She stepped over the circle. “Come on, wraith.”
He hesitated. Did he know what awaited him in the circle? Could he sense the magic at work?
If he needed coaxing, she knew just what to do.
She reached back and unsheathed Helgrind. The sword sang out with a bright, clear zing that seemed to fill the forest. The moonlight through the trees was sparse, but Helgrind gleamed anyway, vibrant with the joy of eminent battle.
She looped the blade around her body in a slow figure eight, showing it off, teasing the wraith. Displaying the resurrection stone.
His ember eyes seemed focused on it. He stepped inside the circle.
Jenna danced away, swinging Helgrind up over her head, then bringing it down in front of her again. She held it still, letting the wraith get a good look at the stone that could return him to this mortal world for good. “Is that what you want, Leif?”
He picked up his head. Looked at her.
“Surprised I know who you are? Of course I do, berserker. But now it’s time for you to give up this quest and travel the path you were meant to.” She couldn’t very well tell him Valhalla awaited when it didn’t. He had not earned glory, had no right to the halls of the valiant and brave.
He was a traitor to his own kind, and traitors didn’t get happy endings.
She passed the center of the circle. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye as Ingvar stepped out from behind a tree.
The seer cast a handful of powder into the air and spoke ancient words, the secret language of the seers from centuries ago.
Jenna recognized some of the sounds, but none of the meaning.
As the last syllable fell from Ingvar’s lips, a wall of light sprang from the circle, closing them in. It glittered and pulsated with the magic used to build it.
Ingvar stretched out her hand toward the wraith. “Now.”
The wraith clenched his fists, tilted his head back, and roared.
The sound shook the trees and made Helgrind vibrate in Jenna’s hand. She gripped the blade tighter as she went into battle stance.
The wraith lost what little translucency he had left, turning into a solid wall of living death in the form of a man.
An incredibly large and dangerous man. But a man who could now be killed. He pointed at Jenna with an arm like a steel beam. “You killed me.”
His voice was a husky scrape of sound. Concrete on rusted metal. But it was Leif’s voice all the same.
Panic sluiced through Jenna, but only for a moment. She leveled Helgrind at him. “I did what I was commanded to do. You went too far. You destroyed the righteous for your own gain. You lost your way, berserker. Lost the right to that revered name.”
He took a step toward her. “You’re the one who went too far, valkyrie. Now you will pay.”
He swiped at her, but she dodged his sluggish attack easily. His speed would increase soon enough. She sliced her blade across his ribs as a warning. The flesh split, and oily black fog spilled out and disappeared into the air. A second later, the wound closed.
Odin’s eye, that wasn’t good. He might be solid on the outside, but his interior wasn’t. And that meant collecting his soul was going to be very difficult. But she could at least slow him down until Ingvar did her thing. Time to get medieval.
Jenna backed up and raised her sword to deal a potential death blow, but Ingvar stepped closer, arms outstretched, ancient words spilling from her lips again in a stream too fast to be understood.
She was too close. Leif could easily strike her at this range.
Jenna turned her head to tell Ingvar to back up, then realized she couldn’t move. Not her arms, not her hands, not her feet. At least she could speak, but she couldn’t bring her head back around either. She could see Leif advancing only from the corner of her eye. “Ingvar, what are you doing? You’re supposed to freeze the wraith, not me.”
Ingvar’s eyes were still solid disks of black. Jenna didn’t remember a seer’s eyes looking like that before. Her mouth kept moving as she continued the incantation.
Leif moved closer.
“Ingvar, help me. I can’t move. What have you done?” Jenna’s panic returned. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. Nothing like this was supposed to happen. Helgrind quivered, bound by the same immobility that held her.
Ingvar remained oblivious, lost in the spell she was casting.
Leif was only a few feet away. Another step or two and he’d be able to take Helgrind from her.
Through the shroud of magic encircling them, she saw movement. The feral pacing of the most magnificent beast she’d ever had the pleasure of knowing.
