Of Gods and Monsters

by Susan Harris

  Ricky wasn’t convinced as his bones quaked. The magic seemed to sink into his bones, and he creaked like an old staircase. “You look after her for me. You tell her that she is everything to me.”

  “Ricky.”

  “No, Donnie. You tell her. And Zach. You raise him like he was yours and Caitlyn’s, you hear me? You tell him I was a hero and I loved him and I love her.”

  “Don’t … Ricky … don’t you dare!”

  “No choice, mate. The magic wants out, and it feels like it’s quite happy to wrench it from me. I need to figure out how to get rid of it or else I’m a goner.”

  Donnie looked around, as if he searched for something or someone to take the magic from Ricky. He hated to be the bearer of even worse news, but Ricky only knew how to siphon the magic, not dole it out.

  But that was a good idea, right—even a smart one.

  Odin had said it himself. Ricky’s body was not built to contain the power. The blood of the gods did not run in his veins, but he knew a few people who fitted that profile. And if not one body, then what about a few?

  Everyone needed a power boost every now and then, right?

  “Donnie … gimme your hand.”

  Donnie didn’t even hesitate, the mad bastard, as Ricky pushed a sliver of magic into his buddy, who jerked on the contact until Ricky yanked his hand away. The tension in his head weakened but didn’t leave him.

  Next, Ricky grabbed Fenrir and gave him a little jolt of Odin’s power. The wolf’s eyes flared red. He heard Donnie call for Erika, for Loki, for Ever. Then he called for Caitlyn and Kenzie, all of whom had the blood of gods in their veins.

  Ricky fed them all a little sliver of power, and the buildup of power ebbed and flowed inside him. Ricky had almost depleted himself, but the vampire side of his nature did not want to let the power go. It clawed at him from the inside, dragging a growl from his lips as he clenched and unclenched his fists.

  Donnie stepped forward and gripped his elbow. “Give me more, Ricky. Come on. Get it out.”

  The others had not seen Ricky give him the first dose of power. Caitlyn snarled that it would kill him. Ricky felt a wave of pride inside him as Donnie, who finally knew all about who he was, where he came from, peered over his shoulder with a massive grin and declared, “I am the grandson of Tyr. I can handle a little more.”

  He heard Erika’s sharp intake of air as Donnie turned back to Ricky.

  “You don’t have to kiss me again, do you?”

  “Fuck off,” Ricky bit back with a shaky laugh, then he sucked in a breath, pushing the last remnants of Odin’s power into Donnie. The vampire grunted as he yanked his hand back and Ricky dropped to the ground.

  He lay on his back with a groan, staring up at the sky, his brain and bones a little mush as he struggled to stop his heart from racing and his lungs from burning. Then Donnie was standing over him, then Derek, Caitlyn, Erika, Ever, Kenzie, and finally, the most beautiful vampire in all of the nine realms peered down at him, her eyes wet with tears.

  “I told you the plan would work,” he groaned, trying to sit up as Donnie barked out a laugh and Ricky decided to take a little nap.

  Ever

  * * *

  Ever glanced down the street where the last of the berserkers were being taken out by the supernatural community. The battle seemed to have lasted for days, yet Ever knew, thanks to Donnie and Ricky, it had only lasted hours. Everyone she cared for was safe, and those who rose from Valhalla to fight alongside her needed to be returned to celebrate.

  She had yet to look at her father. Donnie picked Ricky up in his arms, the warlock out cold. Erika took him from Donnie, saying she would flash him to his mom’s. Loki offered his hand to Melanie, who glanced from Ricky to Caitlyn.

  The vampire cupped Melanie’s cheek. “Go with your husband. You have both played your part. We will see you soon.”

  Melanie nodded her head hurriedly, then slipped her hand into Loki’s. He was only gone for a minute when he returned with Erika by his side. Erika nudged Loki’s arm, then came to stand beside Ever.

  “Well, that was a bit anticlimactic.”

  Ever laughed, shaking her head as she stared at the fallen, who stood waiting for her next order. Tears filled her eyes as she saw Thor incline his head, Tyr fist a hand over his heart and Heimdall lift the Bifrost sword. Tom Delaney smiled at Ever as she lifted her hand into the air, and as she slowly lowered it, the fallen began to vanish, one by one, until they disappeared.

