Dragonslayer (Twilight of the Gods Book 3) (9 page)

When no one else had anything to add, Aiden turned back to Jacey. “Would you mind leaving us for a few moments? We have business to discuss that doesn’t concern you.”

Jacey’s mouth tightened ever so slightly at the request, and Christian fought the odd impulse to object. Alarming, that. The clan was taking a chance on her as it was. She wasn’t one of them. Aiden was well within his rights to keep clan business from her. The suspicious look she shot his way shouldn’t have hit a nerve.

“You said you wanted to take a shower,” he said. “There’s shampoo and bath soap in the guest shower that my sister left behind on her last visit. Extra towels in the linen closet in the hallway if you need them.”

“That reminds me.” Grace hopped up, grabbed a bag that had been pushed under the coffee table and handed it to the clearly reluctant Jacey. “Aiden said you might need a change of clothes until you get back to the motel for your things.”

“Thank you.”

Jacey took the bag and stood. He knew she didn’t like being left out. More than that, she probably thought that she was the clan business they meant to discuss. Her back was straight as she left the room.

Aiden waited until the sound of her footsteps retreated up the stairs before gesturing toward Kamis. “Now, about our problem from last night.”

Unhurriedly, Kamis set his cup aside on the polished table. As he leaned forward, his collar gapped open and Christian caught a glimpse of the amulet around his neck. The amulet bound him to Raquel. If she chose to exert her power over Kamis, Raquel could make him her slave. She wouldn’t do that, wouldn’t have bound him with the geis at all except to save him from Surtr, to save the clan. A lot of people in the clan thought that Aiden should have killed Kamis instead, and most days, Christian agreed with them.

“Last night, I felt a disturbance, investigated and found a young Vanir warrior injured in the woods,” Kamis said. “Somehow she was able to cross on her own. Although she was very weak when I found her, her shields were still intact. I doubt she’d have made it another day, but she was very close to the fault. Almost upon it. She had a knife wound in her side and had lost a great deal of blood. From what I was able to gather, she was attacked in Asgard and fled across Asbrú to escape. Once here, she lacked the power to open the portal to force her way home. She was dying.”

Christian leaned back in his chair while the others peppered Kamis with questions. Aiden remained standing beside the mantel, silent and brooding. Clearly he’d already heard everything Kamis had to say. And he was angry, although Christian had the impression that he wasn’t particularly angry with Kamis. Christian had a pretty good idea who that anger was actually directed at—Raquel, possibly Fen and Christian too, for not having warned him that Kamis wasn’t entirely under Raquel’s control. It was a shitty time for them all to be at each other’s throats.

Kamis kept his answers brief. No, he didn’t believe the woman had come to do them any harm, nor did he believe she would trouble them in the future. Yes, it was a concern that the Vanir had made contact at all. More concerning that the Vanir were apparently trading with Surtr for goods recovered from the icy ruins of Asgard. But what was to be done about it? No one had a good answer for that.

Elin asked the more pressing question. “Does the presence of this woman have anything to do with the animal attacks we’re investigating?”

Kamis shook his head. “She does not. There’s no relation between the two.” He hesitated. “Other than the fact that there is again open passage between the worlds. The curse Odin placed upon Asbrú is still intact, but at least one of the Vanir has found a way to circumvent it.”

“You could have brought her to us,” Aiden said. “We could have questioned her until we learned the truth.”

For a moment, Christian thought Kamis wouldn’t answer. He went very still, his pale eyes locking with the Odin’s for a heartbeat before falling away. “There was nothing to be gained by it. As I said, she was dying. I hoped to learn more when she crossed but there was nothing.”

A small silence fell after that statement, but then they moved on. First, a few more questions about Kamis’s story, and then they worked out a schedule for searching the boundaries of their territory. Christian’s attention drifted to Jacey. Upstairs in his shower. The image came to him sharply and unbidden—her skin flushed pink from the steam and her body slick with soap. His attraction to Jacey was inconvenient, but not surprising. A combination of novelty, the lure of the forbidden and the fact that she had the sweet sort of disposition that had always gotten under his skin. But he could deal with it. He’d make sure Jacey got out of this alive, and she’d be gone within a few days. They were both adults. Surely they could manage a few days under the same roof without things getting unnecessarily complicated.

