Dead Chaos (23 page)

I’d entered my room, adrenalin finally seeping out of my blood, and I intended to just relax a bit. The quiet was a welcome change from running around, fighting for my life. Geri and Freki looked up at me from beside the fire. I’d almost forgotten about the wolves. I grinned as I watched them sprawled and sleeping in the warmth of the flames.

A tray of food on a small table by the fire made me smile. Turi never failed to take care of me. I took the tray to the bed and sat cross-legged on the warm furs, thinking about the last week’s events. Things were taking a turn for the better. The horn was back in Asgard and I crossed my fingers, hoping we’d have Heimdall and Odin back soon.

Another face wavered in front of me. A little boy with unruly curly hair and dark chocolate skin. Brody was still missing and I hated that Stephen Lee had used Brody’s image to finally abduct me. I’d fallen for their trick because I’d wanted to save Brody. I didn’t plan to lose hope of finding him. It was just that we had no idea how to even start looking for him. A twinge of guilt rippled through me. Loki had offered Brody’s return and I’d refused. But a more sensible voice in my head reminded me that the trickster god couldn’t be trusted.

I sighed, lost within my thoughts.

Then, a knock on the door had me rising to answer it.

Joshua stood there, the corner of his lip turned up. I’d always thought the little smile was sexy. Why had I never allowed myself to think of him as anything other than just a friend?

"I thought I’d come keep you company. No point in going all the way to Valhalla just for a couple hours." He winked and headed for the fireside, warming his hands, although the winter chill had lightened a lot in the last few weeks. It was always cold in Asgard, North Pole cold.

I returned to the furs and Joshua left the fire to come sit beside me, picking at the grapes and cheese from the platter.

"Thanks for coming," I said, but the words felt awkward when all I could think about was our last kiss and how much I wanted him to repeat the whole activity.

He must have sensed my thoughts because he took my hand from where it rested on my thigh and entwined his fingers with mine. "Are you okay?"

I nodded.

"About us, I mean."

"I think so. I’m not entirely sure what’s happening, or what it will become, but I am okay with it." Even as I spoke the words, I felt how right they were.

Our eyes stayed locked on each other as a mysterious, heated silence flared between us.
We both moved to get closer, breath coming quicker, hearts beating faster. Joshua's cheek grazed mine, the light stubble softly tickling my skin sending ripples of shivers up and down my spine. His lips claimed mine and I kissed him back just as passionately, just as uncontrollably as he kissed me.

He deepened the kiss and my mind whirled. I was dizzy with my eyes closed
; my limbs melting. Joshua's fingers threaded through the hair at the back on my neck, bringing us even closer. I shuddered. Could we possibly get any closer? I tugged at his shirt then let my hands travel around his waist to run up the taut muscles of his back.

Kissing Joshua was driving me insane. Insane for more of Joshua.

He grasped my knee and slipped his hand beneath the hem of my white dress.

The crackle of flames mixed with the sounds of our desperate breathing.

Joshua's hand moved an inch higher up my thigh. A growl cut through the air, so vicious and threatening we both sat up in shock, all thoughts of kisses and other desired activities gone from our minds.

***

I ran my hand down Ara’s pure-white neck and the horse snuffed and gave me a small toss of her head, as if she wanted to know what had kept me. I smiled and patted her shoulder before securing a bedroll and a pack filled with provisions to her back.

Sigrun, Aimee and Joshua did the same with their horses, working swiftly. I guess they wanted to get the horses prepped and get this mission moving as much as I did.

"Sigrun?" She lifted her head and met my gaze under her Sleipnir’s neck. "How will the Sleipnir get to Jotunnheim? Can they use the bridge?"

Sigrun’s face scrunched as she considered my question. "I suppose they could use the bridge but if you recall, the Bifrost opens up in some very odd places. Like the top of the rocky outcropping in Jotunnheim. Too dangerous for the horses to maneuver. And besides, the transfer room is not conducive to eight-legged traffic." She grinned, then said. "I supposed
nobody ever though of ensuring the bridge can carry the Sleipnir because our horses will always answer our call."

I frowned for a moment, then bobbed my head as I recalled Fen’s comment about telepathic bonding between Sleipnir and rider. Sigrun continued. "Each Sleipnir is connected with its rider. You may call your mount whenever you need it and it will come. The connection between you and your Sleipnir transcends the realms. It is almost as if that connection opens its own personal bridge between horse and rider. So when the Warrior calls the Sleipnir comes immediately."

"You mean the horse has the power to appear and disappear wherever it wants?"

"Not wherever
it
wants. Wherever
you
want. The Sleipnir is connected to you so they will appear beside you when they are called. They can also be summoned by any of the gods or even other Valkyries or Warriors the horse is familiar with. The important thing is they needs to be called. And you can also send it back."

