Beyond a Darkened Shore(101)

I shook my head. “I’m so sorry, Leif—”

His finger traced down my cheek, his eyes intent on my lips. “Don’t apologize,” he said, “I understand. My reaction would have been worse had our circumstances been reversed. You can apologize and make it up to me all you want when we return to Midgard.” He took hold of my hand and gave a little tug. “What did you trade in order to bring me back?” he asked as we strode down the golden hallway.

“Odin seemed to think you would never want to leave Valhalla, so only your agreement was required,” I said, and related everything I had seen after Leif’s death.

His ghostly eyebrows shot up when I described the vengeance I took on the Valkyries on his behalf.

“I was a fool to think only my mortal life would be payment enough for the gifts the Valkyrie gave me. They had plans for my soul as well.” He glanced around him at the tables filled with other warriors. “There was a time when I would have gladly accepted such a fate, but”—he pinned me with his gaze—“everything has changed now.”

I squeezed his hand in response and prayed that Odin would hold to his part of the bargain.

Leif must have read my mind, for he said, “I doubt my agreement to leave is the only thing needed before we’ll be allowed to return to the mortal realm.”

As we pushed open the same massive doors I had opened before, a sinister growl greeted us.

I froze, cold fear eating its way through me. An angry mob behind us, and a wolf guarding the door. “Is this not the way I came in—the eastern door?” I said in a hushed whisper to Leif.

“It is.”

“Then tell me that wasn’t the growl of a wolf.”

The growl came again, louder and closer than before. Leif gave me a shove. “Go. I am einherjar now. It won’t attack me, and I can distract it.”

“And then what, Leif?” I demanded in a hiss.

“Just go,” he said, and gave me another stubborn push.

A snarl came from just behind us, and I ran. The scenery—a rocky cliff overlooking a fjord—rushed by. I heard Leif jump in front of the wolf, but it easily dodged him and came after me. I risked a glance back. Its enormous paws thudded as loudly as a horse’s hooves, and it was massive—bigger than a bear. Bigger than any animal I had ever seen on earth. Its yellow eyes were trained on me, hungry. Its teeth were like daggers in its mouth. It no longer growled, only raced after me silently with single-minded intent.

I wasn’t sure what would happen if it caught my spirit form, but neither did I want to find out. Even my unnatural speed was only fast enough to keep me just ahead of the wolf.

My body called to me from somewhere just ahead, and in a moment of horror, I realized I couldn’t lead this bloodthirsty wolf straight to my undefended body. I veered suddenly left, and jaws snapped just inches away. My mind raced and I desperately sought a solution.

“Leif!” I shouted, and then he was there, beside me as though he had always been.

“What’s your plan?” he asked.

“I need you to grab hold of it,” I said, glancing back again to confirm that it was still right on our heels. “Do you think you can?”

“Not for long, but yes.”

“I won’t need long,” I said.

Leif slid to a stop and flew back at the wolf, grabbing it by its massive jaws. It flung its head from side to side viciously, but Leif held on. I scanned the wolf’s body for the telltale red glow—the heart that was its life source. His black fur gave way to swirling golden smoke, and within the smoke was a glowing red heart. I plunged my hand into its chest and tore it out.

The effect was instantaneous. Its eyes rolled back in its head as it slammed to the rocky ground. In my hand, the red heart pulsed. I had only to return to my body and squeeze, and the ruthless creature would be no more.

“Stop!” Odin’s voice rang out, thunderous and mighty. It echoed over the cliffs. He appeared before us, his eyebrows drawn low over his eyes threateningly. “You cannot defeat Fenrir here. He is meant to be defeated during Ragnar?k. To kill him now will destroy time as we know it and render all prophecies useless.”

I held the life source aloft. “Grant us free passage back to the mortal realm, and I will return the wolf’s heart.”

Odin held out his hand and summoned my body. “Granted.”

With my body so close, the magnetic pull to return to it was nearly unbearable. I felt stretched as tight as a drawn bow, but I wasn’t eager to return to the agony my body suffered. “When I return to my body, then you will send us back.”

Odin met my steady gaze. “You have my word.”

I nodded as I moved closer to my body. With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and let my body pull my spirit back into it.

I gasped in shock. The agony crashed over me, contracting all the muscles in my body until only a wretched sob escaped. In my hand was still clutched the red heart. Odin reached down and took it from me after I found that I couldn’t even command my fingers to let go.

“Is this truly what you wish, Leif Olafsson?” Odin asked from somewhere above me.

“I cannot be without her, Father,” he said simply. I would have smiled if I could.

“Then go,” Odin said.

He held up his hand, and the world exploded in light.