Circus of The Darned (15 page)

Perfect. Nature is represented by theflowers, and the animal kingdom by the feather and bear

claw.Hmm." She looked up, her lips pursed. "It says to summon a god we must first be in a religion that honors the god, orpossess a personal talisman of the god himself. Did Freya say that amulet belonged to Loki?"

I shook my head. "She just said it had his power in it."

She looked thoughtful for a second or two before closing the book. "That sounds good enough to me. You'll have to do the invocation since the amulet is yours."

"Um… I don't know what invocation to use for him."

She flipped through the book for a few minutes before closing it again. "I believe we just make something up. So long as it's about Loki, asking for his help, and using the amulet to reach him, it should be all right."

"OK. I'm not very good at this, but anything is worth a shot to get the Vikings on their way."

"I'll help. How do invocations usually start?"

I thought for a minute,then knelt behind the arrangement of elements that we'd laid out. "By leaf and flower, by water and earth, by feather and claw, I do invoke thee, Loki."

"Oh, that's very nice," Imogen said, looking impressed.

"Thanks. I do sometimes listen to my mother."

She smiled at my grin,then looked serious. "How about this next—'shape changer, sky traveler, god of fire riding in the sky; descend upon your daughters, we beseech thee.'"

"Wow. You're good," I said, then repeated the words to make sure I remembered them. The valknut started glowing hot under my shirt. I pulled it out, showing it to Imogen.

"Oooh,it's glowing! That must meanit's working."

"I hope. Let's see… 'aidme in my time of need, oh Loki whose power moves the universe.'"

"Appealing to his vanity—excellent choice," Imogen said, nodding.

"Um… what next?I'm drawing a blank."

"Oh, let me. I know a little something about Norse mythology. I must know something about

Loki that we can use… hmm. Let's try this: 'Loki Laufeyiarson, full of fire, strong in spirit,

searing all with your splendor, grant me your presence!' Then repeat the first part again."

"Eh… did you say Laufeyiarson?" I asked, wondering if that was a common name.

"Yes. Loki is the son of Farbauti and Laufrey, if I remember my mythology correct. Why?"

"It's just that I know someone with that name… naw. It's got to be a coincidence. OK, here I go.

Let's hope this works."

I spent a few moments clearing my mind of extraneous thoughts, took a couple of deep breaths

as I got a firm grip on the valknut, mentally spelled out the word Loki in my head to use as a

focusing image, and then spoke the full invocation.

"… by leaf and flower, water and earth, feather and claw, I invoke thee now!" I finished, staring at my hand where the valknut suddenly burst forth with blinding light.

"Imogen?"1 asked, trying to shade my eyes against the bright light. It was like staring into one of those huge arc lights they use for movie premieres—or so I imagined, never having been idiot enough to do that. "Are you OK?"

"Yes. Did it work? I can't see anything."

"I think it's fading," I said squinting. The light in the center of the starburst changed, turning black as a man's shape formed and turned into a person.

"Who summons me?" the furious voice of a man asked. I still had sunspots in my eyes, but as I blinked them away, I got a good look at the god we'd summoned.

"You!"I yelled, gritting my teeth. "I want my horse back!"

The red-haired man who'd offered me a thousand bucks for Tesla looked startled for a moment,

his eyes quickly narrowing. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do," I snarled, marching up to him, shaking my fist at him. "I want Tesla back! Don't you dare deny you took him, because you're the only one who has been interested inhim. Now,

where is he? What did you do to him? Is he all right? Is he getting enough to eat? I swear by all that's holy, if you've hurt him, I'm going to kick you in the happy sacks so hard,you won't be able to walk for a week!"

"Fran!"Imogen shrieked, running to stand next to me, pulling down the fist I was waving under Mr. Laufeyiarson's nose. "One does not threaten to kick a god, let alone to emasculate him. I take it you know Loki?"

"I have never met this deranged, violent young woman before," Loki Laufeyiarson lied. He didn't seem to be overly concerned about my threats, either, but I didn't let that stop me.

"Oh, I know him. He offered me a thousand bucks for Tesla, and when I wouldn't sell him, he stole poor Tesla! You may be a god, but you just can't go around stealing other people's horses!"

