Viking's Ransom (Viking Ancestors: Rise of the Dragon, #4)

by Purington, Sky

  “You don’t feel sick, Kenz,” Tess stated, connected just enough to Kenzie to be able to answer Eirik’s question. “Because that’s what everyone feels around Eirik thanks to his connection to Helheim.”

  Right. She had heard about that. How incredibly uncomfortable people tended to be around him. Apparently, they felt that way because he subliminally reminded them that he stood between them and their loved ones in the afterlife. As a result, he tended to put distance between him and others to spare them. It sounded like a lonely existence yet she sensed he wasn’t as lonely as he could be.

  “No, I don’t feel sick around you,” she murmured. “But I do feel something else...someone else.”

  When he tensed, and his eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly, she knew she was right.

  “Then we must go now.” He surprised her with his urgency. “Because if you are starting to remember her, that means she will realize I found you and come back for you.”

  He was referring to the woman her and her sisters spoke of mere minutes before, wasn't he? But who was she? Because she was just beyond reach...just skirting her memory.

  “Wouldn’t this be a logical place for you to find me, though?” she said, totally confused.

  “Yes.” His aura suddenly pulsed darker before their surroundings shifted a mere fraction. Colors sharpened, and her sisters and Harley vanished. Not Pink though. She stood at attention, almost as if she were guarding something.

  “You being in this place, however,” he continued, “is less expected.” His eyes never left hers as his aura lightened some. “Welcome to Helheim where Hel, the Goddess of Helheim has hidden you.”

  Chapter Two

  “BUT I’M STILL right here at home,” Kenzie said slowly, looking around again before she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him. “I remember Goddess Hel,” she whispered, “just bits and pieces though...” She shook her head. “And I remember Shea mentioning that Hel was feeling me out.” She planted her fists on her hips and peered at him in confusion. “What the fuck’s going on? Because something tells me you have all the answers.”

  He was impressed by Kenzie’s relatively calm response considering what he had just shared. Most would not handle it so well. But then she was not like most, was she? No, she was far from it. Not just with her ability to be near him but because of her stunning beauty.

  He had never seen a lovelier creature. Delicately built, the top of her head barely reached his shoulders, and her willowy body possessed just the right amount of curves. Highlighted with light golden blonde, her thick dark red hair was luxurious and her eyes a brilliant green, their pupils rimmed with the same golden color as her hair. She had soft, feminine features with a warm, flawless skin tone uncommon to those with red hair.

  “You are seeing your home from Helheim,” he explained, urging her to follow him onto the deck. “You are seeing it from Hel’s viewpoint.”

  “How is that possible?” she asked as she followed him out then turned and frowned at her cat who hadn’t moved an inch. “And why does Pink look like a silent little sentinel?”

  “Because she essentially is,” he said. “She is guarding your home against spirits entering.” His eyes went to hers. “She cannot see you right now, Kenzie. She sees what only cats can. The other side.” He shook his head. “And we are not exactly on the other side though we are in Helheim.”

  “Jesus,” she whispered as she returned to Pink. She went to pick her up only to pull her hand back abruptly and put it over her stomach. “When I try to get near her...” She took a step back, clearly queasy as her eyes returned to his. “I feel sick when I go near her...not to mention stopped by something I can’t see.”

  “Cats don’t just guard the land of the living,” he murmured, “but sometimes the land of the dead too depending on the circumstance.” He looked at Pink. “That feeling you just experienced is part of the barrier she creates. Where it affects you one way, it affects others far worse.”

  “Hell,” she whispered, looking from Pink to him. “Is she okay then?”

  “She is,” he replied. “On the other side, that which you cannot see, she simply wishes you didn’t vanish. She misses you.”

  “Yeah, well I miss her too,” she grumbled, joining him again with a quizzical look. “That’s how you make people feel, isn’t it? How I just felt with Pink?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “Why?” She looked from the cat to him. “Are you guarding the land of the dead too? Or the land of the living?” She cocked her head, curious. “And under what circumstance would a cat guard the land of the dead?”

