Read Online Arthur Quinn and Hell's Keeper by Alan Early - Free Book Online
Authors: Alan Early
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forged by all manner of strangeness. So I just let them tie me up and then I couldnât get out. No matter how hard I tried, the ribbon held me in place. The gods left me, confident that I would be there for millennia to come.
âBut then, the next day, Hel found me. She had followed the gods to the island. I could smell Lokiâs magic in her blood and I knew she was there to help me. She used her destructive power on the ribbon. It was almost too strong, even for her. Gleipnir was created from dark blood magic. It was designed never to be broken. Hel used all her power to tear the ribbon in just one place and it fell apart around me. She had freed me, but in doing so she had drained so much of her own power that she almost killed herself. She fell into a deep, deep coma as a result.
âI managed to escape Asgard. And I took the sleeping Hel with me to Dublin. I made some more wolves and formed a family for myself in Ireland, a community of sorts. And all the while, Hel was unconscious. She was asleep for almost a thousand years, and all that time I hid her from everyone, including the rest of the wolves. Even Drysi. And in that time, I grew to see humanity for what it was. I experienced the love, the friendship, the creativity. All the goodness of the human heart. So I vowed never to do Lokiâs bidding again and to protect Hel from him.â
He looked back at them, and as he did so the bright daylight through the porthole showed his face in high contrast. His gaze fell on Arthur, who was staring up at him and absentmindedly fiddling with the ribbon tied around his wrist.
âWhat are you doing?â he asked him.
âNothing,â said Arthur, dropping his fingers from it. âItâs a nervous tic. Sorry. It was my motherâs; she used to do it too.â
Fenrir stared for a moment at the ribbon and when he finally continued his expression was sad.
âThings changed about eighteen, twenty years ago. Hel woke up. I could sense Lokiâs dark magic flowing through her, rousing her, and I knew he had created her for something terrible. I didnât want the part of her that was Lokiâs gift to take over, to destroy the world that I had grown fond of. But I could also sense something else: the soul of the child she once was. I wanted that soul to have the life she should have had, the life she deserved. It was like there were two personalities inside the one woman: the one that Loki created called Hel and the innocent, stolen girl whose name I didnât know.
âSo I came up with a way of trapping the part of Loki, the bad part, inside her. Using magic Iâd learned over the centuries, I wiped her memories of all the misfortune that had befallen her. I ensnared the Hel personality within the body, leaving only the human girl who had been taken. I gave her a new name and helped her start a new, happy, human life.â
His eyes were shining with tears now and his voice was starting to shake.
âAnd Arthur, oh Arthur, Iâm so sorry,â he said. âIâm so very sorry.â
âFor what?â
âFor what Iâm about to tell you. If what I think is right, Iâm so sorry.â
He looked down, as if in shame.
âI gave her two names,â Fenrir continued after collecting his thoughts. âThe first was of Celtic origin, meaning âpowerfulâ. The second was Viking and it meant âhiddenâ. I thought it was very suitable. So I called her ⦠I called her ⦠Rhona Hilda.â
Arthur felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. He rocked backwards, his heart pumping furiously.
âIt ⦠it canât be,â he stuttered.
âIâm so sorry, Arthur.â
âWhat?â urged Ash. âWhat does it mean?â
âHeâs saying,â Arthur said. âHeâs saying that ⦠that Hel ⦠Hel was my mother.â
Chapter Six
There was a mass intake of breath in the cramped
âBut then, the next day, Hel found me. She had followed the gods to the island. I could smell Lokiâs magic in her blood and I knew she was there to help me. She used her destructive power on the ribbon. It was almost too strong, even for her. Gleipnir was created from dark blood magic. It was designed never to be broken. Hel used all her power to tear the ribbon in just one place and it fell apart around me. She had freed me, but in doing so she had drained so much of her own power that she almost killed herself. She fell into a deep, deep coma as a result.
âI managed to escape Asgard. And I took the sleeping Hel with me to Dublin. I made some more wolves and formed a family for myself in Ireland, a community of sorts. And all the while, Hel was unconscious. She was asleep for almost a thousand years, and all that time I hid her from everyone, including the rest of the wolves. Even Drysi. And in that time, I grew to see humanity for what it was. I experienced the love, the friendship, the creativity. All the goodness of the human heart. So I vowed never to do Lokiâs bidding again and to protect Hel from him.â
He looked back at them, and as he did so the bright daylight through the porthole showed his face in high contrast. His gaze fell on Arthur, who was staring up at him and absentmindedly fiddling with the ribbon tied around his wrist.
âWhat are you doing?â he asked him.
âNothing,â said Arthur, dropping his fingers from it. âItâs a nervous tic. Sorry. It was my motherâs; she used to do it too.â
Fenrir stared for a moment at the ribbon and when he finally continued his expression was sad.
âThings changed about eighteen, twenty years ago. Hel woke up. I could sense Lokiâs dark magic flowing through her, rousing her, and I knew he had created her for something terrible. I didnât want the part of her that was Lokiâs gift to take over, to destroy the world that I had grown fond of. But I could also sense something else: the soul of the child she once was. I wanted that soul to have the life she should have had, the life she deserved. It was like there were two personalities inside the one woman: the one that Loki created called Hel and the innocent, stolen girl whose name I didnât know.
âSo I came up with a way of trapping the part of Loki, the bad part, inside her. Using magic Iâd learned over the centuries, I wiped her memories of all the misfortune that had befallen her. I ensnared the Hel personality within the body, leaving only the human girl who had been taken. I gave her a new name and helped her start a new, happy, human life.â
His eyes were shining with tears now and his voice was starting to shake.
âAnd Arthur, oh Arthur, Iâm so sorry,â he said. âIâm so very sorry.â
âFor what?â
âFor what Iâm about to tell you. If what I think is right, Iâm so sorry.â
He looked down, as if in shame.
âI gave her two names,â Fenrir continued after collecting his thoughts. âThe first was of Celtic origin, meaning âpowerfulâ. The second was Viking and it meant âhiddenâ. I thought it was very suitable. So I called her ⦠I called her ⦠Rhona Hilda.â
Arthur felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. He rocked backwards, his heart pumping furiously.
âIt ⦠it canât be,â he stuttered.
âIâm so sorry, Arthur.â
âWhat?â urged Ash. âWhat does it mean?â
âHeâs saying,â Arthur said. âHeâs saying that ⦠that Hel ⦠Hel was my mother.â
Chapter Six
There was a mass intake of breath in the cramped
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