by E. G. Foley
“She’s a dainty thing,” Archie whispered to Jake.
“Where’ve you been, boy? Nobody’s seen you in days!” Petunia bellowed.
Snorri quickly feigned a cough. “Been a bit under the weather. Summer cold. The worst.”
“Oh, sorry to hear that. Better now?”
“Aye. Used the chamomile growing in my garden.”
“Just as you should!” she agreed. Then she cackled. “Why, poor thing! We all thought the reason nobody’s seen you was because you’d heard the news and were in your cottage sulking!”
“I don’t sulk,” he said indignantly. “What news?”
“Oh, dear.” Big Petunia hesitated. “If you haven’t already heard, I’m not sure I should be the one to tell you, then.”
“Tell me what?” he asked in alarm.
“You’re not going to like it. I’m afraid it’s Princess Kaia—”
He gasped aloud in horror. “Is she all right?”
“Of course, she’s fine, lad! Though she’s none too happy, I’d imagine. She’s a headstrong one, that girl. Mind of her own, which always leads to trouble. I reckon now she knows what defying her father will get her.”
Snorri stared at his neighbor lady in confusion. “Defying her father? W-what did she do?”
“Well, she refused to—” The giantess suddenly stopped herself with a guarded frown.
“Refused to what?” Snorri cried in alarm.
“No.” Petunia clammed up with a stubborn shake of her head. “I’m keepin’ my mouth shut. Only a fool would get in the middle of this. Nobody likes a gossip—especially when the talk involves Prince Gorm,” Petunia added in a whisper.
“Gorm?” Snorri echoed, paling.
Petunia nodded shrewdly. “You were always a friend to the princess, ever since you two was babies. You should go and talk to her yourself.”
Snorri had turned three shades of white at this cryptic news.
“What are you doin’ with them dwarves?” the giantess suddenly asked him, eyeing Jake and Archie in suspicion.
“Oh—they’re just visiting,” he forced out.
Petunia squinted at Red. “What’s that thing they got with ’em?”
“He’s a gryphon, ma’am,” Jake ventured.
She nodded, still looking rather skeptical about the strangers. “Dwarves, eh? Big feast tonight to welcome the visiting princes. Whole village is invited. You dwarves should come up to the great hall and sing us a few of your famous dwarf songs.”
Jake and Archie stared at her, then exchanged a startled glance.
Fortunately, she lost interest and wandered off, now that the parade had passed.
When the boys turned to Snorri, he looked on the verge of panic. “I’ve got to go and see if Kaia’s all right!”
“Are you?” Jake inquired.
“If anything’s happened to her—”
“Now, now, calm down,” Jake ordered. “Your neighbor said the princess is fine.”
“Yes, it’s just—I have this terrible feeling,” Snorri forced out. He turned to face the distant great hall. “King Olaf has been badgering her to marry Gorm for months, like I told you. But Kaia doesn’t like him. The King kept saying Gorm would be the best leader for the people after him, so she was sort of willing to go along with it. But then I went and told her she shouldn’t have to marry that bully if she don’t like him.”
“Did you?” Jake asked, bemused.
“Aye, she don’t need no Gorm. I said when her father dies that she could lead the people by herself. Well, she could!” he added pugnaciously. “She’s smarter than ten Gorms and a whole lot braver than me. Brave as any warrior. She can fight—she can even read!”
“Yes, you mentioned that,” Jake muttered.
“When I stood up in the great hall and told everyone that she could be Queen all by herself, everyone laughed at me. That’s why I was so angry the day I pulled the boulder out of the sheep meadow and broke the earth.” Snorri shook his head, looking slightly dazed. “What if she actually took my advice while I was gone and told her father that she’s refusing Gorm? Now all those princes coming here…what if I’ve only made everything worse for her with my advice? Oh, why would anyone ever take my advice?”
“Now, now, let’s not jump to conclusions before we have the facts,” Archie chided.
