Chapter 28
“Well, that just happened,” said Yaakova. Her tone was matter of fact, but the harpy princess was shaking.
Across the broken courtyard, Ash and his cultivators were also watching the Veil-Wraith in the sky as it moved away from them. Trav drew a shaky breath and glanced around, taking in the destruction caused by the desperate battle he’d just survived. Massive claw marks had obliterated parts of the stone walls. Scorch marks dotted the ruins everywhere alongside craters from stray bursts of energy. Bodies of the dead, both Kin and cultivators, littered the ground. Some of the dead had been torn apart, and some almost looked alive, like they were only sleeping.
Overhead, distant thunder seemed to frame the titanic struggle in the distance. Trav had known that some of the more powerful Kin were far stronger than he was, but seeing the heights they could reach was mind blowing. The fact that Kraachias was likely far more powerful than the Kin and cultivator heavy hitters duking it out right now was a sobering fact.
If he ever did get revenge on Beth’s murderer, it wouldn’t be any time soon.
Trav turned and Ash did at the same time. Their eyes met, and Trav couldn’t help mentally rolling his eyes at his cousin. Ash had been more like his little brother than his cousin, which was probably why they’d fought so often. Now, none of that seemed to matter, even though the little bastard had a familiar shit-eating grin on his face, and stood in the same cocky, slacker way.
It seemed like everything Ash had ever tried, he’d succeeded at. Nobody had ever been disappointed with him, and he’d never been scolded for not living up to his true potential.
After working so long in the mines, Trav had had a lot of time to think, to dissect his past, and now he’d come to peace with that fact that some people were born so talented that they could put forth minimal effort and still achieve great things. Trav would never be someone like that. He would always need to struggle and suffer to achieve anything worthwhile. Meanwhile, Ash was the type of guy who would shine like the sun and attract people to him just by existing.
But now Trav was proud that Ash had survived. Ash seemed to mean a great deal to a lot of people, too. Maybe his cousin had finally gotten a taste of humility at some point after leaving Earth. Then in a moment of sudden clarity as he let go of any resentment he might have still held, Travis Sterling could sense Ash’s heart, and knew for a fact that his cousin had been able to use his talents to stand out in an entirely different world.
But Trav was struck again by how little Ash had physically changed other than a more chiseled physique. He’d always been wearing a gi or hakama back on Earth, so his cultivator outfit didn’t seem out of place at all, either.
He began moving toward Ash. There was no telling how much longer they could stay in this place. It was great to know that he still had living family and to see Ash with his own eyes. There was a lot of catching up to do, but probably not much time to do it. As he approached the cultivators, some of the Kin behind him hissed, and a few of the cultivators grew agitated, some even moved their feet, orienting their fighting stances toward him. Without being surrounded by Veil-Wraiths, he supposed they’d all suddenly remembered they wanted to kill each other. He ignored them.
“So...hell of a thing, huh?” said Ash in English.
“Yeah, so, how—” Trav began, but was suddenly interrupted by a bright flash. The sky overhead rumbled further, and the air began to buzz. An enormous boom of thunder crashed through the ruins from directly overhead. Both the Kin and the cultivators on both sides moved back, trying to find cover. Trav strangely felt no fear at all, only a strange, detached sense of curiosity, even when two corpses began to rise.
Trav met Ash’s eyes again, but his cousin looked just as confused as Trav felt. The odd calm that had come over Trav while he watched everything happen grew, but the cultivators and Kin were terrified. A few of Ash’s friends moved forward protectively, but his cousin waved them back. Trav did the same with his valkyries.
One of the two corpses that rose, a cultivator, was an old man. The dead man’s body was mostly intact except for part of his face. He’d lost an eye, and there was a hole through his chest. Power gathered around the dead body, almost like a cold, barely visible aura.
The other corpse was a woman. After she’d gotten to her feet, her dead eyes went wide and she smiled in joy as she began massaging and rubbing her chest. “Wow, these are just amazing! I can’t even cup them entirely with my hands!”
