Hunter 3 : Lost Souls

by Heath Stallcup

“Oh no you don’t.” I finished wiping down the counters and the upper cabinets then dropped the towels into the laundry basket. “You get to stay home and rest.”

  “I’m fine, really. It’s probably just mild food poisoning.” She held her head in her hands and took deep breaths.

  “I’ve eaten the same stuff you have and I’m not sick.”

  She gave me that look again. What? What did I possibly say??

  “You have god powers dummy.” She belched and held the washcloth over her mouth. She checked to make sure it was just gas. “I doubt eating dynamite would hurt you.”

  I shrugged and tried to make a joke. “Maybe if you lit it?”

  I failed. She didn’t laugh.

  I picked her up and carried her upstairs. I pulled the covers back and placed her gently under the covers. I brought her a lemon lime soda with ice and placed it next to the bed. “Rest here until you feel better. If you need anything, just call me.”

  She nodded weakly and rolled over.

  This was not going to be a good time to deal with Loki. We were supposed to meet at midnight, just in case I was stuck being a vampire and the whole daywalker thing went bust I’d have a few hours to get back inside. I hated the idea that I could potentially be leaving Laura alone. But to leave her while she’s sick and barely able to walk? I wished I had a cell phone number for the trickster. Postpone the deal a day or two. Just until she felt better.

  I went back downstairs and checked the basement. Tex was dead to the world. Literally. When vampires sleep, they may as well be dead. I shut the door quietly and locked myself in my office. If I couldn’t postpone the meeting, I could damned sure be prepared.

  I brought out the angel blades and checked their edges. Razor sharp. I tested the crossbow and the magazine of bolts loaded fine. They cycled without issue and I made sure I had an extra magazine of bolts just in case. I checked the cuff and the shield; they were every bit as powerful as when they were new.

  I was prepared. Well, as prepared as I could be. If Loki decided to pull a fast one, there really wasn’t much I could do. I believed, despite his nature, that after our “come to Odin” meeting the other day, he’d given up on any ideas of tricking me. He realized that if anything, he should be thanking me. I was giving him what he needed. As for my soul, it was all but useless to him anyway. And nobody could guarantee that it would even go back. If it didn’t, I was left to Loki’s ability to convince Thor to return it.

  This was a show of good faith in my gods, even the lesser ones. I hoped Loki would go a step further and maybe try to unruffle the feathers of my kin? Would that be too much to ask? I hoped not.

  * * *

  The sun was about to set and I stared out of the kitchen window, watching as it sunk lower and lower beyond the horizon. I tried to memorize every color that was painted on the darkening sky in case it was the last sunset I ever saw.

  I heard an engine outside and went to the door. Laura stepped out of her car and shut the door carefully. I never heard her leave and I was just a bit upset that she didn’t say anything before taking off. With her being sick, she could have collapsed and…I had to stop myself from going down those tangents of thought.

  I opened the front door and watched her make her way to the house, her face a mask of emotions. She carried a bag from the drug store.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving? I would have driven you and–”

  She pressed a finger to my lips to shut me up then wrapped her arms around my middle. “I feel much better now.”

  I stroked her hair and she smelled wonderful. “Did you find something to knock out the nausea?”

  She shook her head and reached into the bag. She handed me a plastic thing that looked like a pen. I took it from her and stared at it. I had no idea what she was showing me. I turned to her and shrugged. “What is this?”

  She smiled up at me. “I’m pregnant.”

  I felt like I’d been knocked over with a feather. Attached to a bulldozer. Thrown at high speed.

  * * *

  My hands trembled as we sat and talked. I knew that she’d been faithful and we were all we had known for some time now. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.

  “But…how?”

  She shrugged and gave me the sweetest smile I’d ever seen. “I can only guess that somehow the god powers made you fertile again.”

  I swallowed hard. “But…what will that make the baby?”

  She shook her head and placed my hand on her tummy. “Loved.”

