by Ayer, T. G.
I gasped, the blood rushing to my head, making me feel a little light-headed. I stepped forward, overjoyed that we'd finally found Brody. Especially since he'd been the last person we'd been thinking about or looking for. Then I stopped. "How do I know it’s you?"
"Bryn? What do you mean?"
"This boy’s name is Brody," Heimdall offered.
"That's not what I mean." I shook my head, glancing at the god whose expression seemed a bit too critical, making me a bit too defensive. "The last time I came into contact with Brody he tried to kill me. Then he turned into a Jotunn."
Heimdall tilted his head to look at the young prisoner whose head had lolled forward again. He didn’t seem to be capable of staying conscious for too long. "It would have been difficult for the boy to attack you as he has been chained to that wall for almost 6 months now. When were you attacked? Perhaps he has a more solid alibi than you expected?"
"Maybe you’re right." The Jotunn-Brody had attacked me a few weeks ago. Was this where Loki had kept Brody all these months? And why? Why not just kill him? Was he waiting to use him as leverage? Or bait? But using him as bait didn't make sense considering we'd had no idea Brody was even here. We'd come for Heimdall.
And now that we had him, had both of them, we needed to leave before we pushed our luck too far. I paused, frowning as I looked at the Heimdall.
Then I glanced back at Brody. "We need to take him down."
"I think that would be best."
"Right." I set about smashing Brody's manacles and supported him as his knees gave way, his bony legs unable to carry his weight. "He's really weak."
Heimdall grunted. "Our hosts have not been the most hospitable. We often go days without food or water." Heimdall pushed himself to his knees, already looking much better. The corset of dwarf metal must have been a constant drain on his energy. He held onto the wall and lurched to his feet. And there he stood, godly and regal, and I had to crane my neck to meet his eyes.
"We can leave as soon as you are ready. No point in waiting for Brody to regain his strength. My Lord Heimdall, can you take Brody down to the castle grounds?" Heimdall met my gaze and I hoped I hadn’t sounded rude or demanding. "I mean, are you strong enough yet to do the whole disappear, reappear thing?"
"Yes, Valkyrie. I will take the boy." Heimdall grasped Brody within his arms and then with a sharp nod, simply disappeared.
"Does he even know where he’s going?" I asked nobody.
"Yes, he does," came Heimdall's disembodied voice. I would have been embarrassed at the potential my comment had to disrespect the god had it not been for the grin I heard in those words. I shook my head.
I looked over at Sigrun who glanced back at me, clearly having not missed a single word. "Ready?"
"Yes. I cannot hear anything on the stairs. I assume the way is clear." She led me out and I followed closely, my mind half on Brody. My heart hurt to think of the horrible existence poor Brody had lived through all these months. Just because Loki wanted to use him.
Sigrun checked outside before nodding the all clear. She hurried up the stairs back to the battlements where we'd landed. Sigrun glanced around while I untied the cloak and turned it back the right way. It may not provide us with total coverage, but I was happy to take what I could get.
With an eye on the stairwell, Sigrun and I rose into the air, her wings beating more frantically beneath the cloak than we had on the ascent to Mord Tower. This time the going was much faster. A few crazy moments of free fall gave my heart a jumpstart one too many times.
From above, the area around the castle seemed quiet. Nothing stirred. Strange since the place should be a hive of activity. Or at the very least, guarded. We lowered ourselves slowly and almost fell the last ten feet. The landing left a lot to be desired, our feet hitting the ground and sending shuddering impact waves into my bones.
I looked over at Joshua's and Aimee's hiding place and heaved a sigh of relief. They were safe and accompanied by Heimdall supporting Brody with a hand around his waist. Aimee and Joshua hovered around the weak boy. Sigrun and I hurried over.
Aimee's face lit up at the sight of us. Even Joshua grinned, although Brody was far too weak to do more than smile at our arrival. He did seem to have gained some energy though, which was a relief.
I paused as I noticed Heimdall staring at me, an odd expression in his eyes. "The Tarnkappe? Where did you get that?" Heimdall frowned as if about to challenge me. I almost felt sorry for him. Here I appeared out of nowhere with Gungnir and the Tarnkappe. He must be very confused as to why a mere Valkyrie was in possession of godly artifacts.
