Warrior Prince

by Nancy J. Cohen

“I mentioned how you and I got from Drift World to the Trollek village. There we noted crates of solar calculators being stored along with mirrors. The mirrors are first shipped to an address not far from here. Kaj, check it out.”

  Kaj dutifully scribbled down the location.

  “What about the jamming device?” Yaron stroked his dark beard while regarding his leader.

  “Unfortunately, we found nothing relating to the jammer.” Disappointment colored his tone. “Then we got separated and Nira ended up in the Grand Marshal’s residence.” He swung his gaze in her direction. “I am still not clear on how you escaped. Relate to us what happened.”

  Her skin flushed, and she cleared her throat.

  “I’d hoped to gain information on Grace but I didn’t learn anything new. When I left the Grand Marshal’s house, I heard a girl screaming. That’s when Zohar and I ran into each other.”

  Zohar could tell the topic made her uncomfortable from the way she squirmed and avoided his glance.

  The Grand Marshal must have upset her since she couldn’t talk about it. He’d seen her disheveled appearance and knew there was more to her story than she’d admit.

  “Nira, we are your friends.” He spoke in an encouraging tone. “If anything happened that requires retribution, tell us now and we shall take care of it.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “The Grand Marshal intended to use me for his pleasure.” Nira glanced away, unable to look the men in the eye. “I was brought to his chamber.”

  “Did he…did you…?” Zohar gave a convulsive swallow, as though choking on his words.

  “No. He didn’t get too far. I, uh, grabbed hold of a lamp and cracked him on the head.”

  “You knocked him out?” Dal, his wiry body shirtless, displayed a physique any woman would admire. His incredulous tone made her bristle.

  “She rocks with the punches.” Zohar puffed out his chest. “I am not surprised she fought her way to freedom.”

  “Thanks, big guy, but it’s roll with the punches, not rock. And I was lucky I found a servant stairway when the guard outside wasn’t looking. I got clean away before they discovered me missing.”

  “Your flame-colored hair is distinctive. This Grand Marshal will have reported your visit.” Dal gave her a reproving glance.

  I doubt it. Dead men don’t talk. However, his henchmen might mention how they found their boss dead in bed with no visible marks on him.

  “Maybe so, but they don’t know how I left the village.”

  “I agree.” Zohar addressed his men. “I do not believe they are aware of the rift in their own storeroom. Nira’s falling through the mirror allowed our escape.”

  “What do you mean?” Yaron’s soft-toned voice strummed through the air.

  With his soulful eyes and hearthrob black hair, he’d make an appealing vocalist. Nira resolved to ask him to sing for her one day. The mournful song he’d offered for Rayne had teased her with his talent.

  “One minute we were at the village in the middle of the park, and in the next instant, we found ourselves on an island.” Nira’s stomach growled. Cookies didn’t constitute a satisfying breakfast. “It appears one of those mirrors contained a rift. I touched it, and zap. We were transported.”

  Zohar explained his theory about a spontaneous tear in the space-time continuum allowing for their spatial shift.

  “This isn’t good.” Borius shook his head of blond hair.

  “At least I was able to fix our location in the Pacific basin along one of the ley lines. But that is not all.” Zohar gave them a twisted smile. “When I crossed the rift, I felt something pulling me down.”

  Nira cut in, remembering something else they should mention.

  “You forgot about that screaming we heard in the village. We discovered a hut where the Trolleks were holding a girl prisoner. She was strapped to a table and had an IV line. One of the beasts injected a substance into her. She convulsed and then went still.” Nira’s throat clogged at the memory.

  Kaj stroked his bristled jaw. Wearing a black shirt and pants, the team’s engineer looked ready for a secret ops mission. “Are you implying that not all humans sent to the village are being used as slave labor?”

  “Yes, and listen to this. You know how Algie got a tech to draw my blood when I was there yesterday? One of the guards at Drift World looked at my arm. I hadn’t even noticed the red circle drawn around the needlestick point. He said I was marked for the village.”

  “Meaning what?”

