“Eirik is a dragon-shifter,” I murmured. Even saying it out loud made it sound surreal.
“Just like me,” the woman said. “I was going to take care of him and teach him the dragon’s way. By now, he’d be the most powerful dragon in all the realms. He was all I cared about. But Baldur saw how much he loved me and not his mother, so he made up a story to drive a wedge between us. He told Hel that I was trying to steal her baby. Steal him and take him where? I didn’t have a home. Eljudnir was my home, but Hel believed him.” She shook her head. “They posted guards in the baby’s room, had more watching my every movement, day and night. I couldn’t take a step without one crossing my path. They decided I could not spend private time with him. My son. They were taking him away from me.”
She reached inside the basket, pulled out a leather water satchel, removed the cork, and guzzled some, water dripping down the corner of her mouth. She swiped the wetness with the back of her hand, her grip tight on the satchel. She looked at me, her eyes filled with hatred. “They came between me and my child. No one comes between me and my son, I told Baldur.”
As entertaining as the woman was, I knew I had to go back to Hel’s Hall and warn them. She was nuts and I refused to be the bait for Eirik. As long as she kept talking, she wouldn’t know what I was doing.
“What did you do?” I asked while trying to astral project.
“I was going to give him the dragon’s kiss. They pushed me to it. I’d never considered it, but they were pushing me out.” Her eyes shimmered with tears. “Then he disappeared,” she whispered in a shaky voice. “My baby was gone. Taken by the Norns. Hel blamed me, said I’d plotted with the Norns to punish her, and kicked me out. My own flesh and blood didn’t believe me.” She closed her eyes and exhaled. When she opened them, the tears had stopped. She smirked and sneered. “That’s when I showed her.”
“Showed her what?”
“Never to mess with me. I move around a lot, but I always come back to this cave. It has quick access to her hall. I know places where her magic is weakest.”
Just how close were we to Hel’s Hall? She’d mentioned seeing Eirik soar, so I’d say not far.
“So when I heard she had another baby, I made it inside the hall and grabbed her.” She laughed gleefully when my jaw dropped. Poor Eirik’s baby sister.
“What did you do to her?” My voice rose, but she only laughed harder, the sound echoing eerily around the cave.
“Left her in the Ironwood Forest. She was useless to me. No dragon strain. But Baldur and my daughter felt the pain of losing a child. Oh, how I laughed watching her suffer. But the pain is going to be even worse this time, because Eirik holds a special place in her heart.”
“Eirik thinks I’ve gone home.”
She chuckled. “No, my dear. He knows I have you, and he will find us. Once he gets here, you can go home because your job will be done. Eirik and I will start our journey to Asgard. Odin has made him his heir, the future leader of Asgard and the gods. We’re not waiting for Ragnarok. My revenge starts as soon as we get out of here. One dragon’s kiss and he’ll follow me anywhere.”
I could only stare at her in shock, my mind going in circles. Eirik was a dragon-shifter and the future leader of Asgard. He never said anything. Most guys would brag. No, he’d asked me to meet his dragon, and I’d flat out said no and showed him how repulsive the idea was. No wonder he’d pulled away from me. He must have felt rejected. And now his grandmother was using me to lure him away.
I tried to astral project back to the hall, but the Ironwood Maiden must have increased the magical field. I tried focusing on Trudy, but then I remembered what they’d told me when I first arrived in Hel. A portal outside Hel’s Hall could open anywhere. I had probably made it back to the dungeons from the cave because the Ironwood Maiden had allowed it. The only escape route was through the tunnel. But I could die out there No, I wasn’t about to let fear get in my way. I had to attempt it.
“Can I have something to eat, please?” I asked.
“Of course, little Witch.” She opened the basket and I jumped up. I only took a few steps before a giant hand wrapped around my ankle and yanked. The last thing I saw was the cave floor rushing up to meet my face.
