Empty Altars (13 page)

He shrugged. "It gives me an advantage. I know I'll destroy Garm. We'll die fighting each other."

Not good enough, Diana decided. Norse always thought about how to achieve victory. She thought about quality of life. Sometimes, ignorance
was
bliss.

Tyr smiled, watching her expression. "We seem odd to you, don't we?"

"Odd? That's putting it mildly."

"And you seem extraordinary to us. Should we move on and enchant more of the cliff line?"

Always practical, Diana decided. She gave a quick nod. "Sure, let's go."

Freya hurried to walk by her side, nudging Tyr out of the way. "What you said about Inga—do you really think she might be our next seer?"

The more Diana thought about it, the more she was convinced it was true. "Yes. Why else would Gudrun protect her so fiercely?"

Freya gave a slow smile. "It would be a sweet irony, wouldn't it? Someone eliminated a seer, but there's a new to take her place. Can you train her?"

"In the runes? Yes. In the ways of her village? No. But once she casts her own bones, she'll gain wisdom of her own."

"Can you teach me too?"

"You?"

"It couldn't hurt me to read runes."

"I'll try. As you've seen, you either have a talent or you don't." Diana raised her chin. "Can you teach me shape shifting?"

"If you have a gift for it."

"A fair trade. We Greeks like to barter."

Freya smiled. "If your vision was right—and they all have been—and I’m to survive Ragnarok, I'd like as many talents as I can muster. Rebuilding isn't going to be easy. And if you're immortal, as you like to believe, shape shifting might come in handy."

"Nothing's easy," Diana told her. "You already know that. Let's hope we're fast learners."

"As fast as Hermod. I'm ready for change."

Diana laughed. "You want too much. If challenges were that simple, we'd all get lazy. We wouldn't grow."

"Fine by me." Freya slowed her steps to lace her arm through Tyr's and looked up at him, smiling. "If Diana and I dallied day after day and grew fat and lazy, you'd learn to like big women, right?"

"I won't be around that long." His voice was sour.

Freya stared at him, surprised. "Oh, for Woden's sake! You don't know that. Why are you so grumpy?"

"I liked Gudrun. I even felt sorry for Snorri."

"So did I." Something was bothering Tyr. Diana suspected it was more than what he'd told them. "We have work to do, though," she said. "Might as well get to it."

"I don't need a Roman to whip me into shape!"

Diana let out a deep breath and counted to ten. The sky god was in a mood. She didn't appreciate his taking it out on her, but these were his people, his responsibility. It would affect him more. She tried to smooth things over. "Hey, I'm a mixed bag—a little Greek with a little Roman and Spartan thrown in. We like to get things done."

She expected a laugh. She didn't get one. He gave a curt nod, his expression serious. "What should we do?"

So much for humor. This was going to be a fun day. "We need to protect the entire cliff at Giantland. We need to enchant the earth and make the giants work to visit us."

Noir stopped walking and sat on his haunches.

"I'll carry you if you don't want to walk," Diana offered.

Noir gave a flip of his tail and set off toward the wood, ditching them.

"Will he be safe?" Freya asked.

"I wouldn't want to fight him." Diana watched him disappear, damn cat. "If I had to bet on him or a hellhound, I'd put money on my cat."

Inga shook her head, confused.

Tyr went to stand beside her. "Freya can take the lead with you."

Diana blinked, surprised. The Norse god had just ditched her too. What the hell was his problem?

Freya shared a meaningful glance with Diana. "Men! Don't let him bother you. He's in a snit, but it's not because of you."

Maybe. Maybe not. But Tyr
had
hurt her feelings, and that aggravated Diana even more. What did she care what he thought? What did it matter? She tried to concentrate on the work at hand. "Does he think I should do more?"

"He's
not
thinking. That's the problem. He's not a happy boy, so he's pouting. But your spells will make it harder for the giants to surprise us. And he knows that. He's just not ready to stop sulking yet."

Diana frowned, worried. She'd disappointed Tyr somehow, and that bothered her.

Freya broke into her thoughts. "What next? What do we do when we finish this?"

Freya was trying to distract her, and Diana appreciated it. "We alert the birds. They'll warn us if giants climb the cliffs."

"They'll do that?"

"They're part of Nature, my realm. And then I start teaching Inga the runes."

"Me, too. You'll teach me too, right? We have a deal."

"And you teach me shape shifting." Diana pushed Tyr from her mind. No wonder she'd stayed clear of men all her life. They were babies! She had enough to tackle for the moment. She didn't need to coddle a man.

Chapter 12

Tyr went through the motions, but his thoughts were elsewhere, Diana could tell. When they'd walked the entire cliff and enchanted the ground, she called on the winds to come to her. Breezes blew toward them from all directions. She lifted her arms to honor them and called, "When the giants scale these cliffs, do not treat them kindly. Blow gusts to loosen their grips. Throw dust in their eyes and mouths."

The winds whirled about her, almost caressing her. "You have my gratitude," she told them, and they sped away.

That done, Diana called on the birds of the air. Hawks plummeted to the ground before her. Ravens and sparrows, owls and swallows—all species came. "If the giants climb these walls, set off the alarm. Spread it one to another until we hear." She bowed in reverence. "I thank you."

The birds bobbed their heads and flew away.

"How do you do that?" Tyr asked, confused. "You're not an earth mother. Why do these things respond to you?"

"I'm goddess of the hunt. I do what I can to keep things in balance. The earth and its inhabitants know that. I respect them, and they respect me."

"But you kill their weak."

"It's part of survival. They understand that."

