Jake & The Giant (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 2) (32 page)

“Something’s happening to the Valkyries!”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re—changing!” Archie
paused. “Uh-oh. I-I think now they’re really mad.”

As the Valkyries’
terrible screeches reverberated through the chasm, Jake glanced back and saw that Archie was right.

The Valkyries
were transforming from beautiful winged women into hideous harpies with great, bony claws. In place of angelic white feathers, they now flapped aloft on leathery, black batwings, their pastel dresses magically changed to wraithlike tatters.

I
nstead of gorgeous blondes and redheads, they changed into skeletal hags with stringy gray hair.
Now
they looked like creatures fit to haunt a battlefield, Jake thought in shock.

The Valkyries unsheathed their weapons.

“Fly, Red,” he whispered to the Gryphon. “Fly as fast as you can. Hold on, Arch.”

Sitting behind him, Archie gripp
ed Jake’s shoulders and shouted,
“Here they come!”

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

The Land of the Dead

Red flew valiantly with half a dozen harpies on his tail. Holding onto the Gryphon’s collar with his left hand, Jake looked over his shoulder, stretching out his right hand.

His jaw clenched,
he focused on summoning up his telekinesis to knock their pursuers away, driving a few of the tattered wraiths into the cliffs with bolts of energy that flew from his fingertips.

But f
or one thing, using this power tended to weaken him, and for another, for every fierce Valkyrie that fell behind or spiraled toward the water, more kept coming.

“How high does this gate go?” Archie cried.

“I don’t know. Keep flying, Red. We’ve got to clear it!”

Clouds cloaked the top of
the ominous stone cliff that formed the gate to Valhalla.

The Gryphon kept racing skyward, but the harpies were gaining on them.

Meanwhile in the boat below, Snorri was swinging the oar to knock the Valkyries back, while Princess Kaia continually brought new arrows up to her bow and kept firing away, shooting the screeching harpies out of the sky.

“Keep fighting, Snorri
!” Kaia yelled. “We’ve got to hold them off! I’m not going back to Jugenheim without the answer to that riddle! And if these girls want to stop me, they’re going to have to kill me!”

Snorri
blanched at her ferocity, but held his ground beside her. “Don’t worry, Your Highness, I won’t let them get you!”

“How sweet,” Kaia muttered as she shot another arrow and hit the screeching, wraithlike harpy in the eye.

“Uh, Princess…” Snorri clubbed another with his oar. “Just one question.”

“What?” she panted with exertion.

“Are we goin’ to get in trouble with Odin for killing some of his battle-maids?”

“Don’t be silly, Snorri! T
hey can’t die.”

He
realized in surprise that she was right as he watched one of the hideous creatures land on an ice floe, an arrow sticking through her.

But in just a minute or two, the Valkyrie roused herself to sit up, pulled the arrow out of her body, shook herself, and then returned to the fight.

“If they can’t die, then how are we supposed to hold them off until the dwarves get back? There’s so many of them!”

“
We’re bigger.” Kaia drew her sword, back to back with Snorri. “Come on, you little gnats!”

F
ar above the embattled giants, Red kept on flying as fast as he could, his wings beating hard in the thin, frigid air.

His breath clouded around them.

Archie pulled a hammer out of his tool-bag and whacked the hand of a snarling harpy who was trying to grab the Gryphon’s tail.

The Valkyrie howled and fell back a few feet lower just as two more appeared ahead, their swords drawn.

Jake cast them both away with an invisible shock of energy from his fingertips. But still more were closing in, and though the top of the cliff finally came into sight, he was starting to feel fairly sure that the three of them were going to die soon.

He could already feel the Gryphon laboring beneath him. Red swatted away a harp
y with his front lion claws, then, suddenly, one of the harpies sliced at the noble beast with her sword. Red roared as the harpy’s blade slashed him across his haunches.

The Gryphon whipped aside to kick the harpy in the face with his back paw, claws bared, a
nd indeed, the harpy fell away.

