by JL Terra
“You aren’t the cleaning crew. Why is it so cold in here?” The security guard stepped farther inside and hit a button on the wall. “What is going on?”
“He just activated a security alarm.” Remy’s anxious voice came through his earpiece.
Daire locked eyes with Shadrach and nodded. He looked down. “I’m sorry, Hansen.”
“Ambulance just pulled up outside,” Remy said.
Daire stood. He and Shadrach both backed up, then made a break for it. They went in different directions around the great ship in the center.
“Hey!”
The guard could only go after one of them.
Shadrach fired his gun in a warning shot. The security guard yelped. Daire’s boot slipped on a slick patch of ice, but he caught his footing and started to run toward the door at the other end of the exhibition. The professor would be taken care of. That would happen whether Daire and Shadrach were in jail as murder suspects or not. And he preferred not to be accused of attempted murder.
Daire hit the safety bar on the exit door, and they headed down the chilled stairwell. They came out of the building on the ground floor on the opposite side from where they’d parked the van. After what had happened in the last stairwell, his stomach roiled with nervousness. “Remy?”
“I’m almost there.”
He burst out the exit door and stopped in the alley, then turned to Shadrach. “Good?”
“Now that we’re out of the cold, yeah.”
Remy pulled up and they climbed in. Dauntless barked. Daire climbed into the front passenger seat and hauled Remy’s bulky laptop onto his knees. “The Viking Experience?”
“He said, ‘Atlanta’ and ‘Experience.’ I was looking it up when you hustled out of there.”
Cop cars streamed past the end of the street, heading for the front of the museum. Remy backed up and took the street behind them in the opposite direction.
“Look at the owner’s name.” Remy gripped the wheel as she moved over for a semi that was speeding.
Daire clicked the tab and found the name, “It says Johansen Holdings. As in Bryn?”
Remy nodded. She flicked on her blinker to turn left. “It’s like a Renaissance festival, but instead of medieval times you get to live in the time of Vikings. They do tours for school field trips and evening experiences for the more rowdy crowd. The guy who does it is supposed to be the world’s foremost expert on the Viking people.”
“And this is where the Druid is going. To the guy Hansen lost the book back to.”
“There’s more,” Remy said. “The guy who runs it is Bryn’s brother.”
Chapter 25
“No, not the office,” Bryn said. “I don’t even want to think about the last time I was in your office.” She leaned back in the airplane seat and tried to shake her head. All she could manage was a slight movement.
Ben didn’t look too convinced but nodded. “Then I’m open to suggestions as to where we should go first.” His tone was measured. She didn’t believe it one bit. He was testing her.
She stared him down. How about any suggestion that didn’t involve her seeing Daire? That couldn’t be too much to ask. After all, he was the one who’d left the hospital and gone off on whatever mission with Remy and Shadrach.
It turned out looking helpless got her answers when she asked the right questions. She should have tried that when she was an FBI agent.
“You want to tell me why you’re so scared of that doctor?”
Bryn wanted to shake her head and deny the whole thing, but she couldn’t.
“Some people…it’s like whatever you say, they can twist it around and use it to argue in their favor. I went in there already half believing that maybe I really was crazy. With all the meds they put me on and the constant sessions...hypnotizing me so I could recall memories.” She blew out a breath. “Maybe I started to believe it.”
“They brainwashed you.” Amelia shifted in her seat to face Bryn. “That’s what they did.”
She told herself the girl was just naïve and didn’t know the extent of it. But part of her still hoped Amelia was right.
Bryn said, “What it was, was relentless. They didn’t let up. And I don’t think they were going to until I admitted that I made the whole thing up.”
“There is no way we’re going to let you go back there.” Amelia folded her arms. “That doctor isn’t getting his hands on you.”
Bryn glanced at Ben and saw the twitch in his lips. When his gaze met hers, he said, “It fits their rhetoric if you’re the one who is crazy, because it means everything they believe about the world can be understood with knowledge and science. Anyone outside of that box is a lunatic.”
“I’m not sure if I’m ready to believe that I’m not at least partially insane.”
“How can you say that?” Amelia’s mouth dropped open. “You know what the Druid did to you. Both times. And for the rest of it, we were together at my house. So if you’re crazy, then so am I.”
“Maybe you are.” She stared down Amelia and that youthful understanding of the world the young woman still possessed. “Maybe all of us are. After all, you can’t say things haven’t been nuts since I met you.”
“You know how I feel about that,” Amelia said. “You were brought to my bed and breakfast for a reason.”
“So you could meet me before the Druid used my blood to come back to life?”
“If we hadn’t, then Daire and Ben would never have saved you. They wouldn’t have even known you were in trouble, and they definitely wouldn’t have gotten to the cabin in time.”
She looked away from her friend. Malachi was two rows in front, asleep with his head against the window. Bryn had never understood how people could do that on airplanes when the rumble of the engine vibrated the wall and the glass.
Ben looked like he’d had a full night of rest instead of having spent it in the hospital watching over her and ejecting her ex-husband from the room. Remy had assured her that she’d get the paperwork done for her divorce.
