Tro (Elsker Saga Book 3) (15 page)

“Absolutely not. I am not leaving you alone. Never again.”

“Well then, I’ll go check on them.”

“Kristia, no. It is not safe. We will think of another way to make sure they are all right.” Ull squeezed my arm.

“There’s no other way, Ull. Everyone else is fighting, or traveling to their fight, or whatever. Listen, you’re right—I don’t really want to be all by myself here; not if there’s a chance Loki could come back. So I’ll go look for Gunnar and Inga. You’re here to guard my body. And I’ve got this tenth realm thing down pat. I’ll be fine.”

“Yes, but—”

“But nothing. If our friends need us, we can’t exactly sit around here drinking tea.” I gestured to my cup. “I can check on them and get back to you in less than five minutes. And if anything is wrong, we’ll know we need to figure out some way to send help. Maybe there’s a junior Valkyrie on a coffee break somewhere, or something.”

Ull let out a long-suffering sigh. “You are going to send me to an early grave, worrying about you. You do realize this?”

“I learned from the best.” I shrugged. “I’m going now.”

“Please be careful,” Ull urged. “If anything were to happen to you…”

“Nothing’s going to happen. You’re stuck with me, remember?” I pressed his fingers to my lips.

“Still. At least let me hold you while you do this. And come back immediately when you locate them. I want to know where to be able to find you if something goes wrong.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Anything else, Captain?”

“Yes. Do not get hurt.”

“Aye-aye.” I gave a mock salute as I rose from my chair and climbed onto Ull’s lap. He wrapped thick arms around me and rested his cheek on the top of my head. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

“You had better be,” Ull growled.

“Stuck with me,” I reminded him as I ducked my head against his chest. Then I took a long breath, grounded myself, and let my spirit take flight.

My search didn’t take long. I went straight to Asgard’s healing unit. Gunnar wasn’t there, but it looked like I’d just missed him. The bed under the window still had medical equipment nearby, and there was an indentation in the pillow.

“Where did he go?” Anders stood at the foot of the bed, blinking.

“I have no idea.” Idunn strolled into the room, looking equally surprised. “His wound was nearly resealed—I told him he needed one final dose before I could discharge him, and he yelled for me to hurry. Something about Inga being in trouble.” She held up the loaded syringe in her hand. “Looks like he couldn’t wait.”

Anders backed out of the room. “Where is Inga?”

Idunn moved to the next bed and positioned a domed screen over another injured god. “I don’t know. But if you see Gunnar, let him know he needs to come back for this.” She set the syringe on the table by the empty bed. “If he doesn’t complete the course, he’ll be susceptible to infection.”

“Will do.” Anders turned on one heel and bolted from the room. With one last look at the row of injured Asgardians lining the healing unit, I followed suit.

Anders took off at a full sprint toward a grove of trees. My attention shifted toward the shiny palatial structure to the north. I’d never been to Asgard in my physical form, and I was beyond curious about Ull’s home realm. But in all likelihood, our friends were in trouble, and this was hardly the appropriate time for a sightseeing excursion. My eyes focused on Anders and I took to task. There would be plenty of time to explore Asgard later…I hoped.

Anders crossed an expansive clearing in record time, then lowered his head and charged into the trees. I dove after him, flying along behind, desperately trying to ignore the feeling in my gut. In addition to being dark, cold, and densely packed, this forest emitted a repulsive vibe, as if it were trying to eject any source of warmth or light.

It was trying to kick me out.

I pushed against the invisible, or perhaps imagined, force field. It pushed back, a none-too-gentle pressure on the top of my head as I flew after Anders. Ignoring the sensation, I moved forward until Anders skidded to a stop. I pulled up just in time, narrowly avoiding flying straight into his back. My gaze darted down when I heard Anders’ shout.

“Dritt!”

Dritt
indeed. I squeezed my eyes shut as I pulled myself out of the forest, traveling at light speed back to Bibury. Ull was not going to be happy
.

“Thank Odin.” Ull kissed the top of my head as I squirmed in his arms. “You are safe.”

“I’m not here long. I just wanted you to know they’re in some cold, creepy forest in Asgard. It looks like the one you were in before, but it keeps trying to push me out of it. What is wrong with that place?” I turned my face up to his.

“The Dark Forest.” Ull stroked my cheek with one finger. “You must be near its center. The repulsion is stronger there. What is happening in there?”

“Gunnar and Inga are fighting a monster. It’s a female, about Inga’s size, with dirty hair and ripped clothes. She’s making these awful screeching noises and throwing flames from her hands. And she’s surrounded, by those awful things that attacked you and Gunnar—the
ikkedød
. They’re defending her. And there’s another creature, a huge female with boils all over her skin and really unfortunate yellow teeth. She’s at least twenty-feet tall.”

Ull’s entire body stiffened.

“What’s going on?” I whispered.

“Hel.”

“Ull!” He wasn’t one to swear…in English, anyway.

“The smaller woman is Hel. Guardian of the underworld. The
ikkedød
are her minions; they’re tasked with defending her. And the larger female, in all likelihood, is her mother.”

“Hel has a mother?” There was no keeping the incredulity out of my voice.

“Angrboða. She is a mountain giant of questionable origin. Her union with Loki and the prophecy for their monster offspring cemented her position on Asgard’s top kill-list. We have been hunting her for years.”

“Wait. The giant’s with Loki?”

“Yes. Hel has a father too.” Ull watched me carefully as the words sank in. One more piece of the puzzle clicked into place. Fuzzy images rushed into my head. A fortress. A nursery. A wretched future for the three tiny bundles.

“Oh, shoot. Shoot, shoot.” Fenrir, Jörmungandr and Hel were the children of Loki and the giant. They were the babies from my lost dreams. And they were fated to do something terrible. Only I still couldn’t remember what it would be.

