Dead Chaos (20 page)

Refreshed after my hot bath, dressed in my armor, and laden with weapons, I hurried out of the room. The wolves followed close on my heels, whining as I walked off. They were still piqued. When they began to growl, I turned, about to scold when I saw Geri, whom I only knew now because of his little grey beard, remaining at my room door.

"What is it?" I asked, striding back, a little impatient with the delay. When I followed Geri's gaze, I had to swallow a nice little swearword. Gungnir. I'd almost left Odin's spear behind. Shaking my head, I grabbed the weapon and left the room at a jog.

"Thanks, Furbag," I said as I passed the pair of wolves, secretly extremely grateful. A fluttering up above made me smile. I'd almost forgotten Hugin and Munin. But when I looked up, only one bird accompanied us.

"Hey, Blackbird. Where’s your brother?" I flung the question as I walked, secretly wanting to identify the bird as I couldn’t tell them apart even if my life depended upon it.

"Munin has decided to remain with Frigga. He sends his apologies and assures you no disrespect. We both thought it would be a good idea to have one of us remain behind just in case the All-Father returns."

"No disrespect taken at all, Hugin. I quite agree. Good plan." I grinned, glad it was Hugin. Not that I had a problem with his twin. It was just that Hugin and I knew each other. Perhaps I could even think of him as a friend.

I hurried to the transfer room with the wolves and Hugin in tow, just the clickety-clack of nails on the stone floor and the flap-flap of wings to confirm their presence.

My heart raced a bit, the thought of encountering Bal again making me a little nervous. But it wasn't as if I had much of a choice. Gjallerhorn awaited and the Norns had given their instruction. Who was I to do otherwise?

Eager glances met mine as I entered the transfer room, and this time, my heart did a different kind of racing at the sight of Joshua. He smiled and winked at me, which only made my heart trip faster. I longed to go over to him, let him envelope me in his arms. Longed to feel the touch of his lips on mine. His gaze held mine and heat began to build in the pit of my stomach.

One of the wolves bumped against my knee, and curled himself around my legs. I blinked, pulling myself out of my silly, infatuated daydreams.

What the hell is wrong with you, Bryn? Get your head in the game.

I stalked to the group, still furious with myself and hoping nobody had picked up on my emotional upheaval. Nobody except Joshua, who kept his gaze on mine, an intense expression darkening his eyes. I could feel the intensity flow off his body from where I stood, at least five feet away.

We checked our weapons and stood ready to depart with the wolves waiting patiently at my heels. I gripped Odin's staff, feeling the weight of its safekeeping on me. What was the point of having the staff and the wolves when all I was worried about was keeping them safe from harm? When the time came would I be able to fight with Gungnir or would I be too terrified it would snap in half and the All-Father would be furious with me?

Hugin landed on my shoulder in a rush of feathers and curling talons. Good thing he always had a way of gripping onto me without hurting.

Just before we left, I nudged Aimee. "Get one of the torches. I have no idea where we will arrive or if we’ll have light in the tunnels. Better we go with our own light just in case."

Hugin took that moment to enlighten me.
"Brynhildr, I will take you to the entrance in which we arrived on our last visit to Muspell."

"Thanks, Hugin." I peered up at him and met glossy-black, enigmatic eyes.

Aimee hurried over to the wall and lifted a burning torchlight off the metal hook, then joined the team again with a swift nod. We rode the Bifrost and just as I'd expected, arrived within a darkened stone passage, not a light in sight.

The torch cast a warm glow on the black, jagged walls of the stone tunnels. Not a good idea to be within these passageways if you suffered from claustrophobia. Even
I
felt like the breath was being dragged out of my lungs, was sure the walls were closing in on me. I felt the weight of the tunnels press down on me and gritted my teeth. I’d been here before. I preferred not to behave like a fragile, over-emotional teen.

Hugin launched himself off my shoulder and flew off down the tunnel. I nodded at Aimee. "This way." I began to walk with her beside me holding up the torch. The route seemed familiar, as if I experienced a sort of déjà vu. It took a while, but we eventually ended up at the entrance to the small cavern in which I'd first met Bal the Surt.

The space sat empty, not a giant guard in sight.

"Now what?" I muttered to myself, eyes on the entrance on the other side of the cavern.

