system. Ali climbed the pile, pulling herself up even as bones scraped against each other, slipping and tumbling beneath her feet.
She had just reached the top when something large moved in the shadows at the edge of the light. I turned to it, trying to make out what it was. A looming, dark form in the shadows.
Suddenly, it screamed, “Kuk kuk tztztztztztzzzzzttt!”
A chittering scream so loud that my entire body vibrated, and I wanted it all to end. It was worse than Ali’s singing. While I resisted clamping my hands to my ears, the creature charged toward the bone pile.
Covered in reddish fur, the creature scrambled forward on four massive feet. The thing resembled a cave bear—but much, much larger. No cave bear was two stories tall.
When it reached the bone pile, it sat up on its haunches, and I realized what it was: Ratatoskr, the immortal squirrel compelled to climb up and down Yggdrasill and deliver messages to the gods. With the gods dead, who knew what it did now, but one thing was clear: it was angry. I needed to get it away from Ali.
Ratatoskr chittered again, opening its mouth. I’d expected a pair of giant incisors, but instead, its maw was filled with thousands of tiny, razor-sharp teeth. As the squirrel screamed, its teeth vibrated, clattering against each other.
I didn’t care what it was, or what gods it had once served. I’d rip its head from its body if it left so much as a bruise on Ali.
I charged toward the squirrel, smashing through ossified remains like a wrecking ball. I needed to distract it. Get it away from her.
As I moved, I could see the huge shape of the squirrel as it tried to climb the bones, chittering and screeching like a banshee. Panic and rage clutched my heart as I realized the danger Ali was in.
My blood began to steam, and my skin turned fiery. Another effect of the curse: sometimes, powerful emotions made me burn.
But now, I relished the pain, because it cleared my head. I savored the taste of the creosote that filled my mouth, the smoke that rose from my skin. I allowed an uncontrollable rage to take me, because I needed to get to Ali.
I shouted, my ragged vocal cords producing an unearthly scream. In my fists, my daggers glinted like dragon’s teeth.
The squirrel whirled to face me, its eyes red—a deep scarlet the color of blood. It chittered again, opening its mouth to reveal the rows and rows of teeth. The teeth spun around in its mouth like mechanical things, and at last, I understood the meaning of its name: Ratatoskr—drill tooth.
I only had the pair of daggers, but I held my ground. My only hope was to serve as a distraction. To give Ali time to escape.
When the mammoth squirrel lunged at me, I dodged its mouth, my daggers swiping at its fur. Bones clattered down beneath me. I rolled to my feet, but not before I saw a familiar silver gleam.
From the wreckage of the bone pile, Ali stared at me. Hope thrilled within my cursed heart. She was alive.
Then the squirrel charged, shrieking so loudly I could hardly think. I moved to leap out of its way, but it plowed by me like a bull past a toreador, charging through the bones.
The beast slammed into one of Yggdrasill’s roots at full speed. I expected it to fall stunned, but instead, its whirling teeth shredded the wood like a buzz saw. Pearly sap sprayed through the air like rain.
I crouched among the remains of the bone pile and let out a shout. Ready to fight, I watched as Ratatoskr’s eyes focused on me.
Good. Now come and get me.
The squirrel charged, head down. But this time, instead of dodging to the side, I leapt straight up, grabbing his ears.
Ratatoskr thrashed beneath me, bucking and scratching, but my grip was solid. I swung my leg over the top of the beast’s head, then slid down toward the top of its back, out of reach of its teeth and claws.
After a few minutes of enduring its bucking and thrashing, I attempted to soothe the squirrel a little, petting it behind its ears. Its breathing started to slow. Really, he wasn’t vastly different from the rats I’d kept as pets, except he’d still eat us if given the chance.
When I looked behind me, I saw Ali climbing the rump of his fur, moving for me. I reached for her, shifting her into