Taking another deep breath Mia decided she would spend however long she was in the dream concentrating on her breathing and meditating some. Maybe if she calmed herself down a better plan would come to her or she would become more comfortable with the plan she had in mind. Bare minimum, she'd be able to calm her nerves down enough not to puke when she woke up.
Chapter 8
Viking hadn't slept more than four hours. Not that he required a lot of sleep before. But the Maddening made it harder to sleep. The sleep he got was not sufficient to keep his patience in control. At six am he finally gave up and got ready for the day.
He knew Gwen wouldn't be up yet. She was not a morning person. Nor had she been in the twenty years he knew her.
When they arrived back at the shop last night Gwen told him she was going to prepare everything for Poet. Then she would spend the evening searching the Spirit World for news of this being. Unless she found something, she was going straight to bed. Depending on what information she'd gotten she might do some searching again this morning. Which told Viking he probably wouldn't see her until at least nine am.
He sped through all the inventory yesterday. That didn't give him a lot of options when it came to finding something to occupy his time. So once he came downstairs he entered the store and started straightening up every shelf they had. It was tedious and mindless work but it would keep him occupied enough for him not to go crazy waiting for news from Gwen.
He had done a halfway decent job occupying himself for the first hour and a half. He was becoming more and more irritable the longer he had to wait. He knew intellectually there was nothing he could do but that didn't stop his temper from becoming shorter and shorter.
Luckily, around eight the MP from last night called the shop. Viking pick up the phone and spoke to her. She informed him she and Mia would be coming by the shop at eleven.
Viking tried to see that as good news. He only had a few hours to waste until Mia got there. But a strong part of him was annoyed he couldn't have her with him now. Viking was also annoyed with himself. The Maddening almost doubled its strength overnight. And now all he could think about was the lust and rage. He was lusting for Mia and in rage that that lust wasn't being quenched. He wasn't quite at the point of only seeing the red fog Cesar once mentioned after his own Maddening subsided. Viking had no doubt the red fog wasn't far away.
At nine-thirty Gwen made her way into the shop. It took a lot of Viking’s willpower not to charge over to her and demand answers. The amount of effort it took startled him. He had never been one to get agitatedly angry and to take it out on people. Especially Gwen who is like a little sister to him. When he was about a yard away from her he could see slight circles under her eyes. He knew his dilemma was the reason for those circles. It made his chest pang with guilt. He pushed that feeling aside because he knew it wouldn’t be helpful to him, Gwen and especially Mia.
She gave him a sympathetic smile when he stopped in front of her. She didn't say anything but motioned her head towards the employee only door at the back of the store. Then she turned and began walking towards it. Viking followed closely behind her. Gwen headed down the back hallway towards the lounge. She stuck her head in but quickly pulled it back out and continued walking down the hall toward the office.
As Viking walked by the doorway behind her he could see there were three of the younger warriors sitting in the lounge. He appreciated Gwen knowing he wanted to keep this situation as quiet as possible.
Once they were both in the office Viking closed the door behind them. Gwen took the chair in front of the furthest computer. Viking grabbed the other rolling chair in front of the second computer and turned it to face her.
"I'm sorry Viking I don't necessarily have good news. While I projected pictures of Mia to the beings I came across none of them knew her. And since we don't have a lot of information about the being in her dreams I wasn't able to find anyone who knew what it was. I'd need more information. I did however come across some not so good news. It would seem the rebellion we were dealing with a couple weeks ago is still slinking along. I ran across two separate beings in the Spirit World who heard rumblings about a rogue whose name they didn't know. He was trying to recruit beings to their cause. I couldn't help but wonder if maybe the being bothering Mia belongs to the rebels. I know it's a longshot but my instincts say it rings true."
Viking felt a flash of anger that didn't subside as quickly as he would have liked. "I hope you're wrong. I don't want to be dealing with this rebellion again so soon. That would mean we didn't diminish their ranks as much as we hoped. I'm not entirely sure what the rebellion would want from a being bothering a sensitive."
A sense of dread flowed through Viking. "Unless they're trying to recruit Sensitives towards their cause. They would be the perfect foot soldiers. No one in the Night World knows who they are because we don't let those people on the radar. We don't introduce them to the world. Or treat them as one of us. One could argue they are almost disenfranchised. We don't train them to defend themselves the way we train our own children. So they wouldn't necessarily have all of the skills. This could be the reason."
Gwen simply watched him with a worried expression on her face. He knew while she had the same train of thought, Gwen's had not quite traveled as far as his.
She took a deep breath before she spoke. "Have you spoken with August today?"
Viking shook his head. "No, you?"
Gwen shook her head and pulled her cell phone out of the front pocket in her jeans. After several taps Viking could hear the ringing on speakerphone. It only rang twice before Cesar picked up.
"Gwen, I expected a phone call before this. That being said and knowing you as I do, since you are calling me I'm guessing that means something has happened."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "I'm here with Viking. He has something to tell you please bear in mind as you listen that he is on the second day of his Maddening so let's try and be a little patient, shall we."
