Earth's Hope

by Ann Gimpel

  Gwydion glanced at her. “Stay near me, lass.”

  She snorted. “Rune and I will go where we can do the most good.”

  The master enchanter opened his mouth to argue, but closed it a moment before Aislinn felt thick, sticky magic roll over her warding. Everyone fanned out to discharge Gwydion’s orders.

  Her eyes widened. Lemurians streamed toward them. There must’ve been fifty or sixty, and they weren’t bothering with illusion, probably to conserve their power. They looked like what they were: seven foot tall reptiles who walked upright on their hind legs. Their scaled hides were gray-green, and their whirling eyes reminded her of the dragons’. When she’d gotten sucked into working for them—because her only alternative was death—they’d looked like very tall humanoids with masses of thick, golden hair. They’d always swathed their bodies in robes and favored heavy silver and gold jewelry, but their eyes had never changed.

  She loosed power and watched it bounce off the nearest Lemurian. Not going to work. Aislinn switched to mind speech. “Last time I fought these things, their warding was only in front. Rune and I will sneak around behind them.”

  Power bubbled from Gwydion and Bran, and they funneled it into the thick of the Lemurians, but didn’t have any better luck than she’d had. The dragons shot fire at their enemy, but the Lemurians were just as impervious to flame as the dragons. For one wild moment, Aislinn wondered if they’d had some long-ago common ancestor.

  “Lass!” Gwydion’s mind voice was terse. “Call Dewi back here. I’ve tried to reach both her and Arawn, but neither are answering. Mayhap your MacLochlainn bond will serve us better.”

  “Once I’ve done that, cover me.”

  “Agreed, but only if ye agree not to tell Fionn I allowed you to march into the lion’s den.”

  Aislinn felt for the threads that bound her to the dragon and plucked them. “Get your ass back here now. We’re under attack.”

  She hunkered next to Rune. “Remember how we took them in the corridors beneath Castle Trim?” One sharp nod told her he did. “We’re going around to the back of their lines. I’ll do my best to shield our presence with magic, but once we’ve killed the first one, they’ll be onto us.”

  “I’m ready.”

  Her throat thickened. Rune was so loyal it smote her. He’d follow her into certain death because not fighting by her side was incomprehensible to him. Aislinn gave him a quick hug, sprang upright, and wove magic into a shield to mask their power and render them invisible. The battle raged around her, and the air thickened with smoke, dragons’ fire, and the coppery, metallic stench of blood. The humans stood tall, fighting courageously. Even after everything, they hadn’t lost their pluck. Proud to be a part of her kind, she targeted a pair of Lemurians and sprinted to what she hoped would be a decent vantage point.

  * * * *

  Dewi didn’t bother making her landing elegant. So what if it rattled Arawn’s bones? She took them across the Irish Sea to a crumbling castle in Scotland and snarled, “Get off me.”

  “As madam dragon wishes.” Power flashed and the god of the dead ended up standing in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest. In contrast to his mild words, his dark eyes glinted dangerously.

  “Explain yourself.” Fire streamed from her mouth, and she didn’t take care to divert it. Arawn rolled his eyes and warded himself.

  “I could have done so back in Inishowen,” Arawn said. “This side trip was entirely unnecessary.”

  “Your opinion. Not mine.” More fire; a small wooden building went up like a torch. “I’m waiting.”

  “Ye canna keep secrets,” Arawn said. “’Tis that simple. Plus, ye were in a fine muddle once Nidhogg disappeared and ye lost your clutch. Half mad as I recall. It wasna the time to tell you Odin targeted your dragons to even the score because Nidhogg was gone.”

  “I would have confronted that slimy poor-excuse-for-a-god and burned him to a cinder. That ridiculous Valhalla of his too.”

  Arawn nodded. “I rest my case. ’Twas precisely why we decided to remain silent.”

  “We?” Dewi’s temper escalated another notch.

  “Aye. Bran, Gwydion, and myself.”

  “Of course,” she growled. “The dynamic threesome. Why didn’t you include Fionn?”

  “He was closer to you than the rest of us after Nidhogg was taken. We worried he’d soften and tell you.” Arawn hesitated. “Ye’ve forgotten how distraught ye were.”

