The Bones Of Odin (Matt Drake 1) by David Leadbeater Read Free Book Online Page B

politicians. By future Mayors. By fame-seeking publicity nuts, too blinded by their own ignorance to tell right from wrong. By bureaucrats.”
    “Not your fault.”
    “Oh, yeah! Tell that to the families of the worst serial killer New York State has ever known. Tell that to thirteen mothers and thirteen fathers, all knowing every terrible detail of how Thomas Kaleb killed their little girls, because they sat through his entire trial at court.”
    Drake clenched his fists in anger. “They’re going to release this guy?”
    Kennedy’s eyes were dead pits. “ They released him two months ago. He’s killed again since, and has now disappeared.”
    “No.”
    “All on me.”
    “No it’s not. It’s on the system.”
    “I am the system. I work for the system. It is my life.”
    “So they sent you on holiday?”
    Kennedy wiped her eyes. “Forced leave. My mind isn’t . . . what it was. The job requires clarity every minute of every day. A clarity I just can’t achieve anymore.”
    She turned her abrasive attitude up full. “So? You happy now? Can you work with me now?”
    But Drake didn’t respond. He knew her pain.
    They heard the captain’s voice explain that they were thirty minutes from their destination.
    Ben said: “Crazy. I just read that Odin’s Valkyries are part of a private collection, whereabouts unknown.” He broke out a notebook. “I’m gonna start writing all this shit down.”
    Drake barely heard any of it. Kennedy’s story was tragic, and not what he needed to hear. He buried his reservations, and didn’t hesitate to cover her shaking hand with his own.
    “We need your help on this,” he whispered so Ben wouldn’t hear and quiz him later. “ I do. A good back-up is essential in any operation.”
    Kennedy couldn’t speak, but her brief smile spoke volumes.
     
    *****
     
    A plane change and a fast train later, and they were nearing Upsalla. Drake attempted to shrug off the travel weariness fogging his brain.
    Outside, a late afternoon chill brought him around. They waved down a taxi and climbed in. Ben broke the fog of fatigue by saying:
    “ Gamla Upsalla . That’s old Upsalla. This place - ” he indicated Upsalla in general, “was built after a cathedral burned down in Gamla Upsalla a long time ago. This is, essentially - new Upsalla, though it’s hundreds of years old.”
    “Wow,” Kennedy drawled. “How old does that make old Upsalla?”
    “Exactly.”
    The taxi hadn’t moved. The driver now turned half around. “Mounds?”
    “’S’cuse me?” Kennedy sounded aggrieved.
    “See the mounds? The Royal mounds?” The halting English didn’t help.
    “Yes.” Ben nodded. “The Royal burial mounds. It’s in the right area.”
    They ended up taking a mini tour of Upsalla. Playing tourist, Drake couldn’t really contend with the circuitous route. And on the bright side, the Saab was comfy, and the city impressive. Upsalla was a university city these days, and the roads were crammed with bikes. At one point their chatty, but hard to decipher, driver explained that a bicycle wouldn’t stop for you on the road. It would plough you down without thought.
    “Accidents.” He waved his hands at flowers adorning the pavements. “Many accidents.”
    Old buildings passed by on either side. Eventually the city relented, and some countryside started to creep into the landscape.
    “Okay, so Gamla Upsalla is now a small village, but was a big thing back in the early ADs,” Ben said from memory. “Important Kings were buried there. And Odin lived there for a time.”
    “It’s where he hung himself,” Drake recalled the legend.
    “Yes. He sacrificed himself on the World Tree whilst his Seeress looked on, and listened to every secret he’d ever kept. She must have meant a lot to him.” He frowned, thinking: “They must have been incredibly close.”
    “It all sounds like a Christian confessional,” Drake ventured.
    “But Odin didn’t die here?” Kennedy asked.
    “No. He