But the awkward motion sent the boys lurching to the right; the sudden shift in the weight he was carrying threw off Red’s balance, and the next thing Jake knew, the flyin
g Gryphon went into a horizontal roll—a midair crash!

They
went slamming through the flock of harpies, falling. Jake and Archie slipped off Red’s back in the chaos and plummeted toward the water, screaming.

Red tumbled end over end in a chaos of wings and tufted tail; Jake looked do
wn at the rocks and icy waves zooming up to meet them and was sure they were all doomed.

But Snorri saw them
coming and grabbed one of the boat’s nearby fishing nets. While Kaia held off the harpies, he opened the net wide between his massive arms and leaned out over the side of the ship to catch them.

They screamed all the way down
, but one by one, they landed safely in the fishing net, even Red—though he was bleeding from the cut on his hip.

The Gryp
hon didn’t seem to care. Snorri set them safely on the deck. While the boys lay in the fishing net for a moment, panting with relief, Red leaped free with a furious roar, pounced across the deck, and immediately started slashing at the harpies like a cat chasing sparrows.

“Red! Come back here! We need to try again!” Archie called as the boys climbed out of the
fishy-smelling net on shaky legs.

But despite the boys’
attempts to call him back, the Gryphon paid him no attention. Red was utterly absorbed in his quest to catch and bite or scratch as many harpies as he could. His fighting instincts had kicked in.

“He’s
out of control,” Jake murmured, watching him.

“Can’t you calm him down?” Archie
turned to Jake, who continued to stare at his rampaging pet. “I hope that cut’s not serious. How’s he going to fly us up there now that he’s hurt?”

Jake shook his head. “I don’t think it’s going to work. He’s done his best, but
he can’t get past them. We’re too outnumbered. Besides, look at him. I’ve never seen him so furious.”

Even now, Red
had a harpy in his beak and was shaking her like a rag-doll.

Jake turned to gaze up again at the looming gates of Valhalla. “We’re going to have to find another way up there.”

Snorri also looked up at the cliff, shading his eyes. “There’s only one way,” he announced at length, while Kaia kicked a trio of harpies into the water and Red caught another one by the wing and tossed her.

“How?” Archie asked.

“Remember at the feast?” Snorri prompted.

Jake groaned. “I remember. Very well, if you think it’ll work.”

Snorri nodded. “It’s got to.”

“What
are you two talking about?” Archie exclaimed.

“Dwarf tossing,” Jake said grimly, flipping his forelock out of his eyes with a resolute toss of his head. “I’ll go first.”

“Now, hold on just a minute!” Archie protested, wide-eyed. “That’s just daft! At least with Red, you have some control over your flight path—”

“It’s our only choice! You don’t have to come if you
don’t want to,” Jake cut him off impatiently, then he turned to Snorri. “Throw me as high as you possibly can.”

The giant nodded.
“I will.”

“But how are you going to get back?” Archi
e cried.

He
shook his head. “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Let’s just get this over with.”

Jake balled himself up like a human cannonball, his arms wrapped tightly around his bent legs. In this form, Snorri picked him up in both hands, taking a firm grip of him.

Then the giant began to swing Jake between his legs, forward and back, gathering momentum. All of a sudden, Snorri released him, hurling him toward the sky.

Jake flew up into the air, whipping past or rather
through
the flock of Valkyries; all the while, he kept his forehead tucked against his knees, his arms tightly clutched around his bent legs.

Jaw clenched, he cleared the flock of Valkyries and
promptly disappeared into the clouds.

He opened his eyes to sl
its against the whipping wind created by his velocity, but all he could see now were white clouds around him. He caught a glimpse of the cliff’s edge tapering up into a wall as he flew over it. He was going over the gate!

At about that moment, he reached the top of the arc on which Snorri had hur
led him. And then he started falling.

He stretched himself out to his full length, unfolding from his balled-up pose.

His shout streamed out behind him as he plummeted over the mighty gate and toward the ground of Valhalla, plunging through the mists.

