by Renee Jordan
Kris was an outdoorsman and lumberjack. He was a manly guy. I gave her a wink. “You can thank me with breakfast.”
Haleigh bit her lip. “What happened to you two? You looked banged up. Like...” She swallowed. “I saw his patch on his vest. Black Wolves. Something real bad happened last night. It's all over the news. His club and the Blood Eagles warred last night. There are a lot of dead men.”
“Yes,” I nodded.
“What have you gotten yourself into?”
“Put the coffee on, find us something to wear, and I'll tell you everything.”
Haleigh nodded, then peered in the room. Magnus lay naked on the bed. Her eyes twinkled again and her smile grew. “I see why you're with him. Mmm, he's almost as hot as my guy.”
“Almost?” Magnus asked, arching his eyebrow.
“Damn,” shuddered Haleigh. “You keep that look for your woman. I am happily taken.”
“I will.”
Magnus's eyes were on me. My skin warmed.
“Thanks for everything,” I told Haleigh.
“Hey, we both survived being single in Seattle together. I will always be there for you.”
I reached out and squeezed her hand. Family. It was important. If Haleigh had been attacked, I would be as eager to help her out as Magnus was with his club. Haleigh disappeared and then returned in a few minutes with a bundle of clothing.
We were about the same size and often swapped clothing when we lived together. I had to go without a bra—she was bigger than me—and she threw in one of Kris's jeans and a shirt. Magnus ignored the shirt and pulled on his cut over his bare shoulders like he was donning a uniform.
Magnus pulled out his cell phone. I groaned. “I wish I knew what I did with mine.”
He froze. “What?”
“My phone.” I sighed. “I haven't had a chance to check Facebook, Twitter, Gawker, Instagram, Pintrest, and Youtube in a while.”
Magnus stared at me like I spoke a foreign language.
“Oh, you've heard of some of those,” I complained. “Just because your phone is a dinosaur...”
“When did you last see your phone?”
“I don't know. I thought it was with me when I went to the bar yesterday. When I reached where the Sun's Tear was, it was gone.”
“Then who sent this text message?” Magnus fiddled on his phone and twisted it around, showing me the tiny screen.
My eyes widened. It was sent from my phone. The text read, “Leave me alone.”
“I...” I swallowed. “I didn't send this text. I don't know where my phone is.”
Magnus hit call. He put it on speaker. My phone rang and rang. My stomach twisted. Who had my phone? My voice mail picked up.
“I need a computer,” I gasped, rushing out of the room. “Haleigh, where's your phone. I need to activate my phone's GPS.”
In a minute, I went through the security protocols and activated my phone's GPS. My phone sat in the Bear and Eagle bar—the Blood Eagles' nest. My eyes widened. “How did they get it?”
“I don't know,” Magnus growled.
Haleigh marched up to me. “Okay, what is going on?”
Kris stood behind her in a flannel shirt, his face concerned, his arms folded.
“Well,” I swallowed. “I'm a Valkyrie.”
Haleigh shrieked when I summoned my sword.
~ ~ ~
Magnus
“I just can't believe this,” Haleigh repeated as she stared into her coffee.
Kris sat beside her, just as white-faced. He was a strong man, independent and concerned for his woman's safety, but seeing Raven summon her sword and armor had unnerved him. I opened cabinets in the kitchen and found a bottle of sherry.
Not the best stuff. I poured it into a pair of shot glasses and set it before Haleigh and Kris. Haleigh tossed it back without looking. Kris held his shot glass, swirling it around as he stared at Raven.
“This is...” Haleigh said, the shock wearing off. “I mean...gods and magic and were-eagles.” She glanced at me. “Though...he does seem a little wolfish. But...”
“I could don the cloak,” I growled, “and show you.”
“Don the cloak?” Kris shook his head. “What?”
“It's a kenning from Norse poetry. Kennings are poetic descriptions, agreed-on metaphors. Donning the wolf's cloak meant going berserk. Becoming a beast, usually a wolf but sometimes a bear.”
“A kenning,” Kris repeated. “I...okay. I don't think you need to transform. I mean...” He glanced at Raven and then threw back his sherry.
