Dead Silence (11 page)

"I don't think we need to," I said.

"What do you mean?"

"I think he already knows," I said softly. "Wherever he is I think he's able to watch what's going on in our world. But he needs his strength. I only hope that he has the good sense not to try and materialize in Asgard because he thinks he can be of some help."

Frigga snorted, the inelegant sound drawing smiles from both the men in the room. "He is stubborn enough to do just that. But I too hope he restrains himself."

"Right, I think I will be off to the dungeons for now." I headed for the door.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Despite my doubts I headed in the direction of the dungeon entrance. The deeper I went into the palace the more destruction I saw. Walls were cracked, some ceilings had fallen revealing openings into the corridors of the level above.

As I walked, I found I needed to be particularly careful where I stepped as every so often the large blocks under my feet shifted and grated against each other. I resorted to flying the rest of the way, giving thanks that the hall ceilings were high enough to ensure I didn't keep knocking my head on rocks.

When I got to the entrance to the stairs that led to the subterranean jail, there was only one guard on watch.

A quick explanation had him opening the door but the strange look on his face was swiftly explained by the state of the stairwell. I was most grateful for the gift of flight.

The entire staircase had collapsed. Some sections of stairs still remained intact but the whole staircase needed rebuilding.

As I reached the debris-clogged base of the stairwell, I had to give thanks a second time. This time for the rather high thresholds that housed the doors to the dungeons. Broken rocks that had been stairs in a previous life, had fallen to the bottom of the stairwell and were now almost entirely blocking the doorway to the jail.

I found a space that looked large enough for me to wiggle through, and pulled my wings in as tight as I could.

Then I poked my head through the hole and squeezed myself through. At the other side I found another guard, Ross, from what I recalled, who looked a little piqued.

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked.

Ross nodded. "I just haven't seen anyone for a while. And without any communication from above I was getting a little worried."

"I'll let them know when I get back up there." I glanced around knowing there was supposed to be a second guard who watched the entrance from the outside. "Where's your other guard?"

The warrior nodded a head at the pile of rubble. "Bjorn is somewhere inside that mess." His jaw tightened. "I talked to him until he was gone. I think he was smashed quite badly by the falling stairs."

I laid a hand on Ross's shoulder. The two men were likely good friends considering all the time they spent with each other down here. "I'm sorry." He nodded. "I need to see Dr Lee."

Ross turned on his heel and led me down the corridor until we reached the doctor's outer cell door. Inside the inner guard sat twiddling his thumbs anxiously. The moment he saw us through the bars he shot to his feet and hurried over to open the door.

"What happened up there?" he asked, his eyes snapping from my face to his fellow warrior's.

"Bad earthquake." I didn't want to say much else about the cause of the quake. "A lot of damage. The palace is half destroyed, Valhalla is a pile of rubble. Lots of warriors killed and even more injured. It's mayhem."

The
einherjar
took a small step toward me. "I need to get up there. They need our help." He glanced nervously at the stone ceiling as if he was able to see through it to the horror of what lay up on the surface.

"No. You are needed here," I said keeping my tone soft and encouraging. "The last thing we need are dangerous prisoners creating more drama up top. You are doing an excellent job keeping the city safe and we need you to continue doing so."

The warrior nodded, his brown eyes were pools of something between lukewarm relief and concentrated dedication. He grabbed the key on the chain at his belt and stepped toward the door to Dr Lee's cell.

A metallic click and he swung the door inward. "Let me know when you are ready to leave." With that he closed and locked the door behind me.

And for a moment I stared at the closed door. What would happen if Asgard was hit with another quake and I was trapped down here with this odious man?

I shook the thought off and turned to face the man. He sat at his desk, his glasses low on his nose. He was straight-backed, proud of his etiquette or whatever it was. He took his time, completing his sentence and only when he made a show of pressing his pencil into the paper to mark the period, did he look up and remove his thin wire spectacles.

