by Amy Sumida
“Thank you and may I bring no harm with me,” he replied just as formally and slipped inside, shutting and locking the door behind him with a loud click. He looked like he was about to say something else when a gray blur streaked through the room, screeching like a banshee.
“Nicholas,” I threw my keys and box onto the sofa before bending to pick up the tabby. I’d bottle-raised the cat after finding him abandoned as a kitten. In his head, I was Mommy. Hell, in my head as well. I scratched beneath his chin, receiving deep purrs for my efforts, in between sassy meows.
“You have a cat?” Thor reached out and stroked Nick. The cat eyed the god critically, with bright green eyes, before approving the attention with renewed purring.
“Why does that surprise you?”
“It doesn’t surprise me,” he looked around. “I was just wondering who cared for him while you’re away.”
“I have an automatic feeder, a fountain water dispenser, and a cat door so he can get outside on his own.” I plopped down onto one of the sofas, still cuddling Nick. “I also have a friend who checks in on him if I don’t check in for awhile.”
“He must get lonely,” Thor eased his big frame down next to mine and resumed petting Nick. I realized with some surprise that he must genuinely like cats, a trait I loved in men. Most men liked dogs, it was manlier. Only a special type of guy appreciated felines, the kind of guy who was secure in his masculinity and didn't need a pet to constantly fawn on him.
“I don’t go hunting very often,” I handed Nicholas to Thor, who took him with a big grin. “He can fend for himself for up to a week but I’m rarely gone more than a couple days, which is why I just got scolded.”
“Ah,” Nick had stretched up Thor’s chest, leaning his head back for his neck to be scratched.
“Now tell me how you know where I live.”
“Simple,” he let Nick crawl down before turning to face me. “I’ve given you my blood. Once you’ve shared blood with a god, they can always find you.” He pulled me onto his lap casually, settling my voluminous skirts around us. “I like,” he stroked my puffy sleeve and sniffed at the rose behind my ear.
“You can track me? Like a LoJack?” I felt a shiver of dread slide down my spine and it had nothing to do with Thor, “Anywhere?”
“Unless you guard against me specifically, yes,” his soft smile was slowly replaced by an intense stare. “I knew exactly where Huitzilopochtli had taken you but his wards are some of the strongest I’ve ever encountered. I’m sorry I couldn’t free you.”
“It’s alright,” I leaned around him to flick the light-switch on and the filtered light from the lantern filled the room. “I managed on my own. I always do.”
“You’re not alone anymore,” he leaned closer but before he could kiss me, I scooted off his lap.
“I dreamed of you.”
“Yes,” he reached for me and I scooted further down the couch. I couldn’t think with him touching me and I really needed to think. “It’s another side effect of the blood sharing. There’s some of me in you now, so I can seek you out. I can enter your mind if you allow it or if you’re sleeping and your defenses are down. Are you upset with me for invading your dream? It was the only option left to me.”
“No, that’s not it,” I held up my hands when he moved closer. “Does it work both ways? If I had given you some of my blood, could you still do all those things?”
Thor’s face stilled, then tightened. “You gave him blood?”
“It was an accident,” my voice ghosted into the space between us.
“How do you accidentally share blood, Vervain?” Why was he looking at me like I’d cheated on him?
“Look, one second I was kissing you in a dream, the next I was awake and kissing him,” okay so maybe that wasn't exactly how it happened but why the hell was I defending myself? It's not like I was commited to Thor. “He didn’t get very far but he managed to nick my tongue.”
Thor shot to his feet with a roar. “I’ll kill him! He’ll wish for death a thousand times before I’m done!”
I grabbed his hand and pulled him back down beside me. “That’s very sweet but it was just some heavy petting, we didn’t go that far.”
Thor’s eyes swirled and lightning flashed in their depths. “You make it sound consensual.”
“Why didn’t you tell me he was the father of all vampires?”