The dead woman looked behind herself and wiggled her rear a few times. “Holy hell. Look at my ass. It’s perfect. Kinda wish we could have talked her into your harem if only to see you play with this, Chosen One.” She reached back and the dead woman smacked her own bottom. “Could bounce a coin off this thing,” she said.
“I...Locke?” asked Ash.
The dead woman winked. “Of course, Chosen One. Who else? Now hang on, I need to talk to Gramps.”
“So, we may speak at last,” said the corpse of the old man, and Trav’s hackles rose.
“Odin,” Trav said flatly. “I thought you were dead.”
“Nothing has changed. I am still dead, boy!”
Before Trav could reply, the dead woman cheerfully said, “Me too. Well, sort of. You sacrificed everything to maintain and pass on your mantle, but I kind of did the opposite.” She plucked at her hip and whooped. “Yes! I’m wearing a thong too! I knew it!”
Trav glanced at Ash and then the dead woman. “Are you a god too? A Restless? So my cousin is like me?”
“What? What are you all saying? Did you hear that?” asked Ash. His expression was screwed up in confusion and he put a finger in his ear.
The dead woman ignored Ash and answered, “Yup! My name is Locke, the brains of this little operation.”
“What operation?” asked Trav.
“All of them, or at least it should be that way,” said Locke with a grin. The dead woman was still feeling her own body in a very distracting way.
“Your mouths are moving but I can’t hear anything!” muttered Ash. The surrounding Kin and cultivators seemed frozen. After Ash spoke, he began to slow too.
Odin raised a hand, and a circle of energy pulsed outward. “We do not have much time, and my power is limited. I got your request for a meeting, young one. As you know, this is only even possible because of the latent power, deep in this ruin.”
“Yup,” agreed Locke. The attractive corpse was picking her nose now. “So you just adjusted time a little for us four?”
“Yes.” Odin turned to nod at the cultivators and Kin, all who weren’t moving, then at Ash. “Three now, since you are obviously keeping your charge in the dark.”
Odin turned to face Locke fully. “I’m glad you survived, young one. You are truly a child of Loki, then?”
“Yeah, but me and Dad never got along.” Locke looked at the animated corpse’s bum again and said, “You know, this really is an amazing ass. I’m not just saying that, either. Then again, you can see it too, I don’t need to tell you.”
“Ahem,” Odin coughed. “You must have unraveled many mysteries to have found the same mystical junction that I did.” Odin had some respect in his voice.
“Nah, not really. I kind of bumped into you, figured you knew what you were doing, and followed along. When the event got close I figured it out.” Locke was scratching an armpit now. “Do you know how weird it is to be in a veil where cultivation is the dominant power system? Luckily I still know a lot about it so I can help the Chosen One over there,” Locke said, jerking a thumb at Ash.
“Why can’t Ash hear us?” asked Trav.
“Reasons,” replied Locke with a wink.
Odin seemed stunned. “So it was all happenstance? Or was it Fate?”
“Maybe, whatever. Or I could be lying. Dad was good at that, if I remember the stories. He got one over on you before, right?”
With a sigh, Odin said, “Yes, I can definitely see some family resemblance now, at least in how you speak
. We have much to talk about. What are your goals?”
“Probably something like yours, Gramps. You know, weren’t we supposed to be a family? Why is this the first time I’m meeting you?”
“I don’t know that I like your tone, child.”
“Well, I definitely don’t like the fact that I’m dead, and that I died because I knew things. And I also definitely don’t like how you basically neglected the family after giving them a ton of power, and let your psycho wife run around, doing whatever she wanted, then tried to fix her super levels of crazy by giving her even more power. What did you think would happen?”
Even while possessing a dead body, Odin looked embarrassed. “Yes, well, I was not perfect. Mistakes were made.”
“Your mistake got half our family killed and how many worlds destroyed or enslaved?”
“Wait, what the hell is going on here?” asked Trav.
