- Chapter One -
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Elan’s golden scales crush against my chest as the lava monster’s grasp tightens, squeezing us together against its palm. Extending my body is a struggle as I’m pressed flat against her scales. I have just enough room to gaze over my shoulder and peer through a crack between the dark digits.
The finger cage traps in the heat, raising the circulating temperature. Sweat breaks out on my brow and trickles into my eye. The hard surface of the lava monster's skin is warm from internal heating. Combined with the stress pumping adrenaline through my veins, it makes the enclosure almost as hot as a sauna.
A soft puff of colder breeze sneaks through the crack as I observe our surroundings, my mind racing to find a way out.
The scenery changes, and my stomach flops to my torso floor, only to rebound, tightening into a knot as an eye of red lava stares at the hand confining us. I let my magic well up. Having had no luck against the frost giants, I don't know how to combat this monstrous beast. The lava monster is just as big as the frost giants and maybe more vicious. I don't know how we're going to get out of this predicament.
“How are you feeling, Elan?” My voice is muffled against the large hand.
A little squashed. But I’m fine, other than it’s my worst nightmare come true. I don't understand why it’s not attacking us. It's just grabbing us. Even though her voice is internal, speaking directly into my mind, it still sounds strained. That’s probably because of the pressure against her head. How are you feeling?
“My heart’s pumping a hundred miles per hour, and the heat is causing me to sweat. I can feel it gathering in the leather down my thighs.” I attempt to shift my hands to rub my legs, only to find I can hardly move them. “Other than that and being cramped, I’m fine.”
Observing what little I can through the crack, I attempt to work out where we are.
“It’s weird for it to be just grabbing us.” An itch grows on my stomach, and I’m desperate to scratch it, with no success. “Why would Hel be targeting us? If anything, we should be safe because I accidentally let Loki go.”
The hand tightens, and Elan groans. I don't know. It doesn't make sense.
The hand loosens slightly, and I suck in the fresh air. “Do you have any ideas on how to get out of here?”
Nope. I have no idea. She squirms to get comfortable, only to press me farther.
I grunt. “Stop moving! You’re squashing me.”
Her body goes deathly still. Sorry. Her chest expands a couple of times as she takes some breaths. Except for the massive horn sticking out of its head, it’s much like the lava monster from earlier that injured me badly.
Slightly shifting my head enables me to see somewhat more through the crack, and I catch a brief glimpse of the monster’s face. Glowing red-and-orange lava fills gaping holes resembling eyes. As I gaze into them, the sensation of death assails me. I worry my lip but halt when a flash of lightning fills the sky behind the monster’s head. A booming clap of thunder reverberates the surrounding area only seconds later.
My heart skips a beat. “Is that one of Thor’s electrical storms?”
Another flash of lightning forks through the sky.
I don't know, but I sure hope it is.
Something thuds. Suddenly, we jerk to one side before being overcome by a strange feeling of floating on air, still enclosed within the giant hand. I peer out the crack, attempting to focus on the land streaking past.
The giant hits the ground with a thud, and the fist holding us slams against the solid surface. The impact reverberates through my body, banging my body harder against Elan’s scales before slapping me against the palm.
The sliver of a crack between its clenched fingers opens wider. I peer out in time to see the ground bounce underneath us, and something careens through the sky. Focusing on the flying object, I see Mjolnir charging through the air and landing right back in Thor's hands.
I gasp. “It is Thor!”
He stands with his feet splayed shoulder distance apart as he releases Mjolnir again and braces for the hammer’s impact, and his shoulder jerks backward when it slams back into his hand.
I can see. Excitement fills Elan’s voice.
My breath catches as he launches the hammer at the giant, bracing for another hit. His movements are so fluid and quick that the giant doesn’t have time to rise to its feet. Even so, the impact flings the giant lava monster across the ground, the hand around us refusing to release its grip.
Mjolnir yanks free from the giant’s abdomen, returning at Thor’s call, the head of the hammer glowing golden red as though it had been embedded in a fiery lava pit. The color changes back to silver as the metal cools before it slams back into Thor’s hand. The hammer must've gone straight through the lava monster to make it glow like that. I’m astonished that the lava monster is still clasping us.
A strange groan fills the air, and the monster’s body shudders as it rises to its feet. In a muffled and unnatural voice that’s barely decipherable, it says, “I have no quarrel with you, Thor, God of Thunder. I’m not attacking Asgard. There is no reason for your attack on me.”
With his hammer raised and feet splayed, ready for a fight, Thor narrows his eyes. “Besides being on Asgard without invitation, you have captured my Valkyrie and her dragon. This action alone has instantly made you my enemy.”
The giant releases a displeased grunt. “I will not release this Valkyrie and dragon.” The monster bends low, releasing words filled with determination that sound like they are being gargled through a bubbling lava stream. “I must return with this Valkyrie and her companion. It's my command to do so or not to return at all.”
Thor pulls the raised hammer back, his voice deep and loud as he matches the monster’s intensity. “Then you shall not return at all.” His shoulder thrusts forward as he releases the hammer straight at the lava monster’s face.
My heart skips with hope and ripples with cheer, thankful that Thor is on my side. Unsuccessfully, I attempt to clap my squashed hands as the hammer careens straight for the monster’s face.
Disappointment grips me when the monster jerks, and Thor’s face twists with disappointment. The beast must have shifted its head to the side, causing Mjolnir to miss. The lack of any jarring fuels my assumption.
Quickly, Thor wipes his failure off his face when his hammer lands back in his hand, and he holds its massive form high. Lightning cracks through the sky, and thunder booms, rumbling the ground and shaking the monster’s enormous form. Several more lightning bolts shoot from the sky to the hammer before charging back up then aiming for the beast. The lava monster jumps aside, and the lightning narrowly misses the giant's form and singes a black patch on the ground.
Twisting my palm around, I release my stored magic, trying to give the lava monster a jolt of pain on its hand. I cringe as the fingers curl, and the gap around us tightens. Instead of releasing us or opening its grip farther, the magic shock causes the hand to constrict rather than retract.
What just happened? Elan grunts, thankfully remaining still.
Grasping my next breath to answer is a struggle. “I just tried magic to get the monster to open its grip on us. It appears to have had an opposite effect.”