by Kate O'Hearn
“We must go back,” Maya said. “Dirian must be stopped.”
Vanir-Freyja shook her head. “No, child. Our first priority is stopping the giants from destroying Midgard, Vanaheim, and all the realms in between. When they are on our side, we’ll move on Asgard and go after Dirian.”
“But he could kill Odin!” Maya insisted.
“It is a risk,” Vanir-Freyja said. “But Odin is powerful and resourceful. I doubt many alive today will remember what a fierce fighter he can be. It won’t be easy for Dirian to kill him.”
The sergeant stepped closer to the ancient Vanir. His eyes were filled with passion. “There is nothing I would love to do more than follow you wherever you go. . . .”
Maya felt the sergeant and all the soldiers in the tunnel reacting to Vanir-Freyja’s beauty. They were all under her spell and would do anything she said. Or so Maya thought. She was stunned when the soldier continued. “But with all due respect, Odin must be protected. I’ve seen what that monster Dirian can do. We have to stop him from claiming the throne.”
“Of course.” Vanir-Freyja smiled at him, and her smile commanded all the soldiers’ attention. “Our paths lie in different directions.” She turned to Skye. “The choice is yours, my young, brave friend. You may stay with Maya and me as we go after the giants, or lead these Guardians of Yggdrasil to Asgard to protect Odin.”
“We won’t make it there without you,” Sergeant Romin said. “Skye, only you can help us.”
Skye’s eyes moved from Maya to Vanir-Freyja and then to the sergeant. Finally, determination rose on her young face and she nodded. “What Vanir-Freyja says is true. Our paths do lie in different directions. I will go with the soldiers and use my magic to help defend Odin.”
Maya walked up to the young Vanir girl with the badly tattered butterfly wings. “You remind me so much of Freya. Please, take special care of yourself.” She gave her a powerful hug. “When this is over, if we are all still standing, there will be great celebrations in Asgard and we will all know such joy.”
Skye nodded. “And all the Vanir will be there.”
* * *
Maya stood with Vanir-Freyja and watched the brave soldiers departing down the tunnel with Skye. She could sense that the change in realms was not affecting the soldiers. It was true, Yggdrasil had altered them and made them all part of the Great Cosmic Tree.
“Do you think they’ll be all right?”
“I hope so,” Vanir-Freyja said. “Yggdrasil is counting on them.”
“We all are,” Maya agreed.
Once again the Vanir used her magic to move them swiftly through the tunnel. Finally, their long journey came to an end when the ground beneath them started to tilt up toward the entrance in the Temple of the Sun in Peru.
“Now, before we start, we must be set on our course.” The ancient Vanir took Maya’s hands. “This will not be as easy as you might think, my child. We are going to cast a spell that will never be broken. In doing this, we will unleash your greatest power—power that has lain dormant within you until now.
“After this, anyone who hears you—be they giant, human, elf, or Asgardian—will become as obsessed with you as they are with me. The life you knew will end. You will know no peace, freedom, or respite from their pursuit. Not in Asgard, Midgard, or any realm. They will always be looking for you—not to do harm, but to love and possess you. Trust me. This is a great burden to carry, much greater than you have known. To find peace, you will have to do as I have done and live the rest of your life in hiding.”
Maya considered her words carefully. “If we do this, will it end the war?”
Vanir-Freyja nodded. “I believe so. When the giants are enchanted, they will do our bidding and return home. All that will remain will be to stop Dirian and his men from taking the throne. Even if they succeed in killing Odin, they must never rule. If needs be, we will command the giants to stop them for us.”
“I understand,” Maya said somberly. She took her great-great-grandmother’s hand and nodded. “Let’s do this.”
33
KAI, QUINN, AND ARCHIE RAN into the War Room but stopped short when they saw Loki holding Freya.
“Loki?” Archie cried. “What are you doing here? We saw you die in Montreal.”
“Get away from my sister!” Kai demanded, charging over.
Loki gave Freya a final squeeze and whispered gently, “Dry your tears and don’t tell them about Brundi or Skaga. It can’t help them to know just yet.”
