by Eleri Stone
One of many reasons that he would welcome a quick death.
Rather than waste time forming the words, he pushed that opinion toward the bird and she closed her eyes while she sorted through it. Why had she come back? Even with him using what little energy he had left to cause that small rockslide and distract the demon torturing her, she’d barely escaped. If her idiot clan leader had sent her back, it should have been with an order to slit Kamis’s throat.
She opened her eyes. “He didn’t send me. The woman and child you helped to survive belong to him and he feels beholden to you. The hunt plans to ride and will free you. Our witch thinks she can pull you through the portal.”
“She’s young and doesn’t know what she’s dealing with. Tell her to leave the portal the Hel alone and cut her teeth on weather magic until she learns humility.” The idea of an untrained witch with so much power terrified him, especially when she had her sights set on portal magic.
He would swear the crow was laughing at him. “She might learn portal magic from you but likely not humility. Aiden will cross. He’ll free you. Be ready for that, whatever you decide.”
And she was gone, lifting into the bruised sky and winging toward the portal. He remembered the woman, Grace—human, vulnerable, stubbornly brave. Lately, he’d had the feeling that she was trying to reach him but had hidden himself from those questing dreams.
Vanaheimr was lost to him. He couldn’t go back to his world, wouldn’t want to if he could. By now, everyone he’d ever known would be long dead and buried. But the woman and child—that brief connection he’d made with each. The evidence of love in the sacrifices the Æsir made to find the lost members of their clan. It had planted a seed of hope. Maybe instead of looking back, it might be possible to move forward, to leave his past and this place behind him and become a new man.
He had a library full of ancient texts. There had to be a way to unravel it all. To make things right. Or was that only his pride speaking? And could he risk being wrong again?
Chapter Eighteen
Raquel pulled onto the gravel road that led to Aiden’s home behind a red Explorer. She eased up on the gas pedal so she wasn’t following right in the dust trail the truck kicked up. It was a lovely day—sharp and cold but as icily beautiful as cut crystal. Tomorrow was the first of December and the forecast called for snow, but there were no clouds in the sky yet.
Aiden had called a meeting to prepare the hunt for the crossing at the full moon in two days time. Raquel was nervous about attending although she’d already met most of the hunt at her welcome party.
She hadn’t talked to Christian or Fen. She hadn’t slept at all last night. Green Day came on the radio as she pulled into the driveway and she turned it off, parking in the grass behind the Explorer. Three men climbed out just as she did, the last one was Fen.
He stopped when he saw her and waved the others ahead. Frowning, he stared as she approached. She stared back but no matter how hard she tried, he didn’t seem any different. He was still...Fen. She’d hoped that if he bonded to someone else, she’d feel it too. That their strange connection would be severed. She’d spent a lot of time last night contemplating that, waiting to feel the knife. But it was still there, strong as ever. She met his dark gaze and reached for a smile.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey yourself.” A pause and he glanced back at his men climbing the stairs to the porch. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m crossing with the hunt.”
His expression went black. “The hell you are.”
“No, not Hel technically. Asgard.” She started toward the house, knowing he would follow. He caught her by the elbow before she’d taken more than two steps. When she swung on him, he released her as if she burned. And that reflex—as if he couldn’t even stand to touch her—goaded her into demanding, “Did you do it?”
She had no right to ask and it didn’t matter. She needed to know. His lips thinned and he shook his head. “I couldn’t.”
“Thank the gods,” she whispered.
He laughed harshly. “If there were any gods left, we wouldn’t be in this position, would we?”
“I’m glad you didn’t bond yourself. Not like that.”
He looked at her in disgust. “You don’t understand. I said I couldn’t go through with it, not that I didn’t want to. Not that I didn’t try.”
She frowned as he walked away. What did he mean? She ran to catch up. “Fen. Wait.”
“I have to talk to Aiden before he starts the meeting.”
He jogged up the steps and reached for the door just as Christian opened it. Fen jerked his head her way. “You knew about this?”
Christian stepped onto the porch, let the door slap closed behind him. “It was Aiden’s call, not mine.”
Fen reached for the door. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Good luck,” Christian called as Fen disappeared inside the house. Turning back to Raquel, he shook his head. “I’ve never seen him like this.”
She scowled at the closed door. “Angry?”
“Yeah. He’s always been easygoing for a hound. Until you got under his skin. Like a splinter.”
She turned her scowl on Christian. “I want to help him with this, but he won’t talk to me.”
“He’ll work it out.” He smiled and in a drippingly sarcastic tone, said, “You have to give these things time, Raquel.”
She snorted. “I am sick to death of waiting.”
“He needs to make up his own mind.”
Christian drew her aside as another group arrived. He nodded at the pair of women. Raquel knew she’d met them before but wouldn’t have been able to name them if her life depended on it.
“I talked to Aiden about the possibility of changing the terms of the contract. He’s willing to release you from the marriage, if you decide that’s what you want.” He paused, blue eyes calm and clear. When she nodded, he blinked once and continued, “We’ll need to convince our parents to agree to that, but Aiden won’t release you from the terms of service.”