“Sometimes your choice of language is really quite adorable.”

I ignored him. “If you’ve been hunting her for years, why haven’t you caught her? From what I’ve seen, you guys are pretty thorough.”

“Angrboða never leaves her palace. After she had the children, she locked the gates, hired an extensive security detail, and placed every possible protection around the property, magical and otherwise. Nobody can get within a hundred yards of her residence without being obliterated either physically, or mentally. The last time we sent a tactical team to retrieve her, half were blown to pieces and the other half came back speaking Svartish, convinced they were the house servants of a dark elf. A while back, Loki turned the children over to Odin in exchange for a cease-fire on Angrboða. We have left her alone since then.”

Ull’s words confirmed my suspicion. “Did you say Angrboða’s palace has every possible protection?”

“Yes.” Ull furrowed his brow. “Why?”

“Including a blocker?”

Recognition dawned. “Your missing visions. You were seeing Angrboða. More likely, you saw her children. She would have taken great care to cloak them from Asgardian eyes. Now your lost dreams make sense.”

“You said something about a prophecy. What’s that?”

Ull stroked my arm. “You are cold. Do you need a blanket?”

“What’s the prophecy?” I urged. “Hurry. I need to get back to Gunnar and Inga.”

“The Fates prophesied that the offspring of Loki and Angrboða would end Asgard. It was why Angrboða took such care to shield them from the gods. And it was why I have always been suspicious of Loki.”

With the last piece in place, everything made sense. The three children—Loki’s children—were destined to destroy us. I had known it all along, but I hadn’t been able to understand. I was a terrible Seer. “Shoot,” I whispered again. “That’s what I couldn’t retain in those visions. How did I let this get past me?”

Ull shook his head. “Do not dare blame yourself, my love. Blockers are powerful magic. I doubt anyone would be able to see past one.”

I shook my head. “Yeah, but…wait, you suspected Loki all along?”

“Of course. If you knew there was a death sentence on your children’s heads, would you turn them over to the very individual who issued it?”

“Never!” I exclaimed.

“Exactly. When he heard the prophecy, Odin ordered the children killed. Angrboða locked down her palace, and nobody was able to get to them. One day out of the blue, Loki just dropped the children off at Odin’s residence. The only things he asked in exchange were that Odin let the children live, and that he call off the hunt on Angrboða. That reeks of suspicion,
ja
?”

“Why didn’t Odin see through that?”

“Odin can be unfortunately shortsighted. Loki has behaved erratically before, and he took this as another isolated instance. Besides, Odin had control of the demons, or so he believed, and he was confident this could mark the end of the Ragnarok prophecy. Others merely saw it as a stopping block. And many of us have been keeping a close eye on Loki, the offspring, and the giant, ever since.”

“What happened to the kids?”

“Hel was cast to Helheim, and given dominion over its occupants. Protections were set so she could not leave the realm, but it would appear she has broken free. Jörmungandr was sent to the ocean of Midgard, where he grew so large he bit onto his tail. A rather fortunate curse of lockjaw has kept him there until now. And Fenrir…he was given a second chance. But he never changed his spots.”

The wolf, the snake, and the demon. Loki’s kids had haunted my dreams for years. They had killed me a hundred times while I slept. And now they were trying to destroy everyone and everything we loved.

“I have to get out of here. I have to know Gunnar and Inga are okay.”

“I have to know that too. They have been my best friends all my existence. And there is nothing I would not do for them. But there has to be another way. I am sorry, Kristia. I cannot let you go back there. Hel and her mother are force enough, but combined with the
ikkedød
…”

“I know. But they’re all alone. They only have Anders with them.”

“Then we shall call for reinforcements. It is too dangerous for us to be apart right now.” Ull eyed the closed laptop that sat on the dining room table along with our abandoned mugs of tea. “Except…”

“Except everyone’s fighting. There aren’t any reinforcements to call.” I shook my head. “Listen, we have two choices. Either you take the Bifrost and go help them yourself—”

“I am not leaving you alone,” Ull growled.

I continued as if he hadn’t interrupted. “Or you let me go back there and see if they’ve gotten things under control. If things don’t look good in the next three minutes, grab my body and come after me. And then we can help them
together
.”

“Are you trying to destroy me?” Ull tipped his head back.

“I’m trying to save us. Please, let me go. Three minutes. I’ll set a timer.” I started to pull my phone out of my pocket.

“Flip phones do not come with timers, Kristia. We really need to update your device.”

“Come on, Ull. Please. Meet me in the Dark Forest in three minutes if I’m not back. But I swear I won’t take that long. If they’re in trouble, I’ll know it right away.”

Ull’s sigh let me know he’d seen reason. “Fine. But be quick. I cannot have you out of my sight any more today.”

“Used my quota, huh?” I gripped his bicep and squeezed my eyes shut.

“Something like that,” he muttered. But I was already gone, grounding my body and releasing my spirit.

THE FOREST HAD DROPPED
another few degrees in temperature by the time I returned. A light mist swirled across the ground, and the firm pressure worked to force me out of the space. I fought against it, staring at the scene below. If I only had three minutes, I needed to take in as much as I could.

Four figures shifted position in the mist. Angrboða stood at the base of a tree, her head whipping from Gunnar to Inga to Anders. The three gods had formed a triangle with Gunnar running point, and they were slowly advancing on the giantess. Inga’s swords were drawn, her rapier held at eye level and her dagger clutched firmly at her waist. Anders tossed a mace lightly between his hands. And Gunnar’s crossbow was lined up to shoot. Hel was nowhere in sight—they must have already taken her out, although I didn’t see her body anywhere. Regardless, with three-on-one odds, the giantess didn’t stand a snowball’s chance.