Page 8

8

INN THE MIDDLE

T he village of Ananke was surprisingly quaint for what I would have imagined, seeing as it was in Hell. But then I was coming to realize pretty quickly that any human prenotions I had of what Hell looked like, was wrong. Because it wasn’t all fiery landscapes and tortured souls begging for freedom. In fact, it was just like an alternate version of Earth… just a more brutal and monstrous kind. So, it may have been demons and mythical creatures roaming around, but it was a civilization all the same. Meaning there must have been some kind of an infrastructure in place. Enough to build the houses that I saw now and grow food that I could see being sold at the marketplace we were currently walking through.

Like once again stepping back in time, the village square was surrounded by wooden structures with demonic vendors standing behind, selling their goods. These market stalls were nothing more than crates, planks of wood, and sheets of torn cloth hanging over four poles at the corners.

At the center of the square was a water fountain of what looked like a horned god, with the legs of a goat holding an upturned hallowed skull as a bowl overflowing with carved stone fruit. Water flowed from the skulls eye sockets and between the teeth of its open jaw, as well as the top of pole the creature danced around.

The stone was marred in black looking moss, like it hadn’t been cleaned in decades. The whole place teemed with demons and ghostly figures which at first, had shocked me. Not by how frightening it was but at how normal and charming it all looked.

As for the rest of the village, it was like something you would have found in the renaissance. With houses that weren’t quite level but were cute with their dark wooden beams and pale stone walls. Each with their pepper pot roofs in blue slate tiles, that looked to be all different sizes slotted together. The mismatch style made it look like they were wearing patchwork quilts hats.

Dimpled frosted glass windows also made a charming feature, despite not being able to see inside the buildings. However, it was easy to detect which of these were homes and which were shops. This thanks to the old fashion painted signs swinging on chains from beams that stuck out above the doors.

The language wasn’t one I could read, and many just had ancient looking symbols in the center of painted shields like family crests. Others were obvious, like the tavern we headed toward that had a drinking horn with foam rolling from the top painted above.

“What does that writing mean?” I asked Asher, nodding to the sign.

“The Tavern’s name,” he replied, making me smirk when asking,

“Which is?”

“The Horniman,” Tyr replied before Asher could, doing so with a wink at me as he strode in front so as to open the door for me.

“After you, Mi’lady,” he said gallantly.

“Now what did I say about you calling me that?” I chastised lightheartedly.

“That I may call you it as long as I don’t add the little part.”

I rolled my eyes at him, making him chuckle. A smile I shared until I walked inside the tavern and ended up stopping short the second I saw the room full of rowdy demons. Demons who were mixed with those that, at first glance, could have been human.

I didn’t understand it, were these people dead or alive or somewhere in between? I would have asked but now didn’t exactly seem like the time, especially when all faces turned toward me… and not exactly in a friendly way.

However, the second Tyr followed in behind me was when things changed. Everyone’s eyes widened before they all looked away as one. Clearly, the Viking God had a reputation. Something I was thankful for, because it made entering this space slightly less intimidating for me. And just like in the marketplace, it was like stepping back in time, something I was now well acquainted with.

Although I had never been in a place like this on my time-jumping travels, but the Viking looked right at home.

The size was definitely deceptive from the outside, I was expecting a cramped room with low ceilings. Instead, it was a large open space with high ceilings. Meaning when I looked up, I could see the curved arches of roof beams, two-stories high, with a second-floor balcony framing the room below.

The pale stone block floor had a warm glow that reflected the flames from the huge, roaring fireplace that was the main feature to our right. Long wooden bench tables were arranged like Tetris, with just enough space between to squeeze bodies through. A bar off to the right of the fire was nestled under the balcony, the shelves filled with bottles in all shapes and sizes.

A kaleidoscope of colored glass shone from the flickering flames provided by the pillar candles, that were held on the shelves by an overabundance of wax. Wrought iron lanterns hung on chains from under the wooden frame of the balcony, that matched the lanterns on the stone walls.

Tyr led me towards a table set for four that was tucked away in a corner. Seeing as the place was full, I didn’t know why he picked one that was clearly occupied. That was until he pulled forward his huge axe from his back and dropped it on the table hard enough to spill their drinks. The faces of demons, all with bluish skin, scaled brows, and metal plates hammered into their flesh, all looked up in anger. That was until they saw who it was, and the second Tyr stated in a firm tone,

“This table is taken.” They all scrambled back as one, before rushing from their seats in a comical way.

I gave him a wry look, but he just answered this with his devastating smirk, before grabbing one of the fallen chairs and offering it to me. Asher took his own seat beside me, while Tyr took the other. This put me in the middle of the two great hulking protectors. Meaning no one wanted to make eye contact, despite the whispers being obvious, no doubt questioning who we were.

