“Like what? They haven’t done anything for me.”
“Okay, maybe Baldur was a bad person to ask for help,” Alys mumbled.
“April, please. They taught me everything I know about this world, and they kept me safe when zom…Draugr were trying to eat me, and they’re my, well, we’re kind of dating.”
“You’re what? I thought you were with Emily.”
“It’s not official yet.”
“I was going to say,” Emily said. “Bit of a surprise to me.”
“Me too,” Alys said, not taking their eyes off Thrudr.
She had just said that, hadn’t she? She’d kind of thought she’d imagined it. “Well, there’s stuff there, and I’m gonna ask them out when we’re all done with this, so could you please make sure they survive?”
“You don’t tell me anything anymore.” Grumbling, April stood in front of Alys. “Fine. I don’t approve of violence anyway. Alys is a horse, after all, and I don’t support the killing of animals.” Hannah remembered Alys telling that story. Okay, definitely not the time, but she was so proud she knew a Norse myth someone brought up.
Eyes locked on Alys, Thrudr gripped a dagger as Hildr made her way to a pair of swords. “A horse. And you’ve pissed off Baldur. From the sound of it, you’ve pissed off just about everyone. Isn’t that right, Loki?”
Hannah could see a smile tugging at Alys’s lips. That was not helping. They didn’t have to look so damn proud of themself every time they were called out for being him. “You seem to have found me out. Here I was about to introduce myself, but it appears I don’t even need to. It’s a pleasure to meet my dear friends’ children. Your mother and father are my dearest friends in the world. And apparently, more than friends, starting later today, if you don’t kill me.”
Thrudr eyed April, likely judging if she could make it to Alys in time. “We’ll see about that.”
“Thrudr, please,” Hannah shouted.
“Stop it,” Emily demanded.
Thrudr shot upright, staring. “But, Mother, it’s Loki. He’s responsible for all of this.”
“Loki might have been. Alys isn’t. They’ve proven their loyalty, and they’re the one who found out that the Baldur here isn’t real, and they helped us restore Tyr and Baldur to you. Without their help, Forseti would never have believed we’re Sif and Thor. You don’t have to forgive Loki, but accept that Alys isn’t the same person.”
“Then you’re not my mother.”
She shrugged. “I don’t remember being your mother, so in a lot of ways, I’m not. But I’m proud of you for what you’ve made of your life, and I would really appreciate you not murdering my best friend.”
Hildr glowered. “Thrudr, don’t tell me you believe this nonsense.”
“She’s still my mother.” Thrudr sighed. “I’ll help you confront Baldur, but convincing everyone not to kill that traitor is entirely on you.” It was something, at least.
“Thank you,” Emily said.
Hannah watched Emily, wondering what it would have been like to actually raise their children together. She was such a good mom. Hannah held her hand. “That’s all we can ask.”
Thrudr turned to Hildr, giving her the most convincing pout Hannah had seen in her life. There was no way she hadn’t spoiled Thrudr as a child. “Please, my love. I’m sure we’ll have a chance to execute him after they talk to Forseti.”
Hildr looked between Thrudr and Alys, her grip on the swords loosening.
Someone yelled in the hall. “Woo! He sure can drink.”
Hannah glanced at the door. Was living in a Valkyrie hall always like living in a sorority? Of course it was, what was she thinking? That made perfect sense.
“Keep it down,” another voice whispered loudly. “Some of our sisters are sleeping.”
Emily opened the door. “Are you coming?” she asked Thrudr. “You believe us, right?”
With a heavy sigh, Thrudr nodded.
Hildr looked to her, but finally gave in and set her weapons down, then leaned in and kissed her, lingering for a long moment. “Let us get dressed,” Thrudr said.
The rest of them headed back into the hall.
“I swear,” one drunken woman said, her voice still loud enough to wake the dead. “I don’t recall Baldur being able to keep pace with Magni before.”
Hannah felt the world freeze in her gut, her heart, her veins. Her son was drinking with the spy she was there to denounce, and Hel was suspicious of Alys. It was why she’d told them to kill Emily. It had to be a test. It was the only thing that made sense. Why else would she insist Alys had to kill their best friend? She was testing their loyalty. Which meant she was expecting them to do something like this.
