Dark Deceit

by Lauren Dawes

Korvain whirled away, thinking, thinking. Could he trust Mason? He seemed like a good enough guy for a human. He had the ability to search a god’s mind. That would be useful somewhere down the line. Decided, Korvain turned back to Mason.

  ‘Yeah, you can help. But I want a blood oath from you that you will not breathe a word about this—about Bryn and the Valkyries, about Adrian and I, about your ability. You got me? You break the oath, I’ll kill you and you should know I take great pleasure in my work.’

  Mason nodded woodenly, no doubt getting a nice mental image of just how much Korvain enjoyed his work. ‘I’ll make the oath.’

  Korvain freed his karambit and cut a shallow groove into the palm of his hand. Roughly taking Mason’s, he did the same. Wiping the bloody blade on his black pants, he slid his weapon back into place.

  ‘Wh-what now?’ Mason asked, paling out just a little as his eyes fixed on the shallow cut on his palm.

  ‘Give me your hand.’ Mason did willingly. The oath they were about to make would tie Mason to Korvain. It wouldn’t be anything like the tie Darrion had with his assassins, but it would be strong enough that Korvain could feel where the human was.

  Making sure there was enough blood pooled on Mason’s palm, Korvain took some of that blood into himself. He could taste his loyalty like a fine wine rolling around on his palate. He truly was an honorable human.

  ‘Now it’s your turn.’ Korvain offered his bloody palm to Mason, and the human bent down and drank from Korvain’s open palm without hesitation. When he finally righted himself, Mason looked like he was fucking high. But that was Korvain’s blood. It was like being hooked up to an IV of the purest heroin in the world.

  ‘Alright, so what I need you to do is keep your ears open for any chatter about an abduction. If you’re right, and I think you are and Bryn has been taken, we need to locate her ASAP. I’ll keep trying to get into contact with her.’

  ‘How?’ he asked.

  Korvain’s mood darkened. ‘That doesn’t concern you.’

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Bryn was having the same dream over and over again. She was wandering around in a large open field filled with a thousand different wild flowers, and she was calling out to Korvain. For some reason, she felt as if he was near her, wanting to see her.

  All of a sudden, a thick fog rolled in; blanketing the landscape with puffy lines of smoke she couldn’t break through. She kept searching though, running through the field calling out Korvain’s name. She could hear the desperation in her calls, but didn’t care. He was close, so close to her now.

  ‘Korvain!’

  She strained her ears, listening.

  ‘Korvain!’

  Then she heard it. She heard her name being thrown back at her. She began moving toward the sound, running when he called for her again.

  ‘I’m coming!’

  She pumped her arms harder, her lungs burning. The mist seemed to be lifting each time he called back to her.

  ‘Korvain! Say something else! Anything!’

  ‘Bryn, what are you talking about?’ he called back. The mist thinned even further. Up ahead she could see him—his tall, dark form taking shape in the field. Seeing him standing there sent a shiver of anticipation down her spine. She was only a few feet away now. He took a step toward her, reaching out his hands. She slipped into his arms and felt a jolt.

  She blinked a few times, looking around, wondering where the field and the flowers had gone. The concrete floor beneath her feet was cold. She shivered as the temperature of her surroundings struck her. Where was she? A high-arched ceiling rose above her head, the dank, damp smells of earth pressing against her.

  Pushing away from his chest, she looked into his dark eyes, questioning him. ‘Where am I?’ she asked, her gaze dropping. She noticed she was wearing the same clothes she’d had on last night.

  Korvain’s finger under her chin drew her gaze back up. His eyes were gentle, his touch like silk. ‘I was hoping you’d be able to tell me.’

  She frowned, her head beginning to throb again. ‘I-I don’t know where I am.’ Her blue-ringed eyes made another sweep, pausing on the smooth concrete, on the almost rounded walls, snagging on the cuffs around her ankles. Something cold was around her neck, and when she touched whatever it was, she discovered it to be a large metal collar covering her entire neck.

  That was when the panic began to set in. She pulled at the metal circle around her throat, her fingernails breaking with each desperate pull. The sharp tang of blood filled her nostrils, warm drops falling onto her shirt.

