Immortal Enemies

by Jessie Lane

  I could see Liv now, standing there shaken and afraid. Thank Odin, she was safe.

  Taking my eyes off her, I walked around to the front so I could watch as Ødger took his last breath. His eyes were wide and scared as the blood gushed through his hands and down his neck. He knew he was dying, and I felt no sympathy for him.

  If anything, I felt relief.

  He would never torture or hurt an innocent person again.

  Leaning forward, I stabbed my seax into his heart as hard as I could. Sinking the blade all the way to the hilt in his body. Looking him straight in the eye as the life started to fade out of it, I told him the truth. “There will be no Valhalla for you.”

  His body fell backward as I stood up.

  My heart thumped in my chest as I took a staggered breath.

  The pain I had been ignoring flooded back into my body with a vengeance.

  My body was giving up now that it knew the fight was over. The adrenaline gone, the love and passion fueling me further were waning. Time was drawing to a close.

  Liv’s running footsteps sounded behind me, but I instantly knew she would not be in arm’s reach in time to catch me as my body lost all strength and fell to the ground.

  Landing with a hard thump, I tried to breathe through the pain.

  It did not work.

  The face of the woman I loved appeared before me, and there were tears flowing freely down her face. “You cannot leave me, Arne Eriksson!” she screamed wildly.

  Dropping to her knees, she gathered the fabric on the skirt of her dress and pressed it to my wound. I used the last of my strength to drape my hand over hers.

  “I am dying. I can only pray to Odin that I will be let into Valhalla.”

  She shook her head wildly before turning it toward the house and screaming for Helga.

  Tapping my finger on her hand to get her attention, I waited until she stopped screaming for the old woman and returned her attention to me. The edges of my vision were going black, and I knew I would not be conscious much longer. I had enough time to say the only other thing that needed to be said.

  “I love you, Liv Nornsdottir—for eternity.”

  Part Two

  Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America, Present Day

  Nine

  There was a saying I had heard many times over the centuries. Or at least plenty variations of it.

  There’s a thin line between love and hate.

  After stewing in both emotions for one thousand, one hundred and nineteen years, I tended to agree with the sentiment. There were days… hell, even years at a time, that I told myself if I ever saw Liv Nornsdottir’s face again I would crush the life from her body with my bare hands.

  Then there were days like today.

  Our anniversary.

  Or at least that was what I had morbidly started to call it after a few hundred years.

  The practically ceremonial reminder of the day the woman I had loved with every atom in my being had betrayed me by having me turned into a Draugr.

  An ‘again-walker.’

  Better known as today’s vampire.

  It was easy to hate her over it, too. Knowing at the time what she would be taking from me, one of the things that mattered most in my life, Valhalla.

  Then she had the balls to disappear before I ‘woke up’ in my new form.

  No trace to be found.

  Not even a fucking hint as to where she might go.

  Just the agonizing truth that the person I had wanted to spend the rest of my life with so obviously did not want to spend the rest of hers with me.

  Not that I had not looked for her to ask her why.

  Why had she had me turned?

  Why was she not there when I woke in my second life?

  The fuck had she taken Valhalla from me?

  No, from the moment I could break away from my sire, I had scoured every continent on this planet looking for her. Investigating every claim of a fiery haired witch that I overheard. Even hounded Helga, the old ornery bat, until the day she had died, as to where Liv might be.

  Not one damn answer.

  Only hints that she was still around.

  Unlike my golden halls with Odin, surrounded by adoring Valkyries who served us glorious feasts and mead.

  The only thing I had achieved in my immortal life that had been promised to me in the stories of an afterlife in Valhalla was the guarantee of plenty of fighting to be had.

  In Valhalla, men fought against each other every day under Odin’s watchful eye for sport, but also as training in preparation for Ragnarök.

  These days, I was not fighting or training for the end of the world.

  Sometimes I fought because Jim Bob in the bar looked at me the wrong way and I wanted to. It was a good way to release the pent-up anger.

  Other times because I had to. For my life. Because even though I had not wanted to become a vampire and have Valhalla taken from me, that was what I was now, and I was not so eager to see what waited for me after a second, final death.

  I fought all the damn time. Healed miraculously, too.

  After over a thousand years of existence, I could not tell you if I honestly thought Valhalla still existed. Nonetheless, I could tell you that I would have rather died in Norway thinking I was going there instead of living all these years without even a trace of the woman I had adored.

  Practically worshiped at the time.

  Possibly still loved today.

  If that was still imaginable.

  It was very hard to say for sure when you had not seen someone in so long.

  So very, very fucking long.

  There was one thing I did know, and that was that Liv was still out there somewhere.

  I could feel it.

  With the sort of surety Liv had of her visions, I just knew she was still alive and in this world.

  Sort of like when someone lost a limb, and they felt phantom pains for the rest of their days. The ache was a constant reminder that she was out in the world hiding from me.

  And here I sat like a fucking jackass thinking about her.

  Swishing the amber liquid in my glass, I watched the facets of the cup capture and reflect light through the drink.

