Empty Altars (18 page)

"We thank you." Freya turned to see two more giants and a half dozen witches top the cliff. "Inga, Diana, let me introduce you to Hrafn and Mar, giants who've aided us over the centuries."

Diana bowed her head in respect. Inga and Jorunda each dropped to one knee.

A young woman stepped forward. "I'm the witch, Asdis. My mother's a giant. My father was a dark dwarf."

"Was?" Tyr raised an eyebrow.

"Dark dwarves don't hide their opinions especially well. He was one of the first to fall at Heid's hands." The combination of giant and dwarf made an odd mix, Diana decided. The woman stood six feet tall with too large features and meaty limbs. "I have no use for black magic. None of us do." She motioned toward her friends. "A rumor spreads in our world that Hecate, the mother of witchcraft, is among you. We come to seek her blessing."

Diana stepped forward. "I'm Hecate, among other things. And I welcome you. But how do I know I can trust you?"

Each witch joined hands. "We're prepared to take an oath. All of us are, the giants included."

"A young girl just died from an oath she gave Heid."

"We're already prepared to give our lives for you. We ask for the oath, so that you have no second thoughts about us."

What more could she ask of them? Diana thought. She glanced at Tyr and he nodded.

"I apologize," he told them, "but we can't afford extra risks at the moment. I consider you friends and allies, but an oath will ease our minds."

Diana told them the words, and each of them repeated them. If any or all of them purposely did anything to endanger them, they'd die.

That done, Asdis rubbed her hands together and beamed. "Now, what can you teach us, and how can we be of help?"

A great burden lifted from Diana's shoulders. The heavens had blessed them. Allies had appeared out of nowhere to help them. And they were needed. "How strong is your energy?" she asked.

In answer, Asdis raised her hand and shot a white, hot ball her way.

Diana caught it and crushed it. "Not bad, but not wonderful. That's where we'll start. But not tonight."

Tyr looked around the clearing. "We have no place to shelter you. The village is too small."

Ormr shrugged beefy shoulders. "Here, we can sleep in peace. We're safe in the meadow. If anyone scales the cliff, we'll hear them. Some people support Heid, but before long, it won't just be sympathizers of gods who'll be hunted. Anyone who disagrees with her will be destroyed."

They began to lie in the grasses, ready to sleep under the stars. Diana tried to think of a way to provide some comfort, but it wasn't needed. The minute they closed their eyes, they fell into an exhausted slumber.

Tyr shook his head. "I wonder how many giants are being hunted and how many witches are in hiding."

Freya put her hands on her hips, her stance angry. "You knew Skeggi, Tyr. He was a good giant, a good friend. Heid must be very sure of herself in Giantland if she insists on being obeyed."

Tyr nodded, clearly as troubled as she was. "We'll accomplish nothing standing here, debating. Let's go to our beds." His eyes sought Diana's, and she recognized a need there—for an instant, he looked vulnerable—but he shook his head, clearing it. "We need to be fresh in the morning."

Morning? Diana thought she could sleep most of the next day, but there were things to do, and she was sure that Inga would rouse her.

"We'll return to the meadow early tomorrow," Freya said.

"Why journey back to your marble home? We can make room for you here, in the village," Jorunda offered.

But Diana remembered the hard, wooden benches the Norse considered beds. Freya must have considered them too. "We thank you, warrior, but we'd rest better in our own beds."

As Diana, Freya, and Inga made their way through the spruce trees to their hut, Diana's mind wandered. She'd never thought about innocent bystanders in Giantland. Perhaps Heid had made a tactical error. It was hard to fight on two fronts. But Heid seemed ruthless. If she had to kill anyone and anything that stood in her way, it would mean nothing to her. She'd stoop to any vicious act to win.

Chapter 17

The next morning, the clip-clop of horse hoofs woke them. Freya struggled out of bed and went to greet the messenger of the Norse gods. Diana and Inga followed more slowly.

"Morning, Hermod," Freya said.

The nimble god smiled. "The next time your image comes to summon me, please clothe yourself. I almost died of happiness."

Freya laughed. "So you got my message?"

"Yes, and you looked lovely as always. I brought what you requested." He patted his eight-legged, steed’s neck and handed her a gleaming short sword in a shining scabbard. A cat jumped from his lap to hurry toward her. It wound around her ankles and rubbed its cheek against her leg.

Noir arched his back and hissed.

Freya's smoke-gray cat narrowed his blue eyes into angry slits.

Hermod watched them, amused. "Do you think they'll get along?"

"They're familiars. They'll have to be work buddies, if nothing else."

Hermod glanced at Freya's golden hair—loose and rumpled, waving around her shoulders. "I take it you can't get by on looks alone this time?"

"I don't want to make a lovely splot on the bottom of a giant's heel," she told him.

He laughed and gave a small salute. "Father has tasks for me today. I must go. Good luck to you."

"Tell Woden
hello
for me," she called as he raced away.

Diana picked a grape off the bunch she held. "A weapon?" she asked.

"My weapon. Your arrows are great, but I'd rather have my short sword."

"Why short?" Inga asked.

Freya smiled. "Size isn't everything."

They ate a quick breakfast of bread and cheese before they made the trek back to the village. Freya, this time, slung a belt with her sword over her shoulder. When Diana stared, the goddess said, "I collect dead warriors from battlefields. I know my way around weapons. I'll feel more comfortable if I carry one."

"Do you know how to use it?"

Freya pulled it from its sheath and sliced a limb off a nearby tree. "Yes, I do."

"Good." Diana fell into step beside her.

Inga looked at the knives Diana carried and the quiver with bow and arrows on her back. "I should learn how to fight too."

The goddesses looked at her. Beautiful, yes. Deadly, no. "We'd rather keep you alive to read runes," Freya said. "The village will need you when Tyr decides it's safe for you to return there."

