I didn’t know why this was making me so nervous. Delaney had done this many times. She was made for it, chosen. But my stomach clenched when I thought about the family gift my sister possessed.
She, for a brief amount of time, was a conduit, a string, a road upon which the entire power of a god would travel.
She’d told me she didn’t see power as much as she heard it. Dad had always perceived the god powers visually.
I did too, though my sight was not as keen as Dad’s or Delaney’s.
Jean wasn’t here, which meant she hadn’t had any bad premonitions about Delaney being soulless while handling god power.
“Settle down,” Raven said to me. “I know what I’m doing.” He could have made that mocking or light. Instead, he sounded exactly like my uncle. Sometimes when he was serious, no, always when he was serious, it settled me.
“I know,” I said.
Delaney made a face at me. “For real? C’mon, you know we have this covered. It’s not the first god power I’ve bridged since I gave away my soul. Unless you think someone else should be here?”
“Like who?” I was sincerely curious.
“A certain hunky demon.”
“No! Why would I invite him to the secret place where all the secret god powers in town are being kept in secret?”
“Well, he has my soul. Maybe you think I could do this better if I had it nearby.”
I snorted. “He can probably find this place because he has your soul, you know.”
“Nope,” Frigg said. “It’s demon blocked. Untouchable.”
“You can do that?” I asked.
She gave me a smile that was absolutely wicked. “Oh, sweet winter child. The things I can do.”
“Hot,” Raven noted. “Also, I’m starting to itch. Can we get on with this, ladies, before I hive up because I’m in Ordinary trying to vacation but am still carrying my power?”
Delaney shook out her hands. “Okay, bring it.”
Raven laughed. “Things have gotten a little more casual since I’ve been gone, haven’t they?”
She cleared her throat. “Raven, god of wings, black feather, trickster, storyteller, uncle, friend. Welcome to this place of rest. Welcome to Ordinary. To remain in this place, chosen by you, by power, by the stars, you must lay your power down.
“Do you agree to give it to the care of the goddess Frigg for the year in which she will be guarding the powers of all gods who rest here on this shore?”
“I agree,” he said happily.
Delaney stepped over to stand right in front of him. They were in the exact center of the clearing, the sunset sky shifting colors above them. Frigg stood behind Delaney and put her hand on Delaney’s shoulder, ready.
“Then rest your power upon this gentle earth,” Delaney said.
And yeah, there was something about that, those soft words that embodied everything that she did for the gods, everything all our family had always done, that choked me up a little.
I was proud of us, who we were. I was proud of this town and all the people—whether mortal, supernatural, or deity—within it.
Right there, that moment, I was so proud of her.
“With great joy,” Raven said. He winked at Delaney, then wrapped his arms around her and brought her into a hug.
The power transfer was different from god to god. Delaney had spent time talking about it, and I’d read all of Dad’s accounts, and all of his Dad’s, and those who had bridged before them.
Sometimes the process was very hard and painful. Sometimes it was so easy and gentle as to be nothing more than a handshake and a nod.
