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  He slowed. “Yes. But they do not live here, and there are only a few in existence. Nidhogg is the most fearsome. That dragon resides at the base of Yggdrasil and is said to chew on its roots for sustenance. Though no one I know has ever witnessed the dragon in the flesh. During Ragnarok, Nidhogg is supposed to rise, bringing its curses with it. After Ragnarok, the dragon will spend eternity guarding the bodies of the fallen at the Shore of Corpses.”

  “That sounds downright…jolly.” Everything about these worlds was doom and gloom. “Is there anything wonderful in these realms? All the stories you’ve told me so far are about death and destruction. Why would anyone choose to be here when Midgard holds such beauty?”

  Fen cocked his head at me strangely. “Our worlds hold vast beauty, Valkyrie. Unparalleled to anything you’ve ever seen on Midgard. Asgard, home of the gods, is the most breathtaking of them all. The city’s walls are carved of ivory and stand nine stories tall. Windows as vast as you can imagine gaze out on spectacular views of crystalline rivers and mountains so massive their peaks touch the sky. There are lakes and waterfalls as far as the eye can see. Pathways paved in marble wind through the realm. The homes are lavish, gilded in gold and silver.” He sounded wistful. “Everything has harmony in my world, unlike Midgard, where everything seems on the verge of chaos.” New York City did court some chaos. My hometown was lovely, however. No chaos there. “There are other realms full of beauty as well. Jotunheim, where the serpents hail from, appears like Midgard’s mountainous West, except everything is bigger, grander, and far greener. Alfheim, where the elves reside, is mystical, full of twining forests and lush valleys.”

  That did sound nice. “So it was just dumb chance I landed here? On hot, scalding Mars, instead of one of those beautiful places?” I shook my head as we trudged through a small crater. “Some girls have all the luck.”

  Fen reached out a hand to aid me. I grabbed on, enjoying the feeling of the current as it leaped from his body to mine. “I think it was more than luck you landed here,” he finally answered. “The elves or giants would’ve bargained with your life freely, not caring if you lived or died, as is their way. Feelings do not factor in with outsiders.”

  “Because Surtr is so kind and gentle?” I replied. “I’m thinking anything would’ve been better than what I went through here. The elves could’ve tied me up under a waterfall, and that would’ve been a thousand times better than what happened on Surtr’s altar.” Calling up the memories made me feel like vomiting. I pinned my eyes on the distant horizon so I could keep moving forward without breaking down. It was still too fresh.

  “The elves would’ve subjected you to far worse. They deal in psychological warfare, burrowing inside your brain, teasing you with cruel imaginings until you feel your brain will explode. You would go insane from the false memories. The giants, on the other hand, are fascinated with sexual exploration. If you get my drift. You would not have survived their…proddings.”

  Did he mean sexual…warfare? I’d had no idea there was even such a thing. “Honestly, I don’t even want to know what that means, and please don’t tell me.”

  “What it means is beyond the physical wounds you sustained on this plane. You will heal in time, but the emotional wounds you would’ve endured in another realm would’ve debilitated you completely. Someone must be looking out for you. Someone very powerful.”

  “Oh.” Before I had a chance to reply with more, the serpents in front slowed.

  The leader made its way to us. “The crater of Yggdrassssil is up ahead. If the demons are going to attack, it will be ssssoon.”

  “I can’t see any crater.” I went up on my tiptoes. Not that I could see a crater very easily, since it was in the ground.

  “The serpent means in an hour or two,” Fen said, turning to the snake. “You will have contingents joining us well before then?”

  “Yessss. We will be ready.”

  Fen nodded and the snake left. We resumed our slog through the wastelands. “Why would it say it was up ahead if it’s an hour or two away?” I questioned. “That’s a long time from now.”

  “In these realms, high alert is the only thing that keeps you alive. The snake was only indicating that Yggdrasil is within our reach, so we must double our guard.”

  “M’kay.” I pondered. “But I thought we’d been on high alert…the entire time.”

  Fen chuckled. “The chances we would’ve been ambushed by demons back there were one in several thousand. The chances we will be attacked now move up to one in five.”

  We walked another half hour in silence.

