Idun and the Apples of Youth

by Joan Holub

  “Whoa. Wait!” Loki interrupted. He rose from the edge of her eski to stand. “I admit I did some awful things,” he said, looking her in the eye. “Still, I never meant to put your life—or anyone else’s—in danger. I apologize for that. My magic spell wasn’t a lie, though. And it worked. I’ve just been to Midgard to check on those seeds we planted. They’ve already sprouted and grown into saplings.”

  Frowning, Idun said, “And I should believe you because…?”

  A look of hurt flashed across Loki’s face but was soon replaced by his customary smirk. He motioned to the feather cloak hanging from the branch. “If you don’t believe me, you can go see for yourself.”

  “Ha!” she spat out. “And let you steal the apples in my eski while I’m gone?”

  Clomp! Clomp! The sound of galloping horse hooves came toward them. Seconds later, Odin appeared in the grove upon the back of his horse, Sleipnir. The eight-legged gray foal had magically appeared in Asgard and was claimed by Odin not long after a boygiant named Mason, with the help of his superstrong horse, had repaired the wall around Asgard.

  Odin, now his normal self again thanks to Idun’s apples, reined in Sleipnir but didn’t climb down from him. “I was gazing out over the nine worlds just now and saw you both fly here,” he told Idun and Loki. “I came to congratulate you, Idun. Those seeds you planted are sprouting up all over Midgard. At the rate they’re growing, they’ll soon be bearing apples. I’m already hearing from grateful humans.”

  Idun looked at Loki in surprise. So he hadn’t been lying about the saplings. No matter what other lies Loki had told, or the wrong he’d done to her and others at AA, Idun believed in giving credit where credit was due.

  “Loki helped me plant them. It was his magic spell that caused the seeds to grow so fast,” she told Odin.

  “Is that so?” Odin gave Loki a look of pleased surprise. “Good for you,” he said, leaning down and patting Loki on the shoulder. “Those new apple trees will not only add to the food supply for humans, but also to the health of the environment!”

  Loki beamed at Odin’s words. He seemed genuinely proud of this accomplishment and thrilled at Odin’s approval.

  “Good job rescuing Idun too, by the way,” Odin said as he smoothed his horse’s mane.

  Loki flicked Idun a smile before replying. “Actually, Idun was already heading back to Asgard by the time I spotted her.” He angled his gaze toward her. “How did you escape anyway?”

  Quickly Idun explained how Thiazi had imprisoned her in the pantry of his mountaintop café before going fishing, and how she’d managed to pick the lock and escape. Odin laughed heartily at the “trick” she’d pulled on the giant, and Loki gave her an admiring look. “Clever,” he said, nodding. Since Loki prided himself on his own cleverness, this was high praise, indeed.

  Maybe Loki wasn’t such a lost cause after all. She and others could continue to nudge him the direction of better behavior in the future. However, Idun realized that if this boygod ever truly changed, it would only be because he sincerely wanted to. In fact, this was probably the case for everyone—including her.

  Then she thought of something else. “I’m not sure how Thiazi knew that Loki had transformed me into a nut to carry me back to Asgard,” she said, craning her neck to look up at Odin. “But it doesn’t seem like he would’ve chased Loki and me so hard if he hadn’t known who we really were.”

  Odin laughed again. “He did. Giants like Thiazi can see through disguises.”

  “Oh!” Loki sounded surprised, like this was something he hadn’t known either, despite the fact that he was half-giant. “I was also carrying your eski in my other claw,” he reminded Idun. “His eagle eye would’ve spotted that, too. He would’ve wanted to keep whatever magic apples he could.”

  Apparently growing bored with standing still, Sleipnir began to stamp his eight hooves and snort. “We’ll be on our way soon,” Odin soothed the horse. He eyed the apples in Idun’s eski. “I imagine you want to get those over to the Valhallateria.”

  She nodded in reply and gave her eski a tap. Its sled runners dropped.

