by Linsey Hall
This time when I looked forward, the glow on the horizon had been replaced by a massive black castle. It was as ornate as a wedding cake for a princess, but entirely black, with dozens of turrets and bridges and twisty bits and flags. Light glowed from it, orange and bright.
Like flame.
Fear iced my skin.
I did not want to go in there.
Holy fates, I did not.
But they dragged us ever closer, and bile rose in my throat. The moat surrounding the castle bubbled like black oil, and the massive gate creaked as it opened. How would one ever escape?
We wouldn’t.
The courtyard was full of Dark Elves, all of them turning to watch us with their dead black eyes. Their skin was so pale that they looked like snow. One of them hissed at us, revealing long fangs.
Oh crap oh crap oh crap.
Frozen like this, unable to fight… It was a nightmare.
We floated through an ornate entry hall that was done entirely in shining black onyx, then into a long room with an arched ceiling. The floor was threaded with veins of gold. It reminded me of a fancy cathedral back on Earth, but when we were dumped onto the floor in front of a throne built of bones, all memory of church faded from my mind.
The elf that stared down at us was bigger than the rest, his cheeks gaunt and his eyes burning bright. He was draped in gold, gleaming like the sun.
“What do we have here?” His voice hissed like a snake’s, sibilant and smooth.
“We found them by the Nökken’s pond, my liege,” said one of the elves.
At first, I didn’t realize that he was speaking Norse. But the confusion in Cade’s eyes clued me in.
Apparently I could understand it as well as read it.
The leader pursed his lips as he studied us. “The female feels familiar. Strange.”
Those were contradictory terms, but I had no way to correct him when I couldn’t move my mouth. Not that it would be a smart thing to do.
The elf king tapped his chin with long fingers as he thought. “Lock them up while I try to determine what to do with trespassers on our land. I will call for the interrogator. He will get answers from them.”
The interrogator.
Oh, that sounded bad.
“We shall see what he says,” the elf king continued. “Perhaps they will go into the mines. Until then, put them in the dungeon.”
Something told me the dungeon or the mines were better options than the Dark Elf king figuring out that I was a Valkyrie DragonGod.
We were hoisted into the air by magic and carried from the room. As we drifted away, I stared back at the elf king. His gaze followed me, burning bright.
He’d figure out what I was.
No way I could let that happen.
The six elves accompanied us down to the dungeons. As we floated, the halls shifted. I could feel them moving, swinging through space and tilting up and down. It’d be impossible to find our way out of here.
I swallowed hard as we were taken deeper and deeper into the castle. Strangely enough, the floor down here gleamed with even thicker veins of gold, as if it were coming from the earth itself instead of being laid into the floor during construction. But that was impossible, right?
Except, we weren’t even on Earth anymore. Midgard was far way. This was Svartálfar, and anything was possible here.
We reached a heavy iron door, which the lead guard opened with a big iron key. They tossed us in, dragged the net off of us, then slammed the door.
I lay still on the hard ground, gasping. Trying to calm my mind.
Next to me, Cade sat up. He shuddered. “There’s something wrong with the air here.”
Shaking, I joined him, barely able to keep myself upright.
The room was small, the walls covered in a dark mist. It seeped toward me, chilling my muscles and creeping into my mind.
“Magic,” I said.
Cade shuddered again, his face pale. He climbed to his feet and inspected the walls, pressing his hands to the stone. The black mist darkened his skin. He pulled them back.
He went to the door. Tried the handle. Of course it didn’t work, but I couldn’t blame him for trying.
Then he threw himself against the door, leading with his shoulder. It didn’t budge. Again and again, he hurled himself at the iron barrier. The blows were so hard that the entire room shook—but the door didn’t break.
“Knock it off!” a voice shouted in Old Norse.
Cade stopped, panting. “What did he say?”
“Knock it off,” I translated. “Somehow I can speak Old Norse. The king is calling someone called the interrogator. They’ll try to determine why we’re here, and then possibly put us in the mines.”
“We can’t escape from there.” Cade was still pale, an unusual sight for the brave god.
I didn’t like being locked up, but he was taking this harder. The guy who threw himself at a giant wolf and would fight anything single-handedly did not like being locked up. He’d made the damn walls shake with the force of his blows.
I didn’t rise—my muscles felt too weak—but I lifted my arms. “Come here.”
“Why?”
“We need to figure out how to get out of here, but first, I could use a hug.” I didn’t say that he could also probably use a hug.
His face softened. He came to sit next to me, and pulled me into his arms. My muscles relaxed. My mind cleared slightly.
“This black mist affects us,” I said.
“No kidding. I don’t like dungeons.” He didn’t shudder, but I could hear one in his voice. “But this is worse than most.”
“You’ve spent a lot of time in dungeons?”
“As a child. But that’s a story for another time.”
My heart ached. I was desperate to ask more, but he was right. We didn’t have time for a chat. We had to plan. But I didn’t let go of him. Touching him anchored my mind in the real world, farther from the horror of this place and the magic that sought to incapacitate us.
“The mist is a good idea,” I said. “It’s probably supposed to make us weak and frightened. Ideal prisoners who won’t try to escape.”
