Odin

Chapter 4

After everyone left, going back to their lives and families after helping Odin pay homage to his Marie, Odin sat on the highest part of Marie’s Hill. His knees bent, his hands linked with his forearms resting on his knees. The sky was dark and he had no doubt if he raised his head to look at the sky, he’d see thousands of brilliant stars twinkling in its dark canopy. But he didn’t. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the waves in the distance, the moonlight illuminating their frothy tops as they broke on the sand, lapping at the shore in a hypnotizing rhythm that could easily lull one to sleep. But not him. He would not sleep this night. He was too preoccupied with the puzzle before him — Marie’s children and how to find them. He didn’t have any idea of how to find Marie’s children’s children.

He knew their names were Michele and Simone, but that was all he knew. He sat pondering, reliving every moment of time since he’d found Marie in the convent on her deathbed. Words, sights, conversations played through his mind. Suddenly he sat up straight, his head canted just so as he closed his eyes to concentrate on a fleeting conversation that replayed itself in his memory. In his imagination, he was back in the hallway outside Marie’s door, watching the nuns on their knees praying for Marie’s soul as the Mother Superior exited Marie’s room to tell them it wouldn’t be long. He saw one nun approach the Mother Superior and say ‘they’ may still make it in time. He heard her say that someone still sent coins in Marie’s name every month.

Odin’s eyes opened and he smiled sardonically. He knew exactly where to start searching for Marie’s children and their children. Someone was still sending money to the convent to cover the cost of her expenses. If he followed the money, he’d find her descendants.

~~~

“Maura?” Terrus said quietly as he walked her back to her shelter after they’d attended the memorial service they’d had for Odin’s friend, “I would like you to be honest with me, please.”

“I’m always honest with you, Terrus,” Maura said.

“Yes, but you aren’t forthcoming of late.”

“In what way?” Maura asked indignantly.

“In that you are avoiding me. Have been for some time now, and you seem angry. I’d like to know what I’ve done to displease you,” Terrus said.

Maura sighed in frustration but made no effort to explain herself.

“I cannot repair whatever damage I’ve done if you don’t explain to me what I’ve done,” Terrus pressed.

“How can you not be even slightly aware of the reason for my displeasure?” Maura asked.

“How can you expect me to know if you don’t tell me?” he demanded exasperatedly.

“I shouldn’t have to tell you!”

“To my knowledge there is no issue! We walk together, we share company, and we talk. It’s pleasant. There is no indication of displeasure as far as my senses can tell. I like things the way they are, and see no reason to change them! What is your displeasure?!” he almost shouted.

“My displeasure is just exactly what you’ve said!” She grabbed up her skirts and stomped off, leaving him behind on the trail.

“But, Maura!” Terrus called after her. “Maura! Allow me to at least see you home!”

“Leave me alone, Terrus!”

Terrus stood his ground, watching Maura as she strode angrily away from him. He honestly had no clue of the reason for her behavior.

“You, my dear brother, are almost as clueless as Lore. In some ways, more so.”

Terrus turned to find Luci standing behind him. “I believe I am cursed, Luci.”

“You are not cursed.”

“Then why does every conversation I have with Maura end this way? Sometimes I think I should have remained alone. It was so much simpler.”

“And that’s the problem.”

“Now you’re speaking in riddles just as Maura does.”

Luci smiled gently at her youngest brother. “Come with me. Let’s walk for a while and we’ll talk while we do.”

“Where are Murder and Bliss?” Terrus asked, looking around for her family.

“I’ve already taken them home. I felt your unease and came to be sure that you’re alright.”

“And that is much appreciated. But when I did the same for Maura just a night or two ago, she was most unappreciative.”

“She doesn’t understand you.”

“I don’t see how I could be much clearer.”

“Terrus, you could so easily see Carrik’s needs as the Dragon tree. You and I could both see the needs of Lily and Lore. Why can’t you see what you need for yourself?”

“I don’t know. I have no ability to speak with any female but you. I seem to infuriate Maura every time we’re together. It should not be a mystery. I’ve spent more years with nature than I have anyone or anything else. I find peace there.”

“I know. Tell me, what is the status of the relationship between you and your mate?”

“Mate? I have not taken a mate.”

Luci linked her arm with her brother’s as she started to walk, forcing him to go with her. “And that is the problem. Do you not care for Maura?”

“I do. Very much!”

“Then why have you not claimed her?”

“She’s not my mate.”

“She is. I thought Lily made that clear.”

“She alluded to such, but I think she may be mistaken.”

“Why do you think Lily’s mistaken?”

“If Maura were my mate, she’d want to be with me. Want to spend time with me, and she’d leave that hovel she calls a shelter and shares with whomever else needs shelter, and she’d live with me.”

“Where?”

“Where what?”

“Where would she live with you?”

“Well, in the mists.”

“No.”

“No? Why not?” Terrus demanded, thoroughly confused.

“She is not of the mists, as we are. Magics? Yes, she has a bit of Fae magic in her soul, but she’s not like us. She needs a place to be. A place to access without her mate to take her to and from there every time she wishes to come or go. She needs her mate to acknowledge her, to care for her. Maybe more so than most would need.”

“You believe that Lily is right and she’s my mate?” Terrus asked.

“Yes. I’ve never known her to be wrong, and you know that as well.”

“Maura doesn’t want to be with me.”

“Maura wants very much to be with you. She thinks that you are ashamed of her and only want to be near her when it’s convenient for you.”

“That’s ludicrous. It makes no sense at all. Why would I seek her attention if I didn’t want to be near her?”

“Terrus, she’s a banshee. She’s lived her entire supernatural existence being banished, being feared, hearing tell of how frightening her appearance is, how evil her presence is, when in fact all that made her this way is heartbreak. The loss of her child, the loss of her family, it turned her to what she is now. She’s forgotten who she was before. But she senses hope in you. It’s why when you touch her, she becomes a vision of her former self. You are her mate.”

“I don’t see her as she sees herself,” Terrus said.

“You need to prove to her that you don’t.”

“How?”

“Make a home for the two of you to share. A home that every time she looks around it, tells her what she means to you. A home that every time anyone else sees it, tells them the same thing. Let others see that you are proud of her and that you want her by your side. Show her what she means to you. You must put time and effort into this relationship to let her know both she and the bond between you is important to you, and that you want to build a life with her. The longer you put it off, the more she’s convinced that you are ashamed of her.”

“Why couldn’t she just tell me that?” he asked sadly. “I could have told her what she means to me.”

“Why haven’t you?”

“I thought she knew!”

“The one thing I’ve learned in relationships with those who aren’t like us, is that we can never assume they know what we do. They don’t. Talk. Talk all the time. Tell them what you feel, what you think, what you want. Ask what they feel and what they want. If you don’t, you’ll never be able to make a relationship with them work,” Luci explained.

“It sounds like a lot of work,” Terrus said, looking off in the direction Maura had long ago gone.

“It is. But it’s a lot of happiness, too. A lot of love. A lot of peace.”

“Where does she want to live?” Terrus asked.

“Does she have friends?”

“Brannaugh. Brannaugh’s mate. Maybe more of his people.”

“Maybe near enough to his home that she could visit her friends.”

“She did say how much she admired his home,” Terrus admitted.

“Ask him to help you design one for you and Maura. I know he built his by hand, not magic. It was important to him to do so.”

“I’d rather build it alone.”

“That’s entirely up to you, but if you don’t change the way you approach her, you’ll never win her.”

“I suppose there’s no way around it.”

“If you don’t want to be with her, don’t change anything. You’re doing a good job of keeping her way.”

“I do want her. I think maybe she’ll be disappointed in me once she gets to know me well.”

“I think you’re wrong.”

“I care for the land, the creatures who call it home. The very ground we walk on. Perhaps she won’t find that interesting.”

“She comes from old magic whose very foundation is the things you care for. I think you have more in common than you think.”

Terrus smiled at his sister. “I guess I need to go make a house.”

