They followed Sarah through the house and into a type of playroom with a large pool table, a massive television screen, games consoles and pinball machines.
‘Cool!’ Archie breathed. ‘Look at all this stuff! I could die happy here!’
‘You’re already dead,’ Orus cawed.
Freya stroked the raven, grateful that Sarah couldn’t understand him.
Inside the games room, Tash and Gage were playing pool. ‘Hi,’ Gage called, waving at Archie. ‘You want to play with us?’
‘Hi, Gage,’ Archie responded, waving. ‘Not right now, thanks.’
Freya studied the boy’s face. She could sense a ‘knowing’ from him. Gage was definitely sensitive to otherworldly things. ‘Are they your family?’ she asked Sarah.
Sarah nodded. ‘In a way, yes. Gage and his sister have been with us almost two years. Their mother couldn’t handle a child with Down’s syndrome, so they were both put into care when Gage was very young. But they were having a really tough time until they were brought here. Brundi fosters a lot of troubled or disabled children. She has this way about her that works wonders. Children, animals, there isn’t a creature alive that she can’t reach.’
‘How many people live here?’ Freya asked.
‘It varies. Most times, we have almost thirty.’ Sarah stopped. ‘You should be proud of your grandmother. She and Vonni have built something very special out here. Troubled teens from all over the country are sent here to work on the ranch. After a few weeks with Brundi, these kids turn their lives around. I don’t know what it is that she does, but it works.’
Sarah led Freya upstairs. ‘There’s an empty bedroom beside Mims’. If you need anything, just knock on her door.’
They stopped outside a room. ‘Here you go. Come downstairs if you need me or want to call your mother to let her know you’ve arrived safely.’
‘Thank you,’ Freya said. ‘I should be fine for the night.’ Her eyes lingered on Sarah’s belly.
‘Just a few weeks now,’ Sarah said, rubbing her bump. ‘I can’t wait. This little fellow has been kicking up a storm.’
‘You know it’s a boy?’
‘Not for certain, but I have a feeling. He’s been kicking like he’s playing soccer in there,’ Sarah said, laughing. ‘Gage insists I’m having a little angel. He says the baby has wings. I just don’t know where he gets these crazy ideas.’ Freya and Archie gave each other a knowing look. ‘Anyway, I’ll leave you to get settled.’
When she was gone, Freya and Archie entered the room. It was comfortably furnished and had a television set up on a stand.
‘Great!’ Orus cawed as he flew to the bed. ‘I want to see what I’ve missed on TV.’
‘You and television!’ Archie teased. When he reached for the remote, his hand passed right through it and the table beneath. ‘Sorry, Orus, you’ll have to do this on your own.’
Freya lost no time pulling off her coat and gloves. Stretching out her wings, she massaged an ache in their muscles. ‘I’d forgotten how uncomfortable it is to keep them bound.’
‘You won’t have to bind your wings for long,’ Archie said. ‘We’ve got to hide the family and get Brundi out of here as soon as possible. Loki may not believe there’s going to be a war, but Azrael is convinced. My money’s on Azrael.’
Freya nodded and stepped to the window. She peered out into the darkness, feeling the weight of responsibility pressing down on her.
‘It’s not easy, is it?’ Archie asked.
Freya shook her head. ‘Brundi has created something so special here. It will be a shame to destroy it.’
‘We don’t have much choice,’ Orus cawed.
A knock on the door interrupted them. ‘Who is it?’ Freya called.
‘It’s Mims.’
Freya reached for her coat. ‘Come in.’
As soon as she walked into the room Mims’ eyes landed on Archie and she looked uneasy.
‘Erm, can I talk to you for a moment, Greta?’ Mims asked her. ‘Alone.’
Freya shook her head. ‘You must get over your fear of Archie. He’s not going to hurt you. Just think of him as being alive. Talk to him, you’ll see what I mean.’
‘I was alive not too long ago,’ Archie said. ‘I went to school and I had friends. I’m normal. Only now, I’m a normal ghost.’
‘What happened to you?’ Mims asked.
‘I don’t think Brundi would appreciate us telling you,’ Freya said. ‘But anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Archie.’
‘And me,’ Orus cawed.
