“Technically,” Cameron interrupted, “I think the world will literally flood. Kind of the opposite of burning.”
“Cameron,” London groaned, “can you please shut up for the next two minutes? One hundred and twenty seconds. That’s all I’m asking for.”
Cameron glanced at Selena who shrugged at him. “You can try,” she suggested. “But I doubt it will work. Someone should give him a po-boy. He can’t speak with food in his mouth.”
“Traitor,” Cameron teased.
“So this is a no on getting the two minutes of silence from you,” London guessed.
“That’s always a no, Little Goddess,” Cameron told her.
London jabbed a finger at him and hissed, “Stop calling me that!”
“Never going to happen,” Cameron reminded her.
“Sure you want to stay with them?” Jasper asked again.
London narrowed her eyes at Cameron but nodded anyway. “I’m in this until the end. No matter how much he drives me crazy.”
“I thought you’d say that,” Jasper relented. His gaze shifted to Cameron and he almost smiled at him. “I’m here to stay, too. Even if it means putting up with the obnoxious asshole again.”
“I’ll smite you,” Cameron pretend-warned. “I’m on a smiting roll. Go see for yourself. Fafnir’s ashes are still all over the Quad.”
“Fafnir?” Jasper repeated. “You know what? I don’t even want to know.”
“Norse dragon,” Cameron answered anyway.
“I know what Fafnir is,” Jasper snapped. “But what the hell was it doing here?”
“What do you think?” Cameron retorted. “It sure as hell wasn’t here to catch the game this Saturday.”
“Who are they playing?” Thor asked.
“Don’t care,” Selena groaned.
“Ole Miss,” Cameron said after stepping out of Selena’s reach.
“Focus,” Selena hissed.
“I am!” Cameron insisted. “When don’t I focus on football?”
“When she smites you, nobody’s going to save you,” another familiar voice announced.
“I’ve been expecting that,” Cameron responded. “Your Highness.”
Bridget snickered and tipped her face toward the black sky. “The Valkyries are returning. Any chance they’re coming to tell us they found Loki and I can go home because the end of the world has been called off?”
“If it were just Loki, we could easily find him and stick him back in that cave,” Thor sighed.
Cameron watched the golden glow descending as the Valkyries approached the Guardians. Their presence still made him uncomfortable, but he trusted Thor, which was odd considering he would have killed him only a couple of months ago. The light of the Valkyries extinguished as they touched the Earth, and the spirit Cameron assumed was Gunnr as she seemed to be the only one who ever spoke greeted Thor before telling him, “We were able to find Loki, but we can’t touch him. He’s being protected still.”
“Then lead us to him. There’s more than enough power among us to combat his allies,” Thor responded.
Gunnr glanced nervously at one of the other Valkyries who returned her look. “You may have a bigger problem at the moment,” Gunnr finally said.
“Bigger than Ragnarok?” Thor thundered. “What could possibly be bigger than the end of the world?”
“Tyr,” she answered.
“Tyr?” Thor repeated. “You’d better not tell me one of those assholes killed him.”
Gunnr took a deep breath, which Cameron thought was an odd thing to do considering she wasn’t even alive. “No, he hasn’t even confronted any of the gods you’re seeking. But he believes your new alliance is compromising your judgment, and with the world at stake, he’s gone back to New Asgard to recruit help. He intends to lead his own search for Loki.”
Thor gritted his teeth and clenched his fingers into tight fists as he glared at the Valkyrie who’d delivered news of a potential mutiny. “Every god,” he hissed, “who follows Tyr will be considered a traitor. And you’ll bring each of those traitors to me.”
Gunnr nodded and promised the Valkyries would continue to follow Loki in the hopes his protectors faltered and they could capture him. As the golden glow lit up the dark sky again, Cameron carefully stepped closer to Thor to get his attention. His hard gaze toward the spot where Gunnr had stood and delivered devastating news hadn’t shifted, and he could feel the electric charge building in the air. He’d never seen Thor use his power over the weather and lightning, and he certainly didn’t want him to erupt now. A sudden, unexpected lightning display would alert the troops in the city to their location.
