"It is good to see you, brother Thor." Fen placed his hand on Thor's shoulder and gave the muscles a familiar squeeze.
"I have come to offer my help," said Thor as he set Mjölnir on the table. He walked to the map and studied the black pins. "The All-Father has sent me."
"How did he know?" I whispered to Sigrun.
I had to elbow her in the ribs to get a response. If Thor had this effect on the girls, I'd hate to see what happened should Baldur walk into the room.
"What? Oh, Hugin or Munin," she replied, her gaze never leaving the god's face.
Made sense. Those birds were everywhere. I almost wanted to look over my shoulder for them, just in case.
We suffered through the next few minutes, forced to relive the horror as Fen explained the situation to Thor. Noticing the god's concern, the sadness in his eyes, I realized he was very much like his father, Odin. He commanded the attention of the room and the admiration of all, either besotted or respectful. Thor listened to Fen, paying attention to more than just his words. His eyes covered the room, nodding and greeting everyone, telling us all that he was here for us, that he saw us, acknowledged our efforts.
"The black poison had worried me from the first time I . . . we saw it," Fen said to the god, throwing a fleeting glance in my direction. Fen filled him in on everything that had happened since he and I discovered the first body in the LA mausoleum. "At the time that the Valkyrie Brynhildr and I first saw the substance, we never suspected it to be this deadly.
At the mention of my name, the enigmatic god looked straight at me, as if he'd known who I was from the moment he'd walked into the room.
"Valkyrie Brynhildr, I have heard so much about you."
The moment the god spoke to me, it seemed to pull Sigrun out of her adoring trance. She stiffened beside me and her fingers gripped my arm, pushing me forward. I had no choice but to approach Thor.
Dimly, I was aware of Joshua across the room, staring daggers at the god and alternately staring angrily at me. It seemed his attention had moved from Mika to me. What, did he think I was also besotted with the god? Why the hell would Joshua be angry if Thor paid attention to little old me? He should be paying more heed to the roaming eyes of the girl he had the hots for.
I sent him a narrow-eyed, what's-your-problem glare, but he just gave me a short, sharp shake of his head and glared back. Beside him, Fen frowned at me as well. What the hell was going on with the males in this room?
I didn't have much time to wonder. In a few steps I stood before Thor, bathed in his golden aura.
The god glowed, much like Odin and the other gods, a low simmering aura and a constant reminder of Asgard and their godly nature. Even the skin of all our Warriors, like Joshua and Aimee, gleamed a little. Pity the Valkyries didn't have this special glow.
Thor smiled, and I was not immune. "Brynhildr, can you tell me more? I believe you and Fenrir were the first to discover this strange liquid on the bodies of the Warriors?"
Behind him, Ingrid walked back into the room, just in time to hear his words. Her face tightened. But even if I hadn't seen her reaction, I still would've thought it odd for him to say that. The last thing I wanted to do was steal any credit, even for something as important as the poisonous gloop.
"My lord, I doubt we were the first to see the residue. I would think there were others before us, considering the number of losses we have had all over Midgard. Many of the scout teams arrived at almost the same time to report what they'd seen."
Thor nodded at my answer and stroked his bearded chin. I wasn't entirely sure I'd impressed him by deflecting his praise. I had no idea what to say next. So I just said nothing.
"We are losing new Warriors by the dozen." Fen broke into the uncomfortable void and probably saved me from saying something dumb. "We find them, but they do not survive long enough for Retrieval." He thrust his finger at the map full of black dots as if to sweep them away. "Someone is getting to them before us. And that means we need more surveillance. Possibly someone with the Warrior twenty-four-seven."
I stiffened, chilled by a sudden thought. "What if they're glamored?" I asked. A Valkyrie or an Ulfr could sneak into a gathering of humans and deliver the fatal poison unseen.
"That is true." A thoughtful expression settled on Fen's face. "So that means we must look harder, be more aware of what to expect."
He leaned closer to Thor and spoke in tones too low for my ears, and the god nodded.
I backed away as they began to discuss strategy, glad to get out of the spotlight, and returned to my small group of friends. Joshua, Aimee, Sigrun and Mika waited against the far wall.
I sighed as I leaned my weight against the wall, sure that the room was closing in on me. "I think I need some space."
