Perfekt Balance (The Ære Saga Book 3) (11 page)

“What’s the matter, snowflake? Didn’t your
brother teach you how to protect yourself?” Runa taunted as she
squeezed.

I threw my arms up and gripped Runa’s hands.
While I pulled, I wrenched from side to side in a futile effort to
relieve the pressure. The room grew hazy as my blood took a one-way
trip south. I pulled harder, fighting the grip that robbed my lungs
of air. A searing pain filled my chest as my body burned through
the last of its oxygen, and despite my pathetic struggle, it was
clear I was outmaneuvered. I let my torso go limp, dropping my
hands and using the last of my strength to push loving energy at
Runa. If I could disarm her, even for just a minute, it could give
me another chance to run.

Or at least to breathe.

When the
warm bubble of energy filled my heart, I pushed it forward. Runa
must have been too focused on hurting me to maintain her
defenses—the second my bubble hit her, she released her grip and
stumbled backward.
Bullseye
.

I dropped to the ground, my chest heaving as
I sucked in air. When the burning began to ebb from my lungs, I
pushed myself up to run. The calculating gleam in Runa’s eyes
stopped me cold.

“That’s what I’m talking about.” The corners
of her mouth lifted in a cold smile. “Use that little talent of
yours to find the dog. Now.”

Regroup, Elsa. Use her.
My intuition sparked, and I rubbed lightly at my neck as I
worked through my next steps. My first escape attempt had
failed—her new power meant I couldn’t outrun her.

But there
was a chance
my
power could outmaneuver her.

I took a step closer to Runa. “Fine. We’ll do
this your way. But remember, what I can do is based on energy and
feelings—it’s science, not magic. If whoever’s holding Fenrir
doesn’t want me to find him, I’m not going to be able to do
it.”

“Stop right there.” Runa held up her hand as
I approached. “After that stunt, I don’t want you anywhere near
me.”

I
shrugged. “Suit yourself. But this probably isn’t going to work if
you don’t let me tap into your energy. I need to use it as a cloak
to block mine, so Fenrir’s guards won’t think to keep me out. But
if finding him isn’t that important to you…”

Runa narrowed her eyes. “I’m not welcome in
Asgard. If they don’t want you finding him, they’re not about to
let me do it.”

“Who said they’re keeping him in Asgard? He
could be anywhere,” I pointed out.

Runa exhaled forcibly. “Okay. But if this is
a trick, so help me, I’ll end you right here.”

I pushed down my fear and forced an easy
smile. “If you end me, you’ve got no chance of finding him.”

Runa stepped closer, and I braced myself for
the strike. But she didn’t hit me. Instead, she just growled.
“Hurry up.”

I closed
my eyes, relief coursing through me.
It
worked
. “Give me a minute,”
I said. As I pictured the thick trunk of one of the redwoods behind
our Midgard house wrapping around me and rooting itself to the
earth, the unease I felt at Runa’s nearness ebbed. She wasn’t
attacking me in this moment, and by forcing myself into the
present, I released my fear at what she might do next.

Besides,
it was what
I
was
going to do next that scared me most.

“First, I’m going to push my energy into
yours so I can hide myself. Then, we’ll start our search. Is that
all right with you?” It was a lie. There was no way I was tricking
Fenrir’s guard for Runa’s benefit.

“
Whatever,” Runa grunted. But the tension coming off her
body was palpable. She
needed
this to work. Retrieving Fenrir caused her a lot
of anxiety.

“Okay.”

I set
heavier protections than normal around myself. Mingling my energy
with that of another being carried a risk of a merge—an
irreversible entanglement of forces. And the
last
thing I wanted was to have any
part of my energy trapped inside Runa’s body. Or worse, to get her
energy trapped inside of mine.
Ick
. I doubled down on my protections, then added an
additional layer, just because. It was better to be safe than
infiltrated by a dark soul.

