“Come again?”
With an exaggerated sigh, Modi explained. “Mjolnir, that hammer, and Jarngreipr, those gauntlets, are two of your accoutrements. Without them, you’re not the entirety of what you can be. With them, no one will doubt you again. But Megingjord, your belt of strength, was lost in the fight with the Midgard Serpent. If you could get to Vigridr and find it, then everything would work out. And no one will die.”
“And, Vigridr is…”
“The island where you died. Where many of us died.” His breath was shaky as he peered at her, a pained smile on his face.
“Is it in Asgard? I mean Idavollr?” She finally remembered the name. It had been bugging her for days. She was so proud of herself. Then what they’d said dawned on her. It was a bit more important than finally remembering a word. The gods were going to die? “Wait, what do you mean no one will die?”
Magni shook his head. “No. It’s here on Midgard. But it’s sealed. Ever since Ragnarok, no one has been able to enter it. I know not how or why, only that it’s so.”
“I assumed that it was done with Odin’s dying breath,” Modi said. “Perhaps we could leave the island but not enter it again.”
“He was eaten whole. How would he have time for such a thing?”
Modi scoffed. “Because he was eaten whole. Fenrir’s stomach acid should be no stronger than any others, despite his size. He’d have time.”
“I don’t think so. Fenrir would’ve chewed.”
“It’s certainly not what I heard.”
Hannah rolled her eyes. She’d grown used to the idea of an old her dying. Thor wasn’t her, at least not really. That didn’t bug her, but these two completely talking past her to go on about mythology was starting to. It was like having two Alyses. “But what about people dying?” she shouted. “You’re avoiding the question.”
Modi looked chagrined, but Magni only looked sad. He didn’t even face her, looking over the top of her head. Not that that was hard. “There’s an apple tree that keeps us all young. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, we’re not anymore. Young, that is.”
“I thought it made you immortal.”
“So you have heard of it.” Modi stared into her eyes, his tone growing somber. “Without those apples, we’ll all grow old and die. You included. But they’re still in Asgard, and the way is blocked off. Idunn has tried growing a new tree, but it won’t bear fruit for many decades. The one in Asgard is the only hope, and without your belt of strength, none of us could remove all the rubble.”
“I’m sure you and I could do it together,” Hannah said. Did she still want to get an apple for Alys? Or was that for Hel? It definitely made it harder to care, but she didn’t want them dying either. And she certainly couldn’t allow her children to die. That was more than enough reason. It didn’t matter how crazy all of this was, they were still her sons, her responsibility, and she couldn’t let them die.
He shrugged. He didn’t look as if he believed her. “Perhaps. But they’ll never let you try if they don’t trust you. We need the belt. Modi and I will keep looking. I’m certain we’ll find a way into Vigridr.”
Hannah chewed on her lip. “I just need to find some island on Earth? And then find my belt? I can do that.”
“It’s no mere island,” Magni said.
“A hundred miles by a hundred miles, according to the prophecies. I didn’t have the chance to measure.”
“Should be easy to find, then.”
“It’s not finding it that’s the problem. It’s getting in and then securing the belt. I just hope nothing has taken up residence in the time since we’ve been gone.”
“If nothing can enter, then how could it?” Modi asked.
Magni ignored him. “Do you have a map?”
Hannah pulled up a map on her phone, letting the two of them marvel at the device until one of them almost snapped it in half. “Hey! Be careful.”
“My apologies, Father…Mother?”
“Hannah.”
“Hannah. It should be here.” Modi handed it back, his finger on a not-insubstantial stretch of water. “But until we figure out how to unseal the boundary—”
Smirking, Hannah said, “Let me know if you find it out, but I think I may have an idea.” She neglected to clarify, but they didn’t push. That was a relief. They would hate it if they found out what it entailed. Waving good-bye to them, she climbed into Emily’s car. “Oh, do you need a ride to the Bifrost?”
Magni grinned. “Yes, that would be much appreciated, thank you.”
✥ ✥ ✥
“Fuck yeah! Does this mean I need to call out?” Emily asked after Hannah had briefed her on the situation.
