AN: Just one chapter left, a nice round '10'. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Chapter Nine
The sheer amount of food a Valkyrie could eat was measured in tens of pounds. The amount of food four could eat was much more.
The four Viking women sat around the table shoveling eggs, bacon, and other types of breakfast food into their mouths. Pancakes, French toast, and orange juice –they ate enough to choke a fleet of horses.
"Mercy, mercy, mercy,"
Anansi's smooth and cool voice drew the attention of a few of them. Skuld and Hildegund were too busy devouring their meals to notice him at first. Grimhildr and Sigrún were also eating an impressive amount, but they weren't literally shoving mouthfuls down their gullets.
Unlike her sisters, Tove was off to the side sipping on a cup of coffee. She had no appetite. The veil of death that she and Sigrún had felt over the last couple of nights was even thicker than before, to the point it was beginning to take shape.
"You ladies can choke down as much food as a herd of fuckin' buffalo." He said, staring at the food that covered the table with a slight grimace of disgust.
"Have you ever had buffalo, Mr. Nancy?" Hildegund asked with a grin.
"Hell no!" He exclaimed proudly. "I ain't never eaten no fuckin' buffalo. The hell do I look like to you, a fuckin' Indian?"
Hildegund smiled wider, her cheek distended with a large bite of eggs.
"I think you've upset the spider man, Sister." Skuld giggled, manic frenzy glittering in her blue eyes. "Did she, spider man?"
Anansi glided a few steps closer, reducing the distance between them. He pointed a stern finger at her, his eyes blazing with a fire of their own.
"That shit ain't funny, you crazy fuckin' Viking."
Tove set her coffee down on the countertop and interceded because she knew a fight was on the way. She stepped forward and tenderly placed her hand on Mr. Nancy's shoulder. He kept his eyes on Skuld, but stood upright once more.
"Forgive her, Anansi." She said to him. "Both of them, if you would." Tove cast her sisters a harsh glare before she gave the man at her side her attention. He tore his gaze from them as well, and his expression softened slightly. "In a fight, there's no one better, but Hildie and Skuld lack decorum, and respect." She stressed the last word, once more glowering at the two who couldn't be bothered to even feign shame. "But, family, and all that."
He let out a sharp, short scoff and nodded. He glared at the pair out of the corner of his eye. The animosity was there, but almost entirely wiped away when he addressed Tove.
"Believe me, I got my own family problems." He gave the two his attention. "Some of my kids are dumb as shit, too. Don't know when to shut the fuck up."
He sauntered out of the kitchen shortly after, muttering something under his breath in his native tongue, a language Tove didn't know.
Anansi made no secret of how he felt toward those with a lighter complexion. While he wasn't downright racist in the sense that he hated everyone who didn't have a touch of African blood, he was vocal about his views, and took any offense offered by someone lighter than him very personally. When one was a representation of the oppression and pain of an entire race, it was hard for them not to take it all incredibly personal.
He used to lump Tove into that category as well, the one where anyone –especially someone with skin as pale as hers- was given a life of privilege and ease. He wasn't wrong in a very broad sense, but when he shot one pointed remark her way, Tove reacted. She reminded him that her people, the Vikings, never took African slaves. The slaves they took were English, French, and a bevy of others. Hell, they took slaves from neighboring villages they raided. They didn't discriminate. Anyone weaker was fair game.
She remembered the one comment that caused the fury in his eyes to dwindle and laid the groundwork for a relationship of mutual respect.
"I've reaped men with skin darker than night who had souls that glowed brighter than the sun," She said, "And people as light as me with souls darker than pitch. The color of skin plays no part in the essence of a person, so why would I care?"
But, when people like her sisters openly teased and mocked, she fully expected him to react and if Wednesday's war wasn't looming on the horizon, she'd have let it continue on without interference. As it was, Tove knew she had to step in. In truth, she might have done it to save them more than him. Anansi was an untold amount of centuries old. She genuinely didn't have the slightest idea, and given he thrived on stories told about his homeland, he held more power than most. She didn't want to risk him harming either of them.
