Perfekt Order (The Ære Saga Book 1) (25 page)

“The Aesir?”

“The gods of Asgard are the Aesir. The gods
of another friendly realm, Vanaheim, are the Vanir,” Tyr
explained.

“Right. Hold on, someone hacked your files?”
I raised a hand. “What kinds of security do gods have? Like,
cauldrons and spells around your computers? Or your file cabinets?”
What technological level of data storage were they dealing with in
Asgard?

“Not at all.” Tyr moved his thumb along my
shoulder in a circle, but my muscles were unyielding. Was a massage
supposed to make all of this okay? “Asgard’s technology is rather
progressive. The Norns keep their prophecies listed in a digital
tablet coded in a system. They only allow a handful of titled gods
to access it. The tablet’s locked in a safe that requires a retinal
scan to access, and the whole thing’s domed by lasers. Then we use
magic to protect the entire system—if anyone without access gets
within twenty feet of the dome, the atmosphere surrounding the safe
shifts, and the prophecies implode.”

It all sounded like some futuristic action
film. “Jeez. Y’all are thorough.” Also creepy. Who made things
implode?

“That’s the plan. Anyway, one day when I was
still training, I went in to confirm a portal to Svartalfheim
couldn’t be opened again. Some of the files were missing—my
parents’ and Elsa’s prophecies, among them.” Tyr’s head fell.
“Fenrir, or whoever he’s working with, must have had something to
do with it.”

“Are you okay?” I asked gently.

“This just makes me sick. It’s my fault he’s
causing all this destruction.” Tyr made a fist. “But I’m going to
make it right. If it’s me he’s ultimately after, he’ll be back.
Henrik and I are getting ready.”

“How?”

Tyr cleared his throat. “As much as I want
kill Fenrir, the Norns’ prophesy rendered that option moot.
Strategically, I know he’ll be more than just a bargaining chip for
us. He’ll also be able to provide intel—let us know who he’s
working with, and who they’re targeting.”

“You can communicate with the wolf?” That
sounded insane.

“I can.”

“Jeez…”

Tyr watched me carefully, concern in his
eyes. I probably looked like I was going crazy.
Maybe I
am…

“Fenrir’s grown into a monster I can’t
control, and if he’s going to live, then he needs to be restrained.
We convinced the dwarves to make a fetter for us—a magical rope
that can hold the realms’ most powerful animal.”

“Seriously, dwarves? Like in
Snow
White
?”

Tyr grimaced. “I wish. These dwarves don’t
sing, and they don’t mine diamonds. They’re vicious and
conniving—the most deceitful kind of manipulative. You have to be
careful dealing with them. But they’re extremely hard
workers—they’ve made some of the most powerful weapons in Asgard.
And they’ve promised that if I bring them the right ingredients,
they’ll make me a chain that can hold Fenrir. We can lock him away
somewhere he won’t be able to hurt anyone ever again.”

“So you’re gathering the ingredients? That’s
what you’re doing when you disappear?” Tyr’s story began to fall
into place.

“Correct.”

“How many more do you have to find?
Ingredients, I mean?”

“Just two left. Bear’s nerves and fish
breath.” Tyr shrugged. “Piece of cake.”

I shifted my weight so I could face him. “You
hear how insane this sounds, don’t you? How are you so calm about
all of this? Why aren’t you freaking out?”

“Baby, I’m God of War. What do you think I
see at work?”

I wrung my hands together.

“Hey.” He lifted my chin with a finger.
“Don’t be scared. I’ve got this.”

“Bear’s nerves and fish breath? And the
killer wolf will be out of commission. Oh, and you’re an immortal
war god with about nine hundred and eighty-three years on me. But
‘don’t be scared’?” My stomach churned. This entire situation was
so overwhelming, I felt nauseated.

“The ratio wasn’t exact. It’s more like nine
hundred years on you, tops. But otherwise, yeah. Don’t be scared.
You want to help me collect the rest of the ingredients? It’d be
nice to have the company.”

My brow furrowed. As much as I wanted to be
okay with all of this, the truth was, I wasn’t. At least, I wasn’t
yet. My analytical mind needed time to decompress.

“I think I’m going to need a little bit of
time to think about all of this before I jump in with both feet.
You’re asking me to take on a life I know nothing about. And as
much as I like you, I’m honestly not sure if I can do that.”

