“He’s not even an accountant?”
“Not to my knowledge. I know, you’d really think he would be.”
Hannah stared at the wall preventing her from seeing the annoying man. “Huh.” She should’ve known she couldn’t judge a book by its cover. But maybe that meant the real boss would be nicer.
“Right.” Her computer dinged, and she clicked a few times. “Here we go.” She pulled herself into Hannah’s cubicle and gave her the info. “Let me help get you set up and then you can take care of things. He was right about one thing, the computer really does walk you through everything.”
“Thank you.” With Isabel’s help, everything grew much easier, and Hannah made it through the rest of her first day as an accountant with no real struggle. She made one minor error in the math that would’ve resulted in them owing ninety thousand dollars, but she caught it before it could’ve caused anything, so she was counting the day as a success. She couldn’t wait to do it again. It still hardly felt real, even eight hours in. She was finally an accountant.
A few minutes after five, she joined Isabel at the elevator. “Any big plans?” she asked, trying to fill the empty air.
“Not really. I just want to grab Chinese and get some sleep.”
“I may have to suggest that to my girlfriend.” She almost caught herself. If she’d just stopped a second earlier, she could’ve said partner or played it off the same way straight girls used it, but after an awkward pause, she was certain she’d left no doubt as to the meaning.
“Don’t worry about it. My best friend’s gay.”
Breathing a sigh, Hannah resisted hugging her. “That’s a relief.”
“The company’s great about it, so probably don’t worry, but I get wanting to keep your head down when you’re an intern. Great work today, by the way.”
“I was so worried, but it’s a lot easier than I thought it would be.”
“Or maybe you’re actually a trained accountant or something, love.”
Before the words had time to resonate and her new status could properly sink in, someone screamed down the hall. Someone else called for security, and she heard another voice say, “Sir, this isn’t the renaissance festival. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“Want to take the back exit?” Isabel asked, peering nervously down the hall.
Hannah nodded, and they walked down the Willamette until they reached the side of the building.
“Hurry to your car.” Isabel glanced at the entrance. “I don’t know what was going on, but I don’t want anything to happen to you on your first day. I’ll wait to leave until I see you’re safe.”
“You don’t have to. I can take care of myself.” Except she didn’t want to have to hurt anyone, but she knew she’d never get in a fight. That would just be crazy.
“I insist.” Isabel gave her a quick hug before climbing into her Mercedes.
Hannah was starting to feel some serious car envy, but having a car at all was enough of a novelty that it wasn’t too bad. Hers was back by the entrance since she’d come so early. She’d been too caught up talking to Isabel, her first ever work friend. Hopefully, security had taken care of whatever was going on inside.
She heard heavy footsteps to one side. “Father?” a voice asked somewhere behind her.
As she was no one’s father, she ignored it. The beeper for the car had been on the fritz that morning, but it seemed to work fine now, and she heard the car unlock a couple dozen feet away.
“Thor,” the voice called.
A hand snatched her wrist, and Hannah turned, staring at the massive form of a heavily armored man. “What the fuck?” she asked, trying desperately to pull away.
His eyes didn’t show anger or malice, only a strange recognition and possibly even affection. It made him all the more disconcerting. “See, Modi? I told you it was him. Look at that hair. I’d recognize it anywhere, just like Father’s old beard. I don’t know why he lost the beard, though. I always loved it. It was how everyone knew him.”
“What?” she asked, too confused to even try fighting him off.
“Brother, please,” another voice said behind her, his footsteps thudding on the asphalt. “You’re clearly frightening him. I don’t think he knows anything.”
“But Mimir said—”
“I’m sure dying is quite disorienting.”
“But—”
The man holding her was looking at someone over her head. His grip slacked. Using all of the strength she’d built up from years of working out, she threw her open hands at his chest, pushing him away, and wrenched free of his grasp. Without looking back, she ran for her car, ignoring the confused shouts, and started it before her butt was even in the seat.
As she closed the door, a horn blared next to her as Isabel drove up.
Hannah didn’t look back as she pulled out, narrowly avoiding hitting one of the nearby cars. That would’ve cost a fortune.
Her heart still thudding, she sped down the road, only obeying the speed limit a few miles later. What the hell had that been about? Were they the same people Emily had seen? She needed to know but had no idea how she could possibly find out. What had they been planning on doing with her?
Her heartbeat started to slow again, but she could still feel it in her throat. What would have happened if she hadn’t fought them off? What about Isabel? She’d left her there. What would they do to her? She pulled out her phone and realized as she stared at it that she didn’t have Isabel’s number. She felt like the worst friend, even if they barely knew each other. She’d check on her at work the next day; it was all she could do.
Back home, Hannah tried to think of what to tell Emily. She heard her in the shower, and she didn’t want to ruin their night with the strange news of her recent encounter with the asshole LARPers, but hiding it didn’t seem any better of an idea. She took a seat in their kitchen and sipped a beer. If only Emily didn’t have work, they could stay in and order pizza. She wanted to cower in their apartment, but she had to go to work the next day, and she wasn’t willing to lose this internship. “Fuck,” she muttered, draining the rest of the bottle in a single swig.
