Death's Daughter

by L. A. McGinnis

  “Because it would only have made things worse for you. And I hoped… My visions are sometimes wrong. I prayed this was one of those times.”

  “So all this drinking, this crazy behavior?”

  “Because I can’t do a fucking thing about any of this. Because I’m helpless against this dark god, who decided to wage war against us. Because I’m not going to be able to….” He stopped himself, hating he’d revealed as much as he did.

  Against him, she cried softly.

  “Oh, Ava…” But he didn’t know what else to say. Nor how to say it. Alive for millennia, and he couldn’t come up with a single word to ease a frightened woman’s fears. Off to his left, he felt the slight, unsettling disturbance again.

  “Did you feel that?” Ava asked, shifting out from his embrace. “I thought I sensed something before, but I wasn’t sure.” She peered through the haze of smoke toward the river. “Probably nothing. I’m jumpy these days.”

  Odin joined her at the edge of the burned-out floor. “It’s never nothing,” he muttered, sending the ravens off in flight with a flick of his wrist. “I sensed it too. Damn it.” Scanning the streets, he quickly set her behind him.

  Beneath them, the Orobus had vanished.

  “Oh God, where did he go?” Ava was scrubbing her arm furiously, as if she might erase him, while searching the emptiness below. “I don’t understand it. He was just there.”

  “Get further inside and find some cover. I’ll go and check it out.”

  What was he saying? He never checked anything out. He sent the others to check things out. And yet here he was, going to get himself killed just to make himself look good.

  “I’m going with you.”

  “Nope. Not happening.”

  “Let me come with you. I don’t want to be up here by myself. What if something happens to you?”

  “Then you’ll be up here and alive. That’s kind of the point of us not going down there together. If anything happens to me, the others will come for you. Besides, I can ghost myself down there and back up in a heartbeat. You can’t.”

  “Such an asshole,” she said, but the insult lacked conviction.

  It was the way her eyes went dark. The way the blue leached out of them which clued him into the fact the Orobus was up here with them. As Ava’s mouth formed a perfect ‘O’ and shadows snaked around her body, lifting it from the ground, Odin lunged forward, arms sweeping through air where she’d once stood.

  Rushing to the edge of the building, he watched as the creature reformed below, Ava’s small form stumbling away from him.

  Without another thought, Odin pushed himself through the air toward them and reformed, his feet hitting the gravel floor of the basin right in front of Ava, intercepting her as she ran, gathering her up, pulling her behind one of the dolmens as her heart thundered wildly against his.

  47

  Tyr stalked around what was left of the Cloud Gate, Loki right on his heels, and glared at Sydney. “You’re sure they started out here?” She nodded, looking a little guilty.

  “And how long ago was that?” Loki bellowed, worry thrumming beneath every word.

  “Hours, now. Hunter wanted to check it out. Start at the beginning. You know, maybe find something new?”

  “Fat fucking chance of that. We’ve been over this area with a fine-tooth comb.” Loki raked his hands through his hair, surveying the city skyline before turning to Tyr. “Which way? I’m thinking down toward the river.”

  “Shit. Seems likely. When Hunter didn’t report in, I thought maybe her com wasn’t working.”

  “Morgane checks in every half an hour. Like clockwork, I can set my watch by her. Plus, there’s no way both coms went down at the same time.” Loki stalked away, cursing.

  Tyr ground his teeth and followed. He never should have agreed to this. Never. “There’s something you should know. When I sent them after Hel, it was only to look for signs of her in the city. But there’s a chance, a slim chance, they might have actually found her.”

  The way the muscle in Loki’s jaw was working, Tyr knew he’d better fess up. Anything less would make him an asshole. “Hunter is Hel’s daughter.”

  Loki’s eyes almost bulged out of his head, so Tyr hurried up and tacked on the rest, “She just found out and sorta has a habit of rushing into things. So yeah, there’s a good chance Hunter might have gone after her mother.”

  48

  Odin crushed Ava’s struggling body against his. In any other circumstance, he’d have looked at this as a win-win, but since the black shadowy tendrils of the Orobus were already creeping across their feet, he kept his eyes on the prize.

