Page 89 of Soul of Shadow
Charlie huffed out a laugh. “Maybe. Though I doubt your wisdom was enough to keep someone like my brother from going anyway.”
“Damn right,” whispered Mason.
“So, why didn’t you ever go?” asked Charlie.
Mason was quiet for a few footsteps, considering. Then, right as the tunnel began to level out, curving slightly to the right, he said, “Whenever we were about to go, I just got this… bad feeling. Like something awful would happen if we went over that fence. And the others always agreed with me.”
Charlie pointed at her brother. “That right there. I bet it wasn’t a coincidence.”
Abigail was aghast. “You’re telling me that magic can influence our emotions?”
“Of course it can,” rumbled Vidar from behind. “That’s theleastof what it can do.”
The group drew to a halt. They had reached the end of the tunnel—a ratherabruptend, with only a blank wall before them, no door or window in sight. A foot in front of the wall, there stood an empty pedestal, chest high and made of the same stone as the floor of the tunnel. Carved into the center was the same symbol that they found on the hatch: Loki’s symbol.
“Did we walk in the wrong direction?” Bjorn asked, scratching his head.
“There was only one direction to walk,” said Abigail, bending over to inspect the wall. “It’s a dead end.”
“Maybe,” said Charlie.
“Use your knife,” said Mason, pointing at the Valkyrie blade still in Charlie’s hand. “We can cut our way through.”
Charlie eyed the blade doubtfully. There was no way it could be so easy. That the blade could be a cheat code enabling them to get wherever they wanted. Still, it was worth a try.
She raised the knife over her head and drove it into the wall.
Or, shewouldhave—if the tip of the knife hadn’t frozen less than a millimeter from the wall.
Charlie grunted, trying to force the knife forward, but it wouldn’t budge. “It’s stuck,” she said through gritted teeth. “There’s some sort of force keeping it from touching the wall.” With a sigh, she relaxed her arm, bringing the knife back down to her side.
Vidar and Bjorn each took turns trying to slam their own weapons into the wall, always to no effect.
“So, what do we do?” asked Mason.
“I could chop up the pedestal here,” said Bjorn, pointing at it with his sword. “See if there’s anything inside.”
“Violence isn’talwaysthe answer, Bjorn,” said Charlie, turning to scan the pedestal. There was nothing atop it, save the shallow etching of Loki’s symbol. She ran her fingers along it, looking for some sort of groove or indentation. “Sometimes it’s more complicated than that.”
“I’ve never disagreed with a statement more,” said Bjorn, but he stuck the sword back into its sheath.
“Maybe there’s a latch or button,” said Mason, dropping to his knees on the stone floor and starting to feel around its base. “Some way to open it up.”
“It’s a good theory.” Charlie bent over to help her brother. She started at the top, feeling around the rim for any hidden clues. “This is Loki’s domain, and he’s known as the god of mischief and trickery. This is probably some sort of test. Some way to prove your worthiness.”
“A test?” asked Abigail, suddenly intrigued. When Charlie glanced at her friend, she saw the competitive gleam light in her eyes. “Well, then. We should cover all angles.” Abigail walked over to the cave wall and felt around its stones. When the Vikings made to join her, she nearly jumped in fright, scooting over a few feet to give them some space before returning to her task.
They worked for a few minutes in silence. Charlie made her way around the pedestal from the top, Mason up from the bottom, until their hands ran into each other in the center.
“Nothing?” Mason asked.
“Nothing,” Charlie said. “We should check the floor—”
“Guys,” said Abigail.
Charlie and Mason looked over. Abigail, eyes wide, pressed her fingers to an indentation in the wall. A lowthudand click sounded, and the pedestal began to vibrate.
Abigail’s lips spread into a victorious smile.
