The Phantom Queen (The Guardians of Tara Book 3)

  The Phantom Queen

  The Guardians of Tara Book Three

  S.M. Schmitz

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Also by S.M. Schmitz

  Copyright © 2017 by S.M. Schmitz

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Chapter One

  Cameron was only mildly surprised that the Gates of Hel actually existed. He was more than a little surprised, though, that he and Thor apparently had to recreate Hermod’s journey in order to reach those gates. He and Thor had been traveling by foot through deep valleys with little light, and they hadn’t come across another god in a while. He wasn’t at all surprised that no god wanted to travel to Hel.

  Now, he and his friend stood before Gjöll, arguing about how to reach the opposite bank. The water in the gurgling river, which could only be crossed by a guarded golden bridge, was as black as a moonless night. There was no way Cameron was swimming across.

  “Tell you what,” Cameron said. “You swim across. If you survive, I’ll join you on the other bank.”

  Thor shook his head and insisted, “I’m not getting in black water. There might be snakes.”

  “Dude, we’re in Hel. Of course there are snakes in that river.”

  Thor nodded seriously and folded his arms over his chest. “I think we’re going to have to convince Modgud to let us cross.”

  Cameron squinted at the goddess who’d been watching them the entire time. She seemed only slightly curious as to why two living gods had appeared at her bridge. She seemed more than a little pissed off about it.

  “Who can I lodge a complaint with about not being able to use our powers here?” Cameron asked.

  “Um…Hel?” Thor answered.

  “I’ll add it to our list then,” Cameron said.

  Thor nudged Cameron with his elbow and nodded toward the goddess guarding the bridge with the golden roof. “Go flirt with her. See if she’ll let us cross.”

  Cameron blinked at the giant Norse god then shot back, “You go ask her if we can cross. And mention flirting with anyone again, I’ll tell Selena and laugh at you while she kicks your ass.”

  Thor also squinted at Modgud and whispered, “I don’t think she likes me.”

  “I don’t think she likes anyone,” Cameron retorted. “And I’m Irish. She probably doesn’t even know there’s a truce between us now.”

  “Are you two going to stand over there talking about me or just attempt to swim across Gjöll?” Modgud asked.

  Cameron gestured toward the river and called back to her, “Depends. Why’s the water black? Are there any snakes in there? And can someone as large as Thor float?”

  “Cameron,” Thor groaned.

  “What?” Cameron asked innocently.

  Modgud blinked at him then turned her attention to Thor. “Why are you traveling with this Irish god?”

  “Good question,” Thor muttered.

  “Rumor has it, you’ve got one of our gods here. We kinda want him back,” Cameron responded.

  “You must be the new sun god I’ve heard so much about,” Modgud replied. “And those rumors are wrong. You’re far more annoying than they’ve let on.”

  Thor snorted so Cameron punched his arm.

  “Hey!” Thor protested. “She said it!”

  “Neither of you are crossing,” Modgud told them. “So go back to your own worlds. You’re not welcome here.”

  “Of course not,” Cameron said. “It’s Hel. Nobody’s welcome here.”

  “Cameron,” Thor groaned again.

  “Any chance your father’s hanging out down here?” Cameron asked. “Because that’s one asshole I don’t want to encounter again.”

  Thor sighed and shot Modgud a pleading look. “Can I cross alone? At this point, I don’t even care if I come back out.”

  “Don’t blame you,” Modgud told him.

  “Is that a yes?” Thor asked.

  “No.”

  “How about this,” Cameron bartered. “If I can keep my mouth shut for the next two minutes, you let us pass.”

  “Cameron, it’s not possible for you to keep your mouth shut for two minutes,” Thor pointed out.

  “Probably not,” Cameron agreed. “But the troll guarding the bridge over there doesn’t need to know that.”

  “Troll?” Modgud spit out. “How dare you call me a troll?”

  Cameron shrugged. “Could be worse. You could be Jötunn like this big guy here.”

  Cameron patted Thor’s shoulder, who shook his head at him. “I’m going to pretend like I don’t know you from now on.”

  “That’s never worked,” Cameron reminded him.

  “First time for everything,” Thor claimed.

  “Oh, for God’s sake, who…” Modgud started, but he had to say it.

  Cameron held up a hand to stop her and asked, “Hold up. Which god?”

  “Which god what?” Modgud snapped, clearly already exasperated with the young god.

  “Which god’s sake?”

  Modgud narrowed her eyes at him again then stepped to the side of the bridge. “You know what? Go. But if you make it out of there, don’t even think about talking to me on your way back.”

  “Huh,” Cameron said. “My ability to annoy the hell out of people finally came in handy.”

  Thor nodded seriously and pushed his young friend forward. “You first. If this is some sort of trick, it’s your fault anyway so you should be the one to find out.”

  “Sounds fair,” Cameron agreed. He glanced down into the slick black water beneath the bridge, and for a moment, he was back in New Orleans, standing atop the levee with Selena looking out over the Mississippi River after their nighttime escape from the W Hotel where Ukko had held them prisoner. His chest tightened at the memory. He couldn’t believe how much he missed her already.

