Dead Chaos (4 page)

Within the blink of an eye, Frigga transported both of us to another room. The goddess of Healing had voiced her shock at the condition of my wings with only that one gasp. After that, she'd calmly requested somewhere quiet to work.

The beauty of the room took my breath away, and for a moment, I was lost in white marble, pure white silk and gold. Frigga led us to a raised platform on which sat a resplendently majestic, white four-poster bed. Pale silk wound their way around each of the four posts, falling in swathes to the floor, while a gold edged pearl-colored bedspread covered the mattress.

All I could think was simply
Wow
. Unlike my own wooden-walled quarters, these walls were painted white and murals of clouds and sunshine graced almost every inch of its surface. That much white should have been blinding, but all it did was calm and comfort me.

As Frigga led me up the single step to seat me on her bed, my gaze fell upon a nearby table. On its gleaming white surface sat a large golden globe not too different in size from the mapped globes we'd used in school. Only this one had no map carved into it. It simply shone, letting out rays of light from little cracks all along its surface as if a little sun sat within its center, giving off a pulsing, warm light.

Frigga was the goddess of the Earth, of life, and it made perfect sense that she should have the sun as the center of her room. I'd never seen anything more entrancing than that, and at least it took my attention away from the issue at hand.

Eir's voice pulled me out of my admiring trance. "Bryn, I need you to sit a little sideways while I have a closer look." Eir sat behind me at the foot of the bed while I positioned myself so she had a full
, unobstructed view. My upper back still throbbed, and pain threaded through each shoulder blade, although much more bearable than before.

With Eir sitting behind me and helping me out of my shirt while inspecting the damage, it all became more real
and hot tears blinded me for a moment. Frantically, I blinked them away, refusing to show weakness, knowing the effort was more for myself than to impress either of the goddesses who sat with me.

I bit the inside of my cheek and held the fabric to my chest as Eir's fingers roamed the bare skin of my shoulders. Her soft flesh set off tiny sparks off agony through me the closer she got to the shattered bone fragments.

She sighed, the sound as soft as a breeze, but I could hear the hint of sadness in it. I guess it was time I accepted that, although it happened to me, the people around me were also very much affected by my mutilation.

"I fear we do not have much choice. The bone has been shattered. Whatever implement they used, they didn’t seem to care much for what was left behind." I wanted to laugh as I imagined them hacking away at me with an axe or a cleaver or even a chainsaw. I clenched my fists, forcing my mind to behave. Eir’s voice broke into my macabre thoughts as she continued, "I suggest cleaning away the bone fragments, making the cut neater and smoother to encourage regrowth should that be the case."

"Would they grow back?" asked Frigga. I saw the hint of hope in her eyes as her gaze settled on Eir behind me.

"I really cannot say. I have never seen anything like this before. We have seen shattered and broken wings, which we have repaired well enough to encourage the bones to knit and the feathers to return. I have even reset an entire wing that had been shattered into twenty eight small pieces and that Valkyrie was fine and today she flies without a problem." Eir paused and sighed again. "It is just that I have never dealt with a wing that
has been removed in its entirety."

"Would it help if we brought the remains of the wings to you?" I asked. But my gut told me
I was reaching.

"No
, my dear. It would not help at all. Unless there was a way to encourage the separated bone to re-knit." Eir frowned as she rolled the idea around in her head.

"We only have one wing that's whole." It was my turn to sigh. "The other is in a million different pieces lying all around the lab." A flash of anger ripped through me as I recalled the lab and the condition of my wings.

"I will do what I can now. I can neaten the jagged edges of the bone. The pain will recede and you should not feel anything once the edges heal over. You will even be able to lie on you back without pain," said Eir.

"Is there anything you need?" Frigga asked.

"Hot water and the sharpest blade you have capable of sawing through bone. I think I have whatever else I need."

"Can Njall make the blade?" I asked, hoping I wasn’t pushing the boundaries by making my own demands.

Frigga looked at me, an odd expression on her face, but then her face relaxed. "Very well, if you wish Njall to provide the blade, I will ensure that happens." Frigga patted my arm and disappeared.