“You mean—”
“Either way, you’re the clan witch.”
She swallowed and stared at the closed door. “So Aiden knows.”
“Not about Fen. That part is between you and him. By the time I reached Carly’s last night, Fen was already gone.”
“He said...” She wondered if she should really be discussing this with Christian, but he didn’t seem heartbroken.
“That he’s not bound? That’s what Carly said too, but I don’t know that it changes anything for you. I want to...I’ll talk to him and tell him how I feel about it.”
“How do you feel about it?”
Christian’s eyes went a little unfocused as he considered his answer. One corner of his mouth turned up and he shook his head. “Like the wall I’ve been leaning against my entire life is gone. I don’t know how to feel about it.”
She touched his chest. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s past time I learned how to stand on my own feet.” His smile widened and he nudged her toward the door. “You figured it out. How hard can it be?”
“You’re really okay with this?”
“I have to be, don’t I?” He held open the door for her. “I wouldn’t gain anything by forcing you to marry me. But if there’s a chance this is just cold feet...”
“It’s not.”
He nodded and they went inside. She grabbed a folding chair from the stack against the wall and found an empty spot in the living room. Christian set up beside her and asked if she wanted anything to drink. She said no, but he still walked purposefully toward the kitchen. Even from out here, she could hear Fen’s angry voice and Aiden’s deeper one.
Really, with all the trouble she caused, she was surprised Aiden wanted to keep her.
Grace sat next to her and winced when a particularly inventive turn of phrase drifted down the hall. Conversation in the room paused briefly and resumed as if no one had heard a
thing.
“I’m so very sorry,” Raquel said to Grace. “Fen’s angry with me and taking it out your husband.”
“They’ll figure it out.” Grace pushed a mug into her hands. “Here, take this. Aiden bought me an espresso machine for Christmas. It’s a latte, but it’s a double. You look like you need it more than I do.”
“That bad?”
“Just worn thin.” Grace turned her chair ever so slightly, placing her back to the huntswoman on her other side who’d seemed on the verge of asking questions. Grace, Raquel had noticed, was as subtle as Aiden was direct. Right now, she cast a warm and completely guileless smile in Raquel’s direction. “I imagine you didn’t get much sleep last night. Are you having second thoughts about the crossing? Aiden was surprised you offered.”
She regretted shaking her head in denial when Grace’s warm eyes narrowed. “Did Christian do something?”
“No,” Raquel rushed to reassure her, struck by a sudden certainty that if she didn’t convince her of that truth Grace would beat him into a whimpering puddle of apology. “Christian has been great. It’s not that.”
Grace opened her mouth, closed it and then tried again. “I won’t break a confidence, you know.”
“Not even to Aiden?”
“Not if it doesn’t concern him,” she said. “Though I trust Aiden completely. And he is the clan Odin. This...all of this weighs heavily on him, but he would move worlds to help any one of his people.”
Like Fen and Christian. Despite all the promises and contracts, Raquel wasn’t really a member of this clan yet. And she wouldn’t put Aiden in the position of having to choose between two of his men. “I know that.”
“It’s a shame that this is interfering with your plans for the wedding,” Grace said carefully, holding her gaze. Gently probing. Raquel knew that Grace was still a licensed private investigator. She imagined she was very good at her job and not just because she was Verthandi. “If there’s anything at all that I can do to help, just let me know.”
Raquel stared. Crap. “He told you.”
“Then Christian did speak to you first?”
“Of course he did. I’m the one who—”
“If you think...”
But Raquel missed the rest of whatever Grace said because Fen stormed in, expression thunderous. Without looking at her, he crossed to the far side of the room. He turned his hips and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. It hadn’t gone well then. Good. Someone touched her elbow to draw her attention, but she waited for Fen to look up. He scowled at the fireplace and, very pointedly, did not look at her.
Beside her, Grace made a choking noise.
“Are you okay?” Raquel asked absently, forcing herself to turn her head.
“No,” Grace said in strained voice. “I really don’t think that I am.”
But she looked fine, a little flushed and bright-eyed but not in need of a Heimlich maneuver or anything. Frowning, Grace glanced at Fen and back at Raquel.
Before Raquel could ask her what was wrong, Aiden entered the room. Christian took the seat beside her and the hunt quieted. Everyone turned their attention to focus on the Odin.
“First, for any of you who haven’t met her, this is Raquel.” Aiden pointed in her direction and Raquel straightened in her chair. “She’ll be our clan witch when Lois retires. And she’ll be riding with us.”
“She’s crossing?” Rane glanced her way and, when Aiden nodded, said, “Good. We’ll need a witch to get him out. He did have a message for you though.”
The wry smile on Rane’s face told her it wasn’t a good one. “How does he even know who I am?”
“He felt you blow through the wards and said to...be careful with the portal magic. He seems to think the bridge is more fragile than we suspect.”
Raquel turned cold. She hadn’t done anything to hurt Asbrú, had she?
Rane read her expression and shrugged. “Not because of our wards failing. I told him we meant to get him out and he didn’t think that was a good idea.” Hands clasped in front of her as she leaned forward, she returned her gaze to Aiden. “He asked me to kill him again.”
