Mist

“It won’t be cheating now. You can be sure Loki won’t leave anything to chance. He’ll be hiring his own experts. Every resource is crucial. You’re crucial, Val.”

Odin’s son returned to the table and fell into the chair again, setting the wood to groaning under his weight. “I don’t know,” he said. “I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to do even half of what you’re asking. The Internet can only take you so far. Even private government databases aren’t likely to have records on more than a fraction of their citizens. And there are dozens of countries that barely have any kind of computer records.”

“All I ask is that you try. Use any magic you think will help.” Vali released a gusty sigh, for once clean of the scent of hard liquor. “I’ll give it my best shot.” His eyes brightened. “Maybe it will even be fun.”

Mist squeezed his shoulder. “I believe in you.”

He didn’t seem to hear her. “I’m going to need my own data center to do this. Lots of hardware and questionably legal software I can adapt.”

“I have quite a bit of money saved,” Mist said. “I’ll make sure you have everything you need. And while you’re handling that, Dainn is going to be teaching me a little more about magic.”

“A little?” Vali rose again, hitching up his belt. “Vid isn’t going to be happy if he finds out. You caught him with his pants down, and he doesn’t like being mocked.”

“I don’t much care what he likes.”

Rebellion flared in Vali’s mild blue eyes. “Neither do I. I’ll think up some excuse to stay away from Asbrew. He probably won’t even notice I’m gone.”

“You can always tell him you’ve joined AA.”

It wasn’t funny, but Vali smiled anyway. “This ought to be just as good. And if he gives me a hard time, I’ll spit in his eye.”

“I hope that won’t be necessary.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s getting late. You won’t be able to do anything tonight, but I can show you where you can set up.”

Vali followed her along the hall to Eric’s home office. There had been no time to get rid of his furniture and belongings, though Mist had checked to confirm her assumption that Loki had taken his computer when he left.

“When you get the equipment you need, we can always expand,”

she said. “There are two unfinished bedrooms on the second floor, and a whole lot of empty space. You can arrange your stuff any way you like.”

“What about the elf?” Vali asked suddenly, eying her sideways.

“Will he be staying here?”

Mist stiffened. “For the time being. If it wasn’t that I need him to teach me . . .”

“Sure. I understand.” He flushed again. “Do you think you can go to the bank tomorrow and get me some of that money you mentioned?”

Mist thought about Loki and Gungnir and magic lessons and the kids and all the things she still had to do, every one of them urgent.

“I think so,” said. “Is twenty thousand enough to start with?”

“More than enough, until I see what’s what.” He grinned and slapped Mist on the back, nearly knocking the air out of her lungs.

“It’ll almost be like old times.”

Maybe he really believed that. Vali had always been a bit of a dreamer—too much so for his own good. But Mist well knew they could never go back.

Vali left a few minutes later. Mist checked in on the kids, who were so deeply asleep that they wouldn’t have heard a mob of Jotunar barreling straight through the loft. Too restless to sit still, Mist went outside and scanned the street. It all looked completely normal, as if Jotunar and magic weapons and evil gods didn’t exist. No one knew the actors had assembled on stage, and the curtain was about to go up.

There was no question now of returning to bed. Mist went to the gym and began her workout, starting with stretches and continuing with a series of judo and karate stances before moving on to practice with the various swords and ending with weights. She stripped off her sweaty clothes in the bedroom and was headed for the shower when she met Dainn in the hallway, bare-chested and lithe with his black hair flowing around his shoulders. He came to an abrupt halt. “Have you—” he began.

“Are you—” she said at the same time.

He looked a little too long at her body, scantily covered as it was with a short terrycloth robe and nothing underneath. The robe was securely cinched around her waist with the belt, but she pulled the neckline closer around her upper chest.

“Forgive me,” Dainn stammered, and fled back the way he’d come.

Mist was left shaken and appalled by the gooseflesh on her arms and the heat in her groin.

Fenrir’s teeth. She’d seen him naked before, in Asbrew. He’d made a mockery of her embarrassment, though he had been right: there was no such thing as a modest Valkyrie where bodies in their various living and dead states were concerned.

Dainn had proven to be more solid than she’d imagined when she’d first seen him in his indigent’s rags. He had the look of a man who had done plenty of physical labor, with sleek, defined muscles and broad shoulders. No bodybuilder, the elf, but probably ten times as strong as one. Not an ounce of fat on his body, and . . . Stop, Mist told herself.

She managed to shut off her highly inappropriate thoughts and rushed into the bathroom. She locked the door from inside and leaned against it as if Dainn might try to break in.

And do what? She took off her robe and stepped into the shower, turning the water all the way to cold. The discomfort brought her back to her senses, and she returned to her room in a much calmer state. She braided her hair, dressed as if she were going outside, complete with boots, jacket, and Kettlingr, and went to find Dainn.

12

The elf was sitting cross-legged on the area rug in the middle of the small living room, facing the black rectangle of the flat-screen TV as if it were the doorway to some uncharted dimension. His feet were bare, and he was wearing a pair of Eric’s sweatpants and a deep purple T-shirt—also Eric’s—which Mist realized had been left in the laundry basket after the last wash.

It was a shock to see him in Eric’s things— things Loki had worn—but she couldn’t fault Dainn for his practicality. Without interrupting his meditation, she took a seat on the leather couch Eric had bought a few months ago. She had to get rid of that, too. Curse him, she’d nearly have to strip the loft bare to get rid of every reminder.

She cleared her throat, a sudden tide of heat surging into her face. “Dainn?”

He turned around and looked up at her, as remote as Lee on one of his more standoffish days. “I have been considering explanations for the sudden closure of the bridges.”

Thank the Norns Dainn was going to pretend their awkward meeting in the hall hadn’t happened. But the way he’d looked at her . . .

“What did you decide?” she asked quickly.

“As you said regarding the young mortals, we must have more information. We must find other bridges and test them as well.”

“Just put it on the list,” Mist said, biting off the words.

Dainn cocked his head. “Loki will be doing the same.”

She clasped her hands between her knees. “Okay, you tell me. What should I do first, now that I’ve got Vali working on helping us find my Sisters? I thought getting Gungnir back should be at the top, but I admit that was . . . probably not the greatest idea I’ve ever had.”

She hadn’t meant to sound so vulnerable, so uncertain, but Dainn didn’t seem to notice. “Without the understanding and control of your magic,” he said, “anything else you attempt against Loki will ultimately be