“Yes, Uncle Odin can see everything on Earth through a magical screen.” I smiled at Odin as he came over.
“I'm leaving now.” Odin grabbed an apple out of the fridge. “Are you sure you want to come?”
“Yes.” I got up and followed his lead, taking an orange out of the fridge and a can of sparkling water.
“I want to go too.” Trevor got up.
Odin glanced at me and then nodded.
“Can I come?” Vero asked.
Trevor looked torn. He had just told Vero that he could help. Telling him no now would be crushing.
“Sure, you can come, baby.” I held out a hand.
“Hey!” Lesya said. “I want to go too.”
“Lesya, we're just going to be searching the world for Uncle Ty,” I said. “No playing. Trust me, you'll have more fun here.”
Lesya scrunched up her face, looking from me to Odin, who nodded. “Okay.”
Kirill chuckled. “She's right, kotyonok. It's like vatching surveillance videos.”
“What is survey ants videos?”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing as Vero went to the fridge and grabbed an orange too. He had his headlifted and his shoulders squared. Adorable, but I resisted the urge to ruffle his hair.
“Surveillance,” Kirill said more slowly. “It's footage from security cameras.”
“Oh.” Lesya frowned. “I don't think I'd like that.”
“No, you vouldn't.” He kissed the top of her head and looked up at me. “Mama vill be back soon. Da?”
“Da, see you later.” I headed to the elevator with Vero, Trevor, and Odin.
We went downstairs, but instead of going to the tracing room, Odin went to the front doors and opened them.
“To me!” Odin shouted.
There was no response at first. Then the sound of bird shrieks came, followed by the howl of wolves. Odin had brought his immortal animal companions to Pride Palace years ago, but their original home was Asgard, and he liked to take them back for visits—especially the wolves, who couldn't go through the Aether alone. The ravens could cross the Aether on their own, born specifically to spy on the world and bring what they learned back to their master. Unfortunately, they had been hanging out at Pride Palace when the trickster came for Ty. Even if they had been on Earth, they were still birds limited to being in one place at a time, and the chances of them being at Moonshine precisely when Ty left were slim.
The ravens appeared first, landing on Odin's shoulders and settling. Then the wolves came out of the tall grass, streaking across the clearing between the grasslands and the palace. They came into the palace and sat before Odin. We didn’tallow them inside often on account of Nick, my immortal gray tabby cat. He was territorial.
But the wolves weren't staying long. We went into the tracing room together, and Geri came to stand beside me. The first time we had brought them through the Aether, we had to put them in cages. But they'd learned to stay still and let us grip them by the scruff. So Odin held Freki, and I took Geri, placing a hand on the tracing wall while clasping Geri with the other. The ravens would hold on to their master, letting him navigate their trace.
It took seconds to get us all to Valaskjalf. I came out of the tracing room with Geri, who ran off yipping happily, Freki hot on his tail. They raced through the main hall and out through a back door. The ravens followed, overtaking the wolves. The rest of us crossed the vast hall more slowly. Even Vero took the time to stare into the distance at the far-off walls, covered in silver shields. He'd been there before, but Valaskjalf never got old. The hearths sprinkled around the room were all cold, leaving the room with a chill. It didn't matter; we were going up to the tower.
Vero went up the narrow stairwell behind Odin, leaving Trevor and me to bring up the rear. At the top, we stepped into a circular room with a round couch in the center. A table filled the space in the middle of the couch. Stone arches spanned the entire wall, going from one side of the door to the other. They framed views of Asgard, but as Odin approached, the glass panes within the arches shimmered, seeming to move.
“Whoa.” Vero went up to a window pane, hand outstretched.
I grinned as Odin caught his wrist, saying the same thing he'd said to me when I had tried to touch his TV. “Probably best not to disturb it.”
Eyes wide, Vero nodded and stepped back.
Odin focused on the shivering pane as Trevor and I joined him. “Show me TryggulfR, third-born son of Fenrir, the Great Wolf of the Northmen.”
Odin could command the thing to show him any place or anyone on Earth. Wards were the only hindrance to his view. If Ty were on Earth—and that was a big if—he'd probably be somewhere warded. So, this was likely a waste of time. But we had to try.
