by Alane Adams
The Falcory didn’t look happy, but he cut Keely and Leo loose. Mavery seized the moment to break away from the relaxed hold of her guard.
Keely raced to Sam and hugged him so hard, she nearly bowled him over. “I thought you were never coming back,” she said. “We searched the island, but this giant bear tried to eat us, then he decided to help us, and . . . I know it sounds crazy, but Mavery thinks it was Odin.”
Mavery cut in, squeezing Sam’s leg tightly. “I can’t believe you climbed the Yggdrasil tree without me.”
Sam ruffled her hair. “Sorry, imp. Maybe next time.”
“What was it like?” she said in awe.
“I met Odin’s pet snake and a funny squirrel named Ratatosk.”
“It’s good to see you, Sam.” Leo put his arm on Sam’s shoulder, and Sam grabbed him back. Leo had a lot of explaining to do—like the fact that they had met before, when Leo was ten and attacked by a Shun Kara. But Sam knew that now was not the time.
“We need to make a plan,” Sam said quietly to his friends, so Beo and the others couldn’t hear. “We’re not going back to Skara Brae.”
“Did you steal that horn?” Keely asked.
“Shh,” Sam said curtly, as Rego passed by. “We’ll talk later.”
In no time, the group boarded the ship and set sail for Garamond. Sam gave the island of Asgard one last look. It shimmered in the sunlight before vanishing from sight. He stared at the empty space where Asgard had been, remembering his mother and what it had felt like to be with her again.
The deck of the ship was smooth and clean, in far better shape than Jasper’s rickety boat. The crew hoisted the sails, and in a snap, they were moving quickly across the windy seas. His friends were all feasting in the galley below, but Sam had no appetite and instead made his way to the prow of the ship, where he could be alone and watch the waves. Lagos perched on the rail next to him, cleaning her feathers with her beak. Sam ran his hand over her back.
A pod of dolphins breached the water alongside the ship, their silvery-gray bodies giving off an eerie red glow, reflecting the poison of the sun.
Time’s running out, thought Sam.
He didn’t know how much time they had until more people started dying. But he figured it was only a matter of days.
A shadow fell over Sam as Gael joined him at the prow.
“I apologize for my behavior on the beach,” he said stiffly. “It is not the Eifalian way to use violence.”
Sam gripped the rail. “Why do you hate me so much, anyway?”
Gael took a long breath. “My sister, Therese, died from the effects of the sun. Her son, Theo, is now an orphan. Your parents swore to me on the day you were born that you didn’t inherit magic. It seems they lied. If they had told us, we could have taken actions to protect Orkney.”
“You mean, get rid of me when I was a baby,” Sam choked out.
Gael shrugged but didn’t correct him.
Before Sam could tell Gael what he thought, Keely came up. Gael nodded politely and drifted away.
She slipped her arm through his. “You okay?”
He didn’t answer, not trusting himself to speak. Gael had as much as admitted Orkney would have been better off if Sam had ceased to exist. How did he go on from that?
“So what’s the plan? Where’s that horn to save Howie?”
Sam shook himself and focused on what he could do, pulling his shirt up to show her the artifact. “It’s safe for now, but I still have to deal with the red-sun curse,” he said with a heavy heart. “And Odin said my dad is really in that stone, but he won’t survive if I free him. I can’t just leave him there, but I can’t let him die, either. Argh!” He slammed his hand on the rail. “It’s so frustrating.”
“What about Howie?” she asked.
Sam shook his head, feeling overwhelmed. “I don’t know.”
She grabbed his arm, turning Sam to face her. “Hey, you promised me we were going to rescue Howie.”
Sam shook himself free of Keely’s grasp. “You heard Leo back at the inn. If I don’t stop this curse, our home, Pilot Rock, Planet Earth, is going to be hit next by the red sun. That’s bigger than Howie. You want your dad and everyone you know back in Pilot Rock to die? I’m not giving up on Howie; it’s just . . . somehow I have to make it all work.”
Keely studied his face a long moment and then softened. “If anyone can do it, Sam, you’re the one.”