“That you, honey?” Emily called from down the hall.
“Yeah, I just got back.”
“All right, give me a minute. Unless you wanted to have that quickie we discussed earlier. I have to head to work pretty soon.”
“I don’t think we have time.” She wasn’t at all in the mood, but she didn’t want to worry Emily. But she should tell her. Why was this so difficult?
“You just keep saying that.” Still glistening from her shower, Emily rounded the corner and gave her a quick kiss. Hannah found her eyes drawn to the toned abs, perky breasts, and ample hips of the woman she was falling for. Though at this point, the abs were all the more impressive, as she’d never seen Emily work out once, and she tended to eat nearly as much as Hannah did. “Did work go okay?”
Say yes. That was all she had to do. But doing so would be giving in to her fear, and she was stronger than that. “It…” she started, searching for a way to explain.
Emily’s brow creased. “Honey? What happened?”
Hannah glanced between her abs and her eyes. Neither one quite helped. “There were these weird guys. I think they may have been the ones you saw in the bar before. They were wearing armor and had swords.”
Emily gulped, her jaw dropping. She knelt. “What happened?”
“They came at me after work.” She sighed. “One of them grabbed me, but it wasn’t a big thing.”
“What do you mean they grabbed you?” Emily growled, her blunt fingernails digging into the arm of the chair as she stared intently.
“You don’t need to be angry. It’s really nothing. One of them grabbed my wrist, but I don’t think they were trying to harm me. They seemed confused and like they wanted to talk,” she said. “I pushed them off and drove away. Nothing happened. You don’t need to worry.”
“Something clearly
did happen. He grabbed you. Don’t tell me not to worry!”
“Babe, it’s okay.” Hannah took her hand, pulling it away from the chair with some coaxing. “You don’t need to worry. Security kicked them out of the building in the first place, and I think they were just crazy. They were babbling some nonsense about Thor or something. I’m fine. And I’m safe now.”
“And I’m about to leave, and you’ll be stuck here alone.”
“They were crazy people on foot. They didn’t follow me here.”
“But…” Emily sighed. “I really don’t want to have to call the cops. But we probably should.”
“And tell them what? That one touched me and then let me go and said weird things? I pushed him a lot harder than anything he did. I don’t think they were trying to hurt me.” She’d seen the look in his eyes, heard his voice. He seemed confused, but how could she possibly explain that to Emily?
“Should I call out of work? I’m really okay with it.”
“No. I’m fine. If you want to do anything, maybe order some pizza?”
Emily crossed her arms. “Is food all you think about? They could’ve done anything to you. And I wasn’t there to protect you.”
“But they didn’t, I’m fine, and now I’m hungry, and you don’t want me to go out.”
Emily rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll do that. Can I at least call Alys? I don’t want you to be alone.”
Hannah took her hands. “I promise. I’m okay. I don’t need a babysitter. And besides, I barely know them, and I don’t think they like me. Just go to work.”
Emily’s eyebrows furrowed. “Hannah…” She sighed. “Fine, but if anything at all happens, call the cops. Promise me.”
How could she argue with that? Hannah smiled, trying not to let any fear show. The two men hadn’t seemed like they’d wanted to hurt her, but that hadn’t made it any less terrifying. “I will.”
“All right. You’re sure you don’t want me to stay?”
“Yes.” Hannah gestured to the bedroom. “Go, get dressed. I’ll be okay. Thank you.”
Emily nodded, still watching her. “Fine. Call me if you need anything, and I can duck out early. You matter more than my job.”
Hannah tried not to tear up. She’d wanted her job for so long, and even if it wasn’t quite the same for Emily, she knew she liked bartending. Would Hannah be able to say the same? The answer came so easily, she almost wanted to laugh at herself. She’d give up just about anything for Emily, no matter how crazy that sounded.
The next two days passed uneventfully. Emily kept checking on Hannah, no matter how many times she insisted she was fine. Though since they worked opposite shifts, it was hard to be too upset by the brief quick glimpses of concern.
Emily finally had a day off, and Hannah was thrilled to actually get to spend time with her. Just, hopefully they could avoid focusing on that incident the other day. She tried to think of something special to do that would be properly romantic, but the best she came up with was that bar they went to on their first date. It wasn’t near their apartment, but cheap beer and delicious food was a hard prospect to beat. The nostalgia only added to that.
They sat at the same table they’d sat at on their first date and ordered a beer they hadn’t tried before. They were promised that it was rich and hoppy, and that sounded like the perfect way to begin the day. Hannah drained hers immediately, feeling a good deal cheerier.
“Has work been okay?” Emily tried.
Hannah rolled her eyes, although she couldn’t help but grin. It was hard to be annoyed when Emily’s concern was so sweet. “Babe, I love that you’re this worried about me, but I’m really fine.”
“I wasn’t—”
“You were. And it’s sweet. No, they haven’t showed up again, like I told you when you asked after I first got home. Other than that, work has been great. I’m making the numbers add up. Haven’t lost the company any money, and I’ve been talking to Isabel a bunch too. It’s been really nice. I think I actually made a new friend. Even if I still feel awful about running off on her.”