  “Cameron?” Thor asked quietly. “You all right?”

  “Yeah,” Cameron sighed. “Let’s get this over with.” He placed his other foot on the bridge and glanced over his shoulder at the Norse gods watching him. Thor stepped forward to follow the young sun god, but Modgud stopped him.

  “Let him cross alone,” she insisted.

  “Why?” Thor asked, his bushy red eyebrows bunching together, but he apparently figured it out on his own. He pushed the goddess aside and yelled, “Cameron, run!”

  Cameron wasn’t stupid. He ran.

  He’d made it halfway across the bridge when the slick, oily water burst open and a long, dark shape leapt from the river, its mouth wide and fangs dripping with the venom in which it swam.

  “Are you kidding me?” Cameron shouted.

  He heard Thor’s heavy footsteps on the bridge and the comfortable weight of his Spear appeared in his right hand as the giant serpent that lived in the River Gjöll descended toward him. Cameron threw his Spear into the snake’s long, thick body and yelled, “Why didn’t you tell me a giant snake lived in this river?”

  “I’ve never been here!” Thor yelled back, throwing Mjölnir at the sam
e injury Cameron’s Spear had inflicted. “How was I supposed to know?”

  The serpent screeched as Mjölnir sank between its scales, and it dove back into the river. Thor sighed heavily. “Great. How am I going to get my hammer back now?”

  “You’d better figure out something because I am not fighting this beast of Hel on my own.”

  “See?” Thor agreed. “We’ve been trying to tell everyone snakes really are beasts from Hel.”

  Cameron nodded seriously. “They never listen to us.”

  The serpent rose from the water again and for the second time, attempted to breech the side of the bridge to swallow the gods standing beneath the golden roof. Cameron threw his Spear toward its mouth and it pierced the serpent’s tongue then returned to his hand. Thor quickly reached out as the serpent dove into the water again and yanked Mjölnir free from the red scales.

  Thor held it up and smiled at Cameron.

  “Perhaps we should keep running,” Cameron suggested.

  Thor pointed toward the river and said, “It’s coming back.”

  “Oh, come on,” he protested. “Would you die already?”

  “Maybe it is dead,” Thor supplied helpfully. “That’s why we can’t kill it.”

  “A ghost snake?” Cameron shouted. “Deal breaker. I’m going home.”

  Thor stepped back with one foot to brace himself then threw Mjölnir as hard as he could at the serpent’s body. Cameron grimaced but wouldn’t really abandon his friend. His Spear followed closely behind the Norse god’s famous hammer.

  “This would be so much easier if I could burn it!” Cameron exclaimed.

  As Mjölnir returned to Thor’s open hand, he exclaimed back, “This would be so much easier if I could electrocute it!”

  Cameron shot his Norse friend an exasperated look and demanded, “Why haven’t you been electrocuting these demons? I’ve been having to fight them with a spear.”

  “Same reason you haven’t been torching them,” Thor replied. “They either don’t stay still long enough, or fire and electricity won’t kill them anyway.”

  “Conceded,” Cameron sighed.

  “Our weapons aren’t killing this one though,” Thor continued. “And we can’t manipulate elements here.”

  “And it’s leaping out of the river again,” Cameron interrupted.

  “I think we need to catch it,” Thor finished.

  Cameron almost dropped his Spear as he gaped at the Norse thunder god. “We need to what?”

  “Catch it,” Thor repeated. “Force it onto the bridge with us. We’re going to have to kill it by hand.”

  “Have you lost your mind?” Cameron screamed.

  Thor shrugged as the enormous red serpent vaulted into the air. “Possibly. I mean, I did just propose we catch a giant snake and drag it onto a covered bridge. And I’m in Hel. It doesn’t get much worse than this.”

  “Oh my God,” Cameron groaned.

  Thor didn’t even have a chance to ask him which god because as the red monstrosity neared the wide opening between the bridge’s railing and golden roof, he reached out to it and wrapped his arms around the serpent’s body. The snake jerked violently, lifting Thor from the bridge, and leaving Cameron no choice but to grab its tail and pull it toward him.

  As both Thor and the snake collapsed onto the bridge and the serpent whipped its head around to swallow him, Cameron did the only thing he could think of: He punched it.

  The snake blinked and shook its head, which was apparently Thor’s cue to jump on its back and wrap his arms around the snake’s throat. Cameron groaned again but wrapped his own arms around the snake’s body in an attempt to break its spine.

  “This is by far the grossest thing I’ve ever done!” Cameron yelled.

  “You seriously need to get out more then,” Thor yelled back.

  Cameron tightened his hold and shuddered along with the snake as he felt the muscles in its long body shivering and contracting. Finally, small pops vibrated beneath his arms as the bones began to break. The giant serpent thrashed wildly, beating both gods against the railing and roof but neither let go until its body stilled. Even then, Cameron was reluctant to move, just in case it was playing possum.

  Thor slid off the dead snake’s back and motioned for Cameron to join him. “We should hurry in case there’s anything else living in this river.”

  Cameron released his grip and shot an irate glare toward Modgud, who still guarded the far end of the bridge and had watched them kill the giant serpent of Gjöll.

