silently over to Loki’s magical sledge.
Without a thought in my head, I lifted the heavy furs on the back end of the sledge and crawled underneath them. I made myself as small as I possibly could and hoped it wasn’t the stupidest thing I’d ever done.
When the heavy furs lifted a few moments later, I almost choked.
But it wasn’t Loki.
Dana, Jon, and Sydney crawled under the furs next to me.
I was so glad my friends were just as stupid as I was.
I breathed out a long silent breath of relief, held the smelly furs tight with all my strength, and felt Loki’s sudden weight on the sledge. We heard the Draugs march away. We heard Loki whip the reins. We heard Fenrir’s triumphant roar, and felt the heat of his fiery breath.
Then the magic sledge jerked forward, bounding over the scorched earth. We traveled mile after mile, hour after hour. The surface of the ground changed. There was what felt like snow, then ice. The whole time, none of us spoke. We barely breathed.
Finally, the sledge began to slow.
The shush of the sledge’s rails up and down a series of gentle slopes lasted for a little while, then it stopped.
Silence.
We heard Loki whisper a command to Fenrir, followed by the jostle of reins. Then both of them left. After five minutes passed, ten, twenty, and we were sure Loki and his wolf were really gone, we lifted the furs and slid to the ground.
To the sand.
The air was hot under a starry night sky. A crescent moon shone over endless seas of sand.
A desert.
Not far away from us stood a desert city. It was monstrous — walled in amber stone, with statues of tall lion-headed creatures. There was a massive blue gate glistening in the moonlight, with studded doors as tall as a house. Crimson towers rose inside the walls. So did a huge cone-shaped temple of white and blue stones, hanging with luxurious gardens.
“So where are we?” Jon asked. “Dana?”
She frowned. “I know Norse and Greek the best,” she said. “But if I had to guess, I’d say we’re in the Babylonian Underworld.”
In the distance, something moved. Lots of somethings.
What at first had seemed like statues of men with lion heads along the amber walls, we saw now were sentinels — living creatures that patrolled the city.
Hundreds of them.
As far as the eye could see.
I drew in a long breath. “In other words, we’re a long way from home.”
GLOSSARY
Asgard (Norse Mythology): home of the Norse gods and the court of Odin
Charon (Greek Mythology): a ferryman who leads the souls of the dead across the River Styx to the Underworld
Cyclopes (Greek Mythology): one-eyed giants
Draugs (Norse Mythology): death walkers; souls living in dead bodies
Fenrir (Norse Mythology): a giant, fire-breathing red wolf
Hades (Greek Mythology): the ruler of the Underworld
Jason (Greek Mythology): a human hero of many adventures; sailed a ship named the Argo
Loki (Norse Mythology): a trickster god
Lyre of Orpheus (Greek Mythology): a stringed instrument that charms people, animals, and objects into doing things for Orpheus
Myrmidons (Greek Mythology): skilled warriors
Odin (Norse Mythology): the chief Norse god
Orpheus (Greek Mythology): a musician who traveled to the Underworld to bring his wife back from the dead
River Styx (Greek Mythology): a river that divides the land of the living from the land of the dead
Valkyries (Norse Mythology): women who work for Odin and choose who lives and dies in battle
“P REPARE YOURSELVES ,” P ANU WHISPERED .
Kingu was an insect over ten feet tall.
His body was formed of overlapping black plates that shifted as he moved. His legs — eight of them — looked like jackhammers, hinged with massive talons on the ends. He had industrial-size pincers for arms. His head was enormous, all knobby and angled, and his fanged mouth looked like a mechanical claw.
Finally, each large eye was yellow and deep, like fire blazing at the end of a tunnel.
Jon gasped. “He’s a …
Without a thought in my head, I lifted the heavy furs on the back end of the sledge and crawled underneath them. I made myself as small as I possibly could and hoped it wasn’t the stupidest thing I’d ever done.
When the heavy furs lifted a few moments later, I almost choked.
But it wasn’t Loki.
Dana, Jon, and Sydney crawled under the furs next to me.
I was so glad my friends were just as stupid as I was.
I breathed out a long silent breath of relief, held the smelly furs tight with all my strength, and felt Loki’s sudden weight on the sledge. We heard the Draugs march away. We heard Loki whip the reins. We heard Fenrir’s triumphant roar, and felt the heat of his fiery breath.
Then the magic sledge jerked forward, bounding over the scorched earth. We traveled mile after mile, hour after hour. The surface of the ground changed. There was what felt like snow, then ice. The whole time, none of us spoke. We barely breathed.
Finally, the sledge began to slow.
The shush of the sledge’s rails up and down a series of gentle slopes lasted for a little while, then it stopped.
Silence.
We heard Loki whisper a command to Fenrir, followed by the jostle of reins. Then both of them left. After five minutes passed, ten, twenty, and we were sure Loki and his wolf were really gone, we lifted the furs and slid to the ground.
To the sand.
The air was hot under a starry night sky. A crescent moon shone over endless seas of sand.
A desert.
Not far away from us stood a desert city. It was monstrous — walled in amber stone, with statues of tall lion-headed creatures. There was a massive blue gate glistening in the moonlight, with studded doors as tall as a house. Crimson towers rose inside the walls. So did a huge cone-shaped temple of white and blue stones, hanging with luxurious gardens.
“So where are we?” Jon asked. “Dana?”
She frowned. “I know Norse and Greek the best,” she said. “But if I had to guess, I’d say we’re in the Babylonian Underworld.”
In the distance, something moved. Lots of somethings.
What at first had seemed like statues of men with lion heads along the amber walls, we saw now were sentinels — living creatures that patrolled the city.
Hundreds of them.
As far as the eye could see.
I drew in a long breath. “In other words, we’re a long way from home.”
GLOSSARY
Asgard (Norse Mythology): home of the Norse gods and the court of Odin
Charon (Greek Mythology): a ferryman who leads the souls of the dead across the River Styx to the Underworld
Cyclopes (Greek Mythology): one-eyed giants
Draugs (Norse Mythology): death walkers; souls living in dead bodies
Fenrir (Norse Mythology): a giant, fire-breathing red wolf
Hades (Greek Mythology): the ruler of the Underworld
Jason (Greek Mythology): a human hero of many adventures; sailed a ship named the Argo
Loki (Norse Mythology): a trickster god
Lyre of Orpheus (Greek Mythology): a stringed instrument that charms people, animals, and objects into doing things for Orpheus
Myrmidons (Greek Mythology): skilled warriors
Odin (Norse Mythology): the chief Norse god
Orpheus (Greek Mythology): a musician who traveled to the Underworld to bring his wife back from the dead
River Styx (Greek Mythology): a river that divides the land of the living from the land of the dead
Valkyries (Norse Mythology): women who work for Odin and choose who lives and dies in battle
“P REPARE YOURSELVES ,” P ANU WHISPERED .
Kingu was an insect over ten feet tall.
His body was formed of overlapping black plates that shifted as he moved. His legs — eight of them — looked like jackhammers, hinged with massive talons on the ends. He had industrial-size pincers for arms. His head was enormous, all knobby and angled, and his fanged mouth looked like a mechanical claw.
Finally, each large eye was yellow and deep, like fire blazing at the end of a tunnel.
Jon gasped. “He’s a …
Similar Books