“Thor,” he said calmly, “perhaps we should go to Falias and talk to your family. Convince them we’re not manipulating you and you’re making your own decisions.”
“They still don’t think I’m a fit leader,” he seethed. A bolt of lightning crackled across the starless sky, and Selena stepped closer to the thunder god. Cameron tensed and restrained himself from stopping her. He’d watched her die after being struck with lightning that Odin had redirected during the Battle of the Gods, and he had no idea if Thor were capable of controlling lightning as well as Ukko. But he bit his lip and reminded himself he had no right to control Selena’s actions.
She touched Thor’s arm and spoke gently to him. “Let Cameron and me go to Asgard with you. We will find out who supports you by our presence there. Those who don’t… give them a choice. They can stay out of this rift between you and Tyr or leave.”
Thor inhaled sharply and closed his eyes. Selena didn’t move her hand.
“This could amount to a civil war,” he whispered.
“You are the head of their pantheon and you have to act in their best interests,” Selena said. “If everyone agrees with Tyr, then perhaps you should make peace with him. But if you discover you have more support than you think, then be confident in your actions. You are one of the most honorable gods I’ve ever met, Thor. You’ll do the right thing.”
The Norse thunder god sighed and opened his eyes, and the electricity in the air slowly dissipated. He smiled at her and patted her hand that still rested on his arm. “Thank you for that, Daughter of Danu. For what it’s worth, I doubt many would want to fight against you given that we’ve been allowed to build a new Asgard in your world. I suspect many would rather we just keep our distance. But when everyone thought my father was dead, they immediately turned to Tyr for leadership rather than me. I fear their minds haven’t been changed.”
Selena lifted a shoulder and smiled back at him. “I don’t envy gods like you or Bridget who have to find a balance between being the leader you’re supposed to be and not being a tyrant who insists on doing whatever he wants despite his family’s wishes. And as for whether or not you’re a good leader for your pantheon, Thor… you saved their lives at the Battle of the Gods. The Battle ended because you sought peace with your former enemies. Perhaps you need to remind them that they owe you a chance.”
“Maybe I should come as well,” Bridget offered. “As queen of the Tuatha Dé, the Norse can see that I support Thor’s decision whatever it may be. If he decides to help Tyr pursue Loki and leave the rest of the Aztec assholes to us, then I respect his pantheon’s wishes. I respect his.”
“Let’s hope,” Thor sighed, “that my family can be as reasonable and open-minded as you young gods. Because I’m not abandoning you to fight the Aztecs on your own, especially after seeing what they’re doing to people here. If my own pantheon can’t support me, then this may rip us apart forever.”
The hall of Thor’s palace in New Asgard brimmed with Norse gods who’d been assembled to hear him speak. Cameron watched Thor from a corner of the room as he cleared his throat and scratched nervously at his chin. He noticed a few of the gods kept shooting suspicious glares toward him, Selena, and Bridget, but the Irish gods waited silently to find out if Thor would need them to speak.
Thor cleared his throat again and raised a large
hand to quiet the crowd. The hushed murmurs died down as the gods waited to finally hear why they’d been called to this meeting and why three gods of the Tuatha Dé were present for it. The Norse thunder god glanced in the direction of his Irish allies and took a deep breath.
“Gunnr has informed me,” he began, “that Tyr disagrees with my leadership in the hunt for Loki. Right now, the U.S. government has broken its silence about our existence because of the two outbreaks, and I’m in complete agreement with the Tuatha Dé about acting prudently and carefully so that we don’t make this volatile situation worse.”
An unfamiliar Norse god, a young one, threw his hands up and exclaimed, “Setting Loki free triggered Ragnarok! This situation can’t get any worse!”
“That’s not true,” Thor argued. “Loki’s escape broke our enchantment so a series of events have begun that could lead to Ragnarok. But if we find him and return him to the cave, it can still be avoided. And we can do it without making an entire planet fear us more than they already do. We have to show them we are their allies, not their enemies.”
