Son of Thunder

by Libby Bishop

  Oh. “Do you have anything I can go by? Surroundings, other smells, that sort of thing?”

  “He dumped her here, but the actual scene of her torture and death is far from this place.”

  Just as she’d presumed—Soosie’s killer had put a great deal of space between where he’d actually killed her and where he’d dumped her body.

  A thought hit her just as she was about to reply, and she briefly looked to the spot where Soosie had been placed. “Godkin tend to live around two thousand years. Can you tell how old this one is?”

  “He’s young. I can’t pinpoint exact age, but I can tell you he’s under fifty years old, probably late thirties or early forties.”

  “So he’s come into his power and knows how to use it?”

  “He has definitely come into his power,” he said grimly, “though how well he understands how to use it is unclear. He can shield himself from the gods, but someone would have to teach him that trick—no godkin would figure that out on their own.”

  Great. That made her feel so much better.

  “Okay, let’s get back to the cabin so I can get online and start narrowing down where he lives, or where he killed her. Do you agree with me that he’s done this before?”

  “Yes. He enjoys it immensely. However, he’s gone to great lengths in the past to separate himself from his kill sites and his dump sites, even crossing borders…several borders, and he never leaves the body in the same condition twice. Soosie was tied to trees—he would not have done that with other bodies.”

  “Ah. That’s why we haven’t been able to tie any other cases to hers. He’s made it seem as if the MO is completely different with each body. That helps, actually. Thanks, Rune.”

  “Do not mention it. And working together is the only way to find him, Liv—I’m not taking this from you, I’m helping you hunt him. His end will be all that’s different.”

  She nodded slowly, still not liking that part. “We’ll see about that. Let’s go, Viking.”

  …

  He’d angered her, but she had a firm grip on her temper. Though the fire in her gaze was so strong, he’d thought for certain he’d be turned to ash if she were a god.

  Watching her boot up her laptop as she sat at the kitchen table, he was certain she’d unleash a hell worthy of, well, Hel—ruler of the Norse version of Hell—should he get between her and the man who’d killed her best friend. That kind of controlled fury sent a desire through him that bit at his skin to be free.

  “Is there any way at all for you to narrow down where she was actually killed?” she asked, typing something on the keyboard before meeting his eyes again. “At least what state, I mean.”

  Briefly glancing at the pendant on the table, he answered, “If you have a map nearby, I may be able to use her blood to track it back to the area of the state. But I make no promises—my ability to track has been diminished.”

  He honestly didn’t know if the map would work. It’d been over a decade since he’d even practiced scrying. There had been no need.

  Liv stood then walked over to a closet in the hallway. When she came back, she carried a rolled map that she spread out on the table. He used a napkin holder to help keep it flat on the right side.

  “This map has New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire on it, as well as northern Pennsylvania.” Her eyes met his over the table, and the slight hope that danced in them almost undid him.

  It surprised him how much he didn’t want to fail her on this. Yes, a big part had to do with wanting to go home. But the rest was the desire to help this beautiful woman who was willing to help him get home.

  “I will do what I can.” He looked at the map. “Where are we on this?”

  A pale, slender finger pointed to an eastern area of New York. “We’re here, in the Blue Mountain Lake region.”

  “I haven’t done this in many years, but even without my full tracking skills I should be able to follow Soosie’s path to her dump site through scrying. You know what that is?”

  “Yes.”

  He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

  She smiled. “I’m an FBI agent—you can’t even imagine the crime scenes I’ve seen.” Her eyes contemplated him for a moment. “Or maybe you can, hunter.”

  He returned her smile for a moment.

  “Anyway, some of those crime scenes were occult in nature, so I’ve done heavy research in that area. That’s how I know about scrying.”

  He gave a nod. “I’ll need complete silence while I work, to concentrate on the path.”

  “Of course.”

  He looked down at the map and hovered the pendant above where Liv had pointed. “Here we go.”

  Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. As he exhaled, he began to twirl the pendant in a small circle. Soosie’s blood began to sing softly to him, a hum in his mind, as the pendant moved. He concentrated on the fragile connection.

  After a few minutes, the pendant became a heavy weight, gripping his arm with a powerful pull. Suddenly, his arm dropped, pulled down so hard he almost lost balance. Opening his eyes, he saw the round pendant lying flat on the map, northeast of where they were.

  “Vermont,” Liv said, releasing a breath with the word. “He killed her somewhere near Lake Memphremagog.”

  Interesting name for a lake.

  She moved back to her computer and began clicking and typing again.

  “Thank you, Rune,” she said as her gaze stayed on the screen. “I can’t even… Just, thank you. I’m going to find us a place to stay that gets us close to the lake so we can track her with the pendant once we’re there.” That hopeful, excited gaze met his again. “You can do that, right? Track her through the pendant once we’re close?”

  “I should be able to, yes. And once we find the site, I’ll be able lock onto the godkin’s scent and we can start hunting him down. But I don’t need the pendant now that I’ve got the scent of her blood.” He folded the map, unable to look at her eyes. If he failed her, he failed both of them, and it wasn’t in his blood to handle that well. Her hope was his hope. He needed to keep that alive in her, even if he felt none existed.

