by C. L. Roman
“Power,” Seth answered.
“Agreed.” She nodded to Seth.
“What did he say now?”
Kai rolled her eyes. Playing interpreter was getting old, fast. “Seth and I agree that he wants power. He probably wants to take over hell.”
“He’s not all powerful? I still don’t believe you’re talking about the actual hell. Like the one I learned about as a kid.”
“Believe it, dude. It exists.”
“Daddy.” Mateo’s daughter came into the kitchen. “It’s time for school.”
Seth held out his arms and the little curly top girl planted a big, lip-smacking kiss on his cheek. “What grade are you in now? High School?”
The girl giggled. “No, Uncle Seth. I’m still in preschool, but I start kindergarten in a couple of weeks.”
“Kindergarten? That doesn’t seem possible.”
“What is he saying?” Mateo asked.
“He’s teasing her, asking her about school,” Kai told him.
“Do you like my new dress? Mommy made it for me?”
“I love it. Who’s that pink hair beauty?” Seth pointed to the troll on her jumper.
“That’s Poppy. Remember that movie you took me to?”
Seth bit his lip. “Um…”
“Trolls.” The little girl crossed her arms and planted her foot. She was not impressed.
Mateo guided his daughter away from Seth. “Uh, I need to walk them to daycare. My wife is helping her sister this week.” Mateo turned to the empty chair. “Remember Melinda? She had another kid.”
“Really,” Seth said. “How many is that, now?”
“He wants to know how many kids she has.”
“Hell, she’s starting a baseball team.”
“Daddy, we need to go. If I’m late, I won’t get the good table.”
“Okay, baby doll. I need to get dressed. Why don’t you wait in the living room?” He glanced at the empty chair and shook his head. Kai sensed a high level of confusion and concern.
Five minutes later, Mateo and his two children walked out the door. He told Kai to make herself comfortable.
Kai sat across from Seth. “So how ya doing? The swelling has gone down a lot.”
“I need coffee.” Seth poured coffee grounds into the pot.
“Why didn’t you have some earlier?”
“I didn’t want to freak out anyone if they saw a floating cup.”
“It might have given more credibility to my story. I’m still not sure your cousin believes me.”
“Mateo? He’s a great guy. Saved me more than once. I might not have made it through school without him.”
“He seems like a great dad.”
“He loves those kids.”
After pouring a cup of coffee Seth returned to the table. He put his hand on Kai’s. “I need to thank you for helping me.”
“Helping you? You’re in this whole mess because of me. I mean, my sister is the one who killed you.”
“Did they kill me to get to you?”
“Pretty sure she did, but how did she know Odin would call you?”
“I’m a cop.” He lifted a pretend hat off his head and bowed at the waist. “Hero. Right?”
“Not all cops are heroes and not all heroes are cops. No one knows why Odin calls the ones he does. So how did she know he wanted you? And how did she know it was your time?”
“What if it wasn’t my time?”
Kai furrowed her brow. That’s a good question. Maybe that’s why you’re still here.”
Seth rubbed his shoulder and groaned.
“Is it hurting again?”
“Yeah, I don’t understand what’s going on. Those rock things weren’t exactly easy on me, but this was bugging me before we met up with them.”
Kai moved behind him and helped slide his arm out of the sleeve. She rubbed her hand over his muscles and scanned for injuries. His warm skin sent shivers down her arm to her toes. Without thinking, she straddled his leg to get a better view. Her breasts brushed against his chest. His warm breath brushed the skin where her shirt gaped open. He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her down on his lap.
“Um, excuse you. What do you think you’re doing?”
Seth dropped his hands to the side. “You’re free to get up. I thought you sent me signals.”
“Signals? What signals?” Kai stood.
Seth stood and stepped forward until Kai bumped against the counter. “Signals. Like looks, and touches.”
“Looks and touches? What looks? What touches?”
He ran his hand down the side of her face and brushed her white hair out of her face. He cupped her face with the other hand. She inhaled as his mouth lowered. Seth’s essence weakened her bravado.
“Relationships formed during intense periods of stress never last.”
“Then let’s not worry about the long term. This could very well be my last time with a gorgeous woman.”
Kai surrendered to his urges. Her own to take control of her actions. They fell against the table when she pressed against him, matching his intense kiss, her tongue exploring his lips, his mouth. He planted small nibbles and kisses on her neck, his hot breath whispering in her ear. “There is a guest bedroom.”
It had been a long time since Kai had been with a man with this much passion and heat. She missed the feel of a man’s body against hers. His taste and smell. Between kisses, she mumbled, “Go.”
He squeezed her butt as she wrapped her legs around his waist. They tumbled on the bed, pulling off their shirts. The bedsprings creaked as they rolled around. Seth stood, kicked off his shoes, and pulled down his pants while Kai slid out of hers.
