“It smells more and more like Múspellsheimr,” she murmured to Sven.
“We are very close,” he replied.
He was right because moments later they reached the top of a craggy hill and finally laid eyes on the root of all their troubles. Not including the other two ashes, that is. Because some could say they brought nothing but trouble too. Outside of Sage and her sisters, that is. They weren’t to be blamed for their ancestor’s nefarious ambitions.
Just as Emily and Sven had seen it, Skáld’s Ash was an ominous, sizzling tree of dread with an oily trunk and flaming leaves. Icy water from the waterfall at its back and the ocean lapping at its outer roots hissed and spit off of it, creating steam and fog.
“Like you said at the beginning, Sven,” she said softly. “The water is for protection.”
“Yes,” he replied. “To skew our magic...or hide theirs.”
“We can use it to our advantage,” she whispered.
“How so?”
She shook her head, unsure why she felt so strongly. “I have no clue. I just know that we can.” Her eyes went to the base of the tree. “I don’t see the serpents swimming underground around its trunk. Skáld’s dragons.”
Sage narrowed her eyes at the tree’s spindly root system. “That doesn’t mean they’re not there.” She scanned the broken land around them. “We don’t have much time left.”
“What are we supposed to do though?” Emily frowned. “There’s nothing to attack. No enemy dragons.”
“We need to get closer to the tree,” Sage whispered, her dragon eyes flaring. “I need to see its roots better.”
Emily frowned at Sven, speaking within his mind. “I’m not so sure that’s such a great idea. She’s been fascinated by the roots of every tree since the beginning.”
“Precisely,” he responded. “My guess is because of Níðhöggr’s DNA which means he must be trying to show her something important.”
“Which may very well open the door to Skáld’s dragons,” she pointed out. “So he can have his war.”
“But why do that now?” he countered. “When Sage’s sisters barely know what’s going on and our brethren know even less. I’ve had no telepathic communication with Rokar or Soren since this all began. And as you well know, none with Eirik. What about you?”
She shook her head. “No. None.”
“So it makes more sense to close the door for now until his army is ready,” Sven said.
“True,” she agreed, not such a fool to think that would be it though. “Which means he must know a way to reopen it too.”
“I need to get down there,” Sage repeated, striding in that direction. Naturally, Håkon and Leif were in hot pursuit.
“I don’t think we have any choice but to follow her,” Sven said. “If for no other reason than to see if there’s a way to end this now.”
Unfortunately, he was right, so they went after her.
Emily and Sven kept their new blades at the ready as they made their way down to the oceanfront and approached the tree. Sulfer-ridden steam and smoke drifted around them, and sparks sizzled as they shot off the tree, scorching the rocky shore and cliffs. Even the air had thinned as the endlessly burning branches, and leaves sucked oxygen from it.
“A human wouldn’t be able to tolerate this environment for long,” Vigdis commented as she and Kjar stopped, going as far as they could. “It is specifically designed for dragons.” Though the seer tried to remain strong, she didn’t miss the flicker of concern in her eyes as they met Emily's. “Travel forward very carefully, child.”
She nodded before she kept moving. They proceeded with caution, constantly scanning their surroundings. All the while, Håkon and Leif were right there protecting Sage.
“Gods, Brother,” she muttered. Though it was in his nature to defend a woman anyway, she hated him being so compelled to be in the thick of it.
Soon enough they reached the roots. Not surprisingly, they were as oily and slick as the trunk.
“They almost smell like gasoline,” she murmured as they side-stepped them.
“Just look at that,” Halla whispered staring up into the fiery branches in awe. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so stunning.”
Davyn remained by her side, clearly in agreement as he stared up as well. In truth, they all found the tree enrapturing. How could they not when it was so obviously connected to their dragon’s home world?
“Their roots are what tie them all together,” Sage said softly as she stared down instead of up. “All three ash trees are twisted together in Níðhöggr’s prophecy.” Her eyes rose to Sven and Emily’s. “All three trees are interconnected. I just don’t know to what degree.”
