Mal felt a disturbance in the mana flows around the school. She suspected it was Kaz, but as she left her office she realized she should be getting warnings from faculty members about whatever crazy form he'd flown in with. When she saw him standing in the courtyard, folding his wings while people just ignored him, she almost laughed. "I am not getting paid enough for this job. Kaz! I hope you brought a change of clothes, because there is no room in here for even a dragon as small as you."

Strutting up to the administration building, Kaz, still as a dragon, slowly released the knot of mana around him that obscured him from sight. "I got some shorts and a shirt here. Figured being like this would be safer than just walking through town." Figuring Mal would be able to deal with anyone stupid enough to rush him, he slipped back into his human form as he reached the door and was reaching into his bag for his shorts a moment later.

By the time Mal saw Kaz in her office, he was clothed as well as a shapeshifter could get while assuming forms like a dragon or a giant wolf (she had to assume) regularly. "My only question, Kaz, before you begin. You didn't do this on purpose?"

"Did I screw with my portal, sending me to ancient Greece, to get mind raped and almost actually raped by one goddess and hunted by another—who might have turned out to be really nice, but that's beside the point…" Taking a slow breath, Kaz sat down in the chair opposite Mal. "No. I didn't put myself in a situation where I almost became a goddess' slave on my own."

Satisfied on that count, Mal relaxed. "Sorry, Kaz, I had to ask that. Why don't you tell me what happened so I can try to piece together who might have been able to do this?"

Kaz launched into his tale. Starting off with the end of his lesson with Fafnir, he described how he tried to portal home and got dumped on Circe's island. His memory was a little sparse on all the details there, he just knew he'd been meditating a lot and trying to remove her curse.

As he went over things, Mal felt herself inwardly wincing at hearing about his run-in with Circe. She'd never met the sorceress herself, but Mal had enough stories to know she was bad news. When he reached the first hunt by Artemis, she felt terror for a moment—she knew that if he was still being hunted by her, she'd find him here eventually.

The friendship he'd formed with Artemis surprised Mal. It left her relieved, though a touch confused about why Artemis would release him from his promise early. She sat there studying the young man who had spent far too much time running afoul of far too many gods for such a young mage. "I need to check you for any remaining magic."

Nodding, Kaz said, "Go ahead. I'm curious about that too."

The moment Mal reached out to him, she felt something malevolent and sickly-sweet still clinging to Kaz. The magic wasn't active, but she could sense a trigger in it that was waiting for just the right moment. "There is magic here. I am going to try pushing at it."

Knowing of Kaz's own death magic affinity, Mal had no qualms about resorting to her native element to burn at the horrid magic still on him. The moment her dark, killing power swirled into the bubblegum-like magic, however, she was aware that this was too much for her.

Mal, however, wasn't one to give up a fight. She stepped around the desk and stood beside Kaz. Reaching her skeletal arm out to him, she set it on his right shoulder and felt her magic resonate within him. Calling on her book, she felt the tome rise into the air from the nearby bookshelf and float over.

The hurricane of death magic pouring in and through Kaz had his left hand twitching. He knew better than to channel his own magic while Mal was working, though his own death magic thrummed in sympathy with her power.

Finally, after scouring the strange magic within Kaz as best she could, Mal was sure of just one thing. "That won't trigger any time soon, but you should meet your goddess to have it dealt with." Grasping for her book, she walked back to her side of the desk—feeling every day of her age.

"I'll do that. I'm also due to meet her father soon. I have no clue how that is going to go." Kaz could see how hard Mal had worked to remove the magic she'd seen in him and it left him a little dizzy. She'd been this wild storm of magic—she shouldn't look drained.

Thinking on it, Mal slumped into her chair with a sigh. "Then you are in the best possible hands. Avoid any and all of the ancient Greek gods until then." That, she realized, was only dealing with the symptoms. "Do you have any idea who did this?"

"None. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but the only person who really has a grudge with me is Shenlong. That's partly my fault, but I don't think my ribbing about making me into a monster really deserved this."

"There's another angle. Kaz, there is a lot more to college politics than direct tit-for-tat. You have enemies, Kaz, that have their own reasons for disliking your presence both at school and on this plane in general." Mal closed her eyes to recall the full list. "There are several local yokai who blame you for the Kawa Onago's death. There are three religious cults that got word of your meeting with Tang Sanzang. There is still a clan of vampires that bristle whenever your name is mentioned. Shenlong, at least, would not go behind your back—particularly if he saw you in the form you flew here in."

Jerking back as if stung, Kaz blinked a few times before he could get his head around this. "But I didn't do any of that on purpose. Are the vampires really pissed at me because one of their own groupies tried to kill me and succeeded?"

"Do I really need to explain this to you? You have stepped onto a greater stage than you realized, perhaps, but there will always be competition and intrigue wherever there is power." Considering getting out a tub of ice cream, Mal came to the conclusion that if she did, she'd have to share with Kaz—and she didn't feel like sharing. "The only solution to this is to either have no power at all or have all the power. I think you'd probably do better trying for the second."

"I should pursue power because it will discourage people jealous of my power from being jealous?" Kaz asked.

"No, Kaz. You should take power so that when those jealous of your power try to take it from you, you have enough to kill them."

----------------------------------------

᱿Power.᱿ Kaz walked out of the administration building naked, flowing into his draconic form as soon as he was out the door. He was surprised to see Shenlong not twenty feet away, now staring at him. More importantly than having a teacher with ill-intent that he knew about glaring at him, Puff and Jaybird were running toward him.

"You made it back!" Jaybird pulled themselves up short, unsure how to properly hug a dragon that didn't come up to their waist. "Uh, Kaz, did you forget your clothes again?"

᱿Tell Puff I love her!᱿

Kaz shook his head to Jaybird. "No, I just—It's complicated. Puff, Miaow says she loves you. Are you done with classes now? Can we go home to talk ab—"

"Kaz." Walking over, Shenlong felt an even greater desire to attack Kaz that had everything to do with him being a dragon on Shenlong's turf. It wasn't his turf, of course, but draconic tendencies were far older than humanity, and as such were hard to change. "I heard someone tampered with your magic. We—We are hardly allies, and a long way from friends, but I assure you I had nothing to do with it. If you need help with finding who was—" He breathed out an angry sigh. "I offer you my assistance."

