Dead Radiance(55)

But we had no time to waste. Aidan looked ready to fall apart. I grabbed his hand and pulled it around my neck, slipping my arm around his waist. I'd carry him if I could, but Aidan would never allow such a thing, so I didn't bother to offer. Didn't want to offend his male ego.

We left the room, entering the darkened hallway. We cast strange and ghoulish shadows as we trudged along; torch lights flickered wildly on the walls. Sigrun's low scream of frustration followed us, evolving into a guttural growl that raised the hair on the back of my neck. My feet dragged and I stopped, the warmth in my blood slowly eking out.

We turned to face the growling monster standing behind us, cloaked in shadows, eyes glowing so much like the amber necklace encircling my neck. She . . . no, he snarled, yellow teeth bared to black-mottled gums, saliva glistening in anticipation of the taste of our flesh. The amber eyes swirled and an arctic fist rammed into my gut.

Loki.

He padded toward us, and instinct bade me move in front of Aidan. No way was I allowing him to play big strong protector when he damned well needed the protection himself. Thankfully, Aidan didn't put up a fight.

The massive wolf lowered his bristling body almost to the floor, then launched off his hind legs with all the force of godly power within those muscles. He flew at me, aiming his front paws at my chest, but I backpedaled further down the passage and away from Aidan.

Loki landed on the cold stone, skittering, claws scrabbling for footing. He growled, and goose bumps rippled on my skin. This was Loki, a powerful god. I had no business fighting him. But he wanted Brisingamen. How he intended to remove the necklace from my neck with those gleaming claws was a mystery to me, but that was beside the point. Aidan had so little time left.

Even now my heart did that funny little jumping dance when I remembered our recent kiss. It had been so long since we'd been so close. It sucked that Loki had to come by at just the right time to spoil my fun.

The hulking beast growled again; his thick black pelt shivered as he sprang again. This time I waited, drawing my sword from the leather scabbard in pained silence. He was almost on me. I brought my sword around in a wide arc, slamming the hilt into his skull with all the force I could muster. The animal fell to the ground beside me, disappearing into a shower of black smoke and puffs of glimmering light too pretty to be connected to this sneaky god.

The dense smoke spread, thicker, larger, until Loki in human guise stood before me, shaking with fury. He ran at me, smashing me into the wall, his forearm pressed into my throat, cutting off my circulation. I pushed, frantic to get him off me and away from the necklace, but no amount of strength could move him. My vision grew dark and heavy at the edges, until I almost passed out. All I could think of was Aidan at the mercy of this vindictive monster.

Then I was free, gasping for breath, rubbing my throat.

Aidan grunted. I looked up to see him and Loki embroiled in a fierce struggle, faces red and veined. Aidan had Loki around the neck, struggling to land a blow to the god’s gut. Loki fended off Aidan's hand. Aidan's breath came in short, tired bursts and my heart sank.

I pushed off the wall and grabbed at Loki. Aidan's strength had waned and he was unable to hold on to the god. Loki whirled, daring to bare his back at me, and slammed his fist into Aidan's midriff. All I heard was a desperately anguished groan as the blow landed.

Loki spun toward me, a triumphant sneer on his face, eyes honing in on my neck, where the necklace blazed in tandem with his fury. His face, blood-filled, feral, reduced my knees to Jell-O. So much for being a warrior maiden. I couldn't decide if my best choice was to run, or lash out at him.

Then we both were struck down, pain splicing my cheekbone as I fell to the cold stone. Loki fell with me, surprise, frustration and fury melding into an almost comical grimace.

Fenrir.

He fell upon Loki, trussing him up so fast I barely saw his hands move, and almost missed the glowing chain of gold he withdrew from his belt to wind around the tricky god’s hands. The second Fen's eyes met mine, I registered the irony. Fenrir had just captured the god Loki, trickster and troublemaker of the Aesir, who also happened to be his father.



A warm hand grasped my arm. I turned to stare into Sigrun's worried eyes. She glanced back at Fen as he drew the bristling Loki to his feet and marched him past us.

"What happened? Are you alright? Is Aidan alright?" Sigrun stared me up and down and did the same for Aidan. Her face fell at his condition. "The Mead?"

The torchlight nearest to her flickered as if in worried agreement with her. It hit me then that the clues had been there in the fake Sigrun. Those hugs, her overly effusive personality, even how she'd called me Brynhildr. Sigrun had stopped calling me that ages ago.

