Mist (36 page)

“Your
plan,
” Chavez said, scorn heavy in his voice. “You offered us some good shit if we just listened to you. We didn’t give you no promises.”

“You will, when you hear what I have to say,” Loki said. He chanted a quick spell under his breath, and Chavez doubled over with a shout of pain. The other men looked from Loki to Chavez with expressions varying from unease to feigned indifference, but Loki didn’t think it would take long to convince them not to be so disrespectful in the future.

“If you do as I tell you,” Loki said, leaning back in his chair, “you’ll all be more wealthy than you’ve ever dreamed of in your short, miserable lives. If you stand against me, I’ll see that your rivals get everything you would have had. And you’ll be dead.”

The bold captains of crime eyed each other, weighing the possibilities. Most of them would rather slit their own throats than be in the same room with any of the others, but Loki had made each of them believe that they were meeting with him alone. Now they couldn’t escape.

Donatello snorted. “Where’s your crew, Landvik?” he asked. “Where’s your Borgata?”

Loki snapped his fingers. Five of his biggest and most viciouslooking Jotunar stomped into the room behind his chair.

“Will this do?” he asked sweetly. “There are more where these came from.”

Mortal eyes looked up. And up.

“Fuck,” said Barker, the leader of a prominent outlaw biker gang. “Fuck this shit.”

He stood up to leave. Loki lifted his forefinger and slammed the man back into his seat.

“As I said before,” Loki said, “you can either cooperate by helping me gain control of this city, or die. If you need further convincing when we’re finished with our discussion, it can easily be arranged.” He signaled to Forad, who walked around his chair to hover over Del Mar, a forger not far into his twenties who looked as out of place among the others as a reed in a redwood forest.

“Now, gentlemen,” Loki said. “Shall we get down to business?”

Ryan gulped down his second soda, wishing it were vodka. Or tequila, the cheap kind you could get in any grocery store. He needed something stronger. A
lot
stronger.

But he knew Mist wouldn’t let him. There was something comforting in that, knowing that someone cared about him and Gabi that much. Someone who was actually grateful for what they’d done.

Caring and grateful enough to do him and Gabi more harm than good by sending them away. And Mist was so powerful, according to what she’d told them, that he didn’t really know if he was talking to a woman, a warrior, or a goddess.

He studied her covertly. She was really all three, each part somehow out of tune with the others. But every one of those parts was strong and determined and unafraid, the way Ryan could never be. She was the key to everything. He didn’t think he’d ever really understand her, no matter what he’d “seen” in his dreams.

The fact that he couldn’t figure her out made him half afraid to talk to her, a lot more than he had when they’d first met, even though Gabi didn’t seem to have any trouble. Maybe it was because they were both female.

But Dainn . . . it wasn’t the same with him. He was powerful in a different way than Mist, almost like some kind of ferocious animal— graceful, fast, deadly. He’d killed the giants without mercy, and Ryan was pretty sure he would have killed Tashiro, too, if Ryan hadn’t stopped him. For a second, he’d even forgotten who Ryan was and thought he was just another enemy.

All that should have made him seem even more scary than Mist. But he didn’t, not to Ryan. That was the trouble. It was partly his fault that Dainn was gone. Maybe mostly his fault. He’d made it worse by refusing to stay upstairs and by getting Gabi involved. He should have
seen
what was going to happen—should have seen it earlier, when it could have done some good.

My fault.

Unaware of his thoughts, Gabi stared at the shiny metal napkin dispenser in the middle of the table. “Okay,” she said, “I get all that.” She jerked a napkin out of the dispenser and crumpled it in her fist. “It’s not like we’re stupid. But if you think we could help somehow—”

“Your help isn’t worth your lives,” Mist said in the same firm, confident voice she’d used since she’d begun explaining everything.

No, not everything,
Ryan thought. There was still lots of stuff she wasn’t telling him and Gabi. Because she didn’t trust them.

