Norse Code Page 6

  He sighed deeply and pulled me against him. Loki rested his chin on the top of my head and held me close. “I am sorry for bringing this to your door.”

  I wrapped my arms around his waist. “No sorrier than I am for it happening to you. If we can, we will take her body at sunset to the sea and give her a warrior’s send-off.”

  Loki shook his head. “She was no warrior. She was a nurturer.”

  “Even the most nurturing among us can be a warrior.” I gave him a squeeze and let him go. “Anyone married to you has to be a warrior to put up with you.”

  A small smile peeked out from behind the sadness. “Aye. I can’t imagine the kind of person you need to be to be married to a shrew like you.”

  I pinched him on the side, though I was careful to not be too light with Sig’s body beside us. We had all seen death before. Most of us were warriors and we’d been involved in more battle than we had any right to be. But, I knew Loki and I could feel how deep his sadness for her ran.

  “Come. Let us go home.”

  He nodded and together we lifted Sig’s body using magic. Whispering a quick concealment spell, we covered her and quickly made the trek back to my home. Brenna was pale as a wraith, her shoulders shrunk in on herself as she furtively glanced back and forth among the streets for any stragglers out walking in the early morning dew. We passed no one on the way which was good for us because Brenna was so scared she would have confessed to murder if anyone had stopped us.

  Once we were inside, I led them through the house and down the back stairs into the place I kept all of my alchemical experiments. This was something I never got to do being married to Odin unless, of course, I snuck over to the local witches’ guild. They met weekly, in secret, down in the basement of the local herb shop. When I found out about it, the main witch, a lovely woman named Griselda, came to me at the palace, dropped to her knees and confessed her sedition. I lifted her from her knees, escorted her into my personal quarters and gently reminded her that there was a massive difference between sedition and learning.

  She blinked and blinked and her mouth moved like she was a fish fresh out of water. Before she could recover, I gave her a charm to contact me in secret and asked her if she and her sisters would be willing to give me lessons.

  She cried hysterically, answered of course she would, and slipped out the secret passageway down to the gardens I had built whenever I first became Odin’s wife.

  If there was anyone guilty of sedition in Asgard, it would have to be me.

  Loki’s sharp inhale told me he realized it, too. Odin didn’t believe in low magic. It was beneath him. I, however, didn’t think anything to do with using the magic of our worlds should be considered low. Herbs and plants could help with childbirth, pain, fevers, illnesses even magical sometimes. And even though most of us didn’t have to worry about illness, there were some human assistants in Asgard and we could use our gifts to help the people on Midgard.

  “Freya?” Loki questioned as I continued walking through the room chock full of dried herbs in bottles, lab equipment, old dusty books, and miscellaneous stuff strewn everywhere.

  “I’ve been learning alchemy and low magic for the past two hundred years,” I said, hoping he would drop it.

  Brenna trailed behind us, her mouth slightly open as she gaped at everything around her. I wrenched open a door hidden in the back and with a snap of my finger produced a low light. There was a broad wooden table in the middle of the room, clean of everything except for dust. With a quick huff of breath even that was gone. I gently settled Sig on the table and lifted the concealment spell. Loki’s face tightened as he looked at his wife.

  I stepped closer to her and loomed over the top of her head. A small trickle of blood marred the side of her full lips. There was slight bruising under her eyes, but that could be from a number of things. I walked around the table looking for any kind of wounds, but I couldn’t find a single thing to tell me how she died.

  “Do you see anything, Loki?” I asked.

  With a deep sigh, he stepped up to the table and examined his wife’s body. He gently lifted her hands and turned up her palms. He then pushed her hair back from her neck, bent down and rested his forehead on hers.

  And Loki began to cry.

