Going Thru Hell (18 page)

I jumped on her back, legs wrapped around her waist, one hand over her heart, the other holding her forehead. I pushed into her, one foot kicking her knee sideways. She howled in pain as her knee popped, going in the wrong direction. We dropped to the floor, my hold never changing.

The invisible puppet strings attached to my fingertips and I grinned. Bitch was mine. I clumsily moved off her still form, standing with a foot on each side of her hips.

“Do you want to explode? Or should I suck every available drop of power from you?”

Bru tackled me, hitting the broken ribs with her fist. “Come out of it! Don't do what you are contemplating!” She rolled me, shaking my shoulders. Determination made her face hard and unreadable. “You will need every ounce of remaining soul to get him back.”

“Get the hell off me.” My body throbbed.

“Let her go.”

“No. She is the link to Riot. She can take us to him.”

Bru sat on her heels, staring at me. “I hadn't thought of that.”

“Obviously. Now get off.” I shoved her shoulders, using Artemis as a battery.

I stood, wiggling my fingers and laughing at the less than graceful movements of Artemis. I could taste her anger, knew she hated my control over her.

“You will take us to my son,” I ordered.

She said nothing.

“Oh, bloody hell, you are allowed to answer.”

“I will not take you to the young Braider. You cannot force me.”

I laughed, “Want to bet?”

I faced Artemis, legs shoulder width apart, hands at my waist, fingers spread. Using her own innate abilities, I slammed her against the wall, holding her aloft. I heard evil laughter, idly wondered if the sound came from me. “You will take us.”

“No. The Norse has him, against the plans. I don't know where he was taken.”

I dug around her brain, tasting truth. “Bru, she really doesn't know where Riot was taken. Thor would go to Asgard, would he not?”

“Likely, but after that, not sure. Last time, Riot was back here. Can't you see what's changed in the timelines?”

Eyes closed, I gazed at the various threads. Definitely Asgard.

“She'll take us there.” I dropped Artemis, giggling as she fell like a rock.

“I will not.”

I forced her to stand and walk to me. I met her eyes, “You don't have a choice. I know how you work it now.”
I smiled at the fear in her eyes. “That's right. Loss of my consciousness means I can use you in ways you've never imagined.”

“You're insane! Nobody can control the gods in this manner,” she hissed.

“What do you think I'm doing right now, Scooter? Now, you will take us voluntarily, or hurt when I force you.”

Aki stepped into my line of sight, his face hard. “Think of what you are going to do, Kylie.”

“I have. Move.”

He stood still, legs shoulder width apart, hands on hips, head lowered as he stared at his boot tips. “I love you, but I wonder if you have moved past redeemable.”

Shrugging, I moved around him, exploring Artemis's mind. She was proving to be a powerful battery. I was reminded of Tiamat's recycling to cool my ability, and with that thought, I turned to find her. She lay curled in the middle of the room, sympathy and sadness filling her black eyes.

“Will you come to me, Braider? Allow me to give you sanity?”

“I am not yet insane. Only filled with purpose.”

“Come to me, young one. Let me break the wall you hold against Brunhilde's emotions, let me give you some of me.”

I walked to her, placing a hand on the leathery cheek. Something sparked, but didn't catch. Talons wrapped around me, holding me tight to her chest, the heavy, thick heartbeat calming. She held me in place with her head, the smell of smoke and brimstone comforting.

Tendrils of emotion tapped my conscious. Another spark died in the blackness. Bru's worry and friendship covered
my paper-thin soul. A warm hand covered the back of my neck, inching into my thick hair, grabbed a handful and pulled. I followed, the instincts kicking me into submission. Aki pressed into my back, over Tiamat's talons, turning my head for a kiss. More sparks dying.

The fire blazed on the inner screen, painful and hot. Aki didn't release me, Bru shoved more into the vacuum, Tiamat's fire lighting the darkness. Unknown flavors of emotions filled the space, and I vaguely understood it was the Valkyries, trying to help.

My own emotion stormed forward, leaving me throbbing and breathless.

Aki ended the kiss, carefully extricating his hand as he stepped back. Tiamat's fire calmed and left my own burning in its place.

I stepped backwards, staring in the direction of the Greek goddess, undecided on the next step. A temporary Band-Aid covered the wounds and missing soul. Now I understood using her would be wrong, but leaving Riot to the tender mercies of gods a thought I refused to lend credence.

“I still have to use her. But only as a battery.” I looked Tiamat in the eye, noted her slight nod of approval.Falling into my previous stance, I gulped as much of her immortality as I could swallow. As it became a trickle, I cu
t the ties. She watched me in fear.

“Don't approach my son, or my family, again. I may not have allies willing to save you next time.”