He turned on Archie. “You might wish I had died, ghost, but it will take more than a few giants to end me. So what took you so long to get here? Or were you hoping Freya and I would take Dirian down by ourselves?”
That set Kai off, and he furiously explained what they’d been through.
While Kai talked, Archie approached Freya. “Gee, are you all right?”
Freya nodded, still unable to speak without breaking down and telling him what had happened to her family. Instead she stumbled into his arms, grateful that he was unharmed.
“It’s gonna be all right. I promise,” he reassured her. “I know what Dirian did to you. But you’re alive—that’s all that matters.”
Freya nodded and pointed to the place where she’d been chained. Posted on the wall were her black wings.
“That monster! He’s mounted them like a trophy!” Archie left Freya and ran over to the wall. Jumping up, he caught hold of her severed wings and wrenched them down. “I’d rather see them burned than left up there for him.”
“I’m so sorry.” Quinn approached her cautiously. “Do you want me to get rid of them so Dirian can’t have them?”
When Freya nodded, Quinn put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “You’re sure?” he asked gently.
Was she sure? Her wings . . . They were so much a part of her life. How was she going to live without them? “They’re not really mine anymore. They’re just useless wings that will never fly again. Yes, please, destroy them.”
“Your beautiful wings . . . ,” Orus moaned.
“They’re gone,” Freya whispered to him.
Quinn took the wings from Archie and frowned. “They’re much heavier than I expected,” he said. “No wonder you could fly so fast—you had an unfair advantage when we raced. No one could beat these!”
Archie shook his head. “Not now, Quinn . . .”
“Archie, it’s all right,” Freya said, knowing Quinn was trying to make her feel better. As she watched Quinn put her wings down on the floor, Freya realized that was another thing she would grieve over for the rest of her life. She wondered how long it would take to get used to being grounded.
“You might want to look away,” Kai warned.
“C’mon, Gee,” Archie said, taking her by the hand. “Let’s check on Skuld.”
When they walked over to the Norn, Kai looked back to where Quinn was casting the spell that would destroy Freya’s wings. “I swear I am going to kill Dirian for doing that to you.”
“We all are,” Archie agreed.
Freya wiped away the last of her tears and swallowed down her pain. There would be time enough to mourn later. She took a deep breath. “If we’re going to find Dirian, we’d better get moving. He and his men have gone to Asgard to kill Odin.”
“We heard,” Archie said, still holding her hand tightly. “And we will . . .”
“Just as soon as we get you and Skuld to Vanaheim,” Quinn added as he rejoined them.
Freya stole a quick look back, but there was no longer any evidence of her wings. They were gone. Just like Skaga and Brundi. “I don’t want to go back to Vanaheim. . . .”
“You must,” Quinn insisted. “They’ll take care of you and help you heal. And Skuld must be returned to her sisters.”
“I’m afraid there’s no time for that,” Loki said. “Dirian and his men already have a good head start. If we have any hope of getting to Asgard before he does his worst, we must all go now.”
“No. You’re w
rong,” Quinn said. “Freya and Skuld must be taken to safety first.”
Freya could feel that Quinn cared for her, and it warmed her heart. In this—the worst moment of her life—she realized she felt the same for him. But this wasn’t the time for emotions. Freya shook her head. “After everything Dirian has taken from me, I want to be there when we stop him. I have to be there. All I need is a bit of that potion of yours—the one that takes away pain. Then we can go.”
“But it’s too dangerous,” Quinn insisted.
“She has to do this,” Orus cawed. “And for once I agree with her. Freya must face Dirian one last time if she’s ever to get past this.”
“It’ll be all right, Quinn,” Archie said. “Nothing’s ever too dangerous for our Gee. Just give her the potion. We don’t have time to argue.”
“Finally the ghost has something intelligent to say!” called Loki as he knelt beside Skuld. “And when you’re finished making the potion for Freya, get over here and open Skuld’s lock.”
