Dead Embers (36 page)

Joshua's peculiar expression caught my eye as I stepped away
from the All-Father. My heart lurched and a deep sadness welled inside me. He
was still so angry with me. And it hurt me more than I could understand. So
much that I shuddered on my next breath and had to blink away a wave of searing
tears.

I made a move to go to him, and Sigrun must have understood
because she immediately released my arm. But Joshua narrowed his eyes. He
hesitated for the merest fraction of a second before turning on his heel and
leaving the hall so fast that even Aimee looked startled at his sudden
departure.

The crowd broke off into little clusters to discuss the
whole horrible debacle, everyone somber and worried. Aimee strode over toward
me and Sigrun. "Bryn, you really mustn't blame yourself." I opened my
mouth to respond, but she grabbed my arm, her fingers squeezing tight.
"No, you've got that look in your eye, the one that says you're taking the
problems of the world onto your own shoulders. Stop it."

"She is right, Bryn," Sigrun said, chiming in.
"Perhaps your friend Joshua is deeply hurt by all this, but I do not see
how he can blame you. Mika admitted to her crime before us all. There is no
doubt of your innocence."

I shook my head. "But . . . the way he looked at
me," I whispered.

Aidan had also joined us, his face a granite mask. All this
drama must have been a lot to handle so soon after joining the land of the
alive and kicking. Poor guy. "Do you want me to talk to him?" he
asked.

"Would you?" I searched his face, eager for
reassurance. "Just . . . just be there for him. Don't try to change his
mind or anything. I think he shouldn't really be left alone right now."

Aidan nodded and rushed off in search of Joshua. I prayed
that Joshua would accept Aidan's advice. Prayed harder that he would forgive
me. But forgive me for what? I had nothing to be forgiven for. I'd done what I
had to do. Mika had been the one at fault all along, insisting she come with me
wherever I went. I remembered the hard expression in her eyes when she'd
demanded to come with me to the Swartelfheim. And that had been only seconds
after she'd been making out with Joshua. The memory of the time I'd caught them
kissing twisted in my gut. Was I angry because she'd just used him? It had to
be that, because the only other possibility was that I was jealous, and that
just didn't make any sense. Joshua was my friend.

A friend who had been horribly used.

A shudder rippled through me. Mika had been a snake in our
midst all along. I'd trusted her because she'd seemed so honest, and because
she was the daughter of a man I looked up to, a man I cared for. But it all
made sense now. The tone in her voice the day we'd first met, sparring on the
training fields. The subtle undercurrent to her explanation of why Fenrir now
fought for Odin rather than against him. Her criticism had been so blatant
then. But it only made sense when her betrayal had finally been revealed.

Mika had been my friend, and now her betrayal had probably
just taken two of my best friends away from me. Would Fenrir and Joshua ever be
able to look me in the eye again?

"Valkyrie Sigrun," Odin called out, his voice
jarring me out of my self-pity. Sigrun hurried back to him, and the group of
einherjar
and Valkyrie fell into a wary silence.

"Yes, my lord." Sigrun sketched a quick bow.

"Valkyrie Sigrun. As Fenrir is otherwise engaged, the
responsibility of the team will rest with you on this next mission."

My friend stiffened. Clearly, she hadn’t expected this, and
from the set to her jaw she wasn't liking it at all. "My lord, I
apologize. I feel that I should remain in Asgard and await Fenrir's return. I
should be here in case he needs me." Sigrun's face reddened and she
lowered her eyes. Only the slight shiver in her fingers told me she was
terrified of Odin's wrath.

She need not have worried. "Very well then, Valkyrie
Sigrun," Odin replied. A sad, soft sigh left his lips. "You can
remain, but I do need a leader for this mission. I will require you to elect a
replacement to head the scout team today."

Sigrun's head bobbed up and down, and her smile held a hint
of her old cheery self as she sent me a knowing grin. "My lord, I choose
Valkyrie Brynhildr. I do believe she has proved herself worthy of
leadership."

Odin returned her smile, then met my eyes. "Child, this
is a great responsibility." The All-Father's eyebrows wiggled as he
frowned. "Are you willing to take on this role, to be responsible for the
safety and the actions of your team?"

"I am, my lord," I answered, keeping my expression
neutral. What else was I supposed to say? Hell no, I just want to go on the
mission, not be the boss? Sigrun and Odin were crazy to put me in charge.

