by Amy Sumida
I sent my love magic flowing in to help the others diffuse the situation and after a few moments, I felt an easing in the air, like the neighborhood had taken a deep, calming breath. I was watching the house closely for any sign of what might be happening inside, so I caught the flash of gold and black easily when the instigator tried to sneak out the back.
I ran through the yard after the billowing cloak and caught more flashes of the golden armor beneath. There was a good chance it was Blue’s armor. He was the only one I’d ever seen wearing anything like it before but I still wasn’t completely sure.
I had to be sure.
“Blue!” I called out and he stopped.
The hood turned slightly towards me before he started running again. I chased after him, through yards and over fences, until he finally had enough distance to be able to stop and chant a spell to trace away before I could reach him. I came to a skidding halt in the spot he’d just occupied.
Now I was sure.
“Son of a bitch!” I panted and turned to start the long trek back. It was Blue and the chicken shit wouldn’t even face me. “If you think you’re getting away that easy, you’re not half as bright as I thought, little boy blue.”
I muttered the whole way back, only stopping when I saw the others waiting for me on the sidewalk. They looked grim and I didn’t feel much better. How could he do this? We'd just shared that dance at Moonshine and he seemed so sweet. Then again, Blue was always charming. Even back when he'd been a psychopath, threatening to kill me when he got bored, he'd still been charming about it.
“What happened?” I looked from one anxious face to another.
“We got this group under control but from what we were able to hear of their conversations, this is only one of many.” Ull smiled grimly. “We’ve got an address on the next bunch though. It’s going to be a long day but we should be able to make the rounds.”
“It was Blue,” I delivered my own news concisely.
“I knew it,” Thor said and then cursed in a language I didn't recognize.
“I’m going to go have a talk with him,” I tried to keep my voice neutral but I think the anger poked through a little. “Can you guys handle things without me?”
“Sure, we’ll be okay. Right guys?” Pan glanced around for confirmation.
“Just be careful, Vervain,” Thor grabbed my shoulder tightly. “Remember, he never joined our side and he’s not going to. Don’t kid yourself over his loyalties.”
“I’m going with you,” Trevor took my hand.
“Okay,” I squeezed him. “Back up is probably smart.”
“Meet us back at Bilskinir when you’re done,” Thor said as Trevor and I stepped into the Aether.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Blue’s only tracing point was a room made completely of stone. The furniture, the floor, and the walls were all a cream colored stone. The windows were glass but devoid of curtains. Nothing flammable was allowed. It was necessary since Blue often returned fresh from a battle and battle heated him to the burning point... literally. The only way to cool him down was to cover him in blood. No big surprise, he's the father of vampires.
There was no pitcher of blood on the table waiting for him and the room was empty, besides us. I was a little surprised that he wasn’t waiting for me. Surely he knew I’d come to confront him. Maybe he thought I wouldn’t venture into the lion’s den.
He should’ve known better.
“Blue,” I called his name as I walked out of the room and Trevor trailed after me.
“Vervain?” Blue came out of his bedroom with a smile on his face, he’d always been a good actor. “What a pleasant surprise. How are you?” He frowned. “You don’t look well. Is there anything I can do?”
“You can stop trying to incite the illegal aliens to riot in Phoenix,” I said it so casually, he didn’t catch it at first. Then his face changed.
“Maybe we should all have a seat,” he gestured to the dining room.
I went in and sat at the massive table. Nothing had changed there either, the room was still all white and gold and it still felt like sitting in a giant, gilded marshmallow. Trevor sat on my right and Blue sat across from us.
“Would either of you like something to drink?” Blue waved and one of his vampire-priest servants appeared. They really creeped me out. “Some coffee or tea perhaps?”
“No thank you,” I waved impatiently.
Blue was always polite. He’d been a complete gentleman right up until the point where he tried to turn me into his vampire love slave. Well, at least mostly, off and on. It was a good indication of how well he played a gentleman that half the time I hadn't been sure whether he was being a scoundrel or not.
“As you wish,” he spread his hands and then settled back. “Now what are you accusing me of?”
“Do we really have to go through the song and dance?” I sighed and tried to send all my disappointment to him through my eyes. “You saw me chasing you. We both know what this is about.”
“I honestly have no idea, little witch,” Blue’s eyes held only confusion and just for a second, I wondered if I was wrong. Then I saw again how the hooded figure turned slightly to me, then an unmistakable pause of recognition, and I gritted my teeth.
“Alright, fine,” I was speaking through my clenched teeth. “I’ll play your stupid game. I’ve just come from Phoenix, where we’ve been trying to prevent an uprising of the Mexican illegal aliens residing there. We tracked some god magic to a little house filled with people preparing to riot… your people. Your beloved Aztecs were talking about war again. Then out of the house comes this cloaked figure, the instigator making a run for it, and I chased him. Do you know what happened when I called out your name?”
“I’m sure you’ll tell me,” Blue’s beautiful jade eyes started to go cool.
“He stopped and looked back at me a second before he started to really run for it.”
“And you saw my face?” Blue looked smug, he already knew the answer to that.
