Struck: (Phoebe Meadows Book 1) (20 page)

“If the snakes can help you, why have you waited this long to form an alliance with them?”

Fen’s face darkened. “I had a previous alliance with them long ago, when I was new here. In the end, the deal turned disastrous. They tried to take me prisoner instead of honoring the deal we had agreed upon. They intended to ransom me for their release.”

Why would anyone think Fen wouldn’t retaliate? “Exactly how disastrous are we talking?”

“When they crossed me, I decimated them. I left a few females and some young males alive and told them to remember what had happened that day and to pass the story on. If I ever came calling again, they were to honor our dealings or face my wrath. I have not needed them until now. These serpents remember.” He gestured to where the snakes were congregated, still hissing and huffing. “They will think twice before crossing me, but I must remain vigilant.”

“What’s in it for them? Why are they helping us?” I asked.

“They crave freedom. This is not their realm of origin. They were cast here, as I was, and seek their homeland above all else.”

That was an interesting tidbit. “Which realm are they from?”

“Jotunheim, land of the giants. Their natural habitat is mountainous and green, nothing like this wasteland here.” He swept his arm out. “This landscape pains them as much as it does us.”

“Wow,” I said. “They must have done something really bad to be sent here.”

Fen shrugged. “Not really. Mimir, the seer who guards the sacred well on Jotunheim, foresaw an uprising between the serpents and the giants. To ensure it never happened, the giants cast them here.”

I couldn’t even begin to understand the logic of these worlds. It all seemed counterintuitive. “That goes against the whole destiny thing you keep bringing up. If the snakes are supposed to rise up, won’t it happen eventually anyway? Even if they are cast here?”

“Likely,” he replied. “But as I’ve explained before, that is how we do things. If we get word of a threat, we eliminate it, much like humans. It’s intrinsic to our nature.”

I pondered that. Without the serpents’ help, we wouldn’t be able to get to the tree. “Maybe the snakes are meant for another purpose—” I was cut off as the Jondi leader slithered over to us.

“We
sssstay
here until we get word.”

Fen stalked forward. “If this is a trap, you will find your death in my jaws.”

“It
issss
no trap.
Jusssst
an
overssssight
. The threat ahead is likely a few demon
sssscouts
. They will be taken care of momentarily. I
ssssent
other troops to take care of the north. When word
comessss
back, we will carry on.”

The snake wound its huge head toward me, and I cringed back. It smiled and hissed before moving off to join the others.

A few moments later, vibrations ran underfoot. The leader seemed satisfied and ordered us to move on. We started again, this time with one snake in front, Fen and me, and two in the back. There were some shouts up ahead, and then silence. The two other serpents rejoined us without comment.

Apparently, both threats had been eliminated. For now.

We walked for a few hours, talking only sporadically, the heat oppressive and the topography changing little. It was how I imagined the Sahara Desert to be, but hotter and yuckier. As we passed crater after crater, I glanced in, imagining fire-breathing dragons nesting at the bottom. I was certain this would be their habitat if they existed. I decided to ask Fen once I caught up. “Do dragons exist in these realms?” I asked.

He slowed. “Yes. But they do not live here, and there are only a few in existence. Nidhogg is the most fearsome. That dragon resides at the base of Yggdrasil and is said to chew on its roots for sustenance. Though no one I know has ever witnessed the dragon in the flesh. During Ragnarok, Nidhogg is supposed to rise, bringing its curses with it. After Ragnarok, the dragon will spend eternity guarding the bodies of the fallen at the Shore of Corpses.”

“That sounds downright…jolly.” Everything about these worlds was doom and gloom. “Is there anything wonderful in these realms? All the stories you’ve told me so far are about death and destruction. Why would anyone choose to be here when Midgard holds such beauty?”

