Gospel of Loki (9781481449489) by Harris Joanne M

Author:Harris, Joanne M.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

LESSON 9

World Beyond

The bigger they are, the harder they fall? Tell that to the mountains.

— Lokabrenna

We left the forest by midday, under that strangely luminous sky, and found ourselves approaching a bare ridge, in which three curious valleys — all square, one deeper than the rest —appeared like missing teeth. Beyond that lay a plain, and the stronghold that Skrymir had promised us: Utgard; the largest fortress we’d ever seen, with walls that rivalled Asgard’s in height. We approached and knocked at the huge iron gates, but there was no answer.

“Somehow I was expecting a warmer welcome than this,” said Thor.

“What? The fatted calf ?” I said. “Come to think of it, roast beef would be nice. . . .”

Thialfi and Roskva looked at me with eyes like saucers.

“You think we can get in?” said the boy.

We looked through the bars at the giant halls, the dizzying spires of Utgard. Thor hammered on the gates with his fists, yelled for someone to open them, and finally rattled them as hard as he could — without success. No one heard, and the gates stood as unresponsive as before.

“Well, we can’t force our way in,” I said. “But size isn’t always everything.” And I slipped through the iron bars of the gate and beckoned the others to do the same. The youngsters followed me easily, but Thor, who was bigger and broader, had to force two of the wrought-iron panels apart before setting foot in the city.

He made his way to the largest hall, a building hewn from massive chunks of white rock, with a door of whole oak trunks, ironbound. The door was open; looking through, we saw an assembly of giants: men and women, old and young, sitting around huge tables, lounging on benches, drinking and making merry. Their shields were positioned neatly all around the hall; the polished surfaces reflecting the light from a thousand candles.

One giant sat alone on a higher seat than the rest.

“That must be Utgard-Loki,” I said.

We entered. It took some time for the giants to notice our presence. Then they began to smile, then laugh. Thor squared his jaw aggressively.

“What’s funny?” he demanded.

The giants only laughed some more. Thor gritted his teeth and ignored them, making his way down the long hall to the throne of Utgard-Loki.

“Greetings, Utgard-Loki . . . ,” he began.

“I know who you are,” said the king. “News travels quickly in World Beyond. I’m guessing you’re Thor, the Thunderer. You know, I thought you’d be taller.”

Thor made an inarticulate sound.

“Still, size isn’t everything,” went on the king. “Perhaps you have skills we don’t know about. We don’t usually allow people to stay here unless they’re the best at something. What skills do you and your friends possess? Let’s have a demonstration.”

By then I was totally ravenous. Skrymir had taken most of our food, and there had been nothing to eat on the way except for a few handfuls of cloudberries. In fact, I realized, my last decent meal had been that goat stew, days ago.

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