by Unknown
“Very few of you know me,” Kaitlin said as she turned toward the gathering of gods. “You're probably wondering who I am and why I'm here. The truth is that you've known me all along because there lies my other half,” she waved a hand at Ull's corpse but then suddenly slashed it through the air. “No! He's not there anymore. This is just an empty house without an occupant. Ull now lives there,” she pointed towards me. “And I'm grateful to have the chance to get to know him and fall in love with him all over again. I hope that I'll be able to get to know all of you as well as we wait to meet the new Ull.”
There was a gentle muttering of approval and support from the crowd as she went back to Thor's side and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“I feel like I should say a few things on Ull's behalf,” I stepped into the space that Kaitlin had vacated.
I briefly laid a hand against Ull's cheek and smiled down at the serene face before turning to face my friends. Before I could say anything, Odin came forward to stand beside me. He took my hand and faced the crowd with me.
“We should say a few things,” he said gently. “Ull is my grandson after all.”
“Alright,” I gave him a quick kiss. “If Ull were able to speak to all of you, I know he'd try to make you laugh, to make you focus on the good times he shared with all of us instead of on his tragic end, but as much as I'm known for humor in times of trauma, I can't seem to find it in my heart at the moment,” my voice broke and Odin's hand left mine to slide around my shoulders. I blinked away the tears and then steadied myself. “So instead, let me read you a poem that I think expresses best what Ull would want to say:
Don't stand by my grave and weep.
For I am not there.
I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond's glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
In the soft hush of the morning light,
I am the swift bird in flight.
Don't stand by my grave and cry.
I am not there.
I did not die.
Ull has not left us,” I continued into the sad silence. “He has been transformed and given a chance to begin again. What amazing courage he had to take that opportunity. How many of us could say that we'd have made the same decision in his place? As gods, we forget that there is a cycle to things and that death is not something to be feared but welcomed as a natural part of life. We have pulled ourselves out of that natural cycle and returning to it would take an immense amount of strength. I'm so honored and proud to hold his strength within me now, to be given the opportunity to become more than a friend to him. To be able to guide him and love him deeper than I ever could before. In honor of that, I will try my best to cast off my sadness and let it burn away with his old self so that I may rejoice and look forward to his rebirth.”
A sudden mournful roar rolled over us and I looked over the heads of the gods to see my Intare gathered together on the dock. There were so many people at the funeral that only the Squad and Ull's family could fit onto the ship itself. The roar lifted and to it was added an eerie howling, rising from the group of Froekn to left of the Intare. The crackling cry of birds added to this as the Thunderbirds came up between the wolves and lions. Then, above it all, the plaintive neighing of four horses.
The primal sounds of sorrow lifted around us, pulling tears from all within earshot, until finally it seemed to ease our suffering and when the sound died away, we were all left trembling in relief. I was still shaking from the emotional release when Thor came up beside me. I looked up at his steady expression and nodded, then backed away. Odin remained beside his son and Thor gave him a grateful nod before he began to speak.
“I can still remember the first moment I saw my son,” Thor said gently. “He was running away from his mother as she chased him with a switch and he was laughing all the way.” We all chuckled a little before he continued. “And that was Ull. He laughed in the face of danger, even a danger as terrifying as his mother,” another laugh trickled through the crowd. “And I loved that about him. Nothing frightened him, not as a child or an adult. He approached life with an exuberance that made you want to be near him, just to feel a little of it. He could make me smile with a look... and make me angry just as easily. He was not of my blood but it never mattered to me. He was my son.”
“And my brother,” a woman stepped forward out of the crowd and I blinked in shock. She was tall, almost as tall as Thor, with hair that matched his color. That red hair glinted brightly next to her pale skin and her icy blue eyes settled on me in a familiar fashion. I knew that look so well. It was burned into my memory a long time ago.
“Thrud,” Thor whispered and opened his arms.
