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warriors—Thor and Týr and the rest—to build a great stronghold to push back the Chaos that would have overwhelmed the new world before it was even completed. Its name was Asgard, the Sky Citadel, and it became the First World of those Elder Days.”
    Maddy nodded. She knew the tale, though the Good Book claimed it was the Nameless that had built the Sky Citadel and that the Seer-folk had won it by trickery.
    One-Eye went on. “But the enemy was strong, and many had skills that the Æsir did not possess. And so Odin took a risk. He sought out a son of Chaos and befriended him for the sake of his skills, and took him into Asgard as his brother. You’ll know of him, I guess. They called him the Trickster.”
    Again Maddy nodded.
    “Loki was his name, wildfire his nature. There are many tales about him. Some show him in an evil light. Some said that Odin was wrong to take him in. But—for a time, at least—Loki served the Æsir well. He was crooked, but he was useful; charm comes easily to the children of Chaos, and it was his charm and his cunning that kept him close at Odin’s side. And though in the end his nature grew too strong and he had to be subdued, it was partly because of Loki that the Æsir survived for as long as they did. Perhaps it was their fault for not keeping a closer watch on him. In any case, fire burns; that’s its nature, and you can’t expect to change that. You can use it to cook your meat or to burn down your neighbor’s house. And is the fire you use for cooking any different from the one you use for burning? And does that mean you should eat your supper raw?”
    Maddy shook her head, still puzzled. “So what you’re saying is…I shouldn’t play with fire,” she said at last.
    “Of course you should,” said One-Eye gently. “But don’t be surprised if the fire plays back.”

    At last came the day of One-Eye’s departure. He spent most of it trying to convince Maddy that she could not go with him.
    “You’re barely seven years old, for gods’ sakes. What would I do with you on the Roads?”
    “I’d work,” said Maddy. “You know I can. I’m not afraid. I know lots of things.”
    “Oh, aye? Three cantrips and a couple of runes? That’ll get you a long way in World’s—” He broke off suddenly and began to tug at one of the straps that bound his pack.
    But Maddy was no simpleton. “World’s End?” she said, her eyes widening. “You’re going to World’s
End
?”
    One-Eye said nothing.
    “Oh, please let me come,” Maddy begged. “I’d help you, I’d carry your stuff, I’d not cause you any trouble—”
    “No?” He laughed. “Last time I heard, kidnapping was still a crime.”
    “Oh.” She hadn’t thought of that. If she disappeared, there would be posses after them from Fettlefields to the Hindarfell and One-Eye put in the roundhouse or hanged…
    “But you’ll forget me,” Maddy said. “I’ll never, ever see you again.”
    One-Eye smiled. “I’ll be back next year.”
    But Maddy would not look at him and stared at the ground and would not speak. One-Eye waited, wryly amused. Still Maddy did not look up, but there came a single small, fierce sniff from beneath the mat of hair.
    “Maddy, listen,” he told her gently. “If you really want to help me, there’s a way you can. I need a pair of eyes and ears; I need that much more than I need company on the Roads.”
    Maddy looked up. “Eyes and ears?”
    One-Eye pointed at the Hill, where the dim outline of the Red Horse glowed like banked embers from its rounded flanks. “You go there a lot, don’t you?” he said.
    She nodded.
    “Do you know what it is?”
    “A treasure mound?” suggested Maddy, thinking of the tales of gold under the Hill.
    “Something far more important than that. It’s a crossroads into World Below, with roads leading down as far as Hel’s kingdom. Perhaps even as far as the river Dream, pouring its waters into the Strond—”
    “So there’s no treasure?” said