“Is this safe, being in the open like this?” I asked, eyeing the rest of the tables and watching the way they gossiped.

A table of beings nearby were each wearing cloaks with their hoods raised, and trying to glance our way without being too obvious. Another table of humanoid looking demons all seemed like they had been dipped in a yellowish mud before letting it dry and crack. Every inch of them was covered in the stuff, making me wonder if it was, in fact, skin. They too seemed to be talking about us, making me quickly look away.

“What do you mean?” Tyr asked as he raised a hand, holding out three fingers toward a waitress behind the bar. A short plump girl with killer hips and the swagger to match.

She was wearing a floaty peasant-style white blouse with a teal color under-bust corset, and a maroon gypsy skirt. As for her features, they were half human, half something else entirely. Being that from her nose down to her neck, her skin looked like it was made from charcoal. This was the same as her hands, as they were black as night, with the rest of her arms with skin like petrified wood. Her eyes were a dirty yellow color that, even from here, I could see widened at the sight of Tyr.

“Well won’t people talk?” I asked, wondering if he was oblivious to what I could see.

“So?” he asked with a shrug of his large shoulders.

“I’m sure you’re already aware here, but I am trying to hide from Garmr finding me,” I whispered behind my hand. To which Tyr draped his thick, muscular arm at the back of my chair and turned his body in toward me.

“He would need an army to take you from me.”

Asher cleared his throat in an obvious way, making Tyr correct,

“Us… to take you from us, that is what I meant.”

I let this slip in order to point out,

“He has an army.” Something that made Tyr scoff arrogantly, prompting me to try harder to convince him of the potential risk. “Yes but…” I started to say, yet he was quick to interrupt.

“Don’t worry, we won’t stay long, just long enough to get you something to eat and a nap.”

“You make me sound like a pet,” I grumbled, making him ruffle my hair and say,

“A cute red one.”

I rolled my eyes and looked to Asher for help, as he at least seemed to be the more sensible of the two.

“And what are your thoughts on this?” I asked.

“Your safety is our main concern, but I agree, you need to rest in a bed and eat before we continue to the port…”

Tyr jarred the table enough that his axe banged against it.

“What were you saying?”

“The Gate of Hermes, that’s what he was going to say,” Tyr spoke for him, and just before I could ask anything else, the waitress came with our drinks.

This was a long plank she held up on her shoulder that she lowered to reveal the large horns that contained frothy beer. I then watched as both Tyr and Asher took theirs, with the Viking quickly knocking his back with great gulps that worked the thick muscles of his neck. As for Asher, he slotted his horn into the hole cut in the table, now telling me what they were used for.

“Er… I think I will just take a water,” I said, then I tapped my belly and added, “You know, thanks to the dodgy stomach.”

“Suit yourself, water and three of your stews with black fire bread,” Tyr said, grabbing the horn intended for me and dropping his now empty one back in the hole on the plank she carried. Then after putting in his order and gaining a wink in return, she walked away with what looked like her trademark swagger. That was if all the appreciative glances she received when walking by were anything to go by.

As for Tyr, he grabbed my ale but, this time, he didn’t knock it back like the first. As for Asher, he seemed to be more alert, watching everyone for the slightest sign of trouble and taking a few conservative sips of his beer.

Shortly after this, the waitress delivered my water, along with three clay bowls of steaming brown stew that looked full of root vegetables and some kind of red meat. One that I was pretending was beef, and even before Tyr could speak, I warned,

“I don’t want to know what’s in it.”

Asher laughed before tucking into his own. To be honest, it wasn’t that bad. The meat might have been a bit chewy for my taste, but the vegetables were good. They were sweet and tasted a bit like something between a carrot and parsnip.

I think this was supposed to counterbalance the salt in the sauce, which definitely needed the sweetness. As for the bread, it didn’t look particularly appetizing at all. In fact, it looked like a large lump of crusted lava on a wooden slab. The crust was black and cracking, revealing lines of red dough beneath. Like someone had burnt a red loaf and this was the result after cooking it with a blow torch.

“Try it, I think you will be surprised,” Tyr said, leaning into me and nudging my shoulder. This after tearing me off the first piece. The steam rising did look inviting, opening up to reveal swirls of red and yellow bread inside the crust. And it was dripping with something too, making me ask,

“Is that butter?”

Asher grabbed a piece, took a big bite of the swirly center and moaned before answering,

“Sure is, mmm.”

So I did the same, and I too was soon moaning in pleasure as, I swear, it was one of the nicest things I had ever put in my mouth… Jared not included, I thought with a naughty grin.

But the light, fluffy dough combined with the buttery swirl was perfect, however, when Asher started eating the crust I wasn’t brave enough, prompting Tyr to say,

“It isn’t burnt, if that’s your fear.”

“It’s not.”

