Page 29 of Baldr's Secret Mate

My heart pounded in my chest as I strained to hear where the scream and footsteps were coming from. Baldr was tense beside me, his eyes darting around in the darkness beyond our little camp. I could see something flash in them, a sort of gold glimmer. I wasn’t sure if it was his wolf side or the witch, but I didn’t have time to worry about it.

“What was that?” I whispered, my voice quaking with fear.

“I don't know,” Baldr replied softly, keeping his voice low. “But we need to move. Now.”

He started to stand, but I grabbed his arm. “Wait! The fire - won't they see it?”

Baldr cursed under his breath. “You're right. We need to put it out quickly.”

We scrambled to our feet, kicking dirt over the glowing embers as fast and quietly as we could. The forest around us had gone eerily silent after that initial scream. No birds, no insects, nothing but the sound of our own ragged breathing and the crackle of leaves underfoot.

Baldr grabbed my arm, pulling me toward him. “We need to move,” he whispered urgently. “Now.”

I nodded, too frightened to speak in the eerie silence. We quickly gathered our meager belongings and shouldered our packs. The crunching of leaves and snapping of twigs resumed. And this time, it was much closer than before. But this time it was accompanied by an unsettling chittering sound.

“This way,” Baldr hissed, grabbing my hand and pulling me deeper into the ruins. “And stay quiet.”

We moved as silently as we could through the crumbling stone structures, ducking low to avoid being silhouetted against the night sky. My heart pounded so hard in my chest that I could hear nothing but the rush of blood in my ears.

We’d managed no more than fifty feet before another ear-splitting screech tore through the air. Somehow I knew the creature had found our camp site and the remains of our dinner. But then another screech rose up to answer it. And another.

Apparently there was more than one.

Baldr’s hand trembled as he pulled me through the labyrinth of buildings in the dark. Now and then, when his eyes caught the moonlight, I saw the greenish animal-like reflection in the back of his eyes. It seemed he’d let the wolf take over, at least a little bit, to help guide us through the darkened maze. However, as the crunching of leaves and echoing cries grew louder, I realized with a sinking heart that we were not going fast enough. And I had a feeling that even if we were running at a full sprint, those creatures, whatever they were, would still catch us in the end.

As the movement through the leaves got closer, I finally realized why the footsteps had sounded so strange from afar. They weren't footsteps at all. Instead it was a constant rusting that seemed to shift back and forth, ebbing and flowing with intensity as the creature moved. It almost sounded like slithering. And that threw me off completely. Before I thought they might be draugr, mindless zombies stumbling through the forest in search of prey. But now I had no idea what was after us and the fear seemed to clutch its cold claws around my heart.

One thing was for certain though, they were not our friends.

Panic threatened to overwhelm me as we ran. But I forced myself to focus, to keep moving forward with Baldr. We weaved through the crumbling ruins as quietly as we could, ducking behind walls and darting between shadows. The moonlight only illuminated us once, but a screech tore through the air the moment it did. Baldr skidded to a halt in the dry leaves, his grip on my hand tightening painfully. I followed his gaze and my blood ran cold. There, slithering between two fallen pillars, was a creature unlike anything I'd ever seen before.

It was massive, easily ten times larger than me or Baldr, with a long serpentine body covered in iridescent scales that shimmered in the moonlight. However, where I expected to see a serpent’s head, I saw something more akin to the dragons Baldr had read to me about in his books. Its mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth and bony spines protruded down its back. Multiple frills and spikes jutted out in every direction. Even if it didn’t manage to bite, a single hit from its head would prove fatal.

“Oh my god…” I muttered, holding tightly to Baldr.

“Nidhogg,” Baldr whispered. “Or one of its children at least. Usually they only feed on the sap of Yggdrasil, the world tree.”

“Well it looks like it wants to feed on us right now…”

Another screech rose up behind us and both of us turned to see a second serpent rise up easily ten feet off the ground like a cobra. Its neck flattened into a wide hood, two bright iridescent eye-like patterns on its scales that struck me to the core with fear.

Baldr pulled me close, his eyes darting between the two massive serpents that were slowly closing in on us. I could feel him trembling slightly. But regardless of his fear, he kept himself between me and the serpents, shielding me with his body. I watched as his muscles flexed, his body seeming to grow against his will.

“We're trapped,” I whispered, my voice barely audible even to my own ears.

“Not yet,” Baldr replied, his voice low and strained. “I have an idea, but you need to trust me completely. Can you do that?”

I nodded without hesitation. “Of course.”

“Good. When I say run, you run as fast as you can toward that fallen pillar.” He nodded toward a massive stone column that had toppled onto its side, creating a sort of ramp. “Don't look back, don't hesitate. Just run. Understand?”

“But what about-”

“Promise me, Mist.”

I stared at him for as long as I dared, knowing I didn’t have any other choice. “I promise.”

Baldr let go of my arm, stepping out in front of me. Both of the serpents raised their heads with a screeching hiss, their fangs extending. Despite their enormous size and their obvious ill intentions, Baldr didn’t falter or back down. Instead, he stood his ground. To my surprise, he kicked off his shoes and unbuttoned his jeans. It would’ve been almost comical if I wasn’t sure we were going to die.

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