Page 68 of Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings
Norfrid laughed. “Of course I know, silly! It’s hard to make a deal with someone without knowing what you’re trading.” She slapped her hands on her frock, as if this whole situation had been hilarious, but I wasn’t laughing.
“You, you did it willingly?” I could’ve lunged forward and strangled the woman. I didn’t care if she would pop back up unharmed a few moments later. She did this to me, my mom, and countless others without caring how her greed would impact her descendants for centuries to come.
“It seemed like a fair trade for power. We weren’t seeresses naturally, you see. The gift didn’t run in our family, but Hel was willing to change that in return for something equally valuable: our sight.”
“You’re despicable,” I spat. “I hope your years on Midgard wielding gifted seidr was worth an eternity of being Hel’s spy. But from the looks of it, your time was cut short. The other villagers didn’t like your rotting eyes too much, did they?”
It was the first time Norfrid showed a crack in her creepy front, and she pursed her lips in retaliation of my words.
Before she could speak, I asked, “Why are your eyes normal once more—free of rot? I know she still sees through you, so what’s the deal? Did Hel reward you for your service?”
Norfrid turned up her nose, and for a moment, I didn’t think she would respond. “A reward of sorts. When Hel first gifted me, the words she spoke made it so the death-laced eyes would only be visible on Midgard. That way, while we’d still be servants in death, we could enjoy our afterlife without the shock of our own reflection. Haven’t you looked in a mirror? Or are you still scared of what you may find?”
“I was only ever scared of what I might find because of you,” I hissed. “You are a selfish?—”
“Selfish? Unlike you, I enjoy loyalty. I am a vessel for the gods to do with what they will. Hel is my supreme goddess, my queen. You’re lucky she hasn’t stolen your soul for this utter lack of respect you’ve shown. You think she’s just going to let you keep your seidr and stop seeing through you?” she laughed, sickly and sinister.
“Let her try to take it,” I spat, not able to revel in this positive news when this wretch stared back at me. Fire sparked in my palms, the flames reflecting in Norfrid’s traitorous eyes. My self-serving ancestor took a step back, horror in her gaze. She knew I couldn’t hurt her, but I sure as Hel could set this place aflame. There were two things her precious goddess hated more than anything: life and light.
I pushed Norfrid with a fiery hand, and she instantly caught flame. She stumbled and fell into the snow, the fire scorching her. She sat there from her spot on the ground, staring up at me with terror glazing her darkened gaze.
“Enjoy your afterlife,” I muttered as I walked away from her. “And let it go wrong at every turn.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
HER GREATEST SACRIFICE
Rune
My foot thrummed against freshly fallen snow, the powdery substance compacting more and more with every passing moment, though it never grew dirty, always white and beautiful.
Yet another illusion.
I huffed out a breath, the air around me turned foggy, as if I had a fire burning in my lungs. I was armor-less, seidr-less, and my heart was torn open and exposed to the raw, brutal elements of Hel.
The only shining light in any of this was a strawberry blonde seeress with lips so soft, it was maddening. I stared at the Bifrost Bridge and replayed our kiss over and over in my mind. I wished it’d been under different circumstances, that it hadn’t been the fear of losing her that’d made me finally kiss her, but I’d never take it back now. The new and wonderful feelings budding and blossoming within me were all the more volatile after having to leave her. It was too soon, but warnings needed to be sent and actions needed to be taken if I was going to keep everyone I cared for safe.
Odin knows.
He knew everything, and the columns holding up my life, my entire existence, were crumbling faster than I could rebuild.
I’d been standing across from the Bifrost, waiting not so patiently, since sunrise. The rainbow hues of the Bifrost had long since burned itself into my eyes, so even when I blinked, I saw it. I wasn’t sure if my plan would succeed, or if I was putting far too much faith in an attendant of Hel I’d bribed with a stunning dagger from Nidavellir. Well, technically, it was made by Nori on Asgard, but the troll didn’t need to know that.
The Bifrost flared, and I jumped to attention. Two figures were spat out before me, and clearly, there was such a thing as being too eager, because my close proximity to the landing area meant a hairy troll screaming profanities knocked me down.
Groaning, I pushed him off me and muttered, “It’s about damn time!”
The troll rose to his feet, straightening out his dirt-stained tunic. He grumbled something about a nasty pegasus and held out his hand for payment. I brushed right past him and offered a hand out to Rayna, who laid on the ground in a heap. When she didn’t move, I nudged her with the tip of my boot and called her name.
Nothing.
I whirled on the troll, dagger already in hand. “Your payment will be a knife to the gut if you don’t tell me what happened to her.”
The troll put his hands up. “I did what you’re payin’ me for, you crazy bitch. You asked me to bring her, and I did. She’s alive, isn’t she?”
I lowered the dagger for a moment, just long enough to kneel beside Rayna and check for a pulse. When her lifeforce thrummed against my fingers, the tightness in my chest eased. Ipushed the whitening hair out of her face and took in her closed eyes.
“What happened?” I asked the gruff looking man, his grey hair matted with mud. “Did she not come willingly?”
