Chapter Fifteen
I woke up in Odin's arms. We made love quickly, trying to avoid interruption.
With Odin's magical invisible fingers, tongues, and phalluses, it didn't take long for me to reach my climax.
Once I was shuddering through aftershocks, Odin sped up and found his release too.
I expected him to snuggle with me until the kids came downstairs, but he kissed me and rolled away.
I propped myself up on my elbows. “What are you doing?”
“I'm going to Valaskjalf to use Hlidskjalf.”
I frowned at too many Old Norse words to translate. And then understanding came. “Oh! That's a great idea. Maybe your Santa TV can find Ty.”
“Yes, that would be Hlidskjalf.” Odin slipped out of bed, his naked body waking me up better than a cup of coffee.
I admired his broad shoulders, slabbed with muscles, and his pert, rounded ass. He strode to the bathroom, giving me a look at his front too—sculpted chest, narrow waist, thick thighs, and that lovely, long piece of flesh hanging between them.
Sighing, I climbed out of bed and headed for my dressing room.
It had been a while since I'd been to Valaskjalf.
Odin had three halls in Asgard, but Valaskjalf was where he lived.
No one wanted to live in Valhalla with all those aggro Vikings.
All they did was fight, feast, and, well, you know the third.
There weren't just Viking men in Valhalla.
After getting dressed, I made some coffee.
It was just in time for my other husbands to come downstairs, bringing our children with them.
The stairwells were too narrow for the twins to fly down them anymore, so they petulantly walked down with everyone else.
With the kids herded to the table, Trevor sat down next to Vero, his whole body radiating sorrow.
“Daddy, I can help you find Uncle Ty,” Vero said, giving me a glimpse of the man he would have been, had I not changed the future. I hoped his path would be different now.
As flattered as I was that my son had followed in my godhunting footsteps, life had hardened him in that broken future. I wanted my boy to keep the light in his heart. He could be a fighter and still know how to love. His father and uncles were proof of that.
Trevor flinched and looked over at Vero. “Thank you, Son. There's no trail for us to follow right now, but I'll remember your offer.”
Vero nodded as if that were acceptable, and Trevor ran a hand over his face. I came up behind Vero to kiss his cheek and then moved around the table, saying good morning to my husbands and children.
“Where is Uncle Ty?” Dominic asked.
“He's with a friend.” I stroked Dom's dark hair. “We'll find him.” I sat down just as Odin came back downstairs. “Speaking of which, I'm going with Odin to Valaskjalf. He's going to check his Santa TV.”
“Santa TV?” Lesya asked.
“Yes, Uncle Odin can see everything on Earth through a magical screen.” I smiled at Odin as he came over.
“I'm leaving now.” Odin grabbed an apple out of the fridge. “Are you sure you want to come?”
“Yes.” I got up and followed his lead, taking an orange out of the fridge and a can of sparkling water.
“I want to go too.” Trevor got up.
Odin glanced at me and then nodded.
“Can I come?” Vero asked.
Trevor looked torn. He had just told Vero that he could help. Telling him no now would be crushing.
“Sure, you can come, baby.” I held out a hand.
“Hey!” Lesya said. “I want to go too.”
“Lesya, we're just going to be searching the world for Uncle Ty,” I said. “No playing. Trust me, you'll have more fun here.”
Lesya scrunched up her face, looking from me to Odin, who nodded. “Okay.”
Kirill chuckled. “She's right, kotyonok. It's like vatching surveillance videos.”
“What is survey ants videos?”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing as Vero went to the fridge and grabbed an orange too. He had his head lifted and his shoulders squared. Adorable, but I resisted the urge to ruffle his hair.
“Surveillance,” Kirill said more slowly. “It's footage from security cameras.”
“Oh.” Lesya frowned. “I don't think I'd like that.”
“No, you vouldn't.” He kissed the top of her head and looked up at me. “Mama vill be back soon. Da?”
“Da, see you later.” I headed to the elevator with Vero, Trevor, and Odin.
We went downstairs, but instead of going to the tracing room, Odin went to the front doors and opened them.
“To me!” Odin shouted.
There was no response at first. Then the sound of bird shrieks came, followed by the howl of wolves.
Odin had brought his immortal animal companions to Pride Palace years ago, but their original home was Asgard, and he liked to take them back for visits—especially the wolves, who couldn't go through the Aether alone.
The ravens could cross the Aether on their own, born specifically to spy on the world and bring what they learned back to their master.
Unfortunately, they had been hanging out at Pride Palace when the trickster came for Ty.
