I pulled his face down to mine and kiss him softly.
“That’s good to hear,” Loki said.
Rafe’s body tensed against mine and for a moment, I thought I felt his rage returning. Then he pulled back from our kiss and dropped his arms from around me. I dropped mine and stepped back to give him room to turn to face the god.
“Loki, what do you want?” Rafe said, his voice weary.
Loki’s sword was sheathed, but he was standing far enough away to be out of range from a lunge by Rafe.
Loki held up his hands, palm upwards. “I came to talk and to offer my sympathy for your loss. If I’d known about the shades, I would not have delayed you.”
“If I didn’t believe that we wouldn’t be talking. What do you want?” Rafe asked again.
Loki turned to study the two lines of burned corpses. “It appears you have more enemies than you knew.”
Rafe walked forward, passing within touching distance of the god, but he continued on until he reached Beast. “Yes, this wasn’t another of your ‘tests,’ was it?”
I followed Rafe, stopping beside Maia, I stroked the side of her head with one hand and watched Rafe and Loki.
“No, I don’t have dealings with mortals; besides, you’ve already proven yourself to me. I learned what I needed to know.”
“Good, what else can I do for you?” Rafe asked.
“You know Rowle is opening a gateway in the next few days?”
“No, not really. Verðandi has summoned us to Colorado, and we’re just about to leave, but I’m not sure what the job is,” Rafe said as he leaned nonchalantly against Beast’s side.
“Verðandi really should give you more information. One might think she didn’t have your best interest in mind,” Loki said.
“It’s the way things have always been. Did you come here to attempt to drive some wedge between Verðandi and me?”
“No, nothing like that.” The god appeared to hesitate, and then he raised his hands to his hips. “I’ve decided to offer you assistance.”
Rafe stared at him for a second and then laughed derisively. “You want to help us prevent Ragnarök?”
“Are you hard of hearing? That is what I said.”
“Why would you want to stop Ragnarök? I thought you Norse gods were all about preparing for it and couldn’t wait for the battle to be joined.”
“Nothing could be further from the truth. No one welcomes the end times, and although the prophecy shall one day come to pass, most of us do not believe that Rowle will be able to begin it.”
Rafe nodded thoughtfully and then asked, “How’s Baldur?”
Loki froze for an instant but then smiled softly. “Odin’s favorite son is well. Why do you ask?”
“Because Norse mythology says that one of the signs of the coming of Ragnarök is Baldur’s death, at your hands,” Rafe said coldly.
“Nonsense, a misinterpretation of the prophecies. Baldur is to die at the hands of his brother, Hod.”
“But you put him up to it,” Rafe countered.
“Again, nonsense. The fools who wrote down the prophecy misread the original text, as written by Odin. I have no desire to harm my brother.”
“So you say.”
Loki groaned. “See here, Wanderer, do you want my help or not?”
“Honest help I will not turn away, but if this is some game of yours, I will find a way to pay you back,” Rafe said, levelly.
Behind me, a new voice said, “Don’t trust the trickster, Wanderer.”
Frak! I jumped about a foot to the side and triggered my shield tat. Whirling around, I started to unsling my crossbow.
“Hod, what brings you to Midgard?” Loki asked.
The new person was dressed similarly to Loki, wearing more shiny leather armor, and heavy boots. A broadsword hung from the right side of his waist. Rather than an elaborate helmet, a silk scarf, embroidered with gold threads, covered his eyes like a blindfold. This man was larger than Loki by a couple of inches and maybe fifty pounds.
He didn’t attempt to draw his sword, and I relaxed a hair. I left my crossbow hanging over my shoulder but didn’t drop my shield.
“You think you could talk about me and I wouldn’t hear you? What are you up to this time Loki?”
Loki grunted. “Damn both your and Heimdall’s hearing. Can’t I have a conversation without the two of you listening in?”
“If you hadn’t mentioned my name, I wouldn’t have heard you. I ask you again, what are you up to?”
“He’s offering his assistance in stopping Ragnarök,” Rafe said.
Hod cocked his head to one side and then shook it sadly. “Loki is instrumental in causing Ragnarök. Why would he offer to help stop it?”
“A good question,” Rafe said. “Loki, what’s your answer?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Loki asked.
“Not from where I’m standing. I guess I should have studied more Norse mythology over the years. It’s something I thought I’d get around to, eventually, but now you two are here, and I guess it’s a little late,” Rafe said.
“Don’t bother; most of the material written about Norse gods is in error. Humans rarely relate what they’re told accurately,” Hod said. “But one of the few parts they got right was that Loki instigates Ragnarök.”
While the gods talked, I slowly positioned myself behind Rafe so that if things got violent, I had his back covered with my shield. Sheesh, while meeting Loki had been amazing, having more of the Asgardians popping in unannounced was troubling. I was beginning to understand how Belgium felt sitting between France and Germany. The little guy in the middle always gets the worse of any disagreement between the powerful.
“That may be what the prophecy states,” Loki said. “But I haven’t had anything to do with this rogue Wanderer and his attempts to start it. I think he’s interfering with the natural order of things. It’s not his place, and he needs to be stopped.”
Rafe was shaking his head. “Okay, so Rowle is starting things without you. Does that mean he can’t start Ragnarök?”
“No,” Hod said. “What
