The Paranormal Research and Rescue Institute Books 1-3: Books 1-3 in the Paranormal Research and Rescue Institute Series

by Lora Edwards

  “You did well,” Sigrid complimented her daughter. “I can see you have kept your skills strong.” Both women sat on a hard wooden bench to rest after the training session.

  “My sword comes out to play often.” Ovidia sighed. “I have a training room in my apartment. It helps to ease tension and stress.”

  “I imagine there has been a lot of each since Erik has come back into your life.” Her mother looked sideways at her.

  “True, but I have come to an epiphany: I am a strong, independent woman, a Valkyrie, and I am putting the entire Erik situation behind me. He will simply be my work partner for this mission. As soon as Bran mops up the Ripper case, he will be my partner again.”

  “Stay strong, daughter.” Sigrid patted Ovidia’s shoulder then stood. “Your father’s friends will be arriving soon. If you can survive a room full of boasting Vikings for an entire evening, you can survive anything.” Ovidia shook her head and let out a low chuckle, thinking her mother was probably right.

  The talk with her mother and the time with her sister had been good. It helped her to feel whole again, to acknowledge the Viking side of herself. Ovidia looked in the full-length mirror, and a self-deprecating smile broke out on her face. She looked a little like a snow queen from a Disney movie, although she wasn’t going to break out into song about letting go.

  A short while later, Ovidia smoothed down the crystal-encrusted silk of the ice blue strapless gown then trailed her fingers through the filmy train attached to the back. The Vikings coming to the dinner were high-ranking nobles, and she needed to present herself as a princess of Kvenland. Her long blonde hair had been plaited in complicated knots down her back by a lady’s maid, and ribbons of silver and blue had been woven in so that when she moved, her hair glittered. She wore a crown of small sparkling diamonds surrounding oval sapphires set in platinum filigree. Head held high, she walked gracefully out to meet her father’s cronies.

  Descending the steps, the train of her gown floated behind her. She smiled as she looked down into the great hall. The long table was set with silver, crystal, fine linens, and china, and it was filled with Viking lords and their wives. She was pleased that her father had set up this dinner. She would learn about pirates from those who had done battle with them. She would mingle with the ladies, some of whom she had missed while in the human world.

  As she stepped down off the last step into the room, her father stood to greet her. “You look lovely Ovidia,” he said, looking dashing dressed in his royal finery.

  “Where is mother,” Ovidia looked around the room.

  “Just there,” he replied, pointing to where she stood at the other end of the room, talking with one of her close friends, a valued member of the council.

  “I see her talking with Lady Dagamear.” Ovidia walked with her father to the table and took her seat at his right, just as her mother came to sit with them, accompanied by said lady. Sigrid was seated at her husband’s left, Lady Dagamear next to Ovidia.

  “Ovidia, it is lovely to see you,” the woman greeted her. Ovidia smiled; she had been an integral part of Ovidia’s childhood, helping her train and often coming with her mother to the school during her weekly sessions.

  “I am well, my Lady, and you,” Ovidia smiled fondly.

  “Healthy as a horse, and happy to be so,” she said.

  Ovidia nodded as Lady Dagamear was pulled into conversation with her husband, who sat on her other side. The next few hours flew by as Ovidia was assaulted with information on the nature of pirates—namely the lords saying they were sneaky and deceptive while the ladies insisted that they were dashing and gallant—and by the end of the dinner, she was pleasantly exhausted. Her cheeks hurt from smiles and laughter. She had been right to come home; it was what she had needed.

  In her room Ovidia slipped out of the dress lying it over a chair for the maid to have cleaned. Reaching into the wardrobe she pulled out a silk nightgown one of the few things that she had brought with her from the institute. Cozy in her bed she listened to the wind howl around the stone castle and the comforting crackle and pop of the fire, more content than she had felt in a long time she drifted off to sleep.

  Ovidia traded her nightgown for her skinny jeans and high-heeled boots. She would have to make more time for coming home; she needed to be more balanced, to allow herself to acknowledge this side of herself.

