The Legends of Orkney

by Alane Adams

  Enraged, Geela leapt forward, intending to land in the middle of them and scare them, but as she leapt, a funny thing happened. The trio split apart seamlessly and bent the air so that she was pushed to the side, landing hard against the rigging. Her sword was ripped out of her hands by some strange pull, and she was on her back like a turtle, helpless to move as she gasped air into her lungs.

  They stood over her, green eyes narrowed, taking wary stances. She had seriously underestimated them. They had been aware of her every move. Not knowing who she was or if she could be trusted, they had waited to see how she would act, and, like a fool, she had attacked them. She dragged in a long gulp of air and held her hands up in an act of surrender.

  “Peace, I come in peace. I’m sorry.” She sat up slowly so they wouldn’t blast her with the balls of green energy that hovered over their hands. She got to her feet. “I am Geela of the Valkyrie. I am commanded by Queen Frigga to assist you in finding Odin. How did I come onto this ship?”

  The trio exchanged a look that told her they were as surprised as she was.

  “The ship kind of has a mind of its own,” the boy said. “It swung around. Almost knocked us overboard and headed your way.”

  “Why did you release Fenrir?” Geela asked, casually kneeling to collect her sword. Frigga had ordered her to end the boy’s life if he posed a threat.

  The boy looked pained. “I had to, to get the key.”

  “What key?”

  The little one butted in. “Don’t tell her, Sam; she just wants to trick us into turning around.” The brat still wore Geela’s helmet.

  Geela swung her sword in a blaze of gold light and placed it against the neck of the third witch, who had stood silently by, keeping her hand on the wheel. The girl didn’t flinch. “Tell me why you wanted the key,” Geela said evenly, her eyes never leaving the girl’s.

  The girl didn’t answer, but her eyes told Geela that she was conflicted about this journey of theirs.

  “Can we put our weapons down?” Sam said, lowering his hands and extinguishing the green light. “It sounds like we’re on the same side. We needed the key around Fenrir’s neck in order to get into Jormungand’s cell.”

  Geela gasped. Were these children insane? Or working for Loki? “Why in Odin’s name would you seek out that evil creature?”

  Sam ran a hand through his hair. “Frigga sent us to find Odin in Helva’s underworld, but she didn’t think to give us a map.”

  Perrin firmly pushed the sword away from her neck before she said, “There’s one scratched in the back of Jormungand’s cell. Sam didn’t mean to free Fenrir; it just happened. That’s usually how it goes with him. My name’s Perrin. You obviously know who Sam is, and the imp is Mavery.”

  The little one silently handed over the helmet.

  Geela sheathed her sword, tucking her helmet under her arm. She was still puzzled by the events. “And now you are headed to Jormungand’s lair? To find this map?”

  The witch-boy grinned at her. “Yup. Unless you have a better idea?”

  Geela did not. She had heard of the treacherous underground tunnels that led to Helva’s underworld entrance. A map would save valuable time.

  “Is Odin really dead?”

  The question had come from Sam, but all three witches stared at her, awaiting her answer.

  Geela met his eyes. “I don’t know. Death does not follow the same rules for the gods. They live on in a cycle that never ends.”

  His eyes flickered with frustration. “What’s different about this time? Why doesn’t he just come back?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know, but something has changed. Odin has never been gone this long.”

  Perrin asked bluntly, “Do you think we’re too late?”

  Geela sighed as she made her decision, knowing Frigga would not approve. “I think we have to find Jormungand and see if this map really exists.”

  Chapter 15

  Skidbladnir cut through the water as if there were a strong wind at its back. The striped sails billowed out, but Sam could swear there wasn’t so much as a breeze stirring the heat of the day. As he sat at the wheel, the sun was in his eyes and the skin on his face burned with the afternoon rays.

  Cupping his hand, he searched the horizon. The sea was flat and blue. There was no sign of land, not even a shore bird in sight. Perrin was teaching Mavery some new magic spells at the front of the boat, drawing their hands through the air and sending out small bursts of crackling energy. Sam wanted to join them. It looked a lot more fun than having his hands clamped to the wheel, but it was his turn to steer.

