Valkyrie Rising (22 page)

She was followed by a Valkyrie I’d never seen before.

Heads turned, one by one, until everyone at the outside tables was watching Astrid’s approach. I noticed more than one glassy, vacant stare that had nothing to do with a night of drinking.

The thumping bass swelled as she opened the door and disappeared inside, leaving behind confused and groggy bystanders who were trying to puzzle out what had just happened.

I looked back, expecting to see Tuck similarly stunned. Instead he watched me with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. As usual, all arrogance.

“You’re okay,” I said. “At least we know that necklace works.”

“Maybe,” he said. “But I was thinking about what happened in the bar when you called out my name. It’s a mental game, really. Astrid kinda tugs at my mind. Some weird impulse makes me want to look at her—it’s begging me to. But when I look at you, it goes away. You’re more important to me than she is.”

I thought about that for a second. While it made sense, something didn’t quite fit. “I’m more important to Graham too, but I couldn’t wake him up, no matter how hard I tried.”

Tuck’s eyes were wary, like he either didn’t know the answer or didn’t want to tell me. Then he shrugged, trying to make what he said next seem casual. “Because I think the power—the hypnotic power has its roots in desire,” he said softly.

The words sank in with a weight my chest couldn’t support. “Oh,” I said, wondering how he could just stand there and turn my universe upside down so casually. Like it was no big deal.

But then I thought about desire, about what that word really meant. Especially since he’d been known to spread his desire around a little too liberally. Ultimately, what he’d just said was no more significant than the rest of Tuck’s flirting. And it too wasn’t enough. With Tuck and me, it had to be all or nothing.

Close on the heels of that realization was a stab of self-reproach. I couldn’t afford to waste precious seconds plumbing the depths, or maybe the kiddie pool, of Tuck’s feelings for me. Graham was in danger, and nothing else could matter.

“Go get the car, and I’ll make sure they don’t get away,” I said. “They work fast, and we can’t lose them—not tonight.”

“You think I’m gonna just leave you standing here on this corner? Alone?”

“Yes.”

“That was a rhetorical question,” he told me. “You go get the car, and I’ll stay here.”

He was being ridiculous. The street was packed with people. As we stood there, frowning at each other, a group of older guys walked by, singing something in wobbly German. I didn’t need to recognize the song to know they were off-key.

“Tuck,” I said. “I can take care of myself. Really. Besides, what if they try to leave and you get all weird and hypnotized or something? This is the only way. Go.”

“You don’t move one millimeter,” he said. “Stay right here.” After one last scowl at me, intended to show disapproval but really just reminding me that pretty much nothing could mar those features, he sighed and started running down the street in the direction of the car. I watched his retreating back anxiously, particularly when three drunk-looking guys slowed, two of them eyeing me and whispering to each other.

It was the last thing I needed.

Luckily, instinct kicked in. “Don’t even think about it,” I said in Norwegian.

The boys stared at me openmouthed, their eyes switching instantly to filmy white. “Go,” I added, shooing them with my hand. They instantly obeyed, walking away slowly with strange, dazed expressions on their faces.

The edge of power had saturated my voice at my command. I’d barely had to think about it. For the first time, I felt in control of it. It didn’t hurt that once again I’d slipped so seamlessly into another language.

I was intoxicated by the power I felt then. Maybe I really was invincible. What had happened earlier with Astrid had to be a fluke. I’d just needed to get my sea legs. Because the power coursing through my veins was undeniable, begging me to use more if it. To indulge. Promising that the more I tapped into my Valkyrie nature, the more I stretched myself, the stronger I’d grow. And it was so overwhelming, I was pretty sure it would explode out of me if I didn’t do
something
—anything but sitting at the curb waiting for Tuck like a cocker spaniel.

I crossed the street, my new confidence howling through my veins. It was so all-consuming, so primal, that I never paused to question it. I just walked right up to the Range Rover and pressed my face against the window, not caring if the whole Valkyrie army was inside waiting for me. But the Range Rover was empty. Graham was nowhere to be seen. They must have put him somewhere else while they returned for a second helping of boys.

