Joshua II

by T. G. Ayer

  Only then did Fen let Joshua’s arm go and sink to Olaf’s side. After spending few moments studying the warrior’s injuries, Fen glanced over his shoulder at Bryn, an expression filled with fear.

  Joshua swallowed hard. It didn’t take a genius to break it down. The black slime that killed the warriors before they could enter Valhalla, was also capable of almost killing a living einherjar.

  “It is much worse than we thought. We must hurry back. His reaction . . .” Fen fell silent, and Joshua could understand how hard it was for him to speak. The ramifications of the deadly poison were too great to absorb.

  Although there was nothing that could have been done for Olaf, Fen and Joshua worked fast. Fen bound Olaf’s soiled hand in a bandage that Joshua had found inside the first aid kit. Then they moved him from the ground, looping their arms around the warrior’s waist to carrying him out of the cemetery.

  The ride back to the warehouse was filled with tension. Nobody spoke and from time to time, Joshua met Bryn’s terrified eyes. He wanted to tell her that everything would be okay, but deep down he knew it would be a lie.

  Chapter 15

  They carried Olaf into the comms room and were greeted with a silence so intense it hurt Joshua deep inside. Ingrid, who was usually poised and almost cold, looked about to faint as she stared at Olaf, momentarily frozen in place.

  “Valkyrie Ingrid, your Warrior needs care,” Fen called out. The papers Ingrid was holding scattered and Ingrid raced to Fen and Joshua. “He has come into contact with the black substance and he is gravely ill.”

  Joshua swallowed hard in the face of the valkyrie’s horror, more aware now that the entire room looked on as Ingrid beckoned a pair of her own warriors to take Olaf as gently as was possible.

  “Be very careful, Warrior. Do not touch his hand with your bare skin. We do not know if it is contagious. It is possible the substance is deadly even to a living Warrior.”

  A cloud of worry and fear remained within the room, long after the warriors had departed with Olaf, taking him to the infirmary upstairs.

  Joshua needed to do something, to make this right in whatever way he could. And Fen seemed to reflect that need. “We need to ready the teams and step up our Retrievals,” said Fen, his tone firm, yet taut and haunted. “I will have to return to Asgard to confer with the All-Father. This is beyond my own knowledge and experience.”

  Before he could expand on his instructions, someone began to descend the stone stairs, an unannounced visitor that sent valkyries and Ulfrs into high-threat mode, disappearing from sight, hands on weapons.

  There was a moment of vulnerability for both Joshua and Aimee—if her expression was anything to go by. They were not alone, what with another half dozen einherjar in the comms room, so Joshua didn’t panic yet.

  The thunderous warning that preceded their intruder, did him little justice. Thor, son of Odin, walked into the room, his presence almost palpable as he surveyed the room, a cheerful smile on his face.

  Gradually, the glamored warriors materialized and returned to their tasks. There were a few people though, who still seemed entranced by Thor’s arrival. Or perhaps by the god himself.

  Joshua scowled as he caught sight of Bryn’s face, the admiration on her face that left her with a tinge of pink on her cheeks as she whispered to Sigrun.

  Joshua found it hard to see the besotted look on her face, although it certainly wasn’t as hard as seeing Aidan at her side, or pretending to be okay with the status quo.

  Thor hurried toward Fen—who still hadn’t completely thrown off his glamor—leaving low rumblings of thunder in his wake.

  “Well met, brother Fenrir,” said Thor as Fen materialized fully, a welcome smile on his face.

  Another glance around the room confirmed that Thor’s fan club was still entranced. A fact Fen didn’t seem ignorant of. The Ulfr general’s smile was replaced with a scowl as he spotted his lady. Sigrun smiled at Thor, oblivious.

  Though Joshua wanted to laugh at Fen’s possessive jealousy, the Ulfr’s emotional position was no different from Joshua’s own.

  Joshua glanced again at Bryn, finding a dark jealousy filling his heart. He snapped his gaze away, unwilling to have Bryn catch him in full-on jealous mode, and found Mika standing nearby, smirking as she too admired the god of thunder.

  The eyes in Joshua’s head were sufficient to confirm that the admiration of the god’s physique and looks was not unwarranted. But Joshua’s appreciation was for Thor’s power. And the shimmering hammer in his grip.