  It was amazing what you could see and hear as a vampire.

  If I concentrated, I could hear heartbeats up to a mile away. See objects in the dead of night at double that distance with an unobstructed view.

  I could outrun the fastest person alive and not even have to take a breath.

  Literally.

  I didn’t breathe anymore.

  Nor did my heart beat in my chest.

  Which was ironic since it was the person who it had once beat for that had made it stop.

  Or I guess I should say, it was Ødger who had killed me, and Liv that had brought me back from the dead as a monster who didn’t even have said beating heart any more.

  Although, dear ol’ Cunobelinus would disagree with that statement.

  My sire, better known as Cuno, was rather adamant that although our hearts did not beat anymore, it did not mean we were monsters.

  I might believe him more if his heart wasn’t beating at this very fucking moment.

  But it was because he had found his mate. Lucky guy.

  Not.

  Or as the kids would say these days, ‘Sorry, not sorry.’

  Snorting at my own thoughts, I took a large gulp of the whiskey, letting the flavors slide over my tongue before setting the glass back on the desk in front of me. Bringing a hand up to my face, I rubbed at my forehead. If it were possible for vampires to have a headache, I would have the mother lode right now.

  Sitting in my office with the door locked thinking about her.

  Shaking my head, I looked down to my desk at the paperwork I had just finished. It was a case of a missing child I had wrapped up.

  Apparently, if you spend hundreds of years looking for someone, you become pretty damn good at certain things. Discovering informati
on, discovering clues, finding people.

  Unless you were Liv Nornsdottir, for fuck’s sake, because no one could find her.

  Trust me, I had tried.

  I had spoken with practically every supernatural species on this planet. Shifters, psychics, demons, fae, witches, warlocks, you name it, I had tried it.

  Not that they were all cooperative.

  Which brought me to the case on my desk. An Alpha wolf shifter from Louisiana had promised me information on something that might lead me to Liv. I had found the little girl a week after she had been taken to be sold in a supernatural child sex slavery ring. With her Pack at my back, we had decimated that mansion in Cuba and every person in it who had been connected with the children being held hostage there.

  The upside was we had rescued so many children that each adult had to take one or two and split up to get them back to their parents. I had taken three myself.

  The downside was I had not had an opportunity to speak with the Alpha to get my payment for services rendered. Which was what I needed to do now.

  Picking up my cellphone, I dialed his number and waited not so patiently as it started to ring. On the third ring, he picked up. “Graves.”

  Tapping my fingers on the desk, I tried to calm my nerves. “It’s Eriksson. Time for you to pay up.”

  It might have sounded a little snippy, but I was not exactly the talkative type. Thankfully, neither was Graves.

  “New Orleans.”

  Two words. One place. That’s all he said, and the line went quiet.

  My frayed nerves started to unravel a little more. “Right, it’s a great vacation spot. If you pick the right time of the year, you can see all the tits you want. Care to expand on why you’re bringing up New Orleans?”

  Graves snorted on the other end of the line. “The Witches have an annual ball there. I’ve heard the woman you’re looking for will be there this time.”

  By the end of his sentence, my back was ramrod straight, and I was hyper focused. This was the closest I had come to a good lead in a couple hundred years.

  Almost afraid to get my hopes up, I slowly asked, “And why would she be there? From what I understand, she’s never had the strongest ties with the Witch Covens before.”

  The Alpha growled, “I told you what I know, Eriksson. After what you did for us, do you honestly think I would hold back information from you?”

  My fist slammed down on my desktop in frustration, leaving a massive dent in the hard wood top. Closing my eyes, I sighed, “No, I don’t think you withhold information, Graves. I just—” Something in my throat swelled up, clogging it for a moment, and I couldn’t get the rest of my words out.

  Thankfully, Graves did not let the awkwardness hang for too long between us. “I understand more than you know. Which is why I’m telling you to get off your ass and go to New Orleans.”

  I was listening to Graves speak, but I could also hear the faint sound of the front door to my office building opening downstairs and light footsteps, telling me it was more than likely a woman instead of a man. It wasn’t anything I needed to worry about, though, my secretary, Carmen, could handle it. I had told her to tell everyone I was already gone for the day and to take a message. Hell, Carmen herself would be leaving soon for the day. She was probably annoyed as shit that someone had walked in at the very end of the day. Carmen liked to go home on time. She was anal retentive that way. It was one of the reasons we got along.

  I could already hear Carmen addressing the person when I decided to turn my attention back to Graves. “I appreciate the information.”

  Carmen’s voice raised into a yell, and I frowned at my office door. What exactly was going on down there? Rapid footsteps started up the stairs to my office, and I knew it was time to get off the phone so I could handle whatever it was that was going on.

  “If you hear anything else, Graves, please let me kn—”

  My door flew open before I could finish the sentence, and for the second time in my life, a petite redhead with brilliant green eyes that sparkled like the sunlight hitting the sea caused my mind to go blank in awe.

  Only this time, unlike over a thousand years ago, my heart did not cease to beat.

  No, it started to beat.

