“Odin be praised! It is the perfect way to avenge the wrong he did to me.” Gunnar jumped to his feet. “You are sure he did not escape?”
“I am sure. I put two trusted shifters on guard during the day. And for weeks after that. I even had men checking once the spring thaw was upon us. But the high mountain never thawed. He was truly buried and is still there to this day.” Edvard looked around the room. “You are welcome to check if you don’t trust me. I can take you there. I still go at least three times a year. I probe the ice. I can tell if he is there by what the spear hits.”
“Hah! I would like to send a spear into him.” Gunnar nodded. “We will go see him. I want to end this. Once and for all. If I can escape the ice, so can he. You understand me?”
“Yes. It is a worry now that I see you looking so fit and able to fight.” Edvard gestured toward the duffle bags. “You brought machine guns with wooden bullets into my home.” He suddenly looked like the formidable warrior he must have once been. “I have guards posted because vampires must be careful. This has reminded me that I should have them search the luggage and bags brought inside from now on.” He nodded toward Gretchen. “No matter who accompanies the visitors.”
“Yes, you should.” Gunnar smiled. “I’m glad we didn’t have to kill any of your guards to see you tonight.”
“So am I.” Edvard’s hands were fisted. “Thank God you didn’t shoot first and talk later. What a mistake that would have been.”
“It’s true that we could have.” Gunnar looked around the room and picked up an iced cake. “You live very well. And it all started because Bjorn burned down my village and took what was mine.”
“Are you thinking this now belongs to you?” Edvard took a step toward his father. “I admit you might have a claim for something. But it was my hard work that made us so successful.”
“Oh, yes, I can understand that.” Gunnar waved his son back. “Relax. I would not wish to beggar you or start a family quarrel.” He took a bite of cake and chewed thoughtfully. “I suppose I should speak to Ursula. I wonder if she considers herself still my wife. It is not an idea I would welcome.” He gazed at Gretchen as she got up and walked over to sit in a chair by herself. “Is she living with a man now?”
“Mother swore off men after Bjorn tossed her aside.” Edvard studied Gretchen. “I doubt anyone would expect my parents to resume their marriage after a thousand years.” He had a solemn look. “But we will see. I can send for her. She lives with us and is upstairs in her suite now. It will take but a few minutes for her to come down here.”
“Now?” Gunnar looked as if his son had suggested he face a pack of wolves.
“Why put it off?” Edvard pulled the bell rope.
Flo helped herself to a third cake. “This should be good.”
Chapter Fifteen
The strawberry cake I’d gobbled down sat like a stone in my stomach while Elsa called for the butler and told him to ask Ursula to join us for tea. Gunnar’s wife had probably hoped to be asked to meet the strangers from America. Any excitement in an immortal’s life was always welcomed. Well, as long as it wasn’t a matter of life and death.
“Gunnar, I’m interested in how you met Gretchen. Her cousin finds you in the ice, ja?” Elsa sat back, her eyes darting from Gunnar to Gretchen. “But then Fredrick dies so soon afterwards. It is, um, a coincidence perhaps?”
“I killed the bastard.” Gunnar wasn’t about to let anyone else take credit, even though Gretchen’s brother had manufactured a story about vampire hunters and spread it among the Stockholm vampires. He held up a hand when Gretchen made a sound. “Edvard and Elsa are my family. Surely we can tell them the truth.” He didn’t wait for her permission before he shared the entire story, including Gretchen’s abuse at Fredrick’s hands.
“By God, I’m shocked and so sorry this happened to you, Gretchen.” Edvard, who told his father that he must get used to calling him Bjorn, walked over to take Gretchen’s hand. “I wish you had come to us for help. We had our suspicions that he was working with vampire hunters, but could never prove anything.” He pulled her to her feet. “I can see how he would use your family as leverage to keep you silent. But he couldn’t threaten every vampire in Stockholm, could he?”
“No, you are right. But I never thought . . .” She shook her head. “I felt so alone.” She smiled and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. You and Elsa have always been good friends to me, Bjorn. Unfortunately, I was too terrified to think straight. Then I met Gunnar and he wouldn’t let me go back home without him. He and Jeremiah, along with Glory, were determined to help me.” She turned and held out her hand to Gunnar who jumped up and took it, grinning with relief. “I don’t know what would have happened if they hadn’t come along.”