CHAPTER 21. THE DRAGON’S KISS
EIRIK
I flew for hours, moving past valleys and over mountains, getting bruises from brushes with outcrops appearing out of nowhere. My vision was usually great, but the mist and snow royally screwed with it. My back hurt and my wings became bloodied, but I couldn’t stop. Celestia was out there with my crazy grandmother and I couldn’t find her scent.
The air was still. The sun hid behind the clouds and the winds died, trapping everything in place. It was as though magic had stopped and every creature held its breath. Without the wind, her scent couldn’t diffuse away from the cave where she was being held hostage.
I didn’t want to think about what she was going through, yet my mind kept imagining the worst. Not going home and worrying about her father had been tough on her this past week, but I had a feeling it had been more than that. She’d become moody and jumpy. Her snarky tongue, one of the things I loved about her, had disappeared overnight. She was the type of girl who didn’t take crap from anyone. If you pushed her, she pushed right back. Back her into a corner, and she came up at you swinging. She’d stopped pushing these last few days. Just clammed up and shut off the laughter. Even the light that had shone in her eyes had disappeared. Before, I’d put my arms around her and she’d nestle there, not knowing how much the feel of her body and her scent screwed with my head. Lately, she’d tense and pull away. Jump at every touch or brush. Clam up at the oddest times, or I’d look up to find her staring at me. Yet at night, she’d seek the comfort of my arms.
My experience with girls was limited to Cora and Raine, but I couldn’t remember them being so mercurial. Cora was straightforward. She was sexy and used it to get her way. It had driven me crazy because she’d let it define her. And to be quite honest, I’d hoped to be the focus of her attention. Now I wondered if we would have been compatible.
Raine and I would have been great together because she didn’t take crap from anyone, including me, but my feelings for her had been puppy love. Throughout elementary school, Raine had been the focus of my fantasies. I’d imagined marrying her and living with her forever. Then Cora joined our junior high school and I discovered I loved boobs too much, especially when they belonged to a girl most guys fantasized about. Now, I had Celestia, and my interest in her went beyond her looks. I wanted her, yet I was scared of hurting her. It didn’t help matters that my dragon often grew restless whenever I was around her, wanting to connect with her.
I reached the settlements of the workers from Hel’s Hall. They were far from Eljudnir, separated by mountains and valleys. Dwarf and Jötun children ran out and pointed as I flew by. They were getting used to me, some even waving. One day, I’d stop by. Today, Celestia was my focus. Not being able to find her scent was driving me crazy. Hunger and fatigue drove me back home.
My mother was at her usual place by the weapons room, but left as soon as I drew closer. She’d left clothes in the room. I shifted and changed, then went to my parents’ quarters, where food waited.
I wolfed down platter after platter without tasting it. Mother watched me from her favorite chair, her face expressionless. The empty spot beside her said Father was still out there. Her fear had only grown.
“Are you going to rest?” she asked.
“No.” I glanced at Trudy. She hadn’t bothered to leave the room. I had a feeling she and my mother had been keeping vigil together. “Leave bathrobes in the weapons room.”
Trudy nodded. She seemed ready to say something, but one look at my mother and she clammed up. I went to my room and came back with the sketch Celestia had made.
I handed it to my mother. “Does this look familiar?”
She and Trudy studied the sketch.
“No,” my mother said,
frowning. “Where is it from?”
“Celestia drew it. That’s what she sees when she stands at the entrance of the cave. You may want to pass it on to Dad and the troops. Trudy, come with me.”
As soon as we left my mother’s presence, I gave Trudy instructions, then left. I went back to my search, flying for hours and stopping on top of highest peaks to rest and open all my senses to sniff out Celestia.
When I first met her, she’d smelled of wild flowers. Possibly from the shampoo, soap, or lotion she’d used back home. But those weren’t the scent I sought now. The scent I knew and searched for was a part of her, like her essence. It had only grown stronger as her external scents disappeared. I knew it so well I could tell the moment she entered a room, or follow her scent to wherever she was in Eljudnir. In fact, I often gravitated toward it without realizing it. Yet now when I desperately needed to find her, it eluded me.
