by Lisa Olsen
If he only knew… “Right. I can see how that would be a hard pill to swallow.”
“Especially for him, not knowing he can even be compelled by our kind.”
Good gravy, had he said a mouthful. “Yeah. I imagine that would be upsetting to learn,” I murmured, holding tight to his chest. “Rob, did you ever wonder if you…”
The intercom by the door beeped long and steadily, jarring us from the conversation. I let go of Rob, assuming it was security on the other end. “Yes?”
“There’s a visitor to see you.”
“Who is it?”
There was a pause. “Amunet of the Desert lands.”
“This should be interesting,” I murmured. “Send her on up.”
The sultry brunette approached, every movement a study in elegant grace, a practiced smile on her deeply stained lips. She wore a gown of peacock blue that matched the exotic makeup at her eyes and the wink of jewels at her throat. Polished and poised, I was surprised to find her two young servants nowhere in sight. Instead Chad stood at her side, looking positively dapper in a posh suit. Didn’t he clean up well?
“Welcome, Amunet. What brings you here?” I’d thought she’d already left town.
“I thought to pay my respects to Jakob before I took my leave of his city.”
“He’s not here and technically it’s my city, but that’s neither here nor there.” I waved the distinction away. “Are you going back home or off to tour the rest of the country? You probably should check out Disneyland if you have time, it’s pretty cool.”
“I am bound for my homeland, there is much to experience there as well,” she smiled up at Chad, a hunger in her eyes as she wrapped her arm though his. Chad smiled back at her, if a tad vacantly. I felt a stab of worry for him. More than likely, there was a level of compulsion built into his decision to accompany her. Then again, there were worse things that could happen to a guy than to be whisked off to the exotic Middle East on the arm of a beautiful woman.
Her eyes settled on Rob for the first time, and I knew she’d picked up on his change. “Rob… look at you, more handsome than ever. The afterlife suits you. Though I will miss some of your more human charms,” she said with a sultry smile.
“Thank you, highness,” Rob said politely and I resisted the urge to tear her perfect hair out strand by strand for the thoughts that were running through her mind. Instead, I thought I might turn her chance visit into something I could use.
“Hey, since you’re here, I wonder if I might ask for your help on something.”
“If I can be of service I am happy to help,” she agreed graciously.
“Great. How familiar are you with the spear of Odin, Gungnir?”
I felt Rob’s interest beside me, but he remained silent as Amunet smiled. “I have never seen it, but I am familiar with the legend of course. The spear of Odin is said to be especially dangerous to our kind. A single cut from the blade will never heal, no matter the treatment, so you need only strike once to render your enemy helpless. It’s guarded by Maeja, the virgin goddess.”
So that was why Lodinn wanted to get his mitts on it. It would certainly give him an edge in fighting Jakob. “Why do they call her that?”
“I assume because she is chaste,” she said with a delicate shrug. “Why do you wish to know about this? The spear has not been seen in an age and none know its resting place.”
“I wondered the same thing,” Rob chimed in. “This seems an odd time for a history lesson.”
“Because Lodinn asked me to retrieve it for him when I went to see him tonight,” I explained as gently as I could.
“Lodinn is here?” Amunet’s dark eyes widened in fear like a doe caught in the hunter’s snare. She looked around the apartment fearfully, as if he might jump out from behind the couch at any moment.
“In town, yes. Why, do you know him?”
“I must be on my way now.” She made a beeline for the door, towing poor Chad in her wake, and I chased after her.
“Amunet, wait… Why are you so worried?”
She was already to the elevators. “Please, give my regards to Jakob.”
“Wait, is there anything else you can tell me about Maeja or the spear?”
“Ask your Sire, he’ll be able to tell you far more than I will.” The doors slid open and she stepped inside.
“That’s it? That’s all you’ve got for me? Ask Jakob?”
“I have only this to say. Lodinn does not believe in letting power lay fallow. If it’s the spear that Lodinn desires, you can believe he will wield it. I beg of you, do not retrieve it for him. For all of our sakes.”
