Dead Chaos (A Valkyrie Novel - Book 3)(41)

I nodded, only slightly relieved. "Right. Well, rest a bit and then we have to leave," I said, giving the other scrawny prisoner a quick once over.

I approached him and sighed, knowing there was no way we could leave him behind. Whomever he was, he deserved to have his freedom back. But, how would we take him with us?

"Sigrun. We're going to have to each take one of them back down."

Heimdall laughed softly. My gaze snapped to the god and I scowled. "I apologize, Brynhildr. I am not laughing at you."

"Then what's so funny?"

"I am a god of Asgard. I will merely move from here to the ground outside at will." His tone was kind, not a hint of teasing or insult at all.

"Oh" was all I managed. I should have realized it but I'd been too busy making our escape plans.

Then it hit me what Sigrun said about the Bifrost. "Lord Heimdall, can you open the Bifrost from here?"

"Yes. I will be able to summon an opening. It would be safer to open the Bridge and leave directly from here. I will try in a minute."

"I agree that would be easiest, but we have two einherjar hiding down in the castle grounds, waiting for us."

"Very well, then it makes sense to get to them first." Heimdall nodded. "One opening is wisest. We should not risk opening more than one door to Asgard from this realm."

The other prisoner moaned, his head rising then falling as if he dreamed bad dreams. I stared at Heimdall. "Can we take this man with us?"

"Yes, perhaps he, too, deserves his freedom." Heimdall glanced at me as if he approved of my decision to free the other prisoner. I just hoped I wasn’t making a huge mistake and freeing the man only to have him slit my throat as a thank you.

"Do you know who he is?" I stepped closer, noting the overgrown fuzz on his chin, the bushy hair, the almost skeletal appearance of the man's bones. Something made me pause. Maybe it was the way the light struck the dark skin of his cheekbones, but I knew this man.

A shiver ran down my spine.

"Brody?"









Chapter 38




The man stirred, his heavy-lidded eyes opening a slit, the simple movement seeming so difficult for him. At last he shifted his gaze and stared at me. "Bryn?"

I gasped, the blood rushing to my head, making me feel a little light-headed. I stepped forward, overjoyed that we'd finally found Brody. Especially since he'd been the last person we'd been thinking about or looking for. Then I stopped. "How do I know it’s you?"

"Bryn? What do you mean?"

"This boy’s name is Brody," Heimdall offered.

"That's not what I mean." I shook my head, glancing at the god whose expression seemed a bit too critical, making me a bit too defensive. "The last time I came into contact with Brody he tried to kill me. Then he turned into a Jotunn."

Heimdall tilted his head to look at the young prisoner whose head had lolled forward again. He didn’t seem to be capable of staying conscious for too long. "It would have been difficult for the boy to attack you as he has been chained to that wall for almost 6 months now. When were you attacked? Perhaps he has a more solid alibi than you expected?"

"Maybe you’re right." The Jotunn-Brody had attacked me a few weeks ago. Was this where Loki had kept Brody all these months? And why? Why not just kill him? Was he waiting to use him as leverage? Or bait? But using him as bait didn't make sense considering we'd had no idea Brody was even here. We'd come for Heimdall.

And now that we had him, had both of them, we needed to leave before we pushed our luck too far. I paused, frowning as I looked at the Heimdall.

Then I glanced back at Brody. "We need to take him down."

"I think that would be best."

"Right." I set about smashing Brody's manacles and supported him as his knees gave way, his bony legs unable to carry his weight. "He's really weak."

Heimdall grunted. "Our hosts have not been the most hospitable. We often go days without food or water." Heimdall pushed himself to his knees, already looking much better. The corset of dwarf metal must have been a constant drain on his energy. He held onto the wall and lurched to his feet. And there he stood, godly and regal, and I had to crane my neck to meet his eyes.

"We can leave as soon as you are ready. No point in waiting for Brody to regain his strength. My Lord Heimdall, can you take Brody down to the castle grounds?" Heimdall met my gaze and I hoped I hadn’t sounded rude or demanding. "I mean, are you strong enough yet to do the whole disappear, reappear thing?"

"Yes, Valkyrie. I will take the boy." Heimdall grasped Brody within his arms and then with a sharp nod, simply disappeared.

"Does he even know where he’s going?" I asked nobody.