"What is the matter?" Sigrun spoke softly beside me. Even she was tense and felt the need to lower her voice. Something certainly didn't feel right.

"This is the entrance to Muspell. It should have been guarded. If not by Bal then by some other fire giant. It's odd that they would leave the entrance to their realm unattended."

"Do you think they know you’re coming?" Aimee shifted into my line of sight, her face twisted with worry.

"I don't think so. Besides, who would tell them we were coming?"

"Only one person I know who knew about this and he was conveniently unavailable to make this trip," Aimee said coldly. Her opinion of Aidan had just sunk to the lowest of lows.

"I don't think he would betray us, Aimee. Maybe you should cut him some slack." I spoke kindly, but didn’t hold her gaze for too long. Aidan was a long way off from redeeming himself.

"Just because you feel sorry for him it doesn't mean I have to. How do we really know where his loyalties lie? Maybe he finally wanted to join the paternal line of his family."

"I think his absence today is more because of his mother and sister than anything else. Besides, we haven't been betrayed, so let's not borrow trouble."

"Fine, but I can't say that I trust him. I'll deal with him myself if he ever so much as looks at you wrong." I smiled at the vehemence in her voice. Aimee, the weak and meek, had transformed into a kickass spitfire of a Warrior. I was truly proud.

Hugin landed on my shoulder again and spoke in my ear.
"Brynhildr, there is not much choice left. We have to follow the path into Muspell if we are to retrieve Gjallerhorn. It may well be a trap, but we do not have a choice."
His voice was still as deep and Barry White as ever. It never failed to amaze me.

I nodded at the bird, who took off again to show us the way. "Come on, guys. Let's get going. Just be careful." I followed Hugin across the cavern toward the doorway that led into the
bowels of Muspell. We approached slowly. Joshua ducked his head into the tunnel beyond for a quick check.

"All clear," he whispered, his warm breath bathing my cheek. A heated tangle ran along my spine and I said a few bad words in the silence in my head.

Neither the time nor the place, Bryn.

I motioned for everyone to move ahead and we entered the tunnel, glad for the help of the torch. My satchel weighed heavy on my shoulder and the staff glinted in the dull light, reminding me I had a special weapon at my disposal.

We took a left turn, avoiding the route to Steinn and his part of Muspell. As much as I would’ve loved Steinn's help right now, I was certain the Norns hadn't meant for us to involve anyone else in our quest. We moved slowly down the tunnel, hugging the walls. It didn't bode well at all. We had no idea where we were going.

Shuffling along as quietly as we could, we soon slowed to a halt as a sharp bend in the tunnel appeared up ahead. Hugin had landed on an outcropping of rock near the curved roof, his head tilted as if listening for something. I listened too for a moment. Hearing nothing, I poked my head around the corner.

A great roar built up slowly, as if intent on ripping into our ears and bursting our eardrums. The ground vibrated as something overly large raced toward us. I wasn't sure if it had been me or our torchlight that had given us away but I didn't plan to wait around to find out.

I turned sharply. "Run!" Even before the word left my lips, we were hurtling down the tunnel. The footsteps pounded the ground behind us and seemed to be drawing away. I didn't dare look, but my heart lifted, giving me a spurt of energy. It was possible we could get away.

***

It looked very much like we’d gotten away from our pursuer.

But just as I let out a relieved puff of breath, something caught the collar of my coat and lifted me off the ground. I squeaked and the sound drew the attention of the rest of the team. They turned to investigate the strange noise and three jaws dropped open in shock as my friends stared up and me as I hung in midair, kicking my feet uselessly. I held on to the staff for dear life.

"Let me go." I yelled, trying to twist my head to get a better view of my captor, but all it did was make me swing like a pendulum. I prayed the soft leather wouldn't give away as I was weighed down with my bag of weapons.

The tunnel had narrowed where the giant now stood, holding me out before him. I had no space to try to stab at him with the spear. Either he was smarter than I’d expected or it was just dumb luck, but my body protected the top half of him too well for any of my team to attack. And even if they attacked, the chances are he’d let go off me and I’d fall and break something.

The wolves whined, pacing this way and that, unhappy with my treatment. Geri lowered his head, pulled back his upper lip and snarled, revealing viciously sharp and creepily yellowed teeth. Freki followed his brother, and the next thing I knew, the wolves leaped at the creature who held me aloft as if I weighed nothing more than a butterfly.

