Valkyrie Rising (30 page)

Suddenly I was running, not really sure what I’d do when I reached her but hoping I’d think of something. I’d forgotten how cold she was, a spider watching the path of a drunken fly bobbing and weaving right into her web.

Astrid’s lips curled into a snarl. It made her look even more devastating.

“Still not dead?” She was so cool and calm. Like she was offering us another cup of tea. “Fortunately, I can remedy that oversight. Wait outside,” she told Tucker, setting him down without a second glance. Assuming he was an obedient minion, under her spell.

But his gray eyes were clear and unclouded.

“No,” he said, taking a step forward

Astrid turned and stared at Tuck, genuine surprise in her eyes. “You don’t have permission to speak.”

“I don’t need it.” He lifted his chin. “You don’t hold much sway over me, Astrid, fascinating as I find you.”

“I knew there was something strange about you,” she said, tipping her head to the side, examining him like the answers to existence were scrawled all over his face. “Let me guess.” Astrid turned ice-cold eyes on me. “He has family in Brittany.”

I looked at Tuck, because I was pretty sure that was the region in France where his mother grew up. Then I turned back to Astrid. “So?”

“Stupid,” Astrid hissed at me. “He’s using you.”

“No. Never,” Tuck said to me. “I thought they were nuts. My mother’s family. Until all this started happening. My mother was basically raised in a cult. They claim they’re descended from a Celtic goddess, and they are obsessed with stopping the end of the world. As caused by you specifically.” He looked right at Astrid. “I’ll cooperate if you just let Ellie go.”

“Cooperate?” Astrid made it sound like a dirty little secret. “Why would I have any interest in that? What’s to stop me from killing you right now?”

“Nothing,” Tuck replied. “But while I don’t know everything about this feud between you and my family, I’ve figured out a couple of things. I know there’s some bad blood between you guys, but I think you should talk to them. Use me as a mediator. Or a bargaining chip. Even if I avoid them, they’ve tried pretty hard over the years to get us back in the flock.”

“What on earth are you talking about?” Shock made my words come out one at a time, as if they were disconnected rather than a cluster of sounds that formed a sentence.

“You really didn’t know?” Astrid hissed. She took in my confused expression, and her lips curled into a disgusted snarl. “It’s a disgrace. Hilda forced you to live in ignorance. It endangers us all.”

I was surprised to realize that most of her anger at the moment was directed at Grandmother rather than at me.

“His family is our greatest enemy. He tricked you. I imagine he’s been most gratified by your betrayal.”

It was a lie—instead of crushing my bones, Astrid was going for my heart this time. At least, that’s what I thought until I saw the way Tuck’s eyes were still carefully avoiding mine.

“Have you lost your mind?” I demanded, wondering why he was playing along with Astrid. There was no way this could end well. “Tell her it’s not true.” But my words faltered as he looked down, away from me.

“But it is,” Tuck said softly.

Astrid flashed a triumphant smile and prowled around me in a slow half circle. “You can’t trust anyone, Elsa,” she snarled. “How many times do you need to learn that lesson? Your grandmother. Tucker. Loki. I’m the only one who hasn’t lied to you. And yet you distrust me most.”

“I didn’t lie.” Tuck stepped toward me, but Astrid shifted between us. I wasn’t stupid enough to think I could get past her if I tried, especially when her companions crept closer, watching my every move. “I just didn’t tell you everything,” he added.

“A meaningless distinction,” Astrid snarled.

I hated that I agreed. Now all I could do was wonder what else Tucker was keeping from me.

Tuck held up both hands, yielding to Astrid even as his eyes finally met mine and he unleashed an explanation that just left me more confused than ever. “I hardly ever see Colette’s weirdo family. Even if the handful of things I picked up from them were useful the last few days. Like how to use a gun. Plus I recognized the symbol on Graham’s necklace once I got a closer look. I—I would have told you all this stuff earlier, Ells, but I still don’t really know what it all means.” He ran one hand through his hair, nervous, as his eyes finally met mine and he flashed his best smile. But for once it wasn’t enough. My heart was a lump of lifeless granite in my chest. This couldn’t be happening. The wonderful, albeit infuriating, boy next door was part of this whole nightmare too.

