“Did you catch the other one?” was the next voice I heard.

 

“No. He ran into one of the lava tubes and we were…”

 

“I think we know why. There’s a branch in there.” The first voice was annoyed. “Do we know where she comes from?”

 

Branch meaning…a branch of the tree. Made sense to me. I contemplated telling them.

 

“She claimed to be Loki’s daughter, but she’s certainly not Hel.”

 

“No, she’s not. If it is her we’re supposed to send her…and any weapons she’s carrying…to the capital.”

 

“And if she is? You really think we’re equipped to escort a prisoner of this rank and potential power?”

 

“She hasn’t broken out yet.”

 

I couldn’t help but cut in with. “Only because I wanted to see if you believe me. How about you let me out?”

 

“Why would we do that?” It was the first one to speak. I suspected he was the captain.

 

“Because, as you pointed out, I have rank, and if Surtur finds out you put me in a regular cell, he might not be pleased.”

 

…and he fell for it. Or maybe he wasn’t sure whether to see me as a dangerous invader or a kid. The door opened.

 

Mustering my dignity, I stepped out into the corridor. “So, Surtur wants you to take me to the capital. I’ll get there…on my own time.” I smiled.

 

I was trying not to make it a nice smile.

 

The younger of the two stepped back.

 

The older shook his head. “Nice try, but if I don’t follow orders he’ll demote me and promote somebody who will.”

 

Or worse, although… I let my thoughts tail off. My head still hurt a little bit. “I had to try.”

 

Any weapons meant my sword was here somewhere and if I let them get me on the road, there might be better opportunities to escape. “You haven’t even thought to ask why I’m here.”

 

“Obviously some spying on behalf of the Aesir.”

 

I laughed. “I’m Loki’s daughter. You think I’m spying for them? No, I’m spying for one person. Myself.”

 

The captain studied me. I was mingling lies and the truth. Truth was if Odin asked me for information I’d probably turn it over.

 

Truth was I wasn’t working for him at all right now.

 

“Then what were you looking for? Here? In the blasted lands?”

 

“A clue as to why they’re blasted.” I studied him. “Believe it or not, I’m here to help.”

 

I don’t think he believed me.

 

I came around in…the local jail.

 

Apparently if they had called Surtur to come take possession of me, he had yet to arrive. The jail reminded me of something out of a western.

 

Except, of course, everything was fireproof. I certainly wasn’t getting out that way. Worse yet, they’d taken my sword.

 

I wasn’t leaving without my sword.

 

Had I been able to shapeshift, maybe I’d have been able to turn into a snake and get between the bars. No…on second look there was a fine grill between them.

 

Perhaps to stop exactly that. My head hurt a little. I probably had a concussion, but I wasn’t too worried about it.

 

Neither were they.

 

I wondered if they had even worked out who they had yet. Maybe I could get out before they did.

 

I hoped Bjorn had got away. First of all, he was a good kid. Second of all, he knew a way back to Midgard where he could get me some help.

 

If he cared enough to do so, which I couldn’t be sure of. So, I wasn’t going to rely on that.

 

I was going to rescue myself before anyone could get here. If nothing else, pride required it.

 

Sick prisoner gambit? I could pretend to be hurt worse than I was, see if I could jump them.

 

Best to find out what I was dealing with first. Peering out through the bars I saw a corridor and the back of a bored-looking guard. I did have to stand on tiptoe to do so – this place was built on their scale.

 

That too I might be able to use to my advantage. I’d already seen that glamor didn’t work well on fire giants. Or frost giants, although I certainly couldn’t expect any help from Angrboda here. She would, as she had stated, literally melt.

 

So, what would they not expect? Come on, I told myself, you’re a trickster’s daughter. You can think of a way out of a Muspelheim county jail.

 

Of course, I did need to retrieve my sword on the way out. Then the guard stood up. “Somebody get that thing out of here!”

 

There were sounds of a scuffle and then, “I hate dogs.”

 

I smiled. I did have a friend here after all, and while he apparently couldn’t turn into just fire here – or he’d be in here – he was likely to provide the perfect distraction.

 

Or at least annoy the guard into doing something stupid.

 

I mentally willed the fyrhund not to get hurt and went back to inspecting my cell for ways out. It was well made, the outside window was so far above my head I couldn’t see out even if I stood on the bunk.

 

They had to know I wasn’t from around here…so what were they going to do about it?

 

Then I heard a yelp. Bjorn, being marched back down the street by a pair of soldier types.

 

I guess this place wasn’t as abandoned as we thought. “Let him go. He’s with me.”

 

It was a gamble.

 

“It’s dangerous to be around here…” he started. Then he looked at me. Down a bit, of course. “Who the heck are you?”

 

“Siglaugr Lokisdottir.” Hopefully he’d at least heard my name.

