Anything but Ordinary (16 page)

‘I’m not sure the Tuatha count as maniacs,’ she said. ‘But I see what you mean.’

Tamar, having gathered everyone together (including Dawber and Slick, who had not wanted to return to the Agency after what he had done in helping Tamar and had begged for asylum) now went over the salient points of the situation as told to them by Fenrir.  

‘We have two main problems,’ she summarised. ‘We need to find Loki, and we need to find the Tuatha and, if necessary, bang all their heads together.’

‘We’ve already
tried
to find the Tuatha,’ said Cindy.

‘So, we keep trying,’ said Tamar. ‘In any case, it’s far more important at the moment, to find Loki.’

‘And how are we supposed to do that?’ asked Cindy. ‘You said yourself, we have nowhere to start.’

‘I think I might have an idea about that,’ said Stiles.

Tamar smiled. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘We were hoping you would say that.’

Stiles’s idea, like so many good ideas, was simple in its inception, but would be complicated to put into practice. They would simply need more bodies. Fortunately, that would not be a problem. 

What he proposed, put simply, was a manhunt. 

‘You said that he’s headed straight for the source of his powers,’ Stiles said, ‘which reside in a pool, right? Now a pool could also be a well or even a lake but definitely a body of water. And you can bet your life it won’t be an ordinary body of water.  Now, no matter what the true facts may be, the fact is that legends build up around such places. We’ve seen it before. It’s like the magic leaks out into people’s consciousness.  There are probably a lot of places which fit the bill. I can think of one or two right off. “The Fountain of Youth legend for example, which fits our criteria perfectly, in that it’s a known legend with a supposed location, but which no one has actually ever found. That’s what we need to look for. Personally, I think the fountain of youth is a bit too obvious, but that’s the sort of thing we’re after.’

‘Now, the
most
obvious place to start would be the river Rhine, supposed home of the Rhine Maidens and the Rheingold – which has never actually been found, by humans I mean – has it?’ He stopped to look questioningly at Tamar.

She shook her head. ‘It hasn’t.’

‘The river Rhine is on maps,’ Denny pointed out. ‘ and people take crusies on it … But – that’s not what you mean is it?’ he added.

‘No,’ agreed Tamar, ‘he means the Rheingold and the maidens and all that guff.’

‘It’s in the right area, more or less.’ Stiles resumed. ‘And it might be that that makes it a bit
too
obvious. But we can’t afford to eliminate it until we’ve tried it. However, there will be others. Not as famous or as identifiable with the Norse Legends but we should try them all. What do you think?’

‘Only women should go to the Rhine Maidens,’ said Tamar. ‘I know – I’ve met them. No man is safe. Cindy and I will go.’ This was as good as an endorsement, and the plan was accepted. 

‘I’ll get researching other possible sites,’ said Denny. ‘I’ll also have another go at looking for the Tuatha.’

‘We need to advertise,’ said Stiles. ‘A manhunt depends on luck; mostly on the chance that someone has seen who you’re looking for and lets you know. “Have you seen this man?” sort of thing. ‘I know it goes against the grain, but we may not have much time here. And we needn’t say who he actually is.’ 

‘I can put the word out to the magical community,’ said Tamar doubtfully.

‘Do it,’ said Stiles. ‘But it won’t be enough. You can bet your life that he’ll be avoiding that ilk as much as possible.’

‘It’s a good idea,’ said Denny. ‘He’ll never expect it, that’s for certain.’

‘We could do with more people,’ said Stiles, ‘as many bodies out looking as possible really. I have a feeling that Denny’s research is going to turn up a lot of possible sites to investigate.’

‘The other thing we need is some information on what exactly Loki’s powers are,’ Stiles continued. ‘It might help us narrow down where we need to look. Some possible sites can be eliminated on the basis that they don’t fit with Loki’s known powers.’

‘He’s a shape shifter,’ said Tamar.  ‘He uses magic spells like a wizard – there’s a fountain of eternal youth in Brittany near Merlin’s Tomb atBroscelainde.’

‘Get that down,’ said Stiles to no one in particular.  ‘That sounds like a good possibility.’
y

‘He isn’t a god,’ said Tamar. ‘He’s part giant and part … oh something else, I can’t remember Odin adopted him as a foster brother and … anyway, technically, he’s not an immortal.’  Stiles was scribbling furiously, there being no volunteers to do this for him, despite his peremptory order. Sometimes he missed being the boss.

