“Baldur?” I said, although I expected no reply. “Thorin?”

The barn was obviously empty. I turned on my heel, intending to go out, but a ruffle of movement called my attention to the rafters. A shadowy shape peered at me from a beam above my head. The silhouette leapt from the rafter and spread wider. I squealed, stepped back, and reached for my fire.

A ray of sunlight illuminated the figure, revealing a familiar shape: a raven. The shadow expanded again, growing into something too big for a bird. The transforming figure sailed toward the floor, and as it touched down, the silhouette settled into its final form: a man, a rather familiar one, and he was very, very naked.

“Hugh?” I backed away again as my heart tapped a fast jig, and my pulse thudded against my ear drums. What is this?

He doffed an imaginary cap and bowed. “At your service.”

Until that moment, I had never noticed how much Hugh’s features resembled a bird’s—black hair cut in a shag that looked like feathers in certain light, a beaky nose, and glittering black eyes. I trained my eyes on his face, not daring to look lower than his clavicle.

Another squawk echoed in the rafters. Something moved and caught the light: another raven. I looked at Hugh, raised a pointer finger, and gestured at the darkness. “Joe?”

Hugh cocked a smug grin. “He prefers Munin.”

“Kind of shy, isn’t he?”

He nodded. “He’s a very good listener, though.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Straight to the point, eh?”

“You’d rather play games?”

“Well...” He looked down at his feet and shrugged. “I am a raven.”

“I thought you were an aggressively flirtatious outdoor guide.”

He met my stare and grinned again. “I’m multidimensional. Who likes a shallow guy?”

“Baldur thought his runes could keep you out.”

“He’s not entirely wrong. We can cross his wards physically, but your thoughts and memories are well protected. Don’t worry.”

I harrumphed and folded my arms across my chest. “Then I’ll ask you again. What are you doing here? Is Val with you?”

Hugh waved me off. “He’s otherwise occupied.”

“He let Baldur follow him in Vegas, didn’t he? He wanted us to know where he was. What does he want?”

He flapped his hands again, plainly the gesture of an anxious bird. “Solina. Stop. That’s not why I came.”

I uncrossed my arms, balled my fists, and stepped toward him. “Okay, so why are you here?”

“To make a proposition.”

Proposition? I cocked my head and arched an eyebrow.

Hugh grinned again. “Speechless? You?”

“What do you know about me?”

“You forget who I am. What I am.”

I pursed my lips and huffed. “Yes, yes... You know everything.”

“I am Thought. My brother is Memory.”

“Pretty damn near omniscient to me.”

“You’re right.” He nodded, and his dark hair fluttered over his eyes. “But we’re not omnipotent. We can’t fight or defend ourselves. We, my brother and I, have been slaves pretty much since our conception. We didn’t mind it so much when Odin was our master, but Val...”

“He’s not the type to inspire your fealty?”

Hugh waggled his shoulders and arched his neck. On a bird, the motion might have ruffled neck plumage and puffed out breast feathers. My question had clearly agitated him. “Ravens are opportunists, Solina. Munin and I see an opportunity in you, something heretofore unavailable to us.”

“Oh?” I said, curiosity piqued.

“You were curious, weren’t you, about how Val came to have control over us? How he took us from Vali Odinson?”

“Sure, I’m curious. But I don’t see how it matters in the larger scheme of things.”

“It wouldn’t matter if I weren’t about to make this offer to you. But this proposal hinges on your ability to do to Vali Lokison what he did to Vali Odinson so many years ago.”

My breath caught, and my blood chilled as Hugh’s meaning sank in. “You want me to kill Val?”

Slowly, he nodded. “Not just kill him. Decimate him. Wipe him from existence. Only then can you take control of us.”

Hugh’s words hit me like a three-punch combo—jab, cross, hook. I gasped. “Decimate? What are you talking about?”

He twined his fingers behind his back and turned to pace a short track. “The gods go on and on about their immortality, and in some ways, it’s true. Their essence, their godhood, the thing that makes them divine... That part of them is nearly impossible to destroy. The Aesir’s bodies and flesh are more durable than humans, but it can be annihilated.” He ruffled his imaginary feathers again. “There are a few weapons that can destroy even their divinity. Their essence.”

“Gungir and Mjölnir,” I said.

He nodded and narrowed his beady eyes at me. “Your fire is another one of those ultimate weapons. It can destroy Val to the point where he’ll never come back.”

“Don’t get me wrong. There’s no love lost between Val and me. And I sympathize with your situation, Hugh. But what you’re asking me to do... Annihilate someone, just to free you?”

“It won’t free us.”

I threw up my hands and groused. “Then what would be the point?”

“By killing Val, our bonds would transfer to you. With our knowledge, you could end this. Everything. You can find Skoll anytime you want. You can kill him and be free.”

Everything stopped—a total freeze-frame moment. My awareness narrowed to a pinprick of light. Then a synapse fired in my brain and brought everything online again. “Why...?” I wheezed. “Why would you help me like that?”

“Because I want a favor in return.” Hugh glanced at the rafters, presumably at his brother. “We want a favor. You break our bonds and let us go, and we’ll make sure you always know where the wolf is.”