The bad kids list and the sorceress of eternal winter

Christmas Eve - Part 2 (Daniel)

When he realized it, Daniel found himself standing on a very busy street. He knew they couldn't be in Cleston because there were more people walking down the street than he had ever seen in the city downtown on a day of events. The huge buildings and almost endless number of neon signs were a clear sign that they were definitely not in the small country town anymore.

"Did you bring us to Times Square?" Mikaela looked around, scared. "I can't be here, I need to get home before nine!"

Daniel examined his surroundings and finally saw a sign with the name of that place. They were at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue. The girl, Thomas and Jonas seemed as disoriented as he was. We're in New York???

"Can we agree on something? How about writing a term of acceptance for this stupid sock express?" Daniel grumbled. "I'm not saying I'm going to read the terms, but it would be nice to have the choice of accepting or not being teleported from one corner of the world to the other."

Noelle didn't even seem to care about the complaints.

"We won't stay here for long, we just need to talk to an old friend."

As if the discussion had come to an end, the Valkyrie simply started walking down Seventh Avenue, and they had to pick up the pace so as not to be left behind.

The warrior strolled through New York without attracting anyone's attention. Daniel knew that New Yorkers were people used to seeing strange things on the streets, but he imagined that a Valkyrie would be able to break the sense of normality of that city.

"I've always wanted to visit New York." Jonas intertwined his hand with his. "I never imagined it would be like this."

"The sock express makes your stomach turn, but it's temporarily." Daniel laughed and squeezed his boyfriend's hand.

"Sock express?" Jonas laughed. "Yeah, I think the name makes sense. Should I expect anything else strange tonight?"

Daniel exchanged a look with Thomas and Mikaela.

"Definitely yes." He pointed at Noelle. "But don't worry, I don't think we'll have any problems. Not with a bodyguard like her."

Jonas laughed.

"I wasn't worried about getting into trouble. My boyfriend shoots fireballs from his hands, and I know my way around a fight."

The redhead pulled him close and kissed him.

Daniel forgot where he was and kissed him back. He felt a little cold when a snowflake fell on his head. He and Jonas smiled at each other.

"I don't mean to interrupt your romantic moment, but how about we not split up the group?" Thomas commented, going back to get them. "Noelle will leave us behind if we don't hurry, and I'd rather not stay on the street in the snow."

"I bet you would change your mind if you were alone with Mika." Daniel shrugged and kissed Jonas once more before running after the Valkyrie.

Noelle stopped in front of what seemed to be a very crowded bar. Daniel looked at the name written on a neon sign: Thracian Night.

The security at the door looked at Noelle and smiled, but then raised an eyebrow when he noticed them standing next to her.

"They're all with me, can you tell Dionysus about our arrival?"

The man in the black suit and the unfriendly look on his face just nodded and opened the door to the bar for them.

The place was full of people laughing and drinking. Daniel thought it was strange not to see a single Christmas decoration in the room, and decided to stop looking at the decorations when he noticed a huge snake coiled around one of the support columns.

"I thought they were joking when they said you were here." A man serving wine at the bar smiled when he saw Noelle.

He wasn't a very big guy, but something about the way his eyes shone made him afraid of him. They were eyes that shone with a wine red color. His curly black hair fell to his shoulders, and a well-trimmed beard covered his square jaw. He was wearing a black shirt that fit his muscular body well, just like his black leather pants. The V-neck cut revealed several hairs on his bare chest.

"You tend to be a busy person this time of year." The man pushed a glass of wine toward the Valkyrie. "Are you tired of living with the old man at the North Pole?"

"Not yet, and I'm not here to drink. How are things, Dionysus?" When the man began to pour more wine, she took her axe from her back and placed it casually on the bar. "This little ones are my protégés, and they're not here to drink either."

Daniel saw the man lose a bit of his Bohemian vibe, putting away all the extra glasses he was arranging on the bar.

"Business trip, then?" he asked, serving himself only. "How can this old, tired god be of use to you?"

God? Did he say...God?

It was only then that Daniel realized that his name wasn't completely unfamiliar. He had read about Dionysus in school. He was a Greek god of... something.

"Is this guy the god of wine?" Mikaela seemed very surprised. "I thought you said the gods no longer existed."

"No, I said some of them left and others..." The Valkyrie gestured towards her friend. "Changed."

"What do we have here, novice magicians?" Dionysus looked at each of them with renewed interest. Daniel had the impression that the god's wine-colored eyes lingered a few extra seconds on Jonas, and he didn't like it at all.

"We're here after someone else, someone I bet is getting drunk at your bar." Noelle tapped the bar with her hand to get his attention.

Dionysus crossed his arms and looked innocent.

"If you're talking about Thor, the big guy arrived almost two hours ago." He pointed to a corner at the back of the bar. "He's in the VIP area."

Daniel noticed that Dionysus was pointing to a door where two security guards were standing.

Noelle thanked him for the information and started walking in that direction.

"I don't want to hear about fights in my temple, you hear me?" The god shouted.

Daniel didn't want to get into a fight either, but he couldn't help but notice that Noelle hadn't made any promises.

"Are we really going to meet Thor? The god of thunder?" Mikaela seemed torn between fear and excitement.

"That guy from the movies?" Jonas wanted to know.

"I think so." Daniel followed the Valkyrie.

He noticed that Thomas had conjured his magic shield.

"Do you really think you'll need that?" He asked the boy.

Thomas sighed and followed the group.

"It doesn't hurt to be prepared."