As the wolves attacked, I tried again to get a look at the giant.

Vicious growls and the skittering of nails on stone confirmed the wolves hadn't let up. A wolf yelped and my heart sank as the sound echoed along the tunnel, followed by a dull thud as the poor guy hit the jagged rock wall.

All I could do was watch my team wince at the animal's predicament.

And I'd had enough.

"Let me go." I shouted again, throwing a hand behind me, hoping to grab hold of the damned hand that held onto my collar.

"You are trespassing. The law says I can crush you and your friends if I so wish." The voice behind me rumbled, the timbre rough and loud. I couldn’t find an ounce of niceness in that voice.

I hesitated for a moment. "What do mean trespassing? We’re here to visit Steinn, the Nidhogg. He’s expecting us."

The giant roared in amusement. "Do not play the innocent with me, Valkyrie. I know your kind and what you are capable of." The giant gave me a rough shake sending my weapons tinkling in my bag. "What do you want?"

I thought of lying, thought of making up some unbelievable story. In the end I went with the truth. "I'm here to see Bal."

The fingers tightened. "What do you want with Bal?"

"I need to talk to him."

"What about?"

"I have something that belongs to him. He has something we want. I'm hoping he'll be open to a trade."

The giant burst out laughing again. He lowered his arm and let go of my collar. I fell the last few feet onto the stone floor and covered my head. The robust laughter of the fire giant shook the walls and brought down a shower of dust and grit and a good few dangerously large rocks.

Once it was safe, I rose to my feet and dusted myself off, glaring crossly at the giant who slapped a meaty palm against a monster-sized thigh as he laughed. I didn't appreciate his mirth.

Sigrun and the others came toward me. I felt them gathered behind me. The giant's laughter fell away when his eyes fell on me.

My blood ran cold when I recognized the fire giant, whose eyes flickered with living flames.

"Bal." I snapped. I was annoyed, but my stomach twisted. I didn't need to admit to myself that I was at least a little afraid. "Why didn't you tell me who you were?"

"Because it was much more fun this way." Bal's voice still held a touch of amusement. He didn't look like he was about to conjure up a flaming club and beat me to death with it. Small mercies.

"So?" I asked, my tone challenging. I didn't want him to think I was afraid of him.

"So what?" Bal frowned. "Wait a minute. I know you. You are the Valkyrie that attacked me not so long ago."

"Attacked you?" My head heated up as I glared at him. "I did no such thing. You were the one who went all kill-now-ask-questions-later on us. You didn't even give me a chance to tell you why I was here."

The ground shook as Bal stamped his foot in anger. "You survived, did you not? And I am assuming you got what you wanted." He sounded almost petulant. He did get beaten by a tiny girl, so not surprising, he was unhappy.

"I have something that belongs to you. I want to trade it for something you have."

Bal snorted. "That depends on what you have and if I want to trade." He folded his thickly muscled arms and waited, the flames in his eyes dancing ominously.

I flipped my satchel open, about to reach inside for the ball-and-chain when the wolves began to growl, their heads lowered, lips flaring. Bal stepped forward and the cool tip of a sword touched my neck. I peered up at Bal, counting myself lucky he hadn’t decided to turn the flame on his weapon before sticking it into my neck. "Calm down, big guy. I just want to show you something."

"As you wish. No sudden moves though. Unless you wish to have your head separated from your body." He spoke so congenially that the words he uttered seemed hardly fitting to his tone.

I shook my head and withdrew the ball-and-chain as slowly as I could.
No sudden moves
. I liked my head attached to my shoulders, thank you very much. I held the weapon up by the ball end, allowing the chain to fall over the edge of the bag, gaining momentum and clinking its way onto the ground.

I glanced up at Bal, eager to gauge his reaction, but his face remained expressionless. His lack of excitement set me off-balance. Surely he should have been thrilled to be reunited with his special weapon. But all he did was give it a cursory glance before meeting my eyes with a question curving one bushy, flaming eyebrow.

Behind me the team was becoming restless. Joshua moved to my side, hand on the hilt of his sword as if suspecting he'd soon need to defend me.

"So, what is it you want in return for my weapon?" Bal cleared his throat. "Do you not find it strange that you are bargaining with something that does not belong to you?"

