Thunder Hunter: Viking Soul Book 1 (Viking Soul Series)

by Rachel Medhurst

  “What’s going…?”

  I charged straight into the bouncer who was about to come through the door. He caught my arms, but my momentum kept us moving forward. He retreated but didn’t let go. Releasing Chloe, I wrapped my fingers around his arm and spun, bending it behind his back. He groaned, but managed to spin me and release himself.

  “Trygger!” Chloe called when the man launched himself forward.

  Ducking, I swung under him, punching straight up into his gut. Falling hard, he smacked his shoulder against the concrete.

  “Get out of here,” I told her as the bouncer stumbled to his feet.

  There was no way the man was going to give up without a fight. He was trained well. And, full of darkness that needed venting. The blood on Chloe would have sent him into overdrive. The flare of his nostril made me pause. A white powder came out of his nose as he breathed. Was he high? Or, magicked up?

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Her words should have distracted me, but they didn’t. To hell with her. She was the one who had caused the trouble, so if she wanted to stay, she could. When they caught her, I wouldn’t save her. It wasn’t my problem.

  The hulking man shot forward again, his thick fist ploughing into my neck. I had expected him to aim for my face, so I dodged, but his speed increased quicker than I anticipated. The air shot out of my lungs as I flew back onto the ground. Rolling sideways as he flung himself down, I jumped up and onto his back when his face smashed into the concrete.

  He might be fast, he might be powerful, but his tactics were slightly disjointed. As if he was new to fighting. Had Frankie hired an idiot to keep the riff raff out of his party? Or, had Frankie been so confident in his friends’ fidelity, he didn’t believe there would be any trouble.

  Taking hold of the bouncer’s head, I pulled back. He thrust his body up, his muscles rebounding me off him. He managed to turn and wrap his legs around my neck, squeezing tight. I choked, digging my fingers around his thighs. His bulk was too much, I couldn’t wrench his muscle off me.

  A flash of yellow light blinded my vision. The pressure on my windpipe eased as the bouncer went still, his body slumping beside me. Small hands pulled his legs away. Soon they grabbed my arm and tried to haul me up.

  Leaning onto my side, I gasped for air as stars danced in front of my eyes. He had almost strangled me with his meaty legs, the bastard. How did he have so much strength?

  Chloe’s hands pulled at me, and I finally tuned into what she was saying. “It sounds like they’re going mad in there. I touched the doorframe on the way out, sealing them in…including Jack.”

  The sob in her voice made me clamber to my feet. Taking her hand, I glanced at the club as I led her down the path. Luckily, there were no windows in the place. If there had been, the image of what we looked like would be imprinted on their brains.

  “What have you done?” I hissed as we shoved through the gates.

  Half dragging, half carrying her, I put my arm around her waist to get her moving. She shook me off, cringing when she saw the blood that covered her hand. We couldn’t even get a taxi home.

  “I was just doing my job.”

  Clenching her fists, she threw her heels on the ground and started to run full pelt. Pausing to pick up her discarded shoes, I followed. If she left those behind, they would find them…and use them to track her scent. That woman knew nothing of the Dark Crawlers and their habits. Surely, if she did, she would know that the way they recognised someone was through smell. Especially as they were so often jumping hosts.

  “Chloe!”

  Catching up, I jogged beside her. The faster she ran, the harder she breathed. I was much fitter, so my run was slow compared to usual. The woman was a hindrance that I didn’t need. It had been a successful night all in all. However, her carelessness could have got her killed. Or, even worse…made her a host.

  Instead of speaking to her, I felt down her thigh as it moved and snatched the knife out from her garter. She gasped, her pace slowing as I studied the blade, not needing to look where I ran. She had ripped it out of Frankie’s neck when I had pulled her away.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  Instead of slowing down to her pace, I sped up. The little bitch had stolen a dagger from my wall in the magic room. And survived touching it. Her magic from Freya must have stopped her dying. When the hell had she done that? I thought she had grabbed a normal knife from the kitchen. Not one that could send a soul back to Helheim.

