Dead Chaos (24 page)

He stared at me, his eyebrows bunching in confusion. "Who are you?" His voice cracked, hoarse and scratchy as if he hadn't spoken in days. A noise at the door and we both turned. Sigrun glanced back and me and nodded. Heimdall let out a weak gasp. "Valkyrie Sigrun?"

"Yes
, Lord Heimdall. It is I." Sigrun smiled but remained at the door to keep watch. "This is Valkyrie Brynhildr. We are here to take you home."

"Thank you." He appeared relieved although not convinced.
"How will you release me from these chains? They are made of dwarf metal."

I frowned. Dwarf metal was well known for its strength and magical properties. But I did have a weapon that could break through
Loki's poison, so it would be worth a try. "Let me try something." I lifted Gungnir and stabbed the tip of the blade into the cuff off Heimdall's manacle. The metal snapped and Heimdall's hand fell to his side, free from the manacles. He swung to one side and swayed while I tried to steady him.

"Sorry, I didn't think. Can you lean on me while I break the other manacle?"

Heimdall nodded and lifted his free arm to loop it around my shoulders, the effort bringing veins to the surface of the skin on his forehead. I bore his weight and cracked the other manacle open. "Thank you." He looked at my face, and an odd expression passed over his: curiosity, a hint of admiration, an edge of doubt. He turned his attention to the spear. "You have Gungnir." It was more an observation than anything else, and I chose to merely nod when his gaze returned to my face.

I laid him on the floor, worried now that he may not have the strength to
leave the tower. Taking him back down would be difficult, but doable between Sigrun and me. But did he have the strength to flee from the castle grounds, to walk all the way through snow and biting-cold wind to the Bifrost?

I got to my feet but Heimdall held my arm. "Wait. There is one more thing to remove." He pulled me to sit beside
him and lifted his tattered wool shirt. Beneath the fabric lay a corset of dwarven metal, melding close to his abdomen. I frowned and studied the contraption. There seemed no way to remove it without risking an injury to Heimdall in the process. And my fear must have been clear on my face because he grunted, then gripped my wrist with bony, malnourished fingers. "Do it."

"What if I hurt you?" I hesitated, my fingers gripping the spear so tightly
that my knuckles whitened.

Heimdall
shook his head as if the mere movement negated my worry. "We will have to take that chance. I need this metal off me. Or I will not be able to open the Bridge."

"What do you mean?"
I frowned. He wasn't making sense.

Sigrun answered
from the doorway, saving me from looking like a dork when I asked a dumb question. "Heimdall is the god of the Bifrost. He can open a door anywhere." She paused, turning a sad glance at the emaciated god. "Now it makes sense why he was not able to come home. The dwarven metal would have made it impossible for him to open the Bifrost."

"Ok" was all I could muster.
I faced Heimdall, still afraid I would hurt him and yet understanding why he needed the corset off his body. I leaned over him, trying to identify the best area to place the point of the spear. At last, I decided the keyhole was it, and shuddered to think only a thin piece of Dwarven metal lay between the deadly point of Gungnir and the god's sternum.

But I couldn't waste any more time. We had to get
Heimdall out sooner rather than later. And Aimee and Joshua waited for us.

I aimed and stabbed. Sparks flew and the metal clanged. Heimdall hissed. I yanked the spear from the keyhole. "What happened?"
I asked, terrified I'd hurt him.

"The metal is hot."
Heimdall seemed satisfied as he nodded. "This is good. It means Gungnir is working. Keep going."

I stared at him, terribly afraid that I would hurt him
more, burn him even and my fear must have been clearly written on my face.

"Do not worry
, Brynhildr. A little burnt flesh is a small price to pay for my freedom." He gave me a weak smile and I raised my eyebrows at him.

Okay, you asked for it. Don't come crying to me when I end up making
Heimdall barbecue.

I tried again, stabbing the spear
directly at the lock housing. More sparks, more heat. Perspiration beaded my forehead from fear. I wasn't sure how much more I could take.