I shook my head. "It's yours. I'm guessing it’s special. I'm guessing you want it back. And if you do, there's something I want in return." My heart thudded as I reached the crucial moment. "I will return this weapon to you in exchange for Gjallerhorn."

"What!" Bal's voice ripped through the tunnel, loud and violent and threatening to cave the passage down on us. Then he grunted as if the sound would calm him down. "What makes you think the horn of Heimdall is here in Muspell?"

"Let's just say I have it on good authority that it is definitely here." I didn't plan on spilling my source no matter what.

"Well, you are mistaken."

"I don't think so." My voice hardened. We had to get the horn and there wasn't time to play around with Bal. "Why don't you just give me the horn and you can have your weapon back?" I glanced at the ball and then back at Bal. I swallowed a little. The ball looked puny. Hardly the thing an oversized brute like Bal would care about.

"What makes you think I want it back at all?" Bal's lip curled in a sneer that chilled my blood.

So much for a bargaining chip. Now what?

"Come on, Bal. Don't play games with me. You know you want it back. Just give me Gjallerhorn and we'll be out of your hair." I was out of options. It was looking like the runes had misled us and the ball-and-chain wasn’t as highly prized as we’d thought. I really hoped he wanted it back.

"I am sorry, Valkyrie, but that is not the way it is going to work." Bal stepped back and placed two fingers in his mouth. He whistled so loudly that my inner ear hurt and all I wanted to do was to cover them. But I didn't move.

Footsteps thundered up the passage behind Bal and half a dozen heavily armed fire giants paused beside him to take instruction. "Throw them in the dungeons," he snarled. "The wolves too. But be careful with the animals. They belong to Odin and we don’t need to bring the wrath of another god down on us." He’d recognized the wolves. I was suitably impressed.

The guards grabbed us, pushing and shoving us past a grinning Bal. One giant blew out Aimee's torch and laughed as we were plunged into darkness. I was about to snap at the idiot. How the hell were we expected to go anywhere if we couldn't see an inch in front of us?

I blinked.

I thought I'd seen a glow of some kind but I may have been wrong. We were still moving along the pitch-black tunnel, disoriented and disappointed.

I blinked again.

No. I had seen something.

A faint light began to fill the darkness. Light emanating from the giants themselves. From their eyes. As with Bal, these giants had eyes of flames. Little fires that flickered in their eye-sockets, letting off enough light for us all to see by. They also had flaming eyebrows and fiery hair. Pity they looked so brutish.

We stumbled down endless passages, shoved mercilessly by the giants. They seemed to think it a sport to poke at us from time to time. One moved up to walk beside me, his eyes turning repeatedly to Sigrun’s wings. He frowned and thrust his fingers into the dense feathers at her back, pulling on it until it came away. I knew the sharp prick of the plucked feather wasn't painful at all, but the blood drained from my face and I shuddered. Memories of broken shards of bone, memories of tattered feathers haunted me as I forced one foot in front of the next until my heart stopped racing.

Up ahead, movement in the shadows near the rock roof reminded me that Hugin was still with us. Good thing he'd been smart enough to hide from the giants.

At last, after a few left and right turns, enough to make us dizzy, we reached a widening in the tunnel. We'd arrived at the cells. Two large grottos led off on either side of us, closed off by iron bars. One of the giants grabbed at a bunch of keys hanging from his waist. He rifled amongst the keys until he found the right one and opened the first cell.

Surprisingly, they shoved us all into one cell.

The lead giant locked up and the group sauntered off, leaving us in utter darkness.

"I wish we had a way to light this torch," Aimee mumbled.

"Let me try something," said Joshua. Shuffling sounds. The sounds of metal striking rock filtered to us and light flared, faltered then faded. Joshua’s face lit up in the flares, and he tried again a few more times until weak light flickered between them.

Light flooded the cell as the flame caught onto Aimee’s torch. The wolves lurked near the bars of the cell and I wondered how long before they went stir crazy.

Sigrun sat nearest to me, frowning.

"What's wrong?"

"They did not take any of our weapons from us." True, they'd thrown us in here fully armed.

"They're either very stupid or our weapons mean nothing to the fire giants." I didn't like the sound of my words.

Especially the ring of truth in them.

***