The woman came forward reluctantly, casting evil looks at me the whole way, but when she reached her father, she sort of fell into his arms, like she couldn't resist his pull any longer. Thor crushed her to him and some of the numerous flowers adorning her hair, fell around them. They made a strikingly beautiful picture of grief.
“Father,” she finally pulled away and looked up at him.
“I wasn't sure if you'd come,” Thor whispered.
“He was my brother,” she lifted her chin, “by blood. I love him. I wouldn't neglect his funeral.”
“I'm glad you're here,” Thor reached to touch her cheek but she pulled back and his hand dropped to his side.
“I won't disgrace Ull by battling over his corpse but know that I'm not here to mend things with you,” she shifted her gaze from Thor to me. “You will all hear of my displeasure after Ull has been honored.”
“As you wish,” Thor sighed and Thrud eased back into the crowd, ending up near my sons; Vali and Vidar. They both nodded to her and she nodded back curtly.
Oh crap, what fresh hell was this?
“I too remember the first time I met my grandson,” Odin's voice cut through the tension. “Ull was about seven years old. He walked through Valhalla and right up to me like he was a warrior full grown. Then he looked me up and down and said So you're my new grandfather. Why don't you have gray hair like all the other grandfathers?” We all chuckled along with Odin. “I told him that I was a god and no matter how old I got, I would never have gray hair. And do you know what that little rascal said to me? He said I don't want a god, I want a grandfather and grandfathers are supposed to have gray hair. Then he called for his father and told Thor that he wanted to go home and he wasn't coming back until I had gray hair!”
“But then he met Geri and Freki,” Thor added with a light chuckle, “and the wolves made up for Odin's lack of gray.”
The laughter continued as god after god came forward to share their memories of Ull. It was the most lighthearted funeral I'd ever attended and I think Ull would have been pleased by that. It was a testament to the type of man he was and the more I listened to the stories of his past, the more hopeful I was for his future as my son.
After all who wanted to had been given a chance to speak, we left the boat for the dock and the longship was cast out into the lake. Vali stood at the end of the dock with his bow and arrow, beside Odin. It was strange but with all of Odin's recent changes to his appearance, Vali looked more like Odin than Odin did. I frowned over this as Vali lit his arrow from a brazier on his right and then sent the arrow flying right into the longship.
The ship caught fire and the flames spread quickly along its length. Ull's body became a torch in the center of it all, raging with an intensity that seemed to be a last act of defiance. I could almost hear Ull's laughter on the wind as the flames rushed up to the prow and licked at the face of the dragon adorning it. The boat turned in the currents and that proud dragon carried the burning shell of my old friend out to sea.
Chapter Forty-One
I'd barely made it into the dining hall of Valhalla when my upper arm was grabbed from behind and I was roughly pushed into a wall. Before I could react, my
assailant was apprehended by four very angry men, one of whom happened to be her grandfather.
“Let me handle this,” Odin said to my other lovers.
“Da, go ahead,” Kirill stepped back, crossed his arms and made like a bodyguard.
“Lift one finger in her direction, little girl,” Trevor growled, “and you'll lose it.”
I found this to be exceptionally funny since the little girl was actually taller than my wolf. I gave a little chuckle as Thrud loomed over Trevor and he bared his teeth at her.
“What are you smiling at, bitch?” Thrud swung to face me and Azrael stepped up between us.
“Odin, you'd best get on with the handling of this,” Azrael said in a deceptively quiet voice. “Or there will be two funerals today.”
“You don't scare me, angel,” Thrud snapped but then her face fell as she stared into Azrael's face. I was behind him so I missed the show but I imagined it to be pretty impressive.
“Put away your stare of doom, Az,” Odin sighed. “Come on, Thrud, we'll have this out in private.”
“I'm coming as well,” Thor pressed in behind us as we all followed Odin into a room off of the main entrance hall.