Thor’s eyes widened as I effectively derailed his jealousy train. “I didn’t know he was. There have been rumors but most vampires don’t know their origins.”
“Then you didn’t know he could hypnotize with his eyes?” I really didn’t want to believe Thor had let me go up against Blue unprepared.
“No, I didn’t know,” his shoulders sagged and his face fell with them. “So that’s how he was able to take you without a fight. What else did he do?”
“At first, he did nothing really,” I shivered thinking of how weak I’d felt. “Though he made it pretty clear he could’ve made me happily consent to anything, even my own death.”
“He can do that?” I heard a tremor in his voice and it scared me even more. If Thor was afraid of him, where did that leave me?
“Yes, I believe he can,” I rubbed the chill from my arms and this time when Thor pulled me against him, I didn’t resist. “He said it would be more entertaining to get me the old fashioned way, through seduction. How quaint, don’t you think? Oh and then when I stopped being so amusing, he'd kill me.”
“Did it work?” Thor had tucked my head into his shoulder, so I couldn’t see his face but his voice had lost all its normal vigor.
“Did what work?”
“The old fashioned way,” his hand twitched against my back.
“A little,” my voice wasn’t too strong either. “He was very sincere and very suave. I might have fallen for it if he hadn't slapped me around a bit. I've never been into abusive relationships.”
“But you didn’t fall for it?”
I sat back and looked into Thor’s face, a soft smile tugging at my lips. “You sound very worried, Thunder Cat,” I placed a hand to his chest and felt his heart pounding rapidly beneath it. “Why does the idea of me wanting Huitzilopochtli upset you so much?”
“You know why,” his eyes were intense, his voice the barest trace of sound.
“We barely know each other,” I don’t know which of us I was trying to convince. “We’ve only had one kiss. Well, at least in real life.”
“It was a hell of a kiss,” those intense eyes started to sparkle. The lightning flashing in them took on new meaning when combined with his sultry smile.
“That it was,” my lips curved up into a half smile. “I’m not into the Aztec. I’m here aren’t I? I ran as soon as I could.”
“You won’t escape me so easily,” his lips were suddenly on mine and I was drowning in his storm. I felt the fire of his hands sweep up my back, over my throat and up my face to hold me against him. His heat pulsed through me, searing me from the mouth down. Little tremors of excitement trailed along my skin and I automatically started to push myself against him.
“Wait,” I gasped and pulled back, remembering suddenly what I needed to ask him.
“I’m tired of waiting,” his voice had deepened to a rumble.
“You’ve barely waited two days,” I swatted him. “If you think I’m going to jump into bed with you that easily, the gods really are crazy.”
“I didn’t think we’d make it to the bed at all,” he looked down at the wide sofa with its soft cushions and then back at me.
“Enough, Thor, this is important. I need to finish our conversation.”
“Talk is overrated,” he pulled me back.
“Thor, can Huitzilopochtli find me now too?” Well that worked.
He stilled beneath me, “Shit,” then his arms tightened.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I grimaced.
“How good are your wards?” He reached over the couch and pulled back both the gauze and the bl
ack-out curtain that hung over my picture window, so he could scan the front yard. I looked under his arm and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary but that didn’t mean Blue wasn’t out there. I’d already seen how well he could hide.
“The wards will hold,” I settled into Thor. “Even against him they’ll hold but I can’t stay inside forever.”
He looked down at me sharply. “You can block him from your mind, it’s not easy but I can teach you.”
I felt some of the tension slide away. “We need to do that now, before he finds me.”
“You're right,” He took my face in his hands. “I can do a quick, temporary block right now to tide us over, if you let me in.”
“Let you in?”
“To your mind,” he nodded seriously, “completely.”
I sighed and squeezed my eyes shut as I dropped my mental defenses. Immediately, I felt his presence but he wasn't alone. There was a shadow there with him. Thor's presence brightened, growing stronger and stronger till the shadow screeched angrily and fled. I felt impervious shields slide into place, practically hearing the clang of metal as they fell.
