by Lisa Olsen
It was late, but I sent a long email to Felix, keeping him abreast of the situation, asking him to call me the next night to discuss what if any ramifications it might have for the West. Everyone else had gone to bed for the night when I finally trudged downstairs, my own steps clumsy as I checked on Rob and found him unmoved since I’d last seen him. I laid a brief kiss to his cool lips before shuffling off to my bed alone, doing my best to borrow from Scarlett O’Hara and worry about the worst of it tomorrow.
Chapter Nine
You’d think I would either sleep like the dead and not dream at all or be haunted by nightmarish visions of Lodinn killing everyone I held dear. But as I drifted closer to consciousness, I found myself caught in the throes of a more pleasant reality. There was no sign of doom or gloom for once, only joy and song. I sat in an ornate boxed seat at the theater, bathed in golden candlelight. The music swelled all around me, the soprano’s voice achingly beautiful, seeming to float above the orchestra.
My gloved hand clenched tightly in my lap as I yearned to become a part of it and I felt his approach even before his hands settled upon my shoulders, his lips brushing light against my ear. “It’s yours for the taking if you want it,” he said, his touch familiar though I couldn’t place the voice from the whisper.
“I can’t, not now.” I wasn’t ready and there was too much to do, too many responsibilities calling my name.
“Some day then. Some day we’ll have this.”
There was peace in that moment, in the gentle touch, the beauty of the song lifting my cares away. This was where I belonged. I felt his withdrawal and turned my head to catch sight of him, but he was gone. “Wait, wait for me…” I called out, my voice piercing the silence of my bedroom as I startled myself awake, the song still reverberating through my mind.
The dream slipped away quickly, no matter how desperately I clung to the elusive tendrils of bliss, leaving me with the cold hard truth of the night. I wasn’t surrounded by soothing strains of music or golden light, instead reality greeted me with chaos waiting in the wings. For long minutes I lay in the dark, wondering what life would’ve been like if I’d never accepted the position of Elder. If I were free to be with who I wanted, wherever I wanted, with no thought for the future beyond where I’d lay my head the next day.
It lasted all of ten minutes before I pushed myself up and out of bed. As tempting as it was, I couldn’t run away from my problems – all that would lead to was new ones at the moment. But someday maybe. Someday I could chart my own future and not feel guilt for doing it.
A quick peek in on Rob showed him still dead to the world, so I rose to check in with the others, pleased to find both Mason and Marcus already out on the prowl. Maggie had a slew of messages for me, some reporting in with no good news in particular, and some ordinary Elder business to see to. It was surprising that I hadn’t heard back from Felix yet, but it was still early. I excused myself to dive right into the busywork to keep my mind from conjuring the worst case scenarios that kept spinning whenever I let my thoughts go blank.
Not ten minutes after I got settled at my desk with a cup of cocoa in one hand and the mouse in the other, Maggie poked her head in.
“Marcus called, he’s had a lead on Jakob.”
“He did?” My spirits instantly higher, I reached for the landline handset. “Is he still on the phone?”
“No, he called my cell and said he couldn’t talk long or his pigeon might fly the coop. He said for you to meet him at the Café du Nord. Does that make sense to you?”
It made perfect sense. The club was one of Jakob’s favorite watering holes, and the staff all treated him like a celebrity. If he needed help, it stood to reason he might turn there first.
“Great, send him a text that I’ll be right down there. He didn’t say anything else about who his source was, did he?”
“No, nothing. Should I go with you?”
“Ah… no, I think it’s better if you stay here until we have more info. I’ll take Gunnar with me.”
Rob would probably squawk when he heard about it, but I couldn’t wait around for him to wake and I wanted to see who Marcus had dredged up. If he didn’t want to spook his witness, it stood to reason that he couldn’t compel him or her – but that didn’t mean I couldn’t do it if need be. As much as I hated doing it, we had to find Jakob before Lodinn made his next move.
Unfortunately, we were already way too late.
