by Лори Девоти
“But,” Jormun continued. “I already agreed to her challenge. I can’t back out now. If she wins I tell her my secrets, if she loses I get you.”
“What if we add to that bargain?” Risk asked.
“How?” Interest flickered in the giant’s eyes.
“If Lusse wins, you keep her as my toll, and in exchange…” He inhaled and kept his gaze steady. “I get the twins.”
“The twins?” Jormun took a step back. “No. They are far too valuable.”
“But you won’t need them once you have Lusse. If she beats them, she will have proven she is more powerful, and you will have her. She might gain access to your secrets, but you don’t ever have to let her leave. Your secrets will still be safe here in the Midgard Sea.”
“Ah, forandre. You are smart and powerful.” Jormun pounded Risk on the back. “I will hope that the witch loses. I think you would be a much better companion.”
With a nod they sealed their bargain. Risk stepped through the doorway, leaving Jormun rubbing his hands and mumbling to himself. Lusse was right; Jormun did have secrets. Secrets, thankfully, he didn’t want leaked out to the rest of the worlds.
Now Risk just had to make sure Lusse beat the twins without killing them in the process.
“He made them.” The words exploded from Lusse as soon as the door to their space had closed.
Eyeing the end of the room beyond which Kara and her sister’s room lay, Risk didn’t reply.
“Did you hear me? He made them.” Lusse threw her hands in the air. “Do you know what kind of crime that is? The gods will do more than toss him out — they will chop him into bits and feed him to these fish that surround him.” She sniffed as a purple eel-like creature slithered by their tube. “And the power. Where is he hiding his power? I could smell some on him, but nothing like what is required for this.” She wrapped her hands together and stared at the doorway where Jormun’s creatures had left.
“I need that power,” she declared.
“You’ll get it once you win,” he reminded her.
“Yes, I will.” Lusse walked to the end of the tube next to Kara and her sister. A wall of water separated them, but Risk could still see the pair, make out Kara’s graceful movements from her sister’s more determined choppy ones. “They are tempting, aren’t they? They would go well with my garm.”
“But they weren’t part of your bargain.”
Lusse tilted her head, studying the nearby tube, then snorted. “Like that matters.” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “You don’t think I intend to leave you here, either, do you? Bothersome as you can be, you’re mine.”
Heaving out a bored breath, she spun to face him. “Unless you want to be left here, get out there and befriend the idiot giant. Find out how he made those…things. Maybe I won’t even need to prove my superiority. Although, it might be fun.”
She glanced back at the nearby tube. “They look so fresh — entertaining. But—” she ran a hand over her bedraggled hair “—why put out more effort than’s needed? Do your part. I need to recharge.” Flapping her cloak, she stalked to the far end of the tube.
Risk shoved down the growl that formed at the back of his throat. As irritating as Lusse was, she was right. He needed to talk to Jormun more, get him to let Risk talk with Kara, prepare her to lose the battle that lay ahead.
“You know him?” Kelly still stared at the now gray section of tube where Risk had stood.
“He…he’s how I found out…” Kara made a circle motion between her and her sister “…about us.”
“Really?” Kelly blinked. “Is he a witch, too? Do you think that’s why he’s here?” She frowned. “But he didn’t look like a prisoner. They’ve never cleared the glass like that before — except, you know, during the weirdness. And Jormun sure didn’t escort me here. You?”
Kara shook her head, dread filling her with each of Kelly’s words.
“It was like Jormun was showing us off. Why would he do that?” She glanced at Kara. “And who’s the ice queen?”
The woman in question stepped into the tube next to them. Kara licked her lips.
Kelly narrowed her eyes. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Kara shrugged. “I don’t know why they’re here.”
“But you know who they are, what they are — give.” Kelly stepped closer to Kara, until there was nowhere for Kara to go for escape.
“I think she might be Lusse. A witch.”
“A witch?” Kelly turned to study the sophisticated blonde in the adjacent capsule. The woman, Lusse, watched them in return.
