I looked around the lab and at all the damning evidence of Venom left behind. I needed them to leave. Once they were gone, I doused the lab with ethanol and lit the match that would burn the building to the ground.
There were hushed tones at the station as everyone whispered about Thompson’s death. We didn’t make up some elaborate story to mask the truth about his death; we just told what happened. No one could believe it, but others knew he had financial struggles. His house had gone into foreclosure, and with four kids, he and his wife were barely staying afloat.
Will barely spoke to me on the ride back to Portland. With this chapter finally behind us, who knew if I’d ever see him again. I’d give him the space he needed. I went to his empty desk, picked up his desk phone, and dialed Charlie’s cell phone number. She answered on the second ring.
“Hi, Will,” she said.
I cleared my throat. “It’s not Will, it’s me.”
“Oh! I was wondering where you were! I’ve been worried sick. I spoke with Verdandi, but she wouldn’t give me many details, and I thought you might be hurt from the fight with the ogres, gods, I’m glad you’re okay, Ken has been calling nonstop and—”
“Everything is fine, Charlie, take a breath.”
She inhaled loudly. “Sorry, I just have a lot bottled up,” she mumbled.
“Well, get ready to let it out.” I grinned. “We have Castellano is custody.”
There was silence on the phone line. I would have thought she’d hung up if I hadn’t heard her occasional breathing.
“W-What?” she whispered.
“It’s why I’ve been MIA,” I said and told her everything, excluding what happened with Thompson.
Once I was finished, her breathing was heavy and there was a long silence before she spoke again.
“I’m on my way,” she said, and I could hear rustling in the background.
“Not now, Charlie.” I shook my head as if she could see. “The station is jam packed with people. You couldn’t see him even if we tried.”
“Then when, Raven?” she said angrily. “You promised me I would be there when he was caught and you didn’t even call me!”
I lowered my head in shame. “I know, but this was a PPD operation. I couldn’t just invite a civilian. The humans don’t work that way,” I whispered into the phone. “But I spoke to Will, and we agreed the best time will be the middle of the night. Between two and three in the morning. He can shut the cameras off and sneak you in to the cells.”
She huffed a few times. “Fine.”
I didn’t have time to say goodbye before Charlie hung up on me, the dial tone ringing in my ear.
The rest of the night was a blur. I helped where I was needed, but it was mostly paperwork. Will sent me to help in evidence just in case anything made its way out of the compound that might be compromising to the supernaturals, but it was a lot harder than expected. Since I was a civilian, I couldn’t catalogue or touch anything much less look at paperwork without contaminating it. I was pretty much useless, but I would at least see what was coming in.
It was two in the morning when Charlie strolled into the police station, eager to see her arch nemesis.
“Well, someone’s punctual.” I looked at the clock.
“You never specified what time between two and three.” She held her head high. “Now, where is he?”
I chuckled. “What did you think, he’d just be hanging out here waiting for you? Charlie, get real. Sit down and take a load off. We’ll have fun soon enough.”
Will walked in, and the tension in the room became palpable. Charlie stood erect and unmoving by the empty squad room entrance.
I leaned back in my chair, tipping it off its front legs, and stared at her. “Charlie, what did Castellano do to make you hate him so much?”
“It’s not what he did. It’s what his guys did. They knew I was a banshee and they tied me up and drowned me in iron-filled water so I couldn’t scream. The pain was excruciating. It might not have been Castellano, but it was on his orders, and I want him to pay.”
My eyes narrowed. Iron was a weakness to some supernaturals. He’d known even then what we were. Charlie never told me. I felt a fury deep inside, but this wasn’t my revenge to exact.
“I’ll shut off the cameras,” Will muttered and left the room.
Charlie stood tall and fierce, ready to face whatever plagued her nightmares.
“Come,” I leaned forward and stood from my chair, “I’ll take you to him.”
The precinct was empty at this time of the night, and Will gave the officers who were watching the cells a break. Thankfully, the only prisoner was Castellano.
