Queen of Swords: The Banished Gods: Book One (The Banished Gods Series 1)

by L. A. McGinnis

  Without hesitation she gave him the date. “September twenty-second, 2018.” She drew in an unsteady breath. “Twenty after midnight, at the corner of East 16th and Wabash.”

  He let go of her hand. “I’ll be right back, Doc, you be damn careful with those stitches.”

  5

  For long moments, Morgane let Mir work in silence. Maybe she wasn’t in a position to be asking questions. But she sure had a lot of them. When the final tool hit the tray, Mir leaned back, rubbing his temples.

  He made quick work of the debris, dumping everything into an autoclave, spinning the dial, keeping his back to her. Probably hoping she would simply disappear. “Thank you,” Morgane murmured quietly before adding, “Will you take them out in three days for me?”

  She managed a small smile when he grunted in response. “You know, you don’t need to act like a hard ass for me to know you’re tough.” She heard another low, huffy grunt. “Just sayin’.”

  His shoulders stiffening, Mir kept his voice low, sounding almost ashamed. “I would’ve fed you to the Grim if it’d been left up to me.”

  “Yeah, I know, which is why I’m thanking you for helping me tonight.” Her curiosity sparked, she asked, “So you call those things Grim?”

  “Yeah, our nickname for the little bastards. And I didn’t do this for you. And don’t thank me yet. You’re in deep trouble and things could get worse. If it does turn out you’re human, Loki’ll need to go to the wall for you, which I wouldn’t count on, and if you aren’t? Well, you’ve still got Odin to deal with, and he’s a meaner son of a bitch than I am.” His voice was icy. But still, not as cold as it had been.

  “Why? Why am I the one in trouble? I didn’t do anything,” she groused. “It’s not like I asked you to bring me back here.”

  Part of her wanted to take Mir by the shoulders and scream at him to tell her who they were. What they were. Why was it so important she was human? What did that even mean?

  Still, two years ago, monsters hadn’t existed in her world. Two years ago, she’d been a kid going to college with an older sister who bossed her around and a mother working two jobs. Two years ago, tonight would have decimated her.

  Right now?

  She’d trained and fought for two years to develop the skills to kill these things. Kickboxing classes, self-defense, krav maga, jiujitsu. Developed her own tech to cut through their tough hides, combat their teeth, their claws. She was a survivor, which meant she’d do whatever she had to do to escape her current situation alive. Even if survival meant playing by their rules. The same calm she fought with would be essential tonight. This was simply war of a different sort. And these two men?

  For all she knew, they were monsters cloaked in prettier skin.

  “You’d be dead already if Loki hadn’t brought you here. There was enough venom in your body to kill you in less than an hour.” Mir continued as he turned, drying his hands, his blue eyes shrewd, “He decided to bring you here because he thought you could help us solve a mystery. Which you did, if your story checks out. We’ll see. Personally, I don’t care one way or another.” But his gaze lingered on her tattered back for another moment.

  As they considered each other, Morgane got her first clear look at the man. He wasn’t as tall as Loki, but he was bulkier, broader through the shoulders with a square jaw, shrewd, clear eyes, and red-blonde hair cut in a military fade. Where Loki burned hot, Mir was coolly calculating, armed with a thousand-yard stare.

  As if sensing where her thoughts had gone, he abruptly asked, “Tell me. How did you kill your first one?”

  Morgane couldn’t help the small smile that crept across her face. “It was sloppy. And ugly. I bought a gun, which I assumed would be a guarantee of success.”

  A reluctant, answering smile crinkled the outer edges of his blue eyes. “I can almost picture it.”

  “Jeez, I hope not.” Morgane shuddered. “It was a complete disaster. The bullets bounced off that thick hide, and once I had exhausted both clips, the thing came after me. Nothing but teeth and claws. I’d never seen anything so terrible.” Her tone turned thoughtful. “Thank God there was only one that first night, or my reign of vengeance would have been short and sweet. I should have known better, but you know what they say. Anyhow, I had a bowie knife stashed in my boot and finally took the creature down. That’s the night I found out about the venom. And learned how sick I could get without actually dying.”

