Anything but Ordinary

by Nicola Rhodes

  ‘Abridged version, Fenrir is Loki’s son.’ he continued in a calmer voice. He was sent to earth by Odin – that part was true – but it was as a punishment. Just as Loki was imprisoned, his son was banished – his memories stripped, and his identity changed. But when Loki escaped, Fenrir remembered. Odin knew it would happen, so as soon as Loki was discovered missing, he sent David and Brynhilde – that’s a Valkyrie – to watch him – Fenrir that is. She’s still at the agency. Valerie … Something, ha!’ he stopped to look at David for confirmation at this point, who nodded silently.

  ‘Odin thought that Fenrir might lead him to Loki before it was too late,’ Stiles rushed on. ‘That’s why he was having him watched. But he was too clever for that. If he is in contact with Loki – and I think we can assume he is – he never let anyone catch him at it. The awful thing is, all the clues were there, but we never thought to look for them,’ he added despondently.

  ‘We could easily have found out that Fenrir was Loki’s son. Tamar knew, she even said, that Odin was interested in genetic manipulation. That alone could have told us that David was working for him all along, not spying for Loki as we assumed. All those experiments on Hanks forest creatures – that was Odin.’

  ‘We didn’t know what to look for,’ said Denny reassuringly. ‘How could we? So, let me get this straight. David was working for Odin – spying on Fenrir who was really working for Loki who is going to get his powers back and destroy the Tuatha thus destroying the world in the process. We aren’t that much worse off than before really. We knew most of this already, and it’s not as if we really trusted Fenrir …’ He trailed off at the look on Stiles’s face. ‘I’m wrong, aren’t I?’ he said.

  ‘We missed the biggest clue of all,’ said Stiles. ‘All because we believed Fenrir’s version and never thought to look up Loki and find out his story. Odin didn’t send his servants after Loki to protect us from some fictional battle. He was after saving his own skin. If Loki was really going to battle the Tuatha, Odin couldn’t have been more delighted. But that’s not what he’s up to at all. Loki’s here to lead the Tuatha in the fight against the Gods on Valhalla at Ragnoroc. As we’d have known if we’d bothered to find out anything about Loki,’ he added in bitter recrimination. ‘Loki is Tuatha – or as the Norse legends would have it – a giant. He isn’t a god at all. He was adopted by Odin as a brother and then he betrayed him. It’s all in the Edda, if you care to look.’ He shook his head wearily.

  ‘Ragnoroc?’ echoed Denny in wonderment.

  ‘The twilight of the gods,’ supplied David helpfully.

  ‘I know what it is,’ snapped Denny. ‘How could we have been so blind?’

  ‘You didn’t want to see,’ said David. ‘You wanted to be heroes – save the world – and you never considered that maybe none of this had anything to do with you.’

  ‘It has now,’ said Denny decisively. It became our business when Fenrir decided to get Tamar involved. ‘Why did he?’ he added in puzzlement.

  David shrugged. ‘I was never able to work that out myself,’ he admitted.

  Denny smacked his forehead. ‘Tamar!’ he gasped. ‘She doesn’t know what’s going on, and she’s gone after Loki.’

  ‘Well, maybe she’ll be able to stop him.’ said Dawber diffidently.

  ‘How can she stop him?’ snapped Stiles, giving him a withering look. ‘She doesn’t know what it is she’s trying to stop.’

  Denny groaned. ‘We have to warn her.’

  ‘But, if she stops Loki from retaking his powers,’ persisted Dawber, ‘which is what she’s trying to do, isn’t it? Won’t that stop him just the same, no matter what he’s up to?’

  ‘He’s Tuatha!’ said Denny. ‘You don’t know what that means,’ he acknowledged. ‘She doesn’t know what she’s dealing with – she won’t stop him. She isn’t invincible you know? She just acts like she is. And if she doesn’t know his powers, she can’t fight them. The Tuatha have powers over the mind. It’s possible to fight it, but you have to be ready for it, and she doesn’t know! D’you see? She doesn’t know!’

  ‘She’ll never see it coming,’ agreed Stiles gloomily.

  ‘See what?’ asked Dawber.

  ‘Whatever it is he decides to do,’ said Denny.

