“Take your power back, Crow,” I said. “You like being a god, remember?”
He huffed an exaggerated sigh. “Fine. Whatever. It’s not like anything interesting is happening here anyway.”
He tipped the water bottle over his left palm. A faint wash of black and silver twinkling with blue and green poured over his skin for what felt like forever, frozen outside of time. A brace of voices poured out with it in a joyous, devious blend of treble and bass, unexpectedly sweet, and funny.
And then Crow was no longer just my friend Crow. He was Raven, the trickster god.
“Well, it’s been fun, my chickies.” He tossed the water bottle to Odin and started walking.
“That’s it?” I said. “I just saved your power from the clutches of another god, and I don’t even get a decent good-bye?”
Raven turned back around, a grin on his handsome, godly face. “You know I love you, Delaney.”
“I know you love to mess with me.”
He held his arms wide. “Come to Uncle Raven, Boo-Boo.”
“And here I thought you couldn’t get more annoying.”
“Come here.” He made grabby signs with his hands. “Come here.”
I closed the distance between us, totally not looking like a sullen toddler.
“Are you going to miss me?” He asked as he folded me into a big hug.
“No,” I muttered against his shoulder.
“Liar face. You’ll be crying in your cupcakes.”
“From relief. That you’re finally out of my hair. And my cupcakes.”
He squeezed me a little around the shoulders. “About the war,” he said, suddenly quiet and serious. “You know I have your back.”
I opened my mouth to ask him what he knew about the war, what he could tell me, but he released me and took a quick step over to drop a hug on Myra, then slug Ryder in the shoulder.
“You dog, you,” he said while Ryder rubbed at what I figured was going to be a spectacular bruise, if the sound of the impact was anything to gauge it by. “Getting tied up in things way beyond your understanding. Really, really stupid. Try not to die!”
And with that, Raven simply wasn’t there anymore.
Ryder went absolutely still. “He disappeared.”
“‘People come and go so quickly here’,” I quoted.
“I’m not in Kansas anymore, am I?”
“So very not, Toto.”
He gave me a faint smile. On the one hand I felt a little sorry for him. He was running out of ways to cling to his old beliefs. That wasn’t easy on anyone.
But watching him sort through the events and facts, even when they seemed impossible or were very clearly violent, in such a calm manner made me feel like maybe it hadn’t been such a bad idea to let Ryder in on the town’s secrets.
“Now get off my property,” Odin said. He walked into his trailer and slammed the door leaving us in the fog and damp.
“So,” Ryder said. “That was fun.”
And even though I didn’t expect it, it made me laugh.
Chapter 19
