True to my word, I had left Jack in the car all night long. His face was pale, his hair still messed up. But, he was alive.
“You’re a bastard for leaving me out there.” Jack knew that he had some explaining to do, but that would have to wait.
I had been bugging Chloe to show me her tracker skills for a month. So far, she had been too busy with her physical and magical training. Today, I had bribed her with a trip out if she agreed to finally let me see what she could do.
“Go and have a shower, it will warm your knackers up nicely.” Waving him away, I gestured for Chloe to continue.
Shaking her head, she did as she was told. Pointing at the list of websites, she started to explain how she used them.
Jack shuffled out of the room, mumbling some curse words under his breath. Ignoring him, I listened to what Chloe told me, enthusiasm making her voice fast and excitable.
When she had finished, I nodded, impressed by how much knowledge she had. “So, you use that programme to get a good face likeness before you search for pictures online that match it? Social media really has made it a lot easier to find out information about everyone.”
Chloe nodded, sitting back in her seat with a smile on her face. “I know. The day my family…or, not my family, but Loki’s descendants gave me my first computer, I almost had a heart attack. The internet is my best friend when it comes to this part of the job. I just wish I was as good with magic.”
“Talking of magic,” I said, stroking Rusty’s head when he nudged my knee. “Our trip today…we’re going to see the witches that worked for the last Fallen One.”
Chloe jumped in her seat. She was about to lean forward to throw her arms around me, but I put my hand out to stop her, accidently brushing against her boob.
“Oh, shit, sorry,” I stuttered, getting up from my seat.
My cheeks heated as she grabbed her breast and stared at me, the skin on her neck blushing red. “It’s okay, it was an accident.”
Clearing my throat, I looked everywhere but directly at her. “Thank you for showing me that. I trust that…I’m just going to see where Jack is.”
Escaping, I blew out my breath. The sound of feminine laughter made me pause at the top of the stairs. Slapping my head, I skipped down the steps. What was wrong with me? I never acted like such an idiot around women. Especially women like Chloe.
“Jack,” I called when I got to the kitchenette and switched on the kettle. “Get your girly arse out here, we need to talk.”
The door opened to reveal my butt naked friend. Turning away, I distracted myself by making tea. “Preferably dressed,” I muttered.
“You want to talk, I’m ready to talk, my man. Although, I still haven’t forgiven you for leaving me passed out in the car. I could have died, mate.”
Turning to face him, I crossed my arms over my chest and leant against the work surface. Luckily, Jack had wrapped a towel around his slim hips. His arm bulged as he reached up to brush his hair.
“I still haven’t forgiven you for telling our dead friend about me. Whatever possessed you?”
His movement paused as he stared at himself in the mirror. The slight clench of his jaw was the only thing that gave away his unease.
“I wasn’t thinking, I was…enjoying myself a little too much. He was talking about the Hagalaz cult, I was trying to get as much info as I could, but I got carried away, mate. I promise I didn’t mean it. I’ve never told anyone. In fact, why did I say anything? I never say anything.”
He turned to me, his face screwed up in confusion. I could tell a lie a mile away. My friend was telling the truth. Had he been tricked into saying something?
“He gave me cocaine, I remember. Then…started to hint at…you know.” His cheeks flushed, his eyes dropping to the ground.
It was unlike my friend to be ashamed of his desires. What had got into him? I had never seen him back down when I questioned him. Shame wasn’t a word I associated with him. Ever.
“Maybe it wasn’t cocaine,” I suggested, ignoring his pitiful stare.
His gaze snapped up to mine. “True. Maybe I was a little too trusting in the Crawler. Dan introduced us at the club last night. He’s had his ear open about the Hagalaz cult.” He paused when I narrowed my gaze on him. “Although he doesn’t know that it’s you that needs the info,” he quickly added.
Pushing away from the side, I finished making the tea as Chloe’s footsteps came down the stairs.
“Put some clothes on Jack, no one wants to see all that first thing in the morning,” she quipped.