He grew thoughtful. "There are many things about you that aren't immediately apparent. I think Heid has underestimated you, as did we."

Big deal! It was the first nice thing he'd said to her today. "Let's hope so. It's an advantage."

Tyr's brows creased. "Without you, we would never have learned of the traitor in the village. The finger marks on Gudrun's throat would have faded before we found her dead. Snorri would have fled. We would have assumed an old woman died in her sleep."

"And when you found her burnt runes?"

Inga answered. "The seer before Gudrun burnt hers when she knew she was dying. They were sacred to her, meant for no one else."

Diana finally understood. She looked at Tyr. "That's what's really bothering you, isn't it? You're worried about the traitor."

"I remember your portents. Someone else will die by this person's hand." He studied her. "But you already thought of that, didn't you?"

"Yes."

A tremble shook Inga's body. "If Jorunda dies, I die too."

"I assumed there would be only the one death," Tyr said. "But Gudrun and Snorri both died, betrayed. Will there be more?"

"Let's ask." Diana knelt to the ground, pulled the pouch from her jeans pocket, and tossed the bones. She listened to them sing and then returned them. "There will be many more, but only one that matters."

"That matters?" Tyr tried to digest the news. "Every life has significance."

"But not every death changes destiny. The person's who's betrayed will."

Tyr's mood turned darker still. "And there's nothing we can do about the others?"

"No."

"Why not?" He clenched his fingers into a fist.

"The runes only tell us so much. Some things are meant to be. We can't….”

Freya spun on him, hands on hips. "You know all this! Do you fuss about Garm and Ragnarok?"

"That's been foretold since…."

"So has this! What do you expect Diana to do? Change Destiny?"

"No." He turned his back to them, frustrated.

Freya tried to change the subject. She motioned at Diana's pouch. "Do you always carry the runes with you?"

Grateful, Diana followed her lead. "Not usually, but after Gudrun's death, I wanted to keep them close."

"So that no one can steal them?" Inga asked.

"No, that's impossible. They're bespelled. But so much happens so quickly here, I want them near, so that I can do a reading at a moment's notice."

"As you did now, for me." Tyr took a deep breath, turning to face them once more. "I thank you, and I'm sorry. I don't know what to do. I can't prepare for a battle I can't fight. People will die, and I don't know how to save them."

"You can't save them." Diana understood his frustration. She admired it. "You don't like feeling helpless."

"I'd rather fight and lose than do nothing, but I need to accept that this is out of my hands and save the people I can." He looked more himself again. "So what's next? How can we help you?"

Diana's mood lightened. She was surprised by how much Tyr's gloom had affected her. She could hardly bear to see the god distressed. She didn't want to think about the cause of that, so forced her mind to practical matters. "You Norse use rowan wood for your runes. We need to collect branches to carve for Inga."

"Then we should return to the village." Freya started to the path.

Diana hesitated. "Those trees are young. Older ones would be better, filled with more wisdom."

"Rowans grow in Asgaard," Tyr said. "I'll take you there."

"No need. There's a flying rowan growing somewhere here. The ravens found it. So can we." Diana wanted nothing to do with Bifrost, the rainbow bridge. She knew that visitors sometimes came to Mount Olympus, but she'd seen the flames on the rainbow. Could only a Norse god pass through them? "Your bridge…."

"Will only let the pure of heart pass. You and Inga have no fears."

Easy for him to say.
Pure
wasn't the word she'd use to describe herself. "Look…."

"Trust me," he said. "All I meant was that you are allies with no evil intent to us."

She relaxed. That much was true.

"Let's go," he said. "I'll let Donar and Heimdall know you're coming."

She tensed again. "Donar?" Lucky her, the hammer bearer could yell at her on his own turf.

Tyr grinned, enthusiastic now. "I doubt he'll join us."

Diana squared her shoulders. There was nothing about visiting Asgaard that appealed to her, but if ancient rowans grew there, she wanted their wood. Donar could get out of her way.

Chapter 13

Diana stopped at the edge of the rainbow bridge. The brilliant arch of colors danced with flames. The water below the bridge churned with heat.

Tyr put a hand under her elbow to encourage her. "The bridge never mistakes a friend for an enemy."

This was a bad idea. Could a goddess burn? If she fell into the water, could she swim to shore before she cooked to
al dente
? She didn't want to find out.

"Asgaard's rowans are older and wiser." Freya started across the bridge and motioned for Diana to follow her. "We won't stay long. We'll collect some branches and leave."

"Easy for you to say. The bridge knows you." Diana remembered Freya's invitation for her to visit her hall. Not gonna happen. If she had to walk through fire to get there, it was no place she wanted to be. "You guys collect the branches and Inga and I will wait for you here."

"You're being silly." Tyr scooped her into his arms and started across the bridge.

"Hey! Put me down!" She struggled, but he gripped her closer. If she weren't scared of turning into a crispy critter, she'd enjoy this. At the moment, though, she wanted to throttle him.

The flames flickered red and yellow. She felt no heat. "See?" he said. "You're a friend. The bridge welcomes you."

She gritted her teeth the rest of the way.

Freya went back to take Inga's hand and followed behind them. When they reached the other side of the rainbow, Tyr gently set Diana on the ground. She bunched her fingers into fists and stood with her arms stiff at her sides. "I am not a child. I did not appreciate being treated like one."

"A child?" Tyr shook his head and tried to look innocent. He couldn't quite pull it off. "I thought of you as a damsel in distress."

"Bullshit!"

He tsked at her foul language. "I've never met a goddess who cusses as much as you do."