“So...” A smile grew on Haleigh's lips. “Does this make you, like, a superhero, Raven?”
“I guess.” Raven nodded her head. “Yeah, I guess it does.”
“And you're really going to lose your fire if you don't find this Sun's Tear?”
Raven rubbed at her goose-pimpled arms. “Yes.”
I had faced death many times, and not just since I met Raven and became her Einherjer. When you wore the 1% patch, you had to be prepared to use violence or receive it. I had been shot, stabbed, beaten, and even run off the road.
All those other times, death had been something immediate. Something I had to face that instant. I didn't have time to think about what would happen. I was too busy surviving. But learning I would die if Raven didn't retrieve the Sun's Tear was like being told I had cancer.
I swallowed. Images of my father lying in bed burned through my mind. He had cancer last year. He lay on the hospital bed, a breathing tube stuck through his throat, his strong body reduced to a wizened, dried-out husk only kept alive by machines. The man who taught me to be independent and strong had wasted away before me.
Fucking cancer.
I pulled out my electronic cigarette from my vest pocket. I switched to e-cigs after seeing what smoking three-packs-a-day did to my dad. I turned it on and brought it to my lips, inhaling the atomized vapors.
It wasn't the same as smoking a cigarette. The nicotine rush was still there, but the acrid, bitter flavor was gone, replaced by a more friendly vanilla. I exhaled a cloud of vapor. Everyone at the table stared at me, including Raven.
“You smoke?” she blinked.
“Trying to quit,” I answered her. I took another drag. Damn, I did not want to die. Not when I just met Raven. The nicotine rushed through me. I savored the buzz.
“I don't mean...” Kris trailed off as I looked at him. He was a strong man, worked outdoors, but he wasn't used to confrontation. They didn't raise too many men these days. “Listen, this is my house.”
I arched an eyebrow. He found a pair of balls.
“Yeah, yeah,” I sighed and put it away. The one nice thing about an e-cig—they were always ready to go. Just fill it with the juice and have a charge on the battery. You take a few puffs and put it away. Didn't have to smoke the entire thing.
“You smoke?” Raven repeated.
“Yep. 'I haven't a particle of confidence in a man who has no redeeming petty vices whatsoever,'” I quoted. Mark Twain always had an appropriate bit of wisdom on most subjects.
Raven furrowed her eyebrows. “Who were you quoting?”
I winked at her.
“He writes her poetry, too,” Haleigh smiled, glancing at her boyfriend.
“Great,” Kris muttered, folding his arms before him. “Does he juggle?”
I stared at Kris. It wasn't my fault his woman kept staring at me like I was the juiciest piece of steak she had ever seen. I cracked my knuckles. If he thought to insult me, I would disabuse him of it, friend or no friend of Raven.
“Magnus,” Raven groaned, “put your dick away.” She put her hand on mine. “These are my friends. Play nice.”
I glanced at her and she did not flinch from my gaze. Damn, she was a woman.
“And you, Kris,” Raven said, glancing at the logger. “Don't poke my wolf, he has a nasty bite.”
“I bet,” Haleigh nodded.
“And Haleigh, let's have a talk in the other room.”
/> “Oh,” Haleigh said, her eyes going wide and innocent. “On?”
“Haleigh,” Raven said as she stood; her tone would brook no revolt from her friend. “Let's have a few words.”
“Fine,” sighed Haleigh.
It was awkward once the women left. Kris folded his arms and glared at me. I gave him a wolfish grin and didn't flinch. An analog clock on the wall ticked away every second while our women talked in the other room.
Kris's eyes grew harder. He did have a spine.
“So...” He finally said, growing uncomfortable at the silence. “You're a werewolf.”
“Basically,” I answered.
“And you have to fight were-eagles.” He shook his head. “That sounds fucked up.”
“It's...”
The roar of motorcycles grew louder. I stood, my chair scraping on the kitchen floor. Raven darted into the kitchen, her flaming sword springing up in her hand. Kris jumped and almost spilled out of his chair.
“What is it?” Haleigh asked, her face pale as she peered into the room.
“My brothers,” I answered.
“Oh.” Raven dismissed her sword.