  “Wait!” she called as we neared the busier part of town.

  I wouldn’t wait. The little minx had decided to take matters into her own hands. She could have ruined everything. I wasn’t going to help her get home. Not when she had gone against everything I had taught her so far.

  “Please.” The call was faint as I disappeared around the end of the street.

  It was safe for me to use public transport. I wasn’t the one with blood all over my clothes. Ducking down into the tube station, I vaulted over the ticket barriers and skipped down the escalator. No, I wouldn’t feel guilty about leaving her on the streets of London in the middle of the night. Not even a little bit.

  A tube train pulled up as I wandered onto the platform. Perfect timing. Sliding through the doors, I glanced around and lowered myself on the nearest seat to the exit. A couple of people were on the train, but no one of interest.

  “Have you got the time?” a young man asked.

  He stared at me, his pupils almost filling his iris. There was nothing like getting high when you were young. I’d had my fair share of fun, trying every type of drug on the market all through the ages. These people had no idea what a real trip was like.

  “It’s two thirty,” I replied, glancing at my watch.

  The boy’s eyes widened. I swallowed as I spotted the dash of blood on my wrist just above the leather watch strap.

  “How did you get that on your wrist?” he asked, a little too confidently.

  If he wasn’t so out of it, he probably would have got up and moved to a different carriage. But, the lame drugs he had taken made him careless.

  “I’m a butcher,” I replied, smiling to myself. For the first time in a long time, the blood was not from a kill of my own. In fact, I was quite disappointed that Chloe had taken all the fun. Although, sinking myself between the legs of the woman in the bathroom had been a bonus I hadn’t expected.

  “Ha! A butcher in a suit, how very Criminal Minds.”

  The lad laughed, slapping the seat beside him. The others on the train ignored us, either listening to music on their headphones or reading a book. London life was lonely, isolated and boring in a crowd of people.

  “Want to know what really happened?” I asked him, prepared to play to his pathetic sense of humour.

  He nodded, his eyes growing wider as he bit on the inside of his mouth continuously. What an unattractive way to get high. Seriously, why these people bothered was beyond me. No one read history on the good ways to get high back in the day anymore.

  Sighing, I leant my head on the window as the whirl of the train travelling through the tubes lulled me. “I took my…friend…to a party. She got a little bit carried away, like you do.”

  Laughter burst from him as if I had said something hilarious. I waited for him to calm down until I went on.

  “She decided that she didn’t like the way one man made a move on her, so she drew blood.” Shrugging, I read the advert on the roof of the train. Life insurance. I joined in with the laughter of the boy who was off his face. Not because of what I said, but because life insurance for me was ironic.

  “Good on her! Is she hot?”

  Frowning, I pictured Chloe in my mind. Her unpolished ways were a hindrance to the training. The way she did her hair and sucked her lip was irritating.

  “I wouldn’t know, she’s a…”

  “Relative?” The lad nodded as if he understood.

  Although Chloe wasn’t a relative, I would use that word t
o describe the type of relationship I had with her. But, really I was her trainer…that was all.

  “Something like that.”

  A chill rushed over my body as the train started to slow for the next stop. My stop. A stop where something or someone waited for me.

  “This is me,” I announced to the boy.

  Reaching out his hand, he took mine in a tight grasp. “You look after that woman,” he said, his wide eyes almost staring through me.

  Prying him off me, I got to my feet and left the train. My hand went to the back of my waistband, ready to palm my gun. A chill filtered down my spine as I walked towards the exit, my steps drowned out by the leaving train.

  The silence descended as the echo of the wind died down. Keeping my feet light, but quick, I stayed by the wall, ready to defend myself if a creature came out at me.

  “Trygger.”

  Her voice was soft, floating to me across the platform. Spinning, I grabbed my gun, aiming it directly at the goddess.