“Don’t lie, baby, you want to climb all over this…You pine for me when you try to sleep at night. Just admit it, I’m the best looking man you’ve ever seen, ain’t I?”
Chloe flipped him off as she waltzed past and out the front door, swimming gear in hand. The woman was toning up nicely, her fitness regime paying off. Her magic practice was going well, but I had a feeling she had a lot more inside of her. And, that was the reason for our visit to the witches.
“I’m taking Chloe out today,” I said as Jack pulled on his clothes with the bathroom door wide open.
Rusty wandered over to me after watching Chloe through the vast glass window on the side of the building. She didn’t hesitate when she got to the side of the water, stripping her clothes straight off before she jumped in.
“Shame she’s wearing a swimming costume,” Jack said, joining me at the counter and snatching a mug of tea.
Moving to my chair as Chloe started her lengths, I sat down, waiting for Jack to sit opposite. He took a moment mucking around in the kitchen, but then joined me. Rusty jumped on the sofa next to him, laying his head on Jack’s thigh. The dog was a traitor.
“Where are you taking Chloe?”
Waving away his question, I stared, waiting for him to impart the most important information. The only reason I hadn’t killed him already was because he knew so much about Hagalaz. And, although I had put the whole cult thing to the back of my mind for the month, it was time to pick it back up again.
“Okay, I’ll tell you what I found out, but you’ve got to promise not to ram the dagger you have tucked in your boot into my throat when I’m finished,” Jack said, downing his mug of tea in one go.
The lad was nervous, which was a good thing. He should be. If he had been anyone else, he would be facing the end of my blade when he had finished talking.
“As much as I hate to admit it, in fact, it makes me retch just thinking it…” I pretended that I was going to be sick. “I need you.”
Jack fake growled in his chest, shaking his head as he turned to look out at the river. A small smile landed on his lips before he turned back to me. “See, I always knew you had a thing for me, pretty boy, you just can’t help yourself.”
“Tell me what you know, bastard.”
Waiting, I sipped my tea. The hot sweet liquid slid down my throat, reminding me of a time when I would make tea for a special friend. A woman I had become close to all those years ago. I never fully let anyone in, but she had a way of making me want more. Her corset teased me in a way no other woman’s did. Her long wavy dark hair had curled into ringlets at the end.
And, yet, in my negligence, my stupidity, I had allowed myself to care for her over three hundred years ago. Which had ultimately killed her.
The Fallen One I was hunting at the time had got wind of my affection for the woman. She was a lady of noble birth from Italy, a proper aristocrat. Yet, I couldn’t save her when the evil spirit that had escaped Freya’s field all those years ago came for her.
“He confirmed that Martin is the leader of the club. It’s super exclusive. Which was obvious, weren’t it?”
Jack brought me back from my reverie, snapping me into the twenty first century. Oh, how I wished my memory would be hazier than it was. Humans lost their memories over time, the emotions attached to them dulling or disappearing altogether. But not me, no. As a quarter god, Thor’s grandson, I had an incredible memory. Which mea
nt the emotion that I had felt would come crashing in if I ever let it.
Swallowing hard to push it all away, I gestured for Jack to go on. My throat would close if I tried to speak before I had completely forgotten about Rosa, the woman from the past, and everything that had happened to her.
“Apparently, Martin fancies himself a descendant of Odin. He lied to us when he asked us to help him find out about his dead, not dead, daughter. Do you remember?” Jack absently stroked Rusty’s head as he spoke.
Nodding, I cleared my throat. “Yes. The daughter…who I know in quite an intimate way. She must have told him that she had met me at Frankie’s party.” I recalled our passionate liaison in the toilets and dispensed a small smile. “Yet, why did he send us to the Fallen One?”
Jack sat forward, apologising to the dog when he disturbed his stroking motion. “Exactly. Quite frankly, Thunder Hunter, I’m astounded that you ain’t been back to see this Martin bloke. Why haven’t you found out what the hell he was playing at?”
