Storm Guardian: Viking Soul Book 3 Read online

  “Trygger…” Kalic’s expression was hard as he watched us.

  He probably felt the threat. Again, I wouldn’t trouble him with our story. I didn’t want him to know too much.

  “Listen, vampire, this is technically none of your business. This little feud is between me and Odin’s descendants. In a roundabout way, I’ll be protecting her. Won’t I, Hannah?”

  When her throat bobbed from swallowing, I stifled a laugh. Was it cruel to hold the woman hostage? Chloe would probably think so. Yet, Freya’s descendant was also under attack from Hannah and her father, so maybe she would thank me one day. I saw an opportunity, which meant I was going to take it.

  “I’ll come with you.”

  Hannah’s agreement to be my hostage made my laughter escape. Both of them watched me, their gaze confused as I released my hilarity.

  “As if you had a choice,” I muttered, reigning it in enough to face Kalic. “This stays between us, I mean it.”

  He nodded once, rolling his lips together as he kept his gaze on me, avoiding all eye contact with Hannah. How did she manage to find him to ask for help? And, where the hell had the shapeshifters come into it?

  “I’ll need to know about the gang who shot me.” I suddenly became aware of the bullets still lodged in my skin.

  The mild irritation grew the more I thought about them. It was amazing how the mind controlled pain. If only humans knew that they could at least relieve some of their illness and pain with their mind, they would be slightly more comfortable. However, the power of positive thinking wasn’t a preaching ground for me. No, I would just get the bullets taken out and forget about it altogether.

  “We’ll talk,” Kalic said, offering me his hand to shake.

  Taking it, I shook hard before letting go. My phone beeped at the same time as Kalic waved goodbye to Hannah and jumped from the roof of the building. She gasped, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to tug me over to the edge of the roof to look down.

  “He’s a vampire, love, he isn’t going to die any time soon, don’t you worry.”

  Ignoring her futile attempt to remove my hand from her arm, I dragged her back over to the steps. Jack was waiting in the street below. It was time to get out of this part of London. Time to start the ball rolling on a plan that had hatched in my mind as soon as Hannah was in my grasp. She wasn’t going to like it, but…I didn’t care.

  Chapter 6

  The Witches Secret

  “Can I fuck her?” Jack’s crude question cut across my thoughts as I examined the bullets that had been pulled out of my chest an hour ago.

  Sitting up in the chair in Jack’s office, I scowled at him as Hannah gasped. The moron was…a fucking moron. He really had no class, none at all. There I was, coming up with a plan…while he dicked about, as usual.

  “No, you can’t touch her.” I ground out between my teeth. “Can I trust you?”

  I was starting to doubt whether bringing Hannah to Jack was a good idea. I had hoped that the man would be serious for once. Alas, it didn’t look like I had made the right choice.

  “Of course you can, mate, I’m only joking, ain’t I?” He winked at Hannah. “Although, you are gorgeous, darling.”

  “You want his sloppy seconds?” Hannah snapped, her eyes blazing when I barked out a laugh.

  Jack’s cheeks paled, his frown drawing his eyebrows together. “Ah, yeah, nah…forgot about that.”

  I was about to speak when a faint smell hit my nose. It was far away, but the stench of rotting flesh was too strong to ignore. Pressing my arms against the chair, I pushed myself up to stand.

  “What’s up?” Jack knew me well enough to discern when something was wrong.

  Taking hold of Hannah’s arm, I gestured for Jack to get out of his seat. “A Dark Crawler is…” My chest heated suddenly, alerting me to the evil spirit’s presence. “…nearby.”

  “I’ll take Hannah downstairs.” Catching up to us as we approached the door, Jack threaded his arm through hers.

  “Hannah,” I said as we strode down the corridor towards the main club area. “Please know that the whole time you’re in this club, you’ll be protected.”

  My plan might be to get rid of her eventually, but that wouldn’t happen in this club. So, technically, I was telling the truth. She nodded, not answering me. As our gaze met, I paused. The sorrow that laced the film of water that covered her eyes made me feel…something.

  “Let’s go,” Jack said, breaking me out of my trance.

  Shaking myself, I followed them as they ducked into the dark club, behind the bar and through the door leading to the basement. Jack’s witches had cleared the mess, leaving it pretty clean. It still wouldn’t be a comfortable place for Hannah to stay.

  “Do me a favour?” Jack asked, pausing at the door leading down to Hannah’s new home. “Go and get Gavin. I need him to make it more habitable down there. I can’t let a beautiful lady stay in a place that…you know.”

  Nodding, I went back into the club, my eyes scanning for the bouncer witch. The smell of the Dark Crawler had receded since coming into this room. Which meant it had been nearer Jack’s office. Remembering the alleyway out the back, I quickened my step.

