The Codex Lacrimae (54 page)

The film on one soapy bubble oozed into a scene of him kneeling at the end of a pier in Venice, trying to unchain an older version of his friend Nicolo; the youth had been beaten and strapped to a pier — through a gull-plucked, ruined face Nicolo whispered something to him, but the waterfalls in the cavern behind him prevented his hearing.
Oh, Nicolo, how could this happen? What happened to you since I last saw you and Alexius?

Then the bubble popped, and Aurelius stood in the scriptorium of the Krak, speaking with Evermar of Choques as the youth tried to maintain a grip on an ugly broadsword that writhed like a thing alive in his hand. Another bubble rose, and the Hospitaller saw himself in Niflheim again, about to climb a cliff of impossible height and reaching down a stone stair to help a woman...who was neither Clarinda nor Skade! The woman's features were breathtaking, visible even through the pain that she seemed to bear as she took Aurelius's hand.

He began to awaken from the dreaming state, and saw another floating bubble the image of him standing next to Pellion in the courtyard of Santa Maria di Corazzo, the Benedictine abbey where he'd trained as a boy. What was Pellion doing there, and why did Aurelius feel that his friend was about to do him some kind of harm?

The Sight was diminishing as his normal senses returned, and he had one last glimpse of somewhere else; this time he was in the hallway of a university, and keeping out of sight of two men escorting a man in archbishop's robes to the grandiose wagon of a parchment merchant. Peering through the bubble, and thence the glass of the hallway window, Aurelius made out the features of the four men, although the merchant on his seat remained in shadow. The identification of the quartet burst both bubbles and dream — what were his father, his brother Paolo, and Father Stefano doing together with Old Nick at some cathedral school back home?

The visions departed as quickly as they'd come. Shaken, he'd clambered from the hot spring, unable to explain any of the visions, but sickened with unease at what each might portend.

Clarinda surprised him by waiting at the entrance to the upper halls of the house. All his conflicting thoughts about her vanished at the sight of her in fresh, dry garments of her own, with her hair slightly damp. She was simply the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She and Skade were clad in simple thin wool tunics that did little to hide their curvy physiques, and chemises that flowed to their sandaled feet. He noticed that the light blue color of Clarinda's top brought out the sea-green of her eyes and he found himself flushing again at her beauty.

He strove for a calm demeanor, but that effort didn't last long. Clarinda embraced him in a long, close hug, pressing her body to him and murmuring that she made good on her promises. She joked that it was a relief to see him again after first watching him get pushed out of a window by a wolf, and now
not
covered in blood from head to foot!

“You clean up well,” she said softly. And then she was gone, offering to help Skade with the elvish cooks in the kitchen.

Realizing that he wanted the hug to last longer, he'd desperately tried to change the subject, stammering something inane to Fenris, who was curiously eyeing the two teenagers. Aurelius asked about the history of the man's home and followed him up the stairs to the mead hall. For all the ease of conversing with Fenris, though, the young knight's thoughts were afire with memories of Clarinda's body pressed to his….

Fortunately, the women soon returned with a meal from the kitchen. They'd helped cook a feast with elvish help: braised hare strips mingled with carrots, celery, and potatoes, all swimming in a thick brown duck sauce. Prosciutto slices, hot sourdough loaves, and wooden bowls of pumpkin bisque complemented the main dish. To Aurelius's delight, there was also an entire platter of chanterelle mushrooms sautéed in white wine and butter!

The young knight had never eaten such a meal in his life. After the confrontations in Alfheim and Hel, the battle against the
Wilde Jagd
,
and the flight across Niflheim, he found his appetite voracious. None of the group spoke much as they hungrily tucked into the food.

After the meal, Aurelius leaned back into the plush fur coverlet on the bench, sipping at the honeymead and enjoying the proximity to Clarinda. When Ratatosk awakened with a spasmodic jerk and hopped onto the pillows beside her, she'd moved even closer to the knight. The fire blazed in the hearth, and Aurelius felt fully content with the Venetian girl at his side, simply enjoying the momentary respite of staring into the flames and watching the people in the hall.

