Page 20 of Valhalla is Full of Hunks
“Very well.” I adopted the same businesslike tone I displayed during meetings. “Before you tell me howIcan help you guys, I need to understand more about your situation. Who did you piss off to end up like this?”
Fen’s eyebrows shot into his hairline. “What? No one. We fulfilled our collective destiny, so our fates should have been assured.”
But something didn’t go according to plan.
I leaned back on my stool and considered the man before me. Few people believed in fate—orthe Fates—nowadays, but Fenrir had existed since the time when their power not only terrified thegods,but humans as well.
As with most deities, the Fates seamlessly crossed mythological borders. In Greece, they were called theMoirai,while Vann and these Scandinavians knew them as theNorns.No matter the culture, the basics remained the same. They were three sisters who wove the story of your life, doled out allotted time, and snipped the thread when that time was up.
And there was nothing you could do to change it.
“So… you suspect your lives haven’t turned out as they should?” I kept my tone non-judgmental, since I was genuinely curious to learn what he believed was going on here.
Fen rose from his chair to pace the length of the kitchen, clearly agitated. “It’s not asuspicion,Iola. Ragnarok happened. We fought a mighty battle against the gods of Asgard and, as foretold, we all fell.Allof us. I can still remember the sensation of swallowing Odin whole. Of Vidar’s sword as he made his killing stroke in revenge for his father’s death.”
He stopped and ran a hand through his gorgeous blond hair, momentarily distracting me.
It’s really a shame I won’t get to yank on it…
I quickly returned my attention to his info dump. “The world began anew, and their successors replaced the old gods. All of this matched the prophecies. Except…” He met my gaze.“Weare still here. For reasons Surtr, Jörmungandr, and I still do not understand, we woke up on the battlefield—despite the fate that was written for us.”
I didn’t know how to respond. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe him, since I was one of the few who knew mythology wasfact.But destiny was a slippery beast, especially when it was based on predictions written—and rewritten—thousands of years ago.
Usually by men with an agenda.
Even with my unique understanding of how this worked, it was difficult to keep the incredulity out of my voice. “You’re upset that you didn’t…die?”
If I’d cheated death like he had—while still defeating my enemies—I would have focused on doing all the things I never had the chance to experience the first time around. I certainly wouldn’t be crying about how things didn’t work out the doomy way some dusty old tome had predicted.
But what the fuck do I know?
Apparently nothing, as Fen sighed and crossed his arms, exasperated with how my tiny brain was struggling to keep up. “Odin, Thor, Freyr, Heimdall, Tyr, Loki…theynow reside in the halls of Valhalla, as all brave warriors slain on the battlefield are destined to do.”
Ohhh…
My mouth dropped open as Ifinallyunderstood the issue. “So you want to hang out in Valhalla with the cool kids—is that right?”
He gaped at me a moment before giving me the chuckle I was hoping for—albeit a sad laugh. “Well, yes. The very gods who mistreated us in life now enjoy the honorable fate meant for us. Wedeservea hero’s death.”
Okay, so they need the therapy-and-reparations combo.
Obviously, I had no choice but to cooperate. These monsters already knew enough about me to confirm I was the target they wanted. Surt had addressed me as a ‘seer’ from the start, so Vann must have let slip the basics about what I could do during one of his visits. However, they’d seemed surprised to learn I could astral project and communicate over long distances, so he was probably as infuriatingly vague with them as he’d been with me about their existence.
So I need to play my cards right.
I didn’t feel particularlyunsafein my current situation—even with Surt’s threats against those I cared about—but I also wasn’t dumb. The more powerful I made myself out to be, the more likely they would let me go once I outlasted my usefulness. In the end, these three were not human, and therefore didn’t follow the same moral code as mortals. I couldn’t allow myself to get too comfortable.
They’re using me, so I’ll use them in return.
Yes, I would do what I could to help them, if for no other reasons than staying alive and experiencing my dream of fancy peen while I was at it. Never mind that my control over my visions was shaky at best, or that I didn’t always remember what I saw.
We’ll just keep those pesky details to ourselves.
“Ok. Got it.” I nodded solemnly, even though Fen had pretty much just confessed that this was all about him and his friends feeling FOMO about the afterlife clubhouse. “Sooooo… who are the key players in this situation besides us?”
My sexy Swede pressed his tasty lips into a thin line. “Odin’s son, Vidar, is the one who cursed us to inhabit these human forms when we first tried to petition our case. He and the other Asgardians have ignored us since then. We’ve tried to capture the attention ofthe Nornsin various ways, but it seems they have forsaken us as well.”
This sounds like something modern technology could solve.
