by Ken Lange
That’s a weird thing to say. “How so?”
He gives me a dismissive wave. “It’s not important. I came up here to let you know that Rick’s taken care of the arrangements and offered me time off. Which I’m going to take so I can wrap up this part of my life before coming back.” Sighing, he shakes his head. “You know my mom and I never really got along, but—”
“You still loved her, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Do what you need to do. We’ll be here when you get back. If anything comes up, just call. You’ve got my number, right?”
He nods. “I do. Thanks.”
I gesture at the stairwell. “You coming?”
He chuckles. “If it’s all the same to you, I’ll take the elevator.”
I shrug. “Suit yourself.”
Fifteen minutes later, I’m parking on the grass off Diagonal Drive. I check my watch. Three minutes to spare. Lucky me.
Dark clouds cover the sky and thunder rolls out in the distance. I stroll up the red brick walkway. The last time I was here it was to collect Hellen Summer’s body where Gullveig—Katharine—had hung it. Now here I am again, going to meet an unknown. Sort of, anyway. I can only hope I’m right, because if he tries to kill me…well, it’d be awkward, especially after the speech I just gave Mir.
The man sitting on the bench is wearing a baseball cap and long sleeves, and he has his back to me. Right now, the only things I’m sure of are that he’s muscular, he’ll definitely be taller than me, and he’s familiar. To make things a bit more interesting, he has a strong golden aura.
I step around the bench to find Loki sitting there.
Oh, thank god.
“I’m glad it’s you.” Holding out my hand, I smile. “Since we haven’t been properly introduced, I’m Viktor Warden.”
Removing his hat, he stands and takes my hand. “I’m Loki… Is it customary to take a surname in this world?”
This reminds me of the questions Kira used to ask as a little girl. “Centuries ago, not so much, but these days, it helps one blend in. The choice is ultimately yours.”
He grins. “You’re good about that.”
I glance up at him. “What’s that?”
He waves a hand at himself. “Letting us make our own choices. Is that why you didn’t track us down after the incident with Carcinus?”
I frown. “Partially. Mostly, though, I thought you’d been through enough, and it should be up to you what you and your people will become, without my interference.”
He sits there for a long moment. “Thank you for that.”
I smile. “You’re welcome. May I ask if you’ve decided what you’re going to do?”
His expression hardens as he gets to his feet. “More or less. We’re going to stay out of things. We have our reasons for intervening now, but for the most part, we want to be left alone.”
“Okay.” I take a deep breath. “Mind telling me why you’re here now?”
He circles in front of me and stops suddenly. “We’d like to ask for your assistance in recovering some of our missing brethren.”
I sit on the brick wall holding back the water. “Missing? Aren’t you guys a hive mind?”
He nods. “We are, but as your encounter with Gullveig taught you, our systems can be overridden shortly after…birth, allowing for others such as the loa to take possession of one of our bodies.”
The memory of Gullveig spewing her essence into Nicholas’s newborn sister rears its ugly head, making me queasy, and a cold sweat breaks out along my hairline. “Please tell me this is theoretical. Because that’s one of the most heinous things one living being can do to another.”
His voice drops as his gaze hits the ground. “I cannot argue the point.” He looks up at me. “Just before your battle with Gullveig, we were given our marching orders: find a suitable host and merge with it.” Gesturing at himself, he says, “This is the corpse of a young man who’d been brutally murdered a few days prior to me taking over. The others spread out to find what they could…insects, worms of all sorts, and even a dying wolf. But during the merger, some of the loa weren’t content with being inside the Collective…and they used that vulnerable period to possess many of the Jörmungandr.”
The horror of what happened to them hits me in the gut. “Fucking hell, that’s awful.”
Leave it to the loa to hijack some of the most powerful beings on the planet. The Loki are a hive mind made up of several different subsets. If you equate it to the armed forces, the Jörmungandr would be the heavy armor division. When they reach full size, they’re able to swallow stars and wipe out entire solar systems for a midnight snack.