  7

  After a quick and quiet departure from my basement to allow Loki the time he needed, I walked Brenna back to her place and went directly to Griselda’s coven. I didn’t see her in the town square or bar last night, but that wasn’t surprising. She and the other witches tended to keep to themselves. All of the houses were the same but...I’d created this one a little differently than the others and urged Griselda never to mention it. From the outside it looked exactly the same. When someone stepped inside, it also looked the same. But if you pressed on a certain piece of tile on the kitchen backsplash, a door would swing open, revealing a staircase and an extra four bedrooms below. In addition there was a craft room. I’d jokingly told Griselda she could store her hot glue and fabric there when we both knew the only kind of crafting she did involved invoking the gods and sometimes being naked around a fire.

  Fortunately Griselda had a good sense of humor about it. Being persecuted for your beliefs made you funny, I guess.

  I knocked on the door, a quiet tap, tap, tap, followed by four quick raps in a row. Moments later the door swung open and Griselda stood there with a worried look on her face.

  “Something has happened.” It wasn’t a question. She held open the door and I brushed past her.

  She shut it, held a finger to her lips and led me through the kitchen and into the secret downstairs. Once the passage door was shut and she’d whispered some words, she motioned for me to sit down.

  “We can speak now.”

  “You do know that the only people here are loyal to me?”

  Griselda shook her head. “The fact that you are here this early in the morning and smell of the grave tell me that is probably not true.”

  My lips twisted to the side. She was right.

  In a very disturbing way.

  Huh. Well, crap.

  “Are you familiar with Sigyn?” I asked Griselda. I saw curious heads peeking out of bedroom doors so I waved the other four witches over.

  Mel, Freesia, Tori, and Juniper all rushed over and sat on the floor close to us.

  Griselda gave me a long stare. “She’s a giantess from Jotunheim. Faithful wife of Loki.”

  I wanted to roll my eyes and scream. How had I not had a clue he was married? Instead I nodded. “Yes. She found Loki last night after a long absence.”

  Mel, a pretty blonde with intense green eyes, grimaced. “She is the woman whose life was cut short? You smell of death and malice, Lady.”

  I nodded. “Aye. We found her this morning.”

  Griselda’s expression turned curious. “And you need assistance to help find her killer?”

  I felt like the worst sort of person. “No,” I said and held up my hand. “I need help removing this.” Since the bond had formed, the vines had only grown more intense. They covered my hands and half my forearm now and the palm of my hand pulsed slightly with an unearthly green light. I’d noticed it earlier this morning and shielded it from view. That was all I needed, to beam like a lighthouse in the dark.

  Freesia, an elfin creature with bright purple eyes, gasped and leaned forward. “You have been blessed by the goddess, Lady,” she said with reverence.

  I frowned. “Which one?”

  Griselda’s eyes held amusement. “For us, one of the few who matter.” She softened these words with a smile. “The Morrigan.”

  I blinked at her. “No.”

  “Oh yes.”

  “She has nothing to do with marriage!” I insisted. I had zero desire to get tangled up with Morrigan. I’d rather cut off my own arm before I was in any way tied to her.

  This time, Tori spoke. “She is the goddess of both birth and death. Marriage is a birth - a beginning, and to have a bond like this instilled mea
ns she sees not just a marriage but a soul bond. Whomever you have wed must be a strong, proud, and noble man.”

  I pressed my lips together. Loki was a good man, but I wasn’t so sure this was a marriage made for legend. “I’m not sure about that,” was all I said.

  Juniper was last to speak. “The Morrigan does not make mistakes, Lady. Your binding represents something that will come to be a legend. The man you have wed must be fiercely proud.”

  “The man I have wed has no idea we are wed,” I muttered underneath my breath.

  Griselda let out a snort of laughter and then a look of horror stole over her face. “No,” she whispered and let out a loud groan. “Please tell me -”

  “Oh yes,” I said. “The stuff of legends, am I right?”

  She clapped a hand over her mouth but still couldn’t stop the giggles from coming. “The trickster?” she asked between laughter. “You’ve been bound to the trickster?”