  But right now, it did exist, so he latched onto it with all his being.

  “Now, we’ll probably have to leave early in the morning, depending on the arrangements I can make,” she said. “So, you’re still on the hook for the meal that will make me worship the ground you walk on.”

  He met her gaze then, grinning. “Your bed will be my bed—that extends to where we travel, by the way.”

  “Oh really?”

  “That was the deal. If I win, we share a bed for as long as I’m with you.”

  A light laugh escaped her, and the sound was music to his ears. What was it about her that so attracted him? Surely it was more than just her body and inner strength. After all, he knew hundreds of women just like her in the world of the gods.

  “That’s not quite how I remember it,” she said. “But a bet’s a bet—if you win, we share a bed until this hunt is done.”

  Heat lit through his entire body at the thought of being that close to the fiery redhead. He’d have to keep that in check until the right moment…unless he wanted to be shot, that is.

  “Dinner is still a ways off,” he said, holding the map, “but I’m going to see what I can find while you work. I’ve hours to plan this, Liv Winter. Hours.”

  Color crept into her cheeks, and she licked her lips. He wanted to taste those lips, could imagine using the table in a whole different way.

  He could practically taste her skin under his tongue now.

  Chapter Four

  Friggin’ Viking! How dare he leave her speechless with that near-smoldering look?

  Gah.

  When he returned from putting the map in the closet, she narrowed her eyes at him then looked back at the screen. He chuckled in response.

  Up yours, Viking. Up. Yours.

  As she scrolled through places to stay near the lake, she wondered how he had actuall
y ended up landing on her in the middle of the night. If Odin truly wanted his great-grandson to be in the middle of nowhere, with no humans around, she highly doubted Rune would’ve ended up with her right out of the gate. Her FBI logic told her that Odin knew a godkin was killing humans, and Rune’s punishment was a convenient way of getting a god on the ground with as little fanfare as possible. But if that was the case, it meant the King of the Norse Gods knew all about her, and that she’d been searching for a godkin for six years.

  And that really pissed her off. If Odin knew and had waited so long to do something about it… The thought made her want to grab her gun and shoot him between the eyes…or maybe a bullet in the one eye he had left. Whether or not it killed him, she didn’t care. The action would make her feel better.

  The problem with gods and their offspring? They thought they were better than mere humans, that humans were playthings who should worship them absolutely.

  Screw that.

  “Your temper is flaring, Liv.”

  She kept her eyes on the computer screen. “Really? What tipped you off?”

  He laughed, and she heard a cabinet open.

  “I meant that I can sense the fire in you grow. Not the anger from what I said earlier, but this is newer, deeper anger. What’s wrong?”

  “Not your concern.”

  The cabinet closed.

  “It is when we’re supposed to working together as a team.”

  The words were soft spoken, as if he cared that something was upsetting her. For some reason, that irked her even more. “I think Odin purposefully sent you to me.” She looked at him over the screen. “I think he knows there’s a godkin involved, I think he knows I’ve been hunting for said godkin for years, and I think your fight with your brother was the perfect excuse to finally send someone to deal with it.”

  His expression went blank, giving away not one inkling of emotion. He seemed frozen in place as he stared. While she may not be able to read him, she recognized the stare. In her line of work, she had to be a master at it—he was thinking hard behind that emotionless gaze, weighing his words, contemplating what to say to her.

  “You know I’m right,” she said. “And the blank stare doesn’t work on me, so just come out and say your piece.”

  He grinned. “I should’ve known it wouldn’t. And I do agree. I hadn’t thought about it much until you said it. If Odin truly wanted me in a desolate place, I wouldn’t be here with you. And that means that he knew of you before he sent me through the Gate.” He crossed his arms. “You’re angry because he’s known for at least six years and has done nothing. That he’s letting a grandson roam free killing lowly humans.”

  “Yep, I am. You gods think you’re better than us, and Odin letting a potential serial killer run amok just drives that point home.” Her eyes narrowed. “You play with us, and people like me are the ones who clean up the mess. We deal with the devastation your kind causes. Would you feel peachy with that weight on your shoulders? Would you be calm and collected knowing that a man birthed from the gods was killing innocent humans, and the high and mighty just let him do it?”

  His arms unfolded, and he walked up to the table, staying—kudos to him—on the other side of it, out of her reach.

  “I would not be calm, and I am not one of those gods who let injustices such as this one slide.” His gaze bored into hers, trying to prove that he meant what he said. “If I had known a godkin was killing innocents, I would have been here sooner. I’d have hunted him down and snuffed him out before he ever had time to get to the next kill. As I’ve done before.”

  She wanted to believe him, wanted to believe the resolute look in eyes, the tightening of his jaw, the knit of his brows. But it was hard to do when she’d only known him for one day—though every cell in her body told her he meant what he said.

  “I hope that’s the truth. I really do. Because if I find out this is all a game to you, I swear I will find a way to kill you. As in, even your healers won’t be able to bring you back to life in your current form.” And she meant every word. “Am I clear?”

