Jake & The Giant (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 2) (39 page)

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

A Fair Wind

Odin accompanied Jake and Red back to the giants’ village, as did Thor, who had also shrunk himself down to human size to avoid any awkwardness.

Archie ran to Jake
when he saw them coming. Jake assured him he was all right, then he introduced his cousin to the gods. The giants scrambled to pay their respects to the visiting deities.

While Archie stared
in wonder at Odin, and Thor called off the rain, now that the fires were out, Jake congratulated Snorri on his excellent aim with the catapult. Then Jake gave Princess Kaia back her ‘golden jewelry,’ the Galton whistle.

As she smiled
at him in thanks, Jake felt confident that Giant Land would be in good hands henceforward.

At length
, Odin gathered everyone around and made a brief speech. “Well done, giants, gryphons, and, ah, dwarves!” He sent the boys a knowing wink, but kept their secret. “You all fought bravely against the Fire Wolf and Loki. It was a splendid victory against a very pesky foe. But you dwarves cannot remain in Jugenheim,” he said to Jake and Archie, “unless you wish to stay forever. I must repair the seal, you see. I understand someone broke it.” The old man arched a brow at Snorri.

“Accidentally, sir!”

“Hmmm,” Odin said. “Once the breach is repaired, no one will be able to get through either way.”

“I’m sure we’ll be happy to be going home, sir,” Jake assured him.

“The sooner the better!” Archie piped up.

“As I expected. But first, I cannot let such brave dwarves leave empty-handed. You may have heard that Odin the Wise is a great giver of gifts!” the king god proclaimed.

Jake recalled Miss Langesund telling them that gift-giving was a point of honor among the Vikings. Any Norse chieftain or king who did not reward his friends or followers with generous presents would have been considered a cheapskate.

Jake w
as all in favor of rewards.

“Now, then,” Odin began.

“Father, wait!” Thor complained. “How can you reward these two when they trespassed in Valhalla? Into your very throne room?”

“Ah,
Thor, I am the patron god of wisdom, am I not? I can’t help but respect people who would go to such lengths to find answers. Besides, why should I punish them? Because they went a-raiding into dangerous territory, where unknown perils lurked? In that light, I daresay they would have made excellent Vikings.”

Jake and Archie grinned at each other.

“They could have turned their backs on Snorri, and on the threat that Loki posed. But instead of walking away and leaving someone else to solve it, they took responsibility.

“
They acted as heroes,” Odin continued, “and they deserve rewards. In fact, you boys have a standing invitation to join me and my army in Valhalla when you die. Of course,” he added, “my Eye, the one I left with the Norns, tells me that won’t be for many,
many
years to come yet. Still, the offer stands. I’ll send my Valkyries to collect you on that day, if you wish them to escort you to my hall.”

“Honored,” Archie said at once with a gentlemanly bow.

“Very generous of you, sir.” Jake followed suit, though, privately, he already had firm plans to go to Heaven when he died so he could be with his parents.

If
they were really there. After what he had seen in Odin’s reflecting pool, he was beginning to wonder.

“
Very well! Now, then. To your rewards.” Odin clapped his hands twice, and a bevy of Valkryies flew down to attend him.

Odin beckoned to the one
who was holding a small wooden box. As she stepped forward and opened the lid, Odin turned to Jake. “For the young Earl of Griffon, I present you with a magical dagger.” The king-god gestured at the box, and the Valkyrie turned to Jake to let him see his prize. “Its name is Risker. Seems fitting for you.”

“Thank you, sir,” Jake breathed in awe.

The sleek knife was covered in intricate Viking runes. It had a curved blade and a mysterious gemstone set into the base of the hilt. A leather scabbard came with it, attached to a good, sturdy belt.

“This
is a very powerful knife,” the chief god informed him. “The handle was carved from the wood of Yggdrasil, and the blade was forged in Asgard by Wayland the Smith himself.”

Jake lifted the dagger from its velvet cradle in awe. He curled his fingers around the hilt, testing the weight of it in
his grasp. When he carefully touched the edge of the blade to see how sharp it was, he jerked his hand away with a tiny cut on his fingertip. “Ow!”

Everyone chuckled.

Odin arched a brow at him. “Do be careful with it, Lord Griffon. Risker has many amazing properties. Not even I know all of them. I’ll leave to you to discover the rest, but what I do know is that it can cut through stone as easily as fabric; it’ll never rust; and it will return to your hand the way Thor’s hammer does. Learn to use it wisely,” Odin advised him. “A day will come when it may save your life.”

“Thank you very much, sir
. I am more honored than I can say. Truly!” Jake buckled the belt on around his hips and then secured the dagger in its sheath, delighted with his gift.

Odin nodded, pleased by his thanks. “And for you, Master Archie.” The king-god turned to the boy genius
, who had been snapping a few final photographs. “I understand your flying machine is still in need of repair…. Or is it?”

He clapped his hands again, and this time, one of the Valkyries gave a piercing birdcall to her sisters.

A moment later, a group of the winged women came flying through the sky, carrying the Pigeon from the direction of Snorri’s farm.

Archie lifted his eyebrows as they set it down before him
.

The Pigeon was
unscathed. All the damage Snorri had done to it while kidnapping him had been mysteriously fixed.

The broken wing was newly welded; not
even a dent nor a scratch marred its polished surface. It had even been washed, waxed, and shined until its brass fixtures gleamed in the silvery dawn twilight.

“I took the liberty of repairing it for you,” Odin said to the wonde
rstruck Archie. “I added a few…how do you say? Bells and whistles. I think they might jar some new ideas for you to explore in your future research.”

“I don’t like being given the answers,” Archie blurted out. “
I mean—finding them myself is half the fun.”