 

Apparently they were, what? Here to stop people falling down a mineshaft? Local cops from whatever the nearest remaining town was.

 

His eyes narrowed. “I know that name.”

 

“Then you know why you should let us go.”

 

The other released Bjorn. “Shouldn’t have told them who you are.”

 

“They can tell I’m not from around here.” Glamor might work well to fool humans. It wasn’t going to work on any fire giant past puberty.

 

“…point.”

 

“Bjorn here was showing me the damage. The problems you are having. I may be able to help.”

 

“We have orders about her,” the one who had been holding Bjorn said. “We’re to take her to Surtur.”

 

“I wouldn’t try to follow that order.”

 

Bjorn was doing the sensible thing. Running. I wasn’t about to argue or try to get him to stop.

 

“Because you’re going to fight us.”

 

“If I have to. Surtur only claims his intentions are honorable.”

 

The implication I left there – although his attempts to coerce me into marriage pretty much counted.

 

“The king would never.”

 

“The king is desperate. I figure if we can remove his desperation he will leave me alone. There are giantesses who would literally kill for his attention.”

 

For a moment, I thought it was going to work. Then they tried to jump me.

 

It was a hard fight solely because I didn’t want to kill them. If I hadn’t tried so hard to avoid doing so I would probably have won.
As it was, one of them got me on the side of the head with the pommel of his sword and I went down into darkness, with my last thought being that I had really screwed this one up.

 

At least I knew I was not going to die.

 

But…

 

…and then darkness.

We went into the abandoned village. “I do assure one thing. I don’t intend to kill him.”

 

Bjorn looked startled.

 

“Surtur.”

 

“That’s how you take over, though.”

 

“I don’t want to. I’d just as soon see somebody sane who knows the politics here and then walk away.”

 

He looked at me. “I don’t know if there is anyone.”

 

“As you pointed out, you’re just a kid.” I looked towards the capital.

 

So, they were turning their fire into weapons.

 

Which meant what? Destroy the weapons? Destroy the forge? I wasn’t sure I could achieve the latter and the former, well, there were probably too many of them at this point.

 

Destroy the forge. That was a goal, if not a plan. That would at least keep things from getting any worse. I stepped into an abandoned house.

 

They had taken everything not nailed down. Except for a scrap of paper. I picked it up, looked at it.
Failed to read the script, so I put it in my pocket. It was probably part of a shopping list or something.

 

It was a reminder. Of course, shutting down the forge might be enough, which came back to getting rid of Surtur.

 

Why had he not thought of that?

 

Because he knew he would have to fight another war. Because he genuinely believed that, with everything in his being. Of course he didn’t want to destroy weapons, stop making them, or anything like that.

 

How had we got here? Because…

 

Because everyone knew Ragnarok had to happen and the fire giants had to start it. They were self fulfilling the prophecy.

 

Or maybe it was more than that. I rather thought I’d need to talk to a Norn about that.

 

“Bjorn?” I called, realizing I’d lost sight of him.

 

There was no answer. Frowning, I stepped out of the house and looked around.

 

No sign of him.

 

No wildlife, either. It had likely died or moved on. The fyrhund, though, was sitting in the middle of the street, looking a specific way.

 

“What are you smelling, boy?”

 

I didn’t question the fact that I hadn’t brought him here. He seemed to know ways between the Realms of his own.

 

Or maybe he could go wherever I was.

 

Maybe he was part of me, but either way, he was on full alert. I did not know why, so my hand drifted to my sword hilt as I went over towards him.

 

“Bjorn?”

 

Unfortunately, none of this gave me a solution.

 

Bjorn hesitated then, “Let me show you some more stuff.” He offered me his hand.

 

I took it, even though I wasn’t sure he wasn’t flirting again. We moved further away from the dead forest, and I saw that at the edge of it was a town. A dying town. No doubt, whatever their purpose had been had to do with the trees and everyone had moved out.

 

There was a mine, too, I noticed. “What did they mine here?”

 

“Gems. We used to trade them to the dwarves, but you can’t eat gems.”

 

“The dwarves probably can.”

 

He laughed. “Probably, but we aren’t dwarves.”

 

I liked dwarves, of course. But they were so tied to the rock I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t draw at least some sustenance from it. Some energy, at least.

 

Maybe fire giants drew sustenance from fire and that was why they’d moved out. “You were born here.”

 

“One of the last to be. We had to leave. And it’s spreading.”

 

“I know.” I let out a breath. “The energy was used up in the fighting.”

 

“So much fighting. I mean, it’s in our nature to fight each other, but I’m told it wasn’t as bad.”

 

“You need a safe channel for it. Mortals have…outlets. You need something similar.”

 

“Surtur thinks the only good outlet…”

 

“Surtur is a king. He is not as wise as he thinks.” I let out a breath.

