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CHAPTER TWENTY

T o my relief, the closet in my room seemed to understand my needs.

The minute I opened the door, I saw a brand new, heavy winter coat with a fur-lined hood hanging right where I couldn’t miss it.

It was bright red and the fur that lined the hood was silvery gray—it was beautiful.

It was also extremely heavy when I put it on, but I could tell right away that it would keep me warm.

There were fur lined boots to go with it, as well as a long, wooly scarf that looked hand-knitted and gloves that matched it. I saw some other cold weather clothes too and I folded them and put them in the backpack which had also magically appeared.

“Thanks, Grandma—and, uh, Grandpa Morris,” I said aloud, as I finished packing.

“You’re welcome, child,” breathed the little voice in my ear. “Be safe. You have more control of your magic than you know.”

“But how can that be?” I argued. “When I’m bound?”

There was no answer this time, and after a moment, I felt stupid for standing there arguing with the empty air.

“Okay, well—I guess I’d better get going.” I looked down at Sebastian who was watching me anxiously. “Look, Sebastian, I don’t know if you should go with me or not. It sounds like this trip might be dangerous and also really cold. Will you be okay if I leave out a lot of kibble and water for you?”

Sebastian made a face and sniffed, his whiskers wrinkling.

“Okay, I’ll leave out some tuna too,” I said. “And I’ll ask Rath to have a friend come check on you if we’re not back by tomorrow. Will that work?”

“Mmmrrrow!” Sebastian jumped up on the bed and I leaned down so he could rub his furry cheek against mine.

“I know,” I told him. “I’ll be careful. And don’t forget, Rath will be with me. He’s a big guy—he can watch out for me.”

Sebastian mewed again and then we went downstairs to get his food and water situation sorted out.

I packed some snacks for later and ate a quick bite of breakfast. Then I left Sebastian enough water and dry kibble for two or three days as well as a can of tuna packed in oil—his favorite.

I hoped I would be back by that night, but to hear Rath tell it, we might be going on a longer journey than that. So I wanted to be prepared.

Speaking of Rath, when he came back to the door, I almost didn’t recognize him.

“Wow!” I exclaimed, letting him in. “What’s all this?”

He was bare-chested and dressed in loose fur leggings which were tucked into tall, black fur-lined boots. He had on a fur cloak as well and a thick black belt with a long, curving knife in a sheath hanging from one side. But what really drew my eyes was his main weapon.

It was a massive hammer—and I mean bigger than the one you see Thor twirling around in the Marvel movies.

The enormous, dull silver hammer head was worked all over with carvings and runes and it was at least as big as my torso.

The shaft of it was three feet long and so thick I doubted I’d be able to close my fingers around it if I tried.

“What happened to your jeans and t-shirt?” I asked him. I hadn’t seen him in anything other than normal, human-looking clothes since I’d first met him.

Rath shrugged, the muscles in his broad, bare shoulders and arms rippling with the move.

“When you go on an adventure, you ought to look the part. Besides, if it comes to fighting, I feel more comfortable in the traditional dress of my people.”

“And is that a, uh, traditional weapon?” I asked, pointing at the massive hammer swung over his shoulder.

“This is Orgrim Doomhammer,” he said proudly. He took it off his shoulder and carefully rested the enormous silver head on the floor. “It’s been passed from father to son for generations in my family. The head of it was forged in elemental lava—or so says the family legend.”

“Can I touch it?” I asked, curiously.

He motioned with one hand.

“Sure—help yourself.”

I reached for the hammer and curled my hand around the thick wooden shaft. As I had suspected, my fingers wouldn’t reach all the way around. Also, I couldn’t lift it with one hand at all. I tried with both hands—but got the same result. It might as well have been cemented to the floor.

“God—how much does this thing weigh, anyway?” I grunted, as I strained to move it—even a little bit—with no success.

“Depends on what system of measurement you use.” Rath lifted it with one hand and swung it easily back over his broad shoulder. “More than you—that’s for sure,” he added, laughing at me as I stared at him in awe.

“I wondered why you were able to lift me so easily last night,” I remarked. “I guess if you’re swinging that thing around all the time, lifting one plus-sized curvy girl is no big deal.”

Rath suddenly went serious.

“It was a very big deal to me to hold you in my arms, baby,” he rumbled. “And it’s also very important to me that you stay safe. So if we get into any kind of a fight, I want you to promise me that you’ll run and hide right away.”

“What?” I looked up at him indignantly. “I don’t want to run away and hide and leave you to fight…whatever it is we run into!”

Rath frowned.

“Then I’m not going with you and you can just stay here bound. Better bound than dead.”

I felt the blood leave my cheeks as I looked at him.

“Is what we’ll be facing that dangerous?” I asked, my voice coming out in a whisper.

He shrugged.

“It might be—it’s up to Baba Yaga. She might not send anything at all against us—but usually she wants people to prove themselves. And if she sends something to fight, then I need room to fight. I don’t want to have to worry about you getting between my war hammer and whatever it is I’m fighting.”

I had a sudden image of that enormous metal hammer coming at my head and winced.

“Okay, point taken. I just hate to hide while you do all the fighting. It doesn’t seem very, uh, feminist of me.”

He raised an eyebrow at me.

“Are you trained in some kind of combat skill?”

“Well…no,” I admitted grudgingly.

“Then it’s not cowardly or ‘unfeminist’ to hide,” Rath told me. “I just want to know you’re safe. If your magic was unbound, you could cast some spells for me but since you’re bound and you’re not trained in combat, the best thing you can do is just stay out of my way. Okay?”

“All right,” I said reluctantly.

“Good. Then we’re on the same page and we can go.” He nodded.

“Wait—before you do, I need to clean up a few things in the kitchen,” I told him. “And do you have a friend who could come and check on Sebastian in case we don’t get back tonight?”

He thought for a minute, then nodded.

“Sure, let me make a call.”

“Great—thanks.” I nodded and ducked into the kitchen. When he’d been talking about fighting, I’d had an idea. It might not be a very good one, but it was better to be prepared.

It only took me a moment and then I was ready to go. Well, as ready as I was going to get anyway.

I had no idea of the danger that awaited us.