Flashes of memories haunted Sigyn's dreams. Snow glistening in the moonlight. Something in the darkness closing in from behind. An arrow whizzed past her ear. Time slowed to a crawl, no matter how hard she fought through the snow.

  A firm punch in her shoulder - painless enough to ignore at first, then expanding into an inferno engulfing her body. All the muscles of her back contracted, and she collapsed.

  She fell faster and faster, towards the sparkling forest floor, until she jolted awake, shaking the entire bed. Her breathing was rapid and her shoulder burned. She pushed away a bare arm draped across her and walked to the bathroom, avoiding snoring bodies on the floor.

  Facing her shoulder-blade to the mirror, she pulled aside the strap of her nightgown to view a jagged, red scar. Kark had removed the arrowhead, but silver always left a hideous mark. As if that wasn't bad enough, her brain delighted in reminding her just how painful the injury had been.

  The floorboards creaked. With adrenaline still pumping through her veins, she spun towards her attacker. Ice in her fist elongated into a spear.

  The breakfast tray balanced in Kark's arm didn't even wobble as he waited for Sigyn to relax.

  "Sorry." The spear exploded into a puff of crystals. "Rough night."

  Kark glanced at the naked people sprawled across the room. "It couldn't have been all that bad."

  Sigyn massaged her shoulder, wondering if her afterparty activities were the culprit of her pain. "Let's talk downstairs."

  They descended a spiraling staircase to Sigyn's office, where she collapsed in the leather chair at her desk.

  Kark slid the breakfast tray towards her. "In times like this you, must miss Lo-"

  Sigyn's eyes flashed him an order of silence. "No I do not," she said through gritted teeth. "Here we are, running for our lives and he can't be bothered to show up! Too busy gallivanting through Asgard's halls." She shook her head as if throwing away the thought, and then opened her laptop. "There's something I want to show you."

  Outside the office, down the hall, Jess had emerged from her suite, alone as usual, and defeated. They were due home this evening, and she hadn't found the tiniest scrap of evidence.

  She leaned against the railing, overlooking the main hall of the lodge. Even from on top of the stairs, the distant ceiling and tall windows made her feel small. The lodge, the mountains, Sigyn herself - they all had something in common. An otherworldliness that could not be defined, itself a wily creature dancing back and forth behind a veil, knowing Jess could never get close enough to see it but taunting her to keep trying, delighting itself by watching her fail.

  With her head turned at just the right angle, she caught the sound of Kark's muffled voice, and Sigyn's right behind it. She followed it towards the door, and pressed her ear against the cool wood.

  "Are you sure it's not pronounced g-mo?" asked Kark.

  "Yes, I'm sure! Why else would all the letters be capitalized? Between this and all the other crap they're pouring into their food, no wonder we keep getting sick."

  "If it's making us sick, how can humans eat this stuff in droves?"

  Stolen story; please report.

  Humans?

  Just then, the door to one of the nearby rooms opened, and a couple walked out pulling their luggage behind them. Jess jerked away from the door and leaned against the wall, doing her best to look casual and definitely not like she was eavesdropping.

  When the couple disappeared, she returned to the door.

  "Fresh game," Sigyn said. "Fresh seafood. Fruits and vegetables that don't come from the store or in a box. Nothing canned or frozen."

  "Aww," Kark whined. "No more Grandiosa?"

  "Not unless you enjoy hurling your guts out every other day." Sigyn's office chair squeaked. "I'll try to get out and hunt more."

  Jess reached for her phone in her pocket to start a recording in case a confession surfaced. Just as she tapped the screen, the phone slipped between her fingers and hit the door. She caught it against her thigh before it crashed on the floor, but it was too late. Footsteps moved toward her faster than she could react, so she raised her fist as if about to knock as the door opened.

  "Miss Mikkelson!" Kark jumped back in surprise.

  In her head, Jess imagined herself weaving a clever lie as she snuck her phone back into her pocket, but standing in the doorway, caught in the act, she discovered she could not multitask as she repeatedly shoved her phone into her pocket and missed every time.

  It surprised everyone when the next words from her mouth were: "I've come to inquire about employment opportunities."

  Kark gave an uncertain glance to Sigyn, who sat up straighter in her chair and, despite wearing nothing but a silk nightgown, took control of the room like a queen in her throne. "We're not hiring at the moment," she said with a dismissing smile.

  That would have been the end of it - until Kark bounced the idea around in his head. "With all due respect, M'lady, we could use the extra hands..."

  "You know why we can't do that," Sigyn answered.

  Something unspoken passed between them that Jess could not read. She stood awkwardly in the doorway until Sigyn asked her to wait outside for a moment. As soon as the door closed, Sigyn's composer dropped and she looked at Kark with pleading eyes.

  "Are you crazy!" she whispered. "You can't invite people to work here! Especially not her!" She threw a glare towards the door, which she knew Jess was trying to listen through. "She's already on my ass about the wolf, I'm not going to let her snoop around anymore than she already has!"

  Kark leaned across the desk to whisper back. "She might be suspicious, but as long as we're diligent, she'll never get close to the truth. We need help, Sigyn. This place is taking its toll on us."

  As soon as he mentioned it, Sigyn's temple throbbed, the spot of a recurring headache. Both of them had suffered ailments on and off, but poor Kark was taking the brunt of it. He had always been scrawny, but it scared Sigyn how much weight he had lost in the past couple of months. The saddest thing was his eyes - normally so expressive - were dull and sunken into his face. In his efforts to serve and protect her, Sigyn worried he'd let himself waste away.

  As dangerous as it was to let people work closely with them, she couldn't bear seeing Kark struggle. "Fine. Hire whoever you need, as long as it's not her."

  With a renewed spring in his step, Kark opened the door to allow Jess back inside and to tell her the good news. Jess played it cool but was secretly giddy knowing not only had she found a job - she had another opportunity to collect evidence. "Is there an application you'd like me to fill out or should I just give you my resume?"

  "Oh, no!" Sigyn cut in. "We will be hiring, but not you. Someone who's a better fit."

  Once again, Jess found herself at the mercy of Sigyn's contempt, reduced to a fly to be swatted away. She had enough of feeling small. "You're not even considering my application?"

  Sigyn raised a brow, not appreciating Jess' tone. "In case you haven't noticed, sweetheart, I own this place. I can hire and fire as I please. Whatever you're looking for, you won't find it here."

  "Well, that kind of sounds like discrimination." Spurred by anger, the words had come out too fast to think them through, and Jess wasn't sure it was completely true...

  For the first time since meeting her, Jess spotted a nervous tick in Sigyn's eyes. "So?"

  "So it's a federal crime!"

  Sigyn looked at Kark and whispered something in an unrecognizable language. Kark threw his palm up in a I-dunno manner.

  As hard as Sigyn tried to hide her disappointment, it was unmistakable. "Fine. We will consider your application."

  It was a small victory, but Jess still wanted to commemorate the moment with a gold medal. She returned to her suite smiling to herself as she began to pack.

  "There is no way in Helheim we are letting that one work here," Sigyn clarified to Kark.