The Burning Man

10

Church coughed and retched until his throat was raw. Finally he cleansed the last of the blood from his system. His gore-soaked clothes clung to him. Hunter and Shavi coughed up blood nearby, but Laura sat in a daze.

‘Okay, I am not taking the blame for that one,’ she said.

They were back in Vigeland Park. On the other side of the pond, a couple feeding the ducks watched them uneasily.

‘Drenched in blood in a public place. Not the best look for a bunch of wanted terrorists.’ Hunter helped Shavi to his feet. ‘We need to get cleaned up and out of sight. Where’s the Grateful Dead?’

On cue, Tom lurched out of a nearby copse. They were all transfixed by the intensity of his haunted expression.

Shavi took his arm. ‘What happened?’

Tom took a second to steady himself. ‘I persuaded Freyja to give us this.’

He showed them a gold ring in the shape of a dragon eating its tail. ‘It’s called Andvarinaut,’ he said. ‘When you wear it, you feel a pull in the direction of whatever you are searching for.’

‘Ruth,’ Church said, relieved.

Tom nodded non-committally.

‘Better give it to Church-’ Hunter began.

‘No!’ Tom’s eyes blazed. ‘Only I can wear this! Do you understand?’

‘Take a stress pill,’ Laura said. ‘Bit of a Frodo moment there.’

‘Only I can wear this,’ Tom repeated. He held out his hand. It twitched with the pull of the ring. ‘We head south.’

Church shifted his posture so he could feel the comforting weight of the sword on his back. ‘Whatever else happens, Veitch has had his last chance. If he’s hurt Ruth in any way, I’m going to kill him.’

The emotionless intensity of his words shocked them. Church went to the pond to wash some of the blood from him. No one followed.