‘He was an inventor,’ Tamar said.  ‘He designed weapons for the gods and other useful things (Thor’s hammer was one of his and the flying ships) not just for the gods though. He gave his inventions to humanity too.  Which the gods did not like, but he basically told them to stuff it.’

‘He doesn’t sound all that bad,’ said Denny.

‘He wasn’t really, he was just shifty, mischievous, you know. They called him the trickster.  Until he killed Balder.  He crossed a line there and, well …  I don’t know what else I can tell you.’

‘Any idea what his beef is with the Tuatha?’ asked Stiles.  ‘Motive is key in this sort of investigation.’

Tamar shook her head.  ‘No idea at all.  It makes no sense to me that they would even know each other.  The Tuatha are Celtic gods.’

‘That’s not necessarily a problem,’ said Denny.  ‘The Vikings conquered the Celts after all and besides, mythologies are always getting mixed up with each other.  Look at the Romans and the Greeks, and even the Egyptians got in on the same act.  Many of their gods are the same as the Greek gods only with different names. And Hercules was supposed to have visitedAsgard one time.  It happens all the time.  Mythology is mythology, once you accept that it’s real, then it’s all the same thing.’

‘So, the fact that the Tuatha apparently pissed Loki off is not so surprising after all?’ said Stiles.’

‘I never heard about it though,’ said Tamar. ‘And I still think it’s weird,’ she added stubbornly.

‘Maybe the Tuatha weren’t
just
Celtic gods,’ said Cindy.  ‘Maybe they were also, like um, in the Norse legends somewhere, but like Denny said, with a different name.’ She shrugged; everyone seemed to be staring at her.  ‘That’s stupid isn’t it?’ she said, feeling uncomfortable and wishing she had said nothing.

‘That’s
brilliant
,’ said Denny. ‘Abso-fucking-lutely brilliant.  Why didn’t
I
think of that?’ 

‘You can’t think of everything,’ said Tamar with a grin, ‘It
is
a good idea though. It makes sense, except I can’t think of anyone in the Norse legends, either, who Loki had a grudge like that with.  Well, except the Norse gods of course, and they’re all accounted for.’

‘You moved around a lot back then,’ said Denny.  ‘You once told me there was a lot you missed in history.  It probably happened after you moved on.’

‘That’s true,’ Tamar admitted.

‘Well, anyway, I’ll do some research on it. A grudge big enough to cause Armageddon must have left a trail
somewhere
.  I’ll find it.’

‘I
know
you will,’ said Stiles.

‘We could really do with someone else who’s good with computers,’ said Cindy.  ‘There’s so much research to do.’

Er, hello,’ said a hesitant voice from the door.  Everyone turned. Fenrir had returned with the rest of Team Alpha  (whom only Tamar recognized – although it was perfectly obvious to everyone else who they were) in tow.  It was Ray who had spoken.  ‘I’m pretty good with computers,’ he said diffidently.

‘Ever surfed the Aethernet?’ asked Denny challengingly without waiting for introductions.

‘Oh, yes, frequently.’

‘Ever hacked the mainframe?’

‘Occasionally,’

‘Right, you can start on thepossibles for Loki’s power source.  Jack will fill you in.  I’m Denny by the way. You’ve probably heard nothing about me. I don’t care who
you
are.  That’s Jack over there, don’t let his jolly demeanor fool you into believing that anything he tells you is not an order.’ 

Stiles’s face was a grim as human face could possibly be, without being the face of a corpse. Ray gave him a nervous smile.

‘Hi Ray,’ said Tamar.

‘I’m pretty good at computers too,’ said David coming forward with a sly, cocky look on his face. 

Denny raised an eyebrow. ‘
Pretty
good?’ he said sceptically. His eyes bored into David’s interrogatively.  David stared back defiantly for as long as he could then dropped his eyes.

Tamar snapped her fingers suddenly. ‘That’s enough,’ she said.  ‘Get him out of here.  I’m not having that scum in my house.’

Fenrir did a very passable imitation of an extremely startled man.

‘What?’ he began, ‘why …?’

‘And I want him voided,’ said Tamar. There was a gasp from the room.  To be voided (put into the void) was a fate worse than death, as everyone in the room knew very well.  Denny grabbed David by the arms as he tried to run.  He was stronger than he looked, but Denny managed to hold him, with some difficulty, as he struggled violently to get free.

‘On what charge?’ askedFenrir in an outraged tone.

