By the time we were done, we headed back to the Blue room where Hecate was waiting. Patrice had instructed the servants to bring dinner into the room for us, but I was surprised to find most of the Sea-Council there.
“I thought it might be a good idea for us to take our meals together until the Barrow is ready to move,” Damh Varias said. “We need to keep on top of everything that’s happening, and this is the easiest way for updates to reach all of us. Also, except for your needs, Your Majesty, I have removed Elan from her duties until UnderBarrow is moved.”
I nodded. Damh Varias made good decisions most of the time.
“I think that’s a good idea.” I turned to Tam. “What about you?”
Tam concurred. “Unfortunately, these aren’t going to be the cozy meals that we’re used to. But I doubt if we’ll find anything very cozy for the next few weeks.”
I looked over at Hecate, who looked impatient. She was drumming the table with her fingers, and suddenly stopped when she caught me looking at her.
“I know you’re busy, Hecate, but I wanted to tell you about a premonition I’ve had. I’ve felt it all day, and Patrice, my maid, has had the same feeling. I wondered if you might ask the Oracle about it.”
Pythia, the Oracle, was a temperamental goddess, but an excellent Soothsayer. I had never met her personally, not that I remembered, but I had talked to her priestesses over the years.
“Pythia is not accepting audiences right now, and Zeus has instructed us to leave her alone. She’s in a molting season. But I can summon one of her priestesses. She will have to do.”
The term “molting season” caught me off guard, and I shuddered, not wanting to think about what that meant.
Hecate motioned to Zed and gave him instructions. He darted out of the room to send a runner over to Gudarheim.
“How soon until UnderBarrow moves? I missed that this morning at the meeting in the town square.”
Hecate pulled one of the bread baskets over to her, snatching a baguette. One of the serving girls offered her butter, her hands shaking, but Hecate waved her off as she bit into the end of the loaf.
“Day after tomorrow. People have until morning to report to UnderBarrow if they want to go with us. We’ll get everyone situated during the day, and then, come next morning light, we leave.” Tam speared a piece of roast beef, staring at it. “Once we arrive, my parents will arrange help to get everyone settled. But it’s not going to be easy, I won’t deny that.” He looked up, staring across the table at Hans and Greta. “We’re going to miss you. I wish you could come with us.”
Hans polished off his mug of beer. “On one hand, I wish we could go with you, too. On the other hand, the chance to fight by my lord Thor? It’s an honor. Perhaps the gracious lady Hecate would not mind sending messages to you from us?” He turned to Hecate, bowing his head. “I assume you’re going to keep contact with Fury?”
“Of course, although it won’t be on a daily basis. Not during a battle like the one coming. But I would be happy to help out as best as I can.”
We were making small talk, trying to calm the tension, as we finished our meal. The servant girl had just served slices of apple pie when the door burst open and Zed rushed in.
“Your Majesty, the village is under attack. An army of lycanthropes has surrounded Willow Wood, and they are led by a great Abomination. I believe the Jötnar have arrived.”
I caught my breath. There was no need for an Oracle anymore. We knew exactly what we were facing.
Chapter 13
TAM AND DAMH Varias were immediately on their feet, shouting orders. Leonard, who had eaten with us, jumped up, panic in his eyes.
“Mom went back to her apartment over the bakery,” he said.
“I told her to stay in the Barrow,” I said.
“She said she forgot something she had hidden. I have to go marshal the men. Can you bring her back?” He turned to Jason.
Jason nodded, his face set. “I’ll get her. You go do what you have to do.”
Elan hurried over to his side. “I’ll go with you. There’s likely to be a lot of bloodshed out there.”
I pressed my hand against my stomach, looking over at Hecate, who was on her feet. I hurried to her side.
“They’ve got an Abom with them. You know that I’m the best suited to take care of him.”
“No!” Tam must have heard me from across the room, because his shout echoed through the chamber. “Hecate, you have other people who can fight Abominations.”