“She’s right, we can’t give him a weapon of such power,” Rob agreed as we walked back down the hall. “There would be nothing to stop him from cutting a bloody swath through the entire vampire world.”
“Yeah… um, newsflash, there’s not much keeping him from doing that now,” I bit back. “Lodinn could be out there crushing spines willy nilly for all Jakob’s doing to stop him in his own territory – my territory, I mean. Am I the only person who sees this task as a good thing?”
“How could this possibly be a good thing?”
He didn’t get it, but Lodinn’s quest for revenge opened up the perfect opportunity we needed to end him. “He wants us to retrieve the one weapon that can kill him? Great. Shiny. Sign me up. Now we have a chance of defeating him, don’t you see?”
“That’s your plan then? Pop over to pick up this trinket, show up to hand it over and then shove it between his ribs? You’ll never get close enough. He’ll snap your neck and use the spear to slice your throat when he gets the slightest whiff of treachery.”
“Fine, then we let Jakob do it. It’d give Jakob the same edge it would for Lodinn, wouldn’t it? Heck, we could even ask Jakob to go get it himself. He must know where this hidden valley is if he grew up there, right?”
“Hey, that’s not half bad,” Rob admitted. “But why hasn’t he gotten it before then, eh? You’d think a weapon that powerful would’ve been his first stop once Lodinn started targeting him.”
“Maybe he didn’t know where it was? The point is, we don’t have to do it ourselves. Try and see this for what it is, an opportunity. Retrieving this spear will be a good thing, trust me. Let’s go see Jakob. It’s time for another pow-wow.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“You need to eat,” I realized suddenly on the way to Jakob’s house. This daily feeding thing was getting to be a serious bummer.
Lee hadn’t much liked being left behind at Jakob’s apartment, but he was satisfied that Rob wasn’t crazy mad anymore, and besides, he was more of the day shift. Maggie had no desire to go anywhere near Jakob, though she did ask me to pick up a few things for her from her room.
“I had a bite earlier,” Rob replied and I realized he wasn’t putting off the heat I associated with his blood cravings.
“You did? When?”
“When I was waiting for you. I choked down some of that bagged blood in the icebox.”
“I’m sorry, I know it’s not your favorite. We can go out later and you can have a more substantial meal.” I probably should feed as well if we were about to embark on a long trip. Even if Jakob wanted to be the one to retrieve the spear of Odin, I was dying for the opportunity to visit his homeland.
Only I wasn’t sure how the mechanics of the trip would work. With all the time changes and the inevitable sleep cycle disturbed, how often would Rob need to eat? Was it a body clock issue, or was it tied to the setting of the sun? Would we have to stop and let him feed every time the plane refueled? It brought up something that had been lurking in the back of my mind.
“Listen, I’ve been thinking about getting a feeder for you,” I said, but Rob wasn’t the least bit receptive to the idea.
“Naw, that’s not necessary.”
“It would make it a lot more convenient for you, and your control is great. We wouldn’t have to worry much about you losing it and hurting someone we g
et used to having around all the time.”
“That’s not the way I want to feed, I want to hunt.”
“And you still could sometimes when you have the time. Otherwise I think it might be good to keep a human around for emergencies and not have to look to Maggie or one of the guards, that’s not really their job. You know, someone who knows what they’re getting into when they accept the position.”
Rob darted a quick look at me. “Are you saying you want a feeder?”
“Me? No, I’m not the one who needs to feed every night.”
“And I don’t want a blood-cow, so put that idea out of your head.”
“I wouldn’t quite look at it that way…” I frowned, not quite sure what his objection was.
“I don’t want to have to look into the eyes of the person I’ve been feeding from every night. I’ve seen the way feeders look upon their masters. I don’t want to establish a bond or whatever intimacy there is to be had with them. I don’t need a pet.”
“I can understand that, but it’s not very practical.”
“Don’t you worry about it, I can take care of myself.”
