“I thought you knew the way too?” I ask.
“Yeah. I do. I should never have listened to him.” He screws up the parchment and drops it to the floor.
No. Thor has to be wrong. Loki’s sincere about allying with us; I’ve seen the determination in him. Surely an argument with Thor last night isn't enough for him to jeopardize that.
“I’m also suspicious what might live up here. I want to avoid as many giants as possible,” Thor says, and strides ahead. “Artemis might not be able to deal with them.”
“Excuse me?” I snap.
He swings his hammer to rest on one shoulder, forcing his bicep into an impossible boulder, and turns. “I doubt a few arrows will do any more than tickle these guys.”
“Then you know nothing about stealth and hunting, mountain god. You’ll tramp in there with your big feet and big head, giving them an advantage. I’ll easily stealth by, and an arrow to the eye or neck is enough to bring them down as efficiently as your hammer.”
“I guess we’ll see. You won’t have Loki tricking people to help you this time.”
Wow, I really hurt this guy’s pride before, because his blue eyes are harder than ever. I step forward and keep my eyes on his. “My brother used a bow and he beat you in a Trial. I can do the same.”
The smug expression on his handsome face falls.
I stalk past him, instantly regretting I threw those words at Thor when I know how much talking about Apollo’s death upsets him. I underestimated the effect talking about my brother has on me too, as tears prick at my eyes, joining my blinkered determination I’ll win.
The cold wind bites at our hands and faces and a gentle snowfall becomes a blizzard the higher we climb. I stare at my reddened hands to check they’re still attached; the numb making it feel as if they’ve been cut off. The snow blinds me. I can’t see more than two feet in front of me, and the guys’ figures blur into the cruel white weather.
“We won’t see anything if we’re attacked,” says Triton. “We walk down. Now.”
Nobody debates the decision to move downward into the valley, and Loki isn’t mentioned again. I’m pissed when I lose my footing and land on my backside, annoyed by my disadvantage in the unfamiliar terrain. Have the other guys experienced these conditions before? Thor holds out a hand to help me up, and I begrudgingly take it.
“How are your hands warm?” I ask. “That’s unnatural.”
Triton chuckles. “He has Odin’s blood in his veins. This god is perfectly matched to the environment.”
Thor gives me a smug smile. “I have an advantage. I’ll win.”
“Huh.” I brush the snow from my cloak and pants and pick up the arrows that fell from my quiver. “Of course.”
Dion reaches into his pack and pulls out a silver metal flask. “This could warm us up.”
Triton snatches it off him and unscrews the cap. He sniffs the contents. “Don’t be stupid. Getting blind drunk won’t help.”
Dion attempts to snatch back his flask but Triton pours the brown liquid onto the ground before he has a chance. A dark puddle spreads across the snow.
“What the fuck, dude?” Dion asks.
“I’m helping you.” Triton thrusts the flask back at him. “You need all the advantage you can get, not disadvantaging yourself.”
“I’ve more chance of winning than you,” he retorts.
“I don’t see how you could possibly win against a huge ass giant. What are you going to do? Poke them with your stick?” He points at Dion’s long wooden staff.
“Fuck you,” he mutters.
I’m shocked by Triton’s outburst but have to admit I’m curious how Dion’s staff could match the might of Thor’s hammer or Triton’s trident. Vines wrap around Dion’s weapon and as Dion points the staff and threatens Triton, a large iron tip is revealed. Ah. This is a spear, disguised as a staff. Clever.
“Stop squabbling like bloody kids,” snaps Thor. “Come on, we’re halfway there.”
Smoke rising in the distance first alerts us to how close we are to a giants’ settlement. The mountain slopes on either side of us are sheer and almost vertical with no chance we can climb unless we want to haul ourselves up on ropes. We’re left with one route—straight through the middle.
“Maybe they’ll be nice and let us pass?” asks Dion as we pause.
Thor snorts, his breath misting around his face. “How many nice giants have you met? In fact, how many giants have you met?”
Dion grips his pack. “Fine. None.”
“These guys aren’t even welcomed by the rest of the frost giants because they’re savage, and that’s saying something. They will have a ‘hit first and speak later’ policy, I’m sure.” Thor nods in the village direction.
Triton pushes the handle on his trident into the ground. “And how will they react to you, Thor?”
Thor stares ahead, pink cheeked. “They won’t know who I am.”
“Sure,” says Dion with a laugh. “Because nobody in the Norse realms knows who Thor, son of Odin is.”
For a moment he chews a nail. “Artemis, give me your cloak.”
Thor begins to unlace his and I watch in confusion. “Why?”
“Yours is more feminine. Sort of.” He waves fingers at me. “You have more fur around the hood, presumably to make it prettier. Not as roughly cut as mine.”
“But mine won’t fit you.” I glance at Triton and he shrugs as Thor removes his cloak and holds it out to me. “And I’ll trip over that; the cloak is way too long.”
I recoil as Thor approaches and his large fingers untie the straps holding the cloak in place. He’s switched off, into his own thoughts and plans, so why aren’t the others annoyed by his vague, stupid moves? I grab his fingers and notice the bruises I gave him yesterday. Well, he asked for that.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Oh my gods!” exclaims Dion. “Are you dressing up as a woman again?”
“I don’t know what’s weirder about that sentence,” I say. “The fact Thor’s dressing up as the opposite sex, or the fact he’s done this before.”
“Ask the goddess Freyja. She’ll tell you the story,” says Dion with a smirk.
Thor beckons impatiently for me to remove my cloak. “If the giants see me, they’ll attack immediately and things could get nasty for all of us as you’re my allies. I can probably take them—maybe Triton can—but you two probably can’t.”
I purse my lips at him and throw the cloak in his direction. Thor takes it. “This isn’t much of a disguise, but my face will be obscured by the hood.”
“I’m sorry,” I say with a laugh. “But how stupid are giants, exactly? You are the least feminine man I have ever met.”
“Have you seen female giants?” asks Dion. “Really, not big on femininity. Thor’s right, disguising himself even slightly makes sense. Although I’m offended you think I’d lose against them, Thor.”
I shiver and take Thor’s cloak before swinging it on. This is the most insane thing I’ve heard. We should walk in there and straight into combat, cut a swathe through the town then make a break for it. The challenge finish area is less than a mile from the other side of the town. This is wasting time.
The cloak drops to my ankles, his being thicker and heavier than the one I wore. Thor’s scent wraps around me too, and the familiar feeling in my stomach stirs.
“I can’t fight in this,” I protest. “It’s massive!”
Triton sighs and bends down. With his bare hands, he rips through the material and removes half a meter from the bottom.
He holds up the brown leather and fur. “I know this is a look you like. It matches your dress from the other night.”
I poke my tongue out at Triton and he gives me one of his rare smiles that crinkle the corners of eyes, filled with warmth. Then I look at Thor, bemused by how my cloak barely reaches his knees. His calves are twice the circumference of mine and his huge feet in heavy boots aren’t feminine either. There is no way on goddess’s earth this man could pass as a woman.
As Thor forges ahead, Triton catches him. “Wait. Let me go first. Girls should walk at the back, Thor.”
Dion chuckles and nudges me. “This is going to be funny.”