Page 43 of Heart of Mischief

He nodded.

“But that means Surtur has it,” she said. Drums pounded in her ears, her head throbbing in time with their horrible music. “Surtur is the one controlling Rattatosk.”

“Not necessarily,” said Elias, and Charlie exhaled with relief. “Nothing in Norse mythology suggests that Surtur is a joturri. He is a solitary being, a fiery monster standing in wait at the very edge of Muspelheim, where mist meets nothingness. It’s far more likely that whoever is controlling Rattatoskworksfor Surtur. Pays him visits in Muspelheim, where the two of them scheme and plot to bring about Ragnarök.”

“You can go to Muspelheim?”

“Of course. You can visit any of the eight realms, so long as Heimdall allows you passage on the Bifrost.”

“But that makes no sense,” said Charlie. “If that were true, why haven’t the gods killed Surtur yet? Then Ragnarök could never happen.”

“Muspelheim is a land of mist and fire. The air is so thick with smoke and fog that you can barely see your hand in front of your face. It’s impossible to navigate. Doubly so if you want to find Surtur, who stands at the end of time itself. No one has ever been able to find him.”

“Except the joturri that’s working for him, apparently.”

He lifted one shoulder. “My guess is that, if Surturwantsto be found, he has ways to make sure that he is.”

When his shoulder dropped, his arm brushed Charlie’s neck. It was only then that she realized his arm was still stretched out across the seat, a hair’s breadth away from her bare skin. The awareness sent a shiver down her neck, all the way to the base of her spine. She inhaled, jerking away from his touch, but it was too late. Her toes were already curled in her shoes, and every part of her was a few degrees too warm.

This was going to be a long ten miles.

14

The entrance to Saugatuck Duneswas just like Charlie remembered: a small roundabout with space for a handful of cars to park, plus several sets of trails leading off in different directions.

During their summers here, Charlie’s mom had always fought for parking with the other families eager to spend a day at the dunes. But because she and Elias arrived on a random Tuesday morning in October, she wasn’t surprised to see almost no cars.

Her family had always camped near the center of the forested area beside the dunes, right off what the map called the Beach Trail. There were plenty of flat spots where they could set up their tent and—more importantly—a nearby outhouse. Trish Hudson staunchly refused to poop into a hole she had to dig herself.

That morning, however, Elias led them north, up a trail she’d never taken. It began among the trees, the coastline not yet visible. They crunched down the path in silence, Henry tottering ahead, kicking pinecones and sniffing at plants. Birds twittered in the distance. Bright leaves slipped from branches and fell to the forest floor. As they walked, Charlie pulled her phone out to scroll through the texts she’d felt rolling in during the ten-mile drive to the dunes.

As expected, she had over twenty-five missed messages in her group chat with Lou and Abigail, plus two more from her mom.

LOU:Where r u??? Why is Mason picking us up?

LOU:He said that ur working on a school project with ur “boyfriend”??

LOU:We both know THAT isn’t true

LOU:So where r u???

ABIGAIL:Lou, stop blowing up the group chat. You can just put all the sentences you need to say in one text, like a normal person.

LOU:No normal person texts like that Abby.

ABIGAIL:Don’t call me Abby!

ABIGAIL:But seriously Charlie, where are you? Did Elias kidnap you?

LOU:Omg do we need to launch a rescue mission?

LOU:*gif of Tom Cruise scaling a building in Mission Impossible*

ABIGAIL:Just let us know you’re okay.

ABIGAIL:And get here ASAP to kick Mason the Hel out of the driver’s seat. The guy drives like he’s in Grand Theft Auto V.

LOU:How do u know what GTA is?