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

by Rachel Medhurst

  Teeth clashed together as the pair tried to gain the upper ground. Rusty cried when Victor managed to rip into his side. Jumping away, the dog managed to leap onto Victor’s back and dug his jaw into the scruff of his neck.

  “Rusty, leave!” I shouted when Victor’s wolf eyes started to bleed red. Not from real blood, but from evil.

  My dog… When had he become mine? ...ignored me. Victor threw him off, managing to get straight back on him. Stepping forward, I lifted my sword, ready to swipe down. If I went too far, I would hit Rusty, too. For the first time ever, I hesitated in my attack.

  A swirl of smoke moved around me as a figure leapt on Victor’s back, wrenching the creature off Rusty. The dog cried again as Victor’s teeth caught his leg on its retreat.

  “Go to Chloe,” I ordered Rusty as he stumbled to his feet.

  Victor was wrestling with…Antonia, the female vampire. I grinned as she sunk her teeth into Victor’s dog ear, ripping it clean off. She moved and bucked as Victor shifted under her, back into his human self.

  “A vampire? What a treat.” The Fallen One glanced at me before he threw Antonia off him.

  That was enough, I was getting bored of waiting until he grew too tired. Opening my mouth, I threw my head back and summoned Thor’s lightning, yet again.

  Thunder vibrated through the room, the ground shaking as I stamped my feet. Sweat poured down my chest, sticking my tunic to my skin. This was it. I was ready to kill the motherfucker, once and for all.

  When lightning hit my sword, I looked forward again, expecting the Fallen One to be running for me. Instead, he was thrusting and squirming against a whole host of arms and hands that kept him still. All the creatures of the underworld had approached, holding on to him for me. Wow, that wasn’t something I expected.

  Stilled for a moment, I chuckled low in my throat when Victor managed to wrench one arm free. A witch screeched a spell, keeping his arm in lockdown, even though no one held it.

  Moving closer, I took my time, although, the look on the others’ faces willed me to hurry the fuck up. I had never before been so…powerful, without fighting with my bare hands. Well, not all the way to the death, anyway.

  “Just fucking do it, will you?” Kalic said through clenched teeth.

  Coming face to face with Victor, I looked deep into his eyes as he managed to throw someone off him. The man, a mafia boy by the looks of it, screamed as he hit the floor. The sound of bone breaking made me wince.

  That wince soon changed when Victor threw his head forward, his rock hard forehead smashing into my nose. Swearing, I grasped my sword in both hands as the others weakened. If I didn’t send him back now, they would lose control of him.

  “Have fun…”

  Victor went still, his eyes widening as lighting shot through the ceiling, connecting with the sword. Raising it high above my head, I plunged it straight into his chest. He didn’t even bother to try and jump, which was unusual for the disgusting parasites.

  The host’s body shook violently as dark blood, almost black in colour, trickled down his bare chest. A light wind whipped around us as a bright light flared in the room.

  Ah, my Valkyrie. A beautiful woman with golden wings approached me from the side. I could hear the others complaining about not being able to see. She only let me see her, which was an honour.

  “Trygger. Thor told you that there will be times when you would feel like giving up. There’s only three left, grandson of Thor. You must finish your task. And, when you bring the last one to me…to Freya…I will reward you handsomely…with me.”

  Swallowing, I tried to moisten my now dry throat. A Valkyrie would let me have her if I completed my mission? New meaning, new goals formed in my mind. Sex with her would be…ecstatic.

  “I’ll be seeing you soon,” I said, reaching out to her.

  Her image flickered as she smiled, sending that bolt of pure heightened desire to every part of my body. Glancing over at Victor, the Valkyrie touched my sword, which was still jutting out of Victor’s host’s chest.

  The thread of dark spirit sucked out of the handle, moving into a spirit shaped form. “Freya will be happy to receive Victor back, he’s been a very naughty man.”

  Her laugh filtered through me as the light disappeared with them inside. Another one. Another Fallen One…gone. Falling to the ground, I curled up into a ball as was customary when I sent a Fallen One back.

  The creatures around me grunted as they lowered the dead shape shifter to the ground. Light fingers grabbed at my tunic. “Trygger, get up. If we don’t get out, we’re all going to die.”

  As the heavy fuzz of the Valkyrie’s presence retreated, I sat bolt upright. The fire. Pulling on my limbs, I tried my hardest to get to my feet, but they wouldn’t co-operate.

