Arctic Dawn (The Norse Chronicles Book 2) (12 page)

Skyla shook her head. “They shouldn’t. That’s why I have to go and convince them.”

I pulled her into a tight hug and tried not to cry. “Other than Mani, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had. I don’t know what I’m going to do without you.”

“Trust Thorin.”

I pulled away and wrinkled my nose. “He’s proven he’s as fallible as the rest of us.”

“Loyalty is not a fault, Solina. You were willing to take the same risks for me and for Mani. If you wanted to stay safe, you wouldn’t be here right now. And if Thorin didn’t respect you, he’d have already locked you away somewhere.”

“I’m not as scared when you’re around,” I said. “I can’t talk to them like I talk to you.”

Skyla dipped her head and showed uncharacteristic humility. “It’s not forever, babe. I’ll be back, hopefully with a battalion of Odin’s finest battle divas.”

“And you’ve got to leave today?”

Skyla looked at the clock on the bedside table. “I’ve got to leave
now
. I’m catching a flight out in a couple hours. But don’t worry. I won’t leave you completely empty-handed. There’s something else I need to tell you.”

“What?”

Skyla grinned and waggled an eyebrow. “I think I know where Helen is keeping the wolf.”

Chapter Thirteen

A
fter Skyla borrowed a set of clothes from me and got dressed, I bit my lip and fought the urge to beg her to stay. “Be safe,” I said. “And keep in touch.”

She hugged me. “I promise.”

Thorin was waiting for us outside my room when Skyla and I opened the door. “What’s going on?” he asked. “What have you two been scheming?”

Skyla cut her eyes to me and bit back a smile. “He acts like he knows us or something.”

Thorin frowned at me. “What are you up to, Sunshine?”

“You don’t have to look at me that way. I was going to tell you.”

“Sure you were.”

“No, really. I’m going to need your help.”

Thorin’s head tilted, his eyebrow arched. He was interested. “Oh, yeah?”

“Skyla’s time with Helen might have been useful after all. She’s got some leads on where Skoll hides out when he’s not chasing after me.” I turned to Skyla and gestured to Thorin. “Tell him.”

“Hati and Skoll were wolves, first and foremost.” Skyla looked at Thorin for confirmation. When he nodded, she continued. “Their human exterior is more mask than man. It goes against their nature to live in big cities around lots of people. Hati couldn’t hold down a day job because he didn’t do well with socially appropriate human behavior. Only Loki and Helen have managed to control them. Otherwise, they’re a public nuisance and a danger to Helen’s inconspicuousness.

“So, Helen makes Skoll go into hiding when she doesn’t need him because it keeps him out of trouble, but she keeps him close enough to call back at her whim.”

“While I agree with all you’re saying,” Thorin said, “it’s still a lot of speculation. If we are going to hunt Skoll, we need something more solid than that.”

Skyla nodded. “I overheard one of the guards talking about Helen last night, before Solina came and rescued us all.” She flashed me a smile, at which Thorin grimaced but said nothing. “One guy said he’d seen a lone wolf hanging around outside the warehouses. Then they argued about whether it was really just a coyote or not. The one guy was pretty damned insistent it was a wolf, though.”

Thorin rearranged his posture, standing taller and surer. “Presuming that the guard did see a wolf, and not a coyote, and presuming that wolf was Skoll, how do we know he’s still there? What if Helen’s moved him to another location after our escape?”

I put a hand on Thorin’s arm to turn his attention to me. “And what if she hasn’t? It’s as good of a place to look for him as any.”

Thorin’s brows drew together. “I couldn’t convince you to stay here, could I? Let me hunt him alone?”

I pointed to myself. “Bait, remember? Skoll wouldn’t let you get anywhere near him unless you have something he wants. And I think he wants me rather badly.”

Skyla bobbed her head. “Helen’s orders.”

I shook my head. “No. I mean, I’m sure Helen’s orders are encouragement enough, but don’t forget I killed Skoll’s brother. I know something about what’s motivating him. Skoll wants revenge. If he’s desperate enough, he’ll do anything to get it. It could make him rash and clumsy. It could make him vulnerable.”

Thorin gazed at me, his expression tinged with wariness. “I don’t know whether to be impressed or to be afraid of you.”

I snorted. “Did you expect that I would always be that naive and meek-mannered girl you picked up at the airport all those months ago?”

Thorin chuckled. “You were never meek, Sunshine.”

“When I get to the Aerie, I’m going to put a bug in the Valkyries’ ears,” Skyla said, steering the conversation back on path. “I’ll mention that you and Thorin are on your way to the desert to hunt Skoll.”

The plot sank in. “If Helen has a double agent in the Valkyries, she’ll pass the news to Helen, who’ll send Skoll out to meet us,” Thorin said.

