The Fire Bringers: An I Bring the Fire Short Story (IBF Part 6.5) by C. Gockel Page A

and big sister.
    “Henry,” Eisa says in a sing-song voice, “Henry, my love, wake up, my darling.”
    Bohdi rolls his eyes. Unlike Amy, Eisa is an unrepentant flirt.
    Eisa kisses the air. “Oh, Henry, what you need is true love’s kiss.”
    Even though he’s not drunk Bohdi almost gags. Not for the first time he wishes that they’d just gotten a regular television set, instead of a magical television from Brett and Bryant. Although it does have amazing reception —
    On the floor, Henry moans.
    Eisa squeals and jumps. “See! See! It is true love. Henry, my darling! Henry!”
    Sitting up Henry rubs his eyes and looks at the screen. “Eisa?”
    “Yes! It is I, my love!”
    “I’m going to throw up,” Henry mumbles, pretty much echoing Bohdi’s own sentiment. Climbing too quickly to his feet, Henry makes a break down the hallway to the toilet. The sound of small thumps from the hallway trail in his wake. Bohdi half gets out of his seat to see what the ruckus was, but then he catches Eisa’s eyes zeroing in on him with laser-like intensity. “What did you do to him?”
    Bohdi shrugs. “How was I to know the Light Elves would be bringing brandy?”
    Sitting back in her chair, Eisa crosses her arms and glares. Okay, fair point, Light Elves always bring brandy.
    “What do you want, Eisa?” Bohdi asks.
    “Other Mom, of course. We want to cure the adze so they can join us in our fight against Odin, like your Daevas.”
    “Your mom can’t just spit in the eye of any adze,” Bohdi says. “Daevas was a powerful magic user in his previous life, and it was partially luck that — ”
    “Just get mom.”
    Bohdi raises an eyebrow. “Right, I’m just chopped liver to you.”
    Eisa’s lips purse, and she has the decency to look slightly ashamed. But then Loki pokes his head into the camera view. “Yes.”
    Bohdi’s eyes narrow. Loki’s eyes narrow back.
    Bohdi’s about to quip something about Loki not liking to look at the new improved version of himself, when he notices this Loki doesn’t have a wedding ring on. They’re “calling” from one of the universes where things between Loki and Amy didn’t work out. Bohdi decides to hold his tongue — he’s nice like that.
    But even as he comes to that magnanimous decision, Eisa groans. “Oh, here we go again,” and he can’t hold back completely. Putting a hand to his chest, Bohdi flutters his lashes. “No, we are not going to ‘go again.’ I, unlike some people, have restraint.”
    Tilting his head, Loki smirks. “Are those more stitches on your arm? Did you manage to get yourself blown up again?”
    Bohdi blinks down at the stitches just below his shirt sleeve. They are a result of an unfortunate accident with some photon fireworks he was testing with Brett and Bryant … and possibly a lack of restraint. He glares back at Loki. “How many times did Hoenir have to stitch you up before your three-hundredth birthday?”
    Loki opens his mouth, and Bohdi says, “I’ll save you the embarrassment of revealing the number to your daughter and go get my wife .”
    Hopping off the couch, and out of view of the screen, he calls out, “Amy!”
    The only response is the sound of Henry throwing up in the toilet. Bohdi winces, thinking of how he’ll explain that to his daughter, Durga. Maybe Uncle Henry has the flu? But then she’ll ask, “Why doesn’t Mommy help him?” or “A magical flu, will there be a quarantine?” Shaking his head he steps into the hall and his eyes go wide. The floor is riddled with framed photos that have fallen from the wall. Henry must have knocked them down on his way to worship the porcelain god. Bohdi drops to the first one. “You broke the picture of my parents!” Heart stopping, he quickly scoops it up.
    He hears a sniff echo from the bathroom. “Sorry.” And then Henry pukes again.
    Bohdi carefully plucks the large shards of glass out of the frame. Fortunately, the photo of his teenage self, grinning between his