If I couldn’t fly, I would plummet!
Everything was all wrong.
“Niasa, I’ve got you. You’re safe, stay still.”
Gus’s calm, yet commanding voice settled my nerves. I leaned my cheek against him, and only then realized that he was holding me.
Whatever, I’m tired. So tired.
I gasped and sat up, then immediately grabbed the sides of my head to keep my skull from splitting apart.
Where was I and why was I in pain? I need coffee. Gus! I was still on Midgard, had I let go of him?
“Shh, sit back, you shouldn’t move so quickly.”
I sagged, and a strong arm pulled me close. Gus was still here, I hadn’t let go. Or he hadn’t. At least that was one mistake I didn’t have to regret.
“Where are we?”
The smell of sage and . . . rhubarb . . . mixed with the lemon and cedar I remembered from before. Gus had me settled next to him with his arm around my shoulders, and we seemed to be leaning against a tree. It was relatively quiet, too, which was weird.
I opened my eyes a crack, unsure if my aching temples could handle the light, and found that I didn’t have to worry. It was dark out.
“We’re in a community garden. I figured no one would mind if two spirits hung out, since they wouldn’t know about it anyway. I also didn’t know if there were any herbs or plants that could help you, so I came here.”
“Herbs?”
“Yeah, you know, healing stuff. My aunt is into healthy eating and keeping your temple clean. She’s a little crazy, but some of her ideas make sense. It’s not like I could have taken you to St. George’s or called for a rig. It’s the only thing I could think of that might be helpful.”
I felt him sigh, but it hadn’t been a bad idea. In fact, it was a great one. If only I could ingest something to help. That’s not the way it worked when in ethereal form, though. The only thing that would help was getting back to Valhalla, but we couldn’t do that yet.
“Thank you. I’m . . . This must all be unnerving to you.”
“Terrifying. Ridiculous. Impossible. Those words have come up while I’ve been wondering what would happen if you faded away and left me.” He rubbed my shoulder and tucked some of my wayward curls away from my face. “But you’re still here, and so am I, so we can work this out. If you’ll finally tell me what’s going on.”
His help had made me relax. Though it still irritated me that he had taken so much control, and that I couldn’t stop him from doing so, he deserved the truth; as much as I knew, anyway.
“When I spend too much time here, it’s like my body rejects the realm, or something. My head pounds, I can’t breathe, and I lose my strength.”
“This happens every time you come here? Why do you do it, then?”
How could I answer that? It was my duty, sure, but more than that, it was what I owed Odin. He’d saved me when he didn’t need to, and I couldn’t be a burden to him. I had to prove that he hadn’t made a mistake—that I was worth what he’d done.
“I’m a Valkyrie. It’s what I do,” I said simply.
He’d just have to be okay with that. Why should I explain the guilt I carried around inside just because I existed?
“It doesn’t happen every time,” I added.
“Only when you stay too long?”
“Yes.”
“How long were you here before you found me?”
Found him . . . interesting way to put it.
“Not as long as I usually arrive before an assignment. Being back so soon near the spot where I’d met Donovan made me nervous, so I showed up in time to grab a coffee, but I didn’t even get to finish it—which was fine, since it was tea. Then the fighting started in the alley, and you showed up.”
If I’d have just followed the target when he ran from the alley, I’d be home now. Not sitting under some tree in the middle of a garden feeling weak and helpless.
“Donovan?”
“That’s the coffee shop guy we chased. He introduced himself and offered to buy me a maple scone after he’d spilled some of my drink. It was odd because it was like he knew they were my favorite.”
There were too many coincidences that didn’t add up. This guy couldn’t have randomly bumped into me. He was distracting me, just like someone had paid Stuart to do. Someone with a ring just like Donovan’s.
“I wasn’t supposed to be there.”
Gus’s voice brought my mind back to the garden and the warm chest I rested against.
“I know, I’ve said that a few times now,” I reminded him.
“No, you don’t understand. I shouldn’t have been anywhere near a situation like that. Not yet. John and I were out on a cadet walk. It’s where they pair a recruit and a seasoned guy to walk a beat like we’re actually patrolling, just to get a feel for it. When any major calls came in, we could help on the fringe, but not engage.”
“Then why did you?”
“Dispatch sent us to help an older lady whose walker had gotten stuck in an elevator and was arguing with a neighbor. When we arrived, the building was deserted. Believing it was a prank, we left—”
I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped as he spoke, even though what he described wasn’t funny.
“What?”
“The building was deserted. Believed it was a prank. All was well.” I used a deep mocking voice and saluted. Gus jabbed his thumb into my ribs. “Hey, weak and helpless here,” I said between giggles.
“Yeah, I don’t believe that for a second.”
It felt good to laugh.
“Seriously though, what made you decide that since you couldn’t find an old lady in distress, you’d head out to fight gang members in an alley?”
“The call had taken us about four blocks off our route. Our patrol area was in Central borough, where the biggest trouble in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon might be a pickpocket. As we headed back that direction, we heard the commotion. John called it in, but what were we supposed to do, just watch it all happen? He told me to stay back, but when he went down, I had to help.”
