That was the point, after all. Zianna had been created, by some of the most powerful divine beings that ever lived, to be a magnificent sanctuary. It was the culmination of millennia of talent and magic, so obviously the result would be the most beautiful thing that us mere mortals had ever laid eyes on.
"I know," Oona said as she looked around wistfully. "I'll never see this again. Do you think we'll remember it all? When we go back?"
Valeska's expression hardened, and her thick lashes laid heavily on her cheeks as she nodded once. "I remember everything from my time here before."
I didn't have time to ask her more. I opened my hand, just enough to let the light hit the stone, and instantly a rainbow prism appeared, shining right toward a door before the wall curved out of site behind the pillars.
"That way," I commanded as I closed my hand around the solarsteinn again.
Fighting the urge to run, I walked as briskly yet casually as I could and smiled politely at anyone we passed. When I turned under the archway, ahead was a long corridor with all sorts of marble busts lining the walls. They sat on pedestals of rose gold, four feet off the ground, and the heads themselves towered another two to six feet, depending on who they depicted.
Some I recognized, like Anubis, Venus, Ishtar, and Moai, but there were far too many for me to know them all just by glancing at them as we hurried by. Once the coast was relatively clear, I hid beside the bust of Anubis, leaning back against the wall behind his large jackal head, and pulled out the solarsteinn again.
The light directed us farther down the hall, until we turned off onto another smaller and darker one. We turned twice more, following wherever the stone indicated, until we took a long winding staircase, going down deep below the palace.
I heard the running water before we reached the bottom of the stairs, but I was still surprised to see that we had come to a stream that ran underneath--or, rather, through--the palace. A small stone walkway ran on either side, and the tiled walls curved up and around us. If it wasn't for the opening at either end of the stream, letting bright light in, or the fact that the water itself was crystal-clear and large koi-like fish were swimming in it, I would've guessed this was a sewer.
The stone pointed far to the left of us and across the brook, to a door on the other side. Fortunately, there were a few stones protruding up above the water, so we were able to cross them like stepping-stones.
"Have you noticed that there aren't any guards around?" Oona asked as we carefully stepped across the stones. We hadn't spoken much so far, but now it appeared we were alone. "No one to stop us or tell us not to go in."
"Why would there be?" Valeska countered when we reached the other side. "The arches we passed through are intended to keep out any evil. Zianna is home to the divine, who are incapable of doing anything wrong. Even if they were to sneak into any area that they weren't technically supposed to be in, the fact that they did it means that it wasn't wrong. Whatever they do is the good and just thing to do, so why would anyone here want to stop them?"
"But..." The crease in Oona's brow deepened as she considered Valeska's answer. "Does that mean that we're the most wicked beings in all of Zianna? Or that the only things we can do here are good and right?"
"I think it means that we have free will, unlike everyone else that lives here," Valeska said. "We can make choices that they can't."
The conversation reminded me of one I'd had with Sloane before, when I had first learned that my mother might not have done her duty as a Valkyrie and instead had let a targeted immortal live. Sloane had posited that there were only two choices: either everybody has free will, or nobody has free will.
"But hopefully we're exactly where we're supposed to be anyway, so it's all a moot point," Valeska amended.
When we reached the archway the solarsteinn had pointed to, we encountered our first real door. It was wooden, with an iron support bar running across it secured with a padlock, and it wouldn't budge.
"Dammit," I muttered, and I crouched down in front of the door to pull my lockpick set out of my bag.
"What's wrong?" Oona asked.
"It's locked." I took the heavy padlock in one hand and slid a pick in with the other. Valkyries were well trained in the art of picking locks, because sometimes immortals liked to hole up and lock themselves in when they realized their time was up.
"Oona jinxed us by pointing out the lax security in Zianna," Valeska said.
Oona cast her a glare. "That's not how jinxing works."
Finally the lock clicked and I slipped the padlock off.