“It’s only a matter of time before Loki comes after you again,” she said. “You have to understand—”

“Ryan told you something bad was coming just before the fight,” Gabi reminded Mist for the third time, “and I healed him. We may not be like
you,
but—”

“I know nothing of the source of your abilities, Gabi,” Mist said, meeting her gaze. “It’s a completely different type of magic from the kind I understand. I don’t deny it was effective, but you said you’d never really tried it before. How do you know it’ll work next time? And you, Ryan—” She focused her unyielding stare on his face. “You don’t know when the dreams or visions are going to come, do you? Even if there’s a way to teach you to control them consciously, the seizures are too dangerous to provoke.”

“I’m not afraid,” Ryan said, clenching his teeth.

“I know that. But you don’t even know how Loki knew about you or where to find you. Do you want to put Gabi in danger? Loki could use her to get to you. And if he finds out she’s a healer, he’ll make her serve him, too.”

“What if we learn to fight?” Gabi asked suddenly, meeting Mist’s gaze. “Maybe not with magic, but you said Loki and the giants couldn’t use guns here. You could teach us how to use swords and stuff, and then you wouldn’t have to protect us.”

“You wouldn’t stand a chance,” Mist said, “even if I could teach you anything worth knowing in time to make a difference. Until I find my Sisters, I’m going to try to avoid risking mortal lives. The Jotunar aren’t the only concern here. Loki is going to build up some kind of army in Midgard, probably out of people who don’t much care who they work for.”

“But you’re going to do the same thing, right?” Gabi asked.

“The more mortals get involved on both sides, the more people are going to get hurt. Once the authorities start noticing that something strange is going on—and they will, no matter how much we try to hide it—it’s going to become even more dangerous for anyone working with us.”

“But you said you fixed it so the cops couldn’t find anything in the gym,” Ryan said, barely noticing the neon-lit jukebox against the wall flip to another oldie.

“Look,” Mist said, her patience obviously beginning to wear thin, “I was wrong to bring you into this in the first place. If we can keep you safe, we can always call you back once we really need you.”

Which, Ryan thought, she never would. Not if she made them leave now.

“I still have to talk to this lawyer dude, right?” Ryan asked, hoping to buy more time.

“That’s up to you. You said your aunt was wealthy. She might have left you something valuable, like a house. A real home.”

Ryan ducked his head. He’d told Mist some of what he and Gabi had gone through the past year, though he’d kept the ugliest details to himself.

“Yeah, my aunt was rich,” he said, pushing his soda aside so hard that the heavy glass almost fell over. “But she never paid any attention me before. And I don’t trust Tashiro. Gabi told me he would have turned Dainn over to the police.”

“He did what he thought he had to do,” Mist said, though the way she stared out the window told Ryan she agreed with him. “He wanted to protect you and Gabi, too.”

“Okay,” he said. “Then I guess I’ll need to talk to him before we leave. If I get money, I can send it to you, right? To help fight Sauron and the Orcs?”

Mist turned her attention back to him, but she wasn’t smiling. “I have money,” she said.

“When would we have to leave?” Gabi asked, playing with her paper straw cover.

“I think I’ve told you everything you need to know for now,” Mist said, pushing back her chair. “I’ll find somewhere for you to stay until more permanent arrangements can be made.”

“And who’s going to protect us then?” Ryan asked. “Dainn?”

“You know he can’t. You might as well stop worrying about him.” Mist reached inside her back pocket for her wallet and slapped a twenty-dollar bill on the table. Men all around the coffee shop gawked at her as she headed for the door at her usual fast pace, pausing outside to make sure Ryan and Gabi were right behind her. She seemed totally oblivious to the men’s stares and to the “normal” world around her.

She was so cold about everything, Ryan thought with disgust. She pretended she wanted to protect him and Gabi, but she didn’t give a shit what happened to Dainn. He could die for her, and she wouldn’t care.

