The Odd Job Read online

  Chapter 11

  The moonlight was bright enough to see quite clearly for some distance. What I saw made me want to lose my breakfast. The countless bodies of troll-like beasts, similar to those I had just fought, littered the landscape. Bodies of the pasty humanlike figures were also in evidence, or more to the point, parts of the pasty figures were strewn all over the bloody place. "My god..,” I said in awe, "what the hell happened here?"

  "A diversion," Thor answered as we walked briskly toward the standing stone circle. Stepping over a hundred body parts big and small, I had to wonder what could possibly warrant a diversion of this magnitude. I had never seen war in person before and I didn't know if I was capable of handling it. Nothing I had seen in magazines or on TV came close to illustrating the depth and scope of the carnage when war was up close and personal.

  As we neared the standing stones, the evidence of a horrific battle grew more ghastly with every step. More than one body was pin-cushioned with a dozen or more arrows. Other bodies were charred beyond recognition as if hit by fire and lightning. I saw that there were at least three different types of trolls. The biggest ones were hairless, the medium size ones were covered in long hair from head to toe and the small ones were somewhere in between with bare bellies and faces. The hair on their ten-foot frames was longest on the heads and they had large comical noses. More than one troll had been chewed on by something big enough to have gotten the better of it, something I really didn't want to meet.

  I was still thinking about what might have turned the trolls into giant chew toys when I noticed all the walking wounded near the stone circle. Thor practically bounded ahead and I had to run to keep up with him. There were heaps and piles of bodies where the invaders had been cleared away from the standing stones. The wounded were being tended to and more than a few were being mourned. My heart sank as I came to a standstill beside Thor.

  "We're too late,” I said in utter dismay as I looked down upon the still body of a beautiful young woman, still clutching a bow in death. A single hole in her throat was a stark blemish on the beauty still evident. A lump was forming in my throat and I wanted to hit something. I hadn't really hated the Sly until this moment and there was a righteous rage building in me that was determined to vent on the next pasty or troll I could find.

  "Mother!" I heard Thor shout. I looked up into Freya's captivating face and tears sprang to my eyes. She had been crying and the sight of it left me shaking with rage. My fists were balled up at my sides and I couldn't talk past the lump in my throat. Thankfully Thor was far more in control of his senses and emotions. "Mother, what happened here? Is the elder...?" Thor's voice trailed off.

  "We lost none of the elders this day, but some number of our trusted and loved retainers did fall," Freya provided and Thor sagged with a sigh.

  "The Sly?" Thor asked.

  "Aye," the goddess answered, "it was they and they brought the Titans down upon us."

  "I saw and trolls, no less," Thor answered with disbelief.

  "Aye, the battle began here,” Freya commented. “We rallied soon after the chaos began and pushed them back. Zeus is still far too angry to speak and Artemis gave chase," she finished, struggling with tears and worry.

  "Alone?" Thor exclaimed in question.

  "Aye, I was about to send for the guardian when I saw you both. How could you have known?" she asked as her eyes bored into my soul.

  "The Sly struck at The Estate," Thor said as he held up a hand to forestall Freya's concern. "The adjustor was there with his dragon and Goibhniu before the attack had a chance to start." Freya relaxed noticeably at Thor's words. "Heimdallr was injured but will heal. Only Goibhniu and I were able to join the fight before it was over," Thor said as he looked down toward me with pride, which I didn't feel worthy of. I'd be dead now if it hadn't been for him. I made a mental note to start watching my back.

  "What can I do?" I asked, finally able to speak past the rage and guilt that I felt. Freya stepped forward and rested a hand on my shoulder.

  "You must find her, Guardian," Freya pleaded in reference to the goddess Artemis. "She is impetuous and may be walking into a trap. You must find her before it is too late."

  "Find Artemis? How?" I asked, feeling desperate in my uselessness.

  "She needs you," was all Freya said, but that was enough. With those words, a throb took hold of my heart and I felt pulled toward a destination.

