Jerry put his head in his hands. "I wish I knew just what we should do next."
Liz had just come in from the pontoon bridge. She sat down next to him, in front of a desk littered with bits of parchment. "You'll figure it out, Jerry. You always do."
"I just seem a bit short of inspiration this time. I need some kind of feint. Some kind of distraction."
"And unfortunately," said Liz, "I don't think you mean me."
"I have had enough of you distracting them," said Jerry.
"Well, I got a nice horn out of it last time . . ." She stopped. "What about that horn?"
"What horn?"
"Heimdall's. I stole it. We brought it with us out of Asgard. It's in that big pot full of black stuff. I know Thrúd tied a cover over it. Let me go and ask her what she's done with it."
"Heimdall's horn might do the trick," said Jerry, brightening. "It was supposed to be loud enough to be heard everywhere."
"You might need as much wind as he has to blow it, though," said Liz dryly. "I'll go and find Thrúd."
"I'll come with you. I could use a little exercise."
So they walked off in search of Thrúd. They found her and Thor together trying to teach Emmitt how to wield a sword. When Liz explained, Thrúd nodded guiltily. "I had Ran put it in her treasure-room. It's mead. I . . . didn't want to leave it too close to Papa-Thor."
"I'm stronger now," said Thor stoutly. "I can resist, even if alcohol still has mastery over me. Let us go and find the horn."
They found the kettle, still sealed with a rope and oilcloth. Thrúd cut the cord and revealed the black liquor underneath. "Very dark mead," said Thor. "I've only seen one other this dark and it was made with the wise Kvasir's blood mixed with the honey."
"Ugh," said Liz.
"It's magical mead," explained Thor.
"It'd have to be, and with an added antiemetic." Liz rolled up her sleeve and stuck her hand into the liquid. She pulled up Heimdall's enormous horn, and held it above the kettle to drip. "I should have brought a towel. We'd better take it and wash it."
Thor produced a piece of linen. "Here. I was just polishing Mjöllnir when you came along."
"Thanks," said Liz, gratefully taking it and putting the horn onto it. She sniffed her fingers and then tasted one. Licked her lips. "You know, of all the mead, this is the best, indeed. Hey. I'm a poet and I didn't know it."
Thor put his hand over his eyes. At first Liz thought it was a reaction to her feeble poetry. She was about to persecute him with some more, when he turned to Thrúd. "Just where did you find this mead?" he demanded.
"In the same storeroom we found Loki," said Thrúd. "It was not one I'd seen before. Very cobwebbed."
"Call Loki," said Thor in a strangled voice. "Let us find out how he came to be in that place. Quickly, girl!"
Thrúd ran off, and returned with an out of breath Loki. "Fire? Disaster?" he said, as he tried to catch his breath.
"How did you get into that storeroom that you and Sigyn hid in?" said Thor.
Loki chuckled. "Odin's cleverness backfired on him. Back when we were still on reasonable terms he asked me devise a hiding-spell for him. I did. I'm better at that sort of trickery than he could ever be. But I recognize my own work. When we came down from the gallery, looking for a place to hide, I saw it at once. It was easy enough to break the spell on my own work. I was just reconstructing it when these two bundled in."
"Loki," said Thor slowly. "I know that you sometimes think that I am a bit slow. Sometimes I think it myself. But this time it was you who was a fool. Why would Odin use one of your cunning spells to hide a storeroom?"
Loki narrowed his eyes. Clicked his tongue. "It was a treasure-room, wasn't it? What a fine opportunity I missed to loot it. Ah, well. Too late now."
"I doubt if you would have got a chance to steal a more valuable treasure than the one you took by accident to hide Heimdall's horn in," said Thor dryly. He pointed at the kettle of black liquid. "That is Kvasir's mead of inspiration."
Loki's mouth opened wide . . . and he sat down with a thump on the floor. He started to laugh, and laugh, until the tears ran down his face. And Liz looked like she was going to throw up.
"Oh, Helblindi! If I tried for a century I could not have tweaked your beard so well," said Loki, wiping his eyes. "I wonder how I get to best taunt him with this?"
