“I don’t know what’s happening. I’ve been to New York frequently over the years, and it changes, that’s true, but I was here yesterday. There’s no way it could be this different in a day.”
“Are you sure it was only a day? How do you measure time?”
I bristled at first, thinking he was making a joke. When I flashed a glare at him, though, he appeared concerned. I let his question absorb. How did we measure time in Valhalla?
“I don’t think we do. I’ve never thought about it.”
“So, maybe it’s been longer since you’ve come. That could explain the changes, couldn’t it?”
It was as good an answer as any I could think of.
“Maybe . . . probably. I need to figure out who Donovan really is, and who paid Stuart to get in my way. That’s what’s most important.”
Switching topics with me without a blink, he slipped into inspector mode. “Okay, then, let’s go through it. When you found Stuart, who were you supposed to take back instead?”
“I never know names. Stuart thought if he told me his name, I’d stop kidnapping him.” I sighed. “His is the only one I’ve known before yours.” I’d never thought about how impersonal my actions were.
Gus shook his head. “Tell me again about the coffee shop? Walk me through the whole event.”
Annoying as his take-charge attitude was, going over the details helped to clear my head. When I finished, Gus had that look on his face again, like he was in deep thought. He kept tapping his fingers against his thigh.
“We should find that coffee house, like we’d planned to before. Let’s retrace your steps from there, and maybe we’ll find Stuart’s gym, too.”
We both stood up from the steps in silent agreement, which was weird. I’d never spent so much time with one person, not even Gertie. The familiarity level was odd. It wouldn’t last, so I shouldn’t get used to it. Then again, if I didn’t figure out what was going on soon, I might not be around much longer, anyway.
We arrived at the coffee shop Gus thought I’d described, but it wasn’t the right place. It had taken me a long time to walk there because of the wheezing, and now we’d have to keep looking.
“Which way did you head when you left? Retrace your steps, and we’ll look around,” Gus said.
He was holding me tight and kept making sure we took breaks, but he was all business too. I think being able to do something for someone else was helping him cope with his new situation.
“This isn’t the same shop.”
“This is the only place I know with an animal on the sign. I thought maybe you didn’t know the difference between a goat and a pelican.”
We both chuckled at the absurdity of the conversation.
“This area doesn’t look familiar. It had to be somewhere else. I do know what a goat is, but maybe I got that part wrong. It was an area called Hell’s Kitchen, I believe.”
“That can’t be. I’m from Hell’s Kitchen, and they only sell coffee here in The Bayou.”
We stared at each other. One more discrepancy to add to the list of oddities. I wanted to go home.
The Bayou encompassed an area of about ten square blocks, Gus had explained. He decided that we should search them and see if I recalled any of the streets. We’d trudged through half of them when I pointed to a street that looked somewhat like where I’d found Stuart fighting.
Under the dim light of a single street lamp, I turned and surveyed the surroundings. It wasn’t exactly the same, but it was a small area, lined with cars on one side and brick buildings on the other. About a block farther, it was a dead end. The area was also similar to where Gus had fought with the gang members. Close quarters, few escape routes. It was perfect for ensuring that a fight would stay contained. There wasn’t any doubt left for me. Someone had known I was coming and who I’d be there to find.
How? The harvester commander directed me to battles based on Odin’s orders. I didn’t even know where beforehand—who could do this?
I paced back and forth while I rubbed my temples and let my mind puzzle out the different scenarios. While I breathed in the smells of dirty laundry and asphalt, I remembered something.
“They had tattoos.” I spun and faced Gus, expecting him to know what I meant. He didn’t, but his eyes brightened at the prospect of a clue. “The guy Stuart fought had a tattoo on his neck, and the guy in the alley with you had the same one.”
“Two of the guys they assigned you had the same tattoo?”
“Yep.”
We stared at each other. It was a thin clue, but it was too much of a coincidence to ignore.
Gus shook his head and scratched at his jaw. “When the knife was at that guy’s throat, I saw a rune, now that I think of it. But I’ve got rune tattoos, too. I don’t think it’s enough to go on.”
My hand fluttered to the spot where my medallion hung under my tunic. It wasn’t something I enjoyed sharing with others, but I pulled it out into view.
Gus leaned in and studied it as I held it out for him to see. “It’s beautiful. Though I don’t see what it has to do with all of this.”
“The double-ended trident in the center is a stacked rune. The top is the mark for algiz, which provides courage and strengthens one’s life force. It’s the symbol for Valkyries. But the bottom, the part that looks like a broom, is calc, the upside-down version of Algiz. It warns of a hidden evil, and destruction.”
“The calc was on the guy’s neck.”
“It could be a random coincidence.” I said it, but I didn’t believe it.
“It’s a thin connection. Anyone in a gang will embrace destruction.” Gus rubbed his fingers over his brow. “But if you’re sure both men had the same tattoo, we need to consider how it fits in with someone trying to hinder you. Have you noticed the same rune on any of your other targets?”
