“So why do you think she is up to showing up now?”
“I have no clue. It’s been many cycles since I last had the pleasure of seeing my sister. She could either come bringing tidings of helpful news or come bringing curses. My last warning to you is she’s a bit, umm, unhinged.”
“Master Fenrir, what do you mean by the term unhinged?”
“That is Midgard speak for lacking sanity. Think about it, most of her time is spent governing the dead. The only live creature she has is that creepy hellhound Garm, so be prepared tomorrow. When it comes to Hel, anything can happen. Now head on back and enjoy your first night as two souls made one.”
On that note, we said goodnight to dad and made our way back. Once we made it back to Rumil’s room, she sat on the bed and gestured for me to do the same.
“Take my hands Jack.” When I did, instead of the normal cool feeling, it was replaced with warmth. The marks on our palms were glowing. “Close your eyes and look.”
The sensation was overwhelming at first. Even though my eyes were closed I could see Rumil in front of me, but in many different colors swirling around. “Whoa, what is this?”
“We see each other’s souls now. The colors you see represent all the different emotions one is feeling. No longer are we blind to each other.”
I started asking what all the different colors meant. Blue was happiness, green was peace, and yellow was nervousness. There was only one color left and it was starting to swallow up the other colors. “Rumil, what does red mean?”
I felt her grab the front of my shirt and pull me in close. After a few more moments I knew what red meant. It was now my new favorite color. Sometime later, after all the red had been subdued, Rumil recommended that we get some sleep as tomorrow could be a very unpredictable day. I needed no more than just the suggestion and I was out. That girl had stamina and virility that had no limits.
When morning came, Rumil was pleasant enough to wake me up gently by whispering in my ear that her appetite was not sated and to be prepared. She then got out of bed like nothing happened, leaving me to my own thoughts. After some breathing techniques and replaying old hockey moments in my head, I got out of bed and got dressed.
I checked myself out in the mirror to see how I was doing and pleasantly surprised to see my hair was pretty much back to its natural dark brown shade. The only evidence that anything had happened was a white streak in the front. It actually looked pretty cool, so that added to the good feelings I was experiencing.
The one thing that still seemed off to me was I looked a bit younger than I thought I should. I know thirty isn’t old by any stretch, but the life of a hockey player is rough. My five o’clock shadow was still there as it always was, but the rest of my face still looked less worn than I remember. Maybe life among the dark elves is good for the skin.
“Quit admiring yourself in the mirror and let us be off. Hel should be arriving at Lord Azmodeous’s estate any moment now. We must hurry to be there for her reception.”
Something about that guy never really checked out with me, but now was not the time to start to question the possible future leader of this land. Hopefully by the time he came to power, I was in Midgard back to being a mostly awesome hockey player. I also noticed she was wearing her court appropriate finest and so I made the decision for the both of us we would either be right on time or casually late. She only had herself to blame for this.
Finally after getting ourselves ready for a second time, we were just in time to arriving at Azmodeous’s estate. Both Hargna and dad gave us ‘the look’ but the rest of the dark elves there didn’t even seem to notice we arrived. Rumil did a quick explanation that these were the heads of the other major clans here in Svartalfheim along with Azmodeous and his advisor Goma. She rattled off their names and their clans but, to be honest, it was lost on me because Hel had just shown up.
Hel had come alone, unless you count her giant war hound and I was under the impression I should. Though not as big as my dad when he’s in full wolf mode, Garm was huge. He looked like a pit bull crossed with a Saint Bernard. His eyes were fiercely intelligent, so I prepared myself to not be shocked if he started talking.
Then there was Hel herself. I know she is my aunt and it’s inappropriate to comment on but she was a knock-out. She wasn’t very tall, but with red hair, pale skin, and a very proportioned body, I found it hard to think of her as a freak.
That all changed when I saw her eyes. They were bright blue just like Loki’s and told a story of a woman whose sanity was indeed in question, just like dad had said. Then there was her voice, which was more like a glass shard infused rasp.
“Oh brother, where are you? Come say hello to your sister!”
Dad walked forward, “Hello Hel, it’s been a long time.”
“You smell like Fenrir, but you do not look like Fenrir. How interesting! I smell another wolf in the audience. Is this some sort of trick dear brother?”
“No Hel, you are correct, I have a son. Jack, please come meet your aunt.”
I looked over at Rumil and she gave me her cheerful ‘don’t get killed’ looked and sent me on my way. By now most of the dark elves knew I was Fenrir’s kid and to them I was just another charity case they took on, but deep down liked.
The clan leaders knew of me and didn’t act at all surprised, they just watched along with Azmodeous and his smarmy looking advisor. Hel on the other hand, had a look of total delight as I made my way closer.
“Ahh son of Fenrir, it is a pleasure to meet you.” Being this close to her was even more uncomfortable than I could imagine. You could feel the unbalance of sanity rolling off of her. “Now that I have met my brother’s offspring, I wish to seek audience with the lord of the dark elves, a representative from the clans, and my brother. Meet me in your throne room when you are ready.” Just like that, Hel went straight to the throne room with Garm following her.
