by Unknown
“A pretty speech,” Horus spoke before I could. “And I agree that they need an outlet for their more darker urges but war should not be encouraged. We have a duty to guide our followers down a beneficial path that would lead to their happiness.”
“War does make them happy,” Tawiskaron insisted. “Remember the gladiatorial battles in Rome? How about the modern version of it, these MMA fighting tournaments? They have not progressed beyond the savage thrill of blood, not in a thousand years, and they won't in a thousand more. I am merely giving them what they want.”
“You're saying that even without you, they would fight?” I leaned forward to look at Tawiskaron.
“Yes, exactly,” he smiled at me.
“Then they don't need you to encourage them to do more, do they?” I lifted a brow. “Everything needs balance and Nature has balanced humans with both light and dark emotions.” Something echoed inside me with the words, something about the dark fey, but I pushed it away. Now wasn't the time. “You're disrupting the balance and that can only lead to chaos.”
He frowned and cast his gaze downward, seeming to actually consider my words. Then he glanced at Blue but Blue was looking at me with the same amount of consideration. Had I finally said something to break through to these guys?
“I can see that we're at an impasse,” Tawiskaron stood. “I hope I don't have to kill any of you, I rather like you all. Good night.”
Nope, I guess I hadn't.
Tawiskaron left as he had arrived, in silence. We all watched him go without saying a word. What could we say? Then I was proved wrong. Again. Teharon stood and ran after him. Evidently there was something to be said.
Teharon caught up with him near the top of the stairs and I was able to catch most of the conversation with my dragon hearing. Teharon begged Tawiskaron to stop his plans, he didn't want to fight his brother and wasn't their family blood more important than the blood of humans? Tawiskaron disagreed, though he did it by saying nothing and simply walking away. Karni Mata got up and went over to comfort Teharon so I pulled my focus back to our group, giving them their privacy.
“Now what?” Pan asked grimly. I was getting more and more used to seeing seriousness on his face. I didn't like that. Pan had a face that needed to be happy. Without that happiness, he looked like a wounded puppy. Or Eeyore.
“Damn it, Pan,” I shook my head. “Cut that out. When did you turn into Morissey? There's only one thing we can do now.” I got up to see if I could find a waitress. “We drink.”
The waitress that had been assigned to the VIP lounge had cleared out when the drama started. I went over to the railing and looked down over the crowd. I caught Addison's attention and she waved up at me and started over. I was about to turn back when I saw Griffin. He was still guarding the stairs but he wasn't alone. There was a beautiful blonde woman standing beside him, a hand casually trailing over his bicep. A human woman. He was smiling down at her and when she handed him a slip of paper, he seemed to take it eagerly. I took a deep breath and turned away. Stupid, I was being so stupid.
I walked back over to the group and Addison arrived shortly after to take our drink order. I ordered a bottle of Patron. When she asked how many glasses, I said one. Then I turned to look at Trevor.
“We really should ask Luke if he'll let us sell Hellbrew here.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“What I don't understand is why they all love you so much,” Vex was back, haunting my dream again. This time he was disguised as Patrick Jane from The Mentalist, nice suit and everything. The look went well with his analyzing tone and I wondered if it was the reason he'd chosen it.
“I don't either but haven't we had this conversation already?” I flinched when I realized it had been with Griffin not Vex. “No, sorry, that wasn't you.”
“So I'm not the only one confused,” he grinned, good ol' Patrick Jane about to delve into my psyche.
“No, we're all confused,” I laughed. “All except for my men. They don't seem to be confused one bit.”
“What about the one you just brought back to life?” He crossed one leg over another and peered at me. We were sitting in a cafe, on the veranda, at a wrought iron table, and he was drinking tea.
“How do you know about him?” I narrowed my eyes on Vex. “That was you on the beach, wasn't it? How many dreams have you been watching?”
“A lot,” he waved away my concern. “Is this what you normally look like?”
