by S. T. Bende
“There it is.” I slogged toward the glowing, blue light. “The crystal is over there.”
“Yes.” Torstein moved along beside me. Each step sent an icy splash up my torso, but I ignored the chill and pressed forward. We were close—so close. The prize would be in my grasp in ten . . . nine . . . I counted slowly backward until I made it to the wall. Stretching out my hand, I wrapped my fingers around the crystal and raised it triumphantly above my head.
“Got it. Augh!” I cried out as a blast of cold shot into my hand. It burst through my skin and entered my body, sending rapid pulses of ice coursing through my veins. The pulses made their way up my arm and traveled across my shoulders before spiking into my head. Instant agony broke through my skull as ice picks jabbed angrily at the backs of my eyes. I wanted to drive my fingers into them—to claw the pain straight out of the sockets. But I brought my other hand to the crystal and held on tight.
I wasn’t taking any chances.
“Ingrid!” Axel’s shout echoed through the cavern. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know!” I gritted my teeth and waited for the pain to pass. When it didn’t, I stumbled toward the sound of Axel’s voice. The cave blurred in and out of focus as I slogged my way through my discomfort. “The crystal is cold—really cold.”
“Give it to me.” The assassin’s deep voice resonated in my ear. “I’ll hold onto it until—”
Air hissed through Axel’s lips as he wrapped his hands around mine. The second I released the stone, relief coursed through me and my vision returned to normal. But the pain must have transferred to Axel, because his nostrils flared as he said quietly, “This is way more than cold.”
“I know.” I whirled on Torstein. “Can you stop it?”
“I don’t think it’s the crystal’s doing.” Torstein stood with his shoulders squared to the cave’s entrance. My stomach clenched at the pinprick of darkness swirling just above the water. It slowly grew, the black circle shooting out snowy shards. Once it was large enough to frame three fully grown bears, it sent out an icy blast of wind. The gust struck hard, forcing me to dig in my heels so I didn’t tumble over. Axel’s teeth chattered violently behind me.
“It’s. Trying. To. Escape!” His hands shook around the crystal.
“Just hold on,” I called. I threw myself in front of him, using my body to shield both him and the crystal from the dark hole. All around me, my team readied for battle. Janna banged her shield, Brigga pulled her dagger, and Raynor gripped his sword in both hands. Torstein stood slightly in front of us; he’d be our first line of defense. The light mage turned his palms together and flexed his fingers. A white orb popped between his palms, its sinewy fibers emitting bursts of light that no doubt would have flattened even the most lethal Viking warrior.
But we weren’t dealing with Vikings. And the only warriors in sight were standing at my side.
As I held my sword aloft and tried not to worry about the fact that my assassin boyfriend had been reduced to a trembling, shivering shell of his normally lethal self, we were joined by something far worse.
Frozen, white fingers with frosted, blue tips wrapped themselves around the edge of the portal. The fingers grew into arms, then an oversized, rail-thin body. Gangly legs stepped through the hole, splashing into the water with a steam-producing hiss. The blue and white anomaly turned its icicle-laden head. It scanned the cave until its black eyes zeroed in on me. Or, more likely, what was directly behind me. Blue flames sparked in its eyes as they locked in on the crystal.
The crystal currently being protected by the assassin who owned my heart. Oh, gods. If that monster went after Axel, my boyfriend wouldn’t stand a chance. And if anything were to happen to him . . .
I raised my shield and dropped to a fighting stance. “You’ll have to go through me first,” I growled.
The frost monster snorted. White smoke flared from his nostrils as he lowered his head, crooked his razor-sharp fingers . . . and charged.
Chapter 9
THE ATTACK WAS SWIFT. The frost monster cleared the room in seconds, his long legs making easy strides through the water. He was nearly to Torstein when the mage fired his white orb. The projectile struck the monster’s chest, stalling him long enough for me to give Axel one instruction.
“Run.”
