Page 124 of Dead Heat

I hadn’t forgotten, but I didn’t want to frighten Oskar. It seemed more sensible to explain the situation first and then douse him. “In a minute,” I said.

Max glanced at me in alarm. “Didn’t she tell you to sprinkle it on him the second you found him?”

“Seems like overkill.” Oskar didn’t strike me as anxiety ridden. Quite the opposite, in fact; he seemed perfectly at peace. And my experience with witches was sufficiently lackluster that I felt a slight need to rebel against her orders. She’d never know, and once I’d fulfilled my end of the bargain, she wouldn’t much care how I did it.

Golden Boy looked from Max to me. “What exactly is going on?”

“We’re here to take you home,” I told Oskar.

“Home?” He surveyed the area around us. “Isn’t this my home now?”

Golden Boy ignored his question. “If you want to take him, you’ll need permission, but I very much doubt you’ll get it. Helheim is a one-way trip.”

“Whose permission?” Max asked.

“Hel’s,” I replied. “She’s in charge of this domain, hence the name.”

“Who is she?”

“A demigod. Daughter of Loki and a giantess.” I cast him a sidelong glance. “Have you heard of Loki?”

Max shook his head. “I didn’t have access to much information in the bowels of Chilean volcanoes. Not an ideal environment for books with all that heat and magma.”

“Loki is widely known as a trickster god,” I explained. “Full of mischief and devilry.”

“And does his daughter take after him?”

“I don’t know, but I’m warning you just in case. If the world suddenly tilts on its axis, don’t trust what you see.”

Shaking his arms, Max jogged in place for a few seconds, as though psyching himself up.

Oskar raised a finger. “Do you mind if I ask where you intend to take me?”

“To your beloved,” I said. “To Erika.”

Oskar grabbed the Golden Beauty and thrust him forward like a human shield. “How did she find me?”

Okay, that wasn’t the response I’d expected. “Are we talking about the same Erika? Tall, gorgeous…”

“Terrifying,” Oskar added, still cowering behind Golden Boy.

“I guess she is a little on the terrifying side,” I admitted, “but I’m surprised you would feel that way about someone you love.”

Oskar scoffed. “Love?”

“Must be a trauma bond,” Max said. “Lots of people mistake that for love.”

The look of pure terror on Oskar’s face had me questioning the story we’d been told. I tried to recover my bearings. “Are you telling me Erika isn’t the love of your life?”

Oskar laughed. Good grief, even his laugh was average—somewhere between a chuckle and a guffaw. “You’ve seen her. Do you honestly believe someone like me would be the love of her life?”

I held up my hands. “I don’t judge. People are attracted to each other for all sorts of reasons. I assumed you have traits that appealed to her, like maybe you’re funny and make her laugh.”

“I don’t make anybody laugh,” Oskar said. “I’m as dry as unbuttered toast.”

Max snorted with laughter. “Now see, that was funny to me.”

“I don’t even belong in Helheim,” Oskar said. “I petitioned to be transferred here from Otherworld because I worried she’d try to find me. You have no idea how much paperwork is involved in a move like this.” Oskar cast a furtive glance around him. “She must have a spy in Helheim. It could be anyone.”

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