"Using my mind again?" I asked. "So you tell the Sleipnir to go and it just goes?" Sigrun nodded as I digested the information. Looks like the eight-legged beasts could turn out to be quite useful.

***

Icy wind slapped our faces as we stepped off the Bifrost. The unfamiliar terrain confirmed we’d arrived in a different area from our previous visit to Jotunnheim. I gasped as my boots crunched into freshly fallen snow.

We huddled together, bracing against the wind, wrapped warmly within super-thick, hooded fur coats. I had my sword, Gungnir, the magical water from the Norns, and Lady Tyra's dragon eye. The amber ball sat safely in the pocket of my jacket. I figured I'd need all the help I could get, so I brought it along. Though I had insisted Hugin and the wolves stay behind. I could do without having to worry about the wolves if we encountered the Jotunn. Who knew what would happen?

Sigrun walked a few paces to a large open area and stood still, staring off into space. Within seconds, the air shimmered and a Sleipnir slowly solidified before her. The horse stamped the snow off her hooves as if offended she’d landed on cold, icy ground.

Sigrun caught the reins and led her horse away, nodding to me as she went.

I cleared my throat and rolled my shoulders. I closed my eyes and thought of Ara, saying the words "come to me" in my mind and feeling slightly stupid while I was at it. I opened my
eyes and my heart sank. It didn’t work. I was about to turn to Sigrun when a disturbance in the air caught my attention.

The air began to shimmer as if a ball of oddly shaped water hovered in front of me. The translucent shimmer slowly solidified growing from a weak and watery image of Ara to the solid, living creature.

I laughed as Ara stamped the ground much like Sigrun’s mount, then threw her head up, whinnying in indignation. I grabbed her reins and pulled her aside, feeling a little proud of myself. I’d done it all by myself without needing a single bit of instruction. Although, I had been certain I’d fail on my first try.

Just goes to show you can never be entirely sure what you are capable of.

We waited for Aimee and Joshua to call their horses and we mounted as soon as they were ready. We got our bearings and began to make the trek to the castle, the warm metal of Odin’s spear in my hand giving me a silent assurance. There was no clear path, and with the ground covered with a coat of snow, we couldn’t be sure where rocks or other debris lay hidden, waiting to hobble our horses. We moved at a sedate pace, watching the ground, allowing the horses to pick their way along the path.

We passed towering spikes of ice and marched across an iced-over lake while winter-blackened tree watched us pass, their bare branches waving sadly in the gusting wind. The snow fell heavier and we struggled to breathe, desperately hiding our mouths and much of our faces within our scarves. The freezing wind scraped the moisture from our eyes and throats, and I soon felt like I was suffocating on the rushing air.

After a long trek, we stopped and dismounted within a circle of gigantic icicles that gleamed despite the meager daylight. They were large and close together, close enough to provide a protected barrier against the wind. Joshua worked on lighting a fire using a small pile of wood we'd brought. Fen's idea and a pretty smart one, considering all we could see were miles and miles of snow. We hadn't been able to tell if the odd tree we passed was suitable for firewood.

Fire and some hot soup warmed us up a bit and we settled down to rest both the horses and ourselves. The biting wind and snow had taken its toll but I was impatient to get moving. The last thing I wanted was to sit around doing nothing.

***

I got to my feet and walked away from the reach of the warm fire, needing to move my tight muscles. As I ducked behind a large rock, the sound of footsteps closed in on me. I'd left to be alone; I hadn't expected anyone to follow me. A figure rounded the corner.

"
Bryn, are you okay?" Joshua asked, his voice gentle and concerned. I sighed to myself.

"
Sorry, I just wanted to get away for a bit," I answered. Oddly I was glad he'd followed me.

"
Do you still want to be alone? I can leave—-"

"
No, please stay." I smiled as I grabbed at his arm to stop him in case he decided to leave.

"
Okay, if you’re sure," he said as he came to stand beside me. He'd strategically placed his body between mine and the brisk wind, and I realized Joshua had always been the gentleman, always making sure I was comfortable first.

I shivered as another icy gust buffeted us. Perhaps it had been a bad idea coming out here. Privacy wasn’t worth the price of freezing to death.

I rubbed my arms. "It's so much colder here than I'd expected it to be."

"
Here, I can help a little," Joshua opened his fur and beckoned me forward. I was about to decline when another gust of wind made me change my mind. I snuggled against him, telling myself it was just for a moment and we’d go back to the others soon.

My body warmed against the heat of his. My fingers shook and I rubbed them together
, getting them warm again. Huddled there within Joshua’s fur coat, feeling the warmth from his coat and from his body, I felt safe. For once, I felt that no matter what happened, everything would be all right in the end.