I moved to escort Charlie, but she objected.
“I can do this on my own,” she said.
“I’m not leaving your side.” There was something swirling in Charlie’s soul that I didn’t recognize. It was still pure but different.
We stopped in front of his cell and found him lying on his cot, staring at the ceiling.
“I wondered when you’d pay me a visit.” He turned his head. “Oh, and you brought a guest.” He furrowed his brows as if he didn’t recognize Charlie.
“Remember me?” Charlie’s voice shook with rage.
“Regretfully, no.” He sat up and faced us. “You just have one of those faces, I guess.”
“What kind of face?” she asked.
“The forgetful kind.” He smirked, and I wanted to wipe it off his face. “To what do I owe this visit, Raven?”
I shook my head and leaned against the concrete wall, crossing my arms against my chest. “I’m not here for you. She is.”
His eyes flickered to Charlie. “Carry on, darling. What can I do for you?”
Charlie’s chest heaved up and down at a fast pace, her nostrils flared, and she fisted her hands at her side. “You can die,” she growled before she shrieked.
The banshee’s wail was concentrated solely on Castellano, but the force of it knocked me back and plastered me to the wall.
“Charlie!” I yelled. “Don’t kill him!” I pushed against the invisible force and reached for her. If she killed someone in cold blood, no matter how disgusting they were, it would put a stain on her soul.
I gritted my teeth as I reached for her and clamped my hand on her shoulder, shaking her until she stopped. She fell back, and Castellano dropped to the ground, his nose and ears bleeding.
“Why’d you stop me?!” she screamed, her eyes wide behind glasses that were now cracked.
“You don’t want to kill him, Charlie. Hurt him, yes, but don’t become a murderer.” Don’t become like me.
“They tortured me! For hours! I couldn’t breathe, and I thought you weren’t coming, Raven! I thought I was going to die!”
“I know,” I whispered, “but this isn’t the way.”
Castellano gasped before he coughed up a wad of blood and spat it out. “Listen to her, Charlotte.” He peered up and grinned, his once white teeth now stained red. “I remember you now, but you don’t want to kill me. I can be very useful for what’s to come.”
“Now you remember me!” she shrieked. “Because your life depends on it!”
“The fires are just the beginning.” He chuckled.
That caught my attention. “What did you say?”
“I know things. More than you could ever know. She’s coming, and soon.”
“Who’s coming?” I approached the bars of his cell. “What the fuck do you know?” I growled.
“Release me and I will tell you what she has planned,” he said.
“Don’t listen to him, Raven,” Charlie cried. “He lies!”
She wailed again, and this time, I was in her path. I slammed my hands to my ears and screamed in pain as I dropped to the ground. It wouldn’t kill me, but I would feel every bit of it.
“What do you know, Castellano?” I yelled.
It was too late though. He was lying on the ground, his eyes wide and a smile on his face as blood seeped
out of every possible part of his head. He was dead.
12
I roamed the streets aimlessly with no destination in sight and replayed the last few hours in my mind, wondering how it could have gone so terribly wrong. I knew Charlie wanted revenge, but to compromise her soul and murder someone in cold blood? I didn’t think she had it in her. Will wasn’t talking to me. He had to clean up our mess, and he blamed me—not Charlie—for Castellano’s death. As if I could have stopped her. It was just too much for him to handle after Thompson, and I was the common denominator.
I was deep in my thoughts when I crossed the street into the park and walked down the asphalt path that traveled around a lush, green field. I didn’t notice the cawing right away. I stopped walking and looked up to see two ravens flying in circles above me.
“What the fuck?” I muttered.
“You’re even speaking like them. It’s disturbing,” Odin said from the bench across from me.
I didn’t flinch or stumble. I only carefully looked over at the old man who’d suddenly appeared out of thin air. The ravens were a distraction.