  Without a single word I turned and began to run. Every few strides I leapt as if jumping from stone to stone across a stream. Only each jump took me through to a different realm, world upon world attached to the reality of Midgard, my world. Trees whipped past, followed by desert, grassy plains gave way on the next leap to water then running lava. I didn't sink in the water nor was I scalded by the lava. I suspected the shield of Guardianship must have something to do with this, but I was overcome by need and moving too fast to really think.

  I slowed and stopped sensing my destination. I could feel a pull to the building directly ahead of me. At the time, nothing struck me as strange but I was in a world very different from my own. Oh it was pretty much the same, but the trees lining the streets at exact municipal intervals weren't sporting green foliage but were instead dressed in long strands of orange hair. The people looked like normal people; however, they did have a decidedly green tinge to them.

  I drew puzzled glances as I sped towards the building that drew me onward, stopping short when I felt certain my target was near the roof. Glancing left then right, I saw a shorter building I felt confident I could transition to. After tipping backward off the edge of the building and quickly returning to my original spot, I decided on a more daring approach.

  Wind whistled past my ears as I free fell toward the rooftop of my target building. I had chosen a spot in mid-air above the building’s roof, but from my vantage point at ground level, I sorely misjudged the distance. I had never been skydiving before and was having trouble keeping myself properly oriented, but at last I was able to spot a suitable landing site near a rooftop access door. I remembered to transition to that spot in a stationary standing position and was amazed that my kneecaps weren't driven through my shoulder blades. Einstein would have had an apoplectic fit at the number of physical laws I had just broken, and I would have chuckled at the thought if I hadn't just realized that a very sturdy and locked door was blocking my entry to the building.

  The urgency in my heart was building to the point where I thought I was going to have a cardiac event. "Fuck it." I thought as I drew the bulldog and fired at the doorknob. A smoking hole the size of my head appeared where the doorknob had been. I kicked the door and felt the shock travel up to my hip. I cursed as I reached forward and easily pulled the door open.

  Running down the stairs, I paused to stop at each landing and turn 360 degrees. At the third landing, I felt I had the right floor. This time I checked to see if the door was locked and which way it opened before further torturing various body parts. The door facing me was unlocked and opened inward. I dropped the bulldog, watching it vanish as I stepped through the doorway.

  Drawn by the sounds of conflict, I took down the hallway to the right at a dead run. I felt sure the goddess Artemis was on the opposite side of the building and I was feeling slightly winded as I drew close to the sound of a struggle. Rounding the last corner, I saw a beautiful, athletic woman firing arrow after arrow at figures dressed in black and carrying submachine guns. Blood oozed from a bullet graze on her shoulder as she stood from behind the cover of a reception desk to fire another volley of arrows in rapid succession, before once again ducking behind cover.

  A bullet thunked into the wall above my head indicating my arrival had been detected. Slightly enraged, I pulled the bulldog and fired a heavy round at the corner the gunman had ducked behind. A satisfying boom sounded as the corner disappeared along with a fair portion of the gunman hiding behind it. I followed through with a second round as the new vantage revealed an additional group of gunmen
moving forward in a squad. Three of their number vaporized on contact with the heavy round and the rest were knocked askew or scrambled for cover. I took the opportunity to dive behind the massive reception desk Artemis was using for cover.

  "Elder, we have to leave now!" I yelled over the sound of automatic weapons being fired one handed around corners at us.

  Artemis looked calmly at me as a spray of wood and Formica flew over her head. "No," she replied flatly, "I will not run from those who dare to attack us in a holy place!" she finished vehemently. There wouldn't be any reasoning with her. She was obviously more enraged than I had been at the standing stones.

  I was preparing to simply kidnap the petulant goddess and face a scathing tirade for my troubles, instead of digging in for an ill-advised pitched battle when a whoosh caught my attention. My last coherent thought was, 'That can't be good.'

  I was thrown back into the hallway like a rag doll when the concussion of the rocket fired at our hiding place detonated against the far side of the reception desk. Artemis hadn't been lying prone like I had and the initial shock wave had thrown her further down the hall. I stumbled over to her side and was relieved to find she was still breathing. My ears were ringing painfully and another spray of gunfire had me ducking once again. Not knowing what else to do, I grabbed Artemis and started dragging her around the corner.

