Helheim (The Nine Worlds Trilogy Book 2)

by Debbie Champion

  "And what do Matt, Dvalin and I do? Just wait here for you to return, not knowing what's going on?" snapped Becca.

  "You darling can go get a bath," said Cassie, condescendingly.

  "You can go shove..."

  "Becca, don't," cut in Alex quickly.

  He had seen the flash of annoyance in Cassie's eyes.

  "I'm sorry, we're going to have to go it alone for now. Look Sasha's with me, it's cool," he said, looking meaningfully into her eyes. "We'll be back before you know it. You guys could do with a break, you look shattered. Go back home, clean up, get some rest and we'll come and get you once we know if Odin will agree," he massaged the back of her neck with his hand and she sighed in resignation.

  "Fine, but come straight back and get us. Don't go back to Helheim on your own, promise?"

  "Yeah, I promise." He bent down and swiftly brushed his lips across hers.

  She shivered at his touch and looked deeply into his blue eyes. He was so handsome, there wasn't a scratch on him, after all they had been through, whereas she was covered in cuts and bruises. She ran her fingers self-consciously through her hair. She must look a fright she thought to herself. She swallowed the bitter feeling of jealously which was clogging her throat and smiled weakly at Alex.

  "Ok, just be careful alright?"

  "Careful is my middle name," said Alex winking at her.

  "Right, let's get this show on the road. Heimdall I know you're listening, come on we need a lift," called out Sasha, looking up at the bright blue sky.

  Alex scanned the sky and could see Heimdall in the distance riding his huge horse Gulltoppr.

  "Wow, he's huge," said Becca, shielding her eyes from the sun.

  Alex grunted and pulled her to one side as Gulltoppr came swooping down and landed very close to them. He neighed loudly and tossed his golden mane into the air.

  Heimdall grinned down at them, his golden teeth glinting in the sun. He literally threw himself off the enormous white horse and gathered Alex and Sasha to his chest in a big bear hug.

  "Someone call a taxi? It's a miracle you're still alive," he cried out in a booming voice. "Sasha, sweetness, I haven't seen you for years. My you've grown."

  "Hey Uncle H, how's things?" she said hugging him back.

  "Oh the usual, Thor's furious with Loki, Sif's furious with Thor. Odin couldn't give a damn and Loki's being a complete pain in the...oh my, who do we have here?" he said, pushing Alex and Sasha to one side and reaching for Becca's hand.

  She blushed furiously. He was as handsome as all of the other gods she had met so far, except Grim who topped them all. Heimdall was very tall and broad shouldered, his long black hair was flowing freely down his back in soft waves and he had chiseled cheekbones that any model would die for. His grey eyes twinkled in amusement and he brought the back of her hand up to his lips to kiss them.

  "This is my girlfriend, Becca," cut in Alex quickly, placing his arm about her shoulders.

  "Delighted to meet you Becca. Alex has impeccable taste," said Heimdall, winking at her.

  She giggled like a schoolgirl and reclaimed her hand. Heimdall straightened up and looked at the others.

  "Alan, we must stop meeting like this," he grinned, shaking Alan's hand vigorously.

  "Ellewen, Cassie," he said, nodding in their direction. "Oh and Dvalin, I didn't see you down there."

  Dvalin scowled and moved back further away from the horse's giant hooves.

  "Sasha, have you come into your powers yet?" he asked, messing up her hair with his hand.

  "Uncle, cut it out," she said, slapping his hand away. "Not yet. I don't turn eighteen for a few months yet."

  "It doesn't always happen on your birthday. Some come into their powers early and some a few weeks after their birthday. You know late starters like Alex here," he gripped Alex's shoulder and shook him gently.

  "Well excuse me. Perhaps if I had known who I was and that I had powers I might have peaked earlier," said Alex grumpily.

  "Keep your hair on, I'm just teasing you. You're my nephew, it's my job to annoy you," he laughed.

  Alex rolled his eyes and Sasha laughed at him.

  "Come on we had better get going, we don't have much time," said Sasha impatiently.

  "Gully is at your service." Heimdall patted the horse's rump hard and it snorted indignantly and sidled away from him.

