Dead Radiance (16 page)

I gaped at the entrance. An archway the height of six men housed two impossibly large stone doors. Then I recalled the actual size of Odin himself when he wasn't in the form of an ancient man. The carved doors were thrown open now, but closed they would be impenetrable.

A grunt of annoyance, a flutter of wings and an impatient sigh broke through my thoughts.

"Be nice, Astrid. Remember how you felt the first time you saw the castle of Odin. We have all been entranced before." A hint of steel lay behind the happy words, but Sigrun's own wings remained perfectly still. And I smiled.
Good for you, my friend Sigrun.
Seemed she wasn't all cotton candy and apple pie, after all.

I turned and walked toward the girls, who now waited beside a hillock at the side of the castle wall. Approaching from the rear, all I saw was one set of astonishingly beautiful off-white wings and a pair of blue-grey wings the exact shade of soft steel.

We hurried round the hill and down into a little valley, hidden by trees and rocks twice the size of the average human. The gurgling of water reached our ears. I sped up in anticipation. And was completely surprised.

A pool, five times larger than your average Olympic-sized pool, covered the entire floor of the valley. It formed a large oval and was constructed of a deep blue marble material veined with gold and silver that sparkled and glittered in the weak sunshine.

"So, everyone bathes together, hey?" I had to ask. Me and my big mouth. I'd tried to sound nonchalant and sophisticated about it, but my nerves must have shown through.

"Have you never been to a Bathhouse like ours?" Astrid asked, and I was forced to shake my head in response. "Oh, you will get used to it. Do not worry, Brynhildr."

She tipped her chin, and stared down her nose at me. As if daring me to meet my fear head on and challenge her. Then she tugged the ties at her neck and waist. Her dress slid off her body and fell to her feet in a marigold pool. She raised one eyebrow and sauntered to the edge of the water, slipping in until she stood neck deep, her wings submerged along with her.

Funny how I'd assumed they would float.

She turned and met my eyes. If she'd expected me to bury my mortified head in the sand like an embarrassed ostrich she was sorely mistaken. I squared my shoulders and returned her gaze. Her features tightened, hiding her disappointment. Inside I whooped. Then wondered when it had become so important to me to get one over on another girl. At North Wood, I'd never had time to waste moping over people who didn't like me.

A soft giggle broke my trance. Sigrun smiled and took my hand, guiding me to a small alcove carved from the same gold- and silver-veined rock. We sat on a beautiful stone seat and I was pleasantly surprised to find the seat was warm. Talk about under-butt heating.

"Astrid is a bit of an exhibitionist. She has a flair for the dramatic. Do not allow yourself to worry about her. She is too comfortable in her own skin for her own good." Sigrun's smile fell for a second. "She has her fair share of problems. Perhaps her pride is merely her way of making the best of the good things she still possesses."

"Yeah, I can understand that." I nodded.

I snuck a few furtive glances at Astrid, who'd joined a group of three other Valkyries, bathing on the opposite curve of the pool. She'd stripped in front of me, hoping to shock me. I was still surprised I'd taken it so well. Nudity was not my forte. But I hadn't fainted from the shock of seeing so much naked flesh. Though I wouldn't deny that it helped when all the women here had wings that covered their backs from shoulder to calf.

Honestly, my body had never been a source of appreciation for me. I had boobs where boobs were meant to go, same went for butt and legs and other body parts. I knew my cup size so I could shop for the right bra, went to the beach in summer and was familiar enough with a bikini. But total nudity?

"You can go in with your dress, you know." Sigrun winked. "It is what I always do."

Startled, I stared at her. Wow! Talk about a mind reader!

"Come in and stop staring like that."

Sigrun bent and untied her leather sandals and walked to the edge of the water. She stepped in slowly and I followed, savoring the blissful warmth as my body luxuriated in the welcome heat.

