Heroes (Eirik Book 2) (2 page)

Pain shot up my spine as bones snapped and reformed. I grew bigger, until my head touched the ceiling. My tail reached the other side of the room. Modesty and manners receded until they became a faint echo in the back of my mind. I stretched and grinned.

Food. I need more food.

I demolished the rest of the sandwiches, blowing the nasty greens off the plate and wolfing down the remaining meat and cheese. I hated vegetables and the condiments tasted funny. The basket fell to the ground, but I didn’t care. I reached inside for the last loaf of bread. My favorite. It had meat inside it. Maera often saved the best for last. Damn, my jaw was stuck in the basket again. It didn’t stop me from finishing every crumb.

I was happy they’d expanded the room to accommodate my size, but it took some maneuvering before I lifted my front paw and knocked the damn basket off. The result wasn’t pretty. A chuckle from behind told me Mother was watching. She’d already opened the door. I backed out of the room, still chewing on the pastry.

“Happy to entertain you, Mother,” I said, my words coming out in English. It hadn’t taken me long to master the use of magic in Helheim to make my speech coherent. It was like creating portals. You focused, willed it, and it happened. “And no more baskets with handles, please.”

“Tell Maera, not me,” she retorted.

As soon as I cleared the door, she lifted her hand, and I lowered my head. She gently stroked my beautiful scales. They ranged in color from eggshell to gold, so I couldn’t blame her for wanting to touch them. I should have “magnificent” tattooed on my forehead. I turned my head, so she could stroke under my neck, and purred.

Who knew scales would be so much more sensitive than skin? I let Mother lull me with her touch, knowing she was up to something. It had better not be about the party and choosing a bride crap. No engagement to some girl when I had Celestia. My sweet Celestia. I should go visit her.

“Eirik, there’s a party tonight and—”

“I won’t be back until it’s over,” I said quickly as I lifted my head and moved away from her. Mother sighed, and her eyes grew sad. Damn, I was going to rot in Corpse Strand for not being a good son. I could go as a dragon. That should impress the ladies. It was why they were here, wasn’t it?

No, it wouldn’t. It wasn’t the fact that I was a dragon and son of Hel that had drawn these people to my home. The word was out that I would be the future ruler of the gods after Ragnarok. Not me in the dragon form, of course. No one could handle that. Heck, I didn’t even think the gods themselves would ever be ready for the fully grown, most magnificent, and fiercest dragon in all the realms sitting in the golden chair and issuing orders. So yeah, I would wear the crown and be the Alfadir, until there was trouble. Then I’d switch forms and go dragon on their asses.

Unfortunately, every father out there hoped his bloodline would continue into the next world, and that meant marrying me. It didn’t hurt either to know that a dragon was one of the most powerful beings and I would protect my family with everything I had. That meant their daughter and grandchildren would survive Ragnarok and live in the new hall in Idavoll after Asgard got destroyed.

“Eirik,” Mother said softly. “This party is in your honor. To celebrate your glorious return home and defeat of the other dragons.”

The urge to tell her yes became overwhelming. It was time to go.

“Mother, you should know better than to appeal to me now. I told you before. We are one in the same. If I said no before I shifted, the answer will still be no afterward.” Damn, that was hard, and I hated seeing the disappointment in her eyes. I bumped her with my head, causing her to slightly lose her balance, and grinned when she scowled. “Give your guests my apologies and try to have fun.” I whipped my wings for lift off.

“I expect you to be back by tonight, Eirik.”

“I will. Later, Mother.” I took off, the wind created by my wings whipping up the snow around her. She still watched me when I left the hall. Sweet Mother. She was the best.

For four months, she’d focused on training me, pushing me hard physically and mentally, and making sure I could shift seamlessly from one form to the other while in the middle of a fight. Every night, I’d fallen into bed exhausted, only to wake up the next morning and do it all over again. I knew she wanted me to be strong, so I had busted my tail and hadn’t complained.

