Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
“Father?” Harvey said, bewildered. “What the hell is happening?”
Thor, who could have been Harvey’s twin, strained against the chains that bound him, chains that glistened. His muscles bulged, his veins throbbed in his arms, but it was evident he was weak, exhausted.
Dom was the first to rush to him, attempting to pluck the chains from his arms.
“It’s no use. They’ve bound me with magic,” he managed, his lips dry and cracked.
Greer placed his hands on Thor’s chains, wrapping his fingers around his thick wrists, while Robbie did the same at his ankles.
When the chains released in a crumble of colorful dust, Harvey rushed forward to catch his father, enveloping him in his arms. “Father, what happened?”
Thor hung limply in his son’s arms, but he managed a cheeky grin. “They caught me, that’s what happened. And they did what they always do, held me hostage because I wouldn’t reveal Mjolnir’s location.”
Dom was incredulous. “What? If you wouldn’t tell them where MC was, how did they find me and my grandfather?”
Thor’s eyes found hers, tired and glassy, filled with what she was sure was an apology. “Because you were gifted the power to wield him. They found your energy. When he was with Harvey, his power was muted.”
Dom knelt beside him, her eyes capturing his. “So you didn’t abandon MC?”
Thor’s chuckle, though weak, rang in the interior of the cave. “I would never. I know what my son has told you. I’m sure what he’s told you, but it was nothing more than I simply wanted a break,” he murmured.
Dom winced. Oh, boy, was Harvey going to feel the sting of his accusations of abandonment for decades to come. But it was unwarranted, not to mention unfair. Thor couldn’t simply chalk this excursion up to an “oops, my bad,” moment. “I forgot to tell you I just needed a break from being Thor.”
No way would she allow Thor to get away with that flimsy excuse and leave Harvey feeling as though he’d done something wrong.
“I knew it!” MC exclaimed. “I knew you wouldn’t abandon your duties, Thor. Yet, I won’t allow you to lay any blame at Harvey’s feet. You forgot to mention you needed a break, God of Thunder. From our point of view, you abandoned me. You’ll accept that responsibility.
Thor coughed weakly, reminding them, now wasn’t the time to rehash his departure. “But you’re well, Mjolnir?”
“Indeed. You’re a mighty warrior, but this one, Dominique? She’s just as mighty. I’m in good hands!”
Thor reached a hand out to her. “When I heard them talking of your existence, when I sensed their fear of your worthiness to wield Mjolnir, I knew the gods had chosen wisely.”
She grabbed onto his fingers, his skin dry and flaky from dehydration, his lips chapped. “I wish we were meeting under better circumstances, but I’ll do my best to keep them from getting MC.”
Harvey’s eyes said it all as he cradled his father in his arms. There was sympathy mixed with, among other emotions, anger. “You’ve been held captive here this whole time, Father?”
“I don’t know how long I’ve been here, Harvey. Not much longer after I left Mjolnir with you, but I had no hope of even Heimdall finding me due to the magic they’ve unearthed.”
That made Dom’s skin crawl, as she gripped MC tighter. “The magic… Is it enough to take MC from me?” she asked, dreading the answer.
Thor rasped a breath. “I don’t know, Dominque, but you must leave me now and find your grandfather. I know they have him. I heard them talking. He’s somewhere higher up in the caves on the jagged cliffs. Go!” he insisted.
Robbie snapped her fingers, a bottle of water appearing out of nowhere. She knelt next to Thor, helping him drink.
Thor’s urgent words made her snap to attention. “Stay here with your father. I have to go find my papa. He’s alone, and he probably has no idea what’s going on.” The idea terrified her, but she forced herself to remain calm.
Harvey handed his father over to Robbie, putting a hand on his sword, encased in the sheath at his side. “You’re not going alone. I’m coming with you.” Then he turned to Thor. “But I’ll be back, Father, and we’ll talk.”
Thor reached out and grabbed Harvey’s hand, giving it a limp squeeze. “Odin be with you, son,” he muttered.
Greer rose, too, brushing off his jeans. “I’m coming with you, too. If you need magic, I’m your guy.” He dropped a quick kiss on Robbie’s lips. “Back soon, m’love.”
With those words, he snapped his fingers, transporting them to the top of the jagged cliffs Thor mentioned.
Dom gasped in response to their landing, her pulse racing, her head whirling. She caught a quick glimpse of the carnage down below—scattered giant parts, the women, their fists balled, their determination a vibe she felt as they knocked down one giant after another.
