Harvest of the Gods (30 page)

Chapter Fifty-Seven

The next day I headed out to Valskajálf, Odin's silver Hall and the home I'd shared with him when I was Sabine. As soon as I stepped into the dining hall, I was overcome with a wave of sadness, of longing for him. I knew this was going to be hard but I knew as well that it needed to be done, not only for the wolves and ravens, but for myself. I needed to see this place that was so very much his, ours, empty of him.

“
Mother,” Vidar came out of a doorway toward the left at the back of the hall. “Thank you for coming.”

“
Of course, but where are they?” I didn't bother searching the large room, I knew the animals would have come out already had they been there.

“
In the forest I think,” Vidar waved a hand towards the other door, the one that led outside. “Would you like to try calling for them?”

“
Alright,” I nodded and headed out into the open space behind the Silver Hall.

We were right at the edge of the forest and there was a vegetable garden off to the side. It at least, seemed to be doing well despite Odin's absence. The neat rows were overflowing with their harvest, bright yellow squash and the red glare of tomatoes standing out against the modest green of cucumbers, peas, lettuce, and beans. I walked past it and into the shade of the trees before closing my eyes and trying to send out a flare of my magic, kind of like announcing to all of Asgard that I was there. It was something Odin had taught me.

In moments I heard an answering call, the howling of two wolves and the crying of two ravens. The ravens appeared first, swooping down from the trees to land upon my shoulders with painful grips of their taloned feet. They rubbed their slick faces against mine and I reached up to press them both to me.
When I did, I felt a jolt of magic sink into my skin and I could suddenly see through their eyes, an aerial view of Odin's funeral. The colors were muted but the emotions were sharper, an animal's mourning as opposed to a person's. They understood and yet they didn't. They knew Odin was dead but they wanted to know when he'd be back. Why hadn't he come back yet?

“
I'm working on that,” I whispered and stroked their feathers. “I don't know if he can come back this time.”

They cawed and lifted themselves up in the air to circle me.

“Now don't be like that,” I started to say but then I realized why they'd flown. The wolves had arrived. “Geri, Freki,” I knelt and they surrounded me, mewling and whimpering their sorrow. “I know, I hurt too.”

I shifted into a seated position and they piled on me, looking at me like I was the only one who could help them. It was hard to see, as the sadness of animals always is. At least these were magical creatures who could understand most of what I said to them. They weren't completely confused over what had happened to Odin.

Then I had a strange thought. If love magic could work on healing my heart, could it work for them? I asked it to come forth and heal the hearts of Odin's beloved pets and it rose without pause and shot from me like it was excited to be trying something new.

It went into the wolves first and I saw them twitch, their pelts shiver, and then they seemed to relax, letting out a long huff and laying their heads in my lap. I stroked their fur and felt Love inside them, pulsing with joy. It had worked even better than I'd hoped. Animals were more receptive to giving up sadness than humans were, their hearts were much more open and Love wanted more of that. It leapt from the wolves and surged over to the ravens.

Hugin and Munin both fluttered in surprise, cawing once before settling down to the ground. They hopped over to us, at peace with the presence of Geri and Freki for the very first time. They flew up onto the backs of the wolves and we all sat together in a sweet
calm. The butterflies flew back into me, letting me know that all four of the animals had taken the healing well and were now at peace. I sighed and thanked it, feeling like it was somehow momentous, at the very least it was wonderful.

“
He saved my life,” I said softly as I stroked their fur and feathers. “Demeter tried to kill me and Odin stepped between us. He saved me. Again. And I'm going to try my best to save him too. I found some information that might help but I can't promise anything yet, only that I'll try my best.”

“
Mom, what are you talking about?” I'd forgotten all about Vidar, standing right behind me.

“
I've been doing some research,” I sighed. “I've found some reference to a place where the souls went before there were gods and I'm going to keep searching. Maybe I can bring him back, maybe I can't. Maybe all I can do is find out that he's okay, that he's somewhere I could possibly go someday. Either way, I need to know, Vidar.”

