Heimdall agreed. ‘He has to die. He’s too dangerous to live. You heard what the Oracle said. When the time comes, he’ll betray us to Surt in exchange for his miserable life.’

So, Odin had confided the Oracle’s prophecy to Goldie, had he? I wondered why that surprised me. In fact, the Old Man had probably discussed it with everyone but me, debating its meaning extensively over the contents of his wine cellar. Conclusion: Loki, the traitor, having first attacked the gods in the most cruel and underhand way, would sell them over to Surt, in exchange for his rehabilitation.

I wish.

I could have explained at that point that Surt doesn’t do exchanges. Exchanges, parley, truces, deals – Surt doesn’t play by those kinds of rules. As for traitors, he deals with them just as he does with everyone else. The sea does not distinguish between individual grains of sand. It passes over everything, and there is no stopping it.

But Odin was looking thoughtful. Words, like names, are powerful things. Once given, there’s no taking them back without risking serious consequences. Besides, we’d both heard the prophecy, though Odin didn’t know about my conversation with Mimir’s Head. Both of us already knew what was going to happen to me. Neither of us wanted it – but that was hardly the point, of course.

I looked up at the Old Man and quoted the words of the Oracle:

Now comes a fire-ship from the east,
With Loki standing at the helm.
The dead rise; the damned are unleashed;
Fear and Chaos ride with them.

‘Sound familiar, brother?’ I said.

His startled look was almost worth the whole distressing episode. ‘Where did you hear that?’

‘Where do you think?’

He sighed. ‘You spoke to the Oracle.’

‘Well, you weren’t about to confide in me. I had to find out for myself.’

‘And how much did it tell you?’

I shrugged. ‘Enough to wish I hadn’t asked.’

Once more, Odin sighed. Like it or not, we were both affected by the Oracle’s words. We had both heard the prophecy – and once heard, it couldn’t be unheard. Trying to go against it now would have been as futile as trying to make it happen – both courses of action being equally led by the prophecy. As the Head had told me, a man often meets his destiny running to avoid it, which meant that whatever Odin did, he would be playing the Oracle’s game.

He turned to address the other gods. ‘Killing him isn’t an option,’ he said. ‘But he has to be subdued.’

‘I can do that,’ Skadi said, fingering her runewhip. ‘I find the dead very cooperative.’

‘No.’ Odin shook his head.

Skadi made a rude noise.

‘So what did you have in mind?’ said Thor.