****
This was most unexpected, the Queen of the Dead wanting a private audience with just the three of us. Goma was displeased to hear he was not allowed to attend. I still could not believe my misfortune that Hargna was selected to be the clans’ representative. It was bad enough the Great Wolf and his sister would be in the same room, but now Hargna would also be there. As we entered the room, the hellhound Garm decided to break the silence.
“Any attempt to harm the Queen of the Dead will result in the attacker forfeiting their lives. You have been warned.”
“My dear sister what are we here for?”
“Why brother, I think you already know. It is because you have passed your curse unto another. The Norns have no longer deemed you the harbinger. I have come to issue you warning to save this realm and all realms.”
This was most unexpected news. The prophecy stated the Great Wolf when set free would unleash Ragnarok. That had most certainly failed, as after his release he disappeared to Midgard. To what was Hel playing at?
“The son of Fenrir now carries the curse.”
This was getting most intriguing. Never in my interactions with the wolf have I seen him so discontent.
“I had my suspicions, but Jack needs to stay out of this. This isn’t his world or his curse to hold.”
“The wolf cannot be released. The dagger in the possession of the elf-mage Azmodeous is the key to free the wolf. Should his rage ever reach a point of no return under the influence of the dagger, the twilight of the realms will be at hand. Fenris, son of Fenrir, will be the herald you were not.”
The Norns were being very kind to me. The power to bring this realm to its knees was in my possession.
****
“I do not care how you explain it; these so called penalties make no sense. Someone who is not protecting themselves at all times should be the one sent to this box. Are they tortured while they are in there by chance?”
I’d been trying to educate Rumil and some of the finer points of hockey such as the penalties, and it just led to more questions. One day, she wo
uld just have to watch and learn on the fly like everyone else did.
“Go get ready, we are leaving right now.”
I turned and saw dad coming out of the dark elf’s estate. “Already? Is everything okay?”
“I will tell you more once we get underway. All I ask is for you to not be disappointed in me.”
Chapter 44 - Harbinger
It didn’t take too long for us to get all of our gear and start to head out. Before we left, we dropped in with Hargna and went over our plan. He didn’t care for the idea of us going to see Loki, but in the end, dad told him he was the only one who might be able to put all the pieces together.
Hargna himself was preparing to leave too. He was part of a delegation heading off to the halls of Valhalla to try to broker peace between the dark elves and the Aesir. The other members of the group were Hel, Azmodeous, his aide Goma, the Dark Moons, and Algrim. With all of those elves going, it put Rumil a little more at ease with the idea of her dad going into the dragon’s den.
After we said our goodbyes and well wishes, our little trio left Svartalfheim and started on the journey to see Loki. We left the valley undetected by the other elves and told the ones guarding the cave tunnel we were just going out on a hunting trip for dad. We were making good time until dad and Rumil both stopped.
“Someone is following us.” Dad started sniffing the air. “Ahh I recognize that scent.”
“Master Fenrir our stalker only appeared about thirty paces ago.”
“Of course, he shadow jumped here. Come on out, we know you’re there.”
I looked around to see who was following us. After a few tense seconds I saw a giant hellhound that was very familiar to me. It was Garm and he seemed to be pleased we discovered him.
“Lady Hel was not sure if your senses would be as strong in this form. I am pleased to see they are. Also fair elf, your sense of hearing is remarkable. Young Jack, a pleasure to see you again.”
“Umm hello there, nice to see you again too, I think?” The idea of a talking dog freaked me out. Sure, lots of things I’ve seen would classify as weirder than this, but this one just seemed so unnatural. Seeing him up close just brought a whole new level of chills to me.
“I have been requested to join your group in the efforts to meet with Loki, the Trickster. Lady Hel does not think her father will do any harm to you, but Asgardian movements of late have been unpredictable.” Did the dog smile? I think he smiled. “Word has traveled about Baldr’s death.”
Oh great, that didn’t take long at all. “I didn’t mean to kill anyone; I was just trying to protect my family.”
“You mistake me young Jack, you did a service to the realms. What Frigga, Odin, and Baldr did was unnatural, against the laws of the life cycle. Frigga knew when she sealed the magic that she was sentencing her son to death. You may have shot the arrow, but The Norns guided it.”
Somehow that still didn’t make me feel better, but it was a start.
“We should try to continue on, we can at least make it to the Great Forest by nightfall. That should give us enough time to set up camp.”
“Good idea Rumil, let’s keep going. Garm, would you take the point with Rumil? I need to talk to my son about some things while we travel.”
“Of course, lady elf let us lead the way shall we?”
“Yes, let us be off.” I could tell Rumil was uncomfortable with the idea of traveling beside the giant dog, but dad seemed to vouch for him. The two of them started off and before I knew it there was about fifteen feet separating the two pairs. That’s when dad started talking again.
“Well, your dad screwed up this time.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When I ran from the destiny to Midgard, I thought the prophecy would just go away. Apparently that doesn’t happen and because of my selfishness, someone else has to suffer.”
“No way, no one could’ve asked you to start the destruction of this world. You wanted to save it. There’s nothing wrong in doing that.”
