Utgard-Loki strung the cord around his wrist, sighing with relief once it was tied. “Giants don’t fight for humans.”
“Do they fight for this world?” Hugo said. “Because if we don’t stop this, bad things are going to happen to us all.”
“Please,” Abigail added. “What if he decides to go after Jotunheim next? You won’t be able to hide forever.”
Utgard-Loki sighed and then plucked Abigail up between two fingers and put her on his shoulder. Two other giants picked up Robert and Hugo.
“What about me?” Safina said. “I want to fight.”
“Stay with Madame Hestera and the others,” Abigail called down. “She is the leader of our coven, and nothing must happen to her.”
Safina nodded.
“I think we’ll walk,” Rego said, keeping a safe distance from the giants.
Hugo called out from his perch atop the giant’s shoulder, “Oskar, you’re not afraid of a giant, are you?”
The boy covered his head with his hands, clearly trying to be invisible as he huddled behind a rock.
The giants lumbered up the road in long strides until the battlefield came into view. A curtain of black smoke rose from inside the city. The Balfin army had formed lines in front of the thick walls of the fortress. Witches circled overhead on their Omeras, waiting for the signal to send down blasts of witchfire.
A battalion of Orkadian soldiers were lined up outside the gates, prepared to do battle. Abigail thought she recognized Robert’s father on horseback out front, encouraging his men. Falcory warriors mixed among them, and rows of Eifalian archers lined the parapets, their white hair and colorful robes making them stand out.
Vertulious stood in front of the Orkadian battalion, unafraid, hammer in hand. The pompous he-witch was clearly enjoying drawing out the moment of the Orkadians’ demise. At the lumbering sound of their approach, he turned, and his jaw dropped in shock.
The giants began swatting this way and that with their meaty hands, sending entire divisions hurling through the air. Several of the Balfins stabbed at the giants’ feet with their swords, but it just annoyed the giants. They kicked at the soldiers and sent even more of them flying. The giants cut a swath through the army as they stomped their way forward, scattering unit after unit.
“My beautiful army!” Vertulious cried. He raised the hammer and threw it at Utgard-Loki. There was a gust of wind and a distant booming sound, and then the hammer returned to Vertulious’s hand.
“Hmm …” Utgard-Loki scratched his chin. “It felt as though a pebble was thrown at me.”
Vertulious gasped. “That’s impossible. I threw the hammer straight at your head. I must have missed.” He raised his arm and threw the hammer again, aiming directly at Utgard-Loki’s nose.
Again there was a rush of air and a distant rumble, and then the hammer was back in the hand of Vertulious.
Utgard-Loki yawned. “Is it always this dusty here on Garamond? I swear there are pebbles falling from the sky.”
“How are you still standing?” Vertulious said. “Impossible!” Rage twisted his features, and he threw the hammer with both hands. This time the giant caught it in midair and used it to scratch his nose.
“Ah, that’s better,” he said. “I had an itchy.”
Vertulious raised his hand to call the hammer back, but it didn’t budge. Abigail looked down at Utgard-Loki’s fist and almost laughed out loud when she realized he had wrapped his fjalnar around the shaft.
Vertulious held his hand out, shaking it in the air, but the hammer still didn’t move. “Give me back my hammer!” he shrieked.
“Put me down,” Abigail said in the giant’s ear. “And whatever you do, don’t let go of Mjolnir.” Utgard-Loki lifted her and set her down in front of Vertulious.
“It’s time you and I settled this,” Abigail said.
Impatience flared across his features. “I grow tired of your interference.” He crossed Thor’s gauntlets together. Sparks flashed and a thunderbolt erupted, sending jagged lightning at her, followed by a boom so loud it hurt her eardrums. She had no time to throw up a protection spell. Instead she dove to the side as the powerful force sent her tumbling in the dirt. Hugo and Robert helped her to her feet.
“How can we help?” Robert asked.
“Stay out of this,” she said. “He belongs to me.”
“You think you can best me, little witch?” Vertulious sneered. “I would enjoy showing you all the ways I can make you feel pain, but I have a war to finish.”
“How can you without your hammer?” Abigail challenged.
“Do you forget I am a powerful he-witch? You think I can’t turn this fortress into rubble with a mere spell?” He turned as the shreek-Omera landed next to him and smoothly leaped onto its back, casting her a taunting look before taking flight.
Abigail whistled, hoping Big Mama would still come, but it was a smaller Omera that landed next to her. “Starfire! But how …”
The young Omera must have followed the others, but his eyes were bright and clear—they hadn’t bothered enchanting him. Abigail didn’t hesitate—she leaped on his back and gave chase.
Vertulious banked over the stone walls of the fortress, motioning with his hand as he cast his spell. Stones tumbled from the corner rampart towers, sending soldiers flying through the air. He was dismantling the fortress walls stone by stone. She had to find a way to draw him away, and fast.
Abigail blasted witchfire at his shreek-Omera. It staggered but kept going. Starfire was sleek and fast, quickly gaining on the other beast. Abigail blasted again. This time Vertulious wheeled around and headed straight for her.
The he-witch raised his hand, using Thor’s gauntlets to send ear-splitting thunderbolts at her. She turned Starfire on his side, veering left and out over the water.
“Come on, follow me,” she whispered, casting a look over her shoulder. The alchemist was directly behind her and gaining, his features locked in rage. He sent another thunderbolt at her, and she pulled up hard on Starfire’s neck as the echoing boom made her teeth rattle. “Get me above him,” she urged.
The young Omera turned sharply and beat his wings hard, flying straight up until he was above the other pair. Then Abigail let go, dropping down onto Vertulious’s back. She fisted her hands into the fabric of his robes as he tried to shrug her off.
The shreek-Omera turned its head and snapped its jaws, but it couldn’t reach her. Abigail flung her weight sideways to unseat the he-witch. With nothing to hold on to, suddenly they were spiraling through the air. They hit the water with a loud splash. His heavy robes smothered her, and she flailed, trying to free herself, but his bony fingers dug into her shoulders and held her underwater. She kicked and fought as panic set in, and then a sharp fin smacked against her, knocking her free of his grasp.
Abigail spun around. Mermaids swirled in the water. They parted to reveal Queen Capricorn floating in a large bubble. The queen beckoned Abigail forward. Abigail looked up, but Vertulious had disappeared. Her lungs burned, but she swam toward the bubble, passing through it easily. It sealed behind her, and she dragged in a grateful breath.
“Take this.” The queen pressed the spellbook into Abigail’s hands. “You must get Vertulious to return to it. It is the only way to contain his powers. Throw it into the sea when he is trapped. We will bury it in the deepest part of the ocean, never to be found.”