Oskar raised grateful eyes, then shook his head. “You’re all right, Suppermill. I’m sorry I was such a sneevil’s butt. See you at school.” The boy turned and hurried off.
“That was quite something,” Abigail said.
Hugo looked pleased with himself. “I think we fixed everything.”
“Not everything. Baba Nana is still in a coma, and we have to find that apple tree Vertulious planted and destroy it.”
“We’ll find it. And a cure for Baba Nana. At least the war is over.”
“Do you think there will ever be another one?”
“One thing about war, it never seems to completely end, does it?”
Abigail sighed. “Not as long as there are witches who want more power.”
Hugo’s expression clouded. “Would you have … I mean … the raven … what Safina said.”
“You mean would I have betrayed you? Left you in Jotunheim to die?”
He nodded, a pained look on his face.
She wanted to be angry at him for even thinking it, but instead she put a finger to her chin. “I did think about it, but what would a giant want with someone as puny as you? No, if I wanted to get rid of you, I would have found a nasty viken to devour you, but last time you faced a viken, you sent it into a pit of quicksand, so maybe a sneevil. That’s it, a pack of them. That’s what I would have done.”
He grinned. “You’re making fun of me.”
She punched him lightly on the arm. “Yes, because you already know the answer. Like it or not, if I had to choose between you and my coven—I’d choose you, Hugo.”
He nodded rapidly, his eyes bright. Then he pointed at her chest. “Your sea emerald. It’s gone now. How will you hide your blue witchfire?”
Abigail shrugged. “I guess it’s time I was just myself—if Madame Hestera lets me back in.”
Hugo looked over his shoulder in the direction of his little house. “I should be going. My parents will be worried sick, and Emenor will be wanting to pound on me for good measure. I’ll see you after school?”
“I’ll be there.” She gave him a swift hug, holding him an extra second, before turning to walk through the woods toward the Tarkana Fortress.
Abigail entered through the small garden gate and sat under their favorite jookberry tree. She peeled her wool cap off, leaning back against the trunk. The air held only a mild chill compared to the realm of the giants. The blue star twinkled faintly in the darkening sky.
“Father, I tried hard to fix my mistakes,” she said. “I hope you would be proud of me.”
There was a rustle of wind, and when Abigail turned her head, Vor, the goddess of wisdom, was sitting next to her. Anger furrowed her brow.
“Abigail, what have you done?”
Abigail blinked. “I don’t … I thought … I mean … I stopped the war. I thought you would be pleased.”
The goddess gripped her arm tightly. “Did you pass the spellbook on to a sea creature named Capricorn?”
A cold lick of fear ran up Abigail’s spine. “Yes. She helped me trap Vertulious. She promised to bury his magic deep in the sea.”
The goddess looked pained, shaking her head. “No, Abigail. She deceived you. She is a wicked, evil creature. She used the magic in the spellbook to unlock the prison of a very, very dangerous creature.”
“Who?”
“Jormungand.”
“Jormungand? You mean the Midgard Serpent?”
“Yes. The one who would swallow the world if allowed.”
“Why would Capricorn do that?”
“My visions do not show me everything, but, Abigail, the serpent must be returned to its prison under the sea, or it won’t be just Orkney that is wiped out of existence but the entire universe.”
Epilogue
Hestera made her way into her chambers, feeling every ache in every joint. The day had been a fiasco. They had been humiliated once again. The only saving grace was that that power-hungry fool Vertulious was gone, and the coven was completely hers again.
She opened the door to her chamber and went inside, snapping her fingers to light the fire. As flames licked up in the hearth, she was taken aback by the sight of a figure seated in front of the fire.
“Who’s there?” she demanded.
The figure sat forward, and Hestera nearly shrieked with terror.
“Hello, old friend.”
“Capricorn. What do you want?” Hestera eased down into the chair opposite the creature.
Queen Capricorn fluttered a hand in the air. “I hear your war did not end well. A shame. I would have liked to see those helpless Orkadians on their knees.”
“There will be another time,” Hestera grated out.
“So you say. Every time.”
“I am tired. If you came to mock me, come another day.”
The mermaid rose. “I came to give a message. Your war may have failed, but mine will bring down the walls of Asgard.”
“Yours?” Hestera’s stony heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you hear? I released my favorite pet from his cage.”
An icy fear filled Hestera’s veins. “No. You wouldn’t.” Surely she wasn’t that crazy …
“I would. You remember Jormungand? He has a bone to pick with the gods of Asgard. I know I can count on your help if I need it, can I not, old friend?”
Hestera gripped the knob of her cane, weighing her options, and then she slowly nodded. “Whatever you might need.”
About the Author
Author photo © Melissa Coulier/Bring Media
Alane Adams is an author, professor, and literacy advocate. She is the author of the Legends of Orkney, Witches of Orkney, and Legends of Olympus fantasy mythology series for tweens and The Coal Thief, The Egg Thief, and The Santa Thief picture books for early-grade readers. She lives in Southern California.
SELECTED TITLES FROM SPARKPRESS
SparkPress is an independent boutique publisher delivering high-quality, entertaining, and engaging content that enhances readers’ lives, with a special focus on female-driven work. www.gosparkpress.com
Caley Cross and the Hadeon Drop, J. S. Rosen, $16.95, 978-1-68463-053-0. When thirteen-year-old Caley Cross, an orphan with a dark power, is guided by a jumpsuit-wearing mole into another world—Erinath—she finds a place deeply rooted in nature where the people have animal-like powers and she is a Crown Princess—but she soon learns that the most powerful evil being in any world is waiting for her there.
The Blue Witch: The Witches of Orkney, Book One, Alane Adams. $12.95, 978-1-943006-77-9. Nine-year-old Abigail Tarkana has a problem: her witch magic has finally come in, but it’s different—and being different is a problem at the Tarkana Witch Academy. Together with her scientist-friend Hugo, she face off against sneevils, shreeks, and vikens in a race to discover the secrets about her mysterious magic.
The Rubicus Prophecy: Witches of Orkney, Book 2, Alane Adams. $12.95, 978-1-943006-98-4. As Abigail enters her second year at the Tarkana Witch Academy, she is up to her ears studying for Horrid Hexes and Awful Alchemy. But when an Orkadian warship arrives carrying troubling news, Abigail and Hugo are swept into a puzzling mystery when they help a new friend go after a missing item—one that might spell the end of everything they know.