Chapter 1

The smooth, green leather seat of Haldir's favorite booth in the back of the pub glided under the fisherman's leg as he sat down across from the ancient Viking warrior of island legend. "You never have told me how it all started." His arm covered the back of the seat, and his finger shot out to point at him. "When did you realize you were immortal or whatever?"

A low hum came from overhead, while steely blue eyes and an impressive reddish-blonde beard peered out the window to see the little hopper plane descend from the gray and white sky.

A rush of his hot breath fogged the glass as Haldir's mind stumbled back through long ago memories while his freckled fingers wiped a porthole big enough for him to peek through again. "That, my friend, is a very long story."

Bose spent many drunken nights listening to his tales. Yet, the man who never aged always skimmed over the beginning of his life. The slick material of Bose's parka made a flicking noise as he shrugged up his shoulder. "It isn't like I don't have the time."

The loneliness of his reality settled in Haldir's chest and made a miserable sigh pass through his nose as he glanced back and agreed with a nod. "Okay, then." The pack of white and red Marlboros came to his fingers, and he jerked it until a cigarette popped up. "Believe it or not, I was out fishing one day…"

Arctic Norway 1001 A.D.

Between two ice-covered cliffs sat a young man who peeked over the side of a boat into the still and dusky waters.

His dirty fingernails wiggled through his beard to scratch at his cheek as he glared up into the sky and cursed the cruel sun that beat down on him. In all his thirty-some years, he never experienced a day so warm as this.

As the sweat beaded on his body, Haldir pulled his shirt over his head and threw the tattered cloth to the other side of the tiny fishing boat. His long, strong arms and chest seemed as if they picked up a heavy object a few thousand times, the way they rippled and bulged in the blinding light.

After his chapped hands finished tying the knot in the frayed and rotted rope, Haldir tossed the net into the frigid waters and said his prayers to the gods for a plentiful catch.

He took a deep breath of the balmy air as he stared out over the fjord and a gnawing sensation filled his chest. It was days since he caught a single fish, and his empty belly made him anxious and sloppy.

If his fortune didn't change soon, he might be forced to move on to another village. Not that it would matter much. After the last skirmish with the neighboring town, there was barely anyone left who would miss him, not even a single woman to keep him company at night.

A curiously strong wind swept through the gap, and the haunting sounds of cracks came from the snow-capped cliffs above him.

Dread washed over the simple man as the mammoth chunks of melted ice crashed down into the surrounding waters. His trembling hands reached for the rope net, and he yanked it hand over hand until it caught on something below.

Like an animal that grunted and gritted its teeth, Haldir pulled with all his might. With a snap and a wail from high above his head, a chunk of ice slammed into the water ahead.

Like the hand of Njord himself, a dark, unforgiving wall of water rose out of the sea, and the breeze it made called out his name as it rushed for the narrow gap, where he was petrified by the horror of it. Haldir's eyes were a sea of black as he faced down the enormous surge that obliviated the space between them.

It slapped the rickety canoe onto its side, and he was tossed back into the icy waters as the wave crashed down over him.

When the ripples stilled, Haldir erupted from the blackness like a volcano as he gasped for breath and warmth. While he frantically tried to turn his boat right side up again, the cold abyss staked its claim on the doomed man inch by inch, and he sank back down into its deadly embrace.

The blood pressure drop from the blast of icy death made his heart desperately struggle to continue its right pace. When the final beats of life sparked across his chest, Haldir's fingers gave up and lost their grip, and sent him backward into the dark chasm.

Before his human eyes caught the last few images of this world for the last time, a burst of brilliant gold and white light came from above and comforted his panicked mind. No more worries, no more battles, no hunger. Only peace—or so he thought.

The frozen corpse floated face-down in the frigid waters and bobbed back and forth on the settling waves as they smacked against the rocky shore. While the bright, ethereal light of the princely Seraph warmed Haldir's back, the angel lifted him from the water and slung the pulseless man over his shoulder like he was nothing at all.

Tiny drops of water splashed up into the Viking's face as Michael walked across it. Although being dead, Haldir didn't mind at all. "Your struggles are only beginning now, my friend."

When he got to the humble, thatched-roofed shack, Michael dropped the body on the ground and kneeled beside him. Frozen hairs snapped like twigs as the Master angel pushed them from the poor soul's face.

The sound of a hundred blaring trumpets blasted through the land when Michael bent down and placed his mouth on Haldir's, and the breath of life filled his lungs again. His eyes fluttered open, and the reborn man threw up his hand to shield them from the light of a brand-new world.

He pushed himself to his elbows to catch a better look at the bronzed stranger bathed in gold who kneeled by the fireside and broke branches over his knee. "Who are you?"

As he offered him a kind grin, Michael answered back to him in Haldir's native tongue as he brought his hand to his chest. "I am Michael, the gatekeeper of the human world."

While he struggled to remember what happened, the cold man pushed his numb fingers through his crunchy hair. "I thought I was dead."

Another pile of sticks dropped into the fire. The angel received many orders over the entirety of his existence. Still, giving life back to a mortal was never requested of him before. "You were."

If it weren't for the pain that radiated from his wakening nerves, Haldir would swear he was dreaming. "But I'm sitting here talking to you now."

Though the day was warm, the dirt floor under Michael's bottom was frozen, and he shifted from side to side to relieve himself of it. "The human you once were is gone, and you are something else now."

The truth never was so hard to swallow for Haldir as he tried to make sense of his guest's words. He was merely a simple man; the only education afforded him was the survival skills he picked up as he went along in this life. "I'm a spirit? A sorcerer? A god?"

Michael's lips curled under as his shoulders came to his ears. "A bit of all of those things, maybe. I can't give you many answers, I'm afraid. I only follow orders. Your new gods and my God made an arrangement. You, my friend, are the recipient of their covenant. A gift, if you will."

Haldir's eyes darted around his shabby hovel as his humble mind searched for something tangible. No one ever gave him anything that he didn't have to pry from their dead hands. "What gift?"

A similar endowment was thrust on him many millennia ago, and Michael's apologetic look spoke volumes about what living forever was really like. "You will live among the Others in their world. Since you can never truly be like them because you were born of human blood, the gods gifted you immortality. No weapon ever used against you will succeed, you will not age, and you will never fall ill."

The sound of Haldir's raspy laugh bounced around the shack as he nodded, and his finger pointed to the ceiling. "That is quite a gift. Give them my thanks."

Michael sighed as he gazed into the flames. "Is it? I have lived since the beginning of all things, and it can be horribly lonely." A finger that glowed in a warm glimmer pointed at the Immortal. "Someday, you will have to leave this little island and seek out people like yourself. I will be back to check on you from time to time until you grow used to your new life."

With his hand pulling down his still thawing beard, Haldir thought about the possibility of a new life outside this unforgiving land. The loneliness of the island was unbearable in his living days, and the idea of meeting different, exciting people sparked his curiosity. "So, there are others like me, you say?"

Michael shook his head no. "There are supernaturals in the world, but there are none like you. However, the gods did not forsake you to be alone forever; you may travel to their world at will and seek out adventures amongst them. It will be difficult for you to continue living among the humans you'll find. I caution you to never become too close to them; it will only lead to pain."

Little spurts of white mist left his nose with each shiver of his body as the man hugged at his legs for warmth, and he couldn’t imagine anything more painful than his life to that point in time. But he was wrong, very wrong.