“How do we close the doorway to Skáld’s dragons, Sage?” Sven said. “Is the answer to that in the roots?”
“Yes.” She nodded, her eyes suddenly strange before she crouched and of all things, touched one. “It is.”
“Oh, shit,” Emily whispered as black began to swim in Sage’s eyes. Ancient Matter. “Níðhöggr is possessing her.”
They had walked right into a trap.
Sven shook his head and roared, “Stop her!”
Where Emily, Halla, and Davyn didn’t hesitate to go after Sage, Håkon and Leif were another story. Yet again, they took up arms in front of her as Håkon tossed Leif some weapons.
Emily’s heart sank as she pleaded with Håkon. “Please don’t fight us, Brother. She’s possessed.” She shook her head. “She’s not Sage right now. Surely you can see that.”
But it didn’t matter. Håkon and Leif were in the same state they had been in when they protected Sage at Níðhöggr’s Ash. There would be no getting through to them. They were here to defend not the woman from the future but the great serpent infecting her.
“Avoid the roots,” Sven said through clenched teeth to Emily, Halla, and Davyn. “And fight to the death.”
Emily bit back emotion and nodded, knowing how hard it had been for him to say that. But this was what they had committed to when they committed to each other. Protecting their people even if it meant cutting down one of their own.
Even if it meant killing her brother.
She leapt over a root and went after Leif first, knowing full well she wasn’t ready to fight Håkon. It would come, and she would do what she must. But not yet.
Even with Sven fighting alongside her, Leif was a challenge as she knew he would be after watching him fight Sven before. He was vicious and methodical, dancing around the roots with ease. Emily thrust, balanced between two roots, then leapt over one and thrust again as Leif fought her on one side while Sven battled him from the other.
Though tempted to look her brother’s way to see how he fared against Halla and Davyn, she didn’t. It was too risky.
“You grew stronger from that river in Níðhöggr’s Realm,” Sven said into her mind. “It is helping us now.”
She truly had. She felt it in every move she made. Even her balance as she whirled away from Leif and dodged a few more roots as she continued to fight. She was holding her own battling him. “Do you really think it drew water from Hvergelmir? That the puddle at the top of the river was the infamous spring of Niflheim?”
“I would say it very well could have been,” he replied as he ducked beneath a blade then swung at Leif. “Which is worth remembering if we ever have to go back.”
“Added strength is always a good thing,” she agreed as her blade crashed into Leif’s moments before her and Sven’s blades began to do their ‘Thor thing.’ Lightning ran up and down the metal as thunder crashed overhead and the ground shook.
Like before it snapped Håkon and Leif out of their reverie but by no means stole their need to protect Sage. Good thing, because seconds later, pure hell unleashed. Or should she say Múspellsheimr? Because what happened next was surely something out of that hellish world.
The roots became writhing snakes and the circumference around the base of the tree an ever growing hole. What
was in the hole, swarming around in a mad frenzy as though sharks tempted by blood, was something out of their worst nightmare.
Skáld’s dragons.
Massive and ferocious they raced up and crashed into a ground that wouldn’t give way. Yet she had a feeling it was going to. So did everyone else as they got moving. Håkon got to Sage before Leif and flung her over his shoulder before racing away from the tree. Emily and the rest of the group flew after them, trying to outrun the growing circle of ravenous serpents.
“How do we stop this, Sven?” Emily yelled, her heart racing.
“Offer a sacrifice. Give them another leader,” Sage said into their minds. “Give them the dragon leader.”
Níðhöggr was still in her mind. Emily recognized his essence.
And she knew he was talking about Sven.
“No fucking way,” she responded. “No more sacrifices. Especially not Sven.”
Because King Heidrek and King Bjorn had been sacrifices, hadn’t they? Maybe even all the leaders that had gone missing.