"Thor," I answered.
Heimdall grunted, scowling. He didn't pursue the line of questioning. "If we are ready, I will open the Bifrost. Having not performed an opening in a while I do not know how this attempt will affect my energies, so please, only step onto the Bridge if the opening is strong."
Heimdall made a circular motion with his hand and the air before us grew hazy, almost liquid. He nodded at us. "Let us go, Warriors." Heimdall stepped through the portal bearing his burden and disappeared.
Joshua stood beside me, sending me an encouraging smile. We were so close to the Bifrost, my nose less than an inch from entering the bridge, when a whirring sound came flying at us. It hit something with a thwack and I whirled around, expecting to find a blade or an arrow stuck in the ground somewhere.
Instead, Sigrun grunted and sagged against me.
***
Chapter 39
My blood ran icy in my veins.
As cold as the gusting air we were breathing. As icy as the snowflakes that fell at random. I held onto Sigrun as she sank to the ground. Heard the shiing of Aimee’s and Joshua’s weapons being drawn. Heard the harsh rattle of Sigrun's breath. One look at her back and my heart froze. An arrow, at least five feet long, had sunk deep into her upper back. So deep that I was sure I'd find the point jutting from her chest. But I didn't dare look. Not when we were still so vulnerable to attack.
I scanned the yard, my heart thudding, my mind focused more on how close the arrow was to Sigrun’s heart than on my surroundings. Aimee’s gasp barely penetrated my mind as I blinked and tried to concentrate but could see nothing but rocks. Giant ones and small ones. Splinters and boulders.
A light snow began to fall, and behind me, I heard the whoosh of the Bifrost closing. We were stuck in Jotunnheim now. And no way of knowing when Heimdall will return for us.
Joshua bent to swing Sigrun into his arms. "I’ll carry her. She’ll be too heavy for you." Joshua threw me a curious look then stepped back, giving me space. I swung Sigrun up in my arms and hurried behind the lean-to rock. Aimee and Joshua kept guard as we retreated to relative safety. I laid Sigrun down in a sitting position, carefully propped against the stone wall so as not to disturb the arrow but it wasn’t easy at all for her to sit with the five-foot weapon sticking out of her.
Without waiting to think about it, I gripped the arrow a hand-span from her back and broke it off. She hissed with pain but her eyes answered in gratitude as she leaned back and allowed the wall to take her weight.
"Don't touch it. Wait for me," I whispered to them, then flung the cloak at Aimee, who nodded in understanding. Aimee drew the cloak around them. Sigrun let out a slight moan and her head lolled forward. Her breathing worsened and my heart twisted with fear and worry.
I turned my attention to the castle yard, shifting closer beside Joshua. I kept my eyes trained on the rock-riddled field, watching for the slightest movement. We exchanged a glance, mine questioning. He shook his head.
Nothing.
Frustrated, I was about to ask Aimee how Sigrun was when something moved in the periphery of my vision. I stared again and just as I thought. I could see it better at the side of my vision. As if his glamor didn't work all too well on the edges of my sight.
A Jotunn stood, almost nonchalantly, between two monolithic rocks. His body, from head to toe, resembled a bunch of misshapen boulders stack
ed willy-nilly on top of each other. But only when I looked at him head-on. What he really looked like was the Brody-frost-giant who'd attacked me.
His face was narrow and long, his chin a sharp point below his mouth. Beneath eyebrows of ice-crystals, the Jotunn's blue eyes glittered, the color a strange foil for the blue veins running beneath his skin, so close to the surface they almost appeared to crawl. Snow collected on his shoulders as he approached our hideout, and all I could do was stare while my heart froze, clenched tight with fear. He came to a standstill, a smirk on his blue-hued lips. A hunter ready to take down his prey. He was far too calm for my liking.
When he lifted his arm to draw an arrow from the gigantic quiver at his back, I dashed out of our hiding place and fled with the ground trembling at the giant’s approach. I had to lead him away from the lean-to for Sigrun’s sake.
Joshua followed close on my heels as I ran, weaving in and out of the rocks and splinters. A glance over my shoulder and the shuddering of the ground confirmed he'd taken up the chase. And he didn't look too happy.
