“You wouldn’t have died from that, shieldmaiden. It was just a minor inconvenience.”
“Well, you could’ve left me and gone to the tree on your own. It would’ve taken me some time to overcome it on my own. Only one rickety barricade stands in your way to freedom. I’m sure Surtr could find a way to do me in if given half a chance.”
When I finally glanced up, Fen’s eyes pierced me with intensity. “I spared you because you are still a mystery to me. That is all. Once the mystery is revealed, then we shall see if you live or die. If I find you are an agent of Odin, you will feel my wrath.” He turned and walked away, dismissing me.
I shook myself. His words had been harsh. If Odin was truly my father, explaining it to Fen in a way that would make him understand I had no ties to the god, other than genetics, would be extremely difficult, if not impossible.
I couldn’t think about that.
Surtr’s booming voice echoed around us. It was garbled, half in English and half demonish. I made out, “Surrender…will die…punish.”
There would be no surrendering.
Fen strode to the edge of the wall of serpents. More snakes had joined the group, but I didn’t know when they’d arrived. There were at least fifty in attendance. It was quite a showing.
I could see why Surtr was thinking twice about charging us or sending out any more spells.
“You will comply with our wishes, demon king,” Fen addressed Surtr. “Have no fear. We will make a deal to your liking.”
“I will not make bargains with you,” Surtr cried, his voice strained.
“Yes, you will,” Fen finished. “If you do not, the consequences will be far too grave.”
“Give me the girl, and you can have the tree. That is the only deal I will broker.”
“The girl is not an option. Let us access the tree, and we will spare your world and your demons,” Fen said. “After we have gone, we will agree to pay damages in a worthy amount you choose, to be delivered by an agent within one season. That is my final offer.”
Surtr’s roar was devastatingly loud. He was not happy with the deal.
Verdandi must’ve offered him much more to deliver me, battered, bruised, and almost dead, to her door.
“Then we will fight!” Surtr boomed, hoisting his flaming sword in the air, swinging it overhead.
“As you wish,” Fen said, his jaw tight. He turned to the snakes. “How many demons are we dealing with?”
A new serpent I hadn’t seen before answered him. “Two thoussssand. More to come.”
Fen cursed. “We must not diverge from the mission. It is simple. We clear a path to Yggdrasil, and the Valkyrie and I go down. Once we are through, the fighting stops.”
“You musssst honor your agreement with us.”
“Of course I will, there is no question. But we are not all going through the tree now. I will return with the key you will need for your passage back to Jotunheim as time allows.”
“How do we know we can trusssst you?” The serpent narrowed its eyes. This must be their military leader. It was bigger than the other snakes and so dark it was almost hard to see in the low light. It bent down and bared its gigantic fangs at Fen.
Fen wasn’t fazed. He crossed his arms and stood his ground. “Now you choose not to trust me? I will do as agreed, upon my honor. We are both prisoners of this realm, do not forget. We were tossed here against our will. I will get the key to you in due time. I have no reason to back out of our agreement.”
“If you do, we will put a price on your head.”
Fen scoffed. “Serpent, there is already a price on my head. Once I escape from here, every creature in all the realms will be hunting me.”
“How will you evade them?” the snake asked.
Fen shrugged. “I plan to lose myself in Midgard. There are many places to hide there.”
“After you get ussss the key.”
“Of course. Do not fear that I will break my word. I am not the one who backed out of our last agreement.”
I had no idea what the key would look like to get the serpents out, but I assumed it was something big. I hadn’t thought about where Fen would go once he escaped, but Midgard seemed logical. My world was big, with lots of hiding spots and lots of people.
Fen drew Gram out of his belt, slashing his palm quickly. He brought the hand up to the snake and placed it on one of its scales. After a moment, the big beast nodded. Fen turned to me. “Get ready to run.”
20
__________________________
____________
Run? Run where? Before I could figure out where we were going, the snakes all lunged forward at the same time. Fen grabbed my hand, and we took off after them, more serpents bringing up the rear.
“This is your plan?” I shouted. “Just run at the man with the flaming sword?”
“Relax, Valkyrie. We will be past his barricade in less than one—”
Suddenly, we were flying through the air. Fen had literally leaped over the barricade, dragging me with him, the demons and Surtr distracted by the army of Jondi bent on attacking.
We dropped into a huge trench. The crater below was larger than I’d imagined it would be. It was at least fifty feet deep.
Fen was slightly ahead of me and let go of my hand a moment before he landed. Faster than I could blink, he hit the ground, pivoted, and caught me up in his arms.
The impact sent us both spinning, crashing to the ground.
It was hardly a smooth landing, but it was better than hitting with no cushion at all. We both lay sprawled on the ground, breathing hard.
Once I gathered myself, I glanced around. At the far end of the crater, a massive amount of bark protruded. The tree didn’t go up through the surface. It was contained inside.
It was almost like it had been stuck here for safe keeping.
I crawled to my knees excitedly. “I don’t understand how this works, but I’ve never been happier to see anything in my entire life!” I began to move toward it. “We can finally leave this place.” I glanced back, elated.
