by Garnet Hart
“Oh, that’s really mean of him,” Olivia replied in sympathy. “But it’s true, Asra. His mother is a goddess of Asgard, and his father is Fenrir, the famous beast of Asgard, a Lycan.”
Asra wasn’t sure if she’d believe it or not. She would not argue that indeed Lior was a Lycan, but a god? No way.
“I heard that Lior will be taking you to Alfheim very soon.”
“I thought it might take a while? He had not talked about it since we arrived here.”
“Oh, he just didn’t want to scare you or you’d think about running away. The truth is… he just bought two private jets to fly you and his army to a portal to Alfheim. Did you know that?”
Asra swallowed. She did not know that Lior had been secretly working for her departure. “I don’t want to go there. This is my world. I might as well die before he takes me to Alfheim.”
“You don’t have to do that. When you’re in Alfheim, the elves will teach you a chant that is capable of invigorating the armies of Asgard, and only a songstress’ voice can bring out its magical effect. After that, you will be taken to Asgard. But you cannot go to Asgard with your physical body. Only your soul can get up there.”
Asra held her breath as she understood what Olivia was trying to tell her. “So, they’ll have to kill me?”
“Exactly.”
Her throat hurt. “Lior… never told me.”
“Of course, he won’t. He is not stupid to scare you off.”
Asra looked away, feeling betrayed even more by that bastard. If she had known that, she should not have promised him not to escape again.
Tears threatened to fill her eyes as pain seized her heart. That bastard had been playing with her life all along. He was acting like a god, entitled to take her life anytime he wished it. But then again, hadn’t he claimed he was a god from the beginning? He just refused to believe him. But then he was not her god. She refused to be his amusement, to be toyed with at his whim!
Olivia pressed her shoulder. “I feel for you, too, that’s why I asked you to come here, because I want to help you.”
“How?”
“You’ll have to run away from here, Asra. Go somewhere else where you can live your own life.”
Olivia was right. But where would she go that he wouldn’t be able to track her? “He will find me. He could follow me everywhere.”
Olivia smiled and reached for something behind her on the bed. “Use this.”
Asra was puzzled as she stared at the pair of sandals Olivia handed her. “What’s this for?”
“That’s a special artifact imbued with the power to seal your scent. Lycans are able to track scent coming from the feet. So if you wear that, Lior will never find you.”
Thinking about it, Asra felt more pain in her heart. If she’d escape, she’d never be able to see Lior again. But he had deceived her once again. His task was actually to deliver her to her death, to make up for his failure to kill her two centuries ago. Why should she feel this pain of losing someone who never really gave a damn about her?
“Do you not want to leave him?” Olivia asked, as though she knew what she was thinking.
She shook her head and looked away. She did not want Olivia to see the tears brimming in her eyes. “I just don’t know where to go.”
“Is that so? Or have you fallen in love with him?”
Asra was dumbfounded. She wanted to deny it but she couldn’t say a word.
Olivia smiled at her, a pitying look in her eyes. “Like he told you, to him, Elves are nothing but sex slaves. Do you want to be used by him forever? For nothing else but sex?”
Asra swallowed the painful lump in her throat. It destroyed her to know that Lior had discussed her with this woman in such a degrading manner. He had not an ounce of decency, that bastard!
“So, has he told you about us?” Olivia asked her.
Asra shook her head. She already knew whatever this bitch was going to tell her, and she did not want to hear it anymore.
“We’ve been lovers for a long time now,” Olivia said, crushing her heart into pieces.
Unable to bear the pain any longer, she rose to leave, but Olivia grabbed her wrist.
“Lior is mine, Asra,” Olivia said with emphasis. “No matter how many times he fucks you, he belongs to me.”
Ignoring the threat in her voice, Asra left the room.
Alone in her room, she sank on the bed and cried. Every drop of tears that she shed gave her back her strength and smothered her anger.
She stared at the sandals in her hands.
Olivia was probably right. She needed to escape.
Chapter 14
Lior stole a glance at Asra as they sat on the table for breakfast. Something seemed odd about her. Since she came to join him for breakfast, she had not said a single word. She never even looked at him.
He could not understand why her indifference offended him. He should be thankful that finally she was not arguing with him, but the more she kept her silence, the more he longed for her attention.
His eyebrows crooked when he heard the sound of an approaching chopper. His visitors had just left the other day, and it looked like they were back all of a sudden.
“The Rochfords came back!” Asra left her breakfast untouched on the table and ran out of the house.
Lior quickly followed her and saw another chopper. It wasn’t one of the Rochford’s. It was Raith, probably all the way from Ireland, coming to visit without notice.
“Get inside your room, Elf,” he ordered her, “and dunna come out until I tell you to.”
Asra frowned. “Why?”
“Just do as I tell you. Get inside now.”
Scowling like a little girl, she obeyed.
Lior stood there and awaited the helicopter to descend. Raith had been his friend for many years now and he trusted him as much as he trusted Lysander and Gustavo, but when it came to the songstress, he must not.