As I strolled into the Café du Nord with Gunnar by my side, it wasn’t readily apparent that something was off. But the moment I caught sight of Marcus’ face… I felt my stomach drop. He sat ramrod straight in the booth, his lips curved into a pleasant enough smile, but there was no hiding the discomfort behind his eyes.
“Something’s wrong,” I murmured, even as my gaze darted around, trying to see what it might be, but I wasn’t prepared to see Lodinn’s smirk from across the room. For some reason I hadn’t thought he’d be ready to show himself in public like this, but there he was big as life, holding court at a corner table, commanding the waitstaff with a snap of the fingers. He beckoned to me with a wave, his other arm draped casually around Hanna’s shoulders. We both knew he could snap her neck in an instant if he chose to.
“Ah, there she is,” he beamed, giving Hanna’s shoulder enough of a shake to make her head wobble, though she didn’t do more than smile. “See, I told you this was the perfect place for a family reunion.”
“Cào nî zûxian shí bâ dai,” slipped out. Of course he heard me, but to my surprise Lodinn understood the Mandarin.
“That’s gonna be a little hard, princess, they’re either long dead or in another realm,” he smirked. “But I’m available if you want to give it a whirl.”
I froze in place, as my worst fears jockeyed for space in my mind’s eye. Would this be the lesson where Lodinn showed me he could take my sister away permanently? Or was it time for him to step up his game and take me instead?
Lodinn wiggled two fingers in my direction, all smiles, every inch the benevolent host. “Have a seat. Can I get you a drink?”
“Aquavit, please,” I said woodenly, sliding into the other side of the semicircular booth. With a jerk of my head I sent Gunnar to go sit with Marcus at the other table. The farther away I kept them from his reach, the better.
Lodinn beamed at that. “A girl after my own heart, I approve. Aquavit for everyone!” he called out, which was met with an enthusiastic cheer from the patrons in the vicinity. Did any of them know who he was? Or had he compelled the entire club to treat him as royalty?
The staff poured out glasses of the amber liquid for us all and Hanna made a face as she tried a sip. “Blecch, I’ll stick with champagne, you can have mine.” She slid it in front of Lodinn.
“Are you kidding me?” His face fell as if she’d pitched it at him. “This stuff is like mother’s milk. Drink it.”
The compulsion took hold and Hanna upended her glass, coughing like crazy after she swallowed, but finishing with a proud smile. “Ta-da…” she croaked.
“Are you okay?” I asked, resisting the urge to pull her out of his reach and pat her back.
“Sure, I’m fine,” she smiled easier once the burn began to fade.
“Of course she is,” Lodinn grinned, picking up the bottle to refill her glass and I pulled it from her fingers before he could pour it.
“Please don’t make her do that again. You want a drinking buddy, fine.” I picked up my drink and downed it, pushing the empty glass back across the table toward him. “Pour us another.”
“I do like a girl who can hold her liquor,” he allowed, refilling all three glasses again. “There’s only so much a guy can do with an unconscious date, you know?” His eyes traveled over Hanna and I resisted the urge to retch.
“I heard you got into it with Jakob the other night,” I said, trying to draw him to a different topic. “How did that play out?”
“I take it he didn’t come running to the succor of your embrace then?
”
“No, I haven’t seen or heard from him since. Of course, I had to get myself out of the morgue that night, so that filled up a chunk of my evening.”
His ever-present smile twitched wider. “I heard about that. Very resourceful of you rescuing your pet like that. Your blood must be stronger than I thought. Why didn’t you bring him along tonight? The more, the merrier.”
“Oddly enough, he’s not your biggest fan. Though honestly, I had no idea you’d be here tonight. You could’ve called me yourself if you wanted to talk. You didn’t have to involve Marcus.”
“I didn’t, you did. You sent him out to hunt me down, didn’t you? I was only giving you what you wanted. So now that you’ve got me, what do you want to talk about?”
I stared at him, at a loss for words. What the heck did one say to a crazy Ellri hell-bent on destroying everything I loved without knowing what might set him off?”
