“No one knows. It’s very hush-hush until this all blows over.”
Sadly, for him, I believed him. A guy like Castellano wasn’t going to trust some roided-up goons like these guys, much less supernaturals.
“Do you have any questions for the ogre, Charlie?” I called out over my shoulder.
“No,” she mumbled, disappointment lacing her voice. She wanted more, but this was the best we were going to get. At least, until we found Ross.
“All right, Buzz Cut,” I began, “thanks for being cooperative.” Before he could say anything, I jabbed a dagger in the side of his neck. Blood splattered everywhere.
I looked around the shop. Bodies and blood everywhere, jars of herbs and spices shattered on the ground—the place was a disaster. I’d hoped we could at least go through the items and search for what was needed but not anymore. It’d be impossible.
I put away the daggers and went to the crumpled pieces of paper on the ground. We still needed the ingredients; we’d just have to find them elsewhere.
“Well, this was useless.” Charlie sighed.
“Not necessarily,” a male voice called out.
My gaze whipped to Charlie’s. “Uh … did you just say that?”
She rolled her eyes. “Really, Raven?”
“They’re all dead, I made sure of it, so unless there’s a fourth ogre …”
“A little help over here.” The voice sounded like it was coming from the wall.
Charlie and I went behind the cash register and peered at the wood-paneled walls. “Hello?”
In a gap between two panels, a pair of eyes appeared.
“Why, hello there.” He blinked.
“Uh … have you been there this whole time?” I scratched my head and looked back at the store.
He blinked again. “Yes, I have. If you don’t mind, you seem very strong, could you please pull out these panels?”
Charlie and I looked at each other. This was a very odd situation. All we could see were his eyes.
“How do we know you’re not a serial killer?” Charlie asked and my eyes widened.
He chuckled. “I’m not. This is my store.”
“You’re Ross Milton?” Charlie and I said in unison.
He blinked a couple of times. “Yes. I’ve been hiding from those men for a very long time.”
“How do you know there aren’t more of them outside?” I checked over my shoulder.
“I have cameras in and outside the shop. It’s only them.”
How did I miss the cameras?
“All right,” I shrugged, “let’s get you out.”
I pulled away the panels one by one, the sound of wood splintering echoing through the store. Behind the wall was a room big enough to hold a small kitchenette, a cot, and TV on a nightstand. There was a door I assumed led to a bathroom. At least, I hoped it did.
Ross was a slender man with an elongated nose and glasses that hung off the tip.
“Oh, thank you so very much,” he said as he climbed out of the hole I’d made. He grabbed my hand and shook it firmly with a grip much tighter than I’d expected.
“Sorry about your shop.” I grimaced.
He waved me off. “A necessary evil. I heard you needed some ingredients when you first came in. Was that true?”
“Yes!” Charlie said.
I pulled out the ripped-up list and handed it to the man.
“Ah, okay, hmm …” he said as he studied it. “I’ll have to look through the rubble, but if you don’t mind the wait, I can have it for you soon. It’s on the house!”
“Perfect.” Charlie grinned, but I wasn’t as cheery as she was. She hadn’t caught on just yet. We needed to question him about Venom. I’d do it while he was searching for the ingredients, but in case we pissed him off, I at least wanted to have the stuff for the potion.
I looked at my watch; we were running out of time.
It took Ross almost an hour to get all the items on the list. I’d made a bigger mess than I thought. Charlie and I stayed out of his way for the most part and kept our traps shut. Once Charlie had the brown paper bag with everything we needed in hand, I cleared my throat.
“Excuse me, Ross?” I said as he began to clean up the place.
“Oh, don’t worry about the bodies. I’ll get a pretty penny for them from Tony the necromancer.” He winked.
“Don’t let him talk you down on the price either,” Charlie interrupted and I looked at her, eyes wide. I wanted to strangle her in that moment—we weren’t there to make friends.
