Struck: (Phoebe Meadows Book 1) (32 page)

He seemed torn. We needed to leave New York immediately, but taking a portal was out of the question. I wasn’t going to risk getting dropped into the Norns’ lair, or worse. Was there a worse? I didn’t want to know. “Let’s go with him,” I urged. “We don’t have a better solution right now, and he’s proven he’s on our side for now. Before I was snatched, Ingrid was taking me to Teterboro to take a private jet, but I don’t think it’s safe to fly, and I’d have no idea how to find out where the Valkyries keep their jet.” A plane crash sounded the least desirable option out there.

Fen nodded once, making his decision. “Fine. But once we arrive at the Valkyrie stronghold, you will disappear, is that clear?”

“Whatever you want,” Tyr agreed. “But the human must come with us. It’s unsafe for her to stay here. The dark elves will have her scent and will take her for questioning.”

Before I could add anything, Sam piped in, “You bet I’m coming with! I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Plus, you’re not leaving me here with those creepy things crawling all over my building. Did you say we’re going to a Valkyrie stronghold? That sounds amazing.”

We took off at a fast clip down the street, Fen leading the way. Once we reached the marina, we ran toward the place where Tyr’s boat had been docked.

It wasn’t there.

“Your boat better be cloaked from view,” Fen said as Tyr jogged up. Tyr was still shirtless, but he didn’t appear to be cold in the least. Weather must be much different on Asgard. Either that, or gods could regulate their body temperature much more efficiently.

“It seems to have left,” Tyr replied, glancing around.

“What do you mean it
left
?” I asked. “How can boats just pick up and leave?”

“If the boat senses a threat, it’s programmed to disappear,” he answered. “That’s what makes it safe.”

“Where did it go?” I asked. “The dark elves will be on our trail soon.”

“The boat will give me a signal when it resurfaces.”

“When will that be, master?” Fen asked, his voice full with sarcasm.

“My name rolls off your tongue so well, just like long ago,” Tyr replied, not missing a beat.

“Don’t you have some kind of key fob thingy?” Sam asked, her arms wrapped around her body, trying to keep warm. “Like cars have? We can’t be more advanced here than Asgard. I mean, come on!”

Tyr looked a little disgruntled. “The boat is spelled to protect itself and its inhabitants. That’s why I live on it. It will surface soon, likely in this same place once it assesses that the trouble has left.”

“But the trouble won’t be gone. The dark elves are on our trail. Can’t you call it back somehow?” I asked.

He rubbed the back of his neck. “If I call it back, I reveal myself.”

“Reveal? To who? And how?” I paced on the dock. We didn’t need any more sirens to let people know where we were.

“My father, for one,” he replied. “And any others who tune in to that kind of thing.” That had to include the Norns. “I have to send a ripple with my signature on it through the worlds to find it. The boat is keyed only to me, so it would get the message. But so would anyone else who’s listening.”

“It’s too risky,” Fen said.

I nodded my agreement.

“Though,” Tyr pondered, “no one knows I’m with you, and I’ve been gone a long time. Likely no one is going to notice if I call it, as they won’t know we’re together.”

“Can dark elves get messages easily from Midgard to their realm?” I asked. “Because they know we’re together.”

“Yes, in seconds,” Tyr answered. “They are always linked by magic. Their leader, Invaldi, will be keeping close tabs.”

“Then it’s too risky, just as I said,” Fen replied, crossing his arms. “The realms have to know I’ve escaped by now. Once the news is out that we’re all together, it will be a massive hunt.”

There was a quiver under our feet as the dock moved.

“What was that?” Sam asked, fear stark in her voice.

The dock vibrated again.

It had to take a huge force to make concrete sway like that. The water in the river was agitated, lapping against the pilings violently.

My gaze landed squarely on Fen. “I think Tyr should call the boat back. This feels like something bigger than dark elves.”

Fen’s face hardened. “Tyr, call the boat.”