Silence sat heavy in the room yet
it was not uncomfortable. Eir summoned two Huldra who walked in bearing two large buckets of steaming water. The goddess helped me walk behind a white silken screen, then left the Huldras to attend to me. They carefully soaped and washed my back, the hot water soothing against my tender skin. When they were done, they dried my back and robed me in a clean dress. It was like all the other dresses I had, backless to make room for wings, so my shoulders lay bare, ready for Eir’s ministrations.

I returned to Frigga’s bed and sat on the edge beside the goddess. Eir moved over my bare back and I felt whispers of movement across now-numbed flesh.

A rush of silvery clouds announced Frigga's return. She held what looked like a small saw in her hand, and I shuddered. Maybe I should stop looking at it. Maybe then I could stop thinking about what Eir was about to do.

Then Frigga flicked her hand out beside her and a goblet appeared within her grasp. "Here, drink this before Eir begins her work."

I reached for the goblet, hoping it was the delicious Mead I could never get enough of. And was disappointed to find a bland, light-green liquid sloshing around in the cup. Frigga laughed at the expression on my face. "Do not blame me. Eir requested I have the medicine made up for you."

"It is good for you, Bryn, although I admit it may not taste
or smell very nice," said Eir behind me, a hint of a smile in her voice. "It will help dull the pain though, so you do need to drink all of it."

Dutifully, I put the goblet to my lips and took a tiny taste. And wanted to throw up. Good thing I had nothing to hurl so I wouldn’t embarrass myself in front of the two impossibly beautiful goddesses.

I sipped again, struggling to get the foul liquid down my throat. A blend of oiliness, a sharp bite of some bitter herbs, the cloying warmth of the water, and another unidentifiable taste tickled the back of my throat and threatened to force me to throw up. I swallowed, over and over again until the one sip was safely in the bottom of my empty stomach.

I repeated the action, forcing myself to think of other things, but imagining the foul liquid was Mead was the hardest possible thing to do. But I think it helped a little. At last the goblet was empty and Frigga even checked that all was gone, giving a satisfied sniff before making the goblet disappear into thin air.

Frigga opened her palm and offered it to me. "Here, this might help," she said with a kind smile. Two small chunks of fresh honeycomb lay in her hand.

I took them and chomped on the sweet gooiness, noting absently that my limbs were slowly turning to a soft sludge. By the time I'd eaten the second piece, I could no longer keep my body upright. Frigga raised a hand to my arm, ready to catch me if I fell. She rose and made a place for me on the bed, then lay me on my front, baring my back to Eir, who repositioned herself beside me.

"Ah, that is much better," she said.

Eir took the blade and inspected it closely. "This looks good." And then she went to work.

She moved beside me each time she sawed back and forth. All I felt was a slight push of her body against mine and the strangest tugging against my shoulder blades deep, deep inside my body.

I watched over my shoulder, my head snuggled on a silken pillow as Eir's hands moved in a regular pattern until finally she stopped, leaned over, and placed something on the tray sitting on the bed stand. My gaze followed her hand, and as she returned to the job, I studied the remnants of an inch-long piece of wing-bone lying clean and white on the golden tray, one end jagged and broken, the other cut neat and smooth.

Soon, she placed the second bone beside the first and gave her full attention to my back. She didn’t have much left to do except apply a salve to my bruised skin. Dr. Lee hadn’t been kind in his ministrations. Now more than ever, I was sure he'd intended to kill me sooner or later. I’d been completely dispensable. He'd gotten what he wanted. He'd used my blood to kill hundreds of Warriors for his father's quest, and he'd extracted an unknown amount of information about me from my blood and my wings. He'd certainly gotten what he wanted.

That reminded me I needed to speak to Odin about how they intended to punish the illustrious Dr. Lee, but for now, I lay within the arms of Eir's anaesthetizing drug while she cleaned up my stubs.

At last, she rose and went to a nearby table to wash her hands, all the while watching me with her kind eyes.

"Ah, you are still awake." Eir frowned. "I would have thought you would be asleep by now."

"I’ve been pumped full of drugs for more than a week now. Maybe the painkiller you gave me will take a little longer than normal."

"Yes. That does make sense." Eir nodded though she didn’t look happy. "I am sorry if you felt any pain."

"It did make everything numb while you worked. It just didn’t make me fall asleep yet."

Eir gave a small, relieved smile. "I have done what I can. The wounds are dressed, and the bone is as neat and smooth as I can get it. I am really sorry, Bryn, but only time will tell if your wings will grow back."