Tyr shook his head and nodded to the shell of the bread left in my hand. So, I shrugged my shoulders and took a bite, surprised once again to find it salty and a bit spicy, but not in an overpowering way. Then I watched as Tyr dipped his own in his stew, using the curved, hard crust as a scoop before putting it in his mouth. This encouraged me to do the same. Once again, I moaned at the taste, as it transformed the stew into something far more delicious, like the spice was all it needed.

In the end, Tyr and Asher were right, because the second my belly was full, I was feeling sleepy. As if it was all catching up with me, or perhaps it was being pregnant. Most likely a combination of both. I honestly didn’t know, but one thing was for sure, the second I was home, I was buying a dummy’s guide on being pregnant… that was, if I and this baby ever made it home in one piece.

Gods, I sure hoped so. I rubbed a hand to my belly.

The second I started to yawn, giving away this sleepy fact, Tyr chuckled and asked the waitress if they had a room available. When the answer had been no, his handsome grin disappeared and his blue eyes started to glow, narrowing as he demanded,

“Make one available.”

This gave me the impression that the God of Justice and War was used to getting his way and now was no exception. Not when she rushed back with a large iron key and giggled nervously.

“Er, wouldn’t you know, one just became available,” she said, then glanced behind her for us to see a female and male demon shuffling down the stairs. Doing so with all their clothing in their arms as if they had been in the middle of something and were still trying to dress as they were made to vacate the room. I couldn’t help but feel bad for them but clearly, Tyr felt nothing.

He simply stood, finished off the last of his ale, and offered me a hand, telling me,

“Time to put you to bed.”

However, Asher was up out of his seat, not even bothering with the rest of his own ale.

“Yes, allow us to both escort you,” he said, emphasising the word both .

Again, Tyr looked like he wanted to punch him, his scowl would have made weaker men drop to their knees. However, Asher didn’t seem to bat an eyelid at this, instead focusing back on me.

“After you, Ella.”

I couldn’t help but beam up at him, silently thanking him for being so protective with a nod. So, we made our way up to the second floor, and I soon realized it was just an extension of the floor below as it held more seating. And like downstairs, the tables were full and bustling with chatter and drinking.

Tyr had obviously been here before, as he guided us through an arched beam that opened into a long hallway full of doors. Which meant we must have been in one of the buildings attached next door.

Each of the doors held symbols, like ancient numbers, making Tyr look down at his key before stopping at the right door. Then once inside, the first thing I noticed was how sparse it was. As literally, it was nothing more than a few single wooden frame beds, that had the bedcovers rumpled up on one of them. This was obvious now as to what the vacated couple had been up to.

As for the rest, there was also a small table with two chairs, a tattered rug that was so old it forgot what color it was, and a window that must have looked out to the street.

“This is pitiful,” Tyr complained, screwing his nose up at what was the bare minimum, no doubt used to sleeping in his own temple dedicated in his honor. I couldn’t help but internally laugh, as he was this rough, ready, warrior Viking God, and the sight of dust and threadbare covers were appalling to him.

“It isn’t much but it’s better than the ground,” Asher said, making me shrug, and tell them,

“At this point, I could sleep on a porcupine’s ass.” To which they both laughed. Then Tyr unbuckled his layers, laying one down for me to sleep on and then bringing the fur from across his shoulders so as I could use it as a cover.

“Thanks,” I said, making him grin, like my thanks had been the equivalent to winning the battle.

“You’re welcome, Bál ásynja.”

Asher frowned before getting closer and telling me,

“Get some rest, for we will wake you when we think it best to leave.”

Well, I didn’t need to be told twice, I was out like a light. However, what I didn’t expect was waking hours later to overhear Tyr and Asher talking about me… or should I say…

The plans they had for me.

“We will have to leave soon if we are to make it to the portal back to the mortal realm,” I heard Asher say, making Tyr question,

“And what of the fact that her HellBeast isn’t there waiting for her?”

At this question I held my breath, wondering what Asher’s reply would be.

“She won’t like it, but that is our only goal here, to get her back to where her aunt and uncle can keep her safe.”

Well as nice as that sounded, they were in for a shock, and I woke up saying,

“Yeah, there’s a problem with that, seeing as I am bound to this realm and can’t leave until I meet Hades, King of this Underworld.”

Both men turned to face me, their surprise easy to see, and I wondered if this was because they found me awake or because of what I just said.

“You might have mentioned that.”

“What…? Just like the way you guys mentioned about having no intensions of taking me to the Gate of Hermes… that type of mention?” At this Tyr opened his mouth to argue when a commotion caught all our attention from outside.

“brING ME THE HUMAN OR WATCH THIS VILLAGE BURN!”

The second I heard the voice, I froze, because I would know it anywhere, making me turn fearful eyes to Asher and Tyr before saying,

“It’s Garmr…”

“He’s found me.”