Page 496 of Flirting with Darkness

He was right, of course. Digging up bodies was not how these warriors were summoned to battle. No, she actually had to call them.

This was why she remembered their names.

“Thor, Loki, Odin. Come to my aid, for I have need of you. Thor, Loki, Odin, wake and ready for battle, for I need your help. Thor, Loki, Odin, rise, for I summon you!”

Three times she called, her voice rising to a shriek on the third attempt, but as her ringing tones faded away, there were still only two of them on the plain at the entrance to the pass.

“Hey, you! What are you doing here? This is a protected archaeological site. Get out of there right now before you damage something, or worse, contaminate the site!” The angry voice belonged to a tall, round man with two pieces of glass fixed in a frame on his face, before his eyes. Astrid had never seen anything like it.

“Do you understand what he’s saying?” Fenrir asked.

Astrid shook her head.

The strange man flapped his arms, as though trying to shoo chickens out of the kitchen gardens.

“I think he wants us to leave,” Fenrir said.

“And go where? This is where the bodies were buried. This is where we will find answers. Nowhere else. I am not leaving until I find out what happened to my village.” Astrid planted her feet and folded her arms across her chest. “Where are the men you found here?” she demanded.

“We’ve only found one man, and we sent his body to the university research labs, back in town,” the man said. “You have to leave. This is a protected site. Perhaps one of the greatest finds of the decade. Archaeologists only.” He patted his chest, then made more shooing motions.

“We’re not leaving until I have some answers. These archaeologists, or whatever they are, have no idea what they’re dealing with,” Astrid said. She turned to Fenrir. “Right?”

He gripped her hand. “Right. We stand together, whatever may come.”

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