Page 69 of Rune

TwEnty-ThrEE

A PUNGENT ODOR wafted off my tunic from the mortal land, yet I donned it anyway. Tova would appreciate the familiar sight. Perhaps this time she wouldn’t accuse me of galivanting across Asgard if I looked just like her—and smelled worse. I’d grabbed my axe since I wouldn’t be seeing Ve, and tied my leather sandals up my calves.

The noise from the arena overpowered the skies like thunder, so I paid no mind to how quietly I moved as I snuck behind the stone wall of the arena and down a dirt path, just as Ve had instructed.

I’d only stood there for two heartbeats when the trumpet sounded.

Two locks were flung, followed by the low sound of the knob turning and door being pulled aside slowly as if it hadn’t been opened in a hundred years. Plumes of dust swallowed me. I squinted through it to the shape of a narrow man with kind features and quick eyes that took in my surroundings to see I was alone.

When he was satisfied, he nodded, and opened the door further. I slipped inside, taking in the tight cobblestone walls rapidly before the door shut and darkness enveloped me.

The snick of a match came. A flame jumped forth from the guard, who transferred it to a torch. The fire was quick to gobble the oil, and a wave of heat hit my skin.

“Follow me,” the guard said. He spoke quietly and moved swiftly.

I soon found out why. The walls were thick but not enough to drown out the shouting of the other mortals. It was terrible. They cried out in bitter screams, banging against the walls in dull beats keeping time with our footsteps. From above, I thought them all to be going to their deaths with dignity. But down here? Here I felt the terror.

“Do their cries never cease?” I asked, moving faster.

He waved the torch. “They only shout when they see the light.”

I squinted harder at the walls to find the cracks of each door. I shivered.

After a few more steps, the doors continued, but the shouts grew quieter. Before I could ask, the guard spoke, “These are the ones who have already fought.”

My heart ached for them. Their spirits were broken.

A small wagon braced outside a door, with weapons inside. When we reached it, the guard moved for a key and slid it into the lock. It turned. The door swung outward, and I braced myself for what I might find inside.

Tova sat against the far wall under a sliver of light from the tiniest window above, one leg bent and the other out, shoulders sagged. Calculations brewed in her expression as she took in the guard, but they fell when they saw me.

“Rune?”

I stepped inside. “Thank you,” I whispered to the guard.

He pushed the weapons in behind me. Tova’s eyes bulged. She stood.

“You have half an hour,” the guard said. “And in case you get an inkling to break her out, you should know I am the god of all things seen and unseen, so believe me when I say nothing happens in these cells I do not know. You would not make it two steps.”

It was enough to remind me where I was. This was no mere mortal cell, but one forged in Asgard and watched over by gods. The slight plan had already taken root inside me, but now I let that slip away. “Noted.”

Content, the guard shut the door, and the lock clicked.

“We could have taken him,” Tova said, standing at last. She came to inspect the weapons. “There is no god of seen and unseen.”

“Maybe, but we wouldn’t get past the sea of gods outside.” I unhooked my axe. “We haven’t much time. I’m here to train you for the fight in three days.”

Her smile was a sad one, and she was quiet for a while as she selected an axe similarly sized to my own. She drew a deep breath. “Let’s get started then.”

Our swings were slower. These were not the dulled practice weapons we were used to, but ones that could slice off an arm if we weren’t careful. But if we could get her comfortable with the weight of Asgard weapons, then she would fare better in the fight.

She brought her axe down, and I lifted my handle to block. “The city is large,” I started. “With wide streets offering no cover. Stay away from those. You’ll be a clear shot for anyone with a bow.”

She swung, and I stepped aside. “It bleeds into a sea at the bottom. Maintain the higher ground.”

“I know how to fight,” Tova pressed.

“But you don’t know the city. Listen. The homes will be emptied, so you can hide somewhere until the end—”

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