Free Son of Thunder (Heavenly War Series) by S.C. Mitchell

Norway. At least that’s where most of his letters came from.”
    Jord and Meghan moved steadily down the mountain as they spoke. It warmed up quite a bit. The pines around them began to thin out, and Meghan could see a great, walled city in the valley below them. Heavy iron walls, tall thick towers, and massive buildings. The whole place had a rather sinister look.
    Jord pointed toward the dark walls. “That is Nokkurra, where Modi saw Father two days ago.”
    A chill ran through Meghan. “Looks like a tough place.”
    Jord nodded. “It is. Modi should never have tried to enter it alone. The dark elves are deadly foes.”
    And yet, here they were. A chill crept up Meghan’s spine that had nothing to do with the weather. “Are they evil?”
    “Some of them, I’m sure, are pure evil. Most, however, are just misguided, greedy, and self-serving. They’ve delved deeply into the darker parts of Norn sorcery. They don’t let little things like morality or conscience get in the way of obtaining what they desire.”
    Meghan wondered how the dark elves would differ in appearance from their bright elf cousins.
    “So where are our allies?”
    Jord stopped walking. His gaze swept the area.. “I have no idea.” He shot her a roguish half-smile, the started walking again.
    They turned to the side and followed a ridge that wrapped around the back of Nokkurra.
    Meghan continued to follow Jord, enjoying the fluid way he moved. “Then how will we find them?”
    A fallen tree trunk lay across their path. Jord jumped it then helped Meghan over.
    “We don’t find them. I doubt we could if we tried. They will find us.”
    It was just a half hour later, as they trudged along the muddy trail, that the trees around them came alive.
    “Son of Thor.” The bright voice from the trees. “Have you come to hunt with us?”
    Jord’s face brightened as he headed toward one of the tall pines. “Linden, my old friend.”
    Out of the trees a dozen bright elves appeared. Their forest green and dark brown leather outfits blended perfectly with the environment. There were both men and women in the group. All of them were tall, thin, and incredibly good looking.
    One of them stepped forward and offered his hand to Jord. “Jord Thorson is always welcome with us.” Jord held up Queen Rhunin’s ring and the elves around him gasped.

Chapter 8
    Jord had known Linden a long time. The elf was smart and battle savvy. Linden led Jord and Meghan back to a large cave in the side of the mountain.
    “Such hospitality.” The elf’s forehead wrinkled as he eyed the ring Jord handed him. “I offer to let you join us and you just take over the whole operation.”
    Jord knew the bright elf wasn’t really upset with him and would do anything Jord asked, including putting his own life and the lives of his troops on the line. Unfortunately, that was exactly what Jord was about to ask him to do.
    “Hi, Jord!” Many of the elves in the cave waved or shouted greetings at him. Some came over to shake his hand and thump him on the back.
    He introduced Meghan to the group and told Linden about their mission. There only appeared to be about a hundred elves in the cave. Jord had hoped for a much larger force.
    “A mortal and a prophecy.” Linden shook his head. “I’m not sure which one scares me more. In any case, we are yours to command.”
    Jord’s stomach dropped as he gazed around the cavern. “Is this your entire force?”
    Linden shook his head. “I sent the bulk of my troops out in small groups to scout. Unfortunately I don’t expect them back until tomorrow. If you can wait, you will have two thousand at your command.”
    Jord shook his head. “I can’t wait that long. They could move my father at any time. He will be held in the deepest dungeon, if he is even still here. We will have to wait until dark in any case, and use stealth to get in as far as we can with this small group. With luck we will find him before we are discovered and will