“What is this?” The woman’s voice rang through the room with such command that we all leaped to our feet. “Am I having a waking nightmare or is that Gunnar Ellstrom standing in this salon, holding hands with one of his whores?”
“Madame, mind your tongue!” Gunnar dropped Gretchen’s hand and faced the doorway and the woman standing there.
“You were dead, we were told.” She looked him over. “I see we were misinformed, more’s the pity.”
I gaped at her. Ursula Ellstrom was a beauty, even though she must have been past forty when she was turned vampire. She had dark gold hair with a streak of white that ran from her widow’s peak like an exclamation point. She had obviously borne many children easily from her ample hips, but they were balanced by generous breasts. She knew how to dress to make the most of her figure and looked voluptuous, not fat, in a navy blue sweater and matching wool pants. Her high heels made her a little taller than me but not by much. When she walked toward Gunnar, her hips swayed with a natural rhythm that had every man in the room watching except for her son. He was busy getting between his mother and father.
“Mamma, it is a miracle, isn’t it?” Edvard kept his hand on his father’s shoulder. “He has been out of the ice for only a few days.”
“Out of the ice? Really? Not wandering the world picking up women and finding his bastards?” Ursula turned and stared at Ian. “I see you brought one with you. Really, Gunnar, was that necessary?”
“What the hell?” Ian looked as if someone had poked him with a sharpened stake. “I’m no bastard of this Viking.”
Ursula laughed, a peal of bitterness that made me shiver. “Don’t bother to deny it. I’ve seen many of them and you have the look. Scottish by your accent. Gunnar spent many a winter there sowing his seed before he was turned vampyr. Didn’t you, husband?”
“Let it go, Ursula. I admit I pleased myself when I was on long trips there for the king. A man finds warmth when he has a chance and the women were welcoming.” Gunnar eyed Ian. “MacDonald. Do you have a kinswoman named Fiona?”
Ian flinched, his hand going to his waist where I was pretty sure he had a gun tucked under his shirt at his waist. “My grandmother. Say her name again with your last breath.” Ian’s fangs slid down, his gun came out and he aimed it at Gunnar.
“As I recall the name was fairly common in the Highlands.” Gunnar stared at the gun which he knew was loaded with wooden bullets. “Calm down. I’m not claiming you. Though I remember her as a charming widow.”
Ian’s finger flexed on the trigger and we all stayed frozen in place, afraid to interfere. “I won’t listen to this slander another minute. Especially in this company.” He stalked over to the door. “I’m shifting back to the hotel.”
“Maybe you should take blood samples before you leave, MacDonald. For DNA tests?” Jerry kept a straight face but I could tell he was enjoying this way too much. I pinched him.
“Shut the hell up, Campbell.” Ian waved the gun around then slammed out of the room.
“He has your temper, I see.” Ursula turned back to Gunnar. “Where were we? Oh, really, Edvard. Step aside. I’ll not hurt your father.”
“Are you sure you won’t try? I’ve heard you rail against him often en
ough.” Edvard didn’t move. “My father isn’t the only one known for his temper.”
“You heard your mother.” Gunnar smiled grimly. “Besides, I think I can handle an angry woman. I’ve had plenty of practice.”
“Should we leave you two alone?” I hated to suggest it. I really didn’t want to miss a thing, but it was the polite thing to say.
“No!” Gunnar and Ursula both said it. Apparently they wanted witnesses. I couldn’t imagine that they were afraid to be alone together. Not Gunnar anyway.
“Yes, let’s get everything in the open. I want Gretchen to hear it too.” Gunnar gestured. “Please sit down, all of you. We will try to be civilized. Can you do that, Ursula?”
She laughed again and shook her head. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Civilized? I had no idea you knew the word. Last time I saw you, you wore the Viking beard and a sword on your back. You were untamed and proud of it.” Ursula selected a goblet of blood and settled into a wing chair covered in navy velvet. “You really expect me to believe you’ve been out of the ice only a matter of days? Surely it takes longer than that for a man of your time to learn this century’s manners.”
