by S. T. Bende
“We will not let you down.”
“Excellent. Now, between War’s team and Sigrunn’s girls, the ship should be disabled before its launch. If it never invades the Bifrost, we don’t need to worry about Asgard’s isolation from that front. The dark forest remains a threat, so let’s send in four valkyries to assist the Elite Team there.” I glanced around the room, waiting for a volunteer.
“I have a small task force in my squadron who can handle it,” Tessyra said. “I’ll issue the dispatch order now.”
“Good.” I stared at the holographic screen while Tessyra spoke into her com. “Heimdall’s well guarded, as is Frigga. And we’re sure Thor has a handle on Fenrir and the snake?”
“He tells us it will be a clean kill on both fronts,” Mariana confirmed.
“Right. That just leaves…”
“Muspelheim.”
All eyes shifted to Xatnari, who placed a fist over her heart. “On my honor as a valkyrie, I will crush any fire giant who seeks to harm Asgard.”
“It’s not going to be easy,” I warned her. “They’re filtering in feyndrals from Svartalfheim.”
The four lieutenant generals swore in one collective breath.
“I thought those were extinct,” Xatnari hissed.
“So did I. Until I found one of our evacuees burning the evil out of a baby one on…hold on. That’s it!” I pressed my fingertips to my wrist again, barking a command into the shimmering flesh. “Call Lornara.”
The face of my fairy friend appeared in the waves, and I swiped the image up so Lornara’s hologram hovered inches above my arm. “Brynn? Are you hurt?”
“No. I need you to find Hyro,” I ordered. “Can you track her down?”
“She’s with me in the southern elderberry grove.” Lornara’s wings fluttered behind her. “I’m healing her burned arm.”
“What?”
“It wasn’t Marshmallow’s fault,” Hyro wailed in the background. “He’s still a baby!”
“Hyro,” I gritted. “Can you control him?”
“Usually!”
“Lornara, let me see the dragon. Please.”
The hologram pulled back, revealing the winged reptile who’d more than tripled in size since our last encounter. He was big enough for Hyro to ride…if he didn’t accidentally char one of her limbs, first.
“Hyro,” I hedged. This mission would either be Xatnari’s glory…or her undoing. “I need you to help a friend of mine. She’s leading a group into Muspelheim, and she could use someone to help her diffuse the feyndrals. They can only be turned when they’re babies, right?”
“Ouch! Be gentle!” Lornara cried out as Hyro’s face filled the hologram. Hyro must have grabbed the fairy’s arm and pulled it to her.
“No! They can be turned as adults, too! I didn’t know until a few days ago, when I made contact with a rebel cell on Muspelheim. Turns out they’ve been turning the feyndrals they come into contact with—it takes five fire giants to turn one dragon, but it can be done.”
I gripped the table with my free hand. “How many members are in that cell?”
“About thirty?” Hyro guessed.
“Perfekt. Lornara, keep Hyro safe until I send someone in for her. And good luck healing the wounded.”
“Absolutely. Thank you, Brynn.” Lornara logged off.
I looked at Xatnari. “Quick detour to Alfheim’s southern elderberry grove to pick up my friend Hyro and her flame-breathing pet?”
“Of course.”
“Svetana, have the tech team isolate the location of the rebel camp on Muspelheim and instruct Heimdall to direct the second Bifrost drop there. Send a representative ahead to let them know the incoming squadron will be a friendly one.”
“Yes, General.” Svetana turned on one heel and marched from the war room. The door wavered, then re-solidified as she passed through.
“I almost forgot. Do any of you know anything about a space-traveling pig and a magic ship? Apparently, the dwarves gifted them to Freya, and they could really help us out.” Odin knew we’d need every conceivable advantage.
“Gullinbursti and Skidbladnir?” Xatnari asked. “We know of them, but we’ve never seen them. Freya keeps both hidden.”
Of course she does. “All right. I’ll figure something out. We need to move. Ladies…” I pressed my fist to my heart. “Make Freya proud.”
“For Freya,” Mariana chimed in. The rest of the lieutenant generals gently raised their fists to their chests, and we echoed the sentiment as one.
