The Testament of Loki by Joanne M. Harris

Author:Joanne M. Harris
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Saga Press

8.

Heidi’s rage was a psychic blast that blossomed over Castle Hill. But this time, there was no pressure, no pain. Just a warning—Trickster, you’re toast—and then Jumps’s voice in my mind, shouting, Whoooooo, I did it! Whoooooo! as we raced through the back streets of Malbry.

We’d done the impossible, I thought. We’d somehow beaten Gullveig-Heid. Those high-heeled shoes of Stella’s must have given us the edge. And I was wearing sneakers, which meant—

What do you mean? I kicked her ass!

I had to concede that indeed, she had. What I still didn’t get was how. I mean, I don’t want to brag, but Jumps was only a human, and yet—

“You used a rune.” I said it aloud. It didn’t make any more sense that way.

Whooooo! I kicked her aaaaaassss!

“You used a rune. You used my rune. My rune, the runemark Kaen, that Odin put on me back in the day. You, a human, used my rune, and—”

Relax. I found it in your mind. I thought it might be useful. And it was. I kicked her ass. Whoooooooo! Whooooo!

“You’re high,” I said.

Yes, said Jumps. I’m high on Life.

“Well, enjoy it while you can. Because she’s gunning for both of us now, and trust me, Heidi isn’t a person you’re likely to warm to on acquaintance. In fact—”

I paused for breath, and because something was nagging in my mind—something that Jumps had said, which in the heat of the moment and the excitement of using glam I hadn’t wholly taken in.

“Er, hang on a minute,” I said. “What did you mean, don’t fuck with my friends?”

Oh, that. Nothing, said Jumps.

“No, it was something,” I told her. “Wait, did you mean to imply that—maybe—I was your friend?”

No. Of course not.

“You did, though,” I said. “I can read your mind.”

I doubt it, said Jumps. It’s in joined-up writing.

I could have argued further. But I sensed that something had shifted—some balance of power, some pendulum swing—and I wasn’t sure in whose favour the mechanism was working. I started to think that maybe I should at least mention the fact that she’d saved my life—or rather saved me from something a whole lot worse than dying—but I wasn’t quite able to find the words. Yours Truly, the master of flattery and silver-tongued lord of deception, was suddenly short of things to say.

I took a deep breath. “Er, Jumps,” I began.

It’s okay, said Jumps. You’re welcome.

Oh. “Oh.”

I read your mind. Forget it. It’s not like it’s complicated, or anything.

We walked the rest of the way in silence.

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