by S. T. Bende
Axel gave me one last, long look before extending his hand and lacing his fingers through mine. He palmed his broadsword in the other hand and pointed it at Raynor. “Lead the way.”
“It’s back here.” Janna poked her head out of a door just off the ballroom. “It’s a storage closet—extra tables and chairs from the look of it. I’m guessing they’ve already done their setup on all these rooms, so it should stay empty.”
“Sounds good.” I deposited my sword and shield but kept my fighting blade strapped to my thigh. Weapons may not have been allowed at modern-day dances, but a girl could never be too careful.
“Freia’s dagger is still secure, ja?” Axel closed the door behind him, then slid his hand up my back. His fingers stilled when they brushed the metal.
“It’s there.” I moved toward the ballroom. “Right between my shoulder blades.”
“Good. Now let’s get to this party. We still have a few hours before midnight, and I intend to show my girl a good time.”
I arched my brow. “Pretty confident in your dancing abilities, are you, Andersson?”
“Yes.” He leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I meant what I said, Shieldmaiden. You look absolutely amazing tonight.”
I tilted my head, studying his black suit and white bowtie. He’d left his hair down, so it fell in auburn waves around his neatly trimmed beard. Mmm.
He kissed my fingertips, then pulled me to him and snaked his arm around my back. He lowered his head, pressing his lips against mine and sending a surge of heat all the way to my toes. I reached up to wind my fingers through his hair. I tugged him closer, deepening the kiss and—
“You’re blocking the door.” Raynor cleared his throat.
“Huh? Oh. Right.” I reluctantly stepped out of Axel’s arms. “Raincheck?”
“You’d better believe it,” he said. He laced his fingers through mine and tugged me toward the ballroom.
The moment I stepped inside I was assaulted by flashing lights, writhing bodies, and an incessant, rhythmic beat. Flower-covered tables surrounded a packed wooden floor, on which my ballgown-clad housemates danced like it was the last night of the world. All inhibitions had apparently been checked at the door. It was nothing like the refined balls we had back home, with our buttoned-up bunads, and stiff-backed dances. This event was wild, and carefree, and by all accounts, immeasurably fun.
I couldn’t wait to jump in.
“There you are.” Torstein’s voice pulled my focus. The light mage sat at the table closest to the door, his normally free hair tied up in a loose man-bun. He wore the same black suit and white bowtie as Axel and Raynor, but instead of a relaxed grin, his lips were set in a tight grimace. “I’ve confirmed the exact location of the convergence. The planets should channel their energy about half a mile from here. It’s going to take place on a beach.”
“Of course it is.” Raynor frowned. “Because nothing’s easier than fighting in sand.”
“It’s softer to fall in,” I pointed out.
“That’s my girl.” Axel pulled me close. “Ever the optimist.”
“The location means that Sverrir will definitely be nearby—if he’s not already in place, he will be soon.” Torstein pulled two faintly glowing crystals from his pocket. “I’m going to scan the hotel perimeter. If he’s in the vicinity, he may have picked up on the resonance of these and come to collect. A full set’s bound to be stronger than a partial.”
“I thought one was still missing,” Brigga said.
“He got that one too.” Torstein’s voice was void of emotion. “Earlier tonight.”
“How do you—”
“Don’t ask.” Torstein frowned. “Just tell me who’s up for running perimeter with me.”
“I’ll do it,” I offered.
“No.” Torstein and Axel spoke at the same time.
“He still needs the dagger,” Torstein reminded me. “We don’t want you anywhere near him.”
“I’m part of this team,” I pointed out. “It’s not like I’m going to sit out the fight.”
Axel shifted uncomfortably.
Torstein stared him down. “You didn’t tell her?”
“Didn’t tell me what?” I set my hand on my hip.
“Raynor, Brigga, run the perimeter with me.” Torstein eyed Axel. “Janna, Brigga, you protect Ingrid.”
“Since when have I ever needed protecting?” I challenged.
Torstein met my gaze. “Since that dagger in your possession became the only object capable of saving the world from total annihilation.”