“Emily,” Sven said softly into her mind. She didn’t like the sound of his internal voice at all.
“No.” She looked his way. “Don’t you dare.”
“If it can save our people.”
“It can,” Sage said, aware of their telepathic conversation. “Both of you. Two sacrifices end this.”
“No,” Sven replied. “Absolutely not.”
And here they were again. Back at the beginning. Sven seemed to sense it too. “This isn’t just you trying to coax me toward the Place of Seer’s and helping me through the pain of a tattoo, Emily. This is Múspellsheimr. Skáld’s dragons. This is death. And not a good one based on how angry those serpents are.”
“It must be both of you,” Sage said. “Or neither of you.”
“How can we trust you?” Sven said. “This might be a trick to open the gate even further.”
“It is not,” Kjar interjected, his inner voice far away as though they were worlds apart. “It is another test. The final test. One you must not fail.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Vigdis has seen the image of Jörmungandr again,” Kjar said. “Death must come before life if you’re to save your people. If you are to stop a dark future. Surely you must feel it. Surely you must know it to be true.”
Emily did. It was like a noose closing around the necks of their people.
A world overturned.
A Midgard far different than this one.
“Sven,” she murmured, knowing what she needed to do, what they needed to do. Of the same mind, they stopped short and looked at one another. Wind gusted, and sparks hissed like rabid fireflies around them as their eyes held.
He took her hand and spoke aloud. “We knew it might come to this.”
She nodded, as a tear rolled down her cheek. “We did.”
What made the moment so difficult was not facing their own deaths but one another’s. Knowing the other would cease to exist. It was excruciating. Heartbreaking. But they were in this together. Not just them but their dragons as their eyes flared with their inner beasts. They would do what they needed to do. They would protect their people.
They didn’t give each other one last kiss. There wasn’t time.
Instead, never releasing one another’s hands, they raced toward the tree.
Straight into the pit of Skáld’s dragons.
Straight into the jaws of death.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
AT FIRST, SVEN was aware of very little except his inner beast roaring to the surface before his vision hazed deep red and he shifted. After that, he and Emily were racing past too many male dragons to count. A flight of dragons far larger than those on Midgard. Far more powerful.
How were they ever going to survive this?
They weren’t.
Yet they burst past them unscathed and sailed alongside each other with their blades in their mouths and their rings in their talons. Had they been protected by these things? Perhaps initially to be sure. But somehow he knew their time was limited.
Proving his speculations correct, Skáld's dragons caught Emily's scent and what had been a ferocious flight of dragons became a ravenous frenzied roaring flight. Some were so determined to catch her first that they battled each other. Fortunately, that slowed them down just enough that Emily and Sven stayed one step ahead.
Worlds swirled around them much like they had on the ship when Sage and Jessie connected. Except this time Múspellsheimr was always there far below. A fiery world eager to consume them...welcome them.
“Not yet,” he roared into her mind. “Let’s draw Skáld's dragons as far away from the tree as possible.”
“You got it,” she replied, her dragon eyes a paler blue than ever as they met his. “One last act as a team.”
“One last act as best friends,” he replied. “And husband and wife.”
Though he knew she feared for him, he heard the smile in her voice. “I can’t think of a better way to go out.”
That in mind, they flew faster and harder than they ever had before.
Typically, her dragon wouldn’t be able to keep up with his but thanks to the water from Hvergelmir’s River she was just as fast. Nonetheless, the other dragons were right on their tails, roaring flames all the while.
One, in particular, came up fast on Emily’s right rear flank, but Sven managed to bat him away with his tail before he could lock onto her. Another swooped down beneath her, so Sven dropped lower and crashed into him so hard that he rolled and landed on another dragon before spiraling downward. Moments later, the fire from another dragon consumed them, but they were protected by their scales.
