24
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As we tumbled through the vortex, I tried to focus on something coherent, but all I could think about was going home. I was exhausted. The only thing that kept me rooted in reality was Fen’s iron grip on my hand.
Without warning, the tree ejected us.
I rolled until I hit something solid. My breath was temporarily gone, so I lay still trying to find it, blinking up at a crisp blue sky, lazy clouds meandering across my line of vision, a light breeze tickling my face.
Blue sky.
Springing up, clean air expanding my lungs, I placed a hand against the worn red wood of the barn we’d just crashed into. “Oh my gods,” I murmured. Fen stood not too far from me, looking equally as dazed. “Are we…I mean, can we actually be in Wisconsin? Because this looks remarkably like the barn I used to play in as a kid.” When I was little, my parents, Janette and Frank Meadows, took over the Meadows’s family farm. I’d been raised there until my early teens, when my dad purchased the local hardware store and we moved closer to town.
Fen paced toward me. “It could be, shieldmaiden. We are certainly not in Helheim.” His hand glided next to mine over the roughhewn wood of the old barn. It still smelled the same, old cedar mixed with hay.
With relief, I glanced down at my fist, which still grasped the jewel. “What’s going to happen when Frigg finds out we’re not in—”
“Phoebe Meadows?” a voice called. “Is that you? Why, I didn’t know you were back in town. What a lovely surprise! Come back to see the farm, did you? Most things have stayed the same. Max and I added a small addition on the house, and I’ve enlarged the garden, but that’s about it.”
I held my breath and slowly spun around.
Tracy Sullivan, wife of Max Sullivan, who’d bought the farm from my family ten years ago, stood in the driveway holding a basket of freshly picked vegetables, staring straight at me.
“Um,” I said as I took a step forward, tucking the jewel safely into my belt and smoothing down my tunic, not wanting to appear rude. “Yep, it’s me.” I gave her an awkward wave, giving thanks that I’d sheathed Gundren before I left. “It’s good to see you, Tracy. It’s been a long time.”
“Your mother didn’t tell me you were visiting.” Her eyes widened as she took in my full Valkyrie regalia.
“It’s actually a surprise,” I answered, improvising. “Let me introduce you to my…um, boyfriend.” I extended my hand toward Fen, who was just out of her line of sight behind the barn, beckoning him to join me. “We…just arrived a short time ago, but I couldn’t wait to show him around.” I tried to infuse my response with excitement. “We’re actually in town to rehearse,” I added, “for a…play we’re doing.”
“Oh.” Tracy half sighed, relieved that I had an explanation for why we were dressed so strangely. When Fen reluctantly joined me, grabbing my hand, Tracy’s eyes widened even more as she swallowed. “Oh.”
We made our way toward her. I wasn’t getting out of this without a proper introduction. “This is my boyfriend, Fen Lokinsen.” Fen tightened his grip on my hand to tell me exactly what he thought of his new name. I tried to keep a straight face.
Tracy extended her hand, switching her basket to her left arm. “It’s very nice to meet you…Fen, did you say?”
Fen nodded as he shook Tracy’s hand. “Yes, it’s a family name,” he said with a hint of humor. “It’s nice to meet you. This is a lovely farm.”
Tracy blushed. For a woman in her fifties, Tracy looked fabulous, not a day older than forty-five. She dropped her hand and stepped back, visibly flustered. “Are you from Australia? Your accent is wonderful. You don’t hear an Australian accent much around here. I’ve always wanted to visit, but Max thinks it’s too far.”
“I lived in Australia in my early years,” Fen replied smoothly. “But I’ve been living in New York for a long while now. That’s where Phoebe and I met.”
I patted Fen’s arm, adding, “Yes, we met…at the theater in New York, where I’m living. We were both auditioning for the same…play.”
“That’s nice. New York is another place I’d love to visit. I just have to convince Max. He’s not a traveler, that man.” She clucked, glancing over her shoulder. “I’m rambling. Would you to like to join me inside? I have lemonade and fresh muffins.” She glanced up at the sky. “It’s going to be another hot day, which is unusual for us in September.”
“No,” I said hastily. “I mean, we don’t want to intrude. Plus, my parents don’t know we’re here yet. We were just on our way to surprise them.”
Tracy smiled. “They will be thrilled! They’ve missed you. I’m happy I was able to see you first.” She opened her arms to give me a hug. “You’ve grown into a beautiful woman, Phoebe.” I embraced her, because that’s what you did in the rural Midwest. “I’m sure your parents are wildly proud of you. Feel free to come back to the farm anytime you’d like. We’re happy to have you.”
“Will do, Tracy.” I pivoted toward the road, guiding Fen. “So glad we had a chance to catch up.”
As we hurried down the driveway, she called, “Do you need a ride into town? I don’t see your vehicle.”
“We’re fine,” I said over my shoulder. “We parked down the way a bit. We didn’t want to intrude.” Under my breath, I whispered, “How in the heck did we get here? And what are we going to do? Now that Tracy knows we’re here, we have no choice but to go see my parents. They’ll never forgive me if they find out I was in town and didn’t stop by.” Fen began to laugh. I slapped him in the chest. “You’re not helping! This is serious. How am I going to explain that I was halfway around the world with Sam a few days ago, and now I’m here, looking like I look, with you? They’re never going to buy it.” I shook my head. “It’s not going to happen.”