Bellowing in frustration, I took off, going farther than I’d gone before starting home. I usually gave myself enough time to come home before sundown. My scales might protect me against physical harm and I could withstand extreme temperatures, but I couldn’t fight exhaustion. I’d been flying on strength and endurance runes, and my dragon exhausted them faster than if I were in my human form.
I was furious by the time I got home. Father and his people must have just arrived, too, because he was still in uniform. Trudy signaled me after dinner that she’d followed my instructions to the letter.
I headed for the front hall. If my mother knew what I was up to, she’d lose it again. I’d complained about having indifferent parents while growing up. Now I had a doting father and a mother that could easily smother me if I let her. I wasn’t complaining, but I wasn’t enabling her either.
The guards were conspicuously absent, but Rhys was waiting outside.
“Are you seriously considering leaving the realm?” he asked.
His incredulous voice annoyed me. “I have to see her. She told me that whatever happens to her here affects her body back home.”
“She was okay when I checked on her earlier.”
Good. He’d followed all the instructions I’d left with Trudy. “I need to know she’s okay.”
“But if your parents find out…?” Something in my eyes stopped him. “Fine. Just a sec.” He went back inside the castle and came back with a duster and gloves. He tossed them to me.
“Whose?” I asked.
“Echo’s.” He smirked.
On a different day, I would have found it funny. I hadn’t seen Echo since I saw him with an Idun-Grimnir earlier in the week. He was either keeping a low profile, or he was spending more time on Earth with Cora. The thought didn’t fill me with rage like before. I had a more important person to worry about. I shrugged on the duster and slipped on the gloves. My mace was once again bonded with me. I liked having it close.
“Do you share what happens here with people back on Earth?” I asked.
“No,” Rhys answered. “It’s in the Grimnirs bylaws. We only share information with a girlfriend, spouse, or partner who is also a Grimnir.” He glanced back as though expecting the guards.
I didn’t care if the guards saw us. No one was stopping me from going to see Celestia. While Rhys talked with Modgud, I scratched Garm behind the ear. Lying down, the hound was nearly my height. He swished his tail on the ground. My dragon had raced him while in the air and on land the last few days. He recognized me and didn’t whine in fear like he’d done the first time we’d met.
“Stay,” I ordered him before following Rhys. Her whining followed us. “Is she going to report us?”
“Modgie?” Rhys shook his head. “Nah. She understood that the orders came from you. That way your mother won’t hold her or me accountable if she finds us gone.”
Rhys grinned, but I knew they’d be blamed if something happened to me, which was why I’d left a message with Trudy. We reached the bridge and the overhanging ridges and cliffs bordering it. I hadn’t searched along the Gjöll yet. Tomorrow, I’d follow it.
“Engage your invisibility runes,” Rhys warned when we got to the cave before opening the portal.
The difference in temperature was jarring when we stepped through the portal and into a well-lit parking lot. Even though it was almost nine at night, Windfall was warm, radiating the heat it had absorbed during the day. A hulking building with the words Windfall Medical Center on the side stood directly ahead of us. There were no high rises and the few buildings nearby didn’t go beyond three stories. Cars zipped by on the streets, but only a few were in the parking lots. Celestia’s town had the same feel as Kayville—a small town not too far from a major metropolis.
We engaged speed runes and made it past the atrium to the intensive care unit on the second floor without any problems. Visiting hours were posted everywhere and one board even had listed rules. Celestia might not be alone.
Rhys led the way past the nurses’ station to where the private rooms were, then created a portal through a door. Celestia lay on the bed, wires connecting her with machines monitoring her vitals. Her chest rose and fell, her expression peaceful. She looked like she was sleeping. From the number of chairs by her bed and a blanket draped over two of them, her family must be camping in her room.
“I’ll keep watch in case…” Rhys said.
I didn’t hear the rest of his words as I entered the room, my heart pounding with dread, my temple throbbing with tension. She had a fresh bruise on her cheek. My hand fisted. My grandmother must have hurt her. Before sitting down, I searched her face and arms, but there were no more bruises. Sighing with relief, I sat and took her hand. It was warm, thank goodness. She’d left her coat in my bedroom, so she was either by the fire or covered.
