Dead Silence

by T. G. Ayer

  Loki pursed his lips. "Nita has a half-human child. Unfortunately, the poor thing has no power or he would have gotten away by now." Loki looked very happy with himself and right now, despite the almost overwhelming urge to punch him, I could understand his satisfaction.

  "Why are you doing this Loki? What do you expect to gain from all the havoc you're creating?"

  Loki shrugged. "It's just a game, really. And a way to ensure that the forces of the Aesir fail in Ragnarok."

  "You've done pretty well to achieve that goal," I said, folding my arms. I was still waiting to figure out what Loki wanted from me in exchange for the safety of both my mothers.

  He tugged my arm and took a few steps, and we were back on the clifftop. Loki let go of my arm and began to pace back and forth in front of me.

  After a few tense moments, the god cleared his throat. "I don't think I have. You see, I succeeded in getting Odin out of the way but you, Bryn, are causing me too many problems. You need to be removed from the equation."

  "Why don't you just kill me, then? Instead of wasting time blackmailing me?" I snapped, glaring at him. At that moment I wished for telepathy so I could tell the warriors back in the palace that I needed their help. If I spent too long out here then Fen would come looking, but there was no way to tell anyone that Loki was here in Asgard right now. "How did you bypass the wards?"

  He lifted his face to me, and his expression one of unadulterated excitement. "It was a brilliant thing. Vanya taught me how to manipulate water. To use it as a conduit to project myself."

  "So this is just a projection?" I asked dryly, pointing a finger at his chest.

  "Nope. Well . . . yes. Kind of. It's a physical projection. It's alive though so you can hurt it if you try, but it won't kill me."

  "So all this time you've been wreaking havoc in Midgard while walking the halls of Asgard, listening to everything we said?"

  "Sort of. I can only do one thing at a time so when I project I have to concentrate really hard. So it's not entirely like being in two places at once."

  This was interesting. Filing that bit of information away, I asked, "So, I'll ask again. What do you want from me?"

  "I want you to back off. Stay away from my fight with the Aesir. I have plans for the final showdown. It will happen my way, in a place of my own choosing."

  "What do you mean?" I frowned. "The battle was always meant to be held on the Vigrid Plains."

  Loki shook his head, a sneaky smirk playing at his lips. "Nothing is cast in stone my dear. Surely you, of all people, can understand that. It will come to pass only as I have planned it. So I really need you to stop messing with my plans." He tilted his head and gave me a sneaky smile. "And maybe after it's all over, you and I can do some business together."

  Snowball's chance in hell of that happening, but I didn't let my feelings filter through to my expression.

  Instead, I gave a short nod. "And my family?"

  "I'll keep them safe until this is all over. They are important to me, so rest assured nobody will harm them." Then he smiled, his lips lifting to reveal his teeth in a slight smirk. "Unless, of course, you decide to play hero."

  "Fine," I said, keeping my spine straight.

  Loki held out his hand, his eyes bright with glee. "What do you Midgardians say? Shake on it?" He nodded at his hand and I knew I had little choice but to take it. Any refusal could be seen to imply I wasn't in agreement and would endanger my family. The god was mercurial enough to decide to harm them if I refused one of his requests.

  Taking a step toward him, I grasped his outstretched palm. He shook my hand, his grip hard and almost threatening.

  When he finally released my hand I let out my breath, loosened tight muscles. I hadn't even realized I'd been holding my breath all this while, nor had I registered how tense I'd become in his presence.

  And then the snow began to spin and Loki's form began to disintegrate. He lifted his forefinger to his temple in a mock salute then vanished in the flurry of spinning white snowflakes.

  A second later, the snow simply sank, floating to the ground slowly, as if nothing untoward had happened in the preceding seconds.

  And then I was alone with the snow, disappointed that this place of peace had been poisoned by Loki's intrusion. It was no longer a place I'd come to for solitude and reflection.