"I—" Kaz shook his head. His first instinct was to say something nasty, but he had to figure Shenlong was at least trying not to be an asshole. "Thanks. I still need to figure that out, though Mal helped me with a bit of perspective."

Nodding, Shenlong turned and walked away, straining every instinct not to let Kaz be behind him. Clamping his jaw shut, he had a lot to think about, not the least of which being that even a shapeshifter of Kaz's power shouldn't register so strongly as a real dragon to his senses. That was a problem for another dragon to deal with—all he wanted was to get out of Kaz and Mal's way, possibly even help them both along so he appeared more magnanimous.

"Well, I didn't expect that." Kaz turned his attention back to Jaybird. "Can we go home? I want to hug you and tell you how much you mean to me, and I can't do that like this."

"So why don't you change?" Puff asked.

"Because Mal thinks whoever screwed with my portal magic might have another try, and I should try to to spend as much time as I can in a more resilient form than human." Walking toward the entrance of the school, Kaz pulled a wrap of mana around himself that was more defensive than focusing on invisibility.

Reaching down to Kaz's shoulder, Jaybird felt the thrumming magic around him even as they rubbed his hard scales. "Are you even going to classes anymore? What will happen now?"

"I need to visit some friends first, and get her to take a look at some magic still clinging to me. Mal had some things to tell me about my future, too. Did you two drive in?" Trying to ignore the looks he was getting from others, Kaz felt his back itch at all the looks.

"Yeah," Puff said.

"Drive home. I'll meet you there." Rearing up on his hind legs, Kaz managed to get just high enough to lean forward and kiss Jaybird on the lips. It was just a quick peck, and he had to flap his wings to keep from falling on them, but he managed to see Jaybird's big smile before he took to the air and cloaked himself tight with invisibility again.

"Ohmygosh that was cute. Look at you, smiling so much!" Puff felt all giggly at seeing Kaz and Jaybird together again. Of course, she was anticipating having some evening time with Miaow, too.

Jaybird couldn't help their fluttering heart. "Even as a dragon he's just so—You can feel that, right?" When Puff nodded, Jaybird continued. "Come on, I want to get home as fast as we can so I can snuggle him."

High above Jaybird and Puff, Kaz circled slowly. He kept up with them all the way on their drive home and, when they finally pulled into the driveway, he swooped down to land behind the car and walked to the back door before finally releasing the mana weave and shifting himself human again.

When Jaybird got out of the car and looked toward the house—and saw Kaz standing there naked—they felt a case of the giggles attack. "K-Kaz!"

Turning, Kaz stood proud without a stitch of clothing on, giving Jaybird the naughtiest look he could. "What?"

Raising their fingers, Jaybird snapped her digits and projected a pixelating barrier over his groin. "There, much safer. Honestly, what if the neighbors saw?"

Holding out his arm to catch Jaybird when they got close, Kaz felt the warmth and delight of being with someone he had a true, emotional connection with. "Circe be damned, you're all I want."

"Circe?" Puff asked, unlocking the door and letting them all inside. "Like the Greek goddess?"

"I don't think she was a goddess," Jaybird said, feeling far more warmth from Kaz, emotionally, than they remembered. "Just some kind of sorceress, I think."

"She is half goddess—I guess that's part of what I need to explain. Wanna get cozy in the living room and I can get through it all without having to repeat it… again?" After the month he'd had, Kaz was not inclined to let go of Jaybird. He kept one arm around them and held tight.

"I'll grab drinks. Don't start without me." Puff walked over to the fridge and opened it, reaching inside for the jug of chilled water within. "Want snacks too?" From the corner of her eye she saw Kaz pulling his shorts and shirt on.

Jaybird, while fending off Kaz nuzzling at their neck, managed to say, "Please," between attacks of giggles.

Kaz kept up his focus until Puff brought the food and drinks in. Queen followed her with her four kittens, but he was even happier to see Claws strut in after the other griffons. "Okay, I guess this is all of us. I'd invite Eisaku, but I can tell him all about it over some fishing."

Launching into the tale again, Kaz used what he'd told Mal as a guide to improve and focus his words. He remembered more of what Circe had done now, and related as best he could the confusion and panic he felt in her care.

He paused several times for a drink and, with Maul climbing up to settle on his lap, he even munched on the chips Puff had prepared. By the time he got to Mal telling him to go visit Hel and to keep himself safe in dragon form as often as possible, he felt drained. "And that's where I'm up to."

"What—?" Jaybird clung tight to Kaz. The story sounded fantastical, but they had to remind themselves that he wouldn't lie about this. Leaning close, pressing their lips almost to Kaz's ear, Jaybird asked, "Did you really risk all that just—?"

Kaz's answer was to turn and kiss Jaybird. Tilting his head so his forehead touched theirs, he let out a soft sigh. "Like I'd say yes to some floozy when I have you to come back to."

Emotions could betray people when they lie. It only worked if the person knew they were telling a lie and weren't a habitual liar, but Jaybird could feel that Kaz was completely genuine. Squeezing him tighter, they felt wetness in the corners of their eyes. "Kaz…"

The fierceness of Jaybird's attention, of their attempting to kiss, hug, and touch him at the same time, was like a heady drug to Kaz. ᱿Uh, Miaow, I might need some time to, uh—᱿

᱿Kaz, if you spend one more second trying to justify yourself to me, I'm going to kick your butt to Niflheim so Hel can yell at you a bit.᱿ Miaow's purring giggle was infectious enough that it affected herself, making her purring even louder. ᱿I'll try not to peek.᱿

᱿I don't think we can hide that much about ourselves from each other, Miaow, but thanks.᱿ Without another word (aloud or in his head) Kaz crouched slightly and picked Jaybird up and walked to his bedroom with the person he loved in a princess carry.

Puff let out a happy sigh and then tweeted in happiness—then she tweeted her happiness.

----------------------------------------

Waking up was an experience. Kaz had spent a good bit of time with Jaybird, but he was sure they left his bedroom just as Miaow was taking control. And that was why he was so confused to have Jaybird snuggled against his back and Puff pressed firmly to his chest. It was a sandwich and he couldn't help giggling at the fact he was the meat—even if he was still in Miaow's body.

