Some believed Freya, in whole or in part. Some stood by their warrior, Leif. And some still wanted to kill Omar on the mountain and pray for an end to their nightmare. But it was the voice of the queen that ended the fighting.
“My people, it has been a long and tiring day, full of victories and tragedies. Freya has brought us the head of Fenrir, and the reavers made us pay for that in blood tonight. But we prevailed, as we always have and always will. And now Omar Bakhoum has returned to us. Look at him!”
She stepped forward and put her hand on his shoulder. “He’s no demon, no monster, no ghost or trick of the light. He’s alive, and he has returned from the wilderness, no doubt after surviving unspeakable horrors and perhaps having done great deeds as well. I will question him, and you will all know the truth of the matter soon enough. But there will be no more killing. There has been enough blood spilled in Rekavik tonight. Go home, and rest easy knowing that you have such heroes as these to defend your city.” She extended her hands to touch Freya’s and Leif’s shoulders. “Good night, and may the Allfather grant us a long rest from our labors.”
Then she nodded to Omar, and turned back to the castle. Skadi led the procession of guards and valas inside, and Freya followed at Omar’s side. But in the middle of the dining hall, the guards seized Omar’s arms.
“No!” Freya tried to pry them off of him, but Leif’s sword was suddenly at her throat, pushing her back against the wall. “What’s going on?”
“A very good question,” Skadi said. She stood before Omar, studying him. “You haven’t changed a bit, have you?”
“Never if I can help it, Highness,” Omar said smoothly. “I used to revel in surprises, but such is a pastime for younger men. These days I strive to avoid new things at all costs. They upset my digestion.”
“It really is you, isn’t it?” The queen leaned close to his face. “I saw you die, and yet here you are, all too well. Is it true what the girl said? Did you kill Fenrir?”
“Indeed it is, all too true. I did kill… the beast you called Fenrir.” Omar smiled thinly. “Though I must admit, I expected a warmer reception for all my hard work.”
“Your reception is still very much in question,” Skadi said. “Why are you here? Why come back now?”
Freya turned her attention to Leif and the blade at her throat. The young warrior was facing the queen, but was watching his prisoner with a sidelong squint.
“I took the ring from Fenrir’s hand,” Omar said. “And I spoke with the ancient valas of Rekavik. Have you?”
Skadi hesitated. “I did. Briefly.”
“Then you already know, Highness, that none of your exalted predecessors know anything about this plague. They have no answers for you, no cure at all.”
“That remains to be seen,” she said sternly.
“Perhaps it remains to be seen by you, but I have seen it clearly enough, and I have far more experience speaking with the dead. But if you have forgotten that, you are always welcome to inspect my sword again.”
The queen’s eyes flashed down to the grip of the rinegold sword and an uneasy look crossed her face.
Freya wet her lips.
Skadi’s held that sword before, and she saw whatever it is that Omar sees when he wields it. And it scares her!
“But there is some small cause for hope, Highness,” Omar said. “If your friends would be so kind as to stop hurting my arms, I’d be happy to tell you why all your troubles are behind you.”
The queen frowned a little deeper and stepped back from him. “You’ve come to talk about the king.”
“No, no, not a bit,” he said with a smile. “I’ve come to talk about your reaver problem. More specifically, I’ve come to talk to you about bloodflies.”
Skadi hesitated a moment longer, then nodded to the guards and they released Omar’s arms. The southerner rolled his shoulders and massaged his elbow.
“Well?” the queen prompted him.
“Hm? Oh yes, the flies. Are you quite sure you want to discuss it in front of so many people?” He glanced around the dining hall at the guards and the valas.
“I’m not afraid of your words, Omar. Are you?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. Well, I won’t bore you with all the details, but the salient point is this. I have, at this very moment, a nest full of an ancient breed of bloodflies busy as bees, laying eggs and raising their young just as fast as they can. I left them plenty of food and water, and built a charming little gazebo over them with some mud.”
He gestured whimsically. “Well, perhaps charming is a bit of a stretch. But it will keep them reasonably safe until there are so many of them that they can break out of the nest on their own through sheer brute force.”
“I hate bloodflies,” a guard muttered.
“And well you should, my burly friend, well you should. Nasty little creatures, as we all know. However, they do have a very useful skill in that they drink the blood of their victims, and these ancient bloodflies have an added virtue. They can drink the aether in the blood as well.” He paused to give Skadi a long, stern gaze.
Freya saw the understanding dawning in the queen’s eyes.
But is he telling her the whole truth, or a half truth, or none at all? I can’t read him.
“They’ll hatch soon?” she asked.
“Hours, mere hours,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything breed so quickly.”
“And when they hatch from this nest of yours, what will they do? Did you give them a taste for demon blood? Will they pull the plague out of the reavers and return them to their normal selves?”
“That was my first thought,” he said, rather seriously, his lips tense. “That was what I hoped to create. A true cure. But you can’t separate this disease from its host. You can’t take the bad blood out and leave the good blood behind, so to speak.”
“A poison, then,” the queen said. “The flies will infect the reavers with some disease that will wipe them out?”
“Not a poison,” he said. “A vaccine. If these flies of mine bite one of you, you’ll be protected from the reavers’ venom. It will be impossible for you to be turned into one of them. And if the flies bite a reaver, it will calm them. Or maybe pacify them. Actually, I don’t know exactly what will happen to them, but it will certainly be an improvement. I didn’t exactly have the time or materials to test it.”
Skadi paced a few short steps back and forth in front of him, her long black dress swishing across the bare stone tiles. “How did you make this vaccine, exactly?”
“With great skill, Highness.”
The queen frowned at him. “And where is this nest, exactly?”
“Close by, Highness.” He rested his hand on his sword, and the guards jerked forward, but Skadi waved them back, and he nodded his thanks to her. “You’re trying to decide whether to trust me, whether to believe me. I remember this same moment from when I first arrived and I told you who I was and where I came from. You doubted me then just as you doubt me now. And I know there is nothing I can say that will truly persuade you. So, Highness, I suggest we go to bed.”
Skadi slapped him.
Omar winced and touched his cheek. “My word…” And then he feigned realization, overplaying the part. “Oh goodness, no! Did you think I meant you and I, together, in bed? No, no, no. Whatever in the world would lead you to think that?” And his eyes snapped to the right to look at Leif for the first time since he arrived.
Leif swallowed, his eyes darting to the southerner. Freya grabbed his arm and bent his hand back, knocking his sword to the ground. Leif yanked himself out of her grip and stood a few paces away, glaring at her.
“You took your eyes off her. What did you expect?” the queen said dryly, though her gaze remained fixed on Omar. “I do believe you have something prepared. Whether or not it is truly meant to solve the reaver plague, I don’t know. It may even involve the bloodflies. You were ever one to muddle a lie with the truth. But I don’t believe you left your precious package unguarded in a hole on Mount Esja, or that you would leave your grand design to chance buzzing about on the wind. It’s closer than that, isn’t it?”
“As close as it needs to be, Highness.”
“Inside the city.” She turned to the guards. “Search the south wall, and retrace his steps as he came through the city from the gate to the castle. Look in open sacks, or on the low roofs, or in the shadows between the houses. Anywhere he might have easily tossed something as he walked by.”
The house carls frowned. “What are we looking for?”
