Magic and Shadows: A Collection of YA Fantasy and Paranormal Romances

by T. M. Franklin

  “What if I don’t want to marry some goddess? What if I don’t want to marry?” Loki asked.

  “You need a goddess,” I told him. “I feel it in my core that you are meant to be with a goddess and have powerful children.”

  “And will you have children with a mortal?” he asked me.

  I shook my head. “No. I will not bear children.”

  Jord and Loki looked at me in shock and Jord asked, “Why not?”

  “It is something I discovered that I do not want to experience. I can’t really explain why, but I just know that I shouldn’t have kids, or that I won’t at least.”

  “What if the man who courts you wants them?” Loki asked.

  “Then I am not the right woman for him,” I said adamantly.

  “It’s time to send you home,” Odin said as he reentered the room.

  Loki bent down and kissed my forehead. He whispered, “My love will never fade and I will carry your light within me always.”

  “Will you visit me next month?” I asked him. I shouldn’t have asked him to visit me so soon, but I needed to see him to make sure we kept his darkness at bay. He nodded his head and helped me stand up. I hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you next month.”

  “This battle was over too quickly,” Sif complained and pouted while swinging her sword.

  “There will be more battles,” Odin promised her.

  “Goodbye everyone, until we meet again,” I said to them.

  They placed their fists over their hearts and bowed to me as one, a symbol of respect that was normally reserved for Odin. I looked at him in shock, but he was bowing with them. He set his hand on my shoulder and in a flash of light, I returned to Midgard and Troy’s living room.

  9

  “Alys!” Troy gasped in shock when I appeared in the middle of his living room. He stood up from the couch where he had been sitting.

  Odin hugged me and whispered, “I will visit you soon, Daughter.”

  “Thank you for saving me today,” I said sincerely. I would not have survived if they hadn’t shown up.

  “Who is he?” Troy asked me with a scowl on his face. He looked like he was angry with Odin. Why? Was it because he was showing me affection and Troy didn’t know who he was?

  “Troy, this is the All Father, Odin, King of the Aesir and Ruler of Asgard,” I introduced. “And my adoptive father.”

  “You must be Troy, the one who has been kind to Alys. You have my deepest gratitude and I grant you this gift.” Before Troy could move away, Odin placed his hand on Troy’s head and light flashed all around him. “Use it wisely.”

  Odin disappeared and Troy looked at me in shock. “What was that?”

  I shrugged. “He gave you some type of gift. He didn’t specify what it was. Do you feel different?”

  He stretched his arms and then looked at me in shock. “I think he made me stronger and faster.”

  “Really?” I asked in shock. “Odin hasn’t gifted a mortal with those powers in centuries.”

  “Are you alright?” he asked me as he set the discussion about his powers to the side. “Did they hurt you?”

  “Just a little freezing, but Jord healed me,” I explained as he hugged me.

  “I was so scared that they would hurt you and I had no idea where you were or how to find you. Then Thor and Loki came and they refused to tell me anything,” he explained.

  “They took me to another world called Svartálfaheimr,” I explained to him. “And no, there would be no way for you to travel there.”

  He kissed me deeply and whispered, “I was really worried about you.”

  I smiled and felt happiness within me knowing he had been worried about my safety. Did it make me a terrible person to turn away two gods who had very recently been courting me and already have a new man courting me here?

  “Will they come again?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “The Dark Elves have been taken care of.”

  “I meant the Norse Gods.”

  “Oh, well yes. They have told me that they will visit me from time to time, but I expressed my desire for Thor and Loki to visit infrequently.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Because I don’t want them trying to keep me from dating men here on Midgard,” I explained softly.

  “And they agreed to that?” he asked doubtfully.

  “I gave them no other alternative. That was the stipulation to them visiting me. End of story.”

  “I bet they didn’t just say ‘yes’ to your stipulation,” he said and stared at me expectantly.

  “No, but they will abide by it,” I assured him.

  “So, you really dumped two Norse Gods to date men on Midgard?” he asked.

  “As crazy as it sounds to you, yes. I’m supposed to be here and this is the place I am supposed to find a man to court me from.”

  “So, are we still on for dinner tonight?” he asked.

  What?

  “Tonight? I was gone a whole day?” I had forgotten time was different on the other worlds.

  “Yes, would you rather not go? We could postpone…”

  “No, I want to go,” I said seriously, “it’s our first date. I can’t miss it.”

  “Then we should get changed,” he said with a smile.

  I whispered, “I’m sorry if you were worried about me.”

  “All that matters is that you are safe and back here with me.”

  “I better hurry and change,” I told him and ran up the stairs to my room. If it weren’t for Jord’s healing I would be exhausted, but I felt fully recovered and awake. I changed into a dress and painted my eyelids and lips and then stared at my reflection. I looked so different than I usually did on Asgard. Would I really be okay here on Midgard? Was going out with Troy a smart decision? At least he knew about the gods already so I didn’t have to hide it from him when they came to visit. It made things a lot easier on that front. Perhaps it was too soon to settle on one man when I had just arrived. I shook my head and scolded myself. I wasn’t marrying Troy tonight, just going on a date. I took a deep breath and then walked down the stairs where Troy was waiting for me wearing very nice-looking clothes.

