Trapped

« She turned and began to pick her way gingerly down the hillside. I resheathed Moralltach, vowing to clean the blade as soon as I could.
    › I didn’t think her mood could get any worse, but obviously I was wrong, ‹ Oberon said.
    I know. We need to find a safe place for her to yell at me .
    › This place is safe now. ‹
    Yeah, but it stinks, see .
    › So we need to find a safe and fragrant place for her to yell at you. ‹
    Yeah .
    › On it, boss! Follow me between the hills. ‹
    I caught up with Granuaile at the bottom of the hill and flashed a grin at her. She gestured for me to lead the way and said nothing, a bleak expression on her face. I resumed picking a thorny path through overgrown bushes. There was no peace in the valley because there was no peace between us.
    And so of course the bloody Norse chose that moment to swoop in and make everything worse.
    › Atticus, I think we’re being stalked by the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock. First it was a vulture, and now two giant ravens are coming our way. ‹
    Where? I looked up and saw that most of my view was obscured by scraggly trees.
    › That way. Um … the direction Santa Claus comes from. ‹
    North? I turned to my right and saw the ravens after a moment. They were huge and familiar. They were Hugin and Munin, Odin’s ravens. Hugin was new; I’d killed the first one in Asgard years ago, but Odin had eventually hatched a replacement—or rather, Munin had. As they circled nearer, a rainbow arced down from the sky and terminated a few feet from us. I wasn’t surprised there was no pot of gold, but I was faintly disappointed anyway.
    A serene woman floated—or, rather, seemed to float—down the rainbow to meet us. Her long blond hair, gently curling, blew softly in the wind, and a dress of muted oranges and reds completely concealed her feet. The dress was tied underneath the bust and billowed somewhat, giving her a disturbing resemblance to a Dalek as she moved. Still, her bearing spoke of peace and quiet strength, and the tiny smile on her face made it up to her blue eyes once she reached the end of the rainbow and stepped onto the earth.
    » Well met, Druids, « she said.
    » Indeed. A good day to you, Frigg, « I said. Granuaile’s eyes were only slightly widened as I introduced her to Odin’s wife.
    » I’m honored, « Granuaile said. She tried to curtsy but remembered too late that she wasn’t wearing a dress to do it properly, so her gesture turned into a sort of awkward bow with a flourish.
    » As am I, « Frigg said. She turned her gaze back to me. » Odin sent me to visit you. «
    I squinted up at the sky. Hugin and Munin circled overhead but didn’t look as if they had any intention of landing.
    My adversarial relationship with the Norse had been blessed with a truce about six years ago when I returned Odin’s spear and admitted that I owed them something for the slaughter I’d brought to their door.
    A blood price was mentioned, but it wasn’t my blood they wanted. As ever, Odin was concerned most with preventing or delaying the onset of Ragnarok, and he recognized that I could be instrumental in addressing those concerns. I had agreed to help if I could, since I had been the idiot who’d kicked off the apocalypse by slaying the Norns, crippling Odin, and aiding Leif Helgarson in his quest to slay Thor.
    That didn’t mean everything between us was now Kool and the Gang. Frigg was simply better than any other surviving member of the Norse pantheon at concealing her urge to kill me.
    » I expect you’ve heard something about Loki? « I said.
    » We have heard and seen much, « she said. » May we speak for a time? «
    » Sure. «
    » Good. Events are moving toward the cusp of disaster, and we need to make our move soon if we want to avoid the worst. «
    I steeled myself for unpleasant news. Regardless of what Loki had been up to, I was at least partially responsible for setting events in motion. Frigg reminded me of this immediately.
    Shortly after your raid on Asgard twelve years ago, Hel realized she could freely travel the nine planes of Yggdrasil, for that had been forbidden her until then. When Odin had cast her into Niflheim long ago and given her control of the nine realms, her authority extended to only the old and infirm and those unfortunate enough not to be called to Valhalla or Fólkvangr. She could never leave her frozen land on her own, not without the Norns telling Odin and him casting her down again.
    Once