“I’m so sorry for not finding you, Dimples. I won’t give up. I’ll search every day and be here every night to make sure you’re okay. You are strong and smart, so don’t let her play you.”
“Time to go,” Rhys said. “Her dad and a nurse are here.”
I wasn’t done. “I wish you could hear me or feel me. Wish there was a way to tell you I won’t give up no matter how long it takes. Hang in there until I come for you, Dimples.”
“Any second now!”
I glared at Rhys. He pulled out his artavus and stepped away from the door. A man entered the room. A nurse followed him. Both looked like they hadn’t slept in days, but I recognized the man from Celestia’s drawings as her father. The nurse with him was her aunt Genevieve.
I pressed a kiss on Celestia’s temple, moved away from the chair, and pressed against the wall to let her father pass. He sat and took her hand.
“These bruises bother me,” he said, anguish in his voice.
“They’ll go away just like the burn wounds did,” her aunt said in a matter-of-fact voice.
“What are they doing to my girl, Genevieve? Why can’t they let her go?”
I wanted to smash my fist through the wall. I didn’t hear the aunt’s answer. I couldn’t bear to listen to the pain in his voice anymore. Celestia was lying in that bed because of me.
I left the room and started to follow Rhys through a portal. My eyes met with those of a girl walking toward us. The runes on her body said she was invisible. Something about her was familiar. Was it her walk? The way she carried herself. She looked up and our eyes met. I recognized her as Hayden, the Immortal from Celestia’s drawings. From the way she froze and stared at us with round eyes, she’d seen us too.
“Hey,” she called. “Stop!” She was running and yelling at us when the portal closed.
“If anything happens to me, Rhys, make sure Celestia makes it home to her family,” I said.
~*~
EIRIK
I couldn’t sleep. The bed seemed cold and empty. I was used to having Celestia sprawled all over me. The room seemed too quiet. I missed listening to her breathing before I fell asleep. I missed her. After tossing and turning, I fell into a fitful sleep.
I woke up early and wolfed do
wn eggs and pastries while on the go. My father was still eating when I left. He’d cautioned me to give the weather a couple of hours to clear. Instead of the usual mist, the snow was coming down hard like the heavens themselves wept. It suited my mood perfectly.
I shoved the cup and empty plate in Litr’s hands when we reached the door of the weapons room and disappeared inside. Her scent hit me the moment I stepped outside. The wind howled in sharp-contrast to yesterday’s calm, but it carried her scent.
I took off, heading for the Gjöll Valley. Could my grandmother be cocky enough to hide this close to the hall? I started from the northern part of the river and followed it south. Her scent was weak, but I refused to be discouraged. I got close to Gjöll Pass—two high peaks separated by a gorge connecting Eljudnir valley and Corpse Strand. The rock formation from either side gave the pass a shape like an hourglass. For once I could see the roaring river rushing at the bottom of the gorge. Usually a thick mist covered it.
Celestia’s scent waned before I reached the narrowest section of the pass. I did a U-turn, flying higher. Then I saw the southern tower of Hel’s Hall. If the hall was covered by mist, it could pass for a mountain peak. The scent grew stronger. I veered left and looked over my shoulder. Excitement rushed through me.
This was the scene Celestia had drawn.
The mountain was all white with no breaks on the surface, yet I was sure the cave was hidden somewhere on the face. Her scent grew. I gunned for the steep wall and clawed it. Snow tumbled down. Guided by Celestia’s scent, I shot up, turned, and went for the same wall. I clawed until the snow gave away and I tumbled forward, landing in an icy tunnel. The triumphant bellow escaped before I could stop it.
She was here. Her scent was strong. Thankfully, the tunnel was wide, so I charged forward, adjusting my sight when it grew dark. The longer I walked the more I imagined Celestia walking in this dark tunnel alone and scared, and the angrier I got.
Demons (Eirik Book 1) Page 32
