Page 40 of Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings
She nestled down into the hay, distributing it upward to support her head and neck. Yellow pieces clung to her hair, and she surely wouldn’t enjoy picking them out in the morning. But as I watched her, my gaze flicking to the damp forest floor beside her, I figured I’d take my chances by her side.
Lowering myself onto the dry pile, I motioned for Tove to take a spot between my legs. He voiced no complaints as he laid upon my skirts, saved from the blades I laid upon. As I got comfortable, I tried not to think about the fact that Rune Dragomir, favorite to Odin, was right beside me, the metal of her armor pressing into my arm with nothing but a shawl to protect me from its cold bite. I was thankful my shoulder had healed nicely and I no longer had to dress the wounds, for I had little energy to do so.
“Try to get some sleep, seeress,” she said, her voice hollow with fatigue. “We have a long day ahead of us in the morning.”
“Rune?” I asked, adjusting my position so my eyes could trail across her profile. Her eyes were closed, but her jaw was still tense, and one of her hands rested upon the hilt of a dagger hidden within the armor on her thigh.
“Yes?” she asked in return, her eyes remaining closed. The light from the fire lit her features, and I stared at them for a moment before I spoke.
“I’m sorry I can’t give you what you want.”
“We’ll see about me getting what I want. I’m quite skilled at it, if you haven’t noticed.” The side of her lips hooked up, and her jaw relaxed in the process.
I released a deep sigh, enjoying the feeling of the fire on my back. I wasn’t so sure about her getting what she wanted, but some part of me hoped she did, for what she craved was my happiness, and why would I stand in the way of her getting it?
“I won’t fight you as you try,” I confessed. Something about that admission made me feel like Rune very well could succeed.
“Goodnight, Kari.”
“Goodnight, Rune.”
We walked for two days until we came across the first gate.
Midgard.
It was right in front of me. There was nothing stopping me from walking right under those stone arches and returning to Stormheim, returning home. I pressed my hand into the stone arch, staring at the iron gates that taunted me. Rune stayed quiet behind me, keeping her eyes out for the scaly serpent that protected this realm.
My eyes dropped to Tove, where he rolled around on his back in a rare patch of grass. I blew out a sigh, lifted my chin, and pushed myself off the stone.
“Let’s go,” I said before I could change my mind. Rune dipped her head and followed behind me, not saying a word. As we began to distance ourselves from the gate, I caught an eerily slow movement in the distance. Rune and Apple froze, ushering me to do the same.
“Is that a tail?” I whispered, my eyes scanning forest green scales so large, I couldn't believe what they were telling me. I thought the squirrel had been big.
“It is,” Rune said. “And we need to stay very quiet as we walk past it.”
“Well, we should be in the clear! Tails are on the opposite end of heads,” I said, stepping forward into the clearing with a relieved smile on my face. Branches cracked under my weight as I did, but I paid them no mind.
Rune caught my arm with a ferocity I’d never felt from her. “Not another step.”
My body froze as I took in her stoic expression.
“He sleeps with his tail in his mouth,” she whispered, almost inaudibly. She no longer had to hold me, because those eight words stewed in my mind until my limbs became stone. If he was asleep, his head could be lurking around any tree.
A large dragonfly flew past us, and Tove couldn’t resist. I tried to call after him, but my throat was closed shut. My demon cat chased after the flying insect as if it had been his very own toy, and he scampered closer and closer to the beast. The serpent's tail was a natural wall, with scales like stone that stretched into the cloudless sky. There was athudas Tove threw his body against it, clawing the dragonfly, raking his nails down one of the serpent’s scales.
Tove! NO!
My eyes widened as the creature he’d thrown himself against began to quiver, as if he was beginning to wake from a deep, dreamless sleep. Tove began taking steps backwards, his movements silent, but it didn’t matter now; the damage had been done.
“Shit,” Rune cursed, her unease less than comforting. “We need to get to the next gate, now!”
“But the next gate has a gods damned fire giant guarding it!”
“We’ll have to take our chances!” she shouted as she grabbed my waist and hoisted me onto Apple’s back. She scooped Tove up and threw him at me as if he’d been plaything. When Rune was behind me, the pegasus took off with a nervous whinny.
Her hooves were loud against the underbrush of the forest, and my gut tightened each time a branch snapped, though Jörmungandr already sensed our presence.
The next gate led to the realm of fire giants and demons, and somehow, that seemed more comforting than the serpent that outgrew the ocean, that outgrew the entire world. I became a little faint as I pictured all the drawings and coal sketches I’d seen of him growing up. He was a monster, through and through.
