Chapter 2
Nik stared blankly at the papers in front of him, but it was no use. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t concentrate on the mundane, mortal work of a defense attorney. His mind was too wrapped up in the hot, curvy body of the woman who drove him insane not only with desire but with wrath.
How dare she defy him? He was Heimdall, Guardian of the Bifrost Bridge. He’d be aware of her movements the moment she left the building, even without Logan’s wards. There was no way she could hide from the man who witnessed everything.
Including the way her nipples had puckered as they’d pressed up against his chest.
He groaned, running his fingers through his hair and pulling it, trying to distract himself, but it was no use. Her body had lit his on fire and now all he wanted to do was quench himself in her.
Unfortunately her stubborn ass was two doors down, raging at him in English and Italian while she waited for Sylvia and Val to join her. Those two should know better, but Val was in love with Sydney. He’d do anything to save her, including kill Frederica, and he’d do it without shedding a single tear. He was cold and ruthless to those who harmed the ones he considered under his protection, and Sydney was definitely that. Sylvia was Sydney’s best friend and the one who’d first asked Toni to save Sydney. Of course the two of them were going to encourage Toni in her desire to save Sydney.
He could almost understand it. Toni was a cop, someone who had dedicated herself to helping those in need. He admired that about her, more than he’d let on, but he had to stop her from putting herself in danger. He couldn’t keep an eye on her thanks to whatever spell Freddie had in place.
Frederica, the evil witch, had figured out some way to block his powers. He had had no idea that Sydney was hurt more than he’d first thought. When he’d seen her in the limo she’d been injured, but it was nothing major. What had Frederica done to her once she had Sydney in her home? If Frederica had abused Sydney, Val would definitely kill her.
He slumped back, his knees practically hitting the coffee table. He’d never lost the ability to observe anything wherever he wanted, and it was freaking him the fuck out. How had Frederica done it? And what could he do to counter it? He’d have to figure out a way, or Toni’s cute little ass was going to get killed.
And there she went, damn it, leaving the building and going to the garage to get her car. Why did Travis have to go and be the nice guy, fetching her dark sedan from her old home for her? Damn it. Now Nik was going to have to keep an eye on her. If she got her ass kicked he’d have to save her, possibly playing his trump card before he was ready.
With a sigh, Nik left his condo. The only one who might be able to keep Toni in place was Kir. Even a stubborn Valkyrie would be forced to acknowledge the holder of Gungnir, the Godspear. She’d have to come home rather than put her ass in danger.
He knocked on the front door of Kir, Logan, and Jordan’s condo. Part of him watched Toni make straight for Frederica’s. Another part, as always, watched the Bifrost Bridge. Frey had crossed some time earlier, but Nik had let him be. His part was also yet to be played.
Nik would take great delight in destroying his former fellow in arms. He’d thought he could at least trust the Vanir, but Adam Grey had proven him wrong. Jordan was going to be devastated when she discovered that her father was now Grimm’s right-hand man.
Logan opened the door, seemingly surprised to find Nik standing there. Nik pushed past him before Logan could greet him. “Toni’s gone to Frederica’s.”
Logan closed the door with a weary sigh. It must be difficult living in Grand Central Station. Everyone came to Logan’s to brainstorm or get some advice. Their condo had become the command center in their war against Grimm. “And?”
Nik almost growled in frustration. “Freddie’s figured out a way to block me from seeing anything on her estate. Worse, Adam is now working willfully with Grimm.”
“Fuck fuck fuck!” Logan’s low whistle was full of surprise. “How the hell did she manage that?”
Ah, so Logan was going to ignore his revelation about Adam. “I have no idea. If I did, I’d figure out a way around it. This isn’t supposed to be possible.” Nik sat on the pristine white sofa. He gazed out the huge windows at the city below.
“Could Sydney be responsible?” Jordan, who’d apparently been in the kitchen, came to sit beside him. She pushed her glasses up her nose. “If your powers are blocked you can’t tell us what she’s up to.” She held up her hand. “And it was obvious that Dad was working with Grimm of his own free will.” She stared sadly out the window before turning back to him with a look that said Adam was in deep trouble if his daughter got ahold of him. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “So fuck him.”