  Ever glanced up at the sky, the first rays of the sun heating her skin as she heard the army of vampires suck in a breath and rush off to seek cover. Donnie told Caitlyn to go as he grabbed onto Odin and pulled him toward a building that would shield him from the sun. Fenrir had Odin gripped by the other shoulder, a flash of red in his eyes.

  Donnie kicked open the door to the shop, then slipped inside as the sun illuminated the streets and the true devastation of the battle unfolded. Ever watched as vampires burned to ash under the sun, the wolves pulling their own dead from the streets, leaving bloodstains on the road.

  The warlocks and the witches chanted. The berserkers’ bodies dissipated as if they had never been fighting, as if they had not ripped throats apart, broken bones with teeth and killed for a purpose that led to bloodshed.

  Ever stepped inside the shop and, for the first time since the battle ended, took stock of her father. His hair was matted with blood, his face looked haggard, and blood soaked the end of his robes from where Fenrir had bitten him to hold him in place.

  He had magic inside him, but the chains that Tyr had forged to contain Fenrir for millennia would contain that also. It was better than he deserved, her father, for all of the death, all of the sorrow. For the countless times his actions had meant that she lost someone she cared for. Ever’s pain, Thor’s, Loki’s … the fact that Erika’s mother had hidden her from Odin with Freya. And Freya, who made them into the warriors they were today by making them hate her … they were all victims of a tyrant who had to be stopped.

  Ever lifted her sword, swung before anyone could react. Derek’s voice was a bark of authority, and she let the blade graze her father’s throat. Odin looked up to hold her gaze with this smirk that made her think, made her see clearly.

  He wanted her to kill him.

  The tip of the blade kissed the side of his neck, blood welling from the strike as Ever gritted her teeth. The smile fell from his lips as Fenrir put an arm on Ever’s shoulder.

  “Odin cannot be killed without the entire fabric of seven of the nine realms collapsing onto one another, including this one. His blood, his bone was woven with that of his brothers to create the nine realms. His brothers are dead, so if you kill him, you do exactly what he wants and end the world.”

  Odin’s smirk of satisfaction was enough to convince Ever that Fenrir was right. Odin couldn’t die, but he did have to be punished.

  Ever pulled back her blade, glancing at Fenrir. “Do you have a suggestion?”

  The wolf god’s expression went sinister, and Ever could see the part of him that terrified Ash. “I happen to know a place.”

  Ever turned to Derek, his face covered in blood, his arms littered with scratches and battle scars that would heal in no time for him. She hugged him fiercely, telling him that she would be back. Derek inclined his head to them all as Caitlyn drove up in a tinted car.

  Derek paused, looking to Donnie, but the vampire shook his head. “I need to see this through.”

  Derek ducked out and the car left, leaving Ever with Odin, Erika, Loki, Donnie and Fenrir. Danae appeared in the doorway, the rest of the Valkyries landing behind her.

  “Help make sure the berserkers have all left the city and the barriers have been lifted. We will return soon.”

  “Yes, my queen.”

  When the Valkyries took to the skies once more, Ever turned to face the immortals standing with her. “How do we get to where we need to go?”

  Fenrir inclined his head. “Since Ricky gav
e us a little power boost, let me lead the way.”

  Fenrir waved his hand, magic saturating the air as a portal opened, and Fenrir, Odin still held in his grasp, stepped through. They followed after him, standing inside the cave where Fenrir had been kept secret for almost his entire life.

  “Tyr, the wily old bastard, kept you hidden here? Does the dragon still guard the forest?” Loki asked his son.

  Donnie laughed. “She sure does. Made a pass at Ricky.”

  Fenrir pushed Odin farther into the darkness of the cavern, the god falling to his knees in the dirt. He lifted his head, face enraged as he spat out, “This will not hold me. I am the creator of all the realms. Tyr’s powers are not enough to hold me.”

