“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.”
“Break the bonds, how? By killing myself?”
“Other than Val, no one has to die. It won’t even hurt. Well...” He pursed his lips in a coy grin. “Maybe a little.”
I ran the toe of my boot through a scattering of hay on the barn floor, clearing a thin trail. “Assuming what you say is true… How could I trust you? How do I know this isn’t some scheme Val came up with?”
“How would we trust you? Our power is addictive. Why do you think no one has ever let us go?”
“Why ask this of me? Why not Thorin or Baldur?”
Hugh huffed. “Do you really think either of them would give us up? Baldur could dismantle his information network if he had us. He could find each of Nanna’s reincarnations in an instant. And Thorin… The strongest god would become the most omniscient? You actually think he’d resist that temptation?”
“He’s honorable.” I shrugged. “To a fault.”
“Honorable to you, maybe. He wants you so badly, he can hardly see straight.”
I looked up from the hay-strewn floor, snorted, and rolled my eyes. “As if.”
He tapped his temple. “I am Thought, remember? I’ve read his mind.” He clicked his tongue. “You humans. So blind. Refusing to see what’s right in front of your face.”
“Never mind all that.” I waved aside his disturbing revelations. “Tell me about Val’s plan—” Before I could finish, Hugh’s eyes went wide and round. He stumbled back and glanced overhead. He said nothing but crouched and leapt up, jumping unnaturally high. By the time he reached the rafters, he was a bird again. I gasped, overwhelmed by the surrealism of it.
The barn door opened, and Baldur and Thorin stepped in. The two ravens dove from their perch and streaked through the opening. Baldur and Thorin flinched but recovered in an instant. Thorin dropped into a fighting stance, Mjölnir at his side. When the ravens failed to engage, he stepped back and watched Hugin and Munin fade into the distance.
I stepped outside and blinked until my eyes adjusted to the sunlight.
“What were they doing here?” Thorin spun on his heel and stalked toward me.
“Negotiating.”
He started. “What?”
“Let’s go inside.” I motioned to the house. “I’ll tell you everything. But I need another coffee first.”
“Allfather, how did they get in?” Thorin asked. “I thought your runes—”
“The runes worked,” I said. “Hugh said our thoughts and memories were still safe.”
Baldur grunted but said nothing to contradict me.