“You’re right.” Snorri took a deep breath to calm himself down, nodding. “I must go and see her. Find out what’s really going on.” He turned toward the great hall. “Come on, dwarves.”
“Hold on!” Jake called as Snorri turned to go.
The giant turned.
“You are not going to see the princess lookin’ like that,” Jake declared.
Snorri glanced down at himself in surprise. “Why not? What’s wrong with me?”
“You’re a mess!” He gestured impatiently at Snorri’s dirty clothes. “She’s a royal princess, man! You’re going to have to do better than that. Especially now,” he added. “Hate to say it, but I’m afraid you just got more competition for your princess than Gorm alone.” Jake hooked a thumb toward the knights and princes who had ridden past.
Archie nodded in agreement. “At least wash your face so you don’t show up smelling like a musk-ox.”
Snorri looked taken aback at the boys’ simple advice. “Kaia don’t care about that stuff.”
“Maybe she’s just too polite to tell you,” Archie said pointedly.
Jake gave a sage nod. “No girl likes a stinker, my large friend. Remember Isabelle’s advice. Clean yourself up first, then you can go and see her. Trust us.”
Snorri frowned, then sniffed his armpit and grimaced. “Maybe you’re right.”
The boys nodded, coughing at the cloud of odor that came down like a fog. Even the Gryphon looked revolted; Red covered his beak with the edge of his wing and gagged.
Snorri knew he was fortunate. Only a real friend would tell you the truth about something so indelicate.
The boys did not allow the gentle giant to leave his cottage until he had washed his face in his hands, changed into clean clothes, and brushed his teeth.
They told him to munch on a peppermint leaf to freshen his breath. He took a comb and a little scented oil and used it to smash his wiry few hairs down neatly onto his head.
In a much more presentable state, he now received their approval. So, at last, they all rushed off to King Olaf’s great hall.
It was time to find out what exactly had happened here in Jugenheim while Snorri had been away in Midgarth.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
A Little Madness
Meanwhile back in Midgarth, Dani sat with Isabelle at dinner that night in the banquet hall, watching people ribbing the “absentminded” scientists who had returned safely to the conference earlier that day.
Miss Langesund in particular held onto her father’s arm as if to make certain the professor did not “wander off” like that ever again.
“Oh, I don’t know what got into me!” he was saying. “It was such a beautiful evening last night, I suppose I got carried away and just strolled off into the woods!”
“He got carried away, all right,” Dani remarked to Isabelle under her breath. “How can he not remember getting kidnapped by a giant?”
“The Oubliette spell is very powerful,” Isabelle whispered back.
“Well, as it turned out, I wasn’t the only one who had wandered off,” the professor continued with a chuckle. “Lo and behold, there were all the others—just as lost as I.”
“Ah, sounds like a fairytale to me!” Professor Schliemann teased his old friend, now that the two famous archeologists were finally reunited. “I’ll bet the group of you were meeting out there in secret over some great new discovery you don’t want the rest of us to know about yet!”
“Never!” he answered. “Honestly, we all just wandered off somehow.” He patted his belly. “Fortunately our stomachs led us back to this fine dinner!”
“I can’t believe you
are making light of it after all you put me through!” Miss Langesund chided him. “Father, you have no idea what a fright you gave us all.”
“Oh, come, daughter, you are a scientist as well. You know how easy it is to get wrapped up in your thoughts. Or perhaps you feared the trolls from your childhood bedtime stories had captured me in the forest and eaten me, eh?”
“Oh, Father!” she scolded while the other adults laughed. “I’ll have you know the existence of trolls has never been disproved,” she added archly.
It was good to see her happy again.
Nevertheless, the girls stayed on their guard, scanning the huge dining hall for anyone who fit Jake’s description of Loki in his mad prince form.
Of course, the Lord of the Shapeshifters could appear in any form he liked, but fortunately, Dani had the Lie Detector Goggles tucked away in the satchel with Teddy on her lap.
