Dead Silence

by T. G. Ayer

  When I landed beside the entrance to the infirmary tent, Aimee threw me a deadly glare. "Some warning next time. If you don't mind?" Then she threw the flap over the entrance aside and stalked inside the tent leaving me to trail her while trying hard not to laugh.

  I could see Joshua sitting up on his bed glowering at the warriors who served as nurses. He looked up at Aimee with a questioning look then immediately glanced over her shoulder at me.

  From his expression I thought he was as happy to see me as I was to see him. As I sank onto the bed everything around me disappeared. All my senses focused on Joshua.

  He reached for me and held me in a tight hug. I hugged back gently, afraid to hurt him in case he was sore or uncomfortable.

  When he let go I studied his face. "Hey," I said smiling and trying hard to hold back the relieved tears that threatened to spill.

  "Hey yourself." He threaded his fingers with mine. "Thank you." He was grinning at me, as if I'd performed a miracle or something.

  "For what?" I asked, my cheeks flushing under his scrutiny.

  "For saving my life, woman," he said. He laughed and pulled me into a hug again. "I heard how you went looking for me and in the process you managed to save dozens of other warriors."

  I shrugged, not one for receiving praise. "I did what I had to do. You know me."

  "Yes, I do know you. And that's why I love you."

  Someone groaned behind me and when I looked over my shoulder I caught the last part of Aimee's eye-roll. "You two need a room or something?" She sounded disgusted but I could tell from her expression that she was quite overwhelmed by our reunion. I could understand that. "Oh, maybe ask him what he wants to do. Let's see how you react."

  I glanced from Aimee to Joshua. "What's going on?"

  "Ask him," she said, sounding like she was grinding her teeth.

  "What is she going on about? What is it you want to do that's got her so upset?" I asked, more curious now because Aimee didn't get upset about the little things.

  Joshua smiled sheepishly and cleared his throat. "I want to come with you."

  "Are you insane?" My question ended in a high pitched squeak drawing curious looks from the beds nearby.

  "No. I'm not insane." He spoke slowly, carefully, the way someone would speak to a wild animal when it's threatening to pounce. He looked away as he said, "I am fine. Everyone says so. And I can't sit around on my ass while you all head out on a mission. You need me."

  I raised my eyebrows. "We need you well. Not traipsing around Midgard and getting yourself killed."

  He shrugged. "I'll do recon if I have to. Besides, the way things are looking I could easily die here. So, I'm not staying behind." He sounded stubborn and I narrowed my eyes at him.

  Raising two fingers in front of his face, I asked, "How many fingers?"

  He scowled, "What the hell difference does it make if I can see your fingers?"

  "Well, it will tell me if your ridiculous request is due to some kind of brain damage." A number of people began to cough and splutter, doing a bad job of hiding their blatant eavesdropping.

  I glared around me but it made little difference and considering the warriors within the tent would have had little entertainment over the last day, I didn't blame them.

  When I looked back at Joshua his cheeks were pink and I knew it wouldn't be fair to push him any further. But, before I could say anything I saw Eir come towards us. She stopped at the side of the bed and tried to control the width of her smile. Seemed she too had been witness to my smart mouth.

  "Joshua is fine. He has a mild concussion. I can also diagnose a thick skull." More sniggers. And Joshua didn't seem to mind. It took me a few seconds to process the fact that the people around us were all our friends, our teammates, and classmates and before Valhalla had been destroyed, house-mates.

  I cleared my throat. "So he can go?" She nodded with a soft smile. "Are you sure he's not going to pass out on me? Or shoot us instead of the bad guys."

  She laughed. "No. You have my professional opinion that he is fine. And, he's been drinking more than his fair share of Mead. It will be good to get rid of him so the rest of the injured can have some Mead too." Then she turned to Joshua and wagged a finger in his face. "You will be with people who care about you, so if you feel dizzy or tired or have vision problems, say so. You do not want to be a danger to your team so I expect you to act responsibly."