I looked down at myself. Long dark hair, full hourglass figure(just a little more sand in my hourglass), some muscles peeping through the curves, light skin with a hint of golden brown, I didn't have a mirror but I was pretty sure it would be the same face I saw everyday. Boring brown eyes and pleasant features, not ugly but not super model quality either, though Aphrodite's magic had upped my appeal a little.
“Yeah, this is it,” I shrugged. “Nothing spectacular.”
“So it must be in here,” he waved a hand around the scene. Cobbled streets, old buildings, flowers hanging in pots from railings, people passing by holding hands.
“What, here in Spain?” I frowned. “Or is this Paris? I'm not sure.”
“Not here here,” he huffed. “Here, in your head. There must be something inside here that they love.”
“So what? I could have told you that it's beyond the physical.” I rolled my eyes. “Why do you care?”
“Well I want to know what it is.”
“No you don't,” I sighed. “Why don't you find another goddess to pester?”
“They're not as fun as you are,” he grinned widely and then I remembered what Roarke had said. I had more power here than he did. “You're smiling smugly all of a sudden,” his eyes narrowed on me. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” I smiled wider. “I thought you were mad at me for wanting to know your name?”
“I got over it,” he shrugged.
“Was that you who gave me the nightmare?” I looked him over critically.
“Nightmare?” He sat up straight, leg falling to the ground. “What nightmare?”
“About a baby,” that's all he was getting from me. If he didn't give it to me, then he didn't need to know any more.
“No, that wasn't me,” he said quietly.
“Fine,” I waved it away. “Look, I can help you. I can introduce you to Jesus, get you a sip of the grayel, whatever. You don't have to kill people.”
“You'd do that?”
“Sure,” I shrugged. “It stops the killing, which is what I want.”
“That's... how would you do that?”
“Easy, just tell me where to meet you.”
“What?”
“Well, I can't exactly introduce you to Jesus in here,” I huffed.
“Ah,” he sat back in his seat and sighed. “Now I understand.”
“What?”
“This is a trap,” he glared at me. “You're going to get me out in the open and then try to kill me.”
“Why would I do that when I could just help you?” I shook my head. “You're being paranoid.”
“Being paranoid is what's kept me alive.”
“I don't get it, how can there not be any immortality options available to you?”
“Let's just say that the price is one I'm unwilling to pay,” he looked a little sad then. “Goodbye, Godhunter.”
“No, wait,” I leaned forward to catch him but he was already gone. “Should I chase him? Shit, what now?”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“Karni's temple is under attack!” Darius' voice came blaring through the intercom. “Get down here now!”
I rushed to the elevator, Trevor and Kirill hot on my heels. We got down to the first floor and found the Intare already tracing out, a rapidly moving line of men moving straight into a solid wall. I looked for and quickly found Darius.
“What's going on?” I grabbed his arm.
“Tawiskaron's mutants are attacking Karni Mata's worshipers. Teharon called us in for back-up. The
whole Squad is already on its way.”
“Okay,” that's all I needed to know.
I made my way to the front of the line with Trevor and Kirill, sparing a glance for the velvet dress I was wearing. It was probably about to be ruined but Teharon and Karni were worth it. The humans were worth it. It was just a dress. Sigh. I placed my hand to the wall and traced to Karni's temple in India.
Normally the courtyard in front of the temple was overrun with pigeons and parishioners but today it was empty. There wasn't a bird to be seen, so at least some good had come of it(sorry, flocks of pigeons disturb me). We ran into the beautiful temple, passing by white columns and amazing stone carvings. I could hear the battle and screaming Indians(dot not feather) were swarming by me, trying to get out.
We made it to the center of the temple, the open courtyard where the rats were fed. Yes, rats. Karni Mata is a rat goddess. The rats were gone, smart enough to flee, but several Indians had stayed in a valiant attempt to defend the temple. They were being slaughtered but in the most unusual of ways.