  Loki chuckled, the sound like music in the darkness. “Niflheim is one of the only two realms that you did not have a hand in, so it is the perfect place to put you. If my son could not break free of the chains that Tyr had fashioned, then I have no doubt they will keep you here.”

  “I will be released, and I will have vengeance. I will hunt down your children and your children’s children and forge new worlds with their bones. I am the Allfather. I cannot be beaten. I cannot be kept prisoner!”

  Ever shook her head at the man who was the greatest legend in all Norse mythology, who had Vikings and shieldmaidens pray to him before battle. The old man who glared at them now had no power, and while there would be many who would never know the story and song of Odin the defeated, Ever would make sure that her descendants would.

  Donnie reached for the chains. Taking the farthest length, he looped it through a bracket built into the ground so that Odin would have limited movement. Odin reared at Donnie, only to be stopped short of being able to touch him. He grunted as the chains kept him within a small circle of the cave.

  “Someone should stay and watch over him.”

  Loki’s words were quiet, as if he himself was offering to stay here to guard Odin.

  “Nah, I’ll do it,” Donnie said, his face determined. “It’s my blood that binds him. It should be me.”

  Erika rolled her eyes. “If that’s the case, I should be offering too, nephew. But you have a very scary mate at home who I do not want to have to tell that you are staying in this land of mist and fog for eternity.”

  Erika’s emphasis on the word nephew cracked a smile on Donnie’s face as Fenrir watched the interaction with curiosity.

  “I shall do it.”

  Everyone turned to look at him as Donnie shook his head. “Nah, you just got free. We can’t ask you to stay in a place where you were held prisoner for a minute longer than necessary.”

  Red flashed in Fenrir’s eyes. “Would I be welcomed back in Asgard by the gods? Would I blend in with the humans and live like them? I would not be a prisoner here but a warden, free to leave whenever I please. I do not think the world is ready for me to walk amongst them.”

  Ever and Erika exchanged a look, then quickly schooled their expressions as Fenrir turned to look at them. Loki stepped forward and held out his hand to Fenrir.

  “I would like to come visit you, stay with you for a time. If it suits you. I’m sure Hel would like to see you also.”

  “Perhaps. Now be gone. I tire of you already.”

  Fenrir’s body rippled, bones cracking and molding as he changed into his wolf form, forcing them out of the cavern as he lay down, blocking the doorway and Odin from view.

  Ever flashed away first, back to the warehouse, then Loki with Donnie and Erika. The warehouse was empty apart from one lone figure, who turned, her face smeared and her hair mussed.

  “Odin is defeated then.”

  Lady Sif came forward, sheathing her sword as she held out her arm to Ever, who gripped her elbow.. “He is. And now he is in a place where no one will find him.”

  “Then we will prepare a feast to toast your ascension to the throne as Queen of Asgard.”

  Ever glanced behind her, then back to Lady Sif. “I was not the one to bring Odin to his knees. It was the vampire and the warlock. One of them is the rightful heir to the Asgardian throne. I already have two realms to watch over. A third would be pushing it.”

  Lady Sif stared at Donnie, who gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. “I have no desire to rule. I’m content where I am. I can also vouch for Ricky with a polite no thanks.”

  Ever felt Lady Sif stiffen as if she did not know how to proceed. “Then who will lead us?”

  With a smile on her face, Ever gripped Lady Sif’s arm tighter. “My brother once told me the day a young fierce Asgardian warrior put him on his back and held a blade to his throat that he would make her his wife and one day queen. Thor may not be here to take the throne, but you are. And you will lead the gods until his sons are able to take the throne.”

  A smile tugged on Lady Sif’s face as she took in the information. “Yes, indeed. Thor should be the one taking his rightful place as king, but I will do my best to rebuild what Odin broke. Perhaps with a little help from our friends.”

  Lady Sif let Ever go, and then she vanished, leaving Ever with a sense of peace that she had not felt in a long time. Setting her sword down on the table, she leaned against the arm of a chair as she looked up at Erika before saying, “What now? What do we do now that there is no war to be won?”

  “There will always be wars, Ever. Mankind was not built for peace. We will do as we have always done, ferry the souls of the worthy to Valhalla. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s time the Valkyries lived a little.”