“Ross, that’s great, but I wanted to talk to you about Venom.” He froze. “We’re not trying to get any,” I quickly added. Since I apparently looked like a junkie, I needed to throw that out there. “We’re trying to get it off the streets. Particularly, out of the hands of supernaturals.”
“I-I don’t know anything,” he said, avoiding eye contact.
“C’mon, Ross,” I gave him a sly smile, “we were all in the same room. You know we know you’re the creator of Venom. Let’s skip the part where you deny it and get to the good stuff, shall we?”
He took off his glasses and looked away. I was growing impatient. He was embarrassed, but this was life or death—we didn’t have time to worry about his feelings.
“Ross,” Charlie said a little gentler than I would have. She approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “There is nothing to feel ashamed about. We all make mistakes we wish we could take back. But we can always redeem ourselves by doing good deeds.”
“You don’t understand,” he cried. “I’ve done the worst of the worst. There is nothing I can do to ever redeem myself.”
“What do you mean?” I growled.
Charlie furrowed her brows at me. “Could you please explain what you’re saying, Ross?” she said sweetly.
I wanted to barf.
He nodded, and Charlie led him away from the counter.
“Venom isn’t a chemical drug. It’s all natural, but what enhances it, what gives it its name, is the venom inside—from supernaturals.”
If my mind could’ve exploded, it would.
“Wait a minute. You’re trying to tell me there’s, like, werewolf and vampire venom in that drug?” I seethed.
He nodded. “And many other creatures of the night too. It’s why it’s so deadly to supernaturals.”
“Why isn’t it deadly to humans?” Charlie swallowed. “I would assume they’d be more susceptible to the venom.”
“There have been some human deaths, but not many. They get more of a high from it and highly addicted,” Ross said as he cleaned his glasses and put them back on.
“So why are supernaturals taking this drug if they know the side effects?” I still didn’t understand. If something existed that could kill me, I’d steer clear.
“They want the high. They think if they try it one time, they’re safe, but that’s all it takes to get you hooked. That’s how strong Venom is.”
Ross began to pace the store, clearly distressed by all of this, and I couldn’t fully understand why until it dawned on me.
“How are they getting the venom?” I whispered.
He stopped pacing and looked down at the ground. “They kidnap supernaturals off the street and keep them in a compound.”
“Oh my gosh, Raven,” Charlie muttered in horror. “Can you imagine forcing a werewolf’s venom from their canines?”
“I know,” I mumbled, not looking away from Ross. They were torturing these creatures while he was hiding behind the walls of his shop. What a coward. “Do you know where this compound is?” I gritted through my teeth. I was trying not to lash out. It would do us no good.
“The only one I know is probably gone by now. Once The Boss was accused of murder, everything changed.”
I pulled out the half piece of paper with the list and flipped it to the blank side.
“Address. Now.”
We made it back to the cemetery just a little after ten o’clock. Will was dutifully waiting for us at the
entrance, and we filled him in as fast as we could before we made it to the crypt.
“You mean to tell me that drug has vampire blood in it? Are humans going to start turning into vampires if they take it?” Will asked.
“No,” Charlie laughed, “it has the venom that’s in their fangs, not their blood. That venom can be very lethal to certain supernaturals alone.”
Lana had everything set up inside the crypt so she could create the potion.
“Here are the ingredients you asked for.” I handed her the blood-stained bag.
“I see you ran into some trouble.” Lana raised a brow.
“Uh yeah,” Charlie replied, “you could have told us we were going to see the creator of Venom.”
Lana raised both brows. “Actually, I didn’t know.”
I bet Verdandi did.
“Thank you for fetching this, now will you all excuse me? I need privacy,” Lana announced, dismissing us.
We walked out, and I felt completely used. She could have gone to the Underground and gotten it herself. Instead, we were stuck doing the dirty work.
“So … this compound?” Will scratched at his chin.
