by Judith Post
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Audunn’s daughter crossed the meadow and entered the village gates, carrying a large bag filled with walnuts from the trees near their farm. She made her way to the market for trading day. Once she’d sold her stock, she went to the village well to drink. As the sun sank, she slipped into the staples, tapped at a back door of Griswold’s longhouse, and the chieftain opened the entrance to his private chambers to summon her inside. As she entered, she dropped her child’s guise to become Heid. Smiling, she walked into Griswold’s embrace.
The last of the runes’ visions faded, and the room was silent.
Finally, Tyr asked, "How could Griswold work with Heid so long without our knowing?"
Freya shook her head. "Until Diana’s wafers, Heid could take on the guise of anyone we know. She'd trade in the market, then shift to slip into Griswold's bed."
"But why?" Inga asked. "Why would she bother with him?"
Tyr’s voice was harsh. “Because she has a spy and a traitor who lives in our meadow.”
Hlif’s knees gave and she sank onto the chieftain’s bed. "I’ve hated Griswold for centuries, how he treats his people, how he uses women. If I had known he killed my mother…”
Freya placed a hand on Hlif’s shoulder. “I’m guessing Heid placed many protection spells on him.”
“Many times, I've dreamt of killing him to be rid of his foul breath, his clumsy body, but if I tried and failed, I'd die. A risk worth taking, but so would my children and grandchildren. I’d never endanger them."
Diana frowned. “But they’re free, independent of you, and protected by Norse
laws.”
Hlif snorted. "The chieftain cares little for trifles like rules! Look at what happened to Inga and Vigdis. Who do you think set the fire that burned Snorri’s house?"
"Did you try to poison him?" Freya asked.
If she did, Diana couldn't blame her. She knew the chieftain too well. But Hlif shook her head. "With ghoul pox? Where would I get it? And why would I kill people I care for with a plague? If I decided to dispose of my chieftain, he—and only he—would be dead."
"Griswold gave it to himself." Diana was certain of it now. "Then he took the antidote Heid gave him.”
Tyr shook his head. “Why would he want to kill every man, woman, and child in the village? He’d have nothing, no one.”
Diana sighed. “No one outside of Griswold’s longhouse died. He never intended them to. Somehow, Heid contained the pox to his household, so that Griswold could quarantine it, then stagger into the courtyard to survive.”
“But his wife…” Jorunda swallowed hard. “His people loved her.”
“Peta said that she was wise for her years and loved her people. She must have begun to suspect him of treachery. Plus, every warrior would die. The runes said if the village fell, so would the meadow. He'd hand Heid victory without a battle."
Freya nodded. "A clever ploy. It made him look like a victim rather than a villain."
Tyr's lips pressed together in a grim line. "It was Griswold who stumbled against the warrior who wounded Jon. He sent Jorunda out to hunt, knowing Heid's witches waited for him. Let's find our chieftain."
They left the room together and marched to Griswold's chambers, but he wasn't there. They searched the longhouse, asking after him. Servants had caught glimpses of him, but no one knew where he was at the moment.
"When I saw him, he was walking toward the gardens," a milkmaid told them.
"The well!" Tyr hurried past huts and dwellings until he reached the center of the village. He was staring into the clear waters when the others caught up with him.
"Is it safe?" Jorunda asked.
Tyr gave a last sniff. "It seems all right."
A young boy walked toward them, dragging a hoe behind him. "Do you want water? I'll pull the bucket for you."
Freya sent him a warm smile. "We're looking for your chieftain. We thought he was here, but we must have missed him."
"He came early this morning, before I finished my porridge. I watched him walk back toward his longhouse."
"We thank you," Jorunda said. And they returned the way they'd come.
They began asking for Griswold's whereabouts the minute they entered the courtyard until one of the stablemen said, "I saw him saddling his horse. He didn’t call for one of us to help him."
They went to the stables. Griswold's horse was missing, but no one was about. Finally, Tyr called to the guards on the fence, "Have you seen Griswold?"
"He left the village on his war horse. He had us open the gates for him and told us to send reinforcements if he didn't return before high noon."
Tyr grunted. "Another trap. He'll run to Heid, and she'll slaughter the warriors when they rush to his rescue."
Freya turned on her heel and started to the village square. "We need to call a town meeting. I want everyone to know what's happened. We're all in this together. No one else can be deceived."
Tyr nodded agreement and hurried after her. He went to the big, heavy bell outside the stable and rang it until people came running. "Gather everyone. We need to talk."
Chapter 31
When everyone gathered, Freya motioned for Tyr to speak.
"Your chieftain's betrayed us," he said. "He's worked against us a long time." He explained how Hlif's mother was killed in battle and talked about the death of all other witches before they came to the meadow. "A witch would see Heid's tricks. She'd catch Griswold at his game." He told them about the many attempts to kill the warriors and how Griswold used the ghoul pox to try to destroy them. "He escaped this morning," Tyr said. "He cannot be allowed back inside the gates. He's a traitor who works with Heid. He's gone to her."
Olaf's wife worked her way to the front of the crowd. "Did you see my husband at the stables? Griswold sent for him at sunrise."
