War and Famine: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Revelations Book 2) (10 page)

“Is that why you’re here to get me? Because you aren’t actually allowed to interfere?” Ian mulled over the words as he said them, and the truthfulness of them seemed completely reasonable. After all, there were likely forces in play that could squash him like a bug, and until now, they hadn’t done much. Hell, they’d faced down Jormungand, and even that deity hadn’t been able to act directly. He’d had to use Sabastin’s daughter as a proxy.

“You are correct. I am not allowed to directly interfere. If I am forced to take matters into my own hands, it could cause a backlash of unfathomable proportion.” Vidar shook his head. “It is why Freyr’s latest gambit has ended so badly for him.”

“What do you mean?” Ian asked as the deity shifted uncomfortable.

“There are several major events that take place within Ragnarok. One of them is Freyr’s demise at Surt’s hands. To try to stop this, Freyr captured a boy like your friend there.” He gestured toward the unconscious girl on the bed. “Unfortunately, the boy is rebelling against his imprisonment and will eventually break free. When he does, it will kill Freyr.” Vidar shook his head. “When that happens, one more seal holding Ragnarok at bay will be broken.”

“Is there a way to help Freyr?” Ian replied, turning his gaze upon the comatose girl. Vidar had said there was a boy like her. Had he been possessed by Freyr like how Jormungand had possessed this girl? Was he, even now, walking around in that boy’s body? “If we can save Freyr, we should focus our efforts on doing so.”

“There is a slim chance Freyr can be saved. I have already set a rescue plan in motion.” Vidar reached out and put on huge hand on Ian’s shoulder. Warmth surged through him, falling across his chest like when his cat snuggled up to him on cold nights. “You cannot help with that task. Your job is to thwart the wolf’s release.”

“So you’re trying to stop two separate events from occurring simultaneously?” Ian shook off the god’s hand. “Wouldn’t it be better to throw all your resources at one task and ensure it is successful?”

“Not in this particular case.” Vidar grinned. “You see. I have sent your friend to try to save Freyr. If she succeeds, awesome. If not, only your darling friend Amy will be able to stop Surt. Only she can temper the king of Muspelheim’s fire and save the nine worlds. As I have said earlier, she needs to be in a position to do that.”

“So I’m expendable?” Ian replied, trying to ignore the rage welling up inside him. Why did it seem like he was always the one destined to be out on his own? “Are you only choosing me because I cannot deal with Surt?”

“No,” Vidar said, and his voice reverberated in Ian’s ears. “I am asking you to do this because you are Fames, wielder of the mantle of Famine. You alone can step into the hungering winter that envelops Jotunheim and use it as a sword to slay all those who would seek to unchain Fenris. This is the exact task for which you have been chosen.” Vidar reached out one hand, offering it to him. “Now come and face your destiny.” The god’s lips twisted into a lopsided smile. “You have a 0.002% chance of success after all.”

“And what if I fail?” Ian asked, taking the god’s hand. It was surprisingly damp with clammy sweat.

“Then today is a good day to die.” And with those words, the world around them fell away, shattering like glass and leaving them standing on a snowy peak.

Off in the distance, a massive rock bound in glittering golden thread jutted from the horizon. It was bright even in the gloom of Jotunheim. The wind whipped around him, carrying sleet and snow along with it, but instead of chilling him, he felt better than he had in a long time. He inhaled, and the world around him trembled as something deep within him unfurled its wings and let out a long, slow yawn.

A howl filled with nearly indescribable agony exploded from the distance, and the sky above flared blood red. Vidar stood next to him, snow sticking to his beard and eyelashes. The god lifted one giant hand and pointed off into the distance toward the glimmering rock.

“That is the rock, Gjoll where Fenris is bound with the magical rope Gleipnir. The rope has been fashioned from nine impossible objects, and one must possess each of those ingredients in order to release the wolf.” Vidar shot a sidelong glance at Ian. “Before you ask, yes, my father’s agent has already managed to secure most of them. Even now, he heads toward the last one on his fool’s errand.”

Instead of responding, Ian shut his eyes and inhaled once more, drawing in the essence of the terrible frozen world. He could feel pinpricks of life surrounding him, but none felt human. No, these felt older, colder. Frost giants most likely. This was their home after all. No, there was no trace of humanity in this place. The thought made him feel strangely alone. He wasn’t quite sure if he was human anymore, but that didn’t make this place feel any less empty and alien.

