Jake & The Giant (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 2) (18 page)

Big mistake.

“Run for your life!” Jake choked out, already bolting up the path to escape the stink.

Archie, gagging, reached for the Gryphon and climbed onto his back. Red launched away at top speed, coughing.

When they had reached the top of the slope, both boys applauded loudly for Snorri, who came trudging up after them with a grin from ear to ear.

Even Archie approved. “Most impressive, sir!”

“Told you I had talents,” the giant said brightly.

“Probably best not to show off
that
one to the princess,” Archie advised.

“
Guess what?” Jake exclaimed. “Besides being able to fart like a flugelhorn, our giant friend here is an excellent navigator!” He gestured to the clearing ahead of them. “Look, Snorri! You’ve found the Tree.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The Secret Meadow

“Great Euclid!” Archie whispered as they stepped up to the shadowed edge of the forest and stared into the sun-dappled glade.

There
, in the flowery meadow, hidden by miles of wild woods, stood the towering base of the Tree of Viking legend, Yggdrasil. Even its gnarled roots were gigantic, as big as houses and covered in velvety green moss. Yggdrasil was so huge that not even its lowest branch was in sight.

Tilting their heads back to stare up at it, all they could see was the towering wooden pillar of its trunk, disappearing into the clouds.

Then Archie looked at him and grinned. “Jake, meet beanstalk. Beanstalk, Jake.”

Red snorted at his quip, but Jake just looked at him.

“Well, we
are
two Englishmen sneaking into Giant Land! You have to admit the story fits.” Archie elbowed Snorri in the side of his knee. “Go on. ‘Fee, fi, fo, fum.’ Please?”

“We don’t really say that,”
Snorri mumbled, casting the boy genius a frown. Then he gazed reverently into the clearing again. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

“And creepy,” Jake muttered.
“Stay on your guard, everyone.”

“Look at th
e swans!” Snorri pointed with a dreamy smile at the pair of swans swimming in a tranquil stone pool beside the Tree. “And the flowers! I’ve never seen colors like that before, so pretty and bright.”

“They
sparkle
,” Archie agreed. “They almost look like blown glass or crystal…or sugarplum candy!” He pointed to an otherworldly orange trumpet flower in fascination. “I wonder if you can eat them!”

“I wouldn’t advise it,” Jake said, suddenly more uneasy here than he had been in the woods.

None of them seemed too eager to take the first step into the meadow, content to enjoy its beauty from the edges. Red was glancing around with an aquiline scowl, his tufted lion-tail thrashing back and forth in agitation.

“Do you think I should pick one
of those flowers for Kaia?” Snorri asked the boys.

“
Don’t even touch them. These flowers might contain some magic poison, and even if they don’t, if you pick one, it’ll be dead by the time we get there,” Jake replied. “Besides, you’d have to explain where you got it. And that could cause some problems, considering you’re forbidden to come to Midgarth.”

“Oh, r
ight.” Snorri craned his neck to look up at the tree again. “So how in the Nine Worlds are we going to climb this thing?”

“No idea,”
Jake murmured. “There must be some sort of trick to it. Come on, Arch. Let’s put that big brain of yours to work. Help me figure this out.”

“
Let me get a picture of the tree.” Archie set down his tool-bag and reached into it, pulling out his camera.

“What’s that?” Snorri asked.

Archie grinned proudly. “That’s my Super Subminiature Box Camera! It’s only two by three inches, the smallest camera money can buy, favored by private detectives—”

“
Arch, we don’t have time for this!”

“You said I could!
” he belted back at once. “That’s the main reason I’m here, Jake! Field work! Remember?”

Jake scowled, but Archie tossed him a measuring tape. “Here. Go take a circumference
of the trunk for me,” he ordered as he began setting up his camera. “I need exact measurements, or my colleagues will never believe it’s real.”

“You can’t tell them about this!”

“Why not?”

“
That barmy lot will come and chop it down so they can count the tree rings!”

Snorri glanc
ed at Archie in alarm, but he waved off Jake’s claim.

Jake tossed
his knapsack onto the ground. He was glad to be rid of the burden for a while, anyway.

Snorri did the same
, taking the stopper off his huge canteen. “Maybe we could just stay here and rest awhile. It’s awfully nice and peaceful. Maybe a snack before we climb?”

Jake’s stomach grumbled in agreement with this suggestion, but
for once he ignored it. “Don’t be daft. We have to press on.”
I am not getting stuck in this strange forest after dark
. With Archie’s measuring tape dutifully in hand, he took two steps into the meadow to go measure the trunk of Yggdrasil, only to freeze in his tracks when all the brilliant, crystalline flowers snapped shut.

“Ah, crud,
” he whispered.

“What did you do?” Archie cried.

Not daring to move his feet another inch, Jake looked around for an explanation. “Not… quite… sure. I think when I stepped past those orange flowers…”

Archie gasped with understanding.
“Crystals! The flowers mark out a perimeter. You’ve tripped off some sort of magical alarm!”

T
hen a clap of thunder sounded right above them.

They all jumped. The two s
wans floating in the stream flew away, spiraling upward around the tree. Black clouds rolled in with astonishing speed, darkening the glade.

Red leaped
forward to stand by Jake’s side, snarling at unseen forces in the air.

All of a sudden, a disembodied voice boomed
at them from all directions:
“Turn back!”

“Blimey,” Jake said
with a gulp. “I knew those stupid woods were enchanted.”

“
None shall pass,”
the voice said.
“Leave this place! This is your only warning!”

A bolt of lightning split the air above Jake’s head. He
ducked; Red roared at the invisible person behind these tricks.