Arms and legs flailing, he saw that he was heading for what appeared to be a grassy green meadow far below.

The ground was racing up swiftly toward him, while behind him, he could hear Archie yelling as his cousin followed a moment later.

Then Jake squeezed as eyes shut and prayed he did not splat when he hit the ground. Otherwise,
he might have to stay forever.

H
ere in the land of the dead.

CHAPTER FORTY

Viking Heaven

Whatever pains or broken bones Jake expected when he hit the ground, he was about to learn that the normal rules did not apply in the afterlife.

As he came ca
reening down from the sky at blinding speeds, spread-eagled, he saw the ground racing up toward him and threw his arms up to protect his head.

But when he hit, to his astonishment, instead of hard-packed ea
rth, the grassy meadow gave way, cushioning him with the soft texture of a giant green marshmallow.

He sank down into the softness and was bounced back up again, though not nearly so high.

Archie followed seconds later, and let out a whoop of shock as they both continued bouncing up and down helplessly on the soft spongy turf.

“I don’t believe it!” Archie yelled as he soared by. “Woooo hoooo! I’m flying!”

“Quit foolin’ around!” Jake scolded, though with each bounce, the boys flew not as high.

“This i
s wonderful!” Archie turned a somersault in midair before he landed in the green pillowed mattress of the field at last.

“Crikey
,” Jake panted when they finally came to rest. At last, the boys found themselves sitting in a meadow full of tall grass and wildflowers. They exchanged a glance of amazement.

“I guess we made it,” Jake remarked.

Archie grinned.

Looking all around them, the boys climbed to their feet, grateful that th
e arctic cold had disappeared. Valhalla seemed to exist in its own protected bubble of spring-like warmth, neither too hot nor too cold. Just perfect. As the wildflowers blew on the light breeze, Jake savored the soft, translucent quality of the light. It was gold and white, with a rosy glow.

“I can’t believe it. Viking heaven,” Archie said with a hush in his voice
, looking around.

“I think I want to stay here,” Jake replied only half seriously.

His cousin snorted. “You’re not a Viking. And you’re not dead. As for me, I still have to give my speech tomorrow morning, remember?”

“Is that tomorrow already? Huh.
” Jake nodded, scanning the pristine landscape of lush meadows and alluring woods. “Come on then, we’d better find this pool. We daren’t leave Snorri and Kaia and Red to battle the Valkyries much longer. No telling how long they can hold out.”

“
Look, over there—a path!” Archie pointed. “That must lead somewhere.”

“Let’s follow it,” Jake agreed. They hurried over to the delightful grassy footpath and started walking.

The path followed alongside a beautiful babbling brook that meandered through the meadow and then passed some orchards. Gorgeous trees along the way offered every kind of fruit. Antlered deer grazed in the fields, while rabbits frolicked in the shade. They heard a whine and Archie looked back, stopping in his tracks.

“Puppies!”

A small troop of adorable, clumsy puppies were trying to catch up with the boys, yipping happily as they tumbled through the grass.

“Where did they come from?” Archie exclaimed.

Jake laughed at the merry sight. “Well, it wouldn’t be any sort of heaven if there were no dogs, would it?”

“You sound like Dani
O’Dell.”

Jake grinned, but they didn’t have time to play with the puppies, no matter how adorable.

They hurried on down the grassy path, still feeling a slight marshmallow-like give underfoot. It made each step springy, and the wildflowers they pressed underfoot perfumed their passing.

Before long, the boys
spotted two buildings in the distance: one, a smudge of silver to the north; the other, a large wooden lodge to the south—a great hall not unlike King Olaf’s back in Jugenheim—but on a human scale, rather than for giants.

The southern building was closer, and the stream was taking them straight towards it.
Archie took his spyglass out of his tool-bag and lifted it to his eye. While he studied the nearer building, Jake caught a distant hint of song and chanting.

“Do you hear that?”
he asked.