Hecate looked torn but said, “I do, but this one—he’s bad. I can sense him. He’s big and he’s bad and he’s dangerous. I’m sorry, Tam, but Fury’s the best choice. She has to take him on. But Queet and I will be with her.”
“Who’s going to protect her from the lycanthropes overrunning the village?” Tam looked furious. He was practically sputtering.
“We’ll go with her,” Hans said, motioning for Greta to join him. “We stand a better chance of slipping through without being noticed with a smaller party. I promise you, Tam. We’ll make sure Fury gets there and back safely.”
“Don’t make promises—” I started, but Hecate poked me in the side and I realized that if I finished my sentence, Tam might take it into his head to go with me. And that would mean I’d have to keep an eye on him as well. I stopped.
His eyes flashing, Tam rushed over to me. He took me by the shoulders, holding me firmly.
“If you don’t come back to me, I’ll come after you. I don’t care where you end up, I will find you.” He looked up at Hecate. “I expect you to protect her.”
If Hecate was annoyed by his stance, she didn’t show it. “I’ll do what I can, of that you have my promise. But we better get moving.”
Tam turned back to Damh Varias. “Send a contingent out to gather everyone who signed up to go with us. Do what you can to get them into UnderBarrow now. Tell them they either come now, or they stay. After you’ve notified everyone on the list, go door to door, trying to convince the others to join us. Get as many people here as you can. Nobody leaves the Barrow without permission. We’re on lockdown. We’ve just moved our schedule up.”
I called for Patrice. “Get me out of this outfit now. Send someone for my shorts, a leather jacket, and sturdy boots. I can’t fight in this getup.”
Patrice yelled for another serving girl to join us, and the two of them helped strip me out of the outfit as a third girl was sent to our quarters to get my clothes and sword. The hooks and eyes were taking too much time and I finally glanced over my shoulder, grumbling.
“Rip them or cut them if you have to. Just get me out of this thing.”
Patrice drew a small dagger from a sheath strapped to her thigh and began ripping the seam in the back. By the time they had me stripped and standing there in my underwear, the girl had returned with my leather shorts, a leather halter top, and a leather jacket. She had also brought my knee-high zip-up leather boots. I crammed myself into the clothes, adjusting as necessary, and then slid on my boots.
As Patrice zipped them up, I checked Xan and made sure she was firm in her scabbard, then slipped her over my back. I shook my hair out, pulling it back into a ponytail. Patrice had scampered off but now she returned with my circlet—I was to always wear a crown of some sort, but this one worked for battle rather than the heavy crown I had been wearing. She affixed it around my head firmly, pulling my hair out from underneath it. I turned to Hans and Greta.
“I’m ready. Let’s go.”
With Hans leading the way, and Greta and Hecate following, I headed toward the door, stopping only for a quick kiss on Tam’s lips.
“I love you. I’ll see you in a bit. Don’t worry—and that’s an order.” Before he could say a word, we were off, into the violent night.
THE VILLAGE WAS ablaze. We had skirted the road, creeping through the undergrowth. Luckily, we knew the area and the lycanthropes didn’t. But we could hear shouts and screams, and the
crackle of burning wood even before we reached the village border. Greta motioned for us to stop.
“I’ll fly up and see what I can find out. They won’t notice me. One of the perks of being a Valkyrie.”
I stared at her. “You can actually fly with those?” I motioned to the giant black wings affixed to her back. I had thought they were for show.
“Just watch me.” She laughed, keeping her voice low, and then rose into the air, her giant wings sweeping slowly back and forth. I wasn’t sure if they were keeping her aloft, or if it was some magic that had to do with them, but she was flying, all right.
As she rose into the night sky, she began to shimmer out of sight and before I realized it, she had vanished. I turned to Hans.
“She really is a Valkyrie, isn’t she?” It wasn’t so much that I hadn’t believed it, it was that I had never really seen her in action before. Other than fighting. And I knew she was bad-assed at that. Greta was an Amazon, with a heart of gold and resolve of steel.