An unexpected rush of relief flooded through me when my feet
touched Midgard ground. Just being back home gave me a sense of security. Until
I took a deep breath and gagged.

Until I registered exactly where Aidan and I arrived.

Until I took a deep breath and gagged.

The place reeked. The most disgusting and laughable thing
was the familiar blue dumpster.

Aidan and I scanned the shadowed, grimy alley and grimaced
at each other. We'd stood side by side as we arrived off the Bifrost, stepping
right back into the stinking New York alley we both knew so well.

A glance at the wall behind me revealed the bullets still
embedded in the brick. At my feet, dark brownish stains marked the spot where
I'd dripped blood all over the filthy concrete. My last memory of this
revolting alleyway was of being shot at, and the pain of Worthington's bullet
plunging into my abdomen.

Sigrun, Aimee and Joshua followed a blink of an eye later,
disturbing our trip down memory lane. Two other Valkyries, Enja and Pia,
arrived along with them, completing the pairings for our mission.

Sigrun, of course, only meant to accompany us as far as the
headquarters. Something about delivering a message from Odin to a Warrior named
Erik, the head of the New York branch.

Sadly, we were a hodgepodge crew sans Ulfr. I didn't need to
ask why they hadn't joined us. Mika's betrayal would've sorely hurt the Ulfr
reputation, not to mention their pride. I had to admit, if only to myself, that
I was very worried about Fen. I never got the chance to speak to him before we
left. I'd realized, after all the time that had passed, that I'd finally
actually forgiven him for the whole diving-off-a-cliff episode.

But that was then. Right now, I had to think about now.

Aidan snorted. "Of all the places in New York?" He
shook his head and grimaced. The rest of the team took no notice of us; Aimee
and Sigrun scowled at the filth, and the others wrinkled their noses at the
stench. Aidan, on the other hand, took a deep breath. "Ah, the beautiful
aroma of New York."

"Shut up and let's get going." I hid a grin and
jabbed him in the ribs, no longer worried that he'd get hurt. He was all healed
and as good as new now.

"What? Don't you want to take in the sights? The bullet
holes and your bloodstains?" Aidan teased. I may have imagined it, but for
the briefest second my bullet wound throbbed with an answering agony. I
blinked, willing the memories away.

"What? Bryn, are you hurt?" Sigrun gasped,
spinning me toward her to inspect me for open wounds.

"No, no." I glared at Aidan, who stood by watching
and grinning as I fended off Sigrun's searching fingers. "Aidan's just
being an idiot. I was shot right in this alley when we were looking for
Brisingamen."

"Dear Odin. And Aidan wants to show us your
blood?" Sigrun turned to Aidan, and I did a double take at the interested
gleam in her eye. "Aidan, could you show us, please? We may not get
another opportunity."

Aimee giggled, but I noticed she too watched closely as
Aidan pointed out the little holes in the brickwork where stray bullets had
punched into the brick. Then he revealed my bloodstains on the ground with a
flourish of his hand that was ridiculous and funny, and a little sad, all at
the same time.

I didn't bother to look behind me to check if Joshua paid
any attention. I was sure I could still feel his stare burning into the back of
my head. But I didn't want to drag myself back to that sad place where I
mourned the loss of my best friend, nor did I want to examine feelings better
left undefined.

At least Joshua was with us, even though he'd so far refused
to talk with me. Maybe once we returned to Asgard things would be easier to
resolve. Not that a broken heart would be easily healed no matter whom that
heart belonged to.

"Come on, you guys, let's go," I said. The sparkle
of horrified fascination in Sigrun's eye made me laugh too, and I was glad she
was having some fun, but we had to get going. We had a mission to fulfill. I
wondered if we would meet Fen at the headquarters, though I wasn't sure if I
was looking forward to seeing Fen, or dreading it. I owed him a huge apology.
But no apology could ever make up for what Mika had just done to him.

***

Following the directions Odin had given Sigrun, we found
ourselves heading into Lower Manhattan, dodging the lunch-hour rush. My stomach
churned with nervous anxiety as we walked along the busy New York streets
shoulder to shoulder, not to mention wing to shoulder, with millions of
strangers. I'd learned how to slap on a glamor fast enough, but I'd never been
totally comfortable with the idea that all that prevented a random stranger
from seeing my wings was a little bit of Asgard magic. And I knew the fiasco in
the souk would haunt me maybe forever.

