Joshua_Einherjar

by T. G. Ayer

  The group left the furious valkyrie standing there in the middle of the road and hurried after Sigrun whose sooty wings fluttered behind her. She’d been the other huldra with Bryn when she’d come to see them in Valhalla, and it made sense that she’d be a good friend as well, given she’d stuck her neck out to get Bryn there.

  Joshua was glad that Bryn had found someone to trust, especially when she also had to face the kind of vitriol that Astrid represented.

  Joshua found himself glancing back over his shoulder to see what the blonde was doing. He wasn’t surprised to see that she was still standing there, hands on her hips, eyes flashing.

  Then she turned and swooped into the air, wings flashing out on either side. She soared higher and disappeared behind the castle. When Joshua looked over at Aimee, she stared at him in surprise and anger. She’d seemed protective of Bryn even though she barely knew her. Joshua had to wonder why, but he didn’t ask. Not yet.

  “That one definitely needs therapy,” Jill muttered from behind Joshua.

  Joshua couldn’t agree more.

  Sigrun led them to a narrow path that lay off the muddy road. The trail took them to a small clearing surrounded by trees filled with the sound of birdsong. She waved at the grass. “Relax. I have refreshments coming. You all rest for a bit. I do not want any of you to relapse.”

  Everyone obeyed without complaint, and Aimee shifted toward Jill and helped the girl to get her armor off. Everyone followed suit and set their armor in a pile beneath a tree behind them.

  “What is this place?” asked Joshua, taking in the spot of nature so unlike his most recent lodgings. A break in the trees provided a view of the snow-capped mountains which surrounded the valley, a natural wall of security.

  “Asgard has many of these safe havens. We all work so hard, practice so hard, that we often need time to relax and rejuvenate. The shoreline of the lake is below us, just down the hill beyond the trees, and it is filled with small private clearings and beaches. Up on the hillside behind us are more spots as well.”

  Karim let out a soft grunt. “Why would warriors need to relax and have fun? I thought we were here to fight?”

  Sigrun smiled, unaffected by the bite to the boy’s tone. “The einherjar train for Ragnarok, but nobody truly knows when that will be. One cannot be expected to live on the edge every day for a thousand years. We train, we investigate incidents in Midgard, we send out seasoned scout teams and place informants wherever we can. But that is all we can do until the day arrives that we have to fight to save all the nine worlds.”

  “And in the interim, we fight and live out our lives so that we may have some kind of satisfactory existence other than a constant journey to destruction,” said Joshua nodding to himself. “Makes sense to me.”

  Sigrun smiled and gave him an approving nod. Footsteps drifted closer as a pair of huldra entered the clearing, each bearing a basket. They laid their burdens on the grass and proceeded to throw a large blanket down, then set out the food and drinks they’d brought. The two huldra left quickly—taking with them the piles of armor—and the group of tired warriors-to-be hurried over to the spread and dug in.

  The valkyrie spent the next hour giving the team a rundown of how Asgard worked and when she dropped them off at the path to Valhalla, Joshua had already begun to feel a little calmer at the prospect of spending the rest of his life in the realm.

  Sigrun had left to return to the castle, and the rest of the team were already halfway up the hill when Aimee slowed her steps. They’d just reached a tree whose branches spread out wide enough to cover half a football field. The shade beneath it was welcoming, but Joshua stopped in his tracks to stare up at it.

  “Magnificent, isn’t it?” Aimee whispered.

  Joshua shook his head, without taking his eyes off the golden leaves that shimmered within the canopy of branches above him. “It’s real,” he said softly. Then he shook his head. “It never fails to amaze me that everything I’d ever thought was a fable or a fairy tale is real.”

  Aimee chuckled. “I think Glasir is enough to stop anyone in their tracks. I’ve seen it a few times myself, and I’m still in awe. Not sure I’ll ever stop being in awe.”

  As Joshua stared up into the branches, he thought of Bryn, and his heart tightened.

  “What do you think is happening to her?” he asked softly.