  Of course the child would be loved. I just couldn’t imagine having to warm a bag of blood then pour it into a bottle. “I meant…could it be vampire?”

  She shrugged again. “We’ll deal with that when the time comes.”

  I tried really, really hard not to panic. This child could be like a Nephilim, half angel and half human. What if the child was half god? What is that called? Demigod? I could only think of Hercules and the thought of trying to change a diaper on a baby that could throw me through the window really didn’t appeal to me, well, not much.

  What if the council found out? Would they try to somehow get control of the child? Imagine the power of a being that was part vampire, part Werecat, part god, part human. What was this child’s potential?

  I swallowed hard and pulled her close to me. “You’re right. We’ll figure this out.”

  My eyes scanned the wall and settled on the clock. I was quickly running out of time.

  If I thought it would be hard to face Loki when I thought Laura was sick, what was I supposed to do now?

  My mind raced in circles. I’d wanted a family for so long but now that I had one beginning, I was never more frightened. My life, my desires, my plans…none of it mattered. Laura was always my main concern, but now? Now there’s a little Sven or Laura growing inside her and…what was I supposed to do?

  I leaned my head back and pulled her even closer to me. I wanted to cry, I wanted to shout with joy, I wanted to hide, I wanted to scream. All at once. I looked down at Laura and couldn’t imagine what she must be going through. She would forever have something that tied her to me. I hoped that was what she truly wanted.

  I stroked her arm and glanced at the clock again. Damn that infernal device. It kept stealing moments that I could never get back.

  When the time finally came I nudged her. “I have to go.”

  She sat up and gave me a tired smile. “Be careful.”

  “Always.” I kissed the tip of her nose and scooted off the couch. I started to leave but turned back to her. “No matter what happens, you do know that I love you– don’t you?”

  She nodded and I could see the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She gave me a smile and soft kiss. “You know I love you, too, right?”

  I held her face for just a moment and stared at her. Even with her eyes red and her nose running, her cheeks flush, and her hair a mess, she was the most beautiful thing in the world to me.

  “I’ll be back before you know it.”

  I pulled my long coat on then transported myself to the meeting place.

  * * *

  I really thought it odd that Loki would choose the same warehouse that I nearly killed him in. I guess it was far enough away from everything else that he felt we’d both be safer.

  Maybe.

  I walked around the barren interior then checked my watch. I was a few minutes early. I really expected he’d already be here. Possibly even with a couple of goons from the nine worlds.

  I walked toward where my last battle with him had taken place. I could see dark stains on the concrete and bent low. I touched it with my hand and felt it calling to me. It was just then that I realized how strong a connection there must be between a god and his or her power. It was as if the blood on the floor was pulling at the power that surged within me.

  I followed the trail of blood to the place where he stood when my sword bit into his middle. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the column that Thor threw me in
to. I could remember the pain of that altercation clearly. I felt fortunate I survived.

  “You’re early.”

  I turned and was surprised; Loki appeared almost human. He was slightly taller than me in this form and I wondered where he may have picked up the meat suit. “Decide to possess somebody taller?”

  He laughed and stepped over the bloody spot in the floor. “Nope. This is how I choose to appear to most in Yggdrasil.” He gave me a silly grin and leaned against a column. “I thought it prudent in the event some wino decided to crash here. Wouldn’t want him reporting frost giants were back on Earth, now would we?”

  I didn’t really care. I just wanted this to be over with. I stepped toward him and he took a half step back. “Easy now. It’s not that I don’t trust you…but I don’t trust you.”

  I felt my shoulders slump and my face fell. “How are we supposed to do this then? You gonna fold my soul into a paper airplane and I chase after it?”

  He reached into his coat and pulled the jar out. He placed it gently on the floor then stepped back. “Inspect it yourself.”

  I wanted to scream at him. “How do I know what I am even looking at?”