  “But you learned.”

  Morgane inclined her head. “Yes, I have. A lot of things over these last few years.”

  “The scars on your body indicate otherwise.”

  Still, his scrutiny and his doubt forced something inside her to explain. “Most of these are old. From back when I started. After that first night, I figured I’d have to train hard if I was going to survive. Kickboxing and basic self-defense classes to start, then I signed up for Jui Jitsu lessons from the place over on the west side.”

  His eyebrows rose a bit. “I heard that guy’s a hard ass.”

  Morgane rolled her shoulders forward, stopped when she felt the stitches pull. “He is. But it was the weaponry that gave me the hardest time. I finally found a bladesmith who made me what I wanted. We started with carbon steel swords, but ended up with titanium.”

  Mir’s gaze didn’t waver from hers as Morgane shrugged before explaining, “My sister was always the pretty one. And since the family already had one fairy princess, I had to be the tough one.”

  Mir stared at her contemplatively. “Well, you’re no princess, sweetheart, but you could be a queen.”

  “What? A queen of swords?” Morgane shook her head, a wry smile on her face. “A lot of good it’s done me. They’re still out there every night, you know. More than ever, it seems. And if I don’t…”

  The door flew open with a sharp bang, and Loki strode in, gave Mir a pointed look and nodded toward the hall. Dismissed, Mir cursed, slamming the door behind him. Leaving her closed in with Loki. It took every ounce of her will to keep herself steady as she stared him down, a million crazy scenarios flashing through her head. Instead she settled for asking him, “Did you find what you were looking for?”

  “Yeah. The information was there, exactly like you said. Even with all the loose ends, they dropped the investigation.” Loki pushed his long hair away from his face before turning those electric eyes on her, with an expression so intense it burned straight through to her core. Heat bloomed, an edgy sort of pleasure jolting through her, and she squirmed, pressing her legs together.

  It figured. After all these years, she’d run into the one guy who sparked a response, and he was on another team. Which team, she couldn’t be sure, but it wasn’t hers.

  Pushing the feeling down, she focused instead on the faces of all the cops she talked to over those months. “Well, to be fair, they didn’t have much information. I couldn’t exactly tell them shadows came and took my sister and mom. So I said I saw nothing. Something they probably hear a hundred times a day.”

  Helplessly, she shrugged. “What else are we humans supposed to tell them? That we’re seeing black, fanged monsters everywhere? The hospitals would be full.”

  In truth, it had pissed her off. At first. Before she understood they were only doing the best they could. “I didn’t blame them. It made me feel sorry for the job they had.” And still, that intense, knowing gaze settled on her, heavier and heavier.

  “So what now?” Morgane pulled on the shirt, his shirt, covering the scars, her skin, and the patchwork job Mir had completed on her body. Rubbing her neck, she noted the pain was gone and should be for another four hours. Enough time to get herself home if they planned on letting her out of here. “You gonna let me go?” She breathed, hopefully.

  “They took your mom and sister?”

  “Yeah, they did. They only found blood at the scene…” Her voice trailed off. “Weren’t the details in the report?”

  “Maybe. I didn’t read the whole thing, only enough to verify your
story.” He tore his gaze away as if he couldn’t stand to face her. “They don’t usually take humans, Morgane, they usually…” He paused, then studied her again. “You know what, never mind. Here’s what’s going to happen. I’ll take you back to your apartment, and after that…” She flicked her eyes up to him, just in time to see him squeeze his shut. “It’d be best if we never saw each other again. And I’m going to have to… By tomorrow morning, you’re not going to remember much about tonight.”

  “I’m pretty good at keeping secrets. I haven’t told anyone but you what I’m doing here every night, and I wouldn’t have said anything tonight if you two hadn’t forced me into it. Besides, I’m not a complete idiot. I know you‘re military or CIA. Or something. And I know I’m damn lucky I’m walking out of here tonight. You’d better believe I appreciate what you did for me, Loki.” His name came softer than she’d meant it to.