 

“And you’re a kid, same as me.”

 

“I’m Loki’s daughter. I think that counts for something.”

 

“It does to Surtur.”

 

“I think he thinks that I count as at least a bit of extra fire.”

 

“But you do! Your fire isn’t drained, isn’t depleted.”

 

“It’s not depleted. It’s locked up.”

 

But in what? I closed my eyes as if to enhance other senses, and I felt a flow of energy away from here. “That way. What’s that way?” I pointed.

 

“The capital. If we’re avoiding Surtur, we don’t want to go there.”

 

“Something there is stealing your fire. Some kind of weapon or weapons.”

 

“They forge a lot of weapons.”

 

My own sword was dwarven. “The one thing the dwarves won’t sell you.”

 

He looked startled. “Yes.”

 

“Maybe one day that will change.”

 

His back door was worse than the route I’d taken in another realm with the cliffs. With the owl woman.

 

That seemed an oddly long time ago.

 

But this was bad in a different way. It was a tunnel, a tunnel in which even I sweated with the heat. I had a feeling anyone without fire giant blood or some other protection would spontaneously combust within a few paces.

 

It was that hot. I realized eventually that we were sneaking in through a lava tube, hopefully one that would not become an active lava river at any moment. “This is a place kids play to hide from adults, isn’t it.”

 

He grinned. “Oh, absolutely. And don’t worry. The river hasn’t flowed in a couple of centuries.”

 

Which was likely a side effect of the very thing I was worried about. “I wasn’t worried,” I lied.

 

Flash floods were dangerous regardless of what they were made of, though, and I stayed wary until he hopped out through a hole in the roof.

 

We were in a dying forest. The trees, no doubt, were a similar species to the fireblooms Surtur had shown me, but now they looked like the apple tree I’d seen under the stars.

 

Not quite dead, but not truly alive either. I rested my hand on one of them and shuddered. “This place…”

 

“This place was beautiful, I’m told, before I was born.”

 

“I…how do I not have your name?”

 

“Bjorn. Well, it’s Bjorn plus half a dozen syllables.”

 

I laughed. “Bjorn will do.” He wasn’t that bearlike, I thought. “But yeah. This is the right place.”

 

The trees were not getting enough fire to live. They were not dying, but sleeping…but if it went on too long they would die.

 

That understanding came through the touch. So, where had the fire gone? Could I…I closed my eyes and tried to get a sense of it.

 

I felt only a sense of dryness, of lack. Of cold, even, despite the tremendous heat of this place. Heat I could easily get used to.

 

Heat I could easily feel at home in. But not that lack. This place was beautiful before I was born.

 

“This is what Surtur should have shown me in the first place.” We could have worked together. I mourned that, briefly.

 

“Surtur believes that this is the center and that if he releases a lot of fire here it will…”

 

“The fire’s still here. It’s just a matter of finding it.”

 

I could sense it.

 

But I could not sense it with enough detail to know. What I could do was release a tiny bit of fire. Just let it flow out of me.

 

I felt the tree respond. I felt it uncurl in hope before returning to its state. “He’s right that this place needs more, though.”

 

“He’s Surtur. Of course he’s right.”

 

“About the problem.” I turned to Bjorn. “Not about the solution.”

 

Of course, when I was trying to avoid fire giants, they seemed to be on every street corner.

 

When I was trying to find one? Not a one to be seen. Fortunately, I had an advantage.

 

A canine advantage.

 

Of course, he couldn’t find a specific fire giant. But between his nose and my senses I was able to locate all eight of them in town.

 

Hopefully one of them would be sympathetic to my ideas rather than loyal to Surtur. And the one I did find?

 

I’d met him before. He wasn’t any older than I was. “Hey.”

 

“You’re looking for me?” His tone was suspicious as he glanced at the fyrhund.

 

“You or somebody like you. I need to check something out and I need some help. And I need it under Surtur’s radar.”

 

He shuddered. “He’s losing it.”

 

“Figured you’d say that.”

 

“But it’s hard to get to Muspelheim under his radar.”

 

I could imagine that. “Do you know a back door?”

 

“I do, but it’s not a fun route. Of course, you’re as immune to fire as I am, but you’d better not…”

 

“I don’t plan on bringing anyone else.” I smiled at him. “I want to look at what’s going on without being shown a nice, pleasant guided tour.”

 

He laughed. “I get that. And I think I know where to take you. But what’s in it for me?”

 

“I’m trying to keep Surtur from starting Ragnarok. And I’m trying to solve your problems. I have some insight, but I need to see what’s going on.” And feel it. And know it.

 

It scared me. I was afraid it meant something.

 

I was rather afraid…

 

“Why do you care?”

 

A pause. “Well, first of all, I have mortals I care about that I don’t want to see burned to a crisp or frozen into icicles in a war. Second of all, I guess I’m a soft touch for people in trouble. If it was just Surtur he could go hang, but…”

 

“Nobody cares about fire giants.”