Joshua put his arms around me, tightening his hold, and I breathed in deeply as the warmth soothed my flesh and my bones and my heart. Cocooned there
, I looked up at him and found his face just inches from mine. I came undone the moment his gaze alighted on my lips. I drew in a shuddering breath as the distance closed between our lips.

I was almost shaking all over, and the shivering had nothing whatsoever to do with the biting cold around us. At last
, his lips closed over mine and he pressed close. The heat was unbearable and yet so indescribably beautiful that I didn't want him to stop.

And he didn't.

His hand went to the back of my neck, drawing me closer. His lips claimed mine again, harsher and more desperate it seemed, yet more gentle than before. I struggled to breathe but breathing was the least I cared about right now. I just wanted more of Joshua. I wanted to feel his skin beneath mine.

Kiss after heated kiss drew us deeper into our passion and I was sure I would explode soon. Even the frozen fingers of the gusting wind
tugging at our clothes didn't disturb us. Joshua’s lips roamed desperately, first my cheek them my neck, leaving a trail of fiery kisses as he went. When his lips touched my collarbone, he set my mind and body ablaze.

When his lips reclaimed mine
, it was in desperation again, as if nothing could stop him and he wanted as much as I wanted. I pressed closer and he pulled closer.

And then the sound of boots crunching on stony gravel drew us apart.

But it was too late. We both looked around to see Aimee standing a few feet away, staring at us, a smirk twisting her lips.

"
I thought you might need company, Bryn. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one," Aimee said with a suggestive wink and turned on her heel.

Joshua and I stared at each other.
"I'm sorry," he said.

"
Nothing to be sorry for." I smiled and touched the side of his face. It was all it took to bring the heat back up between our bodies and I had to force myself to take a step away.

And to breathe.

"Let's get back to the others." Joshua took my hand and we jogged back, realizing only then how bad the weather had gotten.

We hurried back the camp and prepared to head out again after feeding the Sleipnir.

"How much farther?" I settled on Ara’s back and glanced at Sigrun who'd been our guide. She knew the map well enough and I trusted her directions.

"A mile east, just beyond that line of mountains." Sigrun mounted her horse and drew alongside me. She pointed at the horizon and I wondered how I'd missed seeing them. Craggy, dark mountaintops so sharp and pointed that snow could barely find a place to fall and stay in place. "The castle is within the valley beyond the mountain."

I nodded as I tightened my great, warm coat around me. Joshua cleared up all traces of the fire and we set off again, quickly growing cold once the blast of snow and frozen air hit us. We reached the ridge, which provided some protection from the wind, and approached the entrance to the valley. The entrance itself was nothing more than a crack in the mountain with fallen splinters of rock some as tall as the mountain itself. We maneuvered the horses around them, the snowy terrain made more treacherous by rocks pointing out from beneath the blanket of white.

We moved slowly through the craggy pass as the snow abated, and we paused to take in the sight of the castle of Jotunnheim residing in the valley like a gigantic porcupine. Tower after tower rose, each one a different height, and different size, some fat, some thin, some too wide to be called a tower.

The castle looked… strange, almost alien. An angry monstrosity in the middle of a snow-covered valley. My heart thudded as we began to descend a rocky path hacked out of the mountainside.

When we reached ground, we dismounted and huddled behind a monolithic rock that seemed to threaten to teeter and fall. Ara and the other horses were silent, aware, almost expectant. I shivered. Between us and the castle entrance, the snow-covered ground lay broken by jagged black rocks and boulders that looked like a giant baby had had a tantrum and thrown his rock toys out of his cot.

"So what's our plan?" Aimee looked over at Sigrun and myself. "The rocks will provide cover as we make our way to the castle, but then what?"

"Within the castle walls there are more of these rocks. It is quite labyrinthine in there, so we do need to stay together. There is one thing to also look out for, though." Her voice held a seriousness that had all heads turning to her. "The guards are quite deceiving."

"Deceiving?" I frowned. "In what way?" Sometimes Sigrun was as frustrating with information as Hugin.

"They will look like gigantic rocks, but they are alive. The Jotunn have the power to shape shift. So be careful."

I nodded. I knew well enough what a Jotunn was capable of doing to a person in a fight. They could transform, turn fingertips into deadly daggers, and grow so large they could crush you with their little finger. I wasn't scared. No way.

"Right. Let's do this." Weapons at the ready, we left the horses and the safety of the stone monolith and ran, following Sigrun as she weaved between boulders and spires, mimicking her as she hid behind rock as large as dragons.

We stopped near the unguarded entrance, the gigantic gate held high above us by enormous chains. Sigrun peered around the wall and motioned for us to follow. We rounded the castle wall and beelined for Sigrun, who hunched down behind another thin splinter barely wide enough for the four of us to stand hip to hip.

"Which tower is it?" I whispered to Sigrun, sheathing my sword.

"Mord is the tallest tower."

