The one thing I could say for this room was that at least it lacked disturbing paintings of Ereshkigal or any other underworld beings on the wall. Here there were only nondescript paintings of abstract neon colors, vibrant lines of blue and green over a black background.
Our stuff was strewn throughout the rooms, although there had been attempts to keep it clean. It was difficult with four people staying in such a small space.
"I was not told there would be so many of you." Valeska looked over at the others, but her gaze seemed to linger a bit on Quinn.
"This is Quinn Devane, a Valkyrie," Oona said, apparently deciding to do the introductions. "That's Atlas Malosi, he's Samael's guard. And I'm Oona Warren, a sorceress-in-training."
"What are you doing here?" I asked, before Oona started asking everyone to go around the room and share interesting facts about ourselves.
"Samael thought I could be of help to you," Valeska explained, settling her wide eyes back on me. "My mother was an Alkonost, and my father is the son of a Valkyrie."
I'd heard of Alkonosts, though I'd never met one personally before. They were immortal cousins of the sirens, with more attributes of a bird, and while they had beautiful singing voices, they didn't have the same ability to cast spells the way sirens did.
"We all have powerful bloodlines." I gestured around the room. Quinn, Atlas, and I were all actually taller and broader than Valeska, and I assumed that we were stronger, too. The only obvious thing she had on us were her wings. "So, no offense, why do we need you? Why would Samael send you?"
"I don't know what it is exactly you're doing here," Valeska said, seemingly ignoring my question. "Samael was short on details. The one thing he made clear is that you were on a quest that had taken you to the Gates of Kurnugia, and he feared that you would need to venture below to Kurnugia. Into the underworld."
I lowered my gaze and shifted my weight from one foot to the other, so I wouldn't have to think about Asher's words burned on my heart. His request for me to forget him, to leave him in Kurnugia.
"I don't know where the quest is taking us," I said and cleared my throat. "But I doubt we will end up in Kurnugia, since it doesn't exactly have an open-door policy. I don't think any mortal has ever gone to the underworld."
"That's where you're wrong." Valeska's mouth turned with the faintest hint of a smile. "I am mortal, and I have been to Kurnugia and back."
SIX
"Well, that's a good reason for Samael to send you," Quinn said, breaking the silence, then she looked over at Oona. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I could go for a drink."
"Oh! I'll open the soursop wine I bought last night," Oona announced, and she was already walking over to the mini-fridge.
While Oona went to fetch the alcohol, Quinn sat back on the couch and rested her severe gaze on Valeska. "What were you doing in Kurnugia?"
"It's a simple story, really," Valeska said, causing Quinn to smirk and laugh derisively.
Oona returned with five plastic cups and a bottle of pale wine. She set the cups on the onyx coffee table and proceeded to fill them all to the brim.
"Help yourself," she said, gesturing toward the cups, and then sat down beside Quinn.
There weren't that many places to sit, with Quinn and Oona taking the couch and Atlas sitting in the only chair in the room. Valeska took a cup of wine off the table, then sat down on the table itself, but I preferred to stand. At least for the time being.
"So, what is this simple story?" I pressed, since Valeska still hadn't elaborated on her trip to Kurnugia.
She took a long drink of her wine, then wiped her mouth with her hand. "As I told you, my mother was an Alkonost. She died when I was twelve, and I wanted to see her again. I needed to talk to her."
I understood that urge completely. I would kill for a chance to see my mother and talk to her again. There were so, so many questions I had for Marlow about what she knew and what she'd done--and what she hadn't done.
But beyond that, I just wanted to see her again. To hear her voice, to tell her I loved her. Even if she didn't say it back. Even if she didn't feel it. She was my mom, and I still loved her and missed her.
Unlike Valeska, I knew that I would never have a chance to see my mother again. Alkonosts were immortal, so they went to Kurnugia when their time on this earth was done. Valkyries were mortal, like humans and canaries and a whole host of animals. When they died, they were dead. There was nothing left for them except to rot and decay.