“I’ll have the proof I need to show the Valkyries that they’ve been compromised. Then we can work together to flush out the mole.”

“And either way, we’ll have Skoll’s head.”

“I have to get a move on,” Skyla said. She swept me aside and went to the foyer. As she opened the door, she turned to Thorin. “I’ll call and leave you a message with an update.” Pointing a finger at both of us, she put on a stern face and said, “Play nice, you two.”

Skyla walked out and didn’t look back. I missed her the moment the door closed behind her. I turned to Thorin, who had shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and stared at the door, a reluctant look on his face as if, maybe, he shouldn’t have let her go.

“When should we leave?” I asked.

“Sunrise,” he said. “But we need to go out now and get supplies.”

I went into my room to grab my shoes but raised my voice so Thorin could hear me. “Hati worked for you for a while, didn’t he?”

“Skyla tell you that?”

“No, I read it in the police file on Mani’s murder. Hati worked for you, but not Skoll. But did you ever see him? Were they ever together?”

Thorin appeared in my doorway and rested a shoulder against the doorjamb. “I knew who Hati was but not what he was up to.” He looked down and scuffed the carpet with the toe of his boot. “And no, I never saw Skoll. Not in human form. It’s not the first time I’ve run into them since Ragnarok, but I never suspected Hati was going to do what he did. I thought all that was over with a long time ago. It’s no excuse. I shouldn’t have let down my guard.” Thorin took a deep breath, but whatever he was going to say next, he decided against.

I had no reply for Thorin except to say I thought he should have been more careful with Hati, but that would have been the equivalent of poking a beehive with a stick.

“This won’t be luxury, Solina. It’s a desert, and we’re going in with the barest of what we need to get by.”

I bit my lip and bobbed my chin in a curt nod. “I’m sure I’ll be totally unprepared and be a complete wuss. I apologize in advance.”

Thorin cracked a smile. “Thanks for the warning.”

I followed him to the front door, expecting Val and Baldur to fall in behind us, but Thorin and I stepped into the hallway alone. “Where are the others?”

“I had already sent Val and Baldur back to Vegas before Skyla told us her news. It’s Helen’s headquarters. The only other place Skoll would be is at Helen’s side. Val and Baldur are going to try to catch Skoll’s trail there. If Skyla is wrong, and if Helen doesn’t have a mole in the Aerie, I still want to get my hands on that wolf.”

“Maybe we should switch places.” I winked at Thorin. “Let Baldur and Val rough it in the desert.”

When Thorin and I stopped before a bay of elevators, he pressed the call button. “No, I want you far away from Helen. Skoll poses much less threat and is more vulnerable on his own. Divide and conquer.”

The elevator bell chimed, and the door slid apart to an empty car. Thorin and I stepped inside, and he pushed the button for the lobby.

“Couldn’t the same be said for us?” I asked. “We’re divided. Easier to conquer.”

Thorin huffed a breath through his nose. “I’ve already raised all your doubts for myself. At some point, we have to stop questioning and start acting. You said so yourself.”

“Using my own words against me? Good strategy.”

The elevator opened, and Thorin and I strolled across the elegant lobby. People turned to watch him—he had that kind of presence. He’d been a god for eons, while I’d only played at it for a few months. My humanity still shrouded me while Thorin’s fit like a sheer veil, barely hiding the divinity beneath.

“People notice you,” I said in a low voice only he could hear. “Everywhere we go, you turn heads. It’s like they can tell something’s different about you.”

Thorin’s mouth curved into a crooked smile. “They’re looking at you, too.”

“No…” My protest started and stopped on that single word.

The gazes that first settled on him had turned to me, studying, evaluating.

“They’re probably all wondering what a guy like you is doing with a girl like me.”

Thorin snorted. “The only person you’re fooling is yourself, Sunshine.”

A valet had brought the Yukon from the parking lot and left it idling under the portico for us. Thorin tipped him and slid behind the wheel while I climbed into the passenger seat. Thorin pulled out from the hotel’s driveway and eased into traffic. The sun had set, and the city lights limned his face—he looked like a two-dimensional illustration.

Thorin drove the whole way in silence, but as we pulled into the parking lot of a camping supply store, he took a deep breath and said, “I’ll admit I’ve had conflicting interests before, but now I have Mjölnir, and I’ve been released from my vows to Baldur.” He turned to me, and conviction blazed in his dark eyes. “There’s nothing but you to hold me back.”

“Me? How am I going to hold you back? I’ve never had the least bit of influence on you.”

The muscle in Thorin’s jaw clenched as he fought some internal battle. “That’s not entirely true. But I’m asking you to trust me, no matter what. No matter if I say or do something that you don’t agree with, or that pisses you off. I’m doing what’s best for me, and that happens to be what’s best for you, too.”

