"You watched the wrong people," Kevan said. "There are many good people—although I suppose you don't hear much of them. Still, I'm glad you were able to get free."
Loki's gaze switched to Kevan's companion. "Thrud," he said, "I'm sorry, but Ragnarok cannot be held back by a mere romance.... Goodbye, Kevan MacGreene." He spurred his horse and was gone.
The gray, eight-legged horse was half way over the rainbow bridge before Kevan realized that the girl behind him was no longer the happy person who had started with him. He twisted in the saddle and looked at her. The tears were streaming down her face.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's Ragnarok," the girl said between sobs.
"But why are you crying?" Kevan asked, bewildered. "Your Uncle Loki seemed happy that it was Ragnarok."
"He would be," the girl said bitterly. "Don't you understand, Kevan, Ragnarok is the end of the world."
"Oh, pshaw," scoffed Kevan. "People are always predicting the end of the world whenever there's a little argument."
"But I'm not people," Thrud said. "I'm the daughter of Thor, the granddaughter of Odin, and I tell you that Ragnarok means the complete destruction of the universe. Only Lif and Lifthrasir will be left to start a new world. But I will have to go to Gimli with my father and the others, while Alviss will have to go to the Nida Mountains with the rest of the dwarfs and I'll never see him again."
"And where will I go—no, don't answer that," Kevan added quickly. "My goodness, this is a mess. You're sure this is the end of the world?"