Inga pressed her lips together, unhappy. "You two do both—magic and warfare. Why can't I?"

"Can you kill?" Diana asked.

"Me?" Inga squirmed.

"Gudrun had food sent to you. Why not give you chickens for meat, rabbits in huts? Why not make you self-sufficient?"

Color stained Inga's neck and cheeks as her blush spread upward. "It was Gudrun's way of keeping track of me."

"Really?" Diana handed Inga her bow. She pointed. "There's a squirrel. My arrows never miss. Kill it."

"Why? For food?" Inga watched the squirrel scamper from one branch to a higher one.

"Meat and fur," Diana said. "All you have to do is shoot."

Inga let out an exasperated sigh. "This isn't fair! And you know it. I'd have killed the giant who held Jorunda."

"You were ferocious, but it was to save the man you love." Diana shook her head. "If you carry weapons, you can't hesitate to defend yourself. You would. You'd die."

"But…."

"Fighting's not your strength," Freya said. "Gudrun didn't fight, yet she was every bit as powerful as any warrior. The seer chose you to take her place. That's your calling."

Freya's words satisfied her. Inga returned the bow to Diana.

"I've met many warriors," Diana told her. "Not that many seers. Respect your gift, as much as you respect others'."

With a quick nod, Inga reached for the cord around her neck. It held her pouch of runes. She touched it gently. "You're right. This gift is enough."

They were almost to the clearing that surrounded the wooden fence when howls made the hairs rise on Diana's arms. Hellhounds—and lots of them. The women started to run. They raced past the last trees, out into the open, and stopped at the sight before them.

Ormr struggled on the ground, wrestling an unseen opponent. He gripped an invisible neck and throttled it. Before he could toss the body aside, sharp teeth ripped a deep gash in his right forearm. He roared in fury and reached for empty air. Another set of teeth tore a chunk out of his left calf.

"Stay here!" Diana told Inga. "Climb a tree out of sight. But stay safe."

Asdis and her fellow witches stood in a circle, arms out, shooting energy randomly. Something grabbed one of Asdis' arms and tried to yank her away. Her friend slapped the air in front of Asdis and hit a solid, invisible body. She shot a bolt of power into it, and Asdis pulled her arm free. Blood dripped from the double row of teeth marks that punctured her skin.

"Enough!" Diana rushed forward. She shouted her chant and revoked the obscuring spell.

A hellhound was leaping for Hrafn's neck. The giant caught it in both of his hands and squeezed. The hound howled its death throes, then went limp.

Ormr grabbed a hound by its tail and hurled it against a rock.

Tyr and Jorunda came running from the village. Jon followed close behind them, but Griswold called him back. The dark warrior hesitated, clearly torn, but another sharp order came from the chieftain. Jon hurried back inside, and the gates closed quickly behind him.

Tyr swung his sword and sliced a hound in half. Jorunda skewered one in midair.

Asdis and the five other witches shot bolts of energy at the hellhounds they saw. The hounds spasmed and died.

Mar grabbed a hound that tried to circle him and crunched it against his knee. Bones snapped. A rib protruded from its thick pelt. It whimpered and died.

Freya placed her feet firmly and pulled her sword. She stood in front of Inga. No hound would get past her.

Diana placed a fistful of arrows on her bow string, ready to shoot, and the hounds ran for the cliffs.

"Let them go!" Freya cried.

Everyone stopped to stare. Diana eased her bow string back into place.

"Let Heid see that they had to run for their lives," Freya said. "Let her know we're more than her equals."

Ormr's arms fell limp to his sides. Asdis lowered her hands. The others followed. The hounds raced to the edge of the cliffs and jumped. They landed part way down and scrambled below the tree tops far below.

The minute everyone caught their breaths and knew they were safe, Asdis turned to Diana. "How did you do that? How did you make them visible?"

"How advanced are you?" Diana asked.

Asdis and the other witches locked eyes. One of them said, "We've never gotten enough witches to have a coven. We practice, but it's sort of like the blind leading the blind."

Diana gave a quick nod. "Then it's time you learn the obscuring spell and its reversal. And you might as well learn now." She took their hands and said, “Heal first.” Her energy rippled through them. Gashes shut, and wounds healed. That done, she pulled the witches away from the others, ready to start their first lesson right on the spot. She glanced back to see Tyr and Jorunda dragging dead hounds to the edge of the cliffs and tossing them over. Ormr and his fellow giants joined in. Not a bad strategy. A pile of mangled corpses might give the next group pause for thought.

"Did you hear anything before you were attacked?" Diana asked Asdis.

"We heard dirt shifting. We looked over the cliff, but didn’t see anything."

"Because of this." Diana said the words and faded from view.

"Are you invisible?" Asdis asked.

"No, watch." She kicked her feet across the blades of grass, and her movements shimmered, not quite matching her surroundings.

"How could anyone notice that?" one of the new witches asked.

"You will, in time. Here's what you do." She spent the next hour teaching them spells. Freya and Inga came to listen. Tyr and Jorunda returned to the village. When each witch blended into her background and then became visible again, Diana gave a thumbs-up. "You're getting it." She found she was enjoying herself. She didn't stop with obscuring spells and reversals. She went on to teach them chants that would bind subjects in place, chants that would stiffen them like boards, and chants that would crumple them like wadded-up paper. "These will work on hellhounds," she told them, "but any witch with experience will know how to reverse them. It will become a duel to the finish."

"And giants?" Asdis asked. "Will any of these stop giants?"

"Most won't. They're too big, unless you're like me and can grow to their size. Your energy would only zap part of them. But you can move the ground beneath them and summon winds to hold them at bay." She went on to new lessons.