Loki's Gambit, page 119
part #1 of I Bring the Fire Series
Shaking his head as though he’s laughing, the horse trots toward the trees.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lewis and Bohdi sit across from Steve on a couch dragged into the magic-shielded conference room. Thirty minutes ago, Steve’s phone had started playing a Bollywood tune. He had stared at it a full three rings before answering. Bohdi’s voice was on the other end of the line, sounding shaky and tired. “Steve? It’s us… We’re in Iowa… It’s freakin’ cold and we’re dressed for summer.”
“I can send a team to pick you up, we have an office in Des Moines—”
“S’ okay, we stole a horse.”
There was a sound like horse noises on the other end of the line, and then Bohdi said, “Nice horse…nice horse… I gotta go.”
Beatrice had burst into his office a minute later shouting that Lewis was back. Thinking Bohdi was out of his mind more than usual, Steve had ordered Brett and Bryant to put a trace on Bohdi’s phone. Before he’d even finished sending the request, someone shouted, “There’s an eight-legged horse outside!”
Now Lewis and Bohdi are both wrapped in blankets. Mugs of fresh coffee sit on the short file cabinet doubling as a table in front of them. Apparently, a commute from Iowa to Chicago on an eight-legged horse that walks through time only takes about five minutes.
Beside Steve sit Hernandez, Brett, and Bryant. There’s a window behind the couch, covered up by shades and lined with Promethean wire—but the sound of rain from outside is still audible. Bohdi keeps looking over his shoulder and at the ceiling…as though he’s expecting someone. Which maybe he is.
Steve leans forward and says in as soothing a voice as he can manage, “Bohdi, yes, it’s Thor. He’s coming, but all our intel says he’s alone. Nothing bad is going to happen to you.”
And if it does…Lewis says Sleipnir is one of Odin’s greatest treasures. Steve thinks the horse will make a lot of glue, and fuck it, if Thor or Odin tries any shit with anymore of Steve’s people, that’s what the eight-legged pony will be. Damn scientific interest and intergalactic diplomacy.
Flicking his lighter, Bohdi faces forward but doesn’t meet Steve’s eyes.
“Now,” Steve says, “Bohdi you were telling us about going to the Norns to ask about your parents…”
“Ah, yeah, well…” Bohdi’s head bobs nervously. “They…they wanted me to…ah…with them…and I said no…”
“Wanted to what?” said Hernandez.
Bohdi swallows, his head droops to one side. He doesn’t look at anyone.
“Have sex,” Lewis says.
“And you said no?” says Bryant, sounding genuinely puzzled.
And true, for Bohdi, that’s kind of startling, even if the women in question had six arms. But the kid is so distraught…
“Why did you say no?” says Hernandez, his tone too tight.
Hernandez had wanted to interrogate Lewis and Bohdi separately. He doesn’t believe they were kidnapped by Thor. Neither does Steve, but he’s willing to let it slide. Lewis and Bohdi are the only two humans to go to Asgard and come back. Steve wants them to feel safe and secure, and to be on his team.
Bohdi takes a deep gulp of air.
“Because they wanted to eat him!” Lewis says.
Bohdi starts and looks at her, eyes wide.
“That’s why you couldn’t, isn’t it?” says Lewis, putting a hand on his knee. “I figured it out…They’re spider women, and some spiders eat their mates afterward…and well, I remembered Addie saying how we should fatten up…I thought she was just being mean but…”
Bohdi swallows again and smiles slightly. In gratitude…relief…or…Steve lets that explanation just hang in the air for a bit.
Not meeting anyone’s eyes, Bohdi whispers, “The first words out of Addie’s mouth when I walked in the door were about how delicious I looked…”
“So there’s something that can turn you off?” says Hernandez.
“Shut up,” Lewis snaps.
Shooting Hernandez a death glare of his own, Steve says, “Moving on.” He’s starting to see why Bohdi might be in a bit more shock than Lewis.
“I jumped out the window,” says Bohdi, finally meeting Steve’s eyes, “and landed on Nidhogg’s head and bit his tentacle and ran like hell—”
“Screaming for Thor at the top of his lungs,” says Lewis. “We could hear him even from camp.”
Nodding, Bohdi says, “And then there was a blast of fire from the dragon—”
“It just missed him,” says Lewis.