~~~

Odin moved silently through the hallways of the convent once again, using the shadows to keep himself veiled. His first stop was Marie’s room, which had been cleaned and the bed made. Sitting on her bed was a simple wooden box with a hinged top. He opened it and thumbed through its contents for only a moment before determining that it held old letters, that had apparently been read many, many times. He also found several journals she must have filled with her thoughts or memories, a ribbon tied round a lock of hair, and a tiny white dress — obviously for a baby. These were all that was left of Marie’s presence in this place. He sat on the edge of her bed and took a moment to look through the envelopes the letters were in. The handwritten dates on the outsides of them gave him an idea of the last time she’d received word from anyone, and that information made him feel even worse. Twenty-one years. She’d not received a letter from her family for twenty-one years.

Shaking his head in disgust at not only himself, but at those who’d been her blood, he made sure the box with all her things was locked, then held it close as he left her room and set out to find the one thing that had lured him back to this place. Proof of money that had been sent to the convent in Marie’s name. He needed to know where the money came from.

Common sense told him that if he found the public rooms on the first floor, the office used by those who kept the finances and saw to the inner workings of the convent couldn’t be very far. And he was right. After locating the kitchen, the larder where meats and foods that required cooler temperatures to store were kept, and the pantry which stored grains and legumes, he simply took the time to open all doors nearby and peer inside. He found what he assumed was a library filled with heavy wooden tables and shelf upon shelf of books, papers, and pens. He found the chapel with rows of wooden benches for the sisters to rest upon while in prayer, and eventually he located what could only be the common areas of the convent. Multiple small tables encircled by four or five chairs each were spread out across a large room. There were large windows, shuttered against the night, that could be open to let in the scents, sights and sounds of the gardens outside. This was surely where the families of those who lived in the convent would come to visit.

Stepping out into the corridor once more, he looked into the room at his back once more before he focused on what seemed to be a small separate structure on the other side of the gardens. Setting a path straight for that structure, he was pleased when he opened the door and found just what he was looking for. A single desk and chair, shelves of ledgers lining the walls. This was surely the business office of the convent, where they recorded all their finances, made record of any goings on between the community and the sisters.