  ‘But he doesn’t have his powers,’ argued Dawber, feeling they were taking far too black a view of things. ‘Not yet at least. I mean isn’t that the whole point, to stop him from getting them back?’

  Denny and Stiles looked at each other and laughed derisively.

  ‘And if you believe that, you’ll believe anything,’ snorted Stiles.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ said Dawber plaintively. ‘What’s going on? Does he have his powers or doesn’t he? I don’t understand!’

  Stiles just patted him on the shoulder. ‘Let’s just say, things are never quite that simple.’ he said.

  * * *

  ‘Right, let’s get after him,’ said Tamar reappearing in the cavern with a dripping wet and very shaken Slick.

  Slick just stared at her.

  ‘What?’ she said, laughing. ‘You didn’t think that was the end of it did you? Just because I gave him the goblet doesn’t mean I’m giving up. Think what’s at stake.’

  ‘You saved my life,’ said Slick, patently ignoring this instruction. ‘You didn’t have to. It could all have been over by now if you …’

  ‘Oh shut up,’ she said.

  ‘We don’t know which way he went,’ said Slick, chastened.

  ‘No. shut up. I’m concentrating.’ She closed her eyes then opened them again in frustration. ‘I can’t sense him at all,’ she said. ‘Even in here. It’s very strange. It’s like he was never here at all. The only other time I had this feeling was when I was trying to find the queen of the Sidhe.’

  ‘What does that mean then?’ said Slick.

  ‘It means that his powers are a bit more formidable than I anticipated,’ she said, ‘if he can block his aura like that.’

  ‘Footprints?’ said Slick pointing at the muddy ground.

  ‘Ah, the old fashioned way,’ said Tamar laughing. ‘Well done,’ she added.

  ‘Why would he have walked, though?’ asked Slick, ‘if he’s got all these powers now?’

  ‘Loki can’t teleport,’ said Tamar. ‘He never could. I don’t know why.’

  ‘He can become invisible, though,’ she added. ‘Or turn himself into a tiger or something, so watch out for yourself.’

  ‘Or rather for an invisible tiger,’ said Slick, making Tamar wonder if he were channelling Denny. That was the sort of thing he would say.

  She gave him a bright smile. ‘I wish Denny were here,’ she thought, ‘or Jack – both of them really – and Hecaté.’ She did not allow herself to think about Cindy; there was no point.

  They followed the footprints up a narrow pathway that burst suddenly into bright light. ‘Ow!’ complained Slick shielding his eyes.

  Tamar merely narrowed hers in deep suspicion. ‘Hmm!’ she said.

  ‘What,’ asked Slick slowly opening one eye and taking in the scene. ‘… the hell is this place?’ he finished, opening the other eye the better to stare in bewilderment at the bright snow capped mountains and clear aquamarine lakes and grass the colour of fresh parsley. It reminded Tamar of the Faerie realm, too pretty to be real. But there was breathable air, crystal clear and icy cold. A faint breeze stirred the grass and the colours were real, but too bright and fresh. Like the world was brand new.

  Had they gone back in time?

  ‘Freshly minted,’ said Slick echoing her thoughts. ‘It looks like a holiday brochure. You know, come and visit lovely Sweden – we haven’t edited the photos – much.’

  ‘Asgard.’ said Tamar realising the truth. ‘How the hell did we end up here? And why? The Tuatha aren’t here, surely? What’s he up to now?’

  ‘Maybe he forgot something,’ said Slick and immediately wished he had not. What a stupid thing to say.

  ‘Maybe,’ said Tamar u
ncertainly. And Slick realised with a cold, sick horror that she did not understand. She did not know what to do. Gulp.

  Tamar swallowed her uncertainty and showed a confident face to Slick that was so convincing that he almost wondered if he had imagined her momentary confusion.

  ‘He went that way,’ she said positively pointing to the farthest and highest mountain in the distance. ‘Valhalla.’

  Her brow furrowed again for a moment, as if she were trying to remember something or work something out. Then she turned to Slick with another bright smile. ‘Come on then,’ she beckoned. ‘Let’s get the swine.’

