Siren Slave (43 page)

“Enbarr’s with her,” Balder said.

Shit! Freya left with that damned manipulating one-horned beast. I have scared her away…and I was so sure. Is she fleeing to Avalon? Enbarr would help Freya over me. If she wasn’t happy, he’d take her away. Will he return her? I…I’ll tell her I will still protect her, tell her we don’t need to have the relationship we do if it isn’t what she wants.

When Siegfried arrived on deck, shouting had begun and the dwarves were actually running below decks. A gold head was looming over the
River Queen
and spattering the deck with drool. What now?

“Siegfried! Siegfried! Don’t kill me! It is me! Sun Shimmer! Hedwig’s and Frey-Frey’s playmate! Don’t shoot! I’m a friend!”
Sun Shimmer’s internal voice was frantic and excited. He looked more like a scaly, over-sized dog than a sea beast.
”Hedwig sent me. She’s with Frey-Frey and Enbarr. I thought we were all going to play Fetch the Starfish, but that’s not what they wanted to do. There is no fetching of starfish or shark hunting or play at all. But…but…Hedwig wanted me to tell you where they were going, because she doesn’t know if she can keep Frey-Frey safe. Hedwig always keeps herself safe. Yes, she does! Hedwig is smart!”
The ship began to rock as Sun Shimmer’s tail began to wag when he spoke of Hedwig.

“Where did they go?” Why was Freya going somewhere dangerous if she was running away from him? Was there anywhere safe in the Otherworld? It did not help that he knew she was not only with that unicorn but also with the Sea Witch. Perhaps they were pursuing some drunken sailors who did not have antlers and preferred normal sex.

“Jotunheim! They went to Jotunheim!”

“She’s going after Loki?” The thought made Siegfried sick. Loki’s Utgard at the center of Jotunheim. Freya wasn’t ready for that. Was she so foolish to try to fight Loki on his own territory, a territory surrounded by giants? If she were drunk, aye. And she was with Hedwig. She was definitely drunk.

“No! No Loki! Mimir! You look worried. But Hedwig is smart. She can escape any man. She says so herself. She even escaped Jason of the
Argo.
She can protect Frey-Frey, too. I think. They will fix your problems. Frey-Frey said so. Frey-Frey is smart, too.”

“Fuck.” So, she hadn’t run away from him; she’d run because she wanted more of what he gave her? Oh, she would be in trouble when he got her back. But he had to get her back quickly, before Mimir hurt her. Every time they were separated, bad things happened.

He started shouting orders for them to switch course, but Sun Shimmer moved his head lower.
“Let me help. Sun Shimmer will help.”
The big, gold head began to bob in excitement, causing the ship to tip wildly, sloshing water across the decks.

“You can begin to help by not wrecking my ship,” he said.

The rocking ceased.
“But your boat is slow. Enbarr is fast. I am fast. Tie me to your boat and we’ll get there soon. Maybe Frey-Frey will play Fetch the Starfish with me.”

He looked from Sun Shimmer’s drooling mouth to the distant horizon in the direction of Jotunheim. Then he saw other colorful heads popping above the water, purples, greens, silvers, and blues.

“I called friends. Your boat will be very fast.”

“Ship,” Siegfried muttered.

****

“Why are they glaring at us?” Freya asked as they entered the first Jotun village. Hedwig was leading the way. Enbarr had remained in the waters, telling Freya only to call him if she desperately needed him.

“They don’t like the fey,” Hedwig said. “Especially Aesir. You’re an Aesir—a citizen of Asgard. But they don’t know that.”

“Er, we just want to get to the Well,” Freya called, giving the Jotuns happy waves.

Several of the giants, big males, growled and approached, tusks protruding from their lower jaws. They had large ears and gold rings in their noses.

“They think the Well is theirs,” Hedwig said, her gaze flickering down to the Jotuns’ crotches. “And they look…very interested in us.”

“What? Don’t they have to pay a price, too? Or did they figure out your method?” Freya asked, whipping her trident behind her back in the hopes of appearing less threatening. She tried to ignore the obvious evidence of the Jotuns’ interest.

“Jotuns get to drink from it for free. You should see how stupid the ones who don’t drink from the Well are.”

“We’re not going for why you think,” Freya said quickly and loudly.

“Then why are you going?” one giant with a great axe on his back asked, his eyes traveling to her breasts.

“You’re fey,” a giant woman with brown braids said. She did not have tusks. Instead, she had smooth skin and wore tight leathers. “And why two of you?”

