by Alane Adams
“How do you expect to find her?”
Loki tossed a hand in the air. “The black dwarves will have heard I’ve been released. They know I’ll come for her, so they’ll be looking for her.”
“But how can you be so sure they’ll find her? She’s been buried for centuries.”
Loki tapped his forehead. “Loki leaves nothing to chance. I sent her a wakeup call to get things moving. They’ll find her. And try to hide her somewhere new.”
“So when they move her, you’ll rescue her.”
His feet hit the deck as he sent her a searing look. “No, girl, when they move her, she’ll kill every one of them and destroy their precious mines in the process. You don’t rescue Angerboda. You pray she doesn’t leave you alive when she’s finished with you.”
Loki spun the wheel on the ship to the left, sending it into a sharp turn toward shore.
Land.
Suddenly, Keely couldn’t wait to feel solid ground underfoot. She gripped the railing, asking, “Is this the way to the mines?”
“Not quite. I need to pick up a gift for my wife so she forgives me for having her encased in ice. And I know just the little trinket.”
Keely’s jaw dropped. “You’re going shopping for a piece of jewelry?”
Was Loki crazy? With everything he had done to try to destroy Orkney, he was thinking about trinkets? Anger made her snap.
“There’s a war going on, you know, one you started. I don’t have time for trivial errands. I need to get back and help.”
Loki’s eyes narrowed. “You need to sit down and be quiet.” He snapped his fingers, and a force of magic slammed Keely into the deck.
She fought against the bonds, but Loki’s magic was too powerful.
Loki eased the boat into a small cove with a sheltered strip of sand. He beached the hull and leaped over the side, splashing in the water, then turned to give her another one of his broad smiles.
“Well, are you coming, or do I have to carry you?”
Keely struggled to get up, furious at being held in place by magic. “Release me,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Say please.”
She just glared at him, and Loki laughed, snapping his fingers, dissolving the invisible bonds. “Do try to keep up. The black dwarves would love to capture an Eifalian girl and put her to work in the mines.”
As Keely leaped onto the sand, she considered her options. She could run, but to where? And Loki could just use that magic of his to tie her up. No. Better to go along, maybe find out what his plan was and stop him. If she couldn’t fight in the war, at least maybe she could put an end to Loki once and for all.
They left the shoreline and entered the familiar trees of the Ironwood forest. It reminded Keely of her icy trek with that traitor Rifkin while she was searching for the Moon Pearl. The trees towered over with blackened bark and gnarled branches that created a thick canopy. The sky was gray with clouds, and only a faint outline of the sun was visible. A thin layer of frost covered the ground, crunching underfoot. Birds dipped and flew through the limbs.
“How long are we going to walk?” she asked.
“Not long. It’s just ahead,” Loki said, and he began whistling a merry tune.
Hours later, Keely was exhausted and her stomach rumbled with hunger. Every time she asked the God of Mischief how much farther, he gave the same answer.
“Quit your whining, I told you, it’s just ahead.”
Only the scenery didn’t change. They hiked up and down along deer trails and animal paths through the eerie forest. Finally, as the sun’s gray disc was beginning to slide down in the sky, Keely shouted at him, “I’m tired and I’m hungry! How much farther? And this time don’t lie to me!”
Loki didn’t slow; he just tossed his usual insult over his shoulder. “Whine, whine, whine.” Then he stopped so fast that Keely almost bumped into him. “See, we’re here.”
Keely raised her eyes. Blue water shimmered through the trees. They stepped onto a strip of sand before a broad stretch of blue water. It ran as far as Keely could see in both directions. Red sandstone cliffs lined the far side.
“What is this place?” Keely asked.
“This is the Loch of the Lost Princess,” Loki said, surveying the water with a glint in his eyes.
Keely looked at him. “Lost princess?”
Loki pursed his lips before answering. “I suppose you want the whole story. Nehalannia was an Eifalian princess. This side of the loch belonged to her people, the other side to the Vanir. It’s no secret that they’ve been sworn enemies since Odin swept these cursed islands into the Ninth Realm.”