We stopped at the address and stared. I leaned over Sigrun's
shoulder and double checked the details. Yes, we were meant to find Asgard's
New York headquarters. So the last thing I'd expected was to end up standing on
Wall Street, facing a towering, iconic skyscraper whose exterior alone held
even the Craven kids in awe. Number Forty Wall Street was more than impressive,
especially in comparison to Valkyrie Ingrid's rundown little suburban house
outside of Cairo.

Sigrun handed out identification badges, which had our names
and photographs, even barcodes. My eyebrow shot up in surprise and disbelief.
The plastic tags looked real, and probably were real for all I knew.

I slung the tag around my neck and followed the group, my
heart thumping as we entered the security area. A uniformed security guard
narrowed his eyes at our group, his attention drawn to us as we bottlenecked at
the modern security turnstile. But Joshua and Aidan quickly showed the
Asgardians how to scan their ID tags, and we passed through without a hitch.

All the while Sigrun had seemed confident enough, even
unfazed by the craziness of New York's streets, but as we approached a bank of
gleaming elevators she slowed to a halt.

"What's the matter?" I whispered.

"What are those?" Her forehead furrowed.

"They're called elevators. We use them to move up and
down in the building."

"Like the Bifrost?"

"Yes, I guess you could call it a mechanical Bifrost,"
I agreed.

Sigrun stared, wide-eyed, when the doors slid open and
spewed forth a crowd of people, none of whom seemed to even register us waiting
at the doors. People way too busy with their own lives.

While we waited for the elevator to empty, Sigrun handed me
a plain silver key. "I believe it is meant to assist with our entry to the
headquarters," she said with a nod, her usual confident cheer a little
subdued.

Inscribed in the key were the words "Private X12."
Unsure of what I was meant to do with it, I entered the multi-mirrored elevator
and scanned the number panel. At the very bottom, a little sign said
"Private Access." Bingo.

I waited until our team filled the small space, then
inserted and turned the key. The doors whispered closed and we rode the
elevator in silence, the mechanical whirring of the contraption a stark
reminder that we were very much in Midgard, with all its gadgets and electronic
machinery. Almost a full minute passed before it sighed to a stop, the doors
gliding open, spilling us into a plush reception area, all glass panels and
peach fabric walls, complete with a nice little blonde receptionist. Boy, did I
feel out of place, and frumpy, even though the girl was a foot shorter. The
look on Aimee's face confirmed she felt the same way.

"Hello, how can I help you today?" Betty, as per
her silver nametag, rose and smiled brightly at us. Half-amused, half-shocked,
Sigrun's eyes flicked from the girl's deep cleavage to her teeny little skirt.

I stepped closer to Betty's desk and said, "We're here
to see Erik. I'm afraid we don't have an appointment." I smiled politely,
even when she inspected me from head to toe and then did the same to Aidan.

"That's not a problem at all. I'll get him for
you." She turned to her desk, picking up her phone to tell Erik he had
visitors. She kept her tone cool and neutral while her eyes ate Aidan up in one
heated stare.
Down girl, he's taken. I think
. . . .

"Please have a seat, he'll be here in a minute,"
she said, but her attention had already moved on to Joshua.
Fickle, Betty,
very fickle
.

"Thanks," I muttered. Nobody sat. I guessed none
of the team were in the mood to relax. We just stared at each other in the
mirrors and waited. Betty frowned at our rudeness but said nothing. She just
dropped pertly into her seat to wait for Erik to appear, stealing a few more
peeks at Aidan, who appeared uninterested and almost bored. Betty raised a
piqued eyebrow and focused her eyes on her computer screen. Thankfully, we
didn't need to wait for too long.

Erik, when he arrived, proved a surprise. He was every bit
the tall, muscle-bound Warrior: implacable dark eyes, prominent, almost regal
cheekbones, unsmiling face. But it was his African heritage that threw me.
Silly, really, after having been exposed to so many different ethnicities
within the Warriors and even the Valkyries. But, yet again, I was surprised by
the multinational representation of the
einherjar
. Must be all those
blond Vikings always associated with Norse mythology.