  I was drenched in sweat and feeling light-headed. My stomach wasn’t growling—not sure if that was ever going to happen again—but it craved sustenance. It was a deep, instinctual feeling. I knew that once I fed from the tree, I would feel amazing in a way no regular meal could satisfy me.

  Idly, I wondered if I could ever eat food again. Or enjoy it?

  Thinking back, Ingrid would eat popcorn and drink soda with me on movie nights. I had no idea if she did it for show or not. I’d fallen behind, so I hurried up to Fen. “You seem to know a lot about Valkyries,” I said as a segue. “Can I ask you something? Do you know if they eat regular food? I’m not a vampire now, am I? If I eat something, will I puke it up?”

  He tossed a glance over his shoulder, grinning. “I’ve seen Valkyries partake in meals in my time. I have no idea how food tastes for them. They don’t need it to survive, but they seem to enjoy a good feast with gusto.”

  Relief swept through me. It would be hard to participate in life on Midgard without eating meals. “Okay, thanks. I’ll have to ask Ingrid when I get back.” If I got back. This was my opportunity to convince Fen to let me go through the tree. I cleared my throat, keeping pace with him. “I have some powerful friends back on Midgard who can help me get back here, you know, if the dagger doesn’t work for you. If you let me go, I can come back and free you. You’d just have to stay close by and wait for me.”

  “What friends?” he scoffed. “The lone shieldmaiden, Ingrid? That is hardly a powerful ally. And, I can assure you, no Valkyrie will help free me.”

  “She will if I ask her to!” I insisted. “If I tell her you saved my life and you’re imprisoned here unfairly, I’m sure she will help. She’s honorable. She will do the right thing.”

  Fen’s laugh was a deep baritone. “Shieldmaidens are honorable…to Odin alone. They are slaves who rarely think for themselves. They follow his cause blindly. In case you’ve forgotten, he is the reason I’m stuck on this plane. Each time I escaped, he sent his loyal Valkyries to hunt me down with orders to bring me back, dead or alive. Dead would’ve been preferable, though unlikely. They enjoyed their sport immensely, and I tell you they will not help you.”

  I was at a loss and wondered if Ingrid had ever hunted Fen. “She’s not my only ally…I have more.” The raven kind of liked me. Ingrid had said the raven was old and powerful.

  Fen raised his eyebrow. “Who do you have, little Valkyrie, to help me escape?”

  “Huggie?” I’d phrased it like a question on accident. I’d meant to come off sounding confident, but I really had no idea if the bird would help me.

  “Who is Huggie? He doesn’t sound all that powerful.”

  Ingrid had told me the raven’s real name was Hugin, so I tried that. “I mean, Hugin?” Still a question. “Hugin is a raven—”

  Fen stopped so abruptly I crashed into his back, bouncing off like I’d hit a wall. He spun around, grabbing me by the shoulders, his grip painful. To say his reaction surprised me was an understatement. “Who are you?” He shook me. And none too gently. “You have ties to the raven Hugin? The bird is Odin’s chief informant!” He let go, pushing me away as he spun around, his hands lofted in the air. “I should’ve known. I have been so stupid.” The snakes stopped, curious about Fen’s sudden behavior, and slowly formed a circle around us. “You had Gram in your possession. A weapon crafted for Odin alone. You glowed too brightl
y, yet you had no knowledge of our world. You reeled me in perfectly.” He turned and faced me, his voice low, his face furious. He stalked toward me. “I will ask you only one more time. Who are you?”

  I took a few inadvertent steps backward.

  Fen’s voice had boomed loudly, scaring me, but when a hiss sounded over my shoulder, I came to a halt. I picked the angry demigod over the snakes.

  I’d made a huge mistake, and it was too late to take it back. “I’m no one! I told you the truth before. I’m not lying,” I cried. “Huggie…I mean, Hugin…showed up in my apartment unannounced the day I was struck. I’d never set eyes on the raven before. Then Ingrid came in, and everything went to hell! The ettins kidnapped me, tossed me in the tree, and you know the rest. I only met Hugin that one time. But he seemed to want to help me! So I figured if I got back to New York, I could find him. Ingrid said he was powerful…” I ended lamely, “So I thought the bird could help me get back to you.”