Hans nodded, smiling. “It’s taken some getting used to, I’ll tell you that. But I always knew she was headed for this. She’s been training since I first met her. I never expected to fall in love with one of Freya’s chosen. Not everyone training to be a Valkyrie is allowed to pair up with a mate. But Thor had a talk with Freya, and she came around.”
“I’m glad for both of you.” I glanced up at Hecate. “And you too. You could have said no. You could have stopped me from marrying Tam. Yet you didn’t.”
Hecate nodded, her expression grim. “And his behavior tonight was one reason why I thought of saying no. But it’s natural for a man to want to protect his mate. I don’t hold it against him. If you had paired up with Jason, however, I would have put a stop to it.”
I wanted to ask her why, but Hans shushed us both and I realized we were talking too loudly. I bit my tongue, creeping farther into the bushes, with Hecate behind me. She placed one hand on my shoulder in a comforting way, and I slowly let out the breath I’d been holding.
Hans crouched in front of us, keeping an eye out. The screams from the village grew louder, and I wanted to find out what was happening, but I knew already. The lycanthropes were rampaging, and I could only hope and pray that the guards were getting people to UnderBarrow, especially the children.
A few moments later, there was a noise in the bushes and Hans shifted, silently drawing his sword. But before it was fully drawn, Greta appeared, shimmering back into view. She folded her wings back, shaking the rain off of them, and then motioned for us to join her. Hecate and I scooted out from beneath the bush we had been hiding under and together with Hans, joined the Valkyrie.
“What did you find?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
“I found the Abom. He’s with two very large lycanthropes, and I hate to break it to you, but there’s a Jötunn with him, too—an ice giant from Niflheim. I didn’t see Fenrir anywhere, so I have a feeling they just sent a contingent here to mess with us. Fenrir might have gotten word about us from his cronies who invaded Verdanya.”
“Or the other lycanthropes. Any group of them in the area has to know we’re here.” I suddenly paused, thinking about the Fir Mountain Pack, the group of werewolves not too far from the Frostlings. And then, of course, I thought about the Frostlings. “The Fir Mountain group—I wonder if they’ve been attacked as well? They hate lycanthropes, and the feeling is mutual. And then, what of the Frostlings? I wonder if Wyfair is under attack as well?”
“You’re spinning, Fury.” Hecate shook her head at me. “We can only focus on what task is at hand. Everyone is going to be under attack before long. There’s nothing we can do about either the Frostlings or the werewolves at this point. We need to take care of our people here, and then get you back to UnderBarrow.”
I caught my breath, nodding. She was right. I couldn’t help everyone. I couldn’t save everyone. How often had I given that advice to others?
Queet, are you here? I closed my eyes, reaching out for the familiar feeling of my spirit guide.
I’m here, Fury. I’m by your side. And I will go with you to the Shining Lands as well. Hecate has given me permission. Tell me what you need me to do. His voice was comforting.
I looked back at Greta. “How far away is the Abom? Where is he right now?”
“He’s near the northwestern gate. So we have to turn around and go northwest from the village. I have a feeling they entered through the northeastern gate, and then the Abom and his comrades headed toward the other side to prevent people from escaping that way. No doubt there are also contingents guarding the southwest and southeast gates as well.”
At least they were away from the main populace, I thought. A powerful Abom set loose in a population of panicked people? The thought was staggering. He could eat souls right and left.
“Let’s go then.” With that, Hans changed direction and we headed off through the undergrowth, toward the northwestern gate. I steeled myself. Time to finish my mission and return to UnderBarrow. Seeing the town square soaked in blood wouldn’t do me any good, and it wouldn’t help anyone who had died, either. Hecate was right. We couldn’t save everybody, no matter how much we wanted to.
THE NORTHWESTERN GATE was toward the agricultural fields. As the rain sleeted down against us, we pushed through the undergrowth, trying to steer clear of places where we could hear fighting. But it seemed like the majority of the conflict was behind us, back in the village proper. We finally reached the fork in the road that led to the gate, so I figured we must be only a few hundred yards from the Abom and Jötunn.
I stopped, turning around to Greta and Hans. “What are the Jötnar like? What do we need to know?”