“No, I figured we’d leave after your shift Friday night. I can’t miss work, and I need to make sure my plan will actually work. You sure you’re in? Think you can get the weekend off? I have absolutely no idea how long it would take to sail there, and I forgot to figure out how to get a boat. Fuck.”
“Hannah, of course I’m in.” She chuckled. “Finally, we get to do the cool part of being gods. I want to go on an epic quest.”
“And save our kids?”
“Right. Sure.”
Hannah sighed. “Emily—”
“Oh, come on. You get all the cool powers and everything, the least I can get out of this is getting to be the hero in a big action movie.”
Hannah couldn’t help but smile at that. Of course that was why Emily was so pissed she didn’t get the kind of powers Hannah and Alys did. She wanted to be like in her movies. “All right. Fine, Conan.”
“The Arnold version, right? I can live with that.” She grinned. “Wait, you have a plan for dealing with a magic barrier but not one for dealing with a boat? That’s kind of impressive.”
Sulking, Hannah grumbled back, “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
“The boat comes first.”
“Then I hadn’t thought that far behind.”
Planting a soft kiss on Hannah’s cheek, Emily said, “Okay, so what’s the plan?”
“Think you can handle spending the weekend journeying to a magical land with your best friend? And your girlfriend, obviously. I’m not missing this.”
Shutting her eyes, Emily collapsed into the broken recliner with a massive groan and clutched her head. “Right. I guess we do need the only person we know with magical powers. Are you sure your hammer can’t break it?”
She shrugged. She’d left the hammer in the back of the car and avoided giving it further thought. “Don’t think so. Besides, if that was all it took, our kids…Modi and Magni,” she corrected, since Emily hated saying that. “Would have done so.”
“They’re not the brightest.”
“Well, they didn’t have us to teach them for plenty of that time.”
“Aren’t they like thousands of years old?”
“I’m not actually sure. Try asking Alys.”
Her jaw clenched. “Fine. Call them. I’ll try to deal with it.” She rose from her seat. “I’m going to work. I’ll see about getting the weekend off and putting in an extra hour.” She sounded pissed, but she still gave Hannah a peck on the lips before she grabbed the car keys from the kitchen table. “Love you.”
“Love you too.” Hannah sank into the seat Emily had just vacated. She’d never actually called Alys herself, but she had gotten their number. She found it in her contacts and tapped the screen to call.
Alys answered on the first ring. “Hannah?” They were clearly surprised to hear from her.
“Yeah.” She wanted to go right in, but after the last time they’d seen each other, she had to ask, “You doing okay?”
A pained laugh echoed over the phone. “Not terribly. I feel like I’ve made a mess of everything. I’ve been trying to give Emily space, but I keep looking at the phone, hoping she’s contacting me. Though it’s nice hearing from you.” They hesitated. “Does she know you’re talking to me?” They swallowed, and their voice rose in a panicked pitch. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. We just want to go to Vergooder…Ver…the Ragnarok place.”
“You what?”
“Wanna come?”
Hannah could almost picture them staring in annoyed confusion at their phone. Or maybe it was barely contained excitement, as much as Alys loved all this mythology stuff. “Yeah. I’d love to.”
“Oh. That was easy.” She wasn’t disappointed, but she’d been planning a whole speech about how it would maybe win Emily’s forgiveness, and it would be a really cool adventure, and they’d get to go on a boat…right, the boat. “I don’t suppose you have access to a ship that could handle traveling across the ocean? ’Cause I’ve got nothing. I’m buying a kayak soon, though.” She knew that that wasn’t helpful, but she was really excited for it. She hadn’t rowed in a while and was starting to miss it.
“I don’t think that’ll help. Why do you want me to come, anyway?”
Right, the important part. She’d skipped it. “It’s sealed with magic, and we can’t do magic. Also, I think that it would be a great way for you and Emily to patch things up,” she added, trying to make it make it clear she wasn’t just using Alys. She really did want them and Emily to patch things up. She knew how important they were to each other.