He gives me a weak nod. “Yes, it is.” Getting to his feet, he says, “Which is why we need you. With your help, we can hopefully save the others.”
I blink. “Huh? How?”
Loki points at me. “When you helped us regain the Collective, Ethan—Bakulu—went off the grid. Until now, he hasn’t bothered to show his face again, which means we have no idea where our people are.” A sorrowful chuckle escapes him. “The man hates you enough to resurface, and if we’re lucky, bring some, if not all, of the possessed Loki with him to make sure he kills you.”
I scratch my head. “You make me sound way more important than I am. But, if I can help in any way, I’m in.”
His expression hardens. “Are you sure?”
I nod. “Absolutely.”
Loki’s lips twitch upward slightly but never form a smile. “Good. There are some things you need to know.”
I’m not sure how, but he found out that the Baron and I were headed for a meet a few hours prior to it actually happening. By the time he was able to get into position across the street, the party on my side had already started. He was testing a theory concerning the loa not being able to withstand exposure to certain types of radiation, which is why the bullets were coated or infused with depleted uranium. Thankfully, that worked out well for me, and I’m a lot less dead than I would’ve been.
They’ve been stockpiling a massive stash of munitions, along with specialized weapons they’ve created to deal with the Jörmungandr, who are more or less bulletproof.
It takes me a second to absorb everything he’s saying. “Okay, just so I’m clear, you’ve been my guardian angel these last few days?”
A crooked grin spreads across his lips. “I suppose so.”
Well shit, turns out my protector is far more lethal than any angel could hope to be. “Thank you sounds inadequate, but it’s all I’ve got.”
Loki waves away my thanks. “Don’t worry about it. Your willingness to help us is more than repayment.”
I run my hand over the top of my head and blow out a laugh. “I still can’t believe something as plentiful as depleted uranium is the loa’s kryptonite.”
His smile fades. “Huh? I don’t think I understand.”
“Kryptonite. It’s the one thing that… Never mind. It’s poisonous to them.”
Comprehension spreads across his face and he says, “Very much so, if the results over the last week are any indication.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” Curious, I ask, “So, how can I help?”
He eyes me carefully then, as if he’s come to some internal decision, nods. “By being you, mostly. We’ll supply you with the equipment you’ll need.” He pauses for a second. “If you’re out of options, you can fire a few irradiated rounds into the top of their mouths as it’s the softest spot nearest the brain. If you try it anywhere else, you’re likely to die before the radiation can make its way through the Jörmungandr’s system…and we wouldn’t want that.” His gaze meets mine. “Even then, there’s no guarantee that this will work.”
That’s comforting. “But there’s a chance, right?”
He nods. “If there weren’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
I hold out my hand to him. “Then let’s do this.”
Loki takes my hand in his and smiles. “Let’s.” His expression suddenly falters. “And as payment
, we don’t have much…other than ourselves—”
Hell no. “I’m not really interested in payment. And I’m especially not interested in slaves. I just want to help.”
He blinks. “Are you sure?”
I snort. “Ah, yeah, this is what I do. We good?”
Confusion dances across his features. “You’re not the man we were told you were.” Snapping his fingers, he lets out a whistle. “Fenrir.”
The gigantic wolf that saved me from being turned to pulp saunters in, carrying Ethan’s hammer with the chain still attached. He drops it at my feet and walks over to sit next to Loki.
He puts a hand on Fenrir’s neck. “We don’t have a use for that.” He checks his watch. “The truck with the specialized ammunition will be at your office in a few hours. In the meantime, we have a gift for you.”
I glance down at the weapon then at Loki. “This wasn’t enough?”
He grins. “Like I said, we don’t need nor want it. Besides, we’re nomadic, so having a place to put things long term is a problem for us.”
“Thank you.” I grab the chain and heft the hammer. “Wow, it’s heavier than it looks.”