“When do women ever handle men on their own without friend advice?” Freya said, hoping to make an appeal to reason, if the Jotuns had any. “We can’t even go the privy alone. Do you think we’d come here alone?”

The giants did not back away. In fact, more were advancing.

“Skadi,” Hedwig said. The Sea Witch gave her a wide smile. “I see my Hotness in a Bottle worked well?”

The braided giantess scratched her head. “Hedwig? Sea Bitch?” The Jotun woman hadn’t recognized Hedwig—even in her bright scaled dress—until now?

“Yes, it is none other than the Magical Mistress of Potions herself,” Hedwig said, holding aloft her satchel.

Skadi grabbed the giant with the battle axe around the waist, snuggling him against her. “Hotness in a Bottle worked well for me. Got me all the men.” A chain of snot ran from the nose of a Jotun male looming over Skadi to roll between her breasts.

“He looks like quite a catch,” Hedwig said. “One I’d throw back,” she muttered in a lower voice and exchanged a troubled glance with Freya. “So, how about Hedwig gives you some more potions and you step aside? I have lots more Hotness in a Bottle. I have Swive the Night Away. I have Stink Be Gone, which makes your breath and body smell better. And, of course, my newest, Long Hard Night. If you want a lusty man between your thighs, you are in luck. If you want to satisfy your lady all night, Hedwig has the answer.”

“Ooh.” Female giants began to push the men aside, and Hedwig began distributing bottles from her purse. They didn’t seem to notice, but Hedwig was giving them all sorts of different bottles.

“What are you doing?” Freya whispered.

“I have a lot of new potions I haven’t tested yet,” Hedwig said, tossing more bottles haphazardly at the encroaching Jotuns. “Some stronger sleeping draughts, a vomit-inducing potion, and one that causes vaginal discharge. A male just caught that one, so I’m not sure what will happen there.” She cackled. “The last time I was here, they tried to kill me without even asking me why I was here. I gave Skadi the Hotness in a Bottle. All the men started looking at her, so I ran. This will be a lesson not to try to put an axe through my skull.” She handed off her last bottle. “Now, let’s get the fuck out of here.”

****

“Mimir,” Freya shouted when they’d reached the Well. She was too irritated to be entranced by the swirling pool of dark colors. The tree surrounding it was huge, its gnarling roots forming the base and sides of the Well. “Mimir, haul your rocky ass out here. We have much to discuss.”

What she thought was a large hill of rock suddenly rose.
Oh, a man made of rock. So rock giants really are made of rock. They don’t just have some sort of rock magic? This is almost too literal for the Otherworld. I had thought they lived in rocky areas or ate rocks or something.

“Why are you here, Freya?” he asked in a booming, grating voice.

“How can you possibly ask that?” she demanded. She didn’t care if he was made of rock. Then she remembered that giants were a little stupid. One whose head was made of rock must be even more so. She decided to speak very slowly and clearly. “I’m here because of what you took from Siegfried. Sieg….fried, the man who now has antlers. Antlers.” She spread her hands and placed them on either side of her head to mimic the horns. “Do you remember?” When he just stared at her, she said, “Wait, that word was probably too big. Do you recall Sieg…freid?”

“Why are you speaking like that?” Mimir asked. “Yes, I remember Siegfried. But what is the problem?”

Mimir really was stupid. She sighed. Maybe if she could explain… “Well, you see, people have needs. By needs, I mean the need to do things with their bodies with each other. A man has a part he puts inside of a woman’s body.” She pointed to her crotch, lest he was confused. “They enjoy this, a lot. But most men and women only do these things with their same species. Shit, big word again. Well, it is weird for a woman like me, who doesn’t have stag legs,” she gestured to her legs, “to do these things with a man with stag legs.”

“Wait, you have a problem with that?” Hedwig folded her arms across her breasts, looking as if Freya had gone mad. “I like fauns.”

“Not helping,” Freya snapped. “So, Mimir, I need you to fix what you did to Siegfried, give him back what you took. Do you understand?”

“Freya, I’m not as dumb as the other Jotuns, and even the others aren’t
that
stupid,” Mimir said. “But, I cannot help you. There is nothing I can do.”

“Mimir, he’s in pain when he shifts. And…and—”

“She obviously has needs,” Hedwig said. “Seriously, Mimir, you don’t want to mess with that area of a woman’s life. Least of all Hecate’s daughter. Or me, in case you ever plan on doing anything like that to anyone I may have an interest in.”

