2. Inferno
“Why do you do this to yourself?”
I glare at Eir, the Valkyrie who was assigned to me upon my demise and thrust my arm at her. Flames dance across my skin, my anger fueling my power.
“Again,” I demand.
Worry passes in her eyes, but I ignore it. She could refuse me, could send me back to my room, but she won’t. She knows I need this, have always needed it. I’ll admit, it’s gotten worse since we were sent to the human world for Makayla.
Eir heaves a sigh and rests her hand on my arm. The flames calm, and my head fills with visions.
“E-Emmaline. But my mommy calls me Emmy.”
I smile at the little girl, hoping like hell it eases her fear. “Emmy, I need you to go across the street to where those people are, okay?” I say, pointing to the crowd that’s gathered.
After nodding, she runs away from me, and I quickly turn to race back inside.
“Wait a second!”
Her shout reaches my ears, but I don’t let it stop me. I make a mental note to find Emmy when this whole ordeal is over to see what she wanted, but for now, I focus on saving more kids.
It’s about time I do something with my life, and what could be better than this?
“Hello! Anyone in here?” I shout every few feet.
It’s damn near impossible to see, let alone breathe, but I push forward.
My surroundings shimmer, and I’m back in the field with Eir.
“Why’d you let go?” I bark, shoving a hand through my hair.
“Because you know what happens next.”
“Of course, I do,” I snap. “A fucking beam falls, trapping me, and I burn to death.”
“Then you don’t need to see it,” Eir insists. “Inferno, you don’t have to watch it day in and day out. I swear, you’re the only warrior who punishes himself like this.”
“I’m not punishing myself.”
“Then what are you doing?”
I’m saved from responding when Odin appears out of thin air.
“Eir, leave us,” he orders.
Eir glances at me as if making sure I’m okay, but when Odin turns to face her, she shimmers and disappears.
“She’s right, you know,” Odin states when he returns his attention to me.
“Right?”
He takes a few steps forward, closing the distance between us. “You seem to be in a persistent state of self-torture.”
Every muscle in my body stiffens. “I’m not.”
Odin smiles knowingly. “Denial is no good for a man.” His smile slips when I cross my arms over my chest disrespectfully. “I can see I need to get to the point.”
“Please.”
Odin might be my god, but he’s a dick. I’d never say that to his face, of?—
“You don’t need to,” he says as if I’d spoken. “I can hear your thoughts, Inferno, or have you forgotten?”
Shit.
“Yep. Heard that too.”
I take a deep breath and clear my mind. “Sorry, Sir.”
Odin waves a hand dismissively. “I have something that might bring you some peace.”
“Peace?” I shake my head. “Impossible.”
“You doubt me?”
“You? No. The idea that a man who was burned alive can feel anything but heartache and pain? You betcha.”
“Then maybe I should just show you,” he says as he grabs my arm.
When we shimmer, I expect to find myself in Odin’s quarters, or at least somewhere in Valhalla, so I’m surprised when I don’t recognize anything surrounding us when we reappear.
I turn in circles to try and make sense of our location.
“You’ve never been here,” Odin says calmly.
“Where is here?” I snarl.
“Vermont.”
“The human world?”
As far as I know, Odin’s never left Valhalla, unless it was to attend a meeting of the Gods. But those take place in the heavens, not among humans.
“Follow me,” he says as he starts to walk down the road.
I hesitate before lifting one foot, then the other, to trudge after him. It’s dark, and the moon is high in the sky.
Fuck, I miss this.
“I know you do,” Odin says.
“Where are we going? Why have you brought me here?”
I have so many questions.
“You’ll see,” he replies cryptically.
Several minutes later, he stops near a mailbox and turns to his right. I stand next to him and do the same.
“Who lives here?” I ask.
“She does.”
“Who?”
Before I even realize what’s happening, Odin grabs my arm, and we’re suddenly inside a room, standing at the foot of a bed. There’s a woman tossing and turning on the mattress, the sheet wrapped around her legs.
Suddenly, she bolts upright, her eyes opening wide. Shock courses through me as if to jolt my heart back into some sort of rhythm.
No.
“Yes,” Odin states as I take a step back. “Don’t worry, she can’t see us.
The woman groans as she flattens her hand over her chest, giving no indication that she knows she’s not alone. What I wouldn’t give to feel her beating heart.
“Lucky for you,” Odin begins. “You’re going to get to do just that.”
I whip my head in his direction. “Are you… Do you…” Swallowing past the unfamiliar lump in my throat, I tighten my hands into fists to keep my emotions from setting the house ablaze. “That’s?—”
“Emmaline Daniels,” he says matter-of-factly.
“Why have you brought me here?”
Odin rests a hand on my shoulder. “Inferno, Emmaline needed you when she was little, and she needs you now. Trouble is coming for her, and only you can save her.”
“Why me?”
“Don’t be a fool,” Odin chastises.
“How am I?—”
“Soulmates don’t just exist for humans.”