  “Freya…”

  She stood right on the edge of the platform, only one step away from being on the tracks. Lowering my arm, I watched her as the wind whipped her long golden hair around her body. Her white dress reached the ground, but didn’t make contact. The ethereal light of her hovered and shimmered outwards.

  “Thor sends his love,” she said, pointing up, towards the heavens.

  Swallowing, I stepped closer, my gun still in hand. It wasn’t Freya I didn’t trust, it was the minions that could creep up on me while I spoke to her. She would surely disappear if anyone turned up. Which would leave me distracted.

  My heartbeat did a little flip with the mention of my grandfather. I hadn’t thought about him personally for a while. “Really?”

  Freya’s hard jaw softened as she watched me, her hands hanging loosely, confidently, by her side. Her eyes twinkled, even though the light was artificial underground.

  “Yes, really. He begged me to talk to you on his behalf. In fact, he’s been bugging me for almost a millennia.” Freya held up a hand as I approached.

  Freezing to the spot, I waited for her to go on. My stomach rolled at the idea of my grandsire, the mighty god Thor, not being able to speak to me. And having to plead with a female deity to do as he bid. That would have hurt his pride.

  “Look, I don’t have much time… Thor sends his love and thanks you for everything you’ve done to get his thunder back to him. He’s proud to call the Thunder Hunter his kin.”

  A lump came to my throat for the first time in hundreds of years. Coughing, I cleared it, nodding instead of replying to Freya. I couldn’t speak in that moment, even if I wanted to. Which was a rare feat for me. Very rare indeed.

  “I noticed you finally set eyes on our Fallen One last night,” Freya said, her expression turning serious. The swell of her lips rubbed together as she regarded me. “Do you think you’ll be able to find her again?”

  Checking around me, I waited as a surge of wind came down the tunnel and onto the platform. Another train approached. Freya stayed where she was, waving her hand once. The train ploughed through the station, not stopping at the platform.

  “Did you just…?”

  Her smile was small before she stared straight into my eyes. “Like I said, I don’t have much time. Well…?”

  “Yes. I know what she looks like now, I can draw her and get…” I stopped speaking as a shudder made my body move.

  Freya rolled her eyes, seemingly bored with me…the immortal human slash a tiny bit god. I did have some diluted god blood in me.

  “Okay, so you don’t want to tell me your plan. You never have trusted me, have you?” She had the cheek to look affronted. Her usually porcelain pale cheeks blushing pink.

  “Do you blame me?” I had never voiced my anger towards Freya until now. “You could have given Thor back his thunder straight away, instead of dragging me into your little game.”

  She shot forward, the force of her spirit almost knocking me back. I planted my feet firmly on the concrete, making sure to keep eye contact as she hovered just in front of me, her beautiful eyes only a couple of inches from mine.

  “You think this is a game, do you?” she hissed, spit flying into my face. “If it wasn’t for me, Loki would have destroyed the world by now. Ragnarok would have happened a long time ago. But, I changed history, giving us a chance to get the Fallen Ones back to where they belong.”

  I kept my gaze glued to hers, seeing the truth of her soul. She did believe in what she said. She thought she had saved the world, solely on her own.

  “You owe me an apology,” I said, quietly.

  Moving back as if I had slapped her, Freya put a hand to her bosom. The dress she wore wasn’t tight or revealing, but did accentuate her perfect goddess figure. A surge of power stormed through me as she sunk to her knees in front of me. A goddess kneeling at the feet of a man.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry that I’ve never acknowledged what you’ve done for the Vikings, for the gods…for me.”

  Looking around to check if anyone was there, I almost grunted because the station was empty. I would have given anything to have someone witness a goddess bowing and apologising at my feet. Oh, how I would remember the moment for the rest of my life.

  “It’s okay, as long as you hold up your end of the bargain, I’ll keep fighting.”

  Gracefully, Freya got to her feet and placed a hand on my chest. The power in me surged, making me shake where I stood. She smiled, her rosebud lips puckering as she did.