* * *
Once Skuld was free, she looked even younger and more vulnerable—standing no higher than Freya’s shoulder and staring forward blankly. Despite her seeming youth, she was the oldest among them, and the expression on her face made it clear that no one was going to tell her no, or risk angering the tempestuous Norn. “I will go with you to Asgard,” she said firmly. “There will be no arguing with me.”
“Of course,” Loki said. His expression made it clear he was cautious around the ancient Norn.
They headed out of the War Room and entered the corridor.
“Freya, look out. It’s the troll that attacked you!” Orus cawed in warning.
Freya simultaneously realized two things. One, she wasn’t in pain anymore and could move quickly again. Two—and perhaps most important—although Quinn’s potion did relieve her pain, it dulled her senses. She hadn’t felt the troll lingering in the corridor.
Freya raised her sword to dispatch him.
“Gee, no!” Archie cried, grabbing her arm. “Don’t. He’s with us.”
“With you?” Freya frowned and looked from the troll to Archie. “He attacked me when I was in the dungeon. He’s no friend of mine!” She pulled her arm away. “Let me do this!”
“Freya, stop!” Skuld commanded. “He has a purpose to fulfill in the future. You must not harm him.”
“But—”
“I swear he’s with us now,” Archie said. “Maya reprogrammed him. He’s here to protect you and will show us the way out.”
The troll nodded. “Maya told me I had to protect you. I am your slave. . . .”
Freya felt pity mixed with disgust as she watched the sniveling, round troll appear to be happy to be her slave. She took a step back. “All right. All right. You can protect me—but you’re not my slave, and you’re never to call yourself that again! Do you understand?”
The troll nodded. “I do. I do understand. I will be a good slave.”
Freya sighed and shook her head. “How did Dirian get out of here?”
“I will show you!” the troll squealed, jumping gleefully to his stubby feet. He caught Freya by the hand. “Come, come, this way. It will be faster, and I can keep you safe!”
Freya was repulsed by the touch of the troll, but she let him lead her forward. The silence was disturbing as they walked through the long corridor. Where was everyone? Surely their escape couldn’t be this easy. Not too long ago, the keep was teeming with Dark Searchers and Dark Elves. When she asked the troll, he shrugged. “They’re with Dirian on his mission to kill Odin. Only a few were left, but we’ve killed them to protect you.”
Freya looked back at her brother.
Kai nodded. “We encountered a couple of Dark Searchers and a few Dark Elves and dwarfs. They killed Sergeant Romin before we could stop them. But it seems the keep is now empty.”
Freya wasn’t sure if this was a relief or a worry. Just how bad was it in Asgard?
“This way,” the troll cried, leading them to the tower stairs. “We all go down.”
Everything about the keep was eerily quiet. Only the sounds of their footfalls on the thick stone steps disturbed the overwhelming silence.
When they reached the next level, Freya saw the remains of the Dark Searchers and elves Kai was talking about. By the looks of things, the fight had been quick but deadly. As she studied the bodies, she couldn’t see the sergeant. She also noted that some of them had no obvious wounds and wondered if Quinn had used magic to dispatch them. She looked back at the Vanir. Quinn simply nodded, confirming it was true.
At the bottom of the stairs, the troll led them forward into another dark, low-ceilinged tunnel. They walked single file, Quinn keeping close to Skuld and acting as her eyes as they reached a narrow archway, with an even narrower corridor beyond it. At the end of that corridor, they faced another set of steps going down. The air around them felt stale and the temperature seemed to be rising, despite their being underground.
“This was only to be used in emergencies . . . ,” the troll said. “But now that the other tunnel is blocked, it is the only way out during the hot day.”
The potion kept most of her pain under control. But the heat of the still air around them made Freya’s burnt skin prickle. She didn’t like this one bit. As the troll started to descend, she had no choice but to follow.
At the bottom, they stood before two wide double doors.
Kai tried to push them open but failed. “There’s magic keeping them sealed.” He looked back at Quinn. “Can you open them?”
Quinn left Skuld in Loki’s care and came forward. He brushed past Freya, smiled, and reached for her hand. “With a bit of help, I can.”
Freya blushed under the intensity of his stare and took his hand.