I opened the door slowly and realized this had to be the end of our journey. It was one room, with no exits or doors other than the one I was standing in. The walls and ceiling were made of solid slabs of gray marble, and a bronze sink and toilet sat on one side of the wall.
Directly across from the door was a small brass bed. A man was lying on it, with his back to us, unmoving. I timidly took a few steps into the room, gathering all my courage.
"Baldur?" I asked hopefully.
Then he sat up and turned around, and the air caught in my throat.
It wasn't Baldur at all.
It was Asher.
TWENTY-FIVE
He stood in front of me, looking just as I had seen him last. His clothes were different--traded in for white linen--but everything else was the same: a broad-shouldered walking contradiction of beauty and softness, strength and vulnerability. His full lips parted slightly as he looked at me in disbelief, and his entire posture was rigid.
Then, I couldn't help myself, I ran to him. I had to touch him, to feel him, to know he was here. As soon as I reached him, he pulled me into his arms, hugging me to him. The weight and warmth of his body pressed against me, his heart pounding in his chest.
"Is it really you?" he asked breathlessly as he brushed a lock of hair back from my forehead.
"It's me," I promised as I gazed up into the indigo of his eyes. "Is it really you?"
He smiled crookedly then, making the scar on his upper lip more pronounced. "It's me." Then the smile faltered. "What are you doing here? I told you not to come and find me."
"I didn't, actually," I admitted.
I wanted to linger in his arms forever, but that wasn't the best way to have a conversation, so I moved back. But I still kept my hand on him, touching his arm, afraid that he would slip away if I let go even for a second.
"Odin sent us here to look for a spear, and I was using my solarsteinn," I explained as I realized the error. The sunstone always takes you to what you most want to find in the world, and I couldn't make myself want anything more than Asher. "I was looking for Baldur, but it led me to you."
He expression softened. "I know I shouldn't be, but I'm glad you're here."
"I was so worried that..." I trailed off and narrowed my eyes. "What are you doing here? Did Gugalanna bring you here?"
He shook his head emphatically. "No. He brought me to She'ol."
I winced, and now that I had stepped back and was really looking at him, I could see fresh wounds, still red and puffy, visible along the hems of his shirt. Just above the V-neck of his shirt, the blotched edges of a purplish bruise were visible.
"They wanted my blood, so most of my time there I spent fading in and out of consciousness as they drained me of it as much as they could without killing me." His jaw tightened under his rough stubble. "They only kept me alive so that I could make more blood, and they used all sorts of strange incantations to help with the process. They wouldn't tell me what they planned to do with it all, but they were definitely draining me as much as they could."
"How did you end up here?" I asked, mostly because I wanted to know, but also because I didn't want to think about Asher being tortured in She'ol.
"A scout from Zianna found me, and a team of exousia rescued me and brought me here," he explained.
Exousia had once been angelic warriors that protected the gods that roamed the earth. But after the Valkyrie Procla
mation, they had all gone down to Kurnugia, to protect the divine from being overrun by evil.
"They didn't know what to do with me, so they locked me up to keep me safe, and to keep themselves safe," Asher said.
"Well, we're breaking you out." I squeezed his hand and smiled wanly. "Any chance that you know where Baldur or a spear are hidden?"
He shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry. The only ones I know by name that I've met are Gugalanna, Abaddon, and Sedna."
"You were in contact with Abaddon?" Valeska grimaced.
He looked over at her, noticing the newest addition to our group for the first time. "Who are you?"
"Valeska Voronin," she replied, hooking her thumb at us. "I'm with them."
"Samael sent her to help us," I elaborated. "She's good."
"As touching as this reunion is, we should get moving," Valeska said dryly. "We still have a lot to do before we can get out of here."
"Do you think you can get the solarsteinn to work now?" Oona asked. "That it will focus on Baldur?"
I was about to answer, but the sound of footsteps stopped me. They were pounding on the path outside, echoing through the tunnel. Before we had a chance to make a move or plan, they were here.
A trio of exousia--clad in golden armor with white-feathered wings extending out from their muscular torsos--stood in front of the doorway, blocking our escape.
