Storm Guardian: Viking Soul Book 3

by Rachel Medhurst

  “Sorry.” Gavin drowned out the noise of the men whose hands were reaching for me, ready to be cut off by my blade.

  My body stumbled as the scene around us changed. The men vanished, the brick wall disappeared. Spinning, I glared at Gavin. He had flashed us to…darkness. The smell of underground rock and damp filtered up my nose.

  “What the fuck happened?” Devon said.

  We were crammed into a tunnel. Ah, I recognised the hints of red in the rock walls as I blinked and light shone from my eyes.

  A memory surfaced as the others stared at me. Kalic’s gym was under his shop. The room had tunnels leading off to different parts of London.

  “Why did you bring us here?” I asked the male witch as he rubbed his head.

  Devon touched the walls, her eyes studying our surroundings. I should kill her. Right now. I should send the evil spirit that now inhabited her body back to Helheim.

  Gavin stared at me, his eyes growing wide when I sucked in a deep breath and shrugged. He was asking the same question with his gaze. Why the bloody fucking hell had I let her survive?

  “Those witches are part of my world, not yours. If you killed them, there would be a whole different type of war on our hands.”

  He was right. If the witches had died by my hand, things would have got more serious, fast. And, I didn’t want that. They didn’t deserve to die. Technically, Devon was the one who did. Going against the coven was like betraying your family.

  “Why the fuck is there a Dark Crawler in my tunnel?” Kalic’s deep voice made both Gavin and Devon jerk.

  I had heard his footfalls, as silent as they were. That meant we weren’t far from my friend’s gym. If he was still my friend after earlier, of course.

  “Kalic! Just the man I wanted to see. We may need your help to keep this one captive.” Gesturing at Devon, I tugged her in front of the vampire.

  Her eyes widened, her teeth appearing when Kalic raised his lip.

  “I detest those creatures.” His sneer echoed around us.

  “I’m not…wait, I’m…” Devon stuttered, looking to me for assistance.

  Keeping a straight face, I squared up to Kalic, Gavin at my back. “A Crawler has just jumped into her, but because of her magic and her connection to him when he was in his old body…” When Kalic raised his eyebrows, I shrugged. “Don’t ask me. She had one as a pet. Probably some daddy fantasy or something.”

  “Eww, it was nothing like that. He was…my best friend’s grandpa. She died when I introduced her to my world. She was human.” Her throat closed, convincing me that she told the truth about her disconnection from the evil spirit inside her.

  Although, some of the Crawlers I had recently killed had shown emotion, too. However, I believed that Devon was speaking the truth. I could see it and feel it in every part of my being.

  “So…Grandpa just got killed and the Crawler jumped into Devon. And, it just so happens that this little woman here is a witch that uses wizard magic.”

  “And, now has a Dark Crawler inside of her, too? Fucking lovely.” Kalic gestured for us to follow him down the tunnel.

  We walked for a while before anyone said anything. Gavin cleared his throat, for some reason wanting permission to speak. Maybe the vampire was making him nervous.

  “Spit it out, Gavin,” I snapped after the sixth time a cough rumbled his throat.

  “Do you think I should go back to the club to check that the witches didn’t go inside?”

  “No,” Kalic shouted before I could reply. “I’m sorry, but now I’ve found you in my tunnels, you have a few questions to answer.”

  Glancing at all three of us as we rounded a corner, Kalic’s eyes flared red. Did the man have something to hide? Was there more to the underground network than he was willing to share?

  “I’m sure Jack will be fine, he has the others to help,” I told Gavin when he frowned at me.

  Kalic thrust his way past the curtain that hung across the entrance to his gym. We had literally landed a few feet away from it. He had probably been training, which explained why he’d heard us.

  “Sit,” he ordered Devon as we filed into the room.

  She glared, but did as she was told, lowering herself onto a wooden bench next to a weight lifting area. Gavin stuck by my side, his eyes darting around the room. It was a handy hideaway. No wonder Kalic was pissed off that the others had now seen it.