There was a snort on the other end of the phone but no response beyond that.
Viking took that as his cue. "I am assuming Gwen has told you about the Maddening."
"Yes, I am both happy and sad for you my friend." Cesar's voice sounded genuine.
Viking took a deep breath before continuing. "Well the woman in question, Mia, had a being visit her in her dreams. During the visit it said to her that she would be perfect. To make a long story short, as far as I know the being has not visited her again, however Gwen and I have a theory that we believe you should hear. We think this being might be a member of the rebellion or have been recruited by a member of the rebellion. His goal: to collect human Sensitives for their cause."
There was a pause before Cesar responded. He was clearly taking in the information and comparing it to whatever intel he had collected. "So this Mia is a sensitive. Don't worry that was a statement not question. I'm assuming you've come to the conclusion she would make the perfect recruit because Sensitives know nothing of the Night World and it would be easy to stir up negative feelings for those of us that kept it from them. How sure are you of this theory?"
"Currently I would say no more than forty percent."
There was a pause again. "And how much of that forty percent is instinct versus solid information?"
"I would say a little less than half. The rest is just conjecture and gut feeling."
"I see. I believe your first priority should be in taking care of the Maddening. You are of no use to me or the kingdom if you pass your third day. That being said, I believe you should pull in Raider, as a precaution, and to some extent Gwen because you know she will keep investigating this anyway. Find out if he is trying to scare Sensitives in general or just yours. Or if he's trying to get rid of the possible threat to himself or trying to take their power for the rebellion. Or if this is just some coincidence. There are too many variables. I'm uncomfortable making any kind of decision with this much uncertainty involved. Your first priority should be t
o keep your mate out of harm’s way as much as possible. I have a meeting in ten minutes. So if there is nothing else you need to tell me about I'm going to check out."
Gwen jumped in before Viking could answer. "No, that's all we have. I should be back in Montana by the end of the week. Good luck with your meeting. Pay my respect to Aztec for me. I will talk to you soon."
"Goodbye Gwen. Keep me updated, please, Viking." With that, Cesar hung up.
Gwen put her phone back in her pocket before rubbing her face with both hands. "You know if you had brought this idea up to me even a month ago I would have accused you of reaching, at best making up a story to mess with me. It seems like such a stretch in logic to say this one isolated incident with one sensitive has to do with the rebellion. Part of me still thinks it's a ridiculous idea. But I don't know, I can't seem to shake it. The feeling they're involved somehow. I don't know whether it's paranoia or a new worldview. I think that's the advantage they have. We don't know them. We don't know what they're capable of. But they know us, our strengths and our weaknesses. I don't like this Viking, any of it."
She looked more tired than when she first arrived. Living in Montana and most likely hearing all about Warrior political justice seemed to have taken its toll on her. Viking knew she was most likely practicing all her new skill in hopes of mastering them. Which would only be depleting her energy more. Knowing Gwen as well as Viking did, he could safely say she was not giving herself the rest she needed.
Her last comment to Cesar swirled around Viking's head. Aztec was the king of the South American kingdom. If he was meeting with Cesar that meant things might've gotten worse. Or Cesar was up to something that he hadn't mentioned to his youngest general. Viking found that thought to be somewhat frustrating. He may be slightly isolated out here in Seattle but he was still a general. He tried to set that anger aside because he knew most of it was due to the Maddening. He also knew when Cesar relocated to Seattle the isolation would change.
"I am sorry that I do not have any comforting words for you, Little One. I wish I did."
The door to the office opened before Gwen could respond. Poet walked into the room dragging a chair he must have grabbed from the lounge. He closed the door before sliding onto the chair.
"I did not get anything. Nothing came for her the entire time I was with her. Whether that is because of the wards or because it lost interest, I do not know."
Viking was relieved Mia had not been attacked again but more of him was frustrated that this left them with another dead-end. How were they supposed to help Mia and get the information Cesar needed if this thing was suddenly not showing its face?
Running his hands through his hair, he looked at Poet. "It appears everything has led to a dead end. We won't have much, if any, information to give Mia or the MP when they get here. However, I have something to pass on to you."
Poet didn't respond, he simply folded his arms and raised an eyebrow.
"Gwen and I have a theory. We shared it with King. We think maybe this being is going after Mia because she's a sensitive and before you say anything like ‘that's obvious’. We think the rebellion might have sent this being to go after Sensitives. Whether to recruit them or somehow use them, we don't know. We don't even know if our theory is valid. Having said that Cesar said to put Raider, with the help of Gwen, in charge of looking into it. I want you assisting as well. We all know you have been around the longest and have a particular insight. I'm not one hundred percent sure how you would accomplish verifying this theory since we have very little to go on. But we need to know whether to rule the rebellion out as a possibility."
