The strange rumbling continues, growing louder when the creature opens his fiery mouth, and the sound explodes with laughter.
With a voice so deep that it sounds as though it has risen from the depths of the realm, he says, “Did you think that little sword and little arrow would do something to me?”
I scowl, and his grin spreads.
“Or did your dragon think that their roar would scare me off?” His laughter pauses as he observes us then throws his head back. “That's hilarious!”
The ground shakes violently, and I bend my knees to combat the rumbling and avoid more falling rocks. I imagine the only explanation for this destruction is that the monster has stomped his foot while laughing—the destruction growing as the laughter crescendos.
I almost feel insulted, Elan grumbles.
Crossing my arms and glaring up at the giant monster, I say softly into her ear, “I don’t know about almost. I am insulted. Who does he think he is? Although admittedly, he is a lot larger than us, so I guess he has a point.”
More rocks scatter to the ground around me, and I dodge to the center of the cavern. Unwilling to let them hit my head, Elan towers over me, her protectiveness rewarding her with several stones falling on her body. Her lips pull back, baring her broad array of sharp teeth at the monster.
Annoyed by his continued taunting, I call up to him, “What do you want with us?”
His cackling halts, and I continue, making the most of the silence. “I can't imagine dragging a Valkyrie and her dragon here is your normal entertainment.” Huffing, I pull my arms into a tighter cross.
The ground stops shaking, and he peers down at us, a curious expression crossing his hardened grotesque face, resembling both man and monster. “You are not here for my entertainment, mark my words. I wouldn’t go through so much trouble to grab you or bring you here.”
Not staring at his lava pit of a maw is hard. Every time he opens his mouth to speak, a fiery red burns within, making it hard to concentrate. Still, I control my emotions and splay my legs. “Then why did you bring us here?”
The giant monster straightens his back, showing us his full height with the added distance through the hole, and tucks his chin. The cave entrance frames his face and some of his body, exposing more of his bare muscled abdomen. “Do you not know who I am?”
“No. Why would I? I have hardly even heard of this place. That's assuming we're in Helheim.” I lift an eyebrow. “Is that where we are?”
His monstrous hairless brows lower. “No. You're in Muspelheim.”
I fail to hide the shock on my face.
“Don’t they teach you about this realm in Asgard?” he asks.
“We were taught very little about Muspelheim at the Valkyrie academy. It isn’t a place we would normally go. As you probably know, our main focus is on Midgard.”
His hairless eyebrow arches, and he waves his sword. “Ah, yes. So you can reap the souls of the brave warriors for Valhalla.”
Keeping a straight face takes all my strength. I didn’t know that was common knowledge.
He grins. “Don’t worry. It isn’t a secret. I know Midgard is the place you go because you are after the poor warriors' souls, enslaving them to Valhalla for eternity.”
I stare at him. “I wouldn’t say that exactly. How do you know so much about what we do?”
The huge male clasps his stomach, his fingers rippling over his six-pack, and lifts his chin as he bends backward, roaring his laughter to the sky. “Your naivete is rather amusing.” He chuckles until it mellows into amused huffs. “I can’t believe you know so little about me and my realm.”
I grunt, unamused that he is finding me so comical and angry at feeling foolish. My thoughts turn toward the Valkyrie academy. We should've learned more about the realms other than Midgard and Asgard. I’ve learned more about the different realms since serving under Thor than I did during my years at the academy.
Elan’s voice interrupts my thoughts. Don't beat yourself up. He's baiting you. Valkyries aren't meant to be fighting in every realm. They’re meant only for only one purpose. You must remember your role changed when you were chosen to be Thor's representative. It's a higher purpose than merely reaping souls for Valhalla.
“Reaping souls is an important role for Asgard,” I argue.
Exactly! You should be proud of that, not ashamed because you don’t know everything about other realms.
I pull my gaze from the giant mocking me to Elan, finding her golden eyes gleaming down at me with compassion and pride. Yet again, I'm thankful that this dragon and her mother have chosen to represent me and support my struggles. Because of them, I have turned my services into something more powerful than simply getting wingless Valkyries recognized for being more than just slaves.
“Did I ever mention how much I appreciate your support and friendship, Elan? I thank my lucky stars every single day that you entered my life.”
Her head tilts to the side, and a funny little smirk spread across her face. No. You haven't actually said that. She lifts a scaly eyebrow. But I know, and the feeling is mutual. She quickly shoves me with her nose, affection in her golden eyes.
Despite our situation, I smile. “All those things wouldn't have been achievable if I didn't have the support of you and your family and if they hadn’t convinced the other dragons. Even if we don't make it through this, I’m extremely thankful that I lived my short life with you in it.”
Her brows push together. Hey. We can get through this. She flicks her nose briefly at the giant monster, still staring down at us. This has got to be another idiot giant with the brain capacity of a nut. I hear they are quite dumb. You must’ve seen that on Jotunheim.
Pushing my lips to one side, I stare up at him. “I don't know, Elan. This one seems to have a few more brains than the frost giants.”
Large red eyes zoom in at us as they peer into the hole. “What are you two talking about?” His head tilts, and he seals the hole briefly with one eye as he gets a closer look at us. “Are you planning to escape?” His voice reeks of amusement. “If you do, you will be unsuccessful.” He straightens, pulling his face farther away and giving us another a full view of his monstrosity. “Although it would make life rather interesting, you could at least let me introduce myself before you plot to leave. I am Surt, the leader of Muspelheim and the fire giants.”
I frown. “I thought this was part of Helheim and under the leadership of Hel.”
“Is that what they're telling you these days?” He taunts me again with his amusement. “How little you know about Muspelheim.”
“Then educate us!” I snap. “Didn't Hel send one of your lava monsters to Asgard to attack us as a warning?”
Surt snorts, and fragments of molten lava fall to the ground around us, but not before Elan covers me with her fireproof body, protecting me from the burning debris. I think the snort was supposed to be laughter, but I wasn't sure. When the burning embers stop falling, I peer past Elan’s wing at him.
His massive lava-filled mouth turns up at the corners in what I guess is a smile. “Oh, how you are wrong. As if I'd send my pet to Asgard for Hel’s bidding. For a start, she would have to give me something in return. In order to do that, she would have to speak to me.” He rubs his upper arm. “Except for rare occasions, she speaks to no one but the dead.” He shrugs. “I’m too alive for her to be bothered with me.”