Age of X01 - Gameboard of the Gods (66 page)

“Not true. I’m a big believer in the pursuit of knowledge.”

The man looked over to where Mae sat alone. “I’d like to get to know more about
her
. You’re with her, right? Girlfriend? Wife?”

“Neither. In fact…she doesn’t really like me right now.”

“Lucky for me.” The man knocked back his wine and stood up. “I’m going to go talk to her.”

Incredibly, the guy made good on his word and walked over to Mae. Strangers’ advances were second nature to her, and she looked up at him with a polite smile. She even seemed to thank him when he brazenly took the flowers from his jacket and tucked them behind her ear. He gave her a nod of farewell and walked away.

Justin returned with the drinks. “Did he ask you out?”

“Him?” She laughed, which was nice after the earlier animosity. “No, but he laid it on kind of thick. He could be you in thirty years. Started waxing poetic about how my beauty will live forever in thought and memory and how these were a paltry offering.” She pulled the star-shaped white flowers out of her hair and examined them. “They smell good.”

“Stephanotis,” he said, pulling up his mental encyclopedia without thinking. “From the Greek word for ‘crown.’…”

Her eyebrows rose. “Stephanotis? Wasn’t that the flower you told me about in Windsor?”

Justin nearly dropped his glass. He scanned the room frantically, searching for the man. No luck. “Be right back.” He hurried up to the bar and waved to get the cute young bartender’s attention. She was knocking back what looked like aspirin, something Justin wouldn’t have minded since his own headache still pulsed at the back of his skull.

“You probably can’t tell me this…but do you know that guy’s name? When he scanned his ego?”

She hesitated about the breach of privacy and then groaned. “He didn’t scan it. I asked him, but he started asking me if I played chess, and I forgot. My boss’ll kill me. That was our most expensive wine!”

But Justin was already walking away. “I have to leave,” he told Mae.

“Why?” She looked him over, and her concern for him was real. “What’s wrong?”

Justin swallowed. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just…well, the bartender’s getting off her shift soon and asked me to go out. I can’t turn that down.” He put on what he hoped was a smug, bastardly smile.

This time, Mae’s thoughts were perfectly obvious. She was floored that after asking her for another drink, he was about to ditch her for a woman he’d just met.

“I see. Well, far be it from me to stand in your way.” She stood up, rigid and formal. “Thanks for the drink. I’ll meet you at SCI tomorrow.” And without a backward glance, she strode out of the bar, the air freezing around her.

Justin stared after her, feeling forlorn.

Wallow later,
said Horatio.
Do you want your answers or not?

Justin did. He had to know. He had to finally know. He scooped up the flowers and headed out. Back at the house, he found the usual buzz of activity as his family welcomed him home. He ignored them all and went straight to his office, slamming the door behind him.

“I need a search,” Justin said to his screen before he even reached his chair. “I need all references to the phrase ‘thought and memory.’”

The screen complied with frustrating detail, far too many hits to begin to parse. He drummed his fingers against the desk.

“Filter the search by religious and mythological contexts.”

That narrowed the list considerably. In fact, the only results left pertained to one subject. He brought up the first hit, which was a basic encyclopedic entry:

In Norse mythology, the god Odin (Wodan in German contexts) is accompanied by two ravens, Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory), who advise him and report what they learn about the world.

Justin felt mildly ill. He was familiar with stories of Odin, who frequently appeared with other Norse gods when Nordic and Scandinavian castes decided to attempt some revivalist religion. Odin was a major enough god that every servitor had a working knowledge of him. Justin had always thought he did as well, but apparently, he’d been lacking a particularly important detail about the god’s choice of companions, a detail that certain invisible birds could’ve helpfully enlightened him about.

“Give me a full compilation about the Norse god Odin,” ordered Justin. “Attributes, primary sources, and general folklore.”

The screen complied, and with every line he read, Justin felt as though the world was starting to crumble beneath him.

Odin, or “All Father,” is a Norse god of the Æsir associated with wisdom, cunning, knowledge, war and battle, magic, and death. He is usually accepted as the king of the Norse gods.

Odin made many sacrifices for his wisdom. He gave up his eye in order to drink from Mimisbrunnr, the well of wisdom. He also hung himself from the world tree Yggdrasil in order to master the runes, which impart insight into the present and future.

“I need an image of the runes.” Justin already knew what he’d see.