  Joshua flushed again looked at his lap. He nodded and said, "Yes, ma'am."

  She patted his shoulder then said, "My work here is done." Then she walked off.

  I turned back to Joshua. "Right. Since you have a clean bill of health, you can come with me, but the plan was to only take a small group and be in and out in a matter of minutes." I glanced up at Aimee. "You and Aimee can act as backup. This mission is mostly recon." They both nodded and I didn't want to say much more. Then I moved off the bed, and Joshua flung the blanket off his legs and got to his feet. He seemed steady enough so I didn't say anything and didn't try to force him to remain in the infirmary until we left on the mission.

  Outside, I glanced at them. "You guys got a place to get ready for the mission?"

  Aimee shrugged. "No idea. I expect the Huldras will have to work double time to sort us out.

  "They have dragons coming over from Muspellheim to help with the reconstruction," said Joshua as he stared in the direction of Valhalla.

  I nodded. "Well, in the meantime you both can come to my place. Turi can take care of you." They both nodded and I said, "I'm a bit tired so I think I'll take you one by one. The last thing I need is to be dropping you both on your heads."

  Two sets of snorts followed me as I walked over to a spot that would take the spread of my wings. I took Aimee first and dropped her off at the entrance to my room, then repeated the process with Joshua. We were walking into my room when Turi bustled in with a tray of food. "I've polished all your armor and weapons, and there is fresh clothes for you too." Her gaze went from Aimee to Joshua and then she said, "I'll be back with more food."

  She disappeared before I could request some Mead. Damn.

  Aimee sighed then wrinkled her nose. "What are we going to do about a bath? I seriously need a soak after all this drama." After a moment of silence she said, "I am going to miss the pools."

  Until she mentioned it I hadn't realized how badly the loss of the pools had affected me. They'd meant relaxation and regeneration, not to mention the social aspect. When I lived in Midgard the only time I'd ever contemplated that bathing could be a communal ritual was at the swimming pools, or one of those hot pool spa places.

  But, from the moment I'd arrived in Asgard I'd fallen happily into the ritual of bathing-pool time with friends. My thoughts went to Sigrun and my heart tightened. I remembered the first time I'd used the pool, a little shy with nudity, and how Sigrun had made it all so comfortable for me. I missed her so desperately sometimes that it felt like an iron fist twisting my gut. But I felt much worse because I was forgetting. Even though the memory of her hit me with deep pain, I had begun to think of her less often. Something that made me feel terribly guilty.

  I blinked and came back down to reality. Aimee was silent, a look of longing on her face as she stared off into nothing. "Well, you've read those historical novels, right?" I asked. She frowned then nodded. "Well, they never had pools to soak in. Pitcher and basin. So maybe you can pretend to be a historical heroine." I watched her straight-faced.

  She nodded as if seriously considering my suggestion. "Sure, I can be the historical heroine . . . that also kicks the scrawny ass of a certain red-headed Valkyrie."

  Joshua and I both snorted before we all burst out laughing.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  I appeared outside Frigga's chambers and knocked lightly on her closed door. She opened within seconds and I answered her questioning smile with a tired one of my own. She frowned. "Bryn?" She waved me to the sofas.

  I shook my head. "I had an interesting conversation wi
th Dr Lee."

  "What did he have to say?" asked Thor as he walked into the room from the balcony, Fen at his side.

  I was glad they were all here so I didn't have to repeat myself. I spent the next few minutes relating to them Dr Lee's interesting contribution.

  "So what's this weapon he is after?" I asked.

  Thor shrugged. "It could be any number of weapons including Gungnir."

  "He's lucked out with Gungnir so it has to be some other weapon."

  "There is Freyr's," offered Fen.

  Frigga nodded. "We can send word for him to join us. I'm sure he can contribute to our knowledge in case it is his sword that Loki wants."

  "What's so special about Freyr's sword that Loki would search the world for it?" I asked.

  "Freyr's sword is unique. It can fight on its own. But only the wielder is deserving."