  Focusing, he tried to ghost them out.

  Nothing happened.

  Tried again. Nothing.

  Ava shoved her palms against his chest. “You have to leave, by yourself. Your magic won’t work with me this close. I have a little of him stuck inside me, remember, so you can’t break free of his hold. So for once, just listen, damn it, and get out.”

  Only part of her order penetrated his thick skull. “No, not leaving you.” As things began to go dark, he lowered his head and whispered into Ava’s ear, “Not much time. You need to fight him, Ava. You don’t belong to him, and you never will. So fight him with everything you have. Never give up. Never. Promise me.”

  By now the inky cloud was cloaking his face, and Ava’s was completely obscured. “Promise me.” But she couldn’t answer, and when he tried to move, he was rooted to the ground. Ava made a strangled sound, and then he lost sight of her completely, only the feel of her in his arms made him sure he still held onto her.

  “You came a long way to kill me.” His voice was muffled by the creature’s murky presence, but he knew the dark god heard him just fine. “And you’ve waited a long time. It’s funny. I thought you’d make revenge more of a production. Savor it a bit. It’s what I would have done, after all.” The shadows sucked away, leaving Ava gasping for breath. He gently set her down, balancing her shoulders on the stone behind them. Cradling her head, he pressed his mouth to her ear.

  “As soon as you are able, climb to the top of the basin, then run for the Tower. Tell them what happened. And remember what I said.” Understanding sparked in her eyes the second he turned away, faced the dark, cresting form poised to crush him.

  “Now. Let’s see what you’ve got.” Odin invited him, arms spread wide, and when the Orobus sent a wave of black hurtling toward him, Odin stopped it with a white, icy one of his own.

  The crash as their magic collided rang across the lake, echoed against the dead city. And masked the sound of Ava as she began climbing.

  49

  Tyr looked down river, to the looming, massive complex. The place looked empty. But his gut was telling him otherwise.

  There’s something wrong.

  Hunter’s in danger, not mortally, but something far, far worse.

  “Morgane’s in there,” Loki muttered. “Whatever’s going on, they’re inside that building.” Which was all the confirmation Tyr needed.

  Ten minutes later, they were hoofing it across the lower level of the Wells Street Bridge, unknowingly taking the exact same route the women had taken. Guns in hand, Loki led the way, going high while Tyr went low, the stench assailing them with the same mouth-gagging intensity, and they paused, then followed the voices.

  Of all the things Tyr expected to find when he entered the demons’ den, it was not his woman and the deity of evil sharing a bonding experience. But there they were. Hugging.

  “Get the fuck away from her.”

  “Ah, the God of War.” Hel’s taunting voice echoed across the cavernous space as she released Hunter from her embrace. “Here she is, love, why don’t you come and get her?”

  Tyr took a cautious step into the light as Loki stepped back and vanished into darkness. “Hunter, get away from her.”

  Hunter blinked, shock written all over her face. “Tyr? What are you doing here?”

  Reaching out, he
beckoned, “Come here, Hunter, take my hand.” But she shook her head, as if warning him off. Hel crossed her arms over her chest and smiled.

  “That’s right,” she mocked, “go ahead, Tyr. Just try to tell my daughter what to do.”

  Hel continued in a high, mocking tone. “Surprise. She is mine. Not yours, mine.” Gloating, she continued, “My blooded daughter. Don’t look so shocked, Tyr, darling. Who do you think started this whole process? You think the Orobus did this alone? No, he needed my help. And like any good game, he has his pieces, and I have mine.” Her spiteful gaze drifted over to Hunter. “And then there are the ones we share. Like my daughter. No mere mortal could ever hold all that power inside her. She needed to be immortal.” Hel shrugged. “So I created the perfect vessel for our final showdown.”

  Tyr kept his eyes pegged on Hunter, watching her grow paler with every word. Watching, too, as Loki snatched Morgane out of thin air and disappeared her somewhere safe. One down, one to go.

