by C. Gockel
“You did this in just a few minutes?” Bohdi says. He takes off his mitten, and before he catches himself, almost reaches out to touch the sculpture’s face.
“I uh… yeah… it was… I don’t know, my hands knew where to go. It was kind of strange.”
The stumbling words make Bohdi glance up. Redman shrugs. Redman, like all the SEALS guys, generally exudes an air of competence and confidence, but now he looks distinctly uneasy.
Jung snorts. “You’re an artist, man! I’ve seen your letters home. Filled with drawings.”
Before Redman has a chance to respond, someone shouts, “Park, Redman! Over here, now!”
Carrying his branch, Redman hurries away, as though he’s grateful to escape.
With one last glance at the statue, Bohdi trots over to where Amy, Beatrice, and Claire are backing the snowmobile with the sled over to a snowdrift. Sigyn and Berry are standing beside four other snowmobiles that look like they’re about to be swallowed by said snow drift. As Bohdi gets closer, he sees the snowdrift is actually a giant white bear. Ropes are tied from it’s front paws to the snowmobiles. “It will be easier to pull if it’s on a sled.” Berry says. “Would be better if we had time to dress it, but can’t be helped.” Several of the guys, Nari, and Valli come over, but the carcass barely budges. Without thinking, Bohdi runs over, slips off his mittens for a better grip, and joins in. Beatrice, Claire, and Amy also join in. Even with a lot of people, the bear’s still really heavy. Fenrir watches the whole proceedings quietly from the side.
As she tugs on the bear, Amy looks at the dog. “Strange. I would have thought she might try to eat it.”
“Fenrir ate something before we left,” says Claire, pushing the bear’s tummy.
“What was it?” says Amy, giving a huff as she lugs on a paw. “She must have eaten a lot.”
“A cake,” says Beatrice too quickly. “A yellow cake.”
Claire’s eyes go wide, and her jaw drops open. Bohdi puts a finger to his lips and shakes his head. No use having Amy worry about that. Claire nods and says nothing.
Harding puts a hand to her chin and says, “We’re going to have to split this beast up between a few sleds. Maybe we could use a machete …”
“How about a magic sword?” says Valli. “It should cut through the beast like butter!”
Bohdi blinks, interested in seeing that show, but from behind, someone shouts, “Patel!” Turning, he finds Lieutenant Larson approaching, holding a rifle in front of his chest. To Bohdi he says, “Can you handle one of these?”
“Handle it?” Amy says with a little humph. “Handle it? He doesn’t even need it. He can kill a giant spider with a toy airplane, a kappa with a stick, and take down an Einherjar with a shovel."
Larson blinks.
Bohdi doesn’t feel the urge to sneeze. But he still feels distinctly uncomfortable. Clearing his throat, he looks sideways at Amy, “Um, thanks … but I’d rather have the rifle.”
Even though the light is very low he can see her cheeks turn a little pinker. “Oh, right. Of course.”
Bohdi nods at the Lieutenant.
“Here you go,” says Larson, offering the rifle to him. And then Bohdi’s brain does a little short-circuity thing. He’s heard Larson talking in Steve’s office. Larson doesn’t like him, or trust him, but he’s offering him a very nice weapon … Hesitantly, Bohdi takes it.
As he lifts it from Larson’s hands, the Lieutenant says, “What you did for Ruger … ” Larson’s jaw gets stiff. “Thank you,” he manages.
Bohdi just bows his head, barely able to nod. His stomach twists into a knot. He stares at the rifle. Back at headquarters, he’d never been given permission to carry a gun. He remembers the guys nodding at him after he carried Ruger over the ice … he’d failed to save their teammate, and yet now they trust him more than he was trusted back on Earth.
From behind him he hears Claire say, “It’s rolling over.” He turns and sees Valli and Berry deep in discussion as the bear lists to the side. Before he can sling the rifle out of the way, Claire darts forward to brace the bear in place. Even on its back, the thing is nearly as tall as her chest. Bohdi has a moment of panic and thinks she’ll be crushed. But then Steve is just there, and then a few of the other guys too, and they right it. As soon as it’s stable, Claire touches the dead form with her bare hands. “It’s still a little warm,” she whispers.
Valli unsheathes his sword. “I have it from here.”
Steve drags her away from the bear, and the potentially gory scene. “What were you thinking?” Turning her around so he’s got a hand on both of her shoulders, Steve leans down and says, “That thing was too heavy for you! You could have been crushed!”