“What does that mean?” Haleigh asked. The motorcycle engines chugged and then went silent. Heavy boots walked up to the door, chains rattling and leather creaking. They climbed up the steps, and someone pounded hard on the door.
“Magnus must have called the survivors of his club,” Raven explained behind me.
I walked through the house to the front door. I ripped it open. Big Hoss stood there, his eyes red, his face twisted. He threw his arms around me, pulling me down for a tight, fierce hug. I crushed my arms around him.
“Fuckers,” Big Hoss growled.
“Yep,” I agreed.
Madge, Big Hoss's ol' lady, was behind him, her eyes swollen and her cheeks stained with tears. “I...I can't...”
I pulled her in for a hug and she sobbed into my cut. Then I hugged Thunder, Skids, Vince, and Dwayne, the prospect shot in the drive-by yesterday. He had a bandage wrapped about his leg, his youthful face twisted in pain.
“We have the ol' ladies and the girls up at Rick's farm,” reported Big Hoss. “Miss Jenny's watching over them.”
I nodded. Miss Jenny, Rick's mother, always had a place at her table and a space in her house for any member of the club or one of the girls that needed it. “How's she doing?”
“She's a tough old bird,” Skid said, his eyes distant. “This is all fucked up, Magnus.”
“How do we fight these fuckers?” Big Hoss groaned. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Come in and we'll talk,” I told them. “We have plans to make, and you guys deserve to know the whole truth.”
Chapter Seventeen
Raven
“Fuck,” Skid muttered when Magnus finished telling the bikers the situation. He was a tall man with long, lank-brown hair and a scar across the bridge of his nose. “That's why we were butchered? Some fucking beef between Norse gods?”
“Norse gods,” Thunder groaned. He had a deep voice. His hair was shaved and tattoos covered his arms. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Does it fucking matter?” Big Hoss growled, smacking the table. “We need to hurt them.”
“Yeah,” groaned the young Dwayne. His eyes were glassy from his painkillers, his face flushed red. “We need to hit those motherfuckers hard.”
The five Black Wolves stared at him.
“Oh, sorry,” he groaned. He was a prospect which made him like a guy pledging a fraternity. He had to win their approval while they hazed him. And, apparently, he was supposed to keep quiet at one of these wolfpack meetings.
Magnus had to make an exception to the rules just so I could sit here, but he had driven out Haleigh and Kris from their own kitchen. Madge was nearby, frying up pancakes and bacon. She kept setting the food before they guys while they devoured it, all while pretending she wasn't hearing a word.
It was...strange.
“No,” Magnus said, glancing at Dwayne. “I move to make Dwayne a full patch. I'd say the boy's earned it. Took a piece of lead in his leg and still snarling for action.”
“Lead's a tough sumabitch,” Skid said, smacking Dwayne on the back.
“Lead,” nodded Big Hoss. “All right. Let's vote. Should Lead get patched.”
“Lead?” I asked.
“Road name,” Magnus whispered. “Like Big Hoss, Skid, and Thunder. Not their real names.”
“Is Magnus your real name?”
Big Hoss laughed. “Some guys have a name so bad-ass we don't bother giving 'em nicknames, and others just never find one.”
“Or Thomas, who would refuse to answer to one,” grinned Vince. Then his face fell. “Fuck.”
Magnus nodded. Thomas had been killed and replaced by the Thief. It worried me that the Thief was in two places at about the same time. I would have to ask Loki about that.
“I say he's a patch,” Skid said.
“Patch,” Thunder nodded.
“Agreed,” Vince grinned, leaning back in his chair.
“You're in Lead,” Big Hoss nodded. “I have a patch in my saddlebag.”
“You expected this?” Magnus asked.
Big Hoss nodded. He walked to the door right as someone rang the doorbell. I turned my head. “That fucker in the suit that kissed your woman is here, Magnus,” Big Hoss growled. “Want me to punch him in the face?”
Loki was here. My heart thudded in my chest and I fought a smile curling my lips. “Let him in,” I said.
Big Hoss stared at me, then glanced at Magnus.
“We'll hold off on hitting him in the face,” growled Magnus. “For now. He's a god, so he'd probably fuck you up anyways.”