Sitting back, Steve listens as they describe their trip to Asgard. Thunder rumbles outside as they bashfully describe the Einherjar’s suggestion they get married. Steve has to hide a smile behind his hand as they say how crazy that was. They’ve been interrupting each other’s sentences from the get go and making sure the other got credit for all his…or her…heroics—just like a happy couple that’s been together for years.
Lewis says, “And then Bohdi stood up so fast at the table, he knocked over the cups and everything and distracted Odin and I…” Her voice trails off.
Bohdi looks at her, looks back at Steve, and says, “Performed a Vulcan neck pinch.”
Steve’s brow furrows. “Really? I’ve been doing martial arts for years and I can’t do that. You have to know anatomy really well.”
“Amy is a doctor, Steve,” says Bohdi.
“Of veterinary medicine,” says Hernandez.
“I took comparative anatomy,” says Lewis, a furrow appearing in her brow.
“It takes a lot of strength, too,” says Steve.
For a few seconds, neither says anything, and then Lewis says, “Adrenaline.”
Something is off, but Steve decides he’ll confront them about it later—separately. “So…then…”
Bohdi’s mouth falls open. Lewis’s lips make a small “o.”
Clearing his throat Bohdi says, “So you know…we think Freyja, Goddess of Love, Beauty, and War, might have her sights on you.”
Steve snorts, and rubs the bridge of his nose. “I should be so lucky.” He waves his hand. “Back to how you got out of Odin’s dining room.”
Lewis’s and Bohdi’s eyes slide to each other. Appearing to hesitate, she says, “Well, there was another tunnel that…”
At that moment, there is a familiar rumbling voice from the hallway. Lewis and Bohdi both snap their heads to the door. Steve’s phone rings. He hits accept and lifts it to his ear. “Director Rogers, Thor Odinson wishes to come in…and deliver an apology on behalf of the All Mother. He says it can’t wait, and he must speak to Dr. Lewis and Bohdi immediately.”
“Send him in,” Steve says, eyeing the kids.
Not two seconds later, the door bangs open and Thor strides in. Eyes going immediately to Lewis and Bohdi, he bows at the waist. “My friends, the All Mother, Queen Frigga has told me about my father’s shameless behavior toward Dr. Lewis’s person.”
“He tried to touch her cheek,” says Hernandez, sounding a little confused.
Thor blinks. “Perhaps my understanding of modern Midgardian manners is deficient?” Shaking himself he says, “But she bids you know, she will make sure that Odin does not retaliate against you. She’s grateful she was able to intercede in time.”
Bohdi’s shoulders soften. Lewis gasps, sags, and closes her eyes.
“You found a tunnel?” says Bryant.
“Queen Frigga showed us where it was and gave us directions to the stables,” says Bohdi too quickly.
“Yes,” says Lewis, very fast.
Steve raises an eyebrow but lets the obvious lie slide.
As they describe their altercation in the stables, Bohdi’s shoulders slump. “I might have killed the guard,” he whispers. “But I didn’t mean to. He was a nice guy.”
Steve feels a hollowness in his gut for the kid but isn’t sure what to say, surrounded by too many people.
Later, as everyone starts to leave—Lewis being led out by her grandmother—Thor says, “I would have a word with Mr. Patel, alone, in this magically shielded room.”
Steve is about to say no way in hell. But he looks to Bohdi first. Bohdi’s looking up at Thor, something undecipherable in his eyes. Sounding uncharacteristically old, Bohdi murmurs, “Sure.”
Steve hesitates, fist tightening at his side. But then he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. He’ll catch up on the conversation later—the room has a few hidden bugs.
He turns and walks a few steps, and then stops by the little service hallway shaking his head. When they’d first brought Bohdi in, he’d wandered down the hall, looking a little dazed. When Steve had said, “We need to debrief you,” Bohdi had looked confused. “Me?” he’d asked. Steve rubs his jaw. The kid must have been in shock. Steve walks toward the grimy window at the hallway’s end, his mind running through all the intel Bohdi and Amy gathered. The elves are trading weapons with the Fire Giants, and they are seeking Loki too…but no one’s found Loki. Steve rubs his temples. Maybe he’d kind of hoped Lewis would find the guy and bring him back—Loki was a useful ally. And Steve would rather Odin not have allies. His nostrils flare and jaw hardens. Actually, Steve would rather Odin not have anything he wants.
