Dark Deceit

by Lauren Dawes

  Books by Lauren Dawes

  The Half Blood Series

  Half Blood

  Half Truths

  Half Life

  The Dark Series

  Dark Deceit

  Lauren Dawes

  Dark

  Deceit

  eBook edition

  © 2013

  Copyright © 2013 by Lauren Dawes

  First Edition, 2013

  Published by Draft2Digital

  The right of Lauren Dawes to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000

  ISBN-13: 978-1482721430

  ISBN-10: 1482721430

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

  All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cover image © Andrei Vishnyakov

  Dreamstime.com

  Cover design by Lauren Dawes.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Copyright Page

  Dark Deceit (Dark Series, #1)

  Glossary of terms and proper nouns

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Prologue

  Dedicated to Phil: for loving me even when I’m driving you crazy with my ‘uniquity’.

  Acknowledgments

  Argh, so many people to thank with this book! I had the idea for Bryn and Korvain in my head while I was writing ‘Half Life’. I wasn’t sure whether I could tell their story. After one failed attempt, I was ready to throw in the towel, but those two were pretty insistent.

  The first person I should thank is my brother, Gareth. He stepped up as editor with this book, and it was nice to have someone I could tell to shove it when I didn’t like one of his suggestions. Seriously though, he helped me out of a lot of writing blocks. His belief and encouragement got me there in the end.

  Gareth is also responsible for all the promo posters I used prior to Dark Deceit’s release. I think he did a great job with them. It was also his artistic hand that designed my bookmarks and also the book trailer that ended up revealing the title of the book a few months before its release.

  Next, I’d like to thank my beta readers: Brandi Kennedy, Amanda Ford, Kylie Tyler and Sarah Fox. As always, your comments and suggestions, praise and queries helped me to make this book the best it could have been.

  I’d also like to thank everyone who decides to buy my book and supports me on the different platforms I use such as Facebook, Twitter and via my blog and website. Indie authors are nothing without the fans. So thank you.

  I put many, many hours into research with Dark Deceit. These are the main sources I consulted:

  godchecker.com

  dolls-n-daggers.com

  thenorsegods.com

  knifethrowing.info

  tripadvisor.com

  googlemaps.com

  Blurb:

  The time of the Aesir gods is over. Now they live amongst the humans in their bustling modern cities. Their brutal dominion over the gods and humans may have ended, but their actions have not been forgotten.

  Korvain is feared like no other. His ruthlessness and cold heart are legendary, but when he is given the task of killing one of the most fabled goddesses of all time, he is left with an undeniable desire to make her his own. Failure in his task means only one thing: death. Will he follow his orders, or will he follow his heart?

  Bryn’s whole world crumbled when she left Odin’s service to protect the other Valkyries. Now living with the humans, she is the only thing standing between them and total destruction. But her beliefs are about to be shaken to the core when she meets Korvain—a volatile, completely irresistible Mare who threatens to take away more than just her innocence.

  Glossary of terms and proper nouns

  Aesir (n) – The sky gods. It is their belief they are superior to all other races in the Nine Worlds.

  agarwaen (adj) – after a Shadow Walker has completed their training and survived the Final Test, this is the title they are awarded; literally translated as blood-stained.

  Asgard (n) – The former home of the Aesir.

  fade (v) – to dematerialize to another location with a thought.

  Fall, the (n) – The time when the Norse gods were no longer worshiped and therefore lost their power. The Fall was the tipping point that destroyed the Nine Worlds, breaking down the highly organized and coveted hierarchy built by the Aesir. Factions split and different species within those Nine Worlds were strewn across the human world. Some prospered while some merely survived. The gods favored the cities created by humans while others, like the dwarves, preferred the furthest outposts of human civilization.

  Final Test, the (n) – At the end of a Mare’s training to become a Walker, a gladiator-style battle takes place where the last man (or woman) standing is awarded the title agarwaen.

  Frigg – Odin’s wife; the goddess of fertility, love and marriage.

  Jotunn (n) – a giant.

  Mare (n) – a dark elf. Pure-blooded Mares are believed to be extinct after a campaign by Odin over a thousand years ago to eradicate their species. To escape persecution, dark elves bred with light elves creating half-breed children whose features helped them to pass as light elves.

  Mares were usually no shorter than six feet tall. Their appearance is humanoid; however, they have fangs that are not for the taking of blood for sustenance; rather they are used for sexual gratification.

  Midgard (n) – The home of the humans.

  Morier(ea) (n) – a derogatory term for a shadow-walker; literally translated as dark one.

  Niflheim (n) – Home of the dead; ruled by Hel.

  Norns (n) – Female beings who rule the destiny of men and gods. Compare: the Fates of Greek mythology.

  Odin – The father of all gods and men. Sometimes referred to as the All-Father.

  Shadow Walker (n) –Shadow Walker is the ancient name for any Mare trained to be an assassin because of their ability to ‘wrap’ shadows around them to conceal themselves. However, due to the extensive inter-breeding with the light elves, many dark elves lost the ability to shadow walk, but the name remains the same.