Small steps scalloped the edges of the entire pool, each one curved and long enough to seat three people. I settled on the seat, warm water rushing around me, soaking my dress and massaging my arms and legs.

Behind the seat, hot water rushed at me from little pipes set into the wall. I turned to inspect the holes.

"That is where the water enters the pool," Sigrun explained. "There are geysers up on the hill, and the water is directed down in hundreds of little pipes. All the pipes join the pool at the edges so the water mixes evenly and nobody gets burned." Sigrun ducked lower to pull off her dress, which she flung to the alcove where we'd sat. A sodden maroon mess splatted to the floor, like a pool of coagulated blood. We both laughed. "Now it is your turn. You have to get naked to get clean."

I followed her lead and tugged and pulled until my wet dress came off at last. It soon joined Sigrun's with another inelegant splat. I sank into the water, relieved as the heat enveloped me.

The weight of my waterlogged wings drew me down and I was thankful for the inbuilt seats hidden below the surface.

"Look at these, Bryn. Here." Sigrun showed me the pipes. "Some of the pipes are closed. If a bather wants warmer water she can open them to let the hotter water in. The different geysers have different water temperatures and each bather can adjust to their liking. The only thing you cannot get is a cold bath."

Sigrun waded to the point of the crescent, leaving me to marvel at the technology. At the point sat two marble bowls glistening with water. She reached in and retrieved soap from one and a sponge from another. "You can take these and wash in privacy on the other side."

Relieved, I grabbed the soap and sponge and waded to the other curved space to bathe. The soap smelled heavenly, a delicious creation made from crushed rose-petals. I used it to lather my oily hair as well, as I was unable to find Asgard's brand of shampoo and conditioner in the marble bowl. As I rinsed, whole rose-petals floated around me and away on the current.

A few minutes later, feeling refreshed, I returned to join Sigrun and commented on the ingenuity of the pool.

"Oh yes, and you will see that dirty water from every bathing area is directed away, to flow down and out of the large pool. There is always running water and everyone knows where the cleaner water is. It's the middle and the sides."

"Amazing."

"We used the natural resources of Asgard. No modern technology in the Bathing Pools at all."

"So you have access to modern technology from here?" I asked, still fumbling with the idea that this place existed in the modern day and age.

"Oh, yes. Some of the new Valkyries are more modern than us Old Ones. And the newer Warriors bring their knowledge too. And Odin is a pretty smart one himself." Sigrun grinned and tapped her head.

With Odin's ferocity and intelligence, I didn't doubt his ability to mesh modern technology with ancient simplicity.

We fell into a comfortable silence until I caught Sigrun studying my amber pendant again, an expression of worry haunting her face.

"What's the matter? Is there something about my pendant that bothers you?" I asked, but she just shook her head and averted her eyes. "Come on, Sigrun, I've seen you stare at it before and you have this strange look in your eyes. You're beginning to scare me."

Sigrun sighed. "I am very afraid of your necklace. If it is what I think it is, then you may soon have bigger problems."

"Well, what is it?"

"I think it may be part of Brisingamen." She paused as if expecting me to know what she meant, but I raised my shoulders in an I-dunno gesture. So she continued: "Brisingamen is also known as the Circle of Suns. It is a necklace of incomparable amber and it belongs to the goddess Freya."

"But my father gave this necklace to me."

"Do you know where he found it?"

I shook my head, though I suspected where the necklace may have come from.

"If it was found in Brunhilde's grave, it means that she had fulfilled her quest for the goddess Freya and found Brisingamen for her. But Brunhilde never returned it to the goddess." Sigrun's eyes clouded. "Freya may take that as a sign that Brunhilde had become greedy and kept the necklace for herself."

"Well, I'd say nobody can assume that. And maybe this isn't the necklace at all." I stroked the warmth of the amber.