Then a piercing screech
from above split the air. Jake looked up as two winged, coal-black shapes dove toward them from the sky.

Red
instantly went into full battle-mode, unfurling his wings, unsheathing his lion-claws. He reared up onto his back legs and slashed at the air with his front paws.

Jake stared, incredulous, at the
incoming creatures, monstrous, reptilian birds arrowing straight toward them.

“What are they?” Snorri cri
ed.

“
They almost look like pterodactyls! But that’s impossible,” Archie said.

“Tera-
whats?”

“Dinosaur birds!
They found them in the fossils.”

But studying them again, Jake shook his head
. “No, I think those are the swans.”

“They
’ve changed,” Snorri rumbled.

“Duck!”
Jake hit the ground, covering his head with his hands as the black swan-things swooped low. He felt the breeze as they passed inches above him, one after the other.

The second
scratched Jake’s back with sharp talons as it whooshed by. He yelled out in pain, but managed to lift his head for a better view of what in blazes was attacking them.

The birds had long necks with large, toothed beaks, shiny black scales in place of fea
thers, and red, glowing eyes. They circled the glade and headed back for a second pass, hurling straight toward the intruders like two black, nasty javelins.

Still lying on his stomach flat on the ground,
Jake tried to gather his wits enough to use his telekinesis on the creatures. But before he could throw a bolt of energy at them, Red launched into the air to battle them.

Jake wat
ched in something of a panic as his brave pet clashed with the creatures, fighting them in midair. With Red keeping the swan-things busy, Jake shot to his feet and retreated a bit.

Archie had the
presence of mind to snap a picture, but Snorri just stood there with his mouth hanging open. When the Gryphon sent one of the evil black swans crashing to the ground with a hiss, there was another flash of lightning, another disembodied voice.

“Turn back
now or you shall die!”

“Who’s there?” Jake demanded.

The voice sounded female. Actually, it sounded like several voices layered into one, all speaking at once. Weird.
“Who dares trespass in this place?”

“Show yourself!”
he commanded boldly.

“Oh, you don
’t want that, child, believe me.”
Only one voice offered that response, along with a hag-like snicker.

Then
, again, all three voices boomed together:
“Do not try our patience. In the name of Odin, go now, or you shall pay!”

Jake could not tell which
direction the sound was coming from. The ominous warning seemed to emanate from everywhere at once. He glanced meaningfully at Archie to see if the boy genius had any thoughts.

Whoever was behind those voices, Jake was sure they were
somewhere close, watching, but unseen. Archie shook his head and shrugged, at a loss, while Red battled on, flying and slashing in midair as he fought the second monstrous black bird.

The first
, which the Gryphon had already knocked down, struggled to its feet again, shook itself off, and returned to the fight.

Jake winced, his heart pounding in fear for his
big, feathered friend. As strong as he was, the outnumbered Gryphon couldn’t go on like this forever.

“Give me your walkin
g stick!” he called to Archie. When his cousin threw it to him, Jake held it like a cricket bat. He gathered his courage, then charged into the fray, taking a whack at one of the black creatures attacking Red. “Leave him alone!”

More lightning.

“How dare you attack our birds?”
the voice shouted at him.

“
Call them off or I’ll smash ’em in the head!” he yelled, but the only reply he received was a lightning bolt that landed near his feet.

He jumped away with a yelp and fell on the flowers, which snapped
at him like angry Venus flytraps.

H
e felt a massive hand pull him up by the back of his collar. A moment later, Snorri set him on his feet back near his cousin.

Jake dust
ed himself off. “Thanks, Snorri—but why are you just standing here! You’re a giant! Can’t you do something? Please! Go help Red before they kill him! Those birds are small enough that you could grab them—”

“
Listen to me!” he interrupted. “There’s something I have to tell you!”

“What is it?” Jake
asked impatiently.

“
I think I know who’s here,” the giant mumbled, nodding toward the meadow.

“You do?” bot
h boys exclaimed.

“I remembered.”
The giant nodded with a look of dread. “It’s the Norns,” he whispered.

“The w
hat?”

“
Who?” the boys exclaimed.

“
Three terrible witches who guard Yggdrasil.”

“Witc
hes!” Jake said in alarm.

“
You might’ve mentioned that earlier!” Archie retorted.

“
I’m sorry, I forgot!” Snorri said defensively. “I never paid much attention in school.”

“There’s
a shock,” Archie muttered.

“Great.
” Jake harrumphed.
Witches!
He’d had enough of their kind back in London with Fionnula Coralbroom.

He
glanced around the glade for any sign of them, but the witches preferred to remain invisible.

“Quickly,
Snorri, what can you tell us about them?”

“
Well, they’re called the Norns, also known as the Wyrd Sisters.”

“Like in Shakespeare
?” Archie exclaimed. “Macbeth?”

“Huh?”
Snorri grunted.

“Never mind,” Jake said
. “Just tell us how we defeat ’em.”

“
You don’t. They’re too ancient, too powerful. They’re like, like the Fates,” Snorri said, weighing each word as though it hurt to search his brain for pertinent details. “They weave the cloth of destiny. There’s three of them: past, present, future. They guard the Tree… Oh, yes, and the stream there. Of course! It’s all coming back to me now. The water, there! You see?” He pointed to the pool where the swans had been floating when they had arrived. “The Norns water the tree Yggdrasil from the Well of Wisdom.”

“Maybe we could
get
you
a nice big drink of that, too,” Archie muttered.

“H
ow did you deal with them last time?” Jake asked hurriedly. “When you landed here before?”

“
I never saw them! When I fell out of Jugenheim, I landed way over there on the next mountain.”

“
Well, what do we do?” Jake asked impatiently.