A Viking's Lost Soul

by T. M. Grinsley

  Steph’s arms are locked over her head with her jacket securing them in place. Tumbling off the bed, there is a loud thump when she lands on her back. Sam tumbles off the bed next to Steph as she laughs at Steph’s ridiculousness, which is our cue to leave them alone.

  Closing the door behind us, we walk in silence until we are outside the hotel and away from prying eyes. “The guys are all set. Darren is still radio silent, but seeing as you refuse to tell me what the hell you asked him to do, I have a feeling I shouldn’t be worried.”

  “No. What about Eira and the family?” The guys drilled me last night and wanted to come clean about everything, but I told them no. Telling Steph a bombshell like that, the day before she meets her family would be a disaster. Having her emotionally distraught on the eve of meeting the Iseley’s is not the best idea. Eira is already a pill and a pain in the ass to deal with, but arriving at Skorraey with a broken granddaughter? Eira would skin us all.

  Etienne hesitates before telling me something I already know. “I don’t like this, Finn. Eira never gave a shit about Steph, until now. She knew Steph was alive and acted like she was the bane of her existence. Now she wants Steph to be a part of the family? Then add Bjarne to the shit pile, and us.”

  “Eira will be dealt with. She thinks we worship the ground she walks on, but we have just been biding our time until the Nils can take back control of Hrothgier. It’s only a matter of time before Eira gets thrown out and reality bites her in the ass. We have a role to play, and you know this.” Before Cameron died, he filled me in on everything that was going on. He made Etienne, and I swear to never tell a soul about what we’re planning to do.

  Etienne scoffs as he runs his hand through his hair. “Is that why you don’t want to tell her?”

  “Yes.”

  “May Odin watch over you. If a Viking breaks an oath and goes back on his word, you incur the wrath of the gods. Are you sure you want to do this?” I know what Etienne is trying to do, but the gods have fucked with my life enough.

  Slipping my hands into my pockets, I release a breath I have been holding for a long time. “Since I was born, the gods have spit on my parents’ grave and shit all over my life. Fuck Odin and his horde. I never made that oath to Eira and her clan. I made that oath to Cameron and Steph.”

  Snow starts to fall, and an eerie feeling penetrates my skin as we grow silent. Powerful gusts of wind blast us from all sides, but we never move. A loud caw is heard as a single black crow lands on the edge of the hotel’s roof.

  “Caw.” The crow’s head moves in all directions until its eyes land on us. “Caw.”

  Snowflakes seem to freeze in time when I lock eyes with the bird. I nod my head once, knowing what is to be done and watch the bird fly away. The wind and snow die immediately, and the eerie feeling that had engulfed us is gone.

  “Last chance, Etienne. Is she worth it?” My eyes never leave the spot where the crow was just perched. My brothers never knew why I had to wait so long to make a move with Steph. I had to make sure she is worth everything I am about to do.

  “Steph and Sam are worth everything. I would die to protect them.”

  Turning to look at Etienne, I think about the last thing Cameron told me. ‘Protect her with your life. Break her heart if you must. Do not let her fall into their hands.’ “Follow my lead. This is going to get worse before it gets better.”

  “What if they hate me?” Steph wrings her fingers together, showing me how nervous she really is. When we left Tromsø, Steph asked Etienne why he was weird the other night, but he just waved her off and said it was just a fluke. Nothing to worry about. He was having an off day.

  Wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I pull her in close. “They will love you. I promise.” I place a chaste kiss on her forehead and guide her up the stairs.

  Skorraey is an old, eleventh-century castle that used to be the central point of Norway. Thousands of people flock here, thinking this place was made for royalty, but it is the starting point to our organization. With over fifty bedrooms and several bathrooms, this place has been renovated with new age technology.

  “Stop worrying, they are just snobby assholes who don’t know what they are missing out on.” Sam casts a knowing look my way. Her statement is truer than Steph realizes.

