Read Dead Chaos for Free Online

a breeze, but I could hear the hint of sadness in it. I guess it was time I accepted that, although it happened to me, the people around me were also very much affected by my mutilation.
    "I fear we do not have much choice. The bone has been shattered. Whatever implement they used, they didn’t seem to care much for what was left behind." I wanted to laugh as I imagined them hacking away at me with an axe or a cleaver or even a chainsaw. I clenched my fists, forcing my mind to behave. Eir’s voice broke into my macabre thoughts as she continued, "I suggest cleaning away the bone fragments, making the cut neater and smoother to encourage regrowth should that be the case."
    "Would they grow back?" asked Frigga. I saw the hint of hope in her eyes as her gaze settled on Eir behind me.
    "I really cannot say. I have never seen anything like this before. We have seen shattered and broken wings, which we have repaired well enough to encourage the bones to knit and the feathers to return. I have even reset an entire wing that had been shattered into twenty eight small pieces and that Valkyrie was fine and today she flies without a problem." Eir paused and sighed again. "It is just that I have never dealt with a wing that has been removed in its entirety."
    "Would it help if we brought the remains of the wings to you?" I asked. But my gut told me I was reaching.
    "No , my dear. It would not help at all. Unless there was a way to encourage the separated bone to re-knit." Eir frowned as she rolled the idea around in her head.
    "We only have one wing that's whole." It was my turn to sigh. "The other is in a million different pieces lying all around the lab." A flash of anger ripped through me as I recalled the lab and the condition of my wings.
    "I will do what I can now. I can neaten the jagged edges of the bone. The pain will recede and you should not feel anything once the edges heal over. You will even be able to lie on you back without pain," said Eir.
    "Is there anything you need?" Frigga asked.
    "Hot water and the sharpest blade you have capable of sawing through bone. I think I have whatever else I need."
    "Can Njall make the blade?" I asked, hoping I wasn’t pushing the boundaries by making my own demands.
    Frigga looked at me, an odd expression on her face, but then her face relaxed. "Very well, if you wish Njall to provide the blade, I will ensure that happens." Frigga patted my arm and disappeared.
    Silence sat heavy in the room yet it was not uncomfortable. Eir summoned two Huldra who walked in bearing two large buckets of steaming water. The goddess helped me walk behind a white silken screen, then left the Huldras to attend to me. They carefully soaped and washed my back, the hot water soothing against my tender skin. When they were done, they dried my back and robed me in a clean dress. It was like all the other dresses I had, backless to make room for wings, so my shoulders lay bare, ready for Eir’s ministrations.
    I returned to Frigga’s bed and sat on the edge beside the goddess. Eir moved over my bare back and I felt whispers of movement across now-numbed flesh.
    A rush of silvery clouds announced Frigga's return. She held what looked like a small saw in her hand, and I shuddered. Maybe I should stop looking at it. Maybe then I could stop thinking about what Eir was about to do.
    Then Frigga flicked her hand out beside her and a goblet appeared within her grasp. "Here, drink this before Eir begins her work."
    I reached for the goblet, hoping it was the delicious Mead I could never get enough of. And was disappointed to find a bland, light-green liquid sloshing around in the cup. Frigga laughed at the expression on my face. "Do not blame me. Eir requested I have the medicine made up for you."
    "It is good for you, Bryn, although I admit it may not taste or smell very nice," said Eir behind me, a hint of a smile in her voice. "It will help dull the pain though, so you do need to drink all of it."
    Dutifully, I put