  He decided to answer her last question first. “Sometimes the dead can be as vulnerable as the living. Especially when people practice the dark arts.”

  Her eyes widened a little. “You mean summoning ghosts?”

  “Yes, something like that,” he replied. “Though there are several reasons, the more common reason for protecting the dead involves evil. Something both the living and dead are very much capable of. Cats will protect good spirits against evil no matter where it comes from.”

  “I’ll be damned,” she murmured, eying Pink again. “Who would’ve thought?” Her eyes lingered on her cat for another moment before returning to him. “So what’s your deal? Are you guarding the land of the living or the dead?”

  While he knew she was tempted to ask him why she didn’t feel sick around him like she did Pink, she refrained. Mainly because it implied that their dragons were drawn to each other. Or must be because rare was the day since he was considerably younger, that he didn’t sicken people if they got too close.

  “I do not guard either side.” At least he hadn't until six years ago when things changed. When there was something that needed protecting “It’s just how my dragon magic works. Because it's so interconnected with Helheim, it is...difficult for others.”

  Kenzie stared at him for a moment, her eyes giving away nothing. She didn’t show sympathy or any other emotion for that matter but got back to what bothered her most.

  “Hel.” She looked from the ash to him. “You said she hid me here. Why?” She shook her head. “And what’s that got to do with Shea saying that the goddess was feeling me out?” Because she remembered that with vivid clarity “What am I missing here? Shea vanished before she could explain.”

  “I will explain everything.” He eyed the ash. “But not here. It’s not safe.”

  “Then I’m not leaving my sisters here.” She glanced back inside. “Wherever they are, that is.”

  “No one is after your sisters right now,” he assured. Though tempted to pull her after him, he made a point of not touching people for fear of how it would affect them. “They...he is after you.”

  In all likelihood, Hel was too considering Eirik's arrival.

  But Kenzie didn’t need to know that.

  “So one of Skáld’s dragon is after me,” she said softly. “Which means one got through?”

  “Yes,” he confirmed. “He crossed a gateway from Múspellsheimr to Helheim. He is here in this world, so I need to get you back to Midgard. You are safest there.”

  “But I was just on Midgard, or Earth a second ago,” she exclaimed. “I was with my sisters!”

  “You were in a loophole created by Hel that hid you between worlds,” he said. “Now you are in Helheim, and our enemy will be coming.”

  “What makes you so sure he’s our enemy?” She peered at him with a mix of trepidation and something he could not quite pinpoint. Guarded feminine interest maybe?

  “He could just as easily be you and one of my sisters’ enemy,” she continued.

  “No,” he replied bluntly as he headed down the stairs. “Please come with me, Kenzie. I will get you to safety then we will speak more.”

  “Why should I trust you?” She remained on the deck. “Not only do I not know you but you’ve definitely got more secrets than most.”

  It was clear by the stubborn set of her chin that her heels were dug in unti
l he explained things better. Unfortunately, there was no time for that. So he headed back up the stairs. Though he had tried to avoid touching her, she left him no choice.

  They needed to get moving.

  “Hold on there, buddy,” she muttered, backing away.

  She tried to leap past him into the house, but whatever Pink was putting off created an effective barrier. So she scrambled for the stairs on the opposite side of the deck but didn’t get far before he scooped her up and flung her over his shoulder.

  “I’m sorry,” he said dutifully, “but I do not have time to convince you that you’re safe with me, woman.”

  “Good,” she grumbled, “because I don’t think there’s enough time in the world for you to do so.”

  She struggled but was no match for him as he bounded down the stairs quickly and headed for the tree. Thanks to Davyn and Shea’s newfound Gateway Magic—more so his access to it during its creation—he was able to move from place to place far better than expected just so long as he utilized the power of Helheim. Something he intended to do briefly to lead Hel in one direction while he went in another direction entirely.

