“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.