She closed her eyes and tried to sort out her churning feelings. Maybe she was embarrassed because they’d had to rescue her. She’d allowed them to assist with her divorce, help her when she was weak, and she needed their help to be safe now.
It was an uncomfortable position to be in.
Bryn was entirely too accustomed to being the rescuer. The federal agent who solved the crime, found the innocent and took down the suspect. She was so far from that woman now it was hard to see herself as anything other than weak. And crazy wasn’t too far from weak, was it? At least it wasn’t for her. Maybe it was different for other people.
Amelia said, “That ex of yours and that doctor aren’t getting anywhere near you if I have anything to say about it. No way.”
“We might have stalled Patrick’s intentions, but we have bigger problems right now,” she said. “The Druid is planning something serious. He came back into his physical body for a reason.”
Ben leaned forward in his seat. “Any idea what that might be?”
She closed her eyes. “Most of it was Latin. Some of it came from other languages I didn’t recognize. It probably isn’t helpful.”
“What would you have said to a witness who said that to you?”
Bryn could see where he was going with this. “I’d have told them they should tell me everything, because who knows what might be useful.”
Ben shrugged. “There you go, then. There have been entirely too many insane situations in the last few days. If we can manage to get one step ahead of him, for at least the next one, then we might have a chance to figure out how to stop him.”
She shuddered at the thought of seeking him out. Going up against him.
She leaned her head back against her chair and closed her eyes. She could feel the Druid’s gaze on her. The bite of that knife—no, not a knife at first. At first, it had been that fox. Then the earth itself. The twisting, curling vines had grown around her, stringing her up. After that
it was the spill of hot blood. Seeping out of her until there was almost no life left.
Daire had arrived at some point. The Druid had whispered that to her, and if she thought hard now...she could almost hear that voice again. The fiery breath, hot on her cheek. The way his words moved through her like ice in her veins.
The skin on her arms prickled and her hair stood up.
“I will find Yggdrasil.”
“What is that?” Amelia asked.
Bryn opened her eyes, not realizing she had spoken aloud. She knew that word. “From a song my mother used to sing me.” She paused a second while the memories washed over her. “It’s what he wants. And there’s only one person I know who might be able to tell us why that might be.”
Ben’s phone rang. He stood, excusing himself, but didn’t move too far away. “Yes?” He listened for a second, and then his gaze came to her. “Is that so?” After another few seconds, he said, “We’ll meet you there.” He hung up and wandered back over to sit down again. “Is this one person you are referring to your brother?”
Bryn said, “Yes.” She felt her eyebrows lift, more than surprised that he’d evidently just had a conversation about this very thing. She wanted to know more about meeting “them” there. Who had been on the phone?
Daire?
Why her brain was choosing to fixate all on him, she couldn’t really say. Probably some twisted affection born of the fact he’d saved her. He understood her. Regardless, thinking about Daire was better than going over and over what had happened to her at the hands of the Druid. She’d lose her mind for good thinking about Him being out there. Eventually, she’ll have to face her fears and accept that she’ll need to do something to help stop him.
It was that or admit she was actually crazy—and so were all of these people—and then go back to that doctor herself.
She didn’t want to admit that having others who knew everything she had faced made her feel like she was a little less alone. Those who’d been through a similar experience, who had fought the Druid that had torn her life apart and ruined her career.
“I’m going to tell the pilot to head to Atlanta. If your brother is the one who can give us answers, then that’s where we need to go. Daire thinks he has the third book.”
As he walked away, Amelia said, “You never told me you have a brother.”
“I haven’t seen Erik in years. The last time was at the spring feast. Probably four years ago now, before I went to Quantico for training. He never was particularly impressed by the fact I was going to become a federal agent. He thought it was a waste of skills I should’ve been using working for him. Dressing as a Viking woman every day.” She shook her head. “Though he did offer me the position of head of security.”
Bryn didn’t believe in the legends of her people as strongly as her brother did. All of that seemed like so long ago. Now those Norse myths were the stuff of comic books and movies. Were there really gods? Or one God? If there really was a God who existed, she didn’t know what reason He would have for allowing her life to converge with this team, and with the Druid. Especially when it led to her almost dying. If Providence wanted to be involved in her life, then He should have stopped the Druid from returning to his physical body. Right?
Who cared that Bryn lived when such evil was threatening the world? Perhaps Amelia might, considering she called Bryn her friend. Perhaps even Daire would be saddened if something happened to her—after all, he had rushed to help. But the reality was that Bryn was the reason why the Druid was back in physical form.
Did they need her to help them figure out what the Druid was going to do? They had her brother. Maybe it was better if she left the group and took her guilt that the Druid was alive again along with her. They didn’t need a crazy woman to slow them down. Or make things more complicated.
“No.” Amelia shook her head. “I can see the look on your face. You’re thinking about running, and I don’t think it has anything to do with your almost-ex or that doctor.”
Bryn said nothing.
