Odin

Chapter 14

Terrus walked out of his new home, not stopping until he was standing in the center of his yard. He turned and looked back at the home, smiling to himself in satisfaction. The home was made of logs, roughhewn and shaved of their bark until smooth, then fitted together to make walls, both exterior and interior. The stairs inside the home were logs split in half with the flat side up to make a safe surface to step on. There were very large windows in each room that let Terrus and Maura look out at the natural beauty of the plants and trees surrounding them. It gave the feel of being in the woods. The furniture was more refined… pale blue, pink and Ivory silk covered cushions, delicately curved and highly polished wooden chairs and sofas. There were delicate tables, porcelain dishes, crystal glassware, plenty of little pretties on shelves around the house, and encircled by a yard filled with wild flowers of every color and size and deep green grasses. The feminineness of the furnishings made Maura feel delicate and beautiful. The similarity of the structure to the woods the home sat within and the woods themselves gave Terrus the connection to nature that he needed in order to stay grounded. Seeing his mate flitting around the house and the yard made his heart swell with happiness knowing he and his gifts to her were the reason for her happiness.

He hummed to himself as he flitted his hands in the air, sending his mists to add more flowers and even some fruit trees to their yard so Maura would be surprised when she came out of the house to join him for lunch.

Odin, who was moving quietly through the woods, stopped to look at the new home, and the flurry of activity around it. Even the small creatures who usually stayed hidden in the underbrush were skittering in the yard. He watched Terrus mist some fruit trees into place and nod to himself approvingly, before placing more flowers in the yard.

“What are you doing?” Odin finally asked

Terrus turned and smiled at Odin. “Odin! There you are!”

Odin scowled at Terrus. “I’ve been here all along.”

“No, I mean, there you are. You’ve not been seen in a few days. You’ve been missing.”

“I’ve been hiding.”

“Why?” Terrus asked.

“I asked you first. What are you doing?” Odin asked, gesturing toward the house.

“I’ve taken a mate. Maura. Did you know that she’s mine?”

“I did.”

“I’ve finally claimed her, and she’s claimed me. And together we built this house to shelter us. It is perfect,” Terrus said, nodding confidently.

Odin looked at the house again, noticing things about it that he hadn’t already. The very close to nature structure and all the finishing touches he could see from where he stood. “From the looks of it from here, it does seem perfect for you.”

“And for Maura! I spared no detail and was sure to decorate it to her every whim.”

Odin looked up at the house again. “It is just a shelter,” he said, shrugging.

“Odin, it is so much more than a shelter,” Terrus exclaimed.

“It’s a shelter,” Odin repeated. “If it fails, you move to another.”

“Oh, no, no, no! It’s a home, Odin. A reflection of both her and me. A place that reflects not only Maura, not only me, but the best parts of us both, and who we are together. When the world outside becomes too noisy, too busy, too complicated, we can close our door and breathe easy, surrounded by everything that means the most to us. Surrounded by the very things that feed our soul. This is a place for our love, our devotion, our bond, as well as our bodies, spirits and minds to not only be sheltered, but to grow stronger, to thrive.”

“I don’t think that it makes that much difference,” Odin grouched.

“But it does. And for me, at the basest level, the happiness that I see in my Maura’s gaze when she looks around her home, gives such a sense of satisfaction. I provide her home. The feeling of pride I receive from knowing that I have provided security, a place of safety for her is a reward in itself. And the love she’s filled our home with gives me something that I haven’t yet been able to describe. I am unable to even explain to you what it is, because it’s a gift I’ve never experienced. But I do know that it makes me a better male with every second that I live within it.”

“I am glad that you have found your place in this world,” Odin finally said tightly.

“You will find your place one day, too.”

Odin steadily met Terrus’ smiling gaze before looking up at Terrus’ home, then at Terrus again. He shook his head. “No. I won’t.”

“You’ve already met your mate, Odin. There is no reason you can’t build on the instinctive draw to one another. If I can do it, and make it work, truly any living creature on this planet can do it.”

Odin’s expression turned angry. “I can’t have her! Why is it that no one can understand that?! I can’t!”

