the visions, a glimpse of the other side. Too much and they would die here in shaking fits and voided bodies. She took a long sip, blood staining her mouth, and then passed it to the first man kneeling before her.
The woman’s eyes flickered as the warm blood trickled down her throat and the drug began to work in her. She looked up at the aurora above the standing stones, the glory of the heavens. Surely it was Asgard, home of the gods, revealed through the portal of the firmament above. The branches of Yggdrasil, the world tree, entwined their realms together, its leaves made from the sinews of warriors who perished with the name of Odin on their lips. Too long had she waited, her patience tested by the gods, but now it was finally time.
The cawing of ravens began as a far-off sound but then a host of them flew across the sky, highlighted by the colors of the aurora. They circled the group below, their shrieking filling the stone circle, almost blocking the eerie light. It seemed like a thousand thousand of them thronged the skies, their cries a paean to the All-Father, a blessing on their acts in His name. The men on their knees were transfixed by the whirling birds, their black feathers shining with the hues of the bright sky, at once emerald green and then slashed with bright vermilion.
“Odin the Raven God is come to us,” the woman cried out, her hands raised toward the winged messengers, blood still staining her flesh. “Here are Huginn and Muninn, thought and mind, the ravens that Odin sends out to search for knowledge. Here is our sign, and now is the time. We will go south and retrieve that which will bring us power again.”
Chapter 1
MORGAN SIERRA WALKED THROUGH the grand Neo-Classical entrance of the British Museum into the Great Court. The early morning sun filtered through the paneled glass ceiling high above, casting lined shadows onto the cool stone beneath her feet. Morgan couldn’t help but smile to be here again, a place of magic for anyone as obsessed with seeking knowledge as she was. Part of her wanted to turn right toward the Enlightenment Gallery, where every object was a gateway to another rabbit hole of research. Coming here had once been for pleasure only, but now this kind of research was part of her job at the Arcane Religious Knowledge And Numinous Experience Institute, known as ARKANE – the world’s most advanced and secret research center for investigating supernatural mysteries.
For a moment, a shadow crossed her face. The last time she had been here, the main exhibition had been religious relics, the blood and bone of saints, sponsored by a man she had later seen turn into a demon in the bone church of Sedlec. Morgan’s hand rose to her left side, where the scar he had carved still throbbed in the cold of morning. She shook her head, casting aside the memories. Every mission with ARKANE had its own blend of violence and mystery, and Morgan had accepted both as part of her new life.
After Budapest, she had asked for some time to investigate a book that had been sent to her from Spain, the address label in her father’s handwriting although he had been killed by suicide bombers years ago. The impossible package was on her mind now, but Director Marietti had deemed this more urgent, and she had been sent to investigate an artifact on loan to the museum from a private collection of Viking ritual objects. With Morgan’s background in the psychology of religion, Marietti thought she would be ideally placed to assess whether ARKANE should send a replica back to the exhibition so they could study the actual artifact privately in the secret vaults below Trafalgar Square.
“Dr. Sierra?”
Morgan turned toward the voice.
“Good morning. The curator sends his apologies, but he’s preparing for a big tour. I’m Blake Daniel, another researcher here. He’s briefed me on your request, so I’ll be taking you through to see it.”
Morgan hid her surprise at his appearance
The woman’s eyes flickered as the warm blood trickled down her throat and the drug began to work in her. She looked up at the aurora above the standing stones, the glory of the heavens. Surely it was Asgard, home of the gods, revealed through the portal of the firmament above. The branches of Yggdrasil, the world tree, entwined their realms together, its leaves made from the sinews of warriors who perished with the name of Odin on their lips. Too long had she waited, her patience tested by the gods, but now it was finally time.
The cawing of ravens began as a far-off sound but then a host of them flew across the sky, highlighted by the colors of the aurora. They circled the group below, their shrieking filling the stone circle, almost blocking the eerie light. It seemed like a thousand thousand of them thronged the skies, their cries a paean to the All-Father, a blessing on their acts in His name. The men on their knees were transfixed by the whirling birds, their black feathers shining with the hues of the bright sky, at once emerald green and then slashed with bright vermilion.
“Odin the Raven God is come to us,” the woman cried out, her hands raised toward the winged messengers, blood still staining her flesh. “Here are Huginn and Muninn, thought and mind, the ravens that Odin sends out to search for knowledge. Here is our sign, and now is the time. We will go south and retrieve that which will bring us power again.”
Chapter 1
MORGAN SIERRA WALKED THROUGH the grand Neo-Classical entrance of the British Museum into the Great Court. The early morning sun filtered through the paneled glass ceiling high above, casting lined shadows onto the cool stone beneath her feet. Morgan couldn’t help but smile to be here again, a place of magic for anyone as obsessed with seeking knowledge as she was. Part of her wanted to turn right toward the Enlightenment Gallery, where every object was a gateway to another rabbit hole of research. Coming here had once been for pleasure only, but now this kind of research was part of her job at the Arcane Religious Knowledge And Numinous Experience Institute, known as ARKANE – the world’s most advanced and secret research center for investigating supernatural mysteries.
For a moment, a shadow crossed her face. The last time she had been here, the main exhibition had been religious relics, the blood and bone of saints, sponsored by a man she had later seen turn into a demon in the bone church of Sedlec. Morgan’s hand rose to her left side, where the scar he had carved still throbbed in the cold of morning. She shook her head, casting aside the memories. Every mission with ARKANE had its own blend of violence and mystery, and Morgan had accepted both as part of her new life.
After Budapest, she had asked for some time to investigate a book that had been sent to her from Spain, the address label in her father’s handwriting although he had been killed by suicide bombers years ago. The impossible package was on her mind now, but Director Marietti had deemed this more urgent, and she had been sent to investigate an artifact on loan to the museum from a private collection of Viking ritual objects. With Morgan’s background in the psychology of religion, Marietti thought she would be ideally placed to assess whether ARKANE should send a replica back to the exhibition so they could study the actual artifact privately in the secret vaults below Trafalgar Square.
“Dr. Sierra?”
Morgan turned toward the voice.
“Good morning. The curator sends his apologies, but he’s preparing for a big tour. I’m Blake Daniel, another researcher here. He’s briefed me on your request, so I’ll be taking you through to see it.”
Morgan hid her surprise at his appearance
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