"I know what you mean, Bryn," said Sigrun. "Ingrid has advised that there are rooms upstairs if you wish to rest."
I glanced quickly back at Thor and Fen. They were so deep in conversation it didn't seem like they'd be needing me anytime soon. I gave Sigrun a nod, relieved to have somewhere to go that wasn't filled with tension and despair. Sigrun and Mika waited by the door as I pushed wearily off the wall and began to walk after them with Aimee and Joshua. But our escape attempt was interrupted by the Valkyrie who had left with Ingrid earlier to tend to Olaf. She half-ran into the room, her white wings quivering, eyes filling with tears. She spoke into Ingrid's ear, stopping to calm herself in mid-speech. We couldn't hear what she said, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. My stomach plunged to my feet.
The Valkyrie stepped back, swiping at the moisture on her cheeks, and Ingrid cleared her throat, her eyes clear and colder than ever. "There is more to this black substance than we could ever have suspected. Olaf is dead."
A dead chill filled the room, a chill so thick that even the cloying heat of the day did nothing to relieve it. A whisper of a rumble ran around the room, and I glanced at Mjölnir, still sitting on the table where Thor had left it. But when I looked at Thor's face, I was reminded again that a god stood in our midst. His brows were dark and I could have sworn his very breath was weaved from thunder.
"And this death is a result of the black substance? There is no doubt?" asked Thor, his eyes turning to Ingrid.
"None," said Ingrid, her jaw clenching. She lowered her head.
"Unfortunately, he came in contact with the black residue on our last Retrieval," Fen said. "He touched it before we realized the body was covered in it." A strange, hoarse note in his voice made me search his face.
Lines of worry burrowed into his skin, and for a moment he looked every bit the ancient werewolf. Fen would've been blaming himself all along, but things had just gotten worse. Way worse. Knowing Fen, he'd now feel entirely responsible for the Warrior's death.
***
The room swam with grief and worry, and we thought it best to leave Ingrid and her team to comfort each other. Aimee and I left the basement and escaped to a sparsely furnished room upstairs; Sigrun and Joshua followed not two minutes later. Guess we all needed some time away from the basement.
I sank onto the rickety, uncomfortable bed, feeling the weight of tiredness push me down. Aimee plonked herself beside me, looking as deflated as I felt.
Joshua stood at the open window, arms folded, staring out into the murky dawn. The rigid set of his shoulders worried me. "What's the matter?" I asked, but I suspected I had an idea.
He just shrugged and shared a quick glance over his shoulder at Aimee before turning back to the window.
"It's this whole black gloop," Aimee said. "If it kills Warriors, then it makes us vulnerable." She drew her feet up, sitting cross-legged, but slumped forward in a depressed curve rather than channeling a Yogic calm. Her head lowered, she picked at invisible lint and added, "It also means we're no longer invincible."
Aimee spoke the word while drawing inverted commas with her fingers.
"But you never were invincible, Aimee," said Sigrun quite pleasantly. She'd taken a chair at the foot of the bed, and I found it odd that she didn't seem to have any concerns about crushing the little wooden seat.
We all stared at her. Joshua and Aimee with irritation, me with affection. Poor Sigrun. She always said exactly what she was thinking. Without thinking.
"What do you mean by that?" A tepid fire burned in Joshua's narrowed eyes.
Sigrun shrugged, unaffected by Joshua's indignation. "Even though you have been revived from the dead, it does not mean you are immortal." A frown creased her forehead. "No . . . I mean unless you are very badly wounded, you will survive."
"So we are long-lived, not immortal," he said softly, as if trying that fact on for size.
"Yes. That is it." A tiny smile curled at the corner of Sigrun's mouth.
Joshua laughed, the sound dry and cynical. "Just great, isn't it? Just when we get started, training, learning, along comes this black stuff that can kill a Warrior within hours. It means there is someone out there who wants us all dead."
Sigrun rose and walked to the window, placing a gentle arm on Joshua's shoulder. "It means that someone wants to stop Odin from gathering more Warriors. And we have no choice but to concentrate on finding this killer and stopping him. Or we will end up without a strong enough army, come Ragnarok."
Aimee's golden hair framed the dark frown on her forehead. "But who would do that? Who would be daring enough to go up against Odin? To mess with the way things are meant to be done?"