‘Yes,’ Freya agreed. ‘And Orus.’
Mims sighed heavily and sat on the edge of the bed beside Orus. She wouldn’t look up at Freya. ‘Would you please tell me what’s going on here? I know there’s a lot you’re not telling me.’
‘Yes, there is,’ Freya admitted. ‘But Brundi has forbidden me from talking to you. She needs time to think.’
Mims hesitated. ‘It’s about me, isn’t it? That’s why you’re here.’
‘What do you mean?’ Orus asked as he hopped up on her knee.
Mims started to stroke his shiny black feathers. ‘Something is wrong with me, I know it. But Mom insists everything is fine. I’ve tried talking to Gran, but she keeps changing the subject.’
‘You really should talk to her again,’ Freya said.
‘I tried, earlier tonight,’ Mims said in frustration. ‘She told me to forget about it. How am I supposed to forget about a flying horse? Or talking birds, or that your best friend is a ghost?’
‘I understand,’ Archie said. ‘These things take a little getting used to. But the Reaping Mares are so cool. You should try riding Jonquil.’
‘I don’t want to ride her. I want to understand.’ Mims looked at Freya. ‘You have wings hidden under your coat, don’t you?’
Archie gasped. ‘How did you know about that?’
‘I don’t know!’ Mims cried. ‘That’s the problem. Things like this are happening to me all the time now. It’s like I can read people’s minds. I know what they are thinking and what they’re going to do. And when I first saw you, I knew you had wings. I don’t know how, but I did. I know you’re not here by accident and that Gran isn’t happy that you are. Something big is coming, isn’t it?’
Freya nodded. ‘Very big. And because of it, we’ve come to take Brundi away.’
‘Why?’
‘To keep you and your family safe.’
‘From?’
‘Gee,’ Archie warned. ‘Brundi told us not to talk about this.’
Freya shook her head. ‘Mims’ powers are growing and will only get stronger.’ She looked back at her cousin. ‘Brundi is trying to ignore it, but she can’t. There’s too much at stake.’
‘Then tell me!’ Mims insisted. She rose and went over to Freya, and before she could stop her, Mims caught hold of Freya’s bare hands and held them tightly. ‘Tell me now. What are you? Where do you come from? What’s wrong with me?’
Orus cawed in panic, ‘Freya, she’s touching you!’
Freya looked at their entwined hands. ‘That’s the final proof.’
Mims frowned. ‘Why did Orus call you Freya when your name is Greta?’
‘Because my true name is Freya, but I can’t let people know it. You must only ever call me Greta, especially in front of people.’
‘That’s just like me,’ Mims said. ‘My real name is Myriam-Elizabet, but Gran has forbidden me from ever telling anyone. So they only call me Mims.’
Freya looked at Archie in surprise. ‘Deep down Brundi must have had her suspicions, even if she didn’t want to admit it!’ she said to him. She focused on Mims. ‘Brundi was right. You must never tell anyone your true name.’
‘Why?’
‘Because our names have great power. They must be protected and kept secret at all times.’
Archie showed her the back of his hand. ‘This is Freya’s mark. It appeared on my hand when she told me her true name. Now that I’m dead
, it means we are bound together forever. If you give your true name to someone, they will be bound to you.’
‘I don’t understand.’ Mims’ eyes passed from Archie to Freya.
Freya gently led her cousin back to the bed. ‘You need to sit down for this, trust me.’
‘For what?’
‘This.’ Freya pulled off her coat. Her beautiful black wings fell out and the sound of rustling feathers filled the room as she extended her wings.
‘I knew you had them, I just knew it,’ Mims gasped. ‘But to actually see them . . . Can you fly?’
‘Yes.’ Freya folded her wings and reached for a desk chair. Turning it around backwards, she sat down. ‘We can tell you everything you need to know, but it will be difficult to hear.’
‘You must be prepared,’ Orus warned gently. ‘This is bigger than you can ever imagine.’
Mims was trembling but nodded. ‘I need to know. Please tell me.’
Freya started. ‘Yes, I have wings. So do my mother and my four sisters. A very long time ago, Brundi also had wings. And so did her son, Giovanni.’