  Shadow Walkers were feared for their ability to enter a person’s dreams and manipulate them.

  Valhal
la (n) – An enormous hall within Asgard that housed fallen battle heroes.

  Valkyrie (n) – A beautiful warrior woman created by Odin to take the bodies of men slain in battle to Valhalla. Their immortality is only possible while their swan feather cloak is in their possession. If this cloak is stolen, the thief is entitled to seven years of service from the Valkyrie. However, if the feathers are plucked from the cloak, the Valkyrie’s immortality leaves them and they can be killed by a mortal wound.

  Vanir (n) – The Vanir are the old gods who ruled before the Aesir. Sworn enemies of the sky gods, they are the masters of sorcery and elemental magic.

  Prologue

  At the start of time...

  The hand around Loki’s bicep squeezed harder to stop his struggle, the blood flow in his arm slowing, slowing, until finally coming to a stop. He was numb. He attempted to pull free from those strong fingers, but he got the handle of a hammer jabbed into his solar plexus instead, pushing all the air from his lungs and doubling him over. Loki’s knees gave out, letting the hand feel his slack weight. They had finally caught up with him, but it didn’t mean he had to make it easy for them.

  ‘Walk properly or I’ll break your legs and drag you,’ an all too familiar male voice growled, gripping the hammer with his free hand until his knuckles turned white. Loki sneered at him and let even more of his weight drop.

  Without releasing him, Thor backhanded Loki, smiling as blood tumbled down Loki’s chin from the freshly split lip. Loki stood up to spit on the other god’s sandals and smiled back sardonically. Thor glowered at him, raising his hammer as if to strike him when a powerful voice jerked him to a stop.

  ‘Enough!’ The All-Father’s voiced crackled and carried, echoing around them even though they were yet to reach the cave Loki was being taken to.

  Thor glared at Loki, hatred boiling behind his ice-blue eyes. The god’s chest heaved with rage, his arm shaking with a fine tremor.

  ‘Thor!’ Odin boomed again, his tone not just a warning, but a promise of punishment if Thor chose to ignore him. Loki blinked up at the other man, watching to see if he was going to listen to his father. Thor growled at Loki—baring his teeth—but lowered his weapon.

  ‘Move!’ Thor shoved Loki in the back, marching him forward once more. Loki stumbled—the ground becoming rockier, the air thicker. The breeze was hot on his face, the sun an oppressive beast beating against the skin on his bare body. The sting from the wound on his lip turned into a throb pounding in time to his erratically racing heart.

  A sharp rock bit into the heel of Loki’s foot, hobbling him instantly. His blood trailed behind him, following him up to the entrance of the cave that would no doubt become his prison; its dark maw open and waiting for him. Fear turned his stomach to stone, a cold sweat breaking out on his brow despite the blistering heat. Loki slowed his pathetic march, coming to a stop on the sharp rocky ground just before stepping into the shadowy entrance. This time Thor wasn’t so gentle with him.

  Loki felt the full force of the war hammer in the small of his back. Loki chewed the inside of his cheek, not allowing the bastard at his back to know just how much that had hurt. Blood welled in his mouth until he had to either spit it out or swallow it. He swallowed; the metallic tang disgusting him.

  ‘Keep him moving,’ Odin said, stopping at his son’s side. Loki looked over his shoulder at the two men he had once considered his family.

  Thor growled and snapped his teeth, raising an arm to strike Loki, but he had no interest in being hit again. He began putting one foot in front of the other, shuffling along to his slow and drawn-out death.

  The sudden change in temperature brought a rush of goose bumps to Loki’s naked flesh. His eyes took a long time to adjust to the gloom. They marched him in near darkness until he was sure he would collapse. Hours could have passed, but there was no way of telling. He realized then he would never see the sun again. The further they moved into the cave, the darker and colder it became.

  Water dripped steadily from somewhere deeper in the cavern, the sound bouncing around—echoing. The darkness seemed to be closing in on Loki, making his throat close up and suffocating him. Panic bloomed when the stench of raw meat and spilled bowels hit his nose.

  There was a small curve in the passage up ahead. The fine hairs on Loki’s neck suddenly stood on end. He slowed and the air behind him shifted as Thor was no doubt ready to jam his hammer into Loki’s back again. Loki picked up his pace, fighting the feeling of dread sinking its hooks into his skin.

  When they walked past the curved section, Loki sensed they had just entered a much larger section of cave. The air seemed cooler, but it was still tainted with the smell of death. An orange flame jumped to life at his back; the glow casting shadows around the large underground chamber.

  ‘Those rocks there,’ Odin commanded from behind him. Thor wrenched on Loki’s arm, pulling him toward three massive limestone boulders next to a sheer rock face. Water was dribbling down the hard rock wall, trickling off, dripping into small pools at its base. Thor threw Loki down roughly, holding his arms down with one hand while catching a sinewy rope thrown by Odin in the other. Thor grinned down at him, satisfaction curling his lips smugly. He waved the rope in Loki’s face; Loki following the motion with his eyes.