The assassin didn’t hesitate. He tucked the crystal beneath one arm, drew his broadsword with the other, and raced for the southern wall—the one closest to the large entrance to the cave. I raced after him, my speed slowed considerably by the two feet of water still filling the cavern. Loud splashes echoed through the space, and when I turned my head the monster had changed course. Instead of battling Torstein, his blue flaming eyes were fixated on Axel. He stomped across the cave, intent on pursuing the one person in all the world I most wanted to keep safe.
“Frosty’s pretty determined,” I yelled to Torstein. “Can you stop him?”
“I’m trying.” Torstein threw a light beam at the creature. It grazed Frosty’s shoulder, but the monster didn’t stop. Torstein sent a second, then a third, each slamming into Frosty’s back and shaking loose a layer of ice. The fourth beam struck Frosty in the head. This time, the beast paused long enough to shoot an irritated glare over his shoulder. He opened his mouth, turned his head to Torstein, and let out a battle cry.
“Rrrroooooaaaarrrr!”
Fist-sized ice balls barreled from Frosty’s throat. They launched at Torstein, who promptly threw up a bubble of protection. The ice missiles bounced off the barrier, landing in the water with loud plops.
“Any chance the rest of us could get bubbles, too?” I shouted.
Torstein sent another series of beams at Frosty, then shook his hands and turned them on me and Axel. A single, filmy layer surrounded us both, stretching across the ten feet that separated us. When the protection sealed, he sent streams from each hand. One shot over my head, encasing Brigga and Raynor, while the other closed tightly around Janna. I ran harder, closing the distance until Axel and I were side by side. But the big entrance was still a way away, and Axel seemed to be struggling with his contraband. The crystal wrenched violently beneath his arm, pulsing brighter with each step he took.
“It’s trying. To get. To. The. Portal.” Each word came on a pant.
“Why would it do that?”
“No. Idea.” Axel grunted.
“Ja. Well.” Frosty let out another roar. This time, the ice balls bounced off of our shared bubble.
“Ingrid!” Brigga yelled. “Look out!”
A loud rip spiked my heart rate. From the corner of my eye, I noted Torstein’s stream of beams, Raynor’s swinging sword, and Brigga charging at the monster, her dagger raised overhead. But what was most concerning was the enormous white arm arcing above me. It drove what looked to be a three-foot icicle into my apparently not-so-impenetrable bubble.
“Torstein!” I screamed. “It’s not working!”
“The ice spear must be laced with dark magic! Nothing else could have pierced this shield.” Torstein fired off a fresh series of beams.
Frosty barely even flinched.
“What the Helheim?” Axel swore.
“That protection won’t deflect dark magic. And I can’t reverse its effects, so steer clear.”
Great.
I pumped my legs harder. The exit still seemed miles away.
“The crystal’s still fighting me.” Axel’s chest wrenched to the right. He lurched in front of me, and I slammed into his back.
“Uff!”
“Sorry!” Axel curled into a ball and I launched over him. I rotated as I flew through the air, turning so I’d land on my back. The water broke my fall, the sharp sting of impact sending a shock wave across my skin. No doubt I’d be sporting an unwieldy bruise in the morning.
Riiiiiiiip!
A flash of white sent me scrambling to my feet. Frosty’s ice dagger had just ripped another hole in our bubble.
Axel and I had to get out of there.
>
“Head to the portal!” Axel shouted.
“What?” Had cold water and terror addled his brain?
“I can’t. Fight the crystal.” He spun in a tight circle. “And I don’t want to hand this. Ugh. Over to him. We have to. Go to. The portal.”
Behind us, Frosty’s fingers jammed into the fresh tear.
“He’s getting inside,” I yelled.
“Then we go right on three. En. To. Tre. Move!”
We hung a sharp right. The monster kept moving forward. With one last rip, our protection tore fully open. We were exposed, outmanned, and, in all likelihood, running straight into a trap. But we’d been mere feet away from death-by-frost-monster. Maybe running headfirst into a dark passageway was the lesser of two evils.
Oh, gods. What am I doing?
