Gus stared out into space, looking at all the buildings or something, I didn’t know what. I gave him a minute to think it through. I wasn’t in a hurry.
“Where is ‘back’ exactly? And who are ‘they’?”
“I don’t think I’ll say. There’s this whole procedure that I’m supposed to follow, and I didn’t. So, since I’m already facing big trouble, I shouldn’t make it worse by telling you more than necessary.”
“So I’m just supposed to hang out, let you fly me around in the air, land on buildings, tell me nothing, and be okay with it?”
“Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks.”
“Not going to happen.”
“You’re not in charge! What I say goes, and I say we’re not discussing this. In fact, we shouldn’t talk at all. I need to think, so you stay quiet, and we’ll get through this.”
“Well, Niasa, that’s not in my nature. You see, I was in training when you pulled this little stunt on me. I like to follow the rules. Rules keep things orderly. And if you don’t know how to follow them and got us into some trouble, I don’t want to be a part of it. The afterlife I expected is orderly and purposeful. I spent a lot of time working on that, so if that’s not why you’re here, I don’t want to go with you. Maybe you should just let me go, and I’ll take my chances.”
Turned out this guy was trouble.
I should have just followed the target down the alley, done my duty, and nothing else. I sighed. I might as well accept it, I couldn’t obey laws no matter what. Did I ever even have a chance?
Who knows? My mom was a complete rebel. That’s the one thing I knew about her. She’d so thoroughly broken regulations, she’d had to live in hiding on Midgard for a while.
If I hadn’t destroyed her life, she wouldn’t have had to go back to Valhalla at all. I wouldn’t be here, and she’d be alive—probably traipsing around Midgard somewhere with her boyfriend. But no. She died when I was born, and I was here to follow in her footsteps, making a mess of things.
10
Gus scooted on the ledge as if he was going to stand up. If I didn’t tell him something, he was going to keep making things difficult for me.
“I can’t let you go. Now that you’re claimed, the decision can’t be reversed. As I’ve told you, I need to think.”
“Claimed, huh? Maybe I can help. Things didn’t go according to plan, and now you’re looking for a way to smooth things out. Correct?”
“Just sit there and stop talking. You have nothing to do with this.”
“Don’t I? I’m sitting on the edge of a skyscraper, held from the wrist by a woman with wings, while my body bleeds out on the street. I’d say I have a lot to do with this.”
“Your involvement is irrelevant to my next decision. Stay silent.” I couldn’t keep dealing with his interruptions.
I’d only spent an extended time on Midgard once before, and it didn’t end well. My muscles had tired, I’d struggled to fly, and a headache had threatened to split my skull in half. It was not an experience I wanted to go through again.
But Gertie was right. I needed to stay away for a while and figure out a solution to keep myself away from trial.
On the previous visit when I’d struggled, the symptoms had kicked in after about twelve hours. This go around, I’d already been here about four, I figured.
Gus shifted his legs on the ledge next to me, and I darted a glance at him. I didn’t need him thinking he could try to escape.
Although, if he did, that might solve some of my troubles . . .
No, I couldn’t allow that. Besides the fact that I was sure he was finally the one to prove my theory of a better warrior, he didn’t deserve to float eternally in the Gap.
Fortunately, it appeared he’d just been making himself more comfortable, and was contently gazing around.
What was up with this guy? He was taking everything so well, it was almost maddening. I could use a little fight to clear my head.
“Why are you so quiet?” I snapped. “Did you get sidetracked by the view?”
Gus shook his head, but didn’t answer right away as he stared out at the city.
Finally, he said, “You said not to speak.” He glanced at me side-eyed. “Also, I’ve lived in this city my whole life, and I’ve never actually stopped to look at it. It’s pretty from up here.”
That wasn’t what I’d expected. He was more exasperating than ever. Arguing when I wanted him to shut up, and thoughtful when I wanted to fight.
I gave up. “We have to find a place to stay for a while. This is fine, but I’d prefer a more comfortable seat.”
“What happened to John?”
“Who?”
“My sergeant. Did someone else grab his soul? He was a good guy, he should have a chance too.”
“He didn’t die. At least, not in the alley. From what I could tell, he was only unconscious.”
“Can we check? I’d like to know he’s okay before we head off to wherever we’re going.”
It didn’t seem like the best idea, to go back to the scene of Gus’s death, but I had no other plans. Maybe the movement would help me figure out what to do. There was still the chance I could find the true target. I wasn’t keen on dragging two new einherjar back, but despite how Gertie’s voice had sounded at the suggestion, it had to be better than returning without him at all.
“Are you sure you want to go back there? It could be shocking,” I warned.
“To see myself dead on the pavement, you mean? Yeah, I’ve thought about that.” He leaned closer and whispered, “I’ll try to be brave.” Then he winked.
“Come on.” The flutter he’d caused in my belly needed to stop.
I tightened my grip in preparation to take flight, but Gus pulled on my arm.
I flicked my gaze upward. “I thought you would be brave?”
“Is there some way that I can fly with you without dangling like I’m at the end of a rope?”
