CHAPTER 11
Andromeda's scream was like knives in Henry's ears. The enemy soldiers grabbed their heads. An azure glow crept up Andromeda's arms and spread out into her torso. She screamed again, but it abruptly cut off as she fell unconscious. Henry managed to pick up his sword and hold it awkwardly in his left hand. He couldn't feel his right one, and one glance told him most of his fingers had been broken. The enemy soldiers slowly got to their feet. One picked up Andromeda's limp form. Henry tried to go after him, but two swordsmen engaged him and effortlessly fended off his attacks. The one holding Andromeda sneered and carried her out of the cave, followed by three others, leaving only the two fighting Henry. The magic sword allowed him to deliver strong blows, but the men he was fighting were equally strong, and they had the advantage of not being beaten half to death. They hacked at him. Every stroke he caught on his sword sent a jolt of pain up his arm. He couldn't last much longer.
They came at him from two sides. He could catch one but not both. He turned his back on one to parry the other attack, not wanting to see the blow that would end his life. A figure leapt out of the shadows, moving impossibly fast, too fast for him to get a good look. As the enemy's sword clashed with his, the blurred figure crashed into the warrior at Henry's back. Henry's sword was torn from his grasp, and a loud crack sounded behind him. Before he could react, Duneyrr dashed forward and slammed its front hooves into the man, knocking him off his feet. Again and again, the stag rained down blows on the soldier, its cloven hooves tearing holes in his flesh. After a few seconds, he stopped moving. Henry turned to the man behind him and saw him on the ground, unmoving with his neck twisted at an odd angle.
"Andromeda," Henry said.
He scooped up his sword and shambled out of the cave. Pain lanced through his chest, and sweat burned as it mixed into his wounds. It was all he could do to remain standing. He saw no sign of Andromeda. He pushed through the pain and forced himself to take a step forward. Then another. By the time he reached the tree, all he felt was pain. He laid a hand against Yggdrasil, but blood slickened his grip, and he fell, banging his head against a knot of wood. The world spun around him and faded into darkness.
CHAPTER 12
Henry woke to leaves tickling his face. He tried to sit up, but the pain brought tears to his eyes. He didn't know how long he lay there, unable to move. Eventually, Duneyrr came back with a leafy branch in its mouth. It looked into Henry's eyes and inclined its head before laying the branch on Henry's head so that its leaves blocked most of his vision. Henry couldn't shake the feeling that he was being buried, but he lacked the strength to do anything about it. The nearby leaves rustled, and the stag darted out of Henry's sight. It took him a second to recognize the sound of footsteps. He craned his neck and could just make out about two dozen human shapes coming to a stop a dozen feet away. There were too many leaves in his face for him to see any details, and he didn't dare move them out of his way for fear he'd reveal himself to a potential enemy.
"Why did you take the girl?" a woman with a voice like honey asked.
"She drank from the well, Idun," an elderly man said. "Few enough have done that to make every one valuable."
Idun sniffed. "I will send some of my people to guard her."
"There is no need," the man said.
"It was not a request, Old Man," she spat.
"I was only offering a suggestion."
"Do not presume to give me advice. You have no greater wisdom than I."
"You drank from the well, but you do not know the charms."
Laughter rang in the air, and half a dozen other voices murmured. "Oh yes, your precious charms. You've had those from nearly the beginning, and what have you done with them? Nothing. Under my rule, we'll conquer all the words."
"This war is not won yet, Idun."
"It's only a matter of time. What happened to the boy?"
"Can't you see?"
"Something's hiding him." Silence stretched on. "Or someone."
"Don't be ridiculous, Idun. How could I hide something from someone who's drank from the well?"
"Continue to find the paths to other realms. I want the dwarves conquered." Other voices spoke up, but they were cut off by Idun's shout. "I have spoken."
One of the figures moved away from the others and out of Henry's sight. The others grumbled for a while before following. The last one stopped a few feet from Henry and laid his hand on the tree.
