“No. She’ll heal herself. You, Nicole, are the muscle and will battle the front lines with your band of misfits. While I believe Ranissa needs the skills necessary to defend herself, her abilities are better used away from the carnage.”
YOU HAD SEX! shouts through my mind. I cringe, blushing from head to toe. You did it and didn’t tell me, she pouts. I thought it was weird cramps or muscle spasms because my neck, thigh and hair hurt, along with the burn in my vagina. It was all you. You must tell me every single detail.
“Ladies?” Elon calls. Ranissa’s shocked face hardens to a glare she twists to Elon.
“You,” she snarls. She holds up two fingers, waving them from her eyes to him. “I’m watching you, buddy.”
My fingers squeeze hers. I promise to dish about it later. For now, let’s stay focused.
She gnaws on her thumbnail, torn between what she wants to do and what we need to do. Fine, her reluctance sighs in my head.
Her focus turns back to Eirika. “I’m her weakness? If I die what happens to her?”
“Let’s hope we don’t find out,” Eirika responds.
“If my sister heals, are we immortal?”
“In time your naivety will fade,” the Valkyrie says.
I’m really sick of people referencing our youthfulness and ignorance in all things Norse. Are we like the couple in Beetlejuice? Did we lose our copy of The Handbook for the Recently Empowered? We’ve had three freaking days to wrap our heads around this madness. We’re warranted a bit of doubt and inexperience.
“No one is truly immortal. Immortality implies the inability to die. Every being whether Wathe or human is killable. Those who’ve lived thousands of years have never incited enough conflict to deserve hunting. Take the parasites there.” She waves a hand toward Trevor, Dusty, and Elon. “Blood-crazed, strong, fast, and to the layperson impossible to end. Impervious to sunlight, garlic, holy water, crosses. Not even a stake through the heart ends them unless it beats for a mate. And the cherry kick to the nuts is they self-heal.”
My eyes drift to Elon. He offers me a slight grin but answers my unasked question. My love made him more vulnerable. Chewing on the edge of my lip, I swallow the guilty knowledge nugget and return to listening to Eirika.
“With night vision they are an absolute predator, yet they cannot escape death. Chop off their head, set fire to their bodies, or stop their brain function, and they turn to dust. For those with an active pulse, a stake from Yggdrasil—The Tree of Life—shoved into their heart, kills them. In battle you don’t have time to learn if a foe’s heart beats, so this same hunk of wood impaled into the chest of a Berserker or vampire as you call them, will render them immobile until it’s removed. While the parasites are the strongest among the Wathe, they will not be all you face. A person with the gift of death must not fear it, for if she does it will surely be her demise.”
“For Odin’s sake, Rika, your new age prophetic bullshit impresses no one,” Kerrigan calls, the door closing behind her.
“I thought I smelled a litter box nearby.” Eirika curls her nose as though smelling something foul.
My sister and I stare at each other, dumbfounded. Kerrigan apologizes for her delay before clapping her hands and dragging me to my feet. “Ignore Rika’s pompous ass. She likes to pretend she’s the original Eir when she’s one of many carbon regenerations. Your takeaway here is every being has a weakness, even the girl who thrums with the blood of a Norse god. Our job is to help you find and utilize them.”
Elon joins us on our walk across the mat. Kerrigan shares coordinates and a bunch of other numbers I don’t understand until we’re standing in front of a target board. Ranissa sets up with Trevor, Geri, Parker, and Eirika to speed up her healing process. Lex and Dusty prepare different situations with sparring dummies. Kerrigan tucks weapons into various sheaths on her body. As she’s stockpiling, I question Elon.
“You knew all of this,” I accuse. “Before I ever touched the water or encourage Ranissa to, you knew it’d tie our fates together. Do you honestly think I can fight, knowing every bruise or blow I take damages my sister? What happens if someone figures it out? You and I are bonded now, are there repercussions with our bond too, besides it making you more vulnerable? Jesus, Elon, this is shit I needed to know.”
“Damn you work quick, Elon. Cinching up one of the chosen already,” Eirika calls from across the room.