As if she’d read his mind, Rane jerked her chin toward the ceiling. “Are we going to talk about the Midgardian Christian’s playing house with?”

Rane had a little bit of a mean streak. Normally Christian didn’t mind when she played rough, but now the accusation stung. “Playing house?”

She smirked. “At least Kamis had the sense to toss the Vanir stray he found back across the fault.”

“There’s a difference between an armed Vanir warrior and a Midgardian woman whose interests align with ours.”

“For now they do,” Rane said. “And only on this one small thing. She’s using us to help her do her job.”

“And we need her help so that we can do ours.”

Rane opened her mouth, but before she could speak again, Aiden cut her off. “Letting her stay was my decision to make.”

Trust Aiden to shoulder the responsibility of that, with no mention of how hard Christian had had to twist his arm.

Rane scowled. “She could be up there right now calling the papers.”

“She’s not,” Raquel said. “I charmed her phone.”

Christian swung on her. “You did what?”

Raquel held up her hands.

“By my order,” Aiden said. “Just because the truth stone said she was telling the truth about wanting to help, that doesn’t mean we can trust her with all of our secrets. We need her. I agree with that. We can’t fight this thing until we figure out a way to lure it closer to the fault, and we can’t have news of the creature getting out. But she’s still a risk. Raquel charmed her phone to power off at the first mention of anything incriminating. The wards will let us know when she leaves and enters town, and if she brings anyone back with her. They’re sensible precautions, but not foolproof. Until this is over, I want you to keep a close eye on her.”

Christian nodded his acceptance. Of course he’d keep an eye on her. Jacey was his responsibility. To keep safe and under control. To deal with if things went bad. They
wouldn’t
go bad. She was a Midgardian dropped into his world. In over her head. How much trouble could she possibly be?

Chapter Nine

Christian convinced Jacey to spend the rest of the afternoon helping to search through old texts, his hope being that they’d figure out what they were looking for before she had to go hunt the thing on her own. Elin wanted to see her notes anyway, and also interview Jacey about her investigation.

The underground vault beneath the library was where the clan kept their most precious treasures. A fragment of Gleipnir. An old tome from Asgard on the history of the last great Æsir-Vanir war. That book was bound in leather made from the skin of a kraken. When you held it to the light, it glittered as if tiny diamonds were embedded in the deep green hide. There were several diaries from the first refugees to live in Midgard. A small collection of grimoires. An entire wall of shelves holding the crows’ personal collection. Every pair of advisors kept a journal detailing the challenges and successes of the people under their care. An unbroken history of the Ragnarok clan lined the warm wooden shelves of the large, silent room.

There were no electric lights down here. Electricity and magic didn’t always mix well, and some of the books would decay under its light. There were protective runes everywhere, etched in silvery lines on the polished black floor, the shelves and the walls. They prevented people from finding this place, casting a glamour so that Midgardians would see only a normal archive room should they ever stumble upon it. Runes to repel dust and runes to keep the most dangerous magic contained within the books from seeping out.

As she stepped across the threshold, Elin traced the rune that turned on the lights. A soft white light sparked at the center of the curved stone ceiling and then spread out in an expanding circle until the entire surface was suffused with an even glow.

Jacey stepped into the room and took a cautious look around. She looked…bored, and it confused Christian until Elin nudged his arm and said, “You’ll have to mark her so she can see past the glamour.”

Right, the glamour. He’d started to think of Jacey as one of them, but she wasn’t. He took a step in her direction, but stopped when Jacey stepped back.

“Why can’t I see through the glamour? I saw the demons.”

“Because one attacked you. A glamour is a passive magic. A strong enough surge of adrenaline will shred through a light veil.” He nodded toward the walls. “The spells are stronger here, more concentrated.”

“Does that mean I won’t be able to see the jötnar again even if I passed one on the road?”

He shook his head. “You’ll recognize one if you spot it now that you know they’re out there. The only way we could correct that is if we erased your memory. Once I help you see through this one, you’ll never see…well, whatever it is you see now.”

She looked around. “I see a dusty room cluttered with broken furniture and stacks of old magazines. I was going to tell you to think about recycling.”

He smiled gently. “Let me show you the truth.”