“What for?” Dagr asked. He cut a hard glance in the direction of the Irish gods before turning to his leader again.
“Do you mean why should we convince them we’re not their enemies?” Thor asked. His voice carried all of the incredulity Cameron felt at the implication it shouldn’t matter what humans believed.
“Well, if they’re going to treat us like we’re all Lokis and should all be bound in caves, then yes. Why should we care? Perhaps Tyr has a point. You’ve always been too soft on humans,” Dagr challenged.
Thor’s face reddened, matching his rusty beard, and he pointed a thick finger in Dagr’s direction. “Careful, my friend. I’ve always been practical and understood humans have every reason to fear beings who could kill them so easily. I stand by my Irish allies that want to defend Earth and its inhabitants from gods like Huitzilopochtli. And they’re helping us capture our own escaped god as well.”
Dagr waved a hand toward the corner where the Irish gods waited and shouted, “So you choose them over your own family?”
“I’m only choosing,” Thor answered, “to do what’s right.”
“What’s right according to the Irish,” Dagr retorted.
“That’s enough, Dagr,” Sif snapped. “I am tired of some members of this pantheon treating my husband like a gullible imbecile. We survived the Battle of the Gods because of him, and we have this new Asgard because of him. If you disagree with him now, then go home but keep your mouth shut. You will stand by him or stay away from us.”
Cameron nudged Selena’s arm gently and smiled at her. She’s growing on me.
Selena nodded. Maybe you shouldn’t smite her just yet.
Can I smite Dagr then?
Selena looked up at him and snickered. Depends on if he continues to be an obnoxious asshole.
“Hey,” Bridget hissed, “would you two pay attention? Thor just asked you a question and you’re just standing there making eyes at each other!”
“Technically,” Cameron corrected and Bridget groaned, “we were trying to have a conversation without anyone knowing but thanks for blowing our cover.”
Thor sighed and repeated his question. “I wanted to know if you agreed with me that our primary objective needs to be ending the outbreak in Baton Rouge. Once we do that, we can find Loki and put a stop to the train of events that will ultimately end with Ragnarok.”
Cameron nodded but something Loki had told them in the Quad still nagged at him. “We’re pretty sure it’s Xipe Totec causing this outbreak and he’s most likely in Baton Rouge to ensure it continues to spread, so it seems logical to return to the city despite the military presence there. It’s not like soldiers can do anything to a god. We’ll be safe, but if we abandon the people there, the entire city is at risk. But did you catch what Loki said about Sigyn? How I should have taken her with me like he asked?”
Thor stroked his copper beard for a few seconds then nodded at Cameron, although his eyes seemed to look through him. “I can’t summon her or even sense her. She could be their hostage. We never asked her to guard Loki’s prison. She volunteered, mostly for revenge but also because somebody had to do it. We all owe her for the sacrifice she’s made. Loki probably knew I’d want to rescue her.”
“If we find Loki and imprison him,” Dagr countered, “we can force him to lead us to Sigyn.”
Thor snorted and shook his head. “No. Loki would rather any fate than to be stuck in that cave with Sigyn again. If we want to rescue her, we’ll have to go back to the Basin and draw out Huitzilopochtli’s army then force one of them to tell us where she is.”
Selena looked up at Cameron and wrapped her fingers around his arm before turning her attention back to Thor. “When Cameron and I visited Loki, we could see how much he resented her. Once he was broken free from his bonds, God knows what he did. We’re all assuming she’s still alive, but if he had his way…”
“Which god?” Cameron interrupted. “Loki? Because I’m pretty sure he knows exactly what he did to her.”
“Obviously,” Selena agreed.
“That settles it,” Dagr insisted. “We need to prioritize finding Loki to prevent Ragnarok and to save Sigyn.”
“You,” Thor thundered, “are not the head of this pantheon. Nothing is settled. Your disrespect is bordering on insubordination, old friend. Tread carefully.”