  Fen shook his head. “I do not accept that answer. Odin does not lend his favorite possessions freely to just anyone. Who are you to him? Answer me!”

  “I don’t know! You have to believe me! I don’t know Odin. I’ve never even met him.” Fen was far too angry for me to confess things I only partially knew to be true. I didn’t have the answers he wanted. Ingrid had told me Odin was my father, but I had no proof. If I told Fen that now, he’d toss me to the serpents as a mealtime snack and walk away.

  He was in no frame of mind to listen to reason.

  “Valkyrie, you are testing me to my very limits—”

  A sound whizzed overhead, and a whoosh of flames erupted next to us.

  “The demonssss are here,” a snake hissed. “We must alert the otherssss.”

  Fen grabbed me, pressing me tightly against his stomach as he turned in a slow circle. “This is not over,” he ground in my ear. “Stay close to me, or you die.”

  19

  __________________________

  ____________

  Demons had surrounded us. We’d let down our guard, because of me, for only a few moments. But that’s all it had taken.

  We were situated in a small valley with large boulders flanking either side. Fen was dangerously on edge. “How could you let us be surrounded, Jondi!” he yelled. “Where are the others?”

  “They are coming. We have ssssounded the alarm.”

  “We are too close to the tree to turn back now,” Fen fumed. “You will get us there, as agreed, or die.”

  More flaming arrows whizzed by.

  “We will honor our bargain, have no fear.” The snake turned and spat orders at the remaining serpents. They fanned out around us. They were the bigger targets, but as an arrow zoomed down, it bounced off one of the snake’s big scales and dropped harmlessly to the ground.

  Their scales must be tough as steel. I hoped they were fireproof, too.

  “It seems only a small contingent,” Fen said, still holding me. “My guess is there are only seventy to eighty.”

  “That’s considered a small group?” I said. “Seems like a lot to me.” I ducked as another arrow whooshed over our heads.

  Fen let me go, giving me a look before he turned to the leader. “We are wasting our time waiting for the others. You can move faster than the demons can run, Jondi. We will ride on your back to the rendezvous place. Once there, we will reevaluate.”

  The main serpent angled its head toward us, seeming bored. “Fine. We will transsssport you.”

  Fen wasted no time leaping onto the leader’s back, gesturing to me to get on the one next to him.

  “Um.” I paused, hoping he was kidding as I eyed the huge beast in front of me.

  “There is no time to ponder this, Valkyrie. Jump on or face the demons alone!” Fen’s face was set.

  I examined the snake. Its back was taller than any horse I’d ever seen by quite a few feet. The scales appeared slick. I wasn’t a demigod, so I couldn’t just hop on. I tentatively reached a hand out to touch a scale and recoiled at the feeling. It was hot. It felt pliable, yet hard like metal, which was strange. The scale left a slimy residue on my fingers, but it wasn’t sticky. So strange.

  “Get on!” Fen ordered. “We must move now.”

  The demons had ramped up their arrow attack, and fiery sticks shot past me on all sides. “I can’t just jump on!” I cried. “I’m not tall enough, and the scales are slippery.” I sounded like a child to my own ears and cringed.

  Fen’s nostrils flared once as he leaped off his ride and stalked toward me. “You are a Valkyrie,” he intoned. “You can indeed just hop on.” His hands pivoted around my waist, and the next thing I knew, I was flying through the air.

  He’d literally tossed me onto the snake’s back, and once I landed, the big serpent swiveled its head and hissed, its giant fork coming within inches of my face. Its breath smelled like putrid waste, and its eyes were hard. I’m sure it hoped I would fall off so it could eat me.

  Lovely.

  We started moving immediately.

  I had no idea where to grab on. My hands kept slipping as I tried to find a good hold. There was none. Finally, I pried my fingernails between the scales. When the thing began to rock faster, I was certain I would fall off.

  “Use your legs!” Fen roared.

  In a very unladylike—un-Valkyrielike?—gesture, I bent over and wrapped my arms around the snake’s neck column and pinned my legs around its back as tightly as I could and closed my eyes, holding on for dear life.