“
I want to know too,” he sat beside me and reached a hand out to Freki, who pulled away and looked at him suspiciously.

“
Hey now,” I chided and Freki looked up at me with big wolf eyes. “You know Vidar.”

Freki just glanced at Vidar and then went back to staring at me.

“I told you,” Vidar shrugged. “It was always just the two of you who could reach them. “I'll start checking Dad's books, maybe he has some information too.”

“
Okay,” I nodded. “I don't want to tell anyone else though. Well maybe Vali if you want but I don't want to be hampered by people's views and negativity, you know?”

“
Why do you think I'm so quiet?” He grinned.

“
Because the better part of valor is shuttin' the hell up?” I laughed.

“
That was pretty funny,” he looked off toward the forest. “He went out there last night, after we got back from the party. I'll tell him when he comes back in. Then he can help too. We all miss Dad, all of Asgard is feeling his lack.”

“
How are things going for you?” I continued to stroke the wolves and as I did, the ravens flew back to perch on my shoulders again. “Are you handling the responsibilities alright?”

“
I'm good,” he nodded. “I like having something to do, things to focus on. It helps me forget for awhile.”

“
Yeah, I know.” Then Munin let out a caw. “I guess you don't like the sound of forgetting, huh?” I looked up at the bird and he focused one black eye on me.

The name Munin meant memory and that was what flashed into my head when the bird fastened his eye on me but the memory wasn't mine, it was Odin's. He was standing before a huge man, Mimir- I pulled the name from the memory, and Mimir was handing him a book. The book was bound in midnight blue leather and had a silver star on its cover. I frowned as I realized it was the same symbol formed from my triple aspects; the nine-pointed star. Then the memory faded away.

“Do you know of a book that has a blue leather binding with a silver nine-pointed star on its cover?” I asked Vidar.

“
No,” he frowned. “Is it one of Dad's?”

“
Yes, I think so,” I looked at Munin and he nodded, a jerky bird nod. “Munin thinks it's important. I think it's the book Mimir gave Odin when he traded his eye for the knowledge to bring me from the well.”

“
Oh,” Vidar's face went slack. “
That
book.”

“
Do you know where it is?”

“
Not exactly,” he shrugged, “but it must be in the library. I'll look for it and bring it over to Pride Palace when I find it.”

“
Okay,” I rubbed at my chest distractedly, “that would be great.”

What did the symbol mean? I knew the number nine was about completion and I'd assumed that was what the star represented but what if there was more to it? What if the symbol had a deeper meaning, one associated with life and death? It looked like I was going to have to add one more item to my research.

“Vidar,” I took his hand, realizing that I'd healed the animals before I'd helped my own son. “You know how much I love you, right?”

I sent the Love into him, it seemed to have been just hovering in my chest, waiting to be called again. His hand twitched in mine and then his eyes widened. I felt the huge ball of pain inside his heart and knew the exact moment that the butterflies flew into it and tore it apart. It burst inside him and he shuddered, took a deep breath, and looked up at me with new eyes, eyes finally free of pain.

“I didn't know you could do anything like that,” he said softly.

“
I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner,” I shrugged. “I'll come visit Vali and help him too, let him know, okay?”

“
Okay,” his shoulders were straighter and he actually gave me a genuine smile. “Thanks, Mom. It really helped. I think I can function better now. I'm not drowning under the weight of it all.”

“
Good,” I gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I'm glad.” Then I looked down at the animals. “Do you guys want to come home with me for a little while? You can run through the grasslands and hunt with the Intare.”

The wolves sat up and yipped happily and the ravens just settled more securely onto my shoulders.

“I think that's a yes,” Vidar grinned and helped me up. “I'll start looking for that book, you go ahead and take these guys to Pride Palace with you. You'll need their carriers.”

“
Carriers?”