Cameron grabbed Selena’s hand and looked around the spacious hall, at all of the faces of the Norse gods and goddesses who would either support their new leader in their first challenge or would rise against him. Only Bridget had the ability to gauge their moods accurately. Her eyes skimmed the crowd, but Cameron couldn’t tell if she was worried or not. She always seemed to be the master of coolness and calm, even when a bunch of strange gods and demigods showed up at her door to announce she was meant to be the next queen of the Tuatha Dé.
Even now, though, there was something so regal about her posture, her collected manner, her ability to retain her composure. Selena squeezed his fingers because she sensed his pride in their queen and agreed with him. Didn’t the Norse feel the same compulsion to follow and obey their own leader? Fate had chosen Bridget, but in some ways, it had chosen Thor as well by making him Odin’s son.
But Dagr stuck his chin out, challenging the thunder god, and argued, “Tyr led this pantheon well for five hundred years. Allowing you to take on his role has been a mistake.”
Sif spun around and punched the brash Norse sun god, who stumbled backward, his hands covering his bloody nose. The murmurs in the hall started up again and Cameron murmured with them. “Holy shit.”
“Yeah,” Bridget and Selena agreed.
“Have to admit,” Bridget added. “Didn’t see that coming.”
Sif didn’t wait for Dagr to respond. She marched to the front of the room where her husband stood blinking at her, just as surprised as everyone else in the room. Except Thor’s expression combined his surprise with something else: pride.
Sif stood beside him and issued her own challenge. “If you want to serve Tyr then get out of Asgard. We won’t stop you. But know that you will be permanently severed from this pantheon. Thor hasn’t had a chance to talk to Tyr yet. We don’t know what his real intentions are and he may well be horrified to discover so much treason among his own family. But if he’s not… if he’s just as treacherous as some of you… then you are no longer welcome here.”
Thor gaped at his wife for a second before his astonishment dissolved into a smile. He put an arm around her and kissed the side of her head. “Perhaps you, my love, should have been selected to lead our pantheon.”
“Don’t be silly, Thor. Only you should be in front of these gods right now. Let the cowards leave. We don’t need them anyway.”
Dagr shuffled his feet nervously as he waited to see if anyone would follow him. Finally, the young god who had questioned Thor earlier headed toward the door. The only other two gods to follow him w
ere also young. When nobody else moved, particularly the older gods of the Norse, Dagr narrowed his eyes at Thor, throwing one last angry glance in his direction, then slammed the door as he left the hall.
Thor inhaled a slow, deep breath and looked at the remaining gods, the majority of the Norse pantheon, who had stayed by his side. “We will find our traitor,” he promised them. “And we can once again become the defenders of Midgard, both by stopping Ragnarok and working with the Irish who are now our allies. It is a new world out there, but we may have a place in it yet. We just need to figure out what that role looks like.”
A god that looked vaguely familiar also took a deep breath and rose from his seat at the long table in the middle of the room. Cameron couldn’t quite remember if he’d met this god before so it was Selena who supplied the missing name.
Dellingr, she said. He’s Dagr’s father.
Whoa, Cameron responded. And he stayed.
Selena just nodded.
“We gods have spent millennia fighting over Earth and its inhabitants. Now that we have our own Asgard in a different realm again, I’d hoped to be done with their world. But not all gods are done with them. For as long as any of us can remember, we prided ourselves on being an honorable pantheon. If we want to continue that tradition, then we owe it to the people of Earth to end the misery being caused by our kind with no honor.”
“Thank you, Dellingr,” Thor said. “The Otherworld is never safe from invasion. I’ll still ask most of you to stay here to defend Asgard. Magni, I’d like for you to accompany us.”
“Thor,” Sif whispered. She grabbed his arm and shot him a pleading look and he patted her hand reassuringly.
“He’s every bit as strong as I am, Sif,” he said gently.
Huh, Cameron told Selena. Guess he didn’t really have an affair with a giant who gave birth to a kid who could lift a different giant’s leg at only three days old.
Selena snickered and in the quiet of the room, all eyes turned on her. She blushed and covered her mouth, mumbling through her fingers, “So sorry.”
The Battle Cry (The Guardians of Tara Book 2) Page 11