Even if they had been on Earth, they were still birds limited to being in one place at a time, and the chances of them being at Moonshine precisely when Ty left were slim.
The ravens appeared first, landing on Odin's shoulders and settling. Then the wolves came out of the tall grass, streaking across the clearing between the grasslands and the palace. They came into the palace and sat before Odin. We didn’t allow them inside often on account of Nick, my immortal gray tabby cat. He was territorial.
But the wolves weren't staying long. We went into the tracing room together, and Geri came to stand beside me.
The first time we had brought them through the Aether, we had to put them in cages.
But they'd learned to stay still and let us grip them by the scruff.
So Odin held Freki, and I took Geri, placing a hand on the tracing wall while clasping Geri with the other.
The ravens would hold on to their master, letting him navigate their trace.
It took seconds to get us all to Valaskjalf.
I came out of the tracing room with Geri, who ran off yipping happily, Freki hot on his tail.
They raced through the main hall and out through a back door.
The ravens followed, overtaking the wolves.
The rest of us crossed the vast hall more slowly.
Even Vero took the time to stare into the distance at the far-off walls, covered in silver shields.
He'd been there before, but Valaskjalf never got old.
The hearths sprinkled around the room were all cold, leaving the room with a chill.
It didn't matter; we were going up to the tower.
Vero went up the narrow stairwell behind Odin, leaving Trevor and me to bring up the rear.
At the top, we stepped into a circular room with a round couch in the center.
A table filled the space in the middle of the couch.
Stone arches spanned the entire wall, going from one side of the door to the other.
They framed views of Asgard, but as Odin approached, the glass panes within the arches shimmered, seeming to move.
“Whoa.” Vero went up to a window pane, hand outstretched.
I grinned as Odin caught his wrist, saying the same thing he'd said to me when I had tried to touch his TV. “Probably best not to disturb it.”
Eyes wide, Vero nodded and stepped back.
Odin focused on the shivering pane as Trevor and I joined him. “Show me TryggulfR, third-born son of Fenrir, the Great Wolf of the Northmen.”
Odin could command the thing to show him any place or anyone on Earth. Wards were the only hindrance to his view. If Ty were on Earth—and that was a big if—he'd probably be somewhere warded. So, this was likely a waste of time. But we had to try.
The panel of glass swirled with light.
“Please.” Trevor stepped closer.
I glanced at Odin, but he was focused on the coalescing colors.
And then Ty appeared, standing beside the trickster.
They were in their female form—the same one they used to seduce Ty.
I didn't know if this was their true form or if they had stolen it from the Goddess whose name they'd used.
Either way, they were female at the moment, so I referred to them as she.
“How many more do you need?” Ty asked the trickster.
“It's Uncle Ty!” Vero declared.
“Yes, baby, shh.” I took his hand without looking away from the screen.
Trevor's hands clenched into fists as he watched the trickster lead his brother across a minimalist courtyard.
I suppose it was a garden, but it was mostly gravel.
An old-fashioned well stood in the center of the sea of white stones.
Trees outlined the area, but there were no flowers in sight.
The starkness drew attention to the grand structure before it.
It was a classical Japanese design, with tiered roofs swaying up into sharp points.
The carved architectural adornments were gilded, standing out against the pure white walls.
Mist drifted across the ground, swirling around their feet.
“This is the last one.” The trickster strode up the wooden steps, holding Ty's hand.
Our view shifted, moving with them through the building, past men and women dressed in traditional Japanese clothing. The humans didn't see the trickster or Ty.
“We're seeing through the trickster’s Unseen Magic,” I whispered.
Odin nodded. “Only a ward will stop Hlidskjalf.”
“Where are you?” Trevor hissed at the image of his brother.
Ty and the trickster went into a room at the end of a corridor, and I realized where they were. I should have guessed it sooner. I had walked the same path they had taken. But it had been years since I'd been to Japan. It wasn't until I saw the altar with the missing sword that I knew.
Amaterasu had refused to give the sword back to her grandson after it was recovered, but she had left him her other two treasures—a crystal ball and a mirror. They stood before an empty sword stand atop a black lacquer chest. Fog swirled within the crystal ball, but the mirror remained silent.
“They're in the mountains of Izumo!” I pointed at the mirror even as the trickster picked it up. “That's Amaterasu's mirror!”
I ran for the stairs, hoping I could reach the tracing room in time to trace to the Palace of Izumo and catch the trickster before she stole Amy's mirror. The Japanese Sun Goddess would be furious if another of her treasures got stolen.