In spite of herself, Keely felt drawn into the story. “What happened to the princess?”
“Legend has it that Nehalannia was swimming one day and this Vanirian boy out fishing saw her and was so taken by her that he jumped overboard. Only the lad couldn’t swim.”
Loki went silent. Keely waited for him to go on, but he delighted in tormenting her. With a sigh, she asked, “Okay, so what happened next?”
“What do you think? Nehalannia saved him, and the rest is every girl’s fantasy.”
“She fell in love with a Vanirian fisherman?” Keely said.
Loki wagged a finger at her. “The boy was no common fisherman. His name was Jeric, and he was a prince, heir to the Vanirian throne. But Nehalannia’s father couldn’t stand the idea of her taking up with a Vanir. When he found them together, he claimed Jeric had attacked her. The girl denied it, but that didn’t stop her family from hauling the lad to the center of the loch and tying a rock round his ankles.”
“They killed him?” Keely said, gasping with horror.
Loki nodded. “The next day, Nehalannia ran away to look for him. She took a boat out on the loch and dove in when she thought she saw him. But she never came up. Rumor has it that she haunts the water in the form of a giant loch monster.”
Keely turned to stare at the tragic water. It was like something out of a movie. Then she frowned, eyeing Loki. “Why would a heartless creature like you care about a tragic love story?”
The mischievous god tried to look offended, then laughed. “Because when Nehalannia ran off, she was wearing a pendant given to her by her father.”
A faint tingle ran up Keely’s spine, as if her magic recognized it.
“A pendant? What kind?”
“The kind that’s going to get my wife to forgive me. Time to take a little ride.” Loki gave a low whistle between two fingers. A lone seabird flew across the loch, diving down to find its breakfast.
Loki whistled again. Keely was beginning to think he had lost his mind when gravel crunched around the bend. She turned to see who was coming.
Her mouth fell open. Loki had to elbow her to get her to shut it.
A solitary dwarf approached them. From the shoulders down he looked as broad in girth as Rego and was dressed just as poorly in burlap and ragged pants. It was the head that had her gaping—or, rather, the pair of heads sprouting from a single, thick neck.
One noggin was capped in a sheaf of red hair, the other a sheaf of brown. They were arguing with one another.
“I say we go this way,” the brown-haired head said.
“You heard the whistle—we have a customer,” the redhaired one snapped back.
“I’m not in the mood for customers.”
“Well, I say we need the money.”
“And I say they got no money.”
They came to a stop in front of Loki.
“I’m Norri,” the redhead said cheerfully.
“Don’t tell them who we are,” the other blustered, swiveling his brown-haired head to glare at his twin.
“Gad sakes, Snorri, they look harmless.”
“Oh, now you told them my name, idiot.” Snorri reached up and slapped Norri on the cheek.
“You’re the idiot.”
They began slapping each other across the face.
“Oy!” Loki shouted, interrupting them. “We nee
d a ride across the loch. You lot interested or not?”
They spoke simultaneously.
“No.”
“Yes.”
The dwarf’s right hand came up and covered the mouth of grumpy Snorri.
“Ignore him,” Norri said. “We’ll take you across just as soon as you pay up.”
Loki flipped him a gold coin.
The dwarf caught it with his other hand and nipped it with his teeth.
“We’ll take you,” they said together. This time they both smiled.
Keely and Loki followed the odd pair around the bend. They were still arguing as they waddled on their shared body toward a rickety dock. A small rowboat was tied up. The two-headed dwarf clambered into the boat and sat down on a bench to grip the oars.
“Ladies first,” Loki said, holding out his hand to help her aboard. Keely hesitated, her skin prickling with unease. Something was off; Loki was being too casual. “Get in, or I’ll make you,” he said softly, but there was steel in his voice.
Keely ignored his hand and stepped onto the boat. Loki gave the craft a hard shove and leaped on, nearly capsizing them all. When the boat steadied, the dwarf rowed, sending them gliding across the smooth blue water.