“I have a proposal, Astrid,” Tuck said, shifting his gaze to her. “You don’t have to take orders from Odin. There’s another way.”

“And end up like your ancestor?” Astrid’s words dripped scorn.

“Just hear me out,” Tuck said.

“No,” Astrid replied. “I don’t think I will.” The side of her hand crashed down on the back of Tuck’s head so fast, it was over before I even knew what had happened. He crumpled onto the floor. Unconscious.

I swallowed the scream that filled my lungs. Because it wouldn’t help anything. Tucker had lied—he’d had a secret, just like I’d suspected. Only it was bigger than anything I’d imagined. All the ground I thought we’d covered on this trip disappeared in an instant, leaving a hole in my heart bigger than the hopes I’d harbored all these years. It had all been a lie.

I pushed the thought aside, because, ultimately, Tucker’s betrayal was just one of my problems. Graham and countless others were still missing, and the clock was ticking down toward Loki’s deadline. Dawn was four hours away.

“Take him,” Astrid growled, waving her hand at the Valkyrie behind her. She’d been scary before, but nothing prepared me for Astrid in a bad mood. And apparently Tucker had plunged her into a foul one.

The sight of Tucker being taken away made me realize all at once that no matter how hurt I was, I couldn’t let one more person suffer at Astrid’s hands, especially Tuck.

I wracked my brain for a way to save him—I couldn’t be left behind this time if I wanted to have any chance of rescuing everyone. I had to convince them to take me too. In a way, Tuck’s painful secrets might actually make it easier to convince them I’d switched sides.

“I want to come with you,” I said, looking Astrid squarely in the eye. “I want to learn how to be a Valkyrie. Learn to be like you. I can’t—I can’t take any more betrayal.” My voice cracked on the last word, succumbing to the burning skepticism in Astrid’s eyes.

“Interesting change of heart,” Astrid said. “To what do we owe this stroke of luck?”

The words were saturated with sarcasm. She wasn’t buying it.

“First my grandmother lied to me,” I said, doing my best to sound bitter. “To keep me from the rest of you. I can feel it, the draw to be with you. It’s like suddenly I found the family I was supposed to be with all along. Then Tucker lied to me.” My voice shook with real emotion. “I can’t trust anyone. Except you. Because, like you said, at least all along you’ve been honest.”

Astrid’s lips twitched into a flawless smile. It was impossible for teeth to be so straight and white.

Then she did something even more alarming than snarling or threatening me. She laughed. “You’re a terrible liar,” she said. “That would be lesson number one if I had any reason to train you.”

“You have a reason to train me,” I said. “I’m strong. And you know it.”

Astrid stared at me without blinking. Like a lizard. The tension in the set of her shoulders was a potent reminder I was messing with someone who would snap my neck without a second thought. Or even a first one. Yet the words kept on coming. “I’m strong like my grandmother. You need me.”

“I don’t need anyone. There’s a reason I’m in charge. I’m the best.”

I could tell it wasn’t working, so I took a deep breath and switched to a more aggressive approach. If nothing else, I could try fighting her again. On the infinitesimally slim chance I could win.

I relaxed the stranglehold I’d kept on my violent impulses, my Valkyrie side. As soon as I did, it sprang forward, seizing control.

“You
were
the best,” I retorted. “Could it be you’re afraid that if you train me, I’ll be better than you?”

Astrid stepped forward, her voice low and dangerous in my ear. “Do you really want me to kill you?”

Soft enough that her companions couldn’t hear, I growled, “What if you try and find you can’t anymore?” My voice was terrifying, even to me. A wild animal was unleashed within me, savage and pure. “But that’s not what either of us wants—you admire my strength. I know that’s why you didn’t kill me before. And I need your knowledge.”