I bit the inside of my lip while I thought over the request. Since I’d never become chummy with any of my assignments before, I’d considered no other way to transport them.
“Like how?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you could hold me by the waist, or I could put my arm over your shoulder, like helping a buddy off the field when he sprains an ankle.”
I arched my brow at him, not sure I was up for it.
“Here, let me show you. Well, wait. Can you let go enough for us to switch positions?”
“I told you, I can’t let go. Believe me, I’m not fond of having your weight dragging my arm down either, but I think that’s the only way to go.”
“It doesn’t seem like it should be. There has to be a way to work this better. You’ve never carried anyone differently? More . . . comfortably?”
“Nope, they all dangle. You’ll get used to it.”
With that, I flew into the sky—though I was a little more careful, and didn’t launch as hard as I had before.
We weren’t that far from the alley where I’d chosen Gus, so we were back before he’d probably even had time to worry about hanging in the air.
There were flashing lights, trucks, and people in uniform all over the place. It was so crowded, it was hard to see the alley, even from the air. Something about the scene was different than others I’d observed, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
I landed on the sidewalk behind a firetruck, deciding we could walk from there. It might give Gus time to change his mind.
A weirdly armored ambulance was loading up a body, and the crew was in a hurry. We headed there first.
“Is that John?” I asked.
“No. That’s the guy who had the knife.”
I leaned around the truck and peeked into the alley. There were still two bodies lying on the ground, but both had white sheets over them. One of them was definitely Gus’s, and the other was one of the gang members. I remembered seeing his soul flickering when Gertie reminded me to focus.
“I don’t see a body i
n the alley where he fell. Maybe they already took him away.” I still wasn’t sure Gus should see himself like that, and if John wasn’t here, maybe he’d agree to leave.
“They’d have taken him to Clemency if he was alive. Any chance we could go there?”
This wasn’t some vacation where we would sightsee all the great spots for dead and dying bodies. I couldn’t go to the hospital. There were others who claimed souls in places like that. If I ran into another Valkyrie they might force me to go home, and I wasn’t ready to face my punishment yet.
Though, if I thought about it, I’d never seen another Valkyrie on any of my missions. Not even the ones from Folkvang, who helped the sick, the old, and any others who’d not died in battle.
“That’s a pretty busy place for those like me, I’d rather not go there just now.”
I didn’t need to explain anything more, he knew too much as it was.
“That makes sense. Let’s go over to that man over there. He’s the inspector, maybe we can hear some more details.”
He pulled me along, and again I realized that he’d taken control of the situation. How was I letting this happen?
“We need to get out of here,” I said and stopped walking. “Do you know where John lived? Maybe we can go there, where it isn’t so crowded.”
Gus stared at the ground. “I don’t know where he lived. This was the first day we’d worked together, and we didn’t have much time to talk about personal things.”
Then he didn’t know the guy that well. Why was he so concerned?
I sighed. “Fine, let’s go hear what those guys say, but then we need to leave.”
Gus nodded, and we made our way to the man he’d pointed out. We stood outside the circle of men speaking in low voices.
They didn’t dress like I’d witnessed before. They had military-style uniforms: black trousers, black jackets crossed with leather bandoliers, a patch on their shoulders of a shield. They strapped weapons to their backs as they patrolled. It was odd and unsettling
I glanced at Gus, noting his clothes more closely. They were similar, but he wore a blue shirt with buttons down the front, and no bandolier. There was a shield patch on his shoulder too, but it differed from the others.
Something strange was happening, and I hated the chaos it created inside me. I struggled to follow rules, but I still liked order. Simple order, like strategy, made things efficient.
“He was just a kid. I’m not looking forward to facing his pop,” the man Gus had identified as the inspector said. “He’ll be here soon, wants to see where it happened before we move him.”
I’d never done this before. Stand around in my ethereal form and listen in on conversations. If it wasn’t for the stricken look on Gus’s face, I might have enjoyed it.
Nothing was easy anymore.
“Why were they even here? That’s what I don’t understand. Today was a ride-along. John’s done tons of them, he wouldn’t have responded to such a dangerous call with a cadet at his side,” another man said. He was wearing the same blue uniform as Gus, though he had more ornaments on his sleeves and shoulders. Gus’s was just a plain blue, no stripes or extra buttons.
“Beats me. I’m hoping he’ll answer that. He was already waking when the rig pulled away.”
I stepped backward and tugged at Gus to follow. He was looking more and more distressed, and we’d gotten the information he wanted.
“Let’s go,” I whispered, though I didn’t know why. No one could hear me.
Gus nodded and followed without a word. When we’d cleared all the commotion, I snuck a peek at him. He seemed sad, but also in deep thought.
“It sounded like your sergeant would be okay.”
He faced me and then nodded in agreement, like he missed what I’d said at first. “Yeah, that’s great. I was thinking about what the inspector said, about my dad coming down here. I hate to think of him seeing me like that. He’ll be so disappointed that I didn’t even make it past my first week.”
I felt sick.
