Page 25 of Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings
My neck was broken, I was sure of it.
The muscles along my spine screamed as I straightened myself out from my cocoon. I’d refused to sleep on the floor last night, and the biggest raised surface in the main room had been the hard, too small bench.
Pulling the warm blanket off, I allowed my numb legs to fall off the side and onto the wooden floor below with a thunk. Only then would I start to recover blood flow.
That damned cat has better sleeping arrangements than I do,I grunted to myself.
I’d been forced out of the spare room and banished to the main room without even a blanket to my name.
A blanket,I thought as I gripped the quilt that still lay across my lap. When I’d fallen asleep, I’d had nothing but the fire to warm my skin, yet I’d woken with this mysterious quilt wrapped around me.
Had Kari…
I didn’t even finish my own thought, the hope creeping through my chest too dangerous. But even then, I felt an odd clench in my heart.
“Morning!” Áma called out from the kitchen. “What did you do to get yourself kicked out of bed? I swear, if you leave, and I find that room covered in?—”
“There are no crumbs, Áma.” I interrupted before she had the chance to accuse me again. You eat an entire loaf of bread in someone's spare room one time and never live it down,gods.
“Well, whatever you did must have been bad enough to be sent away without a blanket to keep you warm.” she said, shaking her head in disbelief.
My gaze dropped to my lap. “Did you put this on me?”
“I’m not heartless, you know. You were shivering in your sleep, even with those ridiculous leathers on. Won’t you wear a dress? You’re not in a war, child.”
“Mmm, thank you,” I muttered, lifting the corner of the quilt in lazy gratitude. How could I have thought the seeress who despised me had anything to do with bringing me comfort? I’d tried to fight for hers, yet she found it so easy to rob me of mine. “And the leathers are just fine.”
“Good morning, Áma!” Kari practically sang as she sauntered into the modest kitchen, a small yawn escaping her lips as her eyes avoided mine. “That bed of yours is absolutely wonderful.”
“I’m so happy you had such a restful sleep,” I all but sneered at the woman, not able to school my features when fatigue clung to them.
“Give me a moment. I’ll fix you up something for breakfast,” Áma said to Kari. “Why don’t you make yourself comfortable while you wait?”
“Oh, don’t you lift a finger to feed me. Rune has already kindly offered to summon all my favorite foods.” The seeressbeamed at the older woman before flashing me a terribly wicked smile.
“Oh, did she now?” Áma said with a suppressed chuckle. “Well, I won’t waste my food then. Rune, I’ll take salmon and eggs. And don’t forget the flatbread!”
Don’t start a war, Rune. Don’t start a war.
I sighed but reined in my emotions before I ended up needing my leathers after all.
My seidr wasn’t limitless, and I didn’t appreciate using it on pointless endeavors when I didn’t know the next time I’d be able to fuel it. Summoning salmon and scrambled eggs for Áma certainly classified as a pointless endeavor, and Odin only knew what Kari was about to demand.
“Ah, yes! How could I have forgotten? One porridge coming right up. Áma, can you believe Kari loves it completely and utterly plain?”
“I don’t?—”
I cut Kari off when a bowl of porridge appeared above her, and she had to choose whether to chastise me or focus on catching the bowl so it didn’t crash at her feet. She, of course, chose the latter.
If this wild creature was going to try to play games, she’d need to step it up.
Kari clutched the bowl but didn’t say anything as she let out an annoyed huff and took it to the small table next to the window. She began pushing the tasteless porridge around her bowl with a silver spoon while I focused on making Áma the most fantastic salmon and eggs she’d ever had. Making the feast for her didn’t seem so pointless anymore when I could use it as a reminder to Kari that I had her under my thumb.
The three of us, or maybe two of us, enjoyed our breakfasts in silence, knowing we’d have more than enough to talk about soon enough. Áma had checked out Kari’s healing wound, cleaningit once more and reapplying fresh bandages. She scanned the damaged flesh for any residual traces of Hel’s seidr, and, to no one’s surprise, she’d found her signature mark of death despite the lifting of the curse. It was going to take a lot more than a trip to the underworld to lift the darkness of an ancestral sentence off the seeress’ shoulders.
“So, what now?” Kari asked.
“Well, we have a few options, though, I admit, some of them are better than others,” I said, leaning back in my chair. I crossed my arms and wondered how I’d explain the complexities of the underworld to her in a way she’d understand—preferably a way that resulted in the least amount of questions. “We’re currently in the valley beyond the mist, which is close to a gateway to Yggdrasill, the World Tree. Through the World Tree, we will be able to travel to the eight other worlds, including Hel.”