Ducking her head, Claire says, “I was just trying to help.”
Steve sucks in a long breath. The hairs on the back of Bohdi’s neck rise. He has a feeling like Steve’s trying to muster every ounce of his self-control.
“I know,” Steve says slowly. “You’ve got to be careful though. What we need to do is very, very hard.” His words come out very soft and slowly. Bohdi swallows. Steve is terrified for his little girl. Bohdi catches Amy and Beatrice’s eyes. They look as worried and uncomfortable as he feels.
“I know that!” Claire says. Lifting her chin, she meets her father’s gaze. “But we’ll make it.” Bohdi feels the air leave his chest. Her open face, her confidence. She has no idea.
Steve’s mouth opens, but he says nothing. Beatrice walks over and puts a hand on Claire’s shoulder. “Of course, we will,” she says, and Bohdi sniffs.
Steve’s eyes go over Claire to Bohdi. Bohdi feels his friend’s desperation, as surely as though it were a lead blanket draped over his shoulders. Mustering up the most confident voice he can, Bohdi says, “We have a few tricks up our sleeves.”
He hears the crunch of snow beside him. He looks down to find Amy looking up at him. She knocks him with her elbow, lightly, maybe a little shyly, and then to Steve she says, “We’ve outfoxed Odin before. We’ll do it again.”
Bohdi doesn’t sniffle.
“Yeah,” Steve says. “Yeah.”
And Bohdi doesn’t have the faintest urge to sneeze. Steve gives him a nod. Amy knocks him with her elbow again. Bohdi’s eyes dart between Steve and Amy. One has confidence in him despite knowing what he is, or maybe because of it. The other has confidence in him because she’s seen what he can do. Both feel good.
Bohdi drops his gaze to the snow. He’s outside, in the wilds of a foreign realm … and yet … he has the strangest sensation. He looks again to Steve. He’s patting Claire’s shoulder as Beatrice whispers something in her ear. He looks down at Amy and feels an echo of the buzz he’d felt in his lips when he’d kissed her forehead. He adjusts the rifle slung behind his back ... Around them, Bohdi can feel the night getting colder and the wind picking up. Still, he feels warmth radiating from his chest to the tips of his fingers and toes. He has a feeling of belonging that’s overwhelming. He looks up to the sky because he feels like if he looks at Amy, or even Steve and Claire, his heart might burst. Above the trees he sees a tiny pale moon rising.
“Time to move out,” Steve says, snapping Bohdi’s eyes back to earth—or Jotunheim, as the case may be.
Tapping his ear, Steve inclines his head to a snowmobile with a sled made of branches and duct tape behind it. “Patel and Doctor Lewis, you’ll be in that sled over there.”
Bohdi nods. He’ll have time to bring up the serum next pit stop. Without a word, Bohdi jogs with Amy over to the empty sled. Bohdi takes the back, Fenrir takes the front, and Amy sits between them, leaning sideways on her pack. Lieutenant Larson gets into the front seat of the snowmobile, and Beatrice sits behind him.
Leaning toward Bohdi, Amy whispers, “Wait until we hit a snow drift on the ice. It’s like flying!”
“I’ll expect you to keep quiet back there,” Larson says. He pulls a pair of night vision goggles off his helmet and over his eyes. “We don’t want the whales to hear us on
the ice.”
Amy sucks in on her lips. All the snowmobiles’ combustion engines flip off. Before Bohdi has a chance to take it all in, they’re slipping silently down the small incline back toward Lake Balstead. As soon as they’re on the open plain of the lake, Larson hits the accelerator, and they pick up speed. He feels Amy close behind him. Cold prickles his exposed neck, but he still feels warm. As soon as they hit the treeless plain of ice, the sky becomes a vast roof of stars. Bohdi smiles and looks up. To no one in particular he whispers, “So this is home.”
There is only one more installment in the I Bring the Fire series! It's called Ragnarok and will hopefully be done by December 2014. Don't miss it!
Sign up for my newsletter.
APPENDIX
The Nine Realms
Alfheim – Realm of the Dark Elves and Light Elves
Asgard – Realm of the Aesir, “gods”
Jotunheim – Realm of the Jotunn, or Frost Giants
Midgard – Earth, realm of humans
Muspellsheimr – Realm of the Fire Giants
Niflheim – Realm of mists, location of “Hel” – the place where Loki’s daughter Helen and other plague-ridden Asgardians died.