  "Can he carry all of us?" Alex asked skeptically.

  "I'll meet you there," said Ellewen, digging a small black bag from her pocket. "I'll portal in and give Lexi the heads up. She'll probably want to prepare," she said winking at Alex.

  Alex looked quickly at Becca but she wasn't listening, Heimdall was showing her Gully and she was stroking his golden mane and laughing at something he had said to her. Alan patted Alex on the shoulder to get his attention.

  "I'll take Matt and Becca home. Their parents will be anxious to see them and find out what's going on."

  "Cool, ok, what about Dvalin?" asked Alex.

  "He can come back with me. I don't think he'll ever want to go back to Svartalfheim, whilst he can enjoy being in the sun."

  Dvalin overheard them. "Oh no, I'm going back home. I want to make sure my treasure chamber is ok and I need to get on with Modgud's necklace."

  "Modgud?" asked Alan confused.

  "Don't ask," said Alex laughing. "How can you get back though? A portal is too dangerous."

  "Oh, I'll go the long way. There's a cave not far from here, that'll get me home. All caves lead to Svartalfheim eventually."

  "Are you sure? You might get lost," asked Alex, worried.

  "Are you serious? I'm a dwarf, I know every cave system in the Nine Worlds."

  "Oh right, ok, well I guess this is goodbye for now," said Alex sadly.

  He was getting used to having Dvalin around.

  "I guess it is. Don't worry; I'll come find you when I'm done. We've still got to get rid of the sword. I would like to be around for that just to make sure," he said indicating the sword on Alex's hip.

  "But how will you find us?"

  "Oh I know a few tricks," he said, tapping the side of his red bulbous nose. "Right, I'm off. Good luck with Odin, you'll need it."

  "He's my granddad, it'll be fine," said Alex, more confidently than he felt.

  As Ellewen prepared her portal, Dvalin went around the group saying goodbye. He clasped Alex's hand hard and looked at the sword again.

  "Be careful Alex, the longer you wear the sword, the more danger you will be in. I appreciate your concern to rescue Sven but you have to think about yourself. The sooner you destroy it the better. Promise me that as soon as you get Sven out you will destroy it. Don't get distracted by anything. Your life depends on it."

  "I promise, don't worry, I've got this."

  Dvalin nodded and stepped back from Alex. "I'll hold you to that."

  He pulled his straw hat down further over his eyes and walked over to the edge of the woods. He turned around, waved at them and then disappeared into the trees.

  "I didn't know there was a cave near here," said Sasha to Alan.

  "Yes, there's a very large network near the mouth of the valley. The entrance is very hard to find and you won't find it on any regular maps. We've kept it that way for centuries. We don't want cave walkers running into dwarves, that would be hard to explain," said Alan laughing.

  "Come on kids, I need to get back," said Heimdall jumping onto Gully's back.

  He reached down and helped Sasha up behind him. Matt gave Alex a leg boost and he flopped down behind Sasha. Gully sidestepped at the extra weight and snorted and Heimdall calmed him down by stroking his neck. Alex gripped the horse’s flanks tightly with his thighs and looked down at Becca, Matt and Alan.

  "We'll be back as soon as we can," he said, smiling reassuringly.

  "Be careful," said Becca.

  "Don't worry, I'll look after lover boy," said Heimdall, winking at her.

  She blushed and moved back as Gully started to paw the ground r
estlessly.

  "Hang on," said Heimdall over his shoulder.

  "Oh god, here I go again," muttered Alex.

  "This is safe isn't it?" Sasha asked Alex.

  "If you can hold on yes," he said, laughing as she wrapped her arms more tightly around Heimdall.

  "Sasha, I can't breathe," Heimdall laughed.

  She released her hold just a little and Gully started to trot across the field. Within a few moments he was cantering across the grass, throwing up great clots of earth and then he leaped into the air. Sasha screamed and buried her face into Heimdall's back. Alex laughed hysterically. He wasn't sure if he was laughing at Sasha, at the thrill of excitement to be riding through the air or if it was just plain nerves. Gully surged forward through the sky and they were sucked into a shimmering silver hole, which had appeared just ahead of them. Sasha squealed as her skin tingled and Alex held his breath and shut his eyes tight. He only opened them when he felt a sudden judder as Gully skidded to a stop.