With Múspellsheimr as their ongoing fiery base, they raced in and out of worlds, flying for all they were worth staying just ahead of Skáld's dragons. They whipped through Jutunheim with it giants. Five times as large as a male dragon they batted at them like flies. Two enemy dragons got whacked, a third ended up crushed between a giant’s hands, and a fourth became a ball tossed ruthlessly between the enormous creatures. Mammoth beasts not threatened at all by their sharp teethed fiery toys.
The brightly sparkling world of Alfheim came next, catching them off guard.
“What the hell?” Emily exclaimed, doing well not to panic. “I can barely see in this world! It's like you need dragon sunglasses or something.”
“Just keep flying as hard as you can and close your eyes,” he replied, in full agreement. They might as well be in human form staring into the sun. Blinded by what he suspected was far too much radiant peace for dragonkind to handle. “I see things out of the corner of my eyes even while they're closed. Tall beams of shifting light. I think they’re elves.”
“I see them too,” she confirmed.
Moments later they broke free of that world and could see again. Thankfully they were down a few enemy dragons that had been blinded and were now nose-diving downward.
They passed through the next few worlds rapidly as though time were speeding up. Next came Svartalfheim with its cold rock, dark shadows, and bearded dwarves. Then came Helheim, very much the vibrant world Emily claimed it to be. After that, they zipped through Vanaheim with its seers. The icy world of Niflheim came shortly thereafter. As they passed through that one, the enemy’s fire froze midair into shards of ice.
“Sven, look,” she exclaimed as they kept racing along, still just ahead of the enemy.
Two familiar dragons were roaring up from beneath and heading straight for Skáld’s dragons.
“Father? King Heidrek?”
“Go, Son, Daughter,” his father said into their minds. “Go save our people.”
“Protect them well,” Heidrek said. “Rule them well.”
“We must stay,” Sven replied before his father, and King Heidrek roared into their minds as they slammed into the enemy dragons and began battling. “We stay so you can go. Now go!”
Though it went against every grain in Sven’s body to leave
them behind, and not help they soon had no choice as they were propelled forward. Suddenly, they sailed through Asgard just as Thor’s hammer cracked. For a split second, Sven swore he saw all his lost kin, including his birth mother, raise their cups in salute from Valhalla. Then crash, thunder boomed, and lightning zigzagged all around them, including over their blades.
“Is that what I think it is?” Emily asked as everything shifted and they raced upward alongside each other. They were heading straight for long, spindly otherworldly roots beneath what had to be a very large tree. Meanwhile, his father and Heidrek fought, clawing, biting and roaring fire as they attacked as many dragons as they could engage.
Though it was the hardest thing he had ever done, he knew they couldn’t turn back. His father and Heidrek were willing to sacrifice their lives so Sven and Emily could save their people. They were true leaders just like Sven must be now. Because if he wasn’t mistaken, what they were racing toward was a means to shut the gateway. And that must be done before all else.
“Stay with me, Wife,” Sven roared as he raced even faster, fueled by the power of Thor’s lightning. “Stay with me, Mate.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” she responded, keeping up.
The lightning increased as they flew toward what seemed like a solid wall of roots. Yet despite their best efforts and Bjorn and Heidrek’s help, many of Skáld’s dragons still caught up. Time seemed to slow down as they closed the distance. As their fire sizzled over him and Emily. They were nearly on them, and there was nowhere to go but into the roots. But even they seemed too far away.
They weren’t going to make it.
At least Sven wasn't because he knew there was only one way to handle this. He had to protect Emily. Skáld's dragons could not get her. So he spun around and roared fire as he tried to become a wall between them and her.
“Hell no,” she roared turning back to fight alongside him.
Slammed into by an oncoming wall of powerful dragons that couldn’t slow down in time, they barreled upward until she crashed against the wall of roots. Yet she didn’t hit it as hard as she could have because Sven covered her and took the brunt force of the attack.
Viking King's Vendetta Page 23