I reached over to cover his hand with mine. “But you don’t have to. I’m here to help take care of you too.”
His thumb stroked the side of my hand, but he didn’t budge. “It’s appreciated, but I can handle it.”
And that was that. In a way I was relieved. I didn’t want him to develop a bond with anyone else either, but it sure did make his feeding more of a pain. Hopefully he’d grow out of the stage soon and it wouldn’t be a problem.
Mason threw open the door the moment our car pulled up in front of the house, and I realized I’d forgotten to call and tell him that Hanna was still with Lodinn. “Where is she? Is she safe?” he called out, oblivious to the neighbors who could probably hear him down the block.
I waited until we were nearly to the porch before I answered. “She’s okay. Well, okay as she can be with that psycho, but I honestly don’t think he’ll hurt her. I think he actually likes her.”
Mason’s jaw worked as frustration leaked out of every pore. “And you don’t think that’ll hurt her?”
“I’m sorry, Mason. There was nothing I could do about it. Lodinn insisted she stay behind and that’s where she is. But…”
“You went to see him?” Jakob appeared at the bottom of the stairs, his expression thunderous. “And you allowed this?” he hissed at Rob who bristled, his temper quick to rise to the surface.
I jumped in before Rob said something he couldn’t take back. “Hey, I’ve already been through one round of this tonight. Do you think you could cool it so we can talk about what happens next?” I forged on before he could argue about it. “What can you tell me about the spear of Odin?”
“Gungnir?” Jakob’s brows drew together in confusion, falling for my bait. “Why would you ask me this?”
“Because that’s what Lodinn’s asking for in exchange for my sister.”
His mouth gaped before he regained his self control. “You can’t give it to him, it would be catastrophic.”
For you… my mind filled in, but I couldn’t let him worry like that. “Don’t worry, it wasn’t my first choice, but it might be the one thing we need to take care of Lodinn once and for all, don’t you think?”
“Why is Lodinn so hot and bothered to get this spear?” Mason asked, distracted from his worry over Hanna as well. “It doesn’t seem like the most convenient of weapons.”
“Because with it he can strike me down with a single blow,” Jakob groaned, sinking into a chair.
“Handy,” Mason approved. “I might have to pick one up myself.”
“Good luck with that, it’s in Norway with Maeja, the Virgin Goddess,” I replied. “But this is a good thing, you can see that, can’t you, Jakob? We’ve been moping around here wondering how to get the upper hand. Well, I think this is it.”
“It would give me an edge in fighting him,” Jakob allowed. “With it I could seek him out instead of waiting for him to strike.” He warmed to the idea, the fire returning to his eyes. “If I were to pick and choose the manner of our next confrontation, I would be much more prepared.”
“Of course we have to get our hands on it first,” I reminded him. “What do you say, big guy, feel like taking a trip to see the old homeland?”
To my utter shock and dismay, Jakob sank back against the chair again. “There I can be of no help to you.”
“Oh, come on, Jakob. I know you don’t want to give up your hidey hole here, but surely you’ll be safe on the road to go retrieve this thing, won’t you?” He couldn’t be that big of a wuss.
Jakob fixed me with a withering glare. “That wasn’t my objection. But trust me when I say I would only prove a hindrance to you in obtaining the spear.”
“Why? Do you know this Maeja who’s in charge of it?”
“We have had a past association, yes.”
“And?” Mason prompted.
“And what?” Jakob stared at him uncomprehendingly and Mason pressed further.
“There must be a pretty big and out there if you won’t go near her. What did you do? Love her and leave her?” Mason snorted, but Jakob shifted uncomfortably.
“Things ended badly between us,” he admitted.
“So much for being a virgin goddess,” Mason muttered under his breath.
My hopes of this being a quick jaunt to Norway and back went up in flames at Jakob’s admission. It figured he’d find a way to make things more difficult on me. How was I supposed to convince her to give me the spear once she found out who my Sire was? “So there’s absolutely no chance of you coming with us to go get the spear? Maybe it’s time you apologized to her? Smooth things over?”
