Truth's Heart (The Valkyrie's Passion Book 3): A Valkyrie/Shifter Romance (9 page)

“Utgard is the outer world, the part that surrounds Midgard.” Magnus winced. “The worlds of Norse Mythology all lie on the Yggdrasil. Some are in the branches, some are in the roots, and Midgard is at the trunk right at the ground. Utgard is on the same level as Midgard. It's really an extension of it, a place to banish monsters from our world. But Muspellheim is completely unrelated. It's higher in the trunk, I think.”

“How many worlds are there?”

“Not sure,” he groaned. “I know Asgard's up at the top. That's where the gods live. And in the roots is Nifelheim, which is a terrible place, and at the bottom is Hel.”

“Hell is part of the world of the fNorse? That's Christian.”

“One L,” answered Magnus. “Hel is the daughter of Loki.”

“That makes sense,” I muttered.

“She's sister to Fenrir and Jormungandr. He's a big worm, they say as big long as Midgard, and he's trapped at the very bottom of the Yggdrasil, in its roots. So Hel set up shop down there. They call her realm Hel, too. It's where the worse people are tortured. When the Norse invaded England about a thousand years ago, the word stuck around and came to be synonymous with the Christian idea of the Abyss or Gehenna.”

“Oh,” I said. “Sounds great. Loki created Hel. What a great guy.”

Magnus's laugh was cut off by a wince.

My mirth faded. “Do you think we can really beat Loki?”

“We don't really have a choice,” Magnus shrugged. “It doesn't make sense to dwell on the possibility of failure when we don't have much a future without it. Focus on the fact that we will succeed. Believe that.”

“You make it sound easy.”

“It's the hardest thing in the world.” He glanced at me. “But I believe in you, Raven. I know you can do this. And I'll march by your side, hacking down anyone that tries to stop you.”

“Shouldn't I believe in you though? You're the heroic one, Magnus. You ride a badass motorcycle into battle, turn into a werewolf, and fight with a god's ax. You're the one that will defeat Loki.”

Magnus shook his head. “I'm
your
Einherjer. I'm here to support you, protect you, and love you. I'll be at your side when you kill Loki. You, no me. And don't forget, you're the Valkyrie that strolled through Utgard, claimed the Sun's Tear, dueled Loki, and was gifted Gungnir, one of the most powerful weapons ever forged, by the God of Battle and Death himself. Do not sell yourself short.” 

I smiled at him. “You really believe I'll save the day.”

He nodded. “Now if I could only get you to believe that, Raven. Think of all you've done. You are Boudica, and Loki is the Romans. It is time to lead the charge and save the day.”

“But Boudica lost,” Raven muttered.

“Well, it's hard to find a warrior woman in history that didn't lose in the end,” Magnus shrugged. “Don't get caught up in your differences. You
will
succeed. Keep telling yourself that. Doubts will destroy you from within. We will find the dwarves. We will get the artifact to make Loki vulnerable. And you will have to sleep with four hairy, horny dwarves to do it.” 

I let out an annoyed, happy laugh. “I am not sleeping with four dwarves. You will have to live out your disgusting fantasies another way.”

“Good,” Magnus grinned. “I'm not the sharing kind of guy. Never let others ride my bike, and I'm certainly not going to let four grubby dwarves paw my woman.”

“Uh-huh,” I said. “I think you were secretly hoping to see that.”

He smiled at me, and I found my steps grew lighter. It was so strange how my emotions effected my body. If I was positive, the walking didn't seem as laborious and my feet didn't ache as much. Everything seemed easier.

I had to believe. Magnus was right. We would stop Loki. We would get the artifact. And there was no way in the world I would sleep with four dwarves to do it. Those four hairy, grubby dwarves would have to get their jollies some other way.

“Maybe you should sleep with them,” I grinned.

“Is that another one of your perverted fantasies? I know women like the idea of a pair of hot, muscular dudes pressing their oiled bodies together. But remember, they'll have those beards. I don't think it'll be as hot as you think.”

I shook my head. “No embarrassment? No protesting that you're straight and would never sleep with a dude?”

“Raven,” he grinned, “I'm not an insecure beta male secretly wondering why he gets a tingle at the tip of his dick at the idea of gay men. I don't need to protest I'm straight.”

“So full of yourself,” I said, shaking my head.

“I know how well I make you scream.”

My cheeks reddened. He did know how to make me scream. “Yes, I guess you've proven just how masculine and straight you are, Magnus. You do know how to make a woman melt into a puddle of her own juices and beg for more.”