A door on the opposite side burst open, and a Valkyrie in full armor, with metallic wings, held a sword as long as Emily’s arm. She didn’t say a word as she stalked toward them, head forward, her posture hunched. She looked more like a predatory animal than a warrior.
Another door swung open, and two more came out. One had a spear, and the other held two axes. Their eyes were blank, staring like sleepwalkers.
“Mind control?” Alys asked. “Does Hel know we’re here? Can she even do magic from Hel?”
“What’s going on?” Megan asked.
Alys cleared their throat. “They’re under Hel’s control. But it—” The one with a sword took a swing. Apparently, the Valkyries didn’t like lectures any more than Megan did.
Alys caught the sword in their hand with a metallic clang. “It could be Baldur. I don’t know. This spell shouldn’t work from a range, not if it’s the same one Hel taught me.”
“You can control people?” Emily asked, drawing her sword, just in time to block a thrust from the spear.
The Valkyrie charged forward, flipping the weapon upward, and Emily leapt back, blood spurting from a cut on her cheek.
Hildr and Thrudr’s door opened, and Hannah turned, ready for more of the new mindless zombies, but they still looked the same, just armored and armed. “What in the nine realms is going on?” Hildr asked. “Geirahod, why are you attacking Mother?”
Emily narrowly dodged another thrust. “Someone’s controlling her. We think it’s Fake Baldur.”
Thrudr caught the spear in midair and snapped it over her knee. “Or Loki.”
“Goddamn it,” Alys muttered. “This isn’t me. I swear. Would I attack myself?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time.”
An axe flew at their head, and they dodged. Hannah threw herself to the floor and looked up, to find the axe held by Alys’s tentacle. “I would never let them hurt Hannah.” They charged in with more limbs, trying to wrestle the sword from the first Valkyrie, but the axe-wielder charged, her mouth hanging open in a silent cry as she swung at their back.
Thrudr smacked the axe-wielder on the back of the head with the broken spear, then dropped it and grabbed her shoulder, throwing her to the ground. “Herja, control yourself. I know you’re in there.”
Herja’s jaws clamped on Thrudr’s wrist with a sickening groan of bending metal, and Thrudr let out a pained cry.
Hildr hauled Herja off, pinning her to the wall and drawing her sword.
“Don’t hurt them,” Alys cried. “It’s not their fault. They don’t know what they’re doing.”
“She’d willingly give up her life,” Hildr snapped back, but she sheathed her sword.
Alys’s tentacles wrapped around the three Valkyries, holding them in place. Geirahod dropped, boneless, slipping out of the tentacles and picking up the two halves of her spear. Alys pressed down with their tentacles fighting to hold her.
“Let’s get out of here,” Hildr shouted.
“I can hold them,” Alys said. “Go.”
Hannah wasn’t willing to watch her soon-to-be-partner sacrifice themself before they’d ever even have a proper date. She grabbed them up with a single hand and ran like mad, the Valkyries chasing after them.
None of the other doors opened as they ch
arged the entrance. Maybe that was it. Maybe Fake Baldur could only control three at once.
The two drunk women were still talking by the front door, but there was no one else. Baldur had to be at the dining hall. Unless he was at a tavern or something, but Hannah had never noticed one.
As soon as they reached the door, the drunken Valkyries drew their weapons.
“No,” Thrudr shouted. “Don’t attack our sisters. They’re ensorcelled.”
But one of the Valkyries leapt at April, sword swinging for her neck and burying itself in the wall instead.
The other jumped on Megan, but she grabbed her hands, keeping the weapons away while Emily tried to pull the Valkyrie off her.
Alys dragged them away, and they ran out the door. Who knew how many more ensorcelled warriors would be after them? The Valkyrie den sat just outside the castle. They could make it there.
They sprinted for the gates, the Valkyries hot on their tails, and ran up the front steps. The doors were already open, and loads of people staggered away, all drunk, and no doubt ready to be taken over by Hel or Baldur at a moment’s notice. But they didn’t have any other options.