  Because right now the enemy was less of a threat than her.

  Meanwhile, he tried to ignore how strongly his dragon was reacting to Kenzie. To touching her...holding her. He had never felt anything like it. An acute awareness that wasn’t just sexual but something even deeper. Powerful. Magnetizing.

  She stilled as though she felt it too and remained silent. Nonetheless, he could sense her anger building by the second. She didn’t like it when things were out of her control. In fact, if he wasn’t mistaken, her personality was changing as a whole. A deep aggravation was surfacing as she calmly rode on his shoulder.

  Fine with her remaining silent for now so he could concentrate, he stepped close to the tree and began chanting. When he did, the world brightened and sharpened as it did in Helheim then the tree followed suit, brightening with the brilliance of a thousand suns before the world fell away then rectified itself.

  Wary of experiencing the same thing Davyn had with Shea at the beginning, he set Kenzie down and backed away before she could knee him in the balls. Good thing because the fury in her eyes was palpable. The set to her chin telling. The ferociousness of her demeanor altogether different than it had been at the chalet.

  “I am sorry, but I had no choice—” he began before she cut him off, her eyes blazing.

  “Who the hell do you think you are?” she bit out word for word through clenched teeth. “Nobody makes me do anything against my will. Not even some creepy sonofabitch asshole who thinks he’s my mate.”

  Though tempted to defend himself, he realized she wasn’t just displaying simple anger but something different. Not just another personality but more.

  “You are safe here,” he stated, nodding once that she go on. “Say whatever you like because I understand your anger.”

  “Do you?” She cocked her head and shifted closer in confrontation. “Because I’ve heard a lot of that in my life and it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference.”

  He had no idea what to make of that so merely nodded again.

  “Tell me why the Goddess of the fucking Underworld is so interested in me,” she spat. Her eyes blazed greener than before, as she ignored their dismal surroundings and kept her gaze leveled with his. “Then tell me where the hell you’ve brought me.”

  While tempted to remain vague, he sensed that being anything less than truthful with this version of her would lead to worse things. “We have traveled back in time to tenth century Scandinavia and are on Midgard deep in the Cave Catacombs very close to Skáld’s Domain.”

  “Why?” she ground out, clearly already knowledgeable about both locations. The Cave Catacombs were a large network of interconnected caves that ran the length Norway's coast and Skáld’s Domain was the last place they should be.

  “Because this is one of only a few spots Hel cannot come,” he said.

  She eyed the enormous cave with rain falling in from different areas before her eyes returned to his, as dark and brooding as the weather had been since the war began. “Why did Hel hide me? Because as far as I can tell she was trying to keep me safe. You? God only knows. But I don’t trust it. And I don’t trust you.”

  Yet she was standing mere feet from him and not sick. Not overwhelmed like everybody else. While he knew that had less to do with trust and more to do with potential compatibility, he found it impossible to dislike it. Her. What it meant to him that she could be so close without cringing.

  How could he possibly dislike it when he had craved simple human contact nearly his whole adult life?

  “Hel did hide you to keep you safe,” he confirmed, giving her as much of the truth as he could. “To keep you safe from the enemy.” She didn’t need to know who that enemy might be outside of the obvious. Not yet. “What Hel did not understand was that only I can truly keep you safe...only your mate.”

  “So you know Hel.” Her eyes narrowed further as she considered him, not fazed, it seemed, at the idea of being his mate. Or was it callous indifference?

  “You’re what, working with her?” she went on.

  “In a way,” he conceded. A way that kept her beyond Hel’s grasp. “As you know, we need to keep you away from Skáld’s dragon.”

  “So I’ve heard,” she muttered, still eying him with distrust. “Yet here I get the feeling you’re trying to keep me out of Hel’s grasp and couldn’t give two shits about anyone else, enemy or otherwise.”

