He bet they came up with stuff much sooner than the Norse gods did.
Sometimes all it took was a fresh perspective on an old problem, and who better to help them with that than Jeanne Grimm? The woman would make a five-star general look like a scatterbrained dork.
“Note to self, look that up later.” Jeanne scribbled something down on a Post-It note and attached it to her timeline. “Okay. Next, the Aesir are at council.”
She tapped her pen on the table. “Scratch that one off, ’cause I’m pretty sure it’s happened more than once and will happen again.”
“During an earthquake, while the Old Man talks to a decapitated head?”
Jordan sighed in bliss as another bite of olive and pineapple pizza disappeared into her face.
“How can you eat that?” Jeff shuddered in revulsion. “There’s no meat on it.”
Everyone stopped and stared at him. He shrugged. “What?”
Jeanne turned her attention back to the papers on the table. “Dwarves groan.” She grimaced. “I’m pretty sure they do that every time they see Leprechaun Returns: 3D.”
Jordan choked on an olive. Jamie helped by smacking her back so hard she fell off the sofa.
Jeanne shook her head. “Children. Settle down.” Jordan got back on the sofa, but not before giving Jamie a death glare. “Hrymyr sails from the east during a flood.”
Again, blank stares met her questioning look. “No clue, Mom.” Jeff got up and snagged his own piece of extra pepperoni. “Add another Post-It.”
She did. “The monstrous Beast twists in mighty wrath. Jörmungandr? Or someone else?”
Jordan frowned down at her pizza. “Dad said Jör wasn’t the serpent.”
Jeff stared at his sister. “He did? Then who was the serpent?”
She stared right back. “Odin?”
Jeanne sighed and tapped her pen again. “Okay. So part of this could refer to
Jörmungandr, part of it could not. The Snake beats the waves sounds like him.”
“Yeah, it does, since he was banished to the sea.” Jeff took his seat next to Jamie and watched their mother pace.
“The Eagle is screaming.”
“That’s because they haven’t won the Super Bowl in forever.” Jamie flinched when Jordan popped her one on the back of the head.
“The gold-neb tears corpses, Naglfar is loosed.” Jeanne rubbed her eyes wearily.
“Screw this. Bring me a laptop.”
Jeff hopped up to do his mother’s bidding. He soon had her set up at the table, some of the papers set aside carefully so as not to disturb their order.
“Okay. If I remember, there’s more than one translation of the Poetic Edda.
Your friends have only given us one. Let’s see what else is out there.” Jeanne grinned and began to type. Soon she had another version up on the screen. “Loud blows Heimdall, the horn is aloft. In fear quake all who on Hel-roads are.”
“Not much difference that I can see,” Jeff muttered. He leaned down to stare at the screen over his mother’s shoulder. “Look there. This seems to say the Eagle and Naglfar are the same— and the tawny eagle gnaws corpses screaming; Naglfar is loose.”
“So we need to find out who Naglfar is.” Jeanne made another note. “Right.
Next.” She scrolled a bit. “There.”
“Another name to add to our list. Who’s Byleist and his brother? They’re in both translations.” Jeanne’s pen was tapping again. It was quickly driving Jeff nuts. His mother typed in a quick Wiki search. “Oh. Byleist is Loki’s brother.”
Jordan gasped. “Logan has a brother?”
Jeff groaned. “You mean there are two of them?”
Jeanne rolled her eyes and continued.
“That sounds lovely.” Jordan grimaced. “Zombies throng Center City.
Corporations notice no differences in productivity. Film at eleven.”
“The Joy of Frigg? Does that frigid bitch believe in joy?” Jeanne shook her head. “So Odin falls to the wolf?”
“That seems to be pretty consistent.” Jordan pointed. “But take a look:
“Meaning Fenris kills Odin, but dies by Uncle Val’s hand.” Jamie shook her head. “We’re all hoping that one’s wrong.”
Hell, Jeff was more than hoping. He was planning. After all, the Eddas didn’t say which wolf would kill Odin, did they? None of the translations specifically mentioned Fenris. Now that there was more than one giant wolf carrying Loki’s blood, thanks to his mating with Fen, there was a possibility Jeff could carry out the deed.
If anyone died while killing Odin it was going to be him. Fen had suffered enough at his grandfather’s hands, thank you.
Jeanne gasped. “Is this…?”
Jeff nodded. “Yeah. Everyone thought the serpent was Jörmungandr.”
“But serpent has more than one meaning, doesn’t it?” Jamie frowned thoughtfully. “Sometimes it means betrayer.”
“If anyone has betrayed this family it’s the Old Man.” Jeff ran his hand through his hair and frowned at the feel of it. “What the hell?”
“You didn’t know?” Jordan ran her hand down his back. It met his hair the entire way down until she was almost at his ass. “Love the rock glam look on you, bro.”
“Shit.” No, he hadn’t noticed his waist-length hair. How the hell had he missed that?
“Language, Jeff.”
“Sorry.”
Jeanne read the next stanza.
“Dad.” Jamie sniffed, close to tears.
Jeff finished it for them. Jeanne had taken Jamie in her arms and the two women looked ready to start crying.