Fenris returned to his guests, sitting down next to Skade across from the Hospitaller and Norn, and putting an arm comfortably over her shoulder.

“So, my friends,” the burly man asked, “where were we?”

“I was going to thank you again for the hospitality—” Aurelius began.

“Here, here,” Clarinda added, raising a goblet in a toast shared by all.

“— and just tell you again how grateful I am for all this; the food, the bath, the lodgings and clothes...just to be out of the storm was enough, but this,” he indicated the great hall, filled with the sounds of elvish harps, laughter, carousing, and crackling fires, “this is all beyond expectation. Thank you, both of you.”

“You're welcome,” Fenris said, “but know, too, that I owe you a debt myself. If I hadn't seen you for what you are — and the peril you were in from my sister and Old Nick — I might not have had the strength to act as I did.”

“Then it's true?” Aurelius replied. “Hela's your sister? That would make you…”

“The Fenrir-Wolf,” Fenris said with a nod, still completely at ease. “Loki, whom some call the Trickster, is our father. Our brother, Jormungand, is a gigantic serpent who lies at the bottom of the sea — I can't remember the last time I saw him take human form.” He looked down affectionately at Skade. “A ‘damned and thrice-cursed brood' is what Mimir called us once, wasn't it, Dear?”

“Mimir was angry at the time,” Skade said, “and the world was much younger than what it is now.”

“It was, it was,” Fenris agreed, and then looked back at Aurelius and Clarinda. “We always pay for the mistakes of our fathers, but unfortunately my family's payments have more consequences than the typical lot. My sister has the power of...command over me when I'm lupine; I can only break it at great risk.” He raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Lucky for you I thought the life of the Codex Wielder was worth that risk.” He paused. “Given all that, I'd guide you wherever you need to go if you'll have me.”

Aurelius paused, understanding the unspoken problem. He'd fought for half a day beside Fenris and Skade and traveled with them for hours across a blinding snowstorm in Niflheim — he knew their mettle, and would welcome the skills they'd bring to any confrontation, but to have a guide that might transform into a beast whose fury could be turned against him if Hela commanded, seemed sheer folly.

“What's worse, Fenris?” Aurelius asked, giving voice to his fears. “The threat of getting lost in the wastes of Niflheim, or that of being devoured by your other self? You saved my life, but it might be argued that it was you who imperiled it by taking us out of the tower.”

Fenris smiled, and nodded approvingly at the Hospitaller's logic. “I understand your mistrust but, as I said, I have complete control over the wolf until the next full moon. And, my sister doesn't control me outside of her realm.” He took a sip from the goblet, thoughtful. “I can't prove what I say until the change takes effect (some risk there, I grant you), but you must know that the Norns — and certainly not Mimir or Grimnir — would
never
allow an alliance among Loki's children.” He looked darkly into the depths of his goblet. “That won't occur until the Final Twilight, and then it's foretold that we'll act in concert, but each for our own purpose.”

He stared intently at Aurelius.

“I won't betray you, my friend. You are what I can never be — I don't hate or resent you for that, but would rather pledge to give you whatever aid I can. To strike back against my father, brother, and sister...they've brought so much hurt to the Nine Worlds — that's my wish. You have my word, so long as we remain outside Hela's domain, I won't betray you, but strive to protect you with my last breath.”

Aurelius had to trust his instincts, and for both Fenris and Skade, those intuitions ran true.

“Thank you for your help, although I'm still unclear why Mimir and the Norns want to protect me, and what a Codex Wielder is. I've only seen a Codex Lacrimae recently, and except for my family's name in the cover, I don't see how it could possibly apply to me.”

Skade nodded, then cast a gaze up and down him. “We've noticed you carry nothing with you except a couple weapons and a hatchet. Clarinda, perhaps some mistake has been made?”