  She was quick, wasn’t she? And it wasn’t just her vicious side at work. No, it seemed to be a bit of both her sides. Because with every moment that went by, she seemed to be changing back to the woman he first met. The softer side of her if he wasn’t mistaken. Not that it was all that soft really. But less angry and certainly less suspicious. Though her frustrated, untrusting expression never changed, he sensed she was calming considerably as she took stock of their surroundings again.

  He had never seen anything quite like it. A dragon quite like hers. Because all of this was influenced by her dragon. Her changeable moods. Her shift in behavior. What triggered it though? Because he knew it wasn’t him.

  “Your environment,” he murmured, as it came to him. “It affects your dragon.”

  Her wary eyes met his. Instead of denying it, she was refreshingly candid. “Yeah, so?”

  “You were just different,” he pointed out. “Now you are more...you.”

  “What’s to say I wasn’t different, to begin with?” she cut back, still looking at him warily. “And just now I was who I'm supposed to be.”

  Was she not entirely aware of her shift then? Where her dragon took her? Because he was almost positive, she experienced something extraordinarily rare.

  “Your dragon doesn’t just surface,” he said softly. “But takes over your human form.”

  “Ten points for you, Einstein,” she muttered as she kept peering around, evidently not all that concerned he had figured her out. “That’s why my sisters call me a Gemini Dragon.” Her steady eyes returned to his. “Because I have two very distinct personalities that stand out more than your average shifter. One’s my human half, and one’s my dragon.”

  Instant heat spiked under his skin and his vision almost hazed red at her admission. For a split second, it felt like his inner dragon reveled at the freedom her dragon had found. As though it was tempted to surface to such a degree as well. Yet he repressed it swiftly, finding the calm center of his dragon heart like he had been doing since he was old enough to walk. Since he was old enough to know he was very different.

  He contemplated her for a moment, trying to figure out how this fit into everything. “And those sides, your various personalities, are affected by your environment?”

  “Yup,” she confirmed, back to looking around. “I’m stronger and more me without the sun.” She visibly shivered. “Give me sun, and, well, I suspect you just met her...”

  When her voice t
railed off, he knew she realized what he had just figured out.

  “Helheim was like the sun to you,” he said. “It allowed your dragon to take over completely.”

  “So it seems.” Suddenly disinterested in her surroundings, she spun on her heel and eyed him again. “Why do you suppose that is? Sure, Helheim was brighter than I anticipated, but I didn’t detect any extra rays per se.”

  He shook his head, not about to theorize when he truly had no idea. What he did know was that Helheim brought forth her dragon. A fairly aggressive dragon at that. Yet...

  “So your dragon takes over when your physical body is weakened,” he said. “But your human half is strongest when there is no sun. What about your dragon magic when there is no sun?”

  But he already knew the answer.

  “It’s strong,” she replied. “I feel better overall when there’s less sun.”

  He understood her circumstance so clearly it was humbling. Like him, she was caught between worlds. Or in her case, caught between climates and the nuances of weather which was peculiar, to say the least. Why was that? Why would her dragon do that to her? What caused it to put pressure on and then take over its human counterpart? It seemed distressed, as though secretly enraged about something and could only vent under the right conditions.

  “We should find a place to rest for the eve,” he said softly. “If you would follow me.”

  “Glad to see we’ve graduated beyond your shoulder.” She continued eying him with distrust. “So where are we going from here?” She frowned. “Specifics would be nice.”

  “One of my lairs.” He decided on a different tactic this go around, primarily because they had slightly more time. So he held a dagger out to her hilt first. “You can keep me at knife-point the whole way.”

  “Sounds good, but first...” She took the blade and surprised him when she had it against his throat in a heartbeat. Her eyes narrowed, and her tone switched enough to tell him her dragon hadn’t taken over but was simmering just beneath the surface. “Answer something for me, dragon.”