“A little help here!” I shouted as I ran. Behind me, my team fought hard against our foe. Brigga leapt in the air and jammed her dagger into Frosty’s thigh. The next second, Raynor swung his sword at the monster’s knees. Ice chunks went flying as his victim raised a spindly arm to deliver a fierce backhand. Raynor flew across the water, bouncing like a skipping rock before slamming into the unforgiving cave wall. Janna picked him up. She gave a fierce battle cry before rushing back into the fight. And Torstein, well . . .
The light mage appeared to be staging some kind of aquatic attack. He held his arms in front of him and pulled them in a circle, as if he were stirring an enormous pot. The air around him spun. It shifted until it formed a vast whirlpool around the monster’s feet.
“Ingrid!” Axel shouted. “I can’t. Hold. On!”
I refocused and ran faster. Without breaking my stride, I sheathed my sword, then launched myself at Axel. I angled my shield, positioning it between the portal and the crystal. The stone flew from Axel’s hands. It struck my shield with a force that shook my arm. But instead of flying into the dark abyss, it splashed into the water at our feet. Axel and I threw ourselves on top of it. We struggled to wrestle it into submission while the room exploded in chaos.
A deafening boom thundered. I lifted my head. Frosty flailed his ice-covered arms. His knees buckled and he dropped hard. He landed on his backside with a furious hiss.
“Got the crystal,” Axel yelled.
I tore my attention from the enraged frost monster. Axel sat in two feet of water, his torso curled over the vibrating crystal. A bright blue emanated from his chest as the stone pulsed. It was almost as if it were calling out to . . .
“Oh. My. Gods.” I stared at the second blue light. The one pulsing from inside the portal. “Do you see that?”
“See what?” Axel’s chin was lodged against the struggling stone.
“Stay there.” I inched closer to the dark hole. When I peered inside, my heart took up residence in my throat. What in the name of the gods was this?
“Axel!” I hissed. “There’s another crystal in there.”
“We’re barely. Managing. The one. We have!” The strain in Axel’s voice made it clear he was seconds away from needing an assist.
“You might want to see this one. It’s on a girl.”
Axel didn’t respond. But a few seconds later, he wrenched his way to my side.
“What do you mean it’s on a girl?”
“The crystal.” I pointed into the portal. “It’s around her neck.”
“Torstein!” Axel shouted. “You’re going to want to check this out.”
“I’m kind of busy,” the light mage yelled.
“We’ll keep him down.” Janna charged at the frost monster. Slashing violently with her sword, she chopped off a chunk of ice from Frosty’s forearm. Brigga’s dagger removed a frozen finger, while Raynor chipped angrily at the creature’s backside.
With the monster distracted, Torstein slogged toward the portal.
“Okay,” he grunted. “Now where is this gir—oh. Oh!”
The three of us peered into the darkness. Deep down in the hole, surrounded by a field of snow-covered trees, a small figure jumped up and down. A blue crystal pulsed bright flashes from a string around her neck.
The girl waved her arms overhead and shouted into the air. “Help! Please help me!”
“Is it a trap?” Axel asked. “Is she a frost monster in disguise?”
“I don’t think so.” Torstein held up his palm. He was probably evaluating her in his peculiar, light-magey way. “But there is something different . . .”
I leaned closer to study the girl. With her cardinal hair and clear, brown eyes, she could easily have passed for a resident of Valkyris. But there was a sadness about her—one that hung palpably across her slightly drooped shoulders. And she was far to weary for her years—she couldn’t have been more than eighteen, twenty tops. So why did she look like she’d borne the weight of the world for decades?
Or centuries?
My spine stiffened. I had no idea where that thought had come from.
“Torstein?” I hissed. “Are you in my head again?”
“No.” Torstein didn’t turn around. “You made it clear that was not your preferred method of communication.”
I frowned. “I just heard something . . . from somewhere. And it makes no sense.”
“What is it?” Torstein asked.
I glanced over my shoulder. Raynor and Brigga still had the frost monster managed. For now.