A lump lodged in my throat. “Ja. Well . . .”
“Tell her, Axel. I have to go.” With that, Torstein rose from the table and swept out of the room. Brigga and Raynor followed.
“Tell me what?” I turned to Axel.
“It’s too loud in here. I’ll tell you out there.” He jutted his head to the door. “Come on.”
“I’m coming with you.” Janna laced her arm through mine. “And for the record, Ingrid does not need protecting. No matter what she has in her possession.”
“I know that.” Axel held open the door. The three of us walked into the hallway, moving slowly toward the hotel gift shop. “But Torstein is worried. He’s seen what Sverrir is capable of.”
“Has he seen what I’m capable of?” I growled.
“Hey.” Axel reached out to touch my elbow. “I’m on your team. If you want to fight, then you fight. I certainly have no intention of telling you what to do. Not now, not ever.”
“Smart assassin,” I said.
“But Torstein does have a point.”
Janna and I treated Axel to matching glares.
“Not about you needing to be looked after—that’s just dumb.” He frowned. “But about the dagger being a liability.”
“I won’t lose it, Axel.”
“I’m not worried about you letting it off your person. I’m worried because I know you’ll fight to the death to keep it safe. And I’m not exactly thrilled about the idea of losing you.”
My jaw unclenched. “Axel . . .”
“Hear me out.” Pain danced across his features. “What if—if—you and I didn’t go to the convergence site at midnight. Or you and Janna, if you think she’s a better protector. Sverrir has to know you’ll show up on the beach. He knows we’ll try to take him down, so he’s expecting the dagger to come to him. But if you stay behind, he won’t have everything he needs to do his spell. He’ll be one magic blade short, waiting for a prize that never comes. He can’t destroy the world if he doesn’t have all the tools.”
“And you think that a portion of our team will be able to do what we failed to accomplish as a whole?” I asked. “We’ve gone head-to-head with Sverrir fully manned. There’s no chance we can take him down if two of our members sit this one out.”
“I just—” Axel’s voice cracked. “I don’t want to lose you. And I know you’ll do whatever it takes to fight for Valkyris.”
“True. But I have no intention of dying tonight.”
“Ingrid, I—”
“Listen.” I unlinked my arm from Janna’s. “I get where you’re coming from. Believe me, I do. But if I sit this out—if Sverrir doesn’t get the dagger tonight—then he’s just going to keep coming for it. Maybe in this century, maybe in another. He’s never going to give up.”
“Ingrid has a point,” Janna said quietly.
“If we don’t capture him tonight, Valkyris will never be safe. We’ll always be looking over our shoulder, waiting for him to show up and steal Freia’s dagger.” I wrung my fingertips together. “Or worse, we’ll just fade from existence because he’s stolen it in another timeline—and we never even saw it coming.”
Axel rubbed his jaw. “I just wish there was another way.”
“I do too,” I admitted. “But there’s not. We have to finish this. Tonight.”
Axel’s shoulders drooped. He reached out and took my hand. “Good thing you had the best trainer in Valkyris.”
“Ja.” I blinked. “Janna did a great job teaching me.”
“I did,” Janna agreed.
“Ha. Ha.” Axel rolled his eyes.
We stopped outside of the gift shop. As we turned back toward the ballroom, an angry girl shouted from the store.
“Stop it! Stop throwing things at me!”
I cringed. “I know that voice.”
“I said stop it! Wherever you are, just cut it out!”
Janna peered into the store window. “What is Lexi upset about?”
“No idea.” I moved in beside her to find Lexi standing next to a row of candy, stamping her sequin-heeled foot. “But she looks really mad.”
“When doesn’t she look mad?” Janna crossed her arms.
I snorted.
Lexi’s head whipped around. When she spotted me, her lips curled up in a sneer. “You.”
“Uh-oh,” I muttered.
Lexi stormed out of the store. She stopped in front of me with her hands balled into tight fists. “I don’t know how you did it, but you’d better knock it off right now.”
“Knock what off?” I asked.
“Stop throwing things at me.” Lexi’s shoulders trembled.