  After saying goodbye to her parents and sister, she took the short coach ride back to the station. She stepped inside the small building and stopped to look at the window reflecting the cozy library of the institute. On the other side lay her alternate life, and Ovidia could feel the adrenaline start to run through her blood as she faced it. She had a new mission, a dangerous and exciting one. She was going to be a pirate.

  Closing her eyes, she stepped back through the wavy, melting glass into the library. She took one look back as the window briefly reflected the small wooden room, the torches lit with the eerie blue flames of Norse magic. She thought she heard a low deep chuckle—Odin, possibly, or maybe just someone walking by the small shack.

  “Well hello! How was your trip home then, girl,” Hugh asked, sitting at the table sipping his habitual cup of tea.

  “Needed,” Ovidia replied as she gave him a quick squeeze.

  “It is a fine day.” Hugh raised his tea cup in a jaunty salute. “My two girls have both come home today.”

  “I can’t wait to get all the gory details about the honeymoon,” Ovidia said with a finger wave to a chuckling Hugh as she left the library.

  Ovidia opened the door to her apartment, grabbing her phone off the counter she sent a quick text to Teagan setting up dinner for later that night. She had just enough time to shower and change before meeting her at their favorite restaurant.

  Chapter 5

  “Vid, I wish you could have been there. Well, I guess I don’t, but it was just fantastic! We had a whole island to ourselves. It was beautiful, so quiet, the breezes heavenly. Bran had someone stock the library for me, and I spent a good portion of my days reading about Blackbeard. I took his files from the institute so I could get you all ready for your next mission,” Teagan gushed. Her skin had a healthy glow from days in the sun and long nights with her new husband.

  “Teag! It was your honeymoon—you were not supposed to be working. I think there were better things you could have been occupying your time with,” Ovidia said with a sly glance in her direction.

  “Oh there was plenty of that, but you know me—a day without my books…” Teagan said with a smile.

  “Yes, I know you would have been crazy without being able to read,” Ovidia said, rolling her eyes. “What a waste of a honeymoon.”

  “Vid, it was not a waste. Bran had other things he wanted to do as well. He did his thing while I did mine. It was the most perfect time,” Teagan said dreamily.

  Ovidia smiled. She was happy for her friend. Teagan deserved her happiness, but Ovidia was a bit jealous—sea, sand, and sun sounded perfect. Maybe after this mission was complete, she would take a bit of time for herself, find an excuse for a bikini and a sunny beach somewhere—that is, if she didn’t get tired of the water. She imagined she would be spending quite a bit of time on the ocean on this mission.

  Ovidia took another sip of her cocktail then looked up to see Erik waltz in with a blonde woman. Ovidia squinted her eyes; of course he was out with someone else. She shouldn’t have been surprised. She angrily tore her gaze away from him, back to her own companion. Teagan was looking at her expectantly.

  “Earth to Ovidia—you haven’t heard anything I’ve said in the past few minutes, have you,” Teagan asked, looking behind her to try to ascertain what Ovidia was staring at.

  “Sorry Teag, I got distracted. What were you saying,” Ovidia replied, sipping her drink, only to find her eyes again drifting in the direction of Erik and the unknown blonde.

  “Oh no, you don’t get off that easy. What are you staring at,” Teagan enquired, looking around, trying to pin d
own what Ovidia was so interested in.

  “Teag, it was nothing. I was just looking around, got lost in my thoughts a bit.”

  Teagan looked at Ovidia for few seconds. Finally, she sighed. “Okay Vid, keep your secrets. How was everything while I was away?”

  “It was okay. I accepted the mission, as you know. I am going to go with Erik, and it will be fine. I made a long overdue visit home while you were away,” Ovidia said, thoughts of Kvenland putting the smile back on her face.

  “You did,” Teagan asked, her eyebrows going up. “You need to take me sometime—I need to experience where you grew up. I always thought you were from England, and it was quite a shock to realize you were not just from another country, but another world altogether.”

  “Not another world so much, but another part of this world that most people don’t know exists,” Ovidia corrected. Teagan made it sound like she was some kind of alien from a different planet.

  “How was it? Your visit home,” she asked Ovidia.

  “It was good. Actually, it was more than good—it was exactly what I needed. Between work and the wedding, I hadn’t been home in quite a while, and it was nice to be with my people for a bit,” Ovidia said.