We picked up the pace as Magnus's ribs healed and in the distance, an outcropping of dark rocks pierced up through the rusty plain. I hoped the cave was there. I kept up my spirits as we talked and teased each other.

The rock outcropping was larger and farther away then we first thought. It thrust up like a witch's hat, the top leaning over to the right and forming an overhead above the craggy, bumpy surface. The stones looked jagged and smooth, made of volcanic glass, the base smeared by veins of red dust creeping up towards the more pristine summit. By the time we reached it, the outcropping loomed over us.

“I think that's a cave,” Magnus said, pointing to a duller patch of black. “No shine.”

We reached it and peered down at a twisting tunnel. It was narrow and pitch black. I swallowed, a tremble racing through my body as Magnus stepped down into it, his boots squeaking on the volcanic glass.

“Summon your sword. There's no light. I can't tell if it drops before me.”

I grit my teeth against the screams as the blackish flames spread deathly light down the hole. The black obsidian reflected the light as I stepped in after Magnus. I peered over his shoulder as the tunnel twisted to the right.

“This looks tight,” groaned Magnus.

I nodded my head. “I hope you don't get stuck.”

“Yeah.” He paused. “Are you claustrophobic?”

“No.”

“Well, I'm glad one of us isn't.” Then he pressed forward and went down the bend.

I followed him. I had to dismiss my armor as I slipped through the tunnel. Many times, I slid along the smooth facets of the floor on my rear, slipping down to the next outcropping before the tunnel twisted again.

Magnus went ahead of me. He grunted as he pushed himself through the narrow spaces. If he was afraid, I couldn't tell. He had swallowed his fear. He was doing that man thing again. He had to be brave when others were around even if he was terrified.

Our grunts of exertion echoed along the tunnel as we worked deeper and deeper into the ground. Sometimes, sharp outcroppings of obsidian would leave bloody scratches on our body. My hideous t-shirt and a decent pair of jeans were ruined, the denim hanging open in large tears.

“There's a light below,” Magnus reported.

“Good,” I groaned. “I hope it's the dwarves and that they have a better way to get out of here.”

Magnus slid down and reached the light. He moved towards it as I followed down after him. I winced as a sharp edge caught my arm, leaving another throbbing cut to heal slowly. I hit the bottom and sighed in relief.

Ahead, the tunnel widened.

The light flickered and danced, warm like the dancing flames of a hearth. The red-orange reflected off the black obsidian and spilled about Magnus's feet. The light shone from a rough-carved opening in the stone at the end of the small room. The bustle of booted feet and the tap of hammer on metal rang. Voices spoke, a murmur almost audible.

A tremble ran through me. I swallowed, prepared to face four horny, hairy, disgusting dwarves and their no-doubt perverted request to sleep with me in exchange for their skills. I really had no idea what else we could offer them.

But I would not give up my dignity. The world had not broken me yet.

With Magnus at my side, I strode up to the opening and stepped through.

Chapter Ten

Magnus

I was ready to summon my ax as we stepped through the opening into the light. My ribs ached. I was all too aware of all the stone over our heads trying to crush down on us. It kept my teeth on edge as I controlled my nervousness. So if these dwarves thought they could sleep with my Valkyrie as payment, I would abuse them of that nonsense.

I had a better trade in mind. I wouldn't kill them.

The wolf snarled inside of me, howling at me to don his cloak and make sure these dwarves understood. They would be respectful. They would mind their manners. And if they made any crude remarks, I would break bones.

I froze in shock. The dwarves were not what I expected. Raven blinked beside me.

“Why hello, dearies,” a red-bearded dwarf with a surprisingly high-pitched and feminine voice smiled, his green eyes twinkling as she reached barehanded into a stone oven, coals burning at the bottom, and pulled out a tray of chocolate-chip cookies that steamed. “I popped these into the oven when I heard you making your way down.”

“Would you like anything to drink?” a dwarf with blond hair and beard asked. He was tall and had a smile crossing his bearded lips. He sounded almost...motherly. “You look parched, dearies. Sit down at the table. I'll grab the milk.”

“Milk and cookies always compliment each other,” agreed the first dwarf as he bustled to a stone table.

I had no idea what to say.

“Are these our guests?” a dwarf with a thick, dark-brown beard asked. His voice was deeper, and he had a bulbous nose covered in broken veins. He was bare-chested, his squat, muscular body covered in small, puckered burns.