  Spotting Gavin by the dance floor, I whistled, drawing a lot of people’s attention. The night was early, just getting started. As eyes of all colours watched me, their instincts of arousal kicking in, I sighed. I wanted to scream that it wasn’t real. The attraction they felt for me was induced by powerful magic. I wasn’t attractive, I was…cold.

  Chloe’s words came into my mind as I waved Gavin over. He jumped to it, his solid body next to me within seconds. “Jack needs you.”

  Leaving him to go and spruce up the basement with his magic, I wandered back into the corridor, towards Jack’s office. The smell became stronger again. Yep, they were definitely in the alley behind the club. What were they planning?

  I was about to rush outside, through the club, when I stopped myself. If Gavin was quick enough downstairs, I could get him to help me. Calling on Thor’s power, I willed myself to see through the wall. Although I could usually see in the dark, apparently I couldn’t see through brick walls. Shit, that would have been handy.

  Rushing back into the club, I jogged behind the bar, waving away Serenity when she showed her pretty tattooed self. I was about to go find Gavin when she caught my arm.

  “I’ve found out where David Morris is,” she said, drawing my attention away from my goal for a moment.

  “Who?”

  Tilting her head to the side, she regarded me, her lips pressed together tight. “The man who wrote the books about you. He’s in Prague.”

  Why did I care where the author of a book was? Serenity’s claim that she knew all about me was something I hadn’t had time to explore. Maybe that could be next on my list of what to sort out in my life before I could find the next Fallen One.

  “We’ll talk…soon.”

  Not waiting for a reply, I went to walk into the corridor leading to the basement when Gavin came through the door before I reached it.

  “Just the person I need,” I said, gesturing for him to follow me. “Make sure Jack stays down there,” I shouted to Serenity as we went back towards Jack’s office.

  “How can I help?” Gavin followed without question. He was a very loyal employee of Jack’s. One that I respected.

  Wrinkling my nose, I pointed at the wall at the end of the corridor. “I need to see into the alley. Can you help?”

  Gavin, who was tall, dark-skinned and handsome, regarded me before nodding. “Yeah, I can do that.”

  Waving his hand, he whispered something under his breath. The brick wall turned shimmery before revealing what was on the other side. I blinked as the shimmer stayed. Gavin was a clever witch, keeping us hidden from whatever was out there.

  “Who’s that?” he said as our gaze landed on two people.

  Ah, the small dark-haired witch who was with Jerry when he tried to take Jack. I wasn�
�t surprised that she was trying to get her revenge. We had embarrassed the shit out of her.

  Standing beside her was an old man, his body bent over. The smell was coming from him. The host’s body had almost given out. Why hadn’t the Dark Crawler jumped into someone else?

  “Shall we?” Gavin asked, indicating the wall.

  He had put a protection spell over the club, but that didn’t stop the other witch trying to get in. She held her hands high, aimed towards the building. A stream of green magic was pouring from her, which…

  “She’s…not just a witch,” Gavin said, his face screwing up just as the bricks started to shift.

  Grabbing my dagger out, I stood ready, gesturing for Gavin to do the job for the woman. I would prefer to face her head on. In fact, we would give her the element of surprise.

  “She’s using wizard’s magic, yet, she’s a witch. That’s technically against the underworld law.”

  The wall crumpled as Gavin waved his hand. He never showed his magic with colourful streams, which was interesting. Most witches were the same, actually. They could do magic, but it didn’t need physical proof.

  The woman’s eyes widened when she saw us standing on the other side of the wall. Her hands rose, ready to throw a ball of flames towards us, but Gavin froze her in mid-movement. Her lips parted as she muttered something under her breath.

  “Wait,” Gavin said, stepping through the hole in the wall. “I’ll report you for breaching the rules if you carry on.”

  The woman stopped, her mouth going still. The Dark Crawler stared at me, his eyes dusted over with a heavy film of goo. Had she blinded him?

  When he didn’t make a move to attack me, I stepped down into the alley. The small woman glared at me, her cheeks bright red and her eyes…was that lightning bolts shooting across her iris? How unique.

  “What the fuck do you want?” I said, bored of the constant attack.

  Okay, so she wasn’t exactly after me in this case, but Jack’s defence was down to me. Or, so it felt like more recently. Again, if it hadn’t been for me, the little bitch wouldn’t be there. My presence had caused the whole escalation of the past few weeks.

  Snapping her hands shut, which dispersed the magic ball, she held her head up, her chin raising. “I’ve come to get my revenge.”

  The snort that came from both Gavin and myself was probably not the best answer. Her nostrils flared as she reached out again.

  “Oh, come on,” I said, moving towards her.

  Taking hold of her arm, I spun her before she could shoot any magic at me. Pinning her hand against the middle of her shoulder blades, I marched her down the alley, towards the road.

  “Wait!” My step faltered at her protest. “I’m here to offer a deal.”

  She fought against me, trying to wrench herself free. It was pointless. My determination to shoo the stupid little witch away made it impossible for her to budge me.

  “I doubt you have anything I need.”

