by Leia Stone
“Let’s wake up the snuggle twins over there and start hiking.” Tore nudged Bodie and Johann with his foot. “I want to summit this mountain before sundown.”
Right. Summit the huge, snowy mountain, avoid the frost giants, and steal my weapon back from the dark elves. Nothing out of the ordinary.
I took one last look at stubbly, morning-haired Tore and committed the vision to memory. Something told me a heat-inducing visual would be just what I needed scaling that enormous, frostbite-friendly mountain.
****
“You want us to climb that?” I blinked at the wall of ice that marked the base of Iskandar Mountain. It appeared to be a frozen waterfall—two hundred feet of sheer ice that hung at a barely discernible angle from the hill. “Why can’t we just take the trail behind it that tracks up the hill? It’s climbable. Also, it’s not made of bulletproof ice.”
“Can’t.” Tore pulled one gloved hand out of his pocket and pointed at a flicker of green that circled the bottom of the mountain. “See that wavy reflection? It’s a trigger. The mountain’s rigged with an alarm, or possibly an explosive. If you look close, it goes all the way around the base, but it tucks behind the ice wall. Which means there’s only one way up.”
“If it helps, Allie, we don’t expect you to climb the ice.” Mack tossed his pack on the ground and rifled through his gear. He pulled out five sets of spiked shoe covers. “We’ve trained for this, but you haven’t. You just climb on one of our backs and get ready for a wild ride.”
My mind went straight to the gutter, and I took care to avoid looking at Tore. Never one to miss an opportunity, Bodie snickered. “That’s what she said.”
Mack frowned at his friend. “Please try to be an adult, Bodie.”
Heat climbed my neck and settled into my cheeks. Ah, heat. I missed you. “You sure you want me to hitch a ride?” I hedged. “It looks like it’s going to be hard enough to get up that thing without a person on your back.”
“You’re a demigod, remember?” Johann shot me a grin. “No more of this ‘person’ skit.”
“Right. So if I’m like Tore, shouldn’t I be able to pick up this ice climbing thing pretty easily? I don’t want to hold you guys back.” I stamped my feet to fight off the cold. Even though it was daytime, it still felt like the inside of a deep freezer.
“We’ll help you out this one time, Allie.” Mack passed out the spiky footwear. The guys slid them over their boots and clicked them into place. Not wanting to stick out, I copied their movement, and soon had my own pair of ice shoes. Sweet. “Next time you’re in Jotunheim, you’re on your own.”
“Thanks,” I said, and I meant it. As much as I didn’t want to be that girl, the odds of my keeping up with the guys while scaling my first multi-hundred-foot ice wall were slim to none. And if that oversized bluish beast came back while I was scrambling up a frozen fall, well . . . what was the theory? You only had to be the second slowest to survive an animal attack? I was pretty sure I couldn’t make that cut . . . and I didn’t want to be jotun fodder that day. Or any day.
Tore tossed his gear to Bodie, who added it to his back. My friend now carried two backpacks and a snowboard, while Tore’s back had an open vacancy.
“Hop on, Allie.” Tore patted his shoulders.
“You sure you can carry me up that thing?” I asked.
“You questioning my strength?” Tore raised one snow-dusted eyebrow.
“I’m questioning your sanity,” I corrected. “First, that ice wall is huge—it’s going to be hard to get up with me on your back. Second, your girlfriend’s going to be pretty ticked you gave another chick a piggyback ride. And she seems like the revenge loving type.”
Bodie, Mack, and Johann took a very sudden, and very intense, interest in their shoes.
Seriously, Allie? You pick now to turn into a girl?
“What are you talking about?” Tore stared blankly.
It was so embarrassing to have to spell it out, but I didn’t want to just sit by and let him snuggle me all night, then pull me up the ice wall while he was dating another girl. “Synna,” I said awkwardly. “She can’t be happy about any of this.” Me snuggling you in the snow cave, me snuggling you up the mountain . . . Now that I thought about it, it had been a banner day for snuggling.