Loki looked as perfect and as handsome as he always did. He strode in, his custom suit fitting his body and making him appear so charming and stylish, his handsome smile on his lips. He stared at me and the urge to smile only swelled.
Instead, I put my hand on Magnus's wrist and squeezed; my wolf was tense.
“Well, isn't this cozy,” Loki said with a sardonic grin. “Everyone looks so jubilant this morning. I suppose I can imagine why.”
“What do you want?” Magnus growled as he stood.
“Why, to help you, of course.”
“Right.” Magnus folded his arms, his muscles bulging.
Loki sighed. “Maybe you should just hit me and get it out of your system. For all of Western Civilization claiming to have put the barbarity of the past behind, you humans sure do have a propensity towards it.”
“'Barbarism is the natural state of mankind. Civilization is unnatural. It is a whim of circumstance. And barbarism must ultimately triumph.'” Magnus quoted.
“Now who said that?” Loki asked. “It has too many big words for you to have strung them together on your own.”
Magnus punched. His fist cracked into Loki's jaw. The god stumbled back into the wall.
“Magnus,” I snapped. “That's not helpful.”
“I know,” Magnus growled, “but it was satisfying.”
“Yes, I'm sure it was,” Loki said, rubbing at his jaw. He winced as he shrugged his shoulders. “You sure this is the man you want? A barbarian?”
“A Viking,” I answered as I glared at Loki. “Yes, I do. Now, if you are just here to antagonize my man, then get the hell out, Loki.”
His eyes flashed with hurt for a moment, and then his self-mocking grin appeared. “Well, I have always been a fan of self-flagellation, so I shall stay and add whatever little aid I can to this endeavor.”
“And what endeavor are you talking about?” Magnus demanded.
“Why, saving your life,” Loki said, his jaw swelling. “I would think you could be more grateful and forget about a little kiss. Trust me, she had her chance and said no. I do not begin to understand how the mind of a woman works and how she could choose you over a magnificent god like myself.” Loki shrugged. “C'est la vie.”
“And what can you bring to
our endeavor?” growled Magnus. “Beside a mocking tongue that seeks to cut the very people he claims to want to help.”
“Ah, not quoting there.” Loki peered at Magnus. “I think I do see a spark of intelligence in your beast's eyes.”
“Loki,” I said, folding my arms and fixing him with a hard stare, “I'm going to hit you if you don't start playing nice.”
“My apologies, noble and gracious Valkyrie. I have ever allowed my tongue to get me into trouble.”
“So, you're really a god?” Big Hoss asked as he sat down at the table.
“I am. You sound disappointed.”
Big Hoss nodded. “Yep. You seem more like the villain in a cheesy action movie than a god.”
Magnus gave a snort of laughter.
“You have wounded me, noble biker,” Loki groaned, clutching his heart. “I shall bleed out, flooding the floor in a tide of crimson and drown you and your hurtful comments.”
“Definitely disappointed,” Big Hoss repeated.
“Loki,” I groaned. “Either help or get out.”
“Fine, fine,” Loki sighed. “Let us palaver.”
“What?” I asked.
“The fuck does that mean?” Thunder rumbled.
“To have a prolonged and idle conversation,” Magnus answered. “I don't think Loki is taking this seriously at all.”
“Oh, deathly seriously,” Loki grinned. “After all, your ungrateful life is at stake. If you were to die, then poor Raven would be all alone and weeping. Why, I would have to expend considerable effort in comforting her, and that would be an absolute shame.”
I slammed my hand on the table. “Dammit, Loki. I made my choice. Do I need to climb on Magnus's lap and show you how much this man means to me?”
Loki's face fell. “Sorry, Raven. This is difficult.” He took a breath. “The Sun's Tear is at your rival club's drinking establishment.”
“No shit,” Big Hoss said with a roll of his eyes. “Imagine that. Our enemies are hanging out at their bar. Wow. Thank you for coming.”
“There is strong magic around the place,” Loki continued, ignoring Big Hoss, “and I fear the Thief has used the Sun's Tear to further enhance your rivals.” He glanced at me. “You and Magnus will be hard pressed to cut your way through the surviving Blood Eagles and fight the Thief.”