  “Please,” Jack pushed Chloe out of the way. “We have to save the club somehow.”

  The creatures ran for the door, tugging hard. It had been spelled shut, probably by the wizard. A smash from outside the door made Kalic, who was the one trying to break the door down, step back.

  “Get everyone out,” I told Chloe and Jack.

  The door thrust open, Serenity falling through with it, a witch behind her. She had managed to get him to undo the spell, good girl.

  Chloe shook her head. Sweat lined her face as she watched me, her eyes searching my body for wounds. I was fine, although the taste of metallic from the blood that dripped from my nose made me want to vomit.

  “We’re not leaving you.” Her cough indicted how much smoke now filled the room.

  Pushing her away, I stopped myself from reaching out to prevent her from falling. She landed on her arse, although jumped to her feet super-fast. Her training was starting to pay off, but she had a long way to go if she wanted to be a proper Viking warrior.

  “I can stop the fire, but you cannot be in here. What I’m going to do…it will kill you.”

  Jack wrapped his arm around Chloe’s waist, attempting to drag her away. “Rusty needs you,” he said, indicating the cubbyhole where the dog must be.

  I watched as Chloe stared into my eyes before turning to help Jack carry our dog out of the basement. Coughing when smoke wound into my throat, I closed my eyes. I hoped my plan would work. Thor’s power had done me the world of good, but it had been a long time since I had called upon rain.

  The memory of the last time flashed into my head unbidden. Agony ripped through my chest. Not only had I killed my own family, my grief had annihilated the village too.

  Tears trailed down my cheeks as I envisioned rain pouring from the ceiling. The fire was on the barrel, eating away at the wood. If there was alcohol in there, it would blow up any moment.

  The rain came. It burnt my skin as the acid drops ran over me, soaking me to the core. My tunic melted away as the poisonous water not only formed blisters on my skin, but doused the fire that threatened to explode the club.

  Gulping, I kept my mouth and eyes shut, trying my hardest to block out the memory that formed in my mind’s eye. The morning after I had killed my family, I had wandered out of my home, surprised to see that it had been raining. I hadn’t heard it, considering I had wept all night from grief.

  The huts that surrounded my own were destroyed, melted away. Rushing between them, my cries grew louder as I discovered bones in each one. Everyone I knew, everyone I had loved. They were all gone…because of me.

  Shaking myself to dislodge the memory, I took a deep breath and dragged myself across the floor. In a while, I would have enough power to get up. My strength would return.

  “Trygger?”

  The door opened.

  “Stay there!” I shouted to Chloe.

  As I pulled myself into the hallway, she gasped, crouching down beside me. “What happened? Is the fire out?”

  The smoke filtered out of the basement as I nodded. “Get me some clothes, unless you want a good look at my arse.”

  She laughed, calling up to Jack.

  When he disappeared from si
ght, I went to grab her hand, but stopped myself in time. She reached out, recoiling when I barked at her to get away.

  “I’m still wet. The rain…it’s acid.”

  Nodding, she hugged herself, looking up to the top of the stairs to check if anyone was there. “Your sword is safe, but…fuck!”

  Tears hovered in her eyes when I stared at her. Her outburst was emotional. Her power. She only ever fought when she was emotionally moved to do so. Had I invoked the caring in her? Had Jack? And, Rusty?

  Fuck me, I was going soft. I shouldn’t give a flying fuck if all three of them cared about me. I was…Thunder Hunter. Only on the earth for one reason.

  “You…those…” Her sigh was cut off when Jack chucked a pink shirt and jeans down to her.

  “Sorry, can’t hang around…got a whole ton of exhausted underworld leaders and their minions demanding a drink. Can’t refuse the, oh so powerful ones, can I?” Winking, Jack left us to it.

  “Rusty?” I croaked, pulling myself to sit up.

  Chloe averted her gaze as I dragged the clothes onto my still wet and blistered skin. It would take a few days to heal, but not long. My body wasn’t completely immune to Thor’s power, unfortunately.

  “He’s fine. Just a couple of scrapes, that’s all. Stupid dog.” The shake of her head caused the tears in her eyes to drop to her cheeks. She loved that dog more than anything. Thank fuck he was okay.