“Shut it, Rika. Stay out of my business or I’m sure Kerrigan will be more than happy to flare,” he snaps.
“Go fang yourself, Elon,” Eirika snarks.
“And what’s the deal with her,” I point to Eirika, “and her?” I nod to Kerrigan, who is still kid in a candy store stuffing her pants.
“Rika is the reincarnation of Eir the Valkyrie, or as you would say Goddess of Healing. She lives around a hundred years before her light fades to move on to another generation. Her blindness and lessening ability was our first clue you were coming. Valkyries are never imperfect. Her disability meant the world was beginning its spiral into darkness. Kerrigan is a panthera.”
“A big cat?” I ask. “She’s a shifter?”
“No. She is the animal. It’s hard to see until she flashes. It’s quite phenomenal.”
On tiptoes Kerrigan bounces in front of us, her red hair spun into buns on either side of her head, she rivals me in height. Tall and lithe, she moves in silence on the balls of her feet, watching me with yellow eyes fanned with wickedly long lashes gleaming within her flawless porcelain face.
“Let’s do this, girlfriend.” She hands me a funky looking metal star with sharp points. “First up is death by throwing star.” I should worry about the glee sparking in her eyes, but I kind of like it.
Avoiding the bladed edges, I pinch it between my thumb and forefinger. Kerrigan sends hers whizzing through the air, explaining as she does. I kid you not; my brain processes each of her moves like the freaking Terminator. My eyes slow it down as she releases cataloguing grip, force, and aim. When she’s done, I flip mine. End over end it spirals beyond regular human eyesight, but I see it. With a thwap it imbeds itself deep in the board dead center, bull’s-eye.
“Huh.” Kerrigan dances around me. “This will be easy,” she singsongs.
Chapter Twenty
Three Days Later
Name a weapon and I’ve made it my bitch. Quite a feat for a woman who regularly forgets to tie her shoes and trips over air. We suspected my mastery of the Shuriken was a fluke so for the last three days, from dawn to well into the night, I proved how boss I am with push daggers, katana swords, long—weigh more than me, mighty swords—which felt light as a feather in my hand. Weapons hide in my belt buckle, my pants, and are strapped to my body.
My favorite show of aptitude and strength came with the whittled-tip chunk of wood from the Tree of Life. I’m a total boss bitch at driving the stake through the thickest armor. When they mentioned using a killing device, forged from a mythical tree in the land of Odin times I scoffed. I mean, how do you access something from mythology? Turns out it’s a resource we never run out of. The limbs keep appearing no matter how many we break or use.
I’ve given up trying to use logic and decided to go with the Viking flow. I figured my attraction to Elon might prove difficult, but crossing the threshold of the training room is like entering Fight Club. It’s not a cutesy tumble around the mat with a sexy man. It’s survival against a bevy of Wathes.
Turns out Wathe means wandering, pursuit, hunt, and is the name given to creatures like Elon, Lex, Geri, and Kerrigan; all the unique breeds from the seven Norse realms no longer in existence.
In the wee hours of morning when we finally crash into bed, I’m too tired to want the man sleeping on the opposite side of my wall. Though I recharge quick and it’s not long before I’m lying next to my sister, wishing I could sneak into his room.
We shower, eat, train, and sleep. Lather, rinse, repeat. When we’re not perfecting my fighting, they’ve been boring me to death with
history. Okay, yes, it’s important and a bit interesting but overall dull. The reason we passed the class in high school was so we didn’t have to repeat it.
War and power destroyed the Norse. Wathes didn’t want to forfeit their existence. The human condition wasn’t going away and you know what they say—if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Oddly enough, finding people willing to trade their humanity for immortality wasn’t hard.
Yggdrasil connected the nine Norse worlds. Different beings lived in each realm. Odin protected all. While Odin preferred Asgard, he traveled among all the lands. Mankind originated from Midgard—the one realm in the visible world. Since us mundanes were all aboard the possession train, each Wathe became a spark. Willing hosts took in the spark and became the firsts Wathes in the human world.
It was chaos and through the generations, pop culture, inbreeding, and adaptation have branded them with modern names. They faded into the shadows, developed a hierarchy, and continue to live side by side with people.