  Oh no, I haven’t. More fire spewed from her mouth as she regarded the god of the dead.

  Arawn uncrossed his arms and let them swing free. “Look at the bright side—” he began.

  “What bright side?” Fire splashed off Arawn’s ward, leaving dark, singed places.

  “Ye have four living dragons who would likely have been maimed or dead if I hadna intervened.”

  Anger burned so hot, she almost couldn’t contain it. “You think I was incapable of protecting them?” she demanded.

  “Of course not. If ye’d set your mind to it. Ye’ve already said ye’d have gone to Asgard and called Odin out. Between him and his Valkyries and Vikings, ye’d scarcely have emerged unscathed.” Arawn shook his head. “Even if ye lived through that confrontation, Odin would have targeted you too. He left you out of his original plans out of deference for you being one of the Celtic gods.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “The information network used to be much more accurate before men filled the air with electromagnetic radiation. Odin figured if he left you and the geriatric dragons near you alone, he might escape notice killing the other four. Actually,” Arawn furled his brows, “ye should thank me.”

  “Because you hid the presence of my subjects from me and allowed me to go half-crazy with believing myself the last of my kind?”

  “Nay, because I ferreted out Odin’s plot in time to subvert it.”

  Dewi stomped around what was left of the castle’s side yard. “Were you ever going to tell me?”

  “Och aye. And verra soon. Once Nidhogg was safely returned to us, I figured he could take on Odin, plus we needed Kra and the others for the battles to come. The more dragons, the better our chances of prevailing. ’Twas why the miracle Nidhogg crafted by dousing your eggs with dragon’s fire and resurrecting half the clutch was so welcome.”

  “Mmph.” Smoke streamed from her nostrils, but Dewi’s temper, always quick to kindle, was settling.

  “I am not the enemy, Dewi. Ye waste valuable energy. We must locate Fionn. I wasna back long, but long enough for the others to tell me he’d been snatched by Harpies.”

  “Get your ass back here now. We’re under attack,” reverberated in Dewi’s head.

  Aislinn.

  A chilling clearness wiped the last of Dewi’s fury aside. “Get on my back.”

  “Where are we going now?” Arawn inquired caustically.

  “Oh, shut up. I’ve forgiven you.”

  “Ye could have fooled me.”

  “Aislinn just told me they’re under attack. We’re teleporting back there.”

  “Why dinna ye say so?” Arawn materialized between her shoulder blades. “Doona put us down right in the courtyard—”

  “I don’t need your instructions.” Dewi summoned teleport magic. “Just make certain nothing happens to my MacLochlainn once we return. Or any of my children.”

  Chapter Six

  Nidhogg wished he had more time to select his words, but the golden walls of Asgard rose around him while his mind still seethed. He took advantage of the few extra moments before he landed to clear the fury scouring his nerves. Rationality was the key to dealing with Odin. If Nidhogg let his emotions loose and allowed the fire in his belly to blaze from his mouth, he’d have been better served to stay with Dewi and the other dragons. He spread his wings and settled onto the cobblestoned courtyard. Valhalla, the warriors’ hall, lay off to one side. Lesser buildings peppered the well-kept grounds. Nothing had changed in the hundreds of years since he’d st
ormed out of the Norse stronghold.

  Startled Vikings stared at him, and one ran into Valhalla as if Hellhounds chased him. The vast structure’s lower levels held the dead, but contrary to popular mythology, Odin, Thor, Freya, and other living Norse gods and Vikings utilized the castle’s upper floors. Nidhogg saw the sense in it. Why waste all that golden glory on the dead? He settled his wings across his back, not expecting much of a wait.

  Odin emerged from the castle as if he’d been shot from a cannon and pelted down stone stairs. As always, he wore battle armor with twin brass drinking horns slung across his burly chest. Blond braids fell down his back and he smiled through his thick, red-blond beard. He extended both hands when he got close to Nidhogg, and exclaimed, “You’re back! How did you escape? Damn my eyes, but it’s glad I am to see you again.”

  “Unfortunately, the feeling isn’t mutual.”

  The smile on Odin’s broad face faded, and he narrowed his blue eyes. “After all this time, you still haven’t forgiven me?”

  “I might have,” Nidhogg measured his words, “except you piled more sins atop your original one.”

