The Age of Odin - James Lovegrove [160]
"And she's dead, I suppose, the real Mrs Keener."
"As a doornail. I killed her with my own two hands in her kitchen and buried the body in the woods out behind the yard before the kids came home from school. I'm not sure why I chose her outta all the people I could have. Other than her name, 'course. Couldn't resist that. I suppose the reason was 'cause she was so attractive and unassuming and I just liked the idea of taking some nobody from nowheresville and rocketing her up the ladder to the most powerful position in all Midgard. It appealed to my sense of irony, as well as presenting a challenge to my wits and my silver tongue. Could I do it? Could I make the biggest of all somethings outta nothing? Turned out I could, no sweat. The people of earth - so easy to manipulate, so malleable. Such sheep. All I had to do was give 'em a vision of integrity and steel willpower, wrapped up in a physically appealing package, and they just fell in line. Piece of cake."
"And she never had a visitation from God, did she? You made that up after."
"Well, from a god, yes. Me. Nice little twist of the facts, that. Cover story to explain any changes in personality folks might notice. This fella came to her door, pretending to be a preacher, newly arrived in town, all steeple-fingered and pious as you like. And Mrs Keener, so trusting, invited him right in. My smiling face was the last thing she ever saw."
Mrs Keener said this with such a broad grin, I thought her head was going to split in two.
"Anyhoo, much as I'd love to stay and chat, Gid, I am on a schedule here. Lots to oversee - mainly the nice little doohickey we're busy building to kill you on. So what can I do for you? Why'd you want to see me?"
I tried not to imagine what the "doohickey" might be. Those kinds of thoughts were not helpful.
"I have a favour to ask. Two, actually."
"Really? You're haggling? You know you ain't in any position to do that. Not at this late stage in the game."
"A condemned man is entitled to a last request or two, isn't he?"
"Maybe in a Midgard prison, on death row. But we ain't in Midgard any more, Toto."
"Still," I said. "You've got me all lined up for a spectacular, messy death. I'm going to be putting on a big show for you. Consider this my fee."
"Your fee is the lives of those folks at the castle."
"Then I'm after a small raise. Honest, it's not much. At least hear me out."
She planted a fist on her hip and cocked her head. "All right then, I'll listen. I ain't guaranteeing I'll say yes, but I'll listen."
I outlined what I wanted.
The first thing I asked for brought a mildly puzzled frown and a cry of "Aww, cute."
The second, a crooked, wicked smile.
"Let me think about it," Mrs Keener said, turning to go.
An hour later: "Visitor."
The frost giants ushered Freya into the cabin. They hulked there with us, all four of them, heads bent under the ceiling. It was a hell of a squash. Freya and I had virtually no room to ourselves.
"Little privacy maybe?" I said.
"Orders," said one of them. "Neither of you is allowed out of our sight while you're together."
"We can barely breathe. How about you back off outside? Leave the door wide open. You'll still be able to see."
Eventually they agreed.
Freya and I sat side by side on the bunk. The silence simmered between us.
Finally she said, "You're an idiot."
"Not quite the words of condolence I was hoping for."
"How dare you do something so... so..."
"Brave? Self-sacrificing?"
"Selfish."
I bristled. "Buying other people's lives with my own is selfish how, exactly?"
She looked away. When she looked back, her eyes were brimming, and I felt bad for snarking at her.
"Loki might have let everyone go free," she said.
"I doubt it."
"But he might have. If you'd just kept