“It won’t work. We’ll find a way.” He was more hopeful now that we were touching. The mist couldn’t affect us as strongly like this. He studied the door, brow creased. “It’s enchanted, so I can’t break it. We need the key.”
“Maybe we can ambush the guard.”
“We’ll have to avoid that net.”
“Won’t be easy. But maybe—”
A glowing white light drifted through the door. It took me a moment to realize what it was. When I did, my heart leapt, joy flooding through me.
“Mayhem!” I whispered.
The ghostly pug fluttered in front of me, her wings keeping her aloft. Instead of a ham in her mouth, she had a key. Holy fates!
“I can’t believe this.” Stunned, I held out my hand.
She dropped the key into my palm. I still had no idea how a ghost could manipulate objects, but if she could chomp down on a real ham, she could chomp down on a key.
“She stole it from a guard.” Cade grinned, giving me an appraising glance. “Mayhem has chosen you.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’ve heard that the Pugs of Destruction occasionally choose a companion. She’ll help you from now on.”
Mayhem nodded her little head, looking like she wanted to bark but knowing better.
“Thanks, Mayhem. You can eat ham in bed anytime you want.”
A doggy smile creased her wrinkled face, and her tongue lolled out of her mouth.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said.
I broke contact with Cade—immediately feeling more weak and miserable as a result of the magical mist— and stepped up to the door. Mayhem pressed her ghostly form against my hip, her wings fluttering through me.
Cade drew his sword and shield from the ether. I cranked the key in the lock.
It clicked then swung open.
&n
bsp; I peeked out into the hall. A form was slumped against the wall on the right. A Dark Elf.
I looked at Mayhem and whispered, “Your work?”
She nodded.
“Do you know how to get out of here?”
She shook her head, her eyes saying, “No freaking clue.”
“That’s okay.” Hopefully the compass stone would help us.
We slipped out into the hall, and I pulled the stone from my pocket. I didn’t know how it worked, but I silently begged it to lead us out of here. The needle swung, then pointed us down the hall, away from the passed-out elf.
I drew my sword from the ether, and we hurried along on silent feet. As we ran, the halls changed, shifting and moving.
When a passageway spilled us out into a massive room full of Dark Elves, my heart stopped. They turned to look at us, onyx gazes bright. Over their heads, sharp pikes stuck out of the wall like horrible, deadly decorations.
“Oh, shit.” I spun to run back down the hall, but it had disappeared.
There was just wall behind us.
“Double shit.” I shoved the stone into my pocket and drew my shield as I turned to face the elves.
Cade hurled his shield, beheading two elves. Their blood sprayed into the air.
One of the elves turned into black mist and hurtled toward me, a ghostly apparition that moved faster than my eyes could follow.
It slammed into me, entering my body with a sickening squelch. My stomach turned and my mind fogged.
Panic raced through my veins.
The shadowy elf was inside of me!
Pain burst through every nerve ending in my body. I raised my sword, my head turning to find Cade. I stepped toward him, my muscles screaming.
No.
I was going to kill Cade. This elf was going to force me to kill Cade!
Chapter Six
I screamed inside my head, fighting the elf’s will. Sickness rose as my muscles twisted.
Mayhem hurtled toward me, her little ghostly form flying as fast as she could. She plunged into my chest, bringing with her the feeling of lightness and joy.
I gasped, suddenly in control again.
The joy disappeared, and I felt Mayhem fly out of my back. It was the weirdest feeling in the world.
She’d driven the elf out.
I spun, catching sight of the elf behind me, in corporeal form, looking shocked. I swung my blade, beheading him. Blood spurted, and I dodged, getting splashed on the cheek.
Panting, I turned to search the room.
“Don’t let them fly into you!” I shouted to Cade.
He was fighting two of them. Each threw blasts of black smoke. It seemed that not all of the elves could possess people.
Thank fates.
I lunged for an elf near me, raising my shield to block the shadowy black bomb that he hurled at me. It ricocheted off the shield, but his next shot hit me in the leg.
Pain flared as needles shot into my skin.
I ignored it, leaping toward him. I stumbled on my injured leg, slicing with my sword and delivering a deep gouge to his chest. He hissed, his fangs as pale as his skin, and raised his hand to throw another blast at me.
Desperation gave me speed, and I chopped off his hand, my stomach turning at the sight. He shrieked and stumbled back, and I delivered a killing blow, right to the heart.
I yanked my blade free and turned to the room. Cade fought two elves, while Mayhem flew in circles around the space, pursued by a shadowy black figure that was about her size.
I squinted.
It looked like a dragon made of smoke!
The dragon put on a burst of speed and flew into Mayhem, just like the elf had flown into me. Mayhem stopped flying. She thrashed briefly in the air, then a burst of light flashed around her.
She shot a blast of fire out of her mouth, looked surprised and delighted, then shot another one. She yipped with joy, then flew around the room as fast as she could, aiming straight for the elves who fought Cade.
She blasted fire at one of the elves, who screamed. His hair lit up, and he smacked his head, trying to put out the flame. Mayhem went after the other elf, a look of pure joy on her fire-breathing face.