But a few times a week I had sneaked off and searched for
her
scent. Granny’s. Not Celestia’s. Hers was always with me, and I knew where to find her. Thinking about her made my scales itch. I hated waiting, but finding my sister was more important for now.

My grandmother, the evil Ironwood Maiden, will not have her.

Now that was one family member I’d like to disown. I searched for her scent, inhaling deeply and turning my head. Instead of moving in a straight line above the mountains, I moved between peaks, rose higher over some, and dove into adjacent canyons, always sniffing and searching.

After an hour, I dipped even lower and landed by a lake. It had a weird name I couldn’t remember. The water was cold and clear, reflecting the snowcapped peaks surrounding it. It was a beautiful day even though a thick layer of clouds hid the sun. Everything was still, as though the entire world held its breath.

I stiffened, turned my head, and sniffed. There were no shadows on the mountains surrounding the lake, yet I knew I wasn’t alone. The scent was familiar. I sniffed again. It wasn’t my grandmother’s.

Please, let it not be a girl dragon.

No matter what my mother said, I suspected she wanted me to choose a female dragon. She equated dragons with strength and a better chance of survival. Maybe I would have chosen a dragon bride if I hadn’t met Celestia first. She was always on my mind. Thinking about her made me restless. All I wanted was to be near her.

I drank from the lake and caught my reflection.

My horns rose majestically from my mane, except for the broken tip of one. I tried to ignore it. Anything that marred the perfection of my reflection wasn’t worth noticing. Even though I was tawny in coloring, the horns were white and my mane was darker at the base and lighter toward the top. Since they weren’t covered with scales, only skin and fuzz, the runes tended to glow more at the tips. The coolest part was that I could control the intensity of the runes along the horns. The effect, combined with my gleaming scales, was awesome. After meeting the other dragons, I knew I was a prime dragon specimen. My eyes were drawn to the chipped horn once more.

It was a constant reminder of the day I’d lost Celestia. I grimaced. I hadn’t really lost her. I’d given her the space she needed to heal. She’d gotten hurt on my watch and had every right to refuse to see me. I had respected her wishes. Sort of.

I wondered what she’d think of Mother’s manipulations and this ridiculous mating ritual. She’d probably laugh and then get insulted on my behalf. She was a contradiction.

With one last look at my mesmerizing reflection, I took off and continued flying east. The scent reached me again. Someone was definitely following me. If this were Earth, I would have been concerned about a stalker. In Helheim, only an idiot would mess with me and expect to win. My reputation had reached all the other realms.

Maybe it was one of the guests. Most of them, I was convinced, used the opportunity to come check out Eljudnir, as Hel’s Hall is often called, in addition to parading their daughters.

There was only one problem. I wasn’t ready to settle down or be engaged to some girl I just met. I’d barely turned eighteen and had plenty of time to decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

Then there was Celestia. My gem. Once a dragon found his gem, there was no taking it from him. Celestia was mine. Sneaking off to see her wasn’t enough. I needed her here with me. Letting go of Cora had been a lot easier.

The scent tickled my nose again, and I glanced over my shoulder and studied the horizon. All I saw were mist and snow-covered mountaintops, yet I knew I wasn’t alone. If only it was my grandmother’s scent I was getting, I’d be celebrating instead of getting irritated. Once again, I tried to place it.

In the last month, I’d flown over these mountains and searched caves and valleys for my grandmother with little success. The ice
Jötnar
I’d met and talked to all claimed not to have met her. They could have lied, but I had no way of confirming it. I wasn’t a mind reader. However, I could smell fear. They’d been scared.

I reached the longest and tallest mountain ranges in the north, landed, and exhaled. The air was crisp and clean. Behind me lay the misty, frozen nothingness of Helheim. Ahead, the land sloped to the endless valley of Urd, the land of the Norns. Mist hugged the bottom, but smack in the middle, the crystal towers and the white walls of Nornsgard rose majestically and gleamed in the afternoon sun peeking from behind the thick clouds.