“Chloe needed my guidance in her training. She’s…doing okay, but she hasn’t once mentioned that night. She saw me behead the Fallen One. And, she’s managed to get out of speaking about the journal every time I’ve asked her.”
“Do you think she might be a little bit…?” Jack screwed up his eyebrows as he thought of the best word.
“She’s too emotional. When you allow that to be a part of you, all sorts of mental health issues can arise. I just…” Sighing, I looked out of the window to where Chloe still swum against the current of the River Thames.
Maybe the girl had managed to shut that night out. However, her silence about it was discerning. Especially as it seemed like she hadn’t seen a lot of bloody action throughout her lifetime. For me, it was usual. An everyday occurrence.
“She’s pretty tough, too. I mean, you’ve got to give her credit for firing the dude with magic last night.”
“Dude?”
Jack’s vocabulary expanded and changed almost every day. It seemed that the way he spoke related to the way he felt.
“Yeah, it feels like a dude day.”
“Language nowadays.” I finished my tea and dug my phone out of my pocket.
“Alright, grandad. I just hired a new American bartender at the club. She’s studying ancient mythology at university. She’s a clever little hot piece of arse. And, she’s gay…”
The frown on Jack’s face made me smile. All that man ever thought about was sex. The more debauched, the better.
“Maybe she knows a Dark Crawler or two so you can, what is it… Hook up?” I said, keeping my face straight.
Jack glared so hard, his eyeballs almost popped out of his head. Getting up from his seat, he kissed Rusty on the nose before he turned to face me. “On that note, unless you need me, I’m out of here.”
I didn’t care about Jack’s comfort, or lack of. There was more to what he found out. I wasn’t going to let him get away with it that easily.
“I don’t think you’ve finished.” I pointed at the sofa.
The front door opened and Chloe came in, dripping water all over the floor. “Shit, its cold out there.” Her teeth chattered as she rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her.
Lowering himself again, Jack resigned himself to staying a bit longer.
“He said that Martin had studied Norse mythology his whole life. He was visited by Odin in his sleep. Apparently, the god told him that he was his last surviving male descendant and had a mission.”
My eyebrows rose as I waited for Jack to go on. In the past, Loki’s ancestors had claimed that Loki visited them in their dreams. That was the way the god had told them to kill me. His planning and scheming had all been done in their dreamtime. If Odin could do the same, was Martin telling the truth?
“The Dark Crawler didn’t know that much because the cult doesn’t allow them in. Which is interesting in itself. If he’s speaking the truth, do you think Odin sent them to help you, too? He is Thor’s father after all.”
Jack had been doing his research it seemed. Before he met me, he didn’t know much about Norse mythology or Vikings in general.
“I’ve been down here for a thousand years, I can’t see why Odin would be interested in me after all this time.” Running a hand through my ponytail, I stared out of the window.
Odin was my great grandfather. Thor had been reluctant to let me meet him, but when I turned eighteen, he took both me and my father to Asgard. It had been an otherworldly experience. One of my only memories that was a little blurry. I remembered Odin to be kind but powerful. Someone who wouldn’t put up with any nonsense.
“Maybe he needs Thor to be alive for some reason. Surely, he would want to help his own son? And, great grandson?”
Chloe came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her. The steam of the bathroom billowed into the kitchen, wafting around her as she flicked her wet hair behind her shoulder. “Great grandson? Are you talking about Odin?”
I watched as she waltzed over, her eyes glancing between us as we stared. There wasn’t one moment in history when a woman had walked out of my bathroom wrapped in a towel. I had rarely brought a woman back to my home. Chloe looking so…settled, made my insides shiver. It unnerved me.
“What do you know about Odin? Why won’t you tell me more about the journal?” I snapped.
She frowned at me as Rusty went over and nudged her knee. Bending down, she clasped the towel together to hide her body as she stroked him.
“If I nudged your knee, would you stroke me?” Jack asked, wiggling his eyebrows in invitation.
