Trapped

dwarfs. I distinctly heard a meow in reply.
    » Oberon was right about you, « I said. » You really are a cat person. «

Chapter 28
    Sound and light returned to normal once we crossed over the wall. Colors came back, and the thundering of artillery coming from the other side of the wall echoed in our ears. Once we got an angle, I could see that it was significantly damaged and Hel had made absolutely no return fire. She’d never upgraded her own defenses, assuming that she would be the one to make an attack. Perhaps that would keep her busy also.
    Someone must have been watching for us, or else the dwarfs used radio or something, for the attack broke off and the ships began to rise to follow our chariot. Looking behind us, I saw more dwarf ships sailing silently over the wall, following us back. I had no way of knowing how many returned, but I knew that honor was important to them and that the dwarfs would feel better for dealing Hel this defeat.
    We swerved up the root at a ninety-degree angle but thankfully did not fall out the back of the chariot. There was, instead, just a slight sense of vertigo as we completely ignored gravity.
    » I could get used to cat chariots like this, « I said.
    We splashed up through the pond and the night sky was full of different stars—earth’s stars—then we banked around until we found a rainbow in the dark. It was on this occasion that I discovered that Granuaile had never heard of Ronnie James Dio. My shock at this news was such that I almost completely missed the fact that we were traveling on Bifrost, the rainbow bridge to Asgard. Only when we reached Asgard and got a serious frowning from an unknown keeper of the bridge—Heimdall being dead—did I notice that we weren’t on earth anymore. The cats meowed at the frowning man and the rainbow pointed elsewhere; Freyja’s cats promptly followed it back down to Midgard, where it led to the foreman’s manse in the mountains near Ouray.
    Granuaile couldn’t believe it. » You mean Frigg never left here? «
    » Well, Fjalar went to such trouble to decorate it warmly. «
    Outside on the porch, we delivered Freyja into Frigg’s care and reported with great satisfaction that Fenris was dead, Hel’s walls were heavily damaged, and that at least half of the Black Axes, at minimum, would be returning to Nidavellir. Frigg turned her head to a patch of shadow under the roof of the front porch: » Tell him. « Two ravens took flight into the darkness.
    Before Fjalar could ask us a question or issue a challenge, Frigg asked him to fix some broth for Freyja. He gave us a dire eye but obeyed without a word.
    » Thank you, Druids, « Frigg said. » You have dealt a serious blow to Hel’s plans. We will keep you informed of any developments. «
    She bent her head to Freyja then, in clear dismissal, and we made our farewells.
    We walked in silence back to our cabin, where Oberon waited, full of something he’d killed and therefore drowsy and uninterested in what we’d been doing.
    › Rah-rah, the humans return, ‹ he said with a yawn and a halfhearted wag of his tail. › You know, it’s cold way up here in the mountains, even though summer’s barely over. Come, humans, fulfill your evolutionary purpose and build your hound a fire. ‹
    We laughed at him, and Granuaile rubbed his belly while I built a small fire for him in the hearth. Once he was satisfied, I made hot chocolate with marshmallows while Granuaile changed out of her blood-soaked shirt. We clinked our cups together in the kitchen and kissed.
    » So what now? « Granuaile asked.
    » Well, we could go figure out who’s trying to get us killed in Tír na nÓg, « I said, » or start binding your iron amulet to your aura, or find out whether all the evil clowns in the world have been dark elves all along. «
    Granuaile poked me in the chest. » I have a better idea. How about introducing me to all the elementals one by one? I’ve only met a few so far. «
    » A sort of Druid World Tour? We could make T-shirts with a list of all the elementals on the back. «
    » Yeah. But first let’s go somewhere with a name I can’t pronounce that has a really nice hotel with a giant bed in it. «
    » Gods below, you are brilliant. «
    Oberon roused himself to full wakefulness in the living room. › Oh, no! Wait! Drop me off at a poodle ranch! ‹

Epilogue
    The giant bed we found in Tlalpujahua, Mexico, had been sufficient for our purposes, and it was not long after that we