Chapter 19
Toni took deep breaths as she prepared to step through the shadows. They’d been practicing all day, having her teleport from one end of the condo to the other, then down the corridor, then from condo to condo. She’d managed to master the steps far more quickly than Nik had expected.
She was right. She was excellent at visualizing where she needed to be. The ability served her well, and now she teleported with ease as if she’d been doing it for months rather than two days. His heart’s breath was far more capable than anyone could even imagine, and he loved her all the more for it. She’d be a formidable queen when he finally took his place on his throne.
Her skin had paled as well as his blood fully transformed her. Her hair had darkened from chocolate to near black. Her brown eyes had a silver glint to them that made them absolutely magical looking even in human form. She’d somehow blended the looks of the Dökk Alfar and humans, giving her an otherworldly appeal that was stunning to behold.
“We ready?” Magnus, who’d agreed to go along, was fingering the pendant Mjolnir. He was practically vibrating with eagerness.
“I think so.” Nik eyed Toni as she shook herself. Her guns were strapped to her thighs gunslinger style. She’d chosen to wear a black leather vest with black jeans and black shit-kicker boots, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
“Eye-fuck your woman later, dude.” Logan grabbed hold of Nik’s arm. “It’s time to get this show on the road.”
“Asshole.” Nik grabbed hold of Kir, making the two he could carry linked to him.
Val and Magnus surrounded Toni, who nodded as they both put their hands on her shoulders. “I’m ready.”
“You’ve got the visual?” He’d figured out a way to show Toni their destination in the mirror. He’d had to use his blood and hers mixed together with a few ancient words, but she’d been able to examine and memorize where he wanted them to arrive.
“Yes.” Her nerves had disappeared, only to be replaced by icy determination.
By the gods, she made his dick hard.
“I go first, then you. Count to ten, then come in. I need to get us out of the way.” The last thing he wanted was some sort of Star Trek-style transporter accident. That wouldn’t be pretty.
She glared at him. “Don’t get killed while I’m not there.” Her eyes went wide. “Wait. That’s not what I meant to—”
He laughed and disappeared, arriving inside the townhouse with Logan and Kir.
Kir instantly stepped aside and summoned Gungnir, the Godspear glowing brightly in his hand.
Logan, on the other hand, stepped in front of Kir, his flames licking up and down his arms. His eyes were filled with flame as he guarded his lover as always.
Nik summoned his sword and shield, the shield now carrying the symbol of the Dökk Alfar, a black tree on a silver background. He, too, got out of the way quickly, stepping past Kir and Logan to take the front.
Toni arrived within seconds, stumbling slightly as she tried to move. Magnus and Val didn’t let go right away, both men looking shaken. Neither had traveled that way before, unlike Logan and Kir, so Nik wasn’t at all surprised.
Toni pulled one of her guns out and glanced around the room, looking for enemies.
“Slightly tight quarters here,” Val muttered, glancing around as well.
Nik had chosen to teleport them into the basement. They’d come into a storage area with a tiny, rectangular window letting in some dingy light. There were plenty of shadows to come through, but the room itself could barely contain five large men and one pissed-off woman.
“Outta the way.” Toni pushed herself through all of them and reached for the door.
“Oh, no, you don’t. I go first.” Nik nudged her out of his path and pulled open the door himself. She was not going first. That was his job. He had the shield and he’d use it to deflect any incoming attacks.
Outside the door were four Jotuns playing cards. They jumped to their feet, yelling for backup as Nik charged them. He bowled over the flimsy card table, giving the others room to move toward the Jotuns.
Fire erupted behind him, met by ice. He turned to find Logan engaged with one of the Jotun, exchanging fire. Kir was also fighting, the Jotun backing away as Gungnir thrust forward, glowing with Kir’s righteous anger. Thunder rumbled through the house. No doubt lightning struck and rain fell outside as Kir’s rage flowed through him.
Val and Magnus moved past Nik, heading toward the stairway that led to the first floor. They stood guard while Kir, Nik, Toni and Logan made quick work of the four guards.
