The Serpent's Ring (Relics of Mysticus) (12 page)

“I already gathered that,” said Evan. “Which wall leads outside?”

“This wall. Yes, yes this one,” Barfel chimed, pointing off to his left.

“Dunkle, do you agree with Barfel? Lars the giant will most likely hear us break out. So, we have only one shot at this,” said Evan.

Dunkle shrugged his shoulders. “I would listen to Barfel. He is usually right about such things.”

“You’re sure you believe him?” Evan asked, looking over to where the red imp was hugging the mildew-stained wall. Dunkle nodded enthusiastically and, although reluctant, Evan agreed. “That will have to be good enough.”

Using his finger as a guide, Evan outlined the shape of a rectangle. As he drew imaginary lines, stones rattled and shifted apart. Cracks appeared and then stretched. Stones crumbled and, for good measure, Evan slammed them against the wooden door. Large fists pounded on the other side, and Lars’s anger could be heard in his voice. Evan wasn’t sure what Lars was saying and hoped to never find out.

Barfel leapt over to the hole, and then hopped through. Dunkle was quick to follow. Evan was about to dash over when he stopped and looked back at the door. The barricade of stones started to budge, and the giant’s head popped into view.

“Stop!” shouted Lars.

“I am so outta here,” said Evan, rushing behind Dunkle.

“Back! Back!” roared Lars.

Evan and the two imps now stood on the outside of the fort in the dried up moat. The labyrinth wasn’t very far. Evan judged the distance and had to make a decision: his sister or the imps?

“For now, Claire’s safe with Sigurd. Imps, we need to hurry,” said Evan, reaching for them. “Grab hold of my hands.”

Dunkle and Barfel didn’t ask questions, they scurried over and clung to Evan. The imps’ long nails dug into his hands and both of their heads buried into Evan’s legs.

“All right guys, you’re inflicting a lot of pain. Can you ease back? I need to be able to concentrate while I search for Claire,” said Evan, and the imps loosened their grip a little. “And whatever you do, don’t look down.”

Evan felt rather accomplished as his flying skills had clearly improved. With relative ease, he shot through the sky while surveying below. But Claire was nowhere in sight.

As soon as their feet touched the ground, Evan instructed, “I need to go back. Stay right here. I shouldn’t be too long. Oh, and stay away from the cave. There’s a dragon in there. But don’t worry.” He leapt up and zipped back toward the labyrinth.

Evan searched for his sister, guessing she would be surrounded by metal ivy. Most of the labyrinth still flourished with green vines, and Evan was getting frustrated. That was until he finally spotted a trail of brown metal and heard the sound of battle armor clanking together. Some of the labyrinth’s green walls shook, transforming instantly into sharp barbed wire and spades.

“Please be Claire,” he whispered and dove closer into the labyrinth, careful not to touch the walls.

Chains rattled and swords clanked. And was that Claire? She must have been battling ten or more giants. Odd, she didn’t look frightened. Was she actually enjoying herself? Just as he suspected, there were at least ten giants doing their utmost to capture Claire and Sigurd. Sigurd battled two and three giants at once. His sword flashed with speed and efficiency. Sigurd knocked down the slow and clumsy giants, preparing them for Claire’s stone and dirt prisons. Within a matter of minutes, most of the giants were trapped in strange-looking cocoons. But more could be heard a few yards away. And mini polar bears circled around Sigurd and Claire, snarling and snapping at them.

One bear leapt and knocked Claire to the ground! While it might have been the size of a large dog, its teeth were much bigger. Just then, five more giants turned the corner.

“Heel!” shouted one of the giants, and the bear sat back. “Must keep girl ’live.”

Another giant threw a piece of red meat, and the bear jumped off Claire, attacking his reward with a vengeance.

A giant hollered to Sigurd, “Weapon down!” and pointed a long spear right for Claire’s throat. “Slice her, I will.”

Sigurd looked at Claire’s frightened face and laid down his sword.

“Sigurd, keep fighting!” shouted Claire.

“Now, you stand,” said the giant, pointing his spear toward Claire. She sighed and sat upright, when suddenly, her left foot was pulled off the ground!

“Hey, where you go?”

Her body flipped upside down and her hair dangled toward the ground. She thrashed, swinging her arms. Evan learned a few new words as they hurled from her mouth.

“Claire, how are you—” began Sigurd, but then he too was swept up. Evan managed to lift Sigurd by both feet. But he too was upside down and the polar bears bat his head a few times with their paws. Evan raised himself higher, and once Claire and Sigurd were beyond reach of the giants’ massive clubs and bounding polar bears, Evan pulled Claire and Sigurd over to where he hovered.

“Claire!” shouted Evan.

“Evan, flip me over!” cried out Claire.

“I’m not so sure if I can,” said Evan, but in truth, he knew if he tried hard enough, he could. “I didn’t even know I could make you fly without touching you. I thought I would have to hold onto you to make you fly. With all of the giants coming, I panicked. I tried to figure out how to reach you and wished for you to fly. And then up you went.”

“I guess that would only make sense. I mean, you can move other objects around without touching them,” Claire rationalized.

“We better hurry out of here, it is only a matter of time before those giants figure out how to throw their clubs at us,” said Sigurd, staring at the ugly faces beneath him.

“Yeah, and I’m feeling dizzy. Make sure you fly high enough so my face doesn’t whack into a tree or something,” said Claire.

“Right, good point,” said Evan. “You know, you don’t look so good.”

“You think? I’m hanging upside down here,” said a green-faced Claire.