"Yes, he does," came Heimdall's disembodied voice. I would have been embarrassed at the potential my comment had to disrespect the god had it not been for the grin I heard in those words. I shook my head.

I looked over at Sigrun who glanced back at me, clearly having not missed a single word. "Ready?"

"Yes. I cannot hear anything on the stairs. I assume the way is clear." She led me out and I followed closely, my mind half on Brody. My heart hurt to think of the horrible existence poor Brody had lived through all these months. Just because Loki wanted to use him.

Sigrun checked outside before nodding the all clear. She hurried up the stairs back to the battlements where we'd landed. Sigrun glanced around while I untied the cloak and turned it back the right way. It may not provide us with total coverage, but I was happy to take what I could get.

With an eye on the stairwell, Sigrun and I rose into the air, her wings beating more frantically beneath the cloak than we had on the ascent to Mord Tower. This time the going was much faster. A few crazy moments of free fall gave my heart a jumpstart one too many times.

From above, the area around the castle seemed quiet. Nothing stirred. Strange since the place should be a hive of activity. Or at the very least, guarded. We lowered ourselves slowly and almost fell the last ten feet. The landing left a lot to be desired, our feet hitting the ground and sending shuddering impact waves into my bones.

I looked over at Joshua's and Aimee's hiding place and heaved a sigh of relief. They were safe and accompanied by Heimdall supporting Brody with a hand around his waist. Aimee and Joshua hovered around the weak boy. Sigrun and I hurried over.

Aimee's face lit up at the sight of us. Even Joshua grinned, although Brody was far too weak to do more than smile at our arrival. He did seem to have gained some energy though, which was a relief.

I paused as I noticed Heimdall staring at me, an odd expression in his eyes. "The Tarnkappe? Where did you get that?" Heimdall frowned as if about to challenge me. I almost felt sorry for him. Here I appeared out of nowhere with Gungnir and the Tarnkappe. He must be very confused as to why a mere Valkyrie was in possession of godly artifacts.

"Thor," I answered.

Heimdall grunted, scowling. He didn't pursue the line of questioning. "If we are ready, I will open the Bifrost. Having not performed an opening in a while I do not know how this attempt will affect my energies, so please, only step onto the Bridge if the opening is strong."

Heimdall made a circular motion with his hand and the air before us grew hazy, almost liquid. He nodded at us. "Let us go, Warriors." Heimdall stepped through the portal bearing his burden and disappeared.

Joshua stood beside me, sending me an encouraging smile. We were so close to the Bifrost, my nose less than an inch from entering the bridge, when a whirring sound came flying at us. It hit something with a thwack and I whirled around, expecting to find a blade or an arrow stuck in the ground somewhere.

Instead, Sigrun grunted and sagged against me.









Chapter 39




My blood ran icy in my veins.

As cold as the gusting air we were breathing. As icy as the snowflakes that fell at random. I held onto Sigrun as she sank to the ground. Heard the shiing of Aimee’s and Joshua’s weapons being drawn. Heard the harsh rattle of Sigrun's breath. One look at her back and my heart froze. An arrow, at least five feet long, had sunk deep into her upper back. So deep that I was sure I'd find the point jutting from her chest. But I didn't dare look. Not when we were still so vulnerable to attack.

I scanned the yard, my heart thudding, my mind focused more on how close the arrow was to Sigrun’s heart than on my surroundings. Aimee’s gasp barely penetrated my mind as I blinked and tried to concentrate but could see nothing but rocks. Giant ones and small ones. Splinters and boulders.

A light snow began to fall, and behind me, I heard the whoosh of the Bifrost closing. We were stuck in Jotunnheim now. And no way of knowing when Heimdall will return for us.

Joshua bent to swing Sigrun into his arms. "I’ll carry her. She’ll be too heavy for you." Joshua threw me a curious look then stepped back, giving me space. I swung Sigrun up in my arms and hurried behind the lean-to rock. Aimee and Joshua kept guard as we retreated to relative safety. I laid Sigrun down in a sitting position, carefully propped against the stone wall so as not to disturb the arrow but it wasn’t easy at all for her to sit with the five-foot weapon sticking out of her.

Without waiting to think about it, I gripped the arrow a hand-span from her back and broke it off. She hissed with pain but her eyes answered in gratitude as she leaned back and allowed the wall to take her weight.