“I understand that,” Odin said with a nod. “Trust me, y
ou’ll have to study it well to understand my contributions. But in the meanwhile, I couldn’t have you breaking your neck on the way home.”

“
So it works, then?” Archie asked skeptically, no doubt recalling all those deadly silver flying machines he had seen on the screens in Odin’s war-room.

“Does it work?” Odin echoed with a slight huff. “I am the god of wi
sdom, last I checked. I should think it jolly well works! Well enough to carry you home, cheeky pup. Now then, if you are quite ready to go, the time has come.”

“Could we have a moment, please, to say goodbye to the giants?” Jake asked.

Odin nodded. “If you hurry. Your being here upsets the balance of things as much as Snorri’s visit to your world did.” Then he stepped aside, joining Archie and Thor, who were examining the Pigeon.

Jake turned to Snorri.

The gentle giant shepherd-king bent down and met his gaze sadly. “I can’t believe I’ll never see you two pips again.”

“Maybe someday.” Jake faltered. “It’s been quite a journey, hasn’t it?”

Snorri smiled. “It has.”

“You see that? You did win the crown and get the girl without the help of Loki’s potion. You
were
smart enough to do it all along.”

“Ah,
you boys figured out the answer to the riddle, not me.”

“
Pshaw, but it was you who had the good sense to befriend us,” Jake countered. “You got the book from the dragon’s cave that gave us our best clue. We couldn’t have done it without you. You know, Snorri, it seems to me a leader doesn’t have to know how to do everything himself, as long as he knows how to pick his friends and allies. Besides, after all we’ve come through, I’ve concluded that you are a good deal cleverer than you think.”

“So are you, Master Jake. So are you.
” Snorri cast a discreet glance at Archie.

Jake gave him a wry smile. It was true, he
was no genius, and he still did not have much formal education. But somehow the prospect of returning to the University with all those geniuses seemed a lot less intimidating now, after defeating the Fire Wolf and outwitting the trickster god himself. Of course, he’d never have the world-class brains of an Archie, but at least now he didn’t feel like a blockhead anymore. His new life among the aristocrats was still new to him, but he was beginning to feel more and more like he could hold his own.

“Thanks.” Jake stuck out his hand, Snorri offered one finger, and they shook on their friendship.

Archie followed suit. Though he had detested Snorri early on, now the boy genius looked sorry to be leaving their large friends.

With a final goodbye to Kaia, at last, Jake and Archie waved to the other giants.
“Good luck to you all!”

“Goodbye, dwarves!” they called, cheering them. “Good work with the
Fire Wolf!”

“All set, then?” Odin asked.

“Yes, sir. Thank you. And thank you, Thor,” he added, turning to the red-haired Viking hero. “You saved our lives. We could not have beaten Loki without you.”

“Humph,” Thor grunted, folding his bulging arms across his chest. “You would do well to stay out of places where you don’t
belong, boy.”

Jake gave him a pe
nitent look, but obviously, he had no intention of taking that advice.

With a final wave
farewell, the boys and Red left the village. In the company of the father-and-son gods and their entourage of beautiful Valkyries, they walked down to Snorri’s sheep meadow, and the original site of where the seal had been broken.

Snorri and Kaia followed to see what would happen.

Thor carried Archie’s new-and-improved flying machine on his shoulder, setting it down in the field.

The boulder still sat atop the breach, but the problem wasn’t fixed; it was only covered up.

Odin gave his son a nod, then Thor rolled Snorri’s boulder away from the hole between worlds.

While Odin inspected the problem,
Archie made his final checks on the Pigeon. Then, his tool-bag on his shoulder, he vaulted into the cockpit and started her up.

As the engine purred, t
he propellers on the stern whirled; the wings began to flap; and the young aviator pulled his goggles down over his eyes. “She sounds good!” he yelled over the noise, adjusting knobs and levers on the dashboard.

Jake climbed onto Red’s back.

The two cousins glanced at each other. “You ready?” Jake called over the clamor of the machine.

Archie gave him a
n eager thumbs up.

Jake grinned
, gesturing toward the hole between the worlds. “After you!”

“See you at the bottom
, coz!” Archie called. Then Thor gave the Pigeon a push, and Jake watched with his heart in his throat as it plunged off the broken edges of Giant World. The weather god indulged the boy navigator with a puff of wind from his lips.

Archie let out a whoop of excitement as the new-and-improved Pigeon with its slight modifications sped
along, swirling through the sky.

Whew.
It worked. But of course it worked, he chided himself. Archie’s prototype enhanced with Odin’s improvements?

He put all worry for his cousin out of his mind. Archie looked to be having so much fun that
Jake was eager to join him. “Let’s go, boy,” he murmured to the Gryphon. Red launched off of the edge and then dove through the hole in the crust of Jugenheim.

Jake glanced back and waved a final farewell to the Norse gods and giants.

Then he held on tightly to Red’s collar as the Gryphon descended through the branches of the mighty tree, Yggdrasil.

It was exhilarating to soar like this between the worlds. Behind them, Jake heard noises simi
lar to the rumbling he remembered from the volcano.

Mighty forces were in motion as Odin, arms out, chanted to repair the breach, growing back rock and dirt and stone and turf to cover the hole in the same way that a person’s bod
y mended itself after some cut or scrape.

The pieces grew back together again, but within second
s, the bottom surface of Giant Land was hidden once more behind the clouds.

Far below, Jake glimpsed the Norns ha
ving their breakfast tea in their meadow, while ahead of him, the Pigeon chugged along steadily through the sky.

Soon they flew away from Yggdrasil, and its massive trunk disappeared into the mists.