My stomach rolled over, hitting me with a wave of nausea. It wasn’t my struggle with the realm, it was the suspicion that Gus wasn’t in the alley by accident.
“What if someone set you up?” I could barely speak it out loud, but it was like a freight train slamming into me.
Someone had orchestrated for Stuart to be in my way. Gus received a mysterious, bogus call, and came across a fight with five large men in an alley. From some of the tattoos they’d sported, I was sure they were members of a gang. Nothing about this situation seemed random.
“You think it was a false report?” he asked. “For what purpose?”
“That’s what I need to find out. The similarities between the situations are too much of a coincidence. I showed up to pick up my assignment, and Stuart was there. He knew what he was doing, he fought well, and showed great promise . . . I couldn’t help myself, and grabbed him instead. That’s what distracted me about you, too.”
Someone knew what I was trying to accomplish. They knew, and they’d used it against me. But why? How?
“Doesn’t that go against the code or something? I’m assuming there are rules for who you take, not just a ‘grab anyone at random with an aura’ kind of thing.”
I growled. He wasn’t so charming anymore. “Of course there are rules!”
I sat up again. The ache was just as bad, but I wasn’t in the mood to let it stop me now. I clenched my jaw tight to keep myself from screaming. The only one I knew who might give me something solid to go on was Stuart. I shouldn’t be hiding, making myself sick and weak, looking for clues.
I needed to get back to Valhalla.
13
Day and night in Valhalla followed a similar pattern as in Midgard. I’d asked Odin about it once, and he’d told me it was because it helped the einherjar adjust better. Made sense, I’d thought at the time.
It would help me now. I needed to sneak back i
n, and since it was night here, it would be night there; the best time to arrive with no one in the harvester hall to notice.
The problem was, I didn’t know what to do with Gus. I couldn’t bring him back with me and stash him in my room. Could I?
I snuck a glance over my shoulder at him, where he still leaned against the tree. He had one arm bent behind his head, resting against the trunk, and the other was rubbing circles on my back with his thumb while he stared into the air as if contemplating a difficult problem. The moonlight cast shadows on his face, creating a rugged appearance.
I wondered if his lips were as soft as they appeared, then I saw one corner of them twitch. Snapping my focus to his eyes, there was a sparkle dancing in them, as if he knew what I’d been thinking.
“Give me your hand, we need to get moving,” Gus said.
With a huff, I held my hand up in the air for him to grab hold of. He took it, but then annoyingly wrapped his other arm around my waist as we stood, to make sure I was steady.
I could have protested, if I hadn’t stumbled.
“Are you going to make the journey? I’m assuming you have to fly us, and it isn’t just across town,” Gus said.
Beyond frustrated with my limitations, I was also annoyed at his disciplined logic. “We sat around like two idle maidens for a while. I have plenty of strength, thank you.”
I arched a brow at him when it looked like he would say something in return. He grinned and shook his head.
Contacting someone in the harvester hall would expose me, possibly leading to my capture and trial. Gertie was the only one I could think of who possibly wouldn’t turn me in. She’d been able to monitor me, but I didn’t know how she’d done it. There had to be a way to create a channel in the other direction.
“What time is it, do you think?”
Gus looked down at his wrist, where he still wore a watch, and snickered. “I have no idea. Apparently this is for show, now. I don’t even know why it surprised me.”
I spotted an elderly man planting flowers in the garden as we walked through. It was an odd activity for that time of night, and it drew Gus’s attention too.
“What’s he doing?” he whispered.
“I don’t know, but you don’t have to whisper. He can’t hear you.”
Gus shook his head like he realized the truth of that, but wasn’t ready to accept it yet. “Let’s see what he’s doing.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, I feel like we should.”
When I looked up at him, Gus was staring at the man with a weird expression, like he was trying to place who he was.
“Is he someone you knew? If that’s true, we should go,” I said, tugging on his arm.
“I don’t know him, but we need to go over there. Come on.” He strode away, dragging me behind him.
The man finished patting the dirt around a bunch of marigolds that he’d planted near the base of a tree. He sat back on his heels. A small statue sat nestled among the flowers, like a monument or tribute to a loved one. After a brief silence, he spoke, maintaining his focus on the flowers.
“You’ll like these, they’re your favorite shade of purple.”
Shivers ran across my skin. Who was he talking to? I loved purple. Was this some other trick of Donovan’s?
I didn’t like this, and all my senses prickled in warning. It was uncomfortable, a personal conversation that I didn’t think we should listen to.
I pulled on Gus to walk away, but he refused to move.
“Shhh.”
Did he just shush me?
“I was always proud of you. Your independence, your ambition, and your determination gave me such joy. But it’s time for us to part now. I’ve held you back, and now you must move on. That’s what we do for the ones we love—we let them go forward into their new lives, and not hold them back for our own selfish desires. I will never forget your bravery. I love you now and forever.” The man continued, “The past is behind us both. Farewell, my darling.”
“Gus, let’s go!”