“For Freya.”
CHAPTER TEN
FREYA
“DON’T LOOK AT ME like that, love goddess.” Hel’s lips formed a delicate pout. They were the palest of pinks beneath the thick moonlight. “You didn’t really think I’d let you have your happy ending, did you?”
“What do you want with him?” I stalked carefully toward the ruler of the underworld. A perfectly sculpted black brow rose atop the cerulean half of her face. The other side was chalky, powder blue—the Midgardian sky on a summery day. But there was nothing peaceful about the rage that seeped from Hel’s silver eyes, or the darkness rolling off her thick, black mane. Hel was lethal—I’d seen it firsthand during my capture.
And she had her sights set on Jason.
“He’s only a human. Let him go.” I raised my palms, trying not to sob at the sight of Jason on his knees before Hel. From the way his hands fisted the earth, I had zero doubt that the monster had inflicted unimaginable levels of pain to lock him in place. But Jason didn’t cry out—he barely even flinched. He just turned his eyes to me and mouthed one word.
“Run.”
Absolutely not.
“Only a human?” Hel’s sharp inhale left hollows between her high cheekbones and sharp jaw. “If that’s the case, then why are you fighting for him?”
“Because he’s innocent.” I stepped closer to Hel, to Jason. “He’s done nothing to you, and he has no role of consequence to play in Ragnarok. Let him go.”
“But you’re wrong, Freya.” My name came out on a hiss. “Your human pet has quite the substantial role to play.”
Hel closed her eyes and loosed a breath. Jason’s back arched, his face contorted in pain, and he unleashed an agonized cry that set my teeth on edge.
“Stop it!” I yelled. “You’ll kill him!”
“Precisely. I am not partial to obstacles.” Hel exhaled again, and this time Jason’s scream brought me to my knees.
“He’s not an obstacle. He’s only a human!”
“That’s what I thought, darling, but your kind seems to have quite the fondness for these weak, insipid creatures. I’d have thought War would have jumped at the chance to rule in darkness by my side, but that mousy little mortal seems to have quite the hold on him. Pity. I’ll have to force War’s hand. With you gone, he’ll descend back into that black space he so nearly inhabited before. And when he does, Ragnarok will be won. Everyone he loves will be dead, and he’ll have no choice but to rule with me. But first…” Hel unleashed a new wave of agony onto Jason. His screams reverberated through the trees.
How do I make her stop?
“Jason!” Mia’s voice pierced the night. She and Elsa appeared on the porch, the horror of Jason’s torture mirrored on their porcelain faces.
“Stay there,” I ordered my friends before returning my attention to Hel. “Is that why you’re doing this? To get back at Tyr?”
“Partly.” Hel sneered. “But most of all, to destroy you. I can’t have this…toy healing your heart and stopping my rule before it begins.”
“What do you mean?” I inched forward on my knees. If I kept her talking long enough, maybe I could get to Jason, and release him from whatever dark magic she held him in.
“Haven’t you wondered why your healers have failed you? Why you haven’t been ‘yourself’ since you came back from your little trip with me?” Hel’s silver eyes flashed in the twilight. “Your heart is poisoned with ketane—a substance I placed within its
chambers during our time together. The mist feeds on fear, its strength multiplying every time you allow yourself to feel the darkness. The stronger it gets, the better it’s able to block love, and prevent you from ever healing.”
“Ketane…” I’d never heard of it. And if the gasp from the porch was any indication, Elsa hadn’t either.
“It is a…newer substance.” Hel examined her silver fingernails as if she’d grown bored. “And one that cannot be overpowered with herbs, or crystals, or diets.” She snorted. “But it can, sadly, be overpowered by love. And the fact that this human draws love from every fiber of your pathetic Asgardian being, and that that same love threatens to eject my mist…obviously, I can’t stand for it.”
Hel turned her palm to the sky, and Jason flew up. He hovered just in front of Hel’s face, his feet inches off the ground and his hands grasping at his throat.
