Giants of the Frost (25 page)

One foot in front of the other, carefully as he could, he made his way to Grid. The blindfold slowed him down and it was an hour before he perceived that the light was changing, the trees parting. He didn't dare remove the black ribbon just yet though. Only when full sun touched his face was he clear of danger. He untied the knot and slipped off the ribbon.

Vidar had arrived in a sun-drenched field of flowers. His mother stood a hundred feet away, a sheaf of flowers in her arms, watching curiously as he emerged from the woods.

"Vidar?"

"Grid." He smiled.

She rushed toward him, dropping her flowers, and enclosed him in a hug. Grid was nearly a foot taller than Vidar, and broad and muscular as most giants were, but she was a beauty, with hair the color of midnight and emerald eyes. She was old too, extremely old, centuries older even than Odin, although ageing had been kind to her, and she looked hot more than ten years older than Vidar himself.

"I can't believe it's you!" she said, covering his face in excited kisses. "It's been so long." He wound the black ribbon around his wrist so he wouldn't forget it on his return tomorrow. "Jarnvidja made me wear this," he explained, as Grid put her arm around his waist and led him from the field of flowers.

Grid clicked her tongue. "Insanity closes in on her. I'll tell you something so long as you never tell your father."

"You know I tell him nothing." .

"Jarnvidja is tired of waiting for Ragnarök. She's breeding a wolf; Mánagarm, with teeth and claws deadly to the Aesir—wilier than Loki, more vicious than Thor. She blind-folded you so you could see nothing that might give away her secret." Grid chuckled. "She'd be cross if she knew I'd told you, wouldn't she?"

Vidar dismissed it. "I have nobody to reveal her secret to. I'm Aesir in name only."

"I'm glad to hear the feud continues," Grid said with a slow smile. "You were always more like my family than his." They crested a green hill, dotted with pines and grey rock. Before them, in the valley, was Grid's home, a small round hut that resembled an upturned bird nest "Come inside. You're limping. Let me look at that wound."

Inside, he sat by the fire while Grid cleaned and dressed the wolf bite. He gazed around him. The house was made of clay and twigs, and the inside walls were lined with birds' wings. Mostly the dull whites and greys of seabirds, but an occasional flash of blue or red glowed among the soft feathers and delicate pinions. The sun shone dim through the walls.

"There," she said, sitting back on her heels. She smiled up at him and patted his knee. "You're hard to kill. It's in your blood."

"Sometimes I wish I had mortal blood, Grid."

"Oh, don't say such a thing." She stood and gave him a playful clip on the ear. "How would I live if you had to die?"

Vidar waited for Grid to settle on the stool next to his. "Mother, she's back." Grid's eyes widened. "The mortal girl?"

Vidar nodded.

"Ah, I see."

"She's on Odin's Island just the other side of the rainbow bridge. I don't know what to do. I've come to you for advice."

Grid smiled. "A woman's life divides into thirds, Vidar. First, she must find a mate. Next, she must raise her children. Last, she must be wise. What would you have me say to you, Vidar?"

"Something wise."

"Odin will kill her the moment he finds out about her."

Vidar felt his heart sink. Of course he had known it, but a small hope had remained that Grid might speak of Odin as a reasonable man. "You're sure?"

"You're not? Vidar, he grows worse, not better. He can't see that Asgard is a civilization in decline. The trade routes are overgrown, their weapons grow rusty, the last few souls rattle around in Valhalla longing for a second death, a permanent one. Odin clings to the old stories as a drowning cat clings to the arm of its rescuer. He has been promised Ragnarök, a great cataclysm, then a new world. He can only survive the cataclysm if you are there to save him from Fenrir's jaws. Odin won't let you go, Vidar. No farther than Gammaldal."

Vidar hung his head, helplessness overwhelming him.

"I know you love her, Vidar…"

"I've loved her for centuries," he said, his voice husky.

"But for her own safety, you shouldn't make contact."

He looked up and smiled ruefully. "Too late, mother."

Grid shook her head. "Vidar, what are you telling me?"

"I've been to see her already. She doesn't know who I am. Or who she is." Grid hitched a deep sigh. "Vidar, you are Aesir, you are made of a different substance to her. If you have so much as touched her, she bears your mark. Odin may sense her."

"Sense her?"