  Slick hung back unwillingly. ‘Shouldn’t we go back for the others?’ he said nervously. He had not expected this, although he realised, on reflection, that maybe he should have. It was always like this with Tamar. Nothing went to plan, everything was improvised on the spot. He took some small comfort in the fact that Tamar and her friends had a far better track record that his own (former) colleagues at this sort of thing, and in thhe fact that, in his own personal experience of her slap dash, take it as it comes, make it up as you go methods, he had never actually seen her fail. He had to take comfort in these things, as she said. ‘We can’t go back. There’s no time.

  ‘No time for what?’ he wondered. It was not as if they had the faintest idea what Loki’s timetable actually was.

  ‘He isn’t going to be hanging about now that he’s got his powers back,’ said Tamar, once again uncannily reading his mind. ‘Besides, if we go back now, we’ll lose his trail. By the time we get back here, he could have gone anywhere. We have to keep after him.’

  This made sense Slick silently conceded. But for some reason he would have felt better had Denny been with them, or even that grumpy sod of a policeman would have been better than nothing. Slick was acutely aware that he had no control over Tamar; he might as well try to hold back a hurricane. At least if her husband were here she would listen to him, and her apparent respect for the policeman – Stiles that was his name, Jack Stiles – meant that she might even listen to him too, although he was less certain about that one. Either way the backup would be very welcome.

  ‘It’s’ only one measly demi-god,’ said Tamar contemptuously, answering his thoughts as if he had put them into words. ‘I can handle Loki. Just don’t let his muscle get hold of you this time.’

  ‘How do you do that?’ asked Slick. ‘I never said a word.’

  ‘Women’s intuition,’ said Tamar and strode off toward Valhalla.

  * * *

  ‘Actually, I reckon it is our business,’ said Ray. ‘According to the legends, after Ragnoroc, when Asgard has been taken by the giants they will then turn their attention to Midgard (Earth). Supposedly Fenrir is going to eat the sun and turn the world dark – end of world.’ He banged his hands together emphatically.

  Tamar’s walking right into bloody Ragnoroc,’ Denny had said. ‘It’s none of our bloody business what happens to a bunch of mouldy old gods, but we have to get Tamar and Whatisname out of there before it all kicks off. Anything could happen to them. Even Tamar’s not ready for this.’ He was chewing his bottom lip nervously as he spoke.

  Now, after Ray’s words, he rounded on David. ‘You forgot to mention that little detail did you?’ he snarled. ‘Just slipped your mind I suppose?’

  ‘I suppose it did,’ drawled David insolently. ‘If Asgard is destroyed after all, it can’t matter to me what becomes of Midgard afterwards. I’ll be dead.’

  ‘You son of a bitch,’ said Stiles, but without much venom really. It was not as if this attitude was a surprise.’

  ‘Who are you anyway, really?’ asked Ray suddenly. ‘David’s not a very Norse name … Oh my God – David – Vidar. You’re Vidar.’

  David did not deny it.

  ‘Then Odin is your father?’

  ‘Odin is everybody’s father,’ said Vidar, ‘at least in Valhalla anyway. Family relationships don’t mean much up there. Why do you think they call him the “Allfather”, because he’s so benevolent?’ He gave an amused snort.

  ‘Where’s Brynhilde?’ said Denny suddenly and apparently irrelevantly.’

  ‘Why?’ asked Vidar.

  ‘Because if we’re going to fight Loki and a lot of Giants at Ragnoroc,’ said Denny grimly. ‘We’re going to need all the help we can get.’

  And with that, the decision was made. The die cast.

  ‘I hope we aren’t all going to regret this,’ said Stiles, wondering vaguely if a machine gun would work on a Giant.

  * * *

  Cindy was no longer angry. She was no longer anything much, apart from deeply ambitious. The god inside longed for nothing more than power and glory. But past experience had taught her that, intoxicating as this power was compared to her witchly powers, it was still not enough to go up against Tamar – or Denny for that matter. She had seen them defeat gods before. She must not allow herself to get swept away by this feeling of invincibility that filled her as other poor mortals who had suddenly gained great power had done. She knew, better than anyone, what she would have to face in the quest for power and control.

  Sadly, if Tamar were to be defeated, Cindy knew that she could not do it alone.

