Dead Embers (43 page)

"Okay, so in English what does that mean,
exactly?" My voice dripped with sarcasm and scorn. What the hell was wrong
with me? I dared to provoke this raging god. Despite my confidence that his
chains were sturdy enough to keep me safe, the possibility always remained that
he would stop talking. And then probably do something deadly to me.

But I sensed that Loki wanted this stage. Had wanted it all
along. He had moved all the pieces one at a time to get us where we were right
now: at his mercy, as he explained what the hell was going on in the Nine
Realms.

"It means, little flightless bird, that you and your
kind—all your little Valkyrie friends—are going to die. The frost giants have
been in Midgard for a long time, building, learning, amassing their armies. And
the genius of it all was that we used you, my little friend. You were the key,
dear girl. The weapon we used to smash Odin's army to all corners of the Nine
Realms. You gave us the power to kill all those Warriors. And now you have no
time left."

Melodramatic much?
But this time I held my tongue.

His words touched me so deeply, my heart pumped harder,
thundering against my ribs. I struggled to breathe, only because I knew he
spoke the truth.

"Ragnarok beckons. Can you not hear the sounds of death
in the air? Can you not smell the blood of the dying and the dead?"

Loki spun on his heel, addressing the room. Triumph swirled
green and mauve in his blazing eyes, and in the strong set to his shoulders. He
threw his arms wide. "Be prepared, brothers, Asgardians. It is the end of
Asgard. And the end of Odin."

Those words were enough to break my spirit.

And my heart.

Loki's words and their grim truth wrapped around me like a
blanket of frigid cold, covered in shards of ice that ripped at my flesh and
tasted blood.

I shivered.

"We have heard enough of your ravings, Loki," said
Thor. He nodded to the Warriors holding on to Loki. "Take him to Asgard.
The All-Father shall decide his fate."

Loki went quietly, his head held high, a gleeful smile still
emblazoned across his handsome face. I'd always seen glimpses of a happy,
cheerful soul in those multihued eyes, but now the darkness within him had
taken over. And what it left in its wake wasn't pretty.

A weary body weighs much less than a weary soul, but both
are great burdens to bear. I hunched over, leaned against Aidan, offering what
little comfort I was able to give him. How would he feel now that he knew he
was actually related to the god Loki? The same god who'd tricked us,
manipulated us and put a poisoned dagger into his own grandchild. I couldn't
bear to think about that.

Movement across the room drew my attention, and I looked up
as two Warriors began to lead the doctor away. But the enigmatic doctor
stalled, bringing the Warriors to an abrupt halt. "Wait. I have something
to say to my son."

Aidan glared at him, and so did I. Who did he think he was,
claiming Aidan as his son? He'd practically killed Aidan with a phone call to
his goons. And now he had the gall to call him on his blood relationship?

Aidan waited, silent and stiff with fury.

Dr. Lee's eyes shimmered green and purple, and I couldn't
help thinking how alike he was to his trickster father. "Whatever happens
to me, Aidan, I hope you know that your mother and sister are safe." His
words were reassuring enough, yet his ominous tone sent a shiver up my spine. I
couldn't help thinking I'd heard a hard edge in those almost comforting words.

"Is that a threat?" Aidan asked softly. I puffed a
breath of relief. Good thing Aidan had heard the implied threat too.

"Take it as you like. Just be aware that their safety
depends on me." All color ebbed from the doctor's eyes, and his expression
turned cold and emotionless as he stared at his son.

"Not for long. If it's the last thing I do, I swear
I'll get them away from you." Aidan stepped forward, a foot closer to his
odious father. I swayed, struggling to hold myself stiff and strong, surprised
I had the strength and control of a few muscles. I gripped the edge of the
gurney, forcing myself to remain upright, trying my hardest to ignore the
living fire that seemed to seep into every muscle and bone vacated by the
drugs.

I peered over Aidan's shoulder as Dr. Lee stared arrogantly
at his son. He had no response for the passion of the boy he'd raised. Just
looked down his nose at him, his smile saying he didn't understand Aidan's
emotional outburst and didn't care, either.

