16
Alva followed Bernard into Freyja’s quarters and closed the door to the Asgardian world behind her. She liked walking through the city’s magnificent structures, the many gold- and bronze-clad buildings reflecting in the brilliant sunlight. The bright-blue skies overhead, most times without a hint of cloud, usually gave her a sense of peace, but not today. Today, the heavens were gray and cloud-covered with the heavy spring rains, which were lasting longer than usual.
She didn’t like thunderstorms. As a child, she had been terrified of the earth-shattering thunder. While living with her father in Alfheimr, the storms matched the rising conflict, so she was scared much of the time. Nights were the worst. It had gotten so bad the last year of her father’s life, he had moved her bed into his room and placed spells over the walls and ceiling to keep out much of the noise.
Taking a few more steps into the room, everyone else stood in a group. The only person sitting was Freyja. Her gaze never left the God’s Glass, and she had a confused expression on her face. Turning her head, her eyebrows rose as she caught sight of the group behind her. “Why are you all just standing there? Take a seat.”
“Well, um…” Natalya hesitated, glancing at everyone, before meeting the goddess’s gaze. “You don’t have enough places to sit.”
Freyja slapped her palm against her forehead and shook her head. “Where is my brain?” She jumped up, moved a few steps away from the lounge area facing the fireplace, twirled her finger in a circle, then clapped her hands. A large circular mahogany table appeared with an equal number of chairs to people. “There. Now we can put our heads together and figure out what to do next.”
Taking the seat in front of the Glass, she motioned for everyone to sit around the table. “Ailuin, do you think Lamruil and Freyr might have any insight about the draugar?”
He shrugged. “I sent my brother a message before leaving Midgard. He wasn’t sure but was going to ask Freyr, although both were pretty wiped after channeling their powers from Alfheimr. It took a lot out of them—”
“And here we are,” Lamruil said, interrupting his twin as he and Freyr strode into the room. Two more chairs appeared, and, in a domino-effect, everyone scooted around the table to make room for the two newcomers.
Ailuin turned to his wife. “Why do I even bother?” Raisa chuckled and kissed his cheek.
Freyr grabbed the back of his chair and turned it around. Straddling it, he rested his arms across the top of the chair’s back and gave his sister a curious glance. “So, you actually saw the draugar?”
Freyja nodded. “We all did...well, I think we all did.” Her gaze traveled around the table. “Did everyone see them?”
Aleksandra pinched her lips together and shook her head. “I didn’t. At times, I thought I saw something, like a shadowy figure, but it was only a flicker and then nothing.”
Natalya shrugged. “I didn’t even see that. I knew something was there, and Mikhail tried to help me focus, but I never saw anything.”
“Both Lilyann and I saw them,” Charles said and glanced at Jakob, who nodded, affirming he, too, had seen them.
“So, only two of you didn’t,” Freyr said. “Did either of you sense anything? A cold chill, worry, fear, or any other sensation or emotion?”
Aleksandra stared at Natalya a moment, then turned her brown gaze back to Freyr and tucked her straight black hair behind one ear. “The entire time I was there, I experienced a heavy foreboding wrapped in extreme sadness. Every once in a while, I caught a mixture of regret and, I know this sounds strange, but delight.”
Natalya nodded. “I caught the foreboding sensation as well as the sadness, but Aleksandra’s empathic abilities are a lot stronger than mine, so I didn’t sense the other two. I did, however, catch a bit of anger. It wasn’t constant and felt like it bounced around, but it was there.”
Freyr dropped his chin on top of his stacked hands, his gaze boring an imaginary hole in the table in front of him. Finally, after several minutes, he raised his head. “I’ve only come across a draugr once in my very long life, and it’s troubling that there were so many in one place. I saw mine on Midgard, as well, and it involved pirates who were looting graves. I came upon the undead as it hacked away on the body of one of the pirates. The other two were only injured and trying to crawl away but wouldn’t have gotten far. The draugr was...well, the only description I can give you is gleeful. It was horrific.”
“Were you able to kill the creature?” Bernard leaned forward, pressing his clasped fingers against the table, his knuckles turning white.
“No, but I did force him back into his tomb and managed to replace the seal. It took many spells and lots of magic to keep him there. They’re strong—stronger than any other creature I’ve gone up against, and that’s saying something.”
Lamruil leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I can’t help. I have only heard of them from legends.” He frowned, glancing at his brother a moment before meeting Freyja’s gaze again. “Wait. During the early months of the war, Heydrich was sucking up to Himmler, vying for a better position, and gave him an early birthday present. It was an ancient book about creatures lost to time. Not long after Heydrich’s death, Himmler mentioned trying to find a way to bring some of them back, although I don’t believe he was strong enough to do that.”
“He wasn’t then, but what about now?” Bernard glanced around the table. “Because of my interference, he and the other Nazis are more powerful than ever.”
Alva shook her head. They were missing something. She also agreed with Bernard and knew the Nazis’ power was building. The heavy oppression swirling around her while on Midgard had been unsettling and difficult to separate from the draugar’s power. She pressed her hands over her unsettled stomach, the constant flip-flopping giving her a sick feeling as her worry grew. She wasn’t sure anymore that they could fix Bernard’s interference and return the war’s events back to what had been. That thought was terrifying.
She laid her hand over Bernard’s, but only for a moment before pulling it back and clasping her fingers together in her lap. It hurt too much to love him and know she would never have his love in return. He would never see her or look at her like he had his wife. Deep down, she couldn’t help but wonder if it wasn’t the Huldra curse striking again. It was the one thing she and her mother had in common. Unrequited love. That thought gave her a moment of clarity.
She cleared her throat, forcing herself to voice the main thought in her head about this whole situation. “I can’t help but feel that, somehow, this is tied to what the Huldra and my mother are going through.”
Freyja’s gaze narrowed at her. “What do you mean?”
“My mother’s breakup with Anders. I can’t tell you anything more specific, but isn’t it strange all of these events came about right after Anders left the forest?” She dropped her head into her hands with a soft groan. “Oh, I don’t know. I usually know what to do, but this...?”
Bernard sat back and laid his hand on her leg and gave it a tiny squeeze. “Alva, no one was prepared for something like this. These creatures aren’t of the usual variety, so no one, least of all you, could be expected to deal with this. I’m the one who set this all into motion—”
“No, Bernard, I don’t believe you did.” Everyone turned to the new voice and saw Idunn standing beside a large, but familiar, black werewolf.