The Legends of Orkney Read online

Jasper shrugged. “Who’s to say? All I know is they married and your mother tried to make things work in Skara Brae.”

  Keely cut in quietly, “I’ve met your mom, Sam. She brought meals over when my own mom was sick. She’s a good person.”

  Sam didn’t know what to think anymore, and it was frustrating.

  “How do you know so much, anyway?” he snapped, feeling out of sorts and irritable. How could an old sea captain know more about his life than he did?

  “You’re not the only one who’s descended from the gods,” Jasper replied.

  “You’re a Son of Odin?” Sam asked in disbelief.

  “Not Odin. Aegir.” Jasper said the name with pride.

  Sam took another one of the slices of fruit Jasper proffered and broke off half for Keely. His tongue tingled, but the flavor was growing on him.

  “Aegir was ruler of the ocean,” Keely said with a touch of awe. “He lived in a beautiful coral palace under the water.”

  “Aye. And swam with ravishing mermaids all the day, taking his pleasure and making mead for the gods.” Jasper sounded envious when speaking of his ancestor.

  “So you have the sea in your blood,” Keely remarked, nibbling on her fruit.

  Jasper nodded. “Been on the water every day of my life. I was there the night Sam’s parents needed help getting away from Balfour Island, when he was barely alive from that scorpion bite and squalling his head off.”

  “Do you think my mom knew what would happen if they had a kid?” Sam asked, looking at the sickly rays of the sun. Was he slurring his words? He seemed to be dizzy.

  “No one predicted she would have a boy. They tried to keep it secret, but word got out. Endera wanted to know if you had your mother’s blood. I think that’s the reason she dropped that Deathstalker in your crib. When you lived, she knew it was only a matter of time before the curse was reformed. I think your mother knew it, too. That’s why she spirited you away from here.”

  Sam snorted. “Well, fat lot of good that did. It just keeps on getting worse.”

  “That’s because you keep losing that temper of yours,” Jasper said, handing him another slice of kava fruit.

  Keely leaned forward, her words spaced apart. “You mean, hish temper . . .” She shook herself. “His temper’s to blame? For that?” She pointed up at the sun.

  Sam wanted to object, but, oddly, he couldn’t get the words out. His jaw opened and closed as if he were a fish out of water, gasping for a little gulp of oxygen.

  Jasper’s voice sounded to him like it was coming down a long tunnel. The seaman leaned in, putting his face close to Sam’s. “You lied to me, Sam. You made a deal with the witches. To save your friend, no doubt. They would never have given you the compass unless you’re working for them.”

  The compass. The truth suddenly struck Sam: Jasper had barely looked at Odin’s compass. Panic gripped him. He turned his head and looked out toward the horizon. Something wasn’t right. It looked like they were getting closer to the main island, Garamond.

  Jasper wasn’t taking them to Asgard. He was taking them back to the High Council.

  Sam’s mouth felt completely numb, his lips useless as he tried to object.

  “Sam, I don’t feel good,” Keely said, her head swaying side to side. A piece of kava fruit dropped from her hands.

  What was that fruit? Sam thought, as he fell face forward onto the deck.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Leo was restless.

  His first few days in Orkney had passed quickly as he navigated his way to the small fishing village where Vor had sent him. He had taken her advice, sticking to the road that bordered the coastline. After a long night’s walk, his feet grew sore and blistered. The second night, he stumbled on an encampment of Orkadian soldiers. There were eight of them, passing a bottle of ale around a fire and talking about how much they hated witches.

  Leo remained hidden, peering out between trees as he studied their camp. Their horses were tethered in a makeshift paddock constructed from branches. Moving stealthily around the fire, he let out a soft clucking sound to reassure the horses. One of them moved closer to him, tossing its head in a greeting. Leo rubbed its nose, letting the horse get his scent. Quietly removing some of the paddock branches, he led the animal out.

  A skilled rider from the age of five, Leo pulled himself up easily, urging the horse quietly away. His father would not like his stealing a horse, but it would do Sam no good if Leo arrived too late to help him, or worn to the bone by the walk.

