Free The Valhalla Prophecy by Andy McDermott Page A

mythology. It was written in the thirteenth century by an Icelandic poet and historian called Snorri Sturluson. He was a Christian, so he used the
Edda
to promote his belief that the ancient Norse deities—like Odin and Thor—were once kings, who aroused such devotion in life that cults formed to honor them after death. Over time, their stories turned them into gods.”
    “Clever,” said Nina. “It meant that he got to preserve the pre-Christian mythology of his people, while debunking it at the same time.”
    “But people like that were actually right, weren’t they?” Eddie said. “After all, we discovered Atlantis, and a lot of what the myths said turned out to be true. And we know Hercules was a real bloke and not a god, ’cause we found his tomb.”
    “Which led me to change my approach to my work,” said Tova as they entered a new section of the museum: the Viking exhibition. Cabinets of Norse artifacts and re-creations of scenes of Viking life lined the long, softly lit hall. “By applying euhemeristic principles to my earlier research, on the theory that they might contain some amount of truth rather than being purely myth, I was able to work out the location of the Valhalla Runestone.” She paused by one of the exhibits. “It was a runestone much like this that gave me the clues, actually.”
    Nina examined the display. This stone was considerably smaller than the one she had seen in the photograph, only about two feet tall. An elaborate carving of what appeared to be a snake encircled the outer edge of the roughly triangular stone, runes etched along its length like patterns of scales. The serpent’s elongatedhead snapped at an ax-wielding man at the center of the image. “That’s a representation of Thor at Ragnarök, I’m guessing.”
    Tova nodded, then set off again. “The stone I was working from described a location where the Norse gods met to settle conflicts between tribes. It had of course long been considered a myth, but I thought: What if it was true? The runes named people and places, some of which were historical rather than mythological, so I researched all of them too. When I put everything together, they pointed to a place near Gamla Uppsala, called Iarlsta—a site that had been excavated in the past, but was not considered very important. I was able to arrange a new dig, and deeper down we found the remains of a much more ancient settlement. And in
that
 … we discovered the Valhalla Runestone.”
    “A big find,” said Nina.
    Tova nodded appreciatively. “Thank you—though not as big as Atlantis! But it did prove that applying euhemeristic principles to Old Norse finds had the potential for even greater discoveries. And when I translated the runes on the stone, I realized where this could lead.”
    “From the name of the runestone, I’m guessing Valhalla?” suggested Eddie.
    “Yes,” Tova replied. “The great hall where the warriors chosen by Odin awaited the call to the final battle.”
    She led them through a side exit and down a corridor, unlocking a door at its end. Her expression became more solemn. “This is the lab from where the runestone was stolen,” she said. “The security guard, Arvid … he was shot in there.” She pointed out a doorway marked with yellow-and-black police tape.
    A much larger set of double doors occupied the rear wall, daylight visible through small windows set into them. “That’s where they took the stone out of the building?” said Eddie.
    “Yes. The runestone was so large and heavy, it could only come in through a service entrance.”
    Nina surveyed the scene. The bench on which thestone had been laid was at the room’s center, the white cloth crumpled on the floor beside it. “The police have examined everything?”
    “Yes, but they did not find anything useful.” Tova’s face fell further. “There were no fingerprints or DNA evidence. The robbers were very professional.”
    “We might have a lead, though,” Nina