“I can assure you, Maeja’s fury is no small thing. Our cause would be best served if she had no inkling of my desire for the weapon.”
Why couldn’t things be simple for once? “Great, so now I can’t let her know what I want it for either. What am I supposed to tell her, I’m on a Viking scavenger hunt?”
“It’s fine,” Rob said quietly. “We’ll go fetch it ourselves, we don’t need his help.”
“Yeah, sis, we can handle it without him,” Mason agreed with a confident nod.
“What makes you think you’re coming with?” I replied, my brows rising.
“Well… I assumed you’d want the help. I can even rally some of the troops, see if anyone else wants to lend their brawn.”
“The more I think this through, the more I think the humble approach is best. We go in there with a big force like we’re there to take it and we might tick her off. Trust me, the last thing we need is another Ellri pissed off at us,” I added. “No, I think a smaller party will be better. Just me, Rob and Lee. We’re asking for her help, not demanding it.”
“I can see that,” Mason agreed with a long sigh of defeat. “It’s probably for the best that I stick around here anyway. The Order still has a lot of rebuilding to do.”
“Good,” I nodded, glad I wouldn’t have to fight him on it. Rob hadn’t objected to my plan, but I knew him well enough to know he’d keep his arguments for the car ride home. “I need to know one more thing.” I turned to Jakob. “Do you know what her stance is on Lodinn? If I go in there asking her to help us stop him, is she liable to shoot me on the spot or pitch in to end him?”
“There is no love lost between them, but their connection is deeper than ours. I couldn’t say for certain how she would warm to the proposal.”
“Alright, I’ll have to sound her out first and go from there.” We could always try a snatch and grab if worst came to worst, but I didn’t think that would end well. Besides, if she turned out to be a big Lodinn fan, I could always get him on the phone to tell her to give it to me. “Jakob, before I go risk life and limb, do you promise me you can end this if I get you the spear?”
Jakob squared his shoulders, becoming every inch the fearsome Ellri I’d come to expect. “I do.”
�
��Alright then, Rob, give Maggie a call, tell her to get the plane warmed up and the pilot ready. We’ll leave before dawn if we can manage it.”
“There is one thing you will indulge me in,” Jakob said when I stood to go down and haul out my luggage. I had most of the things I needed waiting for me back at his apartment, but tromping through the fjords of Norway definitely called for a different type of shoe.
“What’s that? We have to get a move on.”
“You will take my blood.”
I edged away from him, prepared to make a run for the door if I got even a whiff of compulsion from him, despite his promise not to. “Jakob, we already talked about this. You know how I felt about having to take your blood the last time.”
“And I’m sorry I had to run roughshod over your tender feelings, but it was largely due to my blood that you survived Lodinn’s attack and had the strength to turn your progeny. Do you not see this?”
Damn, I hated it when he made sense. I couldn’t look at Rob, I knew I’d find conflict there between wanting to keep certain intimacies between us and his desire to keep me safe. “Fine, but only if you offer the same courtesy to Rob. He’ll need to keep his strength up as well.”
“I told you I’d eat later,” Rob insisted. “It’s fine.”
Luckily Jakob didn’t have a problem with it. “Do not be too proud to take my blood, Rob. You’ve done so many times in the past. You will take it now, if only to bring my Anja safely back to me.”
I bit back the objection to calling me his Anja. “If you drink his blood, you won’t need to hunt for a few days at least,” I reminded him. “We might need that edge.”
“As you wish.” He gave in so easily, I wondered if I might’ve accidentally put in a hint of compulsion again, but I couldn’t worry about that now.
“I ah, think I’m going to head out,” Mason said, already backing to the door and I could guess he wasn’t interested in watching what could very easily turn into a sticky situation. “Give me a call when you’ve got the spear. Or if you can’t. Or just… keep me in the loop, okay, sis?”
“You’ve got it,” I promised, giving him a warm smile.