‘My dad had wings?’ Mims gasped but then looked away, her expression becoming distant. ‘Dad has big scars on his back. Gran always said he had an accident when he was a baby.’
‘It was no accident,’ Orus said. ‘Your father’s wings were removed.’
‘Why?’
‘In this world, a child with wings would have been hunted down and killed. It was the only way to keep him safe,’ Freya said.
‘But you have wings. How are you safe?’
Freya looked to Orus.
‘Go on, tell her,’ he coaxed.
‘I’m safe because I don’t live in this world. We all live in a place far from here, a place called Asgard.’
Mims frowned. ‘I’ve never heard of it.’
‘Have you heard of Thor or Odin?’ Archie asked.
Mims nodded. ‘Sure, everybody has. They’re characters from superhero movies.’
‘Really?’ Orus said excitedly. ‘Movies? We’ve got to see those movies. Maybe I’m in them!’
Archie ignored Orus. ‘Odin and Thor aren’t just characters from a movie. They’re from the Old Norse myths. But they’re not myths at all. I’d never heard of Asgard until I met Gee.’
‘Where is it?’
‘It’s kind of hard to explain,’ Archie said. ‘It’s in another realm. You have to cross this big rainbow bridge to get there.’
‘Bifröst,’ Mims said.
‘Yes!’ Archie exclaimed. ‘You do know it.’
Mims nodded. ‘It was in the movie. But that still doesn’t explain where it is.’
Freya could see that none of this made much sense to her cousin. ‘Where it is doesn’t matter. But in Asgard, we are safe.’
‘But, I mean, like,’ Mims stumbled. ‘If we’re really cousins, and my dad had wings, why don’t I?’
‘I don’t know,’ Freya admitted. ‘Your mother is human. Brundi thought you were too.’
‘I’m not human?’ Mims cried.
Freya shook her head. ‘No, you’re not.’
Mims’ voice was little more than a broken whisper. ‘If I’m not human, what am I?’
Freya rose. ‘You’re just like me. You’re a Valkyrie.’
CHAPTER NINE
‘So I’m going to kill people.’ Mims finally spoke after they had filled her in on everything: Brundi’s exile to Earth, the growing tension between the realms and the possibility of a war drawing near.
‘No, you won’t.’ Archie sat beside her. ‘Not if you’re careful. You see how Gee wears gloves. That’s all you need to do. Just be careful not to touch anyone, skin to skin.’
‘Even my mother?’ Mims asked.
Freya nodded. ‘She is human. When your full powers come, your touch will be deadly to her.’
Mims turned to Freya. ‘Can you stop it? Can you make me normal again?’
‘You are normal,’ Freya assured her. ‘You’re a normal Valkyrie, just like me. You read people’s minds, see in the dark and charm wild animals – that’s all part of being a Valkyrie. We have enhanced senses. We are the Battle Maidens of Odin. We reap human soldiers from the battlefield and take them to Valhalla.’
‘But what if I don’t want it?’
Freya heard echoes of her own words spoken to Maya the day she had to reap her first soldier. She hadn’t wanted to be a Valkyrie either. Freya saw so much of herself in her cousin.
‘You can’t change what you are,’ Orus said gently.
‘It’s like being born with blue eyes when you wanted brown. Or a hair colour that you don’t want. You can’t change it,’ Archie said.
‘Yes you can,’ Mims wept. ‘You can dye your hair like Greta does, or you can wear contact lenses to change your eye colour.’
‘And you can wear protective clothes so you don’t have an accident,’ Archie added. ‘This isn’t the end of your life. It is just changing.’
Freya rose from the chair and knelt down before her cousin. ‘I didn’t want to be a Valkyrie either. I was happy in Asgard before I had powers. I flew to the battlefields with my mother and sisters, but I never had to reap anybody. Then my powers arrived and I had to take up my duties. I still don’t want to reap soldiers, but I must. It is what I was born to do. You are lucky – you won’t have to do that. You can still live here with your family.’
‘But never touch anyone again,’ Mims said bitterly. She pulled free of Freya and walked to the window. ‘Why didn’t Gran tell me?’
‘Because you were born without wings, she honestly believed you were human.’
‘So now what?’ Mims demanded. ‘You take Gran away and I stay here in hiding, never knowing what I am.’