"Told you he'd wake up happy," Jaybird said from behind him.

"I didn't doubt it." Puff stretched one wing over Kaz and behind Jaybird to hug their three bodies closer. "He's smiling a lot."

"I can't blame him." Jaybird, boosted by not just their own happiness, but Kaz and Puff's too, lifted one leg up and hugged themselves to Kaz's back a little tighter. "But we need to get up. He has a date with Hel."

"Huh?" Kaz tried to look back at Jaybird, but there was a wing and a leg stopping him getting enough rotation.

Recognizing his squirming, Jaybird slowly relaxed their grip on Kaz to let him roll over. "Last night she sent a messenger. A big dog was at the back door when I got up after you and Miaow swapped. He had a letter for you. It was written in some really old runes, but I got through it easy enough. She wants to find out who messed with you—I think the intent she was conveying was sending your brothers after her. That's Skol and Hati, right?"

"Yeah. Nothing against Dad, he was always there for me growing up, but having brothers like them is such a relief. They're just there for me. When I started acting more wolfy, they were cool with it. When I wanted to hunt something, they let me hunt with them. They're a bit confused with the dragon stuff, but they still support me."

"The dog was super friendly, too. Once he smelled my hand he was all over me wanting pets and hugs." Jaybird slipped off the side of the bed and stretched. Stealing a glance over their shoulder, they saw Kaz's eyes glimmering as they focused right on them. A shiver ran through Jaybird at the desire and admiration in those eyes. "I'll start breakfast."

Rolling back to Puff, Kaz reached around her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thanks for being so understanding."

Chirping in surprise, Puff wasn't going to give up the chance of a good hug, but she did ask, "What for?"

"For understanding. For taking care of Jaybird. For not getting upset at me for being the reason you couldn't be with Miaow." Kaz pressed his lips to the upper side of Puff's beak and kissed her. It was a chaste kiss—as chaste a one as possible given he was still in the body of Puff's girlfriend. "So, thanks."

Loosing a soft trill, Puff slowly lifted her wing off Kaz. "Go. Before I use my feminine wiles to seduce you."

Climbing from the bed, Kaz rolled his shoulders and let his body flow back into his own form, then he advanced on the bathroom. In his head, he could hear Miaow softly purring in her sleep. He managed to have a shower, dry off, and get dressed before he could feel her decompress in his head. ᱿Good morning.᱿

᱿I needed that like a fish needs water. Did I feel Jaybird climbing into bed once Puff and I were done with excitement?᱿ Working all the kinks out of her mental self, Miaow was perfectly content to have Kaz in control once more. She'd gotten used to not having to make the big decisions, and realized it would be strange when they finally found a way to get her her own body.

᱿Yeah, apparently Hel sent Garmr with a message that she wants to see me ASAP. I guess we're going to see her today.᱿ Pulling his cloak on over shorts and a shirt, Kaz started down the hallway toward the kitchen.

Small talk, between mages, consisted of the strangest things. As Kaz sat down to find toast and OJ on the table for him, he asked, "Queen had her kittens?"

"Yeah, and Claws won't shut up about it. Last night was the quietest I've seen him. It probably had something to do with you being back." Jaybird bit into their own toast, the jam they'd spread on it having warmed up and tasting amazing.

Nodding, Kaz ate his own breakfast. It was simple, but a good hit of energy for a day he knew was likely to be long. Finishing his juice, he felt far better than he had for over a month. "I've missed modern food. Nothing against ancient Greece—well, actually a lot against it, except Artemis—where was I? Right. Their cooking sucked."

"Maybe Circe just sucked at cooking?" Puff asked.

Kaz laughed. "Maybe. The food I had with Artemis was mostly fruit, game cooked over a fire, and the odd roast tuber. It was all pretty bland stuff without sauces, but one of her servants made this rub for venison that I'll miss."

"Why don't you go back—after you've gotten the all-clear from Hel—and trade spices with them?" Puff asked.

When Kaz gulped down the last of his toast, he nodded. "I also feel bad about not giving her that last hunt. I think—I think she sent me home because something had happened. Maybe it wasn't safe anymore. Ancient Greek gods aren't known for being particularly helpful to most folks."

Jaybird snorted. "That's an understatement."

"At least Circe had a specific thing she wanted. Like, if I didn't have the most amazing and witchy partner ever, and I'd been single, I wouldn't have needed any of her sorcery to say yes." Kaz liked the way his comment made Jaybird blush a little. Well, blush a lot.

᱿Jaybird's so cute when you give them compliments.᱿

᱿Yeah. Hold on, they might need a little confidence too.᱿ Reaching out with his foot under the table, Kaz bumped his into Jaybird's and noticed them perk up. "I wish I could just hang out, but everything seems so urgent these days."

"For someone kinda-immortal, you do seem to pack a lot into each day." Feeling his foot under the table—and his emotions rushing through the link—reminded Jaybird of the first time they'd met. When he'd figured out what was going on, and had just rushed in when everything seemed to be going to pieces, Jaybird had started to crush on him.

"I am not sure where this all came—" A knock at the front door interrupted Kaz. He looked at Jaybird and Puff as he stood up, and when both shook their heads, shrugged and walked out to the door to answer it. He didn't expect to see Shenlong and Daenerys both standing there. "Uh, hey?"

Glaring at her mate, Daenerys cleared her throat. "Say it or I'll kick you."

"I am here to declare that I will protect your home from enchantments and attacks until such time as you return from the Norse realms"—turning to glare at Daenerys, Shenlong bares his teeth—"and I will die before I allow harm to those residing here."

"I was an idiot too. Look, I have support for when I turn into a wolf, and I don't think Hati and I can actually catch the moon here." Reaching up to scratch the back of his head, Kaz let out a sigh. "Thanks. If you ever need help with anything, let me know."

"See!" Daenerys leaned over to kiss Shenlong on the cheek, making him blush. "This is how modern dragons deal with their problems. Now, you've both thrown a few metaphorical punches, neither of you backed down. Is that enough that we can all be friends?"

"No," Kaz and Shenlong both said at the same time.

"Not friends," Kaz said, "but I think I can stop poking at any fresh wounds."