“
Whenever Odin took them through the Aether, he'd put them in these leather carriers so they wouldn't be lost,” Vidar gestured to the Hall. “I know where they are, I'll only be a minute.”

I followed him into the dining hall and then waited there while he went up the stairs on the left. When he came back down, he was carrying three leather boxes. Two were large with thick handles and one was much smaller with a long strap. He put the large ones on the floor and opened a door in the front of each. Geri and Freki trotted in and settled down without prompting. Then he opened the final carrier and I saw a rod running through it. The ravens flew in and settled on the perch. He closed it and secured the lock.

“You have to carry the birds around your neck,” he put the strap over my head so that the birds hung in front of me like a camera. “The wolves can be carried as they are.”

“
Can they?” I looked over the huge leather boxes as Vidar secured the latches on the doors.

“
Mom, you're a dragon remember? I think you can handle carrying a couple of wolves.”

“
Those are really big wolves,” I laughed. “Okay, okay, I get your point.”

I took Freki and Vidar carried Geri to the tracing room for me. Once there, we said our goodbyes and I took Geri from him. Then we were tracing the Aether, me and my dead husband's wild animals. I just hoped they got along with Nick.

Chapter Fifty-Eight

The wolves and ravens settled in nicely. They were wild animals and preferred to live outside rather than in the palace. So there wasn't any issue with Nick, my gray tabby. They never even saw each other, though Nick did spend a lot of time sniffing the hallways after they'd arrived.

The wolves enjoyed hunting with the Intare and would often help bring down game to get a portion of the kill for payment. At night they usually slept on the veranda or out near the lake. My lions loved them and surprisingly, the wolves seemed pretty comfortable with the Intare as well. Maybe they recognized that the Intare were magical animals too.

The ravens flew over my territory everyday and every night they'd come back to make their reports. They'd sit on my shoulder and lean their heads to mine so they could transfer images of what they'd seen to me. I remembered Odin sitting with them every night in a similar fashion and now I knew why. They were his little spies.

I really didn't need to spy on my own men. My territory wasn't like Asgard which was shared by all of the Norse Pantheon. I was alone with my lions and didn't have to worry about a bunch of gods turning traitor on me. But the ravens seemed to need the structure and I let them do what they needed to do to feel normal.

The real news however, came via the Internet one evening. There was a fire raging in Yosemite and I watched in open-mouthed horror as I realized it was in the area we'd found the fey. Had it been me? Had I set that fire when I lit the burrow the fey had been hiding in?

“
It wasn't you,” Trevor laid a hand on my shoulder. “I was there, I saw how controlled your flame was and nothing caught.”

“
What if I ignited an ember that merely smoldered until it burst into flames?” I stood up, knowing I was on the verge of hysterics.

The news said that the fire was threatening the giant sequoias. That the sequoias normally had an immunity for fire, they had thick bark with a chemical in them that helped protect them from fire but this fire was called a crown fire, it had risen to the tree tops and was spreading from above.

“It wasn't you,” Trevor got up and took my hands.

“
I'm going,” I turned and started for the tracing wall.

“
What do you mean you're going?” He chased after me, Kirill padding along behind us silently.

“
I can control fire,” I shot a duh glance back at them. “Even if I didn't start it, I'm going to help finish it. Those trees are a National Treasure and there are animals there who are in danger too. I'm going.”

“
Fine,” Trevor threw up his hands. “Then we'll all go. Should I pack a picnic? We can roast marshmallows.”

“
Hell no,” I turned and put my finger in his face. “
I'm
immune to fire, you guys are not. You're going to stay here.”

“
Fuck no,” Trevor growled. “I'm going along or you're not going at all.”

“
Trevor, I'm going to kick your furry ass.”

“
You can fucking try it!”

“
Enough,” Kirill stepped between us. “Ve vill go vith you and if fire comes too close, ve trace home. Okay?”

“
Okay,” I deflated and turned to the wall. “Let's go then, we're wasting time as Yosemite burns.”