Treachery : book 2 of Codex Elysium

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Jason walked hand in hand with Eva through the beautiful lands of Asgard. The air was warm and still, sounds of birds signing and tinkling streams surrounded them. Odin and his council had taken up most of the night. Making plans for upcoming battles, how to reap souls for a new army and subsequent training. Thor had sullenly returned to the hall and offered little input. They talked of Asgard's defences and there was a lot of talk of the strategic value of reclaiming Elysium, or at least the main city and the coastal lands back towards the southern sea. Odin would not go into any details of its exact value or purpose though. His final speech had caused quite an uproar with the druids. He had revealed that Midgard was effectively a gauge for the balance between good and evil in the other eight worlds. He had tasked the druids with the job of returning to Midgard and monitoring that gauge. At that moment four of the druids all got up and stormed out of Valhalla. They had all met violent ends in Midgard and had no intention of returning. Only Tiberius remained seated, apparently fast asleep and oblivious to all the commotion around him. He had acquired a mangy looking cat from somewhere, the smelly thing lay curled in his lap also fast asleep.

Eva paused in midstride, pulling Jason to a halt. "We can't go back" we just can't!"

Jason gave her a quizzical look "Oh and are you going to tell the gods that?"

Eva ran a hand through her long raven hair, she sighed in frustration. "We are dead! How do we go back and pretend we are not? What if we run into people we used to know? Do we say we are ghosts?"

Jason couldn't help but laugh, he loved that idea. There were plenty of people he would love to visit and make out he was a ghost. He yanked Eva forward into a tight embrace, she squealed in surprise and delight. She looked deep into Jason's eyes as he spoke. "We could have some real fun with that. I would love to go to the cathedral and cross paths with that treacherous Bishop again. I'd show him the fear of god!"

Eva looked at him quizzically. Jason had spoken very little about his past or the events that led up to his execution. Was he about to start now? "Hmm, perhaps we should keep a low profile"

Jason began walking again. Eva followed silently cursing. Did he still not trust her? Would he ever tell her about his past? "I do trust you. In time I will tell you the whole tale. It is just still too close to me right now". Eva jumped, she still couldn't get used to this new psychic link they shared. It was odd, hearing his voice so clearly in her head and that they could share thoughts. "I don't understand? What could be so bad that you can't talk about it?"

They came to a halt by a small stream that was surrounded by exotic flowers and plants. Jason bent and selected a white Lilly type of flower. Eva stood silently and waited patiently while he fixed the flower into her hair. "Decisions. Bad ones. Ones that got not only me killed but my best friend too!" "But it all worked out ok in the end right? Your both here and both alive" Jason looked deep into Eva's eyes, she could feel the pain and hurt flooding his mind and heart. "Has it? I sent my best friend to hell! How do you forgive that? Even though we are in a better place now, we will still have to fight again. What if she dies again? What if she ends up back in another hell? It is all because she trusted me!" "And what about me? Am I not a good thing to come out of all this?" Jason Pulled Eva in close and kissed her passionately, his voice filling her head "You are my light in the darkness, you are the only thing that keeps me sane" Jason sat down and dragged Eva down on top of him.

Time passed as the sun continued to climb towards its peak, shining brightly in a clear blue sky. Jason and Eva were so lost in each other that neither noticed the figure walking towards them. His shadow fell over them his rough voice making them both jump. "So prophecy will soon be fulfilled, the end of the worlds draws nigh. The final glorious clash between good and evil. Instead of preparing for this, the two key players in this prophecy are frolicking in the sun and flowers!" Jason scowled up at the new arrival, Eva had gone red but she still managed to put some fire in her voice. "We are not frolicking!" she also glared up at the new arrival. He was tall and very thin, his face was gaunt to the point of being skull like in appearance, his sunken grey eyes only added to that effect. He had a neatly trimmed grey goatee and his long grey hair was tied back in a tight ponytail. Despite his outward frail appearance, the god radiated power, his eyes spoke of deep and ancient wisdom. "He must be another of the Aesir gods." Thought Jason. Eva picked up on it and asked "Yeah but he's knew, which one is he?" Jason studied the god for a while as he thought, finally he sent back to Eva "Hard to say, the only surviving descriptions of the Norse are few and far between. Mainly they just tell of Odin, Freyja, Thor and Loki"