  “I hate you,” he called out to her.

  “Cameron,” Thor sighed. “Just walk. Silently.”

  “Why would you think I’m even capable of that?” Cameron retorted.

  “I don’t know,” Thor admitted.

  “Honestly, I thought this place would be bigger,” Cameron said. “I mean, traveling through those dark valleys to get here was fun and all but…”

  “Cameron,” Thor begged, “please shut up.”

  Cameron arched an eyebrow at the Norse god and gave him three seconds of silence before continuing. “But once a god is actually in Hel, it’s all right here…surrounded by the most disgusting river in any world with even grosser creatures in it. Any chance that was Jörmungandr? Dude, I totally may have just saved your life.”

  Thor stopped walking and put his thick hands on his hips. “First of all, Jörmungandr is far bigger. And secondly, we are literally at the Gates of Hel and if you offend her, she might decide to keep you here so please…for Selena’s sake, just keep your mouth shut.”

  Cameron crossed his arms and stared at the Gates before them, but he didn’t want to find out if Thor was right. He wanted to go home to Selena and their daughter.

  “Should we knock?” he asked.

  “Um…I’m not sure,” Thor answered. “When Hermod traveled here to ask Hel to release Baldr, he rode Sleipnir and leapt over the Gate. And since you killed Sleipnir…”

  “Hey,” Cameron interrupted. “Your dad’s creepy-ass horse deserved to be burned alive if for no other reason than he carried your dad around. Plus, it was Loki’s child, which is another strike against creepy-ass eight-legged horses.”

  Thor blinked at him then faced the Gate again. “Maybe I can throw you over.”

  “Think your dad’s in there?”

  “Cameron,” Thor groaned.

  “Just making sure,” Cameron said. “He did kill Selena and all. I’ll totally kill that bastard again if I have to.”

  “Huh,” Thor murmured.

  “What?” Cameron asked. “Did you find the doorbell?”

  Thor shook his head and absentmindedly stroked his brownish-red beard. “Do you think she was already pregnant then? She must have been, right? The Battle of the Gods wasn’t that long ago.”

  It had never even occurred to Cameron that Selena had most likely been pregnant when Odin redirected Ukko’s lightning and struck her with it, which meant that not only did his girlfriend miraculously heal herself to come back from the dead, but she’d saved their child she didn’t even know she was carrying as well.

  “Holy shit,” he mumbled.

  Thor nodded and offered him a genuine smile. “She’s incredible. I’m a pretty old god, Cameron, and I’ve never heard of anyone being able to do something like that.”

  Cameron just nodded. This realm was neither hot nor cold, yet he felt both at the same time. He tugged at the sleeves on his shirt, hoping Thor wouldn’t notice the goose bumps that had erupted on his arms. But once again, it seemed that Fate had intervened on their behalf, and he couldn’t imagine why. What would Fate demand from them in exchange for these lives, in exchange for their daughter’s?

  And would it be a price they were willing to pay?

  “Uh, Cameron?” Thor said quietly.

  Cameron stopped tugging at his sleeves to follow Thor’s gaze, because there, at the top of the Gates of Hel, stood a goddess in a long, blue robe. And she didn’t look happy to see them.

  Chapte
r Two

  “Hel,” Thor announced. “We’ve come…”

  “I know why you’re here,” Hel interrupted. “You’ve come for Sigyn. But what business does this Irish god have in my realm?”

  “Well,” Cameron answered, “what business do you have holding one of our own gods prisoner? Isn’t there some law against that?”

  Thor punched Cameron’s arm so Cameron pushed him away and hissed, “Why are you hitting me? She’s the one keeping Lugh down here.”

  “Lugh isn’t here,” Hel lied. “What would I want with an Irish god?”

  Cameron wrinkled his nose and responded, “Hopefully, not what I think you might want with an Irish god.”

  “I’m about to leave you here,” Thor warned.

  “Then she’ll have two Irish gods trapped in her pervy prison. I don’t think that’ll go over well with this new alliance between our families.”

  “Sigyn has spent two millennia tormenting my father,” Hel said, ignoring the young sun god. “You aren’t retrieving her. And as for your…ally…get him back to his own world before he causes his permanent banishment to my realm.”

  “Is that code for murdering me?” Cameron asked Thor.

  “Sounds like it,” Thor said.

  “You know,” Cameron called out to Hel, “you’re really not very nice. Strangers show up at your door and you threaten to kill them. I’m willing to bet you don’t have any friends.”

  “Not helping,” Thor whispered.

  “Garmr!” Hel called.

  “Great,” Thor muttered.

  A large dog with matted gray fur and long yellow teeth leapt over the gate, snarling at the gods who had pissed off his master.

  Cameron reluctantly acknowledged it would be more accurate to accuse the dog of snarling at the god who had pissed off his master because, really, Thor hadn’t done any of the pissing off. The Norse thunder god gestured toward it and asked, “You happy?”

  “Not really. I’m still in Hel. With you.”

  “Call him off, Hel,” Thor warned. “Don’t make us kill your dog. We’ve already killed the serpent in the River Gjöll.”