Isto é mais ou menos "explicado" no capítulo 19, onde Shadow fala com Whiskey Jack (citações do texto preferido do autor, ênfase minha):
“It’s not going to be a war.”
“Then what is it?”
Whiskey Jack crushed the beer can between his hands, pressing it until it was flat. “Look,” he said, and pointed to the waterfall. The sun was high enough that it caught the waterfall spray: a rainbow nimbus hung in the air. Shadow thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
“It’s going to be a bloodbath,” said Whiskey Jack, flatly.
Shadow saw it then. He saw it all, stark in its simplicity. He shook his head, then he began to chuckle, and he shook his head some more, and the chuckle became a full-throated laugh.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine,” said Shadow. “I just saw the hidden Indians. Not all of them. But I saw them anyhow.”
“Probably Ho Chunk, then. Those guys never could hide worth a damn.” He looked up at the sun. “Time to go back,” he said. He stood up.
“It’s a two-man con,” said Shadow. “It’s not a war at all, is it?”
Whiskey Jack patted Shadow’s arm. “You’re not so dumb,” he said.
E então, quando Shadow fala com Loki:
“I figured it out,” said Shadow. “Kind of. I’m not sure when I figured it out. Maybe when I was hanging on the tree. Maybe before. It was from something Wednesday said to me, at Christmas.”
Loki just stared at him, saying nothing.
“It’s just a two-man con,” said Shadow. “Like the bishop and the diamond necklace and the cop. Like the guy with the fiddle, and the guy who wants to buy the fiddle, and the poor sap in between them who pays for the fiddle. Two men, who appear to be on opposite sides, playing the same game.”
Loki whispered, “You are ridiculous.”
“Why? I liked what you did at the motel. That was smart. You needed to be there, to make sure that everything went according to plan. I saw you. I even realized who you were. And I still never twigged that you were their Mister World. Or maybe I did, somewhere down deep. I knew I knew your voice, anyway.”
Also the subject of this question.
Quarta-feira nunca disse a Shadow este plano, mas ele lhe contou sobre o golpe de violino e o golpe de joalheria. A questão é: dois homens jogando em lados opostos estão trabalhando juntos, para conquistar algum terceiro.
Até esse ponto, Shadow sabe algumas coisas: há quarta-feira, há Loki (que supostamente está trabalhando para os novos deuses), e haverá um banho de sangue entre os antigos deuses e os novos deuses. Ele se lembra do golpe de joias, e ele lembra que quarta-feira precisa de um parceiro para isso:
“Hey. Wednesday. Both of the scams you were telling me about—the violin scam and the bishop one, the bishop and the cop—” He hesitated, trying to form his thought, to bring it into focus.
“What of them?”
Then he had it. “They’re both two-man scams. One guy on each side. Did you used to have a partner?” Shadow’s breath came in clouds. He promised himself that when he got to Lakeside he would spend some of his Christmas bonus on the warmest, thickest winter coat that money could buy.
“Yes,” said Wednesday. “Yes. I had a partner. A junior partner. But, alas, those days are gone.”
Chapter 9
Quarta-feira teve um parceiro júnior. Alguém que parecia estar trabalhando contra ele, mas na verdade estava trabalhando com ele. Um candidato muito apropriado seria Loki, que já está trabalhando para os novos deuses. De lá, Shadow lembrou que a voz de Loki soava muito como a voz de Mr. World, e de lá ele deduziu o resto.
Quarta é um deus da guerra - ele se alimenta de sacrifício de sangue. Loki é o bem do caos - ele se alimenta de caos. Uma "guerra", um banho de sangue entre os deuses forneceria alimento para ambos.Se você estiver interessado, não parece haver uma versão "abreviada" dos American Gods . Indo por O que foi restaurado nos deuses americanos " décimo aniversário "edição? , nada substancial foi adicionado ao livro na edição de 10º aniversário, pelo menos não o suficiente para mudar um ponto tão importante.