  I raised my eyebrows. "I can see why he'd want a sword that can fight on its own, but Loki is certainly not the deserving kind."

  "Neither is he the kind to know he isn't the deserving kind."

  Well said, Fen.

  "Why did the doctor help us?" asked Frigga.

  And just as she spoke the world shook again, the floor rocking so hard that I couldn't hold my balance and ended up thrusting into the air and hovering above it.

  I glided to Frigga and put an arm around her waist, lifting her in the air, unable to do anything for Thor and Fen. I remained airborne until the shaking stopped.

  "What the hell was that?" Like it wasn't perfectly obvious to me.

  I floated down to the ground and set the goddess on her feet beside Thor and Fen who had remained fixed to the ground even as it had tilted.

  "I hope this one has not turned out to be worse," said Frigga, her face white with worry.

  Just as Frigga gained her footing, two Valkyries flew in through the open door. Their faces were strained as they landed and walked toward us.

  "What happened?" Frigga asked while I wondered how it could get any worse.

  One of the Valkyries, a small blond called Katrina, a powerful warrior despite her petite structure, took a step toward me. "The rift. It closed."

  Ice sluiced through my veins. I had expected that would happen as the ground heaved and rumbled, had expected it to occur when another quaked ripped through Asgard but somehow it still proved hard to believe.

  "Brynhildr, if you had not saved those warriors from that rift they would all be dead now." Katrina's eyes were large as she gave me a soft smile.

  I shook my head, not sure how to respond to that. The only thing I could think about was if I hadn't gone down into that chasm, then Joshua would be dead right now.

  Inhaling sharply, I let the air slip out of me as slowly as possible. "How bad is the damage?"

  Sona, the taller, dark-haired Valkyrie, shook her head, her hazel eyes shining like headlights in her face. "There is minimal damage. The dragons were erecting a temporary long-house a few feet from Valhalla but there were no deaths. Just a few warriors injured in falls from the scaffolding. Everywhere else just got a good shaking. No real damage."

  Katrina pursed her lips. "Just a few more columns in the palace, and Odin's Hall lost another pillar. That's about it."

  Frigga stepped toward the girls. "Thank you, ladies. Let us know if you need any help out there."

  Sona nodded solemnly. "We are all fine for now. We just wanted you to get a report on the situation."

  "And the warriors wanted us to thank Brynhildr for what she did," Katrina said with a smile.

  My cheeks flamed as I nodded my thanks. Mostly I felt like a total fraud because I'd saved those warriors in the process of searching for Joshua.

  The pair of Valkyries grinned, then turned and flew out the door. The room was heavy with silence in the wake of their departure.

  "What is it Bryn?" asked Frigga. The look she gave me was curious and concerned.

  "I don't deserve their gratitude."

  There, I'd finally said it.

  "Why not?" She snapped the question, her eyes narrowing in my direction.

  "Because the only reason I went down that rift was to search for Joshua."

  Frigga tsked. "So tell me, if you hadn't found Joshua down in the chasm would you have ignored all the warriors in it? Left them to die there?"

  My gaze shifted to her face. "Of course not. I would have brought them out before I continued my search." Frigga raised her eyebrow, giving me a pointed look. I snorted. "Okay, I see your point."

  Fen cleared his throat as he passed me on his way to the door. "Since the doctor has confirmed this is all being orchestrated by Loki, I think it's best we take a full team."

  "I second that motion," I said.

  "We move out in thirty," he said before disappearing through the door, with Thor close on his heels.

  I smiled as I left Frigga's chambers. When a god wants something, he sure makes certain he gets it.

  No matter who he is.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we hurried to dress in our Midgard armor.

  I grabbed Tarnkappe from the hook behind my door and swung is over my shoulders keeping it inside out. The cloak was a gift from Thor, given to me long ago just before my mission to Swartelfheim to battle with the Dwarf Queen. Today, I swapped it for my usual coat, preferring to be prepared in case it proved useful.

  If we in Asgard could use wards and magic to make glamor unusable, I figured I'd rather be prepared in case Loki invoked such spells around the White House.