  “The rest of it, as you know, has always been up to the Fates. Those meddlesome bitches insist on having their sticky little fingers in everything. Well, so be it. I bent the rules a little.”

  Games within games, pawns of pawns, winners, and losers. Well, he could play too. And he was about to show his fucking hand for all to see.

  “So you’re saying I never saved Hunter’s life that day? It wasn’t me who imprisoned the Orobus’s power within her? So what happened, exactly?” Tyr drawled, drawing out every bit of vanity he knew strutted around inside of Hel. “Oh wait, let me guess. You’re taking credit for that too?”

  “You bet your fucking ass I’m going to. I made her. She’s my progeny. She’s every bit as immortal as you or me. I just left a back door open for the God of Chaos to sneak a bit of himself inside, for safekeeping. For that one moment, she was technically dead, before you decided to swoop in and play white knight to her fairy princess. And the rest, as we say, was history.

  “Sure, she burned a bit of the world down with her, but who doesn’t in the beginning? True power is hard to get used to. So the village was pretty much toast. But you saved the rest of the Highlands, didn’t you Tyr? Always trying to be the good guy. I would have sat back on my heels and watched the world turn to dust, but no, you had to save it.”

  “You are one crazy bitch,” Tyr told her, his voice thrumming with anger.

  “Perhaps. But know this. Hunter belongs to me. Not you, not even the Orobus.

  “She. Is. Mine. And I will do as I please with her.”

  The moment Hel’s arms encircled her, Hunter perceived the change. The firestorm of power which suffused her, the tide of immortality flowing back in. But this time, she didn’t fear it, she welcomed it. And now, as Hel and Tyr fought, Hunter looked between the two.

  Her beginning. And her end.

  She’d come here for only one reason. To beg her mother to join them.

  To ask her to unite with them, to become their strongest ally in this bid to save the world. Believing, mistakenly, a death goddess offered their best chance at survival.

  But watching Hel, listening to the vile, awful things coming out of her mouth, Hunter knew in her heart that would never happen. Hel was truly the most corrupt, vicious creature she’d ever come across. Perhaps she and the Orobus deserved each other. But still, something in Hunter had to try.

  “Hel.”

  Hunter stepped forward, hands spread, beseeching the woman. “Mother. Please. I came here to talk to you. I never knew you, never had the chance. But I’d like to, once this is over. I want to know what it’s like to have a mother.” She measured the shifting emotions in the goddess’s eyes before continuing, “But first, we have to survive this war. And for that, we need your help.

  “Please. Join us. Help us defeat the Orobus, send him back to where he belongs. After that, we could be a…family, if that would suit. Or you can go on being…you. It doesn’t matter, but stop this madness. Please.”

  “You seriously expect me to join the losing side?” Hel’s voice was dripping with mockery. “He’s promised me everything. I’ll be his queen, rule over all worlds. All creatures. I will have no boundaries, no rules. What can you offer me?” She scoffed.

  “Please.” Hunter tried again. “What he’s doing… There won’t be anything left. He’s lying to you, he has no intention of making you a queen.”

  “Little girl, don’t you think I know the difference between a lie and a promise by now? My offer is this. You join me. Come over to our side and fight with us and win. Or die with them. But choose.”

  Feeling the steady weight of Tyr’s gaze, Hunter measured her mother up. Beautiful, no doubt about it. Vain, as well. And blind to a fault. For all of her strengths, there were just as many weaknesses. Meeting Tyr’s eyes, Hunter saw what was shining in them. The look was pride, pure and simple. Of everything she had ever been.

  But I am not what I thought I was.

  But what shone from his eyes…only blazed brighter.

  I’m more than what I thought I was.

  How could she have been so blind for so long? Why had she been content to simply listen to her father’s stories all those years? Why had she never dug deeper, never asked more about her mother? Wait, she thought, where she came from was not the most important thing.

  I am the same as I always was.

  Which meant nothing had been taken from her, after all. Not even the limitless power, which had been hers all along. Which belonged to her. And perhaps the strong allies they needed were not enemies to be cultivated.