"And to what do I owe the honor of your visit?" I could almost hear the word he hadn't uttered. The word he'd used to describe what I really was.

Mutant.

I faced the man who'd once worked alongside my own father. The man who'd coveted the accolades my father had earned, who'd been suspicious of everything he'd done, who'd investigated all my father's experiments, searching for something to use against him.

And as they say, if you go looking, you find something.

And Dr Lee found something indeed. He'd found me. Or rather my existence. He'd discovered that my father had used the DNA from the remains of the woman found in an ancient burial, a woman who'd been suspected to be a Valkyrie. But my father had quashed the hopes of the head archaeologist of the dig, and he'd lied to her. Lied because he'd wanted a child, lied because he'd wanted his science.

And Dr Lee had discovered my father's secret. He'd conspired to ensure my mother found out what my father had done. And Mom could never accept it. In many ways Dr Lee was the reason I'd lost both my parents, the reason my life had been ruined, and the reason I'd spent years believing I was nothing when all along I'd been something more than just the outsider.

Now I stared at him, unsure how to tell this man who I hated with a passion that his son was dead.

He watched me, his lip curling in distaste. "Well, speak girl. I know that you have the gift of speech." He was always arrogant so his tone did nothing for the level of my anger. Just being in his presence was enough to rouse my fury.

"It's about Aidan."

Dr Lee smirked and got out of his chair. "What has Aidan done now?"

"He hasn't done anything. He's dead." The words popped out of my mouth so fast I hadn't realized I'd said it until it was too late. I disliked the man but he might have loved his son. In his own way. And I hadn't intended to be cruel.

I stared shocked at Dr Lee as he processed my words. Then his face whitened, the lines beside his eyes tightening. His eyes remained cold, and I fought the urge to rush over to him and shake him until he showed some emotion.

My fingers curled into fists at my sides and I took a step toward him. He glanced up in time and took two steps back, coming up against the side of his bed. The momentum forced him backward and he ended up landing on the bed, but still with his spine ramrod straight, his expression unfathomable.

Even Loki conveyed more emotion than this man. And again I asked myself how it was possible that he was actually Aidan's father.

"I came to ask if you wish to attend the funeral." My tone was cold, probably as cold as his heart.

He watched my face, wary, like he was watching a wild, unpredictable animal come too close. There, he still saw me as inhuman.

Gritting my teeth, I said, "I don't have the time to sit around waiting for your answer. Too much is happening right now, so you really should tell me now." I remained as stiff-spined as he was, holding back the urge to scream at him.

I knew why I was reacting this way. I hadn't had a real chance to grieve for Aidan, my friend and someone I'd thought I'd loved for a brief while a long time ago. Maybe I had loved him once but the romance had been short-lived and fraught with obstacles, especially the one I was currently looking at.

The doctor lifted his chin and met my gaze. "What's happening up there?"

I snorted. "The same thing I told your guard."

He smirked, but I could see the vein in his temple twitch. He hadn't expected me to brush his question aside. But I'd come to get his answer, not to give him answers.

"Since you don't seem to be interested, I'll be on my way." I turned and walked to the door. As the warrior unlocked it, I glanced at the doctor as he sat on his bed.

"I feel sorry for you," I said, unable to hold my tongue this time. "Whatever it is you felt was your focus in life, it certainly wasn't your family. You have a grieving wife and daughter up there who can't be bothered to include you in the family mourning and it's entirely your own fault. And in case you didn't realize it, Aidan was an amazing person. He had compassion, and morals, and tenacity and he protected the people he loved. And you had him as a child and never once appreciated him."

I shook my head and moved aside as the door opened. I was done with him.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Just as I was about to step over the threshold, the doctor stood up and reached a hand out, staying my departure. "Wait. I do wish to attend the funeral. When is it?"

