Chapter 21 Myrk
MYRK
Istill found it astonishing to be able to walk about in broad daylight without turning to stone. Though I could do without the annoying gasps and strange looks from the humans we passed on the trail along the river.
Perhaps it had more to do with my clothes—or lack thereof—than my physical appearance.
I would’ve worn some of the new trousers, but none of the fancier shirts fit me right across my chest. Dorr had broader shoulders than me, but my thick barrel chest just didn’t fit into the shirt with buttons.
The stretchy T-shirt was more forgiving, and to my untrained eyes, at least, went better with the athletic shorts than the trousers.
Not to mention the simple boxy boots that barely fit my gigantic feet.
Manford would just have to frown and grumble until he finished a few shirts and found more appropriate footwear.
Evidently baring my arms and legs in this weather was shocking to humans who hurried past bundled head to toe in long, thick layers. Snow and ice crusted along the river’s edge, but the cold didn’t bother me, even in this human form.
“I’m sorry, my Blood,” Helayna said. “I didn’t realize there’d be so many people here.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “I couldn’t care less, my queen. Let them stare.”
“Skogafoss is one of the most popular tourist stops on the south loop,” Clara said. “Even in the winter. We have fewer hours of daylight this month, which means less time to spread out the visitors who don’t mind the cold.”
We rounded a bend to reveal the mighty waterfall. Water tumbled high above, spraying water across the glistening black rocks of the cliff, creating icicles and sheets of ice. The thundering roar increased as we neared, the air thickening with moisture.
“Oh,” Helayna gasped reverently. “It’s a rainbow.”
The late afternoon sunlight hit the water spray perfectly, creating a vibrant shimmering bow of light against the cliffs. Even my grumpy ass had to admit it was stunning.
Letting out a series of high yips, the little fox in our queen’s arms squirmed, begging to get down and explore.
“Are you sure?” Helayna asked.
The fox yipped again, almost like they were having a conversation.
“Show me.” She set the fox down and she immediately trotted out into the shallows toward the waterfall. She looked back over her shoulder, black-tipped ears twitching. Daring us to follow. “I guess we’re going to get a little wet.”
“Oh dear,” Clara replied. “Are you sure you need to risk going out into the river?”
“I keep seeing glittering prisms of light dancing in the air. It’s important. Bj?rg insists I need to follow her. Wait here, Clara. There’s no need for you to get wet too.”
Dorr swept our queen up into his arms and followed the fox out into the water. I quickened my pace to a trot to pass them, while Svar and Gunnarr protected from the rear. Lokken strode alongside Dorr.
Humans milled around on the shore, and someone yelled, “Don’t be stupid! You’re going to get hypothermia!”
Bj?rg paused, giving me a plaintive look for assistance, though her ears twitched warily.
She likely remembered the way I’d tried to grab her when I thought she was attacking our queen the first night on this soil.
The water was too deep for her to continue without swimming, and the river’s current was fast enough she’d likely struggle.
I scooped her up onto my forearm. “Show me where our queen needs to go, little fur ball.”
The spray increased, drenching my clothes and slicking my hair to my skull. The water deepened to my waist, icy and fast enough I was struggling to make any further progress against the current. :I’m not sure how much further we can go.:
:Try moving to your right,: Lokken suggested. :See if you can get to the cliff.:
Moving carefully to the side, I tested each step, making sure I wasn’t stepping off into deeper water.
The ground beneath my feet felt like a bowl hollowed out by centuries of pounding water.
The sides were a bit shallower, allowing me to get us closer to the cliff.
Though I still couldn’t see much with the water spray all around us.
Icy cold water pelted my face and chest, blinding me.
:We need to get to the end of the rainbow,: Helayna said. :Take a couple of steps forward, Myrk. You’re almost there.:
I slid my right foot forward, shifting my weight slowly. Another step.
Something tingled over my face. Warmth and energy penetrated the splashing waterfall.
And my human skin thickened into cold, dead stone.
HELAYNA
Myrk’s bond weighed heavily in my mind like a boulder plummeting off a mountainside. I didn’t feel pain from him. In fact, I felt nothing. He wasn’t gone or dead or hurt.
:Myrk!:
He didn’t respond. He couldn’t. Dorr quickened his pace—but allowed Lokken to push forward through the spray ahead of us.
