Feast for Gods
“‘Have you lost your mind?’ Callisto said once we were alone with Lucien. Her dark eyes blazed like charcoals. ‘They’ll hang you! This will most likely break your neck.’
“‘I’m sure Lucien can patch me up,’ I said. ‘He must have learned something from all those ghoulish experiments.’
“‘Gladly,’ Lucien said with a smile. ‘I’ve never seen a vampire hanged before, so I’m curious to see what happens.’
“‘Don’t encourage him,’ Callisto snapped. ‘Honestly, you are both insane.’ She turned back to me and her thin dark braids swung in the air when her head whipped around. Her hair smelled of roses, and, for a moment, all I wanted was for her to forgive me. But the moment passed, and I wanted something more. ‘I thought you wished to stay with the Vikings for many years to come. After the sacrifice, they’ll think you are dead. We’ll need to leave.’
“‘I would have stayed longer,’ I said, ‘but I am ready to move on. It is a small price to pay for reviving these people’s faith. It will lift their spirits to see a stranger volunteer.’
“‘Reviving their faith?’ she cried. ‘Seriously? That is what you think you are doing? You are such a hypocrite, Vladimir. You think you are preserving their culture, but, in truth, you make a mockery of their faith and show no respect. Offering an immortal as a sacrifice? And what if indeed Odin expects nine men, and he receives only eight because you survive? What if he is angry and punishes his people? Have you, in your infinite self-centeredness, even spared a thought on this?’
“‘I have,’ I said. ‘And I know what I am doing.’
“She sighed. ‘Very well. I will try to enjoy my time here to the fullest. We will soon need to leave.’”
“My eyes traveled along the temple’s high walls. Hundreds of fires threw light over the golden ornaments and the three statues on their high thrones. Thor sat in the middle, mightiest of all, with a mace in his hand, governing thunder and lightning, wind and rain. On his right sat Odin, the furious, who gave men strength to fight their enemies. And on Thor’s left sat the fertility god, Freyr, who gave peace and pleasure to mortals.
“I had always worshipped Tangra in the open plains, next to lakes and rivers and on high peaks, with a sacrifice over a stone altar. But this temple was something else entirely. My eyes traveled to the evergreen tree in front, as tall as ten ordinary trees. Flames illuminated it from all sides—Vikings from every corner of Scandinavia had arrived for the festival, and their fires covered the open fields as far as my vampire eyes could see—stretching beyond the shores of the river Fýri.
“Lucien followed my gaze. ‘Ah, nice tree. Callisto said that’s where they hang the sacrifices.’ A grin split his face. ‘Looking forward to it?’
“Callisto approached us from behind and placed her left hand on my arm. Her right hand was fisted by her side. ‘I talked to Björn,’ she whispered. I wondered at her secrecy—we spoke Greek between us and the Vikings would not understand even if they overheard, but she seemed troubled. ‘The first sacrifice is tonight. It is a man of Sweden. Yours will be tomorrow. Only seven have volunteered so far. Björn hopes that seeing a stranger give himself to Odin will inspire more.’
“‘And if not?’ I asked. ‘Will they force people?’
“She sighed. ‘Björn has no idea what to do. My love, this has never happened before. At the last festival, nine years ago, dozens stepped forward and had to fight for their right to die.’ A mischievous smile replaced her troubled frown. ‘Luckily, I have something to lift your spirits before your big night.’
“She opened her fist to reveal a dozen small brown mushrooms with very thin stems.
“‘Ha!’ Lucien cried. ‘Are these what I think they are?’
“Callisto grinned and nodded. I smiled at her. ‘And would you enlighten me?’
“‘This’—Lucien picked up a mushroom and held it high—‘this is what Vikings use to see their gods. I can’t wait to figure out how it works.’
“I stared at the little thing. ‘It can show you the gods?’
“Callisto rolled her eyes. ‘Of course not. It makes you see things, and you can interpret them any way you like. I’ve tried it before, and it can be fun, but it can also be scary. Don’t start with a large dose.’
“‘On the other hand,’ Lucien said, handing me his mushroom, ‘feel free to start with as large a dose as you like. I’d love to observe the effects.’
“I pushed back his hand. ‘Why don’t you experiment on yourself?’
“‘Because one of us needs to remain sober and record it all in the name of knowledge,’ he said. He eyed the mushroom and raised an eyebrow. ‘Or not,’ he said and plunged it into his mouth.
“Callisto’s eyes locked with mine. She raised a mushroom to her lips and bit on it, her gaze never leaving me. I reached out to take the largest mushroom and put it inside my mouth. I chewed and swallowed, but felt nothing. ‘I feel…’
“Callisto rolled her eyes. ‘Yes, yes. You feel nothing and you want another one. That’s what everyone says the first time. You are not taking another one. You wait.’ She grabbed the front of my tunic, pulled me closer and kissed me. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the feeling of her.
“The hundreds of fires around us burned bright. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. The flames rose to the starry sky, twirling and dancing. They turned from dark yellow to red and then purple.
“I realized what was wrong—my eyes were closed, how could I see all this? I opened them, but the vision stayed the same. The flames turned blue and twisted like spirals. Red faces appeared in the fires, laughing and crying.
“Callisto slipped her small hand into mine. ‘Come,’ she whispered in my ear and turned to Lucien. ‘Take the rest of the mushrooms. Don’t eat any more until we return.’