  “I’ve rethought my position about Dewi—” Odin began.

  Nidhogg held up a foreleg. “It scarcely matters. I didn’t need your approval when I mated with her, and I don’t need it now. You knew the dark gods took me, but you didn’t lift a finger to try to help.”

  “Och, lad. I was still angry about Dewi.”

  “What about the four dragons you planned to kill?”

  Odin’s gaze skittered sideways. “Plans aren’t deeds. How did you find out about that? It’s very old news.”

  “Arawn discovered it and took steps to protect them.”

  “All right.” Odin took a step back, drank from one of his horns, and crossed arms thick with muscle over his chest. “You sought me out for a reason. What is it?”

  “Two reasons, actually. Dewi and I have younglings. One will become the next Norse dragon, but for that to happen, I need your word you will leave Dewi and me in peace. Earth is under siege. Nothing is certain.”

  “What do you mean under siege?” Odin lowered his blond brows into a thick line that cut across his forehead.

  Nidhogg clanked his jaws together. “I don’t have time to explain, but I’m guessing you haven’t left here in ages.”

  “You’d be right. The world’s become a damned depressing place. No one believes in the gods anymore.”

  “The ones who stopped paying homage to you are mostly dead.” Nidhogg’s voice could have etched glass. “So you needn’t worry about them any further.”

  Shock registered on Odin’s sharp-boned face. “What killed them?”

  “The six dark gods invaded Earth three years ago.”

  Odin thinned his lips into a hard line. “I wondered when those bastards would surface again. Pah! I imprisoned all six of them here in Asgard for millennia, but they escaped. It took almost a thousand years after that, but the Celts helped and we corralled them on the borderworlds.”

  Nidhogg knew the tale. Thor had been even drunker than usual one night and had freed the dark gods by mistake. Saddled with guilt, he’d been the one to spearhead finally purging them from Earth. Nidhogg considered jibing Odin about still whitewashing his son’s role in that fiasco, even after all this time. Instead, he muttered, “Lemurians weakened the gates between the worlds.”

  “Those pesky reptiles?” Odin shook his head in disbelief. “They never created mischief before. As I recall, they were so relieved to have a retreat point once Mu imploded, they disappeared into that city of theirs beneath Mount Shasta and didn’t bother a soul.”

  “Yes, well, they were dying and needed an infusion of power.” Nidhogg blew steam from his mouth. “I must leave. If you wished to gather a group of warriors and venture forth, I’m certain we could use your firepower.”

  “You said two reasons.” Odin flashed a grim smile. “What was the other one?”

  “I want your guarantee, bound by your blood, that you will never plot to destroy another dragon.”

  “If I refuse?”

  “I will hunt you until you’re closeted with the dead beneath Valhalla.” Nidhogg paused. “And there will never be another Norse dragon.” He gazed at the crowd that had gathered around them and raised his voice. “I recognize many of you. I flew to war with the Valkyries, and played with your children. Dragons are an integral part of Norse tradition, but I will not be hunted, nor treated with anything less than absolute respect.”

  He returned his attention to Odin. “This is a onetime offer. I would have your answer.”

  Odin drew a blade from a leather scabbard that hung by his side. He held a hand in front of him and made a deep cut in the ball of his thumb. Once his blood flowed, he turned his hand so it dripped onto the stones beneath his feet. “Dragons will always have safe passage in Asgard. I give you my word, I will never harm one, nor plot to do so. Nor will I interfere in dragon affairs.”

  Nidhogg bent and placed a foreleg beneath Odin’s extended hand. Once blood dripped onto his talons, he brought them to his mouth and licked them. The dragon straightened and gazed right at the Norse god. “A blood bond forfeits your freedom if you break it. I shall hold you to your word.”

  “Somehow I don’t doubt you will.”

  Ready to be gone from Asgard, Nidhogg summoned teleport magic. As his spell bubbled around him, he narrowed his eyes. “We really could use your help.”

  “I shall gather my elite warrior group. Once we’re on your side of the barrier that keeps Asgard hidden, I’ll let you know.”

  “Do that.” Nidhogg set his spell in motion and the shining city of Asgard dropped away. By the time he heard the unmistakable din of battle raging around him, it was too late to alter course, so he constructed a ward and took in a scene from Hell playing out beneath him.