My heart pounded as Tyr took in my words.
When he released my chin, his eyes were downcast. “I understand.
You need some space from me.”

“A little,” I admitted. “You’ve given me a
lot
to process in a
really
short time. Yesterday you
were my boyfriend, from some sleepy little fishing town in Sweden.
Different, maybe, but still human. And today you’re the Norse God
of War, using some rainbow bridge to travel across nine realms and
battle evil monsters. It’s kind of… kind of…”

“Unbelievable?” Tyr nodded. “Your brain can’t
compartmentalize me, can it?”

“No.” I shook my head.

“And it’s driving you crazy, isn’t it?”

“Pretty much.”

“Mmm. Can you compartmentalize this?” Tyr put
both hands on my face and pulled me close. He kissed me with a
force that left me breathless. He ran one hand along my neck and
down my arm, leaving a warm tingling in his wake. But when he
reached the spot where the wolf bit me, everything turned to
ice.

Tyr raised his head when I stilled. “You
okay?”

I shook my head, and started to sob.

“Mia.” Tyr wrapped both arms around me. “Why
are you crying?”

“Because,” I wailed. “I really, really,
really like you.”

“I really like you, too.”

“And I don’t want the giant wolf to kill
you!” I blubbered, wiping my nose on my sweater. “This is all just…
just…”

“Oh, baby.” He held my face in his hands.
“I’ll always take care of us. You get that, right?”

I nodded.

“Come on. I should take you home. You’re
probably exhausted. And I doubt you want to stay here.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

“Don’t worry about any of this, all right?
Henrik and I have this house under control. And Brynn will make
sure you’re safe back at your place.”

“Brynn can do that?” I asked.

“Brynn’s one of Freya’s top battle
goddesses—she’s a valkyrie.”

“
WHAT THE HECK?” I
flung open the
door to Brynn’s room and stormed inside. She lounged comfortably on
her bed, nose buried in
Pride & Prejudice
.

“
Hei hei
to you, too.” Brynn lowered
her book.

“You’re a goddess? A freaking battle
goddess?”

“Shh!” Brynn jumped off her bed and raced to
the door. She poked her head in the hallway before it shut behind
her.

“Oh, they’re not home. Stop glaring at me. If
anyone gets to be mad, it’s me.” I crossed my arms. “How did you
never mention this before?”

“I couldn’t tell you. And besides, there
wasn’t a good time.” Brynn lifted her chin.

“Don’t even try that one. All the late night
mani-pedis, the walks to campus, those afternoons in the lab—never,
not once, could you have mentioned that you’re
not
human
?”

“Why’d he tell you? Something big must have
happened.” Brynn walked to the edge of her bed. She patted the
mattress, and I sat down next to her.

“Giant wolf attacked the house,” I
muttered.

Brynn’s eyes widened. “Is he—”

“Everything’s fine.” I waved my hand. “Tyr
and Freya flew around the driveway with their space guns. The wolf
disappeared. Freya went home. Tyr brought me here. Everything’s
hunky-dory. Except my boyfriend and my roommate are
immortal
warriors
.”

“Pretty awesome, right?” Brynn beamed.

My head dropped in my hands. It had been a
ridiculously long day.

“Did he show you the flying thing? Only some
of us can do the flying thing. I can’t do it, didn’t get the gene.”
Brynn bounced on her knees next to me. “Isn’t it cool?”

“Uh—”

“And the ‘space guns’? Henrik and I made
them. They’re nano-molecular particle accelerators.”

“Meaning?” I raised my head.

“They’ll make you implode. So awesome,
ja
?”

What was it with these people and imploding?
“Why are you still bouncing?”

“Because I’m so excited you know!” Brynn
tucked her knees under her on the mattress. “Now we don’t have to
keep up that stupid ‘neighbors from Sweden’ story. So dumb. It was
Henrik’s idea. I
told
Tyr you could handle the truth. You’re
fiercer than you let on.”

“Thank you?”

Brynn rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.
You come off sweet and delicate, but you’re tough as nails. All
keep calm and carry on
, like you people say.”

“British people say that,” I corrected.
“Americans are more
pull yourself up by your bootstraps; knuckle
down; steel magnolias forever
. That kind of thing.”

“Close enough. So do you have any questions?
About us, I mean.”

“Do you want me to start at the top of the
list or the bottom?” I fingered the edge of her bedspread.