"No, the necklace is made up of nine individual amber stones, set in filigreed gold and diamonds. The main jewel, which sits at the front of the throat, is the largest of all. The amber seems to communicate with itself. It glows when the other pieces are nearby. The necklace glitters and shines, like a circle of tiny suns." Sigrun shook her head. "That pendant must be part of Brisingamen, and it is best you keep it hidden in case I am right."

I nodded, filled with a strange icy coldness that fought against the warmth of the water around me. Odin, Valkyries, Freya and now Brisingamen! Naked, soaking in the hot waters from the geysers of Asgard, reality smacked me upside the head.

There was no use in denying it any longer, no use in pretending this was all just a dream.

I really was in Asgard.

Chapter 18

We dried off and left the Bathhouse.

"I take it the men and women bathe separately?"

"Yes, of course they do." Sigrun's grin glittered with mischief. "Both bathing areas are at opposite ends of the castle grounds. It prevents the naughty ones from watching us."

"Peeping Toms?" I giggled softly as weariness pulled at my senses. "I guess boys will be boys wherever they are."

"And Odin has his own private Bathhouse, which the other gods share when they visit him."

I listened with half an ear. The muscles in my arms and legs felt like warm Jell-O. I was clean and fresh and way too relaxed. I'd even forgotten the weight of my wings.

The intricacy of the pool's construction still awed me. Just walking by the water's edge was calming, as all around us waterfalls splashed and wavelets crashed against the pool's edges.

Despite the cold weather, the grass beyond the Bath was a lush green, and in the distance, gigantic snowcapped mountains rose, forming a natural barrier around the valley. The sky was a weak blue, and it promised more cold.

I glanced at Sigrun. It felt great to walk alongside someone without the need to make polite conversation, but curiosity compelled me to interrupt the comfortable silence. "Where are we, Sigrun?"

"I told you. Asgard. The beautiful city of Asgard, seat of Odin, home of Valhalla." Her eyes shone with pride. She loved her city, no doubt about it.

"No, no. I mean, our location in the world?" The weather seemed similar to back home, so I assumed we were somewhere in the Northern Hemisphere. I hadn't been in Asgard long enough to observe the time of sunset or anything that would let me know how far north we were, or any information to help me find a way home.

"You are not thinking of running away from Asgard, are you?" She stopped in her tracks, frowning, and faced me. Her wings fluttered, emphasizing her consternation. She gripped my arm with a ferocity I'd never have expected from such a mild-mannered girl. "You cannot try to leave yet. You are here to fulfill your purpose, and you have so much more to learn."

I gently pulled my arm free. I didn't want her to worry. And perhaps she would be in serious trouble if her charge ran away. So I lied. "No, don't worry. I have no intention of running away. Things here are far too interesting."

And she still had so much to tell me. What was this purpose I was meant to fulfill? Why couldn't they be clear from the start? But I didn't want her to be suspicious, to stop trusting me with information. So I smiled.

She scrutinized my face as if my features would reveal my lie. Then she nodded and let go of my arm. "Good. Then come. I have something else to show you today." She tucked her arm into mine.

I wanted to rub my arm where her vice-like grip had dug into my flesh, but I steeled myself against such a show of weakness. The pain ebbed. Together we walked over another hill, farther away from the castle.

Grunts and groans and the sounds of scuffling disturbed my enjoyment of the scenic view. Horses whinnied and chuffed somewhere beyond the hill, and a strange yipping filled the air. Dogs?

I assumed it was a dog hunt.

Yeah, I assumed.

Until I rounded the corner and almost fell on my butt in shock.

A handful of strange horses, along with wolves the size of the horses, were walking, prancing and running as if going through some kind of training. My jaw dropped and I stared in awe.

Sleipnir. A magnificent eight-legged horse. Reading about one and imagining what it would look like was an entirely different experience from actually seeing a Sleipnir in the flesh. And in this case not just one, but at least a dozen. I would have thought any land creature with that many legs would look clumsy and overburdened. But the Sleipnir displayed both the grace and the elegance of an Arabian stallion.