The Library of the Unwritten - A. J_ Hackwith Page 0,53
in the center of the table. She smiled despite herself. Trust Brevity to find the sweets at any party.
Claire allowed Brevity to shove a mug of something sloshing and foamy into her hand. Hero was still absent, but her assistant succeeded in coaxing Leto and Andras into sipping at their drinks. Judging by the empty mugs and the bearded grins sent their way, she had passed the time warming to the warriors at the adjoining table. Excellent work. It couldn’t hurt to win the goodwill of Valhalla’s residents.
“You did great, boss,” Brevity said.
“If you say so.” Claire kept her eyes on Bjorn and set down the mug the moment he disappeared into the crowd. “There are angels here.”
Andras choked on his drink, flecks of ale dotting his beard as his gaze darted around. “Already?”
“It seems so.” Claire recounted Bjorn’s news as quickly as she could. Leto, having run into an angel once already that day, began to exude panic, acid sweat forming on his temple and sliding down to his collar with a hiss. Frankly, Claire couldn’t blame him. Brevity pivoted in her seat to scan the crowd, covering the gesture by ordering another round for the boisterous table next to them.
“You’re certain there was no way for them to track the scrap in the afterlife?” Claire asked Andras.
“Absolutely not. It’s a piece of Hell. They could detect general demonic activity if they were in the area, but not across realms. They must be searching anywhere we were likely to seek help.”
“Which means they have an inkling of how important it is. Brilliant.”
“If so, we need to leave, pup. Sooner rather than later.” At Claire’s look, Andras’s brow furrowed. “Surely we’re not staying here while there are angels looking for us.”
“Of course not,” Claire said. “Bjorn may trust in the hospitality rules of Valhalla, but I don’t. We will just need to get around them carefully. Do you see them yet, Brev?”
“Only one, ma’am. Tall lady by the entrance, all shiny and terrifyin’ looking. I don’t think the Vikings care for her much.”
Claire raised herself from the bench just enough to spy what looked like a pale, walking storm cloud over the heads of the crowd. The crowd, despite the increasingly rowdy tone, did its best to flow away from her general vicinity. “Well, she’s not doing much to hide herself.”
“Heaven never was much for subterfuge,” Andras said with a touch too much demonic pride.
“Then that’s going to have to be our way out.”
Claire toyed with the foam on her drink, trying to develop a plan that balanced meeting their goals with getting out with their skins intact. “Brev, Leto, go extract Hero from the healers, assuming he’s not run off, and get him up to date. Then find Bjorn and get him alone in his office. I don’t care if you have to tie him up by the beard—we’re getting our answers tonight. I’ll meet you there.”
Brevity was already springing from the bench. “A rescue and Viking-napping sound fun. What’re you going to do?”
“Go find our other angel.”
Leto paused halfway out of the bench. “Pardon me for suggesting, but you don’t want to wait to take Hero with you? Last time that angel was kind of . . . angry. And violent.”
“I’m sure Hero will just be thrilled you volunteered him for mortal peril again,” Andras mused.
Claire remembered the lightning crack and smell of ozone from their first encounter with Ramiel. The point where the blade had rested on her chest tightened a little, but she shoved it away and shook her head. She’d risked the book enough for one day. “No. I’ll be fine. We’re all guests in Valhalla, correct? I just want to talk.”
“I’ll come, then,” Andras said.
Claire frowned at the old demon. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. This one seemed to have a hair trigger even around Leto, and he was in human form then.”
“He really doesn’t like demons,” Leto confirmed.
“You said it yourself: Valhalla’s safe.” A calculating look flickered through Andras’s red-gold eyes. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve dealt with more than my share of Heaven’s pests in my time. And this one, Ramiel? He’s not even part of the Host—a fallen angel. I want to see why such a creature is after us, and how they came to possess the pages of the codex after all this time. I might be able to detect something from what he says.”
It was much the same reason that Claire was taking the risk herself, so