He blinked. There was very real fire in Jordan’s eyes. She’d gotten the power over fire from Logan. Adam was going to get his nuts roasted if he came anywhere near Jordan Tate-Saeter or her babies. “Okay. As for Frederica, I thought she was using Sydney to spy on Logan, looking for a way to break up you, Kir and Logan.”
“Is it possible Sydney is behind it?” Jordan shrugged. “Maybe because I’m new to all this, but I thought it might be possible that Sydney has some sort of magic that would block you. Like blocking access on a server or something.”
An interesting theory, but would that work? He took a deep breath, debating his answer. It would be impossible for anyone else, but for Sydney, who’d made computers her life and had the powers of a goddess? “She could use her link to computers to use that kind of magic.” He stood. “But the computer would have to be special. It would have to link to the World Tree, and no mortal computer could do that. Only a computer created by the Dökk Alfar could accomplish it.”
“Yggdrasil?” Logan shook his head, his expression utterly horrified. “So this Dökk Alfar computer would view Yggdrasil as just another network?”
“With branches into the different worlds, allowing for…” Shit. His mind raced with the implications of just such a computer. With a computer like that, Sydney could rule even Asgard. Please, no. This was exactly the kind of thing he’d been created to prevent. He’d hate it if he was forced to kill the sweet, quiet woman. “I think so. If she has the proper equipment she could do anything.”
“Anything being?” Jordan waved her hand. “Please explain to those who are just barely computer literate. I can use my Google-Fu, but that’s about it.”
Nik grimaced. His shoulders hunched as he fisted his hands in his lap. “When I say anything, I mean anything. She could erase parts of history, reverse time, and even make it so that the Vanir won the war. She could place Frederica on the throne of the gods and no one would ever remember otherwise. She could make it so that you’re not pregnant anymore and, worse, have no memory of being pregnant. She’d be re-writing the code of history itself. The power of the World Tree is absolute, even more so than the one who holds Gungnir. It connects all of the world threads to the lives within them. Without Yggdrasil nothing exists.” Which was why he had been born. The Guardian watched over not only the bridge but Yggdrasil itself. None could mess with the tree without bringing his wrath down on their heads.
If he was right, and Sydney was being forced to tap into Yggdrasil…
Val would never get the chance to slay Frederica, because it would be Nik’s duty to take care of her first.
“Right. Gotcha. This is way more fucking dangerous than the apples.” Jordan stroked her large stomach protectively. “Frederica would love nothing more than to make my babies disappear. Hell, she could make it so that Logan and Kir never got together, or met me.” She stared at Nik, her hands erupting in flames. “We need to kill her.”
She was right. Frederica hated the fact that Jordan was with both Kir and Logan. Her bitch of a grandmother would not hesitate to get rid of Logan’s child, even if it meant destroying Kir’s as well. She would never kill Jordan or Kir, but Logan and his children would simply cease to be.
“Jordan?” Logan sat next to her and pulled her close. “Are you sure? This is your grandmother we’re talking about.”
She shoved Logan off of her, shocking Nik. “No.” She stood, fire literally in her eyes. “We need her dead.” Her viciousness was understandable if she thought the babies were in danger. “I won’t risk you two or the babies.” She tilted her head back and, before Nik could stop her, bellowed, “Kir!”
Kir raced into the living room, looking disheveled. It was obvious he’d been in the process of getting dressed, because his black tank top was still in his hand and his golden hair wasn’t brushed. “What?”
Jordan gestured toward Kir. “Tell him. Tell him why we need to kill my grandmother.”
Nik sighed. Jordan was near tears. “Calm down. We have no idea what Frederica is up to. This is mere speculation, remember?”
“I don’t care.” Jordan’s hands once more rested on her stomach. “Make her stop.”
“Jordan?” Kir stepped forward, his tank top tossed aside. “What happened?”
Logan stood and moved closer to Kir. As soon as their theory was explained to him, Kir might go ballistic. If he did, Logan was the one most likely to calm him down. Jordan was far too emotional to think rationally. She was close to giving birth, her hormones preparing her for what was to come. She already loved the two beings she cradled inside her. Killing Frederica would normally horrify her, but she was turning out to be a bigger mama bear than Logan.
Logan spoke softly, warily. “We think we’ve figured out why Sydney was taken, but you have to remember that it’s just a theory, nothing more.”
“Okay.” Kir glanced between Jordan and Logan. “Let me put my shirt on and you can tell me.” He yawned. “Nik, can you make me some coffee?”
