“As soon as Val speaks the words in Thorin’s presence,” Hugh said, “and applies his will to those words, the transformation will be complete. Val will turn Thorin into a wolf and set him to attack his brother. Val will use Grim’s sinews and guts to bind Thorin, as the Aesir once did to Narfi. That is what you missed in your incomplete vision.”
Why are the missing puzzle pieces always the most crucial? My heart sank to my feet. My insides turned to ash. “What can I possibly do to stop him?”
“You can get to Val first. You can kill him.”
I wheezed as if Hugh had slapped me. “Ah.” I breathed hard. “Now I get it. You’ve known this all along, haven’t you? You tell me this, now, when things are the most desperate. I kill Val, and you get your freedom. What if I refuse?”
Hugh’s eyelids lowered, and he shook his head. “Then Val wins. Grim may not die from his wounds, and Thorin may not die from the venom. I told you before it takes a lot to kill a god. Grim and Thorin will suffer for eternity or until Helen succeeds in bringing about a second Ragnarok. You’re really the only one with the means and motivation to stop Val.”
I snarled and shoved my fingers through my hair. I turned on my heel and paced as Hugh’s words banged around in my brain. A young couple, a pair of men close to my age, exited the terminal and glanced in our direction. Blood drained from their faces, and their mouths fell open in comical synchronization. How must we have looked: Hugh standing naked in the cold and me bleeding light and heat as I stomped back and forth like a crazy woman? I swallowed my rage and retracted my firelight.
Baldur turned and addressed the couple. “Nothing to see here, guys.” He waved in a dismissive gesture. “Move along. Move along.” The two young men obeyed and scurried toward the parking lot.
“Did you just Jedi mind-trick them?” I asked.
Baldur turned to me and frowned. “Jedi?”
“Never mind.” I waved away my comment and met Hugh’s black, birdlike stare. “Thorin has a big head start on me. Even if I agreed to do what you asked, there’s no way I can get to Val before Thorin does. I can’t blip through space or fly.” I flapped my arms like an idiot.
Hugh’s eyes cut to Baldur. “I’m sure the Allfather could get you there in a hurry. If you leave now, I’ll lead you directly to Val while Thorin wastes time wandering the labyrinth of Val’s cave. Thorin will find Val eventually, though. Val wants Thorin to find him, but he enjoys the game. Besides, Thorin doesn’t have as much of a lead as you think. He played diplomat with your völva when he went back to pick up Skyla. He left the old seer with enough cash to pay off the loan on her RV.”
Surprise froze me in place. “He did?”
Hugh nodded. “God of Thunder is a big old softie. And after he carried Skyla to the Valkyries, he took time to arrange transportation for them out to Amchitka. Got them money to restock on supplies and weapons, too.”
“He did?” I said again. “Was I right about that? Are Helen and her golems there, at Amchitka?”
“If I tell you everything you want to know, what incentive do you have to help me?”
“I’m not helping you. I’m helping Thorin.”
He shrugged. “Either way, I’m not going to let you be distracted by the Valkyries and Helen. Not at this moment. Thorin left Portland minutes ago—the four of us can still beat him to Val. Then the Allfather can return here and escort your parents to New Breidablick.”
Baldur kicked a pebble and shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “I’ll follow your lead, Solina, but I don’t feel good about any of this.” He scowled at Hugh. “How can she trust you? How can she know you aren’t setting her up in another of Val’s traps?”
Hugh raised his chin, baring the pale flesh of his throat and chest. “Mark me, Allfather. I’ll tell you everything again, and you’ll know it for truth. But make a decision fast. Any lead we might have is quickly shrinking.”
I turned to Baldur, and his big blue eyes burned into mine. What was he thinking? If I asked for his advice, what would he say? It didn’t matter, though. The decision to go after Val and Thorin was one I had to make myself. “I believe him, Baldur. He said ravens are opportunists. This is what they’ve been waiting thousands of years for. They want their freedom, and they’ll take the necessary risks to get it.”
“Val could just as easily kill you,” he said. “The risks Hugh takes are with your life.”
“Val could kill me. But then, at least, the wolf wouldn’t get me, and Helen’s plan will fail. Hugh is also taking a risk that I’ll keep him instead of setting him free when this is all said and done. And if I die at Val’s hands, the ravens won’t be freed. Val will know Hugh’s betrayal and make him pay for it. It’s in Hugh’s best interests to make sure I succeed.”
“Smart girl,” Hugh said.
I scowled at him.
“Is saving Magni a cause worth dying for?” Baldur asked. “He wouldn’t want you to do this, and if you died, he would hate me for eternity for not doing more to stop you.”
“What wouldn’t you do for Nina?” I asked.
He flinched. “Do you truly love him that much?”
“I don’t know, but if Val’s plan works, I might never have a chance to find out.”
Baldur bit his lip and narrowed his eyes. Hugh exhaled a sigh that sounded like exasperation, but he held his tongue.
Finally, Baldur nodded. “Fine. I’ll take you and follow the birds.”
I bobbed my head and fought the urge to curtsy. “Thank you, Allfather.”
“I’d say it’s my pleasure, but it’s not. I’m certain this is a huge mistake, but I also understand your motivations, possibly better than anyone else. If anyone can save Magni, it’s you.” Baldur rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck until it popped in a very human way. He opened his arms wide, and I stepped into his embrace.
“Can the birds blip through space the way you do?” I asked.
Baldur exhaled. “They don’t need to. They can fly faster than anything you’ve ever seen.”
“Where do you think they’ll take us?”
“Back to Alaska. It’s where Odin and the others found Loki when he went into hiding.”
I groaned, thinking of the long, dizzying journey. I threw my arms around Baldur’s neck and closed my eyes. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”
Chapter 16
How did soldiers do it? How did they stand on the battlefield, crawl through the jungle, or crouch in the desert, guns locked and loaded, enemy waiting over the next rise, behind the next tree, on the rooftop? How did they face the inevitability of battle, bloodshed, killing, and death? How did they do that and keep their humanity and sanity?
Sometimes, they don’t. What do you think PTSD is? Saving Thorin might mean sacrificing a part of yourself. Are you sure he’s worth it?
My ears popped, and Baldur and I dropped hard on cold, rocky ground. I grunted and sank to my knees, driven by the force of our landing.
“Sorry about that.” He helped me stand again.
My jaw ached. I had ground my teeth for the entirety of the journey. I sucked a deep breath and forced my teeth to unclench.
Baldur scrubbed his hands over his face. “We’ve done a lot of this today, and it’s wearing on me.”
Both in their bird forms again, Hugin and Munin alighted before us and faced the mouth of a cavern nearly identical to the one in my dreams. A massive waterfall fell in a curtain behind us, shielding the cave’s entrance from outside viewers. It left us a few feet of a cold rocky beach on which to stand without getting drenched. Hugin flapped his wings and squawked as if to say, This is the way. Let’s go.
“You have enough juice left to get to the airport and meet my parents?” I asked.
Baldur brushed an unruly forelock from his brow. “Yes. And some to spare, but I won’t deny I’m looking forward to travelling by conventional means for a while.”
“I can’t thank you enough—”
Baldur waved aside my gratitude. “There are no favors between us. We’re working together to ensure each other’s survival and success. Guarding your parents means you’re free to focus on what’s to come. And I’m afraid what’s to come will be mostly terrible for you. If you survive or if you don’t, either way, you won’t be the same woman you were before you went into this cave.”
I swallowed and nodded. “I’m afraid, too. I’m afraid of what I will have to do, what I’ll have to become.”