I tried to slip past the outdoor tables unnoticed, but conversations faded into whispers as I passed by. It was a strange feeling to be watched so intently—I couldn’t bring myself to meet anyone’s eyes, preferring not to know if they were milky white. It wasn’t like I’d meant to do anything wrong.

Inside the bar, the music was so loud it threw me off balance, as did the darkness after the well-lit streets. A few faces turned toward me as I lingered in the open doorway of the bar, but other than that, no one inside took particular notice of me. The room was narrow and divided in half by the long, skinny bar along one wall. It was full to capacity, with everyone pressed shoulder to shoulder, except for a small clearing where three girls slithered to the music.

I pushed through to the counter and slid into a narrow space between the back of a tall brown-haired man and the wall. From there, I could surreptitiously scan the room for Astrid. There was no sign of her. I leaned on my elbow, trying to look casual while watching and waiting.

A champagne flute appeared at my elbow.

“It’s on the house,” a low voice quipped. I looked up, startled, into Loki’s liquid green eyes. Even though the face was unfamiliar, I knew it was him behind the bar, dressed in a black, well-tailored shirt and slacks. “Did you miss me?” As I stared, his burly bartender’s mug melted into a face that was reminiscent of Tuck’s, even though the features never quite settled into place. I reminded myself that he was a shape-shifter and was using that ability to reel me in like a bigmouth bass. That made it easier to look at him without getting tangled up in his impersonation of my favorite smile.

“Go ahead,” he said, nudging the flute closer across the bar. “It will help you relax. I’ve never met such an uptight Valkyrie.”

“Relax?” I had to shout to be heard over the music. “You can’t threaten to kill my brother and act like we’re friends meeting for a drink. We’re not. If we were, you’d tell me how to find Odin and get to Valhalla.”

The brown-haired man in front of me turned and stared, both eyebrows raised so high they disappeared underneath his bangs.

Loki chuckled and put one finger under my chin. “That wasn’t your line, pet. I was hoping we’d end this one scene, at least, on a happy note.” His soft voice carried perfectly, even in that noisy place. “I wish you’d try to be appreciative. After all, we’re going to be such great friends. Now take a sip and thank me. Bonus points if you lean forward and look adoringly into my eyes.”

“This isn’t a game or a movie. It’s my life, and it’s real to me,” I said. “I’m searching for Graham. I’m not here to entertain you.”

“Yet you’re managing both so competently,” he said. “Quite a fortuitous side effect—winning so much of my attention. But I shouldn’t keep you, dearest. You’re about to have your hands full. I can’t wait to see how you’ll handle what’s next.”

Something over my shoulder caught his attention as he took two steps away, shifting back into the bartender’s sour face. He took a drink order from a woman down the bar who didn’t seem to notice that his nose was still adjusting itself as he poured her a beer.

I had nothing to lose, so I lifted the glass to my lips and drained it in one long swallow. As the liquid hit my throat, it left a trail of burning fire that ripped through my veins. I thought my heart would explode from the heat. It was filling me with strength. It took my new, heightened senses and catapulted them into the stratosphere. I could hear the quietest whisper, train my ears on each individual conversation in the room or listen to them all at once. I could see every particle of dust floating through the air and taste the cologne of the Eurotrash man across the bar.

But somehow, in the midst of all my amazing new observations, I failed to notice the stormy-faced boy plowing through the crowd toward me—until he grabbed me by the elbow and whipped me around to face him.

“Do you have any idea how freaked out I was when I came back and you were gone?” Tuck demanded. “And here you are, drinking champagne like everything’s just fine!”

I was about to apologize. After all, he certainly had a point. But fate cut me off. There was an abrupt, tangible shift in the room. Something was about to happen. The something I’d been waiting for. Astrid was approaching. I could feel the energy that surrounded her snapping at the periphery of my mind. The air was electric with anticipation and the sweet, tantalizing smell of impending danger. On reflex, my muscles tensed, prepared and eager to face whatever was about to happen.