As with all things, there are always a few bad seeds, but mostly it’s been a peaceful existence with minimal carnage. Until now. Murders are rising with obvious Wathe involvement and the rogues have multiplied.
Peace never stays peaceful.
I’ve learned how to maim, subdue, and kill.
This will make your head spin so stay with me.
Shifters change into varying animals. Rewind back to your freshman biology days here. Each pod is a genus, allowing them to shift into any animal within that species.
Wolves are dogs. No, they’re not your average-sized barker with sharp teeth, but they function the same and live in packs.
A mage is a Viking witch.
Valkyries are all warrior women with indelible power. They share their spark through reincarnation and they favor the traits of what we know as a goddess, with bite.
Pantheras are jaguars but don’t turn into the cat.
Berserkers or vampires are parasites. The Wathe who charged in like a bully and never gained permission from its host.
There are elves, dwarves, and giants. Enormous bodies of water hold their own peril, but Silver Lake thankfully doesn’t have any big enough to worry about.
If I were still thinking with my regular scattered Nicole brain, I’d need flash cards to remember all the Wathe weaknesses, but Superhero Nikki is a sponge.
Pantheras are lethal to elves. A shifter can release a venom to kill a wolf and vice versa. Valkyries kill mages. Vampires are the hardest and most soulless.
Legend says if we find Odin’s Spear it has the power to kill them all. No one has the foggiest clue where to locate it, but it’s a nice thought.
Fangs, strength, claws, magic, supersonic hearing, and the will to survive. The breeds—wolves, shifters, and panthera—are born through mating. Mages make others by sharing their spark through a light exchange. Oh, and the icing on my shit cake is certain Wathes manifested special powers—yes I air quoted that shit. Elon said he’s met wolves who retain human function while changed, shifters who can drain a mage’s spark, Valkyries who glamour into a man, and others who use their spark as a stunner. Elon speculates there are a few crossbreeds out there who hold a whole additional set of worries, but they’re of no consequence until we survive Halloween. One world crushing dilemma at a time is the most my taxed psyche is capable of.
Vampires are, as Eirika said, a parasite.
The reason they’re hard to kill is because they function much as a zombie would. A special blood-like venom fills their veins. While the heart, brain, and a million other intricate pieces working together keep the human body upright, vampires are basically an animated corpse killing machine, driven by the need for blood and will only die if you lop off their head.
Their blood can heal if taken in small doses and the recipient isn’t knocking on death’s door. They have few weaknesses and all require up close contact.
I’ve sparred with Elon. His speed and ability to charm—which doesn’t work on me—combined with armor-ish skin and deadly fangs equate to impossible stealth. He’s a beautiful predator, but the monsters I’ll be fighting won’t love me like he does.
***
A Very Long Painful Week Later
Despite muscles I didn’t know I had hurting, my body says it’s ready to take on the world and is tired of waiting, but the others need more time. Turns out tiny aches and pains aren’t part of my sister’s healing. I keep telling myself it’s good to feel the burn. I’ve taken to running the track when I can’t sleep to expel my tireless energy. Let me say I hate running and all other forms of physical activity, which don’t involve my vampire and orgasms. But I’m strung tighter than bowstring.
I miss Elon. He left two days ago after we received a tip on the location of the elusive spear. We’ve been keeping our distance to keep me focused on training. As long as I stay pumped it’s all good, but in the hours in between I’m restless.
Ranissa is in nerd heaven, filling her brain to the brim with knowledge. She’s learned a bit of self-defense. Lex is teaching her how to use protective spells effective for the magically challenged. No one knows the extent of our abilities. We’ve researched Odin until our eyes cross. But we may not carry all his gifts.
Once again unable to sleep, I walk the halls of the facility. Corridor after corridor lit with harsh florescent bulbs high above the white tile floors. As I pass rooms, I peek in the square windows seeing doctors working with primates. When drawing blood, the phlebotomist holds the animal as though it’s a child, rewarding them with bananas and treats when finished.