  Letting out a sigh, he wondered for the hundredth time if they were doing the right thing. He wished more than anything that he could warn his friends back in Skara Brae to be on the lookout for Fenrir. How were they supposed to fight a giant wolf anyway? Was there a weapon big enough to bring the canine beast to its knees?

  Horrible thoughts filled his head, images of Fenrir pouncing on villages and swallowing them whole. Sam’s hands were slick with sweat as he gripped the wheel, fighting the urge to turn around before he made everything worse. Because that was definitely his specialty: taking a situation and making it go from bad to plain end-of-the-world we’re-all-going-to-die awful.

  A noise came from overhead. That Valkyrie, Geela, was up in the riggings in the small crow’s nest. She slid down the ropes, landing lightly on the deck next to him.

  “Did you see anything?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “We seem to be in the middle of nowhere. Jormungand’s lair is deep underwater. Just how do you expect to find it?”

  “I found Groll, didn’t I?” he reminded her. “Ol’ Skid-bladnir’s taking us somewhere.”

  “But you don’t know where or how long it will take? Even now Surt marches on your cities. His men may have breached the walls of Skara Brae. Fenrir could have reached land by now.”

  Sam exploded at the Valkyrie. “Enough! You think I don’t see that every time I close my eyes? I want to vomit at the thought of what that wolf could be doing. I can’t eat; I can’t sleep. This is the craziest, dumbest, riskiest idea I have ever had, but guess what? I don’t know what else to do. The only way I can fix things is to bring Odin back. If we don’t bring him back, it won’t matter that Fenrir is loose. Surt will wipe out everything, so you know what? Keep quiet unless you have something useful to say.”

  “We’re here,” she said quietly.

  “Yeah, right.”

  “Look.” She pointed over his head.

  Behind him, a spout of water rose out of the sea, shooting a hundred feet in the sky. A vortex began swirling around the spout, creating a whirlpool of foamy white water. Sam squinted, not sure if he was seeing clearly. Sea animals of all kinds were swept up into the jet stream. Their silvery dark bodies flashed through the column of blue water. The boat turned toward it, drawn in by the pull of the current.

  “Oh, no you don’t, not again,” Sam said, steering the ship away. Perrin and Mavery raced to the back.

  “What is that?” Mavery asked in awe.

  “That’s the serpent’s feeding tube,” Geela shouted as the sound of the water churning grew louder. Skidbladnir barreled straight for the funnel of water.

  “Turn the ship!” Perrin shouted at Sam.

  “I’m trying,” Sam shouted back in frustration, “but it’s not listening.” He tugged on the wheel with all his strength. Perrin joined in, adding her hands to the slick wood, but the ship stubbornly held course for the spout.

  “Use your magic, Sam,” Perrin said calmly, looking into his eyes. “Transport yourself out of here. It’s not too late for you.”

  He stared at her, feeling the deck tilt as the spray from the funnel rained down. He saw her fear and her concern for him, and, somehow, that gave him the courage to smile. “I’m not leaving you. We’ve just found Jormungand.”

  Geela pulled them apart. “The ship won’t enter the funnel. We need to be prepared when it transforms b
ack.”

  The roaring column of water was directly overhead. They stood, holding hands, the four of them lined up. As the ship’s prow pierced the column, Skidbladnir shuddered, and then, with a violent shake and a shimmy, the ship simply vanished, dropping them straight into the icy water.

  Sam held on to Perrin’s hand, and Geela grabbed Mavery as the seas frothed and whirled them around, spinning them higher up in the air.

  He lost his grip on Perrin when something rough and scaly bumped into him. He found himself staring into the eyes of a shark with rows of sharp teeth. It was swept away before it could latch on to him. Furiously kicking, Sam swam to the edge of the column. He got his hand out, then his head, and he was gasping in fresh air when the column abruptly stopped rotating.

