Dead Chaos (A Valkyrie Novel - Book 3)(2)

This time, I gasped. Beside the de-feathered portion of the wing, a section had been neatly, precisely skinned. Bare, white bone stared back at me, hideous and terrible.

A tense silence blanketed the room, and the soughs of three sets of breathing echoed eerily. My knees softened, threatening to spill my weight onto the floor. Only the comforting squeeze of Sigrun's arm around my waist held me up. I’d forgotten about her there.

Aimee’s gasp made me look farther down the table. If possible, it was more appalling than the flayed bones. They’d cut away portions of my wing, laying pieces beside each other, side by side, as if my wings were some ancient dinosaur bones uncovered in a paleontology dig. As if they were trying to piece together what the wing should be.

"Sick bastards," said Aimee. I stared at her, shocked. The incongruity of Aimee’s swearing took me straight out of my horror. She gave me a sheepish smile then returned her attention to the wing, her jaw clenched. "I’m sorry. This just pisses me off. I want to wring the f-… er… wring that doctor’s neck for this."

I understood what she meant, but it felt a bit surreal to me. Dreamlike, as if I floated underwater, viewing everything through the refracted lens of water.

"We will have him punished." Sigrun’s jaw tightened, her voice taking on a determined edge.

I sighed, the sound shuddering from my throat. "Does it really matter what we do to him?" Both girls glanced sharply at me. "I mean, my wings are gone. Can’t get them back, can I? And what will we do? Chop off his fingers? Or maybe his arm?" I knew I didn’t really mean it. I really did want to punish him. Anger surged like lighting through me, fury blinding me for a moment. I wanted to find Dr. Lee and slam my fists into him until my rage faded and my sorrow eased.

"It is alright to be angry, Bryn. But Odin will find a fit punishment for him." Sigrun nodded, her eyes understanding exactly what I was thinking.

"Yeah, he’s going to have to find something major to punish Dr. Lee with for all this." Aimee scanned the room, drawing my gaze from the table to an array of bottles displayed on a low shelf. Pieces of my wings were suspended in a dusky solution, each a different portion, as if they liked the idea of trophies. Farther down the table was a row of microscopes and stacks of little jars containing blood samples. It horrified me to think that part of my body had undergone this extent of experimentation. As if I were a monstrosity.

"This is what makes Midgardians a barbaric race." A voice penetrated the haze of violent anger that surged through me.

Thor stood behind me, his gorgeous face twisted with sadness as he examined the remains of my wings, then stared around the room at the travesty. He shook his head, his fingers gripping Mjolnir in his hand as if he wanted to throw it to destroy everything within the room. I understood his emotions. Only more so. I seriously wanted to torch the place.

"We will punish him." The words were a series of controlled, angry grunts. Thor walked toward me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Valkyrie Brynhildr. The All-Father wants you to come home. He wishes to talk with you."

I nodded, flicking a glance back at my wings. Or rather, what remained of them.

Thor squeezed my shoulder again. "And Brynhildr, please accept my sorrow for your loss. I know this cannot be easy for you. I wish you strength and courage."

"Thank you, my lord." He smiled, his mouth shaping a sad shadow of the real thing, sketched a small bow. He beckoned to Sigrun who gave me a small apologetic wave. She followed Thor as he strode out of the room in a haze of taut silence.









Chapter 2




I turned to walk away from the gurney, my balance all off, my mind awry.

I’d forgotten for one brief moment that I no longer needed to compensate for the weight of my wings, no longer needed that slight lean forward all Valkyries did for balance.

I steadied myself and stood straighter, breathing in and out for calm.

Aimee and I left the lab and walked to the room where we’d last seen Aidan and Joshua. They huddled over a stack of books and paperwork, alternately scanning a computer screen, then the papers. Our arrival drew their attention and Joshua rose and came straight to me.

"How are you?" he asked, his smile tender and kind. Had there been even a hint of pity in his words I would've smacked him on the head.

"I’m not dead yet," I said and he laughed, folding me into a careful hug. Over his shoulder I watched Aidan as he stared down at the books. Was he avoiding my eyes?