  But she was alone, and she had no desire for company, no wish to share the prize when it finally came. Time was on her side now, though. She could afford to wait for many years if necessary before putting any plan into action. Now that she too was immortal. A long-term plan had not helped others, though. The Faerie Queen had had a long-term plan, as had Askphrit and they had fallen when faced with the final hurdle. But they had underestimated what they were up against. She would not. Had she not lived with her enemies, fought alongside them? Did she not know what they were capable of, what they were most likely to do? So, that was one advantage, but the fact remained that her powers were not strong enough. She needed an ally, however distasteful this idea might be. But need it be?

  There was one whom it might not be so distasteful to ally herself with. Someone who she could train to her will. Of course, it would mean tipping her hand to her enemies. They would know she had him with her, but might they not see it as a natural thing? As evidence of some remaining humanity within her rather than part of a design? Yes, on balance, she thought they probably would. Their greatest weakness, in Cindy’s opinion, was that they always saw what they wanted to see, believed what they wanted to believe. It was a very human reaction after all. And they would all want to believe that she was still human inside, like them. She imagined that they had some vague idea about saving her. The idea made her want to laugh out loud. Save me? What arrogance! As if I ever needed any of them.

  She stirred the water gently – it was nice to know that she could still scry; her remote vision, being a new power, was still difficult to control, but you knew where you were with scrying – and gazed into its depths.

  All was quiet and still. With her increased senses, she could make out the shadowy figures at the edges of the water and hear the distant murmuring of people in other parts of the house beyond her vision. He was there; she could not see him, but she could hear him, shouting orders as usual. In the old days, her heart would have flipped over at the sound but no more. Now she listened intently and dispassionately. They were leaving soon, she gathered. Off on some ridiculous, pointless quest. Blundering in where they had not been asked to go. As soon as they were gone, she knew what she had to do.

  She drew back and surveyed the forge where she had made the ring. No one had been here in centuries, yet the place had seemed curiously untouched by time, like the castle in the Sleeping Beauty. Even the mould in which the ring had been cast was still there, just waiting for her. She would awaken this place. Build on its ruins a citadel, a palace fit for a god.

  Would they never leave? She paced impatiently and then took hold of herself. What was there to be impatient about? She had all the time in the world.

  ~ Chapter Fifteen ~

  ‘I don’t think he came this way at all,’
stated Slick morosely sitting down on a handy promontory and pulling up grass. They were about halfway up the mountain with no sign of Loki anywhere. ‘I think we’ve been played.’ he stared challengingly at her. ‘What do you think?’

  Tamar did not answer.

  ‘I mean, why would he return to Valhalla anyway?’ continued Slick mercilessly. ‘It doesn’t make sense. The Tuatha aren’t here, are they? They’re on Earth. Aren’t they?’

  ‘None of this makes sense,’ said Tamar, ‘but, since we’re here anyway. I’m going on. I want to see Odin. I think it’s about time we got some answers.’

  Slick felt his mouth go dry. ‘Odin?’ he rasped. ‘You want to go and see Odin? The King of the gods … Actually Odin himself.’

  ‘Yes, Odin himself,’ she replied with heavy sarcasm. ‘Oh, untwist your knickers, he’s only a god. You didn’t get this bent out of shape about Loki. Odin’s no different really. He won’t do anything to you. I think he knows what’s really going on here and I intend to make him tell me.’

  ‘You intend to make him tell you?’ asked Slick incredulously.

  Tamar looked pityingly at him. ‘You haven’t really got the hang of this yet have you?’ she said. ‘Odin’s only a god. Local deities, minimal powers when compared with say a Djinn. Don’t expect too much or you’ll be disappointed when you meet him. He’s just an old man. He’s never been able to stand up to me anyway.’

  ‘You’ve met him before?’

  ‘You know I have.’

  ‘Oh, right yeah, yeah. I remember now.’

  ‘You didn’t really believe it, did you?’

  ‘It’s not that exactly, it’s just … Well, it’s all a bit hard to take in really.’

  ‘I know what you mean,’ said Tamar understandingly. ‘It gets easier, okay?’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘I think I just worked something out,’ said Slick. ‘Fenrir said that Loki’s powers could only be reached through a place on Earth. He didn’t say that they were on Earth though. I reckon that place was a sort of separate dimension, like purgatory. You know, you can only enter from Earth and only exit into Asgard. One way doors type of thing.’