Page 29 of Valkyrie Unknown

Azzie pushed open a door, and a blast of cool air rushed out to meet us, carrying a dizzying selection of sweat, stale food, and distraction. “I’ve heard upstate New York is nice,” she said. “But you should know I don’t drive.”

“Absolutely not upstate New York.” My retort came out harder than I intended. It was an unspoken not-so-secret that Loki and several other gods had a campus in that part of the country, where they raised and trained assassins to kill people like Azzie.

She glanced over her shoulder at me with a puzzled look, as we stepped inside. “Okay. I have my secrets too.”

“Wait. You don’t drive?” My mind caught up with the rest of what she’d said.

She shrugged. “Owning a car is as difficult as getting out of a foreign jail without a passport. Maybe not quite, but… Why would I need one?”

“That’s it. You’re learning to drive.” I hated the thought of doing that to my Ranchero, but Anubis would make things right if she was rough on the clutch.

She cringed. “We’ll discuss that bit. How do you feel about Yellowstone?”

I had complicated feelings about it. Too many people looking for bears, but a lot of the same for me to lose myself among. It was also surrounded by a lot of nothing, and that was advantageous. “Any particular reason?” As long as she didn’t have some sort of attachment to the place that could make us easier to track.

“It’s what came to mind?”

In an instance like this,no particular reasonwas the best reason. “That’s as good a part of the country to stop in as any.”

We agreed to gather our things from our respective temporary homes, then melted into the crowd.

I kept most of my attention on our surroundings but couldn’t help but appreciate the way her ass swayed while she lead the way toward wherever this door was. She was a beacon in the chaos of this place, her presence muting what might be an overload of input, and her scent soothing my bear.

The path we cut was meandering and casual, rather than a straight line to our destination. Good for her. The last thing we needed to do was draw attention to ourselves.

It didn’t surprise me that a fae door was in here, rather than at the quiet end of town. Large groups of people made it easier to keep from drawing anyone’s eye, and we’d be less noticeable than if we were on an empty street and walked up to a door that went nowhere, walked through, and vanished.

In a casino, it was unlikely anyone was paying attention to us as we approached an unmarked door near the bathrooms and utility closet and walked through.

We stepped out in Salt Lake City. I’d driven through here before, and even stayed a couple of times during one of their spikes in construction. The people were nice, and the surrounding mountains were beautiful and great for roaming when I needed to get away. The fact that there was a temple in the middle of the city, which multiple roads bragged about leading to, reminded me too much of towns I would have avoided in the past.

Azzie took a few minutes to change her shirt and clean the blood from her shoulder. Just because the wound had healed didn’t mean her clothing magically cleaned and patched itself.

Despite her insistence that she didn’t have ahome, I got the impression she was more established in this place than she let on. “You seem comfortable here.” I wasn’t judging, simply observing. “Like the streets are familiar, and you come back here a lot.”

Azzie shrugged. “It’s a good place to find work. People who grew up sheltered and don’t want to be anymore. Who need a more worldly friend for a day or two.”

This could be a good fallback location in the future. There was a different kind of scent in the air here. An odd combination of faith and defiance.

We did something similar to take us to Idaho, stepping out of a gate that was a click or so from where I was staying. It didn’t take long for me to gather my things, including the key that led to the small pocket-reality where I kept the rest of my money.

I’d drive us to Wyoming, to get us to our destination, but she was getting lessons after we settled.

Azzie slept in the car most of the trip, and I wasn’t surprised. The magics that had been used on her in the last twenty-four hours were potent, and honestly, I was surprised she’d functioned at all after either attack from Ulf.

It was dark when we crossed the border into Wyoming. I found a motel that didn’t look too seedy, to stop for the night.

I pulled into the parking lot and shook Azzie awake.

She stared at me, bleary eyed, before blinking away the sleep. “What time is it?”

Thank the godsshe didn’t try to kill me. “Almost one in the morning.”

“You let me sleep the entire way?”

“You needed it.”

She twisted her mouth and furrowed her brow. “You didn’t dump me at the side of the road so you could go back to your life.”

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