The guards hustled the silent doctor away. Aidan turned back
to me, his face haggard and shadowed.

"I'm so sorry." I wasn't sure what else I could
have said. Sorry seemed so lame now that I'd said the word, but it was all I
could come up with.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Aidan shook
his head, his eyes empty, devoid of emotion, which was almost scarier than his
father's psycho smile. "
I'm
sorry that you got mixed up in his
pathetic games."

"I guess he must have had his reasons."
Follow
one lame comment with another. Way to go, Bryn
.

"Are you defending him?" Aidan's voice rasped,
harsh and angry, the muscles in his arms tense.

"No, Aidan." I gripped his arm, glad for the
ability to move my hands at last. "I'm just saying you had your reasons
for following his instructions. Maybe it was something similar for him, too.
Loki was his father." I wondered if the arrogant man was proud of what
he'd done, or just scared. Did he appreciate that he'd lost a son who was so
much more than just progeny?

Aidan sighed, and the anger in his dark eyes faded.
"Yeah. I had my reasons. My father is holding my mother and sister
hostage, holding their lives and their safety over my head. They were the only
reasons I followed his every instruction."

My body iced over and my breath caught in my throat. I just
stared at Aidan, more unsure than ever of what I should say. Nothing I said now
would make a damn bit of difference to him.

I grasped his hand, entwined our fingers, glad the feeling
was returning to more of my muscles, making me feel more human. Okay, maybe I
should rethink the human part. "We'll get them back," I said.
"I'll help you. As soon as we get out of here, we can go and find
them."

Aidan touched my face with his fingers, tenderly grazing my
cheek. He tucked a matted lock of hair behind my ear. "There's one good
thing that came out of all this mess," he said. I frowned, thinking hard,
but I came up blank. Then he bent close to my ear and said, "You."

I smiled, and my cheeks heated as his warm breath caressed
the whorls of my ear.

A stern voice interrupted our moment. "I think we have
held up the Valkyrie long enough. She needs to rest, and I suggest we continue
this conversation when she is well."

I searched the room for the person who had such awful
timing—Fenrir. My heart tripped as I held his gaze, searching for hatred and
anger and blame. I found none. Just a deep sadness, a shadow of sorrow that
curved beneath his eyes and lined his face. He looked ruthless. And yet I knew
he was in great pain.

Aidan grasped me around the waist and slid me forward toward
the edge of the gurney, as if ready to swing me into his arms.

"No, I'm fine." I batted his hands away.

"But you can barely walk."

Yeah, sure, I can barely walk, but no way do I want to be
lifted in your arms like a child, wearing this short, open-backed hospital
gown, my bare ass hanging out for the whole world to see. No frickin' way.

I met Aimee's eye as she walked into the room, and when
Joshua entered behind her I almost burst into tears. I tried to beckon them
over. My attempt more likely ended up looking like a glare or a grimace, but
they seemed to understand. Aimee whispered something to Joshua before they both
approached me.

"What happened to you guys?" I didn't wait for
either one of them to reach me. I just needed to know why my team had abandoned
me. But when my two friends drew alongside me, I bit off any admonition that
sat at the tip of my tongue. Joshua's swollen, blackened eye, and his wince of
pain as he stepped gingerly on one foot, was enough. "Are you okay?"

Joshua grinned, though it didn't mask the anger in his eyes.
"Yes, yes I'm fine. Our friend Karl turned out to be on the wrong side
after all. After you and Pia left us, he tried to clobber me. Only problem was,
he hadn't been trained by Fenrir. No idea how the creep was even a Warrior to
begin with. I managed to fight him off and punched his lights out, but he had
backup."

"More guards?"

A grimace creased his face. "Yeah, we were right. The
whole thing was just a huge setup. Just to lure you inside. You were the target
the entire time."

My veins ran with ice. Anger washed over me. Just knowing
I'd been a pawn on Loki's board stirred my fury.

Aimee chose that moment to speak, tearing my rage to pieces.
"Aidan, I think Joshua might need some help with the computer and the
files. I can get Bryn sorted." She smiled, but her words brooked no
argument.

