Chapter 21
They had given me their full attention, and there were a few moments of silence before Mόði spoke up.
"Maybe dad was wrong about that kid," he said, his accent thick but his English had improved.
"Never though a child of a monster could act with kindness," Vali said, his English perfect with barely any hint of an accent.
"A Jormungandr child was preserved by the flames," Balder said in a soft voice, but he just had a way of talking that made everyone listen, all of us turning to him instantly.
"Where!" I yelled, but he said nothing and stood up leading me, everyone following. Mόði, Magni, Vidar, and Vali at the back since they stopped to pick up some of the apples that fell from my bag.
We didn't have to follow Balder for long before we came to where the edge of the field Vigríðr once was. A young man's body lay motionless in the grass, his clothes mainly burnt off, but thank the gods he still had his boxers. I ran over and dropped to my knees starting to cry. He was still perfect with his neck length black hair that made him look anti-social when it fell over his eyes, and his freckled face, though death had made him stark white, but his expression made him seem as if he was just sleeping, a sleep he would never wake up from. I couldn't help but bawl, then someone kneeled beside me. It was Vali, but his hair was now pure black and cropped short, his face showing a youthful appearance, one of my apples half eaten, clutched in his hand.
"He is in Gimlé I bet," he said.
"What's Gimlé?" I muttered through my tears.
"A place in the heavens, where a place called Okolnir exists, that houses a hall called Brimir where one can always find an abundance of good drink. If one finds this pleasurable," he said patting my back, trying to make me feel better.
"And you should go to Nida Falls. There is a good hall there made of red gold called Sindri, in that hall is where good men and the pure of heart dwell," said Magni making me smile though tears still streamed down my cheeks. He thought I had a pure heart, but then I frowned. They had only mentioned good halls.
"What about the bad people? Are they still in Hel's hall or are they in another one?" I asked, most of them frowning. None wanted to answer but there was still Hod, who couldn't read the situation and spoke.
"There is Hvergelmir, the wellspring of cold in Niflheim where the cursed snakes tear dead men's corpses and Nastrad a great half of evil. Its doors face north so it's always as cold as ice, it is woven of serpent's backs and there are snake heads that blow venom into the hall so it runs rivers of poison. Murderers and those who have broken oaths are forced to wade these rivers," he explained still staring off with those unseeing eyes, and I burst back into tears.
"He promised to come back but he didn't. He broke an oath, he's going to a bad place and just because I wasn't strong enough to make him stay," I whined, laying my head on Attor's chest, crying, as if I wanted to floor the earth again. Then I whispered, "I never even had a chance to say I loved him or kiss him," I whispered, burying my face into Attor's cold stiff chest.