When
Heimdall clenched his fists, I was ready to stop and chuck the spear out the window when I heard a snap. I looked closer but the lock seemed intact.

When I met Heimdall’s eye, he grinned. "I heard that and I felt it too. Something is happening in there. Please keep going
, Brynhildr."

I nodded, this time more confident that despite the pain I was inflicting on him, he could take it. Welcomed it in fact. Freedom. What a person would do when their freedom is taken from them.

I stabbed at the lock housing again. Once, twice. I raised the spear for the third strike but stopped mid-air as I watched the lock split open and shatter into a dozen small fragments, the keyhole falling apart before my eyes. I sighed, letting go of a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"Yes."
I would have pumped my fist had I not thought it inappropriate with Gungnir in one hand and Heimdall grinning at me. I was never so glad to hurt someone before. I suppressed a shudder as I stared at the burn that remained on Heimdall’s body, the skin puckered and warped. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

"I am well, Valkyrie. This injury is minor compared to what I have been through these past months."

I nodded, only slightly relieved. "Right. Well, rest a bit and then we have to leave," I said, giving the other scrawny prisoner a quick once over.

I approached him and sighed, knowing there was no way we could leave him behind. Whomever he was, he deserved to have his freedom back. But, how would we take him with us?

"Sigrun. We're going to have to each take one of them back down."

Heimdall laughed softly. My gaze snapped to the god and I scowled. "I apologize, Brynhildr. I am not laughing at you."

"Then what's so funny?"

"I am a god of Asgard. I will merely move from here to the ground outside at will." His tone was kind, not a hint of teasing or insult at all.

"Oh" was all I managed. I should have realized it but I'd been too busy making our escape plans.

Then it hit me what Sigrun said about the Bifrost. "Lord Heimdall, can you open the Bifrost from here?"

"Yes. I will be able to summon an opening. It would be safer to open the Bridge and leave directly from here. I will try in a minute."

"I agree that would be easiest, but we have two
einherjar
hiding down in the castle grounds, waiting for us."

"Very well, then it makes sense to get to them first." Heimdall nodded. "One opening is wisest. We should not risk opening more than one door to Asgard from this realm."

The other prisoner moaned, his head rising then falling as if he dreamed bad dreams. I stared at Heimdall. "Can we take this man with us?"

"Yes, perhaps he, too, deserves his freedom." Heimdall glanced at me as if he approved of my decision to free the other prisoner. I just hoped I wasn’t making a huge mistake and freeing the man only to have him slit my throat as a thank you.

"Do you know who he is?" I stepped closer, noting the overgrown fuzz on his chin, the bushy hair, the almost skeletal appearance of the man's bones. Something made me pause. Maybe it was the way the light struck the dark skin of his cheekbones, but I knew this man.

A shiver ran down my spine.

"Brody?"

***

The man stirred, his heavy-lidded eyes opening a slit, the simple movement seeming so difficult for him. At last he shifted his gaze and stared at me. "Bryn?"

I gasped, the blood rushing to my head, making me feel a little light-headed. I stepped forward, overjoyed that we'd finally found Brody. Especially since he'd been the last person we'd been thinking about or looking for. Then I stopped. "How do I know it’s you?"

"Bryn? What do you mean?"

"This boy’s name is Brody," Heimdall offered.

"That's not what I mean." I shook my head, glancing at the god whose expression seemed a bit too critical, making me a bit too defensive. "The last time I came into contact with Brody he tried to kill me. Then he turned into a Jotunn."

Heimdall tilted his head to look at the young prisoner whose head had lolled forward again. He didn’t seem to be capable of staying conscious for too long. "It would have been difficult for the boy to attack you as he has been chained to that wall for almost 6 months now. When were you attacked? Perhaps he has a more solid alibi than you expected?"

"Maybe you’re right." The Jotunn-Brody had attacked me a few weeks ago. Was this where Loki had kept Brody all these months? And why? Why not just kill him? Was he waiting to use him as leverage? Or bait? But using him as bait didn't make sense considering we'd had no idea Brody was even here. We'd come for Heimdall.