  “You look gorgeous,” he whispered.

  “Thank you. You look handsome as always.”

  He opened the door for me and we walked to his car. Once we were buckled and driving I said, “You’re handling all of this pretty well.”

  He smiled and said, “I may or may not have had interactions with gods before.”

  “What!” I demanded in shock.

  “That is a discussion we will have another day.”

  “You’re just going to drop that bomb on me and expect me to wait to find out the story?”

  “Yep.”

  “You can’t do that!” I paused and then asked softly, “Are you a god?” That would ruin everything with Thor and Loki. If he was a god they would never forgive me for turning them down and letting Troy court me.

  He laughed and shook his head. “No. Odin would have been able to tell if I was a god when he granted me these gifts.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked softly. I felt betrayed a bit and lied to with his omission of this information.

  “Again, that is something we will have to discuss later. Tonight, is not the night for that topic.”

  “Are you from Midgard?” I asked fearfully. Whether he wanted to talk about it or not, I needed to know.

  “Born and raised here,” he said with a nod.

  That didn’t actually answer my question, but he obviously did not want to discuss this tonight so I would wait until tomorrow and then hound him until he answered me. If he didn’t answer me, I would have to leave.

  “What about Drake? Has he encountered gods before?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  I turned and faced out the window angrily. How could they have kept this from me? How come they didn’t tell me? What if he was actually working with the Dark Elves? I glan
ced at him and wished I was able to carry Loki’s sword with me.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked me quietly.

  “Did you know the Dark Elves were going to show up at the theater?” I asked him nervously.

  He turned to look at me with wide eyes and then turned back to face the road as he drove. “Of course not. I never would have put you in danger like that.”

  “Do you know about my gift?” I asked even quieter. My body was tense, ready for a fight or to escape. It didn’t matter how I felt about him, if he was a danger to me I would run.

  “Yes, but it’s not what you think,” he said quickly. “I know of it and have heard stories about it, but I don’t have a use for it or desire to use it.”

  “So, you wouldn’t try to use me to gain power or money?” I asked him.

  Or lock me in a temple somewhere? Or sell me to the highest bidder?

  He pulled over, turned the car off, and turned sideways to face me. “I would never do any of that,” he said seriously. “If I had wanted to, I definitely would have done it in the beginning. I have no ill will towards you, Alys. And I have been completely honest about my affection for you.”

  “Do you have a gift aside from what Odin granted you?”

  He smirked. “Yes.”

  “What is it?”

  “These are the things that you have to learn as you date,” he told me.

  “These are things that I need to know to stay safe,” I said angrily. “Were you actually capable of defeating the Dark Elves?” I knew my darkness was taking over, but at the moment I didn’t care.

  “No, I was not capable of defeating the Dark Elves that attacked at the theater. Perhaps now with added strength I might be able to, but I highly doubt it.”

  “Why are you being so secretive with me? I told you everything about me even though you could have chosen to think I was just crazy and sent me away.” My anger was growing and I felt my light being pushed down by the darkness. “I should have known then that you weren’t a normal Midgardian. I should have known that you were different somehow.”

  “I want you to make your decisions about me one piece at a time. If I tell you everything at once it will be a lot to process and you might decide to make a rash decision, especially with the darkness that you took from Loki.”

  “So, you don’t trust me? You think I’m too stupid and simpleminded to understand your situation. Did you forget where I came from?” My body vibrated with anger now and I wanted to hit something. Darkness began to tint the edge of my vision. If I wasn’t careful, the darkness could completely take control of me. I had no idea what it would do. I had no idea what I was capable of.

  “I do trust you and I like you very much, which is why I have told you as much as I have so far. Please, trust me. I promise that I will reveal it all to you shortly. Okay?”

  I took a deep breath and pushed the darkness down. It was hard and the darkness tried to fight me, but I succeeded and I tried to compress it into a smaller size. “Fine.” It wasn’t fine, but obviously I wouldn’t get anything more from him.

  “Can we go in for dinner?” he asked me.

  I nodded my head. The streets were busy, a large amount of people walking around, and the restaurant we went into was full. Why were so many people in one restaurant? There were a ton of different places to eat very close by. What made this place better? Troy walked up to the hostess and she smiled and talked with him like they knew each other. After a moment, she showed us to a table, much to the annoyance of the other patrons who were waiting for seats before us. Troy pushed in my chair for me and kissed my cheek before walking around to his seat. I picked up the menu and couldn’t decide what to eat since most of it were things I had yet to try. I set it down and looked around at the restaurant. It was beautifully decorated in red and white and there was soft music playing in the background.

