Dead Chaos (26 page)

She groaned softly and I wiped at her forehead. Her lids were heavy and she struggled to open her eyes. "I am so sorry, Bryn."

"What for? You have nothing to be sorry for." I stared at her, waiting for an answer but all she did was sigh and slump against the wall. The head and about 4 inches of arrow still protruded from her body. It shuddered as she slid toward me. And as I caught her, she felt heavier than she'd ever been.

My heart hurt, freezing slowly into a ball of frigid ice. I swallowed hard, refusing to allow the tears to well.

Tears that now froze in my throat the way my heart already had.

***

I stared at the arrow. A part of me wanted to tug it out and fling it as far away from us as possible but the rest of me didn’t want to cause Sigrun any further pain. Also, when we got back to Asgard, Eir could use the arrow to find an antidote for Sigrun. I gritted my teeth.

Something shimmered at the corner of my eye. A shadow from something large above us.

Tyra was here.

I had to get out into the open, so she’d see me and know where to land. A quick scan of the area confirmed it was clear and I ventured into a clear space a few feet from our hiding place.

The great, bronze dragon circled us one more time, preparing to land.

I crawled back to Sigrun and pushed the cloak off her. Aimee grabbed the cloak and helped as I gripped Sigrun around her waist. Holding her arm around my neck, I stumbled with her to the open space to wait for Tyra. Joshua stood, bow drawn, ready for anything, although there didn’t seem much need to hide ourselves now. The castle yard had been silent for ages, ever since they'd sent away the search parties.

Sigrun was dead weight against me and I frowned. I laid her out on the ground to make it easy for Tyra to carry her. No way was Sigrun able to climb onto the dragon’s back and hold on.

I moved farther into the clear area, leaving the others with Sigrun, and looked up at the sky as the dragon closed in. A movement blurred at the corner of my eye and something came barreling at me, hitting hard enough to topple me.

Flat on my back, I watched as Tyra hovered a moment then flapped her wings hard, rising slowly back into the air. She banked to the left and circled away. My heart twisted. We were stranded for the second time, like a horrible recurring nightmare.

And considering the enormous, ugly, salivating wolf holding me down, I was more than just stranded.

I was pretty much dead.

A moment later a voice called out and the beast pulled away. I scanned the area, noting that both Aimee and Joshua had hidden among the rocks, leaving Sigrun lying deathly still on the cold ground.

A Jotunn strode closer, each step making the earth shudder. He was at least twenty feet in height, much taller than the frost giant who I'd maimed.

And then in the space of a blink and a breath, he was so much smaller.

The Jotunn shrank before my eyes. Not that it surprised me. I knew they were shape shifters, but the shrinking was quite distracting. I blinked and held my breath as he approached until he stood before me.

The swirling of color in his eyes gave him away immediately.

"Loki." I uttered his name with hatred, revulsion.

He'd been a wily adversary, always one step ahead but also quite enigmatic and charming. Not that I'd forgiven him for stabbing Aidan with a poisoned dagger, nor could I forgive him for abducting Brody, and now imprisoning Odin in his strange in-between world. I felt such a deep rush of hatred for him.

"What do you want?" I spat the words at him, backing up slowly until I stopped. A few more steps and I'd have my back to the wall, something I wasn't keen on, either literally or figuratively. Plus there was Sigrun to consider, lying prone on the ground a few feet from me. I didn’t look at her in case that drew Loki’s attention to her unconscious form.

My satchel dragged along the ground with me. A subtle reminder of the bottle of the Norn’s water I’d brought with me. How to use it against this tricky god was another thing altogether.

"Hello, Brynhildr." He smiled and his face transformed from craggy, blue-veined frost giant to Loki the trickster. His gaze moved quickly from my face to my wingless back and he smirked.

I chose silence.

"Come now, Brynhildr. You are not known for being impolite. I’d say we’re old friends by now."

"I am no friend of yours. You’re a monster and a murderer. And I refuse to have anything to do with you."

An odd expression flitted across Loki’s features. A blend of disappointment and tempered fury. He paced back and forth, pondering whatever his problem was. He appeared to not relish the fact his plans had been thwarted.