“What’s with the cape and gloves? And all the white?”
“I don’t know.” Kara slid down the wall, facing Kelly and the tube holding Lusse. Tucking her knees under her chin, she stared blankly ahead. “I think she may be kind of…evil. She drains other witches of their powers.”
Kelly spun. “And she’s with the hunk because?”
Kara sighed. “He works for her. That’s how I met him. He was hunting me.” The words came out like an admission of guilt.
“Let me get this straight. While I was gone you got yourself a hot boyfriend, the first in what, three years? Who just happens to work for a witch — make that an evil witch, who drains other witches of their powers. Anything else you’d like to tell me?” Kelly walked across the room, her back to Kara. “And I thought I had bad taste in men.”
Kara dropped her face to her knees. She hadn’t even told Kelly the really disturbing part yet. When she found out what Risk was she would never believe Kara could care for him. Kara knew her feelings for Risk sounded insane, but they were real and she couldn’t let go of them yet.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to admit all. “There’s more,” she said.
Kelly raised an eyebrow.
“Risk isn’t a witch.”
Kelly waited.
“He’s…he’s a hellhound.”
“A what?” The words burst from Kelly.
“A hel—”
“I know what you said. I just can’t believe you said it.”
Kara stared at the floor in front of her for a few beats. “Maybe he’s here to save us,” she murmured.
Kelly shot her a sideways gaze. “Yeah, there’s a thought. Do you know what hellhounds are? What they’re used for?”
Kara pressed her chin into her knees.
“They’re part of the wild hunt. Gods used them to retrieve souls. And from what I’ve heard hounds aren’t real choosy about the condition of said soul once it’s retrieved. They live for the hunt, the kill. I didn’t even know they could be human…” Her tone changed. “Are you sure? Maybe he was just trying to impress you.”
A sad Kara nodded. “I’ve seen him…in his other form, I mean. Him and another one. The first night we met.” She went on to explain about her encounter with Risk and the other dog in the parking lot, how she woke up in his cabin and everything that had happened between them since.
Kelly dropped down beside her. “Well, you’ve definitely managed to beat me on the bad choice in men contest, Sis.” She pulled Kara’s hand into her own. “Don’t worry. You’ll get over him. And there he is now.”
Taking a deep breath, Kara glanced up. Risk stood at the end of the capsule, his palms pressed against the glass, and his hazel eyes focused on her.
Her traitorous heart jumping, she looked away. Should she talk to him?
“Well, at least I understand why you were able to overlook the dog bit.” Kelly made a whistling sound.
Kara pushed herself up and wandered to the end of the tube, her palms mirroring Risk’s pressed against the glass. His eyes were intense. Was he trying to tell her something?
“He’s…hot. That’s for sure,” Kelly murmured, joining her at the glass. “But Kara, you know you can’t trust him. He told you he was hunting you for…her, right?” She nodded toward Lusse, who had walked up behind Risk and stared at them with cool disregard.
“But it’s more complicated
than that and now he’s here. Don’t you think he could be here to save us?”
The door to Risk and Lusse’s capsule slid open and Jormun appeared. With a wide smile, he motioned for Risk to follow him from the tube.
“No, Kara. I don’t.” Kelly turned, placing her body between Kara and the end of the capsule. “Did you see that? He’s a guest. He’s not here to save us. He works for the other side.”
Kara shifted her gaze out into the Midgard Sea. Kelly was right. It certainly looked as if Jormun and Risk were on good terms, but as the garm had warned her things here could be deceiving.
“I don’t know why he’s here, but I don’t think it’s good news for us. Don’t be pinning your hopes on someone you know you can’t trust. Especially when your hormones are involved.” She grasped Kara’s hands. “We have to do this ourselves. At some point they’re going to open that door and take us away — just like they did all the others. But when they do, we’ll be prepared, right?”
Kara closed her eyes, her loyalty to Kelly warring with the dream of being able to believe in Risk.
“Right?” Kelly squeezed her hands.