I raised a sardonic eyebrow. “You see the world through your own Thorin-colored lenses, don’t you?”

Thorin smirked. “You should give it a try sometime. It’s an exceptional view. But you’re deflecting. Do you trust me or not?”

“I—” My voice broke. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I don’t follow blindly.”

“I’m not asking you to do that.”

I studied Thorin’s face, although the darkness hid most of it. Somehow, he managed to exude an air of surety, confidence, and capability, offering a reassurance I hadn’t realized I wanted until that moment. I bit my bottom lip as the tension built between us. He wouldn’t let the issue go until I gave him an answer.

“Okay.” I let out a heavy breath. “I trust you.”

Thorin exhaled and seemed to relax. “Good answer, Sunshine.”

After our shopping spree, we loaded the SUV with every camping necessity Thorin could think of—packs, a tent, water bottles, food—and returned to the hotel for one last night of luxury. Back in our room, Thorin unloaded his laptop from its carry case while I dug through our purchases, packing things into an honest-to-god long-distance trekking backpack complete with a hip belt, internal frame, and a money-back guarantee if carrying it didn’t result in blisters and a back ache.

“I’ve got to catch up on a couple of things,” Thorin said. “Can you keep yourself busy and out of trouble for a while?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Really? Did you just say that? Because, as I recall, the last person to have their butt in a jam was not me.”

“There’s no Skyla around to back you up this time.”

“You said
you
were going to be all I needed from now on.”

Thorin cracked a slow grin and arched an eyebrow. I immediately regretted my choice of words. “And anytime you want me to prove it to you”—he glanced toward the bedroom he had claimed for himself—“I’m right down the hall.”

I set my hands on my hips and jutted my chin. “You also said you have plenty of self-restraint.”

“I can’t help it if you throw yourself at me.”

“In your dreams.” I picked up the closest thing at hand, a pillow from the sofa, and chucked it at him.

Thorin laughed and ducked around the corner, disappearing into his bedroom. I went back to shoving things into my pack so I wouldn’t meditate on how exasperating I found my roommate. After finishing that chore, I dug out the room-service menu and ordered dinner.

Some time later, Thorin shuffled into the living room, his pale hair hanging loose and unkempt around his face. My fingers flinched in an unconscious urge to smooth the unruly strands.

“Do I smell pizza?” he asked.

I motioned toward the box next to me on the coffee table. “Room service just left.”

“Coffee?” he asked on his way to the kitchenette.

“No caffeine for me this late, but thanks.”

After he finished preparing the coffee pot, Thorin returned to the living room and plopped down next to me on the sofa. “Baldur and Val said they’ve had no luck yet, but they’re going to keep looking.”

“You talked to them?”

“E-mail.”

“You take chances with Wi-fi?”

“Encrypted satellite modem.”

“You’re awfully tech savvy for such an old dude.”

A martyred expression crossed his face, and he pressed his hand over his heart. “I’m timeless, not old.”

“Do you prefer the modern era, or do you wish things were like they used to be?”

Thorin rubbed his chin and adopted a thinking pose. “Modern conveniences are valuable, but sometimes I miss the old days. Things were simpler then. My place in that world was more certain, and relationships were a hell of a lot easier to figure out.”

I cleared my throat and said, “What do you mean by that?”

“It used to be men and women formed symbiotic partnerships that were necessary for survival. It brought them together in a way modern people seem to have trouble achieving although I think they still crave it.”

“Wow. Relationship perspectives from an immortal. How insightful.”

Thorin leaned back and raised his eyebrows. “You don’t agree?”

“I think you’re probably right,” I said. “Any good partnership, romantic or otherwise, is more successful when strengths and weaknesses complement each other. My parents are like that, in their marriage
and
business. They’ve been successful so far, so there must be something to it.”

“They’re fortunate, and so are you to have that example.”

“I guess so. I always took it for granted.”

Thorin exhaled. “That’s the way of humans.”

“What do you mean?”

“Such short-lived creatures. You’d think they would value every opportunity, every experience. But they throw so much away.”

I wanted to defend my race, but my status as human was in limbo, and Thorin’s argument had merit. “I can’t disagree with you, not if I’m being honest with myself.” I had never given the issue serious thought before. “Immortality is pretty incompatible with this realm. You and your kind weren’t really intended for this world, and we certainly weren’t made to sustain you for the long haul.”

Thorin shifted and leaned an elbow on the armrest. He settled his chin in his palm, looking intrigued.

I tried to make the best of it and not sound like an idiot. “Short-lived creatures have short memories. From generation to generation, it’s like we’re playing that kid’s telephone game. Do you know the one I mean?”

Thorin shook his head.