Mimir's Well (The Oracles of Kurnugi Book 3) (7 page)

CHAPTER 15

            
 
H
eat blossomed in Henry's chest. He tried to cry out, but his voice abandoned him. He doubled over, and his hands went to his chest. His heart was on fire, and when he thought he could bear it no more, the flames raced across his veins until his entire body was burning. His vision blurred, and he barely noticed when he fell to the ground. Abruptly, his face went cold and that feeling crept throughout his body until the burning had subsided. He lay on the ground breathing heavily for several seconds before he noticed that Ratatoskr had come up next to him.

              "Are you alright?"

              "I think so. What happened?"

              "You drank, then you fell over. By the time I got to you, you were better. What can you do?"

              "What?"

              "You drank from the dragon's blood so you have to be able to do something." The squirrel's eyes went wide. "Now can you turn invisible?"

              "I don't think so," Henry said. "How do I know what it did?"

              "I don't know," Ratatoskr said. "I've never killed a dragon. Oh, I know!"

              The squirrel spoke in a series of clicks, and his tail twitched. Henry stared at him blankly.

              "Well?" Ratatoskr asked.

              "Well what?"

              "Could you understand me?"

              "No."

              Ratatoskr sighed. "I was hoping you could speak Squirrel. I guess not."

              "Then, what can I do?"

              "I don't know. You're the one who can do it."

              "I don't know how."

              "Maybe we can figure that out once we get to Midgard."

              "Which way?" Henry asked.

              The squirrel darted off down one of the smaller tunnels branching out from the cavern. Henry got to his feet and pulled his shield out of the ground. He slung it on his back and walked after Ratatoskr. The ever-present light that had infused the air since they first came under Yggdrasil's branches began to fade, and Henry had to walk slowly. Before long, he had to put a hand on the wall and was surprised to feel rough stone under his fingers instead of smooth obsidian. He paused when he came to a small cavern with four passages forking out from it.

              "Ratatoskr," Henry called out. "Are you there?"

              He tried again when the squirrel didn't respond. After a few minutes, Henry began to worry the squirrel had left him behind. He considered turning around, but there wouldn't be any point. He could make it back to Yggdrasil, but from there, he'd have no idea where to go. At least here, he had a one in four chance. He was about to go down second passage from the left when the squirrel darted out from the rightmost passage.

              "No!" The little animal cried out. "That goes to one of the elven realms. That's almost as dangerous for you as Asgard itself."

              "Sorry, I don't know where I'm going, and you disappeared."

              "I just didn't expect you to be so slow."

              "Why don't we just go slow for a little while?" Henry asked. "At least until we get to Midgard."

              The squirrel let out a heavy sigh. "Fine."

              It was so dark that Henry had to navigate by the sound of the squirrel's nails on stone, and more than once, he had to call out to Ratatoskr.

              "These all lead to different worlds?" Henry asked.

              "Every one."

              "I thought..." Henry wracked his mind for what he remembered of Norse mythology, which wasn't much. "Aren't there only nine worlds?"

              "There were two, one of fire and one of ice," the squirrel said. "Seven others formed from void between them, but Yggdrasil touches all worlds, not just the nine that exist here. That's why you should stay close. You don't want to end up in one of the other ones. Not that way!"

              Henry froze. He hadn't realized the path had split again. It was the third time he'd almost gone the wrong way. "Can't I just hold on your tail or something?"

              "You could do that," Ratatoskr said, "but then I'd be forced to bite you, and I don't think you'd like losing a finger any more than the dragon did."

              He let it drop at that. It was another half an hour before a glimmer of light appeared ahead. Henry started moving faster. By the time he could see the sky clearly, he was running. He leapt out of the cave mouth, and breathed deeply. The scent of wildflowers filled the air, mixed with a faint fragrance of pine. The air felt cool against his face, and he found himself laughing. He was so glad to be out that he didn't even care that the light hurt his eyes. When his vision finally cleared, he saw he was on the side of a flower covered hill. A forest of evergreens covered the nearby landscape. Henry took a step forward and almost fell when something caught his foot. He looked down and realized it was a thin root that stretched out from the mouth of the cave. He bent down and touched its rough surface. It was hard to imagine this was the root of the world tree.

              "What are you doing here, rat?"

              The words sounded halfway between a voice and a squawk. Henry looked around, but saw no one. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he scanned the branches above him. On a thick branch, a dozen feet up, stood the largest crow he'd ever seen. It was almost as big as a hawk. It opened its wings and glided down to a lower branch.

              "Answer me, rat."

              "I'm not a rat," Ratatoskr squeaked, but he hid behind Henry.

              "Don't you have a job to do?"

              "Not anymore. Henry freed me."

              "I did?" Henry asked.