I cleared my throat to suppress the painful lump that was forming and said, "A lot of people miss their mothers. They don't break into the underworld to see them."
"I believed my mother was wrongfully taken from this earth," Valeska told us, matching my gaze evenly. "My grandmother--a Valkyrie--had never approved of the relationship between my mother and father, and one day, she snapped. Using her Valkyrie sword, she killed my mother."
Atlas snapped his fingers and said, "Oh, yeah, yeah. I remember that. It was all over the news that spring."
"Your grandmother was Freya Andvaranaut?" Quinn asked in a strange awed tone.
Valeska nodded once. "She was."
Vague memories of the story clicked in my head, and I realized that Valeska must be a few years older than me. I was only around ten when the story broke, too young to care much about the news, but the sensational nature of the case made it impossible to avoid entirely as the trial went on.
Freya Andvaranaut had been convicted of defying her duty as a Valkyrie by killing an immortal without orders or just cause, and she was sentenced to death. Before they executed her, Freya had been allowed to give a statement. I didn't remember her exact words, but I knew that she said she would do it all again, exactly the same, if given the chance.
"It wasn't fair, and it wasn't right," Valeska insisted. "It wasn't my mother's time to die. Not yet." She lowered her eyes and exhaled deeply. "I didn't have enough time with her."
"And that's why you wanted to go to Kurnugia," Oona said gently, since Valeska seemed lost in a memory.
"Yes." Valeska blinked several times, then looked up at us. "I thought I could break her free. But first I had to get in there. I began researching, and I learned that nowhere does it state that mortals aren't allowed in the underworld--only that they do not pass there naturally."
We already knew there was entrance to Kurnugia. That was what the Gates were, how Gugalanna had been able to pull Asher into the water, through a vortex into the netherworld.
But neither Gugalanna nor his mistress Ereshkigal had been able to keep that door open for very long. There was strong magic that kept it sealed shut so that even the most powerful inhabitant would not be able to simply open it and walk out.
"But if powerful beings like Ereshkigal, Hades, and Anubis can't get out, how did a young mortal like you get in?" I asked, and I did nothing to mask the skepticism in my voice.
"Think of it this way." Valeska turned, folding her knees underneath her to face me more fully. "Kurnugia was designed to be a giant room to lock away the immortals so they weren't wreaking havoc on earth or annoying the gods. They locked the doors, but they left a key."
A leather strap hung around her neck, slipping underneath her tank top, so whatever pendant it held was hidden under the fabric. She reached for it now, pulling out a crudely formed crescent-shaped stone. It had rough, mottled edges, as if it had been made by hammering stone against stone.
The front of it appeared to be a pale sandstone, but the back side was a more jagged crystal quartz. When the light hit just right, it cast splatters of rainbow throughout the room.
Oona leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees, and narrowed her eyes. "What is that?"
"It's the Sibudu Key," Valeska replied with a proud smile, and Oona gasped. "It allows passage into Kurnugia."
"But that isn't..." Oona's dark eyes widened in disbelief. "I thought those were only things of legend. People scoured the earth for those, but they'd never been recovered."<
br />
"There used to be seven of them, but almost all of them were destroyed centuries ago," Valeska said as she dropped the key back down her shirt.
"How could you have gotten your hands on one?" Oona asked.
"Samael was my grandmother's Eralim, and he felt guilty about what happened with my mother," Valeska explained. "He took pity on me and arranged a meeting between me the Arch Seraph."
I had never seen the Arch Seraph, but I knew he worked on the highest level of the Evig Riksdag--the eternal parliament where Valkyries got all their orders. The Arch Seraph operated as a direct intermediary between those who lived on earth and those who resided in the gods' home of Vanaheimr. He was rarely seen and almost never interacted with mortals. So Samael had to have pulled some serious strings to get a meeting between the Arch Seraph and Valeska.
"What did he look like?" Quinn asked. "The Arch Seraph. I've never even seen pictures of him."
"It's hard to describe." Valeska paused and her brow furrowed as she thought. "It's impossible to look directly at him, because he's made of light. He's both tangible and entirely ethereal. I don't think you can fully appreciate it unless you meet him yourself."
