could close the shop.”
Jord shook his head. “Thanks for offering, Val, but we’ll be fine. I’ve got a whole battalion of bright elves to back me up.”
Val‘s gaze swept to Meghan. Her eyes softened.
“Look, I had this all wrong, Meghan. I’m really sorry. But if you knew Jord like I do, well . . . In any case, I’m sorry.”
The woman shook her head, then continued, “A prophecy, wow. That’s big stuff. Please be careful. I’d really like to see you both back in one piece.”
Jord clapped the woman on her shoulder. “Party at my place when we get back. You’re bringing the pizza. And I mean real pizza, not that veggie thing you like.”
Val just shook her head and sighed at him, then turned and walked away.
Jord chuckled as Val retreated. “She’s not really a bad sort, once she gets to know you, and she has bailed my butt out of jail on a number of occasions.”
Chapter 7
Cold winds whipped around them. Jord saw Meghan shiver, despite the jacket she’d gotten from Freyr. It was so tempting to put his arms around her. His mind came up with a number of ways to keep her warm. The woman continued to dominate his thoughts.
He still wondered about Freyr’s interest in Meghan. Freyr had vehemently argued with Odin to not let Meghan come on this journey. Why? What was Freyr’s stake in all this? He’d never been particularly political. Hell, he’d never been particularly responsible. Freyr was, after all, a fertility god, and Meghan was an extremely attractive woman.
Still, a god had no business thinking of any mortal in that way. The pairing of a god with a mortal was doomed from the beginning to be heartbreaking. ‘It is better to have loved and lost . . .’ did not apply when the one you loved grew old, withered, and died in such a short span of years, while you stayed young and vital.
On the other hand, looking at Meghan, Jord could understand the attraction. Her beauty, her spirit, should have been immortal. It would be easy to desire a woman like this, if he’d let himself. Easy to fall in love with her. He’d seen it happen, and the god or goddess was crushed for centuries after the mortal died. Jord wasn’t about to fall into that trap.
“So the entrance to another dimension is in the basement of the Mall of America?” Meghan’s question interrupted his thoughts. Meghan’s first jump through a dimensional portal had unsettled her and Jord could tell she was still a bit nauseated, but she’d never complained and had pushed herself to keep going.
“One of them, yes.” Jord loved answering Meghan’s questions. The way her eyes sparkled, the way she cocked her head as she considered what he was telling her. “Right next to the aquarium. We set it up when they built the mall. It’s only a one-way portal, though. We can’t have a bunch of dark elves invading a shopping center, so we’ll have to exit another way. But it’s convenient when we need to get here fast. Most of the other portals to Svartalheim are quite remote.”
They were making their way through a thick pine forest down the side of a mountain. Snow hung heavily on the branches of the trees and was piled high on the ground. The pathway down was treacherous, and the going slow.
“Is it always this cold here?” Meghan pulled her jacket in closer. Jord could see she was freezing. Even though he felt the urgency to rush before the dark elves had time to move his father, he knew they would have to stop soon to rest and warm up. There was just something about this area of Svartalheim that pulled the heat from one’s body.
“We’re high up in the mountains. It will get warmer as we descend. There’s a cave, just up ahead a bit, where we can rest and warm up.”
Jord tried using the goat-drawn chariot to move faster, flying above the trees, but the icy winds here were so fierce even his weather control proved useless, and Meghan would have frozen in minutes. So they continued on foot using the protection of the
Jord shook his head. “Thanks for offering, Val, but we’ll be fine. I’ve got a whole battalion of bright elves to back me up.”
Val‘s gaze swept to Meghan. Her eyes softened.
“Look, I had this all wrong, Meghan. I’m really sorry. But if you knew Jord like I do, well . . . In any case, I’m sorry.”
The woman shook her head, then continued, “A prophecy, wow. That’s big stuff. Please be careful. I’d really like to see you both back in one piece.”
Jord clapped the woman on her shoulder. “Party at my place when we get back. You’re bringing the pizza. And I mean real pizza, not that veggie thing you like.”
Val just shook her head and sighed at him, then turned and walked away.
Jord chuckled as Val retreated. “She’s not really a bad sort, once she gets to know you, and she has bailed my butt out of jail on a number of occasions.”
Chapter 7
Cold winds whipped around them. Jord saw Meghan shiver, despite the jacket she’d gotten from Freyr. It was so tempting to put his arms around her. His mind came up with a number of ways to keep her warm. The woman continued to dominate his thoughts.
He still wondered about Freyr’s interest in Meghan. Freyr had vehemently argued with Odin to not let Meghan come on this journey. Why? What was Freyr’s stake in all this? He’d never been particularly political. Hell, he’d never been particularly responsible. Freyr was, after all, a fertility god, and Meghan was an extremely attractive woman.
Still, a god had no business thinking of any mortal in that way. The pairing of a god with a mortal was doomed from the beginning to be heartbreaking. ‘It is better to have loved and lost . . .’ did not apply when the one you loved grew old, withered, and died in such a short span of years, while you stayed young and vital.
On the other hand, looking at Meghan, Jord could understand the attraction. Her beauty, her spirit, should have been immortal. It would be easy to desire a woman like this, if he’d let himself. Easy to fall in love with her. He’d seen it happen, and the god or goddess was crushed for centuries after the mortal died. Jord wasn’t about to fall into that trap.
“So the entrance to another dimension is in the basement of the Mall of America?” Meghan’s question interrupted his thoughts. Meghan’s first jump through a dimensional portal had unsettled her and Jord could tell she was still a bit nauseated, but she’d never complained and had pushed herself to keep going.
“One of them, yes.” Jord loved answering Meghan’s questions. The way her eyes sparkled, the way she cocked her head as she considered what he was telling her. “Right next to the aquarium. We set it up when they built the mall. It’s only a one-way portal, though. We can’t have a bunch of dark elves invading a shopping center, so we’ll have to exit another way. But it’s convenient when we need to get here fast. Most of the other portals to Svartalheim are quite remote.”
They were making their way through a thick pine forest down the side of a mountain. Snow hung heavily on the branches of the trees and was piled high on the ground. The pathway down was treacherous, and the going slow.
“Is it always this cold here?” Meghan pulled her jacket in closer. Jord could see she was freezing. Even though he felt the urgency to rush before the dark elves had time to move his father, he knew they would have to stop soon to rest and warm up. There was just something about this area of Svartalheim that pulled the heat from one’s body.
“We’re high up in the mountains. It will get warmer as we descend. There’s a cave, just up ahead a bit, where we can rest and warm up.”
Jord tried using the goat-drawn chariot to move faster, flying above the trees, but the icy winds here were so fierce even his weather control proved useless, and Meghan would have frozen in minutes. So they continued on foot using the protection of the
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