Admittedly, it was not good manners to bring a terrier to the dinner table. But she dared not risk leaving Teddy alone back in the room, for what if Henry and Helena returned to the dorm in their wild beast forms, forgot themselves, and accidentally ate her dog?
That would never do. Safer to keep her furry little friend with her. For now, however, there was still no sign of the twins, though the girls had watched and waited all day.
As for the boys, Dani knew she had to account for their absence somehow, so she told Miss Langesund that Jake and Archie had caught the same illness Henry and Helena had.
It wasn’t as though she could tell the woman the truth: “The twins have turned into animals and the boys are off on a mission to Giant World.” They’d lock her in the loony bin.
Well, she didn’t like lying. But sadly, judging by what she saw through the Lie Detector Goggles, it seemed like everyone did it. She took them out for a quick, furtive glance around the room, on the hunt for Loki.
As she scanned the banquet hall, it was rather depressing to see the lies coming out of the mouths of so many adults around them. The majority of the lies were quite small and harmless, such as: “Oh, yes, I think your invention shows great promise,” or “What a lovely dress!”
Isabelle suddenly nudged her. “What about that man over there? He looks rather shifty.”
At once, Dani raised the Lie Detector Goggles to her eyes, praying no one noticed her in possession of a stolen artifact. She made a quick assessment of the beady-eyed man that Isabelle had pointed out. Then she shook her head.
“No tattoo,” she reported, but just as she hid the goggles again, Teddy let out a growl.
The little brown terrier tensed. Dani followed her dog’s gaze to a black-haired man in an opera cloak who had just come sauntering into the crowded banquet hall.
The mad prince!
Dani grabbed the Lie Detector Goggles, lifted them to her eyes, and peered at the man. She gasped when she saw the dark tattoo scrolled along his cheek.
At that moment, as if he felt her stare, he turned his head slowly and looked straight at her.
In a second, through the goggles’ magnifying lenses, she saw his coal-black eyes turn as frosty as an arctic winter night.
Dani lowered the goggles in sudden terror. “He saw me.” The one thing Jake had said was not to let Loki realize they were on to him. “Isabelle,” she forced out, trying to sound calm. “We have to get out of here. Now.”
“Is it Loki?”
“Yes. He looked right at me.”
Teddy started barking madly as the girls shot to their feet. The dog’s clamor earned Dani several disapproving looks and scowls from the adults at the surrounding tables.
“Bringing a dog to the table! Where does she think she is? Paris?”
Loki pivoted, tossing one side of his scarlet-lined opera cloak behind his shoulder, he started toward the girls with a look of wrath.
“Go!” Dani cried.
Isabelle was on her feet, rushing for the door, reaching back to grab Dani’s hand to make sure they didn’t lose each other. But when Dani glanced back over her shoulder, she saw that Loki had stopped chasing them.
The trickster god had halted in its tracks, staring at Professor Langesund.
Slowly he scanned the other returned scientists, a look of rage passing over his sharp features.
“Hold on,” Dani murmured to Isabelle. “Something else has got his attention.”
Isabelle paused.
The girls watched as Loki seemed to put it together in his mind, recognizing the scientists that the giant had abducted.
With a final warning glare at the girls, he seemed to decide they were not his top priority after all.
Though his cold look promised dire punishment to come, he abandoned the chase for now. Turning around, he headed for the row of doors on the other side of the banquet hall.
“Come on!” Dani tugged on Isabelle’s arm. “Let’s go see what he’s up to!”
“Follow him? Dani! I’m not sure that’s such a good idea—”
“Right. You stay here. You’ll be safer inside. I’m going after him.” Not waiting for her to protest, Dani followed Loki cautiously from several yards behind.
The trickster god marched toward the doors that led out onto the terrace overlooking the garden. When he disappeared outside into the night, Dani crept up to the edge of the doorway to spy on him.
Then she witnessed something she never expected to see.
There were a few adults out on the terrace chatting in small groups under the stars. Gentlemen smoking, ladies sipping wine. Loki strode out, ignoring them all, as if he was past caring who saw him. Halfway across the terrace, he turned himself into a crow right before their eyes and flew away with a piercing caw like an angry, mocking laugh.