Brynn looked like a kid on Christmas morning.
“I know it sounds kind of crazy, but we’re really not that
different from you.”

“Except you’re divine. From another
world—realm, whatever. Defy laws of physics, have weird space
weapons, and you can never, ever, die. Except…” I trailed off.
Except when you’re murdered
.

“Did Tyr explain immortality to you?” Brynn
asked. I nodded.

“How old are you?” I asked tentatively.

“Not that old. In mortal years, maybe… I
think eight hundred and forty-nine?” Brynn leaned in, her face
practically bubbling with joy. “My birthday’s next July.”

“You’re going to be eight hundred and fifty?”
I tried not to balk.
And that’s young?

“Big one, right? I’m thinking of hitting some
of those theme parks in Southern California.” Her hands flew to her
cheeks. “Ooh, ooh! Would you go with me?”

“Um, sure. Maybe we can get you a senior
discount.”

“Ha.” Brynn shifted so she sat cross-legged.
“Well, now we can talk. So here are the rules. Ask me anything you
want to know about us, or Asgard, or what we do, or whatever. But
you can’t ask me about Tyr’s ex-girlfriends—there were some
nutters, and frankly, they aren’t worth mentioning. Don’t ask me to
explain the deal with him and Freya—they’re BFFs, and they’ve never
even thought of each other romantically, so you don’t need to worry
about it.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, come on. It’s super obvious she freaks
you out.”

“I thought my boyfriend’s best friend was a
supermodel. Turns out she’s a goddess,” I muttered. “That’s just
not normal.”

“She’s great. Trust me. So, what do you want
to know?”

“I don’t know. Start with the basics. Did you
ever really live in Sweden?”

“Yes.” Brynn nodded. “We haven’t actually
lied
to you about anything. We lived in Malmö for a while.
Tyr had to locate and dispel a portal to Jotunheim that someone
managed to open off-shore. But before Malmö, there was Trondheim,
Norway. Another portal issue, this one to Muspelheim. And before
Trondheim, there was Asgard.”

“Explain these portals. Are they like what
Fenrir came here through?”

“Yes. You know about that?” Brynn
blinked.

“Tyr said someone with dark magic opened a
portal and sent him home.”

“Right. Well, Asgardians are pretty
powerful—we usually travel by Bifrost, our rainbow bridge, but if
we’re in a pinch we can open a portal; that’s kind of like a
wormhole that takes us wherever we need to go. Well, during the
last fifty years, somebody from one of the
bad
realms, like
Muspelheim or Jotunheim or Helheim—”

“You guys have a lot of heims.”

“We do,” Brynn agreed. “So somebody from one
of those places has been using dark magic to open portals to the
Scandinavian countries. We don’t know why they’re targeting that
region, and we haven’t figured out who’s doing it. But every portal
we’ve found has residue of dark magic, meaning something evil is
opening them. Surtr, the leader of the fire giants in Muspelheim,
has heaps of dark power. And Hel, the ruler of the underworld, has
all kinds of black powers. She’s a total nightmare.”

“The ruler of the underworld is a girl?” I
smoothed the bedspread. The fabric felt soft against my fingertips.
I wondered if Brynn had brought it from Asgard.
Wonder what the
thread counts are up there. Jeez.

“Of course. Who else could manage that many
evil spirits? You think some guy would have the patience for all
the bickering that goes on down there?” Brynn shrugged. “Her dad’s
Loki. He slept with a giantess and made three monsters—Fenrir,
Jörmungandr, and Hel. She’s hands down the worst of the three.”

The wolf, the snake, and the keeper of the
underworld are siblings?

“Is Tyr going to be mad that you’re telling
me this?” I leaned against the headboard.

“I’m not afraid of Tyr. Besides, he knows
you’re going to need to know all of this eventually, since you’re
going to end up with him when all this sorts itself out.”

“Pardon?” My mouth dropped.

“Don’t look so surprised. Freya sees you two
together. So it’s totally happening.”

“Freya what now?” My voice jumped an
octave.

Brynn sighed. “The whole situation is really
complicated. And Tyr would probably rather tell you himself.”

“Spill it, valkyrie.” I crossed my arms and
stared.

“Oh. Oh, fine. But don’t freak out.”

I gave her
the look
. “All things
considered, I think I am well past my freak-out point today,
thank you very much
. Talk.”