Wearing spandex shorts and tank top over a sports bra, I stick out among the lab coats and scrubs. Elon said the faculty believes we are the spoiled daughters of a potential big money sponsor for the habitat. Lost in my thoughts, I freak out when Kerrigan jumps out of an exam room with a chimp wrapped around her chest.
“Hey, chica. I’m taking Geena topside, wanna tag along?” Geena blinks her large chestnut eyes, giving me a toothy chimp grin and a come-on wave. She’s all black fur with brown spots on her ears and she has the sweetest peach face.
Only a monster would say no to an invitation from an exceptionally smart ape.
We ride the elevator up. When we stop the doors split, revealing lush green grass, a midnight starry sky, dense forestry, and fresh chilled fall night air. Geena slides down Kerrigan’s legs. Standing between us, she reaches up taking Kerrigan’s hand and mine in her soft wrinkled tiny paw. Her long arms swing back and forth building momentum. With a tighter grip, she lifts her feet, using our hold as her anchor she flies in the air like a toddler would between their parents.
Her poofy lips pull back showing her wide teeth, as an enormous smile lights her face and she hoots a loud almost giggle. I laugh at how human she is. When we reach the trees and the first of many huts, she releases Kerrigan. With both her hands in mine she uses her grippy feet to climb me. Soft furry arms ring my neck and her hairy legs clamp on my waist. She dishes a sloppy kiss to my cheek before squeezing me in a tight hug. When she’s done, before she climbs down, her hands cup my face. Those soft brown eyes stare into mine as though she’s trying to share her thoughts. When I don’t respond, her lips curl down and she pats a loving hand on my head before bouncing away.
In awe I watch after her until she swings up in a tree, vanishing into the night. Kerrigan leads me farther into the enclosure to a line of lounge chairs. She urges me to kick back and check out the unpolluted sky full of constellations and twinkling lights.
She points out clusters, rattling off names I’ll never remember. The view is breathtaking. Rustling in the grass sets me on edge until I see Geena loping toward us with three friends. Two chimps grab blankets before snuggling up, two on me and two on Kerrigan.
“These girls where part of a nicotine study when Elon rescued them. They had a hell of a time with withdrawal when they first arrived. It was touch and go on if we could ever rehabilitate them. Now they’re my favorites and are the group used
as animal aids for therapy.
“You don’t think Elon taking blood from them is wrong?”
“After what they’ve been through, we’d be testing their counts all the time, anyway. Taking a pint of blood every other month isn’t damaging them, and it’s helping keep mankind safe. When you encounter a Berserker high on bloodlust, you’ll understand.”
The trees sway in the slight breeze and again something approaches in the grass. I don’t bother searching with my night eyes, figuring it’s another friendly ape who will approach when they feel comfortable enough.
“How ‘bout I acquaint her with it now, Puss in Boots?” a low venomous voice hisses. My head whips toward the sound while my eyes search in the blackness. Six feet from our chairs, red eyes glow in the dark. Two hulking figures stand with squared shoulders and fangs ready. Adrenaline spikes in my veins. Keeping a watchful eye on them, I set Geena and her friend on the grass, shooing them to the tree line as Kerrigan does the same.
“Looky what we have here, Buck.” His thick Southern twang cuts through the dark as he slicks a hand over a long black beard. They both stalk forward. I’m not sure how well Kerrigan can see, but for me it’s like they’re illuminated by a spotlight. Buck, I assume, is taller than his partner by several inches. A reddish scruff decorates his square jaw, surrounding his plump pink lips. A strong Roman nose splits his low brow and a halo of styled auburn curls hangs on his forehead. He’s ruggedly handsome except for the crimson glowing orbs.
“Hmmm, seems Little Red and Goldilocks have lost themselves in the forest, Huck,” red beard answers, eyeing Kerrigan, and me from head to toe.
Oh, ho, ho…you got to be kidding me. Huck and Buck, what the hell is this Deliverance? Cue the banjos.
Ranissa, I need weapons. Lots of weapons and backup. I call out with my mind, but when she doesn’t respond I’m uncertain if our meld penetrated the thick walls of the compound.
A Cursed All Hallows' Eve Page 90