“Torstein,” I whispered. “Ask her when she’s from.”
“Don’t you mean where?”
“No. When.”
He turned to look at me. His brows raised as he registered my meaning. “When?”
“Yes,” I confirmed.
We all stared into the portal.
“Help!” the girl cried again. “Please save me from this frozen wasteland!”
“Who are you?” Torstein called down.
The girl lowered her arms. “I am Chieftess Bodil of Clan Njord. My people inhabit a fishing village at the southernmost part of the northern territories. I was taken from them . . . some time ago.”
How is this happening?
Torstein’s eyes met mine in an awed stare. “It’s her.”
“Her, who?” The crack in Axel’s voice pulled my attention. I reached over to help him restrain the crystal.
“Her, Bodil,” Torstein said. “Sverrir’s lost love. The one who was abducted by portal. Her loss is what set him on his dark path.”
“She’s the girl whose clan lost their magical dagger—the one that was gifted by the gods,” I whispered.
Axel’s nostrils flared. “How is that possible?”
“She’s been living for hundreds of years in . . .” Torstein peered into the portal. “Jotunheim? Helheim? The far, far north? It’s snowy, but I can’t sense whether this is another world, or another time, or—”
“Help! Me!” The girl’s panic tugged at my heart. “I don’t know how long they’ll leave this door open!”
“Get her out of there,” I ordered.
“How?” Axel asked.
I stared at Torstein. “Can you extract her? Do one of your magic portal-within-a-portal things?”
Torstein arched one brow. “You have a very high opinion of my capabilities.”
“Well? Can you?”
He tilted his head. “As a matter of fact, I can.”
He closed his eyes and opened his palm. Angling it into the poral, he moved his hand in a slow circle, then drew it carefully back. The girl rose slowly off the snow. Her body shook as Torstein pulled her above the trees, through a flurry of clouds, and out of the black hole that marked the entrance to our world. Or time. Or . . . whatever this was.
“Be careful,” Torstein warned. He lowered her slowly into the water. “Things here are probably very different from what you’ve grown used to.”
The girl clutched the crystal around her neck. Her eyes were wide as they shifted from the cave walls to the fighting Valkyrians to the massive, angry frost monster.
“That beast is the same,” she said. “And he isn’t goin
g to stay down for long.”
“No. I suppose not.” Torstein turned his attention to the monster.
“We’ve been outmaneuvered at every turn. If we had a huge fire, maybe we could melt Frosty down but—oh!” Axel lost his battle with the crystal. It flew from his hands and slammed into the one around Bodil’s neck. The two stones stuck together as if they’d fused. Bodil stumbled beneath the additional weight. “I’m sorry, I—”
“Don’t apologize.” Bodil shifted her necklace. It must have been absurdly heavy, but she kept her head high and spoke with the grace of a chieftess. “My crystal started pulling the moment that door opened. They’re clearly two halves of one stone.”
“Or two-twelfths,” I muttered. I turned back to Torstein. “How do we stop the monster? And close the portal? Axel’s right; we’re being grossly outmaneuvered. This isn’t like the fire monster—then, we had an entire forest at our disposal. Here, we’re trapped inside this small cave, with its narrow entrance and an exit that’s maybe big enough to fit a dragon, but it’s not like we—”
“That’s it!” Torstein snapped his fingers together. “Axel. Activate your wrist device.”
“Huh?” Axel tore his eyes away from the frost monster struggling to pull free from the whirlpool.
“Summon your dragon,” Torstein rephrased. “Bodil’s right—this beast won’t stay down for long. We have to burn him before he gets back up.”
Axel reached for the black bracelet he wore around his wrist. He pushed a button and murmured into the leather, “Rufus. Come.”
I stared past the floundering frost monster. Somewhere in the distance was the entrance to the cave. If Rufus was fast then maybe, just maybe, we could pull this off.
If we were extremely lucky.
“I’ve never called for him before,” Axel admitted. “Are you sure it will—”
Whoosh!