  Leo rode by night, taking cover from the cursed sun during the day. Game was scarce. He hunted as best he could, using his bow to take down a young pheasant early one morning. It took another two days before he arrived at the small fishing village Vor had described. He made camp in a cluster of trees in the hillside above the edge of the town and hunkered down to wait for the sign Vor had promised.

  It came on the morning of the fourth day. Leo was dozing in the lower branches of a tree, trying to ignore his hunger pangs, when he heard rocks tumbling. Someone was coming. Taking his bow, Leo notched an arrow, peering down from his vantage point.

  Relief shot through him. It was only a girl. Ten or so. She had short, dark hair and wore a ragged-looking dress. She was eyeing his horse.

  “Hey there,” she said in a crooning voice to the mare. “Would you like to take me for a ride?” She rubbed her hands together and then blew on them. A bubble appeared and wafted through the air.

  Leo leaned down, curious. He had never seen anything like it. The horse seemed entranced, sniffing at the bubble. Leo sniffed the air. It smelled of carrots.

  She clucked softly, backing away, drawing the bubble and the horse along with her.

  The pair had gotten a dozen feet away before Leo shook himself out of his fascinated trance. “Hey, that’s my horse,” he said, swinging his legs over the branch to drop down in the dirt next to her.

  She jumped back, a guilty flush rising to her cheeks. “Says who?”

  “Says me. I stole her first.”

  She looked at him, cocking her head to the side. “You look like a Falcory, but you’re not. You’re not from here, are you?” Her eyes lit up. “Are you a friend of Sam’s?”

  Excitement gripped Leo. This must be the sign Vor had promised. “Yes, I’m Leo. My father sent me to warn Sam. Vor said I would find him here.”

  “He’s here, all right. Down there.” She pointed at the small town. “But it’s not going to be easy to rescue him. We’ll need Keely.”

  “Keely’s here, too? What about Howie?”

  Mavery gave him the rundown on how Sam had left Howie behind with some witches and how an old sailor had double-crossed them and brought them back to this town. “I ran off before those rotten soldiers could capture me. They’re gonna take Sam back to Skara Brae, but he needs to get to Asgard to see Odin so he can fix everything.”

  Leo’s father had said as much to him, only the situation now seemed even more dire. “So, you got any good ideas?” he asked.

  Mavery grinned. “I always have good ideas.”

  Chapter Thirty

  For a moment, just before Sam regained consciousness, he dreamed he was back home in his own bed, the familiar smell of his mom cooking breakfast wafting through the air. He inhaled deeply, a smile on his lips, until the smell hit his brain and he groaned.

  Horse manure.

  Lifting his head, Sam forced his eyes open, taking in the dirt floor, rough wooden rails, and piles of hay. It looked an awful lot like the stable floor behind the inn where Mavery had found him tied up and robbed blind.

  Rego sat on a stool, whittling.

  “You had to run off and get yourself in trouble, didn’t you? You just couldn’t listen to me.”

  “Can you please spare me another lecture?” Sam’s mouth felt like it was packed full of sour cotton. He pushed himself up and leaned back against the stall.

  “Do you spleeking care you put people’s lives in danger?” Rego replied fur
iously. “We’ve wasted precious time hunting you down.” His stick snapped, and he tossed it aside.

  “I’m sorry. But I couldn’t turn my back on Howie and Keely. It’s not who I am.”

  He pointed at Sam. “You don’t know who you are, and that’s the problem.”

  Anger stirred Sam’s insides. “I know I’m not the kind of person who leaves his friends to die. I couldn’t live with that.”

  “How about killing everyone in Orkney? Can you live with that?”

  “I get it, okay?” Sam shouted, leaning forward. “I should never have been born, but here I am. What do you want me to do about it?”

  Rego’s face softened a bit. “Start listening to me, and stop running off and playing hero.”

  Tears stung Sam’s eyes. He was trying to do the right thing, but no one seemed to care.

  “Endera still has Howie,” he said.

  “Howie’s not what’s important.”

