Page 80 of Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings
Yes.
I glanced around the ornate room at what other clues I could’ve missed. It was possible he hadn’t planned this journey at all. “Was Odr taken against his will?”
No.
“Not taken against his will, but he left in a hurry all the same,” I murmured to myself, tapping my foot on the floor. “Will Odr come back to Asgard?” I asked. The pendulum swung northwest to southeast.
Unknown.
I asked a few more variations of the same question, hoping the problem was with the way I’d asked, not the question itself, but I received the same unhelpful answer each time.
Realizing this pendulum had reached its limit, I curled it back into my fist. I left the candles lit as I left the circle, exploring the god’s chamber. From his belongings alone, I could tell hewas a god of chaos, and he certainly enjoyed living in euphoric splendor. I’d thrown more than my fair share of objects down after realizing what they were intended for.
Wiping my hand down my dress, I moved toward his bed. The quilt and furs were coated in a fine layer of dust, but I still lowered myself until my back hit the mattress. I stared up at the painted ceiling, depictions of ecstasy decorating it in muted colors. When I squinted hard enough, I realized the same man had been painted over and over in a myriad of erotic positions. Familiarity struck me as I recalled the tapestry of Odr in the hall.
It was him. The god of inspiration was staring down at me with his dark eyes and long, chestnut hair. His beard was trimmed to perfection, even in the depiction of another man gripping it in his fist. My brows rose, and I shuddered as I caught a glimpse of what had been painted next to it.
This man is creative, to say the least.
As I settled in his bed, I closed my eyes and tried not to think about all that had occurred below me. His presence in this place was vibrant, and I held on to that bond, strengthening it as I tried to pull history that clung to the gilded walls.
My eyes flung open just as I realized I would find none of the answers I sought while in this waking world. I hopped out of the bed, startling an exploring orange feline. I muttered an apology as I sent a gust of wind to suffocate the still-lit candles.
My knuckles tapped against the main chamber door, ready for Rayna to open it. Rune wasn’t of much use to me standing around with her sister, but I had a task for her that could be more than useful.
Rayna’s face appeared in the doorway, and I used my fingers to pry it open enough for me to see Rune too.
“I need you,” I said to Rune over Rayna’s shoulder. “Not here, but in the mist.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
THANK THE GODS FOR MOONCAKE
Rune
Riding upon Apple’s back was a much welcomed reprieve after standing in the hall, discussing offerings with Rayna. I loved my sister, butgods,she could be utterly dry when she was on duty. She did, however, have a brilliant plan to find me the perfect offerings and reward herself in the process. Everyone knew about Freyja’s love for Nidavelirian mooncakes, and we just so happened to know a tavern-owning dwarf with a generous mother who lived for lunar baking. Ale and mooncakes weren’t the worst things I could offer the goddess in return for a chance to become a valkyrie again.
Apple dove toward the House of Wings, flying a little too close to the occupants of Freyja’s rolling meadows. She landed upon soft grass, and not even a moment after I was dismounted, she was flaring her lips at me.
“I told you,” I said with a sigh, “you’re going to have to wait a little longer until I can get you some apples. Go steal some of Gunhild’s.” Epli snorted impatiently as she trotted away. I shook my head at the pegasus and continued down the path toward theFólkvangr sect. I couldn’t leave room in my mind to feel badly for the pegasus’ misfortune, not when I’d spent the day trying to turn the gods’ favor around for us all.
After a little visit to the Valley Beyond the Mist, Áma agreed to leave the protection of her sacred home to help Kari find Odr. She asked for a few days to get her affairs in order before she departed, as it would be her first time leaving the mist in three centuries, but she would be here, and that was something. No, not just something. It was everything.
In the matter of days, Áma and Alvion would both be in Fólkvangr, and Kari and I would be two giant steps closer to getting what we both wanted most.
Kari had run out of ways to find Odr through spells and divination tools alone. It was time to move on to what once was her specialty but was now a great mystery, a puzzle to be solved.
Kari needed to have a vision.
There was a good chance that wherever Odr was in the nine realms, Kari had never been. She’d gained knowledge from the skald in the Cave of Whispers on using symbolism from her distorted visions to uncover the meanings behind them, which had been working quite well for her. The biggest challenge now was having a vision of someone else’s past or future instead of her own.
“I sent for the washing of Odr’s bedding,” Rayna said, forgoing any sort of greeting, as usual. I twisted my head to see where she leaned against the entrance to the House of Wings. The building was larger than the Valhalla sect was, and the pale stone matched Sessrúmnir.
I chewed on my bottom lip as I scanned Rayna in her new leathers, so deep green, they would have looked black if not for the sun shining upon them. I grunted in a way of thanks and nodded to the front entrance of her new home. “You going to show me around? I could use the distraction,” I admitted.We both knew why she’d sent for a wash service. Kari would be spending the night, alone, in Odr’s chamber. If there was anywhere she would have a vision that would direct us to his whereabouts, it was going to be tucked into his very own bed.
The last thing I wanted was to spend a night without her, but I knew this was our biggest hope. Having me or Tove sleeping next to her could not only disturb her visions, but influence them. It was also why I’d been asked to leave my post outside his bedchamber, Rayna too. Kari needed a fresh perspective of the space, and she needed the room to be void of any familiar presence.
“Follow me,” she said as she pushed off the wall. “It will be your home too, soon enough.”