“Wait, shieldmaiden! It’s not safe yet,” Fen called, starting after me.
I stopped. “What do you mean? I don’t see anything.” I searched around for trouble, baffled, and as I watched, one by one, demons crawled out from behind rocks and out of holes, completely surrounding us.
I took a few steps back as Fen closed the gap.
“We will fight these here and hope the snakes keep more from descending,” he whispered in my ear, holding me steady, hands braced on my shoulders.
“Okay.” What else was I going to say? I reached for the iron rod I’d stuck in the loophole of my pants, but it was gone. I hadn’t even realized I’d been without it.
Fen withdrew something and handed it to me. It was my rod. “You left this behind.”
I palmed it. “Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be a force to be reckoned with now that I have it back.”
Fen lunged forward, slicing a demon that had ventured too close in half with his sword. “Better than with your hands alone.”
“I’m not so sure.” I brandished the rod in front of me, trying to appear more menacing. I hoped I never set foot in this realm again. Once was too many times.
A demon came toward me, its mouth curved up into a grotesque smile. “Greeza.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that one before, but you’re not getting me this time, stick man. I’d rather die than be your greeza.” I stabbed my iron rod into its chest. The tip penetrated, then stopped with a loud thunk.
I’d hit its sternum.
“Valkyrie, you’ll have to do better than that,” Fen tossed over his shoulder, his voice full of smirk. He’d already taken out ten demons.
More surrounded us with each passing moment.
“Very funny,” I grumbled, yanking the rod back. The demon came with it, unimpressed with my efforts to kill it. I repositioned the rod like a bat and swung it at its chest. The thing broke in half like a brittle matchstick.
>
As we fought, Fen and I edged closer to the tree. It was radiant, the bark glimmering in the low light. The energy it stored inside called to me like a siren. I needed its sustenance. Having been gone from it for a while, it was clear to me now how much the tree meant to me.
If this didn’t work, and we were forced to leave this crater, I would die. The conditions in this land were too harsh, and it was clear, if given the chance, Surtr would take me back to the torture table. I’d save him the trouble and use the iron rod on myself before I’d let him harm me again.
I swung at another demon, taking it down, and the one behind it.
They kept coming. “Did they camp here waiting for us?” I called. “Where did they all come from?”
“These demons are the guardians of the tree. They live here. They likely have tunnels and homes below ground.”
“Now is not the time to tell me that!” I cried. “We willingly jumped into a fifty-foot crevasse full of demons? Again, this was your plan?”
“We were limited in our options, Valkyrie. If we had not partnered with the serpents, we would’ve fought them up there, and then again down here. This way we have only this lot to deal with.”
“That’s reassuring, except this lot is growing by twenty demons every time I blink. Why can’t you just turn into your wolf and be done with it?” I swiped at another demon. “I’m not sure we’re going to get ahead otherwise.” As we inched forward, more demons gathered between us and the tree.
“Not an option. I wouldn’t be able to use the dagger with my paws.”
“That’s exactly why you should give Gram to me,” I insisted. “You take out the demons as a wolf, I run to the tree, you change back, grab my hand, and we’re out of this hellish place forever.”
“No.”
Stubborn demigod.
I slashed at more demons, Fen’s back to mine. We were moving at a snail’s pace. “Where are the snakes?” I asked. “Why aren’t some of them here to help us? One swish of their tails, and this place would be cleared out.”
“The serpents can’t get out of this crater without assistance. It’s too deep and the walls too steep. We are on our own here. Their job is to make sure no more enter and Surtr is well occupied.”
“Oh.”
“Let me take the lead,” he ordered.
I edged around. He immediately increased our pace. “I think the demons have tripled, and I see more coming up from the holes from below,” I said. I was barely able to keep back the ones advancing on me. They seemed leery of Fen, so they weren’t all charging at once, which seemed like the only reason we hadn’t been overrun.
Two came at me at once.
I swung at the one closest to me as the other reached out its skeletal hands and raked its bony fingers across my forearm. “Ow!” Blood spurted from the gouges. In retaliation, I pierced it through the eye with my rod. There was a resounding squishing noise. “Gross.” I covered my mouth with one hand while I yanked the rod out with the other.
“Go for the neck,” Fen said. He swung his sword perfectly and cut three demons down at once. “It’s much more efficient.”
Show-off.
“There are too many to aim properly,” I answered testily. “And it’s tricky because I’m trying to keep their acid blood from burning a hole through me.”
“Don’t worry about their blood. Once you get into the tree, it will heal you.”
“What if we don’t get to the tree?”
“We will.” With a yell and a charge, Fen barreled forward, and I followed. It looked like we were going to make it after all. The demons were no match for Fen’s strength. “We are within paces of it, Valkyrie. Get ready. I’m going to pull out Gram. You hold them back while I place the dagger—”
There was a violent shout, followed by a loud thump that shook the ground.
Demons screeched around us, moving every which way. Surtr’s voice preceded him as he rose to his full height, his flaming sword already lofted high above his head. He truly loved that thing.
I didn’t want to be hit with another spell, so I crouched down. Then I realized it was a stupid move, because he could hit me if he wanted to no matter where I was—he could still see me—but I didn’t know what else to do.