This was the fourth time I’d come to this spot. Each time, I’d swooped toward the gleaming walls only to watch them disappear. I’d opened portals so close I saw the crystal walls, only to step through and find myself on a glacier. The last time, I heard voices, female voices, only to fly through the portal and into that damn lake. It was a wonder I’d made it back before the portal closed. Maera hadn’t lied when she’d said portals shifted and opened in weird places in this realm.

A whoosh of powerful wings came from behind me, and I turned. At first, all I saw was a shadow in the mist. It grew closer and bigger.

Please, don’t let it be a dragon girl.
I could face trouble of any kind, except a girl dragon. A gray dragon came out of the mist, hovered briefly, and landed a few yards away. I recognized him. I’d fought him a couple of weeks ago. He was a good fighter, but had no stamina. I had a feeling he’d just gone through the motions for the sake of his family. He was here with his father, his sister, and half his village. In fact, I believed he and his sister were the ones making a ruckus across the sky earlier.

He bowed, but I continued to watch him, trying to remember his name. K-something. Could Mother have sent him to follow me? Spy on me?

“May I approach, Baldurson?” he asked. I knew he probably spoke his language or dragon tongue, which was basically animal language, but used magic so I heard them in English.

Got it!
“It’s Karle, right?”

“Yes, Baldurson.” The dragon bobbed his head in deference once more. “I hope I’m not bothering you.”

I hadn’t stopped on an isolated mountaintop to bond with another dragon. I wanted to tell him to get lost, but he didn’t look like a spy. He seemed shy and awed by my presence, naturally.

“I came here to be alone.” The dragon bowed again. Three times was too much. “Don’t do that.” Confusion flashed on his face. “Bowing. Stop it. I’m not my mother or father. My name is Eirik.”

“I’m sorry for disturbing you, Bald—Eirik. I will leave.”

We were two hours away from Eljudnir. Since he’d followed me all this way, he must have a reason. “No, it’s okay. What are you doing here, Karle? And I hope this is not about your sister.”

He shuddered. “I wouldn’t wish Olea on anyone. She has a big mouth,” he added when I frowned.

I chuckled. “I know girls like her.”

“
Jötun
?”

“No, Mortals.”

“Is it true you were raised in Mid—?” He lowered his head. “Pardon my forwardness, Baldurson—Eirik. I hope I didn’t offend you. I’m looking for my sister. She sneaked out of the hall, and knowing her, she’s up to something that will get me in trouble with our father.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I kept quiet. The mountain was far from Eljudnir. There was no way he’d followed me because of his sister. Unless he’d assumed I had sneaked off to secretly meet her.

“Well, uh, I better continue my search,” he said.

“Karle,” I said before he could take off, and he looked my way. “How old is your sister?”

“Thirteen.”

Jeez. “Why would you want her married at such a young age?”

“Betrothed, not mated. Olea swore she’d never marry, and Papa would allow her to stay a maiden and join the army. Ironwood is famous for their maiden warriors. I do not want her hanging around forever. She complicates my life as it is.”

“So you want her to be someone else’s problem?”

“Exactly.”

“Sorry, I don’t want the job.” We laughed. Then, as though he remembered he was talking to me, he stopped. I pretended not to notice. “So have you ever been there?”

He followed where I was pointing and chuckled. “The moving hall of the Norns. So many have tried to find its exact location and failed. I’ve flown to the peaks of Nidfj
ö
ll, the tallest mountain near home, seen the towers above River Elivagar, and headed straight for it. I crash-landed in the river. Another time, I found myself in a sunny field of flowers. No one is supposed to find Nornsgard unless the Norns want you to find it. That’s what they say.”

“They who?”

“Clan elders. They were told by Angrboda, who knew everything.”

“Who is Angrboda?”

He stared at me like I’d lost my mind.

“Is he your leader?”

He frowned. “Angrboda was, uh, your grandmother, Baldurson.”