  Teagan laughed. “That sounds so funny—‘your people’.”

  “Well that is what they are Teag,” Ovidia said indignantly.

  “Ahhh yes, that is right. Should I start calling you Princess Ovidia now,” Teagan asked, sipping at her drink.

  “Only if you want to die a painful death at the end of my sword,” Ovidia said, a gleam in her eye.

  “Calm down there, Vid. No one is dying at the end of a sword—I will not call you princess anymore,” Teagan said, laughing. “It is good to see the warrior again. My memories are very clear now, and I remember my little friend standing between me and a young dragon, wooden sword ready to do battle.”

  “I am so glad you remember everything now,” Ovidia said, reaching out to take Teagan’s hand. “Erik has been one of the only people I’ve been able to show my true self. He knew the fashionista part and the warrior part. He loved all the pieces of me, let me be myself. It is such a relief to let you see both sides my life. You will accept me just the way I am.”

  “Oh yes, because a witch-fae hybrid married to a dragon is so normal.” Teagan smiled at her friend.

  “Hello ladies. Ovidia, you’ve been scarce the last few days—where did you rabbit off to?”

  Ovidia felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and she looked at the table where Erik had been: the blonde sat alone, swirling her straw in her drink, a bored look on her face.

  “Rabbit off to,” Ovidia asked, her eyes like ice, her tone cold. “I went home to visit my family,” she said simply.

  “You must be the infamous Dr. Teagan Faelyn,” Erik said, turning a warm smile in Teagan’s direction.

  She held up her left hand, the dragon tattoo shimmering, the diamonds from her rings glittering. “It’s Dragos now, and you have me at a disadvantage here, sir—who might you be,” Teagan asked, already quite sure of the answer.

  “Erik Rabec,” he said with a slight bow. “I am Ovidia’s new partner since Bran is still mopping up the last of the Ripper case. I had heard he married, and he is a very lucky man,” Erik said, smiling at Teagan while enjoying the heat of Ovidia’s glare on his face.

  “You knew very well that Teagan was married to Bran. Don’t act like an idiot,” Ovidia snapped, sitting back in her chair. She crossed her arms over her chest and a feral smile came over her face, always a dangerous sign. “Your date looks lonely, Erik—you better get back to her,” Ovidia said, gesturing to the woman who was staring daggers at their table.

  “It was very nice meeting you Teagan,” Erik said before turning to Ovidia. “Ovidia,” he said with a nod then casually strolled back to his table. The two women watched as he smiled at the blonde woman, and the ice melted as she smiled back at him.

  “Another one bites the dust. The Rabec charm is legendary—so legendary even I fell for it,” Ovidia muttered.

  “So that’s the infamous Erik. He’s cute,” Teagan said, a laugh in her voice at Ovidia’s cutting stare. “What! Vid, he is handsome, and sooo charming.” Teagan giggled.

  “Very funny Teag. He may be handsome and ‘sooo charming’, but he ripped my heart out. He left it still pumping at my feet. He told me he was doing his duty, and I understand duty to kingdom and family, but it turns out that was not true. He abdicated the throne to his brother, Calder, who married the woman Erik had been set to marry. Come to find out, the two had feelings for each other for years, and Erik’s brother was always more suited to rule than him anyway. Instead of telling me he abdicated, he hid out by doing secret missions for Armand, told me he couldn’t come back to me because our relationship was just ‘too intense’.” Ovidia spit the words out in a rush.

  Spying their waiter, she hailed him and curtly ordered two whiskeys straight up. Teagan quietly studied her as the waiter brought their drinks. Ovidia downed them one after the other, savoring the slow burn the amber liquid caused as it slid down her throat and warmed her belly.

  “He may be cute, and he may be charming, but he is a snake in the grass,” Ovidia declared, slamming her empty glass down on the table.

  Teagan raised one eyebrow.

  “What? Stop looking at me like that—you’re going to give me a complex,” Ovidia said, sitting back in her chair and enjoying the slow burn of the whiskey.

  “At last, the Valkyrie comes out to play. It’s normally chat, flirt, eyelash flutter and the men melt at your feet,” Teagan told her matter-of-factly.

