Godhunter

by Amy Sumida

  His eyes widened but he lifted his glass to mine and clicked it with a smile. I just didn't mention that I knew it would be different because I wasn't going to stay with him. This may not be a one night stand but it wasn't going to be a lifetime commitment either. I'd just have to deal with that bridge when I reach it.

  “You change your tune fast,” he said after he swallowed.

  “Maybe it was my brush with death.”

  “Whatever it was, I'm glad of it.”

  “Me too,” I smiled past the knot of anxiety my thoughts were causing. “Now eat your pasta, I want to go for a walk on the beach.”

  “Yes ma'am,” he started shoveling food into his mouth.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Kailua Beach was deserted, an odd occurrence even at eleven o'clock at night. Usually there were at least a few lovers or teenagers partying and hiding from the occasional cop who decided to patrol the beach. Yet the sand was empty for miles, it was only us and the endless waves pounding the shore.

  “Did you do some juju or something?” I looked up at the giant beside me.

  “I wanted to be alone with you,” Thor grinned and took my hand.

  “Hmph,” I shook my head and let him lead me further down the shore. “Must be nice to be a god.”

  “It has its perks,” he stopped abruptly and pulled me against him. “Here's another,” he whispered as he brought his mouth to mine.

  I tasted the hops on his tongue but I didn't mind, even though I hated beer. On him, it became just another flavor of Thor. His hand snaked through my hair as he deepened the kiss, holding me tight. I groaned at the feel of his chest, hard against mine, the tingles his hand made as he slid it down my back. Everywhere he touched seemed to come alive like he was some kind of Dr. Frankenstein and I, the monster's bride.

  Lightning flashed out on the water and thunder rumbled in response. I pulled back, a little dazed, and looked up to find the flashes mirrored in his eyes. No wait, they began in his eyes and mirrored into the world. Didn't Frankenstein use lightning too? My head spun and I would've fallen if he hadn't been holding me so tightly.

  “You never told me your stories,” his voice had gone low, sultry.

  “You said you knew me already,” I teased.

  “I also said that I want to know you better.”

  “Okay,” I pulled away and sat in the sand, trying to get the imagery of reanimated corpses out of my mind. “What do you want to know?”

  “Do you have any siblings?” He sat next to me, looking as comfortable as he did on his loveseat in Bilskinir.

  “I have one half-sister and two half-brothers.”

  “Why half?” He frowned.

  “One brother is from my Dad and a woman not my Mom. My remaining sister and brother are from my Mom and her husband, who isn't my biological father.” I cocked my head at his confusion.

  “So you don't consider them fully your family?”

  “Of course I do,” finally I got his confusion, “it's just a way of saying I only share one parent with them, not both.”

  “Family is family,” he brushed back a strand of hair that had blown across my face. “It's silly to have labels for the quantity of blood you share.”

  “Maybe. I never really thought about it,” I shrugged. “It doesn't make me love them any less. I just wasn't raised with them, so its a different relationship from siblings who have grown up together.”

  “Ah, yes, I have a different relationship with Vidar and Vali than they do with each other because they were so close in age. Even though they had different mothers, they were raised together. I think Vali saw Sabine as more his mother than Frigg. Balder though, was always his mother's son.”

  “So you understand,” I leaned a shoulder against him and he swept his arm around me.

  It was amazingly sweet to sit on the beach beside Thor. All the annoyances of the beach I usually hated were dimmed in the dark. Moonlight was kind to my skin and made Thor into a mysterious stranger. The salt breeze was gentle and the sand was soft beneath me. The only reason I even wanted to be there was to see if the reality of Thor on a beach at night was as good as the dream he'd sent me. I was shocked to find it was even more so. Thor made the beach beautiful. For me, that said a hell of a lot.

  A pueo, a Hawaiian owl, flew by us, its white feathers shining in the night like a star. “Oh,” I pointed, “did you see it?”

  “Yes,” he smiled and nuzzled closer. “A good omen.”