“Again?” Aiden’s voice was lethal as Skimstrok.
“I didn’t—”
“You were warned.” Rane opened her mouth again, and he waved his hand in a cutting motion. “We’ll discuss that later. Raquel is coming to see if we can get him out. Grace was able to contact him without placing herself in danger and from what she learned, he knows more about the bridges than we do.”
“He’s not the most reliable source,” Christian pointed out.
“In this, we listen to him, especially when he advises caution. Especially after Julian’s vision.”
Someone muttered something about Norns, but Aiden continued as if he hadn’t heard. “Julian saw the bridge fall and in the vision, the Vanir witch was dead. Until we understand exactly how those two things are connected, we do our best to keep the Vanir alive. If he’s well enough to avoid Surtr on his own, we simply set him free. If we can get him across, then we do that. We have to act as if it’s a true vision and preserve the witch’s life until we’ve no other choice.”
There was some grumbling but most accepted the unwelcome news in silence. Raquel turned her head to find Fen watching her. It was news to him. She saw a flash of surprise in his eyes along with worry and regret and grief before he looked away.
“Julian won’t be reliable until he’s matured and had some training,” Elin said. “Skuld visions are notoriously difficult to interpret. It could be that the bridge falls because of something we do to protect the witch.”
“Very true. It’s a complication and another reason why we need to bring Raquel with us. She’s our insurance plan.” Aiden glanced at Fen as if braced for an argument. When Fen didn’t object, he said, “Aside from Raquel, who I’ll brief separately, you all know what to expect when we cross. We follow Rane. Raquel will pull the witch from the ice as quickly as possible. And—yes, Michael?”
“What’s keeping the witch from escaping now?”
Rane answered, “Surtr found a binding charm. I think—Kamis thinks—it’s what they’re using to drain him too. I’ve seen it through the ice, but it’s wrapped around his ankles. Probably why they froze him into the ice in the first place. They’re not manacles. It’s a black chain that doesn’t appear to be attached to any kind of lock.”
“Was it rune-marked?” Raquel asked.
Rane grimaced. “I imagine that it is, but between the color and the distortion of the ice, I couldn’t tell.”
Raquel leaned forward to see past Grace. “I have a file of pictures on my laptop of all the magical artifacts retained by the clans. There are a few that might be similar to what you’ve described. Would you mind stopping by later to take a look?”
“Not at all. I can drive back into town with you after we’re done.”
“Did he say anything else we need to know about?”
Rane shook her head, black hair stark against her pale skin.
“Grace?” Aiden looked at his wife and for an instant, Raquel saw it again—a softening in his eyes, a warmth in his voice. The Odin was a real man after all. It was almost eerie, like seeing a granite statue coming to life.
“He didn’t say much. He pushed a barrage of impressions down the link. Mostly, his acceptance of his own death, his concern for us and the bridge. There’s an image of earth and Asgard and Vanheimr connected by...threads of light. You know the one in Hallie’s textbook?”
Aiden walked over to the bookshelf and picked up a thick book wrapped in a hot-pink-butterfly-print book cover. He flipped through until he found what he was looking for and brought it to her.
Grace nodded. “That’s the one.”
Raquel recognized it. She still had the same book in her bedroom at home. She’d left it behind with her collection of dragon figurines and that well-worn picture of Christian. Grace hadn’t been raised clan, and she seemed to be searching
for the right words to explain what the Vanir had tried to communicate.
Raquel reached for the book. “May I?”
Aiden released it into her hands. She scooted closer to Grace and traced the threads with her fingertip. “This, we think, is the reason why Asgard didn’t fall completely. The bridge from Muspelheim was severed, which is why the demons can’t return to their home world without help from the Vanir.”
“Which they won’t give until we’re all dead,” Grace said.
Raquel nodded. “But Asgard is still connected to both Midgard and Vanheimr. This is Asbrú, the bridge we use to cross into Asgard. It’s one bridge formed of many threads. The colors in the picture are just to differentiate between the threads, but that’s why they call it the rainbow bridge. The threads split off from the bridge to wrap our planet and anchor the bridge. They do the same to Asgard. When we open a portal to make a jump between clans, we follow one of the individual threads, not the bridge itself.”
Understanding brightened Grace’s eyes followed by a shadow of uneasiness. To Aiden, she said, “He showed the bridge unraveling, but it started with one thread and there were far fewer threads binding it to the Asgard side than ours. Can it be so weak?”
Aiden looked to Raquel for an answer, but she had none to give. She hoped that wasn’t true, hoped the Vanir witch was only trying to scare them off. She was powerful, but no Æsir living or dead was powerful enough to fix Asbrú.
* * *
Fen watched Raquel leave with Rane. He didn’t even have to push aside the lacy curtains Grace had hung in the front window to do it. He wondered if that’s why she’d picked the lace. Grace liked to know what was going on around her at all times. It had something to do with the things she’d seen in her job as a private investigator but more to do with the way she’d grown up, he thought.