Sam sighed, unconvinced.
“Let’s look at the facts,” Keely challenged. “I watched you incinerate a couple of Omeras. Mavery says you survived a giant-squid attack. Not to mention you met a god named Odin, and he gave you his Fury, whatever that is.” She said the last part with understandable awe. “You’ll figure out a way. I know it.”
Sam appreciated her faith in him, but he didn’t share it. At this point, a happy ending seemed impossible. Sam had seen firsthand that the dark side of his blood was strong. Even with Odin’s Fury, he still felt enticed by the poisonous red sun, wanting to turn his face to it and draw its power into his veins.
But he couldn’t tell Keely that. He couldn’t risk letting her see who he really was, or, at the very least, who he was capable of becoming.
Chapter Forty-One
Sam and his entourage arrived at the shores of Garamond the next morning. By Sam’s estimation, he had been in Orkney for almost two weeks, but it felt more like two lifetimes. The capital city, Skara Brae, was still two days’ ride away, according to Captain Teren.
Mounting the assembled horses, the group passed through villages that had burned to the ground and empty, barren fields. In the days since they had been gone, society seemed to have crumbled. What had once been picturesque countryside now seemed apocalyptic. People were nowhere to be seen, the life had been sucked out of the landscape, and the smell of rotting animal carcasses filled the air. The Eifalians rode silently while the Falcory dispersed through the forests like shadows.
Teren rode alongside Sam.
“This village was called Barlow’s Hill,” he said, his eyes grimly scanning the devastation. “I was here just last month. The vicar served me a glass of honey mead from his private stock. All gone now,” Teren lamented.
“What happened here?” Sam asked. “Did the witches do this?”
Teren drew in a shuddering breath. “No. It was the madness set in.”
“Madness?”
“It’s what happens when you get too much exposure to the poisonous rays of the sun. It started with a fight over food supplies, then escalated to full-scale warfare between neighbors. I came with a regiment of men to help, but we arrived too late. They burned their own homes.” Teren choked over the last words. “Sam, you have to stop this, whatever it takes. We don’t want to become Barlow’s Hill.” Teren gave his horse a kick and moved on to ride with his men.
Sam sank in his saddle. Someone rode up next to him. He glanced over. It was Rego.
“Don’t let it get to you, lad. You couldn’t have known any of this would happen.”
“You were wrong, you know, about my dad. He’s still alive. Odin said he can’t survive, he’s pretty badly wounded, but he’s in some stone with those witches.”
Rego looked pained, muttering a curse under his breath. “I’m sorry, lad. I didn’t know. But you can’t go around messing with powerful magic like that. There’s no telling what the consequences would be. You need to focus on whom you can save today. Your friends and all of Orkney.”
“Yeah, that’s why I’m not going back to Skara Brae. Odin told me what to do.” He hesitated, then added, “I could use your help, Rego.”
The dwarf’s eyes glowed with excitement. He kept his voice low so the other Orkadians wouldn’t hear. “What exactly did Odin say?”
“He told me to go to the Fourth Realm of Nifelheim. Have you heard of it?”
The dwarf snorted in disbelief. “The Fourth Realm? That’s where souls who’ve been damned to eternal suffering go. That place is not for the likes o
f you.”
“Well, that’s what he told me to do. Find somebody named Sinmara. Ask her for her help. He says she’ll know how to break the curse.”
Rego ran a hand over his whiskers. “And that’s your plan?” he said. “Run off to the underworld, face the demons of hell, and hope for the best?”
“You got a better one?”
Rego shook his head. “There’s something about you, Samuel, that makes us all nervous. You lack discipline and respect. And you have no idea of the kind of power you wield. But maybe, just maybe, you have something the rest of us don’t.”
“And what’s that?” Sam asked.
“Blind faith.”
“So you’ll help me?”
Rego drew in a deep breath, as if weighing his odds of survival. “It’s been a while since I visited the Fourth Realm. It won’t be easy to get away from Teren and Gael. We’ll need some kind of diversion. Let me think on it.” He clicked his heels against his horse’s flank and rode off.