She moved closer still, until I shivered in the envelope of ice-cold air that preceded her. Her thumb absently traced a circle on the gun holstered to her hip. There was no room for error in this encounter.

“I’ll prove I belong with you.”

“You’ve had four shots at me, and each time you’ve only come out alive because I’ve let you,” Astrid retorted.

I forced myself not to react to that revelation, because all along I’d been assuming she wanted me dead. “Not you,” I said taking a step back just in case. “Her.” I pointed one finger after covertly picking out the girl who looked the smallest. Because she only had two inches on me. And probably a thousand years of combat experience.

“It seems we finally have a learning curve,” Astrid snapped. I felt the current that flowed between them, a silent communication, just out of my reach.

“She would be more than happy to kill you.” Astrid stepped back, out of the way.

The girl flew at me before I had a chance to brace myself, and we collided against the mirrored wall of the club, shattering the glass into a million glittering pieces that trickled to the floor like rain. But surprise and a handgun were the only advantages she had. I could feel it, the superior strength and agility that were a gift from my grandmother’s bloodline. I pushed her away by the shoulder, and it actually worked. She staggered back three steps before she caught her balance and lunged for me again.

There was a world of difference between fighting Astrid and fighting her lackey. The girl’s hold yielded to mine as we grappled for control of the handgun.

This was a fight I could actually win.

And I did. All it took a flick of my wrist in the other direction, too quick for her to counter, and the gun was mine and pressed against the girl’s windpipe. That stopped her dead in her tracks. It was so easy, I almost wondered if I’d broken some rule, and if that explained my victory. But no one raised her voice in protest as I pushed her hard against the wall, keeping the gun in place.

“Do you surrender?” I demanded.

Instead of answering, she just glared at me like she’d rather stay like this for the rest of our lives than give in.

“Surrender,” I growled, but my voice broke this time. If she didn’t, I had no idea what I’d do next. And still she just stared at me without blinking.

Her eyes were gray. Just like Tuck’s. Was I prepared to shoot her, if that’s what it would take?

“You’ll have to kill her,” Astrid whispered in my ear. I hadn’t realized she’d crept so close until I felt cool fingers press against my forearm. “This is your chance, Ellie. Prove yourself to me.”

I thought of Graham and my grandmother, locked up somewhere. I thought of Tuck, in mortal danger—even his deceptions couldn’t erase years of memories and friendship. And I thought of everyone who’d been kidnapped from the surrounding towns. All the innocent people who would be hurt if I didn’t find a way to make this right.

And I pulled the trigger.

I stared into the girl’s wild eyes. She hadn’t realized I had slid the gun to the side at the last second. She thought she’d seen the moment of her death, and that was enough to change her mind.

She whispered her surrender as Astrid spun me around to face her.

“Such a waste,” she spat. And oddly enough, I didn’t know who she meant—her friend for losing, or me for winning, then showing mercy. From the appraising look in her eye as she stared at both of us, it could have been either.

“You’ll take me with you?” My heart was leaping in my chest as I wiped the sweat from my palms.

“Did you really think you could fool me?” she demanded. “That I’d lead you right into your brother’s arms? Unlike you, I wasn’t born yesterday.” As she spoke, her gun slid out of its holster. “You’ve put yourself in a very bad position.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’d forgotten how young you are, in my excitement to find a brand-new baby Valkyrie I could train up in my image, like your grandmother did with me, until your boyfriend reminded me how dangerous your ignorance could be. I don’t have time to housebreak you. Not with Odin barking at my heels.”

The fire alarm stopped ringing. The only sound in the club was the thundering of my heart in my ears. I was staring straight down the barrel of a gun—all the way to Astrid’s red-lacquered fingernail coiled around the trigger. It had to be happening to someone else, someone in a movie I’d seen somewhere, a long, long time ago. Not to me.

I closed my eyes, no more than a blink, as pain exploded through my head, fire raging from my neck to my forehead.