“Wow. The woman knows how to make an exit.” Flo picked up her fifth little cake. “And I admire the way she walks in heels. Ottimo equilibrio.”
I just nodded. The men soon got into a discussion of logistics, planning the trip to the mountain. Elsa joined Gretchen on her couch and began to quiz her about Gunnar and his fortune. Great. So it seemed Elsa was just as eager to get rid of Ursula as Ursula was to go. I hit the desserts again. At least the food was good. And there was B Negative to drink.
Poor Gunnar. But maybe he deserved to lose half his fortune. He’d been a dog. And if Ian was one of his bastards? The thought made me smile as I selected a dark chocolate candy. Jerry was going to have a field day with that bit of information. I just hoped they wouldn’t come to blows about it.
It was a solemn group that rode in four-wheel-drive vehicles to the mountain where Edvard claimed he’d buried Bjorn in the ice. It was a cold, windy night but the Northern Lights were doing their thing and I snuggled up next to Jerry in the back seat of our vehicle. I wasn’t eager to see another killing and would have stayed in the hotel if Jerry had let me. No, we were together on our honeymoon, even when it was for something as gruesome as this trip’s purpose.
Richard was driving with Flo riding shotgun, almost literally. She had insisted on bringing her favorite toy, one of the machine guns.
“This Bjorn Brodin will be wild when he thaws. You said yourself, Glory, that Gunnar was that way when he finally came back to life. I will be ready to take him down if it’s necessary.” She had on one of her black leather outfits that she thought made her look combat ready. She’d thrown a brown fox coat over it though to match diamond earrings Richard had given her for Christmas.
“Florence, I wish you would leave that in the car.” Richard was still trying to reason with her. “Gunnar will never forgive you if you rob him of the chance to kill Brodin.”
“He’s right, Flo.” I reached forward to touch my friend on the shoulder. “Leave the killing to the three people who have the most at stake.” Of course I was a little worried about this too. Ancient vampires could move fast. What if Bjorn got away from us? Jerry had spent the remainder of last night sharpening his knives, excited about a possible battle. I was thinking that my honeymoon was going to hell fast. Sure, we were enjoying a moonlight ride in the mountains but the grim set of the men’s faces wasn’t exactly the mood for love.
“I’m glad we’re not in the car up ahead.” Jerry patted my knee. “Did you see how things shook out? Gunnar is sitting in the back seat between Ursula and Gretchen. Elsa grabbed the front seat before Ursula could get it.”
“Of course Edvard had to drive. He’s the only one who knows where we’re going.” Richard steered carefully. The road had deteriorated into barely a track that a heavy snowfall had almost obliterated. We kept hitting rocks, too, and I was feeling a little carsick.
“I thought Gretchen was going to stay at the hotel.” Flo turned around to look at me.
“So did I. But apparently she changed her mind at the last minute. Gunnar spent the night at the castle so he could catch up with his son. That left Gretchen alone in the hotel yesterday. I guess the idea of sitting there all night alone while we finished what Gunnar had started was just too much for her.” I sighed and stared out the car window at what looked like an endless sea of white. “She showed up at our door just in time to go with us.”
We all jumped when there was a thump on the back windshield. “What the hell?” Richard stopped the car. “Did I hit something?”
“I’ll get out and see.” Jerry opened our door and blowing snow and ice made us all gasp. Even worse, a man materialized in front of him.
“Let me in.” Ian looked like the abominable snowman. He shivered and gripped the edge of the doorframe.
“What the hell, MacDonald?” Jerry jumped back in the car and scooted close to me so Ian could get in and slam the door shut. “Are you crazy?”
“Probably.” Ian held his hands out to the vent that was blowing hot air into the back seat. “I decided to go at the last minute and shifted to follow you. Fucking weather. I realized I was going to have to get in the car.”
“Why? I thought you wanted no part of Gunnar and his drama.” I’d called Ian when we got back to the hotel the night before, trying to smooth things over. He’d still been in a rotten mood. No one called him a bastard and got away with it.