And now that we had him, had both of them, we needed to leave before we pushed our luck too far. I paused, frowning as I looked at the Heimdall.

Then I glanced back at Brody. "We need to take him down."

"I think that would be best."

"Right." I set about smashing Brody's manacles and supported him as his knees gave way, his bony legs unable to carry his weight. "He's really weak."

Heimdall grunted. "Our hosts have not been the most hospitable. We often go days without food or water." Heimdall pushed himself to his knees, already looking much better. The corset of dwarf metal must have been a constant drain on his energy. He held onto the wall and lurched to his feet. And there he stood, godly and regal, and I had to crane my neck to meet his eyes.

"We can leave as soon as you are ready. No point in waiting for Brody to regain his strength. My Lord Heimdall, can you take Brody down to the castle grounds?" Heimdall met my gaze and I hoped I hadn’t sounded rude or demanding. "I mean, are you strong enough yet to do the whole disappear, reappear thing?"

"Yes, Valkyrie. I will take the boy." Heimdall grasped Brody within his arms and then with a sharp nod, simply disappeared.

"Does he even know where he’s going?" I asked nobody.

"Yes, he does," came Heimdall's disembodied voice. I would have been embarrassed at the potential my comment had to disrespect the god had it not been for the grin I heard in those words. I shook my head.

I looked over at Sigrun who glanced back at me, clearly having not missed a single word. "Ready?"

"Yes. I cannot hear anything on the stairs. I assume the way is clear." She led me out and I followed closely, my mind half on Brody. My heart hurt to think of the horrible existence poor Brody had lived through all these months. Just because Loki wanted to use him.

Sigrun checked outside before nodding the all clear. She hurried up the stairs back to the battlements where we'd landed. Sigrun glanced around while I untied the cloak and turned it back the right way. It may not provide us with total coverage, but I was happy to take what I could get.

With an eye on the stairwell, Sigrun and I rose into the air, her wings beating more frantically beneath the cloak than we had on the ascent to Mord Tower. This time the going was much faster. A few crazy moments of free fall gave my heart a jumpstart one too many times.

From above, the area around the castle seemed quiet. Nothing stirred. Strange since the place should be a hive of activity. Or at the very least, guarded. We lowered ourselves slowly and almost fell the last ten feet. The landing left a lot to be desired, our feet hitting the ground and sending shuddering impact waves into my bones.

I looked over at Joshua's and Aimee's hiding place and heaved a sigh of relief. They were safe and accompanied by Heimdall supporting Brody with a hand around his waist. Aimee and Joshua hovered around the weak boy. Sigrun and I hurried over.

Aimee's face lit up at the sight of us. Even Joshua grinned, although Brody was far too weak to do more than smile at our arrival. He did seem to have gained some energy though, which was a relief.

I paused as I noticed Heimdall staring at me, an odd expression in his eyes. "The Tarnkappe? Where did you get that?" Heimdall frowned as if about to challenge me. I almost felt sorry for him. Here I appeared out of nowhere with Gungnir and the Tarnkappe. He must be very confused as to why a mere Valkyrie was in possession of godly artifacts.

"Thor," I answered.

Heimdall grunted, scowling. He didn't pursue the line of questioning. "If we are ready, I will open the Bifrost. Having not performed an opening in a while I do not know how this attempt will affect my energies, so please, only step onto the Bridge if the opening is strong."

Heimdall made a circular motion with his hand and the air before us grew hazy, almost liquid. He nodded at us. "Let us go, Warriors." Heimdall stepped through the portal bearing his burden and disappeared.

Joshua stood beside me, sending me an encouraging smile. We were so close to the Bifrost, my nose less than an inch from entering the bridge, when a whirring sound came flying at us. It hit something with a thwack and I whirled around, expecting to find a blade or an arrow stuck in the ground somewhere.

Instead, Sigrun grunted and sagged against me.

***