Dead Wrath (20 page)

"Sounds easy enough," said Siri, her voice soft and musical after the old man's ragged baritone.

"Well, it would be easy if it weren't for the wind speeds at that height," said Iain.

How had I known there would be several serious hurdles to overcome? Nothing was ever easy with this job, was it?

Derek cleared his throat. "The Shard is over a thousand feet in height. Wind factors up at that height are sometimes hurricane force." He shifted in his seat to meet my gaze, and over his shoulder, I noticed a few heads rising around the room, a few eyes popping up. So there was life at London HQ after all. "Have you flown in hurricane force wind?" Derek asked, his tone suggesting he already suspected I wouldn't have.

"No. I haven't."

"Okay, Derek, we will just have to pace ourselves and figure it out as we go." I looked over at Siri. "What about you? Can you handle high winds?"

"I'm not sure, Bryn. I've flown pretty high, but I've never been in a situation where I was forced to fight against a strong wind." From the look on her face, I could see she was feeling out of her depth. As was I. So many things we could let MI6 or Interpol deal with, or maybe even more experienced agents at the London office, but these were things I couldn't allow anyone else to do. Not when it came to Loki.

He was my responsibility.

"It's fine. We'll figure it out," I said, taking note that there were many ears paying close attention to our conversation. I turned to Derek. "What floor are they on?"

"The thirty-seventh floor. The Westminster Suite."

Somewhere in the room, someone whistled, and I assumed the reaction was to the expense of the suite. "Okay, thirty-seven floors up is still a long way to go. Is there another building close by that Siri can wait on, so she doesn't spend too long hovering in the wind and wasting her energy?" I asked.

Derek spun and tapped and then said, "My suggestion would be she fly to the top of the building and hold on tight. That way she's within reach fast. I'd assume she'd be able to navigate winds faster if she were flying down as opposed to flying upward. That would be harder, right?" He glanced at Siri, who nodded.

"Okay, then, the dragon waits on the top of the tower and I fly in near the window. Do we know how well the room is guarded?"

"From our agents on the inside, there's a Jotunn outside their room door and one at the elevator, watching the entrance to the room. Looks like they've stuck them in a room where they obviously have nowhere else to go. Smart. One way in, one way out. Minimal security required."

"And we're about to shake things up a bit," I said, my lips curving into a satisfied smirk. "So I'm guessing we have to get in and out as fast as possible. As soon as we penetrate that glass, the wind will rush into the room and the guard outside the door will know immediately that something is wrong." I paused for a moment, then asked, "How many people?"

"Lady McClellan, daughter Ellen, and son Byron."

"I can manage the kid," I said, then looked at Siri, who seemed eager to play her part. "Once the glass is cut, you need to move down to us fast. You need to be there as soon as I get the family to the window." Siri's expression was serious. I guessed she was realizing for the first time how big a responsibility this was. "And remember these people have no idea dragons and Valkyries exist, so we will be dealing with a fair amount of shock and denial. They may make their own rescue harder."

"Do we need something to subdue them?" asked Siri. Everyone's gazed snapped to her, seemingly in shock at her implication. But I knew what she meant. I turned to Derek. "We would probably need something to calm anyone who did get hysterical. Remember, you and I are comfortable with flying creatures. The breadth of these people's exposure would be television. That's it. Even books don't cut it."

"And what about the frost giants that are guarding them. Surely the family has seen them in their true form by now?" asked Aidan, his face implacable. For the first time, I wondered if this grandson of Loki had any kind of shape-shifting or glamor ability. I would assume Aidan had never even considered the possibility.

I shook my head. "We have to expect that Loki wants to make a clean getaway, no mess, no fuss. Killing the family is messy. So is revealing the true nature of the guards. He'd want to allow McClellan to think he'd been hoodwinked by some super mysterious and powerful man, not a god or any kind of fantastical creature. I think we can rest assured that the family will display the expected amount of shock and horror when we enter the building."

There were nods all round.

"So when do we leave?" I looked over at Iain.

"As soon as you re ready," he said. "By now, Loki will be aware that you might have an idea of where he is. Hopefully McClellan knows what's good for him and keeps his mouth shut about his conversation with you. Whatever the case is, you need to be on high alert. Study the room and the inhabitants first before you start cutting. There is also the likelihood that Loki will use a decoy family just as a precaution. You can sense the glamor, but you may be a little off your game, considering you will be battered by winds five hundred feet in the air and struggling to maintain your balance, let alone having to stare through a window and study the occupants for telltale signs of Jotunn glamor." He'd hit it on the head. This was not going to be an easy rescue.

I glanced at the file on Derek's desk, a copy of my own that was dog-eared and worn by numerous readings.

The file had photographs of the family, and Iain reached for them. He scanned them for a second, then passed them to me. I studied the smiling faces, white teeth and freckles, red hair and blond. Mischief and elegance.

I inhaled and held the breath for a moment. When I let it out, I said, "I'm ready. Let's do this."

Joshua snorted. "Why do the girls have all the fun?"

"Tell me about it," said Aidan, looking as glum as Joshua.

Poor guys. I just shook my head and laughed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Iain arranged a ride for Siri, myself, and Derek. There was no time or presence of mind to appreciate the luxury of air-conditioning, leather seats, and a wet bar. We left in two cars, the additional one provided for the family should we succeed in rescuing them. Nobody on this mission was assuming success. We had no idea what we were about to face, and I suspected most of us were crossing our fingers behind our back.

The drivers parked up the road from the Shard, leaving Derek busy in the backseat, surrounded by monitors and other unidentifiable equipment. We hurried toward the building, already well kitted out with earwigs and microphones and video contact lenses. I'd strapped Gungnir to my back and added two short blades to the sides of my thighs. I had a feeling I'd be needing extra weapons, so I just went with my gut. In my right hand, I held the glass cutter as if it were a sword or a bow. The strangest weapon I'd ever held, that was sure.