“It’s really quite simple,” said Locke, who pointed accusingly at Odin. “This asshole was one of the most powerful beings in the entire continuum. Think about it...he was obsessed with knowledge and just wandered around, picking his butt and finding forbidden knowledge while my dad was locked up. How powerful do you need to be, even as a Restless, to just wander around by yourself anywhere, reading dusty old scrolls, not giving a shit about who has it out for you? And how far does your head have to be up your ass not to wonder if Restless who hate you might go after your family?
“So anyway, after Ragnarok, our pantheon, our family, was weakened, and we got attacked by other pantheons. Everyone got pissed, counterattacked, and kicked the shit out of everyone, in part because of the power that Odin passed around. So far, so good. But then this turned into like...World War Gods. Everyone fucked over everyone, and the powers that be made crazy alliances, trying to get more territory. War became a pastime, a hobby. Gramps here was like an arms dealer of knowledge.”
“Yes, well—” began Odin.
“Well, whatever. You started all this shit by being the biggest, baddest motherfucker in the continuum, then you just, what, decided to retire and go back to wandering around? Did you really think that would work out?”
“I do not tolerate being talked to like this, family or not!” Odin thundered.
“See if I give a shit. We’re both dead, remember? Look, we’re having this chat because I figure you’re not any happier about all of this than I am, even though this is all at least partially your fault. Sure, you didn’t make half the Restless lose their damn minds and start weaponizing Veil-Wraiths, or getting into bed with the fucking demons—the real ones, like the ones from hell, but you put the ball in motion. Thing is, I think maybe you can help end it. So...do that, please? End it I mean.”
“Odin can’t end a god damned thing!” growled Trav. “Everything is on us. These fuckers are dead.”
“No,” corrected Locke. “There is no ‘us.’ Everything is on you...and anyone you recruit, I guess. The Chosen One over there has other shit to do than fix my grandfather’s fucked-up mistakes. Our family is scary. You might have heard of them, not everyone is stable. To be fair, that kind of applies to all the Restless. Then on top of that, some of their friends and enemies are even worse.”
Trav frowned. “So there are more people out there other than Frigg who are...doing what exactly?”
“What do those with power who want more of it do, boy?” said Odin, voice tired. “They try to take more of it.”
“So it’s not just one group of assholes out there, there are more?”
Locke gave a thumbs up. “Congratulations! You’re not a complete dumb ass.”
“And this War of the Gods really happened?” asked Trav.
“Getting warmer!” Locke raised the roof.
Trav ran a hand over his face. “So there is a second War of the Gods brewing, and some of them are figuring out, or have figured out how to use these fucking things to their advantage,” he said, waving and arm around and pointing at distant Veil-Wraiths.
“Ding ding ding!” yelled Locke. “And since you inherited dear Grandpappy’s mantle, I hope you can clean this shit up. The continuum was in a stalemate before, so nobody got too uppity. Things changed, and we’re all screwed if nut jobs like Frigg keep running around, getting even more power and hatching schemes for kicks.”
“Odin,” said Trav. “Since you’re here, can you unlock more of your memories in my head?”
“That is not possible. You will only have access to more knowledge when you are ready for it.”
“Well can I at least ask you questions sometimes then?”
“I’m sorry, but no,” said Odin. “This meeting was only possible through a unique set of coincidences that won’t likely happen again.”
“God dammit.” Trav glared at the ancient, dead god. “You know, if it weren’t for the fact that having you in my head probably saved my life in the mines, I might be pissed right now.”
The ancient god shrugged. “Life is a battle, boy. What did you expect? The more power you have, the more you are capable of, the more complicated your life will become. My grandchild is being a disrespectful little whelp, but I know Locke’s stock, and it is to be expected. I hate to admit it, Locke is not exactly wrong, either. We have to take responsibility for the past.”
“What is this, ‘We,’ shit?” grated Trav. “Based on this conversation, I am on the hook for everything!”
Locke laughed. “Sucks to be you! Have fun with all of this! Anyway, time is about to go back to normal, and we should probably get going. Everyone is going to be a whole lot of dead soon if you don’t move your asses.”