Secure in
the knowledge I’d made my aura impenetrable, I retreated to the
quietest spot in my mind and pushed out my energy. I knew the
minute I made contact with Runa’s aura—the outer edge of my bubble
recoiled, its distaste practically visceral. My fingertips tingled
as I brushed against the blackness of Runa’s personal space. It
stung. Runa’s inner pain manifested in a series of needle-like
pricks along her energy bubble. I tried to get closer, but my outer
layer of protection refused. Even the secondary layer protested,
morphing from a shimmering gold screen to a black Kevlar
wall.
Fabulous.
How was I going to reach Runa if my own aura wouldn’t let
me through?

With a sigh I withdrew, pulling my energy
back so it no longer touched Runa’s. I’d have to use an external
scan. And I’d have to be quick; I could sense Runa’s unease as she
waited. She expected me to produce Fenrir’s location, and if the
tapping of her foot was any indication, she expected it fast.

“Just a few more minutes,” I lied.

“Hurry,” Runa barked.

Knowing
my time was limited, I pushed my energy as close to Runa’s as my
aura would allow. It wasn’t happy, but it let me get near enough to
do a scan.
Good enough
. I focused on Runa’s first energy center—the space at the
base of her spine. There was something off there I couldn’t quite
put my finger on—a greyish blur, hidden behind a bright white
light. I frowned. Of course Runa would be buzzing with an unusually
high physical prowess. It probably had something to do with the
crystal she’d swallowed. Odin only knew the extent of the powers it
gave her.

I moved
up to the second energy center, the spot behind Runa’s belly button
that controlled her emotions. It revealed a duality—darkness
smothering light.
Interesting
. Although I generally believed in the innate
goodness of most spirits, I’d taken Runa for one of the rare black
souls. Maybe there was hope for her yet.

Runa’s
third energy center reflected low self-esteem, not surprising,
given her proclivity to destroy. Her heart center showed a nearly
total void where her capacity for compassion should have sat. But
more importantly, it absolutely seethed of self-hatred. Where did
that root? I moved up, quickly scanning Runa’s fifth through
seventh centers, but found nothing of significance. Then I worked
my way back down, following the black thread of energy wrapped
around Runa’s heart. It laced through her third and second centers,
ending in the grey blur at the base of Runa’s spine. Of course! The
family of origin center. Babies were born innately good—even jotun,
troll, and dark elf babies. But their early experiences with the
world could tarnish them beyond repair. And the individuals
responsible for forming those early experiences in Runa had
been…

Hold on.
Who
were
Runa’s
parents? She’d come to Asgard in the middle of one school year, and
lived with a “family friend” we never actually saw. When she’d
started dating Forse, she’d told us her parents were dead. Beyond
that, she never talked about her family. Or Vanaheim, where she’d
allegedly come from. Or anything, really. She’d dominated combat
club, thanks to her gargantuan height, and the seemingly
impenetrable chip on her shoulder, but none of us knew much else
about her.

Could this be why she was so cold? The
blackness in her heart rooted from a bad experience with her family
of origin. Runa must have felt adrift at sea, growing up without
her parents.

Poor thing
. My
heart tugged, the wave of sympathy overwhelming me. I couldn’t undo
Runa’s past, but if I could untie that black knot in her first
center, maybe I could change the way she looked at the world going
forward. And maybe I could divert her from this dark course she was
so determined to hurtle down. A surge of light pulsed in my
head.
That’s
it!
If I could untie
that knot, I’d unblock Runa’s first center, erasing the black cord
choking her heart, and leaving her free to choose a more positive
path.

A dim light flickered from Runa, something
deep within her acknowledging the truth of my assessment.

What is that?

I scanned
my captor from head to toe, but the light was gone.
Did I
imagine it?
No matter—my
intuition told me I was on the right track. Ignoring my aura’s
protests, I pushed into Runa’s energy, directing a thick beam of
white light at the knot. The light struck the darkness, filling the
dense matter with the love and hope my parents had instilled in me.
But instead of unraveling, the knot clenched tighter, closing in on
itself and sending an angry blast at my light. I pushed harder,
trying to drive a stake into what appeared to be the weakest part
of the coil, but the bond wouldn’t budge. And as I sent one more
surge of love at the knot, my body was racked with an
insurmountable pain that tore through me from head to toe. I
screamed out loud as an unbearable weight bore down on my chest,
the blast from Runa’s knot ejecting me from her space and knocking
me back.