Nornheim – Realm of the all-seeing Norns
Svartálfaheim – Realm of the dwarves
Vanaheim – Realm of the Vanir. Formerly rulers of Asgard, the Vanir retreated to their home world after they were defeated by Odin’s forces.
The Humans & Their Organizations
ADUO – FBI Department of Anomalous Devices of Unknown Origin
Warrant Officer Edward Berry – Navy SEAL, specialty tactics
Amy Lewis – Veterinarian for ADUO. Loki’s former “lover.”
Beatrice Lewis – Amy Lewis’s grandmother. Translator of Ukrainian and Russian, works for ADUO.
Bohdi Patel – Real name unknown. Computer programmer employed by ADUO.
Agents Brett & Bryant McDowell – Twin brothers, ADUO agents. Their specialty is technology.
Claire Rogers – Steve Rogers’s ten-year-old daughter
Warrant Officer Melinda Harding – Marine, specialty communications
Agent Hernandez – Agent of ADUO, second in command at the Chicago Branch Office
Lieutenant Hobbs – Navy SEAL, second in command
Lieutenant Robert Larson – Navy SEAL platoon leader
Corporal Karen Mills – Marine
Corporal Jung Park – Navy SEAL
Laura Stodgill – Legal Counsel at ADOU
Dr. James Swanson – Rhodes Scholar, Doctor of microbiology at the University of Illinois. Amy and Loki borrowed his lab to investigate ADOU’s “magic detectors”. Loki treated him and his wife Dr. Katherine Swanson to drinks with Amy and a few friends the night after Katherine discovered she was incapable of having children
Dr. Katherine Swanson – Doctor of Neuroscience, researcher at the University of Chicago. Amy and Loki attended her lecture on REM sleep in rhinos. Loki treated her and her husband Dr. James Swanson to drinks with Amy and a few friends the night after Katherine discovered she was incapable of having children
John Redman – Navy SEAL
Steve Rogers – Director of Chicago’s Branch of ADUO
Ruth Rogers – Steve Roger’s mother
Henry Rogers – Steve Roger’s father
So-called Gods & Others
Adze – Carnivorous hominids with dragonfly wings. In Ghana legends, the source of malaria.
Aesir – Denizens of Asgard, “gods”
Allfather – Another name for Odin
Andvaranaut – Cursed ring in Norse Mythology–part of a ransom an incarnation of Loki paid to a dwarf for Hoenir’s release.
Anganboða/Angrboða – Also known as “Aggie” by Loki. Loki’s Jotunn wife, mother of Helen. In myths, Angrboða, meaning “grief bringer.” In reality, her name was Anganboða, meaning “bringer of joy.” One of the few to see through Baldur’s glamour.
Baldur – Son of Odin and Frigga. Possessed a magical glamour that made him appear beautiful, wise, and kind. Tried to abduct Nanna, the beloved of the human warlord Hothur. Used enchantment to create a magical plague that killed Loki’s daughter Helen.
Bifrost – “Rainbow Bridge” between realms
Cera – A.k.a, the World Seed. A being of infinite magical power, tricked by Loki into destroying itself in the In-Between.
Diar – Odin’s council
Einherjar – Mortal warriors recruited by Odin or Freyja. They are given access to Idunn’s apples of immortality.
Eisa – In Norse mythology, daughter of one of Loki’s incarnations and Glut
Fenrir – In Norse mythology, Loki’s wolf son by Angrboða. In actuality, just a wolf Loki and Aggie adopted when they thought they could not have children. Also the name of Amy’s vicious, tailless, rat-like, Chihuahua-poodle mix.
Fire Ettin – Fire Giant
Freyr – Originally a Vanir, Freyr remains on Asgard. Associated with fertility. Former husband of Gerðr, brother of Freyja, son of Njord.
Freyja – Originally a Vanir, Freyja remains on Asgard. She is associated with love, beauty, and war. A master of magic and illusion, she can alter her appearance to match anyone’s romantic ideal. She is a cunning warrior and leader of the Valkyries. Sister of Freyr, daughter of Njord.
Frigga – Wife of Odin, Queen of Asgard. In Norse mythology Goddess of Motherhood and Marriage, believed to spin clouds and to see the fates of all beings of the Nine Realms. One of the few to challenge Odin’s authority and get away with it.
Frost Giant – Another name for Jotunn, the natives of the realm of Jotunheim. Not really “giants.” They are tall by modern standards, but nearly giants compared to ancient humans.