Lodinn let out a long sigh, picking up his drink and tipping it back. “That’s what I thought. Just when I thought you might be different.”
“What do you want?” I blurted out.
“Lots of things,” he said with a wink and a leer that was so exaggerated, it had to be an act.
“No, I’m serious. You obviously have an end game in mind. How do you see this playing out?”
“I see Jakob on his knees, the tatters of everything he loves in ruins around him as I watch him draw his final breath.”
If he’d said it with even a smidge of passion I would’ve understood it, but the fire had long since burnt out, leaving him nothing more than a hollow husk. There was nothing but emptiness in his voice, no emotion, no anything.
“It won’t bring her back, you know,” I said gently.
“Oh, are you going to psychoanalyze me now, princess? I seriously doubt you know what you’re talking about.”
“I do actually. Believe it or not, I’ve stood there watching the light go out of my enemy’s eyes and yes, it felt good for about ten seconds, but then afterwards… it didn’t change a thing. It didn’t take away the pain and it for damn sure didn’t erase any of what he’d done to me. I’m not saying you should ever forget what Jakob did to you, but you should think about what it’s still costing you. It might be cheaper for you to walk away.”
“Wow, you’re good. I’ll give you that.” He refilled his glass again and nudged Hanna’s to her. “Drink,” he commanded.
“She’s not your puppet,” I objected and now I saw the gleam of anticipation lighting his eyes.
“That’s where you’re wrong. You’re all dancing on my string to my tune. I can make each and every one of you do anything I want to at any time, and I can make you do it with a smile on your face. Isn’t that right, Hanna?” His eyes dipped to her mouth and she willingly leaned over and kissed him hot and heavy right there at the table like they were in the back seat at the drive-in. His smile was smug as he pulled away, wiping away the smear of lipstick with his thumb. “There’s not a goddamned thing you can do about it. So how about you put that pretty pink mouth of yours to good use?”
Great googly moogly, was he going to make me kiss him next? I wondered if I could make it to the door before he sent a burst of compulsion, but when it came, I hadn’t budged an inch. I couldn’t move as he scooted closer to me, the warmth of his thigh springing to mine as he leaned in close.
“Your sister tells me you have all sorts of talents,” he rumbled, his hot breath fanning across the side of my cheek, but the shiver that went down my spine was one of revulsion, not anticipation. I wasn’t sure if it was better or worse that he hadn’t rendered me willing like he had with Hanna. I held absolutely still as his fingers traced the neckline of my dress. It wasn’t too low cut, but he tugged the material lower as he reached the valley between my breasts. “Looks like maybe I picked the wrong sister. She doesn’t have some of your finer attributes.” He leaned closer still, his lips brushing against the outer whorl of my ear. “But she makes up for that with her enthusiasm. Shall we see what else the two of you share?”
I couldn’t help it, I was trying to be strong, but a whimper escaped me when his sharp white teeth nipped at my ear hard enough to spill my blood. Lodinn pulled back in the next instant though, chuckling in amusement.
“Relax. If all I wanted was a piece of ass, I could have everyone strip down right here for a good old fashioned orgy. Hey, maybe that’s not such a bad idea.” My flare of panic at the visual his words inspired earned me another chuckle. “How about you sing for your supper instead?”
“That’s why you brought me down here, to sing?” I turned my head to look at him for the first time since he’d turned predatory.
“Well, sure. Unless you thought I meant something else by your talents,” he smirked.
I wanted to tell him to shove it, but all that came out was, “Alright.” A brief discussion with the band has us agreeing on a more contemporary number than I usually performed, but I thought it appropriate. Maybe it was playing with fire, but I sang one of my favorites by Kate Earl, You Can’t Treat Me That Way. Never mind the fact that he absolutely could treat me any way he wanted to without Jakob there to protect me. Maybe that knowledge was enough to bring a smile to his face and Lodinn clapped loudly when the song was over, whistling through his teeth.
“That was super great, Anja,” Hanna gushed as I rejoined them at the table. “Didn’t I tell you she could sing?”