  Aimee didn’t need to ask him who he was talking about. She let out a sigh. “I’m worried. That much I can admit. From what I’ve heard, Freya is a dangerous woman. She’s not the kind of goddess you want to go head-to-head with.”

  Aimee shrugged. “I overheard a few people talking among themselves, and apparently Brisingamen disappeared hundreds of years ago. Back then, Freya had accused Loki, but he’d simply denied all wrongdoing. For Bryn to be wearing a part of that necklace means that at some point the Brisingamen was broken up into separate pieces.”

  “How do you think she came to possess that piece of the necklace?”

  “That’s a mystery I’d love to solve,” muttered Aimee.

  “I wonder if it was being sold back home—on Midgard I mean.” Joshua considered the possibility. “Although, I supposed it would have appeared in the Eddas at some point if that were the case.”

  Aimee shook her head, then stopped. “To be honest, I have no clue what to think. But for Bryn to have it at all, means the pieces did get to our world.”

  “Which means Bryn’s journey to find all the pieces could take forever.”

  “She doesn’t have forever,” Aimee said softly.

  “How do you know?” Joshua asked

  “Something else the warriors and valkyries were talking about—I’m good at eavesdropping. Freya tends to put terrible time-limits on her demands. If she’s taken Aidan as her warrior, then you can be sure she knows he’s connected to Bryn. And that Freya will hold him ransom somehow.”

  Joshua stiffened. “Yes. That valkyrie...Astrid. She’d been at Freya’s side during the Choosing. She said she saw us with Bryn in Valhalla.”

  “Means she would have seen Bryn talking to Aidan. And she would have gone back to tell on her to Freya. She seemed a little cozy with the goddess, so maybe she has some political goals and sees Bryn as a threat.”

  “Sounded a lot like that to me,” Joshua muttered.

  Seemed back-stabbing and manipulation existed even in Asgard. So much for enlightenment. Just then, Aimee grunted, bringing Joshua’s attention back to the conversation.

  He pursed his lips and said, “Which means Freya called us to the Choosing only because she wanted to make a point to Bryn.”

  Aimee let out a huff, an eyebrow lifted in irritation. “Wow. This is serious. I’m not sure what that means but why would Freya want to make such an example of one valkyrie?”

  Joshua shrugged. “Maybe Bryn is special in some way. Astrid certainly seemed to think so. Golden ticket?” He let out a sigh and began to walk the path. “I wish we could do something to help her.”

  “The only thing we can do is to ensure that we grow stronger and learn to be powerful warriors. If we go racing off after her before we are fully recovered, we could die. Or endanger her life if we fail to help when the time came.”

  Joshua lifted an eyebrow. “Dramatic much.”

  Aimee glared at him. “Think about it. We were human. We’re supposed to be dead. And yet here we are, alive and slowly regaining our strength. If you thought about it in scientific terms, our bodies are still busy coming alive. If we rush off before the process is completed, we risk harming ourselves in a way that will end our ability to fight, and we also risk killing ourselves too.” Her eyes flashed as she came to sudden halt, falling silent with a soft sigh.

  Joshua nodded. “Yeah. I get all that, I do. I’m just frustrated.”

  “And a little jealous?” Aimee smirked, her eyes flickering with amusement.

  Joshua shook his head. “How can I possibly be jealous? We had something…but it never reached...whatever it was meant
to be. And she’s moved on.”

  Aimee gave him a sideways look and smiled serenely. “You just keep telling yourself that, okay?”

  Joshua scowled and strode off up the path and beyond the shadow of the great Glasir. The warmth of the sun burrowed into his head, and he enjoyed the heat, enjoyed the feeling of being alive. But his head was spinning with Bryn’s predicament, and he was so very worried for her. So worried that he really didn’t have time to think about how he felt about her.

  That was a part of his heart he wasn’t yet ready to inspect.

  Chapter 14

  The next morning, Joshua was awakened by a warrior who he’d not met before. The man waited in silence as Joshua got to his feet. “You will not need to change as yet. You will have debriefing first, and then you will proceed to receive your uniform.”

  Joshua nodded and followed in the warrior’s wake, aware that the man hadn’t introduced himself. The warrior led Joshua along the hall until they’d reached the dining area.