"I hung from you with a spear in my side for nine days, old friend," the voice of the man who'd been arguing with Idun said. "Eighteen charms I learned during that time which are known by neither man nor gods." The figure shifted, and Henry had the sense that it was looking at him. "The first can give help in times of strife and anguish."
It waved its hand with a finger extended, leaving a trail of light that faded a second later. The figure began walking away. Henry almost tried to call after him, but warmth blossomed in his chest and spread throughout his body. Pain receded, and strength flowed into his limbs replacing the fatigue. He pushed the branches off of himself and stood up, but the strange figure was gone.
CHAPTER 13
"It's the talking human."
The high-pitched voice of the squirrel trickled down from the branches. Henry looked up just as a grey ball of fur streaked to the ground and stopped in front of him.
"And it's the talking squirrel," Henry said.
"You did really good at not talking earlier. That wouldn't have turned out well."
"Were those the gods?"
"Of course. Who else holds their meetings in the shadow of Yggdrasil?"
"And the last one who left. Who was that?"
"Odin. Who else?"
"He healed me."
"Oh, he does those things sometimes."
"But why would he help me? Doesn't he work for Idun?"
The squirrel let out a series of squeaks, and it took Henry a second to realize the little animal was laughing. The sound tickled him, and he found himself joining in a moment later.
"Weren't you listening?" the squirrel asked as it picked a nut off the ground. His teeth cracked the shell and he shoved a piece into his mouth. "Odin submits to no one save Odin."
"It sure seemed like he was submitting to me."
"Idun thinks that too, but I've been watching their meetings as long as they've been having them. Trust me. Odin is working his own plan."
"You've been watching them?"
"Yes."
"Did you see the ones who took Andromeda?"
"Yes, I saw them. They passed me when I was coming back out of the cave."
"What cave?"
"I'll show you."
The squirrel darted across the ground, and Henry rushed to follow. Once, he tripped over a root, but the squirrel stopped, jumping around as if impatient for Henry to get up. He scrambled to his feet and chased the rodent. A minute later, they came to a tunnel in the ground. A thick root extended into it and followed it for long as Henry could see, no doubt terminating in another world.
"You're sure they went down there?"
"Of course. I told you, they walked passed me, and I go down that tunnel every day. I know how to find it."
"Is there anything dangerous in there?"
"I told you, I go down it every day."
"I mean something more dangerous than you."
The squirrel laid its head against the ground and looked up at him. "I'm not really that dangerous. Besides, I wasn't talking about..." It raised its head, and its tiny eyes went wide. "You don't know who I am, do you?"
"No, should I?"
The squirrel stood on two legs and puffed out its chest. It managed to look slightly offended, and it was all Henry could do to hold in his laughter.
"I should say so. I'm Ratatoskr."
Henry stared at him and pursed his lips. Ratatoskr scurried up a low hanging branch and ran along the limbs until he stood right above Henry. He chittered angrily.
"Don't you talking humans k
now anything? Every day, I carry insults between the eagle that lives at the top of the tree and the dragon that lives at its roots."
Henry stared at the rodent for several seconds.
"The dragon," he said flatly. "You mean after everything, I still have to fight the dragon."
"You can't cross Bifrost. Even if you could, you'd have to go through Asgard to get to Midgard. I really don't think you want to go to the home of the gods, and I only know one other way to get to Midgard. That's where they took her."
"What about the valley? The one that Thor crosses?"
"The valley leads from here to Asgard and from Asgard to Midgard. You'll not find Asgard's borders unguarded in the middle of a war."
Henry considered for a second, but there wasn't really a choice. Andromeda had done it for him. She'd drunk from the Well of Mimir because he hadn't been able to. Whatever price the Oracle had demanded of her had to be at least as much as it had asked of him, but she'd drank, and now she'd been taken. If the only way to get her back was to fight a dragon, that's what he would do.