Too bad, Frostface.
An arrow slammed into a rock in front of me, shattering the point and sending devastated metal and wood twisting in the air. I kept running, avoiding another arrow just by listening for it and swerving when I thought it would hit. Beside me, Joshua did the same fleeing ballet.
I ducked behind a splintered rock, trying to catch my breath as the frost giant approached. Joshua found a nearby rock and sheathed his sword. He pulled his bow free and notched an arrow.
We’d come quite a distance, almost a third of the way around the castle. We had to keep running, had to make it back to Sigrun. Heaven knew how much time she had left.
All I wanted to do was slide to the ground and sob. My breath came in soft gasps as tears flooded my eyes.
I swear if it's the last thing I do, I will kill you, you bastard.
The giant was close, I could hear his breathing, the ragged in and out of icy breath. My fingers closed around the hilt of my sword, the other hand holding Gungnir for dear life. I met Joshua’s eyes and motioned for him to stay. Then I sped from behind the rock, straight at the giant, whacking hard at his Achilles as I flew past him. He roared his agony and his fury as I hid behind another rock a few feet away.
The Jotunn tilted over, crashing into a monolith, and though it teetered the tiniest bit, the rock stayed upright. A strong gust of wind blew across the clearing, pelting us with tiny shards of ice. I flinched as I watched Frostface lean against the stone, his face purple with anger, maybe even pain.
I watched him from between the rocks. He towered over me, the top of my head barely reaching his knee. I didn't have the ball-and-chain either, so my methods of bringing a giant to his knees were pretty limited. I had my eye on the other Achilles. Perhaps then he'd be easier to drop if he could barely walk. Still it didn't stop him from using his arrows.
I frowned as my ears met silence. Then the ground shivered.
And my heart sank.
We had company.
He'd tried and failed to keep his approach silent. His sheer size made him stealthless. A quick glance behind me confirmed a Jotunn, twin to the now-injured frost giant looming over me. I peeked around the rock and pointed out the approaching giant to Joshua who nodded and got him in his sights. Then I spun around, circling the rock and coming up behind my injured giant friend. He heard nothing since there was nothing wrong with my stealth. I slashed at his healthy Achilles and grinned coldly as I made it hurt.
The Jotunn screamed and fell to his knees, twisting around to grab hold of his new wound. When he saw me, fury darkened his eyes. He grabbed for another arrow and notched it in his bow. He aimed and let it fly. And though I ducked, I wasn't fast enough. The arrow slashed my thigh, leaving a long rip in my pants and in my flesh.
A hiss of pain passed my lips and I turned and ran. The sound of giant footsteps reverberated around me and my confidence dove to the pit of my stomach. Frostface’s reinforcements kept coming. I ducked behind a jagged rock and heard the rush of air as an arrow left Joshua’s bow. A dead silence followed, then a roar of pain and anger. I peered around my rock to nod with satisfaction at the giant who now sat upon the hard ground gingerly feeling his cheekbone. His fingers sledged around in the white pus-like liquid that leaked from his perforated eyeball.
Joshua was a crack shot.
I left him reluctantly, the need to strip the life from him so great I might have even endangered Sigrun's life had I not thought of her and Fen. I gritted my teeth. They deserved their happiness and I didn’t plan on letting anything come between them. We had to get back to Asgard and soon.
I motioned to Joshua to follow me. Keeping my feet as light as possible, I weaved between rocks, going from one to the next as carefully as I could. Soon, we made it back to Sigrun and Aimee. I was so exhausted I almost fell onto Aimee when we crashed into the space beneath the leaning rock. We hid beneath the cloak just in time.
A peek around the edge of the cloak confirmed the place swarmed with frost giants. Some larger and even uglier than Frostface. Beside me, Sigrun's skin was pale and clammy, her breathing dangerously shallow. A glistening pool of blood had collected beside her, the hard, rocky ground absorbing none of it. Aimee was as pale as Sigrun, fear dulling her eyes and tightening her jaw.
The arrow still stuck out of Sigrun’s chest and I stared at the gleaming, metal point stained with her blood. She shifted and opened her eyes, although her lack of strength was clear when she could barely lift her chin to look at me. I put a finger to my lips and her eyes went wide. We listened as the castle yard seemed to fill with guards.