“If what you say is true, and your father’s minion is human, he has not yet arrived in Jotunheim. If he was here, I would feel him as I feel everything in the ice.” He pointed toward the rock, Gjoll. “I can even feel the life pulse of your wolf, but it is so weak, I can barely taste it on the wind. Are you sure the wolf has not already been defeated?”

“I am the only person who can kill the beast, and I have not yet done so,” Vidar replied, taking a step forward in the snow. His huge iron boots were already frozen over with ice. “The rope Gleipnir keeps most of the wolf’s life force trapped within it. The fact that you can sense him at all bodes ill.”

“That means our best bet is to go to the wolf and await our lock breaker,” Ian said, following behind the god, reflexively using the deity’s bulk to block the wind even though the cold didn’t bother him. Not even a little bit. It would take time to reach the wolf, but even if their adversary arrived before them, Ian would know instantly. While he wasn’t absolutely positive he could wield the power of the Jotunheim across a huge distance, he was sure he could at least talk it into slowing down anyone he wished.

There was just one problem. Jotunheim wanted the wolf free so it could consume him, suck the life from his furred bones. It wanted him to be free so it could cover him in ice and bury him beneath its dunes. The prison that bound the wolf also kept the world’s hungering winter at bay. If someone came with the sole purpose of unfettering the wolf, it was possible the frozen wasteland would ignore his call. It might even fight against him so it could take the wolf for itself. It just might be their undoing.

Even now, he could feel Jotunheim’s unrelenting hunger swirling around Vidar. It wanted him too, but for now, it was willing to bide its time. If only he had Haijiku. Then he wouldn’t be relying on the helpful nature of a world designed to kill everyone who stepped upon it.

Ian clenched his hands into fists as they journeyed down a hill that would have made for great sledding. The snow parted around him as he moved, clearing a path for him. It was the only thing that allowed him to keep pace with Vidar. Despite the snow slowing him, the god’s massive steps ate through the icy distance like he was moving through little more than cobwebs. If this kept up, they’d reach Fenris in no time at all.

Kim 02:05

As the mime looked at Kim, she was pretty sure she had gone insane. The creature had appeared the moment she had dropped her arms. Kim looked around for help, but her math teacher, Mr. Matthers had disappeared from sight after throwing his hat at her. The only trace of him was a lone wineglass with a blood-red smear on the rim sitting on the ground beside her. Everything else was gone, leaving her in what amounted to an endless field with blue cotton candy grass and a cherry lip-gloss colored sky. Oh and a mime. Of course there would be a mime.

Ever since she’d been singled out by a mime in elementary school, she’d never liked them very much. It wasn’t like the mime had done more than dance around her. It had targeted her on a fieldtrip while their teacher wasn’t paying attention and began gesturing and gyrating all around her. It had gone on forever. Everyone had pointed at her and laughed, while she stood there, hands clenched into fists, trying to fight back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

In fact, the only reason the mime had relinquished his hold on her was because Malcom had stepped in front of her and told the man to go away. Even then, Malcom had protected her. The mime had backed off as Kim had melted back into the crowd, leaving Malcom standing there by himself when the teacher came over to admonish him for yelling at the mime. Even though she felt grateful to him for his help, and guilty for not stepping in to explain the situation, she’d said nothing. It was something that still haunted her to this day. If she could, she’d go back and explain things. Unfortunately, there was no way for her to do that.

This mime looked nothing like the mime of her memories. While that one had been painted head to toe in gold, this one appeared to have been pieced together from a variety of late night television shows, a sort of horrible Frankenstein-esque creation with an easy smile and a well-defined chin. As it moved, the sky behind it shifted from red to violet and back again in an ever-changing canvas of color.

It took another step closer, and the landscape morphed to suit its whims. First there were ancient marble pillars in the background. Then great swathes of forest. The transformation from scene to scene happened too quickly for Kim to even pinpoint the exact where and when of it all.

Oil oozed from beneath its feet, staining the spots it had previously inhabited black as soot. Writhing soulless silhouettes rose from the darkened footsteps, reaching out toward her with distorted shadowy tendrils. When the mime was only a few meters away, it began performing another long, jagged movement.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me.” Kim shook her head in confusion, following another particularly frenzied bout of movement and wondered what to do next. She had no idea where to find the boy her teacher had swallowed. “Try using your words.”