  “It’s still so strong in you, isn’t it? I wondered how long it would survive on Earth without its real owner. But, you’re doing a fine job of keeping it safe. You shall be sad to lose it, I’m sure.” Freya drummed her dainty fingernails over my heart.

  I had never thought about not having Thor’s power in me. The time would come when I died and his power was returned. When I was dead, everything would be different. I wouldn’t have a chance to miss the power as I resided peacefully in Valhalla.

  “You’re so close, Trygger. You’ve only got five more souls to go…and I have a good feeling about Chloe. I think she’ll help you to track them down and find them quicker. She has a gift.”

  Nodding, I placed my hand over hers, stilling her movement. A shock of electric zipped up my arm, but I kept my expression straight and my fingers soft on hers.

  “Why Chloe? She’s…”

  “One of the best trackers in the world. Do you really think she didn’t know where you were all those years? She trained and trained in that area, although that did lead to neglect in every other area,” Freya said, the corners of her lips sinking into her cheeks. “But, use her talents, Hunter. Use them well.”

  Leaning forward, Freya kissed my cheek. My whole body relaxed as her warm, sexy energy sifted into me. Moving closer to my ear, she whispered. “And, forget about the cult until you’ve got the Fallen One.”

  The wind came again and Freya was gone. Lifting my gun, I swung around to check that no one was at the station. No, I was alone. Running across the platform, I took the steps up two at a time. Freya, the Viking goddess of love, had not only apologised to me, but kissed me, too. If only I could tell my family, they wouldn’t have known what to do with themselves.

  However, that time had gone. A long, long while ago. I had no family. No friends. It was just me, against the world. Against the evil. And, it was about time I died and went to heaven.

  12

  Fighting For The Truth

  MY FEET ALMOST tore up the magic room floor. Pacing, I swung my sword, high above my head. Then bent one knee and thrust it upwards, aiming for what would be my enemy’s side.

  “Trygger, you son of a bitch!”

  Chloe’s shout caused me to pause. Her footsteps slapped against the wooden floor of the gym, on their way to the room I currently trained in.

  Ignoring her, I pirouetted, swiping the blade of my sword in a circle. The Fallen One would be cut in half by now if she were here.

>   The bang on the door was followed by it being thrust open. “I knew you’d be in here.”

  Going over to the wall, I hung my sword back up. It was too powerful to have around a stroppy woman. Stroking the handle softly before I turned, I readied myself for her onslaught.

  “Have you only just got home? What took you so long?”

  I had slept and showered. Feeling refreshed, I had decided to train with the sword. I was one with it whenever I picked it up, not really needing the refresher, but I knew it wouldn’t be long until I used it again.

  “You know what? Fuck you!” Chloe came into the room and shut the door, leaving Rusty outside.

  Aiming a finger directly at me, she released a stream of gold magic. Ducking just in time, I held up my hands.

  “Whoa, chill out.”

  “No,” she barked, firing another shot.

  She wasn’t a very good aim. The magic went just above my head, hitting the mirror behind me. Looking at where the shot had hit the glass, I laughed. There was a tiny black mark, but nothing to worry about.

  A sharp pain hit my leg as she shot yet again. It made contact with my calf muscle, making me jump in the air. Moving, I turned to face her. She wasn’t fooling around, she meant to hurt me.

  “You left me to walk through one of the biggest cities in the world with blood all over me. On my own. You’re a fucking wanker!”

  Yelping, I dodged out of the way when she threw up her other hand, releasing a long string of heated magic. It was similar to Thor’s lightning, but yellow. It made sense considering Freya was always a golden colour. However, it was rare that descendants had much magic left. The witches tended to be the ones with the magical powers.

  “Okay, okay, seriously…calm down.”

  My words were said in vain. She lifted her arm again. Shooting forward, I tackled her by the waist, knocking her to the ground. Rusty whined outside when he heard Chloe grunt from the impact.