The room was spacious but seemed small with all of those large gods inside it. There was a window set in one wall, showing off the rolling landscape that ended in Asgard's lake. Ull's ship was already through the channel and beyond my sight. I sighed and turned away from the window to take in the rest of the room. It was paneled in wood, with a simple stone floor and heavy chairs set around a little table. We all ignored the furniture, choosing instead to stand so we could glower better.
“The only person I want to talk to is her,” Thrud swung around and pointed at me. “The murderous bitch who stole my brother's soul.”
“Sweet singing sirens,” I swore. “Where the hell did you come up with those conclusions, Thrud?” I put some emphasis on her ridiculous name.
“It's pronounced Thr-ooth, you dumb witch,” she hissed.
“But they all call you Thrud,” I blinked in confusion.
“It's a family joke,” Thor shook his head. “The correct pronunciation never seemed to fit her personality.”
“But I only allow family to use it,” she narrowed her eyes on me. “And I don't care how many of my family members you fuck, you're not my family.”
“Fair enough,” I shrugged casually as my men growled. “I think I've had the best ones anyway,” I looked her up and down, “and I have no desire to call you family but why don't we get back to why you think I'm a murderous soul stealer.”
“Did you or did you not kill my mother?” She stalked toward me and glared down at me from her impressive height.
“Yeah, well I didn't really have a cho-”
“Yes or no?” She snapped.
“Yes, I killed her instead of allowing her to kill me,” I snapped back. “Sue me!”
“Sue you?” She gave a derisive laugh. “I'd kill you right now if you didn't have Ull's soul in your squishy little body.”
“Squishy?” I gaped at her and then looked at Odin. “Did she just call me squishy?”
“I zink she vants to die, da?” Kirill asked Trevor.
“Da,” Trevor growled and they both started forward.
“Enough!” Thor thundered and we all went quiet. “Your mother fought Vervain in the arena, where all death is fair, and Vervain was forced into that fight by Loki. She had no choice but to defend herself. Your love for Sif is blinding you to the truth, Thrud. Vervain is not to blame for her death.”
I made a huffing sound of disbelief. To hear Thor defend me over the main thing that had destroyed our relationship, was startling. I knew he'd forgiven me over what had happened with his ex-wife but I hadn't realized he'd finally accepted that I wasn't to blame for her death. It was actually really good to hear.
“My mother's death must be avenged,” Thrud said in a low tone. “Whether it was warranted or not.”
“Alright,” I sighed. “I get it. I'd hunt down someone who killed my mother too, whether she'd been justified or not, but this is a unique situation. I'm about to become Ull's mother. Can't you find it in your heart to move past this for the sake of your brother?”
“Move past my mother's death?” She huffed. “And accept the fact that you manipulated my brother into giving you his soul?”
“He didn't give me his soul,” I rolled my eyes. “He chose to be reborn as my son. It's completely different and it was his decision, not mine.”
“You were the one who offered him the choice,” she pointed out.
“So I'm a horrid bitch because I offered your brother a choice on how he wanted to return to life? What's wrong with you?” I gave her a confounded look.
“What's wrong with me is that you took the only family I have left!” She screamed.
“What did you say?” Thor's voice struck out like a whip.
“You betrayed Mom and her death is partially your responsibility,” Thrud stared hard at Thor. “You're dead to me.”
“And I?” Odin stepped forward. “Am I dead to you as well?”
“I don't even know who you are,” she spat at Odin. “You smell more like a human than a god. Where is the Allfather? The great ruler of Asgard, leader of the Norse gods. Is he even in that pathetic piece of flesh? I don't think so. I think this whore has stolen your soul as well as Ull's.”
The sound of a slap rang out through the room as Odin backhanded her. Thrud was knocked to the floor from the strength of the blow and we all stood frozen in shock. She smiled viciously at Odin as she stood and then spat blood onto the floor. It shot in a straight line towards my feet and I couldn't help but feel like it was some sort of an omen. Or a promise.
