I hadn’t forgotten, of course, about Monica’s problem. Or potential problem. Thruor didn’t even seem to think it was a problem.
Mortal perspectives. But understanding them mattered. I thought it did anyway.
The real issue was: Did I tell her? Which had somehow gotten tangled in my mind with dropping out to pursue modeling.
I was, after all, living with my girlfriend and trying to be an adult. That somehow felt incompatible with being in school.
At the same time, I knew what Mike would say. So, I took my dilemma to him. “I’ve got a modeling friend.”
Mike nodded. “What’s she like?”
I considered. “Loyal, to a fault. Hedonistic. She’s…a bit like Thruor, actually.”
“And…”
“And I have a premonition…no, more than that…that she’s going to die. As in soon. And possibly because she’s involved in stuff.”
“And knows, right?”
I nodded. “She knows everything. She’s got a little bit of magic sensitivity, it turns out.”
“So…she knows the risk?”
“It’s not a risk, though. It’s a certainty. I know she’s going to die. And I can’t, I’m sorry, I can’t see it like Thruor can.”
“What would happen if you told her?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “She might stop helping me. She might get depressed. She might decide to take a road trip around the planet.”
Actually, that last seemed more in Monica’s style. A road trip around the planet. And appealing.
Mike laughed. “A road trip around the planet?”
“It would be in her style. But I don’t think I’m supposed to tell her. I don’t think we’re really supposed to…”
“…tell mortals these things.”
“Right. I mean, it’s not you, so it feels okay to talk to you about it. How would you feel?”
Mike considered. “Depends. I don’t…” A pause. “I don’t expect to die of old age. Not chasing around with Thruor.”
Who was a valkyrie and probably didn’t want her mortal friends dying of old age, come to think of it. “I think I understand Thruor’s perspective.”
And if Monica…oh… “Oh…” I added, suddenly.
My phone rang at that moment, interrupting the conversation with the tones of “Pretty Woman.”
I immediately blamed Odin.