Ms. Custer pursed her lips. "Stop this ridiculous nonsense, child. Next you're gonna say you're a vampire or something." She and I both knew she was joking but a smidgen of fear glinted in her eyes. It tripped up my courage. What if she thought I'd just gone crazy?
I laughed, tamping down my fear. "No. Not a vampire. I'm a Valkyrie."
Her arm fell away and she just stared at my face, her mouth half-open. My heart plunged. I contemplated taking it all back, pretending I'd just been kidding all along. But I couldn’t back out now. Taking a deep breath I said, "I was taken to Asgard. That's where I got my wings. I've been training, and when I knew I'd be coming to Craven, I asked if I could see you. It's why I don't have much time."
Would I even need more time? The look on her face said she was more likely to toss me out on my behind than believe me.
"I know it's hard to believe," I said. Then I remembered Fen hiding in the shadows. Before I'd figured out a plan I was on my feet and pulling the door open, whispering to the shadows, "Fenrir, how do I show her my wings?"
Fen growled. "You want to do what? Have you lost your senses?"
"Is somebody out there, Bryn?" Ms. Custer's voice floated to me. Although concerned, she still gave me privacy.
"How?" I whispered insistently through gritted teeth.
"Just believe."
"What?" That was the most ridiculous thing I'd heard.
"Tell her and she will see," Fenrir said. "And be quick. We still have your Retrieval to complete."
I stared at the shadows. What Retrieval? He hadn't read out a name. I opened my mouth to ask him about it, then clenched it shut. Time to think about that later. Ms. Custer was waiting inside.
I shut the door but didn't return to the living room. By the door was probably the best place to be in case she came at me with her broom. Best place to make a quick getaway. "Bryn?" Her footsteps padded across the floor and she squinted at me.
"Mom, I'm a Valkyrie," I said. "From the Norse legends. The women with the wings who take the dead Warriors to Valhalla. Look at me. Closely." I stared at her, willing her to see me in my true form. Not knowing if it would work at all.
When her eyes widened, darkening from rich brown to deep black, I suspected trouble. She stepped closer, and then the door was at my back. Maybe this had not been such a good idea.
"Oh my Lord. Oh my Lord," she whispered over and over, almost under her breath, like a prayer. Her eyes ran over me, head to toe then toe to head and back again. She reached out and touched my chest where the chain armor lay curved to my body. Her fingers traced the threaded links.
She gaped at the armor, the helmet, my face. When her eyes rounded even further, I knew she'd seen my wings. She gasped and whispered. "Let me see." I turned around, allowing her to examine them. They fluttered in tandem with my nerves.
"Now you see?" I said. "This is what I've been trying to tell you. It's what Aidan knew, too." I turned back to face her.
"Is that why they were looking for you? Did he tell them?" Her eyes hardened, still harboring a deep hatred for the thugs.
"No, I don't think so. But he was sent here to find me." His betrayal still tore at my heart. "The book they were looking for had a bunch of information on my father and the experiments he was involved in."
"Experiments?" Ms. Custer's eyebrows shot up.
"About eighteen years ago a burial site was uncovered in Sweden. When they examined the grave, they found wings like mine, something they were unable to explain. Some of the archaeologists swore they'd found a Valkyrie and took samples of the DNA to verify it. My father was the head geneticist. He performed the DNA tests and told them it was normal human DNA."
"And he lied?"
"Yes. He knew what he had. My mother was on the clinic list for IVF, and he spliced the DNA with her fertilized embryos. The Valkyrie DNA took over. When I was taken to Asgard, I had to go through a process, like a transformation, where my wings grew. I wouldn't have received my wings at all if I weren't a real Valkyrie."
"So who took you to . . . Asgard?"
"A Valkyrie who was sent to fetch me." I smiled, needing to reassure her that everything was okay. "Her name is Sigrun. I wish you could meet her, but she's busy, on a mission right now. There's something else I wanted to tell you. It's Brody."
"What about him? Did they take him? Oh heavens, they took him?" Grief filled her face again. Instantly she looked twenty years older, the lines of her face deeper, more pronounced.
"Yes, they did take him. The golden aura was a sign, telling me I was looking at a Warrior of Valhalla. Only a Valkyrie can see the golden glows. He's safe and well, and he'll live forever as a Warrior in Valhalla."