"Don't underestimate your father just because you think he's a fool. Certainly, he may never turn his attention to Midgard. He's immersed in his drunken moment. But what if he does, Vidar?"

"He can't know for sure unless he looks in the water at Sjáfjord. I'd know if he came so close to my home. I could stop him."

"Odin wouldn't bother . himself with traveling to Gammaldal, Vidar. He possesses his own supply of seeing-water. I filled a crystal bottle for him myself, he keeps it in his chamber. He need only pour a little in a bowl."

Vidar buried his face in his hands. "I didn't know that."

"She must be warned to leave Odin's Island, go somewhere Odin will never find her, to the other side of the world."

"She won't believe me. She doesn't believe anything. And there were conditions—I can't tell her anything until she's fallen in love with me."

Grid leaned forward and grasped his hand. "Oh, Vidar. What a mess." He met her eyes. "What should I do?"

"You'll have to go to her. You'll have to woo her. And then you'll have to leave her." A crushing weight pressed on his chest. "How can I leave her, Grid? I have waited and waited and waited. She is everything. Life without her is too long and too pointless." His words caught on a helpless sob and he bit his lip to prevent it escaping.

"I'm sorry, my love. That is my advice to you. You are safe, Odin won't harm you. But he will harm her, and gladly."

"Why did you ever love him, mother?"

The question took her by surprise. Her eyes welled with tears, quickly blinked back. "We don't choose whom we love, Vidar. The heart is a fool. Besides, had I not loved Odin, I wouldn't have you to love now." Grid brightened, offered him a smile. "Perhaps you could override your foolish heart and fall in love with someone else?"

Vidar thought of Aud. "There's nobody else. There never will be."

"Forever is a long time. Take heart," she said. "Now, you must be hungry. Let me make you something to eat."

She bustled about preparing a meal, and Vidar waited by the fire a few moments.
Go to her, woo her,
leave her
.

The first two he could manage, but the last seemed all but impossible.

Late-afternoon sunbeams were reflecting off the sea when Vidar approached Gammaldal on his return the next day. Arvak was the first to sense something wrong; he whickered and pulled against the reins.

"What is it, Arvak?" Vidar asked, bending down to pat the horse's neck. He paused a moment, looking around. He could see his house and the outbuildings between the fields, smoke curling from his chimney…

Then he saw movement behind the stables. Arvak had smelled her already: Tanngrísnir, Thor's horse. She was a beast, a monstrous creature who could transform to a goat or a boar to be eaten for a feast, then regrow from the bones overnight, a fraction more stupid and malignant each time. And she was riderless, which meant that his half brother was inside, with Aud.

"I know you don't like her, old friend," Vidar said, spurring Arvak forward, "but I can't leave Aud alone with Thor. Come on."

Arvak was at first reluctant, but soon picked up his speed, sensing the urgency in his master's voice. Vidar's back and neck tensed, as he braced himself against the exchange to come. He allowed Arvak to wander rather than leaving him at the stable with Tanngrísnir. Vidar's body was weary from travel, and he felt sweaty and grimy. He had hoped this evening would yield a hot bath and one of Aud's best rabbit stews. Nothing so complicated as dealing with his family.

Vidar pushed the door open. Thor sat on a bench, his red-blond hair and beard reflecting gold in the firelight. He gave Vidar a crooked smile, spat on the fire, and said, "Hello, weakling."

"Where's Aud?"

Thor indicated with his head. "Hiding from me. She looks well. You have been treating her too kindly. She's Vanir scum, show some family pride."

"My family are nothing to be proud of," Vidar responded.

In a flash, Thor had pulled out a knife and thrust it into the pillar beside Vidar. Its handle quivered. "I'll stick it in you next time you say a word against the Aesir," Thor muttered, his mouth curling into a sneer.

"Why are you here?"

"Odin sent me. He saw you swimming the bay."

"You mean his two pigeons saw me."

"The ravens' eyes are his eyes. You went to Jotunheim, didn't you? To see the whore?"

"If you mean my mother, yes, that's where I went."

Thor pulled his knife out of the pillar. "Odin wants to see you." Vidar felt his heart pull up. "Why?"

"You're to come to Valaskjálf with me."

Vidar shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Arvak won't travel with Tanngrísnir."

"Then Arvak's a soft-cat just like his master. Odin was insistent. You're to come to Valaskjálf with me. He has questions to ask you."