Archie paused. They both listened harder and could just make out deep male voices singing, accompanied by thundering drums.
It was a vaguely terrifying sound. The boys held very still, listening. The breeze carried the distant music to them across the meadows—ancient songs that had once struck terror into the hearts of monks and villagers along the British Isles.

Viking songs.

“That must be Odin’s mead hall for the warriors!” Archie whispered.

Jake beckoned to him, and the b
oys ran for cover in the woods.

Concealed by the trees, they cont
inued moving closer to the mead hall, with its huge timber beams and gabled roof. It sounded like quite a party was going on inside. Jake trembled to realize the place was packed with ruthless Viking warriors.

Archie, meanwhile, exchange
d his spyglass for his hammer, just in case he needed to defend himself again.

He offered Jake a wrench for the same purpose.

Jake shook his head and frowned. “I don’t think that’ll do you any good, anyway. The people here are already dead.”

Archie shrugged.
“Well, it makes me feel better, anyway.”

“Come on.
” Jake nodded. The boys crept stealthily toward the Viking mead hall, scanning the place and wondering how to proceed.

Just then, the door opened. They ducked behind a huge tree as a Viking warrior stepped out. They could hear
him singing to himself. The clamor of the music from inside was muffled again when the doors swung shut behind him.

The slight weaving of his steps made the boys exchange a kn
owing glance. It seemed the mead flowed as freely here Valhalla as it did in Jugenheim.

Full of drink, t
he golden-haired Viking went over to the edge of the woods to relieve himself, singing crude lyrics about some ladies all the while.

A moment later, he fastened his leather trousers and turned around, swaggering back toward the party, but one of the war-horses tied up outside the gre
at hall whinnied to him. “And a good day to you, as well, noble steed!” the Viking warlord answered cheerfully. When he stepped over to give the horse a pat, Jake saw his face and gasped.

“
It’s Ragnor the Punisher!” he said in astonishment.

“Who?” Archie whispered.

“The Viking ghost who was haunting Miss Langesund’s ship museum!”

“
That man there? What? I’m seeing a ghost?” Archie exclaimed.

“Aye.”

“I’ve never seen a ghost before.” He stared, then turned to Jake. “Is that how they always look?”

“No
t at all. They’re usually sort of bluish-gray and see-through down on earth. Sometimes they look like orbs or just a mist—never mind. Stay here a second. I’m going to go and talk to him. Maybe he can help us.”

“Jake!” Archie whispered frantically, but Jake was already in motion, leaving his hiding place behind the tree. “King Ragnor!
Sire! Ragnor the Punisher!” he yelled as loudly as he dared. He had to catch the warlord before he went back inside.

Hearing his name called, the Viking chief stopped and scanned the woods. Out of habit, he reached for the hilt of his gigantic
. sword. “Who’s there?”

“Sire!” Jake stepped out from the woods, e
merging into the sunlight. “Remember me? Jake—Lord Griffon,” he reminded him as he approached the towering warrior. “We met at the museum. I spoke to you there about the people who dug up your ship? Making a monument to your glory?”

“Ah, yes! Clever lad. Excellent advice, to rejoin my shipmates and fellow princes here in Valhalla.” Then he frowned. “But what are you doing here? It’s a tragedy for a boy to die so young.”

“Oh, I’m not dead, sir,” Jake hastened to assure him. “Just visiting. In fact, I’m here on a very important mission, my cousin and I.” He beckoned to Archie, who stepped nervously into view. “I was wondering if you could give us a little help.”

“Mission?” Ragnor echoed. “Why, I haven’t been on a mission in nearly a thousand years…” A wistful look came into his fierce eyes. “What sort of mission, may I ask? Have you come a-raiding?”

“No, sir, nothing like that. I’m afraid it’s Loki causing trouble again.”

“Loki?” R
agnor growled, instantly bristling at the mention of that name. “What’s that troublemaker up to now?”

“He’s trying to get control of Giant Land.”

