Dead Silence (30 page)

Nita sighed and her white-blond hair fell forward, framing her face. Tears collected on her lower lids, then spilled onto her cheeks. "What if I tell you and Loki finds out?"

"He won't find out. Only the three of us know about this. If word gets to Loki then we know one of us was the leak." I said nodding at her. "But I can assure you neither Fen nor I are on Loki's side." I spoke with a confidence that I didn't feel. Not that I didn't trust Fen. I just felt so tired that it was a huge effort to summon a confident expression.

Nita looked up at me, her eyes fixed on my face as if just by looking at me she could ascertain my honesty. I didn't mind though, because I knew the truth of my own intentions.

Then she sighed and leaned forward, elbows on the table. "He is being held in an apartment building in Shanghai."

"Interesting choice of places," I said, feeling my throat begin to ache.

"It is because my son is from Thailand. Loki thinks he can hide him in what he called 'plain sight'."

"He certainly knows strategy," I said sitting back, trying to move closer to the heat. "Give us the address and we will take the boy somewhere safe. Maybe someplace other than Asgard, just as a precaution.

I handed her a piece of paper and a pen. Nita nodded then took the pen and scribbled down an address. Then she got to her feet, shivering slightly. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked at me. "Keep him safe, please."

"I will, I promise."

And before I could say a word more she turned and fled from the room. I stared after her and prayed that she wouldn't let Loki know what the plan was.

When I looked at Fen it seemed he'd read my mind. "I'll get the child. You are in no condition to do this."

"But-"

"I know you want to go with me, and I also know that nothing will stop you from fighting in the battle. So, if you want to be there and fight alongside your fellow warriors you need to get some rest. That poison is only getting more entrenched within your body."

"What poison?" asked Nita as she entered the room again. When she saw our questioning glances she said, "I came back to thank you for doing this for me. I . . . I realized I have been quite rude."

I waved her apology away, "You weren't rude, Nita. You're a mother afraid for the life of her child."

She took a deep breath. "That I am. But tell me what this poison is?" She turned her gaze to Fen as if she already sensed I wouldn't talk.

Fen cleared his throat and evaded my eyes. "Loki poisoned her. We aren't sure what he used, but we know it is slowly killing her."

Nita wasted little time in moving to my side. I pulled my cuff up and held out my palm without being asked. Even I sucked in a breath as I saw how much worse it had gotten. The lines of poison had taken on a much darker hue and now gleamed black and insidious. My entire palm was blackened and it looked like it needed amputation.

Nita waved at my chest and I unbuttoned my collar allowing her to inspect the poison's path to my chest. She slipped her hand into her pocket and withdrew a slim stiletto knife. I stiffened and Fen took a step toward her but the elf ignored us both and just let the sharp edge of the blade rest on my neck. The edge cut into my skin, but I felt nothing.

She used the pad of her forefinger to remove a drop of blood, then touched the liquid with the tip of her tongue. Her face was emotionless as she wiped the inky blood off her tongue with the back of her hand.

"This is really bad." She was staring at me the way I'd once stared at Aimee; the way I'd done when I'd realized the yellow bandanna she wore covered a bald skull, the result of chemotherapy.

"Tell me something I don't know," I said dryly.

"How bad?" asked Fen, "Do you know what the poison is?"

Nita nodded. "Loki was working on a poison that could be specifically designed to affect only one person."

DNA-specific bio terrorism. Interesting.

"How long does the poison take to act?" I asked, thinking about the smile on Loki's face as he'd grasped my hand to seal our deal.

"About an hour."

Nita put a hand to her heart, as if the mere action could still the emotions within her. "I will make a potion for you to drink. That, together with the Mead, should give you a little more energy."

"Can we get rid of the poison?" asked Fen. I hadn't dared to voice that question yet because I felt like I already knew the answer. Loki would want to go out with a bang and killing me would be his last stroke of genius.

Nita's face darkened, quite a feat for a person with such pale skin. "I'm afraid I have no idea. The substances used are not known to me. I know they are manufactured in Midgard from unnatural materials." She looked at me helplessly. "I'm sorry, Bryn. All I can do is mix the potion. Only a god like Odin could rid you of that poison."

I wanted to laugh. Odin wasn't around to help, though that was no fault of his. I frowned. "Could Loki have been planning this all this time? It just seems so convenient that I'm poisoned at the brink of the battle and with Odin too far away to help."

Fen grunted. "Loki wants Odin to know what it feels like to lose a child."

"Hasn't he done that already with Baldur?" I asked, feeling more weak and drained than ever before.

With a shrug, Fen said, "For Loki, Baldur was probably not enough. Likely he wants to take Odin's favorite from him."

"And he did. Loki had Thor in his clutches and we saved him."

"It was not Thor I was referring to."

Finding it hard to control my amusement I asked, "You think I am Odin's favorite?"

Fen raised an eyebrow. "Do you see Thor with Gungnir in his hand, or Hugin on his shoulder?"

Staring at Fen, it all fell into place for me. Loki wanted me out of the picture for very personal reasons. I wasn't just a pawn in his game to be moved around at will. I was the goal, the one thing he wanted to remove from the board entirely. He could have killed Odin, but he didn't. Instead he banished the All-Father to some in-between ethereal hell, leaving me wide open to be crossed off his list.

His goal was not to kill Odin, but instead to hurt him as much as possible. And I'd do whatever I could to ensure he didn't win this ridiculous game.