  We headed to Fen's small hall, to meet the rest of the team, my mind mostly on my conversation with Dr Lee, and how he'd broken under the revelation that his father had used him, and had attempted to kill Aidan. Whatever misconceptions the man had been under about the nature of his father, I'd managed to show him the truth. Not that I'd trust him just because he'd helped us.

  When I entered the hall, one face caught my eye. In the rush of everything that had happened since I'd returned from Loki's prison, I'd forgotten all about my intention to have a discussion with Derek.

  I hurried to Fen's side and whispered in his ear. "I need to speak to Derek about directing me straight into Loki's loving arms."

  Fen glanced at me, a tiny bit of shock coming through in his expression. It didn't look like the thought had even crossed his mind that Derek may be a traitor. He hid his surprise quickly and said, "That I had totally forgotten about."

  "Me too," I whispered. "I don't really think he betrayed us, but I do need to speak to him. I'm going next door. Do you want to wait outside to back me up? Just in case?"

  He nodded and I turned on my heel, hurrying to Derek's side. The young einherjar was busy pointing at a swathe of guns stacked onto the large table, explaining what they did with his usual excitement. Words like 'super-heated bullet core' and 'capable of large scale damage to a frost giant' piqued my interest, but I brushed it aside. He looked up at me as I came to his side and smiled, his expression so open and genuine that I had a hard time believing him a traitor.

  But I had to be sure, so I bent closer and said, "Could we talk in my office for a few minutes before I leave?"

  He nodded, his grin cheerful and his eyes bright and eager. He pointed at his laptop. "Just give me a couple minutes?"

  "Sure," I said before heading out of the hall to my small room next door.

  When Odin had relegated the job of looking after the realm to me, I'd been given a small hall down the corridor from Fen's. It served as a base of operations for me and all my teams, but I'd barely spent time in it over the last week or so.

  I moved to stand in front of the empty fireplace and waited for Derek, fiddling with the ties of the invisibility cloak.

  A scuffling at the door drew my attention and I glanced over my shoulder to see Derek hurry inside. When he saw me at the fireplace, he frowned, looking slightly confused, as if he'd lost something. A significant change from the confident Derek of a few moments ago. Was he beginning to ge
t nervous? Was he guilty and now on edge because he now suspected we may be on to him?

  I brushed the thoughts aside and went to the table, taking a seat before waving Derek at the one opposite me. It was a large table, seating about ten people, each chair high-backed and large enough to accommodate the largest of the Ulfr warriors.

  Derek seated himself and smiled, "Hey, Bryn. How can I help you?"

  "Just a little information." When he nodded I asked, "So when you told me you found Loki's last location using the program you developed, did you have any other data on the location."

  He shook his head slightly. "I'm not sure what you mean?" His face remained unaffected by my question, almost as if he wore a mask to hide his emotions.

  My stomach tightened.

  "What I mean is, how did you find that particular location?"

  "The program showed me the last place he'd been to." His answer was short but uninformative. Not the usual rambling-unnecessary-info-dump Derek answer.

  I frowned, studying his face but he remained unaffected by my scrutiny. "You do realize where you sent me?"

  He shrugged. "I just gave you the location you asked for." Again, another answer that was not Derek.

  "What is going on with you, Derek? Do you realize you send me straight into Loki's trap? He was waiting for me, standing right in front of the portal."

  Again he shrugged. "I'm not sure how that's my fault. I gave you the location that the program gave me. How was I to know that Loki was waiting for you?"

  Defensive Derek? Now that was new.

  I got to my feet, shoving the chair back behind me. "I don't know, Derek. I'm not sure I can trust you any longer."

  Derek also moved to stand, the points of his spiked hair quivering above his head. I couldn't understand how he'd changed so much in attitude and demeanor. Had he been pretending all along?

  A noise on the threshold drew my attention and Fen and Derek both walked into the room. I gasped, my gaze going from the Derek at the door, to the Derek standing across the table from me.