“She led me down to the river shore, and we plunged ourselves into the freezing waters. A human would have probably died. But had humans indeed died here, jumping into the river to foretell the future? I opened my eyes and saw them all floating around us—red and golden braided hair and beards, stern faces, bright blue eyes.
“Callisto gave me her blood and took mine. The water around us turned bright red. Golden fish swam around us, followed by silver birds. They flew in the water as if flying in the sky.
“Callisto pulled me back to the shore. ‘We must return to the temple,’ she said, ‘or we might miss the sacrifices.’
“The journey to the temple was a blur of color and song. Vikings around us were singing and playing music, but how much of it was true and how much happened inside my own head, I could no longer say. We found Lucien and sat next to him. I took another mushroom and washed it down with mead.
“‘Look,’ Lucien said and pointed his head towards a white-haired priestess, who had raised a bloodied dagger above a slain black dog. Lightning tore from the sky and struck the dagger’s point. The starry sky split in two, revealing a long staircase. A man walked down the stairs, his reddish-blond hair and beard shining like fire and his reindeer fur cape trailing the ground. He raised a mighty hammer and struck down. The staircase exploded in thunder, stones flying in all direction, and bolts of lightning flew away from the point of impact.
“‘Thor!’ I whispered.
“‘Thor?’ Lucien raised an eyebrow. His face looked as if it was underneath rippled water, his features distorted, his brow disappearing into his hairline. His lips seemed to move all over his face as he spoke. ‘What mushroom did you have? Give me some!’
“Callisto sighed. ‘You know you can’t synchronize your visions, right?’
“As she spoke, her hair flew free from her braids and paled until it turned bright golden. Her tunic and leather trousers turned into a flowing gown. I gasped. ‘You are the goddess Sif, lover of Thor!’
“She laughed. ‘Ah, so this is what you want to play? You are Thor, then?’
“‘No, no, Thor is over there,’ I insisted, pointing to the sky, but she was kissing me already and cutting off my words. The goddess Sif in my arms. Thor must have been furious. I stole a glance at him, and indeed bolts out lightning flew out of his blue eyes.
“The priestess slew a horse, and its blood splattered everywhere, turning the great evergreen tree deep red. Blood rain fell from the sky as a man walked to the tree. Blue runes covered his bare torso, the writing asking Odin to accept this gift. Then the runes glowed as if on fire and moved over his skin, changing, praising Odin in strange verses.
“A noose fell from a branch of the great tree, over a wooden stump. The man walked to it, unaided, unblinded, unguided. He stepped onto the stump and placed his head into the noose, adjusting it with his hands. ‘Praise be to Odin!’ he screamed and jumped.
“A flock of ravens rose around him. A one-eyed greybeard came from the sky, grabbed the hanged man and carried him away. I turned to Callisto, shaking. ‘Did you see that?’
“My goddess smiled. ‘I saw something. I doubt it is the same as what you saw.’ She grabbed my hand. ‘Prepare yourself, my love. Tomorrow, Odin will come for you.’”
“I took no mushrooms the following night. There was something I needed to do, and I wanted to trust my senses. Early evening, I joined the priests and priestesses, who stripped off my tunic and covered my body in blue runes. A strange warmth washed over me. I was a part of something huge.
“The festival proceeded as the night before, with music and singing, wild fires, and the white-haired priestesses sacrificing a male dog and a stallion. When my turn came, I walked to the tree.
“My eyes found Ivar, who was watching me with an amused grin. He nodded to acknowledge me. I did not look for Callisto and Lucien—I feared seeing them would weaken my resolve.
“‘I came from a distant land,’ I cried in Norse, ‘and I discovered the truth in your gods. I am honored to join them in Walhalla. Farewell, my friends. Tonight, I will sit at Odin’s table and will drink mead from a curved horn by his side. I will tell him of you all.’
“I stepped onto the wooden stump, reached out for the noose, and placed it around my neck. And then, I jumped.
“I was floating in a sea of stars. Something, a burning flame, squeezed my neck. Beyond all darkness, I heard a loud snap, as if I had stepped on a branch. But it was no branch. Light and shadow mingled together and realization wrapped itself around me like a smoky tendril—it had been my neck.
“The stars disappeared, and darkness took over. It would have been so easy to give in. This was what Callisto thought I would do—I would pretend to die, and later she and Lucien would patch me up and quietly disappear. But my own plans were something else entirely.
“I pushed the darkness away. Then, I reached upward, grabbing the rope with both hands and pulling myself. Pain spread all across my body, through my back and arms and wrists and fingertips, through my legs and feet and toes. Each move of my hands sent thousands of burning needles all over me. My neck was broken. What if I severed my spine? I knew I wouldn’t die, but would I damage myself? I was willing to bet Lucien would have loved to find out.
“I blinked through the darkness, and my eyes focused on Callisto. All worry of severing my spine flew from my mind—she looked willing to stake me on the spot. I pulled myself up, towards the branch. I grabbed it with both hands and snapped the thick wood in two. And then, I fell.
“Pain shot through me as my feet collided with the hard ground. Miraculously, I managed to stand upright. My neck was broken now, and only will and magic kept my head from rolling down.
“The haze before my gaze cleared, and I saw Björn gaping at me. He took a step towards me and fell to his knees.
“‘You honor us by your presence!’ he cried. ‘Your form deceived us. My father taught me you walked the earth as a one-eyed old man.’”