  ‘Bryn!’ Korvain yelled, pulling her hands away. The look on his face made her think he’d been calling her name for a long time.

  ‘Korvain, get it off. Please.’

  He only shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, Bryn, but I can’t.’

  She turned away from him, but he pulled her face back to his. The collar stung her skin and she winced. When Korvain saw the pain on her face, he growled. ‘I promise to get it off you soon, but right now I need to know where you are.’ He clutched her face in his hands. ‘Bryn, think.’

  She frowned, her brain still feeling scrambled. ‘There were tunnels, and it was damp. Loki took me through a metal door. Wait...’ Bryn squeezed her eyes shut and thought back. Had she seen...

  ‘I think I saw a biscuit tin...like an old-fashioned biscuit tin.’

  ‘But you’re underground? You’re sure?’

  She nodded.

  Korvain spat a nasty curse then quickly apologized. ‘You must still be in Boston. Loki wouldn’t leave the city while Odin is still up for grabs. I will come for you, Bryn. I will find you. Just hang on.’ And then he shocked the Hel out of her. He leaned down and planted a very gentle, very subdued kiss on her lips. ‘Bryn, are the other Valkyries with you?’

  ‘I don’t know. Loki faded with me to these...tunnels.’ She went to cradle her head in her hands. Why couldn’t she remember whether Eir and Kristy were there or not?

  He took her cold hands in his warm ones. ‘Don’t worry about that. Just remember I’ll come for you.’

  She nodded, taking comfort in his words, in his warm welcome touch.

  She suddenly jerked away, her breath whooshing out of her. With a gasp her eyes opened, blinking freezing water from her eyes. Loki stood before her, a cruel grin turning up the corners of his mouth.

  ‘Wake up, sleepy head.’

  Bryn was still sucking in deep breaths, trying to get her heart to calm. If she thought she was cold before, she was freezing now. Her teeth began to chatter, the metal collar around her neck sucking in the frigid air and passing it straight into her bones. Loki placed the bucket down next to him and moved toward her. She stood up on shaky legs wishing she didn’t feel so damn vulnerable.

  The chains of her shackled ankles rattled against the metal pipe she was tied to; the sound of them sending a chill down her spine. She looked down at them, frowning. Why didn’t she just fade out of there?

  ‘I wouldn’t try it,’ Loki said, unlocking the links around her ankles. He pulled up the chain and put them in her line of site. She cursed. Each link was scribed with the protection rune which meant no fading. ‘It’s the same on that collar of yours.’

  Her brain was still foggy. Why was she being shackled like this? Then she remembered everything. It all came back to her with such ferocity that her knees buckled and she collapsed onto the ground.

  When she finally looked up at Loki, she demanded to know where Eir and Kristy were.

  ‘They’re safe as long as you tell me where your cloak is.’

  ‘I don’t know where it is.’

  Loki shook his head slowly, chastising her like she was a child. ‘I suggest you start remembering where it is, otherwise the other two will die before your eyes, and I’ll make sure I take my time with plucking their cloaks.’

  Bryn’s throat was dry, but she licked her lips and said, ‘I told you, I don’t know where my cloak is. Someone took it from me.’

  Loki
’s lips pursed. She could almost see the wild anger in his eyes though. With a guttural snarl, he took her upper arm and dragged her toward a large metal door in the corner of the room. As soon as the door parted from the seal, she heard the whimpered pleas of the other two women, smelled death and rot.

  It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, and when they did, she wished they hadn’t. On one side of the room were the bodies of Svava, Sigrun and Astrid, stacked one on top of the other. A halo of their feathers surrounded them, all spattered in their blood.

  On the opposite wall were Eir and Kristy. They were huddled together on the floor. Eir had a black eye, Kristy a split lip only just beginning to heal.

  Anger surged through Bryn’s veins. ‘Eir! Kristy! Are you okay?’

  Eir managed to nod, but Kristy just buried her face in her sister’s neck when Loki leered at them.

  ‘He has our cloaks, Bryn,’ Eir said, her voice so soft she had hardly caught the words.

  ‘I know.’

