"Without me," Nagga said, "Nephtalie will not be able to convince my brother to release his tail."
"And she'll come after my people. Do you know a way to stop them, Nagga, apart from the Kraken?"
"I do not. Perhaps, I must submit to Odin after all. For the sake of my children."
I shook my head. "Don't even think about it, Nagga. Like I said, let me talk to old gods. There has to be another way."
"When it comes to children," Nammu said. "There is nothing a parent won't do to see they are safe."
"About that," I said. "There's something I need to tell you, Nammu."
"What is it, La Sirene?"
"As I was fleeing the fleet," I clenched my fist in frustration thinking about it, "Enki and Cleo were taken."
Nammu's head fell a little. "This only strengthens my resolve. As I said, a parent would do anything for my children. And I know, as a mother who understands, you'll do whatever you can to save them as well. I have faith in you, La Sirene."
"I will help you," Nagga said. "For the sake of our children and your son."
Nammu nuzzled Nagga. "Thank you, my love."
"And I hate to say this, Nammu, but there's still one more thing I need to ask your help with," I said.
"What's that?" Nammu asked.
"When we return to earth, I will be in my human form. As a vampire. Before Legba brought me here, I was about to bite someone..."
"In that case, La Sirene, I must apologize to you in advance."
"For what?"
"For how I may have to stop you. Do not worry, La Sirene. I will not allow you to bite the human."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
I CLIMBED ON Nammu's back. She and Nagga spread their wings. We flew down the road that Legba said would return us to earth. When the world around us disappeared, I braced myself for the inevitable... for the craving...
I found myself standing, again, in the sand, with the man I was about to feed on staring back at me in horror. I couldn't stop myself. I lowered my mouth to his neck.
Then my whole body was ripped away from him. Wherever I was, it was dark and wet.
Had Nammu eaten me? What the hell... No wonder she apologized in advance.
I clawed against the roof of her mouth. I still wanted to feed. I needed to feed. I bit her tongue.
Then I went flying out of her mouth. She spat me out.
I heard screams all around as I crashed into the sand. I wasn't sure if the people were screaming because of me or on account of the two dragons that had likely appeared out of thin air. Probably both. Poor humans. They'd need some therapy. Hopefully, none of them got any pictures. If they did, well, whatever. Most people would blame it on Photoshop.
I jumped to my feet and took off after the humans.
With a swipe of her tail, Nammu knocked me off of my feet.
You can return to your mermaid form, La Sirene...
I grunted. "I don't know. I want to, but..."
It is who you are. It is what you want to become.
I nodded and tried to focus my mind. Hard to do when the only thing my body wanted was blood. But I did it. As I did, though, I released the magic inside of me—the power of Valhalla. I didn't mean to, but when I let myself return to my mermaid shape, it was like I just couldn't hold onto it anymore.
A shower of gold blasted out of my body as I laid there in the sand. It's hard to stand, in any sense, with a tail.
A large man with muscles on top of his muscles, long blond hair, and a scraggly beard appeared. He held a large hammer in his hand—it coursed with electricity, bolts of lightning dancing around the handle and stone.
"Thor?" I asked.
"I've come for Nagga."
I turned over to my butt as Thor extended his hand. I took it, and he helped me up. I couldn't walk well—maybe I could hop a little, but with my tail tucked beneath me, I was able to stay upright.
I looked at Nagga—he stood there, each of his dragon feet as tall as me. He towered above us like a skyscraper.
"He's alive again," I said. "And no longer poses a threat to the earth."
"Even so," Thor said. "My father wants me to deliver him to Valhalla."
"But he can now live up to his original purpose. Your father was one of the original gods, the ones who first called him and his brother from the void. They did that so he could protect the sea. And now, he's needed more than ever."
Thor reached into something like a fanny pack—apparently, the old gods were not as old as I expected. Who would have thought that they came from the nineteen nineties? Thor pulled the Totem of Hafgufa from it. It was hewn from stone and was maybe eight inches long. It was slender with several engravings, presumably nordic runes, decorating its surface. "I cannot give you this if I do not take Nagga to Valhalla."