  Scrambling to my hands and knees, I allowed Chloe to help me up, gritting my teeth instead of shoving her away as her hands grazed my sore skin.

  “I’m okay,” I said, taking a deep breath.

  A gulp made me look at her. Fresh tears tracked down her face as she coughed and pointed for me to go up the stairs. Doing as she directed, I ignored the waterworks. It seemed the best way for both of us. I couldn’t deal with a woman crying, she couldn’t deal with my insensitivity.

  Moving into the corridor at the top of the stairs, I gained momentum as my strength started to return. Turning to face Chloe, I held out my hand. “Thank you for saving my sword…again.”

  She grinned as she folded her arms over her pyjama top. “See? What would you do without me?”

  Glancing at the fridge room door, which happened to be on the floor where Kalic had obviously managed to break out, she grabbed the side, bringing something invisible out of the room. Ah, she had remembered how to hide my weapon. She was learning well.

  “Without you, I wouldn’t worry all the fucking time.” I snatched the sword, winking at her as I pushed my way into the club.

  They all stood there, the top dogs of the underworld. Rusty crept over to me, his tail between his legs. I would find another wizard to spell him again. In fact, the one who sat at the bar, his head in his hands, looked like the perfect candidate.

  “What the fuck are you all still doing here?” I asked them as I bent to stroke Rusty.

  Chloe crouched down with me, her hands hovering over his back. The people in the room gathered closer together, watching us. Chloe’s hands glowed gold, sending a tiny string of magic into Rusty.

  He yipped excitedly, licked both our faces, and then moved to chase his tail in the middle of the room. Completely healed.

  “Good job,” I told my protégée as I stood to face the crowd.

  Jack stood behind the bar, Serenity at his side. He shook his head when I frowned, clearly warning me off. Maybe I could be kind to the human, considering she had saved the others from the fire.

  “So…?” I swiped up a bottle of whiskey from the side, taking a huge gulp. “Why are you still here?”

  The burn from the drink was a sweet relief from the heat of the acid and fire that scorched my insides whenever a Fallen One was nearby.

  “We’ve heard some rumours,” Kalic said, raising his top lip to revel his teeth.

  The witch stepped forward, her hands on her hips. “I don’t appreciate being taken hostage. And, I have a feeling it will happen again if a certain someone has their way.”

  Serenity cleared her throat loudly.

  “Speak,” I ordered her, drinking again.

  It looked like I would need to be drunk for the hours to come.

  “Kitty said that Martin plans to attack the underworld. She was able to use the cult to disguise her plans because he wants to do the same thing.” Serenity rubbed her neck unconsciously.

  “So…what’s that got to do with me?”

  It was better to be cautious around so many influential people. My life was lived for one reason and one reason only. Kill the Fallen Ones. Victor may have been able to put doubt into my mind, but…I knew my goal. I had been working long and hard towards it. And, yet…something niggled the back of my mind.

  Something that would need time to percolate. If I turned my back on my mission now, after a thousand years…what would have been the point? Plus, Thor had come to me. He had warned me that doubts would happen. No, I was ready. Ready to finish the job. Ready to end the mission, once and for all. Ready to die.

  Kalic barked a laugh, his face full of excitement as he smirked at me. His dark eyes glowed as they widened and he licked his sharp teeth. “Well, we’re going to help you raze the Hagalaz cult to the ground.” The others murmured their consent. “And, then…we’ll bring the underground, above ground. No more hiding in the dark. We’ll rule London, before we eventually rule the world. Are you with us?”

  Want to know what happens next? Pre-order Storm Guardian now.

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  BOOK 3 – STORM GUARDIAN

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  Acknowledgements

  This book was fun and fast paced, which is a great way for me to get lost in my own writing.

  Thank you to all those on my mailing list that have helped me with this series.

  Thank you to my cover designer Megan Crewe, she always delivers.

  Thank you to my editor, Charlotte Gledson. Always prompt and efficient.

  Thank you to Sallyann Cole, without your encouragement, there would be days I wouldn’t keep writing.

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2017 by Rachel Medhurst

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Published in 2017

  Warning: This book contains profanity and sexual references.

  Author

  Rachel Medhurst grew up in Surrey, England. She writes to prove that no matter where you come from, you can be anything you want to be. Your past may shape you but it doesn't define you. When Rachel isn't writing, she can be found reading and walking in nature.

  www.rachelmedhurst.com