  “Not that man, Teag. That is one man I could never charm. Erik is serious. He doesn’t flirt. I thought he was only about three things: training, his duty to his kingdom, and…me, but I was wrong about two of those things. He is not what I thought he was, and I need to move on with my life. I was moving on with my life until Armand thought to partner us for this mission,” Ovidia said, her words slightly slurred as the alcohol started to take its numbing effect. It was a feeling she quite liked.

  “Okay Vid, I think it’s time to stumble our way home.” Teagan pushed back her chair.

  Ovidia pouted. “I want to dance, laugh, and have fun,” she said in a loud voice.

  “That may be what you want to do, but what you need to do is go home. A good night’s sleep will give you a better perspective,” Teagan said firmly.

  “Spoilsport is what you are, Teag” Ovidia grumbled, but she got up and shrugged into her coat anyway. “Fine, let’s go back. Besides, you have Bran to get home to,” Ovidia muttered in a bitter tone.

  Teagan ignored the dig, knowing her friend was hurting. She led Ovidia out to the street where the cab she had requested was waiting to take them back to the institute.

  Ovidia was silent on the way back, just staring out the window. The numb feeling hadn’t lasted. She was so tired of feeling the pain when it came to Erik. Earlier her resolve had been so solid. She knew she could work with him, but would she be the same after? It had taken so long to glue herself back together after he left, and knowing he hadn’t left her for some noble purpose had shattered her all over again.

  “Vid, come on, we’re here,” Teagan said softly, tugging Ovidia up the stairs to their apartments.

  “I got it from here Teag, no need to follow me in. Go to your dragon, I’ll be fine. I just need some sleep,” Ovidia said with a wan smile, shutting the door in the concerned face of her friend.

  She stripped as she went, leaving a trail of clothes and shoes across the living room into the hallway. Naked, she crawled in between the cool sheets and sought the peaceful oblivion of sleep, praying her demons would not follow her there.

  Chapter 6

  Slitting one eye open, Ovidia cursed at the ray of sunshine that slanted across her bed. She’d had a deep dreamless sleep, thank Odin, but now enough was enough. Ovidia was a Valkyrie. Valkyries didn’t wallow in self-pity, and she wasn’t going to let
a little thing like a broken heart get her down. Slipping out of her bed and into her bathroom, she turned on the shower, waiting for the water to heat. Ovidia loved her apartment, all chrome and glass, splashes of bold color, soft fabrics draped over furniture, and plush rugs on the wood floors. Just like her, it was bold and brash, at once unforgiving but also soft and sweet in places.

  Her bathroom was one of those places. It was designed differently than the rest of her home; in fact, it didn’t even look as if it belonged with the modern decor outside the door.

  There, in her most secret place, was a secret forest. The walls had been painted the soothing color of peat moss. The floor was a large tile mosaic of a massive tree, its leaves glittering in the soft light of the sconces made to resemble flaming torches. The far wall boasted a large jetted tub in soft green marble, and a hand painted mural of a Kvenland forest graced the ceiling so she could lie back and pretend she was home, walking or riding in the forest. Acres of countertops in green veined marble were home to elaborate crystal perfume bottles that held her favorite scents. A moss green and cream striped satin upholstered fainting couch sat against the third wall, the perfect place to relax directly across from her favorite feature: a floor-to-ceiling, gently cascading waterfall. It was an ideal place to let her hopes and dreams out to play.

  Steam began to rise and Ovidia entered the roomy shower made of marble with multiple shower heads. She stepped under the warm spray, a small smile of anticipation on her face. The marble walls along with the shower heads disappeared, making it seem like she was surrounded by the forest. She stood au natural under a warm waterfall, watching as different wildlife wandered to drink from the pool at her feet. She had commissioned the visualization from a mage at the institute, and it never failed to soothe and delight her.

  Stepping out of the shower, Ovidia felt as if the water and the calming visualization had washed away her self-pity. She felt the excitement of a new of a mission start to build. She was going to be a swashbuckling pirate, and it was one of her favorite days before a mission: costumes. She would get fitted for the clothes she would wear on the mission.