Instead of responding in a way that would be helpful, the mime shrugged and began to drip. Its flesh sloughed off to the ground, revealing its glistening gray bones. Thick, dark fog swirled up around the mime, filling the air with the smell of caramel. She took a deep breath, and the scent wormed its way into her lungs. Panic exploded through her as she tried to exhale, to let it out of her, but try as she might, she couldn’t.

Cloying sweetness leapt down her throat, and she reached up to wipe off her tongue as what remained of the skeletal mime continued to writhe and twist. Murky water swelled up from the ground, surrounding them like a coffin. The mime smiled, showing a mouthful of baleen as it danced its damned dance.

Black rain began to fall from the sky as the last of the mime’s flesh hit the ground. It screeched to a halt like a robot that had run out of steam. She screamed in terror as the dark liquid coalesced and congealed into a muscular serpent the color of old mud. It wrapped her up and squeezed before she could even blink. Her bones creaked and strained as she struggled for breath. Her lungs burned as darkness began to encroach upon the edge of her vision.

The snake’s head reared up and loomed in front of her, fixing its flat predator gaze upon her. Her death flashed through its eyes, certain and unrelenting, but as the serpent unhinged its huge jaws and opened its gaping maw wide, a cry shattered the horizon.

Kim looked up, tearing her gaze from the snake’s own to see an oozing, decaying raven, diving toward her. Its claws tore into the sinewy serpent holding her in place. The snake’s hold upon her loosened, and she sucked in a much-needed breath as the mime’s skeleton collapsed backward into a pile of bones that transforming into writhing, hissing serpents. They leapt at the bird, gouging their blackened fangs into the bird’s dark, moldering flesh.

The bird twisted, flinging the snakes away. Their bleeding, broken bodies flew through the air before burning up in bursts of blue flame. When the last of the tiny snakes were vanquished, the raven drove its beak into the throat of the huge serpent still bound around her. Blue flame burst from the wound, washing over the reptile and reducing it to cinders in the space of a breath. Despite the fire swarming around her, Kim felt no pain, no burning heat as the monster fell to dust, leaving her standing there unscathed.

The raven turned toward her, twisting its head to regard her with its beady green eyes. “Why are you here?” it squawked before its body evaporated into wisps of blue-white smoke.

The dark mist surrounding her fell away, revealing an army of snakes undulating toward her. Big snakes. Little snakes. Snakes with scales all the colors of the rainbow.

A hand reached out from the smoke, gripping her shoulder, and she jumped, letting out a shriek. She spun toward the hand, her fists raised. A guy a little older than her with frumpy blond hair and scars marring his otherwise perfect cheeks stood there, smiling at her in a way that made her heart flutter in her chest. His muscles strained at the confines of his blue tank top as he dropped his hand and looked her over. His gaze never lingered on any part of her body long enough for it to be inappropriate.

“You didn’t answer my question,” he said, raising one blond eyebrow. “Why are you here?”

“To rescue you,” she squeaked, suddenly barely able to speak in the face of his inescapable hotness. It was a little weird because she’d never found herself to be struck dumb by a guy, but there it was. “Assuming, of course, you’re the person I’m here to save. If not, maybe you can help me find him.”

“If I’m who you’re here to save.” He grinned, and the scars on his face twisted into knots. “You’re doing a poor job of it.” He held out his hand to her once again. “I’m Caleb. Pleased to meet you.”

“Kim. I’m Kim,” she replied, smiling as everything around her slowed down. She could still sense the endless mass of snakes slithering toward her, hear their scales scratching on the dirt as they approached, but in that moment, it was as though time had stopped. “And lucky for you, Caleb just so happens to be the name of the person I’m looking for.”

“Okay, Kim. How do you plan on rescuing me? Did you bring a ball of twine that leads back to the entrance?” Caleb asked, waving one hand at the serpents around them. As he did so, the rain stopped in midair, each drop hovering in place as though time had stopped. The snakes shrank back, all bark and no bite as Caleb glared at them. “Because I’d totally be interested in something like that. Then again, I escaped the labyrinth a long time ago so I’m not sure how helpful that would be…”