Page 48 of Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings
“He’s all I have.”
“No, Kari.” She shook her head, her face serious. “You have so much more, if you want it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
THE SUFFERING MORTAL
Rune
I’d claimed the bath before Kari could open her eyes. When I’d gotten back from grabbing us breakfast and meeting up with Rayna and saw Kari was still sound asleep, I’d decided it was time to check on her pulse. As soon as my fingers touched her neck, she jolted awake, sitting straight up, as if she’d been revived from the dead.
I’d lurched back as she’d yelled, “Never wake a sleeping seeress!” Her hand clutched her chest, as if her heart had threatened to stop.
When she’d risen and began bathing in the other room, I’d sat with my back pressed up against the stone wall next to the doorless chamber entrance, listening to her as she’d recounted her vision the night prior. She’d spoken of a large, snarling wolf, thick iron, and a woman with hands as cold as ice, and I’d had a pretty good feeling we would wind up in Helheim before the day was up.
Rayna had gone ahead to check on Apple, Gunhild, and Tove, and I’d told her we’d meet her there as soon as I could get Kariready for the day. She seemed to be in no rush, and I had a sneaking suspicion the nasty effects of the ale from the previous night weren’t the only things slowing her down. The seeress had also seen Hel in her dreams. She’d felt the goddess’ frigid skin, seen the hound that guarded her gate. Maybe Helheim wasn’t as fearsome as certain ignorant mortals made it out to be, but the entrance wasn’t exactly welcoming to anyone who wasn’t escorted by a god or one of their attendants. It was in Niflheim, after all.
I was a valkyrie, yes, but I wasn’t from the Helheim sect. I couldn’t stroll in there like I belonged. Kari had every right to be nervous, but I’d hoped she knew I’d never let anything happen to her.
When Kari finally stopped dragging her feet, we met Rayna by the gate. My sister’s face was bright and refreshed, as if she’d had the best night's sleep, though I didn’t think she’d gotten much sleep at all. I’d seen her dancing with Alvion as I’d swept Kari off to the inn. She’d been laughing, light, andgods,I loved coming here with her. She deserved the happiness she found, and she deserved Alvion.
“Good morning, everyone!” she chimed with a smile as bright as the sun. Her blonde streaks sparked in the sunlight, a reminder of how beautiful she’d looked when she first arrived in my sect. She was nineteen at the time and hadn’t even gotten her first white hair yet, even if her first strand was stripped of its color a few days later.
Kari’s gaze darted from Rayna to me before she grumbled a greeting and proceeded to shield her eyes from the sun. When we walked through the gate back into the path between realms, she dropped her arm and sighed in instant relief. It was darker here, with a purple-tinted sky that was even across the sunless expanse, unlike the cloudless Nidavellir sky.
Now that he was solid once more, I scooped Tove up and placed him in her arms, knowing she hadn’t wanted to go the night without him. She pulled him in close, a smile creeping onto her face despite being ale-ill.
Helheim was the next root over, and unless we ran into any trouble, we’d be able to make it to the gate by the end of the day. Sure, we’d be worn down and dirty, but maybe we’d be granted rest before an audience with the Goddess of Death.
Kari spent most of the day on Apple’s back, sleeping or pretending to so she didn’t have to entertain the notion of conversation. Rayna and I weren’t going to try to force the suffering mortal to participate in idle chit chat with us. I only hoped her silence had everything to do with her state of wellness and nothing to do with regret. We’d finally been able to break some walls down between us last night, and I held my breath the entire walk that she wasn’t sitting upon Apple wishing it had never happened.
I replayed what she’d said to me far too many times as we laid face to face under that quilt. I thought too often of the way she’d drifted off to sleep as if I was a suitable replacement for her favorite companion, even if it was just for one night.
When the iron gate of Helheim finally appeared in the distance, Rayna slowed. I stopped in my tracks and cocked a brow at her, not needing to say a word. She knew I was asking what she was doing, why she was slowing.
“This is where Gunhild and I leave you.”
“What?” Kari said. “But we just got here!”
“She can’t be seen in Helheim with us,” I said, catching on. Why hadn’t I thought about this before? “Rayna wasn’t sent here to aid us. She was sent here to capture us, to bring us back to the Allfather.”
“I never would have betrayed you,” Rayna said. “But?—”
“But I’m not going to let you ruin your life by appearing to have betrayed Odin. You’ll already be going back to him empty-handed. The last thing you need is to have Hel or one of her valkyries report back that you were found here with us.”
Rayna nodded gravely, but I strode over to her, bringing her head into my shoulder like I used to when she was just a girl. I held her there for a moment, not saying anything but expressing everything we needed to. Kari and I owed her our lives. If any other valkyrie had been sent here, we’d be back in Valhalla, chained on the floor of Odin's Hall. Because of her, we were paces from the Helheim gate, moments from speaking with Hel. We’d have our answers soon, and we owed her for that.
Kari dismounted Apple and walked over to the two of us. I released the back of Rayna’s head, and she pulled back with a small smile before turning to Kari. The two of them exchanged a hug, Kari whispering her thanks, Rayna telling her she hoped to see her again someday.
When Rayna mounted Gunhild and flew off to find the Bifrost, Kari and I were left to face what was on the other side of those massive black gates. When we began creeping forward, a howl rippled through the air that made my bones ache.
Garm.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LEAD THE WAY, GARM
Kari