“I’m trying. My new friends are helping me understand this new world. It hasn’t been easy.” Gunnar grabbed a goblet and drained it in a couple of gulps. He started to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand but obviously realized he’d be showing Ursula how far he hadn’t come. So he picked up a napkin and blotted his lips.
“Friends. Like Mrs. Marken perhaps?” Ursula narrowed her gaze on Gretchen. “Oh, dear. I forgot to extend my condolences on your recent loss. Was it just last night that your husband, um, lost his head? Gossip has it that someone took it with a sword. If I didn’t know better I’d think it was the work of an ancient Viking.” She sipped her blood. “Was it, Gunnar?”
“Of course. The man deserved to die. He sold to vampire hunters and hurt his wife.” Gunnar didn’t blink.
Ursula leaned forward, her face contorting in fury. “If hurting your wife was a killing offense, you would have died many times during our marriage.” She shot a malevolent look at Gretchen. “But then I suppose you cared what happened to this man’s wife.”
“I never raised a hand to you in anger, Ursula.” Gunnar leaned forward too, his eyes hard. “You will not lay that sin on me.”
“There are many ways to hurt besides with your fists, Viking.” She sat back.
“Why are you so mad at me?” Gunnar also sat back. “I didn’t burn our village.”
“Didn’t you?” She set her empty goblet down so hard the delicate stem snapped. She ignored it and let the pieces of crystal fall onto the table. “You were always off to some foreign land, serving your king, and leaving me to raise our children alone.”
“That is what Vikings did, Ursula.” Gunnar looked for support then seemed to realize he had no other Vikings around to back him up.
“You more than most. Then you finally ended up in a place where you met the wrong woman.” She jumped to her feet when Gunnar opened his mouth to speak. “Don’t bother denying it. I knew it was a woman who turned you into a monster. You were always led by your cock. You let a woman get the better of you and came home vampyr. I hated you for it. Everyone feared you. I, most of all.”
“I know. I am sorry.” Gunnar didn’t say it hadn’t been a woman. Interesting.
“Too little too late.” Ursula was pacing now, her high heels wobbling a little as she stomped her way back and forth in front of Gunnar. “We were in danger because of you. Yes, Bjorn was the one who burned our village and took us as slaves but it could have been any strong warrior. No one wanted a vampyr near who might suck one of their children dry and leave them for dead.”
“I never did that!” Gunnar was on his feet now too. “I fed from goats and sheep, from willing donors. I never took enough to kill them.”
“Willing women you mean.” Ursula turned to Gretchen. “You see what he is?”
Gretchen didn’t answer her. We were all speechless. The Gunnar we’d met seemed noble, eager to right a wrong and certainly faithful to Gretchen. But then Ursula was right. It had only been a matter of days after all.
“You threw me out of your bed, Ursula. A man has needs.”
Gunnar should have kept his mouth shut. Ursula was shaking with anger now.
“You think I don’t know that? I was dragged into Bjorn Brodin’s bed over and over again for ten long years. Bore him seven daughters in that time. Seven, Gunnar!” Ursula’s mouth, painted a rose pink, trembled. “I love my girls, every one of them, but I have to close my mind to the fact that they came from rape. That I was tied to their father’s cot and forced so that they could be conceived.”
“Mamma, enough!” Edvard pushed Ursula into her chair again. “This does no good. Clearly you and Pappa have no marriage now. We will ignore the tie and you will both be free to live as you please. Is that your wish?”
“He never acted married anyway. What do I care what he does now?” Ursula accepted a fresh goblet of blood, her hand shaking as she raised it to her lips.
Gunnar sank back into his own chair. “The daughters, they are vampyr now too?”
“Of course. I could not let them die while I lived forever.” She glared at him. “You will not touch them!”
“No. Of course not. They cannot help who sired them.”
“Exactly.” Ursula touched Edvard’s sleeve. “Our son sacrificed everything to make sure the family thrived. We can both be proud of him. He even took that gruvlig name to keep us safe.”