  “Maybe if you were in Greece,” a deep feminine voice startled us and brought Thor to his feet instantly, “but here you may find the sight of an owl is quite different.”

  I was a little slower to rise, spending more time on locating the source of our interruption than on gaining my feet. I found her in the least likely place: walking in with the tide. I stared open-mouthed as a beautiful black woman walked up to us wearing a dress that seemed to be made out of the waves themselves. When she reached the shore, her dress broke free and formed a full hemline of froth. She wore a silver crown draped with pearls and peaked with a gold starfish.

  “Yemanja,” Thor nodded with respect.

  “Hello, Thor,” her voice sweetened and I felt a terrible emotion swirl through my gut: jealousy. “Hello, Godhunter.”

  “Hello,” I followed Thor's lead and nodded.

  “Did you send the owl?” Thor took my hand reassuringly.

  “You've never been one for subtleties, Viking,” she sighed. “That used to be something I found charming about you but now that you no longer share my bed, I don't see the attraction. It's funny how sex changes your perspective.”

  “If the owl wasn't a blessing, then what was it?” Thor was being unusually patient with her and it was making me increasingly angry. I was creating a list in my head of all the reasons this woman was better for Thor than I, the top of which was her being a lwa, a voodoo spirit, of the sea. The fact that she was stunningly beautiful didn't hurt either.

  “It was a warning,” she ventured another step forward but seemed unwilling to go too far from the waterline. “There's trouble coming for you and most of it is standing right there,” she pointed at me.

  “Hey now,” I started forward but Thor held me back.

  “I know she's trouble,” he grinned, “but she's worth it.”

  “Then be warned and be careful, love,” she shook her head before looking at me. “The warning is for you as well, Godhunter. You may not believe this but I've watched over you since you were a child, even though you are not mine to protect. Do you not remember me?”

  I blinked and frowned through the memory of my accident on that yacht back when I was a little girl. I did remember someone in the water with me. A beautiful black woman. I'd thought it was one of the guests, come in after me, but when I concentrated, I recalled that the woman had come from beneath me. She'd never been on the boat at all.

  “You,” I breathed as shivers raced along my arms.

  “You do remember,” she smiled wide. “You were so little. You had climbed the railing and slipped. No one saw you fall and your party dress was pulling you under. I lifted you up till they came for you. There is great magic in you, even back then it was enough to catch my notice. I knew you were not meant to die so young and so I saved you. What I didn't know was that you'd end up seducing my favorite Viking when you got older.” Her voice teased and I found myself smiling.

  “You saved my life,” I had no idea if she had ulterior motives but for whatever reason, she'd helped me once. “Thank you. It's way overdue but thank you.”

  “Your welcome, Hunter,” she raised a hand and the owl came to perch lightly on her fingers. “Remember my warning and I just may save it again. You have become the prey. The wolves have been loosed and the only way to stop them is to save them. Your gentleness shall force them more than your force shall make them gentle.” She lifted her hand and the bird flew toward us, only to disappear in a shower of stars. “Remember,” she whispered and when my vision cleared o
f starlight, she was gone.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  She's right though,” we were back at Bilskinir and I was pacing the length of Thor's library. “That wasn't just a random attack, someone's trying to kill me.”

  “It could be anyone,” Horus scoffed. “It’s not like you don’t have any enemies.”

  We'd had to put off the lovemaking in light of Yemanja's warning. Thor called the group together to brainstorm who might be behind the werewolf attack. Everyone was here, including Nick who was curled up in front of the fire. There had been a few suggestions but only one name held my attention.

  “I’ve only been seriously threatened by one person lately,” I threw Thor an apologetic glance. “I think it’s Sif.”

  “Sif would come and kill you herself,” Thor ran a hand through his hair, the skin around his eyes twitching and tightening. “I really don’t think she’d send a werewolf. I doubt she’d even know how to contract one.”

  “She knows Fenrir,” Brahma looked steadily at Thor and something passed between them. “And everyone knows the wolves are assassins for hire, my friend. I’m sure he’d be happy to explain it all to her.”