“I did some research.” Ian brushed snow off his head, making Jerry curse him and hit him with an elbow. “Sorry. Anyway, it seems there’s some truth to the thing about Fiona. She had an affair with a Viking named Gunnar before she was turned vampire. Bore him a son. That was my father. I called Dad and he admitted the whole thing. Like it or not, Gunnar is probably my Grandda.” Ian looked ahead. “You’d better get going, Mainwaring. This weather is worsening and you’re about to lose sight of Edvard’s car.”
“Right.” Richard accelerated and we lurched forward. “I’ll be damned. So you may be related to Gunnar and Edvard too. That’s not a bad connection. Ed’s made something great of the Brodin empire.”
“I think you should do a DNA test anyway, Ian.” I reached across Jerry for his ice cold hand. “You’ll feel better if you know for certain. Fiona could have had several lovers. Despite what Ursula said, women did have some freedom back then, I’m sure. Your father wouldn’t necessarily be Gunnar’s child.”
“Thank you, Glory, for calling my grandmother a slut.” Ian pulled his hand from mine.
“I didn’t mean. . .” I looked at Jerry. He was grinning. “Don’t say a word.”
“Wasn’t about to.” Jerry grabbed my hand instead.
Ian turned to us both. “I think the fact that I look like Gunnar and my father, of course, is decent evidence. . .” He shrugged and more snow fell on Jerry. “But I am a scientist. So there will be a DNA test.”
Jerry nodded. “Well, we should be there soon. But this is bad weather for what we’d planned. I hope the cave is big enough to set up the heaters and for all of us to fit inside comfortably.” Jerry poked Richard in the back. “What’s the odometer say? Are we almost there?” They’d planned the trip down to the exact kilometer. Edvard had programmed a GPS with the coordinates as soon as the technology had become available to him.
“It should be around this next curve.” Richard slowed the car when the one in front of us came to a stop. “Yes, this is it. But I don’t see a cave opening. Damn. I wonder if there’s been a landslide.”
We all piled out of our car in front of what looked like the side of a mountain.
“Thank Odin we are here.” Gunnar said after he practically shoved Gretchen out of the back seat of their car. “I would kiss the ground if I wasn’t afraid of freezing my lips.”
“Go ahead. No one here cares if you have lips or not.” Ursula strolled over from the other side of the car. She had on a full length black mink coat and matching hat. Apparently her son’s charity was very generous. Her color was high, as if she was in a temper or had been drinking blood nonstop on the way up the mountainside. I had a feeling it was temper.
“I have a generator and a heat gun. Help me get the equipment out of the back and we’ll get going on this.” Edvard popped the back open on the luxury SUV and the men got busy.
“I’m for getting back in one of the cars.” Flo didn’t look bad herself in her fur and new boots. Her matching fox hat was pulled down over her ears so that only those dazzling earrings showed. Only Flo would wear diamonds to an ambush. “We can keep the motor running and the heater on.”
“I can tell you are from a Mediterranean country. The cold is not for you.” Ursula looked her over. “But you have beautiful clothes. Tell me where you got those boots.” The two headed back to the second car, heads together.
“I would rather freeze to death than sit another minute in a car with Ursula.” Gretchen stood next to me. “She was sniping at Gunnar constantly. Where was his fortune? How had he found it? Did he plan to stay in Stockholm?”
“They were valid questions, Gretchen.” Elsa glanced back at the other car. “I understand why Ursula wants her own money. Edvard is very generous with her. Too generous in my opinion.” Her mouth tightened. “But she did suffer greatly in the past. As we all did when Bjorn was running the family.”
“She landed on her feet. Surely you could have bought her a place of her own. Where she wouldn’t be with you all the time.” I could understand not wanting your mother-in-law living with you. My own was a nightmare.
“Edvard wouldn’t hear of it. You know vampires must be careful. He claimed he couldn’t guarantee her safety if she left our home.” Elsa shrugged. “I can say no more.” She turned to Gretchen. “Are you going to America with your cousin and Gloriana? I know Stockholm must be full of bad memories. You said you haven’t even gone to your house to get clothes yet.”
“I am thinking about America.” Gretchen must have sensed my surprise. “Don’t worry, Glory, I wouldn’t stay with you. I have money and could afford a nice hotel or apartment. Whatever Jeremiah thinks would be safe for me.”