His hard cock stood at attention. She reached over and brought it to her mouth, sliding her lips deep on his shaft. With gentle and firm strokes, she felt his body tense with need. Her tongue circled the head then pulled him in deep again. He put his hands on her shoulders and lowered her to the bed. Reaching under her leg, he lifted her taking his time to press deep inside her. She raised her other leg and rested it on his shoulders. He sat tall on his knees and played with his speed and depth. Seth leaned forward enough to hold her breasts and pinch the nipples. The sting sent warm pleasure throughout her body. The slapping noise of their bodies increased as both grew closer to the edge. Kai’s orgasm spasmed deep inside as she gasped for air. Seconds later, Seth held his breath, then grunted as he orgasmed.
They both collapsed on the bed, the headboard banging the wall.
“Um, okay. So that happened,” Seth said.
Kai rolled over reaching for her clothes. “That will get both of us in trouble.”
“Probably, but it happened, and I liked it.”
She stood and pulled up her pants. “This—” she motioned between them, “—cannot happen. So cross off sex with a Valkyrie from your bucket list. I have a job to do.”
“But what if it wasn’t my time?”
“Odin, won’t see it that way. He’ll see that I made a mistake. Again.”
Seth put on his pants and sat on the bed. “You’ve said something like that before and your sister mentioned your family. What did you do?”
Kai sighed. “I let my heart make my decisions.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“My family passed the key to me and I became the Valkyrie I was destined to be. But you have no idea how stupid I was. I fell in love once. Renato was a brave warrior. The bravest I have ever seen. He was a good man too. He didn’t need to lead, men chose to follow him. I was young and foolish.” She bit her lip and focused on the floor.
Seth went to her and wrapped his arms around her. He wiped away the tears she didn’t feel. “How long have you been here?”
“Since the first Native American warrior fell fighting for freedom from the English.”
“Wait a minute. How old are you?”
“Old enough I don’t even remember my age. Time is different where I come from, so I have my age from there,
but now I do not know.”
“We’ll figure this out. I promise.” Seth took her face into his hands and kissed her.
She felt him harden against her as he held her tight. “No. We are not doing that again.”
He winked. “I can’t promise that.”
She shook her head, walked back into the kitchen, and sat at the table. Mateo came through the back door as Seth walked into the room. They bumped into each other causing another spark to fly.
“Crap,” Mateo said. “Was that Seth?”
Kai nodded.
“Sorry,” Mateo said to the blank space where Seth was.
“I’m over here, stupid.”
Kai held up her hand and shook her head. This was not the time for specifics.
“I might have an idea,” Mateo started. “If this Winston person wants to take over hell as you said, my guess is he’s going to need a lot of power and people on his side. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this world is people follow the money, and money equals power.”
“Okay, that makes sense,” Kai said.
“If he doesn’t need this key, what if he sells it instead? Is it worth a lot of money?”
“It’s priceless. The ability to cross realms creates limitless power.”
“Then I bet if your sister doesn’t have it, he’s going to sell it.”
“He double-crossed her?” Seth asked.
“He’s a demon. Isn’t double-crossing people kinda what they do?” Mateo answered.
“Wait.” Kai glanced between the two cousins. “Did you hear him?”
Mateo smiled. “I think I did. Seth, say something again.”
“You can be a big jackass sometimes,” Seth said.
Mateo turned and faced Seth. “Gee, thanks. You’re not so wonderful yourself.”
The two laughed and moved toward each other. A spark ignited as they touched. “Shit. We need to figure out how to make that stop,” Mateo said.
“Can you see me?” Seth asked.
“No, but I can hear you. Wait until I tell your mama. She’s going to be beside herself with happiness.”
“No,” Seth and Kai both said.
Mateo looked at her. “You can’t tell anyone he’s still alive. He’s not supposed to be here. I have to find a way for him to cross into Valhalla.”
“Valhalla? I thought you were an angel, and Seth was going to heaven.”
Kai shrugged. “Well, it’s like heaven and I’m kinda like an angel.”
Mateo stood back and grabbed a cast-iron skillet from the stove. “Just what are you?”
“I’m a Valkyrie. Odin called your cousin to join his army.”
Mateo put that skillet down. “Cool.”
“That you have no trouble believing?” Seth asked.
“I’ve seen all the movies. I get it.”
Kai shook her head. “Real life isn’t like the movies.”
“Does Thor exist?”
“Yes.”
“Loki?”
“Yes.”
Mateo smiled. “Then it’s exactly like the movies Marvel keeps making. But let me show you what I found on the way to taking the kids to school.”
He pulled out a laptop, confirmed what he wanted from his phone, and pulled up a website. “There you go. There’s your key?”
Kai stared at the screen, dumbfounded. “What is this?”
“This Winston person plans to auction this to the highest bidder.”
She turned the computer to Seth. On the screen lay a picture of her key and a countdown clock with sixty more hours.
Chapter Eight
After lunch, Kai, Mateo, and Seth sat around the table discussing a plan.
“You can’t get involved in this,” Seth said to Mateo.
“You’re my cousin. Family helps family.”
“Aren’t you still on parole? Are you even supposed to be searching for stuff like this?”
Mateo walked to the counter. “Man, hack into one government system and people don’t forget about that.”
“Hacking into the police department to delete parking tickets was a big deal.”
Mateo punched the counter. “Let me worry about that. But please tell me why can’t we go to the police? It was a legitimate crime,” Mateo huffed.