With every ounce of energy she had, she yelled for the one person sure to come to her aid. “TITUS!”
An eerie howl went up, splitting the night with its haunting cry and ending Ingvar’s chanting. Even Leif stopped moving.
Titus, in wolf form, came flying through the wall of light, shattering it. All at once, the wall disappeared, Leif dissolved into black threads of vapor, and Ingvar backed up.
Jenna’s body began to tingle as the ability to move returned to her.
Titus stood between her and Ingvar, hackles raised, teeth bared. He snarled for all he was worth.
Beyond the circle, three more wolves snapped and growled.
Finally able to move, Jenna lowered Helgrind to her side and looked at the seer. “What’s going on, Ingvar? This didn’t go the way it was supposed to.”
“No, it did not.” Ingvar glared at Titus. Her face seemed to twitch and stretch for a moment as if her skin wasn’t her own. She dug into a small pouch at her waist and came out with another handful of powder. She quickly tossed it into the air, muttered a single word, and just like Leif, she vanished into the night.
Jenna stared at the blank space where her friend had just stood. “What in the name of Freya is going on?”
Titus looked over his shoulder at her, let out a whimper, and collapsed.
She opened her hand, dropping Helgrind to instantly return it to her back, and fell to her knees beside Titus.
“Get him out of there!”
Jenna looked back to see Birdie, Hank, and Bridget standing where the wolves had been.
Birdie motioned to her. “You’ve got to get him out of there. There’s wolfsbane in the circle. A lot of it. And he’s been exposed. We’ve got to get him out of here.”
Jenna didn’t know exactly what wolfsbane was, but she understood that Titus was hurt. Because of her. She scooped the wolf into her arms and staggered out of the circle. She was strong, but Titus was a lot of wolf to carry. The runes would have to be closed, but she could deal with that later. Titus was all that mattered now.
Hank took Titus from her and immediately started toward Titus’s house. “We need to get him to the hospital.”
“It’s that serious?” She felt sick as she followed along. What had he done to save her? “It wasn’t supposed to go down like that. Ingvar’s spell to freeze the wraith froze me instead. Something went wrong.”
Bridget slanted her eyes at Jenna. “Ya think?”
“I didn’t know any of that was going to happen.”
Birdie looped her arm through Jenna’s. “Of course you didn’t know. I’m sure he’ll be all right. Just needs some fluids to flush out his system. Wolfsbane takes about twenty-four hours to clear a body.”
“If he didn’t get a lethal dose,” Bridget snapped.
Hank growled at his sister. “Deputy Blythe didn’t do this. Don’t take your anger out on her.”
“Titus did what he did because of her,” Bridget shot back.
“I’m sorry, Bridget.” Jenna’s next exhale was ragged. “I would never want him to be hurt. I love—”
Bridget looked at her. “That’s just the spell talking.”
Jenna shook her head. “Maybe it was a day ago. But not now. I would die for your brother.”
Bridget’s hard expression softened. “I just hope he’s not about to d
o the same for you.”
There was something horrifyingly full circle about being back in the hospital. Jenna sat by Titus’s bed, wishing with everything she had that he was going to be okay while also wondering what in the seven hells had happened with Ingvar and the wraith and the trap that had gone completely belly up.
At least he’d regained consciousness long enough to shift back to his human form before they’d arrived at the hospital.
Birdie strode into the room without knocking. “How is he?”
Jenna looked up from her thoughts. “Still out.”
She nodded and sat beside Jenna. “He probably will be for a while. It’s all right. His body is working that poison out. Have you had any sleep? It’s nearly three in the morning. Security only let me up here because I told them it was official sheriff business. That and Darnell Mansfield has always been a little sweet on me.”
“No, not sleep. I can’t. Not with him like this.”
Birdie nodded. “I understand.” But then she gave Jenna a hard look. “It’s just as well you’re awake. We need to talk.”
Jenna sighed. “I know you’re mad at me. I am so, so sorry. I swear on my sword that I don’t know what—”
“Take a breath, Deputy. That’s not what I want to talk about. I know you’re not to blame.”
