by Amy Sumida
“What is it, Samantha?” Her mother asked in irritation.
I winked at the girl and gave her a secret smile.
“Nothing,” she whispered.
“Come on; Daddy will put you on his shoulders so you can get a better view.”
The woman picked up her daughter and handed her to the girl's father. He dutifully put his daughter over his shoulders and gave her a better view of Vegas. It always surprises me how many people bring their children to Sin City, but I suppose there are quite a lot of family-friendly activities... and then there's the free food. Free food draws a lot of folks.
“I can feel the diamond,” Ilis declared. “This way.”
She led us around the observation deck until we faced another hotel. Ilis waved her hands like a diva—flicking them up and to her sides—and humans just got out of her way. If things hadn't been so tense, I would have had me a good chuckle. With Ilis' crowd-clearing ability, we went right to the railing, and she narrowed her gaze at the hotel across from us.
“From the top-right corner it's two windows down and five to the left,” she said. “I sense the diamond in that vicinity.”
“Lady, that's some awesome diamond radar you got,” Cerberus said with admiration.
Gage stepped up beside me, and I moved back for Calex to join him. Along with Ilis, the men focused on the window she'd indicated. They were silent for a long period of time while the rest of us waited anxiously. Well, most of us waited.
“What the fuck is going on in there?” Cer growled. “Do any of you see Freya?”
Evidently, Hellhound eyesight is not as good as a Griffin's or a dragon's.
“Not yet,” Gage murmured as he continued to stare. “Give us a chance, Cer. There hasn't been any movement. Mimir may not even—wait.”
“There he is,” Calex said. “I don't see anyone else, though.”
“The location appears to be a normal hotel room,” Ilis added. “I can't sense any wards or black magic. Although, Mimir is using some thick glamour to make himself appear human. Calex, do you sense anything?”
“I feel something dark, but it could just be Mimir's intent,” Calex said.
“There's Eileen!” Gage exclaimed.
We all pushed in around him and squinted at the window. I had good eyesight, but it wasn't good enough to see Eileen. I could just make out some shadows at the window, which I assumed were her and Mimir.
“Oh yeah; they're a couple,” Gage muttered.
“Eileen and Mimir?” Torin asked in surprise.
“You feeling a little inadequate?” Gage teased. “I'd imagine that everything is larger on him.”
“Why would Torin feel inadequate?” Calex asked.
“He once had an affair with Eileen,” I said it so that Torin wouldn't have to.”
“It was a long time ago.” Torin grimaced.
“Before she tried to kill him,” Banning added. “That doesn't speak so well to his prowess either.”
“He's not the only one with a murdering ex.” I gave Banning a pointed look.
“I'm a Blooder,” Banning huffed. “Dating vicious women is kind of our thing. Besides; she tried to kill you, not me.”
I raised my brows at him.
“But I've moved past my attraction for violent women,” he added.
“Wait; is he saying that Elaria is or isn't violent?” Cerberus asked. “I can't keep track.”
“Never mind,” I ended the conversation before it got ridiculous. “We need a plan.”
“We diamond ourselves into the room and kill everyone except Freya,” Cerberus said.
“Sometimes simplicity works best.” Calex grinned.
“Odin?” Ilis asked. “You know this man better than the rest of us. What do you think?”
“I think we should scope out an empty room from here for us to travel into and then go with Cerberus' plan,” Odin said.
“Good man!” Cerberus pounded Odin's back. “Who's taking me?”
“Hold on,” I said. “Give me a minute to prepare a couple of songs, just in case.”
“In case of what?” Odin asked. “We don't know what we'll be facing.”
“Then I'll think of some general songs,” I huffed. “I know you guys want to save Freya, but a few minutes may make the difference between victory and defeat.”
“She's right,” Odin conceded. “Let's move back against the wall, and give Elaria as much quiet as we can.”
Our group barricaded me from the crowd as I bowed my head and mentally went through my list of defensive songs I like to use on the fly. When I had a few in mind, I nodded to the others, and we split into groups again. Within seconds, we vanished from the tower and reappeared inside the room we'd decided upon. The door was ajar, and a flickering light came through the slit, arrowing across the plush carpet. The sounds of an argument came through with the light, and we all paused to listen.
“Just kill her and be done with it!” Eileen snapped.
Cerberus started forward, but I grabbed his hand and squeezed as I shook my head frantically at him. He took a deep breath and waited.
“We need her,” Mimir growled. “Odin and his minions will never leave us alone if we don't have any leverage over them. And Odin's not the only one who cares about Freya; so does the Spellsinger's dog, Cerberus.”
Cerberus bared his teeth, and I squeezed harder.
“Just wait,” I whispered. “Timing is everything.”
“I don't think that's why you want her here at all,” Eileen hissed. “No; don't touch me, Mimir! I saw that look you had when we tossed that bitch in the closet; you desire her.”
“She's the fucking Goddess of Love; everyone desires her,” Mimir huffed.
“That's it!” Eileen screamed.
