“They’re looking for Thor,” Rego said.
“Well, they’re traitors.” Robert pointed at Abigail. “She’s a witch, and he’s a Balfin, which makes them both enemies. Leave them for the giants. Now, before they come.”
But it was too late. A pair of trees came crashing down right next to them, hitting the ground with a loud thwack, and then the face of a giant appeared over their heads. Its eyes glimmered angrily as they landed on their small group.
“There’s that thieving rat,” it said. “The king of giants wants your head.”
A large meaty hand flew down toward them, aiming to crush their group.
“Run!” Rego shouted, shoving Abigail and Hugo out of the way.
The giant’s fist splatted into the icy drift where they’d stood, spraying them with powdery snow.
Abigail picked herself up and threw a ball of witchfire at the giant’s face. The blast hit the giant square in its nose, and it roared in pain, swinging another meaty fist down at her. She dove to the side, barely dodging it.
“Let them fight the giant,” Robert said. “They can distract him while we get away.”
Rego stood uncertainly.
“You work for my father, which means you must do as I say,” Robert ordered. “And I say she’s a traitorous witch. Leave her to the giants the same way she left me.”
“Robert, no,” Abigail said. But the giant was coming around for another attack. She had to focus on defending herself and Hugo. He had his medallion out and was using it to call up a windstorm, sending flakes of snow swirling into the air. The giant got confused, stomping in the wrong direction.
Hugo grabbed Abigail’s arm. “Come on, before the giant can see again.”
“Where did Robert go?” Abigail turned every which way, trying to see in the near whiteout. “I can’t believe he left us.”
“Oh, believe it,” Hugo said, dragging her away. “I don’t think he remembers us very fondly.”
Chapter 14
Abigail huddled in the small cave where she and Hugo had taken shelter, really nothing more than a tumble of rocks pushed together. They had a small fire thanks to her witchfire. The crackling flames melted the layer of snow off her and into a puddle, but inside, she was frozen.
Seeing Robert had been hard. He was so angry. Not that she blamed him, but she had tried. Tried to do the best she could. She had saved him. Didn’t that count for anything?
Hugo tossed another stick in the fire. “He can’t stay mad forever, you know.”
“Says who?” Abigail said glumly.
“Says me. We can apologize, but it’s up to him to forgive us. I think he will.”
“What is he even doing here?” she asked. “Do you think he ran away?”
“You don’t suppose … ?”
Their eyes met across the flames. “He’s after Thor’s hammer,” Abigail said with sinking dread. “Of course. He must have realized the same thing we did—it’s the only thing powerful enough to stop this war.”
“What if he doesn’t want to stop it?” Hugo asked.
Abigail frowned. “What do you mean? Of course he’d want to stop it.”
Hugo shook his head. “Think about it, Abigail. He’s pretty angry. He thinks we betrayed him.”
“Why would he want Thor’s hammer if he doesn’t want to end this war?”
Hugo’s face was grim. “What if he does want to end it—with the Orkadians winning and the witches losing.”
Abigail’s breath rushed out of her. “You mean destroy us.”
“It’s possible, right? If he gets hold of Thor’s hammer, he could give it to his father, and he might—”
“Wipe us out,” she finished. “We’ll always be a threat to the Orkadians. Hugo, this is a disaster.”
“No. We just have to make sure he doesn’t get his hands on it first.”
“But … ugh!” She leaped to her feet and began pacing in the small space. “It all feels so wrong. He should be helping us. The whole point was to convince my coven not to go to war because the Orkadians could defend themselves with the hammer, not actually use it against us.”
“I don’t think he sees it that way.”
“Then what do we do?”
Hugo blinked. “I’m not sure. We should probably find Thor, and fast.”
“Even if we find him, how are we going to get him to give us his hammer?
“We need something to bargain with.” Hugo pulled his notebook out and leafed through it. He tapped a page. “Professor Oakes said the king of the giants, Utgard-Loki, bested Thor in a battle of wits. Thor’s never been able to get revenge because Utgard-Loki uses magic to move his palace and hide it.”
“And?”
“And if we can locate his castle, maybe we can use that to get Thor to give us his hammer—at least long enough to stop the war.”
“And how are we going to find a magical moving palace?”
“I suppose we have to find a giant and get taken prisoner.”
Abigail blinked at him. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a terrible idea.”
“Have you got a better one?”
She sighed, folding her arms. “No, but that doesn’t mean I like it. Either we stay here and freeze or get thrown in a giant’s dungeon.” She kicked dirt over their small fire. “Might as well get started. If Robert gets to Thor before us, freezing to death will be the least of our worries.”
Chapter 15
Endera stepped onto the block of ice and studied the footprints. “I believe they went that way,” she said, pointing upriver. Glorian and Nelly stepped down next to her, followed by Safina.
Endera turned toward the ship, which floated next to the ice floe. “Captain, I command you to tie off and send a group of your men with me.”
The captain nodded, tugging on his cap. “Aye, aye, madame witchling. Just give me a moment to organize the men.”
Endera turned back to studying the tracks. “With any luck, we’re not more than a day behind. If that stupid captain hadn’t been so afraid to come in past those wretched stones … Sailing around them cost us precious time.”
“Er, Endera, why’s the ship going that way?” Glorian asked.
Endera spun around, enraged to see the ship sailing away.
“Hey, get back here!” She threw a ball of witchfire straight for the captain’s head, but it fell short and sputtered out in the water. The ship kept going. Endera caught a glimpse of the captain at the helm, bowing slightly. One of his men tossed a bag over the side, and then the ship turned the corner and was gone.
“He left us.” Endera could hardly believe her eyes. “That little sea rat left us. When I get back, I’m going to turn his bones into soup. I’m going to curse every member of his family for generations. I’m going to—”
“Endera,” Nelly said. “I d-d-don’t want to complain, but it’s f-f-freezing cold.” The girl’s lips were already a shade of blue.