Odin silently crossed the small room and put Marie’s box on top of the desk, then turned to the shelves of ledgers. He pulled them off the shelves one at a time, opening them and thumbing through them to see what they contained. He discarded them one after the other until he realized there was a system to them. The records of items the sisters made and sold were in the yellow bound books. The debts they owed were in the red bound books, but the finances they received were in the black bound books. Ignoring all the rest, he began to look through the black bound books, glancing through the pages while he looked for Marie’s name.

It only took a little while before he found what he searched for. And there was more. It appeared to him that most of the women whose expenses were recorded in these books were listed as sisters, which Odin interpreted to mean they were nuns, having taken vows to join the order. But Marie’s name, simply said Marie. There was no ‘sister’ reference or title beside her name. The sisters’ expenses were simply recorded as a means to show the inner workings of the convent. A way of accounting for any funds spent to keep the convent running smoothly. Marie’s expenses were offset by the funds that were occasionally received from whoever was sending them, and by her manual labor. She did laundry, she worked in the kitchen, she scrubbed the floors in the chapel, she did just about anything that needed doing — in exchange for room and board. Marie was paying her way one way or another. The convent had apparently given her sanctuary, but she’d not joined the order.

As he mulled this information over, he continued looking through the three or four books that held a record of Marie’s expenses, and the labor or funds that offset them. Each time he’d get to the end of one, rather than put it back on the shelf, he placed it on the edge of the desk before going on to the next. When finally he’d gotten through all he could find, he realized he still didn’t know where to go. The most recent funds received were marked against Marie’s name, but there was nothing to indicate where they came from. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks, his head canted as he considered things. The Mother Superior had said that funds had just arrived, and the last entry in the most recent ledger was three months prior. Which meant that the most recent receipt of funds wasn’t yet recorded. Which meant it might not have been processed yet, and could still be in this very office.

Inspired anew, he began searching through the drawers of the desk, then moving the other rudimentary furniture of the room and looking behind it, but he found nothing. Flopping frustratedly into the chair, he scowled as he looked around the room, wondering what he’d missed. Surely the funds were hidden here. Then his gaze fell on an ornate footstool that was completely out of place among the rest of the furniture not only in this office, but in the entire convent. He got up and went over to it, investigating its assemblage. When it rattled slightly, he grinned. Lifting the cushion from its base, he found a secret compartment with quite a bit of money inside. Among it was an envelope with the letter and silver coins still inside, bearing Marie’s name on the outside.

“I banish thee! In the name of the Lord, our God, I banish…”

“Oh, shut up,” Odin snarled.

“Be gone, Demon! Be gone and have mercy on our dear Marie. Return her to our fold,” Mother Superior wailed, crossing herself before clasping her hands at her breast, her lips murmuring non-stop prayers at finding him in her office.

“Would you have me dig her up and deposit her here in this very room?” Odin demanded without emotion.

“Oh!” Mother Superior exclaimed and began praying louder.

“She’s gone. You knew she was dying, why are you shocked?” Odin asked, shaking his head in disbelief at the dramatic disposition of the woman.

“You stole our dear Marie from us in her last hours! You have committed an atrocity that is irreparable!”

“No, I did not. I took MY dear Marie to experience the beauty of nature, the waves on a beach, a sunrise over the trees, the songs of birds singing as they greeted the sun in her last minutes, and she was happy. She was at peace. She did not deserve to die staring at the same four cold colorless walls she’d lived her life in.”

Mother Superior hesitated in her prayers, truly confounded at his words.

“Do yourself a favor, woman. Realize that not all that’s dark is evil, and not all that’s light is good.”

The woman seemed confused, but stepped forward when Odin went back to digging through the stash of money he’d found. “And do yourself another favor… find a better hiding place than this! Everything in this entire convent is simple, hand hewn, without adornment. Yet you use the one single piece that is covered in colored silk damask within which to hide your money. Do you not think this is obvious? Anyone looking for it would clearly be drawn to it.” Satisfied that he’d looked through all that was hidden there and the one envelope and silver pieces the only things that belonged to Marie, he dropped the cushioned top back into place and approached Mother Superior, who quickly backed away from him.

Huffing a laugh and shaking his head, he tossed three gold pieces onto the desk. “I trade you gold for your silver. I have need of this letter and these pieces of silver.”

“What need could you have?” she asked.

Odin looked over at her, completely surprised that she’d had the courage to speak to him. “I’m searching for Marie’s children’s children. I’ve got some questions to ask them. Mainly about why they left her to languish here alone for so many years. But I’m sure she’d want her debts covered, so take the gold.”

Mother Superior’s eyes took in the gold pieces, hungrily calculating how much more she could do with the gold than the silver the Demon now held. She raised her gaze to look at the Demon once more, but he was gone — just that quickly. No trace of him remained except the stack of ledgers on the desk, and the footstool in the middle of the room. Looking around the room once more, she darted over to the footstool and quickly took all the money out of it, then rushed into the next room to hide it away in a less conspicuous place. The Demon may be a Demon, but he was right.

A more conspicuous place than the opulent footstool couldn’t be found.