Val and Magnus were moving up the stairs before Nik could respond. Without the mirror in his hand he couldn’t warn them of what awaited them. He was as blind as they were, and it drove him crazy.
Nik was right behind Val when the god opened the door. There stood Nadine with a group of Jotuns behind her, about ten in all, waiting for Nik.
“Give me what I want and I’ll go away,” Nik said softly, staring at the woman. He wondered if she’d even get the Steven King quote or not, but somehow he doubted it. Nadine had never been one to read much. She’d much preferred getting her information from Frederica’s lips.
Nadine’s grin was savage. “Make sure you capture Baldur and Loki alive. Feel free to kill the others.”
The Jotuns roared as they attempted to swarm the stairs, but Val managed to hold them off. “Go!” he shouted at Nik, fending off one attack after another. The Avenger was vicious when riled, and today he’d gone all-out, killing one Jotun after another in swift succession.
The air behind him changed. Nik turned, suddenly terrified.
Toni was gone.
Nik roared as he allowed himself to change, his Dökk Alfar features coming to the fore. He would find her wherever she’d gone and paddle her ass until she couldn’t sit for a week.
Until then, however…
Nik moved through the shadows to the dining room, where the door to the stairway was located. He quickly killed one of the Jotun who turned to face him, leaving only three with Nadine.
The others could handle this. Nik needed to find Toni before Frederica decided to come out and play as well.
He bolted around the small group of enemies, headed for the front stairs and began to pound his way up them. She had to be up there. There’d been no sign of her in the kitchen or dining room. The front room was filled with antique furniture much to Frederica’s taste, but there was no sign of Toni there, either.
That left the upper floor and the attic.
Nik stalked the upper hallway, looking in the first room to find it empty of anything except a small bed, a dresser, and a makeup table. He closed the door behind him and tried the next door.
Locked, from the inside. He kicked the door down, ready to battle whoever was inside.
Henry and Luther Grimm, swords in hand, stood ready to defend Frederica, their lover. Their gazes were filled with the same rage that consumed Nik as they pounced on him eagerly.
He blocked the first blow with his shield, the screech of metal on metal deafening. “Where is she?” Nik bellowed at Frederica.
The goddess merely stood there wide-eyed, as if she’d never expected him to come in person.
“Where is Toni?” Nik blocked Luther’s next blow. He’d always been a bit quicker to attack than Henry. Neither could hope to win against Nik.
“I don’t care where your little whore is.” Frederica pulled her own dagger, her expression grimly determined. “I won’t hand Sydney over to you until she’s completed her task.”
Nik smiled. “You think Syd can hack Yggdrasil?”
Frederica looked startled.
Ha. Gotcha.
Henry and Luther actually paused in their attack to stare at him in horror. “Frederica?” Henry asked, sounding stunned. “Is that what you’re trying?”
She sniffed. “Of course not. I didn’t think it was possible,” Frederica muttered.
“Then why did you take her?” Nik stepped back, keeping his shield up. They might be willing to talk but he had no idea if Henry and Luther would come after him again in defense of Frederica. They, unlike Grimm, truly loved her and wanted the best for her.
The sounds of battle as the others made their way toward him were almost deafening as he tuned in to them. They were out of time for questions. “Everyone is coming, Frederica. Give it up, and give us Sydney.”
She growled, actually growled, at him like an angry dog. “Tell me you didn’t bring Loki here.”
Nik smirked. “Of course, I did.”
She screamed and raced toward him, her dagger drawn. Luther was thrown off balance as she pushed past him, blood spurting from his arm as he tried to defend himself and got caught on the edge of her dagger.
Frederica didn’t even slow down. She crashed into Nik, her dagger stabbing over and over again at him, the edge screaming against his shield as it bounced off. The metallic sound shivered down his spine, reminding him of battles past and present.
He had to get her off of him. Luther and Henry were moving, flanking him and giving him few openings to stop Frederica’s frantic attacks. He should have been able to take them all on, but Frederica kept him from effectively blocking Henry and Luther’s attacks by repeatedly needling at him. Luther took the opportunity to attempt to run him through, making Nik jump back. Luther’s blade scored a deep gash across his stomach, leaving him bleeding…and angry.
