Giants of the Frost by Kim Wilkins Page A

until the end of the year."
    "Of course."
    He bent to the floor and swept his fingers over the stone, checking for missed fragments. "Why are you here, Aud? Does Vidar want something? It's been a long time since I heard from him. All the wenches at Valaskjálf ask about him."
    "He wants books," she replied. "Midgard books to learn English."
    "English? He already knows English." His fingers left the floor now and crept up her foot, closing around her ankle. His hands were icy.
    "Perhaps he has forgotten it," she said, taking a step back. His hand slipped off.
    "You have good ankles, Aud," he said, looking up at her. "I'd like to put one either side of my neck." He lunged forward and she stepped back farther, sending him sprawling onto the floor. He laughed loudly.
    "I prefer them where they are."
    "Ah, well." He climbed to his feet, dusting himself off. "You've been spoiled by Vidar. If you had stayed at Valaskjálf, they all would have had you by now." He moved close, leaned down to whisper into her ear: "Though I can tell you wouldn't mind if Vidar wanted to feel your ankles." His breath was hot, his voice laden with snide inference.
    "Loki, I've come for Midgard books. In English."
    "You think that Vidar is a kind man, don't you? You think him gentle and tender and you imagine him touching you gently and tenderly."
    "The books, Loki."
    "But I have seen him awash in the blood of his victims. He is of the Aesir, Aud. We are a cruel family." This revelation pressed her heart. It couldn't be true of Vidar. He despised his family. He only ever spöke softly and moved quietly. "I don't believe you."
    "Our feud with your family goes back centuries," he said lightly, turning from her and searching his shelves. "I've no doubt that Vidar slaughtered a few of your cousins."
    "He is only ever kind and patient with me."
    "Perhaps one day I'll tell you more about him. About what he was like before he left Valaskjálf and became a reformed man. Here…" He turned around, holding four books in his hands. "These should be enough for him."
    "Thank you." She took the books and tucked them under her arm.
    "Now, you can do a favor for me. Find out why he wants to learn English again."
    "Perhaps he—"
    "No, no. No perhaps . Find out for certain. If you find out, I'll let you go. You won't have to return weekly."
    "I'll see," she said. Even if she did know what Vidar intended, she would never tell Loki. She would hold the secret inside, sweet and aching, allowing it to tie Vidar to her. She could endure Loki's cruel humor, his sudden rages and his advances if it meant staying faithful to Vidar. His secrets were as precious as her own, and she had many.
    Loki strode ahead of her, opened the door and peered out "The afternoon grows dark, Aud. You had better stay tonight."
    "I have plenty of time to return," she said, though dark clouds blotted the last of the sun and the trees in the distance were dim and forbidding.
    "I can make you up a soft bed next to the fire. I could keep you warm myself."
    "No, I—"
    "Foolish girl," he said gruffly. "I'll take you back on Heror."
    "I can find my own way home."
    "No, I need to talk to Vidar. We'll arrange the terms of your service to me. Come." He captured her arm in his long, cool fingers and pulled her outside. "Besides, it's been far too long since I saw my cousin." Vidar worked on the shutter with one eye on the storm. Grey clouds had started gathering shortly before dusk, and now they built up high and thick over the sea, swirling impatiently toward land. He tightened the last hinge and tested it to make sure it was secure. In the distance he could hear beating hooves. Aud was returning, Loki with her. He closed the shutter and it slipped snugly into its lintel. Behind him, the hoofbeats slowed and came to a stop. He turned.
    "That's good work, Vidar," Loki said, his tone both mischievous and disdainful. "I have shutters that need fixing too." Comfortable atop his gleaming black stallion, he was dressed