“Yes, I can see that. He punished that bastard properly as well. But you see I was able to come out of the ice. So now we must go end Bjorn Brodin’s life once and for all.” Gunnar stood and looked around the room. “That is the plan, ja?”
“What do you mean? Edvard?” Ursula put down her goblet, this time carefully. “I thought you killed him long ago.”
“No, Mamma. I put him in the ice. Took care of him the same way he did Pappa.” Edvard scanned the room. “Surely you don’t wish for everyone here to go with us.”
“It will be a big job. We will need help. The fewer who know what we do, the better.” Gunnar glanced at the ornate grandfather clock against one wall. “Is this mountain far away?”
“Far enough that we must wait for another night. We should prepare. We’ll have to dig him out and plan how we will end him. How did you get out of the ice?” Edvard was obviously thinking. “Digging into the frozen ground will not be easy.”
“Ice-quake. It dislodged the ice and he fell out of the cave wall.” Jerry spoke up. “It will be much harder to dig into solid ice. If you need us, I’d be willing to help. You were wild when you were finally free, Gunnar. It is wise to have backup. Richard?”
“Of course.” Richard glanced at Flo. “We know this is Brodin family business but the fewer outsiders who are involved the better, I would say.”
“Agreed.” Edvard faced his mother. “You don’t wish to go, do you, Mamma?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.” Ursula jumped to her feet. “I would like to be the one to take his head but I’m sure Gunnar will do that. It is something I wish you’d had the stones to do a thousand years ago, Viking.” Ursula stared at her husband.
“It is true that I was not a good husband. I am sorry, Ursula, that you suffered because of me. It was our way back then. A man took krigsbyte when he defeated an enemy.” Gunnar surprised her by pulling her into a quick embrace. “I can do this at least. I will kill the bastard.”
“What does that krigsbyte mean?” I whispered to Jerry.
“The spoils of war.” He was nodding. “It’s true. Even women and children were considered fair game. As she said, they would have been taken as slaves.”
Of course Ursula had overheard him. “Thank God I allowed Edvard to talk me into turning vampyr. I have lived to see a time when women are valued.” She had already shoved Gunnar away and now looked him over. “I can choose my own lovers now, stay alone or ev
en be with other women if I wish.” She wrinkled her elegant nose. “Hairy, smelly Vikings! You think it was a treat to be your woman back then? Hah! The only treat was the gold you would bring back from your travels.” Her lips firmed. “What happened to that, Gunnar? All that gold you boasted about getting from the king. I earned a portion of that.”
Gunnar flushed and looked around the room, almost daring any of us to mention his treasure. “It’s been a thousand years, woman. Would you expect me to have a pouch of gold coins in my pocket today?”
Edvard laughed and hugged his mother. “Mamma, of course you should have some, but Pappa’s treasure was a myth. Surely you never believed he had one.”
Ursula wasn’t laughing. “Not a myth, son. And look at your father. Is he laughing? No, he’s not. He’s hiding something. I knew him well before and I still can tell when he’s lying.” She slammed her palms onto Gunnar’s chest. “By Thor, as soon as you got out of the ice you went looking for it, didn’t you? And you found your treasure.”
“Now, Ursula. Surely it is mine.” Gunnar plucked her hands off of him, gripping them in his fists. “Look how I suffered for a thousand years in the ice. And you are living well, I see.”
“On the charity of my son and his wife!” Ursula struggled to get her hands free. “Let me go, you jävla Viking. I will have half of your treasure or you will wish you were back in that ice, freezing your balls off.”
“Mother Ellstrom!” Elsa stepped forward and tried to calm down her mother-in-law by patting her back. “Please. It’s not charity. We love you.”
“Pah! You keep me in a suite so far away from the kitchen I have to use a telephone to call for blood. I could forget to close the drapes when the sun rose and die and you’d never know it. Out of sight, out of mind.” Ursula finally worked her hands free and slapped Gunnar’s chest again. “We will settle this. As soon as Bjorn is dead. You can be sure I will not forget. Half your gold.” With that she twitched her butt all the way to the double doors and flung one open. “I will go with you to the mountain. Don’t think to leave without me.” The door slammed behind her.
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