  ‘And I’m sorry,’ Eir added, breaking down into fresh sobs. The sound of her discomfort and regret tore the flesh from Bryn’s bones. She hated to see her Valkyries hurting. She hated to hear it in their voices even more.

  Loki pushed Bryn into a cold metal chair and chained her ankles to the legs so her thighs were forced open. Feeling exposed, she glared at Loki, her head still feeling a little fuzzy and compounded by the drug cocktail Loki had administered.

  ‘Now Bryn,’ Loki moved to stand in front of her again, hand on his hips. ‘I know you’re lying about your cloak. So why don’t you tell me where it is and I’ll be more than happy to let these two go.’ He waved a hand in the direction of her Valkyries. Bryn’s gaze skated to them, too, but Eir was shaking her head, telling her not to tell him.

  ‘I don’t know.’

  Loki glared at her for a long minute like she would cave under his stare. Clearly frustrated, he whirled around and pulled Kristy up by the hair. Eir screamed, still clutching her sister’s hand. Kristy cried out for a second before pressing her lips together. From the waistband at the small of his back, Loki pulled out a dagger.

  With one final look over his shoulder at Bryn, he drew the tip of the dagger down Kristy’s face. Starting at her temple, the smooth cut traversed her cheek and finally ended at the corner of her mouth.

  Bryn didn’t know how, but somehow Kristy stayed quiet throughout the whole thing even though tears trembled in her eyes, clinging to her pale lashes before tumbling down her face, causing clear streaks to run through her blood.

  * * *

  Eir pressed her lips together tighter even though she wanted to scream. Loki was holding her sister still, running his blade along the other side of her face. Eir felt it as if the god was actually doing it to her. Eir’s fingers were wrapped around Kristy’s hand. She was taking her sister’s pain for her, taking it into herself. It felt like acid. Searing. Burning. Agonizing. She would have taken the injury, too, but that was far beyond her power. Loki finally released Kristy, pushing her backwards so she lost her footing and collapsed onto the ground in an undignified heap. Eir was forced to release her hold as she fell; Kristy feeling the sharp impact on her tailbone.

  Bryn was watching on, horrified, but Eir could see she was confused. Why would Kristy cry out about falling over, but not about being sliced up? The truth was, Bryn didn’t know about Eir’s other ability. It worked best with the ones she loved, but at a push she could shield anyone who needed it.

  She glanced back at her sister. Blood was dripping off her chin now, raining down from her face and splattering the grit-covered concrete beneath her. She had started crying, the throb of her wounds finally crashing over her.

  The hardest part about taking someone’s pain away from them was it didn’t last. They would still feel it even after the worst of the trauma was over. That was another reason she didn’t do it too often. Sometimes, she felt as if it was a cruelty to the person rather than a mercy.

  ‘Tell me where your cloak is,’ Loki demanded of Bryn once more. The woman they all considered their leader just shook her head. Her face was stained with the tears she had shed for Kristy. That was why she made a good leader. She felt for all of them. In fact, she felt for all of them so much, it was the reason she had chosen to leave Odin’s service.

  Eir had been sitting in the drawing room of Odin’s manse, attending to her needlework. Out of all the Valkyries, she was the most feminine. She was rethreading her needle when all the commotion outside caught her attention.

  Putting down her work, she stood up, letting the sheer fabric of her shift dress move easily with her gait as she moved to the door and opened the sliding partition.

  Out in the foyer were Kara, Bryn and Odin. Up above, looking over the balustrades were Mav, Mist and the other Valkyries that had made Odin’s palace their home. Eir could see Kara had been crying. Bryn looked enraged, but her anger was nothing compared to the All-Father’s. His gaze was cutting as it swung around to encompass her. Eir shrank back into the room a little, but didn’t close the doors.

  ‘Odin, please,’ Bryn begged. ‘She made a mistake.’

  ‘A mistake she knew she could not make. She brought him into my house! She brought a human into my inner sanctum to fornicate with him!’ Odin snarled, spittle flying from his lips. ‘I will not have it, Bryn. I will not have it!’

  These words somehow made Bryn angrier. ‘Just remember you were the one to kill all our families. You took away the only people who loved us.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ he snarled back.

  ‘Kara was just looking for a little attention because she never received it from her father.’