He let out a huff, and with a frustrated twist to his mouth, he followed me as I moved away from the man.
I was in no condition to understand all the man’s ramblings, and I wasn’t even sure that we should have listened to them. He wasn’t a threat as I’d feared, but it was still weird enough that I wanted to get out of there.
This man didn’t have the kind of help we needed. Somehow, we had to find a way to open a communication channel to Gertie. As we left the garden I remembered a place that always allowed me a few minutes alone to think without being interrupted.
“Hold on, I know where we can go.” I tightened my grip on Gus’s hand and soared into the sky—at least for about thirty feet, until I coughed and fell toward the ground. I banked left and landed us on the rooftop of a single-story building, then hacked like a human chain-smoker.
When I could finally stand up straight and push my hair away from my face, Gus was glaring at me.
“What’s your problem?” I asked him. “I’m the one falling apart here.”
“That’s my problem. You think you can go about business as usual, but obviously you can’t. Where did you think you were going? And why would you risk spending all your energy to fly somewhere when we need it to get through the sky, or wherever it is we have to go? It’s no wonder you’re in trouble, with that kind of decision-making.”
How dare he lecture me!
One thing was perfectly clear: we needed to get to Valhalla so someone else could put up with his self-righteous, do-gooder rot.
While I seethed and tried to come up with some scathing retort, he jerked my arm and strode away, with me stumbling behind.
“Where are you going? We’re on a rooftop, if you didn’t recognize that.”
“I’m aware, but since we’ll need to walk, street level would be better.”
He strode over to the ledge of the building and stared at me like I should know what he wanted. It was a little unnerving. He reminded me of the drillmaster during sparring sessions.
I shrugged when he stayed silent. Two could play this game.
“I have no idea if jumping to the concrete is dangerous. Maybe we’ll be fine, but I need you to tell me.”
“Then you can ask, instead of standing there and staring at me.” I clamped my mouth shut until my teeth wanted to crack, and glared back at him.
He gestured with his free hand and raised his shoulders, as if it was enough to prompt me to answer.
If he wanted to know how stubborn I could be, he was about to find out.
His nostrils flared, and I saw him clench his fist. I couldn’t help but let a little grin tip one corner of my mouth. A fight would work for me just as well.
He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. I sighed with disgust. What good did keeping calm ever do anyone? It was cowardly, in my opinion.
I would have told him so, too, except I coughed again and landed hard on my knees when I couldn’t catch my breath. Daggers had to be slowly driving into the sides of my head, for the pain that shot through my temples.
Gus knelt beside me and said nothing, waiting until my breathing sounded somewhat normal again.
“Can we safely jump?”
He said it with such kindness, it surprised me, and tears pricked at my eyes.
“Yes,” I croaked.
Without asking, he scooped me up into his arms and jumped off the side of the building. We landed on the sidewalk with an easy grace. Gus was both intelligent and strong; the perfect example of the kind of einherjar I’d searched for. But I wasn’t about to tell him so while he carried me. I couldn’t handle any more embarrassment.
For a rare moment, I actually liked my wild hair . . . it covered my face, hiding my pain—and my tears.
14
“Where was it that you were trying to go?” Gus asked. We were walking toward Midtown and the busier streets.
“I thought the Statue of Liberty might be a quiet place t
o think at this time of night.”
Without the crowds, I liked to sit on the top of the crown and look out at the city. Something about all the lights helped me think. It wasn’t as peaceful as the multitude of stars overhead on a clear night in the moors, but it was still nice.
Gus stopped walking, and I peered out through my tresses at him.
“Let’s stop here and make a plan,” he suggested, pointing to a set of three stairs leading up to someone’s home. “There’s a For Sale sign in the window. It looks unoccupied, so I’m sure no one will mind.”
Give this guy an inch of authority, I swear!
We sat on the steps in silence. My headache was worse, but I could manage it. If someone had set up Gus and Stuart, how many others were there before that? It wasn’t making any sense. I’d only met Donovan the one time, but could it involve him?
“You can’t drink coffee, but we can sit on benches. I was leaning against a tree in the garden. How is this possible? Aren’t we ghosts?”
It took a few seconds to understand Gus’s question, since more important matters swirled through my mind.
“I’ve never thought about how it works, it just . . . does. We’re in ethereal form, not ghosts, but not visible. Plants and nature are easy enough to deal with—and some animals, which is why that dog barked at us—and I can touch stationary things that are rooted or secured to the ground.” I shrugged. “No one else ever tags along, so what you can do is new for me.”
He nodded as if he understood. But how could he, if I didn’t?
“What is the Statue of Liberty?” Gus asked.
I chuffed and ignored him. There were too many other questions I needed to answer.
“I’ll take you, if you tell me where it is. I’ve just never heard of it. It’s like the yellow taxis. Some things you’ve said about the city make little sense. What are you not telling me?”
“It’s that big lady in the harbor, you can’t miss it. I don’t have time to play games, Gus.”
“There’s no statue in the harbor.”
How could that be? I’d been there and sat on the torch. A multitude of people expressed pride over the thing.
Time Magic Page 9