"The two of you are well over a thousand years old." She said to them. "Act like it."
Shaking her head, she left the kitchen and her coffee on the countertop while their childish snickering followed her.
Shadow had a hell of a time trying to get Sweeney into the car. He was not only a giant, but he weighed a ton and was about as manageable as a marionette with its strings cut. Eventually though, he managed, and promptly drove back to the funeral home.
The whole way he could tell something was wrong with the Leprechaun. He couldn't put it into words, but there was something off. It wasn't a drunken sort of problem, either. Shadow had seen more than enough people throughout his life to know when someone was drunk or high on something, but that wasn't Mad Sweeney. He was scattered, sometimes afraid of his own shadow, and his skin was disturbingly pale. It wasn't just pale, either. He looked almost grey.
When the call came in, Shadow jumped at the chance to retrieve the possible body because he wanted to get out of the house. He wanted to put space between him and Skuld after they had sex. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been with a woman that crazy –and crazy she was. He just hadn't been able to discern if it was the bad kind or not.
Because of that, he was glad for the hour or so away from the funeral home, but after seeing that it was Sweeney he had to retrieve, he began to wonder if he might have been better off staying put.
Shadow would glance at the man beside him periodically throughout the drive. Sweeney was still staring out the window, swaying from side to side whenever the hearse hit a bump in the road. He looked broken and confused. He'd been still for so long during the drive that when he suddenly shot upright with a gasping breath, Shadow nearly had a heart attack.
"Jesus Christ," He breathed heavily. "The fuck, man?"
Sweeney jerked his head toward Shadow. "Where is she?" He asked in a panicked tone.
"Who?"
With his eyes wide and distant, Mad Sweeney didn't reply. Instead, his gaze drifted back to the window.
Shadow continued to stare at him every once and a while as he guided the hearse back up the private driveway to the funeral home. Part of him was afraid Sweeney would jump again, and Shadow didn't want to be taken by surprise like before.
A few minutes later, Shadow pulled up to the funeral home and threw the vehicle into park. He noticed the Leprechaun perk again when they did. He all but plastered himself against the window, a hand pressed wide across the glass while the other fumbled for the door handle.
"She's here." He mumbled.
Shadow, still uncertain as to what the hell was happening, could only think to ask who. Sweeney eventually managed to get the door open and fell out, hitting the gravel driveway hard. He grunted and groaned, and slowly pushed himself to his feet.
"She's here." He muttered again.
"Who?" Shadow repeated.
Mad Sweeney either didn't hear him, or simply didn't want to answer. Instead, he bellowed, "Wife!"
Shadow flinched and his confusion deepened. "Wife?" he asked himself quietly.
He watched as Sweeney stumbled away, his heavy feet barely lifting as he walked. The Leprechaun paused for some reason, staring at some mourners standing on the outside terrace and then, in an almost panicked shuffle, he reached the front door. Shadow shook his head to himself and went in search of Wednesday to tell him that Mad Sweeney was there.
The weight of Gungnir was impressive. Shadow could feel the power of it, the energy that sparked within the shaft, but it was light in his hands.
And yet, despite the 'honor' of guarding the fabled weapon, Shadow could only think about the state in which he found the Leprechaun.
"What's wrong with Sweeney?"
"The fuck do you care?" Wednesday asked casually. "He's a fuck up, a waste of space. Besides, they don't call him Mad Sweeney for nothing."
Shadow was surprised by Wednesday's callousness when speaking about someone who, as far as he knew, was loyal to the god.
"He was shouting for his wife." Shadow continued. Wednesday let out a loud, obnoxious sigh and rolled his eyes. "I didn't even know he was married."
