Page 58 of Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings
“This is Rune,” Kari began. “She’s the valkyrie I told you about, the one who brought me here to visit you.”
“Hmm,” he grumbled, not satisfied with her explanation. I figured I wouldn’t open my mouth until I was asked a question. It was better to let them all digest what Kari was saying before adding my own explanation to the mix. Not only that, but I didn’t know how much truth Kari planned on spilling.
Kari’s mother, Sigrid, smiled at me wearily, then said, “Rune, why did you bring our darling girl back to us?” I stared into her deep blue eyes, thinking of the curse that followed her into death. Was Hel watching us now? Was she staring at me through Sigrid’s eyes, trying to gather information on us? Was the woman even aware that the goddess was using her, that she had been her entire life? I certainly wouldn’t trust her with anysensitive information, though it was no fault of her own. This was all Hel’s doing.
“It’s nice to finally meet you all,” I addressed the woman, then let my gaze scan over Kettle, Haddy, Malfrid, and Odel. “I’m sure Kari has told you why she’s here?”
“Indeed,” Sigrid said, her smile fading. “But what I want to know is, why would a valkyrie take interest in a living mortal? So much so that she was willing to bring her to her deceased family in Helheim?”
I was hoping for a little bit more than “indeed” to work with in determining what Kari had told her family. Haddy knew more of the truth than anyone, but was she still holding it close to her chest? I wasn’t sure what she had to gain by keeping it from her own family. I had nothing left to offer her, and neither did Kari, outside of her continued presence. I suppose that was enough of an incentive. That, and Haddy didn’t like her other sisters enough to betray Kari.
“It’s okay, you can tell them,” Kari whispered to the side of my face. I shifted to meet her soft gaze, an encouraging smile lifting the corner of her lips.
Tell them what? Tell them I watched her for years? Tell them I think the world of her still? Tell them I stole her death?
What was it that she wanted me to tell them?
I cleared my throat. “Kari is a very special seeress. She caught my attention a few years ago, and I kept watch over her to ensure her safety and the safety of the seidr within her. When she mentioned having a connection to Hel, I thought that bringing her here would bring the Goddess of Death much satisfaction, and Kari agreed to come with me willingly,” I said with a practiced smile. “I have to admit, I did not bring her here to be reunited with her family, but it is a pleasant addition to the trip.”
“You’re not an attendant of Hel. Why would you do this for her?” a girl I assumed to be Malfrid asked.
“Because a happy Hel is a happy Odin. The Allfather wants all the gods and goddess across the realms to be satisfied and at peace. Odin takes no issue with my trip here with Kari.” It was bullshit. I knew it, Kari knew it, and Haddy probably knew it too. I only hoped the rest of her family couldn’t taste my lies.
Kari’s father grumbled something to her mother, and Odel stared at me with unsettling blue eyes. Her lips twisted, and she said, “Special how?”
Before I could open my mouth, Kari said, “You know Mom and I have the sight. While her seidr was strong on Midgard, mine is stronger here. I can wield seidr of the underworld because of the curse Hel placed upon our ancestor, Norfrid. I’ve talked to Hel herself, and she’s confirmed this. She?—”
“You’ve talked to Hel?” Malfrid sputtered, her cheeks sunken from the pucker in her lips. “And how did you know your seidr is stronger here before you left Midgard?”
“Rune sensed it,” Kari lied, her jaw ticking as she did. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who didn’t trust her family with the truth. “She sensed my power.”
“Well, how?—”
“So many questions!” Kari laughed, her posture tight despite trying to come across as casual. “It’s been two years since I’ve seen you. Does how I got here or why matter more than the fact that I am? I want to know how it’s been here. Are you all doing okay? Are you… happy?” Her brows pinched as she peered into each of their eyes.
Haddy didn’t bother responding, as we already had the chance to catch up with her, but Odel and Malfrid exchanged a loaded glance. They went to speak at the same time, then paused and grinned awkwardly at one another. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought they were twins in the way their mannerisms matched and the evident similarities in their features, down to the same shade of hair and eyes.
Malfrid, the older of the two, placed her hand on Odel’s knee. “We’re good. It’s quite nice here, and there’s even a hall that mimics each of the seasons if we get tired of the snow.” Her voice wavered, and she twisted her hands in her lap. “But Kari…we’ve had a lot of time to think, and Odel and I are really grateful you’re here, because our hearts have been feeling quite heavy knowing what we, uh, tried to do to you.” The sass Kari described her sister as having was leached from her tone as she stared at Kari with unblinking eyes.
“We don’t know what we were thinking! Truly, we never want to see harm come to you,” Odel chimed in, the heel of her palm pressed into her chest, as if her heart were splitting and she was staunching the bleeding. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen spirits seek forgiveness for the actions they took after spending too much time roaming Midgard. Staying on Midgard without a body was unnatural. It ate at your soul, and the more time one spent in a place they didn’t belong, the more that place teared at you.
It wasn’t my place to forgive them, but I hoped, for Kari’s sake, she saw their words as pure. I knew how much their actions ate at her, despite pretending she was fine.
“What did you girls do?” Sigrid asked.
Kari ignored her mother as she said, “I hold no grudge over what happened. Well, not anymore at least. Rune told me what happens to a soul who spends too much time separated from their body. By the end of those few months, none of you were acting like yourselves. To be honest, I’d been happy when you finally all moved on. Lingering in a home that is no longer yours is no way to spend your afterlife. You all deserved more, and I deserved to try to move on. I’m more than happy to wipe that morning from my mind if you are.”
“What did you girls do?” Sigrid asked again, more aggressive this time. Odel and Malfrid ran over to Kari and threwthemselves onto her lap, and I slid to the side to avoid the flailing limbs. But then Odel turned to me and threw her arms over my shoulders, giving me a big kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you! Thank you for bringing our sister back to us.” She let me go and wiped at the tears that streamed down her face with an embarrassed grin.
I cleared my throat and shifted on the furs beneath me. I was used to taking people away from their family members and the tears that caused. Every once in a while, I would see relatives or loved ones reuniting in the halls of Valhalla, but this was different entirely. “Uh, you’re welcome,” I forced out, because what else was there to say? I’d be taking Kari back to Asgard again soon enough, and they would have to say goodbye all over again. At least this time, they got their closure.
“I swear to the gods, if one of you doesn’t answer your mother right now, I’m going to lose it,” Kettle growled. Odel and Malfrid’s faces paled, and I knew this conversation was about to get really awkward. I debated sneaking away, telling them all I had important valkyrie matters to attend to elsewhere, but Kari would know otherwise. I didn’t want to abandon her for the sake of my own comfort, so as Kari’s sisters uncomfortably began explaining what they had done, I remained next to her, a constant, unwavering presence.
“YOU WHAT?” Kettle bellowed, shaking the stone walls around him with the sheer might of his roar. Even though Kari wasn’t the one receiving the brunt of his anger, she still winced. My hand found its way to her lap under the furs, and I pressed my palm into her thigh for comfort. I caught Haddy staring at me as their father yelled, and the two of us shared a silent conversation of our own.
Malfrid and Odel began to sob, their story lost in their blubbering. I couldn’t tell who was saying what, but I could makeout a string of coherent words, such as, “She wouldn’t have done it herself!” and “We didn’t want to leave her behind!”