  Chapter Ten

  "Whoa there boy," soothed Heimdall.

  Alex looked around; they were standing beneath a tall tree, which had golden leaves. A majestic stag was standing by the tree staring at them curiously and a white goat was nibbling at the grass by the stag's feet. The goat looked up, blinked a few times and went back to eating the grass. To the side of the tree Alex could see a large rectangular building covered in white marble. A set of steps led up to two tall golden doors, which were set between two marble pillars deeply engraved with runes. As he looked around he could see that the building was nestled in a wide green valley, set between tall mountains.

  "Where are we? Where's the rainbow bridge?" he asked confused.

  "Valhalla, Odin is here. I thought it best to bring you straight here as you don't have much time. Iduna's bringing Lexi, they'll be here soon. I heard them arguing as we arrived. It sounded like Iduna didn't want Lexi involved but Lexi is insisting. This should be interesting," said Heimdall smiling widely.

  Alex slipped off Gully's back and stretched, trying to loosen his muscles. He hadn't realised just how tight he must have been holding on with his legs. He heard a noise behind him and sucked in a breath as he turned around. Lexi had stepped through a portal and was striding towards him; she was wearing a long flowing pale pink gown, which was drawn together at the waist with a golden belt. Her long blonde hair was loose and fell down her back in soft waves. Just behind her Iduna was walking quickly trying to keep up. A deep frown marred her ethereal beauty. When she stepped from behind Lexi, Alex looked away quickly blushing. Her gown was white and translucent and left very little to the imagination.

  "Alex!" cried Lexi, running the remaining distance and hugging him tightly. "Are you ok? I nearly died when Ellewen told me what's been going on."

  "That's actually true. She had a complete fit," said Ellewen, poking her head out from around Lexi's shoulder.

  "I'm fine, it's all cool," he said, hugging her tightly to his chest.

  A cough made him push her away gently.

  "Oh yeah, erm, Lexi, this is Sasha, Baldur's daughter. I don't think you guys have met?"

  "Hi," Lexi waved at Sasha. "No we haven't. My mum failed to mention I had a cousin in Midgard." She glared at Iduna. "We've got a lot of catching up to do," she said smiling warmly at Sasha.

  "Yes we sure do,” she replied stiffly.

  Alex noticed that Sasha's smile didn't quite reach her eyes and he heard her grind her teeth.

  "Alex, you must talk her out of this madness," cut in Iduna, reaching for his hands and holding them to her chest.

  Alex squirmed with embarrassment. He could see her breasts through the thin material and he pulled his hands away quickly.

  "Odin will never give up Sleipnir, he'll kill anyone who demands that. He has a terrible temper; he'll take it out on Lexi. Please I beg you," she cried.

  "Oh Iduna, don't be so dramatic. He's not going to kill his favourite grandchild. She can sweet talk anything out of him and just think we can get Baldur and Nanna back," said Heimdall.

  "No, I forbid it, it's not worth the risk." Iduna went to grab Lexi's hand but she moved out of reach, her hands raised in front of her.

  "Mum, stop it. I'm doing this. Gramps will listen to me, I at least have to ask him."

  "Look, we'll both go in too. He won't harm the kids whilst we're there," said Heimdall.

  "Ok, that makes me feel a bit better," she said, sniffing and wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "Just be careful I beg you. If he's not in a good mood just stop and get out as quickly as you can, ok?"

  Lexi nodded, then turned her head and grinned at Alex. As usual she had won her way. Suddenly they heard a loud grinding noise; the doors to the hall were opening. Heimdall cocked his head to the side listening.

  "He knows we're here. Come on folks let's get this over and done with." Heimdall rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

  They walked slowly up the steps, Lexi led the way and Alex followed just behind her. He felt Sasha tug at his arm and he looked down at her.

  "You know she’s your cousin right?" she whispered, nodding towards Lexi's back.

  Alex looked startled. He hadn't considered that at all.

  "You're related right," she said, emphasising her words with her eyes.

  It was obvious to Sasha from his reaction when he saw her that he liked her.