"What do you want?" I gritted my teeth. Provoking Loki at this moment would not be in my best interest. Especially if I wanted to get out of this alive. Or get Sigrun out alive.

He stopped his pacing with a sudden jerk and swiveled to face me. He sucked in a breath and said, "I’ve decided that you, Valkyrie Brynhildr, the great Brunhilde reborn, should be the one to choose." The grin on his face was enough to make me want to reach out and slap it off myself. I clenched my fist and held it by my side.

"Choose?" I took a step toward him. "Choose what? Can I choose for you and all your henchmen die?"

"Of course you cannot, my dear Bryn. And besides that would be mean, wouldn't it?"

Oh, you haven't yet seen the mean in me, Trickster.

Then he held out a hand and smiled. And my heart plummeted.

A little ball swirled around and around in his outstretched palm. Within the ball I saw wings: tiny and delicate and devastatingly mine.

"What the hell are you up to?" I screamed the words at him, furious that he'd play such games with me. But was Loki ever the type to care about a person’s feelings?

"Oh, do calm down, Valkyrie. I can give them back to you though." He tilted his head and smiled. "If you comply, of course."

"Comply?" I felt like a parrot. What the hell was he up to? "Can you please come right out and say what you want instead of playing these word games with me? I don't think either of us has the time to waste."

"Very well." Loki took a step toward me, his hand still held forth, displaying my wings. I wanted to close my eyes to them. But I didn't want Loki to ever think he had the upper hand. He paid me little attention anyway. "Valkyrie Brynhildr, the choice is yours to make. On this hand I present your wings to be returned as soon as you say the word." Loki sketched a small bow, then flourished his other hand. Within that palm was another ball, the tree of life Yggdrasil with all the realms moving around it like a little universe. "On this hand are the nine realms, here for you to save from the ultimate destruction."

I frowned. "What? You want me to choose between my wings and the survival of the nine realms? Are you insane?"

"No, my dear. I am very far from insane. You see, I know who you are. And it's because of whom you are that you will be the one to make the choice. I only wish Odin were here to bear witness."

"I haven’t the faintest idea what you mean." I snapped at him, annoyed he wanted to continue being facetious. My eyelids were growing heavier as we spoke. The poison seemed to have been making silent progress through my bloodstream. Loki opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off. "And I don't really care what you mean, either. Just tell me what this stupid choice thing is all about and let's get it over with."

"Well, my dear, it’s very simple. Choose. You get your wings back and thus shall Ragnarok begin. Or you can stay the beginning of the end of the world by forfeiting your wings." Green and purple swirled triumphantly in Loki’s eyes.

My heart thudded so loud in my ears it drowned out the thoughts in my head. Loki was definitely insane. "Why would I ever make such a choice?"

"Because you are the only one who can stop it. Choose." Loki smiled, then came to stand beside me. He circled me, then with a flourish drew a feather from the air, one of
my
feathers. With it he traced a line along my collar bone to my shoulders, along my back where my wings no longer hung and back again to touch my cheek with the soft edge of the feather. I shuddered, placing my hand inside my pocket and hoping Loki thought nothing of it. I hoped that Tyra would hear me and hurry back because, right now, I really needed saving. "The longer you take, the harder this will be for me, and for you, dear girl. The poison from that wound — don't think I didn't notice — will soon take over your entire body and then it will be too late for anyone to save you. Even Eir, with all her talents, will stand by and watch you die. And as for your little Valkyrie friend over there…" Loki fluttered his fingers at Sigrun where she lay so frighteningly still. "Not much longer for her. So what will it be, Valkyrie? Your wings, or prevent the end of the world?"

I wanted to click my tongue. More than that, I wanted to wrap my fingers around Loki's neck and squeeze the life out of him. He deserved his death. But I knew I wouldn't be the one to carry out that sentence.

"I will not choose."

"Then you will have both punishments. You will lose your wings and so shall Ragnarok begin."

