Chapter 32
At 3:15 in the morning, Freyja came into the cabin and woke up the girls. She noticed that Crystal was sleeping with Freckles but didn’t comment on it.
“Here are some American protein bars for breakfast,” Freyja said, smiling at Crystal. “You need something in your stomach, but I don’t want you to get sluggish.”
Shorty and Blondie ate their breakfast right away, but nobody else seemed to be hungry. Freyja insisted that everyone else take out their protein bars and eat them now, hungry or not. As she ate her protein bar, Crystal decided she was glad that Loki stole her suitcase of food and gave her a chance to experience so many new foods before she died.
The girls put on their battle gear and collected their weapons. Once outside, Freyja led her Shield Maidens to the open space in front of the Great Hall. The area was lit by torches, so Crystal could see that they were the last to arrive.
Odin and the Valkyries were mounted on large horses, looking impatient. Another warrior that Crystal had never seen before was also there. He was young and tall and good looking, but Crystal couldn’t help but giggle because he was riding in what appeared to be a chariot pulled by two large goats.
Shorty leaned over to Crystal and whispered, “That’s Thor. He is one of the greatest of the Gods. With him on our side, we cannot lose.”
“Shield Maidens, call your mounts,” shouted Odin.
Each girl called out into the darkness. Crystal and Bubbles called using names, but the rest just whistled or clapped their hands. Slowly the Fjord Horses moved out of the darkness and walked to their bond-mates.
Crystal saw Rayna even before she came into the area illuminated by the torches. Rayna’s horn glowed an iridescent purple in the darkness. Crystal couldn’t see a horn on any of the other Fjord horses; she wasn’t sure if that was because they didn’t have a horn or if it was because she had not bonded with them.
A short man with an over-sized beard was walking among the Shield Maidens, putting saddles on their horses, and helping the girls secure their weapons. The stirrups would be useful in an emergency, but Crystal was glad she had learned to ride Rayna bareback.
When the bearded man reached Crystal, she saw the two black eyes and recognized him as Eiti. She was going to ask how he had hidden his beard for the last week but decided that this was not the time for casual conversation. Eiti did not talk to any of the girls while he was helping them, and they were all returning the favor.
The time for action had finally come. Crystal and the girls mounted up, and a raven landed on the shoulder of each Shield Maiden. Odin had his army assembled, and he began to lead them up the mountain.
Eiti did not ride a horse, choosing instead to run alongside Freyja. Crystal remembered that the race of Dwarves grew long beards, did not like to ride horses, and were often employed by the Gods as blacksmiths. She wondered if Eiti was the blacksmith who made Freyja’s beautiful gold necklace.
The sound of the horses’ hooves pounding up the mountain reminded Crystal of a movie she had seen where King Arthur and a group of warriors were riding off to a battle. The whole situation seemed so unreal to her that she wondered why there wasn’t a soundtrack playing. That’s when the Valkyries started singing.
The research vessel sailed all night and dropped anchor around six in the morning. Eric noted that this was not where they had originally sailed from. The ship was now anchored about fifty yards from the beach in a small cove off the main fjord. There was a little building partway up the hill, and a large quantity of wood stacked up on the beach.
Eric and his parents watched Flecked, Scarlett, and Mr. Frost carry the cuttlebone, still impaled with the sword, to the skiff. It was totally against protocol to have the cuttlebone and sword exposed to the air, much less banging around in the skiff like that. But Mr. Frost had warned them to keep their mouths shut or “suffer grave consequences,” so they held their tongues. The situation was made even worse when they were ordered into the skiff as well. It was a tight fit, but the three marine archeologists did the best they could to avoid damaging the artifacts.
As soon as the skiff left the research vessel, a group of about fifteen people came out of the small building and headed to the shore. Every one of them was at least as big as Mr. Frost, and half of them looked like they were close relatives of his. Eric wondered how they all managed to fit in the building.
When the skiff landed, Mr. Frost hopped out and began celebrating with the people on the beach. There was lots of back-slapping and cheering in a guttural language that Eric didn’t understand. Flecked and Scarlett handed the cuttlebone to two gigantic men with white hair, then ordered Eric and his parents out of the boat.
What happened next would have caused Eric to scream at Scarlett if his mother had not stomped on his foot. Right there on the beach, without a controlled environment or video documentation, without carefully making sure that no further damage was done to the bone or to the sword, Scarlett yanked the Rune Sword out of the cuttlebone and waved it in the air. The people on the beach roared their approval.
“Come with me to that building,” said Scarlett, pointing up the hill with the sword. “If everything goes well this morning you can be involved in the final disposition of the blade, and then we won’t need your services anymore. We have tentatively scheduled a limousine to pick you up at noon and take you to the airport. Tickets have already been purchased for your flight to Miami via New York. You are each receiving a large bonus for your excellent work. Mr. Frost is very pleased.”
Crystal’s dad started to protest about leaving their daughter at camp, but his wife dug her elbow into his ribs and shook her head at him.
Eric thought his mother was taking Mr. Frost’s threat of “grave consequences” a little too seriously, and he was out his mother’s elbow range. “What has to go well this morning? What are you doing to that artifact?”
Scarlett had been waving the sword in the air as she walked as if testing how it would feel in battle. When Eric spoke, she spun around, pointing the broken end of the sword at Eric’s throat. “I’m sorry, honey. You may be cute and fun to spend time with, but Frost told you to keep your mouth shut. So, zip it and get up to that building.”