  Meanwhile, Odin said to Loki, “Speaking of eagle eyes, I could use yours. Maybe you could help me out? I’ve just gotten a report that frost giants are gearing up to make trouble in Asgard. They haven’t been much of a threat since Thor acquired Mjollnir, but I’m concerned now that they’ve just been regrouping. Could you do a little scouting and report back to me on whatever you discover?”

  Loki’s chest puffed out. Seeming pleased and honored to be asked, he replied, “You bet, O.”

  Idun’s eyes rounded and she breathed in sharply. Had Loki really dared to nickname the great and powerful Odin… O? Right to his face?

  Odin’s eyebrows shot up. His one good eye stared hard at Loki. “What did you just call me?” he growled.

  Loki grinned nervously. “… din! I meant Odin!” he said hurriedly. Then, looking worried that Odin might reconsider the wisdom of having asked him for help, the boy shape-shifted into an eagle and sailed off into the sky.

  Odin winked at Idun. “He’s less likely to cause mischief if we keep him busy with projects helping others, eh? And those giants really are a concern!” Without waiting for her to respond, he sent her a wave and zoomed off on his horse.

  Idun stared after him and Sleipnir. Did Odin think she’d asked Loki to help her plant apple seeds in Midgard to keep him out of mischief? Even if that had been her plan, it wouldn’t have worked. Because Loki had already had his own plan of turning her over to Thiazi!

  She turned her head to look in the direction Loki had just disappeared. Was it really a good idea to send that boygod to spy on the frost giants? Odin knew how tricky Loki could be, right? He must know what he was doing, though. And she needed to get going!

  Idun grabbed Freya’s cloak from the tree where she’d hung it. As she carefully laid it across her eski, she noticed a thin, square piece of tree bark on the ground by her feet. One of Thiazi’s burnt recipes. She must have missed that one when she’d tossed the rest. It had probably fallen to the ground when she’d taken her eski from her pocket to enlarge it earlier. She picked it up.

  Hey! This one was scorched, but it was not ruined. The recipe’s title was: The Make A Wish Apple Dish. Quickly she scanned the recipe, then reread it again with growing disbelief and excitement. The recipe was for a magical apple dish that would taste differently to whoever ate it. It would taste like the apple dish the person eating it most desired! To one person, it might taste like caramel apples, but to another, like apple fritters or applesauce or apple whatever.

  This was perfect—exactly what she needed! Do a good deed, and you’ll get what you need. That sweater in Glad Rags had been right after all. When she had tried to do a good deed in helping Loki, she just hadn’t realized that what she needed wasn’t the cloak. Instead, it was this recipe!

  “Woo-hoo!” she shouted to the skies. She did a happy dance right then and there in her special grove under her nine wonderfully magical trees.

  What an eventful weekend it had been, Idun thought as she pushed off for the V kitchen with her precious golden apples of youth. She’d been captured by a giant and escaped him. She’d gotten Loki to help her make new apple trees grow in Midgard. And she’d even experienced the beginnings of a crush… maybe. And now she’d wound up with this magical recipe! She could hardly wait to show the Valkyries and tell her friends.

  Speaking of her friends, it usually seemed like they were the ones with big news and she was the quiet one. But for once, things were different. Her footsteps quickened. Settling into a rhythm, she glided her cart faster and faster. She couldn’t wait to fill Freya, Skade, and Sif in on everything that had happened while the four of them had been apart.

  Smiling as she slid along smoothly over the crisp, new-fallen snow, she imagined their happiness when they found out about this magical recipe too. She had a feeling everyone at Asgard Academy was going to love it. Her heart brimmed with joy.
Her apples would be the apples of everyone’s eyes. Hooray!

  Authors’ Note

  TO WRITE EACH BOOK IN the Thunder Girls series, we choose one or more Norse myths and then give them an updated middle-grade twist. After deciding on what elements we’ll include from various retellings of the myths, we freely add interesting and funny details in order to create meaningful and entertaining stories we hope you’ll enjoy.

