Dead Radiance(54)

"What he has always wanted. To gain sway over Freya. His jealousy clouds his judgment. Jealousy of power. And his ever-increasing nastiness. It used be fun. All those tricks he played on the gods and on people. Used to be funny. But something changed inside him and the funny evolved into meaner, nastier stuff. From making people laugh, he began to hurt people. It is sad, of course. But it means one needs to keep an ever-watchful eye on him."

I tightened my grip on my sword. "But we have to take Brisingamen to Freya before sunrise." Just saying those words aloud made the reality of the danger to Aidan more tangible. "How do we evade Loki and succeed when he is so determined to keep an eye on us? He's been following us everywhere."

I paused, suddenly cautious, suspicious. The dragon-man hadn't said he would help at all, hadn't even confirmed he had the necklace. Was I assuming he would help just because he was easy on the eye?

"What will happen if you don't hand over the necklace?" he asked, a lazy grin gleaming on his face.

"Aidan will die." Each word fell from my lips like rocks, dark and heavy and filled with pain.

I looked at Aidan. The raw agony of seeing him lying dead beside the freezing stream still made me ache. "I wish I could trade places with him, but Freya is determined to get the necklace back in one piece. And she is happy to use Aidan to get what she wants."

"And if I do give you Brisingamen, what do I get in return?" His eyes glittered, but I felt no malevolence in them.

"I'm not sure what I can trade with." At a loss, I could see the chances of saving Aidan quickly disappearing. I met the dragon-man's eyes. "Well, I have my armor and my weapons."

"And in the bag?" He nodded toward the battered leather bag Sigrun had given me.

"Mead. We have the Mead to sustain Aidan."

A satisfied glint entered in his eye. "I will have the Mead in exchange for Brisingamen. It is a small price to pay for taking away such a coveted treasure."

I hesitated. "Can we keep a little, in case Aidan needs it before we get back to Asgard?"

He shook his head, "You will go straight to Asgard. I want all of it. Every drop is important."

I nodded. The trade made sense if we could go straight into Asgard from here. Then we'd go right to Freya with the necklace.

Nidhogg disappeared in a shower of golden dust. He wasn't gone long though, back within seconds with rest of the necklace in his hand. He headed to a table at the side of the dais where Aidan and I joined him. Laying the piece down carefully, he nodded at my neck where the other three pieces glowed brighter than ever before. So bright, I couldn't stand to look at them.

I removed the three pendants from my neck, slipping the one my father had bequeathed me off the leather thong it shared with the golden Glasir leaf. Reluctance slowed my hand. I didn't want to part with the one source of comfort I'd depended upon for the last five months. The pendant and its smaller sisters lay in my quivering palm. And when the dragon-man took the pieces away I felt bereft, serenity ripped from within my clenched fingers.

If he had noticed my discomfort he ignored it, and I was silently grateful.

"I see this piece of Brisingamen has been set in silver." Nidhogg noted with a frown.

I shrugged. "That’s how I received it." I stared at my pendant, more worried now that he wouldn’t help me because the pendant had been re-set. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"Not really." He said with the merest of nods. He ran his thumb over the fine network of silver that encased the pendant and solid metal melted into nothing. Then the dragon man smiled.

He set about arranging the pieces; long, tapered and elegant fingers worked effortlessly to bind each gem together, restoring the necklace to its former glory. At last, he touched his finger to the broken links and joined them together one at a time. Leaning forward, I studied the links. Perfect, even if I had to shade my eyes from the glare.

The necklace shone like the circle of suns it was known to be. "There you have it. Brisingamen." He held it up to me. "You should wear it until you get back to Asgard. Do not part with it for anyone."

I nodded as he fitted it around my neck and stepped away from me. I arranged my hair to cover most of the glowing jewels and turned to Aidan, who now leaned against a nearby wall, his eyes half-closed. Nidhogg seemed in no need of chairs for unexpected guests. Aidan looked ready for the grave, eyes black and hollowed, cheekbones poking from beneath thinned blue-tinged skin.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," I said to Nidhogg, smiling brighter than I'd smiled in a long time.

"It was a good trade. I will show you the way."

He turned to the rock face at our right. The black rock softened, liquefied and swirled like a whirlpool. Then it evaporated and a doorway appeared. He stepped into a dark passageway, a carbon copy of the ones we'd used to get to Nidhogg.