  The arrows stopped within the first few minutes, so it hadn’t taken much time to clear the demon area, which was a positive. I hoped at this rate it wouldn’t take much time to get to the tree. I clung to the snake’s back like a scared cowgirl for about fifteen minutes more, when thankfully we came to a stop.

  I glanced up, hoping to see the tree, only to find we’d stopped in front of a large barricade.

  On top stood Surtr with his awful, flaming sword.

  I didn’t want to immediately start panicking, but brutal images of what he’d done bombarded me, and I began to feel woozy, my body threatening to pass out.

  “Valkyrie!” Fen shouted. “He cannot hurt you. He is no match for the Jondi. He is here for show only.”

  I nodded lamely. Fen must’ve seen my face. “How are we going to get by him?” I gestured at the barricade that seemed to be made from nothing more than a bunch of twigs piled up hastily.

  “It is there only to make him seem more eminent. It is not a true barrier.”

  Surtr didn’t seem to enjoy us talking about him.

  He brandished his fiery sword over his head and swung it down, pointing it directly at me. He shouted something menacing that thankfully I couldn’t hear.

  What happened next must have surprised Fen, because his yell sounded deafening in my ears. At Surtr’s words, a ball of fire shot out of his sword and headed straight for me.

  From there, everything happened fast.

  The snake I was on bucked, trying to get out of the way, but it was no use. The flame tore through its neck and landed squarely in my chest, the force launching me backward and to the ground, where the fire began to grow and fester.

  Fen shouted something again that I couldn’t hear. The next thing I knew he was standing over me as pain rippled through my body. Why was I still awake? I tried to focus on what Fen was saying.

  “It’s a spell, Valkyrie. Fight it!” Fen’s words finally penetrated.

  A spell? A flaming, horrible spell? How was I supposed to fight it?

  Oddly, the spell hurt, but I didn’t feel like I was actually on fire.

  A big snake head loomed above me. Its words were loud and clear. “She issss not sssstrong. We should leave her.”

  I am strong!

  How dare that snake pass judgment on me? I’d survived a ton already. If I wasn’t strong, I’d already be dead.

  Fen got to his knees, placing a hand on my chest. Right where flames should be sprouting. “You must fight this. Surt
r’s magic is weak. Spinning spells is not his craft. He is trying to scare you or force us to leave you. He knows he will not win against the united Jondi.”

  I tried to form words to ask Fen how to fight it, but they wouldn’t come. My brain was not on board, because the spell was messing with me.

  “Leave her,” the snake hissed. “If we do, they will let us passss to the tree unharmed. You have the weapon.”

  “We are not leaving her,” Fen stated evenly. “She is malnourished and has little strength. She is new to this world and our ways. It is her dagger that will free us all, lest we forget.”

  I closed my eyes.

  Maybe they should leave me. I wasn’t worthy of saving.

  A moment later, something soft yet firm landed on my lips, and delicious tingles flowed right after. My eyes flew open. Fen was kissing me, infusing me with his strength. “That’s it, shieldmaiden. Drink it in and aim it at the spell.”

  How?

  Energy began to mount inside me the longer his lips touched mine. I could now sense that something was obstructing my body. Fen’s tongue lapped at mine, gently at first and then more demanding. I opened myself up to him, forgetting where we were. If I could’ve lifted my hands, I would’ve twined them in his hair. More nourishment entered my body.

  “That’s it,” he told me in soothing tones, his voice as breathless as I felt. “Now aim the concentration at the spell.”

  “Then…what?” I managed, breaking from the kiss, but desperately wanting more.

  “Your power alone will disintegrate it. You are stronger than Surtr. Just have faith.” I did as he asked…kind of. I envisioned the thing in my chest and how much I wanted it gone. “That’s it.” His lips touched mine again, and he breathed a soft breath into me. “Keep doing that.”

  My chest began to feel lighter.

  I had no idea what I was doing, other than craving his energy and being pissed off about the spell. It seemed to be enough.

  Much too soon, Fen stood up, reaching a hand down.

  I blinked. The pain was gone. I took his aid and stood. I was flustered by the sudden intimacy we’d shared, so I tried to look anywhere but at Fen. I was also confused. “Why did you help me?” I had to ask. “You could’ve just let me die. You think I lied to you, so why let me live?” I brushed myself off, keeping busy.