Putting his hands in his pockets, he gazes out the dirty window remembering Ratatoskr’s words after Loki destroyed Cera, “The team with Loki always wins.” He shakes his head. Doesn’t matter. Not a lot he can do.
He hears a bang from the conference room. Crap. Bohdi probably told Thor where the bugs are. Turning around, Steve’s about to go back to the conference room when he notices that the utility closet door is slightly ajar. As he prepares to close it, he hears murmured voices from within. Blinking, Steve steps into the closet. It’s empty. But Bohdi’s voice comes from a vent on the wall. “Why did you lie, Thor?”
Steve closes the door gently behind him and steps over to the vent.
Bohdi jumps a little as Thor crushes the last of the bugs with Mjolnir. Turning to Bohdi he says, “Even without magic it still works as a hammer.”
Bohdi’s hands fist into the blanket draped over his shoulders. Pulling it tighter around him, he asks again, “Why did you lie, Thor?” Beneath the blanket he fumbles for his lighter. “And why didn’t I feel it?”
Sighing, Thor sinks into the chair vacated by Steve. “Ah, you know what you are.”
Bohdi bows his head. Thor’s casual acknowledgment shouldn’t make him feel like he’s starved for oxygen. He stares at the dingy carpet beneath his feet. Being on Earth, in the drab conference room, back in normalcy…Bohdi had almost hoped believing he was the incarnation-of-chaos-thing was a product of stress, extreme circumstances, and his own slightly wonky brain.
“I did not lie,” Thor says. “I told the truth. That the new Loki was destined for Hel and would be there shortly.”
Bohdi’s brows draw together. Lifting his head sharply, he says, “Is that some sort of fucking riddle?”
Thor snorts. “Yes, I suppose.” His eyes drop. “Hel is in the realm of Niflheim, where Loki’s daughter was banished long ago and then died. The story made its way into your myths…though it was twisted and convoluted…and then made its way back to Asgard.” Looking up at Bohdi he says, “In Asgard, being destined for Hel means to be destined for death.” He sighs. “…and you will be dead too soon.”
Rolling his eyes, Bohdi tightens his fingers around his lighter. “Thanks for reminding me I’m going to die in fire and pain.”
A sad puppy-dog look settles on Thor’s face. “I only meant that you are mortal, and I am sad of it.”
Bohdi meets the big man’s gaze. He feels no need to sniffle, but maybe it is the magic sealing room?
Shaking his head, Thor says, “Why did you choose such a weak form?”
“I didn’t choose it,” Bohdi snips, shifting in his seat, and drawing the blanket tighter again.
Thor sits back and narrows his eyes. “You have so little magic you don’t even have an aura—” The big man’s jaw drops. “And maybe that’s why…without an aura you can’t be identified.” Thor shakes his head. “It’s a very clever disguise. And you have human magic.”
Bohdi leans back against the cushions of the couch. What had the Norns said? Even they hadn’t been sure it was him…
He thinks of the Valkyries who saved him from the Norns, and scuffs his feet in the carpet. “Was there something in particular you wanted to say?” he says.
The chair Thor sits in creaks. Bohdi lifts his eyes to see Thor has straightened. The big man gives him a sad smile. “Queen Frigga begs that when you return you have mercy.”
“Return?” says Bohdi, with a sharp exhale. “Believe me…I don’t want to return.”
Thor sighs. “But you will, or human kind will. Odin is afraid of humanity’s magic and determined to put Earth under his thumb. Sooner or later, humanity at large will retaliate…and it’s your nature to be in the thick of such chaos.”
Bohdi, draws back. “Why would Odin be afraid of Earth?”
Brows rising, Thor stares at him a moment. Bohdi squirms under his gaze.
Putting his huge hands on his thighs, Thor draws back a little. “Truly, you don’t know?”
Bohdi stares at him blankly.
Thor huffs. “Besides the fact that there are more than seven billion of you—nearly seven times as many as the other realms combined—your kind has walked upon your moon. You split atoms and rob them of their energy. You send signals through the air at the speed of light. You cruise the skies at the speed of sound.”
