Death's Door by E. A. Copen

Author:E. A. Copen [Copen, E. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: E.A. Copen
Published: 2018-11-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

We loaded onto the boat. Considering Hades’ troops numbered in the thousands, you’d think it’d be crowded, but souls were compact. Jean put most of them to work pulling on ropes, moving boxes around, rolling cannons and gunpowder around below deck. He appointed a grim-looking Greek named Elpenor as his first mate. Apparently, the guy had more than a decade of sailing experience.

Hades and I stood behind Jean as he took the helm and guided the ship into the open water. A new heaviness settled in the cold, salty air, as if the underworld had sucked in a breath and was waiting to exhale it.

Doubt fluttered in the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t explain it, but I knew this invasion of the underworld was Loki’s doing. It had been bothering me ever since I freed Fenrir. The wolf Titan had spoken of vengeance against the gods who wronged him. While I was a little rusty on my Norse mythology, I hadn’t forgotten about how it all came to an end: Ragnarök, a great battle between the gods that destroyed the world. On the one side, Loki and his allies. Everyone else stood against them. Outnumbered and without a chance of winning, Loki launched his attack against the other gods and died in dramatic fashion.

I’d always thought of it as allegorical. Every culture had their end of the world stories. But what if it was more than just an allegory? What if it was a prophecy?

The boat rocked. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my stomach. I needed a distraction, or I was going to be hanging over the side again. “Hey Hades, you said the Valkyries that invaded claimed this was all retaliation for something that happened a long time ago. Any idea what they meant?”

The god’s face turned grave. “It was a very long time ago, but yes. It’s because of two brothers, Hodur and Baldur. Hodur was jealous of his younger brother, who was a sickly lad and spoiled rotten by every god in existence. It was hard not to like the boy. He was well-made, well-mannered, and generally pleasant while his brother was...well, Hodur was Loki’s best friend for a reason. The two got into trouble constantly. One day, when they were left alone, Hodur and Baldur got into a fight.

“Here is where accounts diverge. Some say it was Hodur’s idea to murder his brother with a bough of mistletoe, but most believe it was Loki’s. Hodur had never been a particularly bright boy, even if he was mean. Nevertheless, it was Hodur that did the killing. And when Baldur was discovered, we gods were called upon to pass judgment.”

Hades hung his head. “It was a mistake. Hodur was still a child himself. He couldn’t be expected to defend himself. Yet that is what we made him do. He was forced to stand before a council of twenty-one gods to argue his case. Do you know what he did instead, Lazarus?”

I shook my head.

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