"And the Arch Seraph just gave it to you?" Quinn tilted her head, as if she couldn't quite decide if she wanted to believe Valeska or not.
"No, of course not," Valeska admitted. "I stole it."
Both Quinn and Oona leaned back in their seats, and I took a step back, as if we all expected an angel to burst into the room with a fiery sword and slay us for consorting with Valeska.
When none of us were immediately smote, I thought it was safe to ask, "You stole it?"
"Yes," Valeska replied, looking at us all impassively. "I knew he would never give it to me, and Samael had gotten me into his office, which was by far the difficult part. There's hardly any security inside, because they expect that anyone who makes it through the door must have pure intentions, and I think they suspected me even less because I was only a child."
"How could ... how is that even possible?" I asked.
"Samael called him out into the hall to speak to him privately," Valeska said. "The Arch Seraph had a glass case that ran floor-to-ceiling along an entire wall. That's where he stored his relics--I knew that from the research I'd done, and I thought if a key still existed, this is where it would be. I was terrified I would be caught, but it was the only chance I had. I had to climb a ladder, and I finally spotted the key in the middle of the tenth shelf. I snatched it and shoved it in my pocket."
"Are you saying that Samael helped you steal that?" I asked.
"Samael asked what he could do for me, promising that he would do anything that he could, and all I asked for was a moment alone in the Arch Seraph's office," Valeska said. "He never asked what for, but I think he didn't want to know. Not really. But he helped me anyway."
"So you got the key, then what?" I asked. "You just strode through the Gates of Kurnugia, past Kalma and her devil dog? All as a twelve-year-old girl without any training? Because we did that journey, and it was hard as hell for us."
"You misunderstand me," Valeska said. "My mother died when I was twelve, and I spent over two years studying and searching. Others had gotten close to getting into Kurnugia before, but they'd always gotten stuck because they had been unable to find the Sibudu Key. But I could still learn from them and study their plans."
"And that's how you got in?" I asked skeptically, since she hadn't really explained anything.
She smiled up at me. "I went through the back door."
SEVEN
Valeska stood and hunched over slightly as she carefully peeled up the back of her shirt, revealing badly scarred flesh. Her feathers grew out from her wings down her back, but it was patchy and balding where the skin appeared red and rippled. The scarring covered her entire torso, trailing down below the waistband of her jeans and twisting around her sides, but her back had clearly gotten the worst of it.
"Holy shit," Quinn said, echoing my sentiments exactly. "What happened?"
"My protection spell wasn't strong enough," she said as she pulled her shirt back down.
Valeska explained the "back door" to us. It was the Eshik Mitu--a hot spring that spewed sulfurous water and occasional magma out of the ground. That sounded less like a door than an opportunity to get boiled alive.
The only benefit the geyser had was that it was located right behind the Merchants of Death market, so we wouldn't have to fight our way through the bone-covered ossuary and underworld guardian Kalma again--who most likely respawned after we'd "killed" her last week because it was her eternal duty to guard the entrance to Kurnugia.
"This is what going through the Eshik Mitu did to me," Valeska elaborated. "It was worse at the time. My back and wings were scalded, so most of my feathers fell out. For weeks after, I was in excruciating pain."
I grimaced. "To get into Kurnugia, we'll risk that burn?"
"No, it'll be worse," Valeska replied matter-of-factly. "The magic was barely enough for me, and this time around I won't be going alone."
"Why do you even need to go?" I countered. "Can't you lend me the key?"
"Never," she said fiercely and put her hand over her shirt, covering the crescent of the pendant underneath the thin fabric. "The key stays with me. Always."
"Couldn't you make a stronger protection spell?" Quinn asked, turning her attention on Oona.
"I can try," Oona said, sounding far less confident than I would've liked. "If Valeska already knows it and we worked together, we could come up with something more powerful, but I still don't know how good it'll be." She rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment. "Really, I should start gathering ingredients now."