  “It is good to see you, brother Thor.”

  “I have come to offer my help,” said Thor. He paused to lay Mjölnir on a nearby table before striding to the wall map. “The All-Father has sent me.”

  When Thor turned an expectant gaze to the Ulfr general, Joshua and the team were subjected to a painful reminder of the loss of both Medeia and Olaf.

  “The black poison has worried me from the first time I . . . we saw it.” Fen glanced over at Bryn. “At the time that the Valkyrie Brynhildr and I first saw the substance, we never suspected it to be this deadly.”

  “Valkyrie Brynhildr, I have heard so much about you.”

  Joshua had to hide a smile at Bryn’s reaction to Thor’s attention.

  “Not jealous, are you?” whispered Aimee.

  Joshua looked at her, raising his eyebrows at her cheeky grin.

  “He’s a god. And a pretty good one at that. I don’t need to be jealous.” Even though he spoke the words, Joshua knew they were a lie. He was horribly jealous of Thor, but he wasn’t about to kid himself into thinking he could compete with the frickin’ God of Thunder.

  Aimee snorted. “Doesn’t mean he won’t win her heart.”

  Joshua rolled his eyes. “Did you miss the part where I said he was a god. If he wins her heart then I can deal with it,” he muttered, his gaze shifting to Mika who was staring hard at Thor.

  “Just Aidan you can’t deal with?”

  “As if you can?” Joshua grunted. “You seeing what I’m seeing?”

  “If you mean a certain pair of wolf eyes…”

  “Yeah. She looks more like she’d rather kill than kiss. Which has me dying to know what’s going on inside her mind,” he said through gritted teeth. “Seems she could have it in for more than just her father.”

  Aimee clicked her tongue. “You be careful. Fen knows now, so you’re not alone. Don’t do anything drastic and get yourself hurt in the process.”

  Joshua blinked as he found himself caught when he glanced back at Bryn, who was glaring at him. Confused, he shook his head, annoyed he’d been caught, and more annoyed that Bryn was annoyed with him and he had no idea why.

  Thor’s voice cut into Joshua’s thoughts. “Brynhildr, can you tell me more? I believe you and Fenrir were the first to discover this strange liquid on the bodies of the Warriors?”

  “My lord, I doubt we were the first to see the residue,” Bryn replied, glancing briefly beyond Thor’s and Joshua’s shoulders. “I would think there were others before us, considering the number of losses we have had all over Midgard. Many of the scout teams arrived at almost the same time to report what they’d seen.”

  “We are losing new Warriors by the dozen,” Fen said, his tone troubled. “We find them, but they do not survive long enough for Retrieval.”

  Joshua felt Fen’s frustration as the Ulfr general swiped a finger along the length of the large map. “Someone is getting to them before us. And that means we need more surveillance. Possibly someone with the Warrior twenty-four-seven.”

  “What if they’re glamored?” Bryn asked.

  “That is true.” Fen squinted as he considered Bryn’s line of thought. “So that means we must look harder, be more aware of what to expect.”

  Joshua shifted away from Thor and Fen, drifting toward the left-hand wall to await their instructions. Bryn joined them, leaning against the wall as she inhaled deeply.

  “I think I need some space,” she muttered.
<
br />   “I know what you mean, Bryn,” Sigrun replied softly. “Ingrid has advised that there are rooms upstairs if you wish to rest.”

  The valkyrie moved off toward the stairs with Mika in tow. Joshua watched the Ulfr, wondering what she would do next, what her next move was, and most importantly, what her end game was.

  Bryn pushed off the wall and followed Sigrun, clearly preoccupied. Aimee nudged Joshua, who had, for a moment hesitated, wondering if he should go with them or stay to talk to Fen.

  Aimee sent Joshua a pointed look, instructing him to follow Bryn. He did, keen to keep an eye on Mika.

  Just as the small group reached the stairs, a valkyrie surged into the room, white wings shuddering to reveal her distress. Joshua knew instantly what that meant.

  Olaf had died.

  Joshua and Aimee turned to see Ingrid’s face contort with grief, tears shimmering in her eyes and on her cheeks. She palmed the tears away and said, “There is more to this black substance than we could ever have suspected. Olaf is dead.”