"Tell Odin I'll come in three days. I've just returned from Jotunheim and I'm tired." Thor narrowed his eyes. "You'll come tomorrow."

"Or the day after."

"Don't bend my temper too far, Vidar."

The two of them locked eyes for a few moments, then Thor looked away. "I'll tell Odin you're coming the day after tomorrow. In the morning." Thor heaved himself up from the table, cast a glance toward Aud's door. "Bring her with you, if you like. I'll entertain her."

"Aud stays here, she's mine to command. Odin gave her to me."

Thor leaned close, his beery breath in Vidar's face. "Tell me you've pricked her, brother. Give me something to be proud of."

"Are you leaving?"

His brother laughed, collected his cloak and sword belt. "Yes, I'm leaving. I'm afraid if I stay any longer my balls will shrivel up like yours." He moved for the door. "Day after tomorrow, Vidar."

"I'll be there."

A moment later the door had closed behind him and his footsteps retreated toward the stables. Vidar held his breath until he heard hoofbeats thundering off up the slope. He sank onto the bench and put his head in his hands. What did Odin want? Vidar was glad to have a few days to think things through. In all likelihood, Odin would want to speak to him about his mother. But Grid's warnings had stirred fear in him: he had touched Victoria, he had marked her. Odin might have already sensed her. Maybe he intended to confine Vidar and cross to Midgard and…

Vidar shook his head, took a deep breath. He was tired, he was overwrought. There were two nights yet before he had to confront his father. In the meantime, he should look in on Aud.

"Aud?" he said, cracking her door open. "You can come out. He's gone." Aud looked up from her sewing and Vidar saw the bruise covering her right cheek.

"Oh, Aud." Vidar moved into the room and knelt beside her. "Did Thor do this?"

"When I wouldn't tell him when you would return." She touched the bruise carefully and winced. "It's very tender."

Vidar tucked her hair behind her ear and examined the mark. "What a brave soul he is, beating a bondmaid." He stood and held out his hand. "Come out by the fire. How long was he here?"

"He arrived this morning at first light." She took his hand, not meeting his eye. "What did he want?" Vidar tasted the anxiety again. "I've been summoned to Valaskjálf. To see my father."

"Are you going?"

"If I don't go, he'll come here." Vidar sighed. "I have no choice. He's inescapable,."

As Aud made her way through the winding passages in the base of the World Tree, she tried to unravel the sense of sadness and dread she was feeling. It wasn't unusual to feel gloomy and anxious on her way to see the Norns, but normally the negative feelings were tempered by her excitement about seeing Helgi. Today, the excitement hadn't caught her.

She ducked a spider's web. A cold breeze from somewhere deep under the earth caressed her hair and face as a dying lover might. She shuddered and pushed on. Last time she had watched him in the crystal, Helgi had been laughing and playing with Aud's aunt, Thuridh. He had looked happy; he had put his arm around Thuridh's waist and cuddled her savagely, as a small boy might cuddle his mother. Maybe this memory was the cause of her melancholy. Aud, his real mother, dreaded seeing how little her son missed her, how fiercely he had bonded with someone else.

Dim light beckoned around the bend ahead. Aud was a few bare yards away from the Norns' alcove, but she stopped a moment, leaning against the wall. Her lip quivered and sudden tears sprang to her eyes. This was not the life she had dreamed for herself: separated from her child, in love with a man indifferent to her, creeping around this gravelike labyrinth with an ache in her heart deep enough to crack a mountain to pieces.

She took a breath and pulled herself together. Her heart had to be stronger than any mountain. One day, centuries hence, she would finally see Helgi again. He would be grown, a stranger to her. But he would want to meet her and learn what kind of a woman his mother was. Aud had to be worthy of that meeting: a woman of integrity and wits, not a ruin.

Verda's laugh echoed down the passage and Aud looked up. She could hear them chattering softly amongst themselves, and wondered at their lives, whether they had ever longed for a fate of their own. She took to the path once more, rounding the corner a moment later.

"Good day, sisters," she said, imbuing her voice with a shred of cheer.

"Aud! Did you bring me a hair clasp?" Urd said, dropping her thread and approaching.

"I did. I brought one each for you and Skuld. I had to carve them without Vidar's help, so…" She pulled the two wooden clasps out of her bag and offered them as explanation.