“Oh.” And it sounded like the addition made no difference. They seemed kind of hurt.
“I really do want you there.”
“It’s fine. I’m gonna see what I can find out about Vigridr.”
That was what it was called. Hannah smacked her forehead and instantly regretted it. Ow.
“You two keep me abreast of anything. What was that sound?”
“Nothing.”
“Okay.” They sounded skeptical. “Hel might have some info. If I tell her I need to help you do this so you can get the apple, maybe she’ll stop insisting I kill you and take your place. I don’t have superstrength, so I’m still not sure how that’s supposed to work.”
Hannah shuddered. “Could you maybe not mention killing me so casually?”
“I said I wasn’t going to do it.”
“While that’s more comforting than the alternative, it’s still not that comforting.”
“Kinda does give you more reason to not trust me, huh? I assume the fact that I’m being honest about it doesn’t make a difference?”
“Maybe a little bit of one?”
“I have a lot of loyalty to Hel—she was there for me when no one else was—but Emily is my best friend, and you’re…” They trailed off. “You’re her girlfriend. I promise, hell, I swear on my life, I will not hurt you. Unless you’re into it.” They gave an awkward chuckle, clearly hoping that the humor would break the tension.
It didn’t. “Leave off the last part.”
“I won’t hurt you. I promise.”
“Fine. Okay. Thank you. Go talk to Hel, tell her you’re not killing me, and see if she has a boat.”
“I always do end up captaining her ship, don’t I? Yeah, I’m pretty confident I can get us a ship, and likely the spell to get past that barrier too. When are we leaving?”
“Does Saturday at around four a.m. work for you?”
“Sure. I don’t work Sundays or Mondays, so I’ll put in for Saturday off. Shouldn’t be an issue. I hardly ever take time off.”
Hannah smiled. Finally, someone understood her priorities. Emily cared so little about making sure she could actually get out of work. “That’s very responsible of you. All right, I’ll tell Emily the plan when she gets home. You have a good night.”
“Think it’d help win her over if I brought food?”
“Well, it’d certainly make me love you.”
They stammered, and it took a second for the reply to become words. Did Alys have a crush on her? No. Of course not. That would be ridiculous. She was Emily’s girlfriend. “I’ll do pulled pork. I know it’s her favorite, and I’ll make sure to bring enough buns for you.”
“There can never be enough buns for me.” She hadn’t meant that to sound at all sexual, but she stood by it.
“Well, I’m gonna go talk to my daughter. Bye.” They hung up, leaving Hannah alone to figure out what to expect. This was going to be a very weird trip. Wait, had Modi and Magni said she’d died fighting a giant snake? What else was gonna be there? She wished she could trust herself with that hammer.
Chapter Twenty-three
At the docks, as a few workers and fishermen milled about, Emily and Hannah found Alys waiting in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. It seemed they all had about the same idea for clothes, but Hannah wore a tank top and a jacket, while Emily had swapped the jeans for cargo pants. Hannah tugged awkwardly at her jeans, trying to figure out how to get comfortable in them. She was never going to get used to pants.
Alys stood from the cooler they were sitting on and waved toward them. “I was starting to wonder if you were bailing on me.”
Hannah yawned, stretching toward the sky. Her morning workout had mostly woken her up, but this was just too early for her. “It took me hours to fall asleep. I’m so tired.”
“You can sleep in the boat, honey,” Emily said.
“Where is the boat, anyway?”
Alys gestured behind them, and the air shimmered, and the water at the end of the dock was no longer empty. Where there once had been only calm waves splashing against the pier, there was now a small vessel, seeming to sit atop the waves with furled sails on its sole mast and oars in the center. It looked to have room for five people, maybe six if they really squished, but it was more than enough for three.
“The fuck?” Emily asked.
“How…oh, right, magic. Duh. That’s kind of why we need you.”