Raith was still a Demon, regardless if he was half-human. And the Demons had a huge interest in the songstress.
“Forgive my unexpected visit,” Raith said as he jumped off the helicopter.
Lior smiled and gave Raith a hug. “Has it been a year since the last time we’ve seen each other?”
“Indeed. I still can’t believe Lysander got married. I could not attend his anniversary because I was in the middle of something important.”
“Counting your women?”
Raith laughed. “Something like that.”
“Do you want to come in?”
“No, I won’t be long. I heard you brought home a beautiful wife so I dropped by to see if the rumor is true.”
As Lior had suspected, Raith was indeed here to see the Elf. “Where did you hear that gossip?”
“You know me. I have a lot of stool pigeons. So where is she?”
“You caught the wrong stool. I did no’ bring home a w—”
“Yes, he did.” Olivia stepped out of the house. “Why do you have to deny me, my love?”
Lior could not speak for a moment, then realized Olivia was playing along. “I’m no’ denying you, sweetheart. I just thought I could keep you a secret and surprise everyone with our engagement.”
Olivia laughed aloud. “That’s sweet, but I’d rather have you introduce me to your friend.”
Lior turned to Raith. “This is Olivia. In contrast with the rumor you heard, she’s no’ yet my wife. And love, this is Raith, the richest man of Ireland.”
Raith smiled and pressed a kiss on Olivia’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you, my beautiful lady.”
Olivia beamed at Raith. “Pleased to meet you, as well. I’ve heard about you and your so-called harem.”
Raith was amused. “With my six hundred women, as well?”
“Yes, that too.”
Raith sighed. “Looks like I’m famous only for that.”
Olivia grinned. “So, it’s true, then?”
“What, the harem? Shall we just say, I like entertaining a lot of women and th
ey like to hang out with me.”
Lior just stood there, listening to them talking.
He noticed Raith glancing upward, to the second floor of the house. Asra’s room was up there. Raith could have seen her.
“Is there another woman in your household?”
Lior did not answer for he knew he could not fool a man like Raith, but Olivia tried.
“That’s probably my personal assistant,” Olivia said with a smile.
Raith nodded. “She has beautiful golden hair.”
Lior cursed inwardly. Raith sure knew of the presence of the songstress here, but he was acting as if he did not. But he knew the Demons. They were the masters of deception.
“Well, I’d best be going,” Raith said and turned to Olivia. “I’ll wait for an invitation to your wedding.”
Olivia laughed. “You’ll be the first to receive one.”
Lior watched as Raith ran back to the helipad.
He and Olivia remained there until the helicopter flew up and away.
“You have handsome friends,” Olivia told him.
He sighed and went inside the house, not minding Olivia anymore. He had to get the Elf out of here now, especially that he had no idea what was in Raith’s mind.
He climbed the stairs and knocked before opening the door of Asra’s room. He found her looking out the window. That must be how Raith had seen her.
“Who was that man?” she asked him.
He ignored her question. “You’ll have to pack your things. I’ll take you somewhere else to stay.”
“Why?”
“Dunna ask why. Just pack your things. Do that now while I call the pilot to prepare the jet.”
“I don’t understand. Have I done something wrong?”
“You dunna have to understand. I’m doing this to keep you safe. Trust me. Start packing. I’ll come back to get you in an hour.”
He went to his room and grabbed his cellphone. As he walked out of the house, he dialed the pilot’s number. He needed to talk to his Overseers before he’d leave. He might not be back for a while and he was counting on them to take care of things in the ranch while he was away.
He drove to the town hall and asked the clerk there to call an urgent meeting among the Overseers. It took half an hour before the bloody bunch of snails came. As he was appointing the temporary leader of the pack, he received a call from Olivia.
“Lior! I cannot find Asra, and her things are gone. I think she has run away!”
Asra looked around as she pulled her suitcase along the sidewalk of a quite busy street of Kyle of Lochalsh. Compared to the Wolverton Ranch, this place was more populated and had more commercial establishments lining the streets.
The sun had set and she needed a place to stay.
She turned her head around and happened to spot a small building across the road, with the word “Inn” written on top of its door. Although it was not as cozy as the inns she’d been used to as the Miss of MacLeod, it would do for now.
She had been traveling for quite a while now. She had taken a bus from Portree and managed to come all the way here but now she didn’t know what to do.
Olivia had given her money, that according to her, would be enough to take her to another continent, but it never occurred to her that she had no papers to cross the borders. Now, she was stuck here, and if she couldn’t get out of this place soon, Lior would eventually find her.
As she was about to enter the door, a hand grabbed her arm, spinning her around. She was about to scream bloody murder when she saw a giant of a man who briefly covered her mouth.
“It’s me, Miss.”
She knew that voice instantly. It had been a while when someone had addressed her properly.
“Garr!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here?!”
“I’ve been following you from Portree.”
“Oh, thank god! I didn’t know what to do next.”
“Come. We need to talk elsewhere.”
Garr carried her suitcase as she followed him inside a cafeteria. They ordered coffee.
