Mickey Zucker Reichert - By Chaos Cursed (43 page)

“Just one thing,” Taziar said.

Larson nodded, prepared for a discussion on telephones and twentieth-century dating practices and, thus, wholly unprepared for Taziar’s question.

“What’s this for?” Taziar balanced the policeman’s badge on his palm.

Startled speechless, Larson stared, his smile wilting. “I don’t believe you did that.”

Silme lowered her head, apparently trying to glean the implications from Larson’s most shallow thoughts.

“You know I’ll give it back.”

“I don’t believe you did that.” Larson found himself unable to find other words, though his mind did conjure the perfect want ad:
For sale: Small, agile lunatic. Slightly used. Guaranteed never a dull moment.

Taziar met Larson’s consternation with laughter. He whirled with a dancer’s grace, taking in the skyscrapers, lights, and human and vehicular traffic. “I think I love New York.”

Silme chuckled.

Larson knew the year would bring its trials: teaching two other-world companions English, turning them into American citizens, convincing his family he should marry a woman he seemed to have known only a few days. Yet, in the wake of all that had happened, those issues seemed trivial. He joined the laughter, wholeheartedly, though he knew it was aimed at him.

Taziar’s mirth died away. Larson followed his gaze to a familiar, rocket-shaped building, the tallest in the world, its spire visible through the smog. The expression of determination on the Shadow Climber’s face looked frighteningly unconstrained.

Taziar will get along in this endless, concrete playground. Let’s just hope New York City can survive Taziar Medakan.
“Come on.” Larson grabbed Taziar’s arm, offering his other hand to Silme. “Let’s go home.”

According to Norse Mythology, the end of their religious pantheon would come in the form of a great war, the Ragnarok. The gods’ enemies would gain access to Asgard via a rainbow bridge called the Bifrost. One god, Heimdallr, was charged with preventing the giants and Hel’s hordes from crossing the Bifrost Bridge. Therefore, Heimdallr’s responsibility was to guard the Bifrost in order to prevent Ragnarok and assure that the Norse gods survived and reigned for eternity.

Any organization dedicated to recreating the Old Norse age and beliefs, perhaps a subgroup of the Society for Creative Anachronism, could thus be said to have taken over Heimdallr’s job as “Guardian of the Bifrost.”

—Astryd Larson, newsletter August 1991

TK scanned and proofed. Sept 2012 (v1.0) (html).