“Nice move with the fire blast, by the way. Not sure I ever got around to thanking you for that. Remind me to start teaching you some new spells.”
He beams at me, seeming utterly delighted by the idea of learning more magic. “I’m really glad it helped,” he says. “I was worried it’d explode in my face again.”
I’m about to reply when I hear a crash from the kitchen and shake my head. “Speaking of which … I’d better check on them. Want a refill?” I ask, pointing at his glass.
“Sure, thanks!” he says, handing it to me.
I take it and walk back.
“Sorry!” Hi‘iaka says, using a burst of air to sweep pieces of a broken plate off the floor and into the trash can.
“No worries,” I say, heading for the fridge. I guess I can expect a lot more of this to come. Ah well. I spent decades without seeing the barest hint of another god, and now I’m sharing an apartment with four of them. I suppose I was due.
“So clumsy,” Nāmaka says to Hi‘iaka, giving her a rueful smile. “You remind me of that poor girl, Samantha.” She turns to me. “What do you suppose happened to her?”
I frown. “No idea. I hope she made it out, though. I mean, she’s probably okay, right? Smart girl.”
Nāmaka shrugs. “A lot of smart people probably died there, Freya.”
My frown shifts to a grimace. “I should try to get in touch. Maybe send her an e-mail or something? Just to make sure.”
“She’ll be fine,” Hi‘iaka says. “She was smart and paranoid. And fun! Those types don’t die off camera. Now, help me find any splinters from that plate. Don’t want our mortal stepping on one, do we?”
Surprisingly enough, I find myself reassured by that. We bustle around the kitchen and living room, using our various gifts to put the house in order, then set about planning our new living arrangements—grocery shopping, chores, cooking, and so on. A small part of me is irritated by the new chaos in my life, but overall, I finally feel like things are heading in the right direction, that my existence is back on track. After all, I have a brand-new, miniature pantheon of my own, complete with one dedicated worshipper and a never-ending wellspring of believers. Even better, I have a colossal enemy empire I need to bring crashing down. For a creature of purpose, I have been without accomplishments and goals for far too long. Now I have them in abundance.
I can do this. I can toe the line between divinity and humanity, can overcome my foes while retaining the wisdom and free will that let me challenge them in the first place. I will reclaim my birthright—the mantle of Freya I lost all those centuries ago—and find where I belong in this modern world … without losing myself to either.
My name is Sara Vanadi, and I finally feel like a god again.
* * *
Samantha Drass stretched in her chair and sighed. She was still in Florida, in a small apartment her father kept a few miles from where Impulse Station once stood. It was, objectively, a nice place. All the updated appliances and glossy countertops in the world couldn’t make it feel any less empty, though. She already found herself missing the sense of purpose and crowds of Finemdi. They could be stressful, sure, but they also helped her ignore all the nasty side effects of an overly dramatic past and formulaic loneliness. Not for the first time, she wondered if she should get a cat.
Her laptop sat open on her father’s desk, the most recent e-mail from Finemdi glowing on its screen. It was a mass e-mail, simple and to the point: All employees of Impulse Station. Please report as soon as possible. Thank you. They didn’t even know how many had made it out alive.
Ignoring the request wasn’t even a consideration for Samantha—what would be the point? She had no desire to escape Finemdi, and in fact, depending on where they transferred her, this could be the breakthrough she would need to resurrect her mother at last. The thought gave her pause, as it led to her wondering if her father had survived. Even after all those years of grief, the thought of losing him was surprisingly painful. His crimes were unforgivable, but he’d always loved her, always cared about her safety and success. That old hurt rose to the surface, showing on her face. Half a decade spent distancing herself from the man, and somehow there were still feelings there.
Samantha gave her head a shake and tried to stop thinking about it. There were plenty of better things to focus on, and finding pain in the past was dangerously close to becoming her official hobby.
Pushing her glasses onto the bridge of her nose with a practiced nudge, she set her fingers on the keyboard and began to type. She’d barely finished the first sentence when a twitch of motion caught her attention, a shifting of light in one corner of the darkened room. Hand shaking, she slid open a desk drawer and withdrew a gun she’d never fired.
She stood slowly, bringing the weapon before her, and called out, “Hello? I know you’re there! Please leave now and I w-won’t have to shoot you.”
In response, the shadows moved again, the outline of a figure becoming distinct. A footstep clicked on the wood floor of the living room, a light, tentative tap. Then another, and another, the figure walking out of the gloom toward her.
“Please, I don’t want to have to—” The rest of her words were lost in a gasp as the intruder stepped into the little circle of light cast by her laptop, its dull glow illuminating features that, for Samantha, were achingly familiar.
A face she’d had to memorize a thousand times, trying to get every freckle, every wrinkle perfect. The smile exactly as she remembered it. Each hair in its proper place. Everything. It was her. It was really, truly her.
“Mom?”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Before I thank the people who helped this book exist, let me thank you, awesome person, for reading it. It’s one thing to put together words and ink and ideas, but by reading them, you make it real. Freya and her friends live every time you open these pages, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you for this. Now, on to the myth-makers!
Laura Nevanlinna and Ilona Lindh, thank you for taking a chance on a random game designer who wanted a little publishing advice. While I’m at it, let me thank everyone at Rovio Books for their help and support, and Rovio Entertainment as a whole for taking a new world under their angry, mischievous wings.
Christopher Cerasi, thank you for being a ridiculously amazing editor and an even better friend. To Elina Ahlbäck and your team of incredible agents, thank you for bringing this book around the globe, and to Erin Stein and the fantastic folks at Macmillan, thank you for believing in it right from the start.
Finally, thank you to Danielle, my very first reader and, most important, the first person who told me she wanted to see more. I hope to always have new adventures for you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A designer and writer for over nine years, Matthew Laurence is consistently delighted that people actually pay him to make games. His career has taken him from Orlando and San Francisco all the way to Finland and now Munich, Germany. Besides playing games of all kinds, Matthew writes and cooks for fun, travels with his wife whenever (and wherever) possible, and maintains an unhealthy relationship with Netflix. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1 Twilight Dreams
Chapter 2 The New World
Chapter 3 False Lives
Chapter 4 Razor’s Edge
Chapter 5 A Lovely War
Chapter 6 All’s Fair
Chapter 7 A Different Speed
Chapter 8 Handle with Care
Chapter 9 Thick As Thieves
Chapter 10 Eyes on the Prize
Chapter 11 The Long Haul
Chapter 12 Uninvited Guests
Chapter 13 Little Secrets
Chapter 14 Party Crasher
Chapter 15 Want of a Nail
Chapter 16 Hotfoot
Chapter 17 Twisted Roots
Chapter 18 Best Intentions
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by Rovio Entertainment Ltd.
A part of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
fiercereads.com
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Laurence, Matthew, 1982- author.
Title: Freya / Matthew Laurence.
Description: First Edition. | New York: Imprint, 2017.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016015264 (print) | LCCN 2016042638 (ebook) | ISBN 9781250088178 (hardback) | ISBN 9781250088185 (ebook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Freya (Norse deity)—Fiction. | Goddesses, Norse—Fiction. | Magic—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.L382 Fr 2017 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.L382 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016015264
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Imprint logo designed by Amanda Spielman
First hardcover edition 2017
eBook edition March 2017
eISBN 9781250088185
Steal this work and you shall find
that gods aren’t always fun or kind,
for those they hate the most by far
are thieves of book in which they star.
Freya Page 30