Only when we got to the base of the structure did we gauge how gigantic it really was. We craned our heads and gazed up at the glass building. At this time of night, the lights made the place look all the more otherworldly. I was in awes of the mastermind who'd come up with the design. What had he been thinking when he'd thrown up an edifice that resembled a broken piece of glass.

I turned to Siri. "Ready?" I asked, sucking in a breath. For a second, worry flashed across her face, and when she nodded, I said, "Okay, then. Top floor please."

Siri grinned, looking up and down the darkened street. Then, even as I blinked, she began to disintegrate into a whirling tornado of gold dust. As she grew larger, I craned my neck farther until I was staring straight up at her.

A golden dragon on the side of a London street. Not a sight you see every day. Siri lowered her foot and dipped her head, then waited as I scrambled up to her shoulder. She surged up into the sky, keeping a good distance from the building to avoid any winds. At last, we reached the top of the glass Shard where metal and glass met in a curious melding. She settled on a small platform sheltered by three sharp spikes of glass and metal. I shucked out my wings and flew straight off Siri's back, hovering beside her for a moment.

"Ready?" I asked her again, a little worried. When her head bobbed and she blinked great big golden eyes at me, I said, "Good, and as far as Lady Tyra goes, this never happened."

The golden dragon let out a decidedly unladylike snort. "You have a deal," she said as I flew off. With my glamor pulled tightly around me like a thick magical blanket, I glided around the building, wings spread out wide, cutting the air smoothly. I hit a few rocky patches of stubborn gusts on the way down, but nothing I couldn't handle.

I could hear Derek in my ear, counting down the meters and the floors. As soon as he said, "Easy now. You're almost there," I slowed to a hover.

The next thing I knew, Derek was saying, "Thirty-seventh floor. Now move two windows to your right." I followed his instructions and glided right until I was suspended in front of a window to an extremely plush and no doubt extremely expensive hotel room. It was dark inside; the only light entering the room was that from the strip of pale light under the door to the hall. A strip broken by the shadows of the guard's two feet.

I had to squint with my nose to the window to see if anyone was awake.

Suddenly, a gust of wind tried to shove me down one floor, and I had to flap harder to prevent myself from tumbling off into oblivion. I struggled, feeling the strain in my shoulder and back muscles, but at last I was back in front of the window. Lifting the glass cutter, I placed it on the window, fastening the suction cup. When it was tight and immovable, I set the blade on the surface of the glass and began to cut, moving it along the window slowly. The blade sang against the glass, and I was certain at least one of the occupants would hear us.

When I looked up from concentrating on the cutter, I looked straight into the eyes of a very surprised ten-year-old. Nicholas McClellan was standing in front of me, his eyes going from the glass cutter to my face to my wings and back, all as calm as you please. I stared at him, then put a finger to my lips. When he nodded, I pointed to his sleeping mother and sibling, made a shaking motion with my hands, then put my finger to my lips again.

He turned and ran to the bed while I continued cutting. I watched with one eye as he shook his mother and put his finger on his lips, then pointed to the window. Her eyes widened as they followed the same route as her son--glass cutter, face, wings, and back again. She sat stock-still for a moment as the cutter made its way slowly full circle. The movement of the cutter seemed to throw her into motion, and she awakened her other child.

As they stared, I thought about what they would be seeing outside their window. I hovered there, probably looking like an angel straight from heaven. The scared little family wouldn't know what to think.

With one hand, I tried to tell them to put something warm on, making the motions of donning a jacket even while I held the glass cutter in place. Then I returned to the cutter as it competed its circle. I waited while the family rifled inside cupboards and donned jackets. Then I crooked a finger and called them to the window. I was ready.

As the glass made a sharp cracking sound, I yelled into the microphone for Siri. The heavy glass pulled my hands forward and into the room and I let it fall to the carpet, allowing it to slowly pull me with it. Air rushed inside through the small hole so fast the entire room was filled with swirling wind. And the sound of gusting wind was so loud inside my ears, I could barely hear anything.

I stepped inside, steadied myself, and said, "Keep your voices down. Someone is coming for you. When she gets here, get on, don't ask questions, and don't scream. Do not hesitate or we will all get caught." They nodded solemnly and when their eyes widened, I knew they saw Siri at my back.

"Go, go," I urged them, guiding them as they moved to the opening in the window where Siri held one leg against the glass, allowing them to scurry up one by one to her back. I caught Nicholas as he past. "Hey, kid, you're with me. We don't want to overload the transport," I said, winking at him. He grinned, and I was about to exit the window with him when the door was flung open.

The movement of the door pulled more air into the room and it gusted around us so much that the boy almost fell over. I threw my arm tightly around his waist as a frost giant ran into the suite, his eyes burning white fire as he saw the escaping family. I bent to my thigh and grabbed a dagger. Holding it by the blade, I held on to Nicholas and let the dagger fly.

It landed in the Jotunn's shoulder, barely slowing him down. I groaned and said a bad word, then bit my tongue when it sank in that the kid was in earshot. Only, he looked impressed, but I wasn't going to keep up the language. I jumped out the window and hovered as I reached for my second dagger. The frost giant was now within arm's reach. He lifted his own hand, but I didn't see him shoot or throw a weapon. Despite the short distance, I gritted my teeth and threw the dagger straight at him.

It hit him in the eye.

The frost giant shrieked, pulling the dagger out of his head in a sudden reflex action. When he saw he'd taken his eye out with the dagger, he howled in horror. The sound scraped the insides of my eardrums raw.