  Zohar answered, his face solemn. “We noticed a lot of blood samples in vials in the clinic at Drift World. This may sound far-fetched, but what if they are screening people for something specific?”

  “Like a gene or antibody?” Paz’s voice came through the speaker.

  “Right, and when they find this factor, they send those guests to the village for further testing.”

  “Ugh.” Nira shuddered. “Add that to the list of things we have to investigate. And I still have no idea if Grace is alive or where they might be keeping her.”

  “Tell us about this island where you ended up. It cannot be a coincidence that it rests on one of the ley lines.” Dal got up to pace, giving her an enticing view of his powerful back muscles. They rippled as he moved, stealthy as a cat.

  Zohar saw her looking and scowled. She gave him a smug smile in return. What right did he have to claim her? Just because they’d been intimate didn’t mean he intended anything permanent. He’d leave as soon as he defeated the Trolleks.

  “We met primitives who chased after us.” Zohar folded his arms across his chest. “Then we encountered an old man who gave me a golden amulet.” He showed the gift while the others murmured in appreciation.

  Nira pushed back her chair and stood. “You’re leaving out the most important part.”

  “Which part was that?” He gave her a smoldering look that let her know where his memories led.

  Her cheeks warmed as she envisioned the tropical pool where water gushed over a rocky cascade and his hands explored her body. “In the jungle, we found an old temple ruin with a column that has carvings similar to the lettering on my watch.”

  Nira explained how she’d been left as an infant on a church doorstep with the watch as the only keepsake from her true parents. Her professor in comparative mythology had identified the markings as runic in origin but she’d been too busy raising her younger sisters to research the subject before. Now she had the time, and that had been her goal before she met Zohar.

  “If you hadn’t abducted me, I’d have found a job by now and none of this would have happened.”

  “I did not abduct you.” Zohar’s mouth thinned.

  “You shoved me into your van. I didn’t have much choice.”

  “If I recall, you willingly accepted my offer to act as guide.”

  “Yeah, about that. When do I get paid?”

  His eyes chilled. “We will speak of this later. You cannot blame me for the Trolleks’s interest in you. They attacked before we even arrived on the scene.”

  “Well, there is that.”

  Zohar turned toward his youngest crewmember. “Borius, as our xenobiologist, you should take a look at those ruins. That is, if we can find the place again, and if we can subdue the hostile natives.”

  “Tell them about those flying monsters.” Nira meandered to the window and glanced outside.

  Their house was located in a decent suburb with one-story homes and sculpted landscaping. The morning sun gleamed off white tile rooftops. It looked to be a scorcher, barely any clouds in the sky.

  “Ah, yes. We got attacked by pfrells. If they can pass through the dimensional rift, who knows what else may follow?”

  “How did you get off the island?” Yaron’s curious tone drew glances his way.

  “We followed a cardinal, a red bird.” Nira heaved a deep sigh. “That’s after we met the old man who gave Zohar that pendant. One minute the old guy named Askr sat by his campfire, and in the next he w
as gone. Vanished.”

  “How?” Kaj sat up straight. “Did he spatial shift?”

  “I did not smell cors particles. He may have just slipped into the woods.” Zohar’s tone said he believed otherwise. “Nira recognizes the shape of this amulet. Tell them,” he commanded.

  Nira’s passion ignited for her favorite topic. “It’s Thor’s hammer. I’d always been hooked on mythology but I became interested in Norse legends when my professor said the symbols on my watch could be a runic inscription. Runes are an ancient form of writing thought to have magical properties.”

  Zohar’s head lifted in pride. “The old man called me a son of Thor, who was a Norse warrior god. He said it is my duty and that of my brethren to protect the daughters of Odin.”

  “Who’s Odin?” Paz’s drawl pronounced the name as oh-din.

  Nira took a sip of water. “Let me start with the creation myth so you’ll get the whole picture. These tales derive from the Edda, an epic of Germanic origin. It says a great void stretched between the land of ice and darkness in the north and the land of fire and light in the south. When warm air met the ice, water formed, and the drops produced the first Giant, Ymir, along with a cow who fed him.”