Loki arches an eyebrow. “And you’re stronger than I thought.”
I chuckle. “Why’s that?”
He points at the chain. “I can’t lift it. Fenrir’s the only one strong enough to move it, which is another reason we don’t want it. It’s simply not useful to us.”
“Huh…okay. Thanks anyway, though.”
We walk over to my car, and I place the hammer in the back. Surprisingly, it doesn’t make that much of an impact on the suspension. Weird.
I gesture at the car. “Would you two like a ride somewhere?”
Loki pats Fenrir on the back. “Sure. This will give my people time to get into position.”
“Okay…where are we off to?”
He opens the back door for Fenrir, who jumps in. “The Mystic Courts of Comus.”
My mouth falls open a bit. “You know about them?”
He chuckles. “Of course. It was one of the major topics of discussion with Katharine, Gullveig, and Carcinus.”
“Oh… Ah, yeah. I suppose it would’ve been.” He climbs into the passenger seat as I slide into the driver’s side. “Guess we’re off to see the wizard.”
Chapter 12
It takes us a good twenty minutes to get to the Quarter and another ten to work our way around to the MCC. The moment we come to a stop, I can see that something’s wrong. A weird black and red energy is emanating from the structure, there aren’t any guards, and the glass on the front doors is cracked. Not to mention the gate is locked, which is an oddity since the museum is supposed to be open. Lightning arcs across the sky and a gentle rain starts to fall as thunder rumbles through the city.
Suddenly irritated, I glance over at Loki. “What’s going on?”
He holds out a hand for calm. “Before you jump to conclusions, this isn’t our work.” As he gestures at the building, his expression hardens. “After your encounter with Leonard at the hospital, I had him and his small contingent of loa followed to this place. According to my information, they’re here.” His voice drops a little. “While I can’t be a hundred percent sure, it doesn’t seem like anyone has been killed—yet.” He places his hand on my forearm. “All you need to do right now is relax. As I said earlier, we have a gift for you. The only thing I’m asking of you is to walk in with me. We’ll handle the rest.”
So, this is what it feels like to be on this side of the conversation. I have to say, I don’t care for it much.
Clenching my fist, I nod. “Fine, but, if things go sideways…”
A bleak expression settles across Loki’s face. “They won’t. That I can assure you.”
God, let’s hope this isn’t misplaced confidence. “That’s an awfully big promise considering who and what we’re dealing with.”
“I know.” He pauses for a moment before opening the car door. “It’s time.”
Little droplets of rain cascade down on us as we walk across the road to the gate. Tourists scurry toward the Quarter to find refuge from the morning shower. We wait until the last group of out-of-towners passes us then Loki leans over, grabs the chain, and simply tears it apart.
After pushing the gate open, he steps in ahead of me and waves me in. “I’ll need to secure this to keep any innocents from following us.” I move past the fence and he strings the chain back around. Once it’s in place, he pulls out a new padlock and snaps it closed. He hands me the key. “You’ll want this when we’re done.”
I pocket the key. “Guess you’ve thought this through.”
His voice comes out hard. “We have. Our earliest memory is one of pain and suffering at the hands of the loa. Two days ago, they provided us an opportunity to show them the error of their ways.”
Vengeance is something I’m intimately familiar with. Normally, I’d give him a lecture about how going in somewhere angry is a mistake. But he’s clearly not out of control. If anything, he’s the exact opposite.
“You sure you’ve got this?”
He cuts his eyes at me. “I’m sure.” Walking up to the door, he gestures at the lock. “Do you have a key?”
Nodding, I unlock the door.
He smiles. “Good. That’ll make things easier.”
Clearing my throat, I hold up my access card. “If you think that was helpful, this will get us through every door from here to… Where are we going anyway?”
Pointing upward, he says, “The ceremonial reception hall. But we’ll need to make a stop at the Master-At-Arms office.” He glances over at me. “I assume you know the way.”