  “It was only supposed to be a fealty bond. Something happened.” I held my hand up and twisted it from left to right. The light fell upon the wall, deep and emerald. “I need to be released from this before what happened to Sig comes to light.”

  Her laughter stopped. “You fear they will suspect you.”

  I nodded. “I accidentally married the guy and all of a sudden his other wife winds up dead? Definitely suspicious.”

  She reached over and took my arm. Pushing my sleeve farther up, she studied the markings and let out a long breath.

  “The only one who can help you is the Morrigan.” Griselda shook her head. “But I think she will deny you. These are the most elaborate markings I’ve ever seen.” Her gray eyes met mine. “But Loki, though?” She shook her head. “I’ve only met him a few times but he seems to prefer drinking ale over doing anything serious with his life.”

  I allowed Griselda to turn my hand over and study the glow. “He cares about things. It’s just hard to know what. He can be light about a lot of things but when he turns that intense stare to you it’s...unnerving.”

  Griselda didn’t look like she believed me. She released my arm. “For whatever reason, Morrigan believes you belong with Loki.” Her face tightened. “And Odin? Does the bond still exist?”

  “Loki burned it away.”

  Juniper snorted. “I’m not so sure that was all Loki.”

  “How can I contact Morrigan?” I asked.

  Griselda grinned at me. “You don’t. If she can sense you want to talk, she will appear to you. Maybe.”

  “Great,” I muttered. “There’s nothing you can do?”

  All five of the witches shook their head in eerie unison. “Not with the work of the Morrigan,” Griselda said.

  “Is there anything extra I can do to attract her?” I asked, desperation creeping up my spine and making me itchy. “Set some bird food out?”

  Juniper gasped in horror and even Griselda’s eyes widened. It was well known Morrigan used the guise of a raven often.

  I winced. “Sorry. That was a terrible joke.”

  “It isn’t wise to be light concerning the Morrigan,” Tori said.

  “Seriously. What can I do to convince her I’m worth talking to?”

  Mel spoke up. “Create a circle of salt and coal and sit inside. Light five candles in the shape of a star and sit in deep meditation asking her to receive your petition. After twenty minutes, extinguish those candles widdershins, nudge the salt circle open and step out. This will help earn her favor.”

  “Widdershins?” I echoed, having never heard such a strange word in my life.

  Mel nodded. “Light the candles in a clockwise direction starting from the north and extinguish them the opposite way.”

  “Widdershins. Backwards. Got it.”

  “Again, Lady, do not take issues concerning the Morrigan lightly. She will make you pay.” Mel stood, adjusted her flowing skirts and left us sitting there.

  A chill ran up my spine and I rubbed my arms. “Thank you, ladies. I will be calling another meeting within the hour if you want to attend.”

  “Not even a little bit,” said Griselda.

  “Antisocial witch,” I said with a grin.

  Griselda’s eyes glittered. “Careful now. You weren’t even divorced before you got remarried to a man who didn’t even realize it. Those who cast the first stones and all of that.”

  “Shut it, woman. If things go well for me, I’ll have this bond broken before he even realizes what happened.”

  Griselda’s face told me that was a fat chance in Hel.

  “I’m still going to try anyway,” I said with a growl. I thanked all the witches and let myself out. Even before the door closed, I heard them begin to whisper. The name Loki floated back to me.

  Everywhere he went he managed to enchant someone.

  On the walk back home my brain went a little wild and I wondered...would it be so bad to be married to Loki?

  Odin would lose his shit over it. So that was a tic in the plus category. Thor would hate it too once he realized what the definition of marriage was. He wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. Another tic in the positive.

  But I would be married to someone who was legendary for being dishonest. He was married for goodness sakes and hadn’t seen his wife in ten years! What did he do to sate himself? I couldn’t for one second imagine him being celibate for ten years. I mean, I was. Ever since I first caught Odin cheating, we were finished. Though he apologized and apologized until he was blue in the face, I never laid with him again. Because I knew he didn’t mean it. It never failed. Once I felt myself softening toward him, I’d find another woman, another...something in the bedroom to let me know he’d failed. Again.

