CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTERTHIRTYTessa walked up to the nurses’ desk and knocked on it. The nurse looked up and smiled.“Tessa!”“Hey, girl. How are you?”“I’m fine. Fine.”Tessa waved at a few of the other on-duty nurses before leaning over the desk and whispering, “Think I can get in to talk to that guy?”Her friend nodded. “Sure. He’s awake now and talking.” She whispered something to the other nurse, then led Tessa to the private investigator’s room. Tessa was still determined to find out what he was doing spying for that bitch Simone Andrews. Even if she had to wring it out of his scrawny neck.But as soon as Tessa walked into the ICU, she knew something was wrong. His heart rate abruptly increased and he began to seize. But the seizure . . . it was like something was lifting his chest off the bed¸ the rest of his body turning awkwardly. It was as if he was trying to throw someone off.Tessa’s friend called a “Code Blue” and Tessa stood back so that the team could work, but she felt something strange under her foot and looked down to see she was standing on straw.Straw in a hospital room?The private investigator screamed out and Tessa watched him fight something off. Something that she couldn’t see.Something that wouldn’t let her see.Tessa felt her own heart rate suddenly increase, and she dropped to the floor, looking under the beds.“What are you doing?” her friend asked.“I . . . uh . . .” Tessa stood. “Nothing.”“Hon, you have to go.”“I understand. Thanks.”Tessa waited until she was out of the hospital and by her car before she pulled her cell phone out of her jacket pocket. Chloe picked up immediately.“Hey,” Tessa said, “I think we have a really big problem.” 

The Crows watched as Kera drew the runes in the dirt. They all took a moment to study them before admitting, “No, dear. Don’t know what that is.”“And you saw this near a sacrifice, you say?”“The runes surrounded a blood-covered altar that had jewelry trapped under it.”“Jewelry?”“Gold and diamonds and other very expensive stones.”Aditi glanced back at the Ravens. “Do any of you recognize these drawings?”The Ravens looked over what Kera had drawn and shook their heads.“Doesn’t look familiar to my eyes.”“Where did you see this?”“At the site of multiple sacrifices,” Kera replied.“Multiple?”“As in many.”The Raven’s eyes narrowed a bit. “I know what multiple means. I was raised in England in the 1800s.”“Oh. Sorry.”“That,” another Raven pointed out, “looks like something from before our time. When all the gods still lived.”“Maybe it comes from the Vanir. They have their own runes in Vanaheim.”“We think they’re trying to raise something,” Vig said.“No.” One of the Crows shook her head. “This isn’t to raise something that’s been dead. This is to pull something into this world from another.”“From Helheim?”“No. Something buried far away. Farther than Hel’s court. I would—”The Crow stopped talking and looked up at the sky.“What’s wrong?”“Move back,” the Crow ordered. “All of you move back!”Kera scrambled back as the air and ground around them exploded, and they were suddenly surrounded by hawks and falcons, circling and diving until they merged together into a raging ball of birds that eventually formed a beautiful woman.She was tall and blond in bright silver armor, a cape of birds’ feathers billowing behind her.She stood by the runes that Kera had drawn, her gaze locked on them. When she looked up, the Ravens went down on one knee before her, their heads bowed. The Crows didn’t. But they did give her space.A whole lot of space.“Who drew these,” the woman asked. But when no one answered her, she bellowed, “Who drew these?”The crows in the trees flew off and the ground shook beneath their feet from the power of her yell.“I did,” Kera said.Bright eyes that flashed between a deep human blue and a harsh yellow like the eyes of a bird of prey suddenly locked on Kera.“You’re not dead.”“No.”“Why are you here?”“Training.”The woman pointed at the ground. “Why would you draw this?”“I . . .” Kera cleared her throat and tried again. “I wanted to know if anyone recognized it.”“Why?”“We found it at a sacrificial altar. One filled with diamonds and rubies and—”“Gold?”“Yes. There was gold. It was like an offering. Those who can see, I guess you’d call it, reacted strongly to the runes, but they didn’t know what they meant.”“Did you see this here? On these lands?”“No. In a cave. In Catalina. In California.”The woman looked off, her hand brushing against her bare neck, then back at Kera. She studied her for a long time before asking, “Who are you?”“I’m Kera Watson.”“I don’t care about your name, girl. Who are you?”“I’m a Crow.”“Perfect. Then I have a task for you, Crow.”Kera glanced back at her sisters. “Uh . . . I don’t think I can.”“Really? And why not?”“My loyalty is to Skuld.”The woman walked around Kera in a circle. “Of course your loyalty is to Skuld. You are a Crow. But I am Freyja and it is with my Valkyries that Skuld rides. If your loyalty is to her, your loyalty is to me, Crow.”“That’s the first I’ve heard that.”“Do not worry. If you take on this task, you’ll get the answers you seek.”“What task?”“Nothing you haven’t done before, Crow. You must retrieve something of mine. A necklace.”