Read Online Earth's Hope by Ann Gimpel - Free Book Online Page B

was so welcome.”
    “Mmph.” Smoke streamed from her nostrils, but Dewi’s temper, always quick to kindle, was settling.
    “I am not the enemy, Dewi. Ye waste valuable energy. We must locate Fionn. I wasna back long, but long enough for the others to tell me he’d been snatched by Harpies.”
    “Get your ass back here now. We’re under attack,” reverberated in Dewi’s head.
    Aislinn.
    A chilling clearness wiped the last of Dewi’s fury aside. “Get on my back.”
    “Where are we going now?” Arawn inquired caustically.
    “Oh, shut up. I’ve forgiven you.”
    “Ye could have fooled me.”
    “Aislinn just told me they’re under attack. We’re teleporting back there.”
    “Why dinna ye say so?” Arawn materialized between her shoulder blades. “Doona put us down right in the courtyard—”
    “I don’t need your instructions.” Dewi summoned teleport magic. “Just make certain nothing happens to my MacLochlainn once we return. Or any of my children.”
     

Chapter Six
    Nidhogg wished he had more time to select his words, but the golden walls of Asgard rose around him while his mind still seethed. He took advantage of the few extra moments before he landed to clear the fury scouring his nerves. Rationality was the key to dealing with Odin. If Nidhogg let his emotions loose and allowed the fire in his belly to blaze from his mouth, he’d have been better served to stay with Dewi and the other dragons. He spread his wings and settled onto the cobblestoned courtyard. Valhalla, the warriors’ hall, lay off to one side. Lesser buildings peppered the well-kept grounds. Nothing had changed in the hundreds of years since he’d stormed out of the Norse stronghold.
    Startled Vikings stared at him, and one ran into Valhalla as if Hellhounds chased him. The vast structure’s lower levels held the dead, but contrary to popular mythology, Odin, Thor, Freya, and other living Norse gods and Vikings utilized the castle’s upper floors. Nidhogg saw the sense in it. Why waste all that golden glory on the dead? He settled his wings across his back, not expecting much of a wait.
    Odin emerged from the castle as if he’d been shot from a cannon and pelted down stone stairs. As always, he wore battle armor with twin brass drinking horns slung across his burly chest. Blond braids fell down his back and he smiled through his thick, red-blond beard. He extended both hands when he got close to Nidhogg, and exclaimed, “You’re back! How did you escape? Damn my eyes, but it’s glad I am to see you again.”
    “Unfortunately, the feeling isn’t mutual.”
    The smile on Odin’s broad face faded, and he narrowed his blue eyes. “After all this time, you still haven’t forgiven me?”
    “I might have,” Nidhogg measured his words, “except you piled more sins atop your original one.”
    “I’ve rethought my position about Dewi—” Odin began.
    Nidhogg held up a foreleg. “It scarcely matters. I didn’t need your approval when I mated with her, and I don’t need it now. You knew the dark gods took me, but you didn’t lift a finger to try to help.”
    “Och, lad. I was still angry about Dewi.”
    “What about the four dragons you planned to kill?”
    Odin’s gaze skittered sideways. “Plans aren’t deeds. How did you find out about that? It’s very old news.”
    “Arawn discovered it and took steps to protect them.”
    “All right.” Odin took a step back, drank from one of his horns, and crossed arms thick with muscle over his chest. “You sought me out for a reason. What is it?”
    “Two reasons, actually. Dewi and I have younglings. One will become the next Norse dragon, but for that to happen, I need your word you will leave Dewi and me in peace. Earth is under siege. Nothing is certain.”
    “What do you mean under siege?” Odin lowered his blond brows into a thick line that cut across his forehead.
    Nidhogg clanked his jaws together. “I don’t have time to explain, but I’m guessing you