They ran right through.
“Hannah?” Modi was sitting at a table with Forseti, Magni, and the fake Baldur. As glad as Hannah was to see their familiar faces, this was terrifying. Hildr and Thrudr slammed the doors behind them, holding them closed. But no one banged against them.
Because Baldur was there. And he was trying to keep his cover.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Forseti asked.
Hannah looked at everyone. What could they even say? They’d sound crazy before they could get their accusations out.
“Father has something important to tell you,” Thrudr said. “And someone is trying to stop her.” She glared at Baldur, her hands on her hips.
Magni stared. “Sister? What has happened?”
Forseti had only just accepted she was Thor and had known the imposter pretending to be his father for decades. How on Earth would Hannah get him to believe her? Hannah racked her brain for a way to deal with this.
Forseti looked between Alys, Megan, and April. “Who are these people?”
“Want me to handle this?” Megan asked, slipping past everyone else.
Hannah stared. “What do you mean?”
“You’re invincible, right?” she asked the fake Baldur. What the hell was she planning? They had to be subtle. There were so many ways this could go wrong.
“I am.” His eyes trailed over each of them, but his focus seemed most taken by the Valkyries and the swords at their hips. “I don’t like showing off. It was a very traumatic moment.”
“Bullshit,” Hildr shouted. “The real Baldur was stronger than that. And he certainly didn’t know magic.”
“What are you talking about?” the fake Baldur asked, looking concerned. And confused. Was he really not responsible?
“Just open the doors,” Hildr said. “They were right behind us. We’ll have proof.”
April opened the doors, and the Valkyries were all there, looking around and talking. “How did we get here?” one of them asked.
“I was just in bed,” another said.
“See?” Hildr asked, sounding desperate. They really did seem crazy.
“That proves nothing,” Forseti said.
Megan smirked, her hand sliding under her jacket. Hannah took a step to find out what the hell she was doing, but the sound of a gunshot stopped her. The man who’d claimed to be Baldur clutched his shoulder. “I’m so glad I already passed my polygraph. This would be so awkward to explain.”
“What?” April mouthed.
“You—” Hannah managed, cutting herself off.
Emily just stared.
“Nice,” Alys said.
Thrudr gaped at Alys. “You were telling the truth.”
Hildr stepped toward the fake Baldur, her hand on her sword.
Magni and Modi looked confused, glancing between Megan and Baldur.
Forseti rose, looking ready to bellow, but Alys spoke first. “Obviously, that isn’t the real Baldur.” They smirked.
“I am,” he cried, clutching the bleeding wound. “That thing must have been mistletoe.”
“It was lead, I assume,” Alys said. “And as my newly dear friend ascertained, this was the quickest way to prove it.”
Hildr grabbed the fake Baldur by the back of his head and slammed it into the table. “Release my sisters. Now.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he cried.
Alys’s smirk wavered. “Megan, I think it may be beneficial if we showed them who the real Baldur is before they cut our heads off.”
Megan looked to April. “I don’t feel great about this.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” April stared. “Are you really going to make me do it?” She drew Emily’s sword and shoved it through her own abdomen. She was suddenly holding it at a weird angle away from herself. “Does that prove it?”
Modi continued to stare, perplexed and alarmed.
“I love your new friends, Father,” Magni said. “They seem even more interesting than your old ones. Or are they the old ones?”
Alys nudged Hannah.
“Right. Um. These are my brothers. Sisters? These are my sisters: Megan is Tyr, and April is Baldur.” She gave an awkward smile and tried to process what had happened. She hadn’t thought Megan would shoot him. She’d wanted to be a cop her entire life. Cops aren’t supposed to just shoot people! Then again, Megan was trying to be a Portland cop. From everything she’d said about them, that was about how they’d treat someone claiming to be a Norse god.
Megan waved, holstering the gun under her jacket.
“Why do you even have a gun?” April muttered, giving her own wave. “Hi. I guess I’m your uncle.”