  I dropped the phone and stood without realizing what I had done as the gravity of the situation hit me.

  Liv Nornsdottir stood in front of me…

  And she was my mate.

  Ten

  “Can you please remove your hands from my throat?”

  Frowning, I looked from Liv’s face, which was now only a foot away from own, to my hands where they were wrapped around her delicate little neck.

  Huh, I hadn’t even realized I had moved. How was that for reflexes?

  Now that I was conscious of what I was doing, whose life I held in my hands, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to let go.

  Flashing my fangs at her, I growled, “Give me a good reason why I should.”

  In my peripheral, I could see my secretary with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

  Carmen sort of reminded me of that fish Helga had thrown at me the first time, and that only pissed me off more. My hands tightened a bit more on Liv’s neck because of it.

  Funny thing was, Liv didn’t even flinch. No, she stood there with somber eyes like some lost puppy, silently asking me for something. Or perhaps she was resigned to her fate at my hands.

  Either way, I liked my hands right the fuck where they were at the moment, and I didn’t have any plans of moving them because Little Miss Vanishing Act wanted me to.

  Sputtering nervously now, Carmen raised her hand up like I was some wild animal she was trying to soothe, “W-what’s going o-on? Should I c-call for h-help?”

  Rolling my eyes, I snorted and shot my secretary a condescending look. “Who you gonna call? The Ghostbusters?”

  I couldn’t even believe she had asked that question.

  Like I had friends? Or wanted any, for that matter?

  I was as much of a loner now as I had been in Norway.

  The only person I had ever spent any sort of time with, besides my parents and my vampiric sire, stood in front of me. I was trying to decide whether I wanted to kill her or kiss her.

  At the moment, I was leaning towards kill.

  The throat muscles under my hand started to move, and then I heard Liv speak. “She’s not asking you if you need help, she’s asking me.”

  My head snapped back in surprise, and I turned my glare back on the little Norn half-breed. “Why the hell would she care if you need help? I’m the one who signs her paychecks!”

  Liv’s head tilted to the side, in a familiar movement of curiosity, and she looked as if she was staring straight through me. “Because she’s never seen you like this before, and she’s afraid you’re going to kill me.”

  My eyes squinted down at her. “Been spying in your little looking glass again, witch?”

  She shrugged nonchalantly. “It is what I do.” Liv seemed to hesitate for a second, as if she wanted to say more, but stopped herself. Turning her head, seemingly uncaring that my hands were around her throat, she spoke to Carmen. “Don’t worry, he isn’t going to kill me here. You should go home, though. It was nice to meet you, Carmen.”

  Throwing my hands up in the air in exasperation, I shouted. “Are we having a fucking tea party here? What’s with all the gods damned pleasantries, woman?” Beyond irritated, I pointed a finger past Liv at Carmen. “And don’t tell my fucking secretary what to do.” Practically stabbing my chest with a thumb as a pointed back at myself, I yelled, “I’m her boss, and I’m the one who will tell her what to do!”

  Carmen’s confused and worried voice questioned, “So, what do you want me to do, Mr. Eriksson?”

  Snapping my head back in my secretary’s direction, I snarled, “Go home!”

  A small squeak came out of Carmen, as if she were a mouse, and then she fled down the stairs toward her desk. Proving her efficiency once more, she was out the fro
nt door, and even locked it behind her, in less than a minute.

  I wasn’t certain she had grabbed all of her belongings before she left.

  Returning my attention to Liv, a fresh tidal wave of animosity washed over me.

  “What. Do. You. Want?”

  Each word was bitten out sharper than the word before it. I hadn’t meant for it to come out like that, but it seemed as though I just couldn’t help myself.

  What else was new when it came to me being around Liv?

  Taking a deep breath, as if she were trying to fortify herself, Liv stood up straighter and squared her shoulders before speaking. “I’m here to make a deal with you, Arne Eriksson.”

  My eyebrows snapped low over my eyes and one side of my lip twitched in disgust. “What makes you think I would make any deal with you after what you’ve done to me?”

  Her breath hitched before she spoke. “Because someone has the one thing you want most.”

  Smoothing my facial features into an indifferent mask, I replied. “Indeed? And what do you think that would be?”

  Her answer was short, sweet, and to the point.

  It also was the last thing I would have expected her to say.

  “My life in their very hands.”

  Taking a step back, I turned my body and waved my arm toward the empty chairs in front of my desk. “I think you should sit down and explain yourself a little better, Nornsdottir.”

  To my surprise, that was exactly what she did.

  Walking past me, brushing the front of my body with the side of hers for but a moment, she walked to one of the chairs and sat. Staring forward while patiently waiting for me to sit in the chair on the other side of the desk from her.

  I made her wait.

  Not just because I wanted to be a cruel bastard—which I was, but also, because I was trying to get my emotions under control.

  When I was fairly sure I was neither going to tear her head off… or her clothes off… I walked around to sit behind my desk. Keeping the blank mask on my face, I leaned back in my chair, folded my hands over my flat stomach, and waited for her to speak.