  We also write the Goddess Girls middle-grade series, which features Greek mythology. So why write another kind of mythology now too? Good question! Our enthusiasm for Norse mythology strengthened after Suzanne began frequent visits to her daughter and granddaughter, who live in Oslo, Norway. There, representations of the Norse gods and goddesses and their myths are found in many museums. Along the walls in the courtyard of the Oslo City Hall, there are painted wooden friezes (by painter and sculptor Dagfin Werenskiold) that illustrate motifs from various Norse myths. These friezes are the inspiration for the Valhallateria friezes that come alive at the end of meals in Thunder Girls!

  We hope our series will motivate you to seek out actual retellings of Norse myths, which will also give you more understanding of and “inside information” about characters, myths, and details we’ve woven into Thunder Girls. Below are some of the sources we consult to create our stories.

  D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire (for young readers)

  The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland

  The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson

  The Poetic Edda translated and edited by Jackson Crawford

  Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs by John Lindow

  Norse Mythology A to Z by Kathleen N. Daly

  For more about the art and friezes at Oslo City Hall, visit theoslobook.no/2016/09/03/oslo-city-hall.

  Happy reading!

  Joan and Suzanne

  Acknowledgments

  MANY THANKS TO OUR PUBLISHER, Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, and our editor, Alyson Heller, who gave an immediate and supportive yes to our idea to write a Norse mythology–based middle-grade series. Alyson also edits Goddess Girls, Heroes in Training, and Little Goddess Girls, our three ongoing Greek mythology–based series for children. We have worked with her for many years and feel very lucky to be doing all these series with her and the other fine folk at Aladdin. They help make our words shine, design fabulous art to make our books stand out, and make every effort to see that our books reach as many readers as possible.

  We are also indebted to our literary agent, Liza Voges. She has championed us in all our joint series ventures and worked hard on our behalf and on behalf of our books. Thank you, Liza!

  We are grateful to Danish artist Pernille Ørum for her striking covers for these books in our Thunder Girls series, and we look forward to more of her art.

  Finally, we thank our husbands, George Hallowell and Mark Williams, for offering advice when asked, troubleshooting computer problems, and just making our lives richer and easier. During hectic times in our writing schedules they’re always good sports, taking up the slack of daily chores without complaint.

  More from this Series

  Skade and the Enchanted…

  Book 4

  Freya and the Magic…

  Book 1

  Sif and the Dwarfs'…

  Book 2

  More from the Authors

  Clotho the Fate

  Eos the Lighthearted

  About the Authors

  Joan Holub is the New York Times bestselling author of over 150 books for young readers, including Little Red Writing, Zero the Hero, Mighty Dads, This Little Trailblazer: A Girl Power Primer, and What Is the Statue of Liberty? Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams coauthor four children’s book series about mythology: Goddess Girls, Little Goddess Girls, Thunder Girls, and Heroes in Training. For fun, Joan does salsa and line dancing. She loves cats, like Freya; enjoys apples, like Idun; can ski, though maybe not as well as Skade; and has amazing golden hair, like Sif. (Okay, so maybe she only wishes this last one were true!) Visit her at joanholub.com.

  Suzanne Williams is a former elementary school librarian and the author of nearly eighty books for children, including the award-winning picture books Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg) and My Dog Never Says Please (illustrated by Tedd Arnold) and several chapter book and middle-grade series. Suzanne is excited to be cowriting a Norse mythology–based series since she frequently travels from her home near Seattle to the Nordic country of Norway. She loves reading, being with family and friends, walking, and yoga. She isn’t a skier, but she likes snow. And she wishes she could take classes at a school as magical as Asgard Academy. Visit her at suzanne-williams.com.

  Aladdin

  Simon & Schuster, New York

  Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids

  www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Joan-Holub

  www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Suzanne-Williams

  ALSO BY JOAN HOLUB & SUZANNE WILLIAMS

  Don’t miss the latest books in the

  Goddess Girls series!

  Medea the Enchantress

  Eos the Lighthearted

  Clotho the Fate

  Check out the most recent books in the

  Heroes in Training series!

  Dionysus and the Land of Beasts

  Zeus and the Dreadful Dragon

  Hercules and the Nine-Headed Hydra

  Read more books in the Thunder Girls series!