“I wanted to practice for my firearms certification. Oregon doesn’t let you rent one if you don’t already own one.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. It’s a ridiculous policy.”
April’s eyes narrowed. “No, I mean, you seriously bought a gun for that? Your class would teach you. Do you even have a concealed carry permit?”
Half-smiling, Megan avoided her question and turned back to the table.
“You’re my father?” Forseti asked.
“What? Me?” Megan replied.
“He means me,” April said. “Yes. I am. I’m sorry that…” She stared at the bleeding man and covered her mouth, taking a few deep breaths. “That…I’m sorry I wasn’t here.” She turned away, screwing her eyes shut. Hannah understood how she felt. She just kept being responsible for this stuff. She was the one who dragged Megan along, and another person had gotten hurt. Even if they were a bad guy.
“No, I’m real,” the fake Baldur insisted. “I’m your father. Believe me.”
Hildr tightened her grip. “The real Baldur was nothing like you. He wasn’t a coward. And he would never control the wills of my sisters.”
“What—”
Thrudr set her hand on the fake Baldur’s shoulder, prompting a pained whimper. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. Find out who you are and who sent you.”
“But—”
Hildr’s hand silenced him.
“And who’s that?” Magni asked, pointing at Alys.
Thrudr’s lips curved into a vicious sneer. “That would be Loki. I’m still not convinced that they’re not the one who cast this spell.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Alys griped.
“Would someone tell me what is going on?” Forseti shouted, jumping to his feet.
“Someone cast a spell upon the sleeping Valkyries,” Hildr said, her voice scarcely more than a snarl. “They attacked us mindlessly. They moved like puppets. Puppets controlled by this monster.” The fake Baldur let out a mewling whine as she shook him.
“He has been with me the whole time,” Forseti said. “I’d have noticed him cast a spell.”
“Then it was Loki,” Th
rudr said.
Alys groaned.
“Of course.” Forseti narrowed his eyes, looking Alys up and down.
“I didn’t do a thing,” Alys said.
“I didn’t either,” the imposter yelled.
Hildr smacked him again. “Loki tried to protect Father. I don’t think it was him.”
“Them,” Emily corrected.
Thrudr stared. “They’ve committed enough crimes. We can’t trust them.”
“At least you got my pronouns right,” Alys muttered.
“Then kill them,” Forseti said. “Loki was banished and turned against us.”
“No killing Alys,” Emily shouted.
Not this again. “Alys is a dear friend.” Hannah and Emily did their best to explain to Modi and Magni how important Alys was and what all they had accomplished for Idavollr, stopping only briefly to explain what guns were.
“I can’t believe you’re going to date the sworn enemy of Asgard. Then again, he always was great at making you forgive him,” Modi said.
“Except when he killed…” Magni’s eyes fell on April.
“Just because he helped you doesn’t mean we can trust him,” Hildr said. “Loki is only ever out for himself.”
Alys sighed. “I have nothing but Hannah and Emily’s best interests at heart.”
Forseti leaned forward, staring into Alys’s eyes. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t have you killed. Something you haven’t already told me.”
“What more can I say?”
“Your help now is not enough to make up for what you’ve done in the past. If it wasn’t for you, everyone would still be alive. The fact that you’re trying to make up for it has given me enough patience to hear you out, but you murdered my father, and you started Ragnarok. Why should I forgive you?”
Alys swallowed, their gaze not leaving his. They nodded. “You shouldn’t.” Finally looking away, they leaned back, staring at the ceiling some fifty feet above their heads. “I’m not the same person, but I’m not entirely different either. That’s why you want these other four, isn’t it? No matter how much they’ve changed, they’re still the ones you lost. Well, I’m still the one who betrayed you.” They turned, looking past Emily to Hannah. She could hardly even bring herself to meet their eyes. Alys was going to offer up their life? For what? They hadn’t done anything wrong. “I betrayed Thor, time and again. I don’t remember it, and I’d like to say I wouldn’t do it again, but after everything I’ve done to my friends just in this life, I can’t blame you for wanting to kill me.”
Thor: Daughter of Asgard Page 31