We turned to find the goddess standing not five feet away from our little circle.
“Verðandi! You heard me and came,” Tess said excitedly.
“Of course, child. I always try to respond to my Wanderers’ requests.”
“Hell, you mean I could have called you at any time?” I asked.
“Certainly, Raphael. You are the only Wanderer who has never called on me for advice.”
“Ah, crap. It’s that easy? Just say your name three times and poof, you come?”
“Yes, well…” she stared at me with a deepening frown. “Maybe not in your current condition. What have you gotten yourself into, Raphael?”
“It’s a short story. I tripped some kind of trap. Black goo burned off almost all of my tattoos and now I can’t burn replacements or even focus energy.”
“That should not be possible. Hold still.”
She came to me, stopping close, and raised her hands to either side of my head. Her hands glowed for a few seconds and then she frowned again.
“This should not be. Something has infused itself into your nerves, preventing your connection to your power.”
“Can you fix it?” Tess asked.
“I don’t think so, at least not at the moment. I will have to consult my sisters and see if we can come up with something.”
“Can you tell me why I’m able to still mesh with Tess, but not focus any magic myself?” I asked.
“No, but the meshing between Wanderers and other magic users is more basic and subtle than the magic that gives you your powers. I would think that if you could mesh, then you could still perform basic magic, but after studying you, I don’t see you being able to do any magic until we get this sorted out.”
“Damn it,” I snarled letting my frustrations be obvious. I was in no mood to humor Verðandi, regardless of our relative positions. “I thought you gods were supposed to be able to do about anything.”
Verðandi studied me for a moment, and then she shook her head sadly. “If that were only true, Raphael. We may be gods, but each of us has powers, none of us, even Odin himself has not the power to control everything. I will find a way to reverse what has been done to you, but it may take time.”
“And what am I supposed to do in the meantime. Some enemy has stripped me of my powers, my own son has become a Wanderer, and I’m supposed to just stand around until you come up with a fix for what ails me?”
Verðandi turned away from me and took a few steps through the grass. I thought she was going to vanish without another word, but then she stopped.
“Raphael, you should forget about Alexander. He won’t be your next apprentice after all,” Verðandi said without turning.
“What? Why the hell not? Is he dead?” I demanded.
The goddess’s shoulders began to shake. Astonishingly, it appeared she was crying.
I walked to her, gripped her by the shoulders, and turned her to face me. Her eyes were heavy with moisture and as I watched, glistening silver tears began to stream down her face.
“What is wrong with Alex?” I asked.
“He’s been claimed by another.”
“What? What other? You told me there were no other Wanderers beside Tess and me.”
“There is one other with your powers; he just no longer answers my summonings,” Verðandi said.
My hands dropped from Verðandi’s shoulders.
“That’s not possible. He’s dead,” I said, but something in my chest tightened up. I didn’t really believe that Verðandi could make that kind of mistake.
“Wait,” Tess said. “You can’t mean Rowle. I shot him at close range. My bolt took him in the chest. He has to be dead.”
“Would that it were true. Your bolt did strike him as you say, but something kept it from penetrating his heart. He lives still.”
“Fuck! Couldn’t you have told us this sooner, like anytime in the last five months?”
Verðandi shrugged. “It’s not as easy to see him as other men. When he refused my summonings, he separated himself from the normal fate of men. Until he presented himself to Alexander and claimed him, I had not known he still lived.”
“Oh, damn it. How did he get to Alex before we could?” Tess asked.
Verðandi turned toward Tess. “I can’t be certain, but he reached Alexander just hours after my Valkyrie reaped him. Either he was somewhere nearby–”
“Or he was the cause of Alex’s death,” I spat.
Verðandi nodded and I could see she had already thought of that.
I felt Tess’s fingers against my left hand and we interlaced fingers while I tried to control my feelings. Six months ago, I didn’t know I had a son and now within twenty-four hours I’d learned that he’d been killed, been recruited to be a Wanderer, and now taken by what could only be considered my archenemy. And growing up I never would have believed I’d someday have an archenemy.
“Any idea where we can find them?”
“Not at this time. I’m looking for them, but it will take time. Anyone with Rowle is under the same cloak as he. I have to use other means to find them.”
“Okay, Verðandi, we appreciate the news and any help you can provide will also be appreciated. It’s not as if I’m in any condition to try and take him away from Rowle until I get my tats back. So please concentrate your efforts on finding a way to fix me and then we’ll look for Alex.”
“Agreed, in the meantime, I might suggest you be exceptionally careful about yourselves. If Rowle is the one who sprung this little trap on you, he may already be looking for a confrontation.”
“Damn it, you’re right,” I snarled. “Rowle was the only person I thought capable of pulling off a trap that would remove my tats, but