“Do you want to explain to the police what this can do? Who Winston is?” Seth asked.
“He’s right,” Mateo said to the empty chair.
“I’m over by the sink, douche bag.”
“Cabron. You need to stay in one place, so I don’t feel like a fool talking to an empty chair.”
Kai brought Mateo a cup of coffee, turned the laptop, and studied the listing again. A lot of comments posted underneath the announcement. None of the names she recognized were friendly, helpful people. The reputations of a few names listed caused nightmares in the strongest paranormals.
“Are these all the bidders? And explain again how this works.” Kai took a drink of coffee.
“Not all of them are bidders. I guarantee some of these people are plants to drive up the hype. This is a silent auction. He set it up, so we have until the timer ends to make a bid. The only problem is we don’t know how much everyone else is bidding,” Mateo said.
“You mean we could bid like six million dollars and it still wouldn’t be enough?” Kai slammed her coffee cup on the table. The handle broke off and the coffee spilled.
“Be careful, please.” Mateo reached for a towel and wiped the spilled drink.
“Sorry.” Kai grabbed it from him and finished. “I have money, but not enough.”
A mantle clock ticked away as the three sat without talking. Mateo checked his email, Seth paced, and Kai noticed two squirrels fighting.
“You said Winston wants power, right?” Seth asked.
“Yeah.”
“But as a right-hand man, doesn’t he already have a lot of power? He wouldn’t have gotten to that position without it. He has to already have a lot of friends and people on his side.” Seth sat at the table.
“What are you getting at?” Mateo said to the chair on his right.
Kai nodded to the chair across from him. He rolled his eyes. “I give up.”
“I bet he either wants something other than power or needs a different kind of power. What do you know about him, Kai?”
“Not much. I never knew his name until yesterday.”
Seth snapped his fingers and Mateo startled at the odd noise. “Wait, Cecily said she knows him. Hooked up in Vegas, right?”
“That was only a one-night stand.”
“Doesn’t matter, she might know something. Investigations always start with the smallest detail and grow from there.”
“Then we head back to the garage.” Kai and Seth stood and headed to the door.
Mateo followed them. “Hey, Seth—” he held out his arms “—I…you, man just come here.” He held out his arms. The spark between grew hot. “I love you, man.”
“I love you too.”
Both men stepped apart then stared at the floor, tears in their eyes.
Kai reached for Mateo, wrapped her arms around his neck, whispered a Norse blessing in his ear. “Mateo, may I be blessed enough to bring you to Valhalla when your time comes.”
“Come back, if you need more help,” he called after them.
Once inside the car, Seth slapped the dashboard.
“Hey, cool it. If I bring this car back damaged, Cecily will kill me.”
“This isn’t right.”
“What’s not right?”
“Bringing Mateo in to this. He has a family and they need him.”
“I’ll keep him safe.”
Seth scoffed. “Can you promise that?”
She had no response. Instead she called Cecily. “Cecily, this is Kai.”
“Yo, love, what the hell did you do last night? Everyone’s talking about the crazy night at Liberty’s.”
“Great.” Kai pinched the bridge of her nose. “What did you hear?”
&nb
sp; “Well, the story goes you and four men wrecked the place because Liberty wouldn’t let you play.”
“Four guys, huh? Did they tell you about the vamp I brought for backup?”
“Since when do you play nicely with vampires?” Cecily choked.
“I’m joking, lady.”
“Crap, you made me swallow my gum.”
“We’re headed back to the garage and I’ll tell you all about it.” She ended the call.
“How did you find Cecily?” Seth asked.
“Well, I told you I’ve been here a long time. Cars make it easier to carry warriors to Odin. You should have seen the classic car Henry Ford left me.”
“Henry Ford is in Valhalla?”
She snickered. “Yep.”
“But I don’t see him as much of a warrior.”
Kai yelled at the car who cut her off. Traffic was a mess and crazy drivers added to her agitation. “Odin uses all kinds of warriors. Henry provided a skill set he needed.”
“Do these people often give you gifts? Are they only men?”
“Sometimes, but I don’t ask for them. It’s mostly just something they had on them when their time came. And no, they are not always men.”
“What other gifts have you received?”
She lowered her magic, pulled out her knife, and handed it to him.
“Is this a Bowie knife?” He examined the knife. The worn grip showed the patina of age. Intricate scrollwork slithered across the blade. The sharpened edge gleamed in the light. “Tell me you didn’t get this directly from Jim Bowie.”
“Yep. Found him lying on the ground inside the Alamo.”
Seth stared, mouth gaped. “What women have you brought across?”
“Susan Travers, an ambulance driver from World War Two. Hester Cornelius, a freedom fighter in South Africa. And maybe a certain blonde bombshell who had close ties with a certain young president during the sixties.”
“No way. Do you mean…”
“That one I can’t tell anyone about because it makes no sense. All I can say is Odin has a thing for blondes.”
Seth sat quiet for ten minutes or so.
“Hey, dude, you okay?” Kai put her hand on his leg.
“I don’t understand why he wanted me.”
“You’re a cop and from what I see, one who was willing to put his life on the line for others.”