Fen took me by the arm and dragged me behind him, brandishing his own sword. “You are too late, demon king,” he announced. “We made you a nice deal, and you frittered it away. Now you’ll be left with nothing.”
I peeked out from behind Fen’s broad back.
I’d seen Surtr when I had been dazed and lying on the altar, and again on top of the barricade. He’d looked tall then, of course, but standing here I realized he was truly a giant. He had to be over eight feet tall. His face was cruel, misshapen, and bulgy, his teeth awful and sharp. His nose, with its three slits, was still the worst thing I’d ever laid eyes on. He wore a dirty loincloth and a furious expression. “You will pay with your life, son of Loki.” Surtr stormed forward. “You have meddled in business…that is not yours.” His voice sounded rough and harsh. English was definitely not his first language.
Fen began to walk backward, forcing me along, too. He was trying to get us to the tree. The only good thing to happen since Surtr’s arrival was that the demons had scuttled away, moving in reverence to their master.
I glanced behind me.
The tree was only about ten feet away. It beckoned me. I reached out a hand, yearning to touch it. My pulse jumped in anticipation, and tingles shot up my arm.
“Valkyrie, be ready. Surtr’s sword has the power to rend us in half if he so wishes. It’s a powerful weapon crafted by the dark elves. It’s the only thing on this pitiful realm that can truly harm me.”
“Okay,” I answered. “You plunge the dagger in the tree and we go? We’re only going to get one chance.”
“Yes,” he replied. “We are—how do you say on Midgard—between a hard place and a tree.”
“That’s not it exactly, but I get your drift.” I tried not to sigh too loudly. Fen getting us out of here had to work. If not, that flaming sword was going to do some serious damage.
“You cannot escape,” Surtr growled. “The paths have been sealed. The Norns are awaiting you. If you enter…alarms will ring. Your fate is with me.” He cackled. “I will enjoy your torture.” He swung his sword down in a large arc. He’d gotten dangerously close.
My back hit the tree.
Hallelujah!
My fingernails raked the bark, and a low moan issued from my throat.
The tree immediately infused me with energy, then all too quickly, Fen twirled me around, handing me his sword. “Look menacing,” he ordered, pulling Gram out. “This should only take a moment.”
I needed two hands to lift the large broadsword, so I dropped my rod and managed to hike the sword above my head. “Stop!” I ordered Surtr.
The giant stopped, but looked puzzled as to why. “You cannot defeat me, little human.”
I didn’t want to point out that he had indeed stopped. “Um, I’m not trying to defeat you?” I had no idea what to say, but confusion could only help. As Surtr had moved forward, an army of his demons had lined up behind him.
Behind me, Fen cursed.
Not a good sign.
Fen shouted a rush of words in a language I didn’t understand. I heard Gram strike the bark again and again, to no avail.
Surtr chuckled. If you could call it that. It was more like rocks rolling around in a pail. “I told you. You will not leave here.”
Fen snarled, turning. “That’s what you think, demon. I will leave this plane, either through this tree or by my death.”
“Fen, give me the dagger,” I urged in a low voice. “Let me try.” He ignored me, instead taking the sword from me. He was livid. “Don’t do this,” I begged. “I might be able to help us! We can’t win this battle, we have to escape. Please.”
“You heard him,” Fen answered stonily. “The way is locked to us. We must fight.”
; “It might be locked to you, but maybe not to me!” I cried. “I won’t survive this fight. Do you see those demons? We are trapped in a hole with an army of things bent on killing us. This is so not the time to be stubborn.”
Surtr took one giant step forward and aimed his sword straight at us. Fen raged, using his own weapon against the demon king, swinging his broadsword up at Surtr’s lofted arm. The demon king turned at the last moment, dodging Fen and whipping his hand around, crushing the base of his sword against Fen’s shoulder.
The impact sent Fen reeling away from me.
I was backed up against the tree, arms splayed behind me, fingernails embedded in the bark.
A cruel grin broke over Surtr’s nasty face. He knew he had me, and he was going to enjoy it. Ever so slowly, he brought the flaming sword in front of me. I closed my eyes, frantically drawing more energy from the tree, begging it in my mind to open up. Flames licked at my chest, my tunic catching fire as the point broke the skin. “Argh!” I gasped as blood began to flow. “Just kill me already! I’ve had enough of this world, this hate, this inhumanity!” Energy poured into me from the tree as lightning shot overhead. Thunder rumbled soon after. I couldn’t see where the lightning had struck, because Surtr’s sword was lodged in my body.
I was losing consciousness.
“Valkyrie!” Fen shouted.
I forced my eyes open in time to see Gram arcing through the air as Fen tackled Surtr. I caught the blade by the handle as the horrid sword dislodged from my body. I screamed, falling to my knees. But my scream had been muffled by the sound of something else.
CAW-CAW. CAW-CAW.
21
__________________________
____________
Huggie appearing was the most welcome thing to happen in a very long time. I squinted up to the sky, one hand trying to staunch the blood gushing from my wound.
Struck Page 16