  Dal’s mouth curved in disdain. “We are supposed to believe this?”

  “It’s a myth, okay?” Nira paced back and forth while the legend spilled from her tongue. “While the Giant slept, a male and female grew from his armpit. They were Frost Giants who had human form and supernatural powers.”

  “Can you give us the short version?” Kaj, standing by the wall, shot her a sardonic glance.

  “Hold on and listen. The cow licked the ice and brought forth a man named Buri. Buri’s son married a descendent of Ymir, and they in turn produced three sons. These offspring became the Gods, including Odin.

  “Odin and his brothers killed Ymir and used his body to create Midgard, the middle land, from the void. Then they made the oceans and the earth, the heavens and the stars, and the cycles of night and day.”

  “Are these deities still worshiped?” Borius, the team’s xenobiologist, soaked up her words with a rapt face.

  “No, of course not.” She glanced at Zohar to see if he wanted her to continue. At his nod of encouragement, she plunged on. How she yearned for a classroom, to teach this subject to a roomful of eager students.

  “The Gods split into two families, the Aesir and the Vanir. Odin and Thor belonged to the Aesir. They were warriors, while the Vanir became farmers and merchants. Odin ruled over them all as king of the Gods. Thor was a great warrior who carried a magic hammer.”

  “What destroyed belief in these legends?” Borius inquired.

  She smiled at him in appreciation. At least he showed an interest in history and culture. “Christianity swept through the land. However, let me finish the story. It ends with a great battle.”

  Dal flexed his biceps. “Now we get to the good stuff.”

  Finally, some aspect of her tale appealed to their explosives expert. “The Aesir Gods lived in Asgard, a celestial palace. A rainbow bridge connected Asgard to Midgard. Odin created humans to occupy Midgard. That left Niflheim below for the Giants to inhabit.”

  “The Underworld,” Borius murmured, his eyes bright.

  “As the first living creatures,” Nira continued, “the Giants were angry when the Gods expelled them from their rightful place. They gathered their allies and attacked the Gods who fell in defeat. This great battle was called Ragnarok.”

  “The Trolleks are like these Giants, forced from their homes.” Zohar’s deep voice resonated throughout the room. “They, too, gather their allies.”

  “That’s right. You see the similarities?” Pleased by his remark, Nira kept going, not that she could stop now. “The Giants didn’t live alone in Niflheim. Remember the first Giant, Ymir? After he died, Dwarfs formed from the maggots in his flesh.”

  “Dwarfs?” Kaj coughed the word out, his doubt evident in his expression.

  “They lived in Niflheim, too. The Goddess Hel ruled over them in this underworld.”

  “Is this where the concept of Hell derived?” Borius’s gaze lit. “I thought it was a pit of eternal fire for damned souls.”

  Nira shook her head. “In Norse mythology, Hel’s realm was a peaceful place, even though it was called the Land of the Dead. She lived in a palace like the Gods. It wasn’t considered a punishment to end up there.”

  “So this saga does not include a demon or devil like the biblical version of a creation myth?” Borius persisted while the others exchanged amused glances.

  She tapped her chin. “Well, there is Loki. He used to be a companion to the Gods, but he caused much mischief. He had the ability to shapeshift and delighted in causing trouble.

  “Eventually, the Gods banished him. I suppose you could call him a demon, although not in the fallen angel sense. More like an evil spirit who relishes chaos.”

  Zohar pointed a finger at her. “Did not the old man say you should drink from some fountain? What did he mean?”

  Nira spread her hands. “Askr said if I took a drink from the Fountain of Wisdom, I’d be able to read runes. Hey, wait a minute.”

  Retrieving her purse from the bedroom, she rummaged inside. The flash drive she always carried held her backup computer files. She took it to the study and stuck it in the laptop Kaj had acquired. The men drifted in to crowd around her.

  “Okay, I forgot to mention the World Tree from the legends. It’s an ash tree that connects all three realms of the Gods. Look, here is my reference to Mimir’s Well.”

