Chapter Twenty-Seven

We percolated until the next morning when I texted my husbands to let them know where Re and I were, then texted Torrent to ask him to join us. Donnie extended the invitation to me first; I didn't just start inviting people to his island. It turned out to be perfect timing since his wife was off visiting their son, Triton. Yes, he loved his spear so much that he named his son after it. Or maybe the humans did. I didn't ask, just assumed. There I go, assuming again.

I told Torrent about my assumption about the beaver god when he showed up at Donnie's, hair still sleep-tousled. Artie had gone home to feed her dogs instead of joining him.

“That's a good possibility, and it should help us narrow down the search,” Torrent said as he accepted a mug of coffee from Donnie. “Thank you.”

“No problemo.” Donnie set down a plate of bacon and a loaf of hot bread. “Simple fare, but who doesn't love bacon and fresh bread, right? It's killer.” He tore off a chunk of bread, dipped it in the bacon grease collecting at the bottom of the platter, and munched on it.

I helped myself to some bacon while Torrent did his thing.

Seconds later, Torr said, “There aren't any gods specifically labeled as tricksters who also have the ability to see the future. However, there are three who have the potential to see the future.”

“Potential?” I asked .

“Yeah. Myths are tricky. So, a god can be labeled as wise or cunning and that can sometimes lead to predictions of future events. But wait until you hear who these gods are.” He grinned.

“Lay it on us, dude,” Donnie said.

“The first is Hermes.”

“Hermes?” I stared at Torr.

“I know!” He held up his hands. “I know, you think it can't possibly be him because he had his Caduceus stolen, but what if he did that to throw us off his scent? I mean, figuratively throw us off his scent. The trickster doesn't leave a scent.”

“Holy shit!” Donnie exclaimed. “That would be boss!”

“And Hermes is brilliant enough to come up with it,” I whispered. “But Hermes?” I shook my head. “I can't see him playing with us only to help us. He'd do it to mess with us, no good intentions involved, and I don't think he'd want to torment Pan in the process.”

“Okay, let's move on,” Torrent said. “The second god is . . . Loki!”

“Oh, fuck me,” Re muttered.

“Loki,” I said as possibilities bloomed in my mind. “Holy moly. It could be Loki.”

“He's the ultimate trickster,” Donnie agreed. “Brilliant too. The dude is righteous.”

“The dude is Fenrir's father,” I said. “My grandfather-in-law. And he's been trying to get back in his son's good graces for years now. Not just Fenrir's but also Trevor's.”

“Why are they on the outs?” Donnie asked.

“Oh, Loki kidnapped me, threatened to rape me while in the body of a sabertooth tiger, then forced me to fight Thor's ex- wife,” I drawled. “And I had to kill Sif to survive the fight.”

“Holy shit!” Donnie exclaimed.

“Yeah, but we got past it. I did, at least. Loki helped us out and fought beside us when we needed him. Thor, however, never forgave him because he couldn't get over me killing his ex. He blames Loki. Fenrir has his own issues that I won't get into.”

“Oh, damn. Well then, is it Loki?” Donnie asked.

“I could see him doing this,” I said. “Especially if he's trying to help.”

“Ah, but there's one more option,” Torrent said.

“Who?” I asked.

“Coyote,” Torrent announced gleefully.

“Coyote?” I asked.

“The Coyote God,” Torr said. “The one who killed the beaver in that myth. He's a trickster and he's actually been known to have occasional psychic visions.”

“Huh,” I said. “Well, that would explain why he sent us after the beaver. But why would he do everything else? No, that doesn't feel right. I think it's Loki. This has felt personal from the start. And the trickster knew things about me. About all of us. Loki would have access to that information. Some of it, at least.” I frowned. “I don't know how he would have gotten into Heaven or all those other god territories, but that would go for Hermes and Coyote too. I don't know how anyone could pull that off.” I glanced at Torr, reminding myself again that if he could do it, maybe another god could as well. Or maybe he was the only one. And he had access to all the information on the Internet.

No, it couldn't be Torr. He wouldn't do that. And the Internet wouldn't tell him where Re hid his scepter. Oh, that sounded naughty. Thank goodness I didn't say it aloud .

“So, we're going after Loki?” Donnie asked.

I chewed at my lip. “Let me see that note again.” I looked over the clue. “Running with wolves could definitely be Loki. He is their ancestor, after all.”

“But you said he's not good with the Froekn right now,” Donnie reminded me.

“He's a shapeshifter,” Re said. “He can take the form of any god. Which means he could be impersonating one of the Froekn.”

“Any god,” I murmured, something scratching at my mind. “Yeah, the note says he's close. Lurking in my shadow. But that could be Hermes too. Close. And Pan's love would hide him. Shish kebabs! I don't know.”

“It's only three gods,” Donnie said. “Let's go visit them all.”

“Yes, let's,” Odin said from the kitchen doorway.

“Odin!” I jumped in my seat.

Coming into the room with Odin were my other husbands. All but Azrael. Oh, and Arach, because he was in Faerie. I hadn't called him in since we hadn't decided if this was a war or not. My God husbands had Que, Finn, and Morph with them. I'd forgotten that Finn and Morph had spent the night at Pride Palace along with Torr and Artemis. But Odin was supposed to be with Luke doing research.

“Trevor texted me,” Odin said, answering my unasked question. “Luke is still looking. But I'm glad I came. If Loki is involved, I need to be with you.”

“If Loki is involved, my dad is going to lose his shit,” Trevor said.

“He's looking like a good candidate,” I said .

“Vat about Hermes?” Kirill asked. “How do ve question him?”

“With emotionless honesty,” I said. “We show him the facts and ask him if he's the trickster.”

“We just ask him?” Morpheus drawled.

“We found this note.” I handed Odin the clue. “It sounds as if the trickster is wrapping up his game. He wants to be found. If I guess who he is, I'm sure he'll confirm it.”

“There you go!” Donnie waved at me. “You see? That makes it simple. We don't have to sit around getting all sick and aggro. We just go ask them. We'll know who the trickster is by the end of the day.”

I blinked. “Damn. That will be nice. I just realized that if we discover his identity, all of his games will be over. We won't have to worry about him messing with us again.”

“That's true,” Trevor said. “But if it's Loki, he'll have an ulterior motive.”

“His ulterior motive is to get back into the family,” I said.

“How will stealing from our friends and making us run around chasing our own tails ingratiate him to me or my father?”

“He may be a little insane, babe,” I said. “The trickster thinks he's helping us.”

Trevor shook his head. “I really hope it's not him.”

“Then let's visit Loki first,” Odin suggested. “Get it done. If it is him, this will be over immediately. If not, you can get that weight off your shoulders.”

“Yeah, all right,” Trevor said.

We got up and started for the door, all of us, including Donnie. He had a piece in the game now. A triton-shaped piece.

Trevor took my hand and held me back to whisper, “If I get too upset, Wolf might take over. I'll need you to tame him, Minn Elska. I'm afraid he'll hurt Loki.”

“Okay. Don't worry. I'll handle it.”