"Yeah, to Tove." He said with disappointment, moving beyond Shadow's clear shock with the statement. "Personally, I think she was still high. War does that to her kind, makes them stoned. I think it's the blood." Wednesday kept his flippant tone. "Maybe she was drunk, I don't know. She could do a hell of a lot better."
"Why was he looking for her?"
"Who knows?" He threw his arms into the air as he answered before he reached for the potato salad. Cradling it, he walked toward the door. "Keep that safe."
He left without really elaborating on the confusing dump of information he'd thrown at Shadow. It took him a good moment or two before he managed to get his mind straight again. When he had, Shadow left the greenhouse and returned to his room.
Tove walked through the halls with an apple in her hands. She'd grabbed it with the express desire to eat it, but she couldn't make herself bite into its shiny flesh. There was a pit in her stomach that prevented it, something that made her feel she may not actually want to eat it. That feeling caused her to hesitate and toss it lazily from one hand to another.
The Death Veil had finally landed on the property. It was so thick that it threatened to choke her. Despite the funeral taking place, Tove was well aware The Veil was different. Like she and Sigrún had discussed, The Veil signified a coming death and roughly a half hour prior, it landed on the house like an atomic bomb. It shook her to the core, and she didn't know why.
Her sisters felt it too and left as a result. They were going stir-crazy anyway, lingering without an order from All Father, so they chose to kill two birds with one stone. Drinking in the nearest bar got them away from the house and gave them something to do.
When she rounded a corner, content to continue walking circles through the main floor of the house, Tove jumped. She'd been so lost in thought that she nearly ran head-first into Shadow.
"Hey, sorry." He said, probably noting her expression.
She smiled lightly. "That's alright." She replied. "I didn't see you."
"You okay?"
Tove nodded. "Of course."
He narrowed his eyes a little and his gaze danced over her briefly. "You sure?"
"It's nothing." She replied, doing her best to simply move past the moment.
"Okay," He nodded, sounding entirely unconvinced. They began to part, but Tove only made it a step or two away before she heard Shadow speak again. "Oh, hey," She turned to face him. "Sweeney was looking for you."
She was a little confused. "He's here?" Shadow nodded and a strange thought crossed her mind. "When did he arrive?"
"I don't know." Shadow shrugged a shoulder. "Half hour ago, I guess."
A pit formed in her gut, that sinking feeling that generally accompanied something a person would rather ignore.
"Hey, uh," Shadow slowly approached her, apprehensive and clearly worried. "Can I ask you something?" It was Tove's turn to nod. "He called you his wife."
Tove nodded simply once more and said, "Yes."
Shadow raised a brow. "You are?"
He must have realized almost the instant he spoke that he hadn't removed the skepticism from his voice and, as a result, he pursed his lips a bit, and cleared his throat.
"Sorry,"
Tove couldn't help but smile at him again, that soft, motherly sort of smile.
"Don't be." She told him. "Most people react that way."
"I bet." He said with a slightly nervous chuckle. "So, um, you guys are actually married?" She nodded again. "Can uh… can I ask why?"
She smiled again, not the slightest bit surprised that he'd want to know the reason behind it. As she'd said before, most people reacted that way.
"I was in Concord," She said, giving Shadow her full attention when she spoke. "The war was still little more than a few small battles at that point, but-"
"Wait," He said quickly. Tove paused. She could see intense thinking cross Shadow's face. "The war in Concord?" She nodded. "Are… are you talking about the Revolutionary War?"
"Of course." She replied.
His expression instantly fell and she could tell that it seemed to only just be donning on Shadow that she and the others were much older than he thought. Of course they were. Some of their legends were thousands and thousands of years old.
"Oh," He muttered.
Tove continued, "I found myself in a local pub. Some of them men got a bit handsy and I defended myself." She noticed him grin a little at that. "He was part of the ensuing brawl and the moment I looked into his eyes…"
She let her sentence dangle just a bit as she remembered that moment. It was as clear in her mind as it had been the night it happened.