  Loki had destroyed that too.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  I flew back to the palace, my heart a jagged rock in my chest. I kept seeing Ms Custer's face floating in front of me. But what felt even more strange was the appearance of my mother's face, overlapping my foster mom's. What would she be thinking, being taken to Ms Custer's house? What would she have thought when she'd been introduced to my foster mother, when she'd known Ms Custer had cared for me, had mothered me where she'd refused to.

  And I knew my foster mother enough to know she'd had given my mother a piece of her mind in her own unique way. Ms Custer wasn't a vindictive person but she had an unfailing sense of right and wrong, something she was both passionate and vocal about.

  I couldn't summon even an ounce of pity for her.

  A bubble of laughter rose to the surface of the polluted pool that was my emotional state, and I tamped it down, wondering if Loki's insanity was rubbing off on me. I landed before the palace, trying not to see too much of the destruction as I entered the building and hurried along the corridors until I reached Frigga's chambers.

  Her door was open and Thor and his brother Vidarr were seated on the sofa, heads together as they remained in deep discussion. Frigga sat quietly, barely paying attention to the brothers as she stared off into nothing.

  The room looked a little better, the broken column and puddle of curtains removed, and all the rubble and dust having been swept away.

  Still, it looked damaged enough to be a reminder that our world was in total upheaval.

  They all looked up as I entered the room and headed for the sofas.

  "We have a problem," I said finding my voice sounded a little stilted and strange.

  "What's wrong Brynhildr?" asked Frigga, shifting in her seat to face me.

  "I just had some face-time with Loki. I went up to the Hollow and he appeared in front of me."

  "What do mean 'appeared'?" asked Vidarr, his critical tone confirming I was again making a bad impression on him. I let it slide, having known since I'd first met him that he wasn't one of my admirers. He wasn't someone I cared to waste time convincing of my worth either.

  I forced my tight shoulders to relax as I answered. "He explained how he'd been able to enter Asgard. The wards have worked to keep him out, but whatever spells were said, they didn't cover projection."

  "So he's not really here?" asked Frigga, a frown twisting her smooth brow. Today her pale skin seemed starker than usual against the frame of her black hair, a touch of fatigue and weariness showing through her regal, motherly exterior.

  "Not physically. He's learned how to control the elements and he uses water to travel to Asgard, and project a form of himself that is solid enough to kill someone, but magical enough that his real self isn't harmed even if his projected self is injured."

  "But Loki has never been able to do this. What makes you think he is able to perform such magic now?" asked Vidarr, a cynical bite to the doubt in his tone.

  "Because he told me that's what he's been doing. And he told me who taught him to perform such magic," I answered, for the first time allowing my voice to reveal my irritation with Vidarr. He may be Odin's son but he was not embracing me as his sister. And nothing in his behavior implied that he ever would. I moved my gaze from the annoying Vidarr and looked at Frigga. "Loki said that Vanya has been teaching him the magic."

  "Vanya?" asked Thor, rising to his feet. "But she's been helping us for almost every moment since she arrived."

  "Whatever she's doing here in Asgard, we need to be aware that both Vanya and Nita are being blackmailed. Loki has abducted Nita's son and is keeping him hostage, ensuring
that both Nita and her mother will do whatever Loki tells them to. Nita helped me escape because Loki wanted her to. And I am beginning to wonder if coming across those plans was just another one of Loki's little games."

  "But I do not understand. Why would Vanya and Nita betray Asgard when they have always pledged their fealty to my father?" asked Vidarr. His father? I wanted to laugh at his assertion, but knew he was just reminding me the he didn't consider me worthy, either as a sister or as a warrior.

  I tilted my head and examined his face. "Because, for most people, family comes first." My eyes were cool as I spoke, making it clear that I didn't appreciate his refusal to support me. "Nita and her mother will do anything to ensure the safety of the boy, even betray Odin."

  "And how can you be so sure of this?" he asked, his tone making a mockery of my words, his expression clear that my attitude didn't affect him in the least. Vidarr was much more than just frustrating.

  Raising my eyebrows, I said, "Because that's exactly what I would do."

