As soon as the door closed behind him, Trudy made a disgusted noise. “Do not let that Dwarf anywhere near you, Cora. He might be loyal to Eirik and Celestia, but he’s a terrible man.”
I didn’t care. Loyalty like that could not be bought. “Have they been friends for long?”
“Since we visited Nidavallir while searching for the orphans. He helped us and later came to visit.” She was still talking about their quest when Eirik returned with Maera. The Dwarf carried a pitcher of green liquid, which she placed by the bed.
“Out everyone. We need the room,” Maera said. She noticed I kept looking at the pitcher. “Special brew. It will keep her hydrated and healthy.”
“Can we show Einmyria around?” Trudy asked, looking at Eirik. He nodded, his focus already back on Celestia. We left and headed for the rotunda.
“They’re still working on your room, but I promised the goddess I’d take you to her after we finish showing you around,” Trudy said.
There seemed to be more guards around. Several of them followed us, but kept their distance. There were so many halls. We stopped by the Sorting Hall, where souls were waiting to be escorted to the Resting Halls.
“This is where they wait for the goddess,” Trudy said, but I didn’t hear the rest of her words. I entered the room, drawn to the souls, the need to comfort them so consuming I didn’t stop to think. I stopped next to the first one, an old man in a hospital gown, and touched his hand. It was cold, like a dead person’s.
“It’s okay. There’s no need to be afraid. Everything will be okay.”
His eyes locked with mine. Thank you.
Surprised, I broke the contact. He gripped my wrist.
I’d seen you from afar but lost hope of ever talking through you. The young ones are faster and a lot more aggressive.
“Do you need my help with anything?”
No, dear. Since you are here, I don’t think you can help now.
“But I can. I will be going back to Earth, so if you have a message for your loved ones, I can still pass it to them.”
I lived a happy and fulfilling life, and said my good-byes. I just wanted my Pauline to know that I’m okay and remind her never to forget Cabos.
“I will.” This was better than being possessed by a soul. “What is your address?”
He rattled off a town in San Diego. I moved to the next one, a woman also in her hospital gown, and took her hand. She’d had her closure, but my touch reassured her. I continued down the line. Most of them just appreciated a touch. At the end of the line was a young girl. She needed some closure. Her demands were so long I turned to ask Trudy for a pen and paper, and my eyes met the goddess. She, the three girls, and a group of Grimnirs were by the door, watching me. Warmth crept up my face, and I stepped back.
“Don’t stop, please,” the goddess said, entering the room. The green color on her dress leached out until it was white. Even the green crystal on her scepter became clear. She had serious powers. “What is she saying?”
I explained what I’d done and about the girl’s request.
“This is how you help them on Earth?”
“Except I allow them to possess me and write down everything they need. Here, I just have to touch them for their thoughts to flow into mine. Most of them are happy to be here. They’re just a little lost.”
“Release more of your locator runes. The more runes you engage, the brighter they glow and the stronger their effect on souls.” As though on cue, more runes appeared on her normal side. They were black like mine. “It calms them. Did you need something to write on?”
“Yes, please.”
She lifted her hand and a leather book appeared in her palm. She handed it to me. “All you have to do is direct your thoughts for the words to appear on each page.”
I lifted the leather cover to the first page. Despite being blank, I had a feeling the book was ancient. The pages were yellowed and thin, almost translucent like the books Lavania had given us to record the runes we etched on our skin.
Paulina Paulsen, remember Cabos. From Benjamin Paulsen of La Jolla, San Diego. The words appeared on the page. I recorded the girl’s demands and glanced at the goddess.
“This is awesome,” I said. “I wish I had one of these back at home.”
“You can take it with you. I wasn’t planning on starting lessons so soon, but when Maera told me you were in the Sorting Room talking to the souls, I had to come see.”
“What is involved in sorting?”
“I welcome them, ease their fears, get their names and birthdays so they are sorted into the right hall, and then I wish them a peaceful rest and send them off with the guards. Usually, I do it twice a day. Three times if there’re more deaths. When a natural disaster strikes, I’m in here day and night until your father insists I rest. I hate leaving them standing in here when they should be reliving their best memories in the halls.”
“So they have private rooms?”
She chuckled. “In a way. They turn into pockets of energy, each unique. Sometimes when energies collide memories blend, so I tend to give the gods private rooms. Are you done here for now?”
“Do they always look so sad?”
“Until they see me—or you from their expressions.” She smiled when a young man around my age reached out and touched my hand. I turned my palm up and gripped his hand. He smiled, and his thoughts drifted to me. “What is he saying?”
“He’s flirting with me. He thinks I’m pretty.”
She chuckled. “Which is why I don’t touch them or listen to them. It slows me down, so I do the talking.”
Of course she does. And she didn’t apologize for it.
“You, on the other hand, give them closure, and I admire that. You’ll find out that a lot of them don’t need it because they’ve dealt with whatever problems they had while still alive. The ones that didn’t must accept the consequences because usually I don’t have the time to help them.”
I caught a glimpse of the tough goddess everyone had told me about. Compassionate yet tough. “I guess if you gave them closure, you wouldn’t have time to welcome all of them.”
She smiled with approval. “Exactly.”
“When are you going to send these ones off?”
“Later tonight.”
“Can I watch?”
She chuckled. “You can stand right beside me if you want. Come on. I’ll finish the tour Trudy started.”
We visited the Resting Halls as they were often called. Some of the staff called them Eternal Halls instead of the more formal title Eternal Resting Halls, the goddess explained. She called forth a soul using their name and birth time narrowed down to the second they were born. Seeing people’s memories was interesting. It was like a 3-D movie, only better. Like something happening in real time.
“Trudy sits outside halls for hours, watching memories. Now she has introduced Jessica to the same habit. They think I don’t see them sneaking into the hallways at odd hours, but nothing goes on around the halls without my knowledge.”
I guessed that meant I couldn’t sneak into Echo’s quarters. “Where’s Raine’s father?”
“Tristan is in one of the east halls reserved for the gods. It was the least I could do after he and Svana helped raise your brother. She came down to see me before Tristan died, and we had a very interesting chat about Eirik’s childhood.” She took my arm and led me down a hallway made of glass.
I could see the frozen tundra, and to our right was an arena of some kind. “Is that for winter sports?”
The goddess chuckled, but before she could answer, a portal opened and Baldur walked through it to join us. “What did I miss?” he asked.
“Einmyria would like to know if that’s a sports arena.”
“That, dyrr mín, is where your mother’s warriors practice. Are you into sports?”
“Yes. Swimming, of course, and football and basketball because of Dad’s influence.” And I’d interview the jocks for my vlog. “He is not athletic, but he has his favorite teams.”
“He must visit and watch the Grimnirs play. I’d like to meet him and his wife.”