"What happened with your mother?" I asked Valeska, as Oona worked through potions and magic in her mind. "Did you find her?"
She lowered her eyes and nodded once. "Yes. She said that she couldn't come with me, and that I should never come back to Kurnugia again."
"You're willing to disobey your mother over this?" Quinn asked.
"Samael told me that he believes the fate of the world hangs in the balance," Valeska said. "I will do whatever needs to be done."
I laughed dryly. "Except give me the key."
Valeska met my sarcastic smile. "Except for that."
"Samael doesn't know everything that's going on, but I don't know that we'll even need your help." I rubbed the back of my neck, easing my growing anxiety. "I don't think we'll be going to Kurnugia."
"What?" Quinn asked, sounding alarmed. "Why not?"
"What about Asher?" Oona chimed in, and it honestly wouldn't have hurt more if she had stabbed me right in the heart.
I swallowed back the bitter pain and replied as evenly as I could, "Odin promised he'd help me. He said..." I choked on the words for a moment, so I pushed through them. "He said he'd help get Asher back."
"You're working with Odin?" Valeska asked, sounding more awed than I expected from someone who had stolen a key from the Arch Seraph and then broken into the underworld.
"Working with isn't exactly the right term," I clarified, since I didn't fully understand what Odin wanted or needed with me yet. "I am supposed to meet with him later tonight, though."
Odin had told me to meet him at the top of the Caana Temple when the moon was the highest in the sky on the night I returned. When I asked him how he'd know what night I would return, he only smiled and changed the subject.
"Can Odin get into Kurnugia?" Oona asked. "I thought they kept it blocked from everything."
I shrugged. "Odin's one of the highest gods. He can go anywhere." Then I looked around the room, hoping for confirmation, but I was only meant with uncertain stares. "Right?"
"I should go with you to meet Odin," Valeska said firmly.
"Why?" I asked, incredulous.
"Because, if I am to help you get into Kurnugia, and he's helping you, too, we should all be on the same page," she said.
I replied carefully, "Like I said
, we don't need to go to Kurnugia, so we don't need your help."
"Malin, why don't we talk for a moment?" Quinn asked, standing up and motioning to herself, Oona, and me, leaving Atlas to entertain our guest. "Can you excuse us, Valeska?"
"Yes, of course." She smiled thinly. "I need to use the restroom anyway."
Even though Valeska had slipped into the small washroom off the main room, Quinn ushered Oona and me into the adjacent bedroom and closed the door behind us. The bed was unmade, and based on the ripped jeans and swords strewn across it, I guessed that it was Quinn's.
"Why are you so opposed to her?" Quinn asked me bluntly. Her arms were folded over her chest as she stared at me.
I shook my head. "I'm not. I don't want us all getting killed."
"If Odin can handle this by himself here on out, great. Then we're done." Oona wiped her hands together, symbolizing that we could wash our hands of this whole mess. "But if not, we have to take her up on her offer. Don't we? I mean, she's the only chance we have to get into Kurnugia."
"Why do we have to go to Kurnugia?" I argued.
"To stop the underworld goddess from escaping and to rescue Asher?" Quinn asked, speaking to me as if I were a moron.
Reflexively, my hand went to my heart, hovering just above where his words were still branded on me. Don't worry about me.
Using all my willpower, I managed to keep my voice even as I said, "I don't even know if he's still alive."
Oona's jaw dropped and her eyes widened, and Quinn's breath caught in her throat and she took a step back from me, as if she suddenly realized I was infected with a contagious disease.
"You're saying you don't even want to try?" Oona asked once she'd recovered from her shock.
"You're even more heartless than I thought," Quinn said, and her voice had taken on a forlorn, defeated quality that cut deep through me. "You really don't care about anyone but yourself."
"Quinn!" Oona snapped, rushing to my defense.
"No, it's not like that," I insisted, and though I tried to hide it, the pain and confusion found its way into my words, making them shrill. "You don't think it doesn't kill me that I can't run down and save him right now? Of course it does. But..." I paused, and when I spoke again, my voice cracked. "I don't think he wants me to save him."