  There was a long silence in which the three gods processed the enormity of my words.

  And then Thor shifted forward on the ridiculously small seat. "Who did he take?" he asked, his voice gentle as his eyes studied my face.

  I blinked back the heat of tears that seemed harder to fight the more I spoke. "My mothers. Both my foster mother and my biological mother. He has them both in Craven in my foster mother's house. His instruction to me was to stay out of the battle, to not get involved. And to be honest I'm not sure what to do."

  "Oh, Bryn," said Frigga as she rose and came to me. She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a hug, then she leaned away and stroked my hair. "I am so sorry this happened, my dear. And I can assure you we will do whatever we can to get your family to safety." Frigga glanced over her shoulder at Thor and Vidarr.

  Thor looked frozen in shock while Vidarr's expression revealed a tiny bit of intrigue but a clear lack of concern. I gave a weak nod and steeled myself against revealing my emotions, even though I just wanted to find a corner to lie down in and have a good cry. My stomach hurt and it felt a little hard to breathe. And I couldn't help but sink down beside Frigga.

  "What do I do now?" I asked softly. "Loki will know if I act in any way against him. I wish there was a way we could do things around here without letting anyone know about it."

  "There is," said Thor, his voice rumbling as if his anger was filtering out into the air around him.

  My gaze snapped to his face. "How?"

  "By ensuring nobody knows what you are doing." The piecing blue look he gave me told me everything. I had to do whatever I needed to, without tipping off the person who was feeding Loki information about our tactics.

  "There is a chance that we don't have a mole and that its been Loki all along, lurking around here and eavesdropping on our discussions," I said, even as I realized that everything I did from here on out would have to be under the assumption that the trickster still has a mole within our midst.

  "Not a chance I would take, if I were you," said Vidarr, his expression a confusing mix of understanding and indifference, as if he was convincing himself not to care.

  I nodded at Vidarr. "I won't." Then I turned to Frigga. "While the team is home we should say goodbye to Aidan."

  Frigga smiled sadly. "It is probably a good idea not to wait too much longer. Best for his family too. And we had best get the preparations made. There have been a number of ceremonies held over the last day for the warriors who perished in the quake."

  A sense of sadness filled me as I remembered the dead I'd brought back to the surface from within the chasm. Worse knowing they'd added to the dead found beneath the rubble that had been Valhalla. So many funerals.

  I got to my feet abruptly but Frigga and Thor seemed to understand my discomfort. I didn't waste time considering what Vidarr thought.

  "I'll speak to Aidan's mother," I said turning toward the door.

  "Make sure you let us know." Frigga's tone was stern, more of an instruction than a request.

  Hiding a smile, I nodded. "I'll send word." Then I left, with the memory of Frigga's sad expression and Thor's frustrated one on my mind.

  Loki seemed to be a never-ending problem for us, and like Thor I was becoming very frustrated. I reached Mrs Lee's apartment before I realized it, the time walking spent wondering how I could thwart Loki's plans.

  I knocked and within seconds the door opened.

  "Hello, Bryn," she said holding the door wider. She looked tired and a little less sad from the last time I'd seen her.

  When I entered, I turned to her, not wanting to wait to get to the point. "The warriors will be in Asgard for a short time. Would you like to begin preparations for the funeral?"

  Aidan's mother nodded, her expression serene and accepting. "All the arrangements have been made and we've decided on a simple warrior burial at the lake, not unlike those of the other warriors who died in the quake. Just not a big ceremony."

  "Who do you wish to be there?" I asked, hoping she didn't exclude the gods from the invitation.

  "You, of course. Maybe a few members of the team that he was with when he was killed. The gods who wish to attend. And his father." Her face whitened at the mention of her husband and it saddened me what a large reach Dr Lee's vicious personality possessed.

  Thoughts of the doctor made me wonder if the truth about his father may have changed him at all. I kept my emotions off my face and gave his wife a smile. "Would tomorrow midday work for you?"

