leading into what looked like a moldy little bathroom. By the window next to it was a twin-sized bed, and to my right stood a velvet wingback armchair in front of a dead fireplace.
On the mantelpiece Arni sat, the only proof of life amongst the shadows.
When our eyes connected, the raven flapped his wings and squawked again, a cry which morphed into a voice more borrowed than mastered. “Took you long enough.”
“Arni,” I greeted, reaching out an arm in invitation. “Where’s my father? And Magga?”
“Is that…?” Modi trailed off behind me. When I looked over my shoulder I saw Annabel supporting herself against his arm as he led her across the doorstep into the apartment.
“Is that one of Odin’s ravens?” Modi finished, eyes wide with surprise.
“One of our ravens,” I said, turning my attention back to Arni still perched on the mantelpiece. “They’ve been in our family for centuries. Come, winged friend. Tell me where my father is.”
He shook out his feathers, but didn’t obey the invitation. Odd. Both he and his sister loved to sit on me when they visited.
“Loki is gone. He left me with a message to you,” the raven said. “He was very angry that you allowed the girl to look for him. He didn’t wish to be found.”
“This is an emergency,” I said, frowning as Arni shifted. He looked disheveled, as if he hadn’t preened his feathers for a few days. “Odin has Saga and Grim locked up in Valhalla. Tell me where he is—we need to speak with him.”
“He will allow your company for a short visit, but only yours. Your companions cannot follow. If they do, he will not be pleased,” Arni said, his feathers rising once again before finally he took flight, landing on my shoulder with a small bump.
He was lighter than normal, I noted, my confusion turning to concern.
“Are you ill, old friend?” I asked, cooing softly at the bird as I reached into my pockets for some of the leftover scraps of what we’d bought on the train. “Here, have a bit of food.”
“What do you mean, we can’t follow?” Modi broke in. “What trickery does the traitor have up his sleeve that he will only see his son?”
“Loki doesn’t trust them,” Arni crowed between alien clicks and rolls of his tongue. “Don’t bring them, or you will surely regret it. Swear an oath that you will seek him out on your own, and I will tell you the location.”
“This is silly,” I protested, frowning when he turned his beak away from the offered food. “I can’t leave the omega behind. He of all people would understand that. He’s gone to great lengths to get her to us, after all. Tell me where he is.”
“An oath is the only way you will find him,” Arni insisted.
“Bjarni, it’s okay.” Annabel's voice was still so weak just the thought of leaving her behind had every primitive instinct in my gut roaring. “I… I need to rest anyway, and this is too important. Modi can protect me while you go speak with your father.”
Modi can protect me.
Her words did little to calm the already grated emotions throbbing in my blood, but she was right—Modi could protect her. And this was too important. If I didn’t speak with my father, everything was lost.
“I swear on my blood, I will seek Loki on my own,” I said. “How long will it take to reach him?”
Arni clenched his talons deeper into my shoulder. “Two days,” he said in another rasping, stolen voice—a mimicry of someone far more human. “I will lead you there.”
“Two days?” I nearly refused. I looked back over my shoulder at Annabel, fear clawing at my gut.
“I’ll be okay.” Unsteadily she walked to my side and placed her hand on my chest. “Go. Bring him back.”
There wasn’t much we shared, her and I. But the urgency of our task was one such thing. I had to go. I was the only one who could. There was some small measure of comfort in that.
Cupping her cheek in one hand, I bent down and pressed my mouth to hers.
She inhaled softly the moment before our lips connected, but didn’t resist the kiss. It was soft and sweet, and it filled me with the strength I needed to do what I had to.
“I’ll go,” I said, pulling back from her with a deep breath. “And when I come back, I’ll make sure you’ve got all the power you need to continue.”
Fifteen
Modi
Letting the Jotunn go off