  “Did you tell him to bring you here?” The vampire snarled at me.

  I shook my head, holding my hands up in surrender. “No, I didn’t. He just flashed us here.”

  Kalic stood in the middle of the room, his hands crossing over his chest as he regarded Jack’s bouncer. “How did you know the tunnels even exist?”

  Gavin’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he made eye contact with the vampire. “I hid here when I was a teenager. Not here…but in a room not far from here. In fact…”

  His forehead creased as he paused. The sound of movement was too quick for me to react. Gavin was flying back towards the wall, Kalic pushing him before I could blink. He was one fucking fast man.

  The bouncer grunted as his back slammed against the solid rock wall, the air rushing from his lungs. I stayed back, keeping out of it.

  “Don’t speak about that room anymore, or I’ll kill you.”

  Oh, so Kalic had something to hide. Bloody hell…that was all I needed. Another fucking riddle, another secret.

  The temperature in the room dropped below zero. Air puffed from my mouth as I looked at Devon, knowing full well that she probably had something to do with it. She sat on the bench, huddled in on herself. Her limbs were shaking, rattling the silver bands on her wrists.

  “We need to tie her up,” I told the others as Kalic let go of Gavin.

  Shaking her head, Devon shrunk away from me as she obviously fought with the evil spirt inside her. Her magic was expelling ice from her feet. It spread across the floor, towards the walls.

  “She’s not stable. Just kill her.” Kalic ignored Gavin as he went over to a door in the wall and wrenched it open.

  Inside the small cupboard there was a mess of all sorts of objects, ranging from cleaning materials to metal chains. Dragging them out, Kalic brought them over to us and plonked them into my waiting hands.

  “I want to learn from her. No one has ever been able to keep control of themselves once a Dark Crawler is inside them. I have to know how she did it, even if it doesn’t last.”

  Huffing, the vampire rolled his eyes before he reached for Devon. She shrieked, batting him away as his pale hands wrapped around her skinny arms. Lugging her to her feet, he held her still as I fastened the chains around her wrists.

  “Are you seriously going to keep me tied up?” Her sob broke through before she could stop it.

  Even Gavin stepped forward, preparing to defend her. She was clever, I had to give her that. Using her feminine ways to try and gain sympathy. But, as Chloe knew, I didn’t trust women as much as I didn’t trust men. It took a lot to prove loyalty to me. And, Devon was my enemy now.

  “I’m going to take you to my special room,” Kalic said, laughing when Devon spat in his face. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to touch you. I’m happily married…”

  “What the fuck is going on here?” Antonia’s voice echoed around the small chamber. “Why is there a small woman tied up in our gym?”

  Her eyebrows rose as she studied the three men who stood around Devon, towering above her small frame.

  “This witch uses wizard’s magic…and just so happens to be a Dark Crawler as of half an hour ago.” I moved to guard her as Antonia stepped forward.

  Regarding me, Antonia lifted her top lip, revealing her teeth. “I will not have a woman treated this way, no matter what she is.”

  A puff of air expelled from Kalic. Oh great, if he was going to listen to his wife, we had no chance. Since when did I become so…dependant.

  “You know what, I’ve got to go…” Grabbing hold of the chains hanging from D
evon’s arms, I turned to Gavin. “Take us back.”

  “Oh, no you don’t,” Antonia said, flashing to my side in less than a second.

  A fist flew into my cheek, halting me for a moment before I crouched, ready to attack. Kalic was there, dragging Antonia away from me. He knew that it would be a fair fight between us, but he wasn’t prepared for that fight to happen.

  “Stop it. Why fall out over some witch we don’t know? We need to work together. If we start turning on each other, Victor would have won.”

  Kalic was right. Tension between the underworld groups was higher than it had ever been. It wasn’t going to help if we fought over Devon, a little pawn in a bigger picture.

  “She’s dangerous,” I said to Antonia.

  The vampire shrugged, her tall figure easily ducking out from her man and striding slowly towards me. “Only to you. Dark Crawlers aren’t bothered with vampires.”