“I'm still trying to learn as much as I can about it,” Clarinda replied, not mentioning the guess she'd made about Santini somehow
being
the Codex Lacrimae. If the Norns and Mimir remained mysterious about the subject, she saw nothing to be gained by discussing such things in this public setting.

“The little that I do know about it,” Aurelius picked up, “would keep me from ever laying claim to it anyway.”

The life of a friend.

“I was told a story about a Raj'al-Jared who tried to claim ownership of it and he ended up committing atrocities before finally getting drawn and quartered by his own men.” Aurelius smiled wanly, looking to both Fenris and Skade. “I appreciate the respect you give me, but I'd rather that come from what I've earned fighting at your side, than because you think I'm some kind of ‘Codex Wielder.'”

“Fair enough,” Fenris said. “I certainly know what it feels like to be mistaken for something other than who you are.”

“You seemed to want the...,” Skade started to say to Clarinda, and then paused. “You seemed to want
Servius
to get to Mimir's Well sooner than later. I assume that means we leave in the morning, if possible?”

Clarinda nodded. “If the storm's let up by then.”

Fenris shook his head. “The storm won't matter if you'll truly take my aid.”

“Of course,” Aurelius said, “what do you suggest?”

“The Caves of Nidaveller,” Fenris replied. “Those ways are dangerous in places, but the most efficient way to Mount Glittertind. We'll seek the guidance of the Arch-Mage, Andvari.”

“Glittertind?” Clarinda repeated. “If you can get us there, I can find Mimir's Well from any part of the mountain!”

“Nidaveller?” Aurelius mused, trying to recall the Nine Worlds. “The world of the dwarves?”

He glanced at the dwarves who were the most well represented of the peoples gathered in the mead-hall. Two were sitting close by, drinking from their tankards and distinctive mostly by their size — the tallest in the chamber barely reaching Aurelius's waist — the rich coloration of their clothing, and long grey beards that reached to their ankles. He saw to his surprise that the rather beautiful, smooth-skinned female dwarves — whom Skade had called
brownies
— were even more boisterous and outspoken than their kinfolk.

“Nidaveller's the quickest way to Mount Glittertind,” Skade assured him, “and, if I know my Norns, once you're in Glittertind, your young lass here will have no trouble in finding the grottoes — it's the first thing that they train you in, the geography of that damned
weird
.
”

“What's that?” Aurelius asked. “What's a ‘
weird
?'”

“A place common to all realities,” Clarinda answered, recalling her training. “There are a few in the Nine Worlds that also serve as
Runeporten
— or, “Rune Gates,” Servius — if you know where to look and how to make one. Mount Glittertind and Yggdrassil are the largest, but there's also one in the Niflheimian Sea, I think.”

Fenris nodded. “Yes, those are the
Runeporten
that can never change.”

Clarinda looked at Skade, trusting in the beginning of a mutual respect they'd found for each other while talking during their baths and preparation of supper.

“You seem to know something of the Norns,” she observed. “You've been to the grottoes before?”

Skade held the girl's gaze for a long moment, and Aurelius wondered if Clarinda had offended her somehow with the question.

“You're training to be a Norn, and they've not told you about me, yet?”

“No, should they have?”

Skade shrugged. “Not necessarily, but, yes: I've been to Mimir's Well, repeatedly. I lived in the grottoes for a long while after my father died.”

Ratatosk laughed, hopping to his hind-paws. “No one even noticed I wasn't sleeping!” he cried. “What a group of dullards, you are!” He hopped to the floor and looked up at Fenris. “And you call yourself a wolf? What kind of senses do you have, anyway?”

The squirrel ran to stand in front of the fire and looked at Skade. “I think Mimir's been grateful every day that's passed since you moved out,” he said, “although the last time I saw you, you were with Niord and not this hairy beast...you get around, Sweetheart, don't you?” The squirrel hopped back up to the couch next to Clarinda. “When Skade came to live in the grottoes, it's one of the few times that I've seen Mimir act compassionately. She can still go to him anytime, and probably get anything she wants, too.”