 

“I do.” Of course, I rather suspected I’d have to be careful admitting that. “But I do have some of our blood.”

 

“And something else.” He grinned. “I think I know what Surtur sees in you.”

 

“Flirting won’t get you anywhere. But I think I can find some sort of reward for being a guide.” If nothing else, there was always tasty food he couldn’t get in Muspelheim.

 

Hey.

 

It worked on gods.

 

I was not, quite, too late. I would have been if it hadn’t been for Clara. And I could see kids pouring out of every door.

 

She had pulled the fire alarm or got somebody else to before the fire had started. Which had given time for people to get out.

 

And at least the giants had not thought to lock the doors. Or maybe that was the next step. They were trying to piss me off, after all.

 

I saw redhead, though, and he had his hand lifted, ready to add more fire. “Who warned them?”

 

“Who do you think?” I said from behind him, drawing my sword. “I’m not going to fight Surtur. You, on the other hand.”

 

The threat was clear, I made sure of that. But it was still a threat.

 

He laughed. “I’m not going to fight you.”

 

“What? Under orders not to engage? Is he worried you might mark me? Or, I know, is he worried I might kill you?”

 

While we were facing off he wasn’t starting any more fires and people were escaping. I didn’t particularly care about the building.

 

Heck, I’d let it burn.

 

“No, lady. I have no desire to harm you.”

 

“Because you don’t want to piss off Surtur’s intended. Even if she has no intent towards him.”

 

He wasn’t even drawing a weapon. “Lady…”

 

“I am not your queen. I am Loki’s daughter and yes, I carry fire. But I am not your queen.”

 

“You sound as if it is not me you are trying to convince.”

 

“It is Surtur I am trying to convince. The only thing I want from him is to be left alone.”

 

“And then you…”

 

“No. I would not have your lives on my conscience. I have no intention of letting anyone die that I can save.”

 

“Then you are already a queen.” And he stepped backwards and vanished.

 

“I think he likes you,” Kanesha said, out of breath.

 

“I think he’s trying to flatter me on Surtur’s behalf. I wonder who he is. One of Surtur’s bastards, maybe?”

 

“I don’t think they look much alike, but then…”

 

“Powerful giants shapeshift. So…but he’s somebody who has a lot of Surtur’s trust.”

 

It is not your task to kill him. Monica’s words.

 

I wished I could talk to her.

 

So, Surtur had things wrong.

 

Or Ratatosk did, but he talked to the World Tree. I was inclined to believe him over the fire giant.

 

What Surtur planned might still work for the wrong reasons. But maybe…how did you free up locked energy?

 

I supposed it probably needed just a little bit of a nudge. I had the idea, though. The idea of what I could do.

 

Of what Surtur could do if he stopped obsessing over me and apples. But nothing to help stop the next attack.

 

Which was going to be some time today. Clara had tried to scry and found herself blocked. The giants had thought of that, I supposed, and taken precautious against scrying. They did have magic, after all.

 

So there was little I could do other than not schedule any work and be ready. If we still had Mike…

 

If we still had… I reminded myself that Mike was fine, even if he couldn’t help us, and turned my focus back to reality.

 

Reality: Surtur or one of his minions was going to set something else on fire.

 

And this time it wouldn’t be a tenement in Southeast.

 

No, I was pretty sure that he was going to go after something…more important this time. Not a Metro station – they caught fire enough on their own these days.

 

Union Station?

 

One of the museums?

 

“If I was him,” Kanesha said grimly, “The castle.”

 

“That’s not a bad one. But it’s such a target rich environment. The archives, maybe? I just have a feeling he’s going for something really big this time.”

 

She nodded. “And we can’t scry it, we can’t stop it, and…is there any reason I can’t kill him?”

 

“He’d burn you to a crisp.”

 

“I know, but I almost feel it would be worth it if I could take him with me.”

 

“He can’t die on Midgaard.”

 

“That’s why I’m not going to do it.”

 

I was rather relieved I couldn’t take her to Muspelheim. I still planned on going there, of course, as soon as I could find somebody to go with me.

 

What Ratatosk had said made it more urgent to see if I could track the energy patterns somehow rather than less.

 

Track the…

 

I closed my eyes. “Neither. The bastard. I know where he is now.”

 

“You do?”

 

“They can block scrying. They can’t block another fire being. He’s going for the school.”

 

“Is Clara there?”
“Yes. Call her.” And with that I set off at a run, trusting Kanesha to find some way to catch up after she’d warned Clara.

 

I could sense three fire giants. They were beacons to me, and if I just trusted the fire.

 

If I just let it lead me I could find them, could know exactly where they were.

 

As if I really was meant to be the one in charge of them.