“Whoa,” I blinked up at Thor.
“A few minutes more and he might have found you,” Thor had a tiny trickle of sweat dripping down his cheek.
“And you can teach me to do that?”
“I believe I can,” he smiled. “You're already familiar with warding, I felt your mental wards when I passed through, so this shouldn't be too difficult for you.”
“It felt like steel walls falling around me,” I thought about how I usually meditated each morning to put a psychic shield into place. “Normally I visualize a glowing web of light surrounding me and everything that hits it, makes it glow brighter.”
“Good technique,” he nodded, “but not good enough to keep out the Aztec. You need something stronger than a web. He's had your blood, it allows him to slip in past your normal defenses. He has a part of you, he carries the link, so it's going to be harder to shut him out than if it were reversed.”
“Like with you?” I watched him very carefully. How much would he try to hold back to keep the upper hand?
“Exactly,” he frowned as his eyes flew over my wary expression. “I didn't give you a blood oath to bind you, Vervain. I gave it to you to free you. If you want rid of me, the same techniques you'll learn to block out Huitzilopochtli will work on me.”
“No, it's fine,” I smiled apologetically. “Trust issues, sorry. I just want to know that there's an escape clause. I don't like feeling trapped.”
“I offered you protection, not prison,” he smiled back. “The very oath that binds us, prevents me from doing anything to harm you and in fact, requires me to do everything I can to prevent you from being harmed. It's a very old ritual, very powerful, and I've given you an advantage over me by using it with you.”
“That's what's so hard for me to understand,” I looked over this amazing man and just couldn't believe he'd want anything to do with me, much less want to watch over me for the rest of my life. “Why would you do that? You barely even know me. Am I that important to your cause?”
He looked away, the tips of his perfect teeth showing as he bit his lip.
“What?” I angled my face to peer up at him. “Why are you suddenly reeking of guilt?”
“I didn't have to use our bond to find your home,” he raised his head but there was a thick furrow in his brow now. “I've been waiting here for you since I ran up against Huitzilopochtli's wards.”
“What?” I slid a little back from him. “How?”
“When you first started killing my kind, there was an uproar,” he slid back too, giving me more space. “The gods were furious that some little human could kill one of us, could steal our immortality. But I wasn't furious.”
“You weren't?” Nicholas crept into my lap and stretched out a paw so he was touching Thor's knee. I looked down at the feline bridging the gap between us and wondered if he was trying to tell me something.
“No,” Thor smiled briefly at the the tiny paw. “I was intrigued. I've been fighting other gods on behalf of humans for so long without barely causing a stir but you came stumbling into the middle of it all and they took notice. You were what we were lacking: the human element. There we were, trying to fight for humanity without any humans even knowing there was a war going on to begin with. The other gods wouldn't take us seriously because our main allies didn't even believe we existed.”
“So when I joined the party, they got worried that the rest of us might catch on?”
“That and...” he frowned harder, his jaw clenching enough to cause his cheeks to flutter.
“And...?”
“Like you deduced earlier, most of our power comes from humans,” he stared at me hard, his eyes gone very serious. “It makes it difficult for one god to kill another. Your human magic fuels us all and though we each use the power differently, at the heart of it we're all the same. We can harm each other easily enough but to bring a true death is complicated. It's almost like trying to kill yourself, it can be done but not without a lot of mental anguish. The only time I've seen it managed was under the influence of mindless rage.”
“So if you killed a god, you'd suffer for it?”
“Yes, there's a certain amount of backlash,” he ran an unsteady hand through his hair, “if we even manage to do it in the first place. Think of the power like a virus. Once someone is infected, that's it. The virus isn't going to attack another infected host, the damage has been done already. We're all infected and it's a symbiotic relationship now. It needs us as much as we need it. When the host is destroyed, the magic is released and will immediately search for a new host. When all it finds is uninhabitable, it's forced to disburse. The disbursement can be unsettling for us.”