An orange glow illuminated off the cliff, lighting the way, as if Evan were a ship lost at sea. The imps must have built a fire. He looked over at Sigurd and Claire, and decided it was time to turn them upright. Evan rotated both his hands as if he were turning the steering wheel of a car. Claire and Sigurd spun around in a few cartwheels before settling.

“Thanks,” said Claire.

“No prob. I guess I could have flipped you earlier, after all. Funny thing, huh?” said Evan.

“Not really; just get us back to the cliff. I want to stand on my own again,” said Claire.

They approached the mountain. Dunkle and Barfel leapt up and down upon seeing them, looping their arms through each other’s and doing a little square dance.

“Hurray! Hurray!” sang Barfel.

“I am afraid we are not yet safe,” Sigurd explained. “Those giants will continue to hunt for us. And there are more giants in the caves. They will keep searching, and by morning, these lands will be swarming with them.”

“We better head out,” Evan announced.

“I would consider it an honor if you would allow me to accompany you on your quest,” Sigurd offered.

“Sigurd, thanks for helping us, but we can’t expect you to drop what you’re doing, capturing dragons and all. Besides, you could end up dying,” said Evan. “This is a very dangerous quest.”

“I realize what is at risk. Claire explained everything to me. From what I understand, if you fail, everyone will be affected,” said Sigurd, packing up his remaining gear.

“But—” began Evan.

“I insist,” Sigurd interrupted, without looking up.

“There’s not enough room on our boat.”

“That is not a problem. We can take my boat. It is just a few miles away.”

“Maybe I don’t want to take your boat. I like our boat.”

“I have little doubt your boat is fine, but my ship is already stocked with all of the supplies we will need.”

“With stuff like those barking-dog treats? No thank you. Besides, we have supplies, and if we need something we can just make it.”

“What about food and fresh water? Do you have those things too? Besides, you do not even have shoes to wear,” said Sigurd. Evan reached for his rumbling stomach and looked down at his bare feet.

“I am hungry. And I did have sneakers, but that giant took them!”

“A giant took your shoes?” Claire asked. “Why? It’s not like they’d fit a giant’s foot.”

“I think he wanted them as a trophy or something,” said Evan.

“How weird,” said Claire.

“Evan, you need to trust me. My ship will serve us better. And I assure you, I am not here to take over. You can still be Captain Evan,” Sigurd added with a little smile.

Evan glared over at Claire. “You told him to call me Captain Evan?”

“Get over it,” Claire said and approached Sigurd. “Thanks for helping us. I’m not sure how we can ever repay you.”

“Beautiful heroine, your bright smile is all the payment I need,” said Sigurd, brushing his fingertip along her cheek.

“Dude, that’s my sister. Do you mind?” declared Evan.

“What, Evan…uh,” stammered Claire. “Sigurd, don’t listen to him.”

“Whatever,” said Evan, rolling his eyes.

“What about the dragon, Bergkonge?” Claire asked Sigurd, as if trying to change the subject.

Sigurd contemplated something before saying, “This might sound crazy, but as soon as we are far enough away, I need for you and Evan to reopen the cave.”

“But that will set him free!” she said, eyes wide.

Sigurd grinned somewhat fiendishly. “Bergkonge could end up distracting a few giants for us.”

With a deep gulp of air, Evan lifted the group up into the sky. The long night had finally come to an end, and the morning sun rose in the east. They sped toward Sigurd’s boat, and Claire looked down at the cave. From a distance, she broke apart the wall of dirt and stones. Quickly, Evan swiped away the fallen rubble with his powers. It didn’t take long for Bergkonge to emerge, fire surging from his open mouth. He stalked around, sniffing the ground.

Bergkonge’s massive wings thrust down. Leaves and dirt spun like a cyclone around the dragon. He leapt a few yards above ground, rushed toward the edge of the cliff, and soared toward the tower. Evan cringed as he imagined the giants’ surprise at running into Bergkonge.

Chapter Fourteen

STUCK WITH BULL SHARKS

SIGURD’S SHIP CAME INTO VIEW, and Evan couldn’t help but marvel. It was larger than Evan’s glass ship, with a mightier mast and a fiercer dragon carved on its bow.

“How are you able to sail this ship all by yourself?” Evan asked, scowling.

“It was given to me by the gods. It is made from enchanted wood and sails itself,” Sigurd said nonchalantly.

“Why did the gods give you an enchanted ship?”

“They wanted to show me their gratitude for capturing so many pesky dragons. Besides, they realized the mightier my ship, the easier it would be to do my job.”

As soon as their feet touched the deck, Sigurd rushed to the helm, and Dunkle followed. Evan sighed, realizing his days as “captain” were officially over.

“Evan, we could use your help,” Sigurd yelled the length of the ship, and Evan hurried to join them.

“Claire told me how you raced your boat through the rocks,” said Sigurd. “After we chart our new course, do you think you could quicken our pace to Hlesey?”

“I suppose so,” Evan responded. “Remind me again; what exactly is Hlesey?”

“It is an island that rests above the Undersea Hall of Aegir and Ran,” said Sigurd.

“Don’t you think Aegir will have guards protecting the entrance?” said Evan. “If he’s determined to use the Serpent’s Ring to unlock Jormundgand, then he’s going to try to keep us away.”

“Good point,” said Sigurd, rubbing his hand over his chin. “We will just have to figure out another way through. For now, steer us in that direction. I will be back after Dunkle and I review the map.”

“I’ll help,” said Claire, rushing toward Sigurd.

Evan looked at Barfel and sighed, “I guess it’s just you and me.”

“Quite right!” declared Barfel, leaping up onto a wooden platform. He placed his hand over his eyes and scanned the horizon. “Up the mast I go! Better to see! Better to see!”