I gave her an awkward nod. "I understand. I didn’t expect you to magically restore them. Thank you for everything you have done, my lady."

Eir strode to the bed and sat beside me. "Oh, my dear Bryn, I really wish I could do more. I promise you, I will try and find out as much as I can. And you must come to me regularly so I can check if the bone is growing."

"I will," I said, nodding my weird nod again.

Frigga approached the bed with a goblet and laughed out loud when I grimaced at the sight of it. "No, dear child. This
is
Mead. Now that Eir is done, you can drink it and get some rest."

Both goddesses turned me over and propped me up against a bunch of silk pillows. Frigga handed the goblet over and I had to force myself to slow down, force myself not to gulp the heady, delicious, sweet brew down in one swallow only because I wanted it to last as long as possible.

At last, I handed the empty goblet over to a smiling Frigga. I slid down, resting on my side, as Eir pulled the covers over me and said, "Get some sleep. For now, rest is the best thing for you."

My lids drooped and my breathing evened out. At the edge of delicious sleep, I barely heard the goddesses’ conversation. But the one thing I did get quite clearly were Frigga's words
.

"I can only pray that Mimir was wrong. Odin would never let anything happen to Bryn, but if the prophecy is true then will we even have a choice? Will Bryn even have a choice in her own destiny no matter how destructive it may be?"

***

I awoke to white. White pillows, white curtains, white bed. All tinged with a hint of gold. I blinked a few times, my eyes dry and gritty, until it all came slowly back to me. Eir and Frigga, the prophecy and my wings.

Or rather my lack of wings.

The mattress
sank as Frigga sat beside me, and I faced her with a grateful smile. "Are you feeling better, Brynhildr?" Frigga asked, her voice edged with concern.

I nodded, wriggling slightly within the covers. I felt exceedingly more uncomfortable knowing I'd been asleep in Frigga's bed for who knew how long. I pushed myself up to a sitting position and Frigga leaned forward, helping to prop a bunch of pillows behind me. I blushed,
and although I didn't want her to keep helping me like I was a child, I was grateful she cared enough to do so.

"How does your back feel?" The goddess’s face tightened with concern as she asked.

"It . . . actually feels much better. The pain has gone entirely. There's just a little tightness in the muscles," I said, raising and dropping my shoulders to test the muscles in my upper back.

"I am glad."

"How long was I out?"

"Five hours, maybe six."

"The pain has receded quite a bit," I said, a little surprised and a lot relieved.

"Eir applied a medicine to the raw nerve ends. She said it would help the healing and stop the pain faster. I am happy it is working."

"I never got to thank the Lady Eir," I said, looking around the room, half hopeful I might see her there.

"Do not worry. I am certain you will get an opportunity to meet with Eir again soon. Do not forget her instructions to go to her and have your wounds checked." Frigga tried to inject a modicum of sternness into her voice, but failed when she smiled at me.

"Yes, my lady. I won't forget," I answered meekly and made to throw the covers off. I wanted to get going now that the whole procedure was over. Almost nothing had really changed for me. I still had no wings, but at least I felt much better in terms of the pain. Then I recalled the words of the conversation between Frigga and Eir.

Mimir's prophecy.

"My lady, before I fell asleep, I heard you mention a prophecy made by Mimir."

Frigga stared at me, her face pale and shocked. I guess I hadn’t been meant to hear that particular conversation. She recovered quickly enough, her features resettling and color returning to her cheeks. "If you wish to find out about the prophecy, you must speak to Odin. I
am afraid I cannot reveal any of Mimir's prediction to you, my child. It is not my place."

"But I heard you say something about my destructive destiny." I wasn't ready to back down.

"I'm sorry, Brynhildr. I cannot talk with you about the prophecy." Frigga shook her head and I knew that was the end of it. "You must speak to the All-Father. I am sure he will tell you what you need to know."

"Okay." I nodded and let it go. No sense in upsetting Frigga further. I wiggled to the edge of the bed and Frigga handed me a cloak. The muscles in my back twinged and complained as I swung the cloak around me and tied it firmly at my throat. "Thank you
, my lady. I am most grateful." I bowed before the goddess, emotion building in my throat.

