Chapter 22
It bothered Crystal to see Freyja walk over and hug Borghild. In fact, it felt like Freyja had just stabbed her in the back. It was bad enough to lose the race without Freyja acting like she was happy about it.
Crystal was about to cry when she felt Eiti’s hand on her shoulder. “Young lady. Listen to what Freyja say. Trust her. No worry. No think about race. No think about cabin. Only think about Lucky.”
Eiti’s words snapped Crystal out of her pity-party. She needed to be brave. She needed to be loyal. She needed to help Freyja and her teammates even if she had just been kicked out of the cabin. Crystal saw that Lucky was busy getting congratulations from the other counselors but knew that wouldn’t last much longer. She decided what she must do.
Crystal called out Valfoor’s name loudly and began to run to him, not knowing if he could even understand English once she got there. That got Lucky’s attention, and she started running to cut Crystal off.
Crystal got to the old man a little ahead of Lucky. “Valfoor, this isn’t fair. We all know I would have won the race if I hadn’t been attacked by the squid.”
Lucky was right behind her. “These contests aren’t just about skill; they are also about fate. Perhaps one of the Gods intervened on Borghild’s side. Are you saying you want to defy the Gods?”
Crystal looked at Lucky and snapped back, “If one of the Gods opposed me in that race then I want the other Gods to have a chance to support me in a rematch. Or better yet, let the Gods stay out of it and we’ll see who really deserves to be in Freyja’s cabin.”
Lucky grabbed Crystal by the shoulder. “Do not be so flippant about the Gods, young lady. You may have forgotten ancient traditions in your country, but here we honor our past.”
“You will take hand off her,” said Eiti, walking up and going nose-to-belly with Lucky. “Counselors no touch girls like that.”
Crystal looked at Valfoor and saw he was smiling. Valfoor was strangely quiet during all of this, and she wondered what he was thinking. She also noticed that she had been right about his eyes; he was wearing a shiny purple eye patch today. She didn’t remember him wearing it at the start of the race and wondered when he put it on.
“Oh, the great Sea King speaks,” said Lucky. “I quake in my boots.”
Eiti reached out and took Lucky’s hand off Crystal. “You no touch Crystal.”
Then things got weird. Lucky threw a punch at Eiti but missed. Then Eiti stepped in and wrapped his arms around Lucky in a bear-hug. Crystal didn’t like Eiti fighting a woman, but she realized that he did it in self-defense and that he was only hugging Lucky and not throwing punches. He was short, but with those tree-trunk arms Crystal figured the fight was over.
However, Lucky was a lot stronger than Crystal realized, and she threw Eiti to the ground with little difficulty. In fact, she threw him with such force that the ground actually shook when Eiti landed. Crystal was so impressed with Lucky’s strength that she imagined Lucky’s shoulders and arms were growing larger during the fight.
Eiti was quickly back on his feet. He lowered his head and charged in, tackling Lucky as if they were football players in the Super Bowl. When they collided, Crystal saw a flash of purple light around Lucky. She wasn’t sure what it was but figured that Lucky must be wearing something shiny that reflected sunlight.
As the fight continued Crystal’s eyes continued to play tricks on her. Lucky got to her feet and appeared to pick up Eiti with no difficulty as if Eiti was nothing more than a child’s doll. Lucky’s hair seemed shorter, her jaw seemed larger, and her eyes were much meaner. She hit Eiti in the face, and then with little effort she threw him through the air to crash into the canoes.
Eiti lay on the ground, unconscious. As Crystal ran to him, she heard Valfoor shouting something in Swedish, and then Freyja’s voice saying, “Yes, this is too much out in public. You must stop now.”
Crystal knelt on the ground next to Eiti, crying without shame. She wasn’t crying because she had lost the race, or because Freyja had walked off all chummy with Borghild. Her friend Eiti must have known how strong Lucky was. He must have known that any fight with her would end like this. Her tears honored a brave man who had risked so much protecting her.
Crystal ran her fingers through Eiti’s hair. “Wake up, Sea King. Your princess needs you.” Eiti struggled to open his eyes, and then pulled her down and whispered, “I tell you secret. I lie a little before. Not Sea King. Come from long line of blacksmiths.”