“Are you sure—” Tyr started.

“I’m sure. There is only one thing that can cause a tremor like this from below the sea,” Fen stated evenly.

“What?” I asked.

“Jormungand.”

“No way,” Sam breathed. “It really exists?”

“
Who
?” I asked as the dock tremored again, this time with more intensity. I glanced at Sam. It was strange that she knew more about my new world than I did.

“My brother,” Fen stated evenly.

“The Midgard Serpent,” Tyr finished. “I’m calling the boat now.”

31

__________________________

____________

“Y
our brother is a
serpent
?” I tried to keep my voice steady. Serpent made sense, right? Like having a sibling who lived in the ocean was not totally out of the ordinary. “Why would he be after us?”

“The same reason I would hunt him.” Fen began to pace. “To free myself of my bondage. My brother is a shifter, like me. He’s been imprisoned by the sea longer than I’ve been incarcerated. He seeks freedom, and the Norns have likely offered it to him as his reward. He is here to claim it.”

I swallowed. “Like, how big of a serpent are we talking about?” Behind me, Tyr stood with his head bowed and his arms high in the air. I hoped the boat appeared quickly. Though, at the moment, a boat didn’t seem like
exactly
the right choice.

“Big enough to do serious damage.” Fen walked to the edge of the dock and peered over the side as it shook again.

Sam came up to me, whispering in my ear, “Maybe we should leave another way? It might not be smart to get on the water with his…brother so close. How weird did that statement just sound? My life has become a figment of my imagination.”

“Your life?” I chuckled. “Try mine. Do you know what the serpent looks like?” We were speaking in hushed tones.

“Think leviathan.”

I made a face. “What if I don’t want to?”

Fen shook his head, hearing us just fine. “We must use the boat. Once it senses danger, it will transport us to safety. That is our only option. If we go back into the city, more danger lies ahead. It seems Verdandi has left no stone unturned. Dark elves will not be all that is waiting for us.”

Tyr was still chanting, arms lofted above his head. The water where the boat had been moored wavered. I hoped that was a good sign.

A splash came from our right, about fifty yards away.

“Hurry,” I urged Tyr, fear clinging to the edges of my voice. “It’s coming.”

“Working on it,” he replied. “It will be here shortly. It takes time to travel across realms.”

The dock tremored roughly as shouts came from the street. I looked up to see an army of dark elves headed straight for us. There had to be more than thirty.

Sam clutched my arm tightly. “I never thought my life would end like this. Being hunted by mythological creatures in my pajamas. Honestly, it never entered my mind.”

“We’re not dying,” I stated evenly, shoving her behind me. Fen was right—when people I loved were in danger, I wouldn’t hesitate to defend them. My need to protect Sam was instinctual.

I brought my weapons out in front of me—the newly acquired ice pick and Gram. The beasties were almost to us when a terrible roar rent the air. The dark elves skidded to a stop, toppling into each other like they were exiting a clown car.

A low growl erupted behind us.

“Is that what I think it is?” Sam whispered, clutching me painfully. “Fenrir is the son of Loki, and he’s a wolf. Is your boyfriend a wolf, Phoebe? Or do sea serpents growl?”

We both slowly turned.

Fen stood not three feet behind us in all his glory, dark fur billowing in the moonlight. He was several heads taller than we were, his teeth absolutely gigantic. My hand wouldn’t even fully close around one. Not that I wanted to give it a try. But still.

He lifted his head and howled at the moon, which was partially occluded by clouds. I desperately hoped that any human within a ten-mile radius had not heard that.

The dark elves picked themselves up and arranged themselves in a fumbling line, seemingly unsure what to do. Then they began to chatter amongst themselves.

The pilings beneath us started to shake in earnest as something rammed itself into them. I didn’t want to think about how big that something was. A leviathan could be as big as a cruise ship.

“Tyr!” I called, holding on to Sam. “You need to hurry.”