She held me by the shoulders and drew me closer. She cupped my chin in her palm and said, "Valkyrie Brynhildr, you have so much strength and courage that you continue to be an inspiration to all of us. Please do not lose heart. I will pray we find a way to restore your wings to you."

I blushed. At the closeness to the goddess, at the depth of her emotion. All I could manage was a quick "Thank you," before hurrying out of the bedchamber.

***

I walked the passages, heading back to Odin's hall. I remained so deep in thought that I would've bumped straight into one very muscle-bound, not to mention armor-bound, chest had Thor not thrust his hands out to grab hold of me.

"I'm so sorry, my lord."

"No need to apologize, Bryn. Deep in thought were you?" He grinned.

"Yes, I was actually."

"Where were you coming from?" The tone of Thor's voice changed a degree as he looked down the passage in the direction of Frigga’s room.

"The Lady Eir provided me with some medical treatment." I hoped the brief answer would be enough.

"Ah, I see. And how are you feeling, my dear?"

"Better."

"Anyway, it is a good thing we ran into each other. There is something I need to tell you."

"Okay," I said slowly.

"Come with me, Bryn. What I have to say must be said in private." Thor turned and led me down the first passage to the left. It came to an abrupt end, occupied by three large carved stone seats. Enormous tapestries covered the walls and softened the hard lines of the makeshift room.

Thor took a seat and motioned for me to sit opposite him. I did as directed and waited as he remained silent for a moment, as if struggling with his impending revelation. The longer he waited the more twisted and tight my nerves became. At last he sighed. "There is no good way to tell you this. On the way back from Midgard, Loki managed to escape."

"What?" I asked, the single syllable falling from my lips in abject horror.

"Loki is growing in power. He knows more than we do and we have no idea how he is doing it."

My ears were ringing. Loki was gone. He was back out there, ready to make a right fine mess of things again. I sighed, my chest tight and cold. "What about the doctor?" I asked the question, very much convinced that Loki would’ve taken his son with him and that I would not get my revenge on him.

"That is what we cannot understand. He left Dr. Lee with us and just disappeared as we returned on the Bifrost. The doctor is safely locked up in Asgard's dungeon. We have also placed an armed guard to watch him in case Loki plans to return for him. I must admit it is very disconcerting to know that Loki seems to have the ability to come and go as he pleases."

My gaze snapped to Thor's face. The god was confiding his concerns? Could things get any weirder? "Has the All-Father decided on a suitable punishment for the doctor yet?" I asked.

"The All-Father has been engaged. But I do believe Dr. Lee is his very next priority. Perhaps we should go to him and ask him now. I think he is free now."

I rose and turned to leave the little seating area when Thor called out my name. "Bryn." I stopped and faced him, taking in the sadness in his eyes. "I am so sorry about your wings."

"That's okay. They're gone and I just need to get used to them being gone." I was trying to be as strong as possible and his sympathy was not helping.

"I understand how you feel. But you must also allow us to mourn your loss with you," said Thor. "You have become so much a part of Asgard. My father dotes on you. He has grown to care for you, much the same as the rest of us. Your strength is inspiring, and your courage also gives
us
strength when we need it."

"But you are gods." I was tempted to scoff but controlled the urge.

"The gods are losing power. Over the ages, we have been steadily losing strength. Modernity changes belief systems. The realms have always been interconnected, but now that our power fades, the balance within the realms will fade as well. Already we can see how easy it has been for the Jotunn to infiltrate Midgard. It is a frightening thought that soon Midgard may be under Loki's control. When everything is out of balance, nature is affected. Balance is very important."

"How will nature be affected?" Thor’s words confused me, but they worried me more.

"Yggdrasil is the tree of life," said Thor.

"Yes," I answered carefully, well aware I didn’t have a very rounded knowledge of the realms.

"Yggdrasil is the very foundation of all the nine realms. The tree keeps everything together. Anything that happens to the tree affects all the realms in different ways."

"Oh? Like how?"

"The rivers of the world rise from the roots of the Yggdrasil. So should the tree be damaged or dying in any way, water will be affected within all nine realms."

"That’s not good." I frowned. "Has Midgard been affected by the tree yet?"

"Yes, I’m afraid it has. Many of your droughts are caused by the tree of life. Sometimes it is a balance that is needed, but over the ages, belief has waned and shaken the tree to its core."

I wasn’t sure what I should say to that and decided not to say anything at all.

***