Alys smirked. “Neat trick, huh? Wish I could say it was my own. Hel apparently had lots of time to mess with it during her time stuck in, well, Hel. This ship used to be a lot bigger, but now it’s magical and can change shape and form for our convenience. It also is completely unaffected by the waves, so it can keep max speed or just stay where I put it without a rope. It’s almost more like Skidbladnir than what it was like in legends at this point. I wish I could cast that kind of magic. Maybe in a few millennia.” Hannah stared, trying to decide if she should ask for clarification. “There’s beer and pulled pork in the cooler, along with some buns, water, and hush puppies. Should be enough for the trip. Sorry there’s not more of a variety. Oh, and I brought my old STP so you two can piss off the boat.”
“Is the cooler magic? Wait, what’s an STP?” Hannah asked.
They stared. “No, the cooler is not magic. It’s just a cooler with some blocks of ice. And STP stands for Stand to Pee, you just…I can walk you through it when the time comes, if you really need. You ready?”
“I am,” Emily said. She hadn’t seemed thrilled about having to see Alys so soon, but after a brief conversation, she seemed to be managing to keep her cool. “Did you bring barbecue sauce?”
“Of course. And I even brought the weird red pepper and vinegar one you love.”
“Thanks,” she muttered. “Hannah, would you get the cooler?”
She picked it up, almost tossing it over the edge, as it was lighter than she’d expected. “Is this thing waterproof?”
“Somewhat, but let’s not throw it in the water and test it.”
“If you insist.” Obviously, she wasn’t actually willing to lose their food, that would suck, but tossing things in the river was fun. Once the cooler was securely placed in the front of the boat, she took a seat in the middle. “How did you talk me into this?”
Emily chuckled as she climbed in. “I didn’t convince you of shit. This was your idea.”
Right. It had been. She just couldn’t let her sons die. She needed to get that apple. And who knew, maybe an adventure would be fun. Just so long as she made it back in time for work. “We need to get the belt. And it sounded fun. It’s an adventure. Plus, I’ve never ridden on any boat that had sails and I’ve always wanted to. I love being on the water.”
Smirking all
the more, Alys climbed into the back, propping their feet up by Hannah. “Ready when you are, skipper.”
“Is that me or her?” Emily asked, sitting at the front, as far away from Alys as possible on the little vessel.
“The one who knows how boats work.”
Unable to assail that logic, Hannah pushed off with one of the oars and began slowly guiding them out of the little channel, heading toward open water. “Any idea how fast this thing should be?” She really needed to make it back by Monday morning. She was not willing to risk this internship.
“That’s gonna depend on the wind, I guess. And you. I just asked Hel for a ship.”
“What did you tell her?” Emily asked, turning to stare at them.
“I don’t remember the exact words, if that’s what you want, but something to the effect of ‘I figured out how to get your apple. I need Hannah alive for it, but she needs my help. If we can find Thor’s belt, the Aesir should believe her enough that she’ll be able to go to Idunn’s tree and grab what we need. We just need a way to sail there and a way to get past the barrier.’ That good enough?”
Emily looked a bit chagrined, not that Hannah got a good look, having to crane her neck for even a glimpse. She must’ve expected Alys to betray her all over again. “Yeah.”
“You have a way past it, then?” Hannah asked. She’d trusted that Alys could do it, but being reassured before they actually traveled all the way there would be nice. No matter how hard it was to trust them, she doubted they’d lie about that. Hell, as up-front as they were being about everything, she had trouble thinking they’d lie about anything at this point.
“Of course. Hel’s the one who sealed it.”
“Oh.” It hadn’t been Odin, then. She could keep that little detail from her kids, letting them think their grandfather did something noble with his last breath. If it even was noble. “Why’d she do it?”
“Because having people come across a land full of dead monsters sounded like a bad idea.”
With a shrug, Hannah pulled the oars in, propped them up in their holdings, and began to unfurl the sail. Finally! Her whole life, she’d wanted to do this, and now she had the chance. As the sail dropped, it caught the breeze and began pushing them forward, causing the boat to pick up speed. Unseating one of the oars, she adjusted their heading until they were headed what felt like the right direction. She double-checked on the saved map on her phone and verified it. “All right. Looks like it’ll probably be around a day.”
Thor: Daughter of Asgard Page 19