Ever get the feeling you’re being played? “I do. What’s in there that you want to see?”
He fixes his gaze on mine. “I’d like you to reactivate the CCTV. Afterward, I’d like you to connect the Nexus to it.”
I frown. “Oh, is that all?”
He grins. “Trust me, this is far more for your benefit than mine.”
Uh-huh. Not sure how that’s possible, but hey, why not? “All right. Follow me.”
Our footsteps echo through the empty corridors for the next several minutes as we make our way to the armory and, by proxy, Nathan’s old office.
It takes a lot longer than I’d like to get everything plugged in and reboot the system. When it finally comes up, the gravity of the situation finally comes into focus. All the office staff, along with any of the kings and queens unfortunate enough to be here, are in the ceremonial reception hall on the third floor, just like Loki said.
Relief spreads through me as none of them appear to be hurt. Uncomfortable, scared, and tired, yes, but those are things they can recover from, given time. I really hope Loki can deliver, because if he can’t, this is going to be one hell of a fight. These guys are everywhere. While I promised to let him handle things, I’m not sure how he plans on getting it done without me.
To that end, I make a mental note of where everyone is. Most of Leonard’s mutant wraiths are in the sublevels. That’s where the MCC holds their prisoners before shipping them off to maximum security facilities up north. As for the scumbag himself, he’s sitting atop the dais on the massively uncomfortable throne.
Now that everything’s working, Mir brings all the camera feeds online within the Nexus. It takes me a moment to acclimate myself to the multiple sources of visual input. A little bit after that, I’m finally able to differentiate between the CCTV and what’s right in front of me. On a limited scale, this has to be what it’s like to be the Loki…being able to see from multiple points of view. Thanks to the Collective—or in my case, the Nexus—it’s pieced together into something comprehensible.
I cannot express how grateful I am that this is a temporary thing, because I hate everything about it.
“All right, I’m in.” Pointing at the screen, I say, “Most of his people are below us, but Leonard and the others are on the third floor.”
Loki nods. “Come,
it’s time to bring this to a close.”
We proceed up the stairs where he pauses outside the intricately carved wooden doors.
He puts a hand on my shoulder. “I know you’re going to want to kill this man, but please don’t. It’ll be much safer for you and everyone involved if you just let things unfold as they’re meant to.”
Not knowing what else to do, I roll my shoulders. “All right. This is your show…but if you get in trouble, I’m jumping in.”
His expression is impassive. “If I get in trouble, we’re all dead.”
Oh, that’s a great line. I’m going to use that one day. Waving him ahead of me, I say, “Lead the way.”
Loki pulls the doors open and steps inside.
There’s absolute silence in the room as every head turns toward us. Without fail, they merely glance at Loki before locking their gazes onto me. Some seem angry, others relieved, but everyone takes a collective breath.
Dropping his arm to his side, Leonard sneers. “Viktor? What are you doing here?” He snickers and waves away the question. “Not that it matters. In fact, this is sort of perfect as you’ll be forced to watch as I execute the people who betrayed me for you.”
We keep a steady pace to the base of the dais. Loki pauses at the front row and points me to the nearest seat, next to Herbert. “Please, sit.”
Leonard laughs. “Oh, now you’re going to take orders. Who the hell is this, anyway?”
Taking my seat, I say, “I’m not the one you should be talking to.”
Leonard’s mouth hangs open slightly before he closes it. “What are you playing at? Is it that you don’t believe me? You know what I am now, and what I can do. Aren’t you going to play hero? Or are you too afraid?”
I move a chair around and kick my feet up. “Why are you still speaking to me?”
His face turns beet-red. “I’m going to fucking kill everyone in this room and make you watch. Do you hear me?”
I glance over at Loki then up to Leonard. “Hey, I’m just a guest here, man. This is his shindig.”
Leonard’s gaze tracks back over to Loki. “I haven’t got any idea what line of shit he’s fed you, but you’re going to die here today.”