‘He’s been genetically manipulating free magical creatures. I saw the data.  And I’m pretty sure he’s a spy too, although I don’t know for whom.’

‘Hank’s forest?’ said Denny tightening his grip, his face white with fury. 

‘What?’ said Tamar, surprised in her turn.

Fenrir appeared to come to a decision. ‘Void him,’ he said, as David let out a howl of protest.  ‘We can question him later, if we have time.’

Tamar instantly made up her mind that he would be questioned as soon as possible – by her.

There was a long awkward silence after David had been dragged away byFenrir and Denny.  A high, thin scream had been heard which cut off abruptly, then silence. 

It wasFenrir who broke the silence; coming back into the room, preceded by a grim faced Denny, he said heartily. ‘There’s always one bad apple in every barrel eh?’

No one replied.  There really did not seem to be anything to say. 

Suddenly, with great relief, Ray noticed Slick and hailed him in surprise. ‘Hey Tony, what are you doing here?’ he looked questioningly at Tamar.

‘Yes, I got her out,’ said Slick sighing heavily.  He indicated Denny.  ‘I think you’ve met Tamar’s husband.’

‘Husband?’ He turned to Tamar, who was trying to suppress her laughter.  ‘You never said you were married.’

‘I wasn’t,’ she said. ‘The wedding was yesterday, that’s why I asked Slick to get me out.’

‘And he
agreed
? 

Slick glowered and looked as if he might be about to say something cutting.

‘I’m Melissa.’ The owner of that name hurried forward to pour oil on potentially troubled waters. ‘Anything I can do to help, you know.’ She was looking at Denny, whom she had, quite naturally, assumed to be in charge. 

He gave her a weak smile. ‘What are you good at?’ he asked.

‘Potions mainly,’ she said perkily, ‘some incantations.’

‘Don’t believe a word of it,’ said Tamar.  ‘She’s good.’

‘How are you at toiling through the jungle?’ asked Stiles suddenly.

‘Er … what?’

‘First potential hit, he said, waving a newspaper advertisement.  ‘Say’s here there’s a supposed “Fountain of Youth” in Peru.’

~ Chapter Ten ~

R
hine maidens are, in modern parlance, “bimbos”. Or at least, that is the myth.  Tamar knew better.  Rhine maidens are vain – no one could be more so; even Tamar could not match them. They expend a lot of energy on fun as opposed to work and they tend to chatter on inconsequentially in a manner that Tamar found maddening.  But they are not stupid. 

Rhine maidens will attempt to seduce anyone, male or female, they are not fussy. Admiration is what they want. But Tamar reasoned that she and Cindy would be safe from this kind of attack. Safer than any of the guys anyway.  Still, she warned Cindy what to expect.

She was not really expecting to find Loki here, or anything much except irritation. There was something about the Rhine maidens that got under her skin. They were too much like mermaids and Tamar despised mermaids. However, Stiles was right. They could not afford to ignore any leads, even one as obvious as this. And Stiles was in charge of this investigation.

‘Just keep them distracted,’ Tamar told Cindy. ‘Compliment them and let them chatter on. They’ll try to seduce you. Let them think they can. Keep them out of my way, while I have a look around. Okay?’

Cindy nodded uncertainly.

‘Don’t worry,’ said Tamar. ‘They’ll love you. It’s the golden hair, just like theirs.’

‘I never expected to wish I was a brunette,’ said Cindy wryly.

Tamar laughed. ‘Are you a witch or aren’t you?’ she said. ‘What are you so afraid of?’

‘It’s just icky – that’s all.’

Tamarpupped her lips dismissively. She clearly did not see what the problem was.  ‘They won’t hurt you,’ she said. ‘Anyway, I won’t be long.’

‘Did you …?’ Cindy asked curiously.

‘Did I what?’

‘Oh, never mind, I suppose not.’

‘Not my style,’ said Tamar.

Tamar had been right; the Rhine maidens greeted Cindy with enthusiasm. It was creepy the way they arched their backs and pouted their lips, the way Cindy herself sometimes unconsciously did around an attractive man. It was not working on her. However, she decided, she had a role to play, and if Cindy knew anything, she
knew
how to flirt. 

After half an hour, Cindy knew more about the Rhine maidens than any sensible person wants to know. She was getting restless, and she sensed that the Rhine maidens were aware of it.
Where the hell was Tamar?

There was tension in the air. She felt their bewilderment. She should have been totally enamoured by now, and she clearly was not and yet she had not left. It was incomprehensible.