Opening her eyes, Kara stared into her sister’s determined face. Kelly was the one person she had always been able to depend on. Kara would be an idiot to forget that now, and she owed it to her sister to do whatever she could to save her.
With an abrupt nod, she replied, “Right. What do we do first?”
With a determined smile, Kelly pulled her into a hug. “We’ll be fine. You’ll see. Just trust me.”
Kara spent the rest of the day trying to pretend Lusse wasn’t in the tube next door, and forcing herself not to look for Risk.
Hours later, Kelly was still instructing Kara on how to pull energy from the small space around them and hold it within herself.
Panting, Kara collapsed on the floor next to the bowl of pellets. If they kept this up much longer, she thought she might explode.
“Where is the power coming from?” Kara asked, gratefully pressing another water bag to her lips.
“I don’t know, but it isn’t enough to do much. Certainly not enough to break out of here.” Kelly stared at the doorway to their prison, then turned back to Kara, a tiny frown on her face. “It gets stronger during the serpent ceremony. Unfortunately, that’s also when we are completely surrounded.”
“Do you think we could break out then?” Kara ran a shaking hand through her hair. Working with even this small amount of power was exhausting. Could she handle more?
“No.” Kelly placed a hand on each side of their prison’s door. “We would never get past those snake-men. But I’m hoping if we work with what we have, once they open that door, we’ll be ready.”
“You mean attack them?” Kara’s eyes widened. The snake-men were strange, but so far they hadn’t done anything that in Kara’s mind justified hurting them.
Kelly pushed away from the door. “This is serious, Kara. It’s us or them. We have to get out of here no matter who we hurt.”
Kara glanced to the end of the tube where throughout the day, Lusse had been practicing her own witchcraft.
No matter how much she fought it, Kara couldn’t seem to keep her eyes from turning toward the adjacent tube. Even if just looking that direction sent a dagger of pain through her center.
Bursts of light bounced around the nearby capsule, silhouetting the profile of a masculine figure. Kara hurried to the end of their prison, drawn like iron filings to a magnet.
Risk stood facing the doorway, still dressed in one of Jormun’s jumpsuits. Even this tiny glimpse of him made Kara’s palms sweat and her pulse quicken. The material clung to him like a second skin, highlighting the flat plane of his stomach and the muscular bulge of his buttocks.
“Forget him, Kara.” Kelly wandered up to stand next to her.
Kara swallowed, her gaze glued to the man she couldn’t give up on.
Lusse strolled up behind Risk and wove her arms around his waist, then up his chest. Her face pressed to his back, she stared into Kara’s eyes. He’s mine, her gaze seemed to say. Then with a wave of her hand, a fog formed, blocking Kara’s view.
“What happened?” Kelly asked, her hand reaching out to grab Kara, who wobbled sideways.
Kara blinked back the sudden moisture in her eyes. “Nothing. You’re right. We have to do whatever we can to escape. We can’t trust anyone except each other.”
“It will be okay, Kara. I promise.” Kelly pulled Kara to her in a hug. “I’ve never let you down before, have I?”
Kara shook her head. She could trust Kelly. Kelly would take care of everything — she always had.
Kelly turned and tromped back to the center of their room, her hands raised to renew their practice.
Kara was falling back into old habits, but…she glanced over her shoulder at the now opaque capsule next door…obviously, trusting in herself hadn’t worked out.
Risk stepped forward, out of Lusse’s arms. “What was that about?” he asked. While she made many suggestive comments, Lusse had never shown any real sexual interest in him or any of the males in her kennel. Risk wasn’t sure if it was a basic prejudice against what she saw as inter-breeding or her own sexual leanings, and he hadn’t cared. It was her one redeeming quality in his eyes.
She laughed. “Your little witch over there.” She pointed in the direction of the tube that held Kara and her sister. “She really is panting after you.” She arched a brow. “Are you sure you don’t return her interest?”
Risk stepped away. “Of course not. I needed her trust. You know that.”