  He nodded. “Very.”

  She straightened her shoulders, preparing to continue looking for places to stay. “Good. Now, get back to work finding something to make that feast with. I’m anxious to win this bet and get to enjoy seeing you an uncomfortable mess on the floor.”

  …

  Liv had a very good reason to be angry with the gods. He did not fault her in any way, and if he were being honest, he felt the same anger she did. Probably more so. Murderous godkin were taken care of immediately. It was highly frowned upon to anger humans, for one simple reason: humans controlled the fate of the gods. Without the mortal worship, their power diminished. Oh, they were still powerful in Asgard and other worlds, but not on the human plane.

  That made it difficult to understand why, if Odin had known, he had not remedied the problem before now. Why did he use his great-grandson as an excuse to end it?

  He left Liv to her work and concentrated on hunting down something to cook for her. Before long, it seemed, night had fallen, and after finishing her computer work and some phone calls, she excused herself for a quick shower. Since she’d already taken one that morning, he assumed it was to try to calm her anger and soothe her nerves.

  He knew another, more delicious, way of relieving that kind of stress. But he was fairly certain if he even teased her about it, she’d get her gun and shoot him full of holes.

  They would leave the cabin at eight o’clock in the morning in order to make good time to the lake. The sooner they arrived the better—the godkin wouldn’t go without a kill for long, especially if he had his father’s temper. Soosie’s kill site would allow him to connect fully with the godkin, which meant he’d be able to track the godkin’s location swiftly.

  She walked into the room just as he set the last bowl on the table. He pulled a chair out for her and waved a hand over the food—roasted chicken, potatoes, and carrots, as well as a large salad. “This was all I had to work with.” He folded his arms, smirking a bit. “You’ve never had it like I’ve made it.”

  She raised an eyebrow as she took a seat, seemingly unmoved. “I’ve had this meal a thousand times,” she said, putting the napkin on her lap. “It certainly smells delicious, but what makes you think it’ll be different this time?”

  He winked, taking his seat. “Try it, then tell me what’s different.”

  His words were meant as a challenge, and she smiled as she picked up her knife and fork.

  “All right, Rune. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  He waited patiently as she started with a carrot, then a potato. All she gave him was a “Hmm,” then she cut a piece of chicken. He was hoping for more of a reaction, and frowned as she ate the chicken without so much as a glimmer of what she was thinking, or how good he damn well knew the food was.

  She appeared to be completely unimpressed.

  He growled, angry at her non-reaction. How dare she insult his cooking in such a way? He prided himself on his ability to make women practically fall on their knees in front of him just from one bite of food.

  He shoved the chair back and stood, pointing a finger at her, but stopped when she giggled.

  “Sweet Odin, Viking—you are touchy.”

  “I dare you to defy how good that is. Dare you.”

  “Oooh, a tantrum from a god.” She rolled her eyes. She picked up two carrots with her fork and lifted them to her mouth, but paused before eating them. “How original.”

  That did it. “Woman, don’t test me—I’m a god, and you’ll lose.”

  She raised that irritating eyebrow again, swallowing the carrots. “And now he threatens. ‘How dare you not fall into my arms when I’ve prepared this feast for you, woman.’”

  His jaw clenched as she deepened her voice to mock him.

  “‘How dare you mock a god!’” she added, then laughed.

  Growling, he sat down and went silent, staring at her as she calm
ly ate the meal.

  Every. Single. Bite. Without a mention of the quality or a moan at the deliciousness of the food.

  She patted her napkin at the corners of her mouth when she was finished, then took the last sip of wine. Damn the woman! Her lightly rosy cheeks stirred his desire. It rubbed uncomfortably against the anger, making him want to throw her over his shoulder and show her how a god dealt with such insolence.

  Rising from her chair, she sighed. “Thank you for the meal, Rune. I’m going to retire to the bedroom now. We’re going to need sleep for tomorrow.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her as she pushed her chair in. She ignored his reaction and turned from him, then disappeared down the hall, leaving him stewing in anger and growing need. A few moments after she’d left, he heard her open the bedroom door.

  “Are you coming in or what?”

  He froze with surprise. Was she…inviting him to her bed? Somehow he found that very unlikely.

  She appeared at the edge of the wall, an amused smile dancing on her lips. He raised an eyebrow in response.

  “Well, are you?” She winked. “After all, you won the bet.”

  Chapter Five

  Warmth greeted her when she woke, from her head down to her toes. Liv relaxed into it, welcoming the feeling. Then, she realized that heat came from something with a hard chest and muscled thighs. One of those thighs was currently holding one of her legs hostage.

  Shit.

  She lay there, arm over his chest, trying to figure out how she’d ended up cuddling with a damn Viking god. She’d laid rules out before they’d gotten into bed: no touching, no trying to seduce, no touching, no moving toward her side of the bed and, oh yeah, no touching.

  How the hell had this happened? And even more horrifying? She was on his side of the bed.

  Double shit.

  “Good morning, Ms. Winter,” he said, and she clearly heard the amusement in his tone. “Are you always up before the alarm?”