I didn't want to tell her about Freya and her demands or the impending war. It didn't seem fair to heap sadness on her when she'd been given good news. Her little smile confirmed I'd made the right decision.
"Will you see him?" She searched my eyes, desperate for an affirmative answer.
"I'll try my best." And I meant it. One of the first things I planned to do when I returned to Asgard was to find Brody.
"Good. You must give him our love. Will you come back and visit?" She patted my hand. She seemed to sense that my time was up. Thankfully, I wouldn't have to drag myself away.
"I'm not sure," I said, shaking my head, deep sadness moistening my eyes. "Just one thing. If Aidan ever calls you or visits, tell him I'm gone forever. Just make sure he never comes back. I wish he'd never come here in the first place."
"Perhaps it was fate?" Ms. Custer said, but I knew she was only being kind.
"No. He was sent here to check if I was a Valkyrie." I grimaced. "Our fathers were partners at a genetic science center. His dad wanted to eliminate me. Aidan told him I wasn't a Valkyrie. That the experiment had been a failure. But none of them know what they're in for."
Poor Ms. Custer. So much for her to process. The dazed look in her eyes told me I'd overwhelmed her. But she threw her shoulders back and drew me into her arms, wings, armor and all. "You go, honey. Do what you have to, and be safe."
Our farewell was quick, and I got the sense she would head upstairs to her bedroom and have a good cry. I sighed. At least she knew that Brody and I were safe.
I stepped through the doorway and waited for the lock to click.
"Let's go," I said to the shadows.
Chapter 24
We walked into the dark night. Behind us, the lights went out in Ms. Custer's house. I held back heated tears, unsure if I'd ever see her or Izzy or Simon again. My foster family had been ripped asunder, and I stood helpless in the middle of the turmoil.
Looking back, maybe for the last time, I studied the porch and the swing, trying to etch them into my memory. Trying to ensure I'd never forget where I came from. Where I'd sat hidden behind the rose bush, eating up Aidan with my eyes the day he rode into my life. The stairs I'd raced down that day he'd thought he could just walk straight out of my life without so much as a goodbye. The bush at the corner of the property behind which I'd hidden to watch Aidan and his goons leave, before I'd been whisked away to a place I'd never dreamed existed. To an unbelievable life.
I yanked my eyes away.
Goodbye, Mom.
Sometimes I wanted to just give it up, to just go back home, but Asgard made so much sense and gave me a fantastic reason to exist. For the first time, I had a real purpose in life. Maybe I did have something to thank my father for.
Fen and I passed under the large oak at the foot of the driveway. A movement caught my eye; a curtain swayed in one of the windows across the street. Some things never changed in this neighborhood. Nosy neighbors.
I glanced at Fen, relieved he blended into the shadows. His presence would definitely cause a stir on this quiet street. Hopefully I hadn't been seen either.
I had to trot to keep up with Fenrir as he strode ahead. "What did you mean by my Retrieval?" I asked.
"That is the reason you have come to Craven, Brynhildr. The reason you are here at all."
"You called out everyone else's names and then told them who they would be retrieving. But you didn't give me a name."
He didn't even bother to slow down, just walked on, crossing the street, expecting me to run just to catch his words. "So you thought you did not have a Retrieval to complete?"
"I guess." Now I felt foolish. "So do we have a name?"
"Wait. Some patience will do you good." Fen sounded strange, his voice tight and emotionless.
The darkness lay thick and oily around us. Pointless examining his face for clues as to what was bugging him. Even if I waited for the clouds to move and reveal the moonlight, it would probably be of no use. Fenrir was too good at hiding his emotions.
Despite the darkness, I recognized my surroundings. We passed the park where Aidan had sat on the swing beside me and watched Brody. The wind shoved through the trees and the two lonely swings swayed back and forth. Strange and eerie.
We drew closer to the pathway where Pete and his friends had attacked me. My heart clanged in my chest, imprisoned in a steel cage with the memories of my near disastrous experience. I tried to think about something else. Like why were we here, and where were we going? Fen had refused to answer my questions. He continued walking into the trees and along the path until we neared the stream.