“I was out here,” I pointed out. “Behind this massive glass window. How could I possibly have been throwing anything at you?”
“I said I don’t know how you’re doing it,” Lexi snapped. “Maybe you have some kind of wire set up. Or you paid off one of the workers to stand behind the shelf and push books off of it.”
“Hold on.” Axel held up his hands. “You’re saying somebody is throwing books at you?”
“Yes.” Lexi rubbed her forehead. “Big books, too. They hurt.”
I bit back my laugh.
“It isn’t funny, Inga.”
“It’s still Ingrid,” I said calmly. “And I can assure you, I had no part in your book assault.”
“You should be more careful who you tick off. The hotel is haunted.” Morgan stepped out of the gift shop holding a small bag. “Guests have reported incidents like this before. You ought to let the concierge know—I’m sure he’d love to document it.”
“It wasn’t a ghost, Morgan.” Lexi crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto her back foot. “It was Ingrid. She’s had it in for me ever since she got here. And I have had it.”
She turned on one high heel and stormed toward the ballroom. She spun back around, slammed her hands onto her hips, and yelled at me. “Don’t think you’ll get away with this. I’m going to—”
Her tirade muted as my brain sounded a warning signal. A small, black circle had just appeared behind Lexi. It swirled and sparked in a pattern I knew all too well. In the time it took me to kick off my heels and sprint down the hall, it had expanded to the size of a door.
“Lexi! Get down!”
“Ingrid’s attacking me!” Lexi shrieked. “Help!”
I threw myself on top of her. My shoulder slammed into her chest as I wrenched us away from the rapidly growing portal. We landed in a heap, Lexi’s pointed nails clawing violently at my back.
“You want a fight? I’ll give you the fight of your—”
I covered her mouth with one hand. “Shut up, Lexi. You are in danger. Very, very big danger. If you have any idea what’s good for you, you will run away from that portal and do not look back.”
Lexi bit my palm. I rolled away from her and swore.
“What portal?” Lexi spat. “What are you talking about?”
I pointed to the massive, black vortex filling the corridor behind her. “That one.”
Lexi’s face paled. “Oh my God.”
“Something very evil is about to walk out of it. So get the Helheim out of here,” I warned. “Now.”
Lexi didn’t say another word. She scrambled to her feet, and took off running. Axel and Janna raced to my side.
“Stay clear of that thing,” Axel cautioned.
I glanced down the hallway. Morgan hadn’t moved from her spot in front of the gift shop. She held one hand over her mouth, her other arm in the air. If her face wasn’t wracked with terror, I’d have thought she was in class, about to ask a question.
“Morgan, you too,” I warned. “Get out of here.”
“What’s going on?” Morgan’s voice shook.
My eyes sought out Axel’s. How much could we tell her without upending her entire notion of reality?
“Remember all of those things we learned in Folklore?” Axel asked calmly. “About mages, and fountains of youth, and enchanted stones?”
“Ye-ee-eesss.” Morgan’s teeth chattered.
“Well, they’re true. All of them.” Axel eyed the sparking portal. “Now run.”
“I’ll get the weapons from storage.” Janna sprinted down the hallway. “Don’t engage until I’m back.”
Morgan stared at me. “Do you need help?”
“Help us by making sure everybody stays out of this hallway except Torstein, Brigga and Raynor,” I pleaded. “And tell Kenzi and Kayla and everyone else thank you. For everything.”
Morgan blinked. “You sound like you’re saying goodbye.”
My throat tightened. I am. But I held Morgan’s gaze and said firmly, “Thank you, Morgan. You’ve been a true friend to us. We wouldn’t have made it this far without you.”
“Ingrid . . .”
“Run, Morgan,” I said as the portal sparked again.
Morgan nodded. She sprinted toward us and threw her arms around me. “I’m going to miss you. Wherever you’re going.”
I squeezed her back. “We’ll miss you too. Now, go!”
She shot me one last smile before skirting around the portal and racing for the ballroom. When she’d rounded the corner, I turned my attention to the thick, black hole.