His face was still an unmoving mask, but I nodded. "We don't have anything set yet, but it will most likely be in the next day or two." I paused then asked, "Do you know why this is happening?" I waved at the cracks in the floor and the walls, noting that even down here, nothing had escaped Jormungandr's wrath.

Dr Lee shrugged, his eyes saying he wasn't about to discuss anything further with me.

I faced him and folded my arms. "It's Jormungandr."

He nodded, trying hard to hide his smile. "So Loki succeeded."

"What do you know?" I asked, taking a step toward him.

But he just shook his head. "There is nothing to be done. He has set the ball in motion. Nothing can stop him now."

I shook my head, still unable to see what made this man tick. "So this makes you happy? The destruction of the world makes you smile?"

He pursed his lips, as if taking the time to consider my question seriously. Then he nodded slowly. "Yes. What makes my father happy makes me happy."

"And what about your own children?"

"They will be taken care of."

"How are you so sure?"

He lifted his chin. "Because my father said he would protect my family."

I snorted, unable to believe what I was hearing. "So you really think he's been keeping his word?"

"My father always keeps his word."

I laughed and the sound echoed harshly around us. "So when he drove a knife into Aidan's gut, with his own hand, and left him her to die of a deadly poison, was that his way of keeping his word?" I asked, my throat hurting as I recalled my horror when Freya confirmed Aidan had been poisoned.

Dr Lee turned away from me, a frown creasing his smooth forehead. Then he shook his head and laughed. "He wouldn't have done that. You are lying."

"I have no reason to lie to you. What would I gain by showing you Loki's true face? I have no wish to break another son's heart." My voice was cold as I stared him down.

For a few seconds he remained silent, just watching my face. "No. It's not true."

"I was standing right there when he stabbed Aidan. I was also standing right there when Freya confirmed that the blade had been laced with viper's venom." So far I'd spoke so calmly, so quietly that it hardly reflected my fury. But when I turned to him, something in my eyes startle him. "So you have any idea what I went through to find a cure for him? And what happened when he finally got well, finally got back to work?"

I waited but he didn't answer and I just shook my head in disgust. "What happened was your son was shot point blank by one of Loki's men, on Loki's orders. He didn't say 'Please don't shoot Aidan.' If he had then your son would still be alive today."

Dr Lee sank into the chair closest to him, his face now strained as he rested his head in his hands. I watched him, unsure if he'd understood what I'd said.

"Whatever you may think of him, he is not to be trusted. If his own children can see right through him why can't you open your own eyes?"

"His children?" he asked, confusion coloring his expression.

I nodded. "Yes, Fenrir, Hel, Eisa, Enya. They all saw him for what his is, all made the choice to stay out of his control."

"Enya?" he asked softly.

"Yes. She's had the opportunity to speak with her sister Eisa and her mother, neither of whom were reticent about their feelings for him."

The doctor inhaled and the sound scraped against my eardrum. "If you don't want to help me, then at least do something to make Enya's future a safer one."

He was so silent that I figured he wouldn't break, and turned to leave.

"Wait," he said for the second time in our conversation. But now his voice broke. "All I know from when I was with him is that he planned to make Jormungandr create chaos in the worlds. And while the countries were in chaos he planned to make important men obedient to him, using whatever means that worked."
I nodded. But I didn't ask him anything further, just waited for him to continue.

"He had lists of important men who he was going to target, to turn their loyalties to serve him. He wanted to take over the world, to show Odin that he could be a true leader."

"By creating chaos and terror?" I just couldn't help myself.

Dr Lee nodded. "He believed that from chaos will rise a new order. A world with Loki as god, and as a rival to Odin."

I snorted. "He's going to die in Ragnarok anyway. All this is just a waste of time."

Then the doctor was shaking his head. "He has plans to ensure his continuity even if he is killed."

The silence that followed built while I grew colder and colder. "He used Enya as a trial run."

Dr Lee nodded, his face white as it finally sank in that he'd been used all along. "He has his DNA stored away. Even has people looking after the project. They will move only if he is killed."