Keely, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, rode up with Mavery in tow. “Sam Baron, you’re not going anywhere without us.”
Sam took one look at the girls—they had stubborn written all over their faces—and he knew there was no point in arguing with them. “Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The truth was, he wanted them along, even if it was selfish.
The red sun beat down, burning the travelers’ backs as they continued on through the desolate landscape. Sam could feel tempers rising around them as the Falcory and the Eifalians looked at him with mistrust. He had suggested to Gael and Teren that the group travel at night, safe from the sun’s poison, but the Orkadians had insisted time was of the essence.
They rode until the sun sank low on the horizon; then they broke for rest. The horses were left to roam on a grassy patch protected by the shade of trees. Three horses collapsed that day. Gael and other Eifalians tended to the rest, reciting enchantments to keep them going, but the animals were glassy-eyed and wobbling.
Even Rego’s mighty pet iolar, Lagos, looked weak, tottering on the roof of the supply wagon instead of soaring overhead.
Sam lay back on the shaded grass and stared up at the darkening sky. The moon was a quarter its full size. Soon Howie would be out of time. A few stars came out as the light faded. The familiar constellations were reassuring—they hadn’t changed universes, even if they were in a different realm. Leo took a seat next to him.
“There’s Venus,” Leo said, pointing at one especially bright star.
“How do you know?” Sam asked, grateful for the distraction.
“The Umatilla often pray to Venus. She represents fertility and prosperity, a shining light for our people.”
“Think she can stop the red sun?” Sam joked.
Leo, ever serious, just shook his head. “Only you can do that, Sam.”
Sam sat up, clearing his throat. He wanted to talk to Leo about that whole Shun Kara attack, but he didn’t want to sound like a loon. “So, a funny thing happened when I was on Asgard. Odin gave me all these tests, and in one of them he sent me back in time to Pilot Rock, to the day you were attacked by a Shun Kara. Sounds pretty crazy, huh?”
But Leo didn’t laugh. He sat up slowly. “I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t think you’d believe me,” he said with relief.
Sam’s eyes bulged. “So it really happened? I was there?”
Leo nodded, absently rubbing the scar on his arm. “If not for you, the Shun Kara would have killed me. You saved my life.”
“Well, I did a pretty lousy job. It almost took your arm off. What was a Shun Kara doing in Pilot Rock?”
“My dad says it snuck through the stonefire when your father returned to Orkney. If you hadn’t taken it back to the Ninth Realm with you, I’d be dead. When Rego showed up and warned us the witches were hunting you, my father sent me to the school to keep an eye on you. The moment I saw you, I knew it was you who had saved me, but you didn’t look a day older. Not even my father could explain it.” He shook his head, “Odin’s magic. I can’t believe the god sent you to save me,” he said, a bit awed.
“Yeah, go figure.” Odin had given Sam more than his Fury; he had given him a friend. “Looks like we’re stuck with each other.”
They went back to stargazing. Sam must have closed his eyes and dozed, because he woke to see Rego’s whiskered face hovering above him.
“Let’s go, lad,” he whispered.
Sam sat up. Leo was already standing with Keely and Mavery.
They followed Rego, all of them hunched close to the ground as they crept into the woods. Rego had arranged for the guards to be busy tending to the ailing horses while they sneaked away. It meant they were stuck on foot, but the horses were too weak to be of much use anyway.
They jogged through the woods until Sam’s lungs burned. He could hear Keely gasping next to him, while Leo ran, silent as a wraith, and Mavery skipped along as effortlessly as a jackrabbit.
“How far is it?” Sam asked, stopping to catch his breath.
Keely collapsed on the ground.
Rego’s face was flushed red from exertion. “Nifelheim can be entered only through volcanic tunnels on the island of Pantros,” he said, panting. Behind them, a loud fluttering in the trees made them all jump, but it was only Lagos. The bird looked winded and out of breath as it landed on a branch and let out a croaking squawk.
“No, Lagos, you have to stay behind,” Rego said, taking the bird on his arm and stroking her. “You can’t come with us. Not this time. You’re too weak.”
