It was particularly cold the next day. I wasn’t sure whether to blame Skadi or Angrboda – I was pretty sure they were both around.
Probably Skadi, as she was the more powerful of the two. Snow fell out of the sky, starting to form a blanket on the mall. That might be a good thing if the fight did start – the snow would help keep the fire giants from setting fire to everything in the immediate area.
Or not. I was heartened by the fact that Kara had some ideas for covering it up, based off of last time.
I was also biased. Honestly? I was rooting for Angrboda. This time, anyway. It wasn’t personal per se.
It was more rooting against her opposition, and not just because they’d tried to kill me. I wouldn’t forget the dead people any time soon.
And…there she was, accompanied by muscle. Four large, powerful jotun. I wandered over. “Any luck?”
“He claims he’ll deal with them himself, but he wasn’t being very convincing even for him.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, we give him a chance to and…”
“If they show up again, I’m kicking their butts.”
“I’m not going to argue, but let’s try and have it be somewhere less obvious than here.” I indicated the snow-covered Mall.
“I’ll try. But I doubt they care.”
After last time? They’d demonstrated just how little they cared about keeping things out of the immediate gaze of uninvolved mortals. “They don’t, but…”
“I’m going to deal with them regardless of where I find them. However, I will make sure nobody who isn’t involved gets hurt.”
“You might have help with that.”
“Your help would be appreciated.”
That hadn’t been quite what I meant, but I nodded. I could definitely run interference. “I can do that, although remember that you aren’t the only one with a grudge.”
“You can kill them next time,” she quipped.
Or maybe I’d wait until I could deal with them for good. Until? I had no intention of…but then, maybe I did.
One day I’d have to find a way to shut Surtur up for good. Which might well mean going to Muspelheim.
I shivered, and it wasn’t from the cold Angrboda brought with her.