Lightning Seeker: Viking Soul Book 2 (Viking Soul Series)

by Rachel Medhurst

  Chloe tutted as she turned to Rusty. “Neither of them have any maturity, so they can’t have been alive for long. What do you say, Rusty? Shall we bust this joint and go join the real world?”

  Jack’s burst of laughter started off as a snigger, but quickly built into loud hilarity. Grabbing his stomach as he rocked back, he over-rocked, falling onto his back. It didn’t calm him, though. The laughter was infectious. I smiled along with him as Chloe glared at us both.

  Rusty jumped up and went over to him, licking his face. There was something about the sound of someone laughing that triggered a happy memory in that dog. Jack tried to stop Rusty from lathering his face with his tongue, but it made him laugh all the more.

  “What’s so funny?” Chloe huffed as she stood up and put her hands on her hips.

  “I think what Jack is trying to say is that we live in the real world much more than any of the ignorant normal humans do. They’re pretty…” I paused, trying to come up with the best word for a human.

  To be fair, I would be insulting myself slightly. However, the magic of Thor’s power had made me much less than human a long time ago. My sympathy for them had drained from me when the last person I truly loved faded from the earth only after a short time.

  “You’re so…” Chloe paused, her dark brown eyes squinting at me.

  Blinking, I kept my gaze on her, for the first time in a really long time, anticipating what she was going to say. Why did I care?

  My chest thumped when she sighed and shook her head, obviously not able to come up with a word to describe me…or, not wanting to say what she was thinking out loud. For a brief moment, I frowned before going over to Jack, ready to snatch the journal that now sat on his lap.

  He sat up quickly, predicting my intention. Holding a hand out, he warned me off. “I got this, my man, go and relax on your bloody pole over there. I ain’t going to laugh no more, I promise.”

  Backing up, I went to my leaning place, ready to hear him read. Jack was an intelligent man, his talents wasted in the world he had decided to join. He could probably invent something amazing or create wonderful art, but the darkness called his soul far more than a boring life of a normal human.

  “Sit down, lovely,” Jack said to Chloe, patting the grass next to him.

  Rusty took that as an invitation and moved to sit down. He leant against Jack, his chin resting on his thigh. Jack frowned at the dog before stroking his head. “For some reason, I have a weird feeling in my chest. What is it?”

  Chloe giggled as she sat down again, patting Rusty’s back as she did. “Aw, I think Jack is falling in love with Rusty.”

  My lips twitched as Jack screwed his face up in disgust. “I’ll have you know, lady, that I ain’t ever been in love. And, I ain’t about to give my heart to a…dog.”

  “That’s the problem with you two, you’re too closed off. How are you supposed to experience life if you’ve never been in love?” Chloe ran a hand through her hair, tugging when she encountered a knot.

  Jack rose one eyebrow at her before glancing at me. I smiled fully, not holding back on my amusement.

  “Have you ever been in love, Chloe?” I asked, bringing her attention off Jack.

  Her mouth opened and closed, the little dainty teeth clunking together as she bit back her retort. Leaning towards her, Jack stared at her pointedly, his eyes purposefully wide.

  Pushing him, she waved at the journal. “Just read the bloody thing, will you?”

  We had proved our point. Preaching from the one who had never experienced love would never work. I watched Chloe as Jack opened the journal and cleared his throat, as if he was ready to perform a sermon. Did Chloe want to experience love? Was that why she held onto her emotions?

  Jack distracted me from my thoughts as he started to read.

  “The nineteenth of December, 1961. Today I found out that I’m going to have a baby. Gary is furious. He’s threatened to leave if I say anything. But, I know when they find out, he’ll be fired anyway. I’m happy, yet, something heavy lingers in me. Last night, Odin came to me again. He told me that I’m a descendant of his. I keep telling him that I can’t be, I’m not even Scandinavian. He just laughed in my face. Considering he is meant to be the most powerful Norse god, he isn’t too kind to me.”

  Rusty nudged Jack’s arm when he stopped stroking, jerking him out of the entry. I ran a hand under my chin, scratching the stubble there. “That doesn’t tell us anything.”