  “Open the jar and see. If it settles in and you feel all warm and fuzzy, you can rest assured it’s yours. If it can’t get in and floats away…well, I guess it sucks to be a draugar.”

  I glared at him. “I thought you would return it to the great hall and petition Thor to reinstate it to Valhalla.”

  He shrugged. “I can do that.” He inspected his fingernails as though there was something increasingly interesting growing under them.

  I groaned. I was sick of his games before this ever started. I marched forward and scooped the jar from the floor. I popped the lid and the blue ball of light darted off and out a broken window.

  Loki laughed low in his chest. “I guess it really does suck to be you, doesn’t it?” He stepped forward and slammed his hand into my back.

  The blow should have knocked me forward, but instead I felt his icy fingers digging deep into my flesh, holding me in place.

  I screamed and arched my back, praying I could get away. I tried to transport but found myself grounded. I could feel him sucking the power from my body and felt an ungodly sickness forming deep in my belly.

  I was slowly able to regain control of my arm and reached into my coat. As my hand gripped the hilt of the angel blade, I could feel it vibrating like mad. It wanted blood more than I did.

  I tried to spin, swinging the blade in a downward motion. I was still tangled in his grip but I heard him scream just before he dropped me to the floor.

  I hit the concrete and rolled, my eyes searching for the dirty bastard. I’m not sure how I knew, but I knew, without doubt, that he’d tried to pull a fast one. I saw him bent low by the column, gripping his arm with a hand. Dark rivulets of blood dripped to the floor and his eyes flashed a cold shade of blue.

  “Draugar! I will kill you for that!” He stood up and ripped the sleeve off of his coat. He waved a hand over the bleeding wound and I watched as it stitched shut, a dark scar forming where the wound once was.

  I wasn’t certain, but I didn’t think he had pulled back all of his power from me. I rolled my shoulders and felt the wounds on my back heal. I reached into the coat and pulled one of the short blades, spinning them both in my hand as I made a slow circle around him.

  “That wasn’t my soul, was it?”

  Loki laughed. “Ya think?” He doubled his fists and shot them toward me. I rolled to the side as a frigid blast of cold air shot past me and encased the column behind me in multiple layers of ice.

  I came to my feet and glared at him. “You’ll have to do better than that, trickster.” I swirled the blades again and stepped closer, closing the gap as I continued circling him. “But know this. After I drain you completely this time, I will make sure I remove your head from your shoulders. Not even Odin himself could bring you back from that.”

  He growled low in his throat and threw multiple blasts of ice toward me. I felt time slow down and I watched the razor-sharp shards shoot past me as I ducked away from his attack. I tucked and rolled toward him, my blades coming up to slash as I came to my feet.

  Loki was smarter and faster than I gave him credit for. Just as my blades slashed through what should have been him, he hit me from behind with another blast of ice. My blades sliced through empty air, throwing sparks as they struck the concrete.

  I fell to the ground, shards of ice piercing my back and legs. I could feel myself going numb as he walked slowly toward me.

  “Time to die, Northman.”

  Chapter 19

  I watched him step ever closer, my body stiffening as his ice spikes froze me from the inside out. I reached down and pulled one from my thigh. It felt like I took half the meat with it. My fingers brushed another and I gripped it. As I freed it from my flesh, I tried to throw it back at him. It bounced harmlessly off of his middle and tinkled to the floor like broken glass from a window.

  I pulled myself back and tried to put more room between me and the laughing maniac. He paused and gave me a pouty face. “Does it hurt?”

  I wanted to reach out and squeeze his throat until his eyes bulged out. I got to my hands and knees them forced myself back up and to a standing position. I flung my arm up and behind my neck, sweeping at the protruding ice shards with the angel blade. I could feel them shatter and my body felt like half of it shattered with them.

  I stumbled back and had to fight to suck in air. What little of his god power that I still had was working overtime trying to heal me from his attack. He continued to laugh as I stumbled back and away from him, my strength ebbing with each step.

