Heroes (Eirik Book 2) (5 page)

CELESTIA

The portal closed behind me and cold crept under my skin. Served me right for agreeing to this while wearing ripped jeans, a flimsy top, and a leather jacket. My zippered, heeled combat boots might be trendy and kick-ass for clubbing, but they were completely useless in this cold realm. I should have insisted on going home for my winter coat, gloves, boots… the whole nine yards.

Eirik better be on a hunger strike or close to death, or I swear…

I zipped my leather jacket, closed the coat, and pulled up the hood. Then I dove inside the pockets for gloves. Since I didn’t want to lose my runic connection with Echo’s artavus, I shoved my right hand, blade and all, into one glove. Luckily, they were large.  I was still cold.

The light from Echo’s glowing scythe bounced on the walls and created rainbow lights around us. I looked up and was almost blinded by the brilliance of the crystal on the ceiling. The cave was like a giant geode with sharp crystals on the ceiling, rougher ones covering the ground, and smooth, colorless ones on the walls. The walls were like mirrors and extended to our right, disappearing around the corner. Echo headed right, guiding me into the misty realm.

The pulse of magic hit me so hard my breath stalled. I’d often compared the French Quarter’s magical energy to a warm blanket, calming and welcoming. The magic here was like a bolt of lightning. Powerful. Electrifying. Seductive. It called to me. Dared me to connect with it. Doctor B had said the magic here was strong, and I’d seen its effect when I’d created fire on a wall, but I hadn’t felt it. Not like this.

“How can you stand it?” I whispered, looking at Echo.

“The cold is not so bad,” he said.

“Not the cold. The magic. When I was here four months ago, I barely felt it. But now…” I opened my senses and soaked it in. It was overwhelming, yet so addictive. “It’s like being one with the source of all magic. How can you stand leaving it for Earth? I’d never want to leave.”

Echo chuckled. “I felt the same way when I first arrived here and the effect hasn’t waned, but I’ve gotten used to it. Maybe even taken it for granted.” He continued forward, the path wide enough for several people to walk side by side. “As for leaving, reaping is temporary. No matter how many hours or days we spend on Earth or the other realms, it’s always nice to come back here because this realm gives us something we thought we’d lost centuries ago.”

“What?”

“A sense of belonging. A home. It feeds our…”

“Souls?” I asked when his voice trailed off.

He smiled, and I couldn’t tell whether he agreed with me or not. The man was an enigma. I stopped and looked to our right, my breath suspended. Someone or something had just opened the source of magic and channeled it to me. Echo’s voice grew faint as my focus shifted. I turned and headed toward the power, blind to everything but connecting with it. I stumbled forward and darkness closed around me, but I didn’t care. Each step brought me closer to where the power was originating from because it grew stronger.

“Whoa, that’s not the right direction,” Echo said, appearing in front of me and neatly blocking my path.

“Yes, it is.” I tried to walk around him, but he moved, his eyes glowing. I stared at him in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“Pointing you in the right direction. Hel’s Hall is that way.” He pointed behind me.

“Are you sure? The source of magic is coming from that way.” I pointed behind him.

He chuckled. “No, Little Witch. You were headed toward the Easten Gjöll Pass, the gateway to other realms. Magic is least concentrated there. Come on.”

He was wrong. The magic was concentrated ahead. I studied him. He was a big man, but I could take him. After all, my magic was stronger here.

I raised my hand, but he gripped my arm. “Snap out of it, Little Witch. Magic madness can make one do strange things.”

His words restored some level of sanity. I blinked, glanced into the darkness, and shivered. I couldn’t see anything, yet I’d plowed through the terrain with little regard for myself to find the source of the energy. It was still there, and the urge to push Echo away and run toward it only grew as he led me in the opposite direction. I glanced over my shoulder again, hoping to see a sign that I was right. There was nothing but shadows, yet the urge to find whatever was calling me grew.

“What the heck is wrong with me?”