  It was as if someone had reversed the suction. The water imploded on itself. Sam fell, sucked downward like an elevator that had lost its brakes. Pressure built in his ears as the world went dark and cold water pressed in. Fish swam by, brushing him with their slimy scales. Then a rush of bubbles tickled his face, and he bumped up against a rock.

  A dark opening yawned—an entrance to a cave. He grabbed for the lip of rock, but the pull was too strong, and his fingers slipped off. He was sucked into a narrow tunnel.

  The water stopped pouring in, and the current slowed. Sam turned, pulling his arms through the water to escape, but a large rock moved into place, sealing him in. Swimming side to side, he found only solid stone. Pounding his hands on it, he screamed in frustration, letting the air bubble out of him. Black spots sprang up behind his eyes. His chest burned with the need to breathe.

  Then the current dragged him forward as the tunnel drained. The water level dropped quickly. Sam’s head broke the surface, bumping up against the rock ceiling. He dragged in air that was moist and damp and smelled of rotted seaweed. It was the sweetest air he’d ever tasted.

  Spinning around, he searched for the others. No one surfaced.

  “Perrin!” he shouted. “Mavery!”

  Wiping the seawater from his eyes, he swam forward, searching the cavern. A dim glow came from the water— some kind of plankton, he guessed. He could just make out the dim outline of the cave. The water drained toward the far end. He let himself be carried with the current until his feet touched bottom and he was able to stand.

  He called out every few moments for his friends. They had to be here.

  “Perrin?” His voice echoed off the walls. Something cold and bony grasped his ankle and yanked him under. His shout of surprise was muffled by a mouthful of seawater. He pried it off, thinking it was Jormungand, but he found himself staring into Perrin’s green eyes.

  He stood up, dripping mad. “What the heck, Perrin? You scared the pants off me.” Then he grabbed her and hugged her quickly. “But where’s the imp? Tell me you know where she is.”

  Her face clouded. “Sorry, Sam, I haven’t seen her. But you know Mavery. She’s probably torturing Jormungand as we speak.”

  “Is no one worried about me?”

  The quiet voice of Geela came from behind them. Sam and Perrin turned together and gasped. She stood on a ledge that ran along the side of the tunnel. In her arms, she held Mavery. The witchling looked a little green but held her thumb up to Sam.

  The water was down to Sam’s waist. He began wading to the side when the suction increased and dragged him back. It was like getting swept up in the outgoing tide at the beach. He reached for Perrin, who was just behind him, but he missed as the current jerked her away.

  “Sam!”

  “Hold on.” He waded toward her, but he was knocked off his feet by a large turtle. He caught sight of Geela running along the ledge. A yawning black hole at the end of the tunnel made him paddle harder for safety.

  Geela reached down and grabbed his collar, hauling him up to the ledge.

  “Get Perrin,” he said, coughing out water.

  But Geela was already racing toward the dark head bobbing in the water.

  Perrin clung to the lip of the opening, gripping the rock with white fingers.

  Mavery knocked him on the shoulder. “Do something!” she cried.

  Sam stood up, shaking himself to clear his head. “Fereza, fereza, nae movio,” he shouted, and he pushed forward with his hand.

  At once, the water stopped moving, frozen in place. The Valkyrie grasped Perrin’s wrist and hauled her up. Sam dropped his hand, and the current resumed its relentless surge. The rest of the tunnel emptied out into the gaping black hole. It could only lead to one place.

  The sea serpent’s pen.

  As the last bit of water drained away, it revealed a slick stone chute. The sea creatures that remained began flopping, gasping for water, sliding forward until they were swept over the edge.

  “This is amazing,” Mavery said, an awed look on her face. “There’s even fresh air.”

  “Not bad for a sea serpent. He’s figured out a way to keep himself alive while he’s locked up down here,” Perrin said between chattering teeth.

  An earsplitting screech rent the air. Mavery covered her ears. Fear coiled Sam’s stomach into knots. They stared at the gaping hole where the serpent could be heard thrashing around. Feeding.

  Geela spoke after the dwindling echo faded. “I will scout ahead and see what the layout is. The rest of you stay here.”

  Sam shook his head. “That’s not how it works. We don’t split up the team, right, imp?”