“Right.” I pulled out the piece of paper with the address. “It’s just outside of Portland.”
Will sighed. “Which means we may not have jurisdiction.”
“Come again?”
“The PPD. My employer, your employer,” he deadpanned.
“Oh, right.” I clicked my tongue. “I mean, I’m only a consultant. I can always just check it out on my own.”
“Raven …” Will stopped me. “I will get permission and I will check it out. Judging by the blood stains on you, you’ve had enough excitement to last you the week.”
6
I met with the new and improved Verdandi a couple days after the blood moon. Lana didn’t want us around for the transformation. We “killed her vibe” according to her, whatever that means. Nevertheless, she needed a few days of rest since it takes a lot of energy out on the body. And, as usual, the Norn did me a solid by meeting at a bar. The shakes and sweats were getting worse and I couldn’t focus well.
“You look like you’ve seen better days,” Verdandi said as I sat across the booth from her, a whiskey already there for me.
“And you look brand new. Already taking her out for a spin?” I grinned and took a sip of my drink. It was absolutely delicious, and goose bumps broke out over my skin. It was as if I was finally drinking water for the first time in days.
“Don’t be so crude, Hrefna. I would not violate Lana’s trust.” Verdandi huffed and sat a little straighter. “I heard you’ve gotten a lead on your case with the humans. Hopefully, that will keep the detective and the banshee busy for a while.”
“Um … and me.” I raised a hand. “Don’t forget me.”
She tsked. “No. You and I have other business to attend to. Don’t forget our deal, Hrefna. I hope you’re not backing out.”
“Of course not.”
“Good,” she said. “Now, hurry up with your drink. We’re going to the Fae realm.”
The Tualatin Mountains—the place she and her sisters were slaughtered—was the last place I expected Verdandi to take me. But alas, here we were, wandering the vast forest, headed for what I could only imagine—Yggdrasil.
“Are you sure you want to travel through this portal?” I asked. She’d been quiet the whole hike.
“It’s the only way I’ve ever traveled. I won’t stop now.”
“Fine, so we’re going to the Fae realm, then what? We have no plan, Verdandi.”
She smirked. “You have no plan, Hrefna, but I do. I had a vision last night. They’re hiding in the abandoned Fae Queen’s castle. I know where the sword is.”
I looked at her in disbelief. “It cannot be this easy.”
“It won’t be. Fenrir has his hellhounds all over the castle, and Fen is always near the sword. Getting past them will be no easy feat. But once we have the sword in hand, I can portal us out,” Verdandi explained.
“What about Hel?”
“I have it on good authority she isn’t even in the Fae realm at the moment.”
Well, that was definitely interesting news. I would have thought Fenrir and his sister would be attached at the hip. He was desperate to get her out of the Underworld. It’d only been a few weeks since I’d released her. If she was gone, had something happened between them? Or were they up to something? All these questions and no answers!
Yggdrasil was the center of the nine realms here in Midgard, and currently, it was unmanned since the death of the Norns. The tree reached past the clouds above us, and its trunk was so wide I could run laps around it. There were runes carved into it that protected it from evil dwellers, and I’m sure they have kept it safe thus far.
“Are you ready?” Verdandi asked. She’d pulled Lana’s long, dark hair into a tight bun.
“Does it matter? You’re going to make me go anyway,” I answered, and she shrugged. I was correct. The Norn had a one-track mind, and it was making sure her plan went exactly the way she wanted it to.
The fallen leaves on the ground began to rustle as Verdandi placed her palm on the tree, and the wind blew around us like a mini tornado. It recognized her power and welcomed it back home. I lifted my arm and covered my face as debris flew all around us. She extended her free hand to me and invited me through the portal. It was now or never.
“Fuck it,” I grumbled and slapped my hand in hers. Like a whirlwind, we were thrown inside Yggdrasil and into Limbo. It was a colorless place where lost souls remained and others traveled between realms.
