Read Dead Silence for Free Online

relationship, but we had a strong connection, and I'd found lately, that I'd begun to count on seeing him every day. Maybe it was losing Sigrun that did it, but her loss had made me realize that sometimes, if you wait too long you may end up losing everything.
    I shook the emotions off and jogged out the door. "Wait, I have a few things to do before I go anywhere. I have to tell my team I'm back." Good thinking Bryn, tell them after the damage is done.
    "You won't be of much use if you are dead," she retorted and continued walking, leading me deeper into the palace of Asgard. The palace was built into the side of a mountain, surrounding us with the carved stone of the walls and floors that bore the slight uneven telltale that it was hand-hewn rock.
    I laughed, conceding her point. "Fine. But where are you taking me?"
    "Frigga has a private bathing chamber near her rooms."
    "How do you know that?" I frowned at her back as I attempted to catch up.
    "I asked."
    "What?" I asked before I recalled she had the ability to talk to a person with her mind.
    She'd probably contacted Frigga the moment we'd arrived in Asgard. I sighed and held my tongue as I walked on, feeling the weight of my armor pulling me down. Even my feet had begun to feel heavy and strange.
    When Nita suddenly stopped in front of me, I walked right into her, unable to stop myself. Although she stumbled from the blow she waved off my apology and pushed open the heavy wooden door on our right.
    As I entered the room I smelled water and felt the warm air against my cheeks, like a soft, motherly hug. I sighed, instantly relaxed by the possibility of a soak in hot water.
    Two Huldra moved silently within the stone chamber, lighting candles in long floor standing candelabras, and in little alcoves on the stone wall behind the bath. Their black cow's tails whispered along the floor and I gave them both a smile in return to their own cheer-filled grins.
    My own Huldra, Turi, was too efficient for words. By now she would have fetched my weapons, cloak and satchel from the Transfer Room, knowing it was there by some mysterious way I'd never been able to figure out. She'd probably be shining and sharpening my sword right now. And if she saw me, she'd insist I bathed and ate and rested. She was bossy that way. How had I gotten by without her?
    Now, I paid closer attention to the room, and the bath.
    And what a bath it was.
    Nestled against the far right corner of the room, it rose from the stone floor, the sides rising in craggy, uneven ridges. A set of steps carved into the right side, lead to a small area at the top of the pool.
    The small space was filled with towels, and bowls of soaps and flower petals. Nita waved her hand at my clothes, reminding me that I needed to undress before climbing inside the heated waters. I moved to the opposite wall where various ledges provided space for my shoes and armor.
    My fingers felt fat and heavy as I untied the strings at the collar of my armor and as I bent to reach for the bottom edge of the chain-mail I blinked hard as dizziness finally took me over. I fell forward and hit my head on the wall before I was able to catch myself.
    Pain bloomed at my temple and when I touched the throbbing skin, my fingers came away red. Great. I'd managed to fight off three frost giants without destroying my face but it takes one stubborn stone wall to do the job in a tenth of a second.
    I snorted as I pulled my armor up, this time without bending over. It fell in soft clinks as I dropped it on the floor. Thankful for the carved stone bench also built into the wall, I sank onto the platform and unzipped my boots, then tugged off my shirt. The buttons proved stubborn but I refused to be bested by half a dozen metal disks. Thankfully, I managed to get the shirt off without ripping it apart.
    Good thing it was black. The entire collar was soaked in blood and I wrinkled my nose in disgust. My blood had never impressed me. DNA spliced, robbed from a