  Lemurians.

  Nidhogg did a quick count and came up with close to eighty. Where had all of them come from? Odin had been correct when he’d called them pesky reptiles. Who would have guessed they’d turn into deadly enemies?

  Dewi and Kra managed the left flank from the air, while Royce and Vaughna held the right. The Celts were evenly spaced throughout the field, with magic blazing from their outstretched hands. Humans added firepower from both flanks; their faces held a gritty determination, and they fought with skill and fortitude. Maybe the Celts had been wrong to discount them as not worth bothering with.

  “You’re back!” Dewi screeched into his mind and flew toward him.

  The other dragons joined her. Just as well. They were much more effective adversaries when they tag-teamed their aerial efforts. Fire spewed from Nidhogg—and bounced off the Lemurians’ scaled hides.

  “Save your power.” Kra flew abreast of him.

  “My children?” Nidhogg asked.

  “Safe within Fionn’s manor house.” Dewi took up a position on his other side. “Berra and Bella are guarding them.”

  Magic flashed bright white at the far side of the field. Nidhogg stared at the spot as Aislinn and Rune leaped on two Lemurians, taking them from behind. Rune sank his teeth into a Lemurian’s neck and was obliterated in a geyser of red and green blood. Aislinn had a harder time. The Lemurian she’d targeted threw her off its back. She rolled to her feet, her teeth bared in fury.

  “Come and get me, you son of a bitch.”

  Half a dozen Lemurians closed around Aislinn forming a circle.

  “Shit!” Dewi cried. She banked and flew right above the group where she rained fire on their heads, taking care to avoid Aislinn and the wolf.

  Rune circled the group, slicing through Achilles’ tendons with his teeth. As Nidhogg watched, he understood the Old Ones’ warding only covered their fronts. Fire still wouldn’t hurt them, but magic could.

  “We’ll keep the rest of them busy,” Kra said. “Maybe if we kill a few, they’ll leave. My memory is they aren’t particularly brave.”

  “Thank you.” Nidhogg latched on
to the fury he’d wanted to loose at Odin and flew to Dewi’s side.

  “Land. If we launch killing magic from behind them, it should do the trick,” Nidhogg instructed.

  “Our angle is better from up here.” Fire blasted from Dewi’s mouth.

  “They’re vulnerable from behind. Not fire, woman. Magic.”

  “Got it.” Dewi plonked heavily to the ground not far from Aislinn and screamed her fury.

  Aislinn drew the short dirk she always wore in a sheath hanging around her waist. She drove it forward, but it bounced off the Lemurians’ warding. Nidhogg felt when the warding around Aislinn first developed cracks and then fissures. Humans tried to batter their way past the circle of Lemurians to help her, but couldn’t get through.

  Nidnogg landed next to Dewi. “We’ve got to get her out of there.”

  “Can we help?” Daniel asked. His round, fair face was streaked with blood and soot, and he was panting.

  “It’s better if you stay back,” Nidhogg said. “That way Dewi and I won’t have to worry about hitting one of you by mistake.”

  Dewi pounded magic into the nearest Lemurian. He shrieked as scales and skin boiled from his bones. Before he was even close to done dying, Dewi snatched his body aside, and waded into the circle.

  “Get on my back,” she shouted at Aislinn.

  Aislinn dropped her warding and catapulted atop Dewi. Rune kept racing around the outside of the circle doing as much damage as he could. The Lemurians didn’t seem to understand he’d hobbled them by biting through tendons and ligaments until they tried to move and couldn’t.

  “I’m taking her out of here,” Dewi called to Nidhogg.

  “The hell you are, “Aislinn snarled. “I’m fighting. If you won’t fight with me, I’ll jump right back down.”

  “You stubborn little twit,” Dewi cried. A jolt of Lemurian power hit her in the flank and she screeched in outrage.

  “Pay attention and fight,” Aislinn cried. “Take us around to the back where my magic can penetrate.”

  Grumbling, Dewi backed out of the circle, spewing fire as she went and adding smoke. The air grew so thick, Nidhogg shut his inner eyelid. They needed an organized approach. Why the hell hadn’t Gwydion come up with an attack plan?