Chapter Twenty-Seven
Texts started pouring in. Gods spotted Agwusi all over the world.
We couldn't chase down every lead, but we couldn't ignore them either.
So Trevor called his father. The Froekn had already been hunting for Ty.
Now, they had specific locations to search.
We took one lead and forwarded the rest to Fenrir to dole out. We did that over and over.
It was hours before we saw Agwusi in solid form again. I use the term “solid form” because we saw her everywhere, but these apparitions were like holograms that vanished when touched. At last, we found her—the real Agwusi—alone in Norway.
On the banks of a fjord, Agwusi stood as if waiting for us. Because she was.
Within seconds of arriving, Agwusi ran at me.
We weren't expecting that, so we all just stood there for a few integral seconds.
I didn't even notice the gold chains in her hands.
I should have. They had once bound me in Alfheim.
When I noticed them, I assumed Agwusi had stolen them for her machine. I was wrong.
“What the hell?” I looked down as she slapped a manacle around my wrist.
Gleipnir was the name of the chains. The Norse Gods loved to name their belongings.
The Dwarves created Gleipnir out of six impossible things so it would hold Fenrir.
Not six things that didn't exist, mind you.
Six things that were impossible to make chains with.
They included the breath of a fish and the sound of a cat's footfall.
Those impossible things made some seriously heavy chains.
The thing was—they were made to hold Fenrir.
Hold him. That's all. Fenrir had little magic beyond shifting and tracing, and I remembered being able to use my magic when I'd last been bound with them. So, they weren't magic-suppressing.
My first thought was to shapeshift into my dragon form. That was the easiest way out of chains. I reached inside myself, but then paused. I'd never tested that theory. And these were magical chains made to bind a shapeshifter. If I tried to shift, they might sever my hand.
By the time I processed this, we were gone. Agwusi traced us away, through the Aether, before I could come up with another plan. We reformed in a small white room, bare of furnishings or decor. As soon as we arrived, she slapped the other manacle on me, and Gleipnir's magic dragged me down.
I stumbled to my knees, my head spinning.
“I'm so sorry to do this to you, Vervain.” Agwusi picked me up and carried me out of the tracing room, unaffected by the chains.
The room turned out to be a shack. As she carried me across a grassy lawn and onto a porch, Agwusi spouted crazy talk about variables, broken timelines, and stabilizing forces.
We entered a vibrantly decorated living room, passed through it, and entered a corridor.
I tuned her out, focusing instead on how to take her down.
My magic thrummed in response to my anxiety.
I still had access to it; I just couldn't shift.
That didn't matter. I could overpower Agwusi in several ways.
But just as I reached for my Moon Magic to adjust the water inside her, I realized I had a unique opportunity.
Agwusi thought she was in control. Granted, I couldn't move much with those chains on.
I'd have to down her when she was close enough that I could reach the key for the chains.
And I'd have to hope she had the key on her.
If not, I'd be stuck wherever I was, and wherever it was, it was undoubtedly warded.
With Agwusi's Unseen Magic covering our trail through the Aether, I couldn't count on my husbands coming for me either.
I was on my own.
It had been a while since I'd faced an enemy alone.
I'd gotten used to my family and friends having my back.
They still did. They just couldn't reach me.
What a depressing thought. But I used to work alone, and I'd been abducted enough times to know how to use it to my advantage.
There were two ways to look at this: I was a prisoner, or I'd just infiltrated the enemy's lair.
Since I still had access to my magic, I chose option two.
Agwusi carried me into an airy living room with white cotton chairs and a matching couch. White stone tiles covered the floor, with colorful woven rugs over that, and the walls were pale-stained wood. Photographs of cities and landscapes hung upon them.
“What the fuck have you done?” Ty came in from the patio.
“I need to study her.” Agwusi carried me past him.
Ty followed us down another corridor. I heard a high-pitched whirring as we approached the door at the end.
“Do you mind?” she asked.
“Oh, of course not. Let me get that door for you so you can carry my sister into your fucking laboratory to be experimented on.” Ty grabbed the handle and shoved the door open.
“I'm not experimenting on her in the way you're implying.” Agwusi carried me into the room and set me on the floor.
“Vervain, I'm so sorry.” Ty crouched beside me and helped me arrange my arms so I was more comfortable. The chains only affected the wearer.
“No worries.” I grinned at him. “We've been hunting her all day. Now, I got her. Yay, me!”