I tried to think. My brain was getting fuzzy as the pain in my temples worsened, but I thought I had seen the mark elsewhere. But when, I couldn’t place.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s fine, it’s something to go on. If we could get into the police database, we could look it up. Find out if there’s an identified gang who uses that tattoo. I don’t suppose that’s possible for us?”
“I have no idea. It’s not something I would know how to do. What would it involve?”
“We’d need to get into headquarters on Centre Street, and then use the computer. It would have to be up and running already, because we wouldn’t have a password, but I could tell you how to work the keys. You could do that thing you did earlier with your arm. Or . . .” Gus grimaced.
“What are you thinking?”
“Is there a way to coerce someone to look it up? Can we manipulate someone like that? Is that possible . . . or allowed?”
I had an idea that it was possible, though I’d never tried. Gus’s code of honor might not agree with manipulation, but he’d have to work through that. The rules were different in Valhalla than on Midgard. If we ever made it there.
“I guess we’ll only find out if we try. As to if it’s allowed, I have no clue. But I’m used to asking for forgiveness rather than permission. Let’s go!”
Gus snorted and led us away from The Bayou. Even at two in the morning, the streets were busy with people. When he suggested we hop on a bus, I agreed. It sounded a lot better than wasting the energy and time it would take to walk.
I enjoyed the shivers and uneasiness that we gave to the other passengers, but Gus obviously didn’t. By the time we were walking through the park in front of the police building, he’d put himself into quite the foul mood.
“You need to get used to things being different now, you know. Embrace the changes and enjoy the little benefits—like scaring people sometimes.”
“This isn’t normal for me like it is for you.”
I blew a wayward curl off my face and shrugged. He’d get used to things. Right now, I needed to focus on making sure I kept my feet underneath me as tremors rumbled thro
ughout my body. The ill effects of my time on Midgard were getting worse. We needed to get the information about any gangs connected to the tattoos and then concentrate on how to get back to Valhalla without getting caught.
Gus explained that the eighth floor of the station housed the computer center. That’s where all the information gathered by the New York police was compiled, and the system connected to several other cities. If the calc tattoo was part of a known organization or gang, our answer would be in those computers.
“You still haven’t told me how we’ll get the information. Will we have to manipulate someone? Is it like the stories I’ve heard of ghosts possessing a body?”
“We don’t do that, only demons do, and if we run into any, we should avoid them. I believe I have enough energy to write the message, if you’ll help me find the tools to do it.”
“Like a pen and paper?”
“If that’s what you call them, yes. I don’t pay attention to the smaller details when I’m here. I like the coffee and maple scones, but other than that, I’d rather be home, where things make sense.”
We’d made it to the front of the building. Since we couldn’t walk through walls, and no one would see us standing at the door, we needed to hurry through the door with the next person who came along. Thankfully, we could skip all the security precautions in the lobby, and head straight for the elevator.
Once we stepped off the elevator at the correct floor, Gus made us stare at a long list of names on the wall. I’d figured the layout would be like the feast hall, large and open, but it wasn’t. There were many hallways and rooms full of what Gus called computers glowing into the faces of those who sat in front of them. He seemed to know where to go, though.
“How do we know which person to ask?” I was overwhelmed and wanted out of the confining space as soon as possible.
“We need to find the gang task force or the organized crime force, if they’re in different rooms. Either would probably work, they overlap. They should be down this way.”
Halfway down the hall, he pulled me through an open doorway. There were a lot of computers sitting on tables, but only one had a person sitting in front of it.
“Night shift guy, that will help.”
We found an unused desk, and Gus pointed out the pen and paper I needed to use. I inhaled and gathered myself before I pushed out the energy required to make my arm corporeal so I could write the information. I made a crude drawing of the calc rune. It looked like a staff with two dead sticks on each side of it, but I thought it would work. Then I wrote, “check for known activity involving rune tattoos,” as Gus instructed me.
The trickiest part would be to get the note in front of the guy without him seeing my disembodied arm. We both agreed that to transform completely would cause too many alarms to go off, not to mention waste too much of my already depleted energy. I was breathing hard as it was.
We kept to the edge of the room and came up beside the man. I tossed the pen away from our direction and then, when he turned his head to follow the sound, I placed the paper in the middle of his desk. When he got up to go investigate, Gus groaned.
“If you knew how to type, we could just find the information ourselves. But he should see the note.”
“I’ll give him a boost to look right away when he gets back.”
Gus narrowed his eyes and cocked his head at me.
“Don’t get all fussy, I’ll just give him a little chill,” I promised.
His concern was a bit annoying. Though I had to admit, his dedication to honor made him even more attractive; not that I planned on telling him so.
I needed to get to Valhalla. All of this personal contact was messing with my emotions.
“What the . . .” The man noticed the note before he sat down, and scanned the room in all directions.
Let’s see how you handle this, Night Shift Guy.
