by Juniper Hart
Staring at her in the simplistic office in which Laurel had been many times before, the fox realized that she would be happy to never see the director again.
Maybe that’s what this bad feeling is about, she mused, waiting for Dex to close the door before anyone uttered a word. The instructor turned his massive back, his nature stoic as ever, before reclaiming his statue-like position at the side of Anatoli’s desk.
Dex was rarely away from Anatoli’s side, the instructor as much a fixture as the director. It was unsurprising that the dragon stood by, taking mental notes as he seemed to do. Sometimes Laurel wondered if Dex wasn’t just there for show, tuning out the meetings as he lost himself in some other thought.
“Thank you for coming, Laurel,” Anatoli said in a way that didn’t sound remotely grateful. “I just wanted to address a few matters before you leave.”
I didn’t really have a choice in the matter, Laurel thought but she only gave the director a brief smile. A dozen questions threatened to spring from Laurel’s mouth but somehow, she managed to swallow them, knowing it wasn’t her turn to talk.
When is it ever anyone’s turn to talk in the director’s presence? Laurel thought dryly.
“So, you’re off to Iceland,” Anatoli began with a beam that didn’t meet her cold, green eyes in the least. “How exciting.”
Is it? Why does it sound horrifying?
It truly was the last place that Laurel had considered as a placement and she had envisioned dozens of places.
“I imagine you must be eager to leave,” Anatoli continued, ignoring the pained expression on Laurel’s face and fixating her attention on Preston. “But before you do, there are some things you need to know.”
Through her peripheral vision, Laurel noted how Preston wavered slightly under Anatoli’s gaze, his weight shifting from one foot to the other. Through the other side of her eye, she caught Dex staring respectfully at Anatoli.
He thinks she’s a goddess, Laurel thought, not for the first time. He thinks she can do no wrong.
The fox wondered if all men were taken in by Anatoli’s spell.
Not just the men. Women too. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe in her. I hope I’m not making a huge mistake.
“You might be asking why Iceland,” Anatoli went on. “And that would be a smart question.”
She paused and finally looked at Laurel directly.
“Over the past nine months, you have both been tasked with identifying and labeling samples. Given your background in environmental and biological sciences, your placement is well suited to what the operation needs.”
A long silence followed her declaration and Laurel waited with bated breath.
“We’re sending you to Iceland because they are the world leaders in renewable energy,” Anatoli said when she finally spoke again. “In fact, Iceland is the world leader in many things. We could learn a lot from them and I expect you to do just that.”
Laurel stared at her questioningly.
“How so?” she finally asked.
“You will be tasked with learning their ways and adopting their technology.”
The notion wasn’t absurd, but it still didn’t answer Laurel’s endless list of questions.
“For what?” Laurel could keep silent no more. “And why in the middle of literally nowhere? Hesteyri isn’t Reykjavik. It’s barely a town at all!”
Laurel wasn’t even sure if she was pronouncing the location properly. Anatoli was annoyed by the interruption, her eyes flashing.
“I thought you understood the intricacies of being a Sleeper, Laurel,” she said coolly. “You’re expected to accept your tasks and wait to be activated.”
“But…” she sputtered. “We haven’t been trained to live in Iceland. Others have had language training, accents, mannerisms. They’ve been coached in the art of assimilation. I don’t know a single word in Icelandic! I’ll stick out like a sore thumb!”
Anatoli nodded.
“As you just said, dear, your placement is far from civilization. You won’t encounter people day to day as some of the other recruits will.”
Laurel was perplexed by Anatoli’s nonchalance.
She’s sticking us in a foreign country without any defenses for what? Is the Cabal even in Iceland?
Suddenly, the sense that she was on a fool’s errand was sickeningly real.
I’m not being utilized, I’m being exiled. But why?
“Laurel, we’ll be fine,” Preston interjected, giving her a wary look as if he could read her mind. “I’ve been brushing up on my Icelandic and if anyone asks, we can tell them you’re my American wife.”