  Mavery smiled up at him and shook her head. Sam and the girls turned and began climbing over the slippery rock to a trail that disappeared into the black hole, leaving Geela to stare after them.

  Chapter 16

  Geela gripped her sword in damp hands as she trailed behind the boy and his two companions. They had some sort of ball of light that lit their way. She was worried. More than worried. She was terrified about what they would encounter and was completely unsure if it was the right thing to do. Geela had never strayed from her mission before, and this was clearly not what Frigga had commanded her to do.

  If the queen mother of the gods knew she was on her way to see Loki’s ill-begotten child, Jormungand, and possibly free him in the process, Frigga would strip Geela of her right to wear the golden crest of the Valkyrie.

  There were times Geela regretted, with every cell in her body, the day she’d left her simple farm behind and joined the ranks of the gods, but it had seemed like such an honor, and she’d fit into the role like she’d been born to it. Now she wasn’t so sure she had the wisdom to decide her path and the strength to carry it out.

  Odin was in trouble, maybe even gone this time. But what if he could be brought back? And if so, did she bear the burden of making it happen, even if it meant terrible things were unleashed? Already the witch-boy had released Fenrir, the fiercest, most destructive flesh-eating beast in the Nine Realms. And now she was helping them get to Jormungand. What if the sea monster escaped as well? What then? All for a map that might not exist, to an underworld where Odin might not even be.

  Dread filled Geela’s veins with every step forward they took. Worst of all, the children didn’t seem to realize the seriousness of what they attempted. Sam laughed at something Perrin said, his voice echoing in the cold, damp tunnel. The beast would surely hear them and be waiting for them. The boy needed to learn caution.

  Frustrated, Geela lunged forward and swept Sam’s legs out from behind, dropping him to the ground. She pinned him with her sword across his neck as she hissed, “This isn’t a game, child; we are about to face the most dangerous creature in this world. Jormungand can strike you with his forked tongue from twenty feet away. We may all be dead in a few minutes, and you laugh as if it is nothing.”

  Sam stared up at her, silent.

  The young waif giggled, holding her hand over her mouth.

  Geela whirled her head to the side. “You think this is funny?”

  Perrin stepped forward, shoving the younger girl behind her. “No, we don’t think it’s funny. It’s just not the first ti
me we’ve been in a bad situation, and sometimes laughing makes us not think about the fact that were probably going to die. Plus, you’re holding a fish.”

  Geela frowned, looking down. In her hands was a long, slimy eel-like fish. Where was her golden sword? At that moment, the fish started wiggling. She released it, stepping back in shock as Sam grinned at her and sat up.

  Confused and angry, she said, “What kind of magic is that? Where is my sword?”

  “Relax.” Sam reached behind her and pulled the gleaming blade from her belt. “It’s right here.”

  Geela shook her head, snatching her sword. “I should have never come here. I should have brought you all straight to Frigga. This is wrong. We need to turn around now.”

  The youngest one rolled her eyes, while the boy just folded his arms and said, “We’re not turning back. If you want to leave, leave. We don’t need you.”

  Perrin elbowed him. “Of course we need her; don’t be an idiot.” She turned toward Geela. “But we understand if you have to go. You know, if Odin really is trapped, then we’re his only hope of getting out. If he’s not brought back, then Surt is going to destroy our world. Are the gods going to stop him? Is Frigga going to bring an army to fight him off?”

  Geela lowered her sword. They might be kids, but they weren’t foolish. They stood in front of her, resolved and resolute, even knowing that they were facing imminent death.

  “They don’t have the power,” she said slowly. “The gods can’t interfere with mankind. Odin alone had the knowledge of their ways.”

  “Then we’re Orkney’s only chance,” Perrin continued. “The gods aren’t going to save us. We need Odin. And we’re the only ones who can find him.”

  They were right. If Odin was trapped, they were the only ones who could help him. If he wasn’t, none of it would matter much to the kingdom of men once Surt burned it to the ground. Or Frigga destroyed it. Geela kept that last piece of information to herself.