‘You do know what you are,’ Orus cawed. ‘You’re a Valkyrie.’
‘But that means nothing to me!’ Mims cried. ‘I have no future here now.’
‘You do,’ Freya said. ‘You will be needed here more than ever. Especially if the war comes. You will need to use your powers to help your family and everyone here.’
‘And you will be needed to protect your little brother,’ Archie added. ‘He will be born with wings. Whether he keeps them or not, he’ll need your protection.’
‘After everything you’ve just told me, you expect me to stay here?’
‘Of course,’ Freya said. ‘Why wouldn’t you?’
‘Because I’m deadly!’ Mims cried. ‘One mistake, just one little mistake and I could kill someone I love. I don’t want this!’ Mims ran towards the door. ‘I don’t want to be a Valkyrie. I wish I’d never been born!’
‘Mims, wait!’ Freya reached for her coat to follow her.
‘No, let her go,’ Orus cawed. ‘Is she so different from you? Look how you flew away the night before your First Day Ceremony, and you knew what you were. Imagine how hard it must be for her. In one night, her whole life has changed. She needs time to adjust.’
‘He’s right,’ Archie agreed. ‘She needs time to take it all in.’
Freya took a deep breath and nodded. She closed her eyes and tracked her cousin. ‘Mims has just left the house. She’s run off into the woods. I’m going to follow her and make sure she’s all right.’
‘Leave her alone,’ Orus warned. ‘Just sit down and we can watch some television together.’
‘I can’t,’ Freya said. ‘Mims is confused and in pain. I don’t want her doing something foolish. I won’t let her see me. I’ll just keep a distant eye on her.’
‘I’m coming too,’ Archie said. Then he stopped. ‘Gee, if I’m a ghost, does that mean I can fly?’
Freya shrugged. ‘I don’t really know. I’ve never travelled to Midgard with the dead.’ She approached the window. ‘Jump out. If you fall, we’ll know that you can’t and I’ll carry you.’
Archie came up beside her and peered out. ‘It’s a long way down to the ground.’
‘Don’t be such a coward,’ Orus cawed. ‘You’re already dead; what more can happ
en to you?’
Archie reluctantly climbed up on the ledge. ‘You’re sure I can’t be hurt?’
‘Just go!’ Orus cawed. The raven flew over to Archie and nipped him on the backside.
‘Orus!’ Archie howled as he fell out the window.
Freya peered out. Archie was lying face down on the ground with his arms and legs outspread. She leaped out and glided down to the ground and knelt beside her friend. ‘Archie, are you all right?’
Archie moaned and turned over slowly. ‘Guess what? I can’t fly.’
‘Get up, you’re not hurt,’ Orus cawed as he landed beside Archie and pecked at him.
Archie glared at the raven. ‘You lied to me. You said I wouldn’t feel you when we were on Earth. But I felt you all right. You bit me in the butt!’
‘Yes,’ Orus laughed. ‘But it got you moving. Now, get up!’
Freya helped Archie climb to his feet.
‘So why, if I’m a ghost, didn’t I float? Gravity shouldn’t work on me, but it did.’
Freya shrugged. ‘Don’t ask me. I use my wings.’
‘You expected to fall,’ Orus explained. ‘You should have focused on floating. But you are still thinking like the living and believe you are bound by those rules. You expected to fall, so you fell.’
‘So he can fly if he wants to?’ Freya asked the raven.
‘Of course,’ Orus cawed. ‘But it will take practice and time we just don’t have. Now, are we going to find Mims, or can we please go back and watch television?’
‘Let’s go,’ Freya said. Sensing the air, she pointed. ‘She’s gone that way.’
They walked into the dark woods at the back of the house. Despite the lack of light, Freya could see perfectly well, and knew Mims would too. The air was filled with the sounds of nightlife. A fox was screaming in the distance and with each step some unknown creature scurried away. From the canopy above they heard the hooting of an owl.
When they moved deeper into the woods, howls filled the air.
‘These woods are creepy at night,’ Archie said nervously as his eyes darted towards the noise. ‘I’m sure those were wolves howling, not dogs!’
From Freya’s shoulder, Orus started to caw with laughter.