared over the security gates and past the armed soldiers posted there. There was furious activity below as the various military forces arrived and left in response to the giants.