Then join us, Son of Odin. Nammu said.
Thor turned to her. Apparently, he could hear her as I could. "Join you?"
Let us ride together, Nagga said. As we did in the days of old.
Thor scratched the back of his head—his bicep flexed as he raised his arm. I couldn't believe it, but holy hell, Chris Hemsworth was sexy as he was didn't hold a candle to the real thing. "This battle happens under the sea, does it not?"
I nodded. "It does."
"I cannot call lightning from the sea," Thor said. "My powers will be limited."
I shrugged. "But you still have your hammer. And you have the totem. All your father said was that you couldn't give it to me. He didn't say you couldn't use it yourself."
"A loophole?" Thor asked. "My father does not take kindly to deception."
Join us, Nagga said. And if we succeed, I will go with you to Valhalla.
Nagga, no! Nammu cried.
It must be done, beloved. For the sake of our children.
"This is not unacceptable," Thor said. "You still eat krakens, do you not, Nagga?"
Nagga laughed. It has been a while. But if I must...
"Wait," I said. "If the Kraken dies, if Nagga eats it, then all is well, right? Surely that would change the terms of my agreement with Odin."
I am not offering myself as a part of your agreement, Nagga said. If this world can be saved for my children, I am going willingly.
"But your kids!" I protested, putting my hands on my hip.
As I said, I am doing this for my children.
Thor looked at me and smiled. "Tell me, La Sirene, you are divine, are you not?"
I snorted. "Semidivine. Why do you ask?"
"Because of all the goddesses I've known, none of them compare to you in your beauty."
I gulped as I felt the blood rush into my cheeks. "Um. Thanks?"
Thor winked at me. I don't know if I could blush any more than I already was. He extended his hand.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"We're going to ride these sea dragons back into the ocean, yes? I figured, without legs, you might like a hand to mount her."
I smiled. Thor took my hand and then, grabbing me around my waist, lifted me up. I took hold of Nammu's back—since she returned from the void, she lost her armor—and, tucking my hands beneath her scales, pulled myself the rest of the way up.
"Thanks for mounting me, Thor."
Thor smiled wide. "It would be my pleasure."
My eyes widened as it dawned on me what I'd said. Freudian slip, perhaps? "Holy crap. I didn't mean..."
Thor laughed. One of those deep, masculine laughs that sounded as smooth as molasses. "I know what you meant, La Sirene. And I meant what I said."
I giggled a little. Thor, the god of freaking thunder, was flirting with me. And I liked it. I shouldn't have. I was a married demigoddess, after all. Sure, my marriage was on the rocks. I suppose it's natural for women in bad marriages to have fantasies. But this... I felt guilty even as the butterflies churned in my belly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
WE FLEW BACK to Fomoria. Better than risking an encounter with Nephtalie. I missed having a saddle beneath my butt. It wasn
't the first time I had to ride Nammu bareback, but usually, it had been when she was in wyrm form. In a way, flying bareback was easier. The wind doesn't have the same sort of resistance that the water does. But then there was the whole heights thing, and if I fell, well, I wasn't a dragon naturally. I would need magic to change into that shape. Magic which I didn't have. Joni fall? Joni, go splat. Or, at least, splash. But from such heights, even though the water was my domain, it certainly won't feel good.
I asked Nammu to fly a little lower, just in case. We were more likely to be seen, but, at this point, I didn't care. At open sea, with good visibility, we'd spot any ships from a good distance. Once we were clear of the Florida Keys and the cruise ship routes, the chances anyone would see us were slim anyway.
Think it's safe to cast a wyrmhole now?
I looked all around. No ships. No ghost ships, either. I didn't want to enter the water or cast any wyrm holes until we were back in the range of the Fomorian beacons. Once they spotted us in the waters and saw the giant signature that Nagga gave off, the wyrmriders and the rest of the merlegion would likely come after us expecting a fight. They'd recognize Nammu and me, but they'd probably think that Nagga was pursuing us, attacking us, or coming for Fomoria. The closer we appeared to the Firmament, the more threatening Nagga would seem. If, however, we simply showed ourselves and they met us in distant waters they'd be less antsy to strike first.