The screen displayed a set of symbols, each labeled with a name. Most
were nonsensical, save for one he knew very well since he saw it on his own skin every day. He asked the screen to identify it:
Ansuz—a rune with disputed meanings that is generally associated with the Æsir gods, particularly Odin.
Near it, Justin saw
algiz,
the protective rune the ravens had taught him.

On and on it went, and Justin saw pieces of his life play out before him. He read everything he could find, and after a while, he started reading the same information over and over. His eyesight grew bleary, and he was about to finally call it a day when one line caught his eye:

Odin is also accompanied by two wolves, Geri and Freki
.

“Clear the search,” he told the screen. “And call Demetrius Devereaux.”

Geraki answered after only a couple of seconds, and Justin wondered if he’d been waiting for the call like some eager teenage girl.

“Did you get a guy with a glass eye to come mess with me and start dropping flowers and hints about the ravens?”

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. I must not be smart enough to keep up with your razor-sharp brain.”

Throwing something at the screen wasn’t going to improve this situation, so Justin took a deep breath and tried to backtrack. “A man talked to me at a bar today. He had one eye and went off about the pursuit of knowledge. He gave me the same crap you do about Mae being so awesome, and then he went and talked to her about ‘thought and memory’ and gave her something only I knew about. Did you set it up?” Justin demanded. “Did you get someone to do this?”

Geraki looked completely dumbfounded, which would have been enjoyable under different circumstances. Understanding suddenly hit. His eyes widened in awe, and his cheeks flushed.

“He appeared to you! How? Why? You’ve done nothing but show disrespect, while I serve faithfully, but
you’re
the one he comes to in the flesh?” A moment later, Geraki closed his eyes and looked pained. “I shouldn’t have said that. I have no right to question my god’s actions. I’m only here to listen to his voice.”

“You can say his name now,” said Justin bitterly. “Odin.”

Geraki opened his eyes. “You know his name?”

“Yeah, it took like five seconds with a stream search. Why would a Norse god come after me? Why not someone like Mae? You said they gravitate to people with the same heritage.”

“You have the blood of a dozen cultures in you, and one of them is probably from that region.” Religious rambling was Geraki’s specialty, and he seemed to be at ease back in familiar territory. “That, and I told you, a wise and clever god needs a priest with those same qualities.”

“I’m not his priest. I’m not even a follower.”

Geraki smiled in a way that reminded Justin of those frustrating yearly investigations. “No, but you’re about to become his student. I asked what it’d take to make you learn. A name and a face, you said. You got those things. You shouldn’t have gotten them, but you did.”

Justin faltered. He
had
kind of said that.

“Learning isn’t the same as serving or swearing devotion,” he told Geraki.

“No, but it’s an important step along the way—and don’t try to dodge this time.”

Justin had, of course, been trying to think of how to dodge it. How could he be so stupid? He’d been so, so careful with Mae, only to stumble into some sort of divine apprenticeship.

“You remember everything,” Geraki added. “Think back to exactly what you said. I asked if those things would get you to begin to train in our god’s wisdom and magic. You said yes.”

“No,” said Justin, still hoping he could get out of this. “My exact words were ‘you bet.’”
But it’s not going to be good enough this time,
he realized.

“Those words are binding. You made your bargain, and now you’ll learn what it means to embrace your calling.” Geraki’s eyes were alight with the kind of zealous fire that should have made Justin call the authorities. “Welcome to the service of Odin, brother. I look forward to working with you.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This story has been a long time in coming, and many people helped bring it to light. Thank you to my husband for putting up with the late nights and religious speculation; my agent, Jim McCarthy, for his constant support and therapy; and editor Jessica Horvath for letting me do “just one more revision.” Thank you also to the readers brave enough to join me on this new and very different adventure. You keep me writing, and I hope you love this series. My father, a great philosopher of religion and spirituality, passed away while I was writing this, and I hope he loves it too.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Richelle Mead is the author of the international number one bestselling Vampire Academy series. Her love of fantasy and science fiction began at an early age when her father read her Greek mythology and her brothers made her watch
Flash Gordon
. She went on to study folklore and religion in college, and when not writing, Richelle spends her time drinking lots of coffee, watching reality TV, and shopping for dresses. She works in her pajamas and has a passion for wacky humor—especially if the 1980s are involved. Originally from Michigan, Richelle now lives with her family in Seattle, Washington.

Visit www.RichelleMead.com to find out more.

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