The screaming cries of lost souls in Limbo pierced our ears as we walked through the vast space. I could see the souls so clearly here; they were practically in my face unlike in Midgard.
“You hear that, Hrefna?” Verdandi cupped her ear. “Water.”
Sure enough, the sound of splashing water was in the distance, which meant the door to the Fae realm was near.
We trudged forward, and I saw the waterfall clearly. Each realm’s door represented them differently, and the Fae realm’s door was a waterfall. It sparkled in the dreariness of Limbo, and if you looked closely, you could see through it and to the true beauty of the Fae realm. It was mesmerizing. If one wasn’t careful, it could be quite deceiving.
With no hesitation, we stepped through the waterfall and into the Fae realm. We didn’t get wet at all, which was part of the illusion.
“Now what? How do we get past all the trickery and to the castle?” I squinted from the brightness of the beaming sun. We’d stepped into a field of sunflowers.
“With me, there is no trickery,” Verdandi said confidently.
“Come again?” I raised a brow.
She shook her head. “Their games don’t work on me. We have nothing to worry about except for getting into the castle.”
I shrugged. Maybe the Norn did have it all under control.
The sun shone brightly in the clear-blue sky. Everything in the Fae realm was colorful and alive, down to the vibrant-green blades of grass. Fireflies and pixies flitted through the meadow minding their own business, and we cut through the field looking for the trail to the castle which loomed over the realm.
We finally found the clear glass path that zigzagged over a lake of purple shimmering water. It led straight to the abandoned fortress that once belonged to the former reigning Fae Queen who had been killed not too long ago by the shifters. I didn’t know the whole story, but there was definitely some remaining tension between the fae and werewolves.
We couldn’t see through the walls, although the castle was made of glass, but we could see the two hounds guarding the entrance. The Norns were travelers of the nine realms but had to travel through Yggdrasil. In order to portal without the tree, she had to take some of its bark and turn it to ash. She took a handful from her pouch and threw it in front of us, letting the residue swirl before us until a pocket in time opened. Closing my eyes, I grabbed her han
d. Within seconds, we were elsewhere.
“We’re in one of the guest bedrooms. It seemed like the safest place to go.” She pulled a pamphlet from her back pocket. “Now, according to the map, the sword is hidden in the armory which is near the throne room. We can’t portal directly in because of the protection runes heavily guarding it against invasion.”
“Do you know how many hellhounds are protecting the armory?”
“Roughly five of Fen’s best men.”
The anticipation of potentially seeing him soon was finally dawning on me. I hadn’t really thought about it until now.
“What about Fenrir? You said he’s nearby.”
Verdandi nodded. “He’s typically in the throne room.”
I bit my lower lip and thought for a moment. How could we get away with this without triggering anyone? Honestly, we couldn’t. But maybe we could do it without letting Fenrir know. At least, not right away. In my condition, I couldn’t take on five hounds, but if I got rid of two right off the bat, I could handle three on my own.
“Okay, I have a plan.” I turned to Verdandi. “Head to the throne room and get ready to portal us the hell out of here when you see me. I’ll go to the armory by myself.”
“Are you sure?” The Norn quirked a brow. “I’m no fighter, but—”
I clapped her on the shoulder a couple of times and grinned. “Trust me, I got this.”
“All right, Hrefna, I’ll give you forty-five minutes to complete this task, but if you don’t, I’m coming to look for you.”
I chuckled. There wasn’t much Verdandi could do to help me, but I appreciated the sentiment. I took one last look at the map and figured out my route to the armory. We parted ways, and I stealthily made my way there.
There weren’t any hellhounds in the guest wing—it was pretty much vacant—but once I hit the kitchen, I ran into my first hound. His back was to me as he rummaged through the refrigerator. I pressed myself against the wall and tried to pass him.
“Hey, George, did you find the hummus?” Another hellhound came from the servants’ quarters, and I froze. “What the hell?!”
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