“You're right,” Thor said quietly, pulling her attention away from Odin. “I'm dead to you because you're dead to me. I'm childless now. Leave my presence and do not ever return, Thrud. Unless its on your knees, begging for forgiveness.”
“Forgiveness?” She laughed. “You will be the one who's sorry when I'm done with you.” She began to walk out of the room.
“Really?” I heaved a sigh. “That's your evil threat? You'll be the one who's sorry? What did you do, buy the villain's handbook and look up the top ten catchphrases?”
“Mark my words, Godhunter-”
“Mark your words?” I cut her off. “That's even worse. Oh, I'm sorry, go ahead and finish. Mark your words, you'll...?”
“I will kill you and steal my brother back,” she snarled and stomped from the room.
“That was pretty good actually,” I whispered.
“She's not getting anywhere near this child,” Azrael vowed.
“No, she's not,” Thor agreed.
“I vill kill her first,” Kirill nodded.
“Slowly,” Trevor added.
“Don't let her concern you, Vervain,” Odin took my arms and stared down at me with his peacock colored eyes. Except there was more blue in his eyes than green or purple and my concern shifted suddenly from Thrud to Odin.
Chapter Forty-Two
I know it was silly but I was dreading my return to the Faerie Realm. I'd have to tell Arach not only that I was pregnant but that our baby would be born with Ull's soul. I wasn't sure how he would feel about that. I was hoping he would be so thrilled with having an heir that he wouldn't care that the heir would not only be one hundred percent fey but also one hundred percent god.
Dragons could be temperamental though and I found myself looking for reasons to put off my departure. I found most of those reasons with my men. Odin's physical changes needed monitoring though he declared over and over that there was nothing wrong with him. Then there was Trevor. We'd missed the chance to celebrate Halloween at Moonshine but he was intent on having our own celebration. What were we celebrating? The fact that I'd finally agreed to marry all of them. Yep, all of them. All at once.
Technically, Trevor and I had exchanged vows in a Froekn-like ceremony, Kirill had sipped the sacred wine with
me and Azrael, and I had married Odin in my past life, but all of these felt inadequate for us. They, and now I, wanted to have a ceremony with all of our friends and family in attendance. A ceremony that bound all of us together.
I considered inviting Arach to participate in the wedding as well but again, the idea of presenting one more possible annoyance to him made me anxious and I decided against it. Besides, we'd had a very nice fey wedding already. I doubted that he'd have any interest in sharing another ceremony with my other lovers.
So instead of returning to Faerie, I spent hours talking to Trevor, Kirill, Azrael, and Odin about what we'd each like to include in the wedding and where we'd like to have it, stuff like that. Azrael insisted that his parents be involved and although Fenrir had performed the ceremony for Trevor and I, Trevor insisted that he take part too. Odin had wanted to have it in Valhalla but Kirill thought it should be in our home, where we all lived together and Odin finally relented.
The details my men were insisting on astounded me. I'd always thought women were the ones who had specific ideas about their weddings but these men were more picky than any Bridezilla. There were a few arguments that I thought might turn into fistfights but in the end, we worked it all out.
So, we were celebrating.
It was just the five of us on the top level of Moonshine and we were delighting in being out alone together. We often went on dates in little groups but to have all of them together was a little more rare. Having the VIP level of Moonshine all to ourselves was pretty nice too.
I loved our club, loved the wild appearance of nature inhabiting the steel and cement walls of a warehouse, and the ambiance of the moon hanging in the faux sky above our heads. Darius' band, Roar, was playing but it was at a level that wasn't blaring and up where we were, it was low enough that I could still here the stream rushing by on my right. I laid back over the hill/chair I was sitting on and looked up into the branches of a overhanging tree. Little lights blinked on and off within it, illuminating sculptures of faeries and dragons which were hiding within the leaves. I took a deep breath of air scented with the crispness of growing things and sighed.