“That’s the problem; everything has a beginning and an end. Without me to do my part, someone else has been chosen to start it.”
I didn’t like where this was going. Something was really bothering the old man and I could tell he would try to delay the bad news as long as he could. “Dad, just tell me what you need to say already. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it together.”
“You’re the new herald of Ragnarok son, The Norns have chosen you.”
I just stopped. Dad hollered up ahead to Garm and Rumil and gave them the signal to take a break. We were about halfway down the mountain path at this time and it was definitely late afternoon. We needed to keep going but at that moment in time I couldn’t move. I was just Jack, a minor league hockey player from Midgard who was going home one day. This fantasy adventure into another realm and life was just that, an adventure with everyone going home at the end. Wasn’t that what happened in the movies?
“I never meant for this to happen.”
I’m not exactly proud to admit it, but I hugged my dad and I lost it. Eventually I settled myself down, but by this point Rumil had our camp set up and suggested it was probably too late to go into the forest. She’d found a decent sized cave for us and had already started a fire. Dad and Garm agreed and they went out to catch some food for us. I’d taken to huddling up in the back of the cave not knowing what to say or do.
“Jack, are you doing well? I know it was not my place but I asked your father what happened and he told me. I hope you are willing to talk to me.”
Of course I would talk to her; she was the one person I would talk to about anything. “There has to be a mistake Rumil. It can’t be me, it just can’t be.”
“Have you started the Ragnarok yet?”
“What? No. What are you talking about, I haven’t done anything yet.” Why in the world would she ask me that? I was starting to get riled up.
“If you have not started it yet, then there is always a good chance you can do whatever you want.”
“What about us though? Our palms were marked to be together and we are now together. Fate doesn’t seem to be in the business of the unavoidable.”
“So everything you did with me and for me only happened because of the mark on your palm?”
“Of course not, I did what I did because of how I felt about you.”
“If I am not mistaken, then you have made the decisions of your own freewill in regards to me and our relationship together.”
She made a lot of good points. Before all of this started, I was under the impression I controlled my own life. Being here made me question my own wisdom, but maybe I was right the entire time. I did have a choice in the matter. Screw you Ragnarok, this dumb human isn’t going to help start you.
“I see that you are smiling which means you have come to the conclusion that you do not have to start something you do not want to.”
“Thanks Rumil, once again you have proven you are both the smart, beautiful, and strong one. Why do you need me again?”
“That is easy to answer. You are the handsome and funny one who is good at keeping my life interesting. Now, I believe you owe me something for my wisdom.”
“Dad and the dog could be back any minute now, I don’t know about that.”
“Not that you fool. While we wait, I would like to hear another one of your hockey stories. Your energies are at peace when you talk about them, plus they are most enjoyable.”
“Well then, let me tell you about opening night from this year.”
****
“Ladies, I hope you brought your man pants tonight! We’re going to start this season strong and let every team know we’re here to make their lives hell!”
I’m pretty sure this was the exact same speech Coach gave us last year to start the season. I’d have to confer with Stansky and Thorston later to confirm my suspicions.
“This town loves us and it’s our job to make sure they go home happy. Now get your asses out th
ere and show them what being a Bear’s all about!”
Clayton was right in that the town did love us. A few years ago, the taxpayers approved the renovation of the arena we played in. They added three thousand seats, sky boxes, and a state of the art scoreboard. I hate to even think how much it cost the town, but the newly dubbed Bear Cave was the best facility in the EHL.
As we made our way out to the ice, I decided to soak it all in. I hadn’t told anyone but depending on how this year went, I might retire and try to get into coaching. If this was my last hurrah, I was going to enjoy it.
Everything was perfect, from the roar of the crowd when they saw us, to the arena announcer introducing us as we skated around in his own corny way. Just skating around and firing some shots at an open net was satisfying.
Lost in thought, I was surprised how quickly the pre-game skate around came to an end. Time flies when you are having fun. I got myself into position as the announcer went about introducing the starting lineups, and the national anthem that followed. It was finally here, game time.
The Penguins came out to play. They were beating us to the puck, getting good shots off, and just overall out working us. Halfway through the first period and if it wasn’t for Mike Herbert in net, we would be down a few goals already.
Clayton, for his part, was actually making up swear words to try and motivate us. It really didn’t help when O’Brien took a terrible penalty with less than four minutes left in the first.
“Skelton, get out there and kill this damn thing off! Stansky, take out that point man, go go go!”
I was able to win the draw and we dumped the puck down into their zone. The Penguins were able to regroup for a second but Stansky intercepted the pass and dumped it down again.
“Nice job Stan, you’re making me look good!”
“No problem Jack, someone has to pick up the slack for O’Brien and you’re getting old!”
As the penalty time wore on, the Penguins were able to get set up in our zone and got a few good shots off. Once again, Herbert was up to the task. We finally caught a lucky break on their last shot though. It deflected off of Herbert’s stick and Stansky picked it up. O’Brien was coming out of the penalty box and took the pass perfectly.
Power Play: Act 1 Svartalfheim (Ragnarok on Ice) Page 19