  Ice flushed through Sam’s veins, but he held Rego’s gaze. “He is to me, and I won’t let him die.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, the red sun’s getting worse by the day. Crops have turned to dust. Food lines in Skara Brae wrap around the town square.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re sorry?” Rego bellowed. “Everyone’s scratching their head, wondering how it is the witches got enough power to curse the sun, and it’s only a matter of time before Gael and the rest of the High Council figure out it was you. Then God help you, lad.”

  Sam slouched back against the stall. “How long have you known it was me?”

  “When that first red vein appeared, the witches boasted it was them, but I had my doubts. So I looked up the records. The red sun returned on the twelfth anniversary of your birth.”

  “Does the High Council know?”

  “You think you would be alive if they did?” he answered, standing up. “And unless you want Beo to mount your head on a stake, I’d keep your piehole shut. They’ve ordered you back to Skara Brae. Gael and his Eifalian armada will try to find Asgard alone. Gael thinks he can beseech Odin for an audience.”

  “No, I have to get to Asgard,” Sam pleaded. “Please, Rego, give me another chance.”

  “It’s not up to me. How is it the witches let you leave with Keely? You want to explain that?”

  Sam didn’t. Not if he wanted Howie to live. The dwarf stared at him.

  “Didn’t think so,” he said, reading the lie on Sam’s face. “You’re holding something back, and that’s going to get us all killed.”

  “Emenor was there with the witches. He told me my father’s still alive. Trapped in a stone at the Ring of Brogar.”

  Rego’s eyes flared with shock; then a scowl came over his face. “I wouldn’t believe a word that lying Balfin utters. Your father can’t still be alive, Sam. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

  The dwarf was probably right, but Sam held on grimly to his belief, needing to have a sliver of hope. “Where’s Keely?”

  “She’s resting in the inn. I’m taking her north to Torf-Einnar. She’ll be safer in the Eifalian kingdom until we can find a way to send her home.”

  “What about Mavery?”

  “Ran off. Slippery as an eel, that one.” Rego knelt down and grabbed Sam by the ear to make sure Sam received his message loud and clear. “Be warned: Beo has Falcory warriors stationed around the stable. They’ll kill you if you try to escape, and I won’t be able to stop them.”

  Sam glared at him but remained silent.

  Rego stood. “Get some sleep. We leave first thing in the morning. There’s food on the shelf for you.”

  Rego left him alone in the stall. Sam picked at the bowl of cold stew. It was official. He hated black cabbage. He needed to be moving. Find Keely and catch up with Mavery.

  Sam crept to the corner of the stall door and peered around it. He was alone, except for the horses. Sam patted their noses, feeling the velvety smoothness, as he slid past them.

  At the edge of the barn, the double doors were slightly ajar. If he moved along the side, he could make it to some barrels stacked up by the wall of the inn. He took a step—and an arrow pierced the wood above his head.

  Beo stood fifty feet away in the shadows of a tree, another arrow notched in his bow. Rego hadn’t been kidding. The Falcory brave was waiting for him to escape so he could put an arrow through Sam’s heart.

  Sam put up his hands and stepped back inside the barn. He needed a better plan.

  Back in his stall, he paced. A distraction would come in handy, something that would divert their attention long enough for him to find Keely, steal a horse, and get to wherever Mavery was hiding.

  While he was still trying to come up with something brilliant, a loud thunk shook the rafters. The horses stomped their feet and whinnied nervously. Sam cocked his head to the side. Was that smoke he smelled?

  A burning ember landed on the ground next to him, and he looked up to see that the hay in the loft was on fire. A flaming arrow had embedded in one of the bales.

  Was Beo trying to get rid of him by burning down the barn around him? Sparks began to shoot over the edge, scaring the horses, making them stomp and kick the edges of their stalls.

  Sam slid the bars on their doors. They stampeded through the double doors of the barn as the bales of hay exploded, sending flames shooting through the roof as the walls caught fire.

  Shouts and screams came from the inn as it ignited, too. Sam ran with the horses, trying to blend in with them as people raced toward the barn. The inn was fully ablaze, sending waves of heat as Sam raced away from the ruckus. He skidded to a stop near some trees and turned back.