“Practically every member of my family joins the Metro. At least two generations that I know of served the Crown as bobbies. My grandpa was first in the Colonies. My dad and uncle followed him, then all of us. Four cousins, my sister, and my two brothers are all part of the force. An outlaw shot my brother in the arm once, but other than that, it’s been good. Until now—until me.”
I didn’t know what to say. It was a feeling I understood well, so I couldn’t offer any wise words about how I was sure his father wouldn’t feel that way.
While I tried to come up with something, I stared out ahead, not really looking at anything.
Then a surge of adrenaline shot through me like a fire.
Ahead of us on the sidewalk, staring right at me, was Donovan from the coffee shop.
I sprinted forward, dragging Gus with me, forgetting all about his emotional turmoil. I had to catch that guy and get some answers.
Donovan turned and strode away. He looked like a man in a hurry to catch a train, though I saw him glance over his shoulder at me. He shouldn’t be able to see me in this form, but he’d been staring right at me, I was sure.
People crowded the streets, and even though I could plow right through them, doing so gave off a jolt of energy that slowed me down. I’d learned that the hard way on a different mission, when I’d chased a guy through a bus terminal.
I was already getting a bit of an ache near my temples, I didn’t need to deteriorate at a faster pace, so we bobbed and weaved through the crowd as if we were not ethereal beings.
“Who is that?” Gus asked as he kept close to my side.
“That is a man that has information I need, and he’s getting away, so pick up the pace.”
We jogged. Even though I didn’t want to go through people, I grew tired of going around them. Bumping into them and forcing them out of my way was a fine option. The grunts and startled gasps would have been fun under different circumstances, but I didn’t have time to pay attention. My focus was on Donovan.
“He knows we’re following him. Can’t we fly and avoid all these people to get to him faster?”
“If he knows we’re following him, then we have bigger problems. He shouldn’t be able to see us.”
In reality, I didn’t want to waste the energy to fly. Dragging Gus along wouldn’t be a problem for me ordinarily, but with the growing weakness of my body, it seemed a better course to stick to the ground. Besides, we were gaining.
Up ahead, Donovan glanced over his shoulder again. When he saw how close we were, he ran.
“What? Aaah! You can see me!” I sprinted faster, thankful to find Gus keeping up.
Who was this Donovan guy anyway? He was obviously not human, but how did he know who I was? And why was he screwing with my life?
I did a fine enough job of messing things up without anyone’s help.
We were two strides behind, just out of reach. “Who are you?” I called. “Stop and tell me why you’re interfering with my duties!”
Donovan made a hard right, and we followed. Both Gus and I lunged forward to grab his shoulders, but he slipped sideways, avoiding our hands. Then he was gone.
Lost in the crowd, or had he disappeared?
I wheezed and slowed down. Gus glanced at me and pulled us both to a stop. I screamed into the air and pounded my fist against my thigh.
Whoever, whatever, Donovan was, he was gone. And I was too winded to keep running.
11
Gus leaned over me as I bent to catch my breath. “What’s wrong? Do you need help? What can I do?”
I waved him away with my free hand. “I’m fine, just need to rest a minute.” Why was he trying to help me? This assignment became odder by the minute.
“I know this area, there’s a library about a block away. It will be quiet, and we can talk.”
I’d prefer no more conversation, but I needed a break. I gestured for Gus to lead, and I walked beside him as he directed us along the busy sidewalk
. I didn’t want to waste the energy to walk through people, but it amused me that he avoided them because he thought he had to.
The library was an old building with a three-story foyer filled with dark wood and intricate carvings on the pillars. Rows and rows of bookshelves stood like intelligent sentries awaiting orders. I’d never seen a place like it before, and the smell of old paper and leather filled me with an instant peace.
Not many people milled about, keeping quiet with only the occasional cough or shuffle of papers to mark their presence.
We settled into some chairs at a small table, but instead of letting me enjoy my tranquility, Gus started talking.
“Niasa, this is getting ridiculous. We have to hold each other, you can’t be the only one holding on.”
“I don’t think it works that way.” I was tiring of holding on to him, too, but what choice did I have?
“Let’s try something, there has to be a way.” Gus scooted closer, so his chair touched mine, while he reached for my other hand. “Don’t let go of me until I’m holding you. Then we’ll see.”
“What if it doesn’t work? Don’t you want to know what might happen?”
“Well, I suppose I should. But I think I’d rather take my chances.”
I couldn’t believe he’d rather be that reckless than stay safe. I hadn’t risked everything for him to go floating into the Gap now.
I tapped my foot, trying to decide what I should do. Determination gripped his expression, the smug one that said he knew he was right—or at least expected he would be. The one that gave him that cute little twinkle in his eye and made me want to slap him.
“Fine, it’s your eternity. But when you’re floating around the Gap in torment, screaming, remember not to blame me.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Gus smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, and his fingers tightened on my wrist.
It should have been his choice, anyway, not mine. I didn’t know what was making me hesitate. I just had to let go. If he floated away, it wasn’t my fault.
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