Ragnor the Punisher looked shocked. “You know you can’t let that happen,” he said at once.

“I know
, believe me. But he’s already infiltrated Jugenheim. He tricked King Olaf and his court by posing as a local shaman called the Ice Wizard. In that form, Loki put forth a terrible riddle that we have to solve within a few short hours or he’s going to take over Giant Land. But if we do solve it, we can send him packing.”

“How can I
help?” the Viking warlord asked at once.

As Archie joined them, it was just the answer
Jake was hoping to hear. “We found an ancient manuscript that gave us our best clue. Apparently, there’s some sort of pool inside Odin’s palace that we believe is the key to solving Loki’s riddle. But we need to get in there and see it for ourselves, so we can be sure. If we give Loki the wrong answer, then he wins and we’re all doomed. If he gets control of the giants, he’ll lead them on an invasion of Midgarth and all the other worlds.”

“
I understand. Hmm.” Ragnor stroked his golden beard in thought. “I can get you to the palace and distract Odin’s hunting dogs so you boys can sneak in. The All-Father’s not at home right now, which should make your task a little easier. But his son’s there, so you’ll have to watch your step.”

“His son?” Jake echoed.

“Thor, of course,” Ragnor said grimly. Then he turned away, beckoning them. “Come! To the horses.”

Before long, they were mounted up on three of the great war-horses tied up outside the Vikings’ mead hall. Ja
ke chose a gray and Archie swung up onto a chestnut. Ragnor’s horse was black.

“Follow me!” The Viking squeezed his horse’s sides with his knees and the animal leaped into a canter.

Jake hung on for dear life as his horse followed. Being a city kid and until recently a pauper, he was not the most experienced of riders.

He was nervous about whether he could even stay on the war-horse’s back. But to his delight,
the marshmallow effect made the ride as easy as sitting in a rocking chair.

The horses’ galloping strides bounced them lightly ov
er the spongy ground. Still, he held on tightly to the gray’s mane, just to be extra safe. It didn’t occur to him that riding a gryphon was much harder.

Ragnor glanced over his shoulder to make sure the boys were all right. Archie wore a grin from the ear to ear.

Thanks to their fleet-footed mounts, within twenty minutes they were already approaching the castle of Valaskjalf. Odin’s palace radiated the soft light of Valhalla with a lustrous gleam.

The walls and battlements were pure silver, but the front steps and four soaring towers were of white marble. The whole cas
tle glittered in the sunlight.

The All-Father must have been a great dog-lover, Jake thought, for not only did Valhalla
offer puppies to play with, but two giant statues of wolf-like hunting dogs carved of smooth gray stone framed the castle doorway.

Slowing his horse, Ragnor held up his fist, signaling the boys to halt in the shadows
at the edge of the woods.

Jake’s heart pounded as he got a better sense of the daunting task he and Archie somehow had to accomplish
, sneaking into Odin’s fortress.

“Everything looks quiet,” Ragnor remarked, nodding in approval
. “I’ll distract the guard dogs. When the way is clear, you boys sneak in. But you won’t have time to dawdle before his hounds return.”

“
Good luck, Ragnor,” Jake answered. “We’re grateful for your help. If I don’t get the chance to say it later, I thank you.”

The Viking nobleman saluted them, then signaled his horse forward. The boys stayed in the shadow o
f the woods, watching him ride toward the castle.

The spectacle they beheld
next gave them some inkling of the nearly-insane bravery that Ragnor the Punisher must have possessed in life. He was using himself as bait for the two giant wolf-dog statues, which came alive as the boys watched.

Ragnor urged his horse up the
front steps with a wild whoop.

The dog statues opened their eyes.
Their pointed ears pricked up, then they bared their fangs at the intruder.

When Ragnor urged his horse off the stairs with a leap b
ack onto the ground, the guard dogs licked their chops, the stone of their carved bodies turning into muscle and fur. It seemed the dogs could not resist the chase. Barking as loud as cannons, they rose, each as tall as buildings.