“Get behind me and look down at the bar,” I said. “Whatever you do, don’t look up until it’s all over.”

“Until what’s all over?”

“The next abduction,” I whispered. “They’re coming.”

Astrid stalked out of the back of the bar, followed by a tall brunette Valkyrie. The door they slammed behind themselves was painted black to blend in to the walls, so I’d missed it altogether. From the quick glimpse I caught of a dartboard and pool table, it must have led to a game room.

Two boys were a half step behind, with opaque eyes and faces wiped clean of all traces of personality. The crowd parted slowly at their approach, backing away without really understanding why. She paused in front of a broad-shouldered, baby-faced boy sitting on a bar stool. He rose immediately, and Astrid gave him a quick once-over. She must have liked what she saw, because seconds later she turned and led her captives toward the door. Without needing instructions, the new boy fell in line with the other two.

My heart tried to dig its way out of my chest as she reached the door. I couldn’t afford to let her out of my sight again. I couldn’t let this chance pass me by. The violent voice was back and screaming in my ear, drowning out all other thoughts. Including my promise to Tuck and the memory of the bone-crunching blows Astrid had dealt me mere hours ago.

Tuck’s fingers scrambled to find a hold on my arm, but I pushed away, cutting through the crowd and weaving between the motionless bodies of the catatonic crowd. The room was as still as a cemetery. All eyes followed Astrid and the three boys. She opened the door, one booted foot settling on the pavement outside.

“Astrid.” The harsh sound of my own voice surprised me. And caused every set of vacant, glassy eyes in the bar to shift to me. “I want my brother back.”

Her eyes brushed over me without pausing, like I was no different from the rest of the faded decor. Then she took one more step forward and let the door swing silently shut behind her.

“You promised,” Tuck hissed, trying to grab me.

I was too fast and way beyond being reasoned with. I would crush Astrid or die trying. Anger howled through me, fueled by the certainty that I could win this fight if I was clever and bold enough. By the time I reached the sidewalk, Astrid was halfway to her SUV, bringing the steady stream of people walking home to an abrupt standstill as she passed.

“Astrid.” My voice was firm, cold. Just like hers. “Stop running away from me.” Whatever was in that champagne Loki had given me was still working its magical way through my veins. It was the only explanation for my reckless behavior. The way I’d surrendered all control to the voice in my head that was roaring for this fight.

Because then I added, “Coward.”

Astrid went rigid. As she turned, her posture changed and she crouched lower on the balls of her feet. She was coiled for action by the time she faced me. “You should have settled for trying to follow me. That, at least, wasn’t worth my time to acknowledge.” Her lips curled into a contemptuous sneer. Ironically, it made her even more beautiful.

Her words settled in the pit my stomach like a twenty-ton anchor. Tuck and I weren’t nearly as sneaky as we’d imagined. But at least that made me feel marginally less guilty about breaking my promise to Tuck—it wasn’t like we had stood a legitimate chance of secretly following her to Graham if she’d known we were there. It was up to me to do something before Astrid disappeared again. By the time Tuck exploded out the door, I was prowling closer, trying to get Astrid within arm’s reach in case she started to slip away. The people on the sidewalk had stopped walking and had circled around, like we were a pair of street performers warming up for our big juggling act.

“Go,” she snapped at her companion, motioning her and the three boys toward the car.

Astrid’s voice was low and soothing when she turned back toward me, catching me off guard. “Why fight what you are, Elsa? You’re a Valkyrie. You belong with me. Maybe if you made yourself useful, Odin would spare Hilda. He’s not incapable of mercy.”

It took an enormous amount of willpower not to react to her words. Knowing that my grandmother was definitely in Odin’s hands really didn’t change anything. Except at least now I knew my grandmother was still alive. “I’m okay with the Valkyrie part,” I said. “But as far as joining
you
, thanks, but I’d rather die.”