My heart thudded as footsteps grew closer. They were searching for us and they were being very thorough about it. For a moment, I had a horrible thought. What if these giants were like Jack's giant from on top of the beanstalk? What if they could smell the blood of a human? I stiffened with fright, not daring to breathe as one of the searchers came close to the lean-to rock. The shifting of fabric against skin, the soughing of breath drawing too close for comfort. They paused, grunted, then moved away, satisfied the space was unoccupied.
Slowly, the tumult died down and the footsteps lessened. I peeked out carefully. "They're sending small groups off in different directions," reported Joshua who’d remained closer to the entrance of our hideout. "No doubt they're going to leave no stone unturned looking for us."
"Which means it will be so much more difficult to get out of here." Sigrun almost sobbed the words out, wincing as she was forced to breathe deeper to speak.
"Maybe if we wait for Heimdall he’ll come back for us?" Aimee suggested, her expression hopeful. Not certain but hopeful. I wasn’t so sure, but I didn’t want to dash her hopes, so I eyed the area that would provide entrance to the Bifrost, almost willing the bridge to open.
The longer we waited in the gusting wind and the perpetually falling snow, the greater risk there was to Sigrun’s health. We didn’t have the luxury of waiting around.
"They’re all gone," Joshua said, keeping his tone hushed. "We should make our way to the horses. They’ll get us to the entrance quickly enough." His eyes never left the yard.
Sigrun's face fell and she swallowed hard, struggling to remain propped up against the stone wall. "I will never make it that far." Her eyes seemed to roll up in her head and I sucked in a breath. I couldn’t let her slip into unconsciousness. Not now when we were so close to our chance to leave this place alive.
I rubbed her upper arm and shifted closer to offer her my warmth. The dragon's eye burned within the pocket of my coat and I withdrew it. "Don't worry. We won’t need to go all that way at all. Let's just hope that Tyra comes for us soon." We stared at the amber ball gleaming in the middle of my palm.
Gripping it hard within my fist I began to run my thumb over it. To call the dragon matriarch to me.
Sigrun nodded, wet strands of hair stuck to her forehead. I touched her skin and almost gasped. I didn’t want to worry
her; I was plenty worried myself. Her skin burned like a furnace. I frowned but quickly replaced the expression with a soft smile as Sigrun looked at my face.
She returned my smile with a sad and tender one of her own. "Bryn, you do not have to pretend with me. I know I am dying. I can feel it inside my body. The poison in the arrow is slowly weakening me."
"No, don’t say that," Aimee whispered.
"Sigrun, you'll be fine. As soon as we get you home, we can fix you. Don't give up," I urged her. I didn't think I could handle it if she gave up. As it was, the bleak expression on Aimee’s face was enough to make me cry.
"It is not a question of giving up, my friends. It is merely the reality. The Jotunn are dangerous because they are also intelligent. They are smart enough to lace the tips of their weapons with poison." Sigrun pointed at my wound. "You will soon feel the effects too, although much milder as the arrowhead had not penetrated your body. This arrowhead, on the other hand, had all the opportunity to deliver its venom as it passed through my body."
I stared at the wound, worried. What if the poison slows me down and I can't help take care of Sigrun?
It seemed she heard my thoughts or perhaps sensed my dread. "Maybe you should leave me behind. I am just a burden now. This poison is too powerful. And soon I will be dead."
My jaw dropped and I exchanged horrified glances with Aimee and Joshua. "Sigrun, that's just about the stupidest thing I have ever heard anyone say. I brought Mika home to Asgard even when she tried to kill me. Do you really think I will leave you behind?" Terror and anger mixed within my blood. How could she think I would ever leave her behind?
And what made her think that I should. Was she really dying?
The mere thought was too terrifying to bear. What would I do without Sigrun? And Fen? My heart twisted thinking about Fen. Fen who had wanted to come with us. Had he had a premonition of sorts? How would he feel if we did lose Sigrun?
I shook the thought from my head. No. I refused to think about losing her. It wasn't going to happen. We were going to get her back to Asgard and then Eir would make her better.