“Synna and I aren’t together. We haven’t been for months.” Tore’s nostrils flared. “Gods, did you think the other night—that we . . . oh, that wasn’t what happened at all, Allie.”
“Whatever,” I shrugged. “I don’t care.” But the smirk on Tore’s face let me know he was on to me. Dang it, Allie. Couldn’t you play it cool just this one time?
“Talk later.” Bodie poked me. “Climb now. The weather’s not looking so great.”
“Hop on,” Tore repeated, this time with a gleam in his eye.
“If you’re sure.” I wrapped my arms around Tore’s neck and jumped awkwardly onto his back.
“This can’t be your first piggyback ride,” Tore chided. “Come on, squeeze me with your legs.”
“That’s what she sa—”
“Shut up, Bodie.” Tore gripped my thighs and pulled them around him. “Like that.”
“I’m afraid I’ll cut you with my knife-shoes,” I admitted.
“The crampons? It’s fine. Just squeeze with your thighs, and keep your feet tucked against your butt. Or crisscross your legs, but keep them tight to my chest. We’ll have to hug the ice in parts of this trek, so try not to get the, uh, knife-shoes stuck on anything,” Tore instructed.
“Got it.” I pressed my hands to Tore’s chest so I didn’t pull on his neck. The last thing I wanted to do was choke the guy on our way up a frozen waterfall. “Giddy-up,” I called.
“Careful, Pepper, your life is in my hands.” Tore took a small curved ice pick in each hand and stepped up to the waterfall. “Here we go.”
“We’re going straight up this thing freehand? No ropes?” I tried not to black out.
“Trust me, Pepper. I got us,” Tore said.
Tore dug one pick, then the other, into the ice. He scaled the wall with ease, relying almost entirely on his upper body strength to pull us up. Occasionally, he dug his feet into the ice to redirect our course, but he ascended the first obstacle as easily as if he’d just climbed a ladder. I kept my eyes squeezed firmly shut until we were back on solid ground. And even then, I was reluctant to release my hold on Tore’s insanely firm backside. The guy was a rock, from his smooth, hard shoulders all the way down to his otherworldly butt. Wrapping my legs around that thing took sexy to a whole new level. If we were in any other situation, I’d—
“Bodie!” Tore’s cry pulled me out of my reverie. “Allie get off.” I jumped onto the snow as Tore launched himself at the ledge. I could barely make out Bodie’s gloved hand struggling to grip the slippery surface. Tore stretched his arm down with a grunt. “Hold on to me. I’ll pull you up.”
Tore dug his elbow into the snow and pulled. A few seconds later, Bodie’s arm appeared over the ledge, followed by his head. He threw a leg over and climbed up, panting.
“Takk, man,” Bodie huffed. “My pick slipped off. I hope it didn’t hit Johann on the way down.”
“It did.” Johann’s irritated face poked over the top of the wall, Bodie’s ice pick in one of his hands. “I could have lost an eye.”
“I’m sorry.” Bodie offered a hand and helped pull Johann up. Together they peeked over the edge. “You okay, Mack?”
“Never better.” Mack’s hearty voice called up. When he joined the rest of my protectors on the narrow ledge above the ice wall, he wore an ear-to-ear grin. “That was fun.”
“Glad to hear it.” Tore took his board and backpack from Bodie, then pointed to the top of the mountain. We were nearly halfway there, and we’d need to traverse a few hundred yards of narrow ledge before we got to a trail wide enough to allow us to walk two wide. Jotunheim was intense. “Let’s get a move on. We need to scout the summit before that storm blows in.”
“What storm?” I scanned the horizon until I spotted the dense, grey clouds to my left. “Oh.”
“Move out,” Tore turned and headed along the narrow ledge. I could see now that the greenish trigger alarm only stretched up the first hundred feet of the mountain. Up here, we were free from its reach. Whew. I followed behind Tore, with Bodie, Johann, and Mack bringing up the rear. It took a tremendous amount of focus to not think about the multi-hundred-foot drop hovering twenty inches to the left of my knife-shoes.