“Any last words, human? No? In that case…” Hel broke into a wicked grin as she slammed Jason to the ground. I leapt to my feet, poised to charge when a voice from the porch pierced my focus.
“Freya! Catch!”
I spun around, my hands opening instinctively to retrieve the small orb Mia threw. Odds were high it was some kind of explosive, or implosive, or whatever deadly thing Brynnrik had developed recently. And odds were even higher it would hurt Jason if I launched it directly at his captor.
Sending a silent prayer to Odin, I flung the ball at the ground ten feet behind Hel. And I waited.
It only took a second for the thick, black mist to ooze from the orb, and another second for it to transform into a translucent oval. Silver sparks shot from what seemed to be a portal. The light forced Hel’s attention away from Jason in one beautiful, brief moment of distraction.
I seized it.
My muscles exploded in a burst of energy as my legs moved of their own accord. Three steps and I leapt into the air, covering the distance between me and Hel almost instantly. My arms framed her shoulders as I knocked her to the dirt, pinning her with a fierce knee to the groin. She let out a groan, her legs curling into her chest, and for the briefest of moments she was debilitated.
Then her magic kicked in.
“No.” She hissed. A thick gas seeped from her lips, taking the form of a snake. The pseudo-reptile lurched at Jason, wrapping around his legs and flattening him before he managed to scramble to his feet. Jason clawed at his ankles, trying to remove the binding, but Hel’s dark magic held him tight. Jason stilled, seemingly realizing his effort was futile.
“Freya, get out of here!” Wild indigo–blue eyes found mine. “Protect yourself!”
I grunted as I wrestled with Hel. “That’s not how things work around here.”
Hel turned her magic on me, and it took everything I had to dodge the snake mist that wove and darted from her mouth. As I swung my leg up to deliver a fierce kick to her jaw the mist faltered, blood taking its place. Hel swiped at her chin, and I took the opportunity to jump to my feet. “Elsa! Shield Jason!”
A burst of energy shot from the porch, its white light and electric jolt knocking me back. I scrambled to resume my assault on Hel. A series of roundhouses kept her grounded for a moment, but before long she was on her feet, pacing the forest in a tight horseshoe. Unfortunately for all of us, she remained too far from the whirling black vortex for its presence to be of any use. How were we going to get her into it?
“Oh, Freya.” Hel clucked her tongue. “When will you learn? I cannot be defeated.”
“Is that so?” I catalogued our surroundings: mammoth trees, a handful of boulders, and two absolutely terrified squirrels. Nothing immediately useful, but I’d done more with less. All I had to do was keep Hel talking long enough to come up with a plan.
“Accept that your place is with me, either as my pet, or as one of the many souls ignoble enough to serve me in eternity.” Hel raised her palm and hurtled a fireball at my feet. It ignited a patch of drying leaves, and I leapt back so far that I jabbed myself on a low-resting tree branch.
Bingo.
Without hesitating, I reached behind to wrench the branch off the tree. I shoved it into the blaze at my feet, and charged. Hel didn’t look up from the ball of fire forming in her hands. I lunged. She finally met my gaze. Her lips parted in surprise as the burning stick pierced her thigh. Hel cried out in shock.
“How dare you?” Her silvery eyes narrowed and she drove her hand at my chest. The fireball at her fingertips quickly burned through the thin fabric of my T-shirt, and I dropped to the ground to extinguish the flames. Ignoring the blistering pain in my torso, I arched my back and again leapt to my feet.
“How dare you?” I ripped two branches off the nearest tree and drove them into the smoldering blaze on the ground. Fire sparked from the ends of the sharp sticks as I raised my arms in a cross. I spun them violently as I circled the clearing, my fiery trajectory forcing Hel’s back to the portal. “Tyr will never agree to be with you.” I took calculated steps forward. “You’re going to die miserable and alone, without even your guard dragon to keep you company. I heard Nidhogg defected to Nidavellir just to get away from you.”
Hel hissed, the angry sound escaping pinched lips. “You know nothing of my life.” She threw a fireball, and I sidestepped it easily.