  A low rumble of thunder vibrated in the air of the comms room and Joshua felt his stomach tighten. Aimee sucked in a short breath and swallowed hard.

  Thor met Ingrid’s eyes. “And this death is a result of the black substance? There is no doubt?”

  “None.” The despair in her voice was clear as she dropped her head.

  “Unfortunately, he came in contact with the black residue on our last Retrieval,” Fen explained. “He touched it before we realized the body was covered in it.”

  The emotion in Fen’s voice struck a chord with everyone in the room, and Joshua wondered if he’d been wise to reveal his suspicions to Fen at this point. Had he merely added to the warrior’s troubles?

  Joshua glanced at Mika who now stood off to the side, her expression bland and untroubled as though Olaf’s death meant nothing to her.

  Gritting his teeth, Joshua found himself more determined than ever.

  Mika could keep up with her betrayal, but what she didn’t know was that her days were numbered.

  She was going down.

  Movement at Joshua’s side drew his attention, as Aimee and Bryn left the comms room. Sigrun glanced over at Joshua, her expression an indication the Asgard team should leave.

  “Are you alright Joshua?” asked Sigrun softly.

  “Not really,” Joshua said, biting the words out. Then he asked, “How is Bryn doing?”

  Sigrun nodded. “She is doing better. Redirected her…energies.”

  Joshua let out a chuckle. “Nice way of putting it.”

  Sigrun’s amusement fled. “Has she displayed such violent tendencies again?” When Joshua shook his head, Sigrun continued, “If she does, please come to me or to Fen. Such a display is a concern and we need to understand it sooner rather than later.”

  “I know. It’s been on my mind all the time.”

  Sigrun paused in front of a door at the end of the hall. “You must be patient Joshua. Bryn needs…time…to untangle her emotions.” Without leaving him time to reply, Sigrun opened the door and headed inside where Aimee and Bryn were sitting on the bed, both sighing with relief.

  Joshua moved to the window, not up for conversation with anyone, least of all Bryn. How could he warn her about Mika without making her believe he didn’t trust her? He could see it all too clearly that she suffered with guilt over going berserker-Bryn on him on the fields. And she still looked at Fenrir with hurt and distrust in her eyes.

  Add that to the debacle with Aidan, and now the black poison killing warriors, and it would be a powder-keg.

  “What’s the matter?” came the voice of the girl who occupied his thoughts most of the time.

  Joshua shrugged, then glanced over his shoulder in Aimee’s direction, pleading for help to get out of the interrogation he knew would follow. Bryn had the tendency to be all too tenacious when you really didn’t need her to be.

  Aimee shifted to her elbow and saved his sorry ass. “It’s this whole black gloop thing. If it kills Warriors, then it makes us vulnerable.” Aimee shifted to a yoga-sit, then bent forward, as though her whole body was weighed down beneath the horror of the black poison. “It also means we’re no longer invincible,” she said, crooking her fingers to draw air-quotes around the word.

  “But you never were invincible, Aimee,” Sigrun offered, her smile serene and clueless as to the insult she’d just delivered. She sat on a chair at the foot of the bed, and smiled up at them.

  Joshua raised an eyebrow. He and Aimee both glanced at Bryn, who looked like she was feeling sorry for the valkyrie.

  “What do you mean by that?” asked Joshua, studying Sigrun intently. He was tired, grieving, and feeling a little hopeless. Sigrun was adorable and both he and Aimee adored her, but sometimes she could be a little too cryptic.

  Now was not the time.

  “Even though you have been revived from the dead, it does not mean you are immortal.” Sigrun frowned then as she thought her words over. “No . . . I mean unless you are very badly wounded, you will survive.”

  “So we are long-lived, not immortal,” Joshua translated, parsing what they meant.

  “Yes. That is it,” Sigrun smiled sadly.

  Joshua let out a dry laugh. “Just great, isn’t it? Just when we get started, training, learning, along comes this black stuff that can kill a Warrior within hours. It means there is someone out there who wants us all dead.”

  Sigrun got to her feet, the movement smooth and elegant. She approached Joshua and held onto his shoulder, the grip not dissimilar to Fenrir’s when he was bestowing advice or offering comfort.