  But she knew he was right about one thing. They never would see each other again.

  Whatever Loki was, whatever they were, they existed in a different world, just as she did. Living off the grid. Invisible to the outside world. This place was a stronghold, and these men were soldiers of some kind. Soldiers capable of seeing those things, she reminded herself. They were hunting those things, like her. The smartest thing to do would be keep her mouth shut and go home. Cut her losses for the night.

  “So…Loki… What kind of name is that? Is it your last name? A nickname?”

  “It’s my only name. And it’s one you need to forget awfully damn quick.” As he leaned in, she drank in every single detail from the sheer breadth of him, the way his muscles bunched beneath the thin t-shirt pulled tight across his chest, the fall of ebony hair, the brightness of those blue eyes, as if she might drown inside them. And God, the smell of him, he smelled divine.

  Drifting closer, Morgane sensed the heat rolling off him. “Easier said than done, I’m afraid,” she murmured, running a hand over his shoulder, down over his chest, while her breathing turned ragged. Neither of them budged an inch, his face hovering so close to hers, she could practically reach out and…

  He straightened and stepped away first, those blue eyes darkening, his expression carefully blank. Shit. She hurried to add, “But it’s not a problem. Like I said, I’m good at keeping secrets.”

  “You might be inclined to tell a friend.”

  “I haven’t got any friends.”

  “You might tell someone…”

  Morgane stifled a bitter laugh. If he only knew. “Look. I don’t do friendships. I definitely don’t have a ‘someone’.” She looked around for her jacket and saw the shredded mess of black in the corner. “There isn’t anyone, Loki. It’s just me.” Because everyone else is dead.

  Right about then, all she wanted was to walk out and keep on walking, but her knees were still too shaky to make it down the hallway. “I know how this works, maybe better than you. I get through my days so I can go out and fight at night and hope I make it home. That’s all.” When she said that word—hope—his eyes met hers and held. For a long, long moment, all they did was stare at each other. She waited for the moment, the emotion, the flicker of heated attraction to fade away. Instead, it flared brighter. Hotter.

  Shivering, she felt the darkness inside of her reach out to him.

  Maybe it was her imagination, but she swore a featherlight touch from him brushed up against her, questing. It felt fathomless, ancient. The silence stretched out endlessly between them before he finally asked, “No one at all?”

  She felt like a fool as she shook her head, tugging the huge shirt farther down over her hips.

  “Not a single someone?” He cocked his head, the furrows deepening between his eyebrows.

  “It wouldn’t be smart for anyone to know what I’m doing. It wouldn’t be safe to let anyone get close enough to figure out what I’m doing. Those things wipe out people every single night. Do you seriously believe I’d give them one more reason to kill? Not to mention someone I liked? Plus, if any sane person discovered how I lived, I’d end up in the nuthouse.” She willed herself to calm down, forced herself to stop trembling. “So I stick to a couple of simple rules. I keep to myself. I stay away from others. And I focus on what I came here to do, and nothing else.”

  Loki shook his head in disbelief. “And that’s hunting and killing demons? Who stitches you up when things go south? What happens if…”

  Morgane glanced away. He didn’t have to finish. Sure, there were nights, sometimes, when she wondered if it might be her last. Morgane kept her shrug casual. “Then it’s over. But I’ve killed over a three hundred and fifty of those little bastards, and I figure I got another three hundred in me.”

  “Three hundred? Damn it, Morgane…” Loki trailed off as the door swung open and Mir stepped in. Loki stuck out his hand. “Gimme the keys, Doc. I’m taking the Audi. Gonna get her home before she falls over.”

  “You got it, my man. Don’t forget to wipe her mind, you hear me?” Mir’s gaze was calculating as he followed the arc of the keys through the air. “Drive safe.”

  Loki caught the keys mid-stride, helped her up, and supported her with a firm arm around her waist before they walked onto the slowest elevator ever.

  She leaned her back into the wall opposite him, admiring the burled wood, the beveled mirrors, the art déco inlay, and huffed out a laugh. “I swear I dreamt I was flying for a little while. But I thought it was a dream.”