“That wasn’t in the dossier!” Laurel shot back. “In fact, there’s very little about our personal lives in the dossier.”
More indignation crept into her voice.
All eyes were balefully on her now.
“Part of being a Sleeper is improvisation,” Anatoli said quietly. “If you don’t think you can handle the task, it’s better you tell me now and we’ll have you deprogrammed and sent on your way.”
Laurel paled, her eyes darting from figure to figure in the room. There wasn’t a friendly face among them. Even Dex, in his stoic stillness, seemed angry with her concerns.
“She’s just getting a case of nerves now that we’re so close to leaving,” Preston offered quickly. Laurel was irked by his words.
I don’t need you speaking for me. I need you to back me up and ask what the hell is going on!
She was flabbergasted that he didn’t seem to care how trite the mission seemed to be.
We’re being sent to do work that’s already been done by someone else.
“I hope that’s all it is,” Anatoli growled, fixing her eyes on Laurel. “Are you sure you can do this?”
“I can handle it,” Laurel replied quickly, dropping her gaze. “I-I’m just confused.”
“The first placement is always the most confusing,” Anatoli said smoothly, rising from her spot. She was purposely misinterpreting Laurel’s protests. “But you’ll get the swing of things when you get there. And to be sure, I’ll be along in a month or so to ensure you’re progressing as expected.”
Laurel’s mouth gaped open. The blows seemed to keep coming. The silver lining to the placement was that she would be far from Anatoli.
“You?” she echoed. “I thought you…”
She trailed off, not wanting to word her thoughts offensively. She knew it wouldn’t take much to annoy the director.
“You thought I was confined to the compound?” Anatoli laughed. “Hardly. There are still some places in the world I can go, even if those places are remote.”
Laurel shot Preston another look, but he deliberately kept his eyes averted and trained on the director, waiting for her to speak.
“That’s all. You can catch the helicopter to the airport,” Anatoli said dismissively, waving a manicured hand at them. “Unless you want to fly them over, Dex?”
Laurel was taken aback by the suggestion and shook her head. She couldn’t think of a more humiliating way of getting to her placement than on the back of one of her instructors.
“No,” Laurel answered shortly for the dragon. “A plane is fine. Right, Preston?”
Preston nodded in agreement and Dex smirked slightly. Laurel realized then that they were joking.
Good riddance to this patronizing place. I may not know what’s happening in Iceland but at least I won’t have to deal with Anatoli for a month.
“Gangi per vel!” Anatoli called out as they turned away. Laurel glanced over her shoulder at the director in confusion.
“What?”
“It means ‘good luck’ in Icelandic,” Preston explained, leading her out of the office by the arm.
“How the hell do you know that?” Laurel growled at him when they were out of earshot of the others. She wrenched her arm free and glowered. “How long have you known we were going to Iceland?”
Preston tried to feign a look of inno
cence but failed miserably as she stared him down.
“Okay, maybe I had a bit of a head start on the information,” he said. “But not by much. Anatoli confides in me sometimes. Particularly when she’s gotten into her gimlets.”
Laurel was speechless, her mind immediately moving to an image of Preston and the director having drinks together. Quickly, she regained her composure.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Laurel demanded. “Now I have ten hours to get caught up on my Icelandic verbs.”
Preston gave her an amused grin.
“You really don’t need to get all flustered, Laurel. Honestly, we’re not going to be around people at all. As far as placements go, we’re in a really good position. We get to keep doing what we love to do, and we don’t have to assimilate. Think of it as a way to ease into the Sleeper program.”
Laurel pressed her lips together, but she didn’t respond as they retreated to the dorms to collect their belongings. She had packed most of her stuff already, knowing that what they were allowed to bring was limited. As they crossed the compound, her mind was still on the assignment.
What do we need renewable energy for? What does this have to do with overtaking the Cabal?
