Dead Wrath (12 page)

I sighed. "You do realize this lie could have potentially killed someone on our team?"

He stuttered, "But how...? This is one of the best teams in Asgard."

"That may be true, but only when we are at our strongest. You would have introduced a weak link into our team, a link we would have been ignorant of until it mattered. Whatever we say when we are out there--never leave a man behind, it's team or nothing--none of that matters if we don't have full honesty within the team."

He looked at the ground again. "I'm really sorry. I guess I didn't think about the consequences."

"You're telling me," snapped Joshua, his face revealing to poor Brody how much he'd disappointed him.

But I didn't want to draw this out too long, especially since Brody had had the best of intentions. I cleared my throat. "Just before we leave, I want to introduce you to a few additional team members." I beckoned Myst and the Ulfr who stuck beside her. They'd spent much of their time in the room to themselves, and I chided myself for not introducing them earlier.

"So this is Myst, and this is Edrik, who will be my Ulfr partner. Edrik will be joining our team permanently, while Myst will be supporting me in overseeing our efforts. Myst will remain behind as our point of contact." Myst smiled at the gathered members, and Edrik gave a small bow, then proceeded to shake hands with everyone.

I gave them a few minutes to chat, then said, "Right, people. Let's grab our weapons and get ready to leave. I'll meet you all at NY HQ."

Everyone trickled out the door, with even Enya bearing confidence in her step. The only one that lingered was Siri, and I knew why. I glanced at her. "Siri, you stick with me, okay? You'll find your feet sooner or later, but for now, I want you to stay close. I'm not sure when I'll be needing your skills."

Siri nodded and then helped as I closed and stacked files before storing them in the tall wooden cupboard that sat against one of the far walls.

At last, with the place neat, we left the room and hurried to the transfer room.

Once we entered, we were welcomed by the low heat of the fire that blazed in the middle of the room. All around us were hooks on the walls and boxes on the floor. Hooks were for furs and cloaks that were left behind on a mission. Boxes were for weapons that were delivered to the transfer room by the Huldra or respective servants of the Valkyries, warriors, and Ulfr.

A few Huldra lurked about, ready to help their masters or mistresses with cloaks and weapons. Among them I noticed Turi, who threw me a brilliant grin the moment she met my gaze.

She hurried to me, her skirts flapping, orange hair flying. "Good. You are here. Come, I have your cloak and your sword and helmet ready." Her cheeks were flushed and it looked like she'd been doing a lot of hurrying.

I shook my head at her offer. "Coat and sword only, Turi. I won't be needing the helmet just yet."

She bobbed her head and bent to an engraved box to grab hold of my black coat. Long and made from the same special black fabric as the rest of my clothes, it was soft and looked amazing. I slipped my hands into the sleeves and enjoyed the feel. The hem reached my knees and seemed precisely shaped to my figure in spite of nobody ever measuring me for the garment. I'd always suspected Turi had something to do with the sizing.

Now she fussed and tried to help me with buttoning up the coat, but I waved her away.

Siri giggled beside me. She'd already arrived dressed and ready. Someone must have ensured she received the proper garments in time for our departure. Now as I looked at her, I was struck by how young and vulnerable she looked.

I bent my head closer. "I know we haven't had a chance to practice anything. Are you comfortable enough in dragon form to carry me on your back?" I asked softly.

"Don't worry. My father made sure I was well trained." Her expression was a little bittersweet.

"What happened?"

"Oh, nothing really. Sometimes I wish I could just wipe the past clean and start again. Now I have responsibilities, and then this Ragnarok thing." She sounded sad and a little defeated.

Grabbing the bag of weapons that Turi held out to me, I slung it over my shoulder, then reached for Gungnir. With a shake, the spear lengthened and Odin's sword shone in the light of the fire. Just touching it gave me a little more strength, a little more bravery.

I glanced back at Siri, feeling at little sorry for her. I asked, "Do you still feel this is not your fight?"

Siri folded her arms and looked away for a moment. The flames of the fire threw a glow onto her face, making her already golden eyes seem so much brighter. "To be honest, when I arrived, that's exactly what I'd thought, but now that I've seen firsthand what we are facing ... the way they came for Thor and what they did to Fenrir. It made me stop and rethink a few things. Fenrir and the god Thor, son of Odin. Neither of them were able to protect themselves from the attack, and that is a bad sign. To me, it says we are up against a very powerful enemy and we need all the help we can get." Her voice was soft and determined, not a hint of doubt anywhere.

I nodded, pleased that she'd come to that conclusion without having to be convinced. "And now you feel you are ready to fight?"

She shrugged. "Maybe not ready, but I am willing. If you know what I mean." She glanced up at my face and gave me a sheepish grin.

"I know exactly what you mean. And sometimes I feel exactly the same way."

She frowned. "Even now?" she asked, watching my face.

"Even now," I said, exhaling slowly. Her words was so apt for how I felt.

During our conversation, many of the team had already used the Bifrost and departed. Joshua and Aimee waved good-bye as they stepped onto the bridge, and then in a swirl of shimmering light, they were gone.

I beckoned for Siri to follow, but before I could move to the entrance to the bridge, the sound of swishing fabric and hurried footsteps caught our attention. Siri and I turned to see Frigga enter the room, scan the floor, and hurry toward me.

