would have had to happen between the time I got home and the time Discord . . . No. No, it wouldn’t. Oh, I’m an idiot.”
“I can’t dispute that based on current evidence,” said Thalia, “but would you care to let your dear old grandmum in on the specifics?”
“I put the spinnerette there myself, back in the Norse MythOS. It arrived in a piece of machine coral of the sort Necessity’s been migrating herself into—next-generation quantum-processing technology. It looked dead, or nearly so. I felt sorry for the little thing, lost so far from home.”
“Back up about six steps,” she said. “I couldn’t ask about your new guests at dinner, and you were all smart enough to avoid the subject once I’d given you the bug note, but I’m thinking I really need to know a lot more about what’s going on here. Especially this Norse MythOS stuff.”
“And I need to know about what’s been happening here while I was away. I’ll tell my story first if you’ll answer me two questions. One, what did Eris do that was so clever?”
“When she transformed your leathers into tweeds, she got rid of the pocket you’d put the spinnerette in without getting rid of the spinnerette. That effectively trapped the creature within the fabric of the new suit. Next question.”
I still didn’t entirely understand the mechanism employed, but I knew enough now to move on.
“How did you know about the spinnerette?”
“I didn’t know for sure, but I had been shown reason to believe it was very likely.”
“Shown? By who?” I asked.
“Persephone, but it’s a long story, and I want to hear yours first.”
“All right. Let’s rejoin the others. I’m sure they’re as curious as I am.”
“More so, actually,” said Melchior from the doorway. “What in Hades’ name is going on up here?”
“Funny you should mention Hades,” said Thalia, “and for once I don’t mean ha-ha.” Melchior sighed. “It’s going to be one of those days, isn’t it?” Thalia tapped her lips thoughtfully as I wound my story to a close. “If what you’re saying about this little jaunt of yours is true, then all the other pantheons are real, too. That’s very interesting. I wonder who knows besides Necessity and you.”
“I imagine you could have some very interesting conversations with the Titans about that one,” I said. “If you could get into Tartarus to see them.”
“Which reminds me, I’d be very careful whom I told the whole story, if I were you,” said Thalia.
“That bit about the Norse Fate naming you the Final Titan might not go over so well with Zeus, among others.”
I snorted. “It’s all just more manipulative Fate bullshit as far as I’m concerned. Portentous lies for the aggrandizement of colossal egos. I was raised on the stuff, and I’m done with it.”
“Don’t dismiss the words of the Norns so easily,” said Fenris. “They can have deep costs. Truth matters little if others believe the lies.”
I thought of the magical cord that had bound Fenris to an island for a thousand years and nodded.
“Point taken. But enough about me and the Norse gods. What brought you here, Thalia?”
“This.” She produced a slender red memory crystal veined with pink. “How far do you trust Dexter and the Wolf here?”
“We can duck out if you’d prefer.” Fenris’s ears and tail sagged.
“No, it’s fine.” I put my hand on his shoulder. “I trust you.” I turned my attention back to Thalia.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because the mere existence of what’s on this crystal reveals a number of secrets I don’t think should be shared with anyone.”
“So why are you showing them to me?” I asked. “You’re my grandmother and all, but so is Lachesis. Family loyalty isn’t exactly this pantheon’s longest suit.” Thalia laughed ruefully. “True enough, and, as much as I love you, I don’t know that I would be showing this to you if it were up to me.”
“Can we
“I can’t dispute that based on current evidence,” said Thalia, “but would you care to let your dear old grandmum in on the specifics?”
“I put the spinnerette there myself, back in the Norse MythOS. It arrived in a piece of machine coral of the sort Necessity’s been migrating herself into—next-generation quantum-processing technology. It looked dead, or nearly so. I felt sorry for the little thing, lost so far from home.”
“Back up about six steps,” she said. “I couldn’t ask about your new guests at dinner, and you were all smart enough to avoid the subject once I’d given you the bug note, but I’m thinking I really need to know a lot more about what’s going on here. Especially this Norse MythOS stuff.”
“And I need to know about what’s been happening here while I was away. I’ll tell my story first if you’ll answer me two questions. One, what did Eris do that was so clever?”
“When she transformed your leathers into tweeds, she got rid of the pocket you’d put the spinnerette in without getting rid of the spinnerette. That effectively trapped the creature within the fabric of the new suit. Next question.”
I still didn’t entirely understand the mechanism employed, but I knew enough now to move on.
“How did you know about the spinnerette?”
“I didn’t know for sure, but I had been shown reason to believe it was very likely.”
“Shown? By who?” I asked.
“Persephone, but it’s a long story, and I want to hear yours first.”
“All right. Let’s rejoin the others. I’m sure they’re as curious as I am.”
“More so, actually,” said Melchior from the doorway. “What in Hades’ name is going on up here?”
“Funny you should mention Hades,” said Thalia, “and for once I don’t mean ha-ha.” Melchior sighed. “It’s going to be one of those days, isn’t it?” Thalia tapped her lips thoughtfully as I wound my story to a close. “If what you’re saying about this little jaunt of yours is true, then all the other pantheons are real, too. That’s very interesting. I wonder who knows besides Necessity and you.”
“I imagine you could have some very interesting conversations with the Titans about that one,” I said. “If you could get into Tartarus to see them.”
“Which reminds me, I’d be very careful whom I told the whole story, if I were you,” said Thalia.
“That bit about the Norse Fate naming you the Final Titan might not go over so well with Zeus, among others.”
I snorted. “It’s all just more manipulative Fate bullshit as far as I’m concerned. Portentous lies for the aggrandizement of colossal egos. I was raised on the stuff, and I’m done with it.”
“Don’t dismiss the words of the Norns so easily,” said Fenris. “They can have deep costs. Truth matters little if others believe the lies.”
I thought of the magical cord that had bound Fenris to an island for a thousand years and nodded.
“Point taken. But enough about me and the Norse gods. What brought you here, Thalia?”
“This.” She produced a slender red memory crystal veined with pink. “How far do you trust Dexter and the Wolf here?”
“We can duck out if you’d prefer.” Fenris’s ears and tail sagged.
“No, it’s fine.” I put my hand on his shoulder. “I trust you.” I turned my attention back to Thalia.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because the mere existence of what’s on this crystal reveals a number of secrets I don’t think should be shared with anyone.”
“So why are you showing them to me?” I asked. “You’re my grandmother and all, but so is Lachesis. Family loyalty isn’t exactly this pantheon’s longest suit.” Thalia laughed ruefully. “True enough, and, as much as I love you, I don’t know that I would be showing this to you if it were up to me.”
“Can we
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