  “Werewolves are assassins?” I blinked rapidly as I thought of all the werewolf lore I’d read. You didn’t hear as many stories about the other shapeshifters, it was mainly werewolves. I’d always assumed the wolves were just unlucky or not as adept at secrecy but maybe it was the plain fact that they were hired to kill and so were seen killing.

  “Well yeah,” Persephone chewed her lip. “You know it's difficult for a god to kill another god, so we hire the wolves. It's just a job to them though, they're really not all that bad.”

  “Say that to Tyr,” Ull grimaced. “Fenrir took his hand off. They’re all thugs and killers, just like their father, Persephone.”

  “I’ve met a few nice ones,” her eyes shifted down and away as she continued to chew at her lip.

  “Oh, please,” Ull threw his hands up.

  “Who’s Fenrir?” I was trying hard to catch up.

  “Fenrir is Loki’s son,” Thor looked really serious, not exactly the best sign. “He’s the Wolf God and the father of the werewolves.”

  “Great,” I sighed and tried to smile. “So now I know where vampires and werewolves both come from. The secrets of the universe are unfolding,” I threw my voice dramatically. “Does anyone happen to know the source of the Fey? Then I could really rest easy.”

  A hush fell and Thor looked at me in horror. “Don’t even mention them here, Vervain. They’ve withdrawn and we’ve no wish to summon them back.”

  “Okay, okay,” boy, I knew fairies were nothing like Tinkerbell but I didn’t think they were bad ass enough to make the gods nervous. “So Sif knows the Big Bad Wolf. Are we talking old buddies kind of thing or just acquaintances.”

  “Acquaintance is enough,” Brahma looked a little tired. “She’d know where to find him.”

  “Yes but how would she know where to find Vervain?” Thor had started pacing.

  “Who knows,” Ull chimed in. “Someone found out and that’s all that matters. I have to admit, it looks like it could be Mom.”

  “She’s never even seen Vervain,” Thor walked by me and I grabbed his hand.

  “Do you still love her?” The room stilled, little shufflings and nervous coughings dying out to silence as everyone waited for him to answer my question, while trying to appear completely uninterested.

  “Why would you ask me that?” He looked so shocked that I almost let it go but I had to know.

  “You don’t want it to be her,” I tried to look as understanding as possible but it felt like a fist was twisting my gut, so I probably looked more pained than sympathetic. All I needed was a god with baggage. Hell, I had enough baggage for the both of us... big Louis Vuitton, steamer trunk baggage.

  “Of course I don’t,” he went down on one knee in front of me, bringing him a little closer to eye level and completely consuming my view. “Would you want to believe someone you once shared a life with was a heartless killer? That they were so bitter they’d deny you any happiness, even if it meant murder? I don’t want to believe that of her but it doesn’t mean I still love her. She killed my love a long time ago.”

  “Sorry,” I whispered, feeling like an insensitive ass. I wondered what she’d done to him but I wasn’t about to be even more of an ass and ask.

  “It’s alright,” he got to his feet. “You’ll be safe here. Either way, we’ll get to the bottom of it and if it is Sif, I’ll take care of her. For now, I think we've talked this out and it's time to call it a night.”

  I swallowed hard as I realized what that meant. The others got to their feet in agreement and wandered out to their guest rooms with a chorus of goodnights. I felt awkward after all that had happened. I'd had to face a gorgeous ex-girlfriend and details about an ex-wife who wanted to murder me. The mood was kinda gone and I wasn't sure I was up to getting it back.

  Then he held his hand out to me.

  He was backlit by the fire, his hair glowing red at the edges while his face was soft gold from the light of scattered lamps. His broad shoulders looked even wider with the dramatic shadows playing them up and when he smiled at me, he looked like every fantasy I'd ever had rolled into one.

  “Are you tired, darling?” His voice sent shivers racing down my spine.

  “Not at all,” I smiled and took his hand, letting him pull me to my feet.

  “Good,” he led me to the door, “I have every intention of watching the sunrise with you.”