"Alright," he said. "Let's go."
CHAPTER 14
Unlike the tunnel containing Mimir's well, the heat here pressed against him, and he was aware of it even through the protection of the cloak. Within a few seconds of crossing the cave entrance, he was drenched in sweat. He wrapped his cloak around himself, trusting its mystical origin to protect him, but if it did anything to help, he couldn't tell. Yggdrasil's root wound around the tunnel which had transformed from dirt to smooth black glass. Every footstep sounded like it echoed forever, and Henry held his shield forward, ready to deflect any fire the dragon sent against him. Ratatoskr danced around him like he was having the time of his life. He kept throwing ridiculous suggestions at Henry, everything from saying he should just try being nice, to throwing acorns at the dragon's head. To be fair, when Henry pointed out that there were no acorns in the tunnel, the squirrel concluded that it was probably a bad idea.
Once, the ground started to shake. Henry reached for the wall, but there was nothing to grip, and his feet flew out from under him. His sword cut a gash in the ground, and he cut his hand on the edge when he stood up.
"What was that?" Henry asked.
"The dragon. He was probably growling or something."
"Ratatoskr, just how big is this thing?"
"Bigger than you."
Henry rolled his eyes. "I figured that. How much bigger?"
The squirrel stopped its skittering and looked Henry up and down. His tail flitted around sending up a thin cloud of dust and ash.
"You could probably fit in its mouth." It chittered for a second. "Maybe not, probably everything but your head. He doesn't like eating food whole anyway."
"Well, thanks. That's a pleasant thought. Is there any chance I can slip by him?"
"Not unless you can turn invisible." He paused and cocked his head. "Can you?"
"How many humans do you know who can turn invisible?"
"Well, I don't really know that many humans."
Henry sighed. "No, I can't turn invisible."
"Then, you're going to have to fight him. How sharp is your sword?"
Henry tapped it on the edge of the rent in the black glass. "Pretty sharp. Why?"
The squirrel looked away. "It's just that I forgot to tell you that the dragon's scales are stronger than steel."
Henry gave him a level look. "That's an important thing to forget."
"Sorry," the squirrel said. "I've never tried to kill him, so I forget all the things you need to know to do that."
"Anything else you're forgetting?"
Ratatoskr paused and looked at him. He scurried from one side of the tunnel to the other, making a clinking sound as he ran across the obsidian floor. He lost his footing and slid into the wall. Henry held down a laugh. The squirrel got up and leapt onto Yggdrasil's root, which was running along the wall.
"Did I tell you he breathes fire?"
"It's a dragon. I figured that part out on my own."
"I don't know why you're getting so mad at me," Ratatoskr grumbled. "All I'm trying to do is help."
Henry let out a long breath. "Sorry. I get a little nervous when I'm going to fight a monster."
Ahead, an orange glow filled the tunnel and died down a second later. Henry's throat went dry, and his knuckles went white around the hilt of his sword.
"Why don't you go first?" Henry asked. "The dragon knows you. Maybe you can distract him or something."
"For a hero, you're not very brave."
"Just tell him you have more insults from that eagle."
"He'll ask what they are. What do I tell him?"
Henry raised an eyebrow. "How long have you been carrying insults between those two?"
"Since the beginning of time."
"And after all that time, you can't make up a realistic sounding insult?"
"I can try."
"You do that. When you have his attention, I'll come in. Hopefully, I can take him down before he knows I'm there."
The rodent squeaked and disappeared down the hall. Henry waited a few seconds before creeping after him, but the ground rumbled again. This time, he was able to get a grip on Yggdrasil's root and kept his footing. He moved a little closer and was able to make out the voices.
"Why do you persist in this?" A deep rumbling voice made a tremor Henry could barely feel. "It is obvious the eagle did not send you."
"He said your mother was a worm." The squirrel's quick words contrasted with the slow speech of the dragon.