“So what am I, like Typhoid Mary or something?” I laughed but quickly sobered when he didn't see the humor.
“No, you're not a carrier,” he shook his head. “You're the disease. Sorry, that sounds horrible but it's about as close as I can get. You're the source, we're merely vessels. In taking your power, we've ceased to be our own source and only the source can kill indiscriminately.”
“Wait a minute,” I felt my body grow still as the ramifications hit me. “You're saying that as a human, it's easier for me to kill gods?”
“As a human and a witch,” he added. “You have more magic than the average human and you know how to use it, how to manipulate it and direct it. You're a lighthouse shining through the darkness, calling it home.”
“Calling it home,” I frowned, “like when I pulled it from you.”
“Now you see why you scare them,” he nodded. “Now you see why you draw us to you. The magic wants to return to its source.”
“So it's the source of your magic you're attracted to,” go figure. I knew all these hotties couldn't really be into me.
“Partly,” his head tilted questioningly. “How is that any different from being attracted to someone because of the color of their hair or the curve of their breast?” His hand snaked out and swept up my side, just brushing the underside of said breast.
“Hey,” I slapped at him and he pulled away laughing.
“I'm sorry,” his eyes were beautiful when he laughed. “It's just funny that the infamous Godhunter would focus on the attraction part instead of the killing part.”
“It wasn't easy for me to kill any of them,” I frowned at his amusement.
“I didn't say it was easy, just easier,” his eyes flicked down a moment. “With that show you put on in Ull's apartment, you pretty much confirmed it: humans are our weakness.”
“I guess God isn't the only one who can giveth and taketh away,” I tapped the end of his long nose.
“I guess not,” he stroked Nick a bit before he looked back up at me. “You realize what I just told you would cause many of my kind to label me traitor?”
“Do you think they'd be right?” I took his hand from Nick and held it.
“No, I think I've finally behaved like a god.”
“And why should a god care what another god thinks?” Oh crap, his hand felt really good in mine.
“I don't,” he smiled as he leaned closer, “it's just going to make family reunions tough.”
“Wait a minute,” I stopped his mouth's descent with my pointer finger on his lips. “You never told me how you knew where I lived.”
“You made them nervous,” he kissed my fingertip, “but you made me curious. I watched for you, followed every trace of you. I researched you; what you did for a living, your history, where you lived, and the more I learned, the more I wanted to know. I started watching over you, following you when you hunted, making sure you were safe. I know your habits. I know your motivations. I even know where you buy your groceries. So forgive me if I act too familiar with you, because I am. I know you, Vervain but I want to know you even better and I want you to know me too.”
“You stalked me?” I huffed a little sound of disbelief. “I have a god stalker?”
“Yeah,” his lips twisted in a quick smile before descending toward mine again, “I guess so.”
“I'm strangely okay with that,” I murmured before I lifted my face to his.
Chapter Eleven
I was standing on top of a huge Aztec pyramid. It must have been twenty stories high and its base was massive. A wide row of steps cut through the tiers like an arrow shooting straight for me. Looking down that long stairway left me feeling a little dizzy. Like one wrong step would leave me tumbling forever. I blinked and the feeling was gone.
The doorway of a dark temple arched above me, the temple itself stretched out behind me to cover the pyramid’s tip. From there I could see a broad avenue at the foot of the pyramid, it spanned to the right and led to a smaller pyramid. To the left, it reached out to an enclosure with yet another little pyramid guarded by a circle of buildings. In the flickering light of torches, I could see bright colors painted over the stones and statues. Angular designs seemed to pulse and carved faces shift in the dancing glow, making me feel like I was in the center of a crowd even though I was utterly alone. The rich smell of fecund marshes was sweetened by the perfume of night blooming flowers. The scent was so thick it felt like I could run my fingers through it.