Plus, Thor wasn't a merman. Could he breathe underwater? I presumed so. All he seemed worried about when the issue arose was that he wouldn't be able to harness lightning. He said nothing about breathing. If that would be an issue, he'd have to say something soon because I asked Nammu to dive into the waters. She did, and Nagga followed suit.
We hovered in the waters. No aggressive movements. Nothing that Evan or Finn might misinterpret for a fight when spotting us on the map. If we were still, we weren't fighting. That meant, hopefully, the other wyrmriders would meet us with minimal aggression.
With Nammu and Nagga back in wyrm form, we dove under the surface. Thor, apparently, had no problem breathing underwater. And damnit. The way the water flowed through his long locks and the water glistened on his pectoral muscles was so hot I thought I almost saw bubbles boil in the water around him.
Or, it could have been a fart. Nah. Gods don't do things like that. That's my story, and I'll never admit otherwise.
I couldn't imagine Thor doing anything that wasn't attractive. As we floated in the water, Thor and Nagga drifted a few feet ahead of us. Good Lord. Even the way Thor's toned butt cheeks, in his tight form-fitting pants, clung to Nagga's back was alluring.
A golden blast about a hundred feet ahead of us forced me to lift my eyes from Thor's ass to the wyrm hole formed in front of us.
Agwe, atop Ruach, blasted through it. Tahlia and Tohu followed suit.
My husband looked as though he'd seen a ghost. I knew that look because, well, I was growing more accustomed to seeing ghosts on the regular.
Nagga growled the second he recognized Agwe. Thor stroked his side to calm him down. The last time these two saw each other, Nagga's belly was likely pierced by Agwe's trident. At least I imagined it might have happened that way.
"Hello, Njord," Thor said.
"Thor," Agwe said, nodding, as his voice quaked. "It has been a long time."
"Your host suits you," Thor said. I imagined he was trying to be polite. Agwe didn't take it that way.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It was a compliment, Njord. Relax."
Agwe cleared his throat. "La Sirene, what is the meaning of this?"
"La Sirene? Call me Joni, Agwe."
"La Sirene," Agwe continued, apparently because he still had a sea urchin up his butt over the whole bargain with the Baron situation. "What did you do?"
"I don't know, Njord. There's a lot about you I never knew. Why didn't you tell me that you killed Nammu's husband?"
Agwe shook his head. "I did not know he was her husband when it happened."
"And it never occurred to tell me that you were once a Norse god? That you sacrificed yourself to the Kraken? Maybe if you told me that, I would have understood your apprehension before."
"I don't speak of those events."
"Not even to your wife?"
Agwe shook his head. "It was a long time ago. It doesn't concern you."
Thor dismounted Nagga and swam over to me. He put his hand on my back. "It's okay, La Sirene. It's in the past. We need to work together."
"Get your hands off my wife, Thor!"
I snorted. "I thought you said our marriage was just a political marriage. If so, he can touch me however the hell I want him to."
I regretted it the second I said it. I'd inadvertently given Agwe the impression that I had allowed Thor to touch me in ways that I'd heretofore only fantasized about.
Agwe winced—like a genuine pain had struck him in his heart.
"Look, I'm not a ho, you insecure baby god. Nothing has happened between us. He has been nothing but a gentleman, and he's here to help us. You all need to get over whatever resentments you have against each other. We don't have time for that shit."
"You're right," Agwe said. "I am sorry."
"Apology accepted," Thor said.
"I was talking to my wife."
I sighed. "Nephtalie's plan was never to attack Fomoria. She had Nagga within her fleet. We rescued him. Nammu took him to the void, and now he's back."
"What did Nephtalie want with Nagga?"
"She intended to assault the Midgard serpent," Thor said.
Agwe's eyes widened. "Oh... my... self."
"Don't you mean, 'oh my God,'?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.