Loki pulled himself up until he was several inches taller than me. I wondered for a moment how

he did that, then remembered—Norse god. Probably growing a couple of inches was no big deal

to him. "I am one of the Elders, mortal. I can do whatever I desire."

"Yeah?Well, maybe I should just call Freya back. I bet she'd have something to say about that.

And maybe that Odin guy, too. Isn't he supposed to be the head god?"

A little something flashed in his brown eyes, something like worry. I smiled to myself, happy I'd found a pressure point.

"All right," hesaid, kind of grinding his teeth as he spoke. "Since you summoned me for this purpose, I will put your mind at rest and admit I took the horse you call Tesla. But I had a very good reason for doing so."

"Yeah?What would that be?" I asked, worried he was going to say he used to own Tesla. One of the problems of getting a horse without its history is that you never quite know just who owned him over the years.

"He is an offspring of mine."

Chapter Twelve

I goggled. I just opened my mouth and let my eyes bug out in a good old-fashioned

goggle."He
what
?" Loki was clearly insane.

"He is the descendant of Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse I bore and gave to Odin. Only a few horses exist today that can trace their heritage back to me—the white stallion Tesla is one of

them."

"OK, OK, time out here," I said, freaking out a bit. "You're a god, a male god, and you gave birth to an eight-legged horse? Wait! This wouldn't have been when you were trying to make

some giant mess up his work schedule with Asgard?"

Loki looked down his nose at me. "The events at Asgard have been skewed out of proportion, but yes, it is while I was in the form of a mare that I became pregnant with Sleipnir. Now you see why the white stallion is valuable to me."

"To be frank, no.I mean, the whole thing about you changing yourself into an animal and giving birth aside, Tesla has to be… what a couple of hundred generations away from Sleipnir?"

Loki waved away that point. "The fact remains he is an offspring, and I have precious few of them left these days."

"Yeah, but… you're Loki.God of mischief, the trickster. You do all sorts of mean things to other

gods. It's a little hard to believe that all of a sudden you've turned into a family guy."

He shrugged. "People change with time. So have I."

"You're a god," I pointed out yet again in case he'd forgotten that point, or thought I was so stupid I had.

"And who is to say gods cannot have a change of heart?" he asked, one eyebrow going up in question.

He had a point there.

"Tesla is just an old horse. He needs to be taken care of. He doesn't need some—" I bit off the phrase "deranged old man who thinks he's a god" and replaced it with, "—one who is busy with other things. Besides, I promised I'd take care of him, and I don't go back on my promises."

"I believe the phrase 'too bad, so sad' comes to mind," he answered, examining his fingernail like he needed a manicure. "Tesla ismine now."

"Oh, you… gah!"I yelled.

"You're being terribly inconsiderate of Fran," Imogen said. She had on what I thought of as her haughty face, the one she used with guys who got rude with her. "All she's doing is trying to get her horse back, and help some ghosts to move on toValhalla . She has a very important first date with my brother tonight, and because you're being obstinate and obstructive, she's not going to enjoy it as she should because she'll be worrying about Tesla, and what the ghosts are doing

while she's on the date."

"A date?"Loki asked, looking from Imogen to me. "You have a date with a Moravian?"

"Yes, Ben's a Dark One, but that isn't really important—"

"A Beloved on her first date," Loki interrupting, stroking his chin as he gave me a speculative look.I groaned to myself. I knew that look. I knew what was coming next. "How well I

remember the courtships of all three of my wives. I will give you some valuable advice."

"I have already advised Fran as to the best way to enjoy her date," Imogen pointed out. "Input by a man is hardly necessary."

"First, you test this Dark One to see if he's really faithful to you," Loki said, totally ignoring Imogen. "I recommend playing a trick or two on him to see if his heart is true, or if he's a lying dog."

"My brother does not lie!" Imogen said, outraged.

"Next, take something away from him that he values greatly. When the time is right, pretend

you found it, and he will be grateful to you forever."

"Oh!" Imogen gasped. "That is completely out of line! Fran, don't you listen to a word this man is saying!"