  Raucous laughter filled Joshua’s ears as he passed by, and he felt the heat from the three gigantic fires along the wall. Whole animals turned on spits hanging over the flames, while a pair of huldra tended to half a dozen pots that bubbled on the coals. The food here had definitely been worth it.

  Joshua frowned at the thought. Could anything really be worth dying for? He shook the thoughts from his mind, thinking he may not have recovered sufficiently if he was thinking such bizarre thoughts.

  The warrior led him deeper into the hall and just when Joshua thought they were going to find themselves going nowhere, the walls shimmered, and they entered a small hallway leading to the left. It hadn’t been there a second ago, and Joshua figured that was what the huldra had meant when she’d tried to explain about the magic of Valhalla.

  For now, he couldn’t ask the stern warrior any questions—especially given that all Joshua could see of him was his armor-clad back. Joshua had to follow at a brisk pace so as not to lose the man. At last, after a multitude of turns and long corridors, the man slowed and gestured for Joshua to enter a room to his right.

  The room inside was large enough to hold two great wooden tables that could easily have sat twenty people. The one situated beside the fire was littered with paperwork and weapons dropped randomly on its surface.

  The man who leaned over the table, hands fisted and supporting his weight, was none other than Fenrir, the warrior who had come to explain to them about Brody—Joshua only knew his name because Aimee had mentioned it a few times in passing.

  Fenrir straightened and gave Joshua a welcoming smile. “I am Fenrir.” He held out a hand, and Joshua frowned for a moment, staring at the open palm. Fenrir let out a chuckle, “I believe this is the human custom in this age? To shake hands when you meet?”

  Joshua gave an embarrassed smile and nodded, then took the offered hand, shaking it firmly before letting go. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. To be honest, I’m not sure of anything anymore.” Joshua stiffened then. What was wrong with him that he couldn’t hold his damn tongue? He was going to make a fool of himself soon enough.

  The warrior nodded and waved a hand at the desk. But Joshua was stuck on his feet, frozen in place as the name of his host rang in his mind.

  Fenrir.

  Joshua stared at the man’s face, the name sinking into his brain for the first time. “Fenrir? The Fenrir?”

  The warrior let out a loud bark of laughter and pointed to the chair at his right. “Sit, Joshua. It never fails to surprise me that I am a familiar aspect in the minds of the modern people.”

  “Of course, you are. Everyone knows about the Norse gods and Loki especially. Your exploits have been immortalized in many ways.”

  Fenrir waved a hand and sat back. “Much of that was more interpretation than fact. The gods have largely ignored the stories told by man. Too much to contradict and it would take far too much time to go running around the world fixing the stories, so only the truth is spoken.”

  Joshua nodded and leaned forward. “How is Brody?”

  Fenrir’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Joshua’s face. He seemed to be contemplating something, and eventually, his expression cleared as he came to a decision. “The boy is doing well. The goddess Eir has helped him through the merging of his two consciousnesses, and he seems to have come out the other end still mentally sound. We are still waiting for his physical transition.”

  “Is he still having that problem with his face shifting from our Brody to his old face?” asked Joshua.

  Fenrir tilted his head and studied Joshua’s face. Then he nodded. “You saw it too?”

  “Yeah. It was hard to miss. He seemed to be struggling with something. It was one of the reasons I didn’t recognize him at first. I thought I’d been imagining it.”

  Fenrir nodded and leaned forward. “Yes. Brody is struggling, but he is in no great danger.”

  “But what happens if something goes wrong?”

  The warrior shook his head, and his eyes darkened. “Then his soul and body will be returned to Midgard, and he will be put to rest.”

  “Will he have another shot at coming to Valhalla?”

  Fenrir shook his head. “It is unlikely. The soul or spirit, it remembers everything. And this is traumatic. Which is why we are taking this so seriously. He must resolve it within himself, and if he cannot, then it will not matter how many times we bring him to Valhalla. He will continue to have the same problems, and we could in turn destroy his soul. Something we do not wish to do, for obvious reasons.” Fenrir’s lip turned up in a half-smile that was far from amused.