  Something tightened low in my body and my heart sped up til I couldn't separate the beats. It became one complete and unbroken beat, one long vibration waiting for the touch that would quiet it. All I could do was nod. He smiled again and walked me down the hallway to his bedroom, the artwork lining the walls blurring into obscurity. The details of the bedroom were the same, just a hazy background. All I saw clearly was Thor and the massive four-poster bed we were heading toward.

  “I feel like I've been waiting forever for this,” he whispered as he pulled me into an embrace.

  “It's been barely over a week,” I whispered back, completely fascinated by his lips.

  “Not for me,” his hands snaked into the hair at my nape to angle my head up. “For me it's been two years. Two years of watching and wondering, fantasizing and waiting. Two years of wanting you here, like this.”

  “That's a long time to wait,” I gulped, suddenly worried I wouldn't be up to his expectations. Two years is a lot of pressure to put on a girl.

  “I'd have waited longer if you needed me to,” he brushed his lips over mine. “I can be a very patient man.”

  “Well, I'm not patient at all,” I reached up and held him still for a more thorough kiss. When I pulled back, I pushed his hair away from his face and saw something I hadn't noticed before. It kind of looked like a small piece of stone inside his forehead. “What's this?”

  “Ah, that is a long story,” he grimaced. “Let's just call it a bar brawl.”

  “Is that a piece of rock?”

  “Yes, let it go.” He started kissing my neck.

  “Oh, the dilemma,” I murmured appreciatively over his endeavors.

  “What's that?” He didn't even lift his face. In fact, it was slowly lowering.

  “There's just so many jokes,” I groaned. “Blockhead, rocks for brains, sorry, I had to get a couple out or I was gonna explode.”

  He finally pulled back and looked down at me like he didn't know whether to strangle me, laugh, or just ignore me altogether.

  “Right,” I smiled lasciviously. “It's your explosion we need to be working on.”

  “Our explosion,” he chuckled and pulled me back against him.

  “Rock my world, baby,” I giggled and he threw his head back, making a very frustrated sound.

  Then I started rubbing him the right way(yes, that way) and he groaned, his arms crushing me. My hands shifted to his back, learning all those
dips and planes his muscles made like a blind girl reading braille. He was my new language, a doorway to knowledge and undiscovered worlds, and I intended to become fluent in him. There was a library of learning for me to do but all the books had only one title, one author.

  “Vervain,” he pulled back, panting a little. “I don't want to rush this. Let me look at you. Let me savor this.”

  “Oh, you're good,” I smiled and started to unbutton his shirt.

  “Good?” He smiled back but it was a tad confused.

  “Smooth,” there went another button, another, and another. Oh sweet muscled Viking, look at that chest. All golden skin and curving hardness. “I guess you've had centuries to practice your pillow talk though.”

  “Pillow talk?” He threw his unbuttoned shirt aside and grabbed my questing hands. “You think what I'm saying is meaningless romantic coercion?”

  “Then again,” I frowned, “that just ruined the mood a bit.”

  “Vervain, what do I have to do to make you believe I want you?”

  “I believe, I believe,” I reached for his belt and he took my hands again. “I could sing a damn Monkeys song, I believe so much.”

  “Now who's pillow talking?”

  “Ugh!” I threw up my hands. “What do I have to do to make you fuck me?” He looked like I slapped him, blinking hard, his mouth hanging open. “Oh, for the love of the blessed Moon, what now?”

  “I just realized how little this means to you,” he backed up a step. “I've been waiting years but for you it's been barely any time at all. You think of me as nothing more than a pleasant diversion.”

  “Seriously?” I was ready to scream. “All your flirting and seduction, and now you're upset because I actually want to have sex with you?” I rubbed at my temples with clawed fingers before flinging them out in exasperation.

  “Vervain,” he ran a hand over his face. “I want to make love to you, you want to fuck me. That's why I'm upset.”

  “You want me to be in love with you before we have sex?” I couldn't believe it. The Viking God of Thunder was a romantic... and stuck in a Jane Austin novel. Didn't Jane die unwed because the man she loved married another woman? But I digress.