“A necklace?”“Brísingamen.” Kera heard gasps behind her, but she focused on the god in front of her. “It is mine, and I want it back. Find those who hold it and retrieve it for me.”“I see . . .” Kera lift her gaze and saw that Aditi had moved around behind Freyja. Eyes intense, she gave a single nod and Kera said to the god, “Okay. I’ll do it.”“Good. And your reward will be answers, Crow. Answers you desperately need.” Freyja held her arm out, and Kera watched as something flew across the land and into her open hand.She held it out for Kera. “Take it.”Kera studied the rune-covered hammer. The head wasn’t nearly as big as the Giant Killer’s weapon, but power radiated from the runes burned into the head and handle.Reaching out, Kera grasped it. It was heavy but it felt right in her hands.“Where do I start looking for your necklace?”“That coven of witches you let live—”“How did you know about—”“—start there.” The god turned away from Kera.“How do I get the necklace back to you?”She gave a little sniff. “Just find it, Crow.”The woman’s feathered cape exploded into an array of falcons and hawks—and she was gone.“That was Freyja,” Aditi explained.“So she said.”“She’s leader of the Valkyries. Goddess of love and beauty and jewelry.”“Goddess of love? And jewelry? Her?”“Odin tricked her to take the position of war god. She’s never forgiven him for that, but she can’t deny she’s very good at it.”“She’s given you a mighty weapon,” the First Crow pointed out. “She must think you’ll need it if she’s given it to you and not one of her own Valkyries.”“Well . . . that’s a disturbing thought.” Kera dropped the head of the weapon to the ground and leaned against the handle like a cane. “What does she really want from me?”Aditi gave a small smile. “The gods can visit and talk to those they deem worthy on the mortal plane, but they cannot physically interfere.”“So?”“So she needs you to do it for her.”“Why not her Valkyries?”“That’s not something she’d ever ask them to do. But the Crows . . . it is what we do.”“But you cannot do anything until you get back home. So for now,” the First Crow said, using her foot to scrape away the runes Kera had drawn in the dirt, “let us drink and sing to welcome our new sister to our ranks!”The Crows and Ravens cheered and proceeded to pass out more wooden casks of ale, but Kera immediately noticed that Vig was not cheering.She turned to him and softly asked, “This is bad, isn’t it?”“Few things worry Freyja, but she was worried. That’s bad for us.”“Is there anything good for us at this point?”“Yes.” Vig pulled Kera close and kissed her forehead. “You are.” 

Chloe had her feet up on her desk, her gaze locked on the ceiling. “Aren’t you blowing this out of proportion?”“I know what I saw, Clo.”“You saw . . . straw.”“In a hospital room.”“Yeah . . . and?”“The old wives’ tale says that straw in a bedroom may mean the Mara were there.”“Tessa—”“But it wasn’t just the straw. It was him. The way he was reacting. Something had him.”“Maybe. I don’t doubt that. But, Tessa, seriously . . . the Mara? I can’t remember the last time they’ve been seen.”“They’re not supposed to be seen. They’re the Mara.”The Mardröm or, as the Clans called them, the Mara, were what nightmares came from. At one time Mara was thought to be one witch who rode at night, searching for victims to drain. But the Clans knew that the Mara were made up of many female demons. And they’d sit on the chests of their victims, press their hands to their heads, and make them physically experience their worst dreams. Even more appalling, the Mara didn’t discriminate. They’d do the same thing to children, babies, even animals. And the more panic and fear and desperation that they aroused in their victims, the more powerful they became.The younger Mara could be handled by the Clans, but the older ones, the Elder Mara . . . they were unbelievably dangerous. And very feared.Chloe, who loved to dispute everything, had suddenly stopped talking. And she was staring off at the wall.“What is it?” Tessa asked.“I’ve been having dreams lately. And the dreams, they’ve been draining me. I’ve been so exhausted.” She rubbed her temples, wincing as if they were sore. “I don’t know. What do you suggest?”“Bring in Holde’s Maids to protect the house. Hopefully that’ll keep the Mara out.”“Why do you think they came here?”“We’re easy. All of us have been killed, most of us violently. All they have to do is make us go through that experience again and again. It must be like elixir for them. Don’t worry, Clo. I’ll take care of it.”“Anyone seen Kera yet?”“No. Give her time. She’ll be back. I’m sure she’s off at some hotel, boffing her Viking’s brains out. Not that I blame her.”The two old friends laughed and Chloe said, “Do me a favor. Get this place protected, let’s track down that asshole with Skuld’s bracelet, wipe him from the planet, and then we deal with the Mara.”“Okay. Want me to tell the others?”“Give them a heads-up. The Ravens, too. But I don’t want anyone freaking out about this until we know for sure. I’m not in the mood to hear it.” Chloe frowned. “Do you think the Mara are also the ones who’ve been stealing everyone’s shit?”“Maybe.”Chloe cringed. “But why?”“Oh Clo . . . I don’t think we want to know.”