  “Do you know what you want to eat?” he asked me after he set his menu down on the table.

  I shook my head. “Could you order for me? I’m not sure what most of the items are.”

  “Of course,” he agreed with a wide smile.

  “Do you eat here often?” I asked him as I glanced at the hostess walking by with another couple to take them to their table. She was beautiful and had an amazing figure that she didn’t try to hide in a form fitting dress.

  “No, but I worked here when I was younger, so sometimes I come back because they have the best food in town. They’re just more expensive than my budget allows.”

  What was his gift? If he wasn’t fast or strong or had the same gift as me, then what was it? I hadn’t seen him use his powers yet while living with him. What could they be?

  “You’re scowling at me,” he commented.

  “I’m thinking about you,” I explained.

  “Scowling while thinking about me is not a good sign,” he said.

  “I’m trying to figure out your gift.”

  He sighed. “I shouldn’t have said anything about it.”

  “No, you should have said something sooner.”

  “This isn’t how I was hoping our first date would go,” he said sadly.

  “Me neither.”

  “Then can’t we just drop it and enjoy being together right now? You could have been killed and we could have never gotten this moment to enjoy.”

  He was right. “Fine, but I demand an explanation tomorrow from both you and Drake.”

  “Alright.” I was far from alright, but I didn’t want to ruin our first date. This was supposed to be an important day and even though I wanted to know about him, he was right. I could be dead right now and this date might never have happened.

  “When do you go back to work?” I asked him to change the subject.

  “In two days,” he said sadly.

  “Why are you sad about that?”

  “I don’t want to leave you alone. If something happens, I might not know until I come home and I wouldn’t have any idea what to do.”

  “Were you worried when the Dark Elves kidnapped me?”

  “Yes. I had no idea where they took you to or how I could get there.”

  “You wouldn’t be able to get there,” I said simply.

  “Thor and Loki can travel between worlds freely, though?” he asked.

  I nodded my head. “The Aesir are one of the few races with the ability to travel across the Bifrost.”

  “Can you use it?”

  I shook my head.

  “What happened while you were there?” he asked me softly.

  “They chained me to a wall and froze me to it. Luckily, Heimdall had a vision about it so they were able to rescue me quickly and I managed to avoid the torture he foresaw.”

  “Chained you to a wall?” he asked in shock and then fury contorted his face. “Did they hurt you?”

  “No, just made things a tad chilly and slowed my heart a bit.”

  “They could have killed you that way.”

  “I know, but lucky for me they didn’t.”

  “Who rescued you?”

  “Odin arrived first, then Jord who began healing me, and then the rest came.”

  “Thor and Loki?”

  “They did as well.”

  “You love them?”

  This was not where I had wanted this conversation to go. I was trying to turn things towards him and talk about something else. “Part of me always will, but our paths are not meant to be entwined in that manner.”

  “Do you wish it were different?” he asked with clenched fists resting on top of the table.

  “Does it matter? I made my choice.”

  “It does.”

  I sighed. “I grew up wishing to be a bride for one of them, but when I realized that the truth of the matter was they should be with a goddess, I pushed the thought out of my head.”

  “They kissed you.”

  “Yes.”

  “They want you.”

  “Yes.”

  “But you turned them down?
”

  “Yes.”

  “You turned down two of the most powerful gods in existence to live on Midgard and to find a mortal man for a husband?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you know how insane that sounds?”

  Hadn’t we already gone over all of this?

  “I do.”

  “Most wouldn’t care about the consequences or the balance.”

  “Most perhaps, but I care. I would rather protect my family than live a dream life.”

  “So you would rather punish yourself than allow yourself to be happy?”

  “It’s not punishment. I should not have been on Asgard to begin with. I don’t know why Odin brought me there and I am thankful and happy for the days I spent there, but Midgard is my rightful place.”

  “If they asked you to go back in the future, would you?”

  “No.”

  “You would never move back to Asgard? Not even if Thor and Loki had wives?”

  “No, I wouldn’t want to be alone there. Here I can find a husband and live with him. There I would live alone and have to watch them have children and have each other.”

  “Do you want children?”

  Wasn’t it a bit early to discuss that? “No, I don’t.”

  “Really?” he asked in shock and leaned back in his chair.

  “I decided that I don’t want children. Is that a problem for you?” I asked him.

  He frowned a moment and then said, “Honestly, I never thought of myself having children. Even when I pictured being married, it never involved kids.”

  “Well, I know it’s early in our relationship, but if we stayed together that is something that I’m not going to change my mind about. So, if you want children then perhaps we aren’t meant to be a couple.”

  He smiled. “Well luckily for me, I don’t plan on having them so for now, I get to keep you.”

  “For now?”

  “Until you decide there are plenty of other men on Midgard for you to date.”

  I laughed and our waiter chose that perfect moment to come over. Troy ordered for me and we ate the salads that were brought out along with some breadsticks.