  Joshua sighed and sat back. He was staring at the fire thinking about little Brody running around Ms. Custer’s house. He’d been such a bright, happy child. “I really want him to get better. I wish I could do something for him.”

  Fenrir nodded. “I understand your frustration. You feel responsible for him because he was a child from your town.”

  “Not only that. He’s important to Bryn too. She took to him so quickly after she arrived in Craven. We all saw how well she took care of those kids, how much they looked up to her. Ms. Custer would tell all and sundry how amazing Bryn was and how invaluable she’d been. I’m worried for Brody too. About what he will think of it all….” Joshua shook his head and frowned as he looked up and met the warrior’s gaze. “I’m sorry. I’ll shut up now.”

  Fenrir’s eyes narrowed as he studied Joshua’s face. “You knew Bryn?”

  Joshua nodded, wondering how much Fenrir knew about Bryn and her complicated life. “She was a foster kid. Came to Craven to stay with Ms. Custer.”

  “Was she a friend?” Fenrir asked, studying Joshua’s face a little too intently.

  Joshua hesitated for a brief moment, and from the expression on the warrior’s face, he’d seen it. Joshua shifted his gaze back to the fire. “She was an outcast. And nobody wanted to be her friend. So I did. I offered to drive her to school and helped her catch up with homework. She resisted at first, but she’d eventually relaxed and I’d begun to think we were friends. Maybe more than friends.”

  Joshua sighed and shook his head. There he went again with the whole spilling-his-guts thing. He suppressed a groan.

  “It never got to that. I died and she was sitting in the car right next to me.” Joshua stiffened as he spoke the words. He looked back at Fenrir. “Was that when she died?”

  “No, Joshua. She did not die in the car accident. You were the only one killed. She escaped with a few stitches to her head, which made it harder for her after your death. The town shunned her for being responsible for killing a beloved son.”

  Joshua snorted. “Beloved son? What bullshit!” His gaze snapped up at Fenrir, an apology on the tip of his tongue.

  But the warrior only looked curious, and not in the least annoyed with Joshua’s profanity. “Why do you say that? I was informed that the town closed in on Bryn because they were convinced she had been the reason you died. You were the
football star or something, and the whole town adored you.”

  “That’s what I mean is bullshit. My family and I moved to Craven when I was eight. Nobody in the town took to us.” Joshua paused. “Well, that’s not exactly true. They took to dad with his Irish charm and his personality. But they shunned my mother.”

  “She did not fit in?”

  “Nope. She was way too brown for them. Craven was closed-minded, and they closed ranks when an Indian woman appeared in their town. I guess she would have fared slightly better had she not been married to an Irish guy.” Joshua shrugged. “Let’s just say bigotry had never died in Craven.”

  “So they were merely looking for an excuse to persecute her?” Fenrir nodded slowly as if a few pieces were slowly fitting into place.

  Joshua smiled, the expression cold. “Yeah, that sounds like Craven. The kids would have been much worse. That much I know.” Joshua straightened then and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t think you want to hear my life story. I’m sure you have more important things to do.”

  “Young man, your mindset, your perceptions, and beliefs…they all factor into how you will be trained and where you will go after the training is completed.”

  With a frown, Joshua leaned forward. “Will I be trained differently from the rest of the warriors?”

  He felt a rush of concern. He’d always run a different lane than the rest of his peers. Fast-tracked for sports and for academic studies, he’d had to fight to remain within the social circle he’d deemed would translate to acceptance. He’d only realized years later that none of it had mattered, that his friends were only with him to boost their own reputations because he was the smart, popular student. They’d have left him the moment he was kicked off the team, or as soon as he began to fail the academic side of his schooling career.

  Fenrir was tapping the surface of the table. “You will begin in the same fashion as your wave of new recruits. I wanted to know if your memory had returned in its entirety. It is important to ascertain before you head out onto the fields. Training on the fields with weapons that could kill you, and warriors and valkyries who would flatten you the moment you shift your attention…I need to be sure that a blow to the head is not going to set you back.”