“I know where the trail is leading.”
“Where?”
“A secret passage to Muspelheim a fire giant named Bjorn showed me.”
“Then she’s in Muspelheim, and they didn’t want to risk Heimdall knowing.”
“I thought…she’s alive.”
Thruor sighed and stopped the bike. “If anyone would know how to keep a mortal alive in Muspelheim, it’s Surtur. The snag is…”
“We don’t. We can’t rescue her without her being burned to a crisp. And if I give in he’ll kill her anyway.”
I knew that with absolute certainty. He’d kill her and he’d somehow make sure I couldn’t…
“He will.” Thruor furrowed her brow. “But as long as he thinks he can use her as bait he’ll keep her alive.”
Which meant I couldn’t go charging to the rescue. I hopped off the bike and blinked back the tears. “I knew this would happen.”
“So did she.”
I nodded. “She thought I was worth the risk. I couldn’t…I couldn’t chase her away, but what do I do now?”
Thruor considered. “A few things. The first is to make sure of her safety if he does kill her.”
I winced. “Meaning?”
“You need to have a talk with your sister.”
I shivered. The idea was…well…rather intimidating.
“Don’t worry. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. But you have to do that. Meanwhile, I will talk to every witch we know about spells that might be useful.”
And we did know quite a few witches. “Talk to Angrboda, too, she might have some ideas.”
“Good idea.”
“So, how do I find her?”
“Well, you start by going to a place of the dead.”
“A cemetery.” I thought some more. “A big cemetery.” It wasn’t like we didn’t have one, although most of the people buried in the really big cemetery had fallen in battle.
“Exactly. I’ll give you something she likes.”
Which meant it was alcohol and I couldn’t buy it myself. “Don’t be caught corrupting a minor.”
She grinned weakly. “I haven’t yet, have I.”
That grin got an even weaker response from me. But it did cheer me up just a little bit.
I might not be able to go charging in all guns blazing, but…there were things I could do.
And for this?
For this I would forget it wasn’t my task to kill him.