Page 34 of Soul of Shadow
Finally, he said, “Seven years.”
“Jesus. You mean you became one when you were eleven?”
“I did.”
That was all he gave her, and she could tell it was all she would get.
She changed the subject. “Do you know what the markings on the tree mean?”
“I know,” he said, holding aside a prickly pine branch for her to duck beneath, “that they were not made by a human.”
“Wait.” She held up a hand. “You think they were made by one of these… Nordic spirits?”
“I do.”
“But that’s not possible. Humans can see the markings. If they were made by a spirit, shouldn’t they be invisible?”
“They should.” Elias climbed up onto a large boulder and leapt off the other side. “Which is exactly why we’re so worried.”
“We?”
“Of course,” he said quickly. “Me, myself, and I.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please tell me you didn’t just refer to yourself with the royalwe.”
“Do you want a history lesson or not?”
“Yes, please.” She paused atop the boulder and added, “Start by explaining what you meant byThis is Asgard.”
“Right.” He offered his hand for Charlie to take as she stepped down from the boulder. She ignored it. “Well. For many, many millennia—for most of its existence—Earth was known as Asgard.”
“That is not what I read online,” she said. “All the myths say there are nine realms and that Asgard and Midgard—that’s what they call Earth—are separate.”
“Sure.” Elias reached up and plucked a leaf from a maple tree. “And I read online that Secret Service agents are really giant lizards masquerading as humans.”
Charlie shot him a look.
“I know, I know. Not the same. But I’ll explain why humans believe there are nine realms, not the correct number, which is eight. Just give me a minute to get there.”
“Go on.”
“So. Earth, whose real name is Asgard, was once a realm of great power, rich in history and sorcery. Magic flowed freely. Warriors fought great beasts. Gods walked alongside men.” He gestured out with a hand, as if Charlie was supposed to imaginethe forest around them filled with monsters and gods. “It was only ten thousand years ago that the gods laid the spell that cut humans off from all forms of magic.”
“Why would they do that?”
“Because they abhor fun,” Elias said.
Charlie raised her eyebrows.
“Sorry. Reflex.” He shrugged. “No. In reality, they said they were doing it for the protection of mankind. By laying the Seal, they cut humans off from the wonders of magic, but also the dangers. The beasts. The curses. Everything that put their lives at constant risk.” Elias looked up, as if searching the sky for the gods. “Generational memory is short. It took only a hundred years for everyone who remembered Asgard to die off. Evidence remained in history books, but with every century that passed, those books began to sound more and more preposterous, like the ramblings of heathens. The past grew distant. Truth and history became myth and folklore. And in time, the humans came up with their own theory: that Asgard was a land far, far away, and the realm they inhabited was known as Midgard—a place of science, not magic, ruled over by humans, not gods.” He looked back down at Charlie. “Thus, an additional realm. Nine instead of eight.”
“Is the Seal like… a planetwide spell?”
“Well, the Seal itself is said to be a physical object. Legend has it that Odin gave up his most precious weapon, the spear Gungnir, for the task.”
“Odin.” She nodded. “I read about him. They call him the Allfather, the most powerful of the gods.”
“That’s right. Odin gave Gungnir to a trustedvölva—which is like a Nordic shaman—who took the spear to a secret locationand drove it into the earth. In doing so, Odin laid a spell that spread all throughout Asgard. The Seal exists all over the planet, but it is held together by that spear.”