“You do?”
Birdie laughed softly. “Honey, you love him. You said as much. No woman who’s newly in love with a man, especially a woman who’s been keeping men at arm’s length for a while, is going to do anything to jeopardize that budding relationship. Not on purpose.”
“But Bridget said—”
“Bridget is just being protective of her brother. Weren’t you like that when Tessa got involved with Sebastian?”
Jenna sighed. “Yes. But I don’t want Bridget to hate me.”
“She doesn’t hate you. She’s probably already mad at herself for snapping at you.”
Jenna frowned. “I hope you’re right.”
Birdie tipped her head. “Am I ever wrong?”
“Not often, no. I owe all of you a thank-you for showing up tonight. You weren’t supposed to be there, but I’m so glad you were. I couldn’t see much of what was going on outside the circle. What happened exactly?”
“We met Titus on the hill above the circle. There’s an outcropping of rock there. Made a great vantage point. Anyway, as soon as she lit that thing up, we came down. Titus was antsy. But we could all smell the wolfsbane. I don’t know how much she used in her magic, but she used a lot. I don’t know if it was supposed to be a part of the spell or if she was trying to keep him out. It was enough that it should have.”
“But it didn’t. Because of me.”
Birdie put her arm around Jenna’s shoulders. “Fire wouldn’t have kept him out.”
Jenna groaned. “Why would she do that? I told her Titus wouldn’t interfere. And he didn’t. Until I called for him.”
“He wasn’t going to let you be hurt.”
Jenna was at a loss for words. Then her brain kicked in. “If me being to blame isn’t what you wanted to talk about, then what is?”
Birdie’s brows went up, and her mouth puckered. “I did a little deep dive on your friend. Ingvar.”
Jenna sat up. “You did? And?”
“And something seems off. Her pattern changed.” Birdie pulled a file from her enormous floral handbag. She opened the file to reveal several printouts.
“Pattern?”
Birdie looked at the first sheet as she spoke. “Up until a week ago, her routine was so consistent you could set your watch by it.”
Jenna stared at the paper, but lack of sleep and too much worry made it hard to focus. “Show me.”
Birdie pointed at the first line. “If you look at the dates, you can see she does the same things every day, based on her credit card receipts. Every Monday morning, she fills her tank at the same gas station. After that and on all other mornings, she gets a tall chai tea at the Green Leaf Tea House. In the middle of the day, she buys what I’m assuming is lunch at the Peas and Love Café, which happens to be across from the Norse Studies Institute. Every third day, around six thirty, she makes a purchase at the same grocery store.”
She looked at Jenna. “Ingvar’s a creature of habit. Most of us are. That’s not the unusual part. Now look at last week.”
She flipped to the second sheet. “No chai, no lunch, no groceries all week. She gasses up at a different station and orders takeout almost every night. And look at this.” She tapped a line item. “Three times this week, she bought an iced latte at Starbucks.”
Jenna shook her head. “Ingvar’s never been a coffee drinker that I’ve known. Where did she order takeout from?”
Birdie read off the names. “Peking Express, Bowman’s Steak House, Fat Sam’s BBQ, and Mello’s Pizza.”
Jenna’s whole system went on alert, buzzing from what she was seeing, but she needed the full picture before she could accept what had happened. She pointed to the next couple of things. “What are these?”
“A large purchase at a metaphysical store. I looked them up online. They’re basically a witchcraft-supply place. Then there’s a handful of gas stations, budget motels, and fast-food stops on a route that leads to Nocturne Falls. Since we know she came here, the destination isn’t the interesting part.”
“But the coffee is. The takeout places may be even more so.”
“I agree.” Birdie frowned. “Wait, why are the takeout places interesting?”
“Because Ingvar’s a vegetarian. Not saying it’s impossible to eat that way at a steakhouse or a barbecue place, but…it’s not the easy choice. It seems more likely that she would have chosen restaurants with broader selections.” Jenna got up and stood at the end of Titus’s bed, the steady hum of the machine monitoring his vital signs suddenly the most bothersome sound in the world. He shouldn’t be here. This was her fault.