  Odin paced, buttoning and unbuttoning his single-breasted coat. ‘Ridiculous!’ he muttered again. ‘I am her father.’

  Bryn stepped in front of him, stopping him mid-stride. ‘Exactly. You drove her to this. You took away the only men who ever loved us and replaced them with you.’ Her antagonism toward him had finally reached its peak. For centuries she had held back the comments. Eir knew it was because she loved the All-Father. She probably always would.

  Odin seemed to stumble back from her words as if she had truly wounded him. ‘That’s not true. I love all of you.’

  ‘Yes, but do you love us more than you love yourself?’ She posed him the question, taking up her position beside Kara once more. When Odin didn’t respond, Bryn added, ‘I guess not. If Kara is to be expelled, I’m going with her.’

  Odin looked up, horrified. ‘You can’t. Bryn, I forbid it.’

  Bryn shook her head, pity in her eyes. ‘I can and I will, Odin.’ Reaching around to the back of her neck, she took off the ash tree pendant she had worn for nearly one thousand years—the only personal gift she had been given by Odin. ‘You cannot push one of us out without another to follow. Just tell me if this is what you truly mean to do. If Kara leaves, I leave with her.’

  ‘Bryn, don’t—’ Kara said, but Bryn cut her off.

  ‘Odin, what is it to be? Forgive Kara for her mistake, or lose her and me along with her?’

  Eir held her breath. It was well known just how egotistical Odin was. Would he sacrifice his ego to keep his Valkyries together, or would he wipe his hands of them forever?

  He turned around, a hard glint in his eyes. The anger that had been so clearly directed at Kara before now turned on Bryn. ‘Go then!’ he spat contemptuously, waving his hand as if to shoo them from his sight that very second. ‘Leave. You won’t survive long in this new world without me.’

  The pendant slipped through Bryn’s fingers and clattered to the floor. ‘As you wish, All-Father.’

  Bryn had left, and she had thrived, and no more than forty-eight hours later, all the Valkyries had left the All-Father’s side. His ignorance had cost him his greatest creations. By slaughtering their families, Odin had hoped to erase them from their memories. But he didn’t take love and devotion into account.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Darrion faded to
Korvain’s address, his anger a writhing beast deep in his gut. It had taken hold of him, shaken him violently until his dark thoughts consisted of blood and destruction. He had waited too long for Korvain to kill his target, and now that the fucker had been taken off the job, Adrian was taking too fucking long to kill Korvain.

  He pounded up the driveway, ignoring the front door altogether. He could see Adrian was inside the garage with his sister. No doubt Adrian thought if he trained her hard enough, she could survive Darrion’s treatment of her. But he knew how to break women. He’d been doing it all his life.

  He opened the side access door forcefully, letting his power and presence swirl into the room. Adrian had his back to him, but Taer had seen him. Her flushed face drained of color suddenly, and her inattention got her a punch to the jaw.

  ‘Distractions will get you killed!’ Adrian barked, roughly hauling his sister up off the mat by the arm.

  ‘Yes, they will,’ Darrion drawled. He enjoyed the way Adrian whirled around, placing his body firmly in between Darrion and his sister. If Adrian thought he could protect Taer from him, he was in for a big surprise.

  He sneered at the other male. ‘You can’t protect her from me.’

  ‘The Hel I can’t,’ he growled back, letting his top lip peel back from the sharpened fangs at the front of his mouth. They were small in comparison to Darrion’s, but the trait had been all but bred out of Mares.

  ‘I’m not here for her,’ he lied. ‘I’m here for you. We need to speak.’

  Adrian held his gaze for a long time before speaking to his sister over his shoulder. ‘Taer, go inside the house.’

  The female didn’t waste any time following her brother’s order. She stepped around him, preparing to fade when Darrion caught her around the wrist and pulled her into the line of his body. With his hand still firmly attached to her wrist, she wouldn’t have the strength to fade with him.

  By the look in Adrian’s eyes, he had realized it, too.

  ‘I wouldn’t be so quick to run away,’ he whispered into her ear. He made sure to blow gently across her face as he spoke. Taer recoiled, trying to pull away, but he only clamped down harder.