“Eileen!” Mimir's heavy footsteps pounded out of the room. “Don't you dare touch her!”
“Let's go,” Odin waved us into the other room. “When they return, we'll have the element of surprise.”
We slipped into the living room of the suite as Mimir and Eileen continued to argue in another bedroom. Gage hurried over to their bedroom's doorway and went flat against the wall beside it. The rest of us spaced out around the room and waited. The argument continued; with Freya's muffled, angry growls peppering it. I prepared a song—a new one that had nothing to do with battle. Mimir and Eileen's conversation had sparked an idea, and I was eager to see if it would work.
“Let go of her, Eileen!” Mimir commanded.
“You're not in charge of me, Mimir; this is a partnership,” Eileen snapped.
“I started this,” Mimir argued. “I found you when you, drunk in a beneather bar, rattling on about how a Spellsinger killed your husband. You'd still be there if it weren't for me.”
“So?” Eileen huffed. “I was the one who came up with the idea to abduct monsters to kill everyone for us.”
“An act which you couldn't have done without me,” he shot back. “You didn't know enough about the creatures to be to catch them, much less transport them. And let's not forget that I was the one who talked those idiot fairies into killing their people and their precious forest. I found you sanctuary when you failed, and I gave you a new plan.”
“I think that my failure was a part of your original plan,” Eileen accused.
“I wanted Freya dead,” Mimir snarled. “I told you how she humiliated me.”
“By refusing to fuck you,” Eileen huffed. “And now you have her here, and you're changing your mind about killing her—because you still want to fuck her.”
“Women are insane!” Mimir roared. “I don't want to fuck Freya. After this is over, and we have claimed Tír na nÓg, I'm going to kill her. But you need to be patient, Eileen. I promise you; I did not want you to fail. Your success would have made my plan go even smoother; we would have had the Witches—including Odin, two Shining One kings, and the Spellsinger out of our way.”
Eileen went quiet.
“I love you,” Mimir whispered. “I want you to
rule Tír na nÓg with me.”
Freya's snort was loud and clear, and so was the smack either Eileen or Mimir gave her.
“Thank you for that,” Eileen said; clearing up the question of who had hit Freya. “I love you too.”
It was the last straw for Cerberus. He roared and barreled into the bedroom; tossing our plan out the window. Eileen screamed, and Mimir shouted. A flash of light flared, and Cerberus came flying back into the living room. Eileen strode out after him, but then saw all of us standing there, waiting for her. She gaped in shock, but Mimir reacted with calm calculation. He grabbed Freya and dragged her bucking, bound body into the living room; bending to make it through the doorway. We were just about to jump him when Mimir lifted a gun to Freya's temple and cocked it. We all froze.
“A gun?” Odin asked. “Are you fucking serious?”
“A bullet works just fine on a goddess when fired at this range,” Mimir said smugly. “And I don't have to worry about you interfering with my magic. I know your tricks, Earthshaker.”
“Why?” Odin asked. “Why would you betray me like this, Mimir? I thought you were my friend?”
“You never belonged with us!” Mimir hissed. “You're a Witch, not a God; yet you ascended to the top of our pantheon. It wasn't right.”
“You really are jealous,” Odin said with disbelief. “I thought it was a possibility, but I couldn't bring myself to believe it; not entirely.”
“I'm not jealous,” Mimir narrowed his pale blue eyes at Odin. “I was defending my people. You would have stayed in our pantheon if not for me. And who knows what you would have convinced the Norse Gods to do.”
“So, you did manufacture that accident!” Odin hissed.
“I did.” Mimir smiled viciously. “But the eye patch looks good on you, Witch.”
“At least I know how to do spells properly,” Odin snapped. “I saw your workspace, Mim; it was pathetic—herbs crumbling out of the walls. And now your hall is filled with manticore corpses. You'll never get the taint of death out of your home.”
“No matter; I'll have a new home soon.” Mimir shrugged. “I have to admit, though; that's impressive. There were a lot of manticores.”
“You have no idea who you've come against.” Odin shook his head.
“Yeah; I saw your pet Spellsinger in action.” He rolled his eyes. “She still missed me, didn't she?”
I didn't bother to defend myself; I was too busy waiting for an opening—looking for the perfect moment to start singing. Kyanite was already prepared, and I knew the music would begin with my voice. “Release” by She Keeps Bees doesn't have an intro; it goes straight into the lyrics. And its words were perfect for what I had in mind.
The song was one of those that was hard to interpret. It was obviously cruel, but what wasn't so clear was whether it was pointing out the truth to be helpful or simply to be callous. It didn't matter to me; a song was what I made of it, and I needed this song to be ruthless. I needed to infuse the lyrics—about a woman tearing apart a man's life—with the cold actuality of it; the evil of a wicked lover who didn't care one whit for the man she destroyed. And I needed Mimir to feel it—to know it as the absolute truth.