“You know I didn’t, you were hooded,” I waved dismissively, “but I caught a glimpse of your armor too. Not too many gods out there wearing gold armor.”
“There were quite a lot of golden suits of armor that came out of Atlantis,” Blue frowned. “You’re right though, I haven’t heard of too many gods who don them anymore.”
“I just want to know for sure that we’re going to be fighting each other,” I rubbed at my temples. “I thought you were my friend. I know how you feel about taking power from humans but somehow I believed in you anyway, or at least I hoped for you. I hoped we wouldn’t have to reach this point.”
“We still haven’t reached that point,” Blue gestured impatiently. “Why won’t you believe me, Vervain?”
“Are you really saying you had nothing to do with this?” For some stupid reason I felt hope spring up in my chest. I tried to squash it back down but it kept jumping up again like a damn jack in the box. I could almost see that horrible grinning head of hope, springing back and forth inside me. The cheeky little bastard.
“I swear it,” Blue stood up and came around to my chair.
“Will you open your mind to me?” I had to have some proof or the God Squad would just think I was going soft.
“I don’t know if I like that idea,” Trevor had finally said something.
“I don’t like the idea that you don’t trust me,” Blue’s face twisted into an expression I hadn’t seen in awhile.
“I want to trust you,” I leaned forward but he leaned back. “Blue, come on.”
“Come on?” He raised an eyebrow. “No, I want you to leave now.”
“Blue, if I leave without proof that this isn’t your work, the others will proceed as if it is,” I gave him my best pleading look but evidently it wasn’t good enough.
“So be it,” his face got even more distant. “If you want to start a war with me over something I didn’t do, then there’s nothing I can do to stop you but you will regret
waking this sleeping giant, Godhunter.” He stood up abruptly. “Now I think it’s best you leave before I start the war early.”
“Fine, Blue,” I sighed and got up. “If you’re telling the truth, I’m deeply sorry but I can’t return to the others with only my trust in you as an answer.”
His face cleared a little but then the coldness seeped back in. “Get out, Vervain. I won’t tell you again.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“So it’s him then,” Horus was perched on the end of a chair like a bird. He did that a lot.
“I’m not too sure,” I sat back in a couch with Trevor. We were all gathered in the library of Bilskinir.
The library was one of my favorite places in Thor’s home. It was the kind of library I’d always wanted but I didn’t have the palace to put it in. The room was two stories tall with books crowding the shelves all the way up. The only parts of the walls that didn’t have shelves were where the door and the fireplace were, everywhere else was covered. There was little room for new additions, which was probably why there were piles of books on the floor of Thor's bedroom… okay, so not going there.
An elegant brass ladder with rolling feet was attached to the shelves on a rail, just waiting for some hot librarian to climb up it and stretch seductively as she replaced books. I sure as hell had never seen Thor on it so that had to be what it was for. Or maybe two story tall libraries just automatically came with a ladder. Either way, it looked right at home against the rows of silken, leather-clad volumes.
One overstuffed couch and six wing-backed leather chairs invited guests to sit and enjoy some light reading. Light normally flooded the room from the inset fixtures on the ceiling but Thor had decided to leave them off, so the room was lit only by the soft glow of small reading lamps and the dancing light of the fire. The low lighting turned all the hunter green textiles and maroon leather into midnight versions of themselves, darkened and mysterious beneath the shadows.
“He wouldn’t let you verify it,” Thor’s brow creased deeply. “It doesn’t speak well for him.”
“He wanted me to trust him,” I rubbed at my head. “I can’t say that I blame him. If one of you came to me and accused me of something like this and then asked to see into my mind to make sure it wasn’t me, I’d tell you where to shove it. I guess I could try to spirit-walk.” Teharon had taught me to use the blood-link I had with Blue to slip into his mind and rifle through his thoughts.
“I'm not sure what you'd find would even be the truth,” Thor growled. “He'd expect you to try something like that now, so he could easily fill his head with thoughts of innocence. Even if it wasn't him, we wouldn't be able to trust what you found.”
“Huitzilopochtli is a very proud god,” Teharon’s calm voice came from the other side of Trevor. “He would find insult in Vervain’s lack of trust. Yet we must treat him as the enemy for now or we may find ourselves made fools of.”
“So what do you want to do, pull a Godfather and put a horse head in his bed?” Something in my gut twisted at the thought of Blue gone bad again. Then I caught the look in Thor's eyes , remembered who he was dating, and my gut twisted even more. “I didn't really mean we should go out and kill a horse, it's a movie reference.” Thor's face tightened. “I like horses.”
“We can’t get to him until he leaves the God Realm. His home is warded off from the rest of ours,” Thor waved aside my ill-timed humor as he spoke. “We’ll just have to wait for his next move.”
“We’ve quieted the illegal immigrants for now,” Teharon sighed. “That doesn’t mean they can’t be incited again.”
“Do you really think he’ll try the same game twice?” Trevor had his arm around my shoulder and I felt him pull me a little closer.
“Why not?” Ull nodded, “I would. I mean after all the effort he’s already put into it, why back off now? And it's exactly what he did with Maria Putina. It was like once he got the thought of killing her into his head, he couldn't stand to let her live.”