  He fixed that penetrating stare on her, and she wondered if he could hear her heart beating a mile a minute. “That would have been the freight elevator, it’s faster. I keep telling Odin we gotta get this one fixed.”

  “So who’s Odin?”

  He shook his head.

  “I see. Well, can you at least tell me where we are?”

  Again with the negatory head shake.

  She sighed. “Fine. As long as you don’t put a bag over my head and get me home in one piece, I’ll owe you one. I suppose if you ever need anything, at least you’ll know where to find me.” But you never will, she realized, though it was probably for the best. “I’ll give this back to you.” Morgane smoothed down the oversized pullover.

  “Nah, keep it, I got more. I’ll need your address.” When Morgane gave it to him, he arched his eyebrows but said nothing, loaded her into a shiny black sedan in an underground garage, and a minute later they turned left onto Michigan as dawn broke over the lake. Forty minutes later, pulling up in front of the dilapidated building, Loki pushed a small bag into her hands. “Mir sent this along for you, just in case. You won’t need much, and don’t overdo it, the stuff’s powerful.”

  Loki hesitated, emotions waging war on his face as he stared at her, one hand on the wheel, the other one hovering in the air right above her head. Finally, his fingers curled in on themselves, and his hand fell into his lap. “Damn it, I just can’t do it.”

  “Do what? What can’t you do?” Morgane felt like her eyes were too big for her face. There wasn’t enough room in the car, or enough air in the world right now for the two of them.

  “I can’t take anything else away from you.” Loki’s jaw clenched. As if he were fighting a war within himself. His next words were barely a whisper. “Not when you’ve lost so much already.”

  Morgane gripped the bag in her lap. Before she lost her courage, she wrapped an arm around his neck, leaned into him, and gave him a quick squeeze, feeling the rasp of whiskers against her cheek. “Thank you for saving me last night, Loki.”

  Her arm slid away, but before she released him completely, he pulled her back against him, and she was pressed tightly against pure, honed muscle. “Be careful out there, Morgane.” She swore his face buried itself into her hair, and he pulled in a deep breath before he released her. Then she was out of the car and standing in the cool damp, watching the red lights vanish into the dark.

  Somehow, when she closed the apartment door behind her, the shoebox seemed especially pathetic.

  6

  He�
��d never see the girl again.

  If she was truly human, her days of fighting the Grim were numbered. If she’d lied to him and was a halfling, a hybrid, or even some rogue immortal, he’d be forced to hunt her down and drag her back here to appear before Odin for judgement.

  Being brought before Odin was as good as dying, so she’d be dead either way.

  Surprised, Loki realized he was actually feeling something about this whole thing. Regret? Maybe. Resentment? Possibly. Anger, most definitely.

  For longer than he could remember, he’d felt nothing. Until tonight, when he’d picked Morgane up off the pavement. Rubbing his chest, he realized he’d missed this, even as pain burned fiery hot.

  And the strangest thing?

  There had been a moment, a second really, when something blossomed between them. Some sort of strange, lonely communion. As if they were the same. Hoping that what they were doing would fix everything in their screwed up lives.

  As if revenge and killing would bring everything and everyone back to them. And if he were a betting man? He’d wager she was every bit as lonely as he was.

  Loki took the steps two at a time, swearing for the thousandth time he’d rather hoof it than wonder if the elevator would ever get to the top.

  The place felt nearly empty, everyone still out on rotation, paired up by twos, hunting the city, wiping out the vermin. He hoped he could sneak back in unnoticed. He almost made it. Almost. Past the infirmary, where Mir was still cleaning up her sweet-smelling blood, past the War Room, strewn with maps and weapons and half empty cups of coffee. He kept going, past the commissary, the library, and the tech room, humming with stacks of servers and walls of monitors, each showing a different quadrant of the city in gritty black and white. He kept his face averted as he stalked past the Great Hall, reluctantly slowing when the voice boomed out at him. “What happened out there tonight? In my city?”