Mutants of all forms and sizes swung their distorted limbs in what looked like random patterns but what was actually carefully planned maneuvers. Each movement enticed a human to react but when they attacked, the humans contacted only with other humans. It was the same thing the mutants had been doing with the hunters, causing them to hurt each other, except here it was even more impressive.
“Stop!” I yelled but no one paid attention to me. “Damn it, let's get these people out of here before they kill themselves.”
My Intare rushed forward, each of them picking up a human and carrying them away to safety. My poor boys, the humans didn't want to go and they kicked and screamed the whole way. Still, it didn't take them long to evacuate the humans, leaving us to face the mutants alone.
“Leave now and you won't be hurt,” Teharon offered and they immediately rushed us.
Evidently, they didn't have the same orders when it came to gods. There was no tactical maneuvering anymore, they were going straight for the kill. Except they were no match for us and killing them was like putting down a rabid dog, necessary but repellent. It hurt my heart to do it.
I hadn't brought a weapon, so I used my claws to kill the mutants as quickly as possible. Then I saw Teharon lay his hand on one of them and heal the mutation. There was a sparking energy emanating from Teharon's hand and then the altered limbs twisted back into normalcy, the bulging muscles shrunk to human size, the drooping face lifted and settled back to what it had been. The newly healed man fell back and stood staring about him in confusion. I immediately withdrew my claws and instead of killing the mutant that came at me, I restrained him.
“Just restrain them!” I shouted to everyone. “Teharon can heal them!”
I carried my prisoner over to Teharon, who smiled sadly at me and laid a hand on the mutant. The man's face changed, bulbous flesh melting away and fevered eyes becoming clear again. His body shifted back to normal and he dropped to his knees, hugging Teharon's legs and weeping.
“Okay, okay,” I pulled him up. “Sorry but we've got lots more to heal. Go over there,” I pointed, “and wait for us. We'll take you home later.” He nodded and ran off. I turned back to Teharon. “Can't you just put them all into a coma and then heal them?”
“Not when my brother has altered them first,” Teharon grimaced. “Our magic is connected, I can only reverse what he's done.”
“Well at least you can do that,” I turned away to find him another mutant to heal. Boy was Tawiskaron going to be pissed.
Chapter Forty
We got most of the mutants healed and delivered home(which for most of them was a homeless shelter) safely but it took us hours. By the time I arrived home, I was exhausted and just wanted to go to sleep. I showered and fell into bed, too emotionally drained to do anything but close my eyes.
Then I was lying on soft grass, staring up at a night sky, thinking of Odin. At least there, in my dreams, I could allow myself to feel sorrow over him and the way things were falling apart. I let the tears slide down my cheeks unheeded, feeling the relief that came from shedding them.
“Why are you crying?”
“Gods damn it!” I screamed and sat up. “I can't even find privacy in my own head.”
“Sorry,” Vex looked like Khal Drago and it made me do a double take. Yep, there he was, the barbarian King from Game of Thrones. Damn, he looked good. “I saw you crying and thought you might...” he held open his massive arms and I did the unthinkable, I launched myself right into them. “Okay now,” he rubbed my back soothingly. “It's alright. It's going to be okay. Go ahead and cry.”
I cried more, giving in to the wracking sobs and sense of loss that had been growing with every confrontation I'd had with Griffin. It was like Odin had died all over again. I thought I'd be happy to have him back, no matter what. Even when he left Pride Palace, I'd told myself it was wonderful to know that he lived again and to be able to be a part of that life, even if it was a small part. I owed Odin that much and I loved him. If you love something, you should let it go, right? If only letting it go didn't hurt so damn much.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Khal asked in a super deep voice.
“It's Odin,” I sighed and settled into his lap. “I think I've lost him. He refuses to remember who he is and I don't know what to do.”
“Well,” he sighed, his huge chest lifting my face. “How did you bring him back?”
“I used a book that once belonged to Odin,” I said to his leather covered bicep. “It's the same book he used to bring me back from Hvergelmir.”