“Hey, Allie. Do you still sense the blackness at the summit?” Tore spoke over his shoulder.
Without closing my eyes because, narrow ledge, I opened my energy and sent it to the top of the mountain. It quickly recoiled, pinging back to me like it had been burned. “Yup,” I surmised. “It’s less dense than it was before, which either means there are fewer bad guys up there, or . . . well, I guess that’s what it means.”
Tore tugged his beanie lower over his ears. “Yeah, I sense that too. I hope their numbers aren’t down because they found what they’re looking for and bailed. But I don’t think that’s an issue—something tells me they can’t touch the pieces of your weapon. Only you can.”
That was an interesting theory. “Hold on.” With another push, I spiraled my energy around the mountain. It came back to me after reading two more signatures. “The elves have broken up. Two of them are heading down the hill. If we stay on this path, we’ll meet up with them in a few miles.”
“Huh.” Bodie spoke from over my shoulder. “Do you think they spotted us and they’re coming to pick us off?”
“I doubt that.” Tore kept marching forward. “If they saw five of us, and sent two assassins, they’re even dumber than I thought. They’re probably looking for shelter. That storm is moving fast, and they have to be exposed atop this mountain.”
“What are we going to do?” I asked. A swift movement from just over the ledge drew my attention. “What’s that?”
My heart jumped into my throat as a black blur swept past my head and landed on the path in front of Tore. I heard the sound of blades drawing behind me, but Tore held up one fist and ordered the boys to stand down. “It’s just Huginn,” he said. The collective exhale from behind let me know the raven’s arrival was good news.
Tore bent down and untied a scroll from the raven’s leg. With his message delivered, the bird flapped charcoal wings and soared back over the ledge, flying until he was just a speck on the horizon.
“What’s it say, man?” Johann called from behind.
Tore faced us as he unraveled the scroll. His eyes scanned the paper before he tucked it into his pocket. “The darkness at the top of the mountain is a horde of night elves,” he confirmed. “And there’s a strong light magic resonance a hundred meters due east of their gathering spot. My guess is they sense the magic is nearby, and they’re trying to locate it. But the weather’s bad enough that they can’t find it. Either that, or they’re protecting it.”
“The magic is the piece of Gud Morder, right?” I felt dumb asking, but I wanted to make sure we weren’t walking into a—did Tore say horde?—unless it was absolutely dire to our cause.
“That’s right,” Tore confirmed.
“So what’s the plan?” Mack asked.
“The plan is . . .” Tore paused. “Okay. We take out the two night elves heading our way and get as close to the light magic spot as we can before that storm hits. Once the blizzard begins, we attack. Night elves come from Svartalfheim, so they’re unaccustomed to snow. They’ll be at a tactical disadvantage. Two of us have energy sight, so Allie and I will be able to see through the storm. We’ll tell you where to go. The faster we can get our hands on the weapon piece, the faster we can get out of this Helheim.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” I pulled my blade from my boot and held it at the ready. “Let’s go kill some night elves. Then we can celebrate by making a really kick-butt shelter, with the fire to end all fires.” I very much looked forward to being able to feel my fingertips again. And also, my nose.
“You heard the girl. Onward.” Tore rested his hand on the hilt of his broadsword and headed up the trail. It took over an hour of insanely steep hiking before we finally neared the spot where I’d sensed the night elves. Wind whipped over the ledge, and I nearly lost my footing where the trail split off, cutting into the mountain just far enough to permit a few trees to grow. It wasn’t exactly a forest, but it was a dense enough patch of foliage that we’d be able to find some cover. Provided we made it that far without being blown over, first.
“The night elves should be just around the corner,” I whispered. And with a sudden gust, the storm was upon us. The force of the icy snow and whipping wind made me sway on my feet, and I stumbled precariously close to the ledge. Bodie’s arm snaked out from behind and shoved me back onto the path. I dug my knife-shoes into the ground to hold my position.
“Thanks,” I called over my shoulder.