Mimir stepped closer, the earth beneath him shaking. He stared down the two, the slabs of stone at were his brows lowering. “Siegfried made the deal and he has his immortality. You should be pleased with that. And Hedwig, any man is an interest for you. Except Aillen MacMidhna.”

“And you, obviously,” Hedwig added with a snort.

“Hearing him scream is not pleasing.” Rain began to fall, and Freya felt her temper begin to fray. “Not if he’s not screaming for the right reasons. The right reasons being what I am doing to him, not because he’s hurting because you’re an ass. You set the price. Maybe you didn’t know what you did. He was in so much pain that he collapsed. I heard his bones snapping. You’re made of rock, so I’m guessing you don’t have bones. They really wouldn’t serve much purpose. But if you did have bones and they snapped, it would really hurt.”

“He’s in pain because he needs to be. Otherwise, he’d be with you all the time and I’d never get to be human,” Mimir said.

“You didn’t just say that.” Freya’s voice was cold, and she shook her head. “He
needs
to be in pain?” Siegfried had suffered enough for his cause. She drew her trident from behind her, her vision obscured by wind-whipped pale locks.

Mimir held out his great hands, as if trying to make her see reason. “Freya, I enjoy being human. I’ve found a few giantesses who might be interested in me. None of them ever want to try anything with rock giants.”

“So this is all about sex?” Hedwig asked. “Isn’t this why booze was invented in the first place?”

“I am so not running,” Freya said. “Siegfried is suffering…” She felt the sting of tears in her eyes. She could not dispel the image of Siegfried screaming, the cracking of his bones. Or Mimir’s words.
“He’s in pain because he needs to be.”
The sky above grew black, wind whipping around them.

“Mimir, I have potions that could fix that for you,” Hedwig said, desperation tinging her voice. She batted her hair from her face as she began to look through her satchel.

“Siegfried made the deal. I need a price,” Mimir said. He stepped towards them, punching a rocky palm with a fist. “Keep your potions.”

“Maybe you should just let it all out, hopefully before he crushes us,” Hedwig whispered. “Just don’t strike us with lightning.”

The wind howled, rain lashing at them, growing into a deluge. She needed lots of water to seep into that stone. The rock giant was nearing, footsteps causing the earth to quake. Branches whipped from the trees, striking the rock only to break or fall away harmlessly.

“I’m not leaving until you turn Siegfried back. We’ll make another deal. I’ll make a deal with you.” Freya did not want to fight, but just in case, she willed that water to flow deep into Mimir.

The Jotun halted his approach, studying Freya with granite-chip eyes. “Aside from your lover and your people, which I cannot take, there’s only one thing you have, Fomori,
Beast
. I have no idea what I’d do with your hair. I do not want it. I gave you your choice. You made it.”

She pushed herself from the earth, swan wings spreading from her back. She felt as small as a moth to a human before the rock giant’s craggy features. The rain fell still harder, clouds literally bursting above before being replaced by more. She tossed back her skin of blueberry ale. When Mimir grasped for her, she darted downwards, boots skimming the surface of the water. She knelt to fill the now empty skin with Wisdom.

“Oh, look at me,” she taunted, soaring upwards again. She circled around Mimir’s head, dodging his grasping hands. “Look what I’m drinking.” She paused to take a gulp, almost getting herself squished. She barely averted the palm that would crush her bones. But she wasn’t giving up. She hovered higher, out of reach. “It’s Wisdom. That’s right. And guess what? I got it for free.”

The Wisdom didn’t even feel like liquid, and she felt no different. But Mimir didn’t need to know that. “I feel smarter already.”

This time Mimir leapt, and Freya descended once more toward the Well. She refilled the skin again. Mimir did not jump into the pool after her. He stood on the edge, glaring at her.

The Jotun bellowed and slammed down his fist, opening a fissure in the earth. Hedwig leapt aside, falling on her side. There was the crack of bone. No, no. It was just one of Hedwig’s heels breaking.

“Your fighting is as futile as your father’s against Jotunheim’s might,” Mimir said, as if Freya was going to be offended by jibes at Woden. “If you leave here, you’ll leave here alive and you will hear the snap of your lover’s bones and his screams for eternity. He’s in pain because he needs to be.” The Jotun laughed.

She saw the purple glow of her eyes reflected from the Well. Anger filled her, brimmed over. Hail pounded the earth, but she kept the worst of it from herself and Hedwig, despite her worries. She had to act now. She let that part of herself, her temper, loose with a mighty roar that shook the very trees.