“Yep, I’d say so. Count me in.”
Bernard closed his eyes and tilted his head forward, giving Émilien a silent thanks before turning back to Alva. “Are you ready?” She nodded and grabbed a few of the small sandwiches, stuffing one in her mouth, before laying her hand on his arm.
He pictured the Japanese Embassy in his mind, the same hour as when they’d left. With a single thought, he transported them to Midgard.
Standing in the same spot they had only a few hours ago, he remembered at the last minute that on Midgard, twenty years could have flown by in the time they’d been in the Elven World. With their feet firmly planted on the street, he glanced up and down Massachusetts Avenue, noticing how empty and deserted the area still seemed.
“Nothing’s changed, has it?” He turned to her, more than a bit surprised at the dagger in her right hand. “Alva, what are you doing?” He glanced around. Across the street, nestled behind several wide trees, was a red-bricked Georgian home. White-clad windows graced the two-story structure with the style-typical dormers placed between two fireplaces on either end of the house. It was an attractive home, but nothing dangerous. “Alva?”
She edged backward, pushing him against the barrier. “What I’m feeling is more than a single god. I’m sensing more than one being.”
He frowned and squinted, trying to see what she saw. “Why can’t I see anything?”
“Because you are looking through human eyes. You were given an unbelievable gift and have a magic of your own. Look through the eyes of a god, or whatever you are, because I don’t believe for one minute you are entirely human and neither does Freyja.”
“I was born in the north of France to very human parents. Now, if you were to tell me my guardians were dwarves, I would believe you.”
“They probably were.”
He didn’t like her clipped tone, but it was the trembling of her body that warned him she actually was seeing something he couldn’t. He closed his eyes long enough to center himself, something he used to do just before he and his men went on a mission or into battle. Inhaling deep breaths, he reached out with his other senses. A low humming sound murmured around them and reminded him of monks chanting.
Inhaling a final time, he choked, coughing out the noxious air flowing into his lungs. Without even a hint of breeze, he waved it away so it wouldn’t affect Alva. He opened his eyes and stilled, taking in the incredible and horrifying scene before him, immediately wishing he hadn’t. The creatures towering over them looked like glowing ghosts.
Turning his head from side to side, his heart dropped at their numbers. Every fifty- to seventy-five feet, a giant stood with its arms outstretched. A bluish-white light pulsed from their fingertips and merged to surround them, casting an eerie glow over their long robes, which fluttered in an invisible breeze. Their long, white hair also moved in the same motion. Their robes were open in front and beneath, they all wore dark pants and pirate-styled shirts. It was their faces, though, namely the blackened eye sockets, that filled him with dread.
Gaunt, they all were either ancient or starved and, strangely enough, resembled one another, yet not. Each creature had subtle differences, high cheekbones, full- or thin lips, and their noses ran the gamut from patrician, to snub, wide, or even hawkish. No matter where he looked, though, his gaze kept returning to their nonexistent eyes.
Glancing up, he saw the same blue glow hanging over the city like a dome. A blackbird squawked and dove toward something it saw on the ground below, but when the bird hit the barrier, a flash of light blinded Bernard. Blinking to clear his vision, the bird’s pain-filled squawk pierced his ears. It jerked away from the barrier, clawing its way skyward with what may have been an injured wing.
Dropping his mouth close to Alva’s ear, he whispered, “What are those things?”
“Draugar. They are the worst of the undead, cursed to eternity by their own evil deeds or by a necromancer.”
“That doesn’t bode well for us.”
“It’s not,” she said and twisted her wrist, her dagger disappearing into the golden cuff. “This is about as bad as it can get. Once they’ve banded together and combined their magic, nothing will deter them from their goal.”
“I take it, that goal is to keep us out of the city.”
“’Fraid so. This is going to take more than just us. We will need everyone here, including Raisa’s furry friends and Émilien. He all but vibrates with magic.”
“You call to Freyja, and I’ll tell Ailuin.” Not waiting for her answer, he turned his mind inward and reached out. Ailuin, we arrived in Midgard and have discovered what is holding the center city hostage. Alva called them draugar. She says we’ll need everyone to stop them.
What is your exact location?Ailiun’s voice sounded far away and seemed to echo.
Bernard sent him the coordinates and a few minutes later, the entire group gathered around them, minus the werewolves. Freyja faced one of the draugar with her hands on her slender hips. Her scarlet nails matched her gown. For the first time since he’d met the goddess, she was overdressed.
He blinked, drawing his brows together in a frown. Freyja now wore an army uniform of pleated pants and a matching jacket, with a sharp cap on her red-blond hair, and black boots. He couldn’t help but be a tad bit envious of her magical abilities. How many times during the war had he wished for dry clothing after swimming a river or being drenched in a rainstorm?
Turning on the heel of one boot, Freyja faced the group who stood in a line in front of the barrier. The expression on her face was one Bernard had never seen before. It worried him more than he would like to admit.
“Step nearer to me,” she said in hushed tones. “Even though the draugar are in a magical trance, they may still hear what we’re discussing. I have only come across a few of these creatures at a time. To see so many is disconcerting, to say the least.”
“You will be able to stop them, though, won’t you?” Raisa asked, sliding her hand into Ailuin’s.
“Where are your werewolves?” Alva frowned.
“Maxim and Kazimir will arrive shortly. They were in the middle of training a few new recruits,” Raisa answered.