But when Ryan glanced at Mist’s strong-boned, beautiful face, he realized how stupid he’d been. She wasn’t calm and confident and fearless now. Her eyes were wet, and her lips were pinched as if she was afraid she might start bawling.

She was thinking of Dainn, just the way
he
was. She wasn’t angry at what Dainn had done. She was scared for him.

Like Ryan. It wasn’t just because of how he felt about Dainn, which was stupid since he knew Dainn could never feel the same way. But he also knew that Dainn was almost as important as Mist in what was going to happen. And Ryan wasn’t afraid of him. Could never be afraid.

Neither could Mist, no matter what he did. But now she and Dainn would never figure out how they felt about each other.

Ryan had something in common with her after all. And knowing that didn’t help at all.

It was after 1:00 p.m. when they got back to the loft. Vali was waiting for them outside the door, a deep crease between his pale eyebrows. Snowflakes were melting in his hair.

“Vali?” Mist said. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Dainn,” he said. “He was still here when I got to the loft around eleven.”

Shock froze Mist’s face. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“He asked me not to.”

She swore. “Where did you find him?” she asked.

“In the office. He wasn’t himself, but he wouldn’t be after he killed three Jotunar with a sword.”

Mist’s lips tightened. “Is that what he told you?”

“Isn’t it true?”

She hesitated for such a short time that Ryan almost didn’t catch it. “Yes,” she said. “Where is he now?”

Vali glanced at the kids. “Maybe you should send them inside.”

“Why?” Ryan asked, moving to stand beside Mist. His “visions” weren’t working now, when he most needed them. And he was scared all over again.

“Go inside,” Mist said to him.

Ryan didn’t move, and neither did Gabi. “We need to know if something’s wrong,” Gabi said. “We’ll find out anyway.”

Mist swung around to stare at Gabi the way she always did when she was furious and trying to hide it. “If you swear to me,” she said, glancing at Ryan, “if you swear you won’t try anything, no matter what you hear, you can stay.”

This is bad,
Ryan thought. “What do you want us to swear on?” he asked.

“In the old days, we used a sword hilt. But you can swear by whatever’s most important to you. Whatever you’d never betray.”

Ryan knew what that was for him, but he couldn’t say it out loud. “Okay,” he said, looking away.

Mist seemed to accept his answer. “Gabi?” she asked.

The girl jerked her head in a sharp nod.
“Mi abuela,”
she said.

“I accept your oaths.”

Ryan released his breath, and Gabi kicked at the sidewalk with the toe of one borrowed shoe. After that, neither Mist nor Vali seemed to notice they were there.

“What
exactly
did he tell you?” she asked the big man, watching Vali’s face very carefully.

“He was in bad shape when I found him,” Vali said. “He—”

“You said he told you he killed three Jotunar with a sword.”

“That’s right. Looked like they got in some good licks, too. Like I said, he wasn’t exactly himself, but he was healing. Once he was walking around again, I told him he should take some time to deal with what happened. He said he had to get away from the loft to do that. When he said it, I figured he was going to take a long walk or something, but—”

“When did he leave?” she asked, her voice clipped and urgent.

“About an hour ago.”

“Curse it, Vali!”

Odin’s son stared down at his feet. “He could be taking a walk or riding around the city. But—”

“But he’s not,” Mist said, resting her hand on the hilt of her knife.

“We can’t be sure—”

“I know him,” Mist said. “It’s exactly what he would do.”

“Do what?” Ryan asked. “What are you talking about?”

Mist glanced at him blankly, her thoughts obviously so troubled that she had none left to spare for anything or anyone else.

“I’m going after him,” she said.

“You can’t,” Vali said, his eyes widening in distress. “I knew I had to tell you, but you don’t even know if you can find Loki.”

“If Dainn can find him, I can.”

“They were . . . I mean, they knew each other before. He might have a way of finding Loki you don’t. And if you get between them—”