This time she met him halfway. Lifting his hands to her jaw, he tipped up her face. Her wide eyes searched his, curious but not alarmed. He’d thought her eyes were gray, but they were more a pale green, with tiny golden flecks radiating out from the iris. Most Æsir had blue eyes, some pale enough to be called gray. He’d never seen anything quite like hers before.

“You have to close your eyes,” he said, surprised by the rough edge in his voice. He was glad Elin had already walked into the back to gather up the books she thought they’d need.

Jacey’s lashes fluttered down. He traced the rune of sight on each fragile eyelid and resisted—just—the urge to press his lips to her forehead. It was an odd impulse, and he released her abruptly, stepping back before he could follow through on it.

He should have taken Beth up on her offer the other night. It had clearly been far too long since he’d had sex if he was standing here thinking about kissing a Midgardian stray.

Jacey opened her eyes. She glanced first at him and then around the room. Her lips parted on a gasp and then curved into a breathtaking smile.

“What? I can’t believe all of this was here and I couldn’t see any of it. It looked like an overstuffed closet, and now…” Her eyes flashed with amusement. “I suppose this is where I say it’s bigger on the inside.”

He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“Of course you don’t.”

But that didn’t seem to bother her. She walked past him, examining the ceiling and then the shelves lining the walls. Near the center of the room was the heavy wooden table where Elin had been busily stacking books. Jacey rested her fingertips on the table as if to steady herself. “There’s a lot to go through.”

“It’s why I jumped at your offer to help,” Elin said, placing a small leather journal on the table and then sitting down in one of the comfortably upholstered chairs. “Christian should’ve warned you.”

He hadn’t warned Jacey because he hadn’t liked the alternative—her leaving Ragnarok on her own. Jacey stooped to look at the runes on the floor. “Do I need to be careful where I walk?”

“No,” he said. “These won’t hurt you. They’re not that kind of rune.”

“Good to know.” She walked over to the nearest shelf and studied the spines of the books for several moments before turning with a frown on her face. “Am I going to be able to help? I can’t read any of this.”

Elin tapped her pen on the table. “You’re the first resource we’re going to examine. You brought your paperwork?”

“Everything I have.” She wrinkled her nose. “Which isn’t much.”

Elin waved Christian toward the big stack of books waiting at the far end of the table. “Christian can get started on the books, and I’ll take a look to see what you missed.”

Jacey bristled a bit at the implication that she’d missed anything at all, but she set her bag on the table and pulled out an overstuffed file and her laptop. Christian froze when he saw the computer. Damn. He hadn’t even thought to ask.

Elin swore under her breath, and Jacey looked at her sharply. “What?”

“Give me that.” Elin ripped the computer from Jacey’s hands. As she marched toward the door with the offensive piece of equipment clutched in her hands, she shot Christian a glare over her shoulder. “You should have checked.”

“I didn’t think to pat her down.”

Elin’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe that for a second.”

“Hey,” Jacey called out. “Wait a minute. Where are you going?”

Christian caught her arm before she could follow Elin. “She’s not going to destroy your computer. She just needs to get it out of here.”

Jacey tugged at his grip, her muscles smooth and surprisingly strong. “I need that. It’s mine, not a work computer.”

And she wasn’t rich. Christian could read between the lines on that one. Her shabby clothes and the old truck. The things she’d dropped about her family and her home. He’d gotten the impression that Jacey had been supporting herself for a long time.

“She won’t break it. It’s dangerous to have it in here, both for the books and for the computer. Magic is unpredictable around electronics. That’s why we keep this room so isolated.”

When Elin came back, she said, “It’s under the front desk. If you need to reference anything, you’ll have to go upstairs. I don’t have an office, but there’s a public printer you can use if you want.”

Jacey looked as if she might argue, but she must have decided it wasn’t worth the effort. Pulling out the chair across from Elin, she sat down and flipped open the folder to take out the first report. “All of my personal notes are on the computer…who I’ve spoken with and when. The information that was sent to my office is in this file. We might as well start here.”

She passed the papers to Elin, who immediately bent her head to start reading. With a sigh, Christian lifted the top book off the teetering stack and frowned at the title. He’d never much like studying military history, possibly because it had been a favorite of his father’s. Christian had always found the battle descriptions long-winded, and he’d never understood why, if the ancients were so wise, they hadn’t been able to avoid bloodshed in the first place. It had taken him years to realize that sometimes the old gods simply hadn’t wanted to avoid it. At other times, like with the jötnar, slaughter was unavoidable.