  Chloe tutted, her eyes rolling when I looked at her. “It’s one entry, trust me, there’s a lot more.”

  “You should know, considering you’ve had it all along.”

  Tapping the book to get our attention, Jack wagged a finger at us. “Enough, children, let’s read some more of our bedtime story.”

  Folding my arms, I looked out over the river, waiting for my friend to go on. Listening to others reading wasn’t my strong point. I read most nights before I went to sleep, hence the romance novel Chloe had spotted when she had first arrived. However, something in my brain switched off when I was being read to. I had to really concentrate to hear what Jack’s dronie voice was actually saying.

  “Odin’s getting persistent. He asked me to try and break out of the hospital so I could find a man who is technically related to me. Apparently, this man’s been alive for almost a thousand years, killing some sort of spirits. Odin says that I’m from his bloodline, but this man is from his son’s. So, surely we’re both from the same bloodline? Nope, he almost snapped my head off when he said it didn’t quite work like that. I didn’t really understand, but how can I break out of the hospital? I’m locked up!”

  “Okay, this is going to take ages,” I interrupted Jack as he went to go on. “Just give me the journal and I’ll read it tonight. It’ll be quicker.”

  “Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Mr Grouchy.” Jack closed the book, knowing full well that I had made up my mind.

  Our little gathering by the river was over. I needed time to process everything that had happened. A Fallen One’s energy had come close to me, yet, I wondered if it was just Thor’s power playing tricks on me. The possibility of two Fallen Ones in the same city was too great, it had to be a mistake.

  Plus, Martin had basically told us that he planned to kill me and Chloe. It wasn’t a matter of maybe, it was a matter of when. And, being around the others right now wasn’t helping me to think it all through.

  “I’ve been thinking about that.” Chloe rested her hands on her knees. “If you’re Odin’s great grandson, surely you’re his descendant too?”

  Shaking my head, I faced them as they both stood. “Well, you would think so, but apparently not. My great grandmother is Jord, a Jotun. Whereas, Thor mated with a human.”

  “Mated? Were they pack animals, Trygger?” Jack nudged Chloe in the ribs.

  She shoved him, focusing back on me, apparently the only one interested in what I had to say. Nodding for me to go on, she ignored Jack when he started to talk to Rusty under his breath.

  “So, because I’m mainly human, I’m a descendant of Thor, being that he was the first in my line to have a child with a human. Odin later had his own human children, so that’s where Martin and Hannah may come in, but I need to investigate that to make sure it’s true.”

  Chloe watched me intensely, listening hard. Did she want to know about my history or was her tracker mind already working to solve the mystery?

  “We,” she muttered.

  I raised my eyebrows. “What?”

  “We need to investigate. That’s what I’m good at. You can go kill someone, I can find out more about the Hagalaz Cult and Martin Sturgent.”

  Jack stretched his arms in the air, jumping when his phone beeped. I cracked my knuckles as I moved away from my post, ready to go back to the apartment.

  “You’ve got to bear in mind, I’ve been doing this on my own for a very long time. I know what I’m doing.”

  Chloe glanced at Jack before she clenched her fists
at her sides. “How am I supposed to achieve my mission, you know, the one that Freya set me, when you won’t let me help?”

  Breathing through my nose, I held my hands up in surrender. “Fine. You can research Martin’s background. I want to know what properties he owns. What school he went to. His adoptive parents and their backstory. And…who he’s fucking right now, too.”

  Almost choking, Chloe forced a smile. “Consider it done.”

  Jack’s gasp made us both look at him. He was reading the text he had received. “Oh, shit.”

  Stepping forward, I almost snatched his phone out of his hand, but held back as he looked up. His cheeks drained of colour as he regarded us, his gaze slightly vacant as he quickly processed the information he had just read.

  “What is it?” Chloe asked, not understanding how Jack worked.

  He shook his head quickly, staring off over the river. Chloe glanced at me as she frowned. I didn’t make a sound or move, letting Jack have his time.