  Freya and the Magic Jewel

  Sif and the Dwarfs’ Treasures

  Coming soon:

  Skade and the Enchanted Snow

  Be sure to read the Little Goddess Girls series!

  Athena & the Magic Land

  Persephone & the Giant Flowers

  Coming soon:

  Aphrodite & the Gold Apple

  Glossary

  NOTE: PARENTHESES INCLUDE INFORMATION specific to the Thunder Girls series.

  Aesir:

  Norse goddesses and gods who live in Asgard

  Alfheim:

  World on the first (top) ring where light-elves live

  Angerboda:

  Loki’s giantess wife whose name means “distress-bringer” (angry Asgard Academy student and girlgiant)

  Asgard:

  World on the first (top) ring where Aesir goddesses and gods live

  Bifrost Bridge:

  Red, blue, and green rainbow bridge built by the Aesir from fire, air, and water

  Bragi:

  God of poetry (student at Asgard Academy and boygod)

  Breidablik Hall:

  Hall of the Norse god Balder (boys’ dorm at Asgard Academy)

  Brising:

  Freya’s necklace, shortened from Brísingamen (Freya’s magic jewel)

  Darkalfheim:

  World on the second (middle) ring where dwarfs live

  Draupnir:

  Magical golden arm-ring that the dwarfs make as a gift for Odin

  Dwarfs:

  Short blacksmiths in Darkalfheim (some young dwarfs attend Asgard Academy)

  Eski:

  Wooden box made of ash wood in which Idun keeps her apples of youth

  Fire giants:

  Terrifying giants who live in Muspelheim

  Frey:

  Vanir god of agriculture and fertility whose name is sometimes spelled Freyr, brother of Freya (Freya’s twin brother and Asgard Academy student and boygod)

  Freya:

  Vanir goddess of love and fertility (Vanir girlgoddess of love and beauty who is an Asgard Academy student)

  Frigg:

  Goddess of marriage, who is Odin’s wife (coprincipal of Asgard Academy with Odin)

  Frost giants:

  Descendants of Ymir from Jotunheim

  Gladsheim Hall:

  Sanctuary where twelve Norse gods hold meetings (Asgard Academy’s assembly hall)

  Gullveig:

  Vanir sorceress whose gold-hunting in Asgard causes th
e Aesir-Vanir war (Freya and Frey’s nanny and library assistant at the Heartwood Library)

  Gungnir:

  Magical spear that the dwarfs made as a gift for Odin

  Hangerock:

  Sleeveless apronlike dress, with shoulder straps that are fastened in front by clasps, that is worn over a long-sleeved linen shift

  Heidrun:

  Goat that produces mead for the fallen warriors in Valhalla (the ceramic goat fountain in the Valhallateria)

  Heimdall:

  Watchman of the gods (security guard at Asgard Academy)

  Helheim:

  World on the third (bottom) ring inhabited by the evil dead and ruled by a female monster named Hel

  Hlidskjalf:

  Odin’s throne

  Honir:

  Long-legged Aesir god known for his indecisiveness

  Hugin:

  One of Odin’s two ravens whose name means “thought”

  Idun:

  Aesir goddess who is the keeper of the golden apples of youth (Asgard Academy student and girlgoddess)

  Jotunheim:

  World on the second (middle) ring where frost giants live

  Kenning:

  Nickname made up of two descriptive words connected by a hyphen

  Kvasir:

  Vanir god sent to Asgard at the end of the Aesir-Vanir war who offered helpful information (Asgard Academy student and boygod from Vanaheim)

  Light-elves:

  Happy Asgard Academy students from Alfheim

  Loki:

  Troublemaking, shape-shifting god of fire (Asgard Academy student and boygod)

  Midgard:

  World on the second (middle) ring where humans live

  Mimir:

  Wise Aesir god who was beheaded and revived by Odin (“head” librarian at Asgard Academy)

  Mjollnir:

  Mighty hammer made for Thor

  Munin:

  One of Odin’s two ravens whose name means “memory”

  Muspelheim: