Mimir's Well (The Oracles of Kurnugi Book 3) (10 page)

CHAPTER 20

            
 
"
H
ow do you know?" Henry asked.

              Before Andromeda could answer, half a dozen men clad in gold armor rushed into the treasure room. These were the same warriors Henry had seen in the hall. None were very big. In fact, they were all shorter than he was. They wore no helmet and had pale skin and thick hair. They moved with liquid grace and ran so lightly that their armored feet made no sound on the ground. They carried curved swords that more closely resembled Henry's sword than any Norse weapon he'd seen. They encircled Henry and his friends. He looked over his shoulder. Andromeda was still weak from the curse, and Bragi was leaning heavily on his staff.

              "I don't suppose there's anything you can do to help," he said.

              The old man shook his head. "This is your task."

              Henry groaned. "I was afraid you'd say that. Try to keep me between you and them. I'll try to clear a path for you to escape."

              "I'm not just going to leave you here. I have too much depending on this."

              "I'm not asking you to leave," Henry said, "but fighting these will be hard enough without having to protect you too."

              "You can't fight an elf in a straight fight, boy," Bragi said. "Much less six."

              "Elves?"

              "Yes."

              "Great," Henry said quietly. "What can you tell me about them?"

              "They're nimble, easily faster than a man, and many have access to potent magic."

              "Listen to the old man," a raven-haired elf said. Now that Henry knew what to look for, he could see the slightly pointed ears, and the face was just a little too flat to be human. "We've no desire to kill you. Leave the girl, and you can go."

              A few of the elves shifted their weight back and forth on their feet, and a drop of sweat ran down the face of a bald one with grey eyes.

              "Is it just me, or are they afraid?" Henry pitched his voice low, hoping those ears didn't allow the elves to hear him.

              "You are Henry Alexander Gideon," Bragi whispered. "How many monsters have you destroyed? How many armies?"

              "Those aren't exactly everyday things."

              "And this is?" Bragi asked. "They'll fight you if they have to, but they're not fools."

              "So I can fight them?"

              "They'd tear you apart, but they don't know that."

              "What am I supposed to do then?" Henry asked. "I'm not leaving Andromeda."

              "I'm sorry," Andromeda said loud enough for the elves to hear.

              "This isn't your fault," Henry said.

              "I wasn't talking to you." She walked up to the raven-haired elf. "Allger, does the loss of your son still pain you?"

              The elf's mouth dropped, and his sword fell from his hand, but he snatched it out of the air before it had fallen six inches. He sputtered at Andromeda, and it took a few seconds for his speech to become coherent.

              "How do you know my name? How do you know about my son?"

              Andromeda's hand went to her head, and she closed her eyes and breathed deeply for a second. When she opened them again, a tear ran down her cheek.

              "Idun had no reason to kill him."

              "Idun didn't kill Noll. It was a man who crept into our camp and slit his throat along with a dozen other elven warriors. He didn't even have the courage to face him in battle."

              "Your party was sent to destroy a village who committed no crime other than bowing to Odin before Idun. She sent you against them for no reason other than petty pride."

              "Don't listen to her, Allger," an elf with tan hair and eyes said. "She's trying to lay a spell on you."

              Andromeda turned to him. "I've no magic save the truth, Elric. Don't you wish for this senseless war to end so you can go back to Vena and fulfill your promise to make her your wife?"

              "How did you..." Elric shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I'll return to her when our task is done."

              "Generations of men have lived and died since your task started. How many more before it ends?"

              "As many as it takes."

              "Do you know the plan Idun divulged to the other gods?" Before he could answer, Andromeda closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, of course you don't. She intends to conquer new worlds as they are being created. She wishes to claim every story as it is being told. Your task will go on so long as one mortal exists to tell a story."

              "You're lying."

              Andromeda touched her forehead again and bit her lower lip. She looked at the elf standing to Elric's left, and told him of his family and of what this war had already cost him. One by one, each elf heard the story of his past and of those he had left behind. None could bear her words for a short while before looking away.

              "Who are you?" Elric asked.

              "I am one who Idun intended to use, and who she might have killed if not for the interference of another. Under Idun, your work will be eternal." She turned to Henry. "You have heard of Master Henry. If anyone can stop Idun, it is he."

              The elves exchanged glances. Allger nodded first. He laid his weapon on the ground and walked out of the room on silent feet. The others stared after him for a few seconds before placing their weapons next to his and following. Henry let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

              "How did you do that?" he asked Andromeda. "How did you know all that?"

              "A moment," she said as she looked at Bragi. "Who are you, and how is it that I can't see your past?"

              Bragi inclined his head. "I am another who has drunk the waters of the past."

              Andromeda's eyes went wide.

              "How many of them have there been?"

              "Look into the past and find out."

              Andromeda closed her eyes, but they shot open a second later. She looked at Bragi and said a word, but her voice was so soft, Henry couldn't make it out. She tried again.