Fen cocked his head at me strangely. “Our worlds hold vast beauty, Valkyrie. Unparalleled to anything you’ve ever seen on Midgard. Asgard, home of the gods, is the most breathtaking of them all. The city’s walls are carved of ivory and stand nine stories tall. Windows as vast as you can imagine gaze out on spectacular views of crystalline rivers and mountains so massive their peaks touch the sky. There are lakes and waterfalls as far as the eye can see. Pathways paved in marble wind through the realm. The homes are lavish, gilded in gold and silver.” He sounded wistful. “Everything has harmony in my world, unlike Midgard, where everything seems on the verge of chaos.” New York City did court some chaos. My hometown was lovely, however. No chaos there. “There are other realms full of beauty as well. Jotunheim, where the serpents hail from, appears like Midgard’s mountainous West, except everything is bigger, grander, and far greener. Alfheim, where the elves reside, is mystical, full of twining forests and lush valleys.”

That did sound nice. “So it was just dumb chance I landed here? On hot, scalding Mars, instead of one of those beautiful places?” I shook my head as we trudged through a small crater. “Some girls have all the luck.”

Fen reached out a hand to aid me. I grabbed on, enjoying the feeling of the current as it leaped from his body to mine. “I think it was more than luck you landed here,” he finally answered. “The elves or giants would’ve bargained with your life freely, not caring if you lived or died, as is their way. Feelings do not factor in with outsiders.”

“Because Surtr is so kind and gentle?” I replied. “I’m thinking anything would’ve been better than what I went through here. The elves could’ve tied me up under a waterfall, and that would’ve been a thousand times better than what happened on Surtr’s altar.” Calling up the memories made me feel like vomiting. I pinned my eyes on the distant horizon so I could keep moving forward without breaking down. It was still too fresh.

“The elves would’ve subjected you to far worse. They deal in psychological warfare, burrowing inside your brain, teasing you with cruel imaginings until you feel your brain will explode. You would go insane from the false memories. The giants, on the other hand, are fascinated with sexual exploration. If you get my drift. You would not have survived their…proddings.”

Did he mean sexual…warfare? I’d had no idea there was even such a thing. “Honestly, I don’t even want to know what that means, and please don’t tell me.”

“What it means is beyond the physical wounds you sustained on this plane. You will heal in time, but the emotional wounds you would’ve endured in another realm would’ve debilitated you completely. Someone must be looking out for you. Someone very powerful.”

“Oh.” Before I had a chance to reply with more, the serpents in front slowed.

The leader made its way to us. “The crater of
Yggdrassssil
is up ahead. If the demons are going to attack, it will be
ssssoon
.”

“I can’t see any crater.” I went up on my tiptoes. Not that I could see a crater very easily, since it was
in
the ground.

“The serpent means in an hour or two,” Fen said, turning to the snake. “You will have contingents joining us well before then?”

“
Yessss
. We will be ready.”

Fen nodded and the snake left. We resumed our slog through the wastelands. “Why would it say it was up ahead if it’s an hour or two away?” I questioned. “That’s a long time from now.”

“In these realms, high alert is the only thing that keeps you alive. The snake was only indicating that Yggdrasil is within our reach, so we must double our guard.”

“M’kay.” I pondered. “But I thought we’d been on high alert…the entire time.”

Fen chuckled. “The chances we would’ve been ambushed by demons back there were one in several thousand. The chances we
will
be attacked now move up to one in five.”

We walked another half hour in silence.

I was drenched in sweat and feeling light-headed. My stomach wasn’t growling—not sure if that was ever going to happen again—but it craved sustenance. It was a deep, instinctual feeling. I knew that once I fed from the tree, I would feel amazing in a way no regular meal could satisfy me.

Idly, I wondered if I could ever eat food again. Or enjoy it?

Thinking back, Ingrid would eat popcorn and drink soda with me on movie nights. I had no idea if she did it for show or not. I’d fallen behind, so I hurried up to Fen. “You seem to know a lot about Valkyries,” I said as a segue. “Can I ask you something? Do you know if they eat regular food? I’m not a vampire now, am I? If I eat something, will I puke it up?”

He tossed a glance over his shoulder, grinning. “I’ve seen Valkyries partake in meals in my time. I have no idea how food tastes for them. They don’t need it to survive, but they seem to enjoy a good feast with gusto.”

