Part 4
In the morning Gerard rose. He kissed each maiden on the cheek then went out and recharged. As Gerard marched back toward The Great Hall for some breakfast, Frigga met him.
"By your leave, Gerard," she said, "Odin my husband, has already blessed you with his power. There is little I can give you, but, I will bless the children that you will have in Midgard."
"Your blessing is welcome," said Gerard, "but I'm afraid I will have no children in Midgard, for my blood there is poison, and my seed is death or sorrow, and no power of The Lords can change that. I am the last of my line in that world. With my passing there will be no more."
A look of anger came on Frigga's face. "I know of the greatness of your Lords," she said. "We of Asgard are not ignorant. I know the power They possess. You say to me that They cannot make your seed whole? They that can make the lame to walk and the blind to see? Why would They deny the greatest of Their Servants children?"
"It is not a matter of denial," said Gerard, "there is only so much psychokenitic energy. It must be used for important things, not merely the satisfying of my vanity. The Power that I represent will be passed through other lines."
"Never!" said Frigga, "Not as long as I exist! The seed of Gerard will be whole, for I have looked into tomorrow, and I have seen his children climbing to the stars. I have seen them proudly saying 'I am the child of Gerard.' Nothing can keep this from being so. If it is not the will of your Lords, it is the will of The Lords Of Asgard. I swear an oath this day, and I ask all the women of Asgard to swear it with me, that we shall not rest, that we shall know no peace, until Gerard holds to his breast his own son, born of his own seed by his own woman. I, Frigga, wife of Odin, so pledge."
Gerard was aware that the corridor had slowly filled with women as Frigga spoke. They all swore the same oath as she had bade them. Frigga said no more, but turned and walked away. Gerard let out a sigh. "Somehow," he said, "this is going to make a lot of problems!"
His thoughts were turned away by a sudden banging on the Palace door, and loud cries. A woman's voice screamed for Odin and Gerard made haste to his Hall. A beautiful woman in a dark, flowing gown stood in the Hall.
"Odin!" she screamed, "What is the meaning of this? Why have you summoned me? I barely rose from my bed, stepped out on my balcony, and my birds lifted me up and carried me to your gate! I have not even had time to don my armor! Is your daughter, Hela, not worthy of better treatment than this?"
Odin sat bewildered. "I swear to you, Hela," he said, "I know nothing of how you came to be here."
"If not you, father Odin," said Hela, "who else could command my birds?"
Gerard stepped forward. "I summoned you, Hela," he said. Hela turned, and her black eyes darker than the night itself, fell on Gerard. Her mouth opened, formed his name, but no sound came out.
"This is Gerard," said Odin, "a Lord Of Light. He is visiting us. Apparently it was he who brought you here. I believe he seeks permission to travel thorugh your land on an errand for Those he serves. If there is any discussion about the method of your arrival, I would have it with him!"
"Yes, Father Odin!" Hela said. "I know who and what Gerard is. We have met before. Remember the summer I spent with that warrior because I was fool enough to think I could beat him in combat? Before you stands that warrior!"
"Ah!" said Odin, "the father of your child of summer, that brought us so much joy! So, Gerard was your mysterious lover! I thought I recognized his essence! It shone greatly through his son. Go, my daughter. I am sure there are many words you have for him that stands before you."
"Yes, indeed, Lord Odin," Hela answered. Gerard held out his hand and she took it, and they walked out of the Palace, neither caring much to bother with breakfast. Sitting by a pool in a garden, Hela finally spoke. "All is well with you, Gerard?" she asked.
"Well as can be," Gerard answered. "You did not seem surprised when Odin mentioned the child."
"I was not a fool about the ways of women, even then," said Gerard. "You gave me joy every day for two months before we parted. Even I know there shoud have been a couple of weeks in there where you wouldn't have had, as there were the months before!"
Hela nodded. "I did not want to worry you," she said. "It was bad enough knowing that you were leaving to die, and I still couldn't understand the reason. But tell me, tell me of the life you are living now. Show me in the pool like you used to show me at that pool in the woods."
Gerard hesitated a moment, then spread his hands over the water. Hela watched as images danced over the surface, her expression one of blank disbelief. When the images faded she jumped up.
"Curse your Lords!" she said, "Curse Them forever and a day! How dare They let such things happen to you, who is Their greatest warrior? I hate Them, I hate Them!"
"Hela!" Gerard said, "All that has happened is for a reason. It is so I may learn and better serve."
"What reason could there be," Hela said, "for making you less than a man? No, you should be first among them. But you are never first, you are always the second, always serving someone else, and now this. I did not understand your ways before, now I understand them even less! Why do you so torture me? You gave me one summer of joy then rode off. Thousands of years later you come back. For what? A day?"
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