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“Is this you?”
“Yes.”
I pick up one of the older photos. “This must be your grandfather. You look just like him.”
Ty steps in front of me, taking the picture out of my hand. “These are all me.”
I stare at him. “That’s not possible, Ty. You weren’t born when that kind of photography was around.”
He moves toward a bar against the back wall. “You might want to take a drink for this.”
“I don’t drink,” I answer quickly.
“Then you might want to sit down.”
“I’m good.” I cross my arms over my chest in defiance.
He toasts the air in front of him with a glass of clear liquid. “I’m from a time long ago.” He pauses, taking a huge drink. “I’m what you might call a jotunn.”
“An ice giant?”
“You’ve heard of jotunn?”
“Mythology has always been one of my favorite subjects.”
“Then you might recognize my name. Farbauti.”
I stare at the man in front of me, not sure if I should run or call the police. Do they have police in Norway? If so, do I dial 911?
“Piper? Did you hear me?”
“Loud and clear.” I move back toward the elevator. “I’m ready to go, please.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“What? You’re holding me here against my will? In America, we call that kidnapping.”
He sighs, finishing his glass of liquid. “I’m not kidnapping you, Piper. It’s not safe for you outside.”
“Oh, my God. That’s what a kidnapper would say. Let me guess, your ice giant friends would take me.” I punch the button on the wall, knowing it won’t do anything to get me out of this room.
“Piper, stop.”
I turn back toward the man I thought I could trust. “Stop what, Ty…or should I call you Farbauti? I don’t even know how to say it right.”
“I know it sounds crazy…”
“Do you, Ty? Because I don’t think you do. Is this some sort of sex trafficking thing? Ransom? What do you want? Name your price.”
“Dammit, Piper. I don’t want money. You’re the one I’ve been searching for.”
“I wasn’t hard to find!”
He fills his glass for the second time. “I’m the last of my kind, or so I thought. I heard rumors through the years of a jotunn that had survived and moved to America. I searched for centuries without luck. I’d find a bit of information, only to discover it led to a dead end so many times I eventually gave up.”
“My father was nothing special. He wasn’t this…jotunn,” I stumble over the word. “He was an investor who died before he was supposed to.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Your father was as old as time.”
