Part 22 (1/2)
”Well, I managed to score a couple cases of beer. We can give ourselves epic hangovers in his honor.”
”Beer?” Mist said, touched. ”How did you ever-”
”Feh, black markets are my favorite kind of shopping. I even got some roast beef. I know how much Grimnir liked b.l.o.o.d.y meat.”
”For a dead sister,” Mist said, ”you're not half bad.”
Lilly smiled, looking off into the distance. ”I feel too alive to be dead. But I guess dead is what we still are. Which is weird. Can we die again? I mean, die die, for good? With Valhalla and Helheim gone, do we go anywhere afterward?”
”I kind of like not knowing,” Mist said. ”It's more open-ended this way.”
They walked together through the park, not talking. Mist just enjoyed the feel of solid ground beneath her feet, the sensation of her own pulse.
”Hermod and I are leaving,” she said.
Lilly sat on the playground swings. ”Yeah?”
”Yeah,” Mist said. ”Adrian Hoover's family was in New Jersey when Grim and I abducted him. If they survived, I need to see them in person. I can't repay my debt to them, but I owe it to them to let them know what happened to their son. Whether they believe me or not.”
Lilly nodded. ”I guess saving the world doesn't get you off the hook for everything that happened before.”
”I think that's one of the reasons Vidar and Frigg were so set on starting a new world. New beginnings are attractive.”
”But we're not G.o.ds,” Lilly said.
Mist sat on the swing next to Lilly's. ”Nope. We're responsible.”
Side by side, they swung for a while.
”ARE YOU going to keep that thing in your head?” Hod asked.
Hermod had built a small fire in one of the park's barbecue grills. He wished he had something to throw on it. Some chicken, or hamburgers, or even one of those chemical-filled hot dog things. What did a G.o.d have to do to get a decent meal around here, anyway?
”Hermod,” Hod said, interrupting Hermod's musings. ”The eye. Are you going to keep it?”
Hermod sighed. ”It was showing me more than I wanted to see at first. But I'm getting used to it now. Which scares me.” He looked into the flames. ”I'm going to pull it out.”
”May I ask why?”
The question surprised Hermod. He'd thought Hod would be pleased to hear that he didn't want to hold on to Odin's vision.