Logically she reasoned that in a time of war, they would need all the resources they could find. Was the mission so strange or was she reading too much into it?
None of it was what Laurel had signed on for but it did appeal to her passion in environmental sciences. Not to mention that it was far too late to back out now. She couldn’t very well leave Preston to fend for himself in Iceland.
At least there will be the Northern Lights, she mused, ever looking for the silver lining in even the darkest of clouds. And I’ll be all alone with Preston for an indefinite amount of time, outside the confines of the compound.
Maybe there was hope for the trip after all, even with Anatoli’s threat of joining them.
“Meet you at the helipad in twenty?” Preston asked when they stopped at her room. Laurel nodded in agreement. Suddenly, a burst of excitement shot through her and all her resolve evaporated into nothingness.
She had a ten-hour flight ahead of her with the man she had been making eyes at for months.
I’m an idiot for looking this gift horse in the mouth, she thought gleefully. I can’t wait to get on that plane.
3
Unfortunately for Laurel, the reality proved to be a slap in the face. She had let her guard down too fast and too soon.
The first shock came when Anatoli appeared on the flight, a wide, coquettish smile on her face as she sashayed into business class from first class with a champagne glass in her hand.
“What are you doing here?” Laurel sputtered in disbelief, gaping at her seatmate, who seemed sheepish. Seeing her out of the compound was stunning enough but on the very same plane was enough to give Laurel an aneurysm.
She looked closely at Preston and noted that he didn’t seem surprised in the least.
Dammit! He knew about this too! What else is he keeping from me?
“I sensed that you were having some reservations about the trip,” Anatoli said smoothly, reading the animosity on Laurel’s face. “So I decided to come and ease your mind myself. Preston, would you mind joining me in first class for a bit? I have some other matters I’d like to discuss with you.”
Disbelief and anger shot through her as she watched Preston slip into the aisle and follow Anatoli without so much as a backward look.
“Just him?” Laurel shot out to them but neither turned to acknowledge her indignation.
Did I bring this on myself? She wasn’t going to come for a month and suddenly, here she is!
The hairs on the back of her neck rose, but she tried to tell herself she was overreacting.
This is Anatoli’s project. She has every right to be here, Laurel told herself, but she couldn’t help but wonder if Anatoli had set her sights on Preston now that they weren’t students of the compound anymore. Preston’s words about gimlets and confidences reverberated through her head.
Don’t be dumb, Laurel snapped at herself, ripping the Icelandic/English dictionary out of her carry-on bag. Anatoli can have anyone she wants. She’s not setting her sights on Preston.
And even if she were, Laurel reasoned, it shouldn’t matter. Preston was a free agent too. Still, the notion did crush any romantic ideas Laurel had had about the plane trip.
Guess I better get learning Icelandic, she thought bitterly.
The flight was direct and at the end, Laurel’s body was aching from the prolonged sitting, her lower back throbbing. She wasn’t accustomed to being stagnant for so long and between the pressure and the lack of movement, she was slightly squirrelly.
Preston never did return to his seat and Laurel had almost forgotten about him, drifting off into sleep for a couple hours before the aircraft landed in Reykjavik. When she woke, it was to the captain’s voice indicating that they had arrived. Hastily, she sat up to collect herself, slightly embarrassed that she’d fallen into a slumber.
In the airport, she waited for her luggage and when she’d located her bags, she stood by for fifteen minutes before she caught a glimpse of either Preston or Anatoli. They were sitting in a bar lounge, sharing a bottle of champagne, much to Laurel’s anger.
“Have you two been here the whole time?” Laurel demanded, storming toward them. “I’ve been looking for you!”
Anatoli laughed and nodded at an empty glass.
“We were waiting for you,” the director informed her. “Have a seat. This glass is for you. It’s good that you got here when you did or we would have finished the entire bottle without you.”
Uncertainly, Laurel eyed them, reluctantly accepting the glass as Anatoli poured.
“Don’t drink too much,” she teased. “You still have work to do.”