  I blew out a breath and my footsteps slowed. Instead of going home, I headed to the bar. Pushing open the doors I was about to flip on the lights when a shadow caught my eye. I stiffened at first but relaxed when I saw who it belonged to.

  “Loki?”

  He gave a feeble wave with his left hand. The right swirled around a glass of what I assumed to be the rose mead. “I hope you don’t mind. I let myself in.”

  If it was anyone but him, I would have. I went around the bar, grabbed a tumbler and poured myself a little whiskey. Coming back around, I pulled up a barstool and sat beside him. “There are stronger drinks than mead if you want them,” I said.

  He shook his head. “I was a terrible husband.”

  “Probably,” I said.

  A snort came from him. “I’ve always loved your refreshing honesty.”

  “It’s what I’m good at.”

  “I didn’t love her. I never loved her. I liked her. I respected her. But the thought of laying with her at any time made my…” He stopped. “It is wrong to dishonor the dead.”

  “We dishonor each other when we lie to ourselves.”

  He swirled the glass again and the liquid reflected amber and gold in the low light. “I ran from her. It’s one of the reasons I am no longer welcome in my homeland.” His electric gaze pierced me. “I never consummated my marriage. What kind of man does that make me?”

  “Oh, Loki,” I said as I put my hand on his forearm. “It makes you an honorable one.’

  “Does it?” He shook his head. “I think it makes me weak.”

  “To choose not to lay with someone is not a weakness. It’s a strength. To dishonor your wife is one of the lowest things you can do.”

  He set his tumbler down and looked at me. Really looked at me. I felt...exposed. “Do you truly believe that?”

  I nodded. “I do.” I immediately regretted it because I knew what he was going to say.

  “And yet you allowed Odin to dishonor you for thousands of years.” His voice was low and flat.

  “I am the weak one. Never to stand up for myself. Never to tell him how I really felt. Never to have the strength to walk away.”

  He gestured around him. “And yet here we are.”

  I shrugged. “I think it might be too late. Odin has grown too powerful. He never l
earned a thing. And what did I learn? That I will allow a man to use and abuse me for so long I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

  “Don’t say that.”

  I tilted the whiskey back and took a long pull. “‘Tis the truth. We both know it.”

  “It’s not a weakness to honor your vows. It’s not a weakness to stay.”

  I smiled at him thought it felt false on my face. “I haven’t loved Odin for the past many years. Perhaps I never did. It was wrong to stay.” I put a hand against his heart. “And you honored your wife by walking away.” I chuckled. “Though I can imagine you probably disappeared like a thief in the night. Perhaps she was owed a better explanation than the one you gave her because she seemed to think she loved you.”

  “She did. Very much.”

  I sighed. “Perhaps it was misguided, but I can see how someone might love you.” His eyes flashed at that but I interrupted him before he could pounce on it. “We will find who did this.”

  He raised his glass to me. “And we will make them pay.”

  I touched my glass to his. “And drink from the skulls of our enemies.”

  Loki shuddered a little bit at that one. “Or maybe a clean glass from the bar.”

  We both drank the rest of our booze down.

  8

  An hour or so later I called a town meeting. Eyra showed up this time, a trim and athletic Valkyrie whose sword arm was just as sharp as her wit. She was one of my best friends.

  She walked into the bar, grinned in delight as she saw the new set up, and demanded for me to pour her a glass of ale. I obliged willingly, giving her a glass of the darkest stout I had. “And what’s new today, Freya, Goddess of War, former Asgardian?” she asked

  I didn’t have the heart to tell her I was only a Vanir. An Asgardian by marriage, but since I was no longer married to one, I’d slipped down the totem pole a bit.

  “We had a murder today,” I said lightly.

  Eyra choked on her first sip of stout and spluttered it all across the top of the bar. She wiped a strong forearm across her mouth and stared dumbly at me. “Truly?”