“No worries,” Bodie shouted back.
Tore held up a fist. “Be quiet. I sense them.” We gathered behind him, ducking beneath one of the trees and away from the narrow path. Visibility was marginal, but the wind was bad enough that I hoped the dark elves would be forced to take shelter. As I’d just seen, there was a very real possibility of being blown off that ledge. “Mack, you and Johann take air assault. Scale those two trees, and drop in on the perps if they pass. Bodie and I will hide behind those rocks and attack from the ground. Allie, you’re on cleanup. It’s your job to eliminate anything that gets past the rest of us. Got it?”
“You’re going to let me fight them?” My voice rose on the last words. “I thought you’d banish me to the trees and tell me to stay there.” The fact that he finally wanted to treat me as an equal warrior was just about the hottest thing a guy had ever done for me.
“We told you if you let us get you up the wall, we’d let you take care of yourself.” Tore shrugged. “Unless you don’t want to . . .”
“Oh, I want to,” I said. My blade glowed blue in my hand. It wanted to, too.
“Good. Everyone, fall into position,” Tore commanded. “The hostiles are approaching at eleven o’clock, and we want to have the element of surprise.”
Mack and Johann quickly climbed the trees, and Tore and Bodie took their places behind neighboring boulders. I ducked into a crevice and waited. It was time for my second kill. And instead of being scared, a thrill of anticipation coursed through my energy centers.
What had I become?
CHAPTER TEN
SINCE THE MOMENT I’D found out about my lineage, I’d hoped that I was truly a product of both of my parents—part healer, part warrior. I’d demonstrated sufficient energy skills that I knew I’d grasp my mother’s side eventually, but to date, I hadn’t done anything that made me trust I’d inherited any abilities from my paternal side. I knew I’d never be able to meet him, but as I gripped my glowing blade on the side of the snowy mountain, I sincerely hoped I had what it took to make my father proud.
The clash of swords rang out, and shouts filled the icy air. My gloved fingers held tight to my sword as I sent my awareness out. Bodie and Tore must have run ahead—Tore was still a blind spot, but Bodie’s energy signature moved just beyond where Mack and Johann still hid in the trees. My Asgardian protectors were on top of the night elves, whose dark signatures flickered in and out of focus. A weakening energy pulse usually meant a life drain, and I surmised Bodie and Tore were handling their assailants pretty capably. This was going to be a short battle, so long as . . . oh, God. No!
Three fresh, black energy signatures emerged from behind the first two, and I peeked my head out from my shelter to make sure I’d seen correctly. Crap. How had we missed them? They pushed past Bodie and Tore, charging straight toward my hiding spot. Mack and Johann’s signatures blazed red. They dropped down, right in the middle of the horde, and the elves’ energy flickered. A fresh series of clangs let me know a second battle had broken out, but I didn’t
worry. I knew my protectors were strong enough to take on three measly elves. I wasn’t wrong. Mack hacked up one of the assailants in the time it took Johann to back a second into a tree. They worked together to end elf number two, slicing through its black, wispy soul before turning to attack the third monster. My boys were tough—and I loved them for it.
My armor vibrated, sending a jolt surging from my cuff to my necklace. Before I could wonder what that meant, the third elf leaped over Mack and Johann, and barreled in my direction. Since a thick fog was rolling in, there was a chance he hadn’t seen me yet—maybe he was just running away. Either way, I crouched down low and steadied my blade. When he ran past the opening to my shelter, I leaped from the crevice and struck, driving my blade straight into his heart. Black mist rose from his body as he dropped to the ground. With a nausea-inducing slurp, I pulled my sword from his chest and used it to hack the mist to bits. When I’d finished, the mist was gone, and a thick puddle of black goo covered the ground around the elf’s corpse—a morbid version of a snow angel. It had been an easy kill, but I was proud of it. Instead of celebrating, I sent my energy around the mountain, checking for additional dark signatures. There were none between the summit and us—even the flickering lights near Bodie and Tore had been snuffed out. Between us, we’d killed five night elves.