Gerðr – Jotunn enchantress, former wife of Freyr. Gerðr led a team of Jotunn from Jotunheim across a World Gate on a hunt for Cera. Realizing the danger of Cera’s power, she grudgingly aided humans in trying to control it.
Gleipnir – Magical, unbreakable rope. In Norse Mythology, believed to be used to chain Fenrir, Loki’s wolf son. In reality, used to control Sleipnir, eight-legged stallion, and one of Loki’s incarnation’s children.
Glut – “Glow,” the wife of one of Loki’s previous incarnations
Gullveig – In Norse myths a Frost Giant witch and leader of the Iron Wood who the Aesir burned at the stake; Loki ate her heart in the stories, and all the monsters in the world were born of the resulting bowel movements. Sometimes believed to be Loki’s wife Angrboða, sometimes believed to be Frejya, in reality she was a witch, leader of the Iron Wood, and Angrboða’s cousin.
Gungnir – Odin’s magical spear. A gift from Loki to the Allfather. Broken when Loki destroyed Cera.
Heiðr Gullveigssdottir – Gullveig's daughter, dweller in the Iron Wood
Heimdall – Servant of Odin. Creator of the classes among men. All seeing and hearing–if he happens to be gazing in your direction.
Hel – In Norse Mythology, Hel is Loki’s daughter. It is also a place in Niflheim.
Helen – Loki’s daughter, in Norse Mythology known as Hel. Half-blue, Helen had the ability to reveal the lies around her. As such, she was a threat to Baldur’s power. After Baldur killed her, Loki, with Odin’s approval, killed Baldur.
Hisbernia – In Celtic myth a grower of magical apples. In reality, half-elf daughter of Idunn and a grower of Asgard's immortality bestowing apples.
Lieutenant Hobbs – Navy SEAL, second in command
Hoenir – Gardner of the Asgard and a powerful enchanter. Loki’s friend.
Hothur – Human warlord, slayer of Baldur–with Loki’s help.
Huginn and Muninn – Odin’s raven messengers
Idunn – A Light Elf, Idunn is a denizen of Asgard and grower of magical apples. Mother of Hisbernia.
In-Between – A place beyond space and time. Magical philosophers suspect it may be a place beyond the universe. Loki can step into the In-Between for inter-realm travel, but not for travel from realm t
o realm. For that he needs a World Gate (also called the Bifrost).
Jarnsaxa – Frost Giantess queen, lover of Thor, mother of his sons Magi and Modi
Jotunn – Natives of the realm of Jotunheim, also called Frost Giants – though not really “giants” per se.
Jörmungandr – The “world serpent,” guardian of Asgard’s seas. In Norse Mythology, the son of Loki by Angrboða.
William Keyif – Navy SEAL, location unknown
King Billings – Frost Giant, father of Rind
King Geirod – Frost Giant, held Loki prisoner for thirty days and thirty nights
King Sutr – Fire Giant, one of only two beings that pose a serious risk to Odin’s power
King Utgard – Frost Giant, one of only two beings that pose a serious risk to Odin’s power
Laevithin (Laevithinn) – Loki’s magical sword. Charged with Cera’s magic.
Laugauz – Loki’s Fire Giant incarnation
Lopt – Female incarnation of Loki
Lothur – Incarnation of Loki
Loki – Frost Giant incarnation of chaos. God of Mischief, Chaos, and Lies. Friend of Hoenir. Associated with fire and feels when lies have been uttered. In mythology, blood brother of Odin, destroyer of the gods and bringer of Ragnaork.
Magi – Son of Thor and his lover, the Frost Giantess and queen, Jarnsaxa
Mimir – The severed head of Jotunn, animated by Odin. Knowledgeable about all things magical.
Mjolnir – Thor’s hammer. A gift for Loki offered in reparation for cutting Sif’s hair.
Modi – Son of Thor and his lover, the Frost Giantess and queen, Jarnsaxa
Mr. Squeakers – A venomous spidermouse given to Amy by Loki. Hoenir used to use spider mice to eat cockroaches that invaded his hut.
Nari – One of Loki’s sons by Sigyn. According to Loki, “the incarnation of democracy.”
Njord – Vanir, father of Freyr and Freyja. Associated with the sea. Married for a short time to Skadi. His father was the leader of the Vanir before he was slain by Odin.
Norns – Watchers of fate, compared to the three fates in Greek mythology. Powerful enchantresses.