"It was the best curse I could come up with that would stick, would provide incentive to break, and—Let's just agree that this city belongs to all of us and be done with it." Shenlong, of course, didn't mean belong literally, just how dragons marked territory. It didn't help to salve his ego that Kaz was so young.

"Great! And you didn't even have to rip each other apart to settle it. Remind me to invite you to drinks one year." Turning her back on the pair, Daenerys waved over her shoulder. "I have to cover for one of my teachers needing to be out on personal leave."

Kaz looked up at Shenlong. "I can feel your wards all around the place. You might as well come in and relax. There're a few beings you will notice around the place. A few griffons that are our pets as well as a Garappa living in the backyard."

Pausing as he walked in, Shenlong could feel odd creatures present—exactly the ones Kaz had mentioned. "You have annoying pests as pets and a man-eating monster in your yard?"

Thinking for a moment, Kaz nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Anyway, I'm going to go ask my patron if she can check me over. She's expecting me and—"

The weight on Shenlong's wards almost shattered them. His eyes widened as a dragon older than dirt stepped through a portal at the rear of the property. He'd just made nice with one young dragon, but the power he felt from the new beast was so immense he almost fell down just from the pressure of it. "What—?"

Kaz's eyes flared wide. "Fafnir! What are you doing here?" He rushed to the back door to see the big dragon curled up within the confines of the garden.

"It's not often a goddess beseeches a dragon to be a messenger. Hel offered a great gift, but I already wished to come and secure your passage for myself anyway. How goes, Spakr?" Fafnir immediately disregarded the second dragon that stumbled out behind Kaz. The grounds around Fafnir stank of tricky, Eastern dragon wards—but they were protective wards.

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"Good, Fafnir. Do I owe you for this service?" It was a problem if Kaz did. He hadn't collected more coins from Robin.

"No. Only for the sharing of knowledge." For a brief moment Fafnir felt the Eastern dragon's magic brush his own. He didn't fight it, but he did ensure he radiated enough magic that it should act as a warning. "Is this dragon the one that cursed you?"

"Yes, but we have found a way to not fight to the death over it." Kaz looked at Shenlong and was surprised at the level of fear he held. "Oh, right, introductions. Shenlong, this is Fafnir. Fafnir, Shenlong. You're both my teachers."

Fafnir laughed. "Spakr is still alive, so I guess we're doing something right. Come. Your goddess awaits and I think she grows weary of guarding my hoard." Using a hint of mana, Fafnir ripped a hole between realities big enough for even himself to pass.

Watching Kaz walk after Fafnir sent a shiver up Shenlong's spine. Even after the ancient creature was gone, he still felt the impact its mana had on the ground around him. His phone rang a moment later. Picking it out of his coat and answering it, he asked, "You felt that?"

"Of course I did. What was that?" Mal asked, her tone icy.

"That was Kaz's teacher in all things draconic. Mal, he felt older than time. What is Fafnir?" Shenlong asked.

"Greed, hunger, and power personified in the guise of a killing machine. A teacher, a cautionary tale, and a powerful ally for Kaz. You see now why I shared everything with that wife of yours? How is Daenerys doing?" Glad she could change the topic, Mal's tone became less icy and more alive.

"She is unbelievably happy that she managed to make Kaz and myself not get into a claws-out fight. With an ally like that—I am too."

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Stepping into the frigid weather, Kaz found himself actually enjoying it. Reaching a hand down as he crouched, he plunged it into the snow and only felt comfortable. "Guess there are advantages to spending so long as a warg and ice dragon."

"You carry a lot of magics on you, Spakr. You'd do best to see Hel as soon as you can." spreading his wings, Fafnir paused a moment. "And why don't you shed that weak form. You are a dragon."

"Yeah, but I also have my clothes on. Let me deal with that first." Shorts, shirt, socks, and boxers were easily removed and stuffed into his knapsack. Kaz made sure his phone was back in the hidden portable hole in there too and slung the magicked strap over his shoulder before he stretched out.

The various mana flows of icy magic around Kaz swirled around him and fed into the form he took. Arms, legs, head, neck—he focused on each part of himself and then superimposed his draconic shape. The final shift of his physical self was a foregone conclusion by then.

Arching his head back, Kaz looked into the sky and sent a blast of chill wind outward, screaming his excitement to the lands of Niflheim. Spreading his wings he launched himself into the air and didn't stop roaring his approval of the chill weather.

Circling just once around the area they'd appeared, Kaz took off in the direction he could feel Hel was, idly twirling the mana around him to push him faster and faster. In what felt like no time at all he felt near to where Hel was and dipped his whole body forward—gaining more speed still.

Fafnir laughed at how Kaz slammed into the snow and permafrost below. A huge billowing cloud of white went into the air, hiding Fafnir's own landing. Shaking himself, he folded his wings and waited.

"Kaz." Hel turned to look from the pile of settling snow that was Kaz to Fafnir. "Your hoard is safe. Go with my thanks." It was as firm a dismissal as Hel could really make given she still held the dragon in good regard. She waited for Fafnir to leave before turning her full attention to Kaz. "Come. Tell me everything that happened." After a moment, and just before turning to walk to her cave, Hel asked, "This is your preferred form now? Jormungandr will likely approve."

As soon as Kaz followed Hel into the cave, he felt something else—someone else. He froze, extending his senses, but until the woman stepped from the deeper darkness of Hel's cave, he didn't see her.

Standing tall—over nine feet in all—the woman stepped into the light and revealed herself. She was voluptuous, more beautiful than Circe and more dangerous-looking than Artemis. Kaz was at a loss for what to do or say as the huge woman just fixed her eyes on him and pinned him in place.

Wearing studded leather that proved her to be more than just a huge and dangerous jotun, the woman had a pair of axes strapped to each hip that was an announcement to all that saw her that she knew more ways to kill than to say hello.

"Mother, tone it down. Kaz is one of my faithful. He carries my magic." Hel stepped between her mother and Kaz, breaking their line of sight to each other. "Kaz, this is Angrboda, my mother. Mother, I have told you about him. He's loyal—"

"He is tainted with the magics of other gods. Even now were he to see a particular one, he would lose himself to her utterly. Look, it's pulling at his very fate!" Striding around her daughter, Angrboda reached down and grabbed Kaz's jaw, pulling his head up so she could stare into his eyes. "Cloying, silken, soft. There's a cure, but nothing you or I could do, Hel."