  The large wooden doors fly open and out walks Eira and the Iseley’s. Eira is wearing an all-black ensemble with gold jewelry adorning her neck. Her checker black hair is pulled into a tight bun, and she has way too much makeup on, for her old age. Kari is cowered behind Eira, with her head hung low and her skin looking paler than usual.

  I cast a worried glance at Etienne and notice his jaw tick as he takes in the family. Looking back at the family, Steph’s grandfather, Vidar, runs down the steps and engulfs Steph into a tight embrace.

  I feel Steph’s hand tighten around mine, refusing to let me go. “Velkomin, Stephanie. My Meyla.” Vidar’s thick accent grows thicker as emotions start to overtake him. Eira may be a cold hearted bitch, but Vidar is a man of honor. Losing Cynthia and Steph nearly killed him.

  Vidar pulls back so he can look into his granddaughter’s eyes. “You look so much like her.” Cupping Steph’s cheeks, he places a soft kiss on her forehead and loops her arm through his.

  Steph looks back at me with fear in her eyes, but she has nothing to fear from Vidar.

  “Boys, welcome. It has been too long.” Eira spreads her arms wide and motions for us to come in. She takes one glance at Steph and a look of disgust flashes in her eyes. Eira sounded thrilled before, on the phone, and told me to do whatever it took to get her back here, but it looks like my gut was right.

  Shooting a glance at Etienne, we run up the stairs to flank Steph and Vidar. The few weeks we traveled all over Norway are but a distant memory now. My brothers told Steph Eira was like a mother to us, but we despise that woman. She doesn’t give a shit about Hrothgier, not since Liam joined our ranks. She blames us for corrupting him and taking her son away.

  I take the last few steps up to the front doors and pull Kari towards me. “Are you alright?” I whisper in her ear and feel her tremble.

  “Must obey. Not here. Not safe. Run. Odin can’t protect.” She stutters each word and nearly suffocates me with her tight embrace. “Not real. Must find it. No more time.”

  Keeping Kari tight against me, I do everything in my power to not let my rage break free. Kari is a joyful person, who smiles and laughs at the most ridiculous things. Seeing her tremble and unable to communicate makes my blood boil. I have only been gone a few months, what the hell happened to her?

  “Kari, let my boy go. Go get dinner ready. One of our own has returned to us.” Eira’s voice is as cold as ice. The warmth she used when I talked to her in Denver is gone. I never should have brought Steph here. There has to be another way to do this.

  “Will do, Mother. Dinner must be done. Always must be done.” Kari wiggles from my tight embrace and runs inside.

  Eira waves her hand behind her and laughs. “Do please excuse my granddaughter. She is not well. After they found her, I was afraid it was too late.” Lies. Her voice causes the hair on my arms to stand up and a cold chill to rattle my bones.

  Not trusting myself, I keep my mouth shut and stay close to Steph. I notice Sam has moved behind Vidar as well, so she is close to Steph too. Sam has never met the Iseley’s, and the look on her face tells me she isn’t too thrilled to be here either. We take one step at a time, and I watch my plan start to unfold. I take one look at the girl I love and realize we have just entered hell together.

  Chapter 27

  ~ Stephanie ~

  “So, Stephanie, tell us about yourself.” Eira’s voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard. The moment I met her, I hated her guts. She holds herself with poise but looks down upon everyone like they are the scum of the earth.

  When Finn had gone to sit down next to me, Eira scoffed and moved him across the table. The look of disgust has been plastered on her face since I got here,
and I can tell she wants me to be anywhere else but here. “I work for a high profile auction house. I am tasked with hunting down the artifact’s previous owners and its history of origin.”

  Eira places her elbows on the table and rests her chin on her hands. “Sounds like a commoner’s job to me. There is so much more you could do with your life. Not waste it away digging through old books. I expected more from an Iseley.”

  “Nils. I am a Nils, not an Iseley.” I snap. This vile woman is getting on my last nerve.