  Selfishly, I hoped she'd say yes so I could get some rest before the ceremony. She nodded with half a smile, and folded her arms around her waist. The action made her look incredibly thin and fragile. I hoped that she'd be able to put Aidan to rest and move on with life, as hard as it may be.

  Then she took a deep breath. "I'll let everyone know."

  "Would you like me to send the message to Dr Lee?"

  She waved me off. "No, my dear. I think you have enough on your mind. I'll have him brought up for the ceremony."

  Giving her a small hug, I left her to her sad plans.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  As I headed back to Fen's hall a fatigue begin to weigh me down, weaving its heaviness into my limbs. I tried to shake it off, thinking it was merely tiredness from running around so much. When I peeked into the room, a pair of warriors looked up from the table.

  "Where is everyone?" I asked

  "Dinner," they both said together. One of them I recognized as Jeff leaned forward and said, "You have orders to meet them in the dining hall. And Fen said, 'no' is not an option."

  He raised his eyebrows in emphasis and I laughed saying, "Okay then," before heading to the dining hall.

  When I reached the doorway the signs of damage were everywhere. One of the doors hung off its hinges and I understood why they would take time to have it fixed. You'd need a couple of Surts to fix them because only a being as large as a fire giant would be able to mend the broken hinges and reset the door. And Surts loyal to Odin were sadly scarce.

  Once inside, I stared up at the high-beamed ceiling to see several bare patches where the logs had come loose and fallen. No sign of the beams or the damaged furniture remained, and though that was a good sign, it didn't make me forget what we'd been through.

  I saw my team and headed for their table, nodding at the various warriors who called out greetings to me. When I finally reached the seat and sank down on it, I heaved a sigh of relief and oddly, felt like I'd just run a marathon, my limbs heavy and numb as the same time. I shook my head trying to shake off the strange tiredness that suddenly seemed to be dogging my every step.

  "Bryn? Are you okay?" asked Joshua as he placed a trencher in front of me.

  He'd disappeared from the table the moment I'd seen the group from the door and now I saw he'd been fetching my meal. I glanced up at him but even that small movement made me feel exhausted.

  "I don't know. I just feel so tired all of a sudden.

  "You
've probably been running yourself ragged," snapped Suri, clearly annoyed at me, Brody sat beside her, nodding his dark head in complete agreement. "Once you finish that, you need to go straight back to your room and rest." She was glaring, her golden-eyed expression clearly one I didn't plan on messing with.

  "Yeah," I sighed. "I don't think I'm going to be very useful until I rest." Suri's expression lightened a little and I felt strangely loved. Being bossed around by the people you are in charge of was oddly gratifying.

  I fell upon my food, but found that I wasn't as hungry as I'd thought. My stomach pinched, and my mouth felt funny, signs that I was starving, but despite the slices of fresh roast beef and steamed veg, and the fresh, straight-from-the-oven buns, I could not summon up the urge to eat.

  "Am I going to have to feed you," asked Joshua in my ear.

  My vision blurred as I turned my head to look at him. "I think I'll try to feed myself, thanks," I said giving him a tired grin.

  I settled in and tried to eat as much as possible, and with the inane chatting and ribbing from the team I managed to polish off quite a bit until nausea began to dog my every swallow.

  Pushing the plate away, I said, "One more bite and I'm going to toss more than cookies." I managed to utter the words while swallowing the urge to hurl.

  Looking at the people at the table, all who were like family to me, I knew I had to take a chance on them, to trust them. I leaned toward Joshua. "Get Fen, Suri and Aimee and bring them to my quarters, and don't let anyone know you're coming," I whispered. And I left Brody out of the group deliberately. He'd grown up in Ms Custer's care and I wondered if his emotions would get in the way of his mission if I included him. A large part of me didn't want to hurt him, and I felt like keeping it from him, even for a little while, would keep him from hurting.

  Even as I made the request, I wondered if having Fen, a child of Loki, included in my clandestine meeting, was a good idea, but at this point I had to take a bet on who to trust. That I was risking the lived of two important woman with that bet, weighed heavily on my soul.