I didn’t realize I’d spoken out loud until Echo said, “Nothing. You are, after all, only Mortal. Mortals are not used to this kind of magic. It can be overwhelming. Fight it.”

Easier said than done, but I tried. I couldn’t help thinking I was already linked to the source. If Eirik didn’t need me, I would have knocked down Echo, or tried to, and gone to it.

Let Eirik be okay.
I saved him once and I refused to be dragged into his mess again.
Oh, who am I kidding? I’m here now, aren’t I?
It was the damn dragon kiss. It linked me to him, and I couldn’t say no when he needed me.

I kept thinking about Eirik and didn’t realize that the seductive effect of the magical energy had faded until I heard the sound of gurgling water come from somewhere ahead. Fresh snow blanketed the ground, a fact I’d missed while chasing the source of magic.
Source of magic.
Sounded like something from
Charmed
, the Witches TV series Grams used to watch religiously, except theirs had been the source of evil.

I’d seen snow twice in my lifetime. The first time was a couple of years ago when a cold front swept across the gulf and brought freezing temperature to Louisiana. My town couldn’t handle the crazy weather. Without snowplows or salt machines to clear roads, everything had come to a stand still—schools and businesses along with our ability to think rationally. People had sped along the roads and highways as they rushed to get home, most of them not used to driving in the snow. Reports of accidents and pileups on the highway had filled the airwaves. Tow trucks and repair shops had reaped the benefit. Hayden and I had tried to enjoy winter activities, but those hadn’t gone well either. We hadn’t gotten enough snow or the right clothes. I’d always wanted to make a snow angel and build a snowman, but I couldn’t imagine doing that now because of my experience inside the Ironwood Maiden’s cave. Besides, Echo would think I had gone mad if I dropped on the snow and started waiving my arms and legs. No, this wasn’t the time to make a snow angel.

I shivered despite the leather coat. Cold crept to my toes, and the rips on my jeans were like windows to my skin. Despite the treaded soles of my boots, I would have kissed the snow several times if it weren’t for Echo.

Eirik had better be on his deathbed. That became a litany as I shivered. This was the fault of that damn dragon kiss. I should hate his dragon. But how could I hate something that had saved me? Not to mention, he was so beautiful and my family’s familiar.

Echo suffered through our trek in silence. It took some serious dedication to deal with this kind of weather without bitching because this must be how they escorted souls every day. He wore fingerless gloves, the runes on his face and arms connecting with those on the handle of his scythe.

We passed a covered bridge with a roof of gold. Or fool’s gold. It gleamed under the runic glow. Below us, the river rushed by, heading north. That was something I’d learned about rivers here. While most rivers on Earth flowed south, the rivers in the other realms, including Hel, flowed north. I thought I saw a boat moored down in the ravine, but I didn’t have time to confirm it because the moment we stepped off the bridge, something came out of the darkness and launched itself at me.

I screamed, lost my balance, and would have landed smack facedown in the ground if Echo hadn’t grabbed us both.

“Trudy,” I yelled.

“I can’t believe you are here.” She squeezed me tight and then pinched me.

“Ouch! What’s that for?” I was actually surprised I felt the pain. My skin should be numb with cold.

“Four months, Celestia! Couldn’t you even send a note to tell me you were okay?”

“I couldn’t because I wasn’t supposed to admit I knew about this place, you overgrown Jötun. That hurt.” I pinched her back, and she squealed in outrage. She was such a baby. “I’m happy to see you too, but I’m freezing my butt off out here. Let’s just go.”

Trudy slipped an arm around mine. “So, what have you been doing? Did you miss me? I missed you. You won’t believe the number of people—”

“Let’s talk inside. My lips are n-numb,” I said through shattering teeth. I wanted to know what was wrong with Eirik, but the cold hurt my chest and talking was too much effort.

Trudy’s sister, Modgud, or Modgie to everyone in Hel’s Hall, appeared with a giant torch raised high. The giantess guarded the gates of Hel with Garm, Hel’s hound.

“Nice to have you back, Mortal Witch,” Modgie said. She wasn’t a talker, and took her duties seriously. No one crossed the bridge to Hel’s Hall without her permission.