Silence settled around them as they worked. It was disorienting down here. There were no windows or clocks to measure the passage of time. Every once in a while, Elin would pause to ask Jacey a question.

Jacey drew his eye. The room was stark. The floors polished to a black gleam. The table and wood stained nearly as dark. The walls and ceiling were a paler stone. Elin’s coloring matched the place. Dark hair, pale skin. Most Æsir were fair, save for the crows. Jacey, with her bright hair and green sweater, stuck out like a sore thumb. Bright and lush with color against the cold backdrop.

As the day progressed, Jacey grew increasingly restless. She went from organizing her paperwork to studying her surroundings. The runes and walls. The glowing ceiling. Him. He felt her eyes on him before he looked up again. She blushed but didn’t turn away.

“Can I help you? Are there picture books or some kind of a spell to allow me to read the runes?”

“I can ask Raquel for a charm, but that’s beyond my abilities.”

“I feel useless sitting here. I should be out there trying to gather more information.”

“You’ll be better able to do that if we have an idea of what you’re looking for. You’ve already been out to investigate all of the reports, right?”

“Most of them. After the first five or six stops, I changed course and decided to come here.” She smiled a bit. “Jackpot, I guess.”

“On the right track, anyway. I asked you for one day. We’ll see what we find here. The hounds are out searching our territory. Grace is using her gift. And Kamis and Raquel are working on a summons spell.”

She tipped her head slightly to the side. “Are you asking me to let you take it from here again?”

“Just for today.”

Elin pushed closed the file she’d been reading and grabbed the next. “If you want to do something, you can go upstairs and print off a list of the sites you’ve visited, and your notes. I’ll attach them to the files. You can also check the reference material upstairs. We have a good section on local history and Native American legend. We’ll need to go through those too, since we’re not sure yet whether the creature is from Asgard or Midgard. Those books you can read.” Elin smiled thinly. “I assume.”

Christian frowned at Elin, but she ignored him, locked as she was in a staring contest with Jacey. Jacey broke first, because no one beat a crow in a staring contest, and she stood, brushing her hands against her worn jeans.

“Of course I’m willing to help. The sooner we get this taken care of, the better.”

Jacey left the room, closing the door behind her. When Christian could no longer hear the sound of her retreating footsteps, he turned to Elin. “You don’t have to be so hard on her.”

“You don’t have to hover over her like you’re just waiting for her to fall so you can kiss her skinned knees. It’s pathetic.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.”

She raised her brows. “No? You’ve never offered to help me down here. Tell me you wouldn’t rather be out with the group searching the woods.”

He couldn’t do that. “I’m supposed to be watching her. It wouldn’t have been right to leave her on her own, and she trusts me.”

“I noticed that.” With pursed lips, Elin looked at the closed door. “It’s no good, Christian. You need to back off from this one.”

“If I backed off any further, I’d be in another room.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I don’t think I do.” He closed the book and pushed it away. Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms over his chest. “You regret breaking up with me. Is that it? This is you being jealous. I’ve never seen you jealous before. It’s cute.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Don’t take it out on her, then. Remember, you’re the one who sent me away, not the other way around.”

“You know why I did that.”

“Because you wanted me to find a wife?” He shook his head. “It’s not that easy.”

“Not with you inviting a Midgardian woman to live in your house.”

“It’s temporary.”

“I left you over a year ago and you’ve shown no sign of moving on yet. I thought you were mourning your relationship with Raquel, and I understood that, but this?” She threw her hands up in the air. “Look to another clan if you must, not to a
Midgardian
. Your father would roll over in his grave.”

It was unfair of Elin to suggest she’d left him for his own good. She’d never loved him. None of his relationships had been about love. Elin had only wanted him because he reminded her of a man who’d been dead nearly a century. She’d taken him as a lover to ease that ache and discarded him when it didn’t work.

“I’m not leaving the clan.”

“It doesn’t have to be forever,” she said. “Find someone willing to relocate. I know you can be charming when you put your mind to it.”

“I’m not charming.”

“But you can be.” She gave him a pointed look. “You were ready to marry Raquel.”

“I was ready to fulfill a contract.”