For all their bickering, Snorri and Norri rowed in even strokes. Loki sat in the rear, holding the rudder.
Keely looked over the side of the boat at the deep blue surface. The ripples fanning from the rowboat were entrancing. Her senses tingled again, and this urge to touch the water came over her. She trailed her fingers in the cool water.
“Don’t touch the water!” the dwarves shouted at once.
She snatched her hand back like she had been burned.
“You were supposed to tell her the rules,” Snorri snapped at his twin.
“I thought you told her,” Norri said.
“What’s wrong? What did I do?” Keely asked.
The dwarves shook their heads in unison. “Eifalian’s can’t touch the water; everyone knows that.”
“Well, nobody told me,” Keely said, quickly drying her hand off. “Is it poisonous?”
“It awakens the loch monster,” Norri explained, “and she comes a-looking for her Jeric.”
“And when she doesn’t find him . . .” The dwarves twisted their heads to give each other a look of horror.
The day had been eerily calm, but on cue a wind came out of nowhere. A current swirled the water into an eddy. Waves rose, and the loch turned choppy, tossing their boat. A green fin broke the surface, curling and undulating like a serpent.
Water sloshed over the sides. Loki held the rudder tightly as the twins drew hard on the oars. But the boat was pulled into a swift, spinning current as a massive whirlpool formed.
“It’s Nehalannia!” Norri yelled.
Keely held on for dear life as the small boat spun dizzily around the edges. She caught a glimpse of the sea monster slapping the water with a giant tail, sending a massive wave their way.
Suddenly thick hands reached under her arms, lifting her roughly, prying her fingers off the rowboat seat.
“What are you doing!?” she screamed at Loki, wriggling and fighting his hold.
“You want to live, you bring me back Nehalannia’s pendant,” he shouted. And then he tossed her overboard.
Chapter 25
Keely hit the loch’s surface with a splash. She swallowed a mouthful of water before she caught her breath. As the coldness engulfed her, she was swept into the vortex and sent spinning around the rim.
“Loki!” Keely pleaded, swimming hard to escape the current and reach the receding boat. “Help me!”
But the two-headed twins worked in furious tandem, spurred on by Loki barking in their ear, and the boat quickly reached calm water.
Loki had planned this, planned for her to go overboard, but why bring her all this way just to drown her in the loch?
She desperately paddled for shore. She was a strong swimmer. The water was cold, but if she put everything she had into it, she might— Her pep talk was interrupted when something grabbed her ankle and yanked her under. She kicked hard, but the iron grip of her captor was relentless, dragging her deep underwater before releasing her.
Keely opened her eyes. In place of the green scaly sea monster, a beautiful girl with long white hair floated before her, staring back at her with wide-eyed curiosity.
Her pale blue eyes sparkled in the blackness. She wore a dress made of green algae intricately woven together. Small shells decorated the neckline. Delicate green fins ran across the tops of her arms and the backs of her legs. Along the side of her neck, four pairs of leech-like creatures pulsed, releasing little bubbles of air. Their bodies were yellow, but the tiny tendrils that covered them were tipped in red. Around her neck a pendant hung on a thick silver chain crusted with algae. The stone was blackened with age and tarnish. Something in the pendant called to Keely. An ancient power thrummed in Keely’s veins, warming her.
The girl waved her hand, smiling shyly, and beckoned Keely to follow her. Then she swam away, going deeper into the watery darkness.
Could this really be Nehalannia? The Eifalian princess from Loki’s story?
Keely didn’t know what to think, but something made her want to follow. Ignoring the danger, Keely swam after her. The pressure built up in her ears as she went deeper. She cleared her nose, expelling precious breath. The cold was making her numb. Black spots appeared behind her eyes as she grew lightheaded.
This was a mistake, she realized.
Suddenly desperate, she swam hard and grabbed Nehalannia by the hand, pulling the girl around to face her.
“I can’t breathe,” Keely mouthed.
The girl giggled like she found it funny. “I’m sorry. Here . . .”