:I see him,: Lokken said. :He’s frozen in place like a statue.:
:Dark alfar turn into stone in daylight, but it shouldn’t have affected him in his human form. Don’t let the rainbow touch you until I’m there.:
Gunnarr and Svar pressed closer to us, using Lokken’s bond to guide us through the tumbling waterfall spray.
My ears roared with pounding water, increasing my sense of urgency.
The rainbow wouldn’t last forever. The play of light on the water droplets was capricious. Random. If the rainbow disappeared…
“Let the rainbows guide you,” the man had said when I touched Yggdrasil.
He hadn’t said anything about my Blood being incapacitated by them.
:I think it’s Bifrost.: Even Lokken’s mental voice quivered with excitement and reverence. :Which would explain why the dark alfar can’t use it to cross.:
All the childhood stories Clara had told me flickered through my mind like beloved pages.
Bifrost, the rainbow bridge spanning the Nine Worlds.
The way to ásgarer, the realm of the Aesir gods, guarded by the god Heimdallr.
Fantastic stories passed down through generations.
As a child, I loved the stories, but I thought they were just fairytales.
Until I’d touched Yggdrasil’s branches and woke in the belly of Jormungandr.
My hair plastered to my face, blinding me.
I swiped at my eyes, straining to see as we neared where Myrk had stopped.
Dorr moved around to the side, so I could see Myrk’s stone arm.
Perched on top of his forearm, Bj?rg yipped when she saw me.
Drenched but unaffected by the rainbow. Colorful prisms still danced in the water all around Myrk.
:The man in the vision said it was forbidden for him to cross to my world, but I could bring him through.:
:Is he Blood?: Dorr asked.
:I don’t know. Maybe? I was only able to connect to him for a brief moment.:
:I worry you will be unprotected on the other side, unless Lokken and Gunnarr can pass.:
:I’m afraid I won’t be able to touch Bifrost,: Lokken said. :I’m descended from jotnar, the enemies of the Aesir. Which leaves you, Gunnarr.:
:Me?: Gunnarr gulped.
:The fox is unaffected by the rainbow,: Lokken said. :Unless you have jotnar or dark alfar blood too, you should be unaffected. In theory, at least.:
I thought Gunnarr was nervous about being the only Blood to go with me. But then he whooped.
:Hot damn! Finally something I can do other than eat!:
:Test it first,: Dorr told him. :Put your arm into the rainbow and make sure you don’t turn into a statue like Myrk.:
I couldn’t see through the splashing water, but I watched through the bond. I felt a tingling warmth on Gunnarr’s skin. It reminded me of lying on my back in the spring wildflowers and grass as a girl, feeling the sunlight warm my skin, soaking into my bones.
:I’m good to go,: Gunnarr said. :I can still move.:
Dorr carefully moved closer between Myrk and Gunnarr, though he didn’t immediately pass me to the other Blood.
Blinking furiously, I still couldn’t see his face more than a hint of darkness flickering through the droplets.
To reassure him, I reached up and cupped his cheek.
:All will be well, my Darkest. I’ll be careful. :
:If any harm comes to you, and I’m unable to respond…: A deep grinding echoed through the bond, as if he crushed boulders between his teeth. :The humans will marvel at how three giant stone gargoyles suddenly appeared in their waterfall.:
:I don’t know how long the Bifrost will hold,: I warned them. :Myrk should be released once the rainbow disappears.:
:How will you return?: Lokken asked.
:If the man on the other side can’t open the way, I’ll return to Yggdrasil and come through using my own power. I’ll call to you as soon as I’m back if I can’t come straight here.:
:Do you trust this man?: Anguish thickened Dorr’s voice and his bond. He hated not being able to go with me. :What if he’s Loki in disguise?:
:I will know. My power has been released this time, so I can defend myself. My magic will warn me if he can’t be trusted.:
Though to be sure, perhaps it would be best to have my blood at the ready so I wouldn’t lose any time calling forth my power.
I bit my left wrist and held out my other hand for Bj?rg.
She leaped onto my chest, and I curled my arm around her.
Dorr gently passed me over to Gunnarr without a word, though his bond rumbled with the dread threat of a million-ton avalanche if any harm came to me.
:Ready?: Gunnarr asked.
I pressed my bleeding wrist against the back of my other hand to stem the blood flow until I needed it. :Yes.:
Cradling me against his chest, he stepped into the rainbow.