              "Odin."

CHAPTER 21

            
 
B
ragi let out a laugh and allowed his hood to fall from his head, revealing one grey eye and one covered by an eye patch. The pointed nose and long beard attached to a face that looked old, but it was old in the same way the sky was old. It was a face that had seen more years than Henry could imagine and that would see many more long after Henry himself was nothing more than dust and bones. Even the Greek gods he'd met hadn't radiated the sheer sense of eternity emanating from this being.

              "Odin," Henry said in shock.

              "Yes."

              "The king of the Norse gods?"

              Odin bowed his head. "There are some who would call me that, though I don't know how true that is."

              "You healed me at Yggdrasil."

              Odin looked at Andromeda. "Is he always this dense?"

              Andromeda stifled a laugh, and Henry felt his face heat up. "Why?"

              "Because if I hadn't you would've died."

              "So all of a sudden, you're on our side?"

              "Hardly all of a sudden." The god lifted a hand and a long spear materialized in his hand. He held it up to show it to Henry. Runes ran along a polished steel shaft and the point glimmered in the light. "Gugnir can hit any target, and not even the creatures that live in the space between worlds can easily survive its strike."

              "That thing in the valley we crossed to reach Yggdrasil," Henry said. "You killed it."

              "That and more," Odin said. He tossed the spear into the air and it vanished. "Do you recall the pike that drove you into the rocks?"

              The image of the one-eyed fish flashed through Henry's mind.

              "That was you? Why?"

              Odin smiled and approached him. Henry raised his sword, but Odin chopped with his hand and struck Henry on the wrist, sending the weapon clattering to the floor. He'd moved too fast for Henry to see. Odin stopped right in front of him and lifted up Henry's shirt, revealing the wound that still hadn't quite healed. For the first time, Henry realized the slashes weren't random. They didn't even look stationary and seemed to shift under his gaze. They looked exactly like the mark on the door in the village at the base of the mountain. His head even started to hurt if he stared at it too long.

              "Eighteen charms I learned which are known by neither man nor gods," Odin said formally. "The last I speak to no one save my sister and the one who shares my bed." He winked his single eye. "And you, I suppose. I learned it from the Oracles themselves. Whatever is marked by that charm is hidden from the sight of Delphi, the Mirror, and Mimir."

              "You hid me from her."

              "Obviously."

              "Why are you helping us?"

              "Because I want you to win. My kind has its place in mortal imagination. We were never meant to rule it."

              "If that's how you feel, then stop Idun."

              "It's not that simple."

              "You're more powerful than she is, aren't you?"

              "Of course."

              "Then, why not?"

              Odin gave him a smile that vanished a second later. "Few beings in the nine worlds could ever truly cause me harm. Even among those, there are but a handful that I have need to fear. The rest are like children with swords. Yes, they could technically harm me, but it's not something I'll spare any concern for. Idun, however, has no need to harm me. All she need do is withhold her hand."

              Andromeda let out a sharp breath, and her legs gave out from under her. Henry leapt to her side, but Odin was already there and caught her. She opened her eyes.

              "The apples," she said, "just like before."

              "Yes," Odin said.

              "What's wrong with her?" Henry asked.

              "Mortals, even those born of these lands, were never meant to drink from the well. Your minds can't handle all the knowledge of the past."

              "Can you help her?"

              Odin touched her forehead. "Not entirely. Only the well can do that by taking what it gave. I can give her a little more time, though."

              His fingers made a series of quick gestures on her head. Andromeda blinked and stood up.

              "Thank you," she said.

              "Now, can you explain about the apples?" Henry asked.

              "The apples are a source of life, one that Idun alone can give. Once, long ago before she was corrupted, she was prevented from giving us the apples, and we nearly died because of it. It is a terrible thing for an immortal to see death approaching. No god among the Aesir would oppose Idun directly for fear that she would send us down that path again. I can do little more than what I've already done."

              "But you're hidden from her," Henry said.

              "Hidden from her vision, but not from her reasoning. If I were to help more overtly, she would know."

              "What happened to her?" Henry asked.

              Odin looked at Andromeda. "Can you tell him? I've been away from Asgard too long, and Idun will be suspicious." Andromeda nodded. "Oh, one more thing. Though Idun has commandeered it, this is still my keep. I have a steed in the stables. Take him, and he will serve you well."

              "Won't Idun know?"

              "She will know that you got him from the stable at the same keep you saved Andromeda from. Why should she be suspicious that you stole a horse?"

              Odin bowed to each of them and turned to walk away. He rounded a corner and disappeared behind a hill of coins. They went after him, but the king of the Norse gods was nowhere to be seen.

              "I knew he wasn't just an old man," Henry said, "but I never suspected that."

              "He has a history of going about in disguise," Andromeda said.