Terrus’ smile faded and he took a few steps toward Odin. “But why not? There is only one thing that could stand in your way, and I don’t believe that is a problem in this circumstance.”

Odin canted his head just enough for Terrus to see his unspoken question.

“Love, Odin. If you didn’t love her, then surely you don’t belong with her no matter the physical pull. But you do. You love her, that’s why I sense such sadness and heartbreak. That’s why you’ve been hiding yourself away. You have love, so there is no reason you can’t be with her and find reward in all you build together.”

Odin’s face turned a darker blue, the ice crystal-like patterns on his skin becoming more prominent as they do when he’s irritated. “She’s Marie’s descendant! Can’t you understand that? I have no right! We can’t be, it’s impossible!”

“Odin, I don’t think you understand the way of things at all,” Terrus said gently.

“It does not matter. I am a Demon. Demons do not get happy endings,” Odin said, taking a step toward the path he’d originally been on when he stumbled on Terrus’ home.

“Do you know what a Demon is?” Terrus asked, stopping Odin in his tracks.

Odin turned back to Terrus. “I am a Demon.”

Terrus shook his head. “No, you’re not. A Demon is a soulless entity who spends his entire existence in service to evil, to pain and torture. Using every talent they have to trick innocents into a world of darkness and sorrow. They are evil and filled with hate, preying on those who are not strong enough to resist their enticements. You, Odin, are good. You’ve always been good. It’s why you had to leave the life you were born into and find another place, another way. It hurt your heart, your soul, to see others suffer. Any who take the time to really look at you sees the good, trustworthy, male beneath your outer appearance. Unfortunately, there are those who will only see your appearance and not take your actions as testament to your character. I see the good inside you. Enthrall sees it, so does Brannaugh and all the others who share Whispers with you. So did Marie.”

“You didn’t even know Marie.”

“I know a little of everything, dear Odin. Do you forget my origins?”

Odin stood quietly watching Terrus, wanting to believe him, but afraid to.

“I find your path in life a fascinating one,” Terrus said.

“How so?” Odin asked, thoroughly confused that Terrus would find him fascinating.

“Fate went to great lengths to place you in the path of the one human who’d eventually be responsible for the existence of your mate.”

Odin’s gaze narrowed.

“Marie was a little child, as were you, yet as a little child Fate made sure the bond you two created was strong enough to outlast the realities that would befall you. Fate made sure that her memories of you remained fond long after her humanity caused her momentary fright to overwhelm her. Fate made her share her memories with her daughter, and her granddaughter, who shared them with her daughter, and they were all taught that not all that seems bad is bad, that sometimes the very best of those we meet can be disguised as bad. And as a result, the daughter of Marie’s granddaughter did not fear you when you finally exploded into her life.”

“That’s insane.”

“No, it’s meant to be, Odin. Fate put you in Marie’s path, not only for her to pass down the story of you, but so that you would hold to her still, making sure that when you were finally ready, and your mate eventually walked this Earth — holding your soul inside her, guarding it within herself, as part of herself — that all would fall into place. And Marie’s final wish sent you on your way to Simone. Think of it, Odin! Every single little thing that had to happen to turn things this way and that just enough to keep her on the path to you, and you on the path to her, had to occur at just the right time or it might not have come to be at all. Fate engineered such a perfectly complicated path to bring you both together in just the right place, in just the right time, so that you could find your mate — the keeper of your soul. That’s exactly what she is, Odin. It’s why you feel whole when you’re with her. She’s carried it for you all these years. What a shame for you to ignore all the planning Fate put into the two of you. Your happiness and hers, hinges on your actions now, Odin. Will you be so bold to ignore fate?”

“I…”

“Lunch is ready, my love!” Maura called happily as she walked out of the house with a basket on her arm. Her hair was long and luxurious, her eyes a sparkling blue, her skin pinked and healthy, her voice sing-songy and melodic.

Odin’s gaze looked at the woman, his brows knitting together in confusion. “Maura?” he asked.

“Hello, Odin. How nice of you to stop by. Are you hungry? Would you like to share lunch with us?” she invited.

“How is it that she looks like this?” Odin asked Terrus.