“But we can’t world-walk!” says Bohdi. “We’re stuck here!”
One side of Thor’s mouth turns up in a twisted smile that somehow manages to be both wry and sad. “For now…but in a hundred years, maybe less, your kind will be traveling between realms through doors that never even existed before.”
Bohdi shrugs. “That doesn’t make us dangerous.”
Thor snorts. “Says the man who set Nornheim on fire.” Shaking his great mane, Thor says, “And when you can leave, leave you will. You will spread out through the Nine Realms and nothing will ever be the same.”
Bohdi’s face must be broadcasting his incredulity, because Thor leans forward and says, “The most humble among you has more magic at his fingertips than the other races would ever dream of. Why, think of the sprites you speak with in your phones!”
Bohdi gapes for a second, and then squeezes his eyes shut and rubs his forehead. “Thor, there aren’t sprites in our phones.”
Thor’s chair squeaks again. Bohdi opens his eyes to see the space Viking’s brow furrowed. Thor’s lips purse. “Ah, that’s right. Sprites are tiny elves, you can’t squeeze an elf into your phone!”
Bohdi lets out a breath.
Thor smiles. “You have spirits in your phones.” He looks up. “Although the word I seek may be closer to kami, there’s no English translation precisely, but they are spirit-like consciousnesses that inhabit all things.”
Bohdi blinks. “No, Thor, we’ve programmed our phones to do simple tasks…”
Thor nods. “Spirits are very simple. Loki said some sorcerers can communicate with them. The one time he tried wasn’t very helpful…although, I truly believe the rock wanted to give us directions.”
Bohdi feels his nostrils flare. Tapping his fingers on the couch, he says, “There are no spirits in our phones, Thor.”
The big man smiles slyly. “Are you sure? Everything exists as both matter and energy, Bohdi. Your quantum theory tells you that.”
Bohdi blinks at Thor. The implications of that are interesting…
And then his jaw gets hard. Thor still hasn’t answered his question. “Why did you lie to Odin?”
Thor’s smile melts away. “There was my oath…”
Bohdi shakes his head. “But you’re not going to tell Odin now that you brought me safely home.” Bohdi’s not sure how he knows it, but he does.
“No.” Thor frowns, and a crease settles in his brow. “The Norns…and Frigga…have given me much to think about.” Swallowing, he says, “Ragnarok has begun. Heed Frigga’s plea… It is mine as well.”
Bohdi slumps against the back of the couch. Ragnarok? He’s heard that word before…
Shifting in his seat, Thor says, “Son of Patel—there is one more thing.”
Bohdi looks up. Thor is leaning forward, elbows on his thighs. There is something about the weariness in his expression that makes him look ancient. “If you know you are destined to die in pain, think hard about what you find worth dying for.” He gives a weary half-smile.
With a soft exhale, and a loud squeak from the chair, Thor stands. Coming over he puts a hand on Bohdi’s shoulder. “We will meet again Son of Patel. Burn bright.”
Thor’s eyebrows rise a little, as though he is waiting for Bohdi to say something in return. But Bohdi has no words. He just slouches into the couch and looks at his feet.
Thor turns and leaves the room, and Bohdi bites his lip. And then he remembers there was another mystery he wanted an answer to.
Exiting the women’s locker room, Amy surveys the comfortable yet rather stylish workout gear Beatrice supplied her with. Yoga pants, a T-shirt that’s a little too tight, and a zip-front sweatshirt that won’t quite zip all the way up. She puts her hands into the pockets of the sweatshirt. On one side, Squeakers is curled up in a warm little ball. On the other side, she still has one Archaeopteryx feather—she had relinquished the other to the FBI.
“Told you it would fit,” says Beatrice. She hands Amy a spare winter coat from the lost and found. Before Amy can put it on, Beatrice gives her a hug. “I’m so glad you’re back. That is never going to happen again!”
Amy pats her grandmother. Something hard under Beatrice’s coat at the level of her left hip catches her attention. “Grandma, are you still packing?”
Pulling away, Beatrice grins, eyes sparking beneath her straight gray bangs. “Yep. Legally now.”
“Uh-huh,” says Amy. From her pocket, Squeakers gives a cheep.
Someone clearing his throat nearby catches her attention. Amy turns to find Bohdi, still in Asgardian attire.
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