Brandr came to stand beside her. "The chieftain asked us to deliver the shields we'd finished."
Diana's breath caught. She could feel her heart pounding. "Did you go with Olaf?"
Brandr nodded. "Griswold was pleased with our work. He sent me home, but asked to speak with Olaf further."
"And he never returned to the shop?" Diana asked.
"No." Brandr licked his lips, worried.
A guard said, "Olaf left the village to visit the giants camped in the meadow. He said that Griswold admired the shields the gods sent them and wanted him to study them to make more like them."
"Was this before or after Griswold left?" Tyr asked.
"After."
Goosebumps formed on Diana's arms. Griswold could have met with Heid or one of her witches by the time Olaf left the village.
"We'll go to the giants then." Tyr started for the gates. "All mortals stay here and shut the gates behind us. Take no chances. If Griswold returns and demands entrance, don't allow him passage."
Diana and Freya half ran to keep up as Tyr stalked across the meadow. When they reached the giants' camp, only Ormr and Asdis were awake. Ormr saluted them. "It's early morning. We heard your bell. It woke us. Is everything all right?"
"Griswold's our traitor. He escaped before we could take him. He sent Olaf to your camp. Have you seen the dwarf?"
Asdis shook her head. "We only woke when the bell rang. Olaf wasn't here."
Diana's eyes searched the clearing. Nothing in sight. Worry wormed through her veins. A knot tightened in her throat. She went to the wolf den. "Friends," she called. "I need your help."
The wolf who shifted stuck his muzzle into the morning air. He came forward and sat on his haunches, waiting.
"Griswold betrayed us. He tricked Olaf and sent him on an errand. The dwarf's life is in danger. Can you help me track him?"
The wolf sniffed the ground until he found the dwarf's scent, then he set off at a run. Diana and Freya raced after him. "Stay here," Diana called to Tyr. "Protect the village."
He nodded and stayed.
Olaf had followed the stream to the tree line, then his scent disappeared int
o the woods. Diana had no idea what Griswold told him, but once he was out of sight of the village, she knew the dwarf was in trouble. It didn't take long before the wolf stopped and sniffed in a slow circle. He stalked back and forth, looking for a scent. Diana and Freya waited impatiently. Every second mattered. Each minute felt like an eternity. Finally, the wolf shifted into his boy form. "Others waited here, three of the witches who held us in the cave you rescued us from. Their scent is evil. Olaf's trail stops too. They didn't walk any farther."
"They grabbed him and took him to their cave. They used runes to transport." Diana's voice sounded flat, even to her own ears.
"We've been there. We can go again." Freya's hand went to her short sword. "I can't just sit here and do nothing. Olaf would be safe if he hadn't helped us."
"They'll be ready for us this time."
Freya turned to the boy. "Go to the camp. Tell Tyr what's happened. Tell him we're going after Olaf."
"Don't do it." The boy's voice shook with fear. "Heid will trap you. You won't make it back."
"We have to try." But even as she said it, Diana realized whose body she'd seen in the runes' visions—the person who'd given them a gift and was betrayed. They had to try, but she knew they weren't going to rescue Olaf.
The boy gave a quick nod, then raced away, as though he meant to reach Tyr fast enough for the sky god to stop them from going.
"Shift," Diana told Freya. "You have seidr magic. Use it. Turn into something Heid won't notice."
"Like what?"
"Make yourself into something that will fit in my hand." Diana chanted her obscuring spell and disappeared from sight. Immediately, a small lizard nestled in her fist. Diana touched her other hand to the runes in her pocket. "Take me somewhere near the cave, some place safe."
Air rushed past them, and Diana found herself on a high branch in an oak tree, Heid’s cave entrance close by. Leaves surrounded her, blocking her from view. She opened her fingers to let Freya see. They heard no voices, no shuffle of movements. "They’re hiding," Freya whispered. “Maybe it’s a trap.” She scurried up Diana's arm to perch on her shoulder.
"Let's get closer." Diana called a wind to settle them to the ground. She ran from one tree to the next, thinking each time someone might notice them. Finally, she was forced into the open. No one should be able to see her, but they might feel her magic. They'd be watching and waiting, expecting her. She hurried up the rocky ledge and dipped inside the cave's opening. No one was there.
Diana concentrated. "There's no hum of magic. No obscuring spells. No witches hiding. The cave's empty."
"No traps?"
"Nothing."
Freya shifted into her natural form. She turned in a slow circle. Her eyes focused on a lone, leather boot. "Olaf was here."
Tears of frustration burned Diana's eyes. "They've made rune portals from one place to another. Without a trail, something to aim for, we can't follow them."
"But we have our runes." Freya pulled the cord at her neck to touch the linen pouch. "We can do a reading to find him." She returned the pouch to her ample cleavage. "Better yet, use your runes. You have stronger magic than I do."
Diana dug her pouch from her jeans pocket. She squatted to toss the carved bones. Several landed, face up, but when she went to read them, their images blurred. Their music stopped.
Freya frowned. "What's wrong with them?"
"Heid's blocked our magic. She's cast a protective spell around herself and her witches. She won't let us use our runes to trace her magic."
