Hunted (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book Six)

to be made. They will not be on the trail again for some time.>
    I breathed a private sigh of relief—and not just for the extra time. I was glad Diana hadn’t died a true death,for if she had, there would have been no possibility of a negotiated peace between us.
    Odin added,
    Yes, well, I’m sure they found it less so. Listen, Odin, I need a favor if you can manage it. Get word to Manannan Mac Lir of the Tuatha Dé Danann what’s been happening—and Flidais too, I guess. We need some Irish help to get across the channel, because we don’t have anything that can skate us past Poseidon and Neptune, and we’ll probably need Flidais to help us in the UK after that
.
    The raven squawked at me, and Odin’s voice said,
    I know, and I said it’s a favor
. I sensed that Odin wasn’t opposed to helping me, but I’d failed to throw a sufficient sop to his ego first. Thanks to a meal I once shared with Odin and Frigg, I remembered that the Norse diet in Valhalla was quite restricted and unvarying, and Odin might be tempted with gustatory delights.
In thanks for which, I’ll send you some Irish whiskey too, plus some Girl Scout Cookies
. He could no doubt secure such items on his own if he truly wanted them, but things always taste better when they have the added flavor of contraband.
    
    Done. As long as Manannan shows up and we survive
.
    
    What vampire situation?
    
    I frowned.
Only vampires? Didn’t they have human bodyguards?
    
    “Interesting.”
    
    I knew all about it. I’d asked Goibhniu to arrange the whole enterprise the last time we were in Tír na nÓg. The idea was to put a bounty on vampire heads, starting with the heart of their power in Rome, and let all the pods of mercenary yewmen know. I couldn’t have known it would work so well or that they’d coordinate and take out every vampire in the city, but I’d hoped for a significant disruption to the vampire chain of command. This sounded like a complete decapitation of their leaders—literally—and it might explain why we hadn’t seen any more vampires since the Polish border, as well as why Leif might be too busy to deliver his own messages. Odin didn’t need to know that, however. There was no telling who else he was talking to, and I didn’t need to have the mysterious puppet master in Tír na nÓg hearing about it and letting the vampires know that I was paying for their heads.
    Nope
, I said,
not a thing beyond what you’ve told me. It certainly brings me joy to hear it, though
.
    
    It’s a happy coincidence
, I agreed. Theophilus struck me as the sort who preferred to rule from the shadows and not get directly involved, but I bet he would eitherbe required to rule himself now or expend all his efforts in putting some puppets in charge. One of those might be Leif. And I’m sure Leif would be figuring out how to turn the situation to his advantage, as would every other vampire.
     Odin said, Hugin’s head cocking to the side and managing to convey that Odin didn’t think it was a coincidence at all.
    Many thanks, Odin
.
    
    I shrugged as if it were nothing. He didn’t need to know