  “As you know, Thunder, I have a lot of powerful connections. Ones that you asked me not to divulge to you. However, something weird has happened. It’s all over the underworld.” Jack rubbed a hand over his face.

  “What is it?” I snapped, finally succumbing to my impatience.

  Chloe leant forward, waiting just as eagerly as me to find out what was so terrible. Jack scrolled back through the message, going quiet again.

  Finally finished, he shoved his phone in his pocket. “Okay, in the space of three hours this morning, three of the top leaders of the underworld disappeared.”

  Three of the top leaders? Criminal masterminds, men who were of incredible intelligence, were leaders in the underworld. Witches and Magicians also ruled sections. And, the depraved. There were a few cult leaders that indulged in some depraved shit that I had never wanted to explore or think about. Jack had banned those people from his club, but they often sneaked in.

  “How the fuck did three leaders vanish? And, who were they?”

  The hairs on my arm stood on end as the breeze increased and rushed over us. The chill from the wind didn’t bother me, it was the change of dynamics. Everyone had their place in the underworld, it was how the city of London had stayed vibrant and…alive. If someone was targeting the leaders, a war would break out among the different people and creatures. That would not be a war I wanted to fight. However, if my next Fallen One was still in London, I wouldn’t have a choice.

  Not only did I have an enemy in Martin, I now had an evil war on my hands.

  6

  Trygger to the Rescue

  THE MEMORY FOAM MATTRESS captured me as I fell back onto it. The dark royal blue sheet stroked my bare skin as I put my hands under my head and stared up at the ceiling. My walls were the same shade as the bedcover, matching perfectly. The window was covered by black curtains, their darkness blocking out the sun so I could sleep without its interruption.

  Sleep was something I had always needed. It was the only way to rejuvenate the power or energy I expelled every day. Nothing could stop me from falling asleep when I needed to, not even a hot female body.

  The dampness of my hair on my arm made me move it. I needed a clear head, nothing distracting me. I had read the whole journal in one sitting the night before…and yet, I still felt inclined to believe that the woman was crazy. Her ramblings were interspersed between her love affair and Odin. My great grandfather.

  Since reading, I had formed a conflict about how I believed my great grandfather to be. According to Martin’s mother, he had wanted her to find me…and kill me. Even my name was mentioned, which didn’t sit easy on my chest.

  Her writing was scrawled, but I had made out the conversation explaining Odin’s belief that if he didn’t wipe out the descendants on earth, he feared that they would be the ones to bring about Ragnarok. The end of the world as we knew it. A battle that ultimately lead to the death of some of the great gods, leaving the others to return once the world had resurfaced from the water.

  That wouldn’t happen on my watch. Ever.

  “Trygger, I just found out that…” Chloe barged into my room, Rusty on her tail.

  Instead of reacting to her intrusion with embarrassment, I stayed exactly where I was. Stark bollock naked on my bed.

  Chloe’s hand came over her mouth as she ran a gaze over my figure and turned away quickly, clamping the other hand over her eyes.

  “I’m sorry, I…”

  “It’s okay,” I replied, still not moving from my spot. “You’re welcome to come join me. To talk, of course,” I added when she gasped loudly through the gap in her fingers.

  Rusty came over, sniffing my bare arm as I reached out to pat him. See, what was wrong with a naked body? Animals didn’t get so strung up on it, so why should we?

  “I’m not talking to you face to face when you’ve got…everything…showing.”

  Glancing at the toned ridge of my stomach, I tried to hold back the mirth that seeped up to my throat, but it came out as a deep rumble anyway. Chloe skipped on her feet, clearly wanting to tell me something important. Reaching over, I grabbed the other pillow from my bed and put it over my hips.

  “Okay, I’m covered up now. Tell me what you’ve found out.”

  Rusty laid on the black rug that lined the wooden floor next to my bed. I was too used to freezing cold floors on the pads of my feet when I got up in the mornings. I had taken advantage of rugs from the day they were invented. However, as I watched the furry thing lay on it, I contemplated kicking him out. The rug didn’t need rusty coloured hairs all over it.

  “I’ve never been in here before,” Chloe said, taking her hand away from her eyes, but still facing the other way.

