“Who?”
“Was it Gungnir? Odin’s spear. It would be more likely to kill one of the immortals than any other weapon.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I’ve never heard of it before.”
Tori stood, incredulity stiffening her spine. “Your ignorance of your own heritage is appalling. I’ll have Embla assign you some essential reading.”
“Embla?”
“Our librarian.”
I stepped closer and took one of Tori’s hands between my own. “I promise, whatever you want to teach me, I want to learn it, but now is not the time. My dreams usually give very short notice. What I saw could happen in just a few hours. So, please give me the CliffsNotes version for now.”
Tori nodded and pulled away from me. “You at least know about Mjölnir, right?”
“Of course.”
“Long story short, Gungnir was a spear made by the dwarves. They made Mjölnir for Thorin’s father. The spear has similar qualities in that its accuracy is infallible. It was supposed to pass from Odin to his sons after his death, but it was lost long ago.”
Back in Las Vegas Thorin had mentioned that he and Val had possessed objects of great power. I wondered if Gungnir had once belonged to Val, passing to him from his father, Odin, after Baldur’s mistletoe death. And after Ragnarok basically killed off all the other candidates. Val, sexy playboy and ancient deity. The two ideas refused to coexist peacefully in my mind. “If my dream is correct,” I said, “then it appears someone has found it.”
“Helen?” Tori asked.
“We’re pretty sure she has Mjölnir. Why couldn’t she have the spear too?”
“How do you know she has the hammer?”
“She wears it as a charm around her neck. I think she wants to antagonize Thorin.”
“Why didn’t he rip it away from her when he had the chance? He’s the only one who can properly wield it.”
“That’s what he told me—and it’s complicated.” I was so not going to recount the whole who was looking at whose cleavage story.
Tori waved my excuse away, apparently deciding my answer wasn’t important. “Alek must leave. Immediately.”
“I agree,” I said, relieved that Tori believed and supported me. “He was going to leave in the morning anyway. He was waiting for me to make up my mind about whether I was going to stay here or go with him.”
Tori shrank back. “He wanted you to go with him?”
“No,” I said, trying to interpret her reaction. Jealousy? “He wants me to stay. He thinks it’s safer for me here.”
She put her hand on her hip and grunted. “He’s right.”
“I know he is. But never tell him I said so.”
The corner of Tori’s mouth curled into a smile. “No. I know better than that.”
“Someday, when we have more time, you’ll have to tell me how you know Thorin so well.”
Tori shrugged and held her hands open and wide apart, trying her best to look innocent. “The Valkyries have always known the Aesir. But that’s not what you mean. Don’t let it trouble you. I am focused on the present, and I’m only interested in those who share my visions for the Valkyries. Alek and I never agreed. It’s good that I have others on whom I can rely.”
“Others?”
“Alek is not the only survivor of Ragnarok.”
“No, there’s Val and Baldur, too.”
“And several more besides. I told you your ignorance is alarming.”
The conversation had taken an irrelevant path. I stood, ready to move into action, though I wasn’t sure what action to take. “Thorin may be your past, but unless we get him out of here, it’s likely he’ll have no future. Regardless of your history with him, he is Aesir, and he needs the Valkyries’ support.”
“If we send Alek away, it might save him, but what about us?” Tori asked.
“I’m thinking you should send me away, too.”
“Helen knows nothing of this place. We’ve been careful to keep our locations secret, and we move often to avoid detection. How do you suppose she found us?”
“Maybe you have a traitor in your midst.”
Tori’s face went dark, but she smothered her emotions quickly. “Not possible.”
“That’s what I thought you would say.”
“Do you think the outcome of your vision would change if you left the Aerie?”
I turned for the door so Tori wouldn’t see my face. I was afraid it would show her too much, make her ask more questions I didn’t want to answer. “I can hope.” I didn’t tell her that I had seen another death in my dream. Mine. Lying on the same beach as Thorin, my throat ripped open in a bloody, gaping wound. Skoll stood over me, baying triumphantly, his howls echoing in an early morning fog.
“You can’t tell Thorin what’s going to happen,” I said, still without looking at her. “He won’t go if he thinks there will be a fight here. He won’t trust the Valkyries to be enough to protect me when he believes without a doubt that there will be a direct confrontation. He’s willing to leave me here now because he thinks it’s safer than my being with him.”