“You realize that of all the people in the world, this team is the team that can make sure you’re safe for the rest of your life.”
Bryn said, “So when Daire and the others are done saving the world, Remy can get me a new passport so that I can disappear.” Amelia had to know she wasn’t going to stick around forever.
“Well, yes.” Amelia shot her a look. “But don’t you want to be part of it? Help them take down the Druid and save the world?”
Bryn’s stomach dropped at the very thought of having to face the Druid again. “I can barely walk. How am I supposed to help fight him? You’re going to go and see my brother, and I’m not going to be any more help to you.”
Amelia reached over and put her hand on top of Bryn’s. Her fingers curled in and she squeezed, then let go. “Whatever you decide, I just want you to be safe.”
It baffled her that this young woman seemed to have claimed her as a friend. Could she even say she cared Amelia was safe? On an intellectual level, sure. But didn’t that kind of feeling take time to develop? Instead, it seemed like Amelia had jumped into the friendship with both feet and every ounce of emotion she had.
It was a little overwhelming.
She said, “Thank you for that, Amelia.” She might not understand it, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate it. “I’ve felt like I was alone for a while now. And I know I said this already, but it feels nice to know someone cares. Someone who will let me make my own decisions, instead of pushing what they think is best on me.”
“Are you sure I can’t have Malachi, or Shadrach, pay your ex a visit? It’s not like they would leave any evidence.”
Ben frowned as he sat. “The pilot says we’ll be there in an hour. And you’re coming with us because we need an introduction to your brother. After that, you’ll still be with us.”
“Are you hiring? Because I don’t think you need any more lunatics on your payroll.”
He didn’t laugh. “I didn’t say this was a paid gig. But we can talk about that later.”
“There’s no need.” She shook her head. “I don’t want a job. I didn’t want any of this.” And yet here she was. Reeling from everything she’d been through and trying to figure out how her life had gone off the rails the way it had.
Amelia said, “Well then what do you want?”
Bryn fisted her hands on her lap. “I want to not be the reason the Druid is walking around again.” There, she’d said it. “I was tracking missing children for goodness’ sakes. How did that get me here, to a Druid who came back to life and a threat that might have something to do with Norse mythology?”
“How did I end up tied to a golem hundreds of years old?” Ben lifted both hands, palms up, and then let them fall to his lap. “For years I was part of him and he was part of me. I saw him kill, and he infected me with that rage. I do wonder why I was chosen to be the one it linked to. Part of it was my blood. Just like part of the reason you are here is because of your blood.”
“Do you have an answer for everything?”
He smiled.
Bryn sighed. “So this is all just a confluence of events completely out of my control? I don’t like coincidences.”
“What you do with it now,” Ben said, “is entirely up to you. You’re in complete control of your actions, thoughts. The direction you choose to go next. So let me ask you this, Bryn. Are you the kind of person who knows there is this great evil walking around in the world, and you just walk away? Or are you the kind of person who stands and fights, whether alone or with others?”
She wanted to believe she would stand and fight. She’d been trained, but plenty of people with training still choked in the moment. The Druid had brought her low. So low she felt like she was drowning.
Was she even capable of having the strength to stand and fight? Maybe that was the point. Maybe she had to stand and fight even when she didn’t have the strength.
To face the fear and keep mo
ving on.
Ben gave her a pointed look. “What do you say?”
Chapter 26
The gravel lane stretched under a wide archway that had been constructed of timber. A green painted sign that read, “The Viking Experience” hung from the straight beam across the top. Ben drove to the parking lot and found a space among the rows and rows of visitor’s cars. It was after seven in the evening, so the school buses had long since gone.
Bryn sat in the front passenger seat. She squeezed her fingers together on her lap. When he parked, she didn’t move. He turned to her while the others got out the back doors. “Are you more nervous about seeing your brother, or Daire?”
Bryn grabbed the handle and climbed out, unwilling to admit it was probably a measure of both. Erik was a wild card, even considering some of the people she had been traveling with lately.
The cabin was the first building on what had become Main Street. It was one of six buildings that lined both sides of the street, three on each side. At the end was a giant hall fronted with wide barn doors, which were open. The light inside spilled out along with loud music and people coming and going, singing songs written centuries ago. Some of which she’d even sung herself at one time.
She led them up to the first house, a square timber structure that resembled a log cabin. The porch was deep and sat six Adirondack chairs on each side of the front door. Amelia wandered up to stand beside her. “This place is incredible. Do they really make everyone dress in period costume?”
Bryn nodded. “It’s part of having an authentic experience.”
“And the swords?”
Nearly everyone walking around had one strapped to their hip. “Movie props, otherwise this place would be an insurance nightmare. Not to mention a safety hazard.”
Bryn let herself in the cabin and moved right up to the reception desk. Tour prices were listed on the wall behind, distinctly higher amounts than the last time she’d been here. She tapped her hand on the bell sitting on the counter. A wide-shouldered man with a heavy stomach and a beard that touched his shirt buttons emerged from behind a curtain.