  Maybe she’d been looking in the wrong place this whole time.

  Tilting her head, she contemplated her mother, and for the first time, not as a god. But as an equal.

  “Hunter,” Tyr rumbled, “why don’t you show your mother who you really are? She seems to be operating under the mistaken assumption you belong to her.”

  Awareness crackled in the air between them, a living, palpable thing as Hunter spun slowly on her heels and faced her mother. Too late, Hel became aware of the things she’d said, how she’d said them, and the ramifications of her hubris-laden tirade. “Hunter, darling, I was just trying to get a rise out of Tyr. It’s so easy, really, it is…”

  But it was already too late. Hunter drank greedily from the fountain of immortality. Giving herself over to the sensation, Hunter glowed, then exploded in a flash of light, radiance spreading out from her in clear, white rays, cutting like blades through everything in its path. She vaguely heard her mother’s screams ring through the cavernous lobby.

  When Tyr’s hands caught around her middle, they hit the floor, the impact sending them both skidding across the marble. All of a sudden, the stench was ten times worse, a sweet cooked- protein smell that fouled the smoke-filled air.

  “Hunter, by the gods, that was sensational.”

  With a bit of dazed amazement, Hunter saw she was still brilliantly lit, her clothes hanging from her in scraps, all around them the glopping sounds of dead Grim hitting the floor as the monsters fell from their perches.

  “We’d better get out of here. Your light killed them. They’re dying off, and we’ll be buried in dead and dying demons if we don’t get a move on.”

  She agreed, though silently, as he pulled her to her feet amid the growing demon piles and ghosted her straight outside.

  The stench still clogging her nostrils, she gagged, then found herself on all fours, hair hanging down, puking her guts up beside the river. Tyr gathered her hair back out of her face, his other hand resting on the small of her back for a moment before rubbing circles against the base of her spine. “Get it out of your system. We’ve got a minute before we have to move.” From somewhere far off, an echoing boom rang through the city.

  Tyr’s head shot up. “What in the fuck was that?”

  “We don’t know,” Loki said, running up, Morgane right behind him. “Third time we heard it. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it’s coming from the circle.”

  “I
’m good,” Hunter told Tyr, climbing to her feet and wiping her mouth on the back of her sleeve. “Sorry. God, I’m sorry.” Scanning the outside of the building, her gaze was on the demons skittering down along the chamfered corners, almost reaching the ground. As the impact of another deep boom hit them, the creatures skittered back up.

  “If that’s coming from the circle, we have to head there. In case this is like before. In case the others are in trouble. What if…” Hunter didn’t get to finish that thought as the sound crashed against them one more time. “At least Hel and most of her demons are out of commission for the time being,” Hunter muttered, her eyes turned south, a feeling of dread growing in her stomach.

  His eyes glued in the same direction, Tyr pulled her against him, and then everything went dark. Wind howled around them, and she thought she might be sick again before her feet hit the ground, hard.

  50

  Tyr couldn’t believe they were back here again.

  One of these days, this gods-forsaken place would be wiped from the face of the earth and good riddance. But when Loki and Morgane materialized directly behind them, he hung tightly onto Hunter and sprinted for cover as another impact passed right over their heads, the ground heaving up beneath their feet.

  Inside the circle, a crest of black power rose, then fell, a white spear of magic lancing through it. Tyr was tugging Hunter behind a pile of rubble when the small form burst toward them, feet churning up dust. Ava. Somehow, Ava was running full tilt away from the circle, her face tearstained and ghostly white. Morgane dashed out, tackled her sister, and dragged her to shelter.

  In a matter of seconds, she’d spit out a somewhat garbled story, backed up by the roar of Odin’s magic clashing with the black magic of the dark god’s. A hurried order into the com had Mir and Sydney materializing a moment later. Tyr motioned them over to the bank of rubble, and the duo ducked behind bits of carved marble, Doric columns, cornices, and statuary. Safely protected by what remained of the museum, Tyr nodded for Ava to continue her story.