His eyebrows met when he noticed her sandals. “Who gave you that?”
“You know about it?”
“Yes. How did you get that?”
“Olivia gave it to me.”
“Who is she?”
“She’s a senator’s daughter from the Philippines.”
“What is the purpose of Olivia for helping you?”
“I don’t know. She probably just wanted me to leave Lior. She’d been clinging to Lior like a leech, and she probably wanted me out of the way.”
“You should not trust anyone. That Olivia seems suspicious. Did you notice anything peculiar about her?”
“I did, but I have seen a lot of strange things lately. The entire Wolverton Ranch is populated with Lycans, and then Olivia came along with four Vampires. For me, it didn’t matter anymore what she is. I just thought I needed to run away from there and Olivia was willing to help.”
“She seemed like a goddess to me, probably one of Lior’s women in Asgard.”
Her eyes widened. “A goddess? But how...?”
“Gods and goddesses from Asgard come down here using a human or an Elf for a vessel.”
She just shook her head. So much had happened since she supposedly woke up after two centuries of slumber and she couldn’t make semblance of anything anymore.
“I am a Lycan, too.” Garr said casually.
Somehow, this didn’t shock her anymore. “I knew you were different. But I’ve known you all my life so I was never afraid of you.”
“I’m glad to know that, Miss.”
“But them...” She massaged her forehead. “I’ve been trying to ignore all of these the past weeks just to retain my sanity.”
“You just have to accept it.”
“And make myself crazy?”
“What are you afraid of? You knew all along that you were different from the rest, too. Now, you see Lycans, and Vampires and gods… Does that horrify you too much?”
“Not as much as the passage of two centuries has terrified me. It is very hard to accept it, even if the proofs are right before my eyes. I just can’t.”
Garr drew a deep breath. “I understand, but if you want to make it in this world, you just have to. That is if you still want to live.”
She did not say anything. Her will to live was screaming inside her, but with all these creatures bent on either capturing or killing her, she wasn’t sure if she had any chances.
“I’m glad I found you first. What if Roar did?”
“Roar? But I thought he’s dead.”
“He is not dead. I followed him down the cliff where he fell. He was wounded but he managed to escape.”
“So where is he now?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been searching for him since he disappeared. I’ve come back to Skye when I learned Lior brought you here.”
“But if Lior sees you, he might kill you for attacking his brother.”
Garr was momentarily silent. “Roar betrayed us. He formed an alliance with the Demons so they can get back Vanar… with your help as the songstress.”
She was shocked. “But I thought he was bringing me to Alfheim.”
“He was taking you to another portal—a portal to Nifel. That was why he blinded you, so you wouldn’t see where you’re going. He didn’t know I was following you, and when I had the opportunity, I had to attack him.”
Asra now understood. She thought Garr had attacked Roar to stop him from taking her to Alfheim. “Then you have to go tell Lior.”
Garr sighed. “I’m not sure if he’d believe me. Roar’s his brother. He trusts his brother more than he does me.”
“Then at least send him a message, so he’ll not be surprised if he finds out the truth.”
“I already did. I mailed a letter to him this morning. But I’m not sure if he’d read it, especially now. He must be hell-bent in finding you.”
“Do you think he’d track me he
re?”
“Yes, definitely. We have to keep moving farther to the west. I’ll find someone who can ship you out of Europe.”
“But I don’t have any travel documents with me.”
“That’s why I need to find a way. I don’t know yet, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Where do you think I should go?”
“Nevada. He won’t easily find you there. One of the rebels’ headquarters is somewhere there.”
“Rebels?”
“Yes, I am the leader of a rebel group of Lycans called ‘The Invictus’. I left Skye because I was sick of waiting for Lior to get back our world from the gods. We’ll have to do it ourselves.”
“When you get your world back, will you leave this human world?”
Garr nodded. “Yes. We will go home. We don’t belong here.”
His answer saddened her. She’d miss this man. “Will Lior come along?”
“Perhaps. All the Lycans in his pack will surely want to go home. He’d have no more reason to stay. Then he’ll have to choose if he’s going back to Asgard or going home to Vanar. We can’t tell where his loyalty lies at the moment. We feel that he was tasked by Odin to keep the Lycans here and see to it that they do not rebel, and to quell any rebellion that might take place.”
“Has he known about your group?”
“Yes. He has men searching for us all around Europe, so we decided to relocate our base.”
She nodded. “I hope you succeed.”
Garr shook his head. “We can’t, Miss. My army’s too small at the moment.”
“Then what is your plan?”
Garr was quiet for a long moment. “I’ll help you escape, but I will be lying if I say that I will not ask something in return.”
She knew it. Even Garr was not any different from the rest. “I know what you want, Garr. You want me to help you, too, as the songstress. You are just like them, after all.”
Garr could not speak at once. “Miss...”
A long silence prevailed.
“I’m sorry, Miss,” he said after a while. “Forget what I said. I will help you escape. If you will not help us, then I’d rather you not fall in the hands of Odin or the Demons. They would all use you up until you expire.”