TWENTY-SIX
I knelt on the floor, the stone feeling cold and hard through the fabric of my skirt. The exousia had walked us down the length of a long room and directed us to kneel before the throne at the end.
Directly before me was a semicircle pattern inlaid in the floor using various shades of gold and copper to create the sun. Just beyond that were half a dozen marble stairs that led up to an elegant veranda, where a tall, empty throne sat in the middle.
Above the throne, the ceiling curved down to ornately carved arches and low half walls. Other than the arches, the throne was entirely open to the outside. A crimson phoenix flew by, letting out a solitary despondent squawk.
As Asher, Oona, Valeska, and I waited--for who or what, the exousia would not tell us--I studied the carvings. They appeared to depict all sorts of great battles among the Vanir gods and other immortals.
Finally a door off the side of the veranda opened and an exousia walked in, followed by a serene woman in an elegant gown of white suede and fur. She was tall and poised, with tawny bronze skin, and her long black hair fell like a satin curtain around her. Her dark brown eyes were narrow but large and captivating under sharp eyebrows. On her forehead two black inverted triangles were tattooed, and five dots were tattooed across the fullness of the apple of her cheek.
As she walked to the throne, her movements were so smooth and graceful, as if she were floating. Instead of sitting, she stood at the top step, looking down at us.
"I am Sedna," she said in a strong, cool voice. "I am the hundred and third ruler of Zianna, and I have been chosen by all the beings that dwell here to handle the matters that concern our citadel. As such, I need to know exactly who you are and why there are so many mortals where they are not meant to be."
I glanced to the side, half expecting/half hoping that Oona or Valeska would take the lead on this, but they both stared up Sedna, with lips tightly sealed. I sat up as straight as I could.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your ... Majesty?" I said uncertainly. "I'm not sure what I should call you."
"Sedna will suffice," she replied coolly. "And I can do without the pleasantries. I simply want you to tell me why you're here so I can decide whether or not to have you executed."
"We're here to see Baldur," I answered quickly, since Sedna was clearly not screwing around. "We were sent on a mission from Odin."
Sedna arched an eyebrow. "You didn't come to rescue your companion?"
"No," I admitted. "I had hoped we could find him while we were here, but we were sent here by Odin to speak with his son Baldur."
Sedna's composure slipped for a split second as shock slackened her expression, but she hurried to smooth it over by narrowing her eyes as she stared down her nose at me. "Why did Odin send you on an errand of such importance? You are mortal, are you not?"
"We are," I said.
"That's why he sent us," Valeska elaborated. "It's easier for us to pass through the entrance of Kurnugia than it is for immortals."
"But the risk is so great," Sedna persisted, sounding dubious. "Ereshkigal and Abaddon were using the blood of the child of a Valkyrie to open the door so all of Kurnugia can be unleashed on the earth above."
She motioned toward Asher, who was kneeling beside me. "They bled your friend quite a bit, but fortunately we found him before they had enough. With you three here in the underworld, there's a much greater risk of Ereshkigal or her Bull finding you and completing the ritual."
Unrelenting guilt throbbed in my chest, like a splinter lodged in my heart. I had listened to Asher and left him. I did what I thought was needed, but it destroyed me that any of this had happened, that I hadn't been able to save him from this.
"We don't want to stay here long," Oona told Sedna. "We need to talk with Baldur, and then we'll be out of your hair."
"Why do you wish to speak with Baldur so badly?" Sedna asked.
"Odin tasked me with finding Baldur and retrieving Odin's spear," I said.
A puzzled crease deepened in the smooth skin of Sedna's forehead as she asked, "Odin wishes to have Gungnir returned to his possession?"
"Yes," I said. "He thinks it's the only way to stop the uprising that Ereshkigal is planning."
"Vanir gods have no bearing on our world down here." Sedna spread her hands wide, gesturing to the underworld around us. "They have total control over Vanaheimr, and more influence than they should on earth.
