Joanne Harris - Runemarks

“Skadi,” she said. “Nice to meet you. I see you and Loki have been catching up.”

Loki swallowed. For the second time that day he found himself at a loss, and did not enjoy the feeling. He was only too aware that a single word from Maddy could condemn him. And who could blame her? They’d hardly parted on the most friendly of terms.

Still, he thought, there’s always hope. Already his quick mind was sifting plans and possibilities. “Skadi,” he said, “meet Maddy Smith.”

Of course, if the girl was still carrying the Whisperer, then he was lost. And if she refused to play along, there again, he was lost. Perhaps they both were, for though Maddy was undoubtedly strong, Skadi was old and battle-trained, and with that deadly glam at her fingertips, Loki didn’t rate their chances if it came to a fight.

Maddy, however, seemed cheerful enough. “I’m glad to see you, Skadi,” she said. “I imagine Loki told you why we’re here.”

“Actually-no,” said Loki. “We were…discussing old times.”

“Well, it’s like this,” said Maddy, reaching down to pull him to his feet. “They’ve got One-Eye. And they’re using the Word.”

“When?” demanded Loki.

“At sunset.”

“Then they may not have used it yet,” he said.

Skadi looked at him. “Used what?”

“The Word, of course.” Shivering, he began to pace, his bare feet soundless on the glassy floor.

“What Word?” said the Huntress with suspicion.

“Gods,” said Loki in disgust. “This just gets better and better, doesn’t it? Maddy, where’s the General?”

“The roundhouse, I think.”

“How well guarded is it?”

Maddy shrugged. “Two men. Maybe.”

“Then we’ll have to move fast. We can’t let the Order interrogate him. If they find out who he is and what he knows…” He shivered once again at the thought.

“What Word?” repeated Skadi. “What is this Word, and where is the Whisperer?”

Loki looked impatient. “Look, dearie, things have changed a bit since Ragnarók. There have been some quite significant developments in the fight between Order and Chaos, and if you hadn’t been asleep under the mountains for the past five hundred years-”

“That wasn’t my idea,” Skadi hissed.

“Convenient, though, wasn’t it? Nice of old Njörd to count you in, even if you’re not technically a Van. No Examiners, no reversals, no Black Fortress-”

The Huntress’s eyes lit dangerously. “Hold your tongue, Dogstar, or I’ll relieve you of it.”

“Hey,” said Loki. “What did I say?”

“Please,” interrupted Maddy. “We don’t have time. One-Eye needs help-”

Skadi looked at her in scorn. “You want me to help him?”

“Well, yes,” said Maddy. “Isn’t he the General?”

Skadi laughed, a cheerless sound. “To the Æsir, perhaps. But not to the Ice People. Not to my folk. Whatever alliance we once had, it ended with the war. As far as I’m concerned, he and the rest of you can all go to Hel.”

For a moment Maddy was at a loss. Then she had a sudden inspiration. “He’s got the Whisperer,” she said.

The Huntress froze. “ Has he?” she said, staring at Loki.

“Has he?” said Loki, genuinely startled.

Skadi raised her runewhip again. “I should have known you were lying,” she said.

“I wasn’t,” said Loki. “I said I knew where the Whisperer was. I didn’t say I had it on my person. For gods’ sakes, Skadi, give me some credit. Why would I bring it here, of all places? Would I really be that stupid?”

Maddy glanced uneasily over her shoulder to the ice block behind which she had hidden the Whisperer. “Would that be very stupid, then?”

“Very,” he said.

Meanwhile Skadi was watching Maddy. “So you were the one who woke me,” she said.

Maddy nodded. “I thought you’d help. The Whisperer said to wake the-” She stopped short, realizing her mistake.

But it was too late. Skadi’s eyes had widened. “It spoke to you?”

“Well…,” said Maddy. “Only once.”

“Did it make a prophecy?”

“It told me to wake you,” said Maddy, who was wishing she hadn’t got into this. “Look, are you going to help or not?”

“I’ll help,” said the Huntress with a chilly smile. “But I’m taking him with me. We’ll fly out together, find the General, pick up the glam, and if for some reason it isn’t there-”

“Why shouldn’t it be there?” said Loki.

“Let me guess,” said Skadi. “Perhaps some lying, conniving person thought he might be able to get me out of the way by sending me on a wild-goose chase while he and his little friend weaseled off with the Whisperer-you know, something like that. This way we can all rest easy. Don’t you think?”

Maddy glanced at Loki. “I’ll go.”

“You can’t.” He spoke reluctantly, as if weighing heavy odds. “The Hill is sealed from the Horse’s Eye. You can’t use the tunnels. Anyway, it would be suicide to go aboveground in this snow-as well as taking more hours than we can afford. No. She’s right. Whoever goes will have to take bird form to reach the village-an hour’s flight, if all goes well.”

Demon blood, Vanir blood, meant the power to shift from one Aspect into another. Loki and Skadi both shared that skill. Too late Maddy saw that her attempt to help had simply placed One-Eye in greater danger than before.

Loki knew it too-being basically dishonest himself, he had no great trust in Maddy’s story, and the prospect of facing Skadi again-this time after an hour-long flight and with One-Eye as his only chaperone-filled him with dread. “My dear Skadi,” he said, “it’s not that I don’t want to come with you-I mean, there’s nothing I’d like better than to risk my life for the General again, but-”

“No buts. You’re coming.”

“You don’t understand.” Now there was desperation in his voice. “My glam’s used up. I’m tired. I’m hurt. I’m frozen stiff. There was a mountain cat the size of a-Honestly, I couldn’t light a fire in this state, let alone tackle an Examiner armed with the Word.”

“Hmm,” said Skadi, and frowned.

Loki was right. She saw that now. His colors were weak, and, using Bjarkán, she could read his distress there as clearly as footprints in snow. He couldn’t shift; he couldn’t fight; she was surprised he could still stand.

“I need food,” said Loki. “Rest.”

“No time for that. We leave at once.”

“But, Skadi…”

But Skadi had already turned away. Leaving Maddy and Loki together, she seemed to be searching around the vast cavern, inspecting the walls, the floor, and the ice sculptures that rose out of it-here an oliphant, there a waterfall, a giant table, and beyond that a ship that gleamed in the moonlight, its every surface clustered with brilliants.

“Maddy, please. You’ve got to help me.” Loki’s voice was soft and urgent. “I promised her the Whisperer. When she finds out I don’t have it-”

“Trust me,” said Maddy. “I’ll think of something.”

“Really? That’s good. Forgive me if I don’t fall at your feet with gratitude just yet…”

“I said, I’ll think of something.”

For a second Skadi seemed to pause, then she moved on, still searching, her pale hair shining eerily as she went.

“What are you doing?” Maddy called, seeing the Huntress move deeper and deeper into the Hall of Sleepers.