“I would have thought it’d be endearing to you,” I sneered. “You being a human lover and all.” I waved around me, motioning to the human world.
He chuckled. “You would assume that. You were always so gullible.”
I swallowed loudly. Was I naïve to think he loved these humans? He never came to help them when the valkyries left and stranded me here.
“What do you want?” I gritted through my teeth, frustration lacing my voice.
Odin sat on the wooden bench in a royal-blue tunic cinched at the waist by a golden rope. He casually sat under the glowing streetlight with his legs crossed and hands lightly placed on top of his knee. It was still dark out, and the moon was almost full, meaning our deal was coming up soon.
“Do you have what I asked for?” he asked calmly.
“You said I had until—”
“I know what I said.” He plucked a piece of lint from his shoulder. “Had you decided to bring it sooner, I might have ended this torture for you.”
I cocked my head to the side. “What are you talking about?” I said slowly, my heart beating loudly in my ears.
“Well,” he sighed as if bored and waved a hand, “since I’m the only one who can, I could have opened the gates to Valhalla. That way you can either go home or seek aid from your sisters for the threat that’s to come.”
I held my breath. It was what I’d been wanting for so long—a way home. But so much had changed in such a short amount of time. With the impending trouble coming to Midgard, could I really leave them to fend for themselves? Could my sisters help if I asked them? I couldn’t leave Charlie and Will to face whatever evil was coming their way alone.
“Why now?” I asked. “You could have sent me home a long time ago, but you’re just now offering. Why?”
“Call it an incentive.” Odin shrugged. “I want that sword, Hrefna, and I will do anything to get it. I know what you most desire, and I plan to offer it for what I most desire.”
I shook my head, looking anywhere but at my father. I knew better than to make a deal with him. They came with too many strings attached, and I’d end up hanging myself. If I only knew the status of Verdandi’s prison, I’d feel a lot better about this conversation, but what I was about to do was a gamble—one I wasn’t happy about. Games with Odin were dangerous, and I could very well end up losing in the end.
“I’ll only give you the Sword of Souls if you open the gates to Valhalla first. I need a sign of good faith.” I played the game, steadying my heartbeat so he wouldn’t know how nervous I actually was.
Odin smirked. “My offer is not a sign of good faith?”
I scoffed. “Your offer is too good to be true.”
Odin tilted his head in an animalistic way, unnerving me as he eyed me up and down. “Fine. I’ll open the gates to Valhalla, and afterward, you will hand me the sword.”
“On the full moon,” I amended. “We stick to the same schedule.”
His nostrils flared in irritation. “If you insist.”
“I do.” My insides were doing backflips, and I was grateful I hadn’t eaten anything because I probably wouldn’t have been able to keep it down. Now we really needed to imprison Odin or we were all doomed.
Hugin and Munin began to caw, and our attention was drawn to a rustling in the bushes behind me.
“You see, I have a problem with this arrangement.” Fenrir came out of hiding in his well-tailored, thousand-dollar suit. Hands in his pocket, he strolled toward us.
My body tensed. The three of us together was not good.
“Fenrir, you look well,” Odin mused, unmoving.
“And you’re not running. Shocking,” Fen said sarcastically. “Is it because I can’t kill you, or are you trying to be strong for your daughter?”
Odin finally stood from the bench, and I realized I stood between them. If there was a clash between the two gods, it could bring down a whole city.
“Where’s that bitch of a sister of yours? I thought she’d be attached at your hip,” Odin sneered. Fen roared as he went into a half-shift, releasing the wolf. “And there’s the beast,” Odin said.
“Enough!” I raised a hand up to stop him. “You’ve spoken your piece, now go.”
“We’re not finished, old man!” Fen growled. “You may not die, but I can still rip out your throat. Over and over again.”
“Fenrir!” I said, my eyes going wide.
Odin’s staff appeared in his hand, and he slammed it on the ground, making the earth shake. “Come on, boy,” he said, his eyes alight with a danger I’d seen in him before. It wasn’t good.