  ‘We should be thanking you for these.’ Thor began binding his wrists together above his head. ‘We turned your son Vali into a wolf so he could tear them from his brother’s body.’

  Loki’s eyes widened. Craning his neck, he looked around the cave, his eyes coming to an abrupt halt at the body of his son, Narvi, left discarded on the floor. His stomach was eviscerated, the contents of his abdomen congealing in puddles of blood on the cave floor. Loki could feel bile working its way up from his stomach. Turning his head, vomit burned up his throat and exploded from his mouth. Through his blackened vision and spotty hearing, Thor’s satisfied laughter was all Loki could hear and a rage began to build within him. Just as he tried to kick out of the other god’s grip, Thor caught his ankle and tightened the rope around it.

  ‘No!’ a woman screamed, dousing his anger instantly. Straining his neck, Loki looked for the source of the scream. He called his wife’s name over and over again until Thor cuffed him, breaking his nose. Cartilage snapped. Blood sprayed from his nostrils, covering his chest with warm droplets.

  ‘Loki!’ Sigyn’s voice was high, keening—desperate.

  ‘Sigyn!’ he tried to call back, but his throat had filled with blood again. Racking a cough, he was forced to swallow the blood back then tried again.

  ‘She can’t hear you,’ Thor said, looking down at him, appraising the knotted ropes made from his own son’s viscera. ‘But you should know we made her watch.’ Thor was making a noose-like knot now. Roughly, he pulled it down over Loki’s head and tightened it. Breathing became even more difficult. Loki forced air through his mouth; blood dripped from his lips into his mouth and trickled down the back of his throat.

  Satisfied with the strength of the knots and the bonds, Thor stood up. ‘He’s ready,’ he called. Loki strained to see Odin coming back into the main section of the cave. Sigyn was at his side, her hands bound in front of her. Tears had dragged clean lines down her filthy cheeks making her look pitiful. She hadn’t even seen him yet. Her eyes were on Narvi’s body lying inert on the ground.

  Odin pulled an ornate dagger from the scabbard on his hip. The blade gleamed in the dimly-lit cave, but Sigyn was yet to see it. With his eyes fixed on Loki, Odin ran the blade across his wife’s throat. Sigyn dropped from the All-Father’s arms like a stone, her body slapping the ground like a pile of meat.

  Desperate gasping filled Loki’s ears; his wife’s dying gurgles and breaths guaranteed to haunt him for the rest of his days. Loki screamed out wordlessly, the noose tightening around his neck until he was gasping for breath. Odin’s sandals kicked loose stones as he walked over toward the platform Loki was bound to. His one clear green eye seemed to pity him while the obsidian orb sitting
in the empty socket of his right said you brought this on yourself. Loki tried to make his eyes say fuck you, but the delighted smirk on the All-Father’s face said he’d failed. Loki struggled against his bonds, only to have Odin’s hand land on his shoulder. ‘I would not bother to try and free yourself. I have warded these bonds to prevent you from fading away.’

  Odin smiled at the growl that broke free of Loki’s lips.

  ‘You do know why this has happened to you, don’t you Loki?’ Odin asked. ‘You had my son killed, and then you refused to weep for his loss. You damned Baldr to the cold, vast wastelands of Niflheim. He is Hel’s guest now, and will forever be. For the part you played, I have taken away your son Narvi so you may know the feeling of loss. I turned your other son against his own brother so you would know betrayal and guilt. I killed your wife for the simple reason that she would aid you.’

  Odin looked over his shoulder and nodded. The shuffling of feet filled Loki’s ears along with an ophidian hissing. The All-Father looked at him once more. ‘You remember Skadi, don’t you?’ His voice was smug. ‘She’s brought someone to keep you company while you rot in this cave.’

  The snow goddess approached the platform slowly. Skadi’s ice-blonde hair hung in her silver-frosted eyes. Everything about the goddess was white, except for her mouth. That was a bright scarlet red.

  As more and more of Skadi filled his vision, Loki’s eyes widened. Wrapped around her body was a huge white snake. She was stroking its horned head with a light fingertip, cooing softly to the reptile. Uttering a few indistinguishable words to the serpent, it turned its red eyes to Loki.

  The hiss that escaped its mouth sent shivers along Loki’s skin. Its fangs were six inches long and growing. Its scales had an iridescent shine to them; its body an undulating rainbow in Skadi’s pale hands.

  ‘Let’s give him a taste, shall we?’ Odin purred, his black eye sparkling with amusement.

  Nodding, she brought the snake to Loki, holding its head over his foot. Poison pooled and dripped from its fangs; the sensitive skin on the top of his foot beginning to smolder where it landed. Loki cried out, gritting his teeth and waiting for the pain to abate.