“Catchy tune,” he agreed. “Do you know anything by Lovin’ Spoonful?”
“I’ll sing my entire repertoire of showtunes if you give my sister back to me.”
“Yeah, about that. It’s pretty much a no until you deliver Jakob to me.”
“I don’t even know where he is.”
“You strike me as the resourceful type, I’ll leave it to you as to how you make it happen,” he smirked. “I’ll even let her go with you now as a gesture of good faith.”
“You will?” I blinked, stunned.
Hanna wasn’t as happy with the news. “But I want to stay with you, baby.”
“Aw, isn’t that sweet. I suppose if she doesn’t want to go…”
I scrambled out of the booth, skirting the table to grab my sister’s arm and tug her away before he changed his mind. “Come on, Hanna, it’s time to go,” I insisted, practically dragging Hanna to her feet. “Thank you for your generosity.”
“Smart of you to recognize that. But I won’t be leaving empty handed. I think I’ll steal your majordomo here as collateral,” he added as both Gunnar and Marcus materialized beside me.
“Gunnar?” I breathed as the bodyguard stiffened beside me.
“You don’t mind, do you? It’s so hard to find good help these days.” Lodinn snapped his fingers. “You’re with me now, big guy.”
The look Gunnar sent me just about broke my heart, but what could I say? “You’d better go with him for now, but don’t worry, I’ll get you out of this, I promise,” I said with as much of a comforting smile as I could manage. Reluctantly, Gunnar shuffled to take up a position on the other side of the table, flanking Lodinn, his expression growing harder as he stared straight ahead.
Lodinn clapped his hands together and then made a show of patting his pockets before he drew out a silver lighter and a long brown cigar. “I think we’re all set now. I’ve got my hostage, you’ve got yours. I guess you can go on home.” He flicked the lighter on, puffing at the cigar and I looped my arm through Hanna’s propelling her to the door, but we were too slow as Lodinn’s voice called us back. “Oh… there’s one more thing.”
I turned to face him, pushing Hanna to stand behind me and Marcus did the same, his jaw clenched tight.
“What about Marcus?”
“What about him?” How many hostages did he need?
“That’s it? He lures you out here under false pretenses, basically betrays you and that’s all you do? Take him home with you without a peep like nothing’s happened?”
My brows twitched together, not quite sure
what he was going for. “It’s not like he had a choice, is it? I’m not angry with Marcus for getting me here.” Not when I was walking away with my sister.
“Seriously? If it was up to me he’d be…” Lodinn drew a finger across his neck with a grisly sound effect. “Wait… what am I thinking? Of course it’s up to me.” He crooked the same finger to Marcus, who stepped forward, his movements slow and jerky, fighting against every step.
“What are you doing?” I asked as my stomach clenched with dread.
“I’m seeing to justice,” Lodinn replied. “You know the penalty for betraying your Elder, don’t you?”
“I do,” Marcus said, the fight having gone out of him in the face of Lodinn’s will.
I had no idea what this penalty was that they spoke of, but I was sure it couldn’t be good. “No! I’m the one he wronged and there’s nothing to forgive.” I couldn’t even call it a betrayal, not really. “Why are you doing this?”
“I’m reminding you who’s in charge, in case my generosity where Hanna’s concerned leaves any doubts.”
“But you already have Gunnar, you don’t need to…”
Lodinn ignored me, his dark eyes focused intently on Marcus. “Burn, baby, burn…” His lips curved into a maniacal grin as Marcus tore an oil lamp off the wall and hurled it at his own feet, setting himself on fire.
“Marcus, no!” I yelled as the burning oil engulfed him in flames. He staggered back, crashing into tables and chairs as terrified screams erupted all around us. A mass exodus for the doors swept us along and it was all I could do to keep Hanna from getting trampled. By the time I had her tucked safely behind the hostess desk it was too late for Marcus. He no longer writhed and moaned, lying in a pile of smoking ash while the spreading flames licked at what remained of his body.