"Father?" Hel asked, her voice soft in the cave.

"Yes. We must take him to have this disgusting mess removed." Letting go of Kaz's jaw, Angrboda began to pull her magic around herself. "You'd do well to stay close, the Æsir who guard Loki's cave would not hesitate to attack a dragon whelp—but with Hel and I to escort you, they shouldn't bother us."

Rushing to get closer, Kaz leaned against Hel's thigh. A moment later Angrboda's magic grabbed them all and smashed them through the world as if a giant's fist was providing the momentum. When they stopped ripping through the multiverse like a divine haymaker, Kaz dug all his claws into the ground.

When Hel's hand touched Kaz's shoulder, he looked up at her.

"You're safe with us, Kaz. Remember that." Hel's voice was soft.

"If they move to strike you, back away." Angrboda's voice wasn't. She spoke with barely-held anger and her hand strayed to her hip where one of her axes lay.

The history spoke of a cave, but Kaz only saw a fortress standing ahead of them. There was one man standing at the front gate and, as they got closer, he started to realize that the man towered nearly as tall as Angrboda herself.

"Halt! Goddess Hel, you may proceed within, but the witch—"

Moving with speed and fury, Angrboda brought her axe up and to the man's throat before he got his own blade half out of its sheath. "Modi—test me, please. Let me rightfully slay Thor's son. I. Dare. You."

His blood boiling, Modi's fingers tightened around his broadsword hilt then, as he slid the blade back into its sheath, he was relieved to see Angrboda return her axe to her hip. "Sigyn's inside."

"She always is. I wish it were possible for me to attend him, too, but I fear your father would take that amiss." Straightening her stance, Angrboda started to step forward when the world started shaking.

Kaz was thrown to his belly not by the motion, but by the scream of agony that echoed around him. Raw pain unlike any he could imagine wracked his mind and it was only one thing that kept him from going insane—Hel's hand on his shoulder. She was an anchor to him, a rock in a mad world that he no longer understood or could derive meaning of. He clung to the ground for support and leaned against Hel for his sanity.

The screaming continued long after the ground stopped shaking. Kaz whined softly as Hel crouched down to pay more attention to him. The agonizing sound hurt him on a level that went beyond merely flesh, blood, or mind.

Then it stopped. Kaz let out a soft whimper and waited a moment before standing back up. Shaking his head, he looked around for the source of the castrophony. "What was that?"

Angrboda didn't reply, instead striding into the cave itself. Kaz and Hel followed and, though Kaz was more than comfortable in cold environments, the inside of the cave felt cold even to him.

There was a woman holding a bowl up. Her beauty again made Kaz shiver as her perfect form wore the dull gray dress around her well. There was a man reclining on a huge rock under her.

"Angrboda!"

"Sigyn." Striding forward, Angrboda dropped to one knee before Sigyn, who was holding a large bowl under the head of a huge serpent. "Loki, my lord."

The man, Kaz realized, wasn't reclining on the rock—he was bound to it. Loki looked every bit as hurt as he'd sounded. Kaz lowered his head instinctively as the force of Loki's attention came to him.

"Who is this? Hel? Is he one of yours?" Loki couldn't move his body, but he could turn his head to look at Kaz. "He is no dragon, though. Child, take your true form."

"It is his true form, husband." Sigyn's sight saw beyond Kaz's form to his spirit and soul. "Every form is his true form." With a laugh, Sigyn had to focus her attention back on the bowl. "He might as well be your son."

The description drew Loki's curiosity and he gazed deep into Kaz. "Kazuma Wilson and Miaow—two spirits in one body. Both born shapeshifters, your powers have been much enhanced by death and time with my daughter." He couldn't help but quirk his mouth into a smile.

Hel felt shocked. "Father! I haven't—"

"I know. Forgive me any inference, I did not mean to imply such a relationship." Loki kept his eyes fixed on Kaz. "You are as much her creation, though, as she is mine." Even bound and being tortured, Loki could still appreciate the seriousness his children seemed to have learned despite his best efforts. "But what's this?"

The magic still bound to Kaz flared, struggled, and fought to keep hold of him, but when Loki beckoned Kaz closer, and he approached the tortured god, the cloying magic sloughed free.

"There." Looking up at Angrboda, Loki smiled. "Introduce him to his uncles." His eyes narrowed as Sigyn's hands trembled a little on the bowl. "It is good to see you both again. How goes our plans? Have you found him?"

It was agony for Sigyn. She wanted to focus so much on what was being said about her and Loki's only remaining son, but the fumes of the snake's venom were a constant strain on her faculties—to say nothing of the bowl she had to carefully balance.

"I have hunted for Vali these many years, but I fear it impossible to find a god who does not want to be found." Angrboda hated admitting failure on this. She was oath-bound not just to her lover, Loki, but to Sigyn as well. She looked up at the goddess and even now felt her loyalty to the woman rekindle. "I will find him, yet."

Kaz's mind raced. He knew the name Vali, but he couldn't remember the full details of who he was. It was obviously important, but Kaz just didn't have enough information to put the details into a story. There was too much going on, though, for him to ask a question.

"What of my bound son's children? The moon and the sun are still free?" Loki focused his attention on Angrboda. She was his lover—his mistress—but he loved her no less than Sigyn.

Hel cleared her throat. "They hunt day and night, father. Kazuma assists them when he can. You will know when one of the heavenly protectors falls—trust me."

"He hunts?!" Loki's eyes flashed with the boiling of his excitement. "Come. Look into my eyes, Kazuma." He drew Kaz forward with his will until their faces were inches apart. Within Kaz he saw infinite potential. He saw the path Kaz was walking and felt pride that he had fallen to either side of it. In those eyes he saw a wolf, a dragon, and a mighty feline all working as one. "One has wronged you. Find them—kill them. One has favored you. Rejoin with them—show them your loyalty. When the day comes that my family is free, come home to us, Kazuma. You must speak to Fen. Take him to your brothers, Hel"—Loki's eyes flared wide as he caught sight of what was about to happen, Sigyn's hand was trembling holding the full bowl up—"take him now!"