He made a surprised snort and shook his head. “Your spirit is unbreakable, Vervain.”
The whirring lowered in pitch, slowed, and then became a gentle hum. Ty shot to his feet, staring from the machine to Agwusi to me.
“I knew it!” Agwusi crowed. “She's the only thing the machine can't affect. Vervain isn't a god, a human, or a faerie. She's all three. And when she fixed her future, she broke the threads of her fate. There isn't a path for her anymore. She stands outside of time and destiny. Untouchable.”
“You're saying that I did that?” I nodded at the machine since I couldn't lift my hands.
“Yes, Vervain.” She came over to me. “You're special. God's chosen warrior. His machine can not affect you. He told me that. But then, you invaded my home and removed the mirror. You were there when we came into the room, weren't you?”
I lifted my chin.
“Did you notice the machine stabilized?”
“No, it smoked and whirred . . .” I went silent as I remembered how the machine seemed to heal itself.
Agwusi chuckled. “Yes, you remember now. That was you, Vervain. It was how I knew you were still there. Somehow, you hid from me. How did you do it?”
I pressed my lips together and met her gaze.
“Interesting.” She cocked her head at me. “Keep your secrets. I don't need them. All I need is you.”
“You can't be certain I stabilized the machine.”
“Oh, but I am. Do you know how?” Agwusi smirked. “It failed when you left. That's when I was sure that you were the key.”
“So, you're going to keep her here to stabilize it? For how long, Agwusi?” Ty crossed his arms. “You can't leave her here forever.”
“No, of course not. God would not be pleased with that. I just need her until we can get the cloak.”
“The cloak?” I asked.
Agwusi looked at me and pursed her lips. “I suppose I can tell you since I've got you secured. I've been trying out different relics to replace the mirror. Freya's cloak is my next option.”
“What cloak?”
Agwusi chuckled. “Freya has a cloak of falcon feathers that transforms her into a falcon.”
“Transformation,” I whispered.
“Yes.” She grinned at me and then said to Ty, “Make our guest as comfortable as possible while I'm gone, won't you, sweetheart? I won't be long.”
“Agwusi!” Ty followed her out of the room. “We still need to talk about this!”
The sound of their arguing faded.
I looked around the room. Besides the machine and me, it was empty.
It was also large. The golden behemoth of metal, glass, and relics gleamed in the center of the room, over twenty feet away from me.
I glanced up. A haze of light covered the ceiling, telling me I was in the God Realm.
Not that it mattered, but any information could be helpful.
The other gold item in the room pooled in my lap and spilled onto the floor.
The last time someone chained me with Gleipnir, a flower had taught me how to use my authority over Aflheim to control its residents—most importantly Freyr, whom I commanded to unchain me.
That flower was Blossom, and I had taken her to Fairy to live with us in Castle Aithinne.
But I didn't need a flower or authority over a realm when I had Ty.
He came back into the room with a wincing expression. “Hey, V. I'm so sorry about this. I tried, but she wouldn't budge. Honestly, if you're stabilizing the machine, it's good to have you here.”
“Yeah, I get it.” I tried to move into another position, but Gleipnir was too heavy.
“Here, let me.” Ty grabbed the gold chain and lifted it so I could move my arm to my lap.
“Thanks.” I watched him sit down on the floor next to me. “Ty, what are you doing? Are you here because you love her or because you think you can stop her?”
Ty sighed and thumped his head against the wall. “Both, I guess.” He turned his head to look at me. “Am I an idiot?”
“No.” I nudged my shoulder into his. “You're brave.”
“I don't know about that.”
“She's insane, Ty. Agwusi stared into the Aether for too long. You know she could turn on you, but you're still here. That's bravery.”
Ty snorted. “It's like bedding a snake.” He winced. “Sorry. I didn't mean . . .”
I chuckled. “Viper would laugh. Honestly, bedding him would be dangerous for anyone else. I'm the only one immune to his venom, and he likes to bite.” I snapped my teeth at him.
“Yeah, that was too much sharing, V.”
I laughed harder. “You deserved it.”
“I guess.” He shook his head. “I don't know what to do.”
“Well, you could start by letting me out of these chains.”
“Wish I could. She has the key.” Ty snorted. “She doesn't trust me that much.”
I nodded. “I figured. Then maybe take me to Nidavellir.”
“You want me to take you to the Dwarves? Why?”
I looked pointedly from him to the lock on Gleipnir.