Safina frowned. “Wait, you didn’t know that Abigail was reporting your every move to the ravens?”
“No, but it doesn’t matter. She had her reasons.”
“Yes, it does.” The witchling looked excited. “She’s betraying you, which means maybe I’ve misunderstood her all along.”
Hugo couldn’t stop the sharp stab of pain. “So now you’re willing to help?”
“Now I have hope that Abigail is a true witch,” Safina said with a grin. “First things first, we have to bring her around so she can help us get out of here.”
They turned Abigail onto her back. The girl was white as chalk, and her chest didn’t rise at all. Were they too late?
“We learned a spell this week in Spectacular Spells to shock someone. Maybe it will snap her out of it.” Safina wriggled her fingers. “Elisay, chaka tora.” She shot a thin stream of witchfire at Abigail’s chest.
The girl jolted but didn’t breathe.
“Do it again,” Hugo said.
“Elisay, chaka tora.” Safina sent another bolt. Once more, Abigail jolted but still didn’t breathe.
“It’s not working,” Safina said. “We left it too long.”
“No. Do it again—use more witchfire this time.”
Safina clenched her fingers tightly, then shouted the words. “Elisay, chaka tora!” This time she shot a large stream of witchfire. Abigail jolted and bucked, then suddenly sat up, gasping in a deep breath.
“What happened?” She looked at them, her eyes wide with shock.
“Safina saved you,” Hugo said.
“Thank you.” Abigail turned grateful eyes on the young witchling.
Safina gripped her hand. “Abigail, I’m sorry I’ve been such a toad. I didn’t realize what a true witch you were all this time. I should have never listened to Endera.”
Abigail frowned. “What do you mean a true witch?”
“You’ve been spying on Hugo, reporting back to Madame Hestera. Bristle told us everything. If you’d betray your best friend for your coven, that proves your loyalty.”
“I wasn’t—” she protested, but Hugo cut her off.
“It’s fine, Abigail, a witch is a witch.” He gave her a look that warned her not to argue.
Her eyes went to the empty stone shelf. “Endera took the hammer—but how did she manage to lift it?”
“She put on the belt and gauntlets, which I should have figured out for myself,” Hugo said. “She walked right out with it.”
“We have to go after her.” Abigail tried to stand, but her knees wavered.
Hugo gripped her elbow, steadying her. “Just one problem—she’s trapped us in here with a boulder in front of the entrance. If I had some magic, I might be able to make an opening.”
Abigail held her palm out. Her hand shook, but she managed a small ball of witchfire. Hugo dangled his medallion over the flames, replenishing its magic, and then waved it in front of the rock, chanting, “Fein kinter, terminus.”
The rock swirled, but no opening appeared. He tried again, repeating the words louder, but the rock swirl died and wouldn’t return.
“Why isn’t it working?” he asked.
“Endera probably cast a protection spell on it,” Abigail said. “Maybe if all three of us push on it.”
They tried pushing with all their strength, but the rock didn’t budge.
“Again,” Abigail said.
They put their shoulders into it, and suddenly, the rock rolled away, letting in daylight.
Hugo and the two witchlings staggered out into a crowd of dwarfs pointing swords at them. In the center stood a tall boy with brown hair.
“Give us the hammer of Thor or face execution,” Robert said.
Chapter 24
“We don’t have it,” Abigail said, fighting back the lingering headache that made talking painful. “Endera took it, along with his Belt of Strength and gauntlets.”
Robert flushed angrily. “You lie. It’s here. Search the cave,” he ordered.
Obie and Mullet moved past them and emerged a few moments later.
“No sign of it,” Obie said.
Robert raised the point of his sword until it touched Abigail’s throat. Around his neck, he wore the leather pouch his father had given him the night Vertulious returned. It held a shard of Odin’s Stone, a remnant of a once great power. “Tell me where she took it, or so help me, on Odin’s breath, I will end your life this moment.”
Abigail stared back at him and then raised her hand, pushing the tip of the sword away. “No, you won’t. We were friends. I’m still your friend.”
His eyes clouded with hurt. “You turned your back on me when I needed you the most.”
“No, when you needed me the most, I was there time and again. Or have you forgotten who tried to help you find Odin’s Stone? Who tried to save your life that night? Who did everything in their power to help fix a problem you created? The only thing I failed you in was not turning my back on my coven. If I had stepped forward, they would have kicked me out, and Hugo’s family would have been turned into the street. Is that what you wanted?”
“No.” He slowly sheathed his sword. “I guess I didn’t look at it that way.”
“We are your friends,” Hugo said. “We came here to get Thor’s hammer to stop the war.”
“You would have turned it over to my father?” Robert asked. “To destroy the very thing you claim to love?”
“No.” Abigail bit her lip. “We don’t want you to use it against us, we just want the coven to think that you would. To even the sides and stop them from going to war.”
Robert frowned. “You think that will work? Vertulious seems keen on ruling over Orkney, no matter the cost.”
“It can work,” Hugo said. “First we have to stop Endera from taking the hammer back to Madame Hestera. Odin only knows what she’ll do with it.”
“Hugo’s right,” Abigail said. “And if Vertulious gets his hands on it, this war will be over before it’s begun. There will be nothing left but ashes and dust.”
Rego looked at Robert. “They make sense, lad.”
Robert hesitated, then nodded. “Which way would she have gone?”
Hugo and Abigail turned to Safina, who looked uncertain.
“Please, Safina, we need to stop them.” Abigail put a hand on the witchling’s arm.
Safina sighed. “Madame Hestera has a boat waiting due west of here.”
“Then that’s the direction we go,” Rego said.
After that, it was easy enough to pick up Endera’s trail. The three girls’ tracks followed a winding path through the woods. They set a brisk pace—Abigail felt an urgency in her bones. If Endera made it onto the ship, everything they’d worked for would be lost.
“How far is it to the sea?” Abigail asked between ragged puffs.
Rego answered without slowing. “Two hours, maybe less.”
“Do you think we can catch them?” she asked.
“We can try.”
Rego picked up the pace. Abigail’s lungs burned, but she didn’t dare stop and catch her breath. She doggedly followed in Rego’s steps, with Hugo, Robert, and the others right behind her.