“Right you are, my love,” the blond dwarf said and gave the dwarf with a dark-brown beard a quick kiss before bustling off to what I assumed was a pantry.

“Valkyrie on a quest,” grunted a black-bearded dwarf, his head bald, as he sat at a table puffing on a stone pipe. “What dangers have you brought us?”

“Oh, don't be such a curmudgeon,” the red-bearded dwarf said. “And get your boots off my table.”

The black-bearded dwarf grumbled.

“I...” Magnus started to say. “I...”

“Oh, where are our manners,” the brown-bearded dwarf nodded, striding up to Raven and me. “I'm Dvalinn. It's a pleasure to meet you, Einherjer and Lady Valkyrie. The blonde lass is my wife Alfrik, and—”

“Wife?” gaped Raven.

“For going on three millennium,” nodded Dvalinn. “Me 'n Alfrik were sweethearts since we were little nippers.”

“But...she has a beard.”

“And what's wrong with a beard,” the red-bearded dwarf asked. “I think I have a magnificent beard. You human women do not know what your missing out on.”

“You're also a, um, woman?” Raven swallowed.

“Berling,” she nodded, then pointed at the black-bearded dwarf, “and that useless lump is my Grer. Say hello, Grer.”

Grer grunted and kept puffing on his pipe.

“Now sit down,” Alfrik said, bustling back in to the kitchen. She was the tallest of the four and now I knew she was a woman, I could see the feminine softness mostly hidden by her thick, golden beard. “Here's the milk. I hope you don't mind goat.”

“I...” Raven swallowed. “This is not what I expected.”

Grer let out another grunt.

“Okay, he's what I expected,” she admitted.

I nodded my head. It was so...domestic.

“Now what are your names?” Alfrik asked as she came up to me. She was only half my height, and yet the look on her face made me feel like a little boy. “Come on, I expect good manners at my table.”

“Magnus Kron,” I answered. “And that's Raven, my Valkyrie.”

“And you're here on a useless quest,” Grer belched.

Alfrik rolled her eyes.

“Come on,” Dvalinn said to Grer, “they have dwarf-forged gold on 'em. I can smell it. They want us to forge something important.” His bulbous nose twitched. “It's been a while since we've really practiced our craft.”

“That it has,” nodded Berling. “Now sit and enjoy the cookies while they're still hot and the chocolate chips are all gooey.”

I found myself sitting at the table beside Raven, a plate of cookies and a glass of goat's milk before me. The other dwarves set around the table, the two women smiling, Grer glowering, and Dvalinn looking on with interest.

“I'm so confused,” Raven groaned. “You four are not what I expected.”

“You expected a group of grubby lechers,” Berling bristled. “Oooh, if I ever get my hands on that Loki for spreading those awful tales. No one has come seeking our services since we made the Brisingamen.”

“So, Frigg didn't have to sleep with all of you?”

“She went by Freya then,” Dvalinn said. “A beautiful lass, for a beardless human, but we demanded no such price. I'm happily married.”

“No beard,” grunted Grer.

“It's all slander from Loki,” Alfrik sighed. She dipped a cookie in her milk and took a big bite, a few crumbs left behind in her beard. “Made the whole story up.”

“Bloody git,” muttered Dvalinn. “We were honored to fashion the Brisingamen for Freya. But then Loki wanted it. So he convinced Odin that she slept with us.”

“He even claimed I was a male,” Berling bemoaned. “He made my Grer so angry that day.”

Grer grunted.

“Well, Odin was jealous and listened to Loki's plan to steal the Brisingamen from Freya,” continued Dvalinn. “It was such a salacious tale. All of Asgard ate it up.”

“They love to gossip up there,” Alfrik said. “The things they say about dwarves. They think we're all men just because we have proper beards.”

“Loki is so despicable,” Raven muttered.

“Sounds like you've run afoul of the git,” Dvalinn nodded.

“He's why were here,” I said. “He's bringing about Ragnarok. He wants to kill all the gods.”

“He's making us do it for him,” Raven muttered. She looked down at her plate of cookies.

Alfrik reached over and patted her hand. “Such grief stains you. That's why you're here. You need something to fight him.”

“To counteract the Brisingamen. He's using it to trick people.” Raven's voice cracked. I took her other hand, giving her a squeeze. “He...he...I killed Owen...Odin because he tricked me. And now Thor's dead trying to avenge him and all the gods are coming after us. And we can't do anything to Loki because of that stupid Brisingamen.”