Angrboda turned, putting her back to her lover and his wife, gathered Kaz and Hel in her arms, and ripped her way through reality and back to Niflheim.

Even having moved so fast, the echo of Loki's scream shook Kaz again. Pain and agony threatened to tear his soul in half in sympathy for the pain the god felt. The world shook like an earthquake for just a moment, then their distance from the cave brought surcease.

"Are you alright, Kazuma?" Hel asked.

Nodding his long neck, Kaz shuddered as tears poured from his eyes. "How can he withstand that?"

"None of the Æsir expected him to last this long, least of all Sigyn. All too often her own tears filled the bowl as quickly as the venom did. But he won't die and won't surrender to madness—not while one of his children is restrained, one is lost, and one lies dead."

Kaz opened his mouth to ask if Vali was the lost one, but got a big lick across his face by Garmr that left him coughing and spitting. "Really?" When the hound made no move to look repentant, Kaz swung a wing over Garmr's back and hugged him. "Should I help find Vali?"

"You know what will happen when he is found and restored?" Hel asked.

᱿He recognized me.᱿ Miaow was still distracted from the meeting. She'd never been in the presence of such beings before and, though they scared at least two lives out of her, she felt more validated than she had ever been in her life. ᱿Me. I get why he acknowledged you, Kaz, but me?᱿

᱿You're part of me and I'm part of you. Without your instincts and knowledge, I'd have been caught up by Circe or a vampire already. We're in this together, and I'm glad he acknowledged you like that.᱿ The almost deafening purring going on in Kaz's head only served to reinforce his feelings on the matter.

As for the matter at hand, Kaz finally remembered the story of Loki and Sigyn's children. "If Vali is returned, he can remove the bonds of his brother from Loki?"

"Yes. Father would be freed, then he'd help Hati and Skoll in their tasks, free Fenrisulfr, and it'd be my time to raise my armies for the war on the Æsir. They don't call it the wolf age for nothing. Ragnarok will come, and within your time. Father will not cease his machinations until our family is free."

"I wish I could talk to him properly. His screams of pain—" Kaz had to bite back more tears. "I couldn't talk. I couldn't ask him what I needed to know. He said to meet Fenrisulfr?"

"Father said both my brothers. That's Fenrisulfr and Jormungandr, Kaz." Grinning at Garmr's greeting of Kaz, Hel reached out for her bow, arrows, and her swords. "We will have to travel to Asgard. You should probably not go as a dragon—none of the Æsir will let you pass like that."

Kaz thought about the problem while under assault by a four-foot tall hound intent on licking him all over. "What about if I look like Garmr? Would they let me pass as him?"

"No. Garmr is not allowed in Asgard anymore. Not after he pissed on the banquet hall table."

᱿Kaz, why not as Hati or Skoll's offspring?" You could be a smaller wolf, right? You don't need to be huge,᱿ Miaow asked.

Kaz perked up at that and leaned against Garmr until the hound slumped sideways and they fell in a heap together. "That's a great idea, Miaow. What if I go as a smaller wolf and you can say I am Hati or Skoll's pup to see his grandfather?"

Blinking in surprise, Hel smiled. "That would work nicely. They will have seen an extra wolf hunting on occasion. They will know the pack grows. Yes, this can work. Which of your brothers do you wish to be the pup of?"

"I don't like to play favorites, but I've hunted more with Hati." It didn't take much thought to plan out a new body, not when it was a wolf and close to his spirit. Small, though, but like a pup would be small, not just a little adult wolf.

So, bigger paws than what his size should have. Bigger ears too. Kaz started imagining the fur pattern and matched it vaguely to Hati's, but also mixing in elements of his own wolfish pattern. On a whim, and to completely throw anyone who might know of him, he made the wolf a bitch.

Pulling the new form over himself, Kaz surrendered his grip on his draconic shape and shrank down to a wolf whose shoulders barely came past Hel's knees. Shaking his shoulders, midsection, rump, and tail, Kaz looked up at Hel and Garmr. "How is this?" His voice was pitched too low. Adjusting it with a gravelly growl, he tried again. "How is this?"

"That is possibly the most adorable wolf I have ever seen. Did you use a female body?" Hel was intrigued. She'd heard Kaz talk about taking female forms, but she didn't expect him to do so on a whim.

Now all of Kaz's efforts to avoid Garmr's licks were in vain. Just putting up with it, he nodded. "I thought it best to hide my true self as much as possible. They may have information on a male shapeshifter siding with you. This just makes it one step less likely to guess that it's me. I guess, if you really wanted to, you could claim I am mine and Hati's pup. Whatever you think is best to get through."

"Okay, let's go. They keep my brother tied up with Thin and keep him close. They know that he only needs a little help to break free, and they don't want to give any being that could render that help access." Hel reached out with her magic to call on a portal to the great gates of Bifrost.

"Wait! What's my name?" Kaz asked.

Thinking for a moment, Hel laughed. "Come, Blasa, and meet your grandfather!"

The name was as good as any, though Kaz wasn't aware of what it meant. ᱿Try to keep as small and quiet as you can, Miaow. I'm going to try some heavy acting here.᱿

᱿I can help if you'd like. With your help, I could seal off parts of you to make you less—obviously you.᱿

On a roll with the quick-actions train, Kaz nodded, and felt huge furry paws reach around his mind and muffle most of it. He struggled, it would have been impossible not to, but Miaow was as unstoppable as she was gentle, and soon enough his magehood, his life, and everything from outside the little fantasy he'd come up with for Blasa was out of his reach. Calming down, trusting the purring friend in his head, Blasa stretched his back and wagged his tail.

Deep down, he knew he was someone else, and that person was important, but he didn't need all their baggage to be himself. And, besides, he had nice friends to guide him. "I'm coming!"

There was something different about Kaz, though Hel couldn't place it. Figuring he was just trying to act his part, she opened a way to Himinbjorg and led him through. She stopped and sighed. "I'm here to see my father, Heimdallr, and I'm bringing his granddaughter to see him."

With a god's intense focus placed on him, Blasa looked up and wagged his tail. "Hi!"