I sighed. "Okay. Fen, you get Nita's son somewhere safe, and Nita, can you bring the potion to my room? I thinks it's past time I took a nap." Fen nodded then took a step toward me.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking you to your room." His expression was innocent.

"You are not going to carry me-"

"So, do you plan on walking all that way?" he asked raising one dark eyebrow."

"Fine," I snapped. "But do it fast before someone sees us."

Fen grabbed hold of me and walked out of the hall as Nita looked on, not caring to hide her amusement.

We were fortunate enough not to run into anyone as Fen navigated his way through the half broken corridors until we reached my quarters. Fen left me there and I didn't even remain conscious long enough to introduce him to the mothers.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

The dreams of the battle were vivid. Glinting blades, and blood spraying onto walls, armor and screams echoing along the streets. Somewhere, an explosion hit, the sound searing my eardrums, drumming through my bones. The ground rocked and I lost my footing, smashing painfully onto my left knee.

I looked up to see Odin standing on a pile of rubble, staring at the moving mass of fighting warriors and Jotunn, Surts and dragons. He was strangely still and something felt terribly wrong. He turned slowly to look at me, his eyes soft, a small smile curving his lips. He said, "I will always be with you, my child."

Then Odin disappeared.

And I sat up in my bed reaching out for him, begging him not to go. Someone held me tight, wiped my wet brow and soothed me with soft words.

I shifted and recognized my mother. And flinched. She was doing something that she hadn't done for almost fifteen years. And I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

She seemed to understand and let me go, helping me to lie back down. "You're safe now," she said as she wiped my forehead again and then pulled the furs to my neck.

I remained silent, feeling terrible that I hadn't responded, feeling angry that she'd left me. My mind was a confused bundle of anger and hurt, longing and love.

I turned my head to see Nita standing beside Ms Custer, my mother now near the fire. For a moment, I felt disoriented, but after blinking and gauging the positions of the mothers I figured I must have fallen asleep again.

Nita walked toward me a goblet in her hand. She sat on the bed and touched my forehead. "I heard you've been sleeping."

I smiled and nodded. "A little. If you can call that sleeping. Bad dreams, so I prefer being awake."

"Your body doesn't care what you prefer. It wants what it needs, so you'd best be listening to it." Ms Custer sounded annoyed and I chuckled.

Nita smiled as I shifted to lift my head. She helped me swallow a hot herb-laden swill, then took my weight as I fell back onto the pillow.

"Now that was disgusting."

All three women laughed and I didn't even get mad.

I glanced at Nita, "Has Fen returned?"

"Yes, he has taken him to a safe place. I take it you know where that is?"

I nodded, wondering when Fen would come by so I can tell him to take the mothers to Muspell. They'd been here for too long now, and my quarters were definitely not a place they could hide out for too long.

Why had I brought them here instead of taking them straight to Muspell? I sighed, knowing I'd wanted time with them. Time with her . . .

Nita's voice brought me out of my thoughts. "Can you tell me? If something happens and you can't tell me . . ."

She didn't need to complete the sentence. I understood her situation. "Don't worry. The people who are keeping him safe will bring him to you once everything is over."

"Thank you, Bryn." Nita patted my cheek softly then moved off the bed. She waved before she headed out the door.

"That was an elf? A real elf?" my mother whispered staring at the closed door.

I wanted to tell her that there was so much more to know, but I began to slide back into unconsciousness.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Nita must have slipped something into that drink because I felt like I'd slept for ages.

When I finally woke, my eyes felt dry and gritty, and my bones ached so much it felt like a steamroller had flattened me. I shifted onto my elbows and glanced around the room to find it empty of mothers.

Although it was a struggle, I moved into a sitting position and managed to stay upright despite the way the room tilted and spun.

I was throwing off the covers when the door opened and Suri snuck her head inside. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of me.

"Oh good, you're awake. I was not looking forward to waking you."

"Why?" I asked grinning at her welcome face. "Was I a very grumpy patient?"

She nodded, her eyes liquid gold. "To hear the mothers talk you'd think they had a grizzly to look after."

I smiled at her reference to the mothers. I too had taken to calling them The Mothers whenever I thought of the two of them together. I still felt slightly uncomfortable knowing the two women were spending so much time together.

"So how are the two mothers?"

Suri's smile disappeared. "Fen had them sent to Muspell." She looked slightly afraid of my reaction but Fen's choice had been a good one.

"That's good to know. Asgard is no longer the haven of safety it once was. To be honest, it probably hasn't been for a long time."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Suri sank onto the bed. "There is news."

I swung my feet to the floor and boosted myself upright. "So are you going to tell me the news or do I have to squeeze it out of you?"

Suri chuckled and went to my trunk. She passed me a clean shift. "It's getting worse. Loki has bombed the UN headquarters in New York. A lot of people died even though our team in the city sent out warnings. The governmental organizations took far too long to take the threats seriously."

She looked so upset that I put my hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Suri, we did what we could. If the people in charge did nothing, even though they were aware of the danger, then they will carry the burden of responsibility for a lifetime. Our teams would have done whatever they could to help."

She nodded but it didn't look like my words made her feel any better. "Yeah, I heard the New York team searched the buildings themselves, tripped the fire alarm that morning and went in pretending to be the fire department. They didn't find anything and yet, two hours later a bomb went off."

She sighed then returned to my trunk to pass me my armor. She was already fully dressed and I noticed her chain-mail wasn't Asgard issue. Instead, it looked too dragon-like.