In the Balance by C. Gockel

Author:C. Gockel [Gockel, C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: norse mythology, mythology, urban fantasy, epic fantasy, fantasy
Publisher: C. Gockel
Published: 2015-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

Amy gets out of the cab on LaSalle Street, just a block north of the Chicago Board of Trade. It’s not her destination, but it’s close enough, and she hasn’t been able to see the building up close since she arrived.

The building is classic art deco and it’s been a dark and foreboding extra in at least one dystopian movie. Now a blue light bathes the old clock at the buildings front, old brickwork, moldings, and the faceless statue of Ceres. It’s art deco as reimagined by Disney. Just above Ceres’s head the light condenses into a single beam the width of the building’s highest tower. The beam shoots up into the low hanging winter clouds. It’s beautiful and awe inspiring—magic and human engineering fused together into something better than either.

Absently rubbing her almost non-existent bump beneath her coat, Amy whispers, “Baby girl, you are going to have a beautiful world.” She smiles, a little bittersweetly. She’s given up a lot to stay in this world. She misses Beatrice, Fenrir, and her friends. Lifting her head, she squares her shoulders. There isn’t anything she can do about that.

She is cared for. She looks down at her new clothes—an impossibly luxurious pink cashmere coat over an ivory silk sweater and tailored trousers. The Mary Jane flats on her feet alone cost an arm and a leg—although this Loki has as much a fascination with heels as her own, he didn’t want her to trip in ‘her condition.’ Amy is better dressed, and better fed now than she’s been, well, ever. And she has found herself in a new and interesting world. She will make the most of it.

Dropping her eyes, she brings her attention back to Earth. It’s a rare 55 degree December day in Chicago. The pavement on the street and the sidewalk is wet with melted snow. Around her men and women in suits walk past, many without outer coats. Amy has an inexplicable urge to smile and say hello to them. It strikes her that she hasn’t really interacted with anyone besides Loki and Miskunn since she’s been here. Her mood darkens slightly. She sees Miskunn twice a week now. Her baby’s magic is too strong; Miskunn is convinced that without someone to siphon all that magic away the extra energy will overwhelm the baby’s fragile developing body.

Squaring her shoulders, Amy wills herself not to think about such things. She does have Miskunn, and everything will be fine. Taking a breath, Amy forces her feet into motion and walks southward. In a few minutes her good cheer is restored. It feels good to be on her own and outside. A little jolt of exhilaration courses down her spine. She’s been having a great time with Loki, but she’s always been animated by having a purpose and a goal...now that she’s on track to realizing that goal she feels lighter and stronger at the same time. She is still herself no matter how everything has changed.

LaSalle Street dead ends at the Board of Trade and Amy turns east there onto Jackson.

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