The bird squawked again in complaint, but Rego threw her up into the air. “Go back now,” he said, whistling sharply. The bird protested but winged off crookedly through the trees.
Keely stared at Rego. “Did you say we have to go to another island?”
Sam was concerned, too. “How are we supposed to get there?”
Rego shrugged. “If we keep a steady pace to the coast, we can find a ship—or steal one if we must—and sail across the firth to it. Two days, maybe three.”
Sam shook his head. “We’ll never make it in time. We need a ride.”
“Well, I don’t have any flying machines, do you?”
Sam thought about it a moment. “Maybe I do,” he mused aloud.
Walking to a spot where he had a clear view of the sky, Sam raised his hands over his head and swung them around, drawing on the energy around him.
“Fein kinter, Omera. Omera venus acai, acai.”
Come here, my brothers, he called in his ancient language. Calling on his brethren, the Omera, reaching out to their dark spirit. His skin tingled as their primal response echoed across the clearing, heard only by Sam.
They were coming. They might eat them when they arrived, but they were definitely coming.
Chapter Forty-Two
What did you do, lad?” Rego asked warily.
Above them, two shadows passed in front of the moon. “I got us a ride,” Sam said smugly. But he was hoping he hadn’t been a complete fool for inviting them here.
“A ride from what?” Keely wondered aloud.
Leo stepped next to him, eyes searching the sky. “You called the dark ones.”
Sam nodded.
“What?” Keely squealed in outrage. “Are you crazy? They’ll kill us all.”
But it was too late to take it back. A shrill cry cut through the night, and then there were two thumping sounds as the Omera landed on either side of the group. The beasts stalked around, their tail spikes curved over their backs. As the two beasts tightened their circle around the group, Sam reached out with his mind.
We need safe passage to Pantros, he called.
The female Omera let out a screech, but Sam understood her. Traitor.
The male one hissed at him, Our children died because of you.
Worse will happen if we don’t get to Pantros, he answered. If the red sun continues, first your food supply will die, then you and everything else.
The male Om
era stabbed its tail toward Sam’s chest. Sam jumped back and tried a different sales tactic. If you give us safe passage, I can stop the red sun.
The beasts circled closer, hissing and stabbing with their tails. Their eyes glowed with menace and the same bloodlust Sam had succumbed to.
Rego drew his sword and Leo his bow, but the two winged demons were clearly more powerful than Sam’s group.
“How’s it going, lad?” Rego asked.
“Not good,” Sam said, wishing he could take it back.
You shall die, the male Omera snarled, leaping at Sam.
Sam shouted, “Run!” as he stepped in front of his friends, shielding them from the Omera’s imminent attack.
Its claws were outstretched, spiked tail aiming for Sam’s head. Sam stood his ground, knowing if he ran, the Omera would just go after Keely or Mavery. Sam didn’t want to destroy the beast, but he didn’t have a choice. He had to fight back. But as he summoned his witchfire for an attack, the Omera’s mate knocked it away from Sam.
No, the female said. The boy is right.
The two beasts wrestled each other violently. The male roared in protest, baring his fangs and biting into her neck so that she bled. But she was strong and cunning enough to wrestle herself on top until she pinned him, with her claws to his throat. Heaving in anger, the male Omera bit back once more, but his mate held him down until he surrendered.
The female turned to Sam and tucked in her sleek black wing, lowering herself so that the boy could climb aboard. After a moment, the male joined her in offering the other humans a ride.
The clearing was silent. Nobody but Sam was sure exactly what had happened.
Sam clapped his hands together, rubbing them to get the blood flowing. “Okay, the Omeras have agreed to take us to Pantros.”
He stepped forward, grabbing the female’s neck and hoisting himself onto her back.
“I can’t guarantee anybody’s safety. We have to meet some underworld hag named Sinmara, and Odin said she won’t want to help me, so . . .” He made eye contact with each of his friends as he spoke. “I can’t ask you to come with me, but I could sure use your help.” He held his breath, holding back his fear that they wouldn’t join him on this quest.