Back in Nitassinan, Sedna—once more in the guise of an old woman—emerged from the waters surrounding the beach where her village stood. There, within the circle of the central bonfire, with armed Innu men holding bows and arrows at the ready, stood Tezcatlipoca, arms crossed and his expression marked by irritation.

  “You made me wait thirty minutes, Sedna. Do you consider that proper?” the Toltec god said in a foul mood.

  “My deepest apologies. I had matters that required my attention,” the goddess replied.

  Tezcatlipoca stepped closer to the elderly goddess and bowed. He then sat upon the ground beside the fire, which Sedna likewise did. At once, women began emerging from animal-skin tents, carrying fish and casting them into the fire to roast.

  “I trust you know why I have come to these lands from so far away,” said the god-king of Tula.

  “My men indicated that you were searching for someone, or something of that nature,” Sedna replied as she skewered a fish from the fire with a stick and handed it to him.

  “Yes. My allies on the far side of this continent informed me of certain fugitives who might enter precisely through this region, a passage long known to have been used by northern hordes,” Tezcatlipoca said, taking the stick and biting into the fish without concern for its bones.

  “Norsemen, most likely,” Sedna remarked.

  “Some arrived not long ago, though they were not kind to my people, so we drove them off,” she added with a hint of pride.

  “No, I do not believe they will be Norse, though they will surely come in similar vessels,” the god-king replied.

  “Very well. When they arrive, you may be assured we shall imprison them,” Sedna said.

  “Yes… well,” Tezcatlipoca replied. “To be certain, I would like to remain until that occurs.”

  Sedna felt a tightening in her heart, yet she maintained the charade.

  “You shall be treated as an honored guest in our lands, though you will find we lack the luxuries of your magnificent cities,” the polar goddess answered.

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  “Oh, think nothing of it. My men and I are accustomed to war. This will be no hardship,” Tezcatlipoca said.

  “In fact, my soldiers remained aboard the ship that brought me across that near-frozen sea, and none have complained,” he added.

  “It is good that your warriors possess such discipline,” Sedna said.

  “There is another matter that troubles me,” the god-king continued.

  “And what might that be?” Sedna asked.

  “On my way here, Lel’s allies in the region of the Great Lakes informed me that, in your realm—Adlivun—you held a prisoner from the realm of Asgard. I would like to see him,” Tezcatlipoca said, resuming his meal.

  “That is precisely what I wished to inform you of,” Sedna replied nervously.

  “That man has just escaped our dungeons. Half my soldiers are searching for him throughout Adlivun. He cannot be far, though it may take time to find him.”

  Tezcatlipoca pressed a hand to his face in open indignation.

  “I hope this has nothing to do with your supposed alliance with Asgard,” he said.

  “Men of Asgard did enter under our agreements, but it was they who left him here,” Sedna replied.

  “The individual appears to be a professional prison escapee. It seems he escaped Asgard as well, whose security is far stronger than ours.”

  “How utterly incompetent,” Tezcatlipoca said as he rose to his feet.

  “Very well. It seems I shall aid you in hunting down that rat.”

  “That will not be necessary. This is a matter for Adlivun, and we wish you to remain with us,” Sedna said.

  “In the meantime, devote yourself to awaiting those fugitives. If they arrive and you are absent, they might kill my men and pass through unimpeded.”

  “You play your cards well, Sedna,” the god-king remarked.

  “If I were inclined to think ill, I would say you are hiding something from me.”

  “Forgive me, lord of Tula, but I did not know the importance that man held for you,” the polar goddess replied.

  “Indeed, an Iroquois came recently to attack us, seemingly in search of the same man. But as we are enemies, we did not negotiate with him at all.”

  At that moment, the Innu women brought bowls of a dried soup called Suaasat, made from seal meat, whale fat, and water, along with fresh water in small clay vessels. Tezcatlipoca and Sedna accepted the food and ate with evident appetite.

  “Very well, Sedna. I grant you ten days to find that man,” the god-king said, drinking the soup as though it were plain water.

  “Or until Lel’s enemies arrive. Whichever comes first.”

  “Ten days will suffice for those youths to escape from here,” the queen of Adlivun thought to herself, “though I fear what will happen when he realizes the members of Orniskem do not arrive.”

  “Of course. The moment we have news of that bastard, we shall inform you,” Sedna said aloud.

  The two gods continued eating by the fire as, at last, the sun began to set.

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  The next part will be released tomorrow.