“We’ll have to keep a close eye on Arizona,” Thor’s voice rumbled and I shivered.
I had a second of missing Thor but then I snuggled into Trevor and felt his wolf comfort me. I guess it was naive to think I was over Thor completely but I had really thought I was. I would always love Thor but I had moved on with Trevor and I didn't regret it one bit. I had thought that meant I could be around Thor without my feelings getting in the way. My heart hadn't got the memo though and being in Bilskinir was giving me flashbacks of being with Thor. I had to leave.
“I’m sorry, everyone,” I stood and Trevor followed suit. “We have some personal business to attend to before tomorrow, so we’re going to take off. Call us if anything else happens.”
“Personal business,” Pan chuckled, “I’ve never heard it called that before.”
Everyone laughed except Thor. “I’ll come by if anything changes,” he said grimly.
“Thank you,” I sent him a look that spoke clearly how much more I was thanking him for. It really was nice to be back with the God Squad and it wouldn't have been possible if Thor hadn't asked me back. As much as I was still angry over the way he'd ended things, I could appreciate the way he'd tried to make a new beginning.
Thor nodded. “Vervain...”
“I have to go,” I turned and pulled Trevor from the room.
I wasn't ready for a full on forgiveness session yet and even if that wasn't where Thor was heading, I didn't want to hear what he had to say. There was only just so much maturity I could pretend to have for one night. Call me bitter, it's fine, I can own that.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“So what's this personal business?” Trevor grinned.
“Exactly what you think it is,” I led him down the hallway to our bedroom.
Funny how I already thought of it as ours. We'd been together only a little over a month but he fit into my life as if he'd been made for it. He'd moved in kinda by default. He was just simply there all the time.
“Oh, I like personal business,” he scooped me up and carried me the rest of the way.
“I love you,” I told him as he lay me down.
“I love you too,” he searched my face. “What is it? Why the rush to come home and make love to me?”
“Can't I just want to be with you?”
“Of course,” he kicked off his shoes and pulled off his shirt.
“I still love Thor,” I confessed quietly. My shoes had already been discarded on my way down the hall, so I just pulled my feet up beneath me.
“I know,” Trevor scooted to the edge of the bed to take off his jeans. He wasn't wearing underwear and I lost my train of thought for a moment. Derailed by derriere.
“You know?”
“You always forget, there's a part of me inside of you,” he gave me his lopsided grin as he crept back up to me.
“And I'd like another part of you inside me,” I smirked as I admired the part I was referring to.
“Soon,” he smiled and pulled back the covers.
He tugged on my dress till I pulled it off and then he undid my bra for me. I slid my panties off my legs, threw them through the opening of the bed and crawled under with him. The sheets were cool but he was hot, giving off enough heat to make the AC a requirement, not a luxury. I snuggled up against him, enjoying the slide of his flesh against mine.
“So you knew how I still felt because my wolf tattled on me?” I wasn't really upset, just interested.
“No,” he kissed my forehead. “My wolf is yours now. I still need the connection but I feel the difference. She's changed, the biggest change being that she's a she now,” he laughed. “But when we first bonded, we had a moment of total communion. Didn't you feel it?”
“I remember feeling like there were no boundaries to our bodies,” I thought back to the day we consummated our bond. “Like we were one entity, turned to mist and pushed together.”
“But you don't remember getting an influx of knowledge about me?”
&nb
sp; “No,” I frowned. “Should I have?”
“In a normal Binding, yes,” he smiled a little sadly. “I guess ours was different. You got a piece of me and I got to see you, know you in totality. I know everything about you, Minn Elska. From the way you take your coffee to the side of the bed you prefer to sleep on.”
“Everything?” I squeaked.
“Yes,” he stared at me like I was still beautiful. He knew it all and he still loved me.
“Wait,” I had a thought. “I knew what to get you for Yule, remember? I bought you those DVDs and they were exactly what you wanted. I couldn't figure out how I knew but Fenrir said it was part of the Binding.”
“Yes, that you'd always know what would make me happy,” Trevor's hand wandered over my hip. “And you do. So maybe you know more about me than you think.”
“I'm sorry about Thor,” I sighed.
“I'm not,” Trevor kissed my forehead. “Without Thor, I'd never have met you and if you didn't love like you do, you'd never love me so completely. I knew you still loved Thor because I know the way you love. Once you start, you don't stop. Thor betrayed your love and I don't think you could ever completely forgive him for that. You'll never be able to trust any words of love from him after all he's done. Yet it doesn't change the way you feel and I'm okay with it. Because like I said, you're mine now and that's all that matters to me.”
He kissed me and pulled me on top of him so I could show him the other way I loved.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
I woke up to a loud pounding and opened my eyes cautiously, scanning my surroundings. I was safe in my own bed. Trevor, however, was not.
A moment later, I heard him open the front door and a muted conversation drifted back to me. His footsteps were soft thumps down the hallway and I groaned, knowing it was something I’d have to deal with.
It was too early for this crap.
“Rouva?” Trevor poked his head in, and he was using my title so I knew it was bad.