“Wow,” Cat said in awe as she exited the portal.  “This place is enormous! There must be millions of books in here!”

 

I could hear footsteps fast approaching from several yards away.  “Oh great, what now?” Astveig came around the corner of the stacks.  “Oh, wonderful. More mortals! And a god! Arey, what have you gotten yourself into now?”  Her hands were on her hips as if to say she disapproved of her “children.”

 

“Technically, TWO gods,” I added with a smirk.  I still wasn’t really happy about suddenly being a “god,” but I desperately needed to see the look on Astveig’s face when I said it.  And, boy, was it worth it!

 

Billie took the initiative in smoothing things over.  “You must be Astveig. It is truly an honor to meet you after so many centuries.  I’ve heard so much about you and what you do here.” Billie took advantage of the deer-in-headlights look on Astveig’s face and took her hand, kissing it gently.

 

“Oh,” was all Astveig seemed able to say for a moment.  Finally she shook the daze from her eyes. “Bilverk, your reputation for charm is clearly well earned, but you’re going to have to do more than that for me to ever trust a god.  Chris gets a pass on the grounds that she hasn’t been a god long enough to earn my distrust.”

 

Billie didn’t seem phased at all by the rebuke.  “That’s fair. After all, Asgard has been fairly distant over the past couple of centuries since Arey came under your protection.”  Wait, how old was Arey, anyway? “But, as you can see,” Billie continued, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, “we had our reasons.”

 

“I can see that,” Astveig said.  “I’ve been reviewing the prophecies the past few days in light of these new developments.  I think I found the loophole Odin was exploiting.”

 

“Excellent!  That means we’re all on the same page!”  Billie’s voice boomed throughout the library.

 

“Whoah, not so fast,” interrupted Astveig.  “That still doesn’t explain who this mortal is.”

 

I spoke up this time.  “Oh, Astveig, this is my friend Cat.  She wants to help us.”

 

“Help ‘us’ do WHAT, exactly?”

 

“Fenrir is on the loose,” said Arey.  “And he’s hunting for Chris.”

 

“Oh, wonderful,” Astveig said indignantly.  “Wasn’t it supposed to be Asgard’s job to keep that beast locked up?”

 

“Hey, don’t look at me,” said Billie.  “I haven’t even lived in Asgard for the past fifty-odd years.”

 

“Why was Fenrir imprisoned in the first place?” asked Cat.

 

The room fell silent suddenly.  Everyone stared at Cat incredulously.

 

“Because,” Billie said, finally breaking the silence, “it’s a dangerous Godwolf, and a child of Loki.”

 

“What evidence do you have that he’s dangerous?” Cat’s questions seemed as though things the others hadn’t even considered.

 

“He bit off Tyr’s hand,” said Astveig.  “Tyr placed his hand in Fenrir’s mouth as a symbol of trust, and Fenrir bit it off.”

 

I picked up on Cat’s line of questioning.  “Why did Tyr have to place his hand in Fenrir’s mouth?”

 

Astveig seemed lost on that.  Billie stepped in. “We were trying to bind it.  To imprison it.”

 

Cat and I looked at each other.  Cat spoke first. “And none of you ever considered that the reason he bit Tyr’s hand was because you were trying to imprison him?”

 

“It’s a giant Godwolf prophesied to kill gods,” argued Billie.  “What would you have done?”

 

“How about showing a bit of compassion, for once?” Cat yelled with far more passion than I thought possible.  I could already see she was getting worked up.

 

“I wasn’t there,” said Astveig, “but I can assure you all the information I have in the books here in the Library, and the prophecies, are clear on this point: Fenrir is an enemy to all.”

 

“And that’s it, then?”  Cat’s voice quivered with rage.  “The wolf is an enemy, and you just accept that?”  Tears were running down her cheeks. “You never even thought that maybe the reason Fenrir is your enemy is because you gave him no other choice?  I can’t believe this.”

 

Cat stormed off alongside the stacks, finding the first door she could and slamming it behind her.

 

I looked between Arey, Astveig and Billie briefly.  “I’ll… I’ll go get her out of the closet…”

 

****

 

I could hear Cat sobbing behind the closet door.  I waited a few moments before knocking on the door gently.  “Cat? You gonna be okay?”

 

“No…” came Cat’s shaky voice through the door.

 

“I’m gonna open the door, okay?”  I tried to keep my voice as soothing as possible.

“Okay,” she replied.

 

I opened the door to find Cat sitting on the floor of the closet, hugging her knees to her chest, sobbing.

 

Not sure what to do, I sat down on the floor next to her, careful not to get closer than she felt comfortable with.  Before I knew it, Cat reached out and pulled me into a sort of sideways hug, sobbing into my shoulder.

 

“You want to talk about it?” I asked.

 

“I just can’t stand it when people are judged unfairly,” she said after regaining her composure.  “It happened to me once. I was punished severely for something I didn’t do. And now, to find out Fenrir has also suffered because of crimes he never even had the chance to commit…  I’m sorry. It was just too much for me.”

 

“Hey, it’s okay,” I said.  “Take your time. We’re not in any hurry here.”  As soon as I said that, I noticed Astveig about to say something, and I gave her a look that told her now was definitely NOT the time.  I continued to hold Cat for a few minutes more while she recovered.

 

****

 

Several minutes later, all five of us had gathered around the table in the kitchenette.  Cat’s eyes were still puffy from crying, but she’d calmed down considerably. All things considered, now I was not at all looking like a fearless leader or a hero in the slightest, but I did my best to put on a commanding presence because what I was about to say needed all the respect I could muster from this group.

 

“Everyone, I have an announcement to make.”  I waited a moment to ensure everyone’s attention was on me.  “I know some of you are going to disagree with this, but I have made up my mind on this, and given our situation, you’re not really in a position to move on without me.  You don’t have to help me, but I’d still appreciate your help if you did.”

 

“I gave you my word that I’d do anything to protect you,” said Arey.  “I intend to keep that promise, come what may.”

 

Billie chuckled.  “I’m mostly here to tell your story.  I can’t tell your story if I’m making your decisions for you, can I?”

 

Astveig gave a grunt, which I interpreted as her acknowledging that she hasn’t liked anything I’ve done since she met me and that there’s nothing she seems to be able to do to stop me.

 

“Then I will be counting on your support,” I continued, “as I attempt to entreat, Fenrir to join us.”