"Do you do that?"
"Always. No one can follow my runes. They can't follow yours or Inga's either."
"Damn it to Hel!" Freya began to pace. "You're the mistress of witches! Do something!"
"Find me something of Heid's."
They both started scrambling about the cave. There were mounds of straw with furs tossed over them for the witches to sleep on. Diana inhaled deeply. "This one was hers." She gripped a bear skin and muttered chants until the walls of the cave shimmered. They seemed to melt away until a forest with towering trees surrounded them. Hills rose in the distance, dotted with caves. Giants came and went from them.
A cluster of witches and giants circled someone near a slow-moving river.
"Show us," Diana whispered.
The vision wove between massive legs and arms. Griswold stood before Olaf. The chieftain's posture was angry. He pointed at a pile of thin metals. "You made shields for them. Make shields for us!" he shouted.
The dwarf folded his arms across his chest. "No."
Griswold's slap rang against the cave's walls. "Combine your magic with Heid's."
"Jorunda and Jon's shields were formed from Asgaard silver, laced with Freya's and Diana's powers. Yours would be cheap copies."
"But strong enough to withstand Asdis and her friends' pitiful efforts. Do as you're told." Heid's voice cut through the clatter of shuffling feet and the giants' low grumbles.
"No."
Heid's hot energy hit Olaf so hard, it knocked him backwards. He hit his head with enough force, it knocked him out.
"Look what you did!" Griswold complained. "He can't work now."
Heid shrugged. "He needs some convincing."
Griswold grimaced at the pile of rocks that giants had dragged together. Dried wood lay scattered in their center. "Surely you can make a better forge than this."
Heid nodded. "Be at it, and do a better job, or it's your hides next."
Giants shuffled forward and set to work.
The image faded, and Diana turned to Freya. "Do you know this place? Take me there!"
"It's Giantland."
"A specific spot? There's a river. We can follow it."
"No." Freya turned away from her. She stood silently.
Diana put a hand on Freya's shoulder. "How can we help Olaf?"
"We can't." The words sounded tight, strangled.
"Olaf won't make the shields. They'll kill him."
"I know."
Diana waited. She could tell how hard this decision was for Freya. "Perhaps Olaf will start to work to stall for time, so that we can get to him."
"He won't. You've met him. He always does what he thinks is right."
"If he stalls, though…"
"A Greek strategy. Of no use now. We can't go to Giantland. Olaf knows that. The giants who live in the caves are indifferent to our battle, but if we invade their lands, they'll join with Heid. We won't leave with Olaf anyway."
Diana sighed. "The vision. The broken body lying in the field. It's Olaf's."
Freya wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. "It's our fault."
Diana nodded. She gripped Freya's hand. "There's nothing we can do. Let's return to the village. They might need us."
The journey back took only seconds. They landed in the meadow, just outside the gates, and Tyr rushed to greet them.
"Have you no sense at all?" He gripped Diana’s shoulders and shook her. "How can we defeat Heid without your magic? And what would I do if I lost you?"
His words comforted her. Diana gave a small smile. "I love you, too," she said.
Tyr blinked. Color drained from his face. "No Olaf?"
"They moved him. He's in Giantland."
"The vision." Tyr had come to the same conclusion she had.
Freya nodded. "His gifts to us cost him his life."
The three gods turned as one to enter the village gates.
Chapter 32
The three of them went straight to Olaf's smith shop. His wife, Groa, came to the front stoop to meet them. She glanced inside at her children and shut the longhouse's door. "You've come with bad news, I can tell." She sat on the step to hear it.
They sank down beside her. Freya was the one who explained about Griswold's trick and told her that Heid had taken Olaf to Giantland.
"You two followed his trail to Heid's cave?" Groa asked in wonder.
"We found a personal item of Heid's," Freya said. "We meant to follow her
again until we saw the vision."
Groa closed her eyes against the picture Freya had painted. "You've done more than anyone would expect. You can't go to Giantland. It wouldn't save him."
Diana bit her bottom lip. These people were so practical! How did they do it? "I was hoping he'd fake making a shield to buy some time," she said.
Groa shook her head. "Olaf would never do that. It goes against everything he believes in."
Diana didn't see what was so wrong with the idea. She could make an obscuring spell to end all spells and try to sneak the dwarf away from his captors somehow. Maybe she could shift him into something small, something she could carry with her.
Groa studied her face and put a hand over hers. "This isn't your fault. Olaf would have made weapons to help the warriors anyway, whether you asked him to or not."
"But the shields were my idea."
"He and Brandr were already talking about making some. Theirs wouldn't have been as strong and useful, but enough to anger Griswold."
There was a noise, and they looked up to see Brandr standing at the side of the shed, a smithing hammer in his hand. Diana wanted to hug him to her. The poor boy looked miserable.
Groa motioned for him to join them. "You heard?"
Brandr nodded. "I should have tried to talk Olaf out of it."
"It wouldn't have worked." Groa sighed and glanced inside her longhouse. Two, young children were peering out at them.
"Don't worry," Brandr told her. "I've learned well. I can run the shop and care for the family."