Of course it was.

I peeped around the rock, searching out the tallest tower and was both amazed and horrified at the height of it.

"How will we even get up there?" The question came out in a puff of misty air.

"Well, Bryn. There are these things called wings—" Aimee and Joshua snickered and I made a face at them. Great time for Sigrun to prove her wit.

"Ha-ha. Very funny." I hid a smile. "Where can Aimee and Joshua wait?"

"We will have to find them a safe place outside." Sigrun looked passed me at the two
einherjar
. "Once we find a safe area, you have to stay put. We can't risk losing you. We need to get everyone back home safe."

They nodded and my heart twisted. The thought of leaving them unprotected made me panic. But they were Warriors in their own right, not mortal humans. I had to keep reminding myself of that. They were fully capable of defending themselves, or defending me.

"Right, let’s find them a good spot."

"We need to get closer to the castle," Sigrun urged. I nodded and we followed her again as she raced ahead from gigantic rock to ginormous splinter. The castle wall rose before us so suddenly I was taken aback, almost skidding into the rock. I'd been concentrating so hard on running that I hadn't kept track of our goal.

I scanned the area for a good hiding place and almost whooped. "There." I pointed at a rock that had fallen over and made a little lean-to against the castle wall. Perfect.

"Yes. This will do." Sigrun nodded.

I turned to the Warriors. "Stay armed and alert. We'll be back soon." Joshua and Aimee nodded, although the expression on Joshua's face told me he wasn’t happy with the arrangement. Unfortunately, he could only complain when he grew himself a pair of wings.

We left them hidden and looked up to get the full view of the Mord side of the castle. As we studied it, I withdrew the cloak and dusted it out. "Right. Let's do this."

Sigrun nodded and waited. I threw the cloak over us and wound one arm tightly to her waist. The other hand gripped Gungnir and the edge of the cloak. It was going to be tricky. Flapping her wings under the cloak would cause it to move and movement meant our invisibility would come and go so we’d have to hover rather than fly. And of course, anyone looking straight up at us would have an unhampered view.

We needed whatever protection we could get, so we were going to have to risk it.

With the cloak tightly around our shoulders, she lifted off slowly, keeping a more sedate pace. A flurry of snow and wind gusted around us, grabbing the folds of the cloak and tugging with such force I wondered for a moment if there was some invisible Jotunn playing mind games with us. But the wind subsided and we continued to rise.

Flying wasn't the easiest thing to do with Sigrun all covered up, feathers smashed down, unable to reach the breadth of her wingspan. She hovered more than flew, and rose higher and higher until we began to see the Tower of Mord grow grimly before us. My grip on Gungnir tightened and I realized how much I'd come to depend on the security of the spear.

The stone exterior of the tower was seamless rock, as if the tower had merely spouted from the rock rather than being built from it. Large windows dotted its walls, spiraling around the exterior until they stopped just below a row of larger, airier windows. I was glad I had Sigrun. The thought of ascending stairs within the tower, going around and around for what would probably be hours, made me feel a little more than queasy.

We passed the windows
and I noted with disappointment that they were all barred, keeping prisoners in and everyone else out. As if they knew we'd be coming. Sigrun frowned beneath the cloak and she rose farther until we reached the battlement. She landed, and I was still worried that getting in was no longer as easy as we'd expected.

I turned the cloak upside down and threw it around my shoulders. No time to fold it and hide it within my bag. We scanned the battlement and made for a set of stairs leading
down. I peeked around the small wall and down into the stairwell. All clear.

We hurried down the stairs. My heart thudded and I sent a prayer to Odin that we'd find Heimdall without too much trouble. One floor down the stairs ended abruptly, right in front of a thick stone door. Beside the door, sitting on a gleaming metal hook was a fat, black key.

Sigrun and I looked at each other, expressions saying
Really?
I shook my head and grabbed the key, wasting no time in jamming it into the lock and turning. Tumblers spun and the lock clicked, the stone door swinging open on silent hinges.

Inside, darkness swallowed the occupants, but we could make out
the forms of two men chained to the back wall about ten feet apart. They hung from manacles, shoulders bowed, heads hanging low. Neither looked up at our entrance. They must both have assumed their captors were making a visit.

We stepped inside
and I glanced at Sigrun. She nodded at me, signaling she'd keep watch at the door. The room stank of body odor and excrement. Neither one of the prisoners was well kept; both wore grayed and worn garments that wouldn’t protect them from the cold. But the room wasn’t as icy as the weather outside despite the stone walls. In fact, it was fairly warm. A part of me was thankful neither prisoner suffered from the freezing cold in addition to the other discomforts of this Jotunn prison.

I stepped toward the larger man, whose muscles gleamed in the pale light streaming in
through the barred windows. "Heimdall?" I took another step forward and he opened his eyes.

***