Fen growled loudly before he pounced, pushing me out of the way. I slid back, my elbows and arms scraping against the concrete trail. I winced from the burn and metallic tang of blood. Ignoring it, I stood and ran to stop them, but Hugin and Munin clawed at my face to keep me from interfering. I grabbed one of the birds and squeezed tightly, knowing damn well it wouldn’t kill them, and flung it against a tree. The other one cawed and flew away to check on its mate.
I could feel the cuts on my face and tickles of blood seeping out and dribbling down my face and over my eyes. I wiped it away with the back of my hand as I went toward Odin and Fen. Odin deflected every attack from Fen with that damn staff, and the wolf snarled at him.
I was mere feet away from them when the ground began to tremble, more so than before, and I had to crouch down to steady myself. Fen shifted back to normal and only Odin stood still, withstanding the tremors.
“What the hell was that?” I yelled at Odin.
“It wasn’t me,” he said as he furrowed his brows. He whistled, and one of the ravens flew to his shoulder. He whispered something to it and it flew away.
“It had to be you!” Fen accused. “You’re the only one capable.”
“That was different,” I mumbled. I could feel it in my bones. There was something about how the world shook and how cold the atmosphere suddenly became that felt otherworldly when Odin caused it. “That wasn’t him.”
Fen scoffed. “Don’t be so naïve, Raven.”
“Don’t be such a brute!” I countered. “Think!”
It didn’t take long before we heard the pounding feet, the swishing of clothes, and the clanging of bones.
The moaning of the dead.
A mob of skeletons rushed down the trail and toward us. Without any other choice, the three of us stood shoulder to shoulder, ready to take on this hoard.
“What the hell is that?” Fen whispered.
“The dead,” I answered and extended my heavy wings with a whoosh.
Odin peered over at me and smirked. “They’re as beautiful as I remember.”
“No time for compliments.” I rolled my eyes. “And you lost father of the year.”
I stepped forward and ran up to the first couple of dead walkers, slashing them with my wings. They crumbled to the ground in pieces,
and Odin and Fen followed me.
I grabbed the two daggers from my boots and cut through the herd. Fen half-shifted, clawing and biting through them as well. Odin maneuvered his staff with ease and finesse as the dead tumbled to the ground, their heads rolling like bowling balls. I took flight and plucked them out of the pack, ripping them apart, flinging them into trees until they shattered. No matter what we did, more and more just kept coming.
“It doesn’t stop!” I yelled from above.
With dawn approaching, I realized we’d been at combat for quite some time. The humans would be waking soon, if they hadn’t already, and would soon see the dead.
The sun peeked out, and the skeleton in my hand stopped fighting at its bright shine. It suddenly started to disintegrate and turn to dust in my hands.
“They’re dying,” Fen called out. “They can’t withstand the sun.”
I landed on the ground and tucked in my wings while walking through the crowd of dying dead—the irony—until they were all just a pile of ash.
“What the hell just happened?” I scanned the area around us.
Fenrir shrugged as he silently looked at what was left.
Odin adjusted his tunic, dusting off the ash that had fallen on him. His staff was now gone. “Well, that was interesting.”
“Interesting?” I choked. “We were attacked. It could be someone else who wants the sword. Has anyone thought about that?”
I looked to Fen, but he wouldn’t meet my eyes. What the hell?
“All the more reason to give me the sword, Hrefna,” Odin demanded. “The sooner the better.”
Hugin and Munin landed on Odin’s shoulders and whispered something in his ears. It was quiet for several long seconds, and I thought I would scream. Everyone had secrets, and I knew I wouldn’t know Odin’s—his were too well-guarded—but Fen was keeping something from me, and I needed to find out what.
“Well, well,” Odin murmured. “This isn’t someone who wants the sword, thankfully. Good guess.”
“Who is it?” I nearly shouted.
The Sword of Souls Page 9