Relief swept through me. It would be hard to participate in life on Midgard without eating meals. “Okay, thanks. I’ll have to ask Ingrid when I get back.” If I got back. This was my opportunity to convince Fen to let me go through the tree. I cleared my throat, keeping pace with him. “I have some powerful friends back on Midgard who can help me get back here, you know, if the dagger doesn’t work for you. If you let me go, I can come back and free you. You’d just have to stay close by and wait for me.”

“What friends?” he scoffed. “The lone shieldmaiden, Ingrid? That is hardly a powerful ally. And, I can assure you, no Valkyrie will help free me.”

“She will if I ask her to!” I insisted. “If I tell her you saved my life and you’re imprisoned here unfairly, I’m sure she will help. She’s honorable. She will do the right thing.”

Fen’s laugh was a deep baritone. “Shieldmaidens are honorable…to Odin alone. They are slaves who rarely think for themselves. They follow his cause blindly. In case you’ve forgotten, he is the reason I’m stuck on this plane. Each time I escaped, he sent his loyal Valkyries to hunt me down with orders to bring me back, dead or alive. Dead would’ve been preferable, though unlikely. They enjoyed their sport immensely, and I tell you they will not help you.”

I was at a loss and wondered if Ingrid had ever hunted Fen. “She’s not my only ally…I have more.” The raven kind of liked me. Ingrid had said the raven was old and powerful.

Fen raised his eyebrow. “Who do you have, little Valkyrie, to help me escape?”

“Huggie?” I’d phrased it like a question on accident. I’d meant to come off sounding confident, but I really had no idea if the bird would help me.

“Who is Huggie? He doesn’t sound all that powerful.”

Ingrid had told me the raven’s real name was Hugin, so I tried that. “I mean, Hugin?” Still a question. “Hugin is a raven—”

Fen stopped so abruptly I crashed into his back, bouncing off like I’d hit a wall. He spun around, grabbing me by the shoulders, his grip painful. To say his reaction surprised me was an understatement. “Who are you?” He shook me. And none too gently. “You have ties to the raven Hugin? The bird is Odin’s chief informant!” He let go, pushing me away as he spun around, his hands lofted in the air. “I should’ve known. I have been so stupid.” The snakes stopped, curious about Fen’s sudden behavior, and slowly formed a circle around us. “You had Gram in your possession. A weapon crafted for Odin alone. You glowed too brightly, yet you had no knowledge of our world. You reeled me in perfectly.” He turned and faced me, his voice low, his face furious. He stalked toward me. “I will ask you only one more time.
Who
are you?”

I took a few inadvertent steps backward.

Fen’s voice had boomed loudly, scaring me, but when a hiss sounded over my shoulder, I came to a halt. I picked the angry demigod over the snakes.

I’d made a huge mistake, and it was too late to take it back. “I’m no one! I told you the truth before. I’m not lying,” I cried. “Huggie…I mean, Hugin…showed up in my apartment unannounced the day I was struck. I’d never set eyes on the raven before. Then Ingrid came in, and everything went to hell! The ettins kidnapped me, tossed me in the tree, and you know the rest. I only met Hugin that one time. But he seemed to want to help me! So I figured if I got back to New York, I could find him. Ingrid said he was powerful…” I ended lamely, “So I thought the bird could help me get back to you.”

Fen shook his head. “I do not accept that answer. Odin does not lend his favorite possessions freely to just
anyone
. Who are you to him? Answer me!”

“I don’t know! You have to believe me! I don’t know Odin. I’ve never even met him.” Fen was far too angry for me to confess things I only partially knew to be true. I didn’t have the answers he wanted. Ingrid had told me Odin was my father, but I had no proof. If I told Fen that now, he’d toss me to the serpents as a mealtime snack and walk away.

He was in no frame of mind to listen to reason.

“Valkyrie, you are testing me to my very limits—”

A sound whizzed overhead, and a whoosh of flames erupted next to us.

“The
demonssss
are here,” a snake hissed. “We must alert the
otherssss
.”

Fen grabbed me, pressing me tightly against his stomach as he turned in a slow circle. “This is not over,” he ground in my ear. “Stay close to me, or you die.”