I knew exactly what my husband would say. There weren’t any vampire run hotels in Austin. The only safe place for Gretchen would be in our extra bedroom. Hell.
“Keep thinking about it.” That hadn’t sounded enthusiastic but I was saved from explaining by the sound of the gas generator firing up and the men aiming the heat gun where Edvard insisted the cave opening had to be.
We could see the snow melting while they took turns shooting the blast of hot air at the wall of ice. Soon we saw rocks emerging and the dark space that had to be the cave opening where Edvard had left Bjorn’s body hundreds of years before. It took more than an hour but they were finally satisfied that they had cleared enough to make it possible to go inside.
I was pretty sure I’d never feel warm again but I helped the others set up heaters inside the surprisingly roomy cave while the men explored further.
“Here it is, closer to the front than I remembered. I think there have been ice-quakes here as well.” Edvard sounded excited. “Look, there are cracks in the ground around him. You can see the body through the snow and ice covering it.”
We all hurried to look. It was eerie that you could see the form of a man through that sheet of ice. And I, for one, was scared that the man was close to coming out of his freeze. I couldn’t forget how Gunnar had come alive so suddenly.
“Stay back. Get your weapons ready.” I knew I wasn’t in command but I couldn’t help myself. I have intuition about some things--blame it on my Olympus ties. This guy had been thawing while the guys had blasted his cave with the heat gun. Then the heaters near the front were also helping him along.
“Gloriana, we can see that he’s still frozen.” Ian bent over him, curious as always. That cost him because of course that was when the man in the ice broke through with a roar and reached up to grab Ian by the neck.
Chapter Sixteen
The rest of the men leaped to help Ian but I thought I had the best solution. I jumped on top of Bjorn and tried to capture his wild eyes, to mesmerize him. He wouldn’t look at me, concentrating on the men around him. I grabbed his jaw and forced his face toward me but he still wasn’t going to give his attention to a mere woman.
“Let go of the man,” I demanded. Damned Viking wouldn’t focus on me and it didn’t work.
He shook his head, the ice cracking around him. He just kept squeezing Ian’s neck until I was afraid my friend was done for. Ian dug at his hand frantically but couldn’t break free.
“You have the wrong guy. That’s not Gunnar.”
The answer was a babble of Swedish that got me nowhere.
“All he heard was my name. Move aside and I’ll cut off his arm, Glory.” Gunnar loomed over Ian, his sword glinting in the light of the circle of lanterns the men had set up to illuminate the space.
Cutting wasn’t necessary. When Bjorn saw Gunnar, he tossed Ian aside and reached for the other Viking instead. I fell back. We’d all agreed this was Gunnar’s fight. But, damn, I’d wanted to make this easier.
“Gloriana.” Jerry grabbed my waist and dragged me farther away. “You gave it your best shot. Now let’s see if Gunnar can handle this.”
Bjorn was straining against the rest of the chains Edvard had used to keep him in check when they’d brought him up to this cave. The ice was melting fast and he’d moved enough to do serious damage to the shallow trench where he lay. He strained to sit up, screaming Gunnar’s name as he fought to get free. His legs were bound at the knees but his feet were loose and he kicked repeatedly, clearly desperate.
Of course he needed blood. Hundreds of years without it had weakened him. We’d thought about that. Brought some synthetic. Because Gunnar wanted a fair fight.
I looked away. How could any fight be fair with a man barely out of the ice? This whole thing sickened me. I should have gone to the car with Flo and Ursula. Gretchen and I stayed well back when they cautiously passed Bjorn a bottle of blood. He drank deeply and held out a hand for more.
“Finish him, Gunnar!” Ursula came running up behind us, pushing us aside.
Bjorn must have heard her because, with another roar, he broke the chains and was out of the ice. The men were prepared this time and wrapped his arms close to his sides in furs. Then he couldn’t grab anyone and wouldn’t be able to run either.