“You didn’t run off. She was in a car too.”
“She said the same thing.” Hannah sighed, the merest speck of regret breaking through her cheer. “She left right behind me, and she was fine. She gave me her number, so if anything like that ever happened again, I wouldn’t have to worry. I just feel bad.”
“I know, honey. I can’t believe that happened. What do those armored assholes even want with you?”
Hannah shook her head as she shrugged. “I don’t know. Something about Thor? They seemed so confused, but it was really scary.”
Emily still looked terrified. “I know. I’ve been worried sick about them showing up again. I won’t let them hurt you,” she said, taking Hannah’s hand and squeezing it. The gesture was reassuring, even if it didn’t match her expression.
“It’s okay. I don’t think they meant any harm. They were just kind of intimidating.”
A gruff voice came from just beside them. “I really am sorry about that.”
Chapter Nine
Emily and Hannah turned to find the subjects of their discussion standing a few feet away. They looked downright bashful; the taller of the two was even staring at the floor and softly kicking at the ground with his leather boots.
“What?” Emily asked.
“We didn’t realize that you remember nothing. We were only trying to get your attention. Both of you. We have been for months,” the other said. He sounded more confident, his calm gray eyes meeting theirs with only a slight reluctance. What the hell was going on? None of this made any sense. “We thought if you saw us, then you’d want to talk, but people kept stopping us. It never occurred that to you, we must look like raving lunatics off the street.”
“Sorry, Father. Sorry, Mother,” the other added, still not looking up.
“What the fuck?” Emily looked between the two of them. How long had it been since she’d last blinked? Not a word of this made any sense.
“We left our swords outside, if that helps at all.”
Hannah chewed her lip, staring, the fear on her face seeming to give way to curiosity. “Okay. If you’re apparently not ‘raving lunatics’—which is very ableist, and I’m still not entirely convinced of—then who are you?”
Emily stared at her. Her reaction was just as crazy as what was happening.
“My name is Modi,” the smaller—relatively speaking—one said. “My brother here is Magni. Apparently, you don’t remember us, but you’re our parents.”
“Come again?” Hannah sounded shocked but nowhere near as much as Emily felt.
“You’re Thor and Sif,” Magni muttered.
Emily finally blinked, but she didn’t wake up, and nothing made any more sense. “I’m sorry?”
“What?” Hannah asked.
“You’re our parents. You’re Thor.” He pointed to Hannah. “And you’re Sif.” He pointed to Emily.
Emily let out a nervous laugh. This was so ridiculous. What did that even mean? “So raving lunatics sounds about right.”
“You do know I’m a woman, right?” Hannah asked.
“That threw me off at first too,” Magni replied. “But Mimir seemed quite confident. You’ve been brought back. We were so excited that we rushed down to Midgard to find you. Our parents were alive again, but then…” He trailed off.
“You found out we aren’t your parents?” Emily suggested.
Modi shook his head. “We found out that you didn’t know who you were. We intend to fix that.”
How crazy was this guy? Emily would remember if she gave birth, and a thorough examination proved that Hannah had no way to knock her up. What was he going to do if she didn’t play along? A chill ran up her spine. “And what do you mean by that?”
“Sorry, that did sound threatening, didn’t it? I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that we want to jog your memories. Does anything seem familiar about us, Father?”
Hannah shook her head.
He nodded, looking as if he was on the verge of tears. “What are we to do, brother?”
“There must be some way we can prove it?”
“Do you want to leave?” Emily asked Hannah, not taking her eyes off the men. They needed to get out of here.
“Wait, no, please,” Magni insisted. “Give us a chance. There has to be some way we could remind you of who you used to be. This must be the work of Hel. Why else wouldn’t you remember?”
“Or not have a beard?”
“What?” Emily asked.
“I’ve got it,” Modi shouted. “There are two things Father could never fail at. If she can do them, then not only will my doubts be assuaged, but hers may be as well. No mere human could best Father in strength or drinking.” He gestured toward the horn hung from his belt, a sloshing sound coming from it as he moved.
“Hey, if you’re buying, I’m in,” Hannah said.
“Are you crazy?” Emily asked. Why was Hannah going along with this? She was starting to sound as mad as they were. No matter how broke they were and how much alcohol they were going to go through that night. Okay, she had a point on this one spot.
“I’m still really hungry, and we haven’t had dinner yet.” The waitress was doubtless too scared to come out and deal with these men. Emily glanced around the room. Several people had leapt under tables and a few others seemed to have fled to the bathroom or the back door. One person had their phone out, recording them. “But if we’re having a drinking contest, we’re getting drinks from here. I don’t trust whatever you might have in that horn thingy.” Wow, at least she’d thought one part of this through. Hannah was way too smart to be acting like this. She didn’t actually believe them, did she? Emily took another look at the two giants. Could they really be her kids? No, of course not, how could she even think such a thing?
Thor: Daughter of Asgard Page 7