  “What’s that?” Zohar stood at her back, peering at the monitor over her shoulder.

  She could almost hear his teeth grinding in exasperation. They’d come no closer to discovering the jamming device or Grace’s whereabouts, and yet she felt these stories were important to their mission in some way.

  “The ash tree is fed by three sources of water under its roots. One of these is the Fountain of Wisdom, guarded by the god Mimir. According to legend, Odin sacrificed an eye to drink from this fountain. That’s how he gained his powers of prophecy.”

  Zohar clapped a heavy hand on her shoulder. “I hope you are not planning to search for this fountain. It would be a waste of time. Askr might have meant something else entirely.”

  “You think he was off his rocker, don’t you?”

  Zohar frowned at his pals. “What is this word, rocker?”

  Borius lifted an eyebrow. “A rocker could refer to a type of chair, rageesh, or to a popular musician.”

  Nira rolled her eyes. “Come on, it’s just an expression. You know, off his rocker. Out of his mind. I think his advice would make sense if we understood these things better.”

  Further research brought no new answers. She retrieved her thumb drive and stood, brushing a hand over her face.

  “Now what? We need more leads.”

  Zohar followed her into the living room. “We have the data crystals…crystal to examine, and the shipping address in Windermere to investigate.”

  “What about looking for that island?” She spun to face him. “Send Borius to get a reading of those carvings when you find the place. If he’s got a phase gun, those natives won’t be a threat. And while you’re at it, check the other ley lines for signs of Trollek activity.”

  “We cannot do so with the jamming device activated.” Zohar glanced at a lizard scurrying along the air-conditioning unit by the window.

  She followed his line of vision. The creature skittered away into a crack. “You don’t need to scan for cors particles. If the Trolleks put Drift World near the Bermuda Triangle, maybe they have gateways near other Vile Vortices. See if you can locate a place where lots of people go, like a casino or another theme park. Maybe that’s where they’ve hidden the jammer.”

  “Good idea.” Zohar beamed at her. “I’ll have Paz use the ship’s sensors to scan those regions.”

  “Meanwhile, I have my own things to do. Let’s meet back here later
to exchange reports.”

  “You cannot go alone. I will accompany you.”

  “Not this time. I have your diamond ring. If I need help, I’ll use it.”

  She considered how little the ring meant to him. Did lovers give such tokens to each other on his world? Had Zohar ever wanted a woman so much that he’d pledged himself to her?

  Realizing how little she knew of his background didn’t make her any happier. It only widened the gap between them and brought home the fact that he’d leave her some day.

  Zohar regarded her with a stern expression. “Promise you will summon me should you gain news of Grace. You are not to attempt a rescue on your own, understand?”

  “Yes, sir. Or should I say, rageesh. What does that mean anyway?”

  Yaron sauntered inside. “It means our captain is—”

  “Their commanding officer,” Zohar finished, giving him a warning glare.

  Despite all she had done for him, Zohar still didn’t trust her. So be it. She’d search for Grace while he pursued his mission. And once it was done, he’d leave and she’d never see him again.

  Good riddance. The man disrupted her life, distracted her from her goals, and played havoc with her hormones.

  As the men huddled to discuss their plans, she slung her purse strap over her shoulder and headed for the front door.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Zohar gathered his team to review their assignments. While they draped themselves over the chairs and sofa in the living room, he swallowed the bitter taste of remorse. Despite her defiant words, he shouldn’t have let Nira depart on her own like that. Her absence left him feeling hollow. It took an effort to drag his thoughts away from the fiery redhead.

  Washing his face of emotion, he addressed his crew. “Dal’s assignment is to learn how the Trolleks acquired Class One armaments.”

  “Consider it done.” Dal stood by a bookshelf, his body tense with restrained power. “I will contact military command to see if they report any discrepancies in their inventory. The trail may originate there.”

  “Good. Meanwhile, Borius will track Rayne’s movements.”

  He swung his gaze to the young man who’d flicked on the screen called a television. Zohar didn’t see how anyone could find those flat images entertaining.