Liz took a deep breath. "Not taunt. Use it, Loki. You and him." She pointed to Jerry. "We need inspiration, genius and fine persuasive words, and yes, poetry too. We need them now. We go to war. Never was our need so great, never was the hour so late."
They all looked at her. "Kvasir talking," said Loki in a choked voice.
"I know," said Liz. "I feel sick, but it does seem to work."
She looked at Thor. "We'll boil some. Boil the alcohol off. We'll need all the inspired leadership we can get, and the warriors all look up to you."
"Skírnir rides fast and far to the caves of the black dwarves on Aurvangar to beg them for a new horn for Heimdall," said Munin, as Liz held the rakfisk jelly bean for him.
"Other than that," said Hugin, "Ull and his archers line the walls of Asgard. The Einherjar train and marshall. Freyja has donned her falcon mantle and flies across the Vrigid plain. Her warriors and Frey's band march behind his chariot drawn by the great boar Gullinborsti, out of the gates of Asgard. They lead Freyja's cat-drawn chariot too. They will give you challenge there."
Loki smiled and said nothing. Down in the workshop Lamont was building a new chariot for Thor. For some reason the artificer to new Ás (as Loki had named them) was calling it the SUV. Loki was impressed by it. It might even survive Thor's driving. Thor's huge goats Tanngnjóst and Tanngrisnir had been summoned.
He handed over the jelly bean and stood up.
A few moments later he and a party of mountain-giants were heading down the trail to Aurvangar.
Skírnir was surprised to see a black dwarf outside the caves. Normally he had to go from cave to cave, hunting them. They drove a hard bargain too.
He dismounted and bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Sindri."
The dwarf smiled at him. "And what do you want here, Skírnir?"
"I have been sent by the great Odin of the Æsir to crave a boon from the smith-artificer sons of Ivaldi. I offer the same generous payment as last time, Sindri."
Loki was interested to discover that Skírnir had had dealings with Sindri before, even if Skírnir wasn't actually having dealings with him this time. Loki hadn't known that Helblindi had had business with the dwarf-smith in the past. Like most things that Odin had a hand in, this smelled. Had Odin set him up when he'd come here to get Sif's golden hair? He began to suspect so. "And what would you need me to do this time?" Loki-in-Sindri-guise asked. "The same again?"
Skírnir shook his head. "Loki will not come here again. No, we have need of a replacement for Heimdall's horn."
Loki the shape-changer tugged his chin. "I could do it. But it is near the Time. It would cost you dearly. More dearly than just leading Loki into a stupid wager."
"Odin has said that he will be very generous. I have a full score of the apples of Idun, and a treasure in jewels."
"It is nearly the Time. What use are the apples of youth to us this close to the Time?"
"What would you have, then?" asked Skírnir.
Loki pointed. "That sword."
Skírnir clutched the handle protectively. "It is a magic sword, given me by Lord Frey."
"I know," said Loki. "I can make lesser swords. But that one is special. Give it to me and I will have a gjallarhorn at the gates of Asgard for you." Outside the gates, but still there, thought Loki. "A horn that will be heard across the nine worlds, as good as the one Heimdall lost. And to seal the bargain I will throw in a weapon that Odin could use. I have made a beast that will burrow under whole armies. Surely Odin will reward, generously, a loyal servant who brings him such a gift."
Reluctantly, Skírnir unbuckled the sword, and handed it to him. "Where is this mole?"
"It is in my cave," said Loki pointing. "You may try it out. How did you think we made these caves? By digging?"
So Skírnir followed Loki into the cave, and Loki took down a cage with a mole in it, from a shelf.
"It looks rather small," said Skírnir doubtfully.
"But you do know the power of such a thing? Here. You can try it. You see, it is blind and will not dig when it is in the light. I'll go out and close up the cave. You let it loose and point it where you wish it to go. Simple, really."
"But . . ."
Before he got any further, Loki and Frey's sword were outside, pushing, with a mountain giant's help, a large rock over the entrance.
"Time to ride," said Loki grinning wickedly. "And the joy of it all is that everything I told him was true."