  "Yeah right, I know," he lied. "It's not like that, I'm with Becca you know that. Lexi's just a friend."

  The pink, which tinged his cheeks, told Sasha that he wasn't being entirely truthful and she sighed and shook her head.

  Alex felt sick to the stomach. How could he have not realised that? He thought to himself. He was really surprised at how he felt seeing Lexi again. He really thought Becca was the one and he felt guilty and ashamed at his reaction. He had no time to dwell on that now though.

  "Come on you two," smiled Lexi at them, as she walked through the open doors.

  The gold from the doors reflected on her, making her glow golden yellow. Alex's stomach lurched. He thought she looked like an angel. Sasha prodded him forwards and he stumbled up the last step confused.

  He passed through the door and gasped at the sight before him. The hall was enormous; it stretched on and on so that he could barely see where it ended. There were hundreds of golden doors on each side of the hall and the vast ceiling was supported with spears. The spears held up the roof, which was made up of golden shields, which overlapped each other. The walls were also covered in shields but these ones were wooden and painted with many different designs. Alex could see wolf’s heads, dragons, axes and eagles on the ones nearest to him. Wooden tables with benches were lined up on either side of the hall and in the far distance there was a throne raised high on a marble and gold dais. The hall was empty except for a figure seated on the throne; it waved them forward impatiently. Alex gulped and followed Lexi who was skipping happily towards Odin.

  "Grampsie, how lovely to see you," she called, running up the steps to the throne and jumping onto his knee.

  He laughed and the hall shook with the sound.

  "Lexi, what are you after now?" he asked, his voice reverberating throughout the hall powerfully.

  Alex moved forwards towards the bottom of the steps to take a closer look at his grandfather. His face was that of an old man but he had a full head of red hair and a flowing red beard. A black, worn eye patch covered his left eye. Two ravens were perched on either side of his shoulders and looked at them with their beady, all knowing black eyes. Two shaggy grey wolves were sitting alert on either side of his throne and looked at Alex with wary expressions on their faces.

  "Gramps, look I've brought you Alex and Sasha, your grandchildren."

  "I know who they are," he said placing Lexi down gently and standing up.

  He was very tall and broad shouldered. Alex straightened his shoulders and puffed out his chest. He was so nervous his legs were shaking and he felt his upper lip twitch. Odin strode down
the steps and stood in front of both of them. He addressed Sasha first.

  "Sasha, you've done well, I'm very proud of you. I think you may start to come into your powers soon and then you can come and live in Asgard permanently," he said, kissing her on both cheeks and smiling at her.

  "I did my best Gramps but he's been a bit of a handful," she said, grinning sideways at Alex.

  "Alex," said Odin, piercing him with his one blue bright eye. "If I'm honest I can't say that I'm pleased to see you. I'm not."

  Alex took a step back, shocked.

  "There is a reason why I created a curse to stop gods and humans mixing. It only leads to misery, strife and disruption. When I found out that Thor had disobeyed me I was furious. My own curse would bring about the destruction of Midgard. That wasn't something I had really planned, I was so sure I would be obeyed. Anyway, your father paid for that dearly when he lost you. It nearly broke him you know, not knowing what had happened to you. One minute you were safe in your mother's arms, the next you had vanished into thin air only to reappear when you turned eighteen."

  Odin placed his hands on Alex's shoulders drawing him in closer.

  "But I know that you are an innocent in all of this. You can't choose your parents eh?" he winked with his one good eye. "Luckily for us, you fulfilling the prophecy stopped that monster from escaping," he shuddered visibly.

  "You have been very brave, both of you and I always reward bravery. I will forgive Thor for disobeying me and I welcome you to Asgard Alex." He drew Alex to his chest and hugged him, patting him on the back hard. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

  "Er, sorry, yes, it's just that this has all been quite a lot to take in. One minute I'm plain old Alex, who nobody wants and now I have a whole immortal family. It's mind blowing," he said waving his arms to encompass everyone around him.

  "It must have been tough and I'm sorry for that. Loki has a lot to answer for," said Odin grimly.

  "Where is Loki? My father said he was bringing him to you for justice," asked Alex, looking around.