  “You could slice the atmosphere with a flash of your sword, Thunder Hunter,” Devon said.

  Her laughter turned high-pitched before she bit her lip to stop herself. Her eyes widened when I stared at her. It seemed she didn’t have quite as much control as she thought. The Crawler knew my powers, knew my strength and certainly knew about the sword that would send one of its masters back to Freya.

  “I think you might be right about killing her.” I waved my hand towards Kalic, ready to dismiss the whole conversation.

  Antonia squared up to me as I was about to turn and leave. “I’m not killing someone for the sake of it. You’ll have to trust that I’ll keep her here, guarded…at all times.”

  Kalic finally stepped forward, taking Antonia’s elbow. “Love, this woman is extremely dangerous to the whole underworld. It’s not just Trygger who’s at risk.”

  As if the female would listen to him. Instead, Antonia twisted her head to glance at him before laughing in his face. “Sorry, but I’ve made up my mind. It’s important that we find out why she’s able to have any control over the Crawler. I’ll compromise and allow you to lock her up in the safe room.”

  How had Devon suddenly become the vampire’s hostage? Although, I had wanted Kalic to keep her safely away, I had expected it to be under my terms. Considering I was the one who had brought her to them.

  “You know what? Do what you want with her. If she gets free and comes for me, I’ll kill her. I always do.”

  Striding away from the group, I didn’t stop when Devon shouted my name. The witch was no longer my concern. If she hadn’t been possessed, I may have been tempted to allow her to train Chloe with her magic. However, that would not be happening now. The witch could rot for all I cared.

  “Trygger, I know a way to get this thing out of me without killing me. It involves your sword!”

  My foot paused as my fingers wrapped around the handle of the door that would lead me away from the others.

  “Yeah? Well, write it down for me in a letter.”

  Leaving the others to talk amongst themselves, I let myself out of the sweet shop. Gavin trailed behind me, not saying anything as we wandered the streets of London.

  “What now?” Gavin asked as we approached the club.

  Clearing my throat, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialled Chloe. “Now, we decide what the hell to do with all these hostages.”

  Chapter 7

  Tryggering Women

  Her messy blonde hair was matted with blood. Bending down, I scooped her into my arms and hauled her inside, my heart thundering in my chest.

  “What the fuck happened?” Jack asked as I strode through the door.

  It had only been three days since I had kidnapped Hannah, yet, it felt like a lifetime. I had decided to go for my morning swim, only to find Chloe passed out on the grass beside the river. Her clothes were damp, which meant she had been out there for some time.

  “I just found her outside.”

  Shoving Rusty gently out of the way when he wound around my legs, I lowered Chloe onto the sofa. Unzipping her hoody, I pulled it off. The light colour of her eyelashes blended in with the paleness of her face. She was breathing, but her eyes remained shut.

  “Are you going to…?”

  “She’s freezing, we need to get her warm.” Chloe would naturally hate the fact that I had undressed her, but her life was at stake.

  “What shall I get?” Jack was on form as he rushed around the kitchen area, pulling bowls out of cupboards and putting the kettle on.

  Yanking Chloe’s leggings off her, I averted my gaze from her underwear. Swallowing hard, I grabbed her favourite throw from the back of the sofa and wrapped her in it, not being gentle as I tried to get her warm.

  Rubbing her arms, I looked over at Jack. He glanced at me, not sure what to do. I felt the same. What did people do in this sort of situation? I rarely got hurt. My bullet wounds had healed already, leaving me completely scar free. So, how did I wake Chloe up?

  “I think it’s the wound on her head that has knocked her out.” Placing my hand under her neck, I lifted her to better inspect the blood clotted area on her hair.

  Pressing gently, I encountered a golf ball size lump. Ah, there was a cut on top of it. That’s where the blood had come from. Moving her hair, I pressed the lump again, just to see how big it was.

  “Ouch!” Chloe whispered, her eyes fluttering open. “Why the fuck are you hurting me?”

  Rusty, who had been staring at his owner, licked her face as soon as she spoke. Looking over at Jack, I grinned. Good, the girl was alive and well. She couldn’t be that bad if she was accusing me of being the one who had hurt her.