"It helped a little," I said. I was in shock, post-Loki shock.

He'd almost killed me. But I was still standing and I had Fen to thank. And Aidan. He hunched over beside me, his weight leaning more onto me than ever. The necklace was white hot around my neck and all I wanted was to rip it off. The thing had almost cost me Aidan's life. And mine.

We followed Fen as he led Loki to Odin's Hall. The backs of both men were rigid with two different brands of pure rage.

I walked behind them, supporting Aidan with one arm until we neared the entrance.

"I will bring him, you go on," Sigrun said, her voice hushed.

I shrugged the long coat off my shoulders, revealing Brisingamen shining at my neck. The necklace burned hot against my skin, sending sparks of fire into my flesh, hotter and hotter as we neared the hall, as we neared its mistress. My heart thumped within my chest. I hoped the return of her precious treasure would appease her. Aidan's life depended on it.





Chapter 43



Our footsteps echoed as we entered Odin's Hall, which thankfully was empty except for Freya, Astrid and Odin. And Hugin, who flew to his master and reclaimed his position on Odin's shoulder.

Despite Loki's intervention, we'd fulfilled our end of the bargain, bringing Brisingamen with us. Elation built within me with each slow step toward the throne. Aidan walked at my side, pushing Sigrun off, demanding to stand alone despite the weakness in his stride and the deathly white pallor of his skin. Odin turned and sent me a pride-filled glance. A burst of emotion flooded my body. Tears dammed hot behind my eyes and the urge to shed them was so strong I almost lost control of that potential flood.

Freya stood to Odin's right, her eyes alight as they settled on my neck. Her delight to see her long-lost necklace echoed in the golden glow shining from her face and body. Her pure happiness revealed her unparalleled beauty as the Goddess of Love.

Beside Freya, Astrid glared at me, cold fury shining from her face, the feathers of her white wings shivering behind her.

I moved forward, smiling.

Freya stepped off the dais, her golden chain-armor shimmering over a dress of spun gold. She seemed to me a stunning vision, and yet I knew the depth of her cruelty. At this point, though, I didn't mind ignoring the way she'd used us. It was done. Over.

She drew close. The fragrance of jasmine flowers drifted to me. I tilted my head, fiddled with the clasp and removed the shining neck piece. Freya snatched it from me, barely waiting for me to hand it over. She stared at the gleaming ring of amber and let out a peal of joyous laughter. Her smile was infectious, her laughter so happy that even I lost the edge to my anger with the goddess.

"My dear Brynhildr. You have succeeded in fulfilling my deepest desire," Freya said, her eyes still fixed on her prized necklace. "To be honest, I didn't expect you to succeed."

There it was. The vein of venom beneath the golden aura of this goddess. Aidan had almost died in the quest to return her precious trinket and she didn't care one bit. No surprise there.

With an ominous edge in her voice, Freya said, "Of course, you shall receive your reward, my dear."

My heart tripped, and I wondered if she meant to renege on her promise to remove the curse from Aidan. I almost stepped in front of him, the need to protect him still my highest priority, but I controlled my instinct. Such an insult to the goddess in Odin's own hall would not be tolerated. I had to force myself to trust her. For now. He needed to be free from her curse. Free from her hold again.

Freya stood close to Aidan, close enough to place a gentle kiss on his lips. A wave of jealous anger crashed into me. Surely she was able to remove the darned curse without making out with him. At first, wrapped up in the green folds of my jealousy, I didn't see the wisps of golden breath that wafted from her mouth. I stifled a gasp as a snaking coil of golden mist swirled and danced before Aidan's lips.

It entered his mouth.

I shuddered. Freya's magic was beautiful and disgusting at the same time. I wanted to close my eyes, to avoid seeing Freya kissing Aidan. But I remained transfixed, fascinated. A matching twist of mist erupted from Aidan's mouth, only his was a foul mix of green and purplish smoke.

Freya's golden coil pulled the poisonous smoke into it, enveloping it, swirling and twisting around until the green and purple mist was swallowed whole. Not a trace of the poison remained. I sighed, relieved, shaking, and still a little jealous. As she stepped away, I wondered how such a beautiful goddess could instill so deep a hatred within a mere mortal.

Freya returned to the dais, but my attention turned to Loki as he struggled to free himself from his son's bonds. Odin watched, his lone eye burning with fury, a living flame twisting violently within his gaze.