I must have slept as the sound of people bustling inside my room brought me sitting upright with shock. Two red-faced Huldra carried a large copper bath into the room, depositing it in front of the fire. They hurried out of the room as another group of Huldra entered bearing large pots of steaming water. They formed a line, pouring the water into the copper bath and leaving briskly. The line seemed to never end and the level of the water within the huge tub increased until Sigrun seemed satisfied. Then she clapped her hands and all the serving girls left, leaving me staring, a little dazed, at Sigrun.
"What's all this?" I asked, a grateful smile already forming on my lips.
"I thought it would be a better idea for you to bathe elsewhere. I do not think I could handle seeing Astrid face-to-face in the near future. I cannot guarantee that I will not damage her in some way," Sigrun said, her expression still furious, although she seemed to have suppressed some of her anger.
"Thank you, Sigrun. That's one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me," I said, my voice soft and shimmering with emotion.
"That is alright, Bryn. Now you must enjoy you bath." Sigrun smiled as she turned to leave. "And I have not forgotten. I will be back soon to take you to Mimir." With that, she waved good-bye and left the room, closing the door softly behind her.
I stared at the closed door and counted my blessings. My wings may be gone, but how many wonderful people did I have in my life? People who would do whatever it took to help me. People who weren’t Aidan. My heart twisted thinking about the palpable and seemingly insurmountable distance between us. My throat hitched. Was this the beginning of the end for us? Or was it the end and I’d missed everything leading up to it?
I stripped quickly and slipped into the heated waters of the bath, sighing as the warmth seeped into my flesh and muscles. I leaned back and sighed, lulled by the hot water, again feeling the pull of sleep.
I blinked and sat up, reaching for the soap set on a small stool beside the tub. There was no time for sleep. I rubbed and scrubbed until my skin turned pink and I was sure I'd washed off any lingering reminders of my experience at the hands of Dr. Lee. My fingers ran over the skin at my shoulders and I paused. Slowly, I reached out to my shoulder blades, feeling for the raw edges of the bones of my wings. The hardness of the bone beneath my fingers brought a rush of hot tears to my eyes, the bone a stark reminder of how impossible it was to get my wings back.
I shook the tears from my eyes and the thoughts from my head, and slid into the water, dunking my head, then lathered my hair and rinsed.
At last, all fresh and clean, I rose from the bath and dried off, dressing in my soft, flexible scout armor, leather garments with the added armor-plated protection of the Glasir tree.
Chapter 9
I took the Bifrost intending to go straight back to the lab where I'd last seen Aidan, but as soon as I arrived, I knew something was wrong. I stepped away from the bridge of the gods only to discover I wasn't anywhere in or near Asgard’s NY HQ. Instead, I took a few steps into a deserted field.
A blue sky hung overhead while a happy, bright sun scorched the top of my skull. An old farmhouse rose in the distance, but I was completely alone. Not even the bark of a dog in the distance to confirm signs of life.
My heart thumped as a sudden breeze threw strands of my hair against my face. I thrust it away impatiently as I concentrated and tried to access the Bifrost again. I'd arrived right here, so surely the entrance was somewhere nearby. But nothing worked. The Bridge remained closed to me. And fear crept slowly up my throat.
I glanced around frantically. A line of trees edged the field on three sides, while the third led up to the house in the distance. The place felt abandoned, and I felt alone and afraid.
A large shadow crossed the field, closing in on me, gathering speed as it came. I scanned the sky and cried out in shock as a gigantic, black falcon flew straight toward me, yellowed claws outspread, ready to skewer me.
Instead, the bird landed close by and strutted toward me, staring at me with its beady, black eyes. My knees began to melt but I forced myself to remain upright. I needed some kind of upper hand with this bird, but what kind of upper hand succeeds with a bird as large as a two-story building?
"Well met, Valkyrie Brynhildr," the bird said, its voice so clear and so familiar I wanted to strangle it.
"Loki?" A shudder of rage ran through me and I wanted to scream until I was hoarse.
Loki laughed, the sound a strange blend of his enigmatic laughter and a falcon’s call.
"What do you want?" I asked, my hostile tone palpable.
"Always straight to the point aren't you, Bryn? That's why I like you so much."