“Oh, they’ll buy it, all right.” Fen chuckled as he slung his arm around my shoulders, tugging me close, planting a kiss on the top of my head. “Valkyrie, I can’t believe you think this is more dire than escaping Helheim in a fight for our lives. This is a vacation, and I plan to thoroughly enjoy it before we have to…head back to Australia.” He laughed, tossing his head back, as we emerged onto the road.
He had a point. This wasn’t Helheim.
“This is not a vacation,” I said. “You have to get serious about it for a minute. When Frigg finds out we’re gone, all hell will actually break loose. We’re going to end up paying an even steeper price. They might even kill us and save themselves another trial. Being here has a cost.”
Fen stopped, his eyes still glinting with amusement. “Shieldmaiden, it’s going to be okay. I assure you.” He was calm and just what I needed. “We’re only going to be here for a few short hours. It’s an unexpected break, and we’re going to enjoy it. We will formulate a plan, get ourselves back to Helheim, and all will be well. You have a special gift, don’t forget. That special gift just bought us some time.”
“I know, but I can’t help but be worried.” I placed my palm on his chest. It was rock solid under his white tunic. We really did look like a couple of reenactors—but from which bygone era? “Now that we have the jewel, I want this stuff with Hel over with, so we can have a chance at a real life. I don’t want to keep running. Running will land us in trouble.”
“Your brain got us here,” he said. “It also proves something very powerful.”
“What? That I’m an idiot?”
“No, not in the least. It gives us concrete assuredness that Odin has not blocked any of Yggdrasil’s pathways,” he said, “which he has the ability to do. When I was exiled to Muspelheim, everything was locked up tight. I could not escape, even if I’d found an open portal.”
I bit my lip. “So you’re saying he could have, but he didn’t?” We began to walk down the dusty road. We were about five miles outside of town. “That is significant. That means he purposely left us an escape route.” Once we arrived at the main intersection, I’d have to figure out what to do. Cars would pass, and people would recognize me. There were some places we could cut through, but I couldn’t guarantee we wouldn’t be seen.
“When did you speak with Odin?” Fen asked.
“Huggie came to get me the first night we arrived,” I said. “We went through an oak tree, but I’m not sure where we ended up exactly. Odin said it was right outside of Asgard. There was a river—said to be made up of tears, or mythical tears of some kind. The meeting was pretty short, but it was nice to talk to him and to have our first encounter be outside public scrutiny. He said that he tried to give me some safeguards when he struck me. He was kind—but nothing like he was in the courtroom, which he warned me about. He was all business in there.”
Fen said, “Interesting.”
I glanced at Fen’s profile. He was deep in thought. I wondered what my parents would think of him. I knew they’d like him—they liked most everyone—but they would be worried as well. Fen was an intense, extremely good-looking, out-of-my-league kind of guy. Not exactly the farm boy they hoped I’d eventually settle down with. I just had to hope they bought my story, whatever story I decided to tell them.
“What do you think it all means?” I asked. “If Odin gave me the means to escape and left the pathways deliberately open, is that what he wanted me to do? Do you think he’s monitoring the tree?”
“He very well could be,” Fen answered. “And others could be as well.”
I clasped Fen’s forearm, stopping our progress. “I can’t believe I forgot to tell you! I mean, we haven’t been together that long, but I should’ve told you right away.”
“Valkyrie, what is it? You’re worrying me.”
“Your father was here.” I shook my head. “Not here, in Wisconsin. I mean, he was in Helheim. Well, he wasn’t in Helheim exactly, but he came through in this wavy mirror to talk to Hel.”
Fen’s expression became stormy. “What did he seek?”
I gazed at him. “Me.”
“You? You’re going to have to elaborate, shieldmaiden.”
“He offered Hel six caskets of gold in exchange for me. He didn’t exactly say what he wanted to do with me, but the intent was clear. I think the Norns put him up to it. It was a good thing Hel wasn’t interested in his money. Instead, she asked for glamour, which he couldn’t readily produce.”
Fen raised his eyebrows. “Glamour, you say? I guess that makes sense. My sister has always been self-conscious about her looks.”
“I mean, you can’t really blame her. Half her body is gnarly and dead. A little glamour would definitely help. It’s something your father takes for granted.”
“That he does.” Fen nodded. “My father has wreaked much havoc with his ability to cloak himself as another. We must stay vigilant. If Odin is monitoring the tree, Loki could be, too.”
“Do you think Loki will keep pursuing me?” I asked.
We began to walk again, arm in arm.
“I have not had interactions with my father in a long time,” Fen said. “But whatever his motivation to capture you, nothing good would come of it. He would likely toy with you for a while and then hand you over to the highest bidder.”
“That means we can’t stay here very long. Remaining here would put people I love in danger.” About a mile down the road, a car turned down the lane. I pulled Fen to a stop. “Brace yourself.”
“For what?”
“You’re about to meet my parents.”