Dragons of Asgard 3 by Logan Jacobs (thriller novels to read txt) 📕

“We’re hoping you know a spell to tell us where someone went.”

“Hmm.” His bushy eyebrows pulled together. “Where someone went, eh? I’m supposing you mean where they went magically? Or were they walking?”

“Magically,” I clarified.

“Mmm, yes, magically is a little more difficult,” he muttered almost to himself. “It can be done, though. Do you all have something that belonged to this person?”

“Yes,” Kas said, and she quickly reached into her satchel and pulled out the small boot.

Ramir raised an eyebrow at her, took the boot, and turned it over in his hands.

“It belonged to a dwarf,” Asta explained.

“Yes, dear, I gathered that,” Ramir chuckled. Then his eyes narrowed on the tiny leather shoe, and he pursed his lips. “Dwarves have strong magical abilities, but they pertain mostly to craftsmanship. Still, it will be more difficult to figure out where a dwarf went than, say, an Asgardian.”

“Can you do it?” I asked with a frown.

“I can certainly try.” Ramir smiled at me and walked toward the back of his shop. “Come along, we’ve got work to do.”

Blar and Uffe walked by Ramir’s side while Svass rode on one shoulder and Inger rode on the other.

I shook my head at the sight of the old man surrounded by dragons as the girls and I followed him to the back.

Once we arrived at Ramir’s desk, he waved his fingers at his bookshelf, and a large volume floated down to land on the table in front of him. He licked the tips of his fingers and then flipped the book open and looked over the page.

“Ah, yes, here it is.” He nodded. “We’ll just need a few things. Kas, fetch me a cauldron, some swine nails, and a jar of dirt.”

“I’m on it,” the Valkyrie replied immediately, and she disappeared before I could blink.

“We’ll need the map I enchanted for you, too,” Ramir said once Kas returned.

She pulled the map from her satchel and set it on the table, along with the rest of the strange objects Ramir requested.

“Thank you, dear,” the old man muttered, and he set to work putting things in the cauldron while he read from the book in the old language.

The cauldron started to bubble with a terrible dark-brown substance that looked like mud but smelled like sulfur. My nose wrinkled in response to the pungent odor, and I had to hold my breath at a certain point so I didn’t throw up.

“Almost done,” Ramir told me with a smirk when he saw how disgusted I looked.

The old man had the map laid out on his desk, and he picked up the cauldron and tipped it over so the disgusting brown goo covered the paper.

I was concerned about the map at that point since I didn’t want it to smell forever, but after a few seconds, the ooze started to sparkle a bright green as it disintegrated into little specks of dirt.

Ramir picked up the map, blew the dirt off it, and then flipped it so we could all see. “Here you are. The dwarf is here, or at least, that’s where he went.”

“This is Svartalfheim, yes?” Kas asked as she grabbed the map and looked it over.

“Looks that way.” Ramir nodded. “My guess is the little green dot on the map is the dwarf’s home. I doubt he expected anybody to be able to follow him, after all.”

“Good point.” I pursed my lips as I looked over the map.

The small dot that marked the dwarf’s whereabouts looked to be nestled into some mountains, so the terrain was probably going to be difficult to navigate. We knew where he was, but it wasn’t likely Blar would be able to get us to his precise location.

Even if the little dragon was able to be exact with his portals, I wasn’t sure that was the best option. It was probably better for us to land a ways away so we could scope the place out before we barged in.

We were obviously a lot stronger than a single dwarf, but there could be more with him, and they could have some magical protection up, too. We needed to get there quickly and see what we were up against.

“Blar, I want you to bring us out close to the dot,” I told him. “But don’t try to get us exactly where it’s at.”

The little dragon nodded.

“You want to sneak up on him, right?” Eira asked.

“I think that’s our best bet,” I agreed.

“Father,” Kas said. “We have a cart we acquired outside, would you watch it for us? This is urgent, so we really should be leaving right away.”

“Of course, my dear.” Ramir nodded seriously.

“Alright,” I said with a clap. “Let’s go to Svartalfheim.”

Blar flew up onto my shoulder, and all the girls and dragons crowded around me while the little dragon opened a portal for us right there in Ramir’s shop.

The swirling air expanded until it was large enough for us all to fit, and then I grabbed the girls’ hands and stepped through the portal into the world of Svartalfheim.

We knew exactly where this little bastard was.

Now, we just had to get to him.

Chapter 6

I opened my eyes on the other side of the portal to a world cast in darkness. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the realm, and when they did, I saw only rock and smoke.

“We’re in the correct realm, aren’t we?” Kas asked, and she coughed slightly from the smoke.

I looked to Blar on my shoulder, and the little dragon nodded.

“We have to be,” I agreed, but I pursed my lips and reached for the map in Kas’ hands.

“Hm, we’re definitely in the right place,” Kas said as she looked over my shoulder.

“We should get going,” I said,