  I practically fell behind one of the concrete columns and had to grip it with both arms to keep from sliding to the floor. I tried to center myself. To concentrate on healing my body. If I couldn’t, this would be a very short fight.

  “I should have known better than to trust you. You couldn’t tell the truth if your life depended on it.” I Closed my eyes and envisioned my body healing. I could almost feel the flesh stitching back together as I pictured it. Good heavens, but the itching was distracting.

  “You’re right. You should have known better.” He stopped and looked up toward the ceiling, as if deep in thought. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a straight face when an insect is threatening to invade your home and kill you? I’m telling ya now, it wasn’t easy pretending to be worried while you threatened me, although I’ll admit it was entertaining.” I could see his shadow against the far wall. It wasn’t much of a shadow, but my night vision was still enhanced. I watched him shrug. “Oh well. You’ll be dead and I’ll have my power back. Our fun can’t last forever.”

  “Whose soul did you tempt me with?” I had to buy a little more time.

  He laughed again. “That was no soul. It was a bug from Alfheim. Nasty little devils. I don’t know how the elves tolerate them.”

  I struggled to regain my footing and focused every last ounce of power I had into regaining my strength. I could feel the warmth go through my limbs like a wave. Once the wave hit my fingertips, I felt complete. I was whole and battle ready.

  I gripped my blades and stepped from behind the column. “Time to die, Trickster.”

  He spun and stared at me. “Hey. That’s my line, asshole.”

  I ducked and launched myself toward him, spinning in midair. I brought my blades down and across but he vanished once again. This time, when I hit the ground, I flicked my wrist, bringing the shield to the ready. I arched my arm and used the shield to block my back.

  I could feel the ice shards impact the shield and shatter, their pieces tinkling to the ground at my feet.

  “Not bad, you soul-less freak. Let’s dance, then.”

  I slowly came to my feet and eyed the frost giant. “I’m going to gut you like a fish.”

  He smiled and bent low. “You can try.”

  We both launched for the other at
the same time. My blade missed his throat but the shield caught him just under the navel and flipped him. I rolled and came to my feet in time to see him splayed against the concrete wall. He slid to the ground and his head wobbled a bit as he tried to get his bearings. I pulled the crossbow and loosed three bolts at him. I pierced one shoulder, pinning it to the concrete wall. A second bolt sliced at his neck, and the third missed completely. The neck shot was barely a scratch and I cursed as I reached for the other magazine.

  “You bastard!” He tried to grip the bolt in his shoulder to remove it, but its stubby end was nearly buried into his flesh and the blood made the bolt too slick to grip. I watched him brace his hands against the wall and try to slide off the bolt.

  The next one caught him in the middle and I watched him double over as the bolt pierced through his guts.

  I walked slowly toward him and glared down at his broken form, struggling to remove the bolts that impaled him. I brought the crossbow up and pressed it to his forehead. “Any last words?”

  His breathing was shallow and rapid, probably from the pain of the bolts pinning him to the wall. He looked up and locked eyes with me. “Yeah. Fuck you draugar!”

  I was about to squeeze the trigger and remove this parasite from all of the worlds when the room exploded.

  Again.

  * * *

  I knew who it was before he yelled. Fuck me if Thor hadn’t shown up

  I pulled myself up from the floor and steadied the grip on my blade. My anger was fresh and I had no intention of allowing him to steal my kill from me a third time.

  “Who dares!”

  This time I marched toward him. “Who do you think dares? The fucking Draugar dares!” I launched myself at my god and slashed at him.

  I didn’t have much hope of catching Thor with my blade, and sure enough he either sidestepped me or transported himself to just beside me. His great and mighty hand gripped my neck and literally plucked me from midair as I was launching myself at him.

  I distinctly remember seeing him grow very tiny as the wind blew past me. It was that split second before I was squashed against the far wall that I realized he had thrown me…away from him. Like lint from his armor.