on his feet, hardly paused a moment. "Certainly, Hod," he said glibly as he adjusted Hod's aim for Balder's left shoulder. "There," he lied smoothly, "Now you're pointed right at his heart."<br /> Hod, however, had begun to wonder. Loki's reputation as a trickster preceded him, and he might be up to almost anything. Then again, he might be doing just what he claimed--helping Hod to take part in a group activity for a change, when all the other gods had been ignoring him again. And what harm could he be up to? Balder WAS invulnerable. Hod didn't want to pass up his one chance at participating on a mere unfounded suspicion, nor did he wish to repay Loki's kindness with accusations. It did occur to him, though,that had Loki's intentions been less than honorable, Loki had adroitly manuvered him into being the one who had chosen to aim for the heart, taking Loki smoothly off the hook. Therefore, just in case his suspicions were justified when he let loose the arrow Hod actually aimed halfway between the two points Loki had given him. "This way," he thought, "I should still have enough margin for error not to miss and look foolish, and even if I can hurt him, it should just be a flesh wound-painful, but not dangerous."<br /> The shot was a beauty, strait and powerful. It struck midway between Balder's two shoulders, at the base of his throat, and passed right through him. He gurgled once and was dead.<br /> In roaring