"I was born of the primordial ice even as he was, and you, for that matter, little friend."
"Yes, well, he said you smell."
"Did he, now?"
Henry rolled his eyes and held his sword and shield ready. He took a step and almost slipped on the obsidian ground. The coin he'd stepped on rolled away, and he was surprised he hadn't noticed the scattered pieces of gold and gemstones lying around. There seemed to be more as he neared the bend in the tunnel. He paused for a second to compose himself. Then, he stepped around the corner and found himself staring at the dragon that lay at the root of the tree at the center of the world.
It lay on a mountain of gold and silver. Other treasure littered the ground, but Henry's eyes were drawn to the beast itself. Four thick, muscular legs rose out of the treasure like tree trunks sprouting from a gold-strewn hill. Scales the color of desert sand covered its underbelly. On its body, they became an avalanche of dark gravel, climbing down its serpentine tail, which lashed around and knocked down piles of gold coins. It had no wings, but skeletal ridges ran up its long neck. Its eyes were a solid shade of grey, and Henry didn't even have time to raise his weapon before that deadly, empty gaze fell upon him. A forked tongue flickered out from between razor sharp teeth. Henry saw Ratatoskr had been wrong. Even with his head, he'd have no trouble fitting into those massive jaws. A rumbling that shook the whole cavern erupted from the dragon's stomach.
"Well now," the dragon said in a voice that sent chills running down Henry's spine. "Ratatoskr, have you brought me a snack?"
"Ummm...Yes," the squirrel said. "Are you surprised?"
"Very," it said and turned to look at Henry.
Its toothy grin forced Henry back a step. Ratatoskr looked at him and smiled before making a chopping motion with his tiny hand. Henry waved his sword in a manner he hoped looked threatening, but the dragon only laughed.
"What exactly do you intend to do with that, my little morsel?"
"I don't want to fight you," Henry said. "Just let me past, and no one has to get hurt."
"Only one of us will be getting hurt here, and I very much doubt it'll be me."
The dragon stood, and coins tumbled off its feet revealing claws the same color as charred wood. It moved faster than he would've believed possible. The cavern trembled at its charge, shaking so hard that Henry was thrown to the ground. It was the only thing that saved him. An instant later, the dragon's clawed hand slammed d
own the spot he'd been standing, sending coins flying. He scrambled to his feet just in time to avoid the dragon lunging with its other hand. Henry lashed out with his sword, and the tip of the dragon's finger came off, claw and all. The dragon roared and recoiled, bringing its bleeding hand to its face.
"You little worm!" it bellowed. "I'll kill you for this!"
Henry had only a second's warning. An orange glow appeared in its mouth, and he raised his shield. The sheer force behind the fiery blast drove Henry back several steps. It was so hot, and for a moment, the fire continued to beat against the shield, but Hephaestus' power held, and the flame turned back and created a firestorm around the dragon's head. The obsidian wall behind the beast became molten slag, and dripped onto its tail, but the dragon seemed not to notice. Smoke drifted up from its nostrils.
"Interesting." Its voice made Henry's skin crawl. "I'd thought you'd only provide a bit of entertainment before a snack, but now it seems I'll have a new treasure to add to my horde. It's been centuries since I've seen anything like that shield."
Too late, Henry realized it was a distraction. The dragon's tail slammed into his back. He stumbled forward, and the beast brought its good hand down, not onto him but the top of his shield. For a second, he thought his arm would be ripped from its socket, but the leather strap attaching the shield snapped and the shield crashed into the ground, embedding itself halfway in. Henry tugged at it once, but had to throw himself to one side to avoid the dragon's strike. Hot blood from the severed finger sprayed on his face, blinding him. He coughed, and an instant later, the air was driven out of him as the dragon's hand forced him to the ground and held him there.
"You hurt me, little human. No one's done that in a long time, but it's time our little game ended."
Mimir's Well (The Oracles of Kurnugi Book 3) Page 5