“We’ll take care of the giant, you just take care of the Abom.” Hans rested his hand on his sword.
I shook my head. “No. I mean, yes but in case something happens, I need to know what there is to know about the Jötnar. I don’t want to be caught with my guard down. Do they have any special powers?”
“This one appears to be from Niflheim, the land of frost. That means he will be able to conjure up snow and ice, and he’s immune to almost any attacks using cold weather spells.”
I scratched my chin. “Does that mean he’s sensitive to fire attacks?”
“Yes,” Greta said. “Your fire will work against him. But concentrate on the Abomination. Hans and I can take care of the Jötunn and the lycanthropes.”
“Let’s hope so,” I said. But before we marched onward, I closed my eyes and reached down deep inside for the well of fire that I could feel spinning. I coaxed it out, summoned it to the surface, but kept it chained. It burned brightly, and I whispered to it, allowing it to envelope me, to fill my veins with heat and fury. When it felt like the fire was close to hand—at my fingertips—I let out a long breath and nodded for them to lead the way.
Hecate watched me, nodding silently.
“I’m ready.” I slapped my thigh, bringing my whip up. While that might not do much good against the Jötunn, it would work against the Abomination once I got him to the Crossroads.
Are you ready, Queet?
I’m ready. Tell me when and what you need me to do.
We were about twenty yards away from the gate when my Trace screen flared to life. The Abomination was ahead, all right, a murky dark red light flashing an alarm. I paused, realizing that he could probably sense me as well.
“I picked him up. We better get a move on now. Because if we don’t go to him, he’s going to come to us. The minute we get within sight, distract his comrades. Queet and I will move in and take him to the Crossroads. Hecate, I may need you over there.”
The next moment, the red blip began moving toward me.
“He’s picked me up. Come on, let’s engage. Somebody get out there and draw an cross in the road, pronto.” As we thrashed our way out of the undergrowth, Hans drew his sword and drew a deep furrow in the road next to us. He drew another, creating a large cross sign, givi
ng me a path to take the Abom to the Crossroads.
I hurried over to stand by it, forcing myself to avoid rushing to meet the Abom. I needed him here, in the crossroad, and given the fact that we were also staring down at least four lycanthropes and a massive giant, I really didn’t have the leeway to make any mistakes. I had to get him on the first go.
Queet, go tease him over here. He’ll chase you. Or at least he will if he’s like every other Abom.
I’m on it, Fury.
Queet spun out into the road, heading straight for the Abom. The energy on my Trace screen flared. The Abom had caught his scent and was hungry. From where we were standing, I could see the creature lurch forward, but then the Jötunn reached out and smashed him back, stepping in front of him. The giant had to be at least fourteen feet tall, and he was massive with pale blue skin.
“Fucking hell,” I said. “They’ve got the Abom under some sort of control. Did you see that? You’re going to have to take out the giant for me to get hold of the Abom.”
“We’re on it,” Hans said, drawing his sword and heading straight for the giant. The lycanthropes tried to intervene, but Hecate raised her arms in the air and let out a shout. The next thing I knew, a brilliant shaft of light shot down from between the clouds, directly onto the lycanthropes’ faces. It was moonlight magnified tenfold, so dazzling that it made me wince.
The lycanthropes yelped, one of them dropping his weapons. As he backed away, the giant reached forward and grabbed him around the throat, throttling him and tossing him to the side as if he were no more than a ragdoll. He shouted something that sounded like an order, though I didn’t recognize the language, and the other lycanthropes whimpered but forced themselves forward, shivering.
Next to me, Hecate laughed. “So they fear the moon. Then let them fear the moon goddess.” She stepped to the side, moving in front of me. She raised her hands to the sky, letting out a loud cry, ululating a trail of sounds that spun through the night air. The air currents rippled with her call. Hecate was growing taller, rising into the sky, her indigo gown sparkling as though it had a thousand diamonds attached to it. Her hair rose, writhing on its own, and three snakes appeared around her waist, massive and huge, slithering into existence with her call.
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