  Narrowing her gaze, Ever asked, “How’d you mean?”

  “I mean,” Erika replied with a quick glance at Loki, then Donnie, “you have a mate and a gorgeous little girl. I have Loki and a brand-new nephew to spend time with. The girls don’t have that. We spent our entire lives training for a war that’s over. I think that we need more Valkyrie, and that means the girls need to live a little.”

  As if sensing that they were being discussed, the Valkyries strode into the warehouse and stood in line before Ever. With one final glance at Erika, Ever turned to address them.

  “Odin is defeated, and the war is won. The time for change has come. While Valhalla will always be my home and I am only a flash away, my life is here, with my mate and my daughter, until she comes of age and becomes Midgard’s protector.”

  The Valkyries looked at one another as like they were unsure what they sound say, when Danae spoke up, “Then the general will remain with us in Valhalla?”

  “You do not have to remain in Valhalla. It is time to live. To forge your own destinies.” Ever watched their confusion, but then Erika stepped forward.

  “I’m staying here. I have long-lost family to get to know, and despite the fact I’ll be working for Boyband, I want to stay an Agent. Danae, you have proven yourself worthy of keeping the Valkyries in check. You will be my sergeant at arms.”

  Danae, who had spent a considerable time fighting with Erika as teens, widened her eyes and then fisted her hand over her heart. “I am honored and I am proud to serve you both.”

  Ever shook her head. “There is no serving. There is no more bowing. Go out into the many realms and live your life. Search for love and know that Valhalla will always be your home. Replenish the ranks with your daughters, and we will do what we were always meant to do: ferry the worthy to Valhalla, where they will feast with their brothers and sisters once more.”

  Almira opened her mouth. “I could travel to Rome like I have always wanted and play tourist.”

  Ever smiled as she inclined her head. “And so you will.”

  “And I could learn to drive a car really fast, as if I were flying!” exclaimed Rebekah, glee in her face and eyes.

  Kenzie looked a bit lost down at the end, so Ever went to stand with her, conscious that Donnie was also watching the interaction.

  “What say you, Kenzie?”

  Kenzie frowned, her dark eyes narrowing. “I have yet to master my new strength. I want to train like my new Valkyrie sisters did, on the sands of
Valhalla, so I can be just like them. Less of an outsider.”

  “I will train her. And perhaps the general can come and train when she can.” Danae offered, nodding her head at Kenzie.

  Ever smiled. “I think that can be arranged. Erika can bring Caitlyn by at night so you can learn to fight using both your natures.”

  Kenzie grinned, holding out her fist to Danae, who looked puzzled for a moment, then bumped Kenzie’s fist. Then the newest Valkyrie turned, jogging outside before she took to the skies. Ever watched as the Valkyries all flashed away, and she let loose a sigh of relief.

  Removing her helmet, Ever held it in her arms as she turned to look at Donnie and Erika, who stood looking at one another.

  “How did you know? That we were related?” Erika asked him, folding her arms across her chest.

  “It wasn’t until Fenrir bit me and told me that I believed it. I mean, the hints were there, but as someone who knows very little about his past, finding out the god of war is your granddad never ran through my mind.” The vampire flashed his teeth as he looked down at Erika.

  “Don’t start calling me Auntie Erika or some shit.”

  “Once you don’t start calling me nephew every time you get mildly annoyed at me. But I would like to know that side of me …when you have some time.”

  Erika rolled her eyes. “You’re family. I always got time for you. But not right now. Right now, I want to get naked and have spectacular sex that blows my mind.”

  Donnie winced and shook his head. “Too much information.”

  Erika laughed as Loki wrapped an arm around her waist, and they vanished from view, leaving Donnie and Ever alone.

  “I can never thank you or Ricky enough,” Ever said. “I feel a little defeated myself that it was not I who saved the world but you and him.”

  Donnie shrugged, folding his arms across his chest. “It was a group effort. When you think about it, every single moment in all of our lives led to this, this victory. You had to die to find Derek this last time. I had to die to find Cait. If Ricky hadn’t’ve died, then he couldn’t have siphoned Odin’s power. Fate may be a fickle bitch, but she finally got it right.”