“Hmm.” Lusse flicked out her hand, a small ball of fire forming on her palm. “I hope that’s all. I’d hate to think after all these years, after all we’ve been through, that I couldn’t trust you.” She bounced the blazing ball into the air. “And Venge…I’d make sure he hated it, too.” The ball landed back in her palm; with a smile she closed her fingers, smothering the sphere into smoking nothingness. She held her hand up, palm toward him, fingers splayed.
“There’s something in the air here. Do you feel it? It was stronger outside this—” she glanced around their space, an expression of distaste on her face “—plastic bubble, but I can still pick up remnants here. It must be related to the power source Jormun is using to make his creatures. Have you learned anything yet?”
A band around Risk’s chest tightened. Though friendly, Jormun had refused his request to speak with Kara. But Risk had no choice; he had to move forward with his plan and just hope at some point he was able to communicate it to Kara.
Time to add to his nest of lies — to tighten the noose more closely around Lusse’s neck.
“I have. Jormun has been fairly free with information. He’s promised to show me how he makes the creatures, but not until we prove we’re trustworthy.”
“Trustworthy?” Lusse pursed her lips.
“He wants to make sure the twins aren’t hurt in the battle. If they’re harmed they’ll be of no use to him.”
“Of course.” Lusse shrugged. “Is that all?”
“Basically.” Risk tilted his head as if just remembering something. “Except, he asks that you wear a piece of equipment, just to assure a fair fight. If I can convince you to do that, he’ll trust me enough to share the source of his power with me.”
Lusse frowned. “How do I know his ‘equipment’ won’t tip the battle toward the twins?”
“I can try it on first, if you like.”
Lusse tilted her head in consideration. “I still don’t like it. You aren’t a witch. It might affect you differently.”
“True,” Risk agreed. “But it’s his one request.”
“And you think we can trust him? Will he really show you the power source?”
Risk pretended to consider her question. “He will. He seems to share the garm’s love of rules.”
Lusse shrugged. “Perhaps a side effect of living too near the portals.”
Risk fought to keep his face from twisti
ng into a grimace. Trust and keeping a bargain were foreign ideas to Lusse.
Lusse straightened her arm, another ball of blue fire in her hand. “Tell him I agree.” She glanced at Risk. “Now leave, I need to practice. Not to beat them, you understand. I just want to make sure Jormun is left with no doubt as to who is the strongest.”
“I’m sure you will accomplish that,” Risk replied.
As Lusse whirled the fireball down the length of the tube, Risk slipped out the doorway.
19
“Why do you want to speak with the twins?” Jormun leaned back against a cushion, a live mouse dangling by its tail from his fingers.
“Curiosity, nothing more.” Risk hid a grimace as Jormun dropped the unfortunate animal into his mouth. It was one thing to kill a beast while in his hound form and something entirely different to devour a living creature whole while human.
“Curiosity killed the cat.” Jormun chuckled. “But that’s right — wrong species.”
Risk tapped his fingers against his thigh, the thin bracelet Jormun had given him for Lusse to wear during the battle clasped in his hand.
“Besides, I think we’re almost ready for your challenge. The twins have taken it upon themselves to hone their skills. Have you seen them working in the space next to yours?”
Risk clenched his jaw. He had, and the skill and determination with which the sisters worked worried him. There was every possibility they might defeat Lusse. Funny how that used to be his goal, and now it was his nightmare.
“You’re worried, aren’t you?” Jormun grinned. “Don’t fear, friend. Life here isn’t all bad.” He clapped his hand over a gray mouse as it attempted to scramble away.
“Now, I must ask you to leave. I’ve neglected other duties since you’ve arrived and some things just can’t be avoided.” He stood. “The skapt will escort you back to your tube.”
“That’s all right. I can find my way.” And stop by Kara’s again hoping to somehow get a message inside to her.
“No,” Jormun answered abruptly. Then with a smile he softened his reply. “Not now. No one wanders free during the ceremony.”