“Oh, please,” Loki cried. “I think I’m going to be sick. Just open the doors already.”
“You ready?” Quinn asked.
Freya nodded, recalling how she had unlocked the chain around her neck. She took a deep breath, forcing down all her grief, pain, and rage, and focused only on finding calm. She closed her eyes, breathed softly, and thought of nothing but opening the doors.
Holding tightly to Quinn’s hand, she felt his presence so close, it was almost as though they were one person. His powers flowed into her, and her own power entered him and then came back into her again. Merged together, their combined powers were directed toward the doors.
The doors didn’t just open; they exploded into tiny bits that rained down into the exit tunnel.
“Wow,” Archie cried. “That was awesome!”
Orus cawed and flapped his wings. “You did it!”
Quinn kept hold of Freya’s hand. “Someone’s been practicing.”
“Freya, is there something you should tell us?” Loki asked with a raised eyebrow.
“It’s nothing,” Freya said quickly. She released Quinn’s hand, suddenly feeling awkward, and stormed into the tunnel.
“Freya, calm down,” Orus said. “You should celebrate what you can do.”
What could she do? That was the question. Until now she’d been just a plain Valkyrie. Yet there was no denying that she possessed the power of the Vanir. Nothing in her life made any sense anymore.
She looked up at the raven on her shoulder. “Orus, stop. I don’t want to think about this or anything else!”
Archie ran to catch up with her. “Gee, what is it? Something’s wrong—and don’t tell me it’s just your wings. I know you too well. It’s more than that.”
Freya refused to look at him and kept moving. Archie was her best friend and knew her better than anyone else. She wanted nothing more than to share with him her grief over the loss of her sister and Brundi, and her confusion over her Vanir powers. Instead she said, “Please don’t ask me now. I can’t tell you; it hurts too much. Ask when this is over.”
“Okay,” he agreed reluctantly. “But you know, don’t you, when you’re ready to talk, I’m right here.”
Freya stopped
and gave him a sad smile. She nodded. “I know.”
“Enough chatter,” the troll called. “Come, come, we must move. It is a long walk to the Great City.”
“We’re not going to walk,” Quinn said. He cast a spell that lifted them up and carried them swiftly through the tunnel. They were moving so fast, the torches posted on the wall flashed by them like twinkling candles.
They stopped when they reached the entrance to the Great City. “We’re going to need a disguise, and I know just the thing.” Quinn magicked clothes for them out of thin air.
“Dark Elves again?” Archie moaned as he held up a mask and cloak. “We’re going to cook in all this clothing.”
“It’s better than being roasted alive by the fire giants,” Quinn said. “Just imagine what that would be like.”
His words stabbed through Freya’s heart like a dagger as she thought of Skaga being killed by a fire giant. It took all her strength to fight back the tears that lingered painfully close to the surface.
“He couldn’t have known about Skaga and didn’t say that to hurt you,” Loki whispered to her as the others were busy changing into their disguises. “You’ll get through this, Freya. I know you will, and you’ll be stronger for it.”
Freya looked up into his dark eyes and for a moment saw beyond the troublemaker she had known her whole life. So this was the man Brundi had cared for and called family. As he winked at her and walked away, she wondered if this was the real Loki, and whether the mischief-maker of Asgard was just the mask he wore.
Kai pulled the Dark Elves’ cloak over his white wings and took the lead going up the steps. He reached a closed trapdoor and drew his sword. “I can feel others are up there. Wait here. I’ll call when it’s clear.”
Kai shoved open the trapdoor and disappeared through it. They heard the sound of a scuffle and then two loud grunts.
Kai appeared at the trapdoor again. “All clear—you can come up now.”
Two Dark Elves lay in a heap. Kai reached for one elf and called to Archie, “Grab the other one. We’ll hide them behind this barrel.”
Freya looked up at the high ceiling and enormous doors around them and realized that they were in the cellar of a fire giant pub. Just across from them was a stack of enormous kegs of mead. The stench of the strong drink in the intense heat was almost overwhelming and threatened to make Freya sick. From above came the loud sounds of drunken laughter and heavy dancing.