  I had never invited her in, so why she thought it was okay to barge in this morning, I had no idea. However, I was sure that she wouldn’t do it again in a hurry. I enjoyed laying naked after a shower. My workout and swim had been extra-long today. I had obviously needed to vent some built up tension.

  “Are you going to face me?” It was ridiculous talking to her back.

  Tugging on her workout top, she slowly turned round, checking to see if I had indeed done what I’d said. “Erm…you’re still…peeking out.” Her hand went back to her eyes as I adjusted the pillow.

  “What can I say? I need a bigger cushion.”

  We both burst into laughter, which made Rusty jump up at Chloe. Thank goodness he chose his owner to go to. If he had launched onto the bed, he would have most certainly dislodged my attempt at covering up.

  “Come on, tell me what you found. I’ve got to get up soon, got places to be, people to do.”

  Shaking her head, she pushed Rusty down, stroking his head before she looked at me. Her gaze stayed glued to my face, her eyes staring into mine to stop from straying, I was sure.

  “You always say that and, quite honestly, it’s not funny.” Chloe put her hands on her hips as she regarded me.

  For the first time ever, I felt vulnerable as she watched me. I couldn’t move in case I inadvertently revealed myself again. And, there she was, a former…nutcase, who was slowly turning into a warrior, standing over me.

  Clearing my throat, I waved for her to speak. I didn’t want to hang around any longer. The feeling in my chest was foreign, uncomfortable.

  “Okay, well, I was doing the search for properties owned by Martin and although the information is pretty locked up, I managed to find out that he actually has shares in…” Her pause was totally unnecessary, but I let her have it without interrupting. “…Jack’s club.”

  Sitting up, I held the pillow to me, grabbing Chloe’s arm when she went to spin away. “Are you fucking joking?”

  Quickly shaking her head, Chloe stayed still, her gaze dipping to the curve of my pecs. Releasing her, I snapped my fingers in front of her face.

  She glanced up, her attention completely focused on me. “No, I’m not joking. He bought shares in the club recently. Around about the time he started to remember what Odin told him in
his dreams if my calculations are right by what you’ve told me.”

  “So, the cheeky bastard has a hand in the dealings with the underworld. He probably used the club to get information about what’s going on in the different groups.”

  Stepping back, Chloe looked at the door, obviously planning her escape. “Do you think Jack’s aware that the man is involved in the club? I mean, he told you that he loves going to Martin’s gallery after all.”

  Frowning, I froze as her words sunk in. She was right. Jack spent a lot of time at the gallery. Although, he did look surprised to learn that Martin was the owner when we had met over a month ago.

  “Chloe, leave Jack to me. Thank you for letting me know about that. You may go now.” Standing still, I waited for her to do as I bid.

  Her gaze traced the thick carved wooden bedframe before she glanced at the paintings on the wall. Paintings of Viking warriors and Scandinavian landscapes of old. What did she see? A man of cold-heartedness? Someone who never ever connected to his emotions? Well, she would be right.

  “This room is all you. Those paintings, you did them, didn’t you?”

  Her question jolted me, causing me to almost drop the pillow. Swallowing, I looked down at Rusty. Anything to distract myself from answering her question.

  “I’d like to know about your childhood one day, your family. Do you remember them?”

  “Of course I do,” I snapped, shoving the pillow on the bed on purpose.

  Turning from her, I grabbed my hairbrush and started to comb my hair. The soft padding of her footsteps retreating made me smile. Good, showing my naked arse had made her stop asking things I didn’t want to answer. Why did women pry?

  When the door shut closed behind her, I faced my walls, studying the pictures. I had painted them a long time ago. They had only survived because I made sure they were taken care of. Small curtains hung above them, only closed over the painting when light entered the room.

  The depictions of a time lost to me brought a pang to my chest. Thor’s power whirled in there, silent as I reminisced. I had painted those images in the hopes of them keeping my memories alive. It hadn’t worked. They became a part of the background, something to snarl at when I found myself caught up in the details of the mountains, lakes and familiar tiny faces of my family.