Her eyes flicked over all of us, landing on Aki. “We could have been powerful, Berserker. You chose death.” Her form disappeared, flickering several times. A sure sign I'd left her with very little to use for her own means.

“How do we get to Asgard?” The sea of faces carried no expressions, all hard and ready.

“We will take you, Kylie. Be prepared, Thor and Odin will not give Riot up easily.” Gunnr answered, swinging her sword in figure eights. “Modi is weak, and we have no further allies in Asgard.”

I nodded once, stretching a hand t
owards her. “I suck in battle, but her power needs to be released. It will come in handy. Where would they stash my son?”

“When we arrive, look to the left, you will spot an old Viking cabin. It is likely Riot will be there with Thor.”

“Let's do this.”

The bodies moved forward, pushing me against Gunnr, still holding my hand. We moved out of my realm and into theirs. Landing wasn't as harsh as usual, and I turned to the left, looking for the cabin. It stood at the foot of a large hill, half covered with sod, made of ancient logs. Over the one visible door hung antlers, runes and an image of crossed hammers. Thor's
Mjolnir.

Breaking into a jog, I crossed the thick green grass, the sounds of many feet following and echoing through the valley.

The door swung open, Thor stepping out, holding Mjolnir.

“Give him to me.” Artemis's power circled as I called it. It filled my palms, creating intense heat. I stalked him, carefully noting he held his breath for a moment before tensing in preparation. “I'll let you remain in one piece.”

The ground trembled as the smell of brimstone filled the air. Relief at her appearance distracted me long enough for Thor to throw Mjolnir. I didn't move in time, barely managing to get my hands up and take the full force of the hit. Bones shattered.

Artemis's swallowed immortality rushed Thor, forcing him through the front wall. The roof began to cave, and I ran forward, screaming for Riot. Deep in the cabin, I heard him answer.

I watched in horror as the entire cabin collapsed.

Chapter Thirty

I
stared, uncomprehending. Tiamat jumped forward, digging through the wreckage. She tossed Thor aside, making quick work of the crumbling timbers. She stopped midway, moving backwards, head shaking. She turned to look at me. Tears fell by the buckets, splashing the debris, and kicking up dust.

Aki ran past Tiamat, crouching low and picking up a small body from the carnage. With careful steps, he brought me Riot's body, handing over my son with gentle movements.

“What do I do now?” I rubbed the dirt off Riot's slack face. I wanted him to open his eyes, take a breath, and moan in pain. Anything but the stillness. His hair, too long, fell over my forearm, baby soft and wavy. I stroked it carefully, running swollen, broken fingers through the thick strands. I began to clean his face, thinking he needed a bath.

Bodies surrounded me, but I could only clutch Riot to my heart, rocking his small form. He was still warm.

“Kylie, come on. We must leave. We'll take you home.” The voice was hushed, but clear. Yet I didn't understand. Without Riot, I had no home. He wasn't really dead, it was a nightmare. I had to have fallen asleep in the truck. But it felt real.

Bru tried to take Riot from me, and I lashed out blindly. “I'll take him, Kylie. He will go with us. But we must leave.”

“I don't have a reason to leave.”
Open your eyes, son. Look at me, see me.

“There is another option, Kylie. Come on.” Gunnr grabbed my
shattered arm in a steel hold, refusing to let go no matter how I struggled. Four of them hauled me to my feet, taking Riot. For the first time, I truly felt crazed, fighting them, wanting to hold Riot. Gunnr punched me, and I fell into the blackness.

Apples and the sounds of metal against metal invaded the darkness. I glanced at my form. I was mature. The house sat in the middle of a moonless night, the Milky Way visible above.

“Who the hell are you? And could you please get rid of the damn apple smell?” I demanded. Without my child, I no longer cared what happened. If I was lucky, I could join him in death.

“Still do not recognize me, child?” The voice surrounded me, echoing off walls before disappearing into the stars.

“Stupid question.”

“I am the power you inherited. I am all of your fears, worries, abilities and decisions rolled into one. I am that which you refuse to face.”

“This is what my mind comes up with? The smell of apples, an unfinished house and a really creepy sound for something I didn't want?”

It chuckled. “Not completely gone yet. You must follow the final thread, you must die.”

“Now you sound like Khnum.”

“Yes, for he is the one that created me on his potter's wheel. He has always wanted Riot and Akina. They are the end result he seeks.”

“Huh?”

“Follow the blue timeline, do as it instructs. Swallow your fears, bring your son back and create the female child.”

I jackknifed in bed, unable to breathe, the smell of apples choking. How I hated the smell of bloody apples.