  Eira raises her eyebrow at me and turns to face Finn. She places her hand on his arm and slowly starts making small circles with her fingers on his bicep. “Finn, it’s been so long since I have seen you. We miss you around here.”

  The fork I am holding starts to bend slightly, as I watch Eira touch Finn. If this woman despises me this much, why the hell am I here? I have never met her before this, and it’s as if being her own blood isn’t enough.

  I feel a soft touch on my hand and turn to see Kari removing my fork. “Love. Must not fear the wicked. Trust in them. I wish we met sooner.” Her hand trembles and her eyes go wide when she sees Eira staring at us.

  “Kari, my love. Go check to see if our guests have arrived.”

  Kari shakes her head and starts to get up, but I wrap my hand around her wrist and pull her back down. “Kari was just telling me about our family. You wouldn’t want to be rude, now would you?”

  Oh yeah, I am playing with fire. There are several servants in the room that could check whatever, but it seems Eira doesn’t want Kari talking to me.

  “No, don’t anger. Never, anger. Let go, please. Let go.” Kari struggles to break free, but I don’t release my grip.

  I pull Kari into a tight embrace and do everything I can to make her feel at ease. “You are the only family member besides Vidar who has welcomed me with kindness. Vidar is distant and refuses to look at me now. I will never hurt you, and I will protect you from her. Don’t be afraid of me.”

  “Kari, will you show Steph to our room? I will be up there shortly.” Finn’s voice is calm as he gives me a silent message. I mouth ‘thank you,’ and follow Kari out the door. Eira doesn’t notice what happens since her eyes are fixated on Finn. Whatever was said is of no importance to her. But seeing Finn with his cold mask of disgust and doing whatever he can to please Eira, makes my skin crawl.

  “Steph, wait up.” Sam runs after us and loops her arm with Kari on the other side. “I had to get out of there. She is Cersei Lannister’s twin, and you know how much I despise that character on that show.”

  Kari stays silent as we make our way up the long staircase to our rooms. Sam goes off about Cersei, but I tune her out. I keep looking back to Kari and thinking about what she told me.

  We round the corner of a large corridor and Kari opens the door to a lavish room that looks like it belongs in a fairytale. The windows are stained glass with a clear opening in the middle, which looks out to the several pastures behind the building. There is one king size bed with an end table on each side, but there seems to be only my luggage on the bed.

  “Where is Finn’s stuff?”

  “Busy. Won’t allow be seen. Must go. So much pain.” Kari rips her arms out of our grasps and runs out of the room.

  Sam goes to stand by the window, and I see a calculated look on her face. “Steph, we need to talk.” Never looking away from the window, I see a dark look cross her face.

  “I’m not just a photographer. Etienne is not just a bar owner and Finn, I have no idea what he has told you, but you need a head’s up.”

  “Finn never told me anything. We were too busy doing the deed to talk about his occupation or mine. What’s going on?” Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I wait for Sam to elaborate.

  “I can’t tell you much, but I can tell you this. And don’t try and get any more out of me, I am under oath and shit will go down if I tell you without permission.” Sam turns her attention to me and exhales loudly. “You know your books, where people are hired guns to protect a secret organization and live separate lives to hide who they are?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s us. All of us. Each one of us has our own story, I was found broken and beaten a long time ago, and they took me in. They saved my life, and I owe them everything.” Sam sits down next to me and takes my hand in hers. Her eyes plead with me to listen and not be afraid or run my mouth, like I normally do when I’m freaking out. “If it wasn’t for them, I would have been lying in a ditch.”

  “All of who? What organization?” My mind is starting to go all over the place. Comparing her world, or whatever it is, to my books, does not help me. Does she realize the crazy shit authors come up with in those stories?

  Sam squeezes my hands and pulls me in close. “Finn, Etienne, the guys. We are all a part of this, but you need to know we are protecting you. Your father was a part of all this, and right now, we have to keep you safe. I wish I could tell you more, but Hrothgier would have me killed.”