  “Keely,” he whispered. She could be trapped inside the inn.

  “Hey, loser, looking for me?”

  In the shelter of the small grove, Keely stood next to Mavery, both girls looking pleased with themselves. Behind them stood a Falcory with his back to them. His long black hair hung in a single braid, and he was wearing leather leggings and a leather vest. He held a bow with a flaming arrow in the notch. He drew back and let go. As he did, Sam saw the scar on his arm.

  “Leo?”

  The boy turned around to face him, and recognition made Sam want to leap for joy.

  “Leo, what are you doing here?”

  He shouldered his bow. “Not now, Sam. We need to get moving. I have horses waiting.”

  They ran through the trees to a spot where Leo had three horses tied to a tree. Two of them had saddles. They mounted up. Keely pulled Mavery up behind her. Leo rode bareback, gripping the mane. With a quick dig of their heels, they were on their way. It was dark; only a sliver of moonlight helped them see where they were going.

  Leo led them up a trail that wound through the trees, quickly climbing in elevation. By the time they came to the top of a hill and stopped for a moment, the horses were panting. A red glow lit up the night below them as the inn burned to the ground.

  “We can rest here a moment,” Leo said, slipping off his horse.

  Sam jumped down and gave Leo a hug, slapping him on the back.

  “When did you get here? I can’t believe you found me. And Keely and Mavery.”

  Leo had a silly grin on his face. “I met this goddess named Vor. She told me to wait for you here. And Mavery found me when she tried to steal my horse. She helped get Keely out of the inn.”

  “But how did you get to Orkney?”

  “My father sent me to help you. And pass on a message.”

  Excitement shot through Sam. “So the portal’s not closed?”

  “No, it is. After I went through, my father destroyed it like Rego ordered him to.”

  Keely jumped down and grabbed his arm. “Sam, you said we could go home when we got Howie back. My dad’s probably worried sick about me.”

  “We’ll figure out a way, Keely. If there’s one portal, there have to be more, right, Leo?”

  Leo just shrugged. “I don’t know. But if we don’t stop the red sun, it won’t matter.
My father said to tell you the curse must be broken or . . .” His words ran out when he saw the expression of dread on Sam’s face.

  Keely had no such qualms. “Or what?”

  “Or . . . it will keep going. After it destroys Orkney, the red sun will begin to poison our world. My father says our worlds are connected. Through the roots of the great tree.”

  “The Yggdrasil tree,” Keely whispered. “When Odin created the Nine Realms, the roots of the Yggdrasil connected them all.”

  “Does anyone care what I think?” Mavery sat sideways on Keely’s horse, kicking her feet.

  “You got us in enough trouble already,” Sam said. “You made me lose the compass that would get us to Asgard, so you don’t get a say this time.”

  “You mean this compass?” she said, pulling a heavy satchel from the saddle.

  Sam’s eyes bulged as she lifted the heavy compass out.

  “How did you—”

  “I stole it from Jasper. When I saw what a double-crosser he was. I know a way to get us to Asgard.”

  “We have a compass but no ship,” Sam pointed out.

  Mavery sucked in her lips and blew a bubble. It grew to the size of a grapefruit, and then she ran her hands around it, whispering a spell to herself. The bubble floated over to Sam and Keely, who saw dolphins splashing in tiny waves inside.

  “Is that real?” Leo asked, his eyes big.

  “How did you do that?” Keely added in awe, reaching out to touch it, but Sam flicked it impatiently so the bubble broke.

  “Dolphins? How does that help us?”

  “Simple. We build a raft, and the dolphins will take us where we want to go.”

  Keely snorted derisively. “Call dolphins? I get you guys are witches, but really, you can do that?”

  “We just have to ask nicely,” Mavery added.

  Sam looked at Leo, and the boy nodded in agreement.

  “We’ll need logs to make the raft,” Leo said. “And something to lash them together.”

  Mavery clapped her hands. “I know the perfect spot.” She swung her leg over the horse and looked down at them. “Well, are you coming or not?”