Chapter 8
Nik approached the abandoned supermarket warily. “Something is off.” Every danger sense he had was tingling. It wasn’t just the fact that he couldn’t sense anything inside the building using his powers. With Toni by his side he refused to ignore the sinking feeling that they were facing a trap. Her safety was paramount.
“No shit, Sherlock.” Toni shot him a disgusted look. “This looks like one of those World’s Creepiest Places videos on YouTube. And we’re the idiots holding the camera.”
Nik had to agree. The parking lot was rough, with patches of missing asphalt. Weeds were rampant, as was grass, struggling desperately to survive in the gravel-filled holes. There were oil patches, as well as oddly placed concrete blocks set into the asphalt. The sign was gone, the white Plexiglas dirty and cracked. The fluorescent tubes that would have lit the sign were gone too, possibly stolen. Dank, moisture-stained boards covered most of the windows. This old supermarket had a porch overhang type of front where shoppers could wait without standing in bad weather. The metal poles holding up the roof of the porch were rusted, the black paint peeling off in huge patches to lie on the ground curled up like wounded birds.
Spooky didn’t even begin to describe this place. Even he would hate to be here after dark, and he didn’t scare easily.
They sneaked up under the awning. If they got caught they’d be in big trouble. Toni hadn’t called the local police to inform them that they would be there looking for a missing person. They’d both wind up spending time in jail if anyone came across them, especially Toni. She could wind up getting a suspension for this.
Toni tugged on his arm. “Here. I found a crack in the wood. Let’s take a look inside.”
Nik glanced through and shuddered.
Holy fuck. The place was even creepier on the inside than the outside. The dropped ceiling hung in places, the tiles rotting on the ground. Insulation hung from the spots where the missing tiles were. The concrete floor looked damp and black, like mold was growing rampantly inside. The walls were dingy white, but the dairy section’s letters were surprisingly red and fresh. The walls looked like painted concrete blocks. On the floor were faded lines where the shelves used to be.
“Eesh.” She leaned back and stared at him. “I bet Slenderman would love this place.”
He stared at her, confused once again. “Who?”
“Oh my God, Nik. Get a fucking life.” She shook her head at him, her disappointment in him apparent.
“I’m a lawyer. I’m not supposed to have a life.” He continued to skulk around the building, looking for an entrance.
She snickered and followed him. “What’s the difference between a jellyfish and a lawyer?”
He barely restrained his eye-roll. He’d heard all the lawyer jokes. “One is a spineless, poisonous blob. The other is a form of sea life.” Nik found a spot where they were hidden from sight. He should be able to pull off one of the boards covering the window and peek in. He tugged at the board until it broke in half, the unexpected give making him fall right on his ass. With a deep sigh, he took hold of the clean edge of the bottom of the board still attached to the window.
“Need help?”
Damn it, did she have to sound so amused when he was sitting on the dirty ground? He grunted out a “no” and pulled the board free. He got up and began to dust off his pants, but all it did was smear the mud around. He’d have to get them dry cleaned.
“Okay.” She stepped past him, drawing both her guns.
Wait. When had she gotten a second gun? Those were her Valkyrie weapons of choice, coming to her hands as easily as breathing. The single holster had become dual holsters, both of them strapped to her thighs like a professional gunfighter’s. Toni moved with the grace of her ancestors, obviously battle-ready.
Nik followed through the window. He wouldn’t draw Hǫfuð until it became obvious that they were about to enter battle. He didn’t want to tip his hand. Besides, Toni was more than ready for combat with or without his help.
The floor was mushy, sagging beneath his feet, and the smell, oh the smell had him gagging into his palm. It was a wretched combination of mildew and rotten food. He hadn’t smelled anything this ghastly since the last time he’d ridden through a destroyed village. He’d gone into one of the huts, curious as to what the humans had done to one another. The smell of old blood, rotting food, bloated bodies, and mold had nearly driven him to his knees.
The gods might be cruel, but humans were much, much crueler.
The area was large, with very few hiding places. In the back, hanging by a thread, were the doors that led to the employee areas such as the larger refrigerators, freezers, and walkways that led to the deli and fresh fish areas. Nik stepped beside her and pointed with his chin. “That’s where they’ll be.”
She nodded silently and glided across the floor. Despite the debris, she made it seem effortless. She was on the hunt, looking for the kill, and she was hot as hell. He forced his gaze away from her and back to the task at hand.
The last thing he wanted was for her to overtake the enemy without him. He took the other side of the market, moving so that they’d meet in the middle by the double doors. With any luck, if someone were watching they’d catch sight of only one of them.
Just as they were about to meet, the doors iced over.
“Uh-oh,” Toni muttered. Her right foot shifted, giving her more balance and a better jumping off point. She hunched over slightly, her guns at her sides.
In any other instance he’d laugh at her pose, but she was a Valkyrie. Using two pistols should make her shots miss almost ninety percent of the time, but all of them would undoubtedly hit their targets. It was a gift of the Valkyrie, to be unstoppable on the battlefield, but even Valkyries could die. He’d have to protect her, be her sword and shield.