“Thank the gods for that,” I replied. Hel shot again, and I spun the flaming sticks in front of me, two circles of fire forming a blazing shield against her onslaught. She stumbled as I drew closer. It was working.
I pulled my arms to my sides, shifting the shields to unleash a series of front kicks that knocked Hel off-balance. She stumbled again, and I drove my hands together, the fire of both sticks uniting in a fierce surge of heat. Hel faltered, and with a final kick, I knocked her backward through the portal. It sparked, spun, and closed inward with an explosion that knocked me across the clearing and extinguished the energetic shield surrounding Jason.
What the Helheim?
“Jason, get down!” I screamed as the portal erupted in a second burst, sending a storm of dirt and rocks raining on my back. Shards dug into my forearms as I army-crawled to where I’d last seen Jason wrestling Hel’s translucent cords. My fingertips grasped his leg as I raised my head, careful to cover my eyes against the continued onslaught of rubble. “Where are the cords binding you?”
“I think they’re gone.” Jason wrenched himself around to throw his body over mine, shielding me from the last of the downpour. It was a sweet gesture, but he was the mortal. And I wasn’t entirely sure Hel was gone.
“Up,” I ordered, pushing Jason off me. Once I was clear I jumped to my feet, scanning the area for any sign of the dark goddess. “Elsa, where is she?”
“Gone, but I don’t know to where.” Elsa’s voice carried from the porch. “The portal sealed with her inside it.”
Footsteps crunched on the rabble as a disheveled Mia made her way to my side. She had bark in her hair and a deep cut on her right cheek. Elsa moved into place beside her, having fared slightly less poorly.
“What was that thing?” I asked.
“Brynn once mentioned a piece of tech from her early valkyrie days—a portal that destroys itself after one transport. I’m guessing it was that?” Mia offered.
“I guess.” My attention shifted to the mortal pushing himself off the ground. “You okay, hotshot?”
“I’ve been better,” Jason admitted. “Anybody want to explain to me who the blue chick was?”
“That was Hel—goddess of the underworld, and daughter of the monster who’s organizing Ragnarok. I hope Loki doesn’t have access to wherever that portal led. The last thing we need is a family reunion.” I picked a branch out of Jason’s hair, and studied his steady eyes. “I’m sorry Hel hurt you.”
“I can take it.” He shrugged. “Sounds like she did way worse to you.”
“Ketane.” Elsa shook her head. “I’ve never heard of it. Mia, do you know anything about it?”
Mia tapped her finger to the translucent com atop her forearm. Whe
n it lit up, she studied the image, then swiped up to transform the screen to a hologram. “There’s nothing on the human internet about it, but Brynn and Henrik’s database has an entry. Looks like ketane is a dark-matter substance of minimal density. It thickens in the presence of certain hormones—norepinephrine and cortisol, the basic fear/stress cocktail. Oxytocin and vasopressin counteract it—the love mix.”
“So, if I wanted to isolate the ketane, I’d need Freya doped up on love,” Elsa mused. “Then I could extract and contain the toxin, in…do we have anything that can contain fear?”
“No.” Mia frowned. “But we do have something in the upstairs lab that can contain dark matter. Think that’ll work?”
“It’s worth a shot.” Elsa turned to me. “Freya, you know what I’m going to say.”
“I know.” I stared at my feet. “Fine. Give me five minutes to talk with Jason, and I’ll meet you in the lab. But let’s shield the compound first in case Hel comes back.”
“She won’t come back,” Mia confirmed. She swiped her hologram down so the screen returned to her arm, then shut down. “The electromagnetic current of the portal should debilitate her magic for at least two hours. Brynn said she built that into the specs. And by then, if we’re smart, we’ll have relocated somewhere far away. Is the northwest compound still secure?”
“The only compound I’m trusting with our lives is the valkyrie compound.” I shook my head. “Five minutes with Jason, five more to extract the ketane, and then the four of us are heading to Asgard.”
Mia’s eyes widened, but she gave a tight nod.
Beside me, Jason let out a sound that closely resembled a bleat. “Asgard? Like, from the movies, Asgard?”
