Page 86 of Soul of Shadow
“The beast Fenrir has committed a heinous crime against the eight realms. By using the sacred Yggdrasil to transport those bodies, he dabbled in the worst form of dark magic:askmagi, or ash magic. The most powerful form of magic there is—but one that, when used, chafes away at the very fibers holding the realms together.”
Charlie, Mason, and Abigail exchanged worried looks.
“That doesn’t sound good,” said Mason as they turned back to the askafroa.
“An astute observation, human,” said the ash wife dryly. “The Fenrir’s callous use of askmagi to feed Surtur has set a dangerous precedent. There are those across the eight realms who detest the gods and would gladly see Ragnarök released upon Asgard. As word reaches them of the Fenrir’s success, they won’t hesitate to follow suit—to nurture Surtur back to his full strength and, in doing so, eat away at the barrier that separates and protects the eight realms.” Her leaves shuddered. “It would be chaos. Realm bleeding into realm, magic run amok, Surtur on the loose. For us spirits and creatures of Asgard, and you humans as well, we couldn’t imagine a worse fate.”
“Then who—” Charlie started.
“There are other realms,” said the askafroa, guessing at Charlie’s question, “as I told you earlier. Alfheim, home of the elves. Svartalfheim, home of the dwarves. Jotunheim, home of the giants. And so on.”
“Other realms,” Charlie filled in, “that would gladly see power taken from the Asgardian gods.”
The ash wife inclined her head. “But we cannot allow that to happen.” She gestured to the coins on the ground. “You have come bearing gifts for me. These are much appreciated and will not be forgotten.”
Charlie’s shoulders sagged, releasing tension she hadn’t even realized she was holding.
“Now.” The askafroa’s leaves and branches rustled as she drew herself up to her full height. “I will allow you to leave without casting ash fever upon anyone in your party. And for your kindness, I will impart this: I did see the mare of night running through these woods. A girl was with him, but something seemed… not quite right with her. They were headed in the direction of the beach—a place you should not go to lightly. Dark forces have long lingered around that area. Go with caution.”
“Thank you,” Charlie said. “That’s very—”
The askafroa held up a sharp, twiggy finger, silencing her. “However”—she fixed all three of them with her beady-eyed stare—“I must task you with a mission.”
Not another one, thought Charlie. Aloud, she asked, “What kind of mission?”
“When you find the great Fenrir beast, you must bring me one of his teeth.”
Bring her atooth?Charlie could hardly hold in her shock. She was already supposed to slip under this beast’s nose and steal back her best friend. Now she needed to perform dental work on him, too?
“And if we turn this mission down?” Charlie asked.
The askafroa inspected her fingers. “How sad it would be ifyou all came down with a strange illness at once. One for which no doctor has a cure.”
She really needs a new threat, Charlie thought before giving a sharp nod. “We’ll get it.”
The ash wife nodded, pleased, before slinking back and fusing into the tree, wood creaking and leaves rustling as the two became one again. Charlie exhaled, glancing first at Mason, who looked just as shaken as she felt. Then she turned to Abigail, expecting to find the same thing.
Instead, her friend had a huge grin on her face.
“You know,” she said, turning to Charlie and Mason. “Maybe this town isn’t so boring after all.”
38
After another twenty minutes of walking—first through the forest, then on sand—they made it to the rusted fence. On the other side, the long, flat beach stretched on, flanked by trees to the east and a tall sand dune blocking their view to the north. Charlie opened the map on her phone, confirming the Oxford Power Plant was directly ahead behind that dune.
Mason reached out and grabbed the chain-link, shaking it back and forth. “You really think there’s something magical hidden inside the power plant?”
“You heard what the askafroa said.” Charlie looked down the fence to where it met the water and connected to a tall pier made of rocks and thick wooden logs. The vätte was scampering along the bottom, sniffing suspiciously at the sand. “She saw Elias running in this direction. And she said that ‘dark forces’ linger around the area.”
“That could mean anything,” Mason said. “How do we know her ex–ash husband doesn’t live here, and she was talking about him?”
“You there!”
All of them froze at the deep voice booming out over thebeach. They spun around to find two hulking figures running toward them over the sand. Charlie was about to tell her friends to grab the fence and climb as fast as possible when she realized who the figures were.
“Vidar?” She squinted through the moonlight. “Bjorn?”
“Itisyou,” said Vidar, panting slightly as they came to a halt before her. His dark hair was matted to his neck, and he clutched a huge axe in one hand. “We’ve been looking all over town.”