Nehalannia peeled off two of the leeches from the side of her neck and placed them on Keely’s neck. There was a slight sting, and then bubbles rose up next to her and oxygen flooded Keely’s lungs.
“Better?” the girl asked.
Keely nodded. She reached up to touch the two yellow creatures. They tickled her throat. But she didn’t feel light-headed anymore. She tried her voice. “What are they?”
“They’re gillybugs,” Nehalannia explained. “They’ll help you breathe.” Then she swam away, the long tendrils of algae from her dress tailing behind. She turned with a smile, beckoning to Keely. “Come, Jeric is just over here, you must meet him.”
Surprised, Keely swam as fast as she could, gliding behind the girl.
This was an adventure!
The war between Surt and his terrible red army and Orkney was forgotten as she swam through the silvery blue water. She forgot about the cold as she took in the wonders of this watery underworld.
In the faint light, she made out long-nosed fish and splashes of color when a school of tiny green-and-blue-striped fish swam by. A forest of algae wafted up from the bottom, wrapping slimy tendrils around her legs.
“Wait up,” Keely called, stopping to untangle herself.
“Hurry,” Nehalannia said, “Jeric’s right over here.”
Keely swam and swam. Fish and seaweed were all she could see. She tired. Her brain needed more oxygen than the gillybugs were giving her. She remembered Loki’s story, how Nehalannia was forever searching for her lost love.
They were going nowhere.
“Stop, Nehalannia. Jeric’s not here,” Keely called.
That brought the girl to a sudden halt. She whirled on Keely and grabbed Keely’s shirt. Her face looked frightening, twisted into an angry mask.
“Don’t ever say that.” Her necklace glowed with a strange blue light.
But Keely had had enough of this underwater adventure. The cold was starting to seep into her bones. If she stayed much longer, she was worried she might never get out of this place.
“Jeric’s gone,” Keely stated firmly. “You’ve been looking for him for hundreds of years. He’s not here anymore, and I have to go.” She kicked her way up to the surface, determined to leav
e.
But Nehalannia had other ideas. “That’s a lie!” Bubbles sprayed from her mouth as she screamed the words at Keely.
Then the loch princess began to change.
Her algae dress spread across her skin, turning it into green shimmering scales. Her arms flattened as the delicate fins sprouted, growing in size as her entire body thickened and lengthened until she was the size of a small bus. Sharp teeth protruded from each corner of her mouth. A jagged fin ran along her back and ended in a tail.
She was once again the sea monster that had nearly cap-sized them.
“Jeric is here,” she roared at Keely, flicking her tail and swimming forward to butt Keely with her head. Keely cascaded through the water, tumbling head over heels.
She regained her balance, moving her arms back and forth to hold herself steady. “I’m not afraid of you,” Keely said, kicking her feet to swim back toward the creature. “You’re just angry because you miss him.”
“I must find Jeric,” the monster growled, snapping at Keely. Her teeth came dangerously close to biting off Keely’s hand. If it wanted to, it could swallow her whole.
“He’s not here. I miss somebody, too,” Keely said, swimming in place in front of the creature. “My friend Leo. It hurts. I hate it, but I have to accept that he’s gone to a better place.”
At her words, the loch monster stopped. Nehalannia began to shrink back to her normal size. Fangs still protruded, but they slowly receded.
“Where is this better place?” she asked. “I have to go there and tell him I’m sorry. You see, it was all my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everyone thinks my father was to blame, but it’s not true. I lied to my father about what happened. I told him Jeric attacked me because he was so mad.” Her face twisted in pain. “I couldn’t bear to see him so angry. But then he wouldn’t listen when I tried to stop him.” She gripped Keely. “Don’t you see? I have to find Jeric so I can apologize. Do you think he’ll forgive me?”
“I think if he really loved you, he would forgive anything,” Keely said.
At her words, a channel of blinding light cut through the water. Keely squinted her eyes. Nehalannia’s face took on a mask of wonder as a ghostly image appeared next to her in the water.