I didn’t want to take any chances with simple nudges, so I used a little feminine influence. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his cheek, then again near his ear before I whispered, “You want to look that up for me.” I didn’t actually touch him but my presence so close to his face would give him the sense that I had. My words would enter his consciousness and make him believe he’d heard them.
He nodded, and I smiled.
When I turned to Gus, he was glaring so hard, I thought he would burst a blood vessel.
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked.
“Don’t do that again.” Gus inhaled and grit his teeth. “At least not while you’re attached to me.”
If I wasn’t so drained, this could have been fun.
I chuckled and turned my attention back to our guy. He was busy moving his fingers around on the letter board.
“Bingo!” he called out with a smile, and looked around with pride on his face, only to deflate when he realized he was alone.
Poor guy. I’d give him some praise if it wouldn’t cost me more of Gus’s attitude.
The screen in front of him showed a map of a large landmass divided with thick lines. The Eastern side was labeled “United States,” and had red dots marking it in several places. Some, like New York, I recognized. I thought the country was bigger than what it showed, but I could have been wrong.
“He needs to write all those locations down,” Gus said.
“I can remember them,” I said. I memorized the coordinates and city names of all my missions.
There were three different clusters of dots and a few single smaller dots, but I focused on the bigger groups.
“Are you sure?” Gus asked, his forehead creasing to prove his doubt.
I arched my brow. “How do you think I know where to go find my assignments? Do these leathers look like I keep a map somewhere?”
I couldn’t help but grin as Gus let his gaze rove over my body and then caught himself with a hitch. Stumbling for words, he clamped his mouth shut and looked away.
Oh, we could definitely have fun if we weren’t in the middle of all this.
“Let’s go, we’ve got the information we need. Unless there’s something beyond locations that loverboy here can give us?”
Gus looked away, and when he turned back, he had a feisty look in his eyes. “There’s more, but maybe I should kiss him for it?”
I smiled. He didn’t know how much I loved a challenge.
I leaned forward and pressed myself close to him. “Go ahead, I don’t mind.”
He shook his head and huffed. “Ask him who marked the files as classified.”
I spun back to the screen. Whatever Gus had read I hadn’t noticed. I glanced over my shoulder at him.
“Just do it,” he sighed and looked away.
“Why are those files classified? Who would want that?” I whispered into our new friend’s ear.
As much fun as this was, we didn’t have time for these games. And I needed to sit down—my legs burned. I couldn’t confess to Gus how bad I felt, though.
“That’s strange,” Night Guy mumbled. “The order came from a task force. I don’t recognize it, but it appears to only answer to the National Intelligence Committee. With this type of security blockage, it shouldn’t even show up in our system.” He glanced around as if expecting to see me, then shook his head. “I need a break.”
I straightened up and met Gus’s stare. Whatever this was, it seemed bigger than a few choices I’d made. Someone had picked the wrong Valkyrie to set up, and I intended to find out who.
15
We left the police headquarters and walked in silence around the outside of another tall brick building, moving toward a green space. I didn’t know what to focus on; there was so much to think about.
How had I gotten myself in the middle of such a mess?
“What does this have to do with you and Valhalla?” Gus asked. “I can’t figure that part out.”
“I don’t know. It can’t be coincidence, though, can it?”
“No, I think we have to accept it was a set up, meaning
someone hindered you twice. How would anyone know you would be here?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out. I come here alone, I read the assignments myself . . . No one should know anything. What are we missing?”
“There has to be—”
A buzzing filled the air, startling both of us. The excitement caused my heart to race, and I had a hard time catching my breath. A faint voice echoed in my head.
Gertie? She must have found a way to contact me. I couldn’t sound vulnerable when I answered. If I should I answer her at all. What if I was mistaken, and it was the commander—or worse, Toril?
I couldn’t think straight. I leaned down and rested my forearm against my knee.
Gus crouched down in front of me. “What is it? Are you feeling worse?”
I didn’t want to admit it, but there wasn’t any way to hide it. I was getting weaker.
I nodded. “Give me . . . a minute.”
He stood and rubbed my back with his free hand. I squeezed his other hand as my heart slowed. My head pounded, causing my vision to blur.
I had to get myself together.
The buzzing increased, but the muffled voice rang out into the air along with it.
“Should I say something?” Gus asked.
I didn’t know why that was a question. How could he expect me to talk, when I couldn’t even stand up?
Opening one eye, I motioned for him to go for it.
“Um . . . hello?” he said.
The buzzing subsided, and silence filled the air. I waved my free hand for him to speak again to see if we’d lost the connection.
“Hello, this is Aengus Connolly. I’m here with Niasa.” He shrugged at me as if he didn’t know what else to say.
“Why isn’t she talking?” It was Gertie.
I relaxed and blew out a slow exhale.
“Gert.” I inhaled and exhaled slowly one more time. “I’m here. Just a little . . . out of sync right now. Talk to Gus.”
“All right.” She stretched her words, and I could hear her frustration. “I snuck into the harvester hall, but I don’t know how long I can stay. I’m still not great at creating the connection. Where are you?”
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