"I don't particularly care whether you like me or not. Where am I? Where have you brought me?"
"Oh, don't worry, my dear, you are safe enough."
"Stop messing around and just tell me what you want." I demanded.
"Very well, my dear Valkyrie." Loki sighed and scratched in the sand with his talons. "I have a proposition for you."
"Do tell." I folded my arms and stood with my back rigid, my jaw tight.
"Well, since you want your friend Brody back so badly, I'd like to make you an offer. You can have Brody back, but I want an exchange."
"Who do you want in return?"
"You, of course dear, Bryn." A smile lurked in the voice for the bird.
I frowned at the creature, still trying to get used to the fact that I was having a conversation with a giant falcon. "What do you really want, Loki? What do you want with me? Is it to use me again for your freakish experiments? Or do you just want me out of the way?" It was hard to read Loki’s expression while he remained in the bird form.
"And why would I want to get you out of the way? You are such a fun opponent." Loki tilted his feathery head. He evaded the question, which told me there was probably a hint of truth in my words. Was I a hindrance to his cause? Well, I think I like being a problem for Loki. And I didn’t believe a word he said anyway. He had no intention of returning Brody to us.
"No," I said, shaking my head.
"What did you say?" The falcon took a step toward me and the hairs on the back of my neck rose at the proximity of the gigantic, yellow beak to my face.
"I said no, Loki. No deal. Go to Hel." I yelled to make sure he heard me well enough.
Loki flapped his great black wings and surged into the air, screeching his anger. In the distance, a flock of birds rose into the sky and flew off. I ducked down, afraid he'd try to grab me by the hair but he rose higher into the sky and circled me.
I didn't trust him and should have been more careful. After circling me one last time, Loki flew straight at me, so fast I couldn’t duck. He aimed a vicious claw my face and screeched loudly as he turned away and flew up high into the sky.
And then he disappeared.
I blinked. The claw that had grazed my skin had come way too close for comfort. Any closer and he would have ripped my jaw off.
I touched my face and my fingers came away bloody.
Boy, was I tired of being injured.
Loki must have blocked my access to the Bifrost because once he'd disappeared, I managed to find the entrance to the bridge fairly quickly. It still boggled my mind that the Bifrost had entrances and exits in the oddest places on Midgard.
This time, it deposited me in the smelly alley with the dented blue dumpster. I hurried the few blocks to number Forty Wall Street. I used my keycard to get past security and up the private elevator to the main foyer of the New York Headquarters and I heaved a sigh of relief. There was no busty Betty around, so I saw myself inside. I stopped at the nearest table asked an einherjar where Aidan was. I followed the pointed finger to the smaller of the two plush meeting rooms at the opposite end of the floor and found Aidan hunched over the computer. Another einherjar sat at the table behind him, studying screeds of paper printouts. I was glad to see him, glad to know someone had kept Aidan company, but also glad to know that someone was around to make sure Aidan didn’t run out on us.
"Hey," I said, pulling up a high stool.
"Hi," Aidan replied a little absently. He hadn’t even looked at me. I bristled and gritted my teeth. If he thought he could go back to his dismissive self, he was mistaken. I had no time for this crap.
"Where’s Joshua?"
"Erik needed him for something." There was a sharpness in his tone that hinted at not being Joshua’s babysitter. I just nodded.
"Ready?" I asked, keeping my tone as neutral as possible.
"What for?" Aidan deigned to look up at me, and for the briefest moment, my heart warmed. He looked so endearing with his glasses perched on the tip of his nose and his hair falling into his face. Lines of fatigue etched his features and I felt the pull of sympathy for him.
"I'm here to help you fetch your mother and sister." I bit the words out, trying to squelch my sympathy.
"You don't have to come with me, you know."
"I do. I said I would and here I am. Can we get going? I don't have much time." I stood up and tugged my backpack higher up my shoulder.
"I'm still in the middle of—"
"This stuff isn't going anywhere, Aidan. Your computer and all the information on the system will still be here after your family is safe."
Aidan still appeared unsure as he scanned the monitor then glanced at the ream of paper beside the keyboard. Then his eyes settled on my face and they widened as he scanned my cheek. "What the hell happened to you?"