“What do you mean? She’s always looked like this? This is my Maura.”

“Yes, but…” Odin hesitated, not quite sure how to finish his question.

“Love is a magic all its own, Odin. It can chase away all the darkness, leaving behind the light that was hiding there all along.”

Odin watched the gorgeous woman that he’d only ever known as a banshee, realizing that the touch and love of her mate had brought out her true self, chasing away the darkness that had claimed her soul so many centuries ago. Slowly his gaze shifted to Terrus, who was standing watching him, smiling at him.

“Your forever awaits. Fate went to a great deal of trouble to align everything just so,” Terrus said.

Odin nodded slowly. A corner of his mouth just slightly curving up into a hint of a smile. “I have to go, Terrus.”

“Yes, you do.”

Odin looked around for the darkness of a shadow to step into, but turned quickly back to Terrus. “If I return successful, would you be willing to help me build a shelter for my mate?”

“It would be my gift to you both,” Terrus said.

Odin smiled at Terrus, then rushed across the yard to the thicker woods behind the house in search of a shadow to traverse. He had to get to Simone. He didn’t bother to search for her, he knew exactly where she was. In the convent, right where he’d left her. He only hoped when he was standing in front of her that she’d listen, that it wasn’t too late.

~~~

Mother Superior awoke from a dream in which she was haunted by a Demon. She sat straight up in bed, her heart racing as she reached for the fan on her bedside table to fan her heated face. Only her hand patted an empty spot rather than landing on the folded paper fan she looked for. She turned to see where it had shifted to and screeched in fear as Odin loomed over her.

“I told you not to let her leave,” Odin said.

“I cannot control your consort! She ran from our gates the moment you left us! I told her to stay or you’d return angry!”

“Where did she go?” Odin demanded.

Mother Superior was busy crossing herself and whispering prayers of protection with her eyes closed, wishing for Odin to disappear.

“I said, where did she go? If you tell me, I will leave.”

“Deal with the devil. That’s what you’re doing. Asking me to make a deal with the Devil.”

“I am not the Devil. I know him, and he is not the all-powerful you think him to be, at least not all the time. You should find a more worthy opponent to fear.”

“Begone,” she begged. “Please be gone.”

“I will. As soon as you tell me where she went.”

“Home! It is all she said. Home!”

“Goodbye, woman. I wish you well. You have been selfless in your assistance to others over the years. I shall not return.”

Odin backed into the shadows and vanished.

What seemed like only moments later, Odin stood in the underground hideaway that had once been Simone’s home. He turned in a slow circle, his eyes lighting on the walls of the place, the remnants that indicated that there had once been people existing within its walls. And the emptiness that proved that they were all gone. He nursed the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he moved through the now cold ashes of the fire pit, the footprints left in the dirt, and the smoke stains on the walls of the cavern where torches and candles once burned. She was gone. They were gone.

“Simone!” he shouted to the echoing walls. As his voice bounced back to him, he turned and ran back into the nearest shadow, his heart clenching, his stomach a pit of despair, a desperation unlike any he’d ever known clawing at his insides as he forced himself to close his eyes and search within himself for the fragile thread representing the neglected bond that connected him to Simone. When he found it, he cried out, loss filling every cell in his body as he realized the thread only led him back home to Whispers. She’d broken the bond, she must have, or it wouldn’t lead him back to his own home — it would have led to Simone.

Finding himself back in Whispers, he stood alone on the beach remembering the last time he’d been here, with Simone, as he let his control slip for the first and only time, claiming her as his mate. As his soul. Terrus had been right, she held his soul inside her, or at least she had. Now, though, any effort at all seemed futile. There was no reason to try. Simone was lost to him. He turned his back on the waves lapping at the shore and trudged carelessly across the sand and into the trees growing some several hundred feet further inland. When he came to Marie’s Hill, he stepped up onto the hill and moved to the middle of it before he collapsed to the ground, lying face down on the grass, grieving what his stupidity had caused him to lose.

He lay that way for hours it seemed, uncaring of the sunlight that turned to darkness, or the insects that buzzed overhead. He was disgusted with himself and his actions, and didn’t care if he never moved from this spot again.