Standing nearly seven feet tall, Heimdallr looked down at the young warg and grunted. All he could feel was youth and exceptional curiosity. There was not enough malice in the creature to fill a thimble. "You hope that Ragnarok is soon, Hel?"

"Well, duh." The moment she'd said it, Hel realized it was something she'd picked up from Kaz. It made her smile, which only reinforced the emotion she felt at such a stupid question. "Father does not enjoy being tortured, one of my half-brothers is lost, one is the All-Father's slave, and one is chained up. It is time for my family's subjugation to end."

Heimdallr took and let out a breath slowly. The woman before him was fated to march an army into his home and her father would kill him—but not without dying on that day. "And you will lose most of them."

Hel shrugged. "They're being tortured into insanity right now. Death in battle, as your kind proclaim, is a noble end to life."

"Aunt Hel! Can we see grampapa now?" Blasa asked, shifting between her forepaws in anticipation.

Hel, who'd turned to look at Kaz, turned back and tilted her head to look up at the tall, armored Æsir. "Well, Heimdallr? Can this pup see their grandfather before the end?"

Crouching down to one knee, Heimdallr still towered over Kaz. "I will grant you both entry to see Fenrisulfr on one condition, little pup. You promise that when your great grandfather comes here, you do not come with him."

Blasa had no idea why that would seem important, but nodded. "I promise."

Reaching out a hand, Heimdallr ruffled Kaz's head. "Good. Now go before anyone sees you here."

It stung Hel that Heimdallr was so gentle with Kaz. She knew why he'd made her promise that entailed two reasons. If her father, Loki, had assistance from a new and unknown force at Ragnarok, it might unbalance their fight and lead to one or the other dying alone. She hoped there was a second reason, at least, and that it was he didn't want to have to kill Kaz. "C'mon. I know the way."

The walk wasn't far. There were no guards around Fenrisulfr, not now that he was tied up. Hel led the way to the huge gully between two halves of a mountain. It had been hewn in ancient days by some giant creature, but now it bore huge eye-bolts that allowed a fine thread strung between them to bind her brother.

They approached from upwind, Hel giving her brother time to smell her and Kaz, to learn their scent and drag back some sanity from the hunger and captivity that ate away at him. "Brother, I bring a new member of the family. Kaz, you can resume your normal forms now—just don't become a dragon."

As the madness of captivity drew back, Fenrisulfr was allowed to feel a glimmer of remembered strength. "Hel." The smell of her filled his nostrils. He opened his eyes—eyes he'd torn at in his delirium—and looked upon his sister. Smell, sight, sound—all matched that of his sister. He strained against his bonds—against Thin—to unite those senses with touch as her hand came up and brushed his cheek.

Watching Fenrisulfr's tongue stretch out and run over her hand, Hel knew he recognized her. There was no need to devour, no hate. "Yes, brother. I came because father told me to bring someone to see you."

᱿Okay, big guy, here you go,᱿ Miaow said into Kaz's mind, letting go and releasing to him all of himself again.

᱿Oooh. Thanks, Miaow. You're the best, you know that right?᱿ Waiting for her purring meow of feline acknowledgment, Kaz turned his attention to the wolf before him. Unlike Loki, who looked to be in constant pain, Fenrisulfr seemed to be in psychological torture. Stretching out and growing in stature to his full-sized wolf form, Kaz was still a tiny fraction of Fenrisulfr's size. "Uncle."

"Come here, Kaz. Let him learn of you."

Doing as Hel said, Kaz walked forward so that he was nose to nose with Fenrisulfr. Something sparked inside him, a sense of his wolf-self making him drop to the ground and roll to his back. As Fenrisulfr lowered his head, Kaz wondered if this was his end. Then a huge tongue licked at his throat.

Fenrisulfr built an emotion and sense pattern of Kaz. The taste of his fur, the smell of his "Brave. Smart. What's your name?"

The weight of power had settled on Kaz like a mountain. But, when he looked up at Fenrisulfr, the ancient wolf seemed accepting. Weight turned to support. Rolling over, Kaz slowly sat up—his head barely coming to Fenrisulfr's shoulder. "Kaz"—he stumbled a little—"uma Wilson. Some call me Spakr."

The nickname made Fenrisulfr grin and loll his tongue. "Who calls you Wisdom?"

"Fafnir."

It was a name Fenrisulfr hadn't heard for some time. "You make strange friends, Spakr, but the name suits you. I can't—Being lucid takes its toll on me, but it is good to smell/hear/feel/taste/see my sister's and sons' power within you. You carry the mantle of our family well. I look forward to hunting with you at my side when Ragnarok comes." Flicking his tail, Fenrisulfr felt Thin restrict his movement and winced as it started to make him feel restricted again. "How is our half-brother? How is Vali?"

"Vali is still lost. Mother is hunting for him, but he doesn't wish to be found." Hel felt so powerless on that front. Her father's sons by Sigyn had been a little apart from his children by Angrboda, but the moment he'd been turned into a wolf and forced to betray his brother, all friction was gone and Vali became a brother in spirit.

Hunting. Lost. The words struck like a gong in Kaz's head. His eyes widened and he thought back to recent times. "I know someone who could find him, A—" He was surprised when Hel's hands clamped around his muzzle.

"Keep him safe. Leave, now." Fenrisulfr felt the madness of captivity rushing up. He tilted his head back and howled one last time before sanity retreated and he started pulling on Thin—ripping his coat and flesh in the process—his only thoughts: to get free.

Pulling Kaz back by digging her fingers into the ruff of his neck, Hel choked up a little at the sight of her big brother falling back to his madness. "You know what is the very antithesis to a caste system, where some gods must be treated better because of who they are?"

Crying at the sight of Fenrisulfr snapping and snarling, Kaz wanted to rush forward and help free him. "What? What do you mean?"

"Freedom, Kaz. My brother was freedom personified—and they chained him up." It took a few minutes of staring into Fenrisulfr's crazed eyes for Hel to regain herself enough to turn. "Come on. You need to take your Blasa form again."