Immediately, my heart clenched tight as fear scraped new wounds into my already battered soul. "What's wrong? Is it Fen?" I didn't care that my fear was blatantly obvious in my voice.

Frigga shook her head and gave me a soft smile. "No, my dear. And I do apologize for frightening you, but I needed to tell you something before you left."

I walked toward the goddess, leaving Siri to chat with Turi.

As we reached the opposite side of the fire, Odin's queen turned to me. "Brynhildr, you have a power now that will enable you to go wherever you wish without the use of the Bifrost. It is a power that no other god possesses."

I glanced at the golden spear in my hand, then back at Frigga. "You mean Gungnir?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

She nodded. "I only just realized you don't know how to call the bridge to you. Forgive me, my dear."

I shrugged, and honestly I didn't mind. "I would have asked when I needed to use it."

"And what if it were too late then?" she asked, her face showing her worry. "No, I should have told you earlier, but I was very distracted with Fenrir and Thor."

I wanted to say I understood, but I got the feeling it wouldn't matter what I said. Frigga was fighting her own inner battles and there wasn't a thing I could do to help her.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I decided to just get it over with fast. Clearing my throat, I asked, "So how does this thing work?"

Frigga took a deep breath, as if the simple question had reinvigorated her somehow. She met my gaze, then placed her fingers on top of my hand that was wrapped around the spear.

"You have to hold on to the spear and think of the place you want to go. It works much the same as the Bifrost because when Gungnir was fashioned, Heimdall made the Bifrost appear in the middle of the gold. As a result, the spear was formed with access to the bridge within the gold. Odin was able to open the entrance by stamping the spear on the ground three times. He believed it was a combination of the power of the trinity of action and the desire to access the bridge that invoked the spear to heed the call and open the Bifrost. Of course, the only trick to the use of the spear is that you will need to picture the place you want to go to very well. Odin believed you needed to have been to the place before using the normal way, or you needed to have a talent for picturing places in your head."

I nodded, although I wasn't entirely sure if I possessed any of that kind of talent. "Okay, I guess I will have to try." When the goddess gave me a satisfied look, I glanced through the flames of the fire and back at Siri, who stood on the opposite side of the room. "But I have to get Siri to New York HQ first."

"No, you don't," Frigga said, touching my arm, a lilt of excitement in her voice. I glanced at her, my eyebrows raised in question. "Gungnir allows you to take a companion. That is how Odin travels around with his wolves and those ragged birds of his."

I laughed, feeling buoyed by this new knowledge. "I was about to ask you how his sidekicks traveled."

Frigga smiled and said, "I believe Odin was able to take one god with him at a time. And when he took someone with him, he always left his animal companions behind."

"So one god or two wolves plus two birds. How many warriors or Valkyries?"

Frigga shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm not going to guess at that. It would be easy to assume two normal people for one god, but I truly do not know."

"And I'm not about to risk anyone's life by testing that theory," I said with a grin. "I'll limit myself to one person, thanks."

The goddess looked a little relieved now that she'd passed on the information. "So will you try to get to New York without using the Bifrost?" she asked, her eyes watching me expectantly. She watched me the way a mother watched her child about to ride a bike for the first time--tense, nervous, proud, and excited. And my heart warmed just knowing she held me in such high regard.

I nodded and couldn't deny that I was excited and nervous too. The very ability to move around from place to place without using the Bifrost presented an ease of travel I looked forward to. Especially knowing the Bifrost to New York HQ entered the city a few blocks down from Number Forty Wall Street, behind a battered blue dumpster in a smelly alleyway.

We both moved together, circling the fire and returning to Siri. She watched us warily. "What's going on?" she asked slowly and carefully.

I cleared my throat and figured the best approach was straightforward. "Frigga has told me how to use Gungnir to get to New York, but it will be my first try. It's up to you if you want to come with me or if you want to wait for someone to come fetch you."

"I've used the Bifrost before," said Siri, sounding a little put out.

But I waved my hand. "No, that's not what I mean. The Bifrost touches down in an alley a good walk from HQ. I could give you directions, but I figured sending someone for you would save time." She seemed to digest the information and spent a moment considering it. I cleared my throat again. "Or you could come with me and we'll arrive right inside HQ within seconds."

Siri looked at me, then snapped her gaze to Frigga, the movement sending her golden hair rippling along her shoulders. When she glanced back at me, she looked determined. "Of course, I'd prefer coming with you. As long we don't get killed in the process."

Frigga laughed at the dragon princess' words. "I do not think you will be killed. Worst case scenario, you will end up in a different location. You'll just have to summon the Bifrost and go to the nearest entrance."

Siri made a face. "I can think of a worse worst case scenario."

"Which is?" I asked, unable to stop myself from smiling.

"Inside a block of concrete, which equals dead. At the bottom of the Mariana Trench, which equals more than dead. Give me a minute. I'll be able to come up with more."

Both Frigga and I burst out laughing and Siri was forced to grin.

"You ready to go?" I asked. "First time may be the charm."

"Not if you consider my luck," Siri muttered, but she moved closer to me. "So what do I do? Hold on and click my heels three times?"

I snorted. "No, Dorothy. Just hold on to my arm," I said, laughing. She definitely made me smile more than most people.