“And where did Odin get this book?”
I blinked. It was a good question. I sat up and looked at his sexy face. All hard lines and square jaw, a dramatic beard covered the lower half of his face and his dark eyes were lined in kohl. I barely registered his appeal in light of the epiphany.
“Mimir,” I whispered.
“What?” He leaned forward.
“Mimir,” I said louder. “Odin got the book from Mimir.”
“Oh,” he laughed. “I thought you said come here.”
“No,” I giggled and pushed out of his lap. “Thank you, Vex. When I wake up, I'm going to find Mimir.”
“Until then,” he stood and held a hand out to me. “Do you want to go for a ride with me?”
The sound of neighing caught my attention and I looked past him to see two large horses saddled and ready to go. I smiled and put my hand in his. His large hand enveloped mine and he pulled me to my feet easily. We walked over to the horses and he lifted me into a saddle. Then he leapt into the saddle of the remaining horse and we took off.
As we rode, the ground fell away and the horses lifted into the sky. Stars flew past us and Khal looked over to me, grinning with wild abandon. I wished I knew him, knew who this god really was. Not just so I could stop him but because in that moment, I really liked him. He'd been nice to me and I didn't even know his real name. It bothered me but for one night, I was willing to let it go. I let him lead me through the stars on our dream horses, past galaxies and black holes, into the limitless possibilities of our minds.
Chapter Forty-One
“I need to go see Mimir,” I told Trevor the next morning.
“Mimir? Why?”
“To ask him about Odin,” I held up the soul book, it's nine-pointed star shining from the cover, “and about this.”
“Oh,” he blinked at me. “Good idea. Did it just come to you in your dream?”
“Kind of,” I looked away guiltily. I should have told Trevor about Vex then but it was too late. I'd tell him when Torr finished gathering information on all the different dream deities. Then I'd have a better excuse for the delay.
“Alright, we can go now if you want but I gotta warn you, it's a long trip into some cold territory and we have to cross an ocean to get there.”
“Water and ice?” I gaped. “Where the hell does Mimir live?”
“Hel would have been a
lot easier,” Trevor grimaced. “At least I know my way around her territory. Mimir lives in Jotunheim, land of the giants. Jotunheim is across an ocean and a river from Asgard.”
“Wait,” I cocked my head at him. “We can just sail into another territory? I thought you had to have permission to enter another god's home? What about the wall of mist around my territory? Can any god just fly through it?”
“The Norse pantheon shares a territory called the Nine Worlds, though technically there are only eight in the actual territory. The ninth is Midgard, Earth,” Trevor explained. “Asgard is the first world and then there's Vanaheim, Alfheim, Jotunheim, Nidavellir, Svartalfheim, Muspelheim, and Niflheim.”
“I never realized there were so many Norse gods,” a chill spread over my body. I thought I knew all there was to know about the Norse pantheon. I guess I was wrong in a very big way.
“They're not all considered gods,” Trevor shrugged. “Kind of like how angels are immortal but not gods.”
“Yeah, okay,” I nodded. “So who lives in these different areas of the Norse territory? Obviously Mimir lives in Jotunheim.”
“With the giants,” Trevor nodded.
“The giants?” I felt my brows lift.
“Yes,” Trevor continued. “There are also fire giants who live in Muspelheim. Remember that fiery land that bordered Niflheim?”
“Yeah,” I thought back. “The fire hit the ice of Niflheim and made steam.”
“That's right,” Trevor nodded. “Beside it and behind Niflheim, was Ginnungagap, the dark emptiness that separates Niflheim from Svartalfheim, where the dark elves live, and Nidavellir, home of the dwarves.”
“I'm sorry,” I huffed a disbelieving sound. “Did you just say elves and dwarves? When did we step into a Tolkein novel?”
“Vhere do you zink Tolkein got inspiration from?” Kirill asked wryly.