  “Get me some…” My sentence trailed off as Jack hurried over with a steaming bowl of water and a towel.

  Chloe went to open her mouth, but I placed my finger over her lips. “Don’t talk, you’ve got concussion.”

  Her groan was followed by her teeth snapping. I pulled back as my fingers were almost bitten off.

  “What was that for?” I said, bathing the towel in water before wiping away the blood from her hair.

  She smiled, her dark eyes dancing in amusement. “I would never have pinned you down for a nurse, I just had to see if that warrior was still there.”

  Wincing when I rubbed the material over the wound, Chloe closed her eyes. I paused as I watched her, the pain carved on her face. Why was I mothering her?

  “How did this happen?” I asked, shaking my head to clear my thoughts.

  Jack sat on the coffee table, watching me work. His hair was scruffy from where he kept running his fingers through it. The light blue of his eyes penetrated Chloe the more he looked at her. He was concerned. Very concerned. When had Freya’s descendant become so important to two of the most unemotional men in history?

  “I…went outside early to…ouch!” She waved me away, nudging my arm.

  Checking my handy work, I left her alone. I had managed to get most of the blood off and the wound was clean.

  “You went outside to…?” Jack encouraged.

  Chloe’s cheeks heated red, which was a good sign. There was obviously a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why she went out on her own so early and somehow ended up knocked out…and soaking wet.

  “I went out to practice my magic, okay?”

  Ah, maybe not.

  “Don’t!” she said as I opened my mouth.

  Avoiding my gaze, she spoke to Jack. “I know, it was stupid. But, I’m bored of aiming for the targets in the magic room. I needed a challenge. I figured I could mess around outside.”

  Snuggling into the fluffy throw, Chloe started to shiver. There were times when I thought she was coming along nicely. But, other times…I had no idea how she could still be so…

  “I’ve got some friends. Maybe I could get them to help you with your magic. I ain’t ever asked them before, but I’m sure they’d help.”

  “No!” I snapped as Chloe’s face lit up.

  They both stared at me, their mouths hanging open. I may have sounded harsh, but I wouldn’t have
just anyone near us. I would be the one to choose who would train Chloe. She wasn’t a witch, she wasn’t a wizard, so it wouldn’t be as simple as getting them to help her. It had to be someone powerful.

  “You don’t own me, Trygger,” Chloe said, trying to shove the blanket off her.

  Putting my hands on her arms, I stopped her movement. “You have just knocked yourself out somehow, please just stay there until you’ve warmed up.”

  As her body shook uncontrollably, Jack got to his feet. “You’ll need to do more than cover her with a blanket. She either needs a hot bath, or a naked sandwich between two handsomely irresistible men.”

  Jack winked at Chloe. She didn’t even have the energy to backchat as he wandered off into the bathroom to run the hot water.

  “Why are you always determined to control me?” Her eyes filled with tears as she looked into my gaze.

  My throat moved while the rest of my body stayed completely still. She was right. I did control her as much as I could. Giving her freedom…it hadn’t even entered my mind. Yet, she was a grown woman of 220 years old.

  “I…don’t know.” It was the truth. I claimed to not care about anyone or anything. Always the warrior, never the man. However, in the case of Jack and Chloe, I had become their protector…without them even asking. Not really.

  Moving to my feet, I stroked Rusty’s head absently. “I need to be somewhere. Are you okay? Do we need to get a doctor?”

  Chloe closed her eyes, the tears dropping to her cheeks as she shook her head. “No, Jack will help me get warm. I’ll make sure not to fall asleep.”

  Nodding, I spun on my heel, grabbed my leather jacket and left the building without another word. She was right, Jack would stay with her for as long as needed. And, there I was, believing that they needed me. All the time. But, it wasn’t the case. Maybe if I had let Chloe meet with witches, or have her freedom, she wouldn’t be sneaking outside to practice her magic. Maybe it was time to cut ties with my new little family and get back to my mission.