Joshua let go and led me to the computer.

And to Aidan.

He stood up and held out his arms. I wanted to sink into them, to forget for at least a moment, but he seemed a bit distant. Maybe he was distracted with the hustle and bustle and the research. Or maybe he didn’t handle emotional situations like this very well. I wouldn’t know really. We hadn’t spent sufficient quality time with each other over the last few months. Maybe that was it. We just needed to get to know each other better. But a tiny part of me couldn’t stop the hurt.

I let him hug me but it felt awkward, impersonal. I sensed Aimee and Joshua at my back. Aidan probably didn’t do well with public displays of affection. I smiled and tried to put my doubts out of my head. Aidan held on to my arm. "I’m so sorry, Bryn."

"It’s not your fault." I tried to reassure him, worried that he blamed himself for his father’s deeds.

"The bastard is still my father." There was a cold, hard hatred in his voice.

"He had his own agenda. It’s not as if you knew what he was up to or helped him in any way."

"It’s my fault he found you." He looked at me, his eyes dark and sad, his face all angles and strain.

"He forced you. Held your mother and sister hostage to make you do things. That’s not your fault." He nodded at me and gave a small smile, a silent thank you.

I understood, but I still felt a little hollow inside. When I looked at the computer, he took it as a cue. He drew me to his side and sat on the stool, bringing it closer to the screen. "We’ve found a stack of information. And we found out what they were trying to do."

I stiffened, looking at Joshua, who stood on the other side of Aidan, then at Aimee and Sigrun behind him. "Don’t we already know they killed hundreds of einherjar because of me?"

Joshua spoke sternly. "Bryn, that’s stupid. They died because Loki and Dr. Lee teamed up to find the means to destroy Odin's mighty army."

"So what’s so bloody dangerous about my blood, anyway?"

"Your blood is only a part of it. It’s ingenious really." Aidan spoke up still transfixed by the data on the screen. The admiration in his tone had us all staring at him. He remained oblivious. "Another substance seems to act as a carrier. Together, the poison is the perfect biological weapon against the einherjar."

"You sound impressed," I noted. The sharp stab of hurt in my heart mirrored the pain in my wings, reminding me whose father had performed the mutilation of my body. Perhaps Aidan had forgotten.

"Of course I’m impressed, Bryn—" There was an odd note of excitement in his voice, and then he looked at me and saw the expression on my face. Color drained from his face. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way."

"Maybe you can explain how you meant it?" Aimee asked, her voice cold and filled with contempt. I guess I wasn’t the only one unimpressed with Aidan's admiration. Nobody else said a word.

"I only meant they would've had to work long and hard to figure out how to use Bryn’s blood this way. There’s a lot of in-depth research here. They were methodical, precise. The data shows it."

"So you think it's impressive?" Aimee folded her arms.

Aidan hesitated, then lifted his chin. "Of course, I’m impressed. From a biological and chemical standpoint, the research and investigation is second to none." There was that tone of excitement again, as if the discovery meant something more to him than he was saying. "You can go ahead and judge me, but I’m not blind to what the research says."

"So what does the research say about my wings then?" I asked, holding his gaze while my heart plummeted, while the hurt part of me wanted to curl up in a corner and cry. But the furious part of me stood waiting for an answer.

"Well, in terms of studying any type of biological organism, the only way to learn about that organism is to investigate how it functions." Aidan answered, choosing his words slowly while returning his gaze to the monitor.

"Like dissecting a frog?" goaded Joshua, his voice conversational, while fury bled more emerald into his green eyes.

"Exactly." Aidan seemed oblivious to Joshua’s anger. Anger that surprised me a little. I understood Aidan’s scientifically minded opinion. Or did I?

"So dissecting Bryn’s wings is a technically and scientifically respectable method to gain an understanding of how they function?" asked Joshua, his voice almost a growl.

Anger was a palpable thing, fisted and vicious in the sterile, cold room. Joshua’s eyes flashed as he stared at Aidan, and Aimee’s cheeks flared, like twin rouge spots, a stark contrast to her pale skin. The silence twisted within the room while the computer hummed as if nothing untoward had just happened.