The Dark Deeps by Arthur Slade
Author:Arthur Slade [Slade, Arthur]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: SteamPunk
ISBN: 0385737858
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Published: 2010-01-01T05:00:00+00:00
22
Not Worth His Salt
Octavia awoke, her mind made up. She had shed enough tears. Whether Modo was alive or dead, she had a task to perform. She dressed quickly, but took the time to comb her hair properly and tie it up in a bonnet. She pulled on her warmest jacket and gloves and dug into her portmanteau for money. With what she had, plus the funds Mr. Socrates had just wired her, she intended to make her way back onto the ocean, even if she had to buy a boat and sail it herself!
She had woken several times in the night, trying to puzzle out where she’d find a captain. Finally, the solution had presented itself and she’d been able to sleep soundly.
Instead of walking to the docks, she turned and strode into town, past the green-roofed cathedral. She soon found the building she was looking for. The wooden sign was written in Icelandic, so she couldn’t read it, but a ram’s head and a goblet had been carved into the wood. In all languages, that meant one thing: a pub.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open. Peat moss burned in the fireplace, dung-scented smoke clouding the air. Two patrons were slumped across a table. She went up to the innkeeper, who was holding a mug of coffee. “I’m searching for a captain brave enough to sail to Nifleheim.”
The man laughed. He stopped when she handed him a five-dollar American bill; then he pointed to a darkened corner of the room, where a man sat. Well, he’s upright, at least, Octavia told herself. When she got to the table, she discovered that the man was using his detached wooden leg to prop himself up. If not for that, he’d have been slumped across the table like the other two. His eyes, a mass of red veins, rolled slowly toward her. He grunted something that sounded like “Valkyrie.”
“No, I am not a Valkyrie,” she said, “or an angel. I need a captain brave enough to sail into Nifleheim’s circle.”
He blinked slowly. His teeth were crooked, but she could see that he had once been handsome. Time and drink had scarred his face. “Only the dead go to Nifleheim.”
“I mean the place on the ocean. Not the realm of the dead.” Her answer surprised her. Proof she’d actually been paying attention to Mr. Socrates’ lectures on Scandinavian culture. Maybe learning to read would finally pay off.
“Hel awaits in her hall,” the man muttered. “She serves a dish called hunger.”
He was mad! He believed in the Norse fairy tales. “If you were a brave man, you would take me there.”
He let out a raspy chuckle. “Even Hermod could not save Baldur from Hel.”
Octavia recognized it as an argument, one that she must somehow win. She put money on the table and he stared at it balefully, then swept it onto the floor. There was a tattoo above his wrist, the shape of a hammer.
“Well, that’s nasty,” she said. Then she remembered a name from her studies.
Download
The Dark Deeps by Arthur Slade.mobi
The Dark Deeps by Arthur Slade.pdf
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Fantasy & Magic | Science Fiction |
Spine-Chilling Horror |
Among the Betrayed by Margaret Peterson Haddix(11407)
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo(9705)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two Playscript by J.K. Rowling & John Tiffany & Jack Thorne(8001)
Quests for Glory by Soman Chainani(6973)
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo(6499)
05 Trials of Death by Darren Shan(6235)
Ranger's Apprentice 1 - The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan(5713)
The Silver Mask by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare(5269)
Percy Jackson 1 - The Lightning Thief by Riordan Rick(4713)
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo(4669)
His Dark Materials 1 - The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman(4399)
Super Sales on Super Heroes by Arand William D(4350)
Harry Potter 2 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling & Mary Grandpré(4089)
The School for Good and Evil #2: A World without Princes by Chainani Soman(4021)
The miraculous journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo(3960)
The Vampire War by Michelle Madow(3589)
Erebos by Ursula Poznanski(3568)
07 Hunters of the Dusk by Darren Shan(3556)
Crooked Kingdom: A Sequel to Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo(3544)