“It’s nearly open, and we are seriously lacking in weapons. Where’s Janna?” I lifted my skirt and drew my fighting dagger.
Axel dropped into a battle stance. He pulled his own dagger from his ankle just as pale hands reached around either edge of the portal. They pulled the sides apart, expanding the blackness until it was wide enough to fit a body. A boot stepped from the hole, followed by a leg, a cloak, and the jowly face of the one being in all the world I least wanted to see. Sverrir had arrived.
And he looked ready to kill.
Chapter 14
“WE HAVE TO DRAW him out of the hotel.” Axel stepped carefully backward. “We don’t want any civilian casualties.”
“Got any suggestions?” I tightened my grip on my dagger.
“Ja.” Janna charged down the hallway, her arms loaded with weapons. “Run like Helheim!”
She flung her arms out, sliding swords and shields across the ground. I bent to snatch mine up, then turned and sprinted for the exit. The air crackled behind me, but I didn’t look to see if it came from the portal or from Sverrir. The dark mage wouldn’t think twice about lighting up that ballroom—not if it might make me give up the dagger. We had to get him as far from the hotel as possible, so he didn’t have any leverage. And the fastest way to do that was . . .
“Axel,” I shouted over my shoulder as I thundered into the lobby. “Call for Rufus!”
“What?” His footsteps pounded right behind me.
“Call Rufus! We need a ride!”
“On it.” Axel came up beside me. He muttered into his bracelet, then charged past the main desk. As he neared the glass entry, he waved his blade and barreled past several surprised guests—all of whom jumped hurriedly from his path. When he reached the mat, he spun around and held up his sword. “I’ll hold him off. You just get on Rufus when he shows.”
“No way. I’m not leaving you alone with—”
“Sverrir will follow Freia’s dagger,” Janna shouted. “If he’s focused on you, he’s not going to kill as many bystanders.”
My heart seized. Letting Axel risk his life for me went against every fiber of my being. But I knew what I had to do. And I had to believe that Axel wouldn’t let me down—
not now, not ever.
“Right.” I pumped my legs and lowered my head. “Just keep that door open.”
I charged past the uniformed doorman and leapt down the red-carpeted steps. When I reached the pavement, I hung a sharp right and ran. Footsteps from behind let me know I wasn’t alone, but I could only hope it was Janna on my heels. Because if Sverrir was this close already, the fight was over before it had even begun.
“Ingrid! The dragon is coming!” Janna’s voice sent a whoosh of breath from my chest.
Thank gods.
“Where is he?” I didn’t slow down as I scanned the sky.
“There!” Janna pointed toward the beach. Rufus swooped low overhead, likely searching the coastline for his owner. I altered my course and ran for the lizard.
“Rufus!” I waved my sword, hoping the moonlight would catch on the metal. “Rufus, down here!”
The dragon landed on the sand. His long neck snaked from side to side.
“He can’t find us. Come on.” I ran faster, closing the distance between us and our ride.
Janna passed me just before we reached the beach. She banged her sword on her shield as she kicked off her shoes and ran toward the water. “Rufus! Help!”
The dragon turned his head. Something akin to recognition flickered across his eyes—though it could just as easily have been that creepy third eyelid. He bounded across the sand, surprising a handful of late-night beachgoers. They ran screaming for the hotel, no doubt convinced they were about to die.
Considering what was happening behind me, they may not have been off-base.
“Rufus—we need you to take us to Axel. Drop down so we can climb your leg!” I didn’t even flinch at issuing commands to an enchanted iguana-dragon. Nor was I surprised when the animal did what I asked. Rufus bent his knees and lowered his head. I grabbed his spikes and pulled myself onto his thigh. My foot slipped and I flung my arms around his neck, scrambling as I struggled to climb higher. Rufus swung his neck around, nipped lightly at the back of my dress, and lifted me onto his back like a mother cat guiding her kitten. His dragon breath was hot on my bare shoulders, but thank the gods he did not flame. Instead, he lowered his head again, took Janna’s gown between his pointed teeth, and lifted her into place behind me.