Odin sighed. “I had forgotten how tiring it can be to speak to family. The young one is correct, though. This temporal bubble is ending and time for conversation is almost over.” He turned to Trav. “I am sorry that you must shoulder more burdens, but this is your fate so long as you continue to hold my mantle and make it your own. Fight, boy!”
A second later, the glow vanished and the sky overhead began to rumble at a different pitch. The two animated corpses dropped to the ground like puppets with their strings cut, and the feeling of supernatural pressure disappeared from the air.
“What just happened?” Narnaste called, moving closer.
A sudden crash of a stone wall crumbling interrupted Trav as he began to speak. Another wall coming down followed that one. The second wall’s destruction had revealed a hidden room, and the sparkle of gold caught everyone’s eye.
“Uh...treasure?” asked Ash. He met Trav’s eyes, but then did something strange. As Trav watched, his cousin took the body of the woman who’d just been speaking, did something Trav didn’t understand, and the corpse seemed to disappear into his ring.
What the fuck? thought Trav. He looked around but none of the cultivators seemed all that surprised, and he began to wonder what his cousin was going to do with the corpse.
Ash said, “I...I think the Destroyer broke whatever was holding this place together. The Wraiths are going to come back too.” As if he hadn’t just nabbed a corpse, Ash stood casually in a way that might have made Trav furious in the past, and now just amused him. He asked, “Split the treasure and bolt? Back to our...our own veils?”
“Yeah, that’ll work.” Trav felt a pang of sadness. “No time to really catch up, I guess.” He waved his hand around them, indicating the obvious.
Ash scratched himself awkwardly and said, “Ah...no. Doesn’t seem like it, but it’s good to know you’re alive. That you’re okay. Neat eye patch, by the way.”
The cultivator woman named Mei moved over and said, “We have completed our mission. We should return as quickly as possible. You should tell your...brother, or cousin, that they should flee quickly. As we must do.”
Trav gave Mei a strange look. She’d seemed solid before, but he was getting the feeling that the women surrounding Ash were as strange as his own valkyries.
Ash seemed hesitant, but sighed and said, “She said we need to go. Now. Which means...uh...this
is goodbye. Again.”
Trav nodded and offered his hand, the way he would to another man, an equal. “Then goodbye, safe travels, and fare you well, Ashley.” He smiled.
Ash shook his hand, still flicking his eyes around awkwardly, and Trav thought, fuck it, and crushed his cousin in a powerful hug.
Around them, the various Kin and cultivators who’d been close hadn’t needed to be told twice about the treasure. They’d already hopped into the previously hidden room, hauling things out, throwing them in bags. The two sides gave each other hard, distrusting looks, but no violence broke out.
It was all done faster than Trav could believe possible. Then the ground rumbled, and another wave of savage, violent power washed over everyone from the fight above. The energy was hard to tolerate, but was keeping the Veil-Wraiths away from the time being. It was a temporary thing.
Without another word, Trav and Ash parted, going separate directions, taking their people with them.
Chapter 29
Trav stumbled out of the portal back into Asgard and couldn’t believe how good the air smelled. Behind him, his valkyries, the harpies, and the handful of Dokkalfar who’d survived followed him into the twilight. Some of them fell to their knees, or even lay on the ground. They’d had to leave the last of the horses behind, a move that had twisted Trav’s stomach. Turning loose the horses had been the only way to distract one last group of Soldier-Wraiths in front of the portal, though.
Harpy guards wearing Royal colors around him stood at attention, and behind his group, the portal to the Veil-overlap flickered. It would likely disappear in less than a day. Thankfully, no Veil-Wraiths had followed them, and Trav didn’t think they could, but he was glad for the guards.
One of the guards approached and said, “Please follow me.” She gave the Dokkalfar a considering look, and looked like she might say something, but Trav met her eyes and slowly shook her head. The guard swallowed anything she might have thought to say.
“That was a terrible vacation,” Trav sighed in English. “Let’s not do it again.”
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