  Hrothgier? Where have I seen that before? And why would they kill her if she told me? I would never betray her trust or her secrets. Every fiber of my being is telling me to freak out and demand to know what is going on. But seeing the look in her eyes and the death grip on my hands, I won’t push my luck. Some serious shit is going down, and my friends are in it. First Etienne at the hotel, and now this.

  “What did you mean about an oath and hired guns?” Sam releases a breath she was holding, and her eyes soften.

  “My oath is to Hrothgier, and I’m a hired gun. It’s like the secret forces for the military. We hunt down our enemies and right the wrongs that have been done. No one knows about it, and we have to keep it that way. We protect something of vital importance, and right now, the guys will kill me for even telling you this much.”

  “Couldn’t have waited until I got away from Eira?” Both of us snap our attention to the front door and see Finn and Etienne leaning against the door frame.

  “I didn’t tell her anything.” Sam was quick to her feet and stood between me and the guys.

  “Stand down, Athena. We gave Eira some bullshit excuse, so we could come up here and tell Steph. Kari went to get my bags and bring them in here.” Finn closes the door behind him and makes his way towards me. “I should have told you this sooner, but right now, I need you to hear me out. I can only tell you what you need to know now, but when we are out of this godforsaken mess, I will tell you everything. Do you trust me?”

  Finn kneels before me and approaches me like a frightened child. The cold mask is gone, and the man I love kneels before me. I could run away and call them all crazy, or hear them out. One thing I know, what I am about to hear is going to make things a hell of a lot more complicated.

  “I trust you.”

  Chapter 28

  ~ Finn ~

  Taking a seat next to Steph, I tell her everything. The murder of my parents, how I got into this life, seeing her for the first time after her mother died, and my brothers. I left out what Hrothgier is, and what our purpose is because right now, she only needs to know the basics. After everything is over with, we will fill in the blanks.

  Steph never says a word as each of us tells her our story. Etienne isn’t as grotesque as everyone else, but he tells her that he was born into this life and is upholding his family legacy.

  “Why didn’t you guys tell me this from the start?” She asks Etienne and Sam. Her eyes don’t stay too long on mine, but I see hurt pooling in her sapphire eyes. We betrayed her trust and the fear of losing her for good starts to take over.

  “We had no choice. I promise we wanted to tell you every day we were with you, but what would you have done? Judged us? Asked a million questions that we couldn’t answer, then chastise us? Think we are killers and never look at us the same?” Etienne’s accusations make Steph flinch.

  “I-”

  “You would have. But as time went on, you matured, and I knew it was time to let you know. Screw the consequences an
d the shit storm it will brew. You need to know the truth because deep down you have always known there is more to me than meets the eye.”

  Etienne removes Steph's hands from mine and pulls her against his chest. “I never lied to you. I told you things about me are complicated. I never lied about my addiction to Superman, wolves, or beer. You are my sister, and I would move hell and earth to protect you.”

  “Same.” Sam and I say at the same time.

  Steph stays in Etienne's arms, but I see the wheels turning in her brain. It takes several moments before she talks, but what she says is not what I was expecting. “So, when whatever is going on is over, you will tell me everything I want to know? No questions asked.”

  “Yes,” I respond without hesitation.

  “And Christian, Darren, Liam, and all the rest. They are a part of this too?”

  “Yes.”

  “Am I in danger?”

  “Yes.”

  Steph runs her hand across her brow and walks towards the window. “Am I safe with you?”

  Steph's back is turned towards us, so she doesn’t see me coming. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I kiss her neck and thank Odin she didn’t run. “I will never let any harm come to you.” She leans back, into my touch, and molds against my body. Inhaling her scent, the beast inside settles, knowing our girl is here to stay.

  A light knock comes from the front door, and Kari walks in with my suitcases in hand. “Eira. Waiting.”

  Etienne grabs the bags from her hands and closes the door behind her. “Steph, we good?”

  “I still don’t know what to think. But I know I trust you with my life. That’s as good as it’s going to get right now.”