The air was electric and that electricity coursed through every molecule in her body. Tove spun, her gown fluttering around her in a fanciful wash of pale fabric as she threw her fist into a man's face. His nose crunched satisfactorily beneath the strength of her hit. She turned again and the moment she did, her eyes fell to the giant on the other side of the room.
He stood a head above the rest and inches taller than her –a rare thing to be sure. Most men were curled forward, slumped because of malnutrition and back-breaking work. But not the giant.
He was near the back of the bar. There was a cut on his cheek and a trickle of blood. His chest heaved with heavy breaths, his lips parted. He wore workman's clothes –a pair of trousers, worn boots, a white shirt hidden partially beneath a disheveled waist coat, and a long overcoat that fell to his knees on his shoulders. His fiery hair (unusual for Virginia) reached his shoulders. It was twisted in tendrils, not dreadlocks really, but close and it added to the feral look gleaming in his eyes.
It was his eyes that did it, what caused her to approach him. Despite the distance between them, she could see into his soul easily. It burned brighter than the sun itself, almost blinding her no matter how far away she was.
He stood tall in the swarm of men holding spears and bows, swords and axes. His barrel chest was bare, his thick arms filled with rolling muscle. Blue lines –claw marks they seemed- decorated each shoulder and his face. His hair was twisted and braided, showcasing his fierce gaze. Clasped firmly in his hand was a spear as tall as him.
She saw this man, this God, staring at her through the stranger's eyes, surrounded in the golden glow of light. He was a force of nature, a creature far beyond a mortal man, and she wanted him. The power of him, the sheer intensity of him, nearly bowled her over. It took all of her willpower not to let her knees completely give out.
She might have smiled, drunk on the God, but she couldn't be certain. All she knew was she was drawn to him and approached. He did the same. She ran for him, and he matched her. Tove leapt into his arms and the moment she wrapped her body around him, nothing meant anything. She kissed him, trying her best to devour the red-haired giant.
"Tove?"
She flinched and the memory faded. Her eyes found focus on the man standing across from her and it was only then that she realized she must have disappeared into her mind for longer than she meant to.
"I'm sorry," She cleared her throat and tried to focus again. "Where was I?"
"A bar fight." He said.
"Right," She nodded softly. "We see souls." She told him, noting his confusion. "It's how we know who to take. We can see the essence of a person, beyond whatever walls they try to put up." Shadow instantly diverted his gaze, unwilling to meet her eye for more than a second or two. She wasn't surprised. "And his soul," Tove paused as she remembered it once more. She couldn't help but take a deep breath, running her bottom lip through her teeth. When she spoke again, she couldn't remove the awe from her voice. "It's beautiful. I've never seen anyone like him. He's…" She paused once more because, honestly, words fell short. Tove, realizing that she was dangerously close to losing herself once more, did her best to fight down the feelings inside her. "Gallons of hard cider, an exchange of swords and a bit of lace later, we were married."
"For three hundred years." Shadow muttered.
"I'd have a better date if I could remember exactly what day it'd been." She joked lightly which caused him to smile a little, too. "Alcohol used to be much stronger in those days."
"I bet." He said.
Neither spoke for a little while. Tove let him absorb the information as best he could. She'd told him a lot, so she knew it might take a minute. Finally, Shadow said something.
"Well, he was looking for you. But, uh," He hesitated briefly. "I think something's wrong with him."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't really know." He said. "But he's a little off. Even for him."
The pit in her stomach grew denser, but Tove forced another smile. "I'll take care of it."
Shadow didn't seem to believe her entirely, but she didn't really expect him to. From the small amount of time she'd spent with him, she could tell he was more in-tune than people gave him credit for.
She left the hall after giving Shadow a small nod. As she left, Tove somehow knew that the Veil wasn't random. It fell completely on the property around the time Sweeney and Shadow arrived, and Shadow wasn't the cause.
Tove felt tears prickle in her eyes, but she did her best to fight them back despite the deep, terrible ache inside her.