“No, I bloody well wouldn’t.” Chloe’s retort was joined by her back straightening and her retreat towards the stairs.
Jack’s words had obviously made her realise that she was standing naked, albeit covered, in a room with two very dark males. I watched her calve muscles as she rushed up the stairs, not bothering to glance at us until she was safely on the balcony above. Her body was much more toned than it had been a few weeks ago. She was determined, I had to give her that.
“Thanks for the show of flesh. On that note, I need to go and see some…friends…” Jack got to his feet, adjusting his stupid skinny jeans as he did.
I frowned as Chloe squeaked, obviously seeing what he did, and disappeared into her makeshift room.
“Are you coming?” he asked me.
It was oh so tempting. It had been weeks since I had last snuck a visit with a female. My body was ready for some release, but I had been too slack. It was time to get back to work.
“No, I’m going to pay a visit to Martin. Find out what his deal is.”
My plans had changed. Seeing the witches could wait until a later date.
Jack stalled on his way to the front door. His hands clenched at his side, obviously torn between his need to satiate his desire and his curiosity. Spinning, he held his hands out to the side. The freshly washed hair on his head flopped into his eyes. There was no gel in my bathroom to help him stick it up. Somehow, the bastard managed to pull off the look.
“Do you have to go now? I want to come.”
“Don’t whinge like a little girl,” I said, getting up from my chair.
Stretching high in the air, I released the tension in my shoulders. I had worked out for an hour already this morning, but had skipped my swim to make sure I caught Jack when he woke up.
“Let’s compromise, lovely,” Jack said, swaying over to me and putting a hand on my arm. “We pop by my club first, meet a need or two, then go over to Martin.”
The corner of my lip lifted into my cheek. Jack knew how to provoke me into doing what he wanted. It was his speciality. Knowing what someone craved so he could use it to persuade them to give him the information he needed.
“We can carry on our conversation on the way.”
Nodding, I waved for him to wait as I went upstairs. Taking the steps two at a time, I almost crashed into Chloe as she came thundering out of her room, her phone in her
hand.
“What is it?” I asked before she even saw me.
Her face was pale, the colour completely gone from her previously pink cheeks. “I…” she stuttered, staring at her phone. “Look…”
Handing me the phone, she crumbled to her knees. Rusty licked her face, trying to make her feel better as she stared at the wooden floor. Frowning, I looked at her phone, freezing when I saw the picture.
It was a photo of the two dead children that Chloe had lived with. They had been killed over a month ago. She hadn’t mentioned them or even grieved fully. Had she been completely detached from them? From the look on her face, she had blocked out the pain in order to deal with it.
“Who sent this?”
Chloe blinked, her face finally looking up at me when I clicked my fingers in front of her eyes. “My cousin. Or…not my real cousin, but the woman you heard come back to the house that night.”
“Why send it now?”
I paced away from her, returning quickly when it looked like she might faint. Getting my hands under her armpits, I was glad that she had at least managed to put clothes on. The jumper was soft, gentle against my rough calloused hands as I dragged her to her feet.
“If you scroll down, you’ll see a message. She wants to meet to talk about the death of our family…and the role I played in it. It’s regarding the journal.”
Her rushed words filtered out of her as she thrust away from me and stormed back into her bedroom. Following, I watched as she dug around in her bag and pulled out the journal she spoke about.
“The famous journal you keep promising to tell me all about, then conveniently don’t. The one that says Odin’s descendant’s still live.” Moving to take hold of the book, I paused when Chloe spun away from me and ran out of the room.
What was her problem? Since she had got there, I had let her go at her own pace. Every time I tried to talk to her, and she wasn’t ready, I left it alone. No more. She would no longer hide anything from me.
Taking my time, I left the room and followed her downstairs. Chloe stood in front of Jack, trying to shove past him to get out of the front door.
Lightning Seeker: Viking Soul Book 2 (Viking Soul Series) Page 2