“It’s almost here,” he answered. “Get ready to jump.”

Fen paced in front of us as Sam and I made our way to the side of the dock where Tyr stood. He’d lowered his arms and muttered something under his breath, his head angled over the side of the dock.

“Who are you talking to?” I picked up on the words
brother
and
futile
.

“The Midgard Serpent,” he answered, like it was normal that he hurl insults into the Hudson.

I peered over the dock. Only darkness lurked below. “I don’t think it can hear you.”

Tyr flashed me a grin. It was the first time he’d even attempted to crack a smile. He didn’t look nearly as menacing with his happy face on. “I am cursing it. Our brother Thor has a beef with this particular serpent. If he were here, instead of grooming his two prized goats or having servants tend to his every need, he would be tearing apart the dock to get at it.”

I coughed. Hard. I had to slap my chest to regain my composure. “Did…did you say ‘our’ and ‘Thor’ and ‘brother’ in the same sentence?”

“I did. You have much to learn, sister.” He grinned again.

I was about to answer when Tyr’s face suddenly changed from smiling to serious as he lunged forward. He grabbed both Sam and I under his powerful arms and, without pause, tossed us from the dock.

The open water, white-capped and rough, loomed beneath us.

I could almost imagine the jaws of the serpent coming up to greet us, gobbling us up in one massive bite. I screamed, still clutching my weapons, one in each hand, thinking this was going to be the end. I’d been such a fool to trust Tyr! All he’d really wanted to do was kill me the entire time.

The boat solidified a second before we landed.

I tumbled and rolled onto the deck, coming up quickly, my mouth poised to tell Tyr exactly what I thought of that stunt. But I was silenced as Fen leaped into the air above me, soaring fluidly, his body aimed toward the stern as the biggest sea serpent I’d ever seen—which was an oxymoron, since I’d never seen one—came roaring up out of the depths to meet him.

A scream caught in my throat.

The serpent’s mouth was bigger than Fen’s entire body! He was going to be eaten alive.

At the last possible moment, the powerful wolf pivoted his body, his mouth latching on to the creature’s neck as they both plunged under the water in a torrent of waves.

I ran toward the back of the boat, trying to keep my footing, hoping beyond hope Fen would surface immediately.

There was nothing there, not even any bubbles.

The boat bounced as Tyr landed behind me. “Is the human okay?” he asked in a worried tone.

I’d forgotten Sam! I glanced over my shoulder. She was splayed on the deck where we’d been tossed. I rushed to her side, putting my weapons in my pockets. “Sam, Sam,” I called, patting her face with my hand. “Are you okay?”

She sputtered, her eyes creasing open. “
Ow
.” She rubbed her forehead as she blinked. “I think so. My brain feels like it’s been cracked open. Lemme lie here for a second. I need to get my wits about me.”

“Okay,” I told her, glancing around until I spotted an old wool blanket. I rushed over and snatched it up and covered my friend with it. “I have to find Fen. Stay here.”

“Not going anywhere,” she muttered.

I rushed back to the stern and peered over the edge again. The water was dark, nothing visible. To make matters worse, the boat began to blink like it was getting ready to disappear. “We can’t leave yet,” I said, my voice a little frantic. “Fen is still down there!” Tyr stood to my left, glancing up at the dock where the dark elves had amassed. They peered down at us, their greedy fingers drumming, their faces smiling grotesquely. “Why aren’t they attacking us?” I asked. “We’re easy pickings now that Fen’s gone.”

“They wait to see if the Midgard Serpent will do their work for them,” he told me. Then he called up to the elves, “Isn’t that right? You wait to snatch the prize without doing any of the work.”

“We will wait,” one of them called back. “The serpent will be upon you soon enough. We are not so foolish as to get eaten.”

I grabbed on to Tyr’s arm. “Please tell me Fen’s not gone.”

“He’s not gone.”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked, hope resonating.