Mimir eased his grip on Freya. I saw my opportunity and seized it. I began to sing; slashing at Mimir's heart and mind with lyrical insinuations of betrayal and cold calculation. Kyanite played the groaning guitar, and then added the abrasive strike of cymbals as I sang low and slow; my voice seeping into Mimir's mind like ink into water. The almost-bluesy music dropped with my voice and then rose to stab at Mimir insistently. Eileen doesn't love you; it said. She wants you for what you can do for her, and that is all.
Mimir's eyes went wide, and his hands began to shake. Freya's stare shifted sideways, and she watched him like a snake waiting to strike. She may have been bound in ropes—which were most-likely warded—but I knew she'd try to defend herself if given a chance. She was one tough broad. If my song worked, however, she wouldn't need that chance.
“You fucking hurt her, and I will kill you slowly!” Cerberus shouted.
My best friend was losing his shit. He'd stood aside while Odin and Mimir exchanged barbs, but now that I had instigated an attack—even though no one was moving—Cerberus was done waiting quietly. He started forward, but I waved him back vehemently. Calex saw my motions and grabbed Cerberus. Cal restrained Cer; whispering something in his ear. Cerberus finally nodded and went calm as I continued to sing.
Meanwhile, Eileen was backing away from Mimir and us; her gaze darting around the room anxiously. Her hand was starting to move toward a chain at her throat, and I was about to alert the others of her potential escape when Torin stepped up behind Eileen and grabbed her. Torin snatched the necklace off Eileen with one hand as he restrained her with the other. A traveling stone hung from the gold chain that he pocketed. Torin smiled grimly at Eileen as she tried to fight him.
“What do you say we trade?” Torin asked Mimir.
But my song had already worked itself too deep into Mimir's mind. My eyes widened in horror as Mimir pointed the gun at Eileen... and Torin. I had succeeded in undermining Eileen and Mimir's relationship, but I'd endangered Torin in the process. I stopped singing abruptly, but it was too late; I could feel the success of my spell.
Mimir pulled the trigger just as I screamed for Torin to duck.
I was too late, but Gage wasn't. My griffin mate grabbed Torin around the waist and dove with him. Unfortunately, Eileen went with them. There was a scramble as Mimir kept firing, and Gage rolled away with only Torin. Eileen was screaming, but her screams were cut short by a bullet. Mimir let go of Freya entirely as he strode forward; glaring at Eileen's corpse as he kept firing into Eileen's face—beyond the number of bullets he had. The empty gun clicked over and over.
Cerberus had used the opportunity to grab Freya, and the goddess was safe; ungagged but still bound. I waved Cer away, and he went running out of the room with his girlfriend tossed over his shoulder.
“Put me down, Cerberus!” Freya shouted as they left. “And get me out of these damn ropes! I'm going to kick that motherfucker's ass! I'll claw his eyes out and give them to Odin! I'll—”
Freya's voice faded as Cerberus ignored her completely and kept running. Smart man. Once you have what you're fighting for, stop fighting. It's simple, but so many people don't grasp the concept. There were enough of us there to take on Mimir; we didn't need Cerberus, so Cer left with what mattered most to him.
“Eileen?” Mimir's broken-hearted voice stopped us all in our tracks.
Mimir dropped to his knees beside Eileen's corpse. With a sob, he yanked her body onto his lap and clutched her to his chest. It was hard to watch, especially since I had been Eileen's true killer, not Mimir. But we had all heard Eileen confess to her part in both the monster abductions and the atrocities in Primeval. There was no way we could let her live.
“No,” Mimir moaned. “No; I didn't mean to. I didn't want to. I don't understand.”
Odin moved forward, despite the emotional scene. He pulled a bottle out of his pocket as he started to chant something, and the bottle started to glow. But before Odin could launch an attack on Mimir, the giant God looked up, glared at his nemesis, and disappeared with Eileen's body.
“Mimir!” Odin shouted.
Chapter Forty-Seven
After Mimir escaped, we searched his hotel suite. We found a collection of spell components, but not the diamond. This didn't surprise us since Ilis had already declared that the Drachen Diamond had left with Mimir. He'd been smart enough to keep it on his person. But it wasn't the only rare ingredient for the planet reforming spell, and Mimir couldn't walk around with all of them in his pockets.
We collected the ingredients; the combination further confirming that Mimir was attempting to cast Odin's dangerous spell. Before that, though, Odin removed Freya's warded bonds, and she hugged the Witch elder warmly.
“He's lost his mind, Odin,” Freya said. “Mimir has this vendetta tha
t keeps growing. First, it was you, and then me, and now he's added Elaria.”
“I think he's always been this way,” Odin said sadly. “I think we ignored the signs and let his charm blind us to his insanity.”
“Yes; your eye,” she whispered. “I can't believe he was behind that. How did we not see it?”
“Maybe we didn't want to see it,” Odin suggested softly.
Cerberus chuckled under his breath, and we all looked at him aghast.
“She asked how they didn't see it,” Cer pointed out and laughed more. “Odin's eye... see it... it's funny.”