The timeline the voice spoke of flashed bright and filled with images. I couldn't see past it, didn't know where we were, or even if anyone else was in the same room.

“Shit! Kylie,” Aki wrapped himself around my hips. His heat and the feel of skin on skin alerted me to the fact I was naked.

“Where is Riot?” I moved to throw off the covers.

“We are in Denver, Kylie. He's in the room you created for him.”

“I can't see.”

“I know, you're shining bright blue, power is leaking all over me. You have to calm down, it is calling the bear.” Behind his normally deep voice echoed the sounds of a bear growling.

“I can't stop it.” I fumbled to the edge of the bed, falling out and landing face first. I somehow managed to stand, no longer used to the layout of my own bedroom. I hopped on one foot after stubbing a toe on the bed's leg, stumbled over
a wrinkle in the carpeting I'd always meant to replace, and ran into the wall so hard I fell on my ass.

After managing to find the door and move into the hallway, I fumb
led for Riot's door. Bru blocked me.

“No. He's prepped for rites, but you are not ready to see him.”

“Move.”

“No.”

I couldn't force her to move, and I didn't have enough emotion or soul to fuel the use of power against her. I was defeated.

“Go back to Aki. Rest a little longer.”

I turned, following the wall to the stairway, and eventually standing in the much neglected backyard.

“Braider, you should not be in the open. Allow the Valkyrie to protect you.” Fenrir's hot breath blew
unruly curls over my face, his wolfy scent gentle in the night air.

“I cannot. I screwed up, Wolf. I failed to protect my son.”

“You have another option.”

“Do all of you know about that?”

“Yes. Why do you think they have herded you so harshly towards insanity and loss of your soul? Can you not see the bigger picture? Many try to keep you braiding. They do not want the survival of Riot, or the birth of Akina.”

“I never had a chance.”

“You had the right of free will, no matter what the potter's wheel creates. Immortals are locked in their destinies, unless humans step in. That is the truth of our existence.”

“And you?”

“The same for me. My father is chained for choices it was always known he would make. He refused to exercise free will, or even try. I paid the price.”

“Why are you here, Wolf?” I faced him, unsure of where the conversation was leading.

“I guard you as best I can. Go inside, follow the time line, change events.”

I nodded, turning to leave. On impulse, I hugged Fenrir. “You still owe me a debt?”

“Yes.”

“Don't go back to Asgard, or the chains. Forget Ragnarok. Exercise free will, Fenrir.”

He whined as I left him standing alone in the yard in desperate need of cutting.

I felt my way inside, unable to see past the
glowing blue thread. The kitchen table should be ten feet to the right. I shuffled until running into one of the chairs. It scraped against the dusty, bamboo flooring. I sat, elbows on the table, hands cradling my head.

Free will, my ass.
I had no choices, really. I could try to survive the loss of Riot. Or I could do as they all pushed me to do. Kill Aki, take his soul and immortality, and go back to save my son. Several factors played a part, I would need a massive amount of energy to pull it off. How was I supposed to do that? Aki didn't carry enough. I'd need to siphon from at least four powerful immortals to do what the thread demanded, and I was too weak.

I heard the others file into the kitchen, one by one. Their body heat warmed the cold kitchen, yet no
body said a word.

Aki sat in the chair next to me, grasping my hand and kissing the knuckles.

“I can't.”

“I resigned myself over a thousand years ago, Kylie. What I thought I felt all of these years is nothing compared to right now. You are more than predicted, a woman of worth. I want to give you this gift, Riot's life, my daughter's life, your peace.”

“Peace? To murder you?”

“No. To bring your son back, to birth a daughter, to know you made a difference.”

“I will be insane. Soulless.”

Tiamat's human voice answered the unasked question, “I will take your head, Braider. I will not allow you to live in such a fashion.”

“I have too much to do in the one change. Don't you understand that? The amount of pure energy I will need to pull it off? Do you understand all I have to siphon from others, plus what I take from Aki, to make the necessary changes?”

“There is not one among us unwilling to give what you need, Kylie. We can also hunt down a few others to use.”

“There are too many factors, things to go wrong. I can't do this,” I stood and shuffled to the bedroom. I sat on the bed, crying. To go the route of my ancestors, to sacrifice myself for Riot did not hold me back. It was the problems. If I fucked it up, I'd be unable to correct it. Riot's face, slack and filled with death, flashed before me. I could save him, perhaps give him a sister.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the thread. Tried to understand how it moved around the paradoxes presented. The changes, to go so far backwards, would require more than I retained soul wise. I'd need to damn near take everything they offered. Five Valkyries, the life of one Be
rserker and whatever Tiamat offered. The power was available. If only my courage was so easy to find.