Nik stood. “Of course.” Nik left the trio alone. He could use some coffee himself. He fixed three coffees and grabbed a can of Fanta from the fridge for Jordan. Until she was done breast feeding she wouldn’t be allowed caffeine. Instead, she’d given in to her cravings for anything pineapple, including a pineapple soda that Logan had shipped in just for her. Nik couldn’t understand it, but Jordan lived on the stuff.
He wondered if Toni would have strange food cravings as well should he ever get her pregnant. He smiled at the thought despite the grim topic he was returning to. Toni. Pregnant by him.
The vision was so substantial he almost fooled himself into thinking it was real.
He carried everything on a tray back into the living room, complete with creamer and sugar. He’d observed how Kir and Logan took their coffee but he preferred that they fix it themselves. No one wanted it thrown in their face that they’d been watched in quiet, intimate moments. Nik was the ultimate peeping Tom, whether he wanted to be or not.
Pointing that out to Toni was just icing on his cake of fun. The way she freaked when he whispered in her ear or his eyes reflected back at her in a mirror was priceless. For a big, bad homicide cop, she sure squealed like a little girl when startled.
“Nik?” Jordan held out her hand.
“Hmm?” He handed Jordan the pineapple soda. Yuk. He had no idea how she could drink that stuff.
“What’s with the creepy smile?” She opened her soda and took a sip, groaning happily. “Yum.”
Nik held back his shiver of disgust. “What creepy smile?”
“The one you walked in here with.” She took another sip before putting the bottle on the coffee table. Already she seemed more at ease. If pineapple soda did that, he’d make sure she could bathe in the stuff.
“Oh. I was thinking of Toni.” Nik fixed his coffee. “Did you explain things to Kir?”
“Yes, they did.” Kir’s hand drifted toward the pendant around his neck. Gungnir could shrink in size much like Mjolnir did, enabling its bearer to wear it as a pendant. “And I’m inclined to agree with Jordan. Killing Frederica looks very good right now.”
Damn it. So much for Kir being the voice of reason. It was up to Logan to calm the two down.
“Is that who we are? What we’ve become? We kill indiscriminately now?” Logan stared at Kir and Jordan, disappointment on his face. “Just like Odin?”
The other two stilled. “I’m not like him,” Kir murmured darkly. “Never say that.”
Logan’s Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed hard. “We don’t kill because of possibilities, Kir. That’s never been us. That’s the Old Man’s way.”
Kir glanced away, his jaw tight. He refused to look at Logan even when Logan stood in front of him.
Logan sighed. “I’ll be in my office if you need me, Nik.” He walked out of the room, his shoulders slumped. The Trickster was overflowing with sadness.
“You need to fix this,” Nik muttered. “This is exactly what she wants.”
Jordan jumped. “Free will.” She glanced at Nik. “Can free will alter whatever Frederica is trying to do?”
Nik blinked. Thank goodness for that brilliant mind of hers. It was finally working, overcoming the fear for her children in favor of rational thought. “I think the Fates would interfere, so yes. If she’s altering what is supposed to be, then the Norns would step in to prevent it. But still, free will is a concept the gods have struggled with for eons. Is there really free will when the Fates decide your destiny? Can you side-step it, like Odin is trying to do, or do your actions wind up creating the very storm you were trying to avoid?”
She rubbed at her face wearily. “Shit. Shit, shit, shit.” She stood. “I’ll go talk to him. I just…” She rubbed her stomach. “The thought of something, anything, taking my family from me makes me want to hurt someone.”
Kir put his arm around her shoulder. “We’ll talk to him together. He’s right. Killing her now would be wrong. But if she does anything to take either you or Logan from me I’ll kill her before either of you can blink.”
Nik believed him. There were clouds in Kir’s clear blue eyes, a dark storm that indicated Baldur’s rage had nearly overcome him. Those clouds were fading, but still.
Frederica had come very close to death that day. She’d do well to leave Kir alone as he wished.
Nik stood. “I’m heading back to my place. I need to figure out the best way to deal with Toni when she gets back.” He left his mug behind. He could make himself more coffee back at his place.
This hadn’t been a completely wasted visit. He now had a working theory on why Sydney had been taken. And there was only one place he could think of that would make a computer capable of hacking into Yggdrasil.
Svartalfaheim. It was time to take a trip home.