Poet took a long moment before shifting his gazed from one to the other and frowned. "You mean to tell me you think there is a link between your sensitive, the Spirit World being and the rebellion? That seems a little far-fetched to me. But judging by your expressions I'm guessing it's a possibility we are taking seriously. The only thing I can think of doing is convince Mia and that MP of hers to drop her wards tonight and see if that thing attacks again. While not ideal, it might be our best shot."
Viking nodded. "Agreed. Gwen, would you and Poet hunt down Raider, please, and debrief him on the whole situation? And then decide on a course of action for the meeting with Mia and her MP."
Gwen folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at Viking. "And what will you be doing while we're setting up this plan?"
Viking rubbed his forehead. "As his highness stated, it's probably not wise for me to be part of this particular plan as I am going to be partial to the outcome. So instead, I will continue the managerial duties."
He didn't like it, in fact, he hated not being involved. He had been the leader on this coast for so long it seemed unnatural for something to be going on without his input. But he knew it was for the best. If worst-case scenario happened and he succumb to the Maddening at the end of the last day it would be better if he was not an integral part of the plan to save Mia. That way the plan could continue on in his absence.
He could tell Gwen was about to protest. So in order to stop her he stood up and walked past Poet to the door. "I'll let you know when Mia and the MP are here." With that he left.
Chapter 9
The morning began like any other. Well not exactly like any other. Mia spent the morning thinking about the visitor she had the night before. She woke up from the dream an hour before her alarm went off and had not been able to get back to sleep. All she had done was lay in bed and think about all the information Poet dumped in her lap. Every time she tried to convince herself it was all a dream and none of it was real, her subconscious would point out she knew he was in her dream and he was real. That sent her in a spiral all over again. When her alarm rang Mia pulled herself out of bed and went about her morning routine.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened as she parked her car outside the shop and made her way to the coffee shop diagonally across the shopping center from her store. There was a line, just like every other morning, there were people milling about in the store as always. But one person tugged at Mia's consciousness. The warning bells went off before she even looked at him. It was hard to explain. It almost felt like he was trying to get her attention without actually doing anything. After she ordered her coffee she finally glanced over at him.
He sat at one of the small circular tables. He had short platinum blonde, spiked hair and a leather jacket fitting snugly over his shoulders. That was all Mia could see other than the fact that his dark brown eyes were boring into her. The smile on his face looked as if it was filled with venom.
Mia immediately looked away. The last thing she needed was the attention of a crazy person. She had to open the shop and Amanda wouldn't be in for another half hour. That meant she would be alone in the shop. The last thing she needed was some crazy guy following her to work. She did her best to ignore him as she waited for her drink. She kept hoping he would lose interest in her but she could feel him still watching.
She grabbed her drink and made bee-lined out of the store. She was about a third of the way across the parking lot when she knew he followed her. She began to panic. Her breathing became shallow and she tried to concentrate. She knew she had pepper spray in the bottom of her purse. Shifting her coffee to her right hand she took her left and unzipped the bag trying her best not to be obvious as she reached her hand in and began searching for the thin cylinder.
"What's your hurry?" The man said.
Mia found the pepper spray. Her fingers curled around the cylinder as she pulled it out of her purse. She curled her hand so the pepper spray was in line with her chest. She flipped the switch to open it.
Then she responded. "Go away I'm not interested in anything you are selling." With that she sped up.
"Now, now that wasn't polite. Your fear not only smells wonderful, but gives you away. I told you we'd be seeing each other again. Did you doubt me? I wasn't able to pay you a visit last night. You threw me off with that spell of yours. It appears I underestimated your r
esources. Don't worry it won't happen again. I'll just have to take to visiting you in person. But don't worry it won't be suspicious to anyone. No one will know. It will be our little secret." His steps came faster.
She was breathing so hard she was worried she might pass out but she pushed her body to start to jog across the remainder of the parking lot. If she could just get into the shop she could lock the door behind her and call the cops.
His words set off warning bells in her head. They were screaming like sirens. She didn't know how. She didn't know why but she was positive the man behind her was the being from her dreams two nights ago. Adrenaline was shooting through her system, being chased around by fear at those thoughts. She didn't know how he could've found her but he had. She hadn't known he was a human. She had thought he was something else.
As she hopped up on the curb she ripped her keys from her pocket, spilling a little bit of the burning coffee on her hand. She didn't have time to do more than cringe at the burn she felt. She shoved her key into the lock and opened the door. She practically threw herself into the shop before shutting and locking the door behind. She was panting from the sprint across the last part. She had known taking out her key would eat up some time and running was the only option she could think of.
As she threw everything on the counter but the pepper spray she could hear nothing but blood pumping in her ears. Her system so high on adrenaline she couldn't breathe normally. She watched as the man came up to the door. He stood about a foot away from it and smiled at her. It was menacing. Without looking away she blindly threw her free hand over the counter. Moving it around searching for the cordless phone. It was a glass door so she could easily hear him chuckling on the other side.
Viking Sensitivity (Night World Series Book 2) Page 8