"But—"

"I'm fine, Aidan. You go and do whatever techie stuff
it is that you do. I'll try to manage without you." I winked at him and
smiled. Thankfully, my facial muscles had regained the ability to follow my
mental requests, otherwise who knows what the wink would have looked like.

We both watched him leave. "You're so lucky, you know
that? He cares so much for you." Aimee held onto me.

I stared after Aidan's departing back, then smiled at Aimee.
"Yeah. Nothing's been easy, though. We've spent the better part of our
relationship just trying to find each other." I sighed. "Sometimes I
wonder if it's all worth the effort."

"Well, what is it they say? Love conquers all, right?
You guys will be fine. All this will blow over soon enough." Aimee's
encouraging grin almost made me believe her words.

Almost.

But her smile didn't reach her eyes. Something was wrong.
Something she wasn't telling me. I held her gaze, but she broke eye contact and
glanced behind me as the sound of clinking metal drew closer.

A voice behind me said, "Bryn, I always knew you would
be fun to have around. Nothing is ever boring when you are involved."
Sigrun rounded the table, arms laden with my clothing and weapons.

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you trying to imply I'm a
troublemaker?" I sent her an accusatory glare, but my spirits soared,
happy and relieved to see Sigrun.

"I was not
implying
anything," Sigrun
replied.

Aimee giggled and so did I. My flesh tingled as new blood
began to make its way into starved muscles. When a Warrior entered the room, a
leather pouch in his hand, Sigrun grabbed it, and thanked him.

She handed the pouch to me.

"Here, drink every drop. You need all your strength,
and the sooner you recover, the better it will be for you and for all of us, I
think." She shared a glance with Aimee that for the briefest of moments
was clearly filled with worry. I blinked, and they were smiling again, and I
thought I'd imagined it all.

Mead. I didn't need to be forced. Who didn't love the taste
of Mead? I drank deeply, reminding myself not to swallow the delicious liquid
too fast. Around me, the room emptied and quieted until just Sigrun, Aimee and
I remained.

My head lolled forward, energy slowly draining from my body.
"Right, time to get you somewhere to rest." Sigrun grabbed me around
the waist and lifted me into her arms.

"I can walk, you know," I said dryly, trying to
appear nonchalant while my friend carried me in her arms as if I were a baby.

"No, you cannot walk." Sigrun frowned at me, the
motherly glare clearly telling me to shut up and stay put. "You are far
too stubborn for your own good, Bryn."

I wanted to cross my arms and pout, but still I saw the
funny side to it.

"Fine then, have it your way. Just whatever you do,
don't you dare drop me." I tried to squelch my teasing smile but didn't do
a very good job of it.

A walk down the hall and about six doors later we entered a
small single room that passed easily for a standard hospital room, complete
with tacky floral curtains and pasty-green bedding, TV remote and numerous
machines at the head of an adjustable bed.

Sigrun sat me on the bed, and I flinched as the movement
sent a spike of pain up my spine. The pain brought back the memory of the guard
who'd kicked me repeatedly. I lifted my arm to touch the back of my head, and a
shaft of agony sliced through my shoulder, the pain a million times worse than
any kick in the head.

I gasped and moaned as pain filtered into the rest of my
body. The drugs were wearing off. It must have been some kind of super drug
that had paralyzed me, to take all this pain away too.

And as it faded away, the ripe agony began to return. Fear
rippled through me, and I felt odd. Strange. Something wasn't right. The pain
at my shoulders was agonizing, and I twisted my neck around, desperate to see
what was causing the intense agony that just kept getting worse with each
passing minute. Perhaps the goon who'd kicked me had broken my wings.

But what I saw was horrifically worse.

I couldn't breathe. A sob and a moan of horror stuck in my
throat.

I blinked.

Then I gave in to the wave of unconsciousness that would
take me away from the horror of it all. And as I sank into the depths of dark
bliss, I keened in silence.

Behind closed lids, what I saw brought tears to my eyes.

Hacked off at my shoulders. Raw splints of bone. Bared
muscle tissue.

My wings.

They'd taken my wings.

---THE END---

To my parents – for always being there for me.