He used his shield to bash Frederica aside, dropping her to her knees. He swung around just in time to keep Henry’s blade from giving him a matching wound across his back, but that left him exposed to Luther’s next attack.
An attack that never landed. Gunfire erupted and the blow never landed as Luther fell.
Frederica screamed again, this time in grief as a pool of blood spread slowly around Luther’s body.
Nik took a step back. Gunfire meant Toni was behind him, guarding his back. He could face Henry and Frederica freely once more. “Luther’s still alive, Frederica.”
She stopped screaming and just stared at him with hate-filled eyes.
“We have Sydney, and we’re leaving.” Toni’s voice was filled with determination. A bullet whizzed past Frederica’s head, shaving off some of her hair. “I may not be able to kill Grimm but I can certainly kill you.” Toni had one gun pointed at Henry, the other at Frederica. From the drop of blood on Henry’s ear that hadn’t been a single gunshot. It had been two, fired so close together that Nik couldn’t differentiate between them. “Try anything on the people I love and I will take you out without a single fuck given.”
“You’re an officer of the law,” Frederica spat out. “How can you speak of murder so easily?”
Toni laughed bitterly. “I can’t. You’ve forced me to, you with your god powers. It’s not like I can put your ass in jail for kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment, is it? But this?” She waved her gun at Frederica. “This will stop you. Permanently.” Toni leaned forward, her silver and brown eyes glittering with righteous wrath. “I’ve studied the prophecies. You’re not mentioned as either living or dying during Ragnarrok, Frigg. In fact, you aren’t mentioned at all.”
Frederica paled at the threat. “You can’t do that.” She didn’t seem nearly as certain as she had earlier.
“Watch. Me.” Toni backed up as Val, Magnus, Kir, and Logan appeared at the top of the stairs with a traumatized-looking Sydney in tow. “We’re walking out the front door, Freddie. Remember what I said. You hurt anyone else and I will finish you.” And with that threat, Toni stalked past Frederica and Henry, leaving the devastated Aesir to deal with their dead and wounded.
Nik joined them, Sydney tucked in the middle of the group. She was shivering under Val’s arm, her head down, her hands wringing together until Nik thought she’d pull flesh from bone. “Where’s Nadine?”
Val scowled and shook his head. “Don’t ask.”
Okay. Nik still couldn’t perceive without the mirror so he had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was had pissed off the Avenger like nothing else. Hopefully he’d taken care of Nadine for Nik. “Tell us later then.”
Val nodded, still scowling. The group went through the front door just as Toni had said they would, Sydney held close in Val’s arms.
Nik smiled as his appearance returned to his mortal seeming, his sword and shield disappearing from his grasp. As much as she might fight it, Val had laid claim to Sydney Saeter and wasn’t planning on letting go anytime soon.
***
“My lady?” Nadine stood before Frederica, horribly wounded, barely standing. She was leaning on her spear, her hand clutched around her abdomen. “Are you all right, my lady?”
They’d brought overwhelming force, using Mjolnir and the Godspear to bring Sydney back home. Why? Why had things turned against her? Why was Kiran refusing to acknowledge that the Trickster had turned him against his own mother?
“Frederica, we need to go to Luther.” Henry had Luther in his arms and was carrying him into the bedroom. “Get Sonia to take care of Nadine’s wounds.”
There was more they could do, there had to be. She only needed time to think, to plan. It couldn’t take all that much effort to break Loki away from Baldur. “We need to—”
“No.” Henry’s sharp tone cut her off, shocking her into silence. “It’s over, Frederica.” He strode into the bedroom, deliberately ignoring her when she called out his name.
Frederica watched silently as Sonia, quiet as ever, led Nadine off to her bedroom to deal with her wounds. Frederica was left alone, still on the floor, reeling from what had happened.
Was it truly over?
She opened her vision, allowing the future to flow over her, her visions appearing faster and faster before her inner eye. And what she was forced to behold made her cry out, finally, once and for all giving up any hope of removing Loki from her son’s life. Chasing after Jörmungandr would gain her nothing.
It was truly over, and her son, her shining, beautiful child, would never smile at her again.