"But we have Kurnugia," she continued emphatically. "This is our domain to rule as we see fit. Just by sending you here, Odin has broken the agreement and weakened the magic that seals off the underworld from the realms above. He's made it even easier for Ereshkigal and her followers to escape."
"He might not have known that--" I began, but Sedna interrupted.
"Of course he knew it," she said with a humorless smile. "Who do you think authored the agreement in the first place?"
I cleared my throat and tried again, saying, "Well, I can only assume that he thought our mission was more important and worth the risk."
"Or he's very reckless," Sedna countered.
"Can't it be both?" Valeska suggested wryly, causing the ruler to cast an annoyed glare at her.
"We have heard rumblings of what Ereshkigal and Gugalanna are attempting, but we have been handling it all ourselves, before they are even able to break through to the surface," Sedna said and turned her gaze to Asher. "You were with them for some time. How far along are they?"
"I can't say with any certainty, since they weren't very big on telling me anything," Asher said. "But from what I overheard, Ereshkigal and Abaddon think they're very close, but they're definitely overeager, especially Gugalanna. There's a chance that he might pull the trigger before they're ready. But I would say even if they are premature, our side needs to be ready. Ereshkigal still seems to have a lot of power behind her."
Sedna clasped her hands in front of her. "You have given me much to consider. I will consult with my advisers, and Baldur, of course. Until then, you must stay with us--both for our protection and yours." She looked to the exousia standing behind us. "You may take them away now."
"Shall we return them to the dungeon?" an exousia asked--the one pointing his bronze spear at my neck.
"No, that won't be necessary," Sedna said. "The tower will be adequate, but be sure to keep the doors bolted."
"Yes, of course," the exousia said. Then to me, as he grabbed my arm, he ordered, "On your feet."
"I'm working on it," I muttered, since by yanking me up he'd only succeeded in throwing me off balance and slowing down the whole process.
Once we were st
anding again, the exousia began directing us down the length of the throne room. We hadn't made it that far when Sedna called after us, and I turned back to her.
"Before you go--what other gods is Odin working with?" she asked.
"He didn't mention any," I said.
"He's acting on his own?" Sedna asked.
"He didn't say," I said blankly.
"That is something more I must consider." She motioned for the exousia to take us away, then she turned in such a hurry that her long white train billowed out behind her.
TWENTY-SEVEN
The four of us were taken up to a round room high in the tower. Or at least the height was what I gathered based on the amount of steps we went up, but there were no windows for me to gauge for certain.
The room itself had been set up as a studio apartment: a chaise lounge with a few wing chairs and end tables created a parlor, a quartz table with matching chairs under a candlelit chandelier formed a dining area, a queen-sized bed next to an armoire was a bedroom, and a door off the side led to a rather grand bathroom, replete with a claw-foot tub and rose-gold sinks.
It was all styled much the same as the rest of the palace--plenty of white marble and rose-gold flourishes. The furnishings were covered in plush pewter velvet, while the bedding was topped with a luxurious Siberian gray fur. Despite the lack of windows, all the lighting made the room feel surprisingly airy and light, and that was further helped along by the strategic placement of large bouquets of white and blush-pink flowers.
The first thing Valeska did when we got in the room--after futilely searching all over for a way to escape--was change out of her clothes. Oona's spell had worn off, and we no longer had that glamourous sheen we had when we'd first entered Zianna. That was just as well, since the sheen only helped us to blend in so we could get through the city unnoticed, but we'd been caught, so that didn't matter anymore.
One by one, we took turns going into the bathroom to freshen up and change back into our regular clothes, while debating how long we would be here and if Sedna would decide to help us. (Valeska was firmly in the they're-going-to-execute-us camp, while Oona was far more optimistic.)
Asher was the last one into the bathroom, and he'd been in there for a little while when an exousia came in pushing a dinner cart made of gold and glass. It had been piled high with all sorts of exotic fruits and delicious-smelling pastries, as well as several decanters of brightly colored juices and wines.