There was a lot of Swedish being tossed around. What was he saying? Not pleading for his life that was for sure. He was furious. Surprisingly he didn’t look as wild as Gunnar had when he’d escaped the ice. But then Bjorn had been several hundred years older than Gunnar when he’d been stuck in here and had already started his stores. His matted beard and hair weren’t very long and his shredded linen underwear was simple. Before he’d been wrapped up, I’d noticed not much of it had survived his struggles.
He was massive, a huge man, but not nearly as good-looking as Gunnar or Edvard. He had the blunt features of a man who’d been hit in the face too many times. I’d say from the scars all over his body that he hadn’t been as successful a warrior as Gunnar had been either.
“English. Speak English. We have guests.” Edvard shoved Bjorn closer to the heaters.
“Sä?” Bjorn spit on the cave floor. “Ladies. Are you my English speaking guests? Lift your skirts. I haven’t had a fuck in too long. Not you, Ursula. You were never any good at it. I’d sooner fuck a wild hog.”
“Shut your filthy mouth.” Gunnar back-handed him, knocking him to the ground.
“Defending your wife? You’re welcome to plow that field. It bears nothing but worthless girls.” Bjorn laughed when Gunnar kicked him. He grabbed at Gunnar’s boot and almost succeeded in pulling him down. The other men stepped back, clearly ready to let this confrontation play out . Bjorn’s furs fell to the ground. He managed to stand and looked around the cave as if assessing his chances for escape.
“You’ll be dead soon. But I can end you now if you’re in a hurry to see hell.” Gunnar held his sword ready.
Bjorn’s eyes blazed then he turned to Edvard. “How long have I been in the ice? You ungrateful pille! I gave you everything, even my name. Called you son. And you repay me by ambushing me?” He lunged, going for Edvard this time. Ian and Richard jumped forward, grabbed him and held him back.
“You expected me to be grateful? After I watched you treat my mother like skit? And after I heard you brag about what you’d done to my father?” Edvard spit this time, at Bjorn’s feet. “I’d kill you myself if I hadn’t promised my father that pleasure. Torture you until you cried for the gods to end your suffering.”
“That’s my son.” Ursula whispered as Gunnar slapped Edvard on the back and said the same thing.
“You could call him by whatever name you wished. He has the heart and soul of an Ellstrom and proved it by being a fine warrior and taking the revenge due our family.” Gunnar suddenly pressed the point of his sword against Bjorn’s heart. “He was never son to a coward like you.”
/> “You think me a coward?” Bjorn struggled against the hold the men had on him until the sword drew blood. “Go ahead and end me. I care not.”
“It would be too easy.” Gunnar stepped back. “Let him go.” Ian and Richard exchanged worried looks but finally released Bjorn. He swayed for a moment.
“How did you get out of the ice, Ellstrom? How? I buried you deep and made sure no one would find you.” Bjorn leaned against a rock wall when it seemed like he couldn’t stay standing on his own.
“It’s a miracle that I survived.” Gunnar smiled at Jerry and me.
Bjorn threw back his shoulders. “Hand me a sword and we’ll see if you can beat me this time, Ellstrom.”
“In a fair fight?” Gunnar looked him up and down. “You didn’t give me a chance for one when you took me in my death sleep, did you? Did you give my wife fairness when you raped her? Forced her to bear your brats?” Gunnar threw aside his own sword. “We will see how you fare against me. Man to man.”
“Liggande jävel! You will die this night. I will tear your head from your body with my bare hands!” Bjorn lunged for Gunnar, surprising everyone with his strength as both men fell to the floor and rolled in the rocks and muck.
“Do something!” Ursula screeched. “You can’t let Bjorn win. Not after all this time. Edvard, pick up your father’s sword!” She grabbed a rock and threw it at the struggling men.
“I promised Pappa I wouldn’t interfere. He will win, you will see.” Edvard stayed out of the way, as did all the men, but he did grab the sword and hold it ready.
It looked to me like Gunnar was evenly matched, though it didn’t seem possible. They were punching and clawing at each other. Bjorn was bigger but Gunnar had better moves, or it looked that way to me. They kept punishing each other and cursing in Swedish. Finally it became obvious that Bjorn was running out of steam. He’d only had that one bottle of blood and hundreds of years in the ice had taken a toll.
Real Vampires and the Viking Page 23