One last look back at Fenrisulfr and Kaz had to harden his heart. The second time he took the form of Blasa was far easier. He shrank and became younger in body, letting go of all the strength and anger. ᱿Miaow, I need your help again.᱿

᱿You are the first person to ever ask me to bewitch them.᱿ Miaow was in amazement that anyone would trust her this much. With unfettered and willing access to Kaz's mind, she could render him little more than a puppet—not that she would. Careful to gather up his memories and experiences—leaving only his sense of self—she hugged the lion's share of his mind close and kept it safe. ᱿How is that?᱿

᱿Oh! You're the one helping me? Thank you!᱿ Blasa didn't have any recollection of Miaow, but knew the feline was a friend. ᱿Now I need to—᱿

᱿You should talk aloud. Hel can't hear us in here,᱿ Miaow reminded Kaz.

᱿Right. I totally knew that. If I could hug you I would.᱿ Clearing his throat, Blasa padded off with Hel. "What are we doing now?"

Looking at Kaz in startled surprise, Hel realized there was something utterly different about him in this form. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah! The nice kitty in my head helped me." Wagging his tail, Blasa sniffed at the air. "I can smell a—a horse!" Blasa had to pause to think of horse, but when it was firm in his mind, it felt right.

"We're going to meet my half-brother. He's"—Hel sighed—"a happy stallion. I don't know how he'd take it if he found out about father."

The walk took longer than Blasa had expected, but the further they traveled the stronger the smell of horse became. There were other smells as well, but the horse one seemed most important. "Is that him?"

Hel couldn't help but smile at the sight. Sleipnir looked like he didn't have a care in the world as he cantered around a huge field. "That's him. You should go and run with him."

Running up to the field, Blasa jumped over the fence with a quick bound and ran right up to Sleipnir. "Hi!"

Slowing his pace and looking down at the young wolf, Sleipnir felt surprised that it could talk. "Hello. What's your name? I'm Sleipnir."

"Blasa! Hel said I could run with you!" Wagging her tail like crazy, Blasa felt her energy building more and more—aching to make her legs move.

"Well, let's run!" Kicking five legs into the air in excitement, Sleipnir took off at a gallop with Kaz chasing after him.

Hel watched them run and sighed. "Soon this will be—"

"Over."

Head snapping around at the female voice, Hel set eyes upon one of her direct adversaries. "What's a Vanir doing here, Freyja?"

"Funny, Hel, I was going to ask what you're doing here, and with a young warg." Shrugging her armored shoulders, Freyja let out a sigh. "But then I heard a tale from a certain guardian that you are showing the young wolf their kin. You should leave Sleipnir out of your family's war."

"I have plans, Freyja. I don't know exactly what will happen to them, not once the great battles are joined, but I would have Sleipnir freed from his isolation and raised properly by his kin." Hel nodded toward where Kaz was bouncing around and playing with Sleipnir.

"But first there will be war, and All-Father will want his mount. There are battles to be fought, won, and lost." Despite the dark subject matter, the pair playing brought a smile even to Freyja. "Whose pup is that?"

"Hati. Look at the pattern on their right side." Hel gestured vaguely toward Kaz, expecting the ruse to work. "If I could, I would give much to have Sleipnir go missing at that time."

"We should discuss this elsewhere—where none can overhear. You have my interest, though, Hel. Be welcome in Folkvangr, though there'll be no seat for you. Come alone and we'll talk." Freyja stretched her shoulders and stretched midnight black wings from her back.

"You're still wearing that cloak?" Hel asked. She shrugged. "I guess it suits you. Rather than meet in either of our homes, why don't we meet somewhere else?"

"You have somewhere in mind?" Freyja asked.

Hel's eyes rested on Kaz. "Yes. Mostly neutral ground. Neither of us will be able to work power for fear of the harm it would cause."

----------------------------------------

Their last stop, after yet another travel spell, was the land of Midgard. It wasn't Earth, which was a relief to Kaz, but there were people living there, as evidenced by the buildings on the opposite shore of the river he and Hel stood beside. "People live here?"

"Of course. When the Christians came to their lands on Earth, we hewed away and built this world for them so they could continue to live their own lives." Hel crouched down and pressed her hand to the ground. "So, what do you think of your other uncle?"

Kaz felt confused. "My other—Jormungandr?" His mind raced trying to remember what he knew, then it hit him. "The Midgard serpent?"

Rolling her eyes, Hel gestured to the ground. "Become human again, touch the ground with your palm and tell me what you feel."

Kaz crouched there completely naked, as a human, and did what Hel told him. "It feels—Life. Alive. Not in a plant way, either, how can the ground be alive?" More than just alive, the ground felt curious and interested in him.

"The Æsir needed a world to put them in. They ruled out every existing one, mine on account of them siding with me and making me more powerful, and eventually it was my brother who volunteered to create a new realm and be its anchor. These are his people, his responsibility."

"Then Ragnarok—?"

"He hates the idea of it. If he could stay here and tend to his people, my brother would be a very happy world-serpent."

Feeling a swell of raw life energy from the ground, Kaz had to trust what Hel said as being the truth. "But with Ragnarok he's supposed to fight Thor, isn't he?"

"The prophecies of Ragnarok are many, but that is the prevailing one. My father and my brothers will die. At least Hati and Skoll are meant to do well. We're hoping that bringing back Vali will tip things more in our favor. But that's all a long way off. Most of that is at the end of Ragnarok." Standing straight, Hel tilted her head back and admired the sky above, the single tiny wolf chasing down the sun. "Even you could help change the course."

"Me?" Kaz didn't—couldn't—remove his hand from the ground. The link with Jormungandr felt good, strong, and he wanted to let the world—that Jormungandr felt like—know everything he knew. It was stupid, but he liked it. "He's curious about me."

"He only knows of two kinds of humans, Kaz. There are his Norse, brave and strong, and there are the Christians he saved them from."

"He's never met anyone with Asian roots? American?" Jormungandr was reaching back to him, exploring him as much as Kaz was exploring back. "Oh, he knows wolves. Dragons." The acknowledgment and acceptance, from the very world itself, was like having the sun dawn just for Kaz. "He's amazing!"

"And now you know each other, and what that means. I have a tiny, little favor to ask." Hel used the situation to her advantage, having buttered Kaz up for this.

"Ask away. You know I'll say yes."

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This story is released under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. If you are paying money to see this or the original creator, Damaged, is not credited, you are viewing a plagiarized copy of the story.