Bard and his crew waved their swords, hacking and chopping their way through monster after monster. The sand flew upward when they toppled a foe, the air thick with bloodshed.
Dom’s stomach turned, but she was nothing if not for her grandfather and the love he’d given her for her entire life.
For that, she’d fight till she collapsed. They’d have to kill her before she’d let them harm him.
Pressing their bodies against the rocks, none of them spoke as they crept along the outside of the cave, so close to the edge of this cliff they’d landed on.
MC was heavy in her hand, her arm aching from holding him so tight, her eyes stinging from the gritty sand, her legs and feet cramping.
When they hit the edge of the opening of the cave, Dom grabbed Harvey by the arm, MC in her other hand, ready to strike. “Let me go first.”
But Harvey grabbed her hand, using his other to wield his sword. “We go together,” he said, stirring butterflies in her stomach amidst the utter chaos.
They rounded the corner at the same time, prepared to take on whatever was waiting for them.
The interior of the cave, dank and dark, almost chilly, was as bleak as the rest of this godforsaken planet. But there was no one in sight.
Taking a deep breath of relief, she let her eyes adjust.
Until they went deeper into the cave…
When Dom saw Stavros, sitting in a chair with chains around his ankles and wrists, she almost passed out, but Harvey was there to keep her steady.
“Papa!” she cried, racing across the craggy surface so he could see her.
“Toula?” he whispered.
In that moment, she was grateful he didn’t know where he was, or who she was, for that matter. She prayed he’d forget this whole mess.
Brushing his thick hair from his face, she nodded. “Yes, Papa. I’m here now. Everything’s going to be fine,” she soothed, checking every inch of his form to be sure he wasn’t hurt.
“I’m Greer, Stavros. Let me help you,” the witch offered in a gentle tone. He did the same for Stavros’s chains as he had Thor’s, breaking them with ease, brushing away the dust.
“We need to get him out of here,” Harvey said, scooping him up in his arms, turning to head out of the cave, when a booming voice rang out.
“Ah, if it isn’t Thor’s bastard son.”
Dom gasped. Now that was just mean. She whirled around to face whoever belonged to the voice, to tell him what an assface he was—but when she did, her heart stopped in her chest.
Sweet frankfurters and beans, he was ugly, from his granite-block head to his gaping mouth full of overly large, crooked teeth and a body like a brick wall. There was nothing that could save him from how frightening he appeared.
He looked like someone had piled boulders, one after another, on top of each other to make a person. Rather like the way one would make a snowman.
Except he was no Frosty.
But Dom wouldn’t be thwarted by some big, ugly oaf with tombstones for teeth. She lifted MC high above her head, preparing to zap this goon from here to eternity.
“Move out of my way!” she ordered, feeling ever so small next to this beast.
But he just laughed in her face, deep and gravelly. “And who will make me? You? A warrior the size of a frail bird?”
Harvey handed Stavros to Greer, standing in front of Dom, his stance wide, the way he stood when he was training next to her with Bard, and looked up at this monster. “Let us pass, Og. You have nothing to threaten us with. You’ll never get your hands on Mjolnir.”
Out of nowhere, laughter escaped Dom’s lips, bubbled right up and out of her mouth like a popped champagne bottle.
“Og?” she said in disbelief. Your name is Og?
” She had to bend at the waist to stop her laughter.
“Man, if I didn’t think some of these names for you crazy people were hysterical, yours sure takes the cake, buddy. ”
Og didn’t much like that. He bent at the waist, too, leaning into her and jamming his face close to hers. “You dare mock me?” he boomed, his breath lifting the sweaty tendrils of hair from her face.
But she held up MC and pointed it at him with a fury she’d never known. “You got that right, you ugly jerk! This is the fragile bird making fun of you. Back away, or I’ll knock you to kingdom come!”
Og lifted his colossal paw, taking a swipe at Greer as he snatched her grandfather from his hands before she could even blink, then backed out of the cave. “Give me Mjolnir, or I promise to all that bear witness, I will drop this bag of dusty bones off the cliff!”
Tears sprang to her eyes, fear clawed at her gut as he dangled her struggling grandfather over the edge of the cliff. Stavros would never survive a fall like that. They were at least a few hundred feet up.
But Dom swallowed hard, strengthening her stance. “Let my grandfather go or I’ll rip your head off!”
Og dangled her grandfather as if he were nothing more than a ragdoll, letting him hang in the air, swaying to and fro.
Stavros’s eyes found hers, terrified but determined as he squirmed in the giant’s grip. “Let him do it, Shish kabob! Don’t give up the hammer! Save the people—save the world!”