Dani was left staring at the dark sky, slack-jawed and dreading to wonder where he was off to now.
Fool! That oversized nincompoop!
Loki could hardly wait to hear what excuses the bumbling boob Snorri would make to explain how the “brains” had escaped.
As the crow flies, it was only a few minutes up the mountain to the cave, and as he winged his way through the night, the annoyed god entertained several possibilities of what he might turn Snorri into to punish him for his incompetence.
Not permanently, of course. Just long enough to make himself feel better. Vent his frustration with his hapless henchman.
If this was a foretaste of what it was going to be like working with giants, he was not sure he had the patience. He was going to have to learn how to speak slooooowly and simplify all of his instructions until they were foolproof. Surely not all giants could be this thick, he mused. Unfortunately, for now, Snorri the Shepherd was the only giant available, so he supposed he’d just have to make do with the dunderhead.
But when Loki reached the rocky mountaintop where Snorri had made camp, he found the place deserted. The extinguished campfire was not a good sign. The ashes were long cold.
Landing on the mountain, Loki turned himself back into his usual human form, smoothed his clothes, and didn’t miss a step, marching directly into the dark cave.
He held up his hand and caused a bright flame to appear on his fingertip, lighting his way into the pitch-dark tunnel.
But by the time Loki stepped into the large, rounded cavern, he confirmed in a glance that the place had indeed been abandoned.
Empty cages. No sign of Snorri.
He turned with eyes full of flaming rage, then tipped his head back and roared in frustration.
“By Fenrir’s claws and the deepest depths of Neiflheim!” he cursed under his breath, and finally got his temper under control.
Snorri must have run away in terror after his failure.
So, where did he go? Loki mused as he sauntered back outside and stared up thoughtfully at the starry sky.
The answer came to him at once. No great mystery, really.
The frightened giant would’ve most likely gone running home to Jugenheim.
A cunning gleam came into Loki’s dark eyes as he considered his ne
xt move. If he could catch up to the giant on his way home and follow him, then Snorri would unwittingly lead him to the place where Odin’s seal between the worlds was broken—the hole where the big, lovesick dunce had fallen through. For if Snorri could get out, then that meant he could get in.
A sly smile curved his lips. Why, he might soon have his army of giants yet!
Of course, Odin and Thor would rage if they found out about his forbidden trespass into Jugenheim. But by then, it would be too late for them to do anything about it.
Yes…
Loki made up his mind. Forget that idiot shepherd. I’ll sneak into Jugenheim and find some other giant who’ll cooperate with me. And it’ll be a proper giant this time—the normal sort of giant—who appreciates a good brawl with mayhem and destruction.
With that, Loki turned himself into a falcon and soared through the air, heading for Yggdrasil.
Under the cover of darkness, he flew higher and higher; as a falcon, he could reach much greater altitudes than he could as a crow.
At the next mountain, he saw the Norns far below, weaving their tedious Tapestry of Fate by candlelight. The Wyrd sisters didn’t see him. Even if they had, they didn’t worry him. He outranked them. They were only witches, after all. Hardly a problem for a mighty Norse god.
Up and up he circled, finally passing the huge trunk of Yggdrasil and flying up into the canopy, weaving through the branches. His wings were growing tired as he passed the gates of world after world, following signs for Jugenheim.
Finally, when he was so exhausted that he could barely flap his sleek brown wings anymore, in the distance, he saw tiny pinpricks of light coming down from above, sprinkling the wide branch ahead of him.
With his last ounce of strength, he flew toward it.
He landed on the branch, panting through his little hooked beak.
What he saw when he looked up filled him with excitement. Little cracks and crevices surrounded the underside of a massive boulder.
So that’s where the dunderhead fell out, he mused. Then that’s where I’ll get in!
One minor problem. The tiny cracks in the earthen crust around the boulder were much too small for a falcon to fly through.