Holy fates, Mayhem had absorbed the powers of that dragon. She was half dragon now, or something like it. She even kinda looked like a dragon when she shot her flame, her form flickering and changing briefly.
Wow.
Cade loped toward me, deadly grace in the face of battle.
“More will come,” he said.
Mayhem fluttered over to us, looking delighted with herself.
“We need to run for it, but we can’t have them pursuing us.” I searched the room. The bodies scattered around weren’t ideal. But maybe if they thought we were dead, too….
My gaze landed on the pikes that stuck out of the wall. They were pretty high up. Someone would need a ladder to reach them, unless they’d been tossed up there.
Oh yeah. That gave me an idea.
“This is going to be weird.” I called on my illusion magic, letting it flow through me. I envisioned our bodies impaled on the pikes as if they’d been thrown up there, our blood dripping to the floor.
They appeared, just as I’d envisioned them.
I winced at the sight of myself. But the sight of Cade, broken and bleeding, tore my heart out of my chest. I shuddered and turned to him.
“I can hold that for a while. Long enough to get a head start.”
“Good.”
Footsteps sounded, running down the hall toward us.
“We need speed now, not stealth.” Magic swirled around Cade. He shifted into his wolf form and bent low.
I stashed my sword and shield in the ether and leapt onto his back, clinging to his fur. He raced out of the room, down a wide hall, and away from the oncoming footfalls.
I focused my magic on maintaining the illusion of our dead bodies hanging from the pikes. Hopefully they wouldn’t realize we weren’t there until they climbed up and tried to retrieve us.
I had no idea if it was working since I wasn’t there to see it, but I hoped with everything I had in me.
Mayhem flew at our side as I dug into my pocket for the compass stone. I pulled it out, and started giving Cade directions. His speed made up for any loss of stealth, and we made good time through the moving hallways of the creepy castle.
When we spilled out into a back courtyard, I was grateful to see that it was empty. A back gate was all that stood between us and freedom.
But it was as massive and sturdy as the front gate.
Damn it.
“How will we get out?” I muttered.
Mayhem shot forward, flying through the air. She flickered into her dragon form, an illusion that was really weird. Fire burst from her mouth, and she melted the gate.
Cade leapt through, his giant wolf form barely making it.
I wanted to whoop with victory, but restrained myself.
We raced across the jagged earth, following the compass stone as we ran. Wind tore at my hair as Cade sprinted along, his great strides eating up the ground. Mayhem flew alongside, zipping around rocks and shooting fire.
I turned around, searching the castle that grew smaller in the distance.
Hopefully my trick had worked. By the time they realized our bodies weren’t real, we’d be out of this realm. As long as we didn’t run straight into any dangers.
That was the risk with going as fast as we were, but we had to take it.
I clung to Cade, crouched low over his warm body as his muscles moved beneath me. Every part of me ached from my wounds. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have been able to walk if he didn’t carry me. They were slowly healing from my innate power, but it was taking time. I wasn’t willing to waste what I had in case I needed it later.
Finally, we neared a gleaming black portal. The compass stone pointed right for it.
“The exit!” I shouted.
Cade leapt through it, Mayhem at our side.
Next to me, Cade shifted back into his human form, his magic gleaming around him.
“Nicely done,” he said.
“You got us out of there.”
“I’d give Mayhem the credit for that.”
The ghostly PugDragon zipped around the air, blowing fire as she did loop-de-loops.
“I think she absorbed some kind of shadowy elf dragon thing. Or its powers, at least.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me. The Pugs of Destruction have powerful magic.”
“Well, it helped.”
“And what do you think you are doing in my tree?” The voice came from behind, a strange, high-pitched sound.
I sat up and turned, not surprised to see that the voice came from a squirrel.
Except that it was giant. A pile of nuts glowed at his feet.
I struggled to rise, my whole body aching. “Um, hi.”
“Hi?” the squirrel demanded. “Is that how you greet the great Ratatoskr?”
His tail fluffed up behind him, a clear sign of offense.
“I’m sorry, your…” My mind raced. “Your Royal Rodentness.”
Ratatoskr nodded, his long teeth glinting in the light. “That’s better. Now I ask again, what are you doing in my tree?”
I didn’t mention that this was the world tree, technically belonging to the whole world. Cade, wisely, kept his mouth shut, too.
“We’re trying to get to the realm of the Valkyrie,” I said, suddenly realizing that I didn’t know how we’d get there. Last time, the raven had shown up and given us a ride. I looked up. Yggdrasil rose tall above us, so huge I couldn’t comprehend it. We couldn’t climb that. I looked back at the squirrel.
But he could.
And I’d bet money the scroll told me to get his help.
“Would you give us a ride up to the next realm?”
Ratatoskr frowned. “What’s in it for me?”
“What do you want?”
He tapped his chin with his paw. “Well, I deal in gossip, as you may know.”
Right. That’s where I’d heard his name before. Ratatoskr climbed up and down the world tree, passing slanderous gossip back and forth between Níðhöggr at the bottom and the eagle at the top.