Page 2 of Loki

Yup. DeLux Underworld Café was definitely the place on the piece of paper. But it didn’t look like a place to have a business meeting.

“Come on,” said Val. “Let’s get this over with and get topside again.”

Being in the underworld made Val twitchy. There were too many prying eyes. Too many loose lips. And too many oversized ears itching for any piece of gossip that could get them a leg up.

Though they’d been out of Surtr’s realm for a month, Val had yet to let her guard down. Armed from the shoulders downward, she didn’t allow herself to slack off for even a moment. She spent nearly three hours every night continuing her training before bed. And the first thing she did when she awoke each day was to walk to Sutrelle’s apartment door and make sure the princess was safe.

Val opened the door, and the light scent of flowers and vanilla made her nose twitch. Feminine scents had never been her thing. She preferred the scent of steel, leather, and whiskey to the smell of flowers or candy. She shook her head as she took in the bright reds and pinks decorating the Café. Was there some kind of orgy happening she wasn’t aware of?

A beautiful woman glided over to them and smiled at Sutrelle. “Hello. I’m Aphrodite. You must be new here.”

“Yes,” Val answered for them. “We were told to come by Lady Frigg. We have a meeting—”

Aphrodite smiled brighter. “Of course. Lady Frigg sends many customers our way. If you want to go to the table and sign in with Eve, we can set you up.”

Set up? “I... I don’t understand. We were told to be here at 8:00 pm.”

Aphrodite nodded. “Yes. This is the meeting place. As you can see, we have many customers, so if you sign in, we can assign you to tables, and we’ll start in a few minutes.”

Val glanced from Sutrelle to Aphrodite. She didn’t like that Loki had chosen somewhere so crowded. Didn’t the idiot know they were trying to keep a low profile?

Val’s back itched between her shoulder blades, and she fought against scratching. She knew what the itch meant, and it’d been getting worse lately, particularly when in the underworld.

“Thank you,” said Sutrelle finally. She took Val’s hand and led her toward the table outside a red velvet curtain.

“This is strange,” said Val. “Why do we need to sign in to get a table to talk to Loki?”

Sutrelle shrugged. “Maybe he has a lot of clients. I’m sure we aren’t the only ones he is helping. I’ll go ask at the table; you have a drink.” Sutrelle smiled at Val.

Sutrelle was obviously trying to calm Val, but it wasn’t going to work. It never did. Because the moment Sutrelle began to relax was when Val needed to be more vigilant than ever. Sutrelle knew running from her father meant her death, but Val had experienced what Surtr did to those he deemed a traitor— and death was the last thing Surtr would allow them if he trapped them again.

Sutrelle walked to a table and spoke with a woman. She sure hoped Sutrelle remembered not to give away their real identities.

A moment passed, and Val turned to the bar. She wedged between a tall thin man with pale skin and eyes and a short, curvy female with pointed, jagged teeth. She got the bartender’s attention and ordered two shots.

As soon as they arrived, she downed them and threw down cash. The growing crowd of people made her twitchy. She wanted to get the documents she needed and return Sutrelle to their apartments above Frigg’s bar.

Since they’d run from Muspelheim, Val had been more agitated than ever. But Lady Frigg had taken them in and offered them shelter, and Loki finally had the human paperwork needed for them to change their identities permanently, which brought them one inch closer to freedom. It irritated Val how many pieces of identification humans needed to live on Midgard. Birth certificate, Social Security Number, Real ID? It was as if Midgard was afraid they’d lose people, or worse, they wanted to keep tabs on their every movement. Much like Surtr.

Living on Midgard the last month had been... strange. The sights, smells, and noise of Los Angeles were nothing like what she was used to. And the people, especially the men, left something to be desired. On dozens of occasions, she had been hit on, flirted with, and objectified by human men. And in every instance, she had made them each a bet. She would have a drink with them if they defeated her in an arm-wrestling contest. But if they lost, they would have to give her the money they would have spent on the two drinks. So far, she’d won over a thousand Midgardian dollars.

“Hello there. Are you new?” asked a voice so deep she wasn’t sure she’d heard it.

Val turned to a tall crimson-skinned demon with broad horns like a Minotaur. He smiled at her, revealing bright, sharp teeth.

“New would imply I had an inclination to be here, which I don’t. So, no, I’m not new here. I’m just stopping by to pick something up.”

His head cocked to the side and chortled. “Okay.”

“Is this your first time here?”

He shook his heavy head. “Nope. Been coming for more years than I can count. Hoping this will finally be the night.”

“The night for what?”

He smiled again. “For me to find the one I am meant to be with.”

And that was her cue. “Well, I hope you find her. Or him. Or... whomever.”

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