He beckoned, and I held on to Aidan, supporting him as we followed our dragon-man through a series of tunnels. Wings flapped in the darkness above me, and Hugin rejoined our little procession.

After a few minutes, the passageway ended in a small cave. We stopped. Nidhogg stood in the center of the cave and waved his hand. A shimmering circle of rainbow-speckled mist grew, and I wondered why Muspell had such beautiful entrances to the Bifrost whereas even Asgard's entrance was plain and seemingly invisible.

"The Rainbow of the Gods," he said with an elegant flourish of his hand.

"Thank you, Nidhogg." I wasn't sure how else I could express my gratitude except for words. A hug would probably seem too forward and might get me in more trouble than I could afford right now.

His laughter took me by surprise.

"I am the Nidhogg. The Master of the Nidhogg, the race of dragons who live within Muspell. Did Hugin not tell you this?" He cast a disparaging eye at the raven on my shoulder.

"Hugin has an interesting method of imparting information," I said with a wry smile.

"My name is Steinn and I am a Nidhogg." He smiled, unaffected by my ignorance. I released a tense breath, freeing the pent-up fear that I'd just offended him.

I returned his wave as we stepped into the swirling entrance to the Bifrost. We huddled through and walked straight into the transfer room in Asgard.





Chapter 42



I studied Aidan; my first concern was how he'd fared after our journey on the Bridge. His pallor had worsened, and he leaned more of his weight on me as we regained our footing on Asgard ground. He really did look like the walking dead.

Then a spike of exhilaration replaced the turmoil in my stomach. We had won! My arms stayed where they were, tight around his waist, while his fingers moved from my shoulder to the curve of my neck. Pulling me close, keeping me close. The nature of the air changed; electricity rippled around us, between our bodies, which were so close hardly a breadth of air could pass between us.

I forgot to breath, just absorbed Aidan into my pores. It wasn't as if either of us had much of a choice. An inexplicable force pulled us together, body seeking body, skin needing skin. Breath breathing breath. Our lips met in an explosion of honeyed heat, building to a frenzied crescendo that threatened to consume us both whole.

The door slammed open, iron handle crashing into the wall. Sigrun entered, a smile brightening her face as she ran forward and threw her arms around me. I blinked, still awash with heat and an emotion I'd never felt before. I tugged at Sigrun's arms, putting much needed space between us.

"Oh my. I am so very happy you are back! Freya arrived in Asgard two days ago, in case you arrived early. Did you find it?" Her eyes gleamed with happiness as she waited for my answer.

I nodded and smiled, glad she was the first person I saw. And yet something felt off. I brushed it off as tiredness. My wounds hadn't fully healed and I suspected the bullet had pulverized my rib on its journey through my torso.

She grabbed me and hugged me again. I winced and swallowed a gasp of dizzying agony. Sigrun was a wonderful friend, and terribly kind too, but she wasn't the over-effusive, touchy-feely type. She must really have missed me. "So where is it?" she asked. "Can I see Brisingamen?"

"I have it here." I pointed at my neck, where the necklace peeked out from under the collar of my coat. I was vaguely aware that we'd arrived still wearing our Midgard clothing. "I'm going to take it straight to Freya."

"Please, Brynhildr, could I see it? Once you give it to Freya she will be gone, and we seldom get to see Brisingamen. And never up close." Sigrun smiled.

I opened the top button of my coat and allowed her to get a good look. If Brisingamen was this much of a renowned object, it was no surprise that anyone would want to get a look up close.

"Brynhildr, do you think you could let me wear it? Just for the tiniest second? Please. It would mean the world to me." Sigrun clasped her fingers together beneath her chin and pleaded, her eyes filled with pure expectation.

"Sure." I started to hand it over to my friend, until the tight grasp of Aidan's fingers on my forearm stopped me.

"Bryn, remember what Steinn said." Aidan's weak voice brought me back to reality. "Don't part with it for anyone. We should be going."

I glanced at Sigrun, apologetically and maybe a little suspiciously. Why would she have made such a request? But it was her reaction that was more befuddling. Her eyes glowered, her fury so palpable it fairly twisted her face with red rage. I retreated, worried and upset. I'd never seen Sigrun this angry before, and I was torn between hurrying to Freya and comforting my friend.