The horror of his words washed over me. There was no way I’d let him start the end of the world because of me. I blinked as Loki shimmered in my vision, became two Loki’s for an instant. I shook my head and there was one of him again. The poison. "Fine. You can have my wings. I will take the nine realms." My heart thudded as I rubbed desperate fingers over the dragon's eye. Why had she left? Had she seen the danger?

Please, Lady Tyra. Come back as fast as you can.

Loki was so unpredictable. Who knew what he'd do now that I made my choice.

"What?" The god scowled. He hadn’t expected that. And now he looked at a loss. But knowing him, he wouldn’t be for too long. "You will really give up a part of you to save the worlds?"

"Yes. Is it so hard for you to understand?" I lifted my chin as a gust of air hit us from above. Snow began to fall and thankfully hid the approach of the dragon queen.

Loki laughed, the sound almost a hysterical cackle. "Valkyrie, you are one of a kind. But you will not win." He extended his palms and began to close both fists, intending to crush both little balls into nothing.

Another great gust of wind blasted into us, and Loki stumbled a few feet backward, the balls both teetering on the edge of his palms. A gigantic dragon flew straight at us, knocking Loki over with its foreleg before making a wide sweep around us.

Both balls fell from Loki's hands and I dropped Gungnir and dove for the ball nearest me, uncaring which one it was. The world teetered and I shuddered, praying I didn’t faint. As soon as I felt my fingers close over it, I rolled over and threw my free hand out to grab the second one.

Loki screeched, his anger mimicking the cry of his raven form.

The dragon swooped down again and I dropped the balls into my satchel, wrenched the bottle of water free and bent to grab Gungnir from the ground. I glanced behind me. Joshua rushed to my back, and Aimee ran to Sigrun, throwing an arm around her waist. In one smooth pass, the dragon reached out and encircled Joshua and I with a clawed foot, giving Aimee and Sigrun’s still form the same treatment. I was glad for my friend’s quick thinking; there would have been no time for them to climb Tyra’s back and find a good perch. Then Tyra flew up and away from the trickster god. Within seconds, his body was a tiny figure amongst dozens of stones strewn in the castle yard.

"We have to go back," I shouted as loudly as I could, blinking at the pull of unconsciousness, at the drunken feeling of the venom in my bloodstream. "There’s something I have to do." As I spoke, I opened the bottle and poured water onto the tip of Gungnir. The dragon tilted her head back and stared at me as if assessing whether to comply. I hefted the spear upward, holding it out away from both my body and the dragon’s scales. "Please. Take me back. I need to give Loki a little message from the Norns."

She seemed to understand, banking left and making a wide turn to head back to the screeching god.

"What are you doing?" Joshua yelled over his shoulder.

"The Norn’s gave me the water from the well." I hollered back, wind surging into my mouth with such force I gasped. "They said Loki must be injured with a weapon dipped in that water. I think it’s meant to slow him down or poison him in some way."

I kept an eye on Loki. I watched him as he stopped hopping around like a lunatic fowl. Watched as he took his opportunity and transformed into the largest, blackest raven I’d ever seen.

He launched off the ground, making a beeline for us as we flew toward him. "When he gets close, make a sharp left so I can reach him with the spear," I yelled to Tyra again and noted the slight tilt of the dragon’s head.

Loki flew straight at us, great ebony wings beating louder and louder as he got closer. It seemed very much as if we were playing chicken, destined for a head-on, mid-air collision.

I sucked in a breath and waited, trusting Tyra to know the right moment to turn. I kept my eyes on Loki, refusing to let him out of my sight. And the next moment, he was there, inches away from me. Around me, I felt Tyra’s back muscles tighten slightly, announcing her intention to turn.

She swept left.

I swiped hard at the trickster god, feeling the edge of the spear slice through feathers and penetrate the flesh of his neck, listening to his screech of pain, of anger, of surprise. I didn't care. All I knew was I’d delivered the water as the Norns requested.

I gripped hard on the spear and tugged it back out of Loki's flesh as fast as I could before he sped by, screeching in fury and pain.

"Let’s go," I shouted against the gusting wind and snow. Tyra made a wide turn and surged upward, her wings working harder to get us moving with speed.