              "So tell me what happened to Idun."

              "Andvari did it."

              "The one that turned us into fish?"

              Andromeda nodded. "It wasn't his fault exactly. Odin and Loki were going to see King Hreidmar. On the way, Loki killed an otter and carried the body over his shoulder. When they arrived, Loki presented his prize, only to find out, the otter was actually Hreidmar's son. Hreidmar was enraged and trapped the gods."

              "How could Hreidmar trap a god?"

              "In the heart of his realm, Hreidmar can do whatever he wants, and even Odin can go there only at his sufferance. It's the main reason Idun's forces haven't been able to claim Nidavellir. Hreidmar could've held the gods there forever."

              "How did they get away?"

              "They made a deal. Odin offered to give Hreidmar whatever he wanted in exchange for their freedom. Hreidmar asked for as much gold as it would take to cover his dead son's hide."

              "That doesn't seem like much."

              "That's what Odin thought. Hreidmar allowed Loki to go retrieve the gold, but what neither of them realized was that the hide could stretch infinitely. Loki brought more and more gold, but it just stretched larger and larger. Finally, they determined only Andvari's horde would be enough."

              She spread her hands out to the treasure around them. Henry's eyes went wide. Some of these mountains of gold went higher than the light reached, and his mind reeled at the effort it would take to transport such a hoard.

              "Where did he put it all?" he wondered aloud, but Andromeda went on as if he hadn't spoken.

              "Loki went to find him, and eventually trapped him in a net. Andvari gave him all this gold in exchange for his freedom. Loki was about to leave when he saw the ring on Andvari's finger. He jumped on him and ripped it off."

              "He did that for a ring?"

              "Dwarven rings are rarely just rings. In this case the ring, Andvaranaut, had the power to make gold, but Andvari cursed it to corrupt and destroy whoever owned it."

              "I think I see where this is going," Henry said.

              Andromeda nodded. "It passed through a number of hands before ending up with those brothers I told you about."

              Henry thought for a second. "You mean the Brothers Grimm?"

              "Yes, they were here before they were in Argath. They found the ring in some long forgotten treasure horde. When they encountered Idun, Jacob was smitten by her. He gave her the ring, never knowing what he had, before its curse had a chance to work on them. Idun put it on her finger and hasn't removed it since. The ring's power over gold corrupted her apples even to the point of cursing the tree they come from."

              "Hera's golden apples," Henry said, almost under his breath. "The Moirai said they were corrupted."

              Andromeda nodded. She walked over to a shield inlaid with gold sitting among half a dozen gems. The image of a tree had been carved on it.

              "And the apple tree in Zuab's garden," she said. "You have to understand, Idun is the apples, and the apples are Idun."

              "She became corrupt."

              "Not entirely," she said. "Odin saw what was happening and used powerful enchantments to stop it. He was almost too late. A bare handful of the apples remain uncorrupted, and it's been those that the gods sustain themselves on."

              "Why the uncorrupted ones?" Henry asked. "Wouldn't she want the rest of the gods to be corrupted too?"

              Andromeda shook her head. "Idun went from being a gentle goddess of life to a cruel goddess bent on spreading death. She doesn't have the raw power to oppose any of the other gods, and if the corruption were to change any of the gods so they no longer feared death, they might well destroy her, so instead, she rules them with fear."

              "How do I stop her?"

              "I'm not sure," she said. "I don't think she can be stopped while that ring is on her finger."

              Henry's mind flashed back to a much more recent story of a cursed ring, one that had required the ring bearer to lose his finger. It had possibilities. He ran his hand over his hilt, but the thought made him feel sick. He looked at Andromeda. A drop of blood had run out of her nose, and she was holding her forehead again. He clenched his teeth. He could stand to be a little sick if that was what it took. Still, maybe he wouldn't have to. If dwarves made the ring, his sword might be able to cut it.

              Andromeda looked up and smiled as she wiped the blood from her face, and she looked at her hand. Her eyes swept over the cut on her wrist and for the first time, she looked down to examine her torn dress.

              "It's like the first time, isn't it?"

              "What first time?"

              She narrowed her eyes. "The first time we met when my wrists were cut by the shackles holding me to the cliff and the rock had cut my dress." She wiggled her toes. "I was barefoot then too, before you gave me those ridiculous shoes." She ran her fingers through her red hair. "Even this is the same color as when you met me."

              Henry stared at her for a second. "You remember your hair?"

              She raised an eyebrow. "Of course I remember my hair. It is mine after all."

              He gaped at her. While she'd always been able to remember generalities about other worlds, but she'd never known that she was different. He wasn't even sure how to ask her about it, but in the end, he put it out of his mind. They had other things to worry about, such as how to get off this mountain.

              "Come on," he said. "Let's see if we can find you something to wear that won't let you freeze to death the moment we step outside."

              She looked at her dress again. "That's probably a good idea."