Free The Valhalla Prophecy by Andy McDermott Page B

told her. The Swede was surprised; clearly she had not been told about Berkeley’s appearance on camera. “But we still don’t know
why
they wanted to steal the runestone, so hopefully you can tell us something that’ll explain it.”
    “I will help however I can, of course. My office is over here.” She gestured toward a cubicle in one corner.
    The space was cramped, but also oddly barren. It took Nina a moment to realize what was missing: Tova’s work. The desk was devoid of papers, and there was a faint discoloration on its surface that suggested a laptop had been in long-term residence. “Did they take your research as well?”
    The older woman nodded miserably. “I had backups of everything at home, fortunately, but yes—it was a horrible shock. First the runestone and Arvid’s murder, and then I found all my work had gone … I thought I had lost everything.”
    “That means they don’t know exactly what they’re looking for, though,” Eddie said thoughtfully. “If they need your work as well, then whatever they’re after, they’re not as close to it as they’d like.”
    “But what
could
they be after?” Nina wondered. “What’s so special about this runestone?”
    Tova opened a large satchel, taking a thick folder from it. “I printed out my research from the backups. I have photographs, translations of all the runes, any connections I found to mythology or historical fact, everything I could think of. Hopefully the answer is in here.” She gestured for her guests to sit.
    Nina did so, Eddie pulling up a second chair beside her. “I suppose the best starting point would be the runes themselves. What do they say?”
    Tova opened the folder and leafed through the pageswithin, handing several to Nina. “I have an English translation here. It may not be as accurate as the Swedish, but it will give you a good idea.”
    The American quickly scanned through the text. “An account of the preparations for Ragnarök?” she said before long, looking up at Tova.
    “That is why it would be better if you could read the Swedish version,” Tova replied. “There is more nuance. It is not exactly an account, more …” She frowned; despite her excellent command of English, the correct words eluded her. “It is not the right tense, you could say. Calling it an account implies that it is in the past tense, a description of something that has already happened. The text on the Valhalla stone is more like …” Another frown, before it came to her. “Like a
prophecy
.”
    “A prophecy?” said Eddie. “About what?”
    “Ragnarök,” Nina told him. “The end of the world.”
    He moaned. “Not again!”
    Tova gave him a confused look, then turned back to Nina. “That is right. In my belief, it tells the warriors what to do at Ragnarök.”
    Nina was still reading, but wanted to hear Tova’s own interpretation. “Which is what?”
    “To travel to Valhalla and gather the weapons they will need to kill Jörmungandr and Fenrir—the serpent and the wolf,” she elaborated. “Jörmungandr is the Midgard Serpent, a giant snake that encircles the earth beneath its surface, and Fenrir is a huge and monstrous wolf. When they return, it heralds Ragnarök. Although it is not quite right to say it is the end of the world,” she corrected Nina. “The translation is closer to ‘the twilight of the gods.’ It is more like the end of a cycle, as the world will renew in time, but there will be much destruction and death before that happens.”
    Nina nodded and kept reading. The large runestone had been crammed with text; the translation took up several pages. Eddie, meanwhile, had questions of his own. “So the stone actually tells you how to find Valhalla? I guess that’s another place we can add to the thought-they-were-legends, turns-out-they’re-real list.”
    “It’s not quite like getting directions from Google Maps,” said Nina, still perusing the text. “It seems more like riddles.”
    “In