  I stopped twice to return fire and buy a few moments. I wanted to fire one handed while I continued to drag Artemis to safety but every time I took my left hand off the bulldog, it receded to its resting place between worlds.

  A second rocket solved my problem as its shockwave carried Artemis and I to the corner. Two tugs and I had her behind the scant cover the corner provided. I was so dazed by the two blasts I couldn't think clearly.

  "Egg! I need help!" I screamed mentally toward my little dragon.

  Preparing for the final stand, I pulled Artemis' limp form further around the corner and took up a position in front of her when a thought struck me. I fired a few heavy rounds in the general direction of our attackers, then turned back and ran past Artemis just in time to catch a few of the pasties coming through the fire door. I opened fire and their bodies flew backward riddled with rounds from the bulldog.

  Rushing forward I closed the door and slammed the security lock into place before returning to Artemis. I was just in time to catch another group of pasties breaking cover and heading towards our position. Once again opening up with large rounds from the bulldog, I cleared the present danger only to hear a battering commence at the fire door just behind me.

  Another rocket slammed into the corner of the wall and debris rained down on us. Artemis let out a groan as she fought for consciousness. I was too dazed to think. I was simply reacting from one moment to the next. I tried to rise but my legs weren't moving properly and neither was my left arm. It seemed I was leaking precious bodily fluids everywhere. Home was literally worlds away and I was fighting to just keep my eyes open.

  Determined to sell my life as expensively as I could, I gripped the forestock of the bulldog with my left hand and used my right to maneuver both the gun and my left arm into position. Without a second to spare, I managed to get my weapon aimed as the pasties that had launched the latest rocket attack rounded the corner. They came spilling into view only to be chewed up and mowed down by a continuous barrage from the bulldog.

  I sagged to the floor facing Artemis just as she opened her eyes and noticed my bloody form. Her eyes were wide with shock as she looked closely at my wounded body. Another smaller group rounded the corner behind her and, with the last of my strength, I managed to mowed them down laying my gun across my chest for support.

  Blackness was closing in around the periphery of my vision and I was starting to think I might never see Belinde again when I heard a curious trumpeting. The floor beneath me began to buckle and I came eyeball to eyeball with a truly monstrous version of Egg. With a loud triumphant trill, he scooped up Artemis, myself, and a large portion of the floor we had been lying on. I felt a hand on my face as Egg withdrew from the hole he had created in the side of the building.

  I tried to open my eyes but couldn't. Some strength was flowing into me from the goddess caressing my face but it wasn't enough to rouse me. It did however seem to be keeping death at bay. "I owe you my life, Adjustor," Artemis said. I could hear regret and shame in her voice but didn't have the strength to open my eyes or respond. I did notice the light change through my eyelids as Egg emptied the contents of his mouth onto the ground.

  Artemis placed a hand on my chest and kissed my forehead. I had a feeling it was a goodbye kiss but then other hands were touching me, checking my wounds and staunching the flow of blood. I was curiously detached, but was finally able to open my eyes slightly as one large and powerful hand cradled my head. I saw Zeus himself looking down at me proudly.

  "Am I dying?" I whispered feebly.

  "Not this day, Guardian," the elder god replied. I heard him shout to others nearby, "Bring water from the spring and send for the healers. We dare not release hold of him until he is strong enough to be moved!" Someone bring a draught for my daughter before she expires!"

  I could hear the patter of feet around me as people scurried in one direction or another. Within moments I felt more hands resting on my body, my shoulders, and my legs. Someone was holding each hand and I was being tilted up and forward. A cup was pressed to my lips and I took a sip of clear refreshing water. Moments later the cup was returned, and I took a few more sips then finally a gulp of water.

  I must have drifted off for an indeterminate length of time. I was in constant contact with a bolstering flow of energy from the elders and I never felt the hands of those tending me leave my body. That earthly contact was most likely the only thing keeping me alive.

  I felt myself being lifted and carried. One set of hands was exchanged for another as I moved. I struggled to open my eyes and caught a glimpse of stars, a moon and the sun all at once. I knew then that I was on the clearing atop the world tree Yggdrasil and that I would soon be home. I tried to smile but pain shot through my face, then everything went black.