“It’s just for an hour, Modgie.”

She chuckled. “Sure it is.”

I didn’t like the way she said that. We followed her with Echo taking the rear. The ground shook as we got closer to the gates. Then the six-eyed giant hound appeared from the mist. His fangs dripped and his breath steamed the air. I froze. The hound slowed down and sniffed. Garm was so huge I could walk under him without my head touching his stomach.

“Come here, boy,” Modgie called out, but the dog moved closer to me. Hot breath fanned my face. Then he sat and slapped his tail on the snow.

“Pat him,” Trudy said.

Was she serious? I was an icicle that needed thawing, too cold to play nice with Hel’s pet. “Why?”

“Because he remembers you from the day Eirik asked him to guard you.”

“Seriously? After all this time?”

“Just pat him and let’s go,” Echo grumbled from behind me, and Garm growled.

“You know that dog doesn’t like you very much, Grimnir,” Modgie said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “You may want to stay back and keep quiet.”

“I don’t get it,” Echo said. “For centuries he was perfectly fine with me, but the last six months, he won’t come near me without trying to bite my head off.”

I ignored Echo, wiggled my left hand out of the glove, and reached out. “Don’t eat me, boy. You put a scratch on me and Eirik will get you.”

Modgie chuckled. “Eirik would never harm him. They’re best friends.”

“It’s nauseating how chummy they are,” Echo mumbled, and I wondered whether his problem was with Eirik or the hound. He sounded jealous.

Garm made a mewling sound and licked my hand and wrist. His tongue was warm and like a large, wet towel. He was so furry I wanted to bury my frozen face in his leg. Heck, I wanted to hop on his back and let him carry me the rest of the way.

“Good boy.” I patted his face. “Can you carry me and warm me? I can’t feel my legs anymore. I wasn’t going to do this, but I know you won’t mind.” I let my fingers sink into his massive leg and buried my face in his fur.

Oh, that felt nice.
Despite the temperature, warmth radiated from his skin. And the adorable dog sunk onto the ground and allowed me to use the thicker fur around his neck. I turned my head to warm my cheeks.

My eyes met with the others. They were staring at me as though I’d lost my mind. The need for warmth had a way of making humans do stupid things. This wasn’t one of them. Dogs were the best. We never owned any because my mother had refused to get one. Even after she’d left, I still couldn’t get one. I’d still hear her voice in the back of my head yapping about dogs not being our familiar. Where were we to find a dragon? That was then.

“We need to go,” Echo whispered, and Garm growled.

“It’s okay, pup. I’ll be back.” I ruffled the hound’s fur and stepped away. The cold rushed back to replace the warmth on my face. Modgie opened the massive gates and waited until we walked through before closing them again.

“Celestia, I’m going to make this easier for all of us now that we’ve passed that damn dog,” Echo said. Confused, I stared at him. The next second, he’d scooped me up in one sweep. “I hope you don’t mind going in feet first.”

“Oh yes, please. And I forgive you for threatening me with it earlier.”

He chuckled. “Trudy, catch up.”

He went into hyper speed and took off. How he could move through the snowy ground without falling was beyond me. Cold air slapped my face. Whatever thawing Garm had done disappeared. I let go of the artavus in my pocket to hold on to Echo and buried my face in his neck. Damn, he smelled nice. Not as stimulating as Eirik’s scent, but still nice nevertheless.

We arrived at the front entrance of Hel’s Hall, and a guard opened the doors. Being carried by a fast-moving Grimnir was like riding a roller coaster. Thrilling and scary. My stomach roiled. I needed a moment to find my footing when Echo set me down.

The warmth of the hall was a welcome change, and my skin tingled as circulation returned to it, but it wasn’t enough. My teeth still chattered, and I couldn’t feel my toes. I needed someone to warm me up, stat. Maybe a dragon. Since they breathed fire, they must also give out body heat. All I knew about them was that they were magical. There wasn’t a lot of literature on dragons.