              "I can't really carry insults between the eagle and the dragon if the dragon is dead, can I?"

              "I guess not."

              "This boy killed Nidhogg?"

              The squirrel nodded. "Stabbed him through the brain."

              The bird squawked a laugh. "A difficult target to hit. I really don't care where you go, rat, but I don't want to see you here, so go before I decide to eat you."

              "I didn't know crows ate squirrels," Henry mused.

              The bird leapt off the branch and spread its wings in a span that was wider than Henry was tall. It clawed at his face, and Henry cried out and fell back before it flapped up and perched on a low branch. A single black feather floated down and landed on Henry's face. He stood up as Ratatoskr, who'd run to hide behind a tree, scurried out and ran behind Henry's leg again.

              "I'm no crow, boy. Don't you know a raven when you see one?"

              "Don't you know a squirrel?" Henry asked, not willing to admit that he, in fact, didn't know the difference. Henry looked at Ratatoskr. "Does this mean the dragon's blood gave me the ability to speak to birds like that other guy?"

              "No, what makes you think that?"

              "Well, I can understand the raven."

              "I'm speaking your tongue, human. You could never understand mine," the raven said.

              "I wasn't talking to you," Henry said, irritated at the bird. He looked back at his furry friend. "Just how many talking animals are there?"

              Ratatoskr huffed. "It's not really that hard to speak your language, but humans hardly ever have anything worthwhile to say, so not many go through the trouble of learning."

              Henry sighed. "What do you want, raven?"

              "I want that pest to leave so we can talk without him spreading our words to all the nine worlds."

              "I wouldn't do that," Ratatoskr said.

              The bird glared at the squirrel and cawed. It spread its wings and dove, and Ratatoskr scrambled behind a tree. The raven went after him. Henry's hand went to his hilt, but he didn't draw the blade. The raven was obviously trying not to hurt Ratatoskr, and he had the feeling this bird was the kind of being one did not want to upset. A few minutes later, the raven appeared back in the branches above Henry.

              "You didn't hurt him, did you?"

              "Of course not. I just ran him off. It would take more than a fright to hurt Ratatoskr."

              "Ok, we're alone," Henry said. "What do you want? Who are you?"

              "I'm Huginn," Huginn said. "Or you can call me Thought if you prefer."

              "Fine, but why are you here?"

              "I'm supposed to get you to follow me."

              "I don't even like you," Henry said. "Why would I follow you?"

              "Men came out of that hole behind you. One carried a golden haired girl over his shoulder. I saw where they went."

              "Where?" Henry asked.

              "Not yet. Not until you follow me." It flew to another branch and turned to look at Henry. "Well?"

              Henry stayed unmoving for a while, but in the end, he figured he didn't have a choice. He grumbled under his breath at the fact that more and more often, he found himself thinking those words.

              "That sword is an amazing thing," the bird said. "Made by a god, unless I miss my guess."

              "That's right," Henry said.

              "Did you know the gods don't make their own equipment here?" the raven asked. "They have dwarves make it for them, but the gods are greater than they are. It stands to reason that a weapon forged by gods would be greater than anything forged by dwarves. Your sword is quite possibly the greatest weapon in the nine worlds. I'd bet Nidhogg was surprised by it, for as long as he lived anyway."

              Henry rested a hand on his hilt. "It's not the only monster I've killed. Where are we going?"

              "Oh stop with your thinly veiled threats. Even if I was scared of you, there's someone else I fear a lot more. You're not going to intimidate me. To answer your question though, we're going to where you can get climbing supplies."

              "Why would I need climbing supplies?"

              "Because they carried the girl to a stronghold on top of a mountain, and you don't have what you need to sneak into a fortress guarded by Idun's finest men."

CHAPTER 16

            
 
H
enry gaped at the raven. "A fortress? You want me to attack a fortress?

              "I didn't say attack," the raven said as he flitted to the next tree. "Though, you're the hero. You might be able to pull it off. If you're of a mind to try something a little quieter, consider this. Idun is guarding against armies, not against individuals. If you're careful, you may be able to sneak in and reach the girl before anyone notices."

              "She's not guarded?"

              "I didn't say that, but Idun doesn't trust the mortals under her command, and she has laid powerful enchantments over her prisoner."

              "Magic." Henry shook his head. "I beat Zuab, but she was only mortal. I only survived Circe by running away. How can I go up against the magic of a goddess?"

              The raven glided to a thin branch that groaned under its weight. It began to crack and the bird leapt to another one.

              "How can you go up against a witch with an army at her back? How can you oppose a monster so terrible her very sight turns men to stone? You have been doing impossible things for a long time now, human."

              "But I couldn't save Andromeda."

              "This quest is not over yet."

              "You seem to know a lot about what's going on."

              "We know many things."