  “It means that someone wants to stop Odin from gathering more Warriors,” Sigrun said. “And we have no choice but to concentrate on finding this killer and stopping him. Or we will end up without a strong enough army, come Ragnarok.”

  Aimee shifted on the bed. “But who would do that? Who would be daring enough to go up against Odin? To mess with the way things are meant to be done?”

  The group stared at each other, the answer to that question as clear as the day.

  “Loki.”

  Chapter 16

  “If you know what’s good for you, and for your little valkyrie girlfriend, you will play your part.”

  Mika’s words cut through Joshua like a knife. This was his fault. He’d tailed Mika a little too closely and now Bryn may likely pay for his carelessness.

  “Why are you doing this?” Joshua yelled. “What are you going to get out of hurting Bryn?”

  “Why would you think that I would spill my secrets to you,” Mika asked, smirking. “Now, this will go much easier if you don’t struggle. Bryn is to believe you and I are together.”

  “You’re not going to get away with this.”

  She shrugged. “I already am.” Mika let out a husky, laugh and curled her arms around Joshua’s neck. She held him tight within her grip, giving him no opportunity to escape her hold.

  Joshua hid a grimace, remaining unmoving with his back against the wall as the Ulfr leaned in and kissed him.

  Mika lifted her head slightly, and her eyes glowed as her Ulfr sense rose to the surface. Her nostrils flared as she scented the air and she smiled.

  “It worked.”

  Then Mika pushed off Joshua and ran in the direction Bryn had come from.

  Joshua followed, unwilling to leave Bryn at the Ulfr’s mercy. He caught up just as Mika closed in on Bryn and decided to keep his distance.

  “Bryn, I do apologize. We did not mean for you to see that.” Mika’s tone had transformed to the epitome of friendly, fueling Joshua’s fury. He had to do something about her.

  “That’s cool with me, Mika. I know what kissing is all about.” Bryn’s reply caught Joshua’s attention and he cringed. Something in her expression flickered though, a hint that she wasn’t as unaffected as she appeared to be.

  “So what did Thor say?” Mika asked, her tone curious and caring. “You were out on the balcony together for a very long
time.” When Mika linked arms with Bryn, all Joshua wanted to do was to head over there and drag her off to Fen—preferably by her hair.

  Joshua wasn’t close enough to catch the whispered conversation but when Mika said, “Very well, then. Do not leave without me,” Bryn’s reaction was interesting.

  “What do you mean?” Bryn asked, her eyes shuttering.

  “I mean I am coming with you,” Mika replied, gentle but stern, the way a caring friend would. But, from where Joshua was standing he had a full view of Mika’s fists—one white-knuckled at her side, the other flexing and tightening on the pommel of her sword. “Do you really think I will let you go off on such a dangerous mission without protection? Without backup?”

  Bryn hesitated, meeting Joshua’s eyes over Mika’s shoulder. Oddly enough, the look Bryn threw him was tinged with an accusation he couldn’t define. She was annoyed with him, maybe even angry, and Joshua had no clue as to why.

  Oh yeah. She’d just caught him kissing Mika.

  Still, she didn’t have a right to be angry given she was ‘with’ Aidan’—whatever that truly meant. From what he’d seen of Bryn’s interaction with Aidan, she appeared to be with the guy more out of obligation than love.

  “What is there to think about, Bryn?” Mika asked, tearing Joshua from his musings.

  And just like that, Bryn caved. “I’m sorry. Of course, you can come with.” She smiled at the Ulfr, gratitude in her eyes.

  And Joshua’s fury rose.

  He had to put a stop to this. Turning on his heel, Joshua hurried off in search of Fen, racing through the palace halls until he reached Fen’s small hall.

  The warrior was studying the monitor of a computer and when he looked up as Joshua entered, he let out a sigh of relief. “Thank Odin, young man. You have come to save me.” Fen smiled and pointed at the screen. “Perhaps you could assist me in understanding these chemical compounds?”

  Joshua’s eyebrow rose. “Er, okay. Let me see what I can do,” he said as he approached to stand beside Fenrir. “But…can I speak with you first. It’s urgent.”