Page 91 of Rune

I took the time to study him. His shirt was ruffled, falling out from his tucked in position to lay crooked over his leather pants that he tucked the blade back into. He brushed back his hair, and as it did, red blotches on his neck stood out. They continued down his arm. He spotted me eyeing the blood. “Killed one on my way in.”

“You shouldn’t have come in. Odin will kill you if he finds you helped.”

Trig smirked. He tipped his chin northbound. “Make for those hedges on my count. We’ll carve a path toward the garden wall. Ready, go.”

He ran, and I had no choice but to follow. Our footsteps pounded loudly into the dirt, and the breeze helped cool the sweat and dry some of the mud from my pants. They were beyond saving though. I couldn’t show up again in this outfit and not give away what I’d been doing.

We pressed into the hedges, letting the sharp branches snag at us. The city remained perfectly still, but we ventured dangerously close to another glass dome, one nestled against Odin’s home, and one I suspected he was in.

“Truly, Trig. I can’t save you from Odin’s wrath.”

“You seem to have a lot of sway with the gods,” he mentioned, and from his tone he meant Ve. The tone wasn’t accusing, but I questioned it all the same.

“I don’t hold that much power,” I told him. “I can’t even save myself if I’m caught.”

Now he turned. He wiped hair back from his face. “I’ve seen the way that god looks at you. He is wrapped around your finger.”

My face reddened. Talking about Ve with Tova was one thing, but with Trig, it was worse. “Fine. Take the risk then.”

“I will. Come, there’s a gate here. If there’s no one on the other side, the garden is ours.”

His hands grasped the iron bars, and he pushed. They opened with ease. He peeked in. I held my breath, waiting for a dagger to fly or an arrow to pierce him but nothing did. After a moment, he risked stepping inside.

“It’s clear,” he whispered, beckoning for me to follow. “And it’s fine. You’re just as wrapped around his finger as he is around yours.”

It was true. At least for me. But I didn’t say so as I slipped past the gate and shut it securely behind me, tearing the hem of my pants to tie the gate shut.

“That’ll hold for two seconds,” Trig said, watching me.

I shot him a look. “That could be our life.” But for good measure, I tore the other pant leg and tied an additional knot. Four seconds now. That would be enough warning someone was coming, and it allowed us to move further in from the gate.

“The gods will link that fabric to you,” Trig commented.

I glanced to the gate. “As long as we are alive, I don’t care.”

The glass dome loomed dangerously close, but the floor wasn’t made of glass, which kept us somewhat safe. Still, if I wandered too far south, they’d see me. Essentially, I’d just trapped myself in the garden, unless I risked going back through the gate.

“I’m glad you’re happy,” Trig said. “I was worried about you, you know, when you tried to kill me.”

His glanced held humor within in. “I was a tad dramatic,” I mumbled.

“Just a little.” He tromped through the garden with absolutely no regard for what he was stepping in. I took more care, but my focus was more on the high wall to the east as I made sure no one rested on top of it, than that I didn’t trample vegetables. Heavy ivy clung to the stone walls, several patches thick enough to hide a person. We’d aim for there, once we found Tova.

I scoured my eyes around once more. I was certain she would be here.

The garden nestled into Odin’s home, and along the marble walls was a single, black door. From the window nearby, I guessed a garden storage room, and a perfect hiding place. Good. We had options, then.

We reached the ivy wall. A high wall to one side, a garden to the other, and a palace at our backs. This was as safe as we could be, and yet my stomach tightened at the thought of Tova out there, somewhere in the quiet city.

I’d feel better if we had our escape planned. I turned to Trig. “Did you receive my letter?”

He perked up, as if glad he could be of help here. “I got the message. It’s not a gate, it’s a key. And I know how to use it.”

That was hopeful, and tracked with my encounter with Balder this morning. He slipped from one realm to the next without a doorway, but a key. A rush of relief filled me. At least one piece of good news could come from today. “Do you know where a key is?”

Now he deflated. “No. You?”

I breathed heavily through my lips, wishing I’d spent more time garnering Balder’s friendship. “Yes, but getting it will be tricky.”

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