“What better place? Anyone after it would have to go through me.” Odin swept his arm between the mattress and the box spring. Then he stood up, flipping the mattress over as he did.
“Only when you're sleeping.” I stared at the box spring.
There was no magic condenser. There was, however, a note.
I snatched it up and read aloud, “Thank you for your contribution.” Lifting the paper, I sniffed it, just in case. There was no scent. “Damn, that's cryptic. Where's the clue? The trickster always leaves a clue.”
Odin didn't yell. He didn't curse. He just stood there, arms down at his sides, and stared at the bare box spring.
“That sneaky little poopy pants!” I crumpled the paper. “They came into our home.”
Odin replaced the mattress and smoothed out the bedding.
“Odin?”
He straightened and turned to face me. I flinched. His expression showed all the rage his actions had withheld.
“Oh, damn,” I whispered. “Daddy's angry.”
Odin lifted a hand and clenched it into a fist. “How do we protect ourselves against someone who can walk through wards and a crowded home without being seen? Even worse, they leave no trace of their passing.”
“I don't know, baby.” I plopped onto his bed. “Even Fenrir can't find Ty. He says the cord that connects them vanishes into fog.”
“What?” Odin sat down beside me.
“Is it gone?” Kirill rushed into the room, followed by Viper and Azrael.
“Yup.” I held up the crumpled note. “They thanked us for our contribution.”
“Contribution,” Azrael repeated. “Sounds as if they're keeping it this time.”
Odin grabbed my hand. “Fenrir said it just vanishes?”
“Yeah, he says he can sense that Ty is alive, but the cord is gone.”
“Gone or invisible?”
“Isn't it the same thing? If Fenrir can't see it, it's gone.”
“No, gone means it's not there. Invisible means it's there, but he can't see it. If Fenrir can still sense Ty, the cord must still be there.”
“As I said, the cord is there, but vanishes into fog.”
“So Ty didn't leave a trail?” Azrael asked.
“No.” I shoved the note into my pocket. “Fenrir is waiting for me at Moonshine with Trevor and three other gods, two of whom the trickster has stolen from.”
“He stole from two more gods?” Azrael stood over. “Which ones?”
“Ereshkigal of the Sumerians and Hephaestus.”
“Hephaestus?” Azrael's wide, pale blue eyes shifted to stare at Odin.
“What did they take?” Viper asked.
“A power core from Hephaestus, and Ereshkigal's keys to the Underworld.”
“Underworld keys, a power source, and the magic condenser,” Viper mused. “What are they building?”