Loki continued to ignore her. I just hoped the advice would end soon, so I could get back to the topics of Tesla and the Vikings. "Finally, you must bring him many gifts. Something to give you value in his eyes, and make him cherish you as the source of great fortune."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his advice. I may be naive where dating is concerned, but

even I knew what he was recommending was downright stupid.

"You need some serious psychological counseling," Imogen told him with a sniff.

"I am finished," Loki told me. "Now that I have given you the gift of my advice, you may thank me and then I will leave."

"Thank you for the advice." No matter how awful it was. "But I'm not quite through talking to you about Tesla and the Vikings."

"I've told you my answer," he said, starting to walk away. "There is nothing left to discuss."

Just in time I remembered that I wasn't as powerless as he thought. I whipped the amulet out and held it up so the sunlight glinted off it. "Recognize this?"

His eyes widened as he took a step toward me, his hand outstretched."The
Vikingahärta
! What are you doing with it? It is mine!"

"Nuh uh."I held the valknut close to my chest and gave him a victorious smile." 'Too bad, so sad,' remember? The
Vikingahärta
ismine now."

"Fran," Imogen hissed between her teeth as she came to stand next to me. "It is not wise to tease a god!"

Loki said something in a language I didn't understand, but the mean tone of his voice was

enough to tell me he wasn't offering up a prayer for my good health.

"Don't worry, I'm in control," I whispered to Imogen before turning back to Loki with a pleasant smile. "However, I'm willing to let you have it if you give me back Tesla, and send the Viking ghosts I raised with it toValhalla ."

"No," Loki said, and took another step toward me.

"No? Like… no?" The
Vikingahärta
glowed warm in my hand, but whether it was heating up because I was suddenly starting to sweat, or if it was warming of its own power, I didn't know.

"No. No, I will not release my descendant into your custody, and, no, I will not help you with any warriors. You will give the
Vikingahärta
to me now, or you will suffer the consequences."

"That would not be fair to Fran," Imogen said, her chin held high. "You would take everything from her and give her nothing in return. I cannot allow you to do that."

"You cannot
allow
me?" Loki said, his voice suddenly getting very deep and very big. So big it echoed off the rocks behind us, scaring the seagulls above into silence. "You would threaten me, immortal?"

Imogen gave him a look I'd seenbring other men to their knees. "I would protect my friend's best interests from a greedy god, yes."

"Bah!" Loki waved a hand at Imogen. Without a sound, she fell over backward onto the sand, narrowly missing hitting her head on a large chunk of driftwood.

"Imogen!"I screamed, falling to my knees next to her to see how badly she was hurt. I felt for a pulse, and was relieved to feel it beating away strong and steady. Her eyes were closed, her face peaceful, but it was as if she'd fallen asleep standing there. "What did you do to her?" I asked, looking up at Loki, ready to call for backup help if he'd harmed her.

"Merely stopped her squawking for a few minutes.She is immortal. She is not harmed, merely sent to sleep."

"If she doesn't wake up in a minute, you're going to be one very sorry god," I promised, slowly getting to my feet.

He sighed, his eyes hard and glinting with anger."More threats. Very well, I have one for you, mortal. If you do not return to me the
Vikingahärta
, I will take that which you most value."

Cold gripped my heart, a number of images chasing each other through my mind—Ben, my

mother and father, Tesla, Soren and Imogen… I valued all of them highly. "Take? Take them

where?"

The look he gave me made the cold in my heart turn to ice.

"Give me the valknut now, mortal Fran." The voice coming out of his mouth seemed to be amplified, as if he was speaking through a bullhorn. It was so loud, it hurt my ears.

I took a couple of steps backward, shaking my head slowly, the pendant clutched tight in my

hand. "Not unless you give me back Tesla, and take the Viking ghosts toValhalla ."

His eyes narrowed. "You would sacrifice thatwhom you hold most dear for one small,

insignificant piece of jewelry?"

"No, I would not." I glanced quickly at Imogen, but her chest rose and fell normally, so I figured

Loki was telling the truth and she was just asleep. "I would, however, fight with every last breath in my body for them. If you want this valknut, you're either going to have to take it from me, or give me what I want."