“
What the
Hel was that?” Runa snarled. Cold hands gripped my shoulders as my
captor leapt on top of me. The back of my head connected with the
stone, and I heard the crack at the same as time I registered the
pain. Blood rushed to the wound as the thick pounding built to an
unbearable pressure. I knew that pain. I’d felt it once
before…right before Fenrir sent me into the coma.

Just don’t black out and you’ll get through
this.

“You little liar. Were you even looking for
Fenrir?” Runa shrieked.

“
I was
trying to help you,” I mumbled. What was wrong with me? First I
couldn’t get past the wall around Forse’s heart, and now I couldn’t
unravel Runa’s knot. My realm was depending on me to be their
interim Unifier, and I was a total failure.
I’m sorry,
Mom.

Runa put a prompt end to my pity party.

“I need that dog.” She slapped my face. The
sting of her palm was a tickle compared to the raw agony pulsing in
my head. “Stay the Hel out of my space or next time I send you back
to your coma. You have twenty-four hours to get me Fenrir’s
location or your people start dying.”

Runa
snapped her fingers, and I dragged one eyelid open just enough to
see a hologram projected above her open palm.
Fabulous
. I added
hologram making
to the
list of abilities Runa had acquired today.

“Pay attention. You’ll want to see this.”
Runa held her hand directly in front of my face, so there was no
chance I’d miss her projection. In the image, Runa had me in a
headlock while she fought both Brynn and Forse. She threw her arm
out in front of her, and two beams of light shot from one palm. One
wound itself around Brynn, the other Forse, circling them from
torso to neck and constricting as they lifted, creating a magical
execution device. My breath caught, and for the first time since my
capture I couldn’t divert my fear. It churned in my gut and rose,
gripping my heart in icy tentacles. It didn’t matter whether that
hologram was a vision of the future or a trick to force my hand.
The blackness inside Runa was so strong, I knew she wouldn’t think
twice about killing anyone who kept her from what she wanted. That
vision was a nightmare.

But it
would
never
come
true.

I rolled to my side, placed my palms on the
ground, and pushed myself up, ignoring the pool of blood. The room
spun violently as I stood on one foot, then the other, scrambling
for a plan. Hurting Runa was out of the question; she was just too
strong. But maybe if I got close enough, I could eject some of her
dark energy—enough to make her see the value in Asgardian life. Or
even just enough to distract her so I could run.

Runa lowered her hand, and the hologram
disappeared. I bent my knees and prepared to move. Before my feet
could leave the ground, she turned on one heel and wrenched the
door open, then quickly slammed it shut behind her.

I’d missed my chance.

“
Twenty-four hours,” Runa called through the wood. “Then
Asgard loses one god a day until I get that dog. And just in case
you dream up another of your little escape plans…” A light flashed
outside the door. “Don’t. You’re sealed in tight.”

Runa’s boots clicked on the stones as she
stormed down the hallway. I sank to the floor and pressed my hand
to my head. The blood came slower now, though the pounding hadn’t
eased at all. As I took a deep breath and willed my body to heal, I
tried to ignore the panic that danced heavily along my spine. I’d
failed to physically overpower her, and I’d failed to energetically
outmaneuver her.

What was I going to do now?

* * * *

“
Elsa,
thank gods. Where are you?” Relief coursed through me as Forse’s
face filled the surface of my arm. The familiar sweep of his golden
highlights; the intensity radiating from grass green eyes; even the
ever-deepening
V
between his eyebrows filled my soul with a much-needed
surge of calm. Forse Styrke was a god-sized dose of comfort food on
a hugely stressful day. Every last inch of me relaxed at the mere
sight of his face.