“True,” Birdie said. “I’m not quite sure what to make of it yet, though. On the surface, it looks like someone stole her credit card, but to let it go on for a week? And while she’s traveling?”
“No, Ingvar wouldn’t have ignored a thing like that.” She thought back to the trap and how unlike Ingvar all that magic had seemed. Ingvar was a perfectionist. She would never have gotten a spell so wrong. And then Jenna thought about how off Ingvar had looked since she’d been here. Jenna shook her head. “Something’s wrong. Deeply wrong.”
“What?”
Jenna paced a few steps away, then came back. “It’s like Ingvar isn’t herself. Like…she’s—oh, Birdie, I just had the most terrible thought.”
“What?”
“Could Ingvar be possessed? Who could do something like that? Who has a reason? The capability?” One name came to her. It was a long shot. But a long shot was better than nothing. “We need to go to the station, now. I need to get to a computer.”
Birdie stood. “You can’t. The binding spell.”
Jenna ground her teeth together. “Loki on a stick. No, I can’t. Okay, I need you to go back to the station and do something for me.”
“Anything.”
“You know how you just did the deep dive on Ingvar? I have a new name for you. Sola Skarsgard.”
“On it.” She yanked her purse straps over her shoulder. “You think that’s who stole Ingvar’s identity?”
“More than that.” Jenna looked at Titus. “I think she’s stolen Ingvar’s body.”
Birdie raced out, and as she left, Jenna pulled a chair next to the bed so she could hold Titus’s hand. His skin was like fire. She went into the bathroom and found a washcloth, rinsed it in cold water, then came back and mopped the sweat off his forehead.
A few times, he muttered something unintelligible. He’d groan. Or growl. Once, his wolf flickered across his face.
But mostly, he lay still as death.
She held his hand and rested her head on her arm on the bed. He was strong. He’d pull through this. He had to. Because if he didn
’t, Helgrind would taste blood in retribution. She didn’t know whose blood just yet, but she’d find out.
She drifted off to dreams of battle.
“Jenna?”
The gruff whisper pulled her from sleep. She lifted her head to see Titus blinking at her. She sucked in a breath. “You’re awake. How do you feel?”
“Like I was poisoned. Did you get the wraith?”
She shook her head, smiling a little to soften the blow. “No, he and Ingvar disappeared. I haven’t had a chance to close the runes on the trap, so there’s a very distinct possibility he’s still out in those woods, wandering around. The runes are meant to draw wraiths in. Hopefully, he’s the only one out there. Otherwise…” She took a breath. “I’m rambling, sorry.”
“No, it’s nice. Your voice.” Breathing seemed to be taking some effort. “Wolfsbane, huh?”
“Yes. I’m so sorry. I had no idea she was going to use that. I’ve never even heard of it.” She gripped his hand tighter. “I’m so glad you’re awake.”
“You’re not mad at me?”
Her mouth fell open. “Why would I be mad at you?”
“For asking Hank and Bridget and Birdie to come.”
“No. I’m not mad at you for that. You did what you thought needed to be done. Obviously, you had a better feeling about what was going to happen than I did.” She swallowed down a lump of emotion. “I never imagined it would go so wrong.”
“How could you?”
“I just should have.”
“Jenna. Stop blaming yourself. I don’t blame you, so you shouldn’t either.”
“Thanks.” She gave him a quick smile. “Your aunt was here around three.”
“What time is it now?”
She checked the clock. She must have fallen asleep for a bit. “Almost six in the morning.”
His eyes were closing. “Full moon’s getting closer.”
“It is. But I might be on to something. Birdie’s doing some research for me at the station.” She wasn’t sure he was awake enough to comprehend what she had to tell him, but she could always tell him again. “She’d already done a little research on her own.”
The Werewolf Dates the Deputy Page 18