Laurel’s shoulders relaxed slightly and again, she felt foolish.
I’m not giving this woman or this trip a chance. I need to loosen up.
She clinked her glass to the director and Preston before taking a long sip.
“To a new world,” Anatoli toasted.
“Cheers to that,” Laurel agreed.
“Skal!” Anatoli and Preston chuckled in unison, touching glasses.
That means “cheers” in Icelandic, Laurel remembered. She was glad she’d absorbed some of the words she’d been reading. It would have been easier on a language app, but Anatoli hadn’t allowed them cell phones on the trip.
“You’ll get everything you need when you’ve arrived,” they’d been instructed. At the time, it had made sense, but Laurel was finding it more and more complicated without the devices she’d once had at her fingertips.
They chatted amongst themselves for a few minutes, the conversation light and surprising for Laurel. It was the first time she had ever really seen Anatoli in such an informal light.
She’s almost like a real being, not some immortal goddess, ready to unleash the wrath of the heavens upon us all.
“Ah,” Anatoli announced, glancing at the satellite phone sitting on the table at her side. “Our driver has arrived.”
“Driver?” Preston asked quizzically, stealing the question from Laurel’s mouth. “Can’t we just run?”
He paused and looked sheepishly at Anatoli.
“Sorry. I forgot. You don’t shift.”
Anatoli gave him a condescending smile.
“Darling, I can do anything you can do—and better. Never underestimate what a first-generation sorceress can do. In fact, never underestimate what any female can do or you might find yourself sorely outwitted.”
Laurel swallowed a smile.
So much for them having an affair. She’s talking to him the same way she talks to me.
“Anyway, Hesteyri is a five-hour drive from here,” Anatoli went on. “You could run it if you want but I’m not entirely familiar with the terrain or who you might encounter along the way. Don’t forget, we’re still in midnight sun hours. Anyone could see y
ou in a shift with the days being as long as they are.”
A low groan escaped Laurel’s mouth as she realized what Anatoli was saying.
“It’s six months of daylight,” she groaned. “I forgot about that.”
“You’ll adjust,” Anatoli told her crisply. “And the days are getting shorter now already. Come on. Einar is waiting for us out front.”
The irony that a vampire hybrid was unperturbed about the sun was not lost on Laurel but she knew that Anatoli’s sorceress’ blood kept her safe from burning the way other vampires did. What she’d said to Preston about her abilities was not to be doubted—or trifled with.
“Hurry up,” Anatoli grumbled when neither of the scientists moved. “We’ve already wasted enough time.”
I guess our shared moment has passed now, Laurel thought, downing the rest of her champagne. She had a feeling she was going to need it.
They hustled their way outside and Anatoli instantly found their driver next to the curb at the arrival gate.
Einar turned out to be a jovial wolf shifter with a pudgy face and robust body. Laurel was mildly impressed he could fit behind the wheel of the car in his shape.
“He can be trusted,” Anatoli murmured in Laurel’s ear when she eyed the shifter questioningly. A wolf driving a witch and two opposing shifters was not something one would see back at home. “The Sleepers have friends in many places.”
One day, this will be commonplace everywhere, Laurel thought, hope flooding her. That’s what we’re doing here. Aiming for a unified tomorrow.
As Einar started the drive, he chirped happily, pointing out landmarks and giving Icelandic history in broken English with a heavy accent. Laurel only caught half of what he said but she appreciated his effort and found herself enthralled with the scenery.
It’s so untouched here, so clean. It feels…primitive.
She imagined that the earth here had looked exactly the same as it had when dinosaurs roamed the earth. A sense of peace overtook Laurel as she settled back against the seat and stared out the window to take in the lush greenness of the northern tundra.
Einar’s sketchy vehicle wasn’t equipped for such a perilous, journey but it was fitting somehow, enhancing the experience as they trailed up the countryside. It would have been cheapened by a fancy ride. This was certainly more rustic.