In gaming terms, he was the tank and she was the DPS. She could dish out far more than she could take, but she was by no means a glass cannon that couldn’t take a single hit without falling to the ground. That would be Jamie.
Nik called for his sword, and Hǫfuð appeared, the weight of it making him smile. Battle was upon him, and Nik was ready for it.
Two Jotun pushed their way through the doors, shattering the ice and forcing Nik and Toni to cover their faces lest the ice shards get to their eyes.
That gave the Jotuns the advantage, one they took with glee. The first Jotun swung at Nik, knocking him back. Nik kept to his feet only because he’d braced himself much like Toni had, but the force of the blow nearly knocked him on his ass.
Toni stumbled as well, her heels catching in the debris on the floor. She stayed on her feet but her arms went wild. She wind milled to a stop and barely managed to get away from the Jotun’s swinging fist.
Nik focused on his own Jotun when the man landed a blow to his stomach. Ouch. That was what he got for ignoring his opponent, even for a second.
Nik held up his sword, his shield appearing in his hand with his crest, the Gjallarhorn with the Bifrost Bridge in the background. That crest wouldn’t change until he was ready, when it would once again bear his rightful crest.
He blocked the next blow the Jotun attempted to land, trying his best to ignore the sound of shots being fired on his right. Toni had engaged her enemy, and unless he missed his guess there were more foes behind the now destroyed doors. He prepared himself for the fight that was running their way.
His eyes narrowed as he focused on his opponents. More than one Jotun came through those busted doors, and with Toni backing him up from a distance he truly began to fight. His blood sang as his sword dug into flesh. More than once he had to place his shield away from his body to block a blow from the side, leaving himself open.
In those openings, bullets flew, striking his enemies with unerring accuracy. Toni flew around the battlefield, engaging enemies who would have caused him concern had she not been there. He left the enemies at his back to her and concentrated on his front and flanks.
Five of them surrounded him. Five. Who did Frederica think she was fighting, a human? Nik smiled as he systematically dispatched his enemies, his sword singing in his hands as he destroyed one Jotun after another. None of them came close to his skill, even without the ability of his gaze.
Being blinded by whatever spell encased the dilapidated grocery store enraged him. He gleefully took that rage out on the two remaining Jotuns, focusing his attacks on the more immediate threat of the Jotun before him. Taking him down would allow Nik to concentrate on the one currently trying to get to Toni.
Toni filled the Jotun next to him full of bullets, firing shot after shot. The Jotun jerked in a crazy dance until he fell, dead at Nik’s side.
Nik looked at the last Jotun standing, and smiled. The Jotun paled as Nik flung blood from his blade with a flick of his wrist. “And then there was one.”
“Nik!”
Toni’s cry almost distracted him from the Jotun before him, something the Jotun must have expected to happen because he chose that moment to attack. Nik blocked the other’s blade with his shield, jumping away from the unexpected knife attack from the man’s off hand. He noticed the sound of bullets pinging off of metal but thought nothing of it. The Jotun before him wore armor. Perhaps it had been enchanted against bullets, and that was the sound he was hearing. Either that, or more Jotuns had come from the broken down doors while his back was turned.
Before he could counter the attack he caught Toni out of the corner of his eye. “Fuck,” he breathed out.
Nadine, Frederica’s Girl Friday and all-around message girl, had come out of hiding to take Toni on one-on-one. As a Valkyrie, Toni was strong, stronger than anyone except a goddess.
Nadine, unfortunately, was a goddess. Worse, she hadn’t been engaged in battle yet. She was fresh, whereas Toni was using up her energy just to defend herself.
They had to switch targets and fast. Toni couldn’t go head-to-head with Nadine and survive.
“Toni!” He dashed to his right, straight for her, ignoring the slash of the blade across his side from the forgotten Jotun.
He got there just as Nadine pierced Toni’s side with her spear.
Enraged, Nik flashed between shadows, reaching Toni’s side in a millisecond. She fell, her expression startled, as if she’d forgotten she could bleed, could be broken on a spear.
He stood over her fallen form, smiling for a second while she bitched up a storm.
“Goddamn motherfuckers and their motherfucking weapons,” she muttered behind him. Her tone was filled with pain. “They can’t use baseball bats like regular people. Oh, no. They have to use fucking spears. The only thing that should be used for is fishing.”
He winced when she said that. Nadine loved her weapon like some women loved their men.
The Jotun hadn’t been sitting there with his thumb up his ass the whole time. He was racing toward them, more Jotuns pouring from the back room behind him.
“Okay. Time to ditch this little party.” Nik threw up his hand, darkness pouring from his palm. They might be able to cloud his sight with some little trick, but it was Nik’s trick long before they’d ever thought of it.
The darkness was as clear as day to the Guardian. Nothing hid from him in shadows, including the amount of blood Toni was losing. He dismissed his sword and shield and took hold of her arm. “Time to go, sweetheart.”
“But—”
Fuck but. Hers would get spanked if she tried to fight him on this.
Nik took them out of there fast, landing hard on the concrete in front of their building.
“How…” Toni didn’t finish her sentence. She passed out in his arms, scaring the ever-loving shit out of him.