Valkyrie (Kate O'Hearn) - By Kate O'Hearn Page 0,45
thing we discussed. I’m sure my wife can find a buyer for the jewels.’
‘Thank you, Curtis.’
He grinned. ‘Don’t thank me yet; this fight is just getting started.’
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Maya had spent half the night soaring in the skies over Asgard. It was still a long time before dawn but she couldn’t find her sister anywhere.
Finally she headed to the one place she prayed Freya hadn’t gone: Bifröst. The Rainbow Bridge was shimmering brightly in the cold, clear night. At the entrance, Heimdall stood guard.
Maya landed before him. ‘Greetings, Heimdall.’ She bowed her head formally.
‘Greetings, Valkyrie,’ Heimdall responded, as he also bowed to Maya. ‘There is no reaping this night. What calls you to Bifröst?’
‘Heimdall, you are a friend of Freya’s.’ Maya approached him gently.
The shy Watchman smiled and nodded. ‘She comes here often, though usually it’s late at night. We walk out on Bifröst and watch the human world. Most times, we do not speak. I can feel a great sadness in the child. She is restless. I do what I can, but nothing seems to calm her troubled mind.’
Maya nodded. ‘I know what you mean. Did you see her tonight? Has she come this way?’
Heimdall frowned. ‘Not tonight. Why? What concerns you?’
‘I can’t find her,’ Maya explained. ‘I came home from Valhalla and she wasn’t in her bed. I’ve searched everywhere. Normally I get a feeling for where she is. But now I feel nothing. I fear something may have happened to her.’
The Watchman’s fair eyebrows knitted together in a frown. His face revealed he was deeply troubled.
‘What is it?’
Heimdall shook his head. ‘It may be nothing, and I beg you not to tell Odin. But sometimes I have episodes. I am at my post one moment; the next I am on the ground. Nothing around me has been disturbed and I have seen no one. You know I require very little sleep and am certain I have not dozed off. But when I wake, I find a fraction of time has passed.’
‘Did you have a similar episode tonight?’
Heimdall nodded. ‘It wasn’t long. But I awoke on the ground again.’ He paused and rubbed his chin. ‘Wait, I remember. Loki was here not long after; he said he caught me sleeping on the job and that he was going to tell Odin.’
‘Loki?’ Maya said. ‘What did you say to him?’
‘I told him if he said one word to Odin, I would squish him like a bug.’
Maya bowed again. ‘Thank you, Heimdall. You have been most helpful.’
Maya turned to walk away, now convinced something was wrong. First Grul saw Freya with Loki, and then Loki was at Bifröst causing grief for Heimdall. It was too large a coincidence for such a short time.
‘Maya, wait!’ the Watchman called.
The ground around him shook as Heimdall jogged over to her. ‘Go to the stables. The Reaping Mares are bound to their riders. Take Freya’s mare. She can lead you to your missing sister.’
Maya felt like an idiot for not thinking of that first. Sylt was devoted to Freya, just as her own mare, Hildr, was devoted to her. ‘Thank you, Heimdall. I shall do that.’
Opening her wings, Maya and Grul launched into the air and flew to the stables. Sylt’s stall was at the very end. Just as Freya was the youngest Valkyrie, Sylt was the youngest Reaping Mare.
‘Easy,’ Maya said as she entered the stall and stroked the mare’s smooth chestnut head. ‘Sylt, I need you to find Freya.’
The mare nickered softly.
‘Freya,’ Maya repeated as she put the reins on the mare and climbed up on to her back. ‘Take me to Freya.’
Sylt nodded her head and pulled at the reins. She trotted out of the stables, opened her large dark wings and took to the air.
Moments later, she landed before Bifröst. Sylt pawed at the ground, shook her head and snorted in distress. None of the Reaping Mares would dare cross the Rainbow Bridge without permission. To do so would mean their death.
Moments later, Heimdall reappeared. ‘It is as I feared,’ said the Watchman. ‘I believe your sister may have crossed Bifröst without leave to do so. This is a grave offence. Odin will be furious.’
Maya climbed down from Sylt and knelt before him. ‘Please,’ she begged. ‘Please, let me pass. I must see if this is true. If Freya has left Asgard, Sylt will lead me to her. I will bring her back. Odin need never know.’
‘You want me to lie to Odin?’ boomed the Watchman.