"Exactly," Agwe said. "So, now that you've taken Nagga from her..."
"She's probably coming to attack Fomoria," I said. "And Thor's here to help us awaken the Kraken."
"I can only assume you met him through the Valkyries that guarded the totem?"
I nodded. "More or less, in a roundabout way."
"Are Cleo and Enki here?" Tahlia asked.
I dropped my head. "They didn't make it."
"What do you mean they didn't make it?" Tahlia asked. "They're already dead."
"Assimilated into Nephtalie's fleet," I said.
"But if you rescued Nagga from the fleet, surely you can save them too."
Nammu only reached me on account of our love, Nagga said, and even then, she could not sway me from my purpose until I was far removed from it.
They could all hear him, so I didn't need to translate. I glanced at Ruach, expecting to see pangs of jealousy in his face. However, he stayed still, unexpressive, and quiet as usual. Perhaps Nammu was right. Wyrm relationships don't work the same way as human, mermaid, or apparently, demigod relationships do.
"So there is hope to save them," Tahlia said.
"Yes," I said. "Nammu's love for Enki. Your adoration of Cleo. Hopefully, that will be enough. But we may not have a chance. Once they launch their assault on Fomoria, there's no telling how long our firmament can hold. Once Nephtalie tries to siphon the magic from it, we won't have long to act.
"Can Nephtalie go underwater?" Tahlia asked.
"She can," Agwe said. "The same way Joni first came to Fomoria, before she assumed her present form. With Fomorian magic at her disposal, she can use it to travel into the depths."
"I think we will have to begin with your initial plan, Agwe," I said. "Blast the fleet with enough magic to loosen the fleet, including Cleo and Enki, from Nephtalie's influence. Then, Thor will need to awaken the Kraken to swallow up Nephtalie's power once we've gotten them out of there."
"You were right before," Agwe said. "If we do that, we'll have to draw on the magic from the firmament ourselves. It will leave Fomoria vulnerable."
"Which is why we'll have to move fast," I said. "When all the magic is drawn into the fleet, then we need to unleash the Kraken."
"If the enemy sees the Kraken's shell anywhere nearby, she m
ay get wise to the plan."
I scratched my head. "Good point. I think we'll have to send the wyrms after it, bring it back to us only when we need it. Unleash it quickly before Nephtalie can do anything to stop it."
"That could work. Also, you will need to stay clear of the fleet once the Kraken goes after it," Thor said. "If you're within the fleet when the Kraken attacks if he takes your power too, you will lose all of your abilities. You'll become a mere mortal and, if he takes your soul, you'll die. Or, perhaps worse, you'll be stuck as a vampire only."
I nodded. "For now, we need to get back to Fomoria. The ghost fleet moves fast. They aren't far behind us, and, depending on the route they took, they may even be ahead of us."
"Then let us return," Agwe said. "We cannot leave Fomoria unguarded."
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
SHELLY MADE A lot of progress. Almost every spire, now, was connected to the grid. The wires, or whatever it was that Shelly used as wires, ran mainly along the seafloor. Smart, I thought. On land, they like to run power lines either underground or through the air. Since hardly any merfolk ever touched the seafloor at all, though, it made much more sense and was probably a lot easier to do it that way. All she had to do, it seemed, was attach weights to the wires to keep them from floating away.
With wires running all around the light, they gave up balanced out the blue light cast by the firmament. While the upper parts of Fomoria still had a blue glow, the lower parts of the spires now reflected a whiter hue. While Shelly didn't have all the individual spires wired up with outlets, I was still impressed that she'd already managed to get electricity to each of the spires. From the outside, looking in, Fomoria was much brighter than before. Like a giant light bulb screwed into the bottom of the ocean.
The whole kingdom was chattering with excitement over the innovations. I had stacks upon stacks of papers on my desk—all "ideas" that Shelly had gathered from the people. Not like I had time to review any of that. We had to prepare for a battle.
It was kind of surreal. A battle on the horizon with a strange, ghastly foe. The whole city, about to be attacked, oblivious and excited about a promising future.
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