  Her scoff made me stop walking. Spinning her to face me, I crossed my arms over my chest and regarded her tiny frame. Her resting bitch face didn’t inspire me to any desire, much less the need to make a deal with her. However, she intrigued me.

  Understanding that I wasn’t going to pander to her, she cleared her throat. “I hear you have a friend who needs help with her magic.”

  Tilting my head to the side, I watched her, my eyes narrowing on her long jet black hair. The woman dressed more like a witch than any other I had seen. The human stereotype, anyway.

  “Well, if you agree to protect me from the witches’ coven I’ve just majorly pissed off, I can train her.”

  Turning to look at Gavin, I frowned. Had he heard what she had just said? If he was a part of her coven, he would be obliged to take her to Theresa and Jerry instantly. Yet, he shrugged, seemingly unconcerned about the little witch.

  The Dark Crawler sneered at me, taking a step forward. Had he only just realised who I was?

  “I’ll kill you,” he croaked between his dentures.

  “Step down, Stan,” the witch said, clicking her fingers and laughing when Stan froze in place. “Don’t worry about him, I’ve trapped him in that body. He can’t jump anywhere.”

  The flick of her eyebrows and smug expression was well deserved. I had never met anyone who could trap a Dark Crawler. There were no doubt plenty of people who could, but it had never come up before. I had tried to avoid the bastards as much as possible.

  “Is it your coven or a different one?” I asked.

  Was I seriously thinking about getting involved? Why had that question come out of my mouth? I wasn’t interested in helping the woman. Nor was I bothered about letting Chloe meet a stranger. Someone who could easily manipulate her into doing what they wanted.

  “My own coven. I…they don’t like my individuality.”

  Gavin snorted from behind us. “Does it have anything to do with the fact that you’re using wizard magic?”

  The shuffling of her feet was the first sign of vulnerability she had shown. “It could be.”

  “What’s your name?” Not that I really wanted to know. Far too many new people had come into my life recently.

  Gone were the days of peace. The nights of me and Jack joking and laughing about the human race. Now there were too many extras around. First, Chloe. Now, Hannah. And, apparently, I was teetering on the edge of agreeing to protect some witch.

  “Your name is Devon, isn’t it?” Gavin said, coming to join us.

  Stan grunted as we left him to stand on his own. He didn’t need to hear our discussion. Although, it looked like Devon kept him as her pet. No sympathy arose in me, which was a good bloody job. Chloe had somehow got past my barriers, just triggering an emotion here and there, and that wasn’t something I was happy about.

  “Yes,” she said, her head whipping to the side when someone in the distance shouted her name.

  Gavin immediately masked the hole in the club wall. I stepped in front of him as he faced towards the end of the alley. A group of four people came around the corner, heading straight for us.

  “Shit!” Devon planted her feet apart, raising her hands in the air.

  That woman threw magic around as if it was just an ordinary thing to do on a normal day. Yet, it wasn’t. She was dangerous, unpredictable. Not really someone I wanted near Chloe.

  “This is my fight,” she said as a ball of flames appeared in her hands.

  Throwing it, she screamed as the others dodged, their quick feet dancing out of the way. There were three men and one woman. They wore normal clothes, their hair average for most underworld creatures. They didn’t want to stick out from the crowd. Unlike Devon, apparently.

  “Devon, don’t be a bitch!” the woman shouted.

  They kept coming, their eyes roaming around the alley. When the men spotted me, they balked, their eyes spinning to look at the woman. She bit her lip, obviously thinking about their next move as Devon prepared to attack again.

  “Leave the others, just take her.”

  Nodding once, the men faced us again, determined to catch the rogue witch. Did they just dismiss me as if I was nothing? As if they had no fear of who I was…?

  “Not on my watch,” I said, not really knowing where my defence of the young witch had come from.

  Taking my dagger out of my jacket, I moved in front of Devon, shielding her from the incoming men. She gasped when I shoved her back, which made me smile. No one had ever dared to underestimate who I was. Until now.

  A hard wind spun around me, flipping my ponytail into my face. The new woman was casting a weather spell. Well now, two could play that game.

  Calling on Thor’s power as my foot raised into the air, I stamped on the hard concrete ground, making the whole area shudder so hard that everyone, bar me and the frozen Dark Crawler, fell to their knees.

  The newcomers scrambled to their feet as soon as the ground stopped shaking. “What the…?” The woman paused, a flick of her hands stilling th
e men who walked beside her.

  “Don’t mess with Thunder Hunter,” Devon yelled.

  I ducked as a fizzing ball of magic flew from behind me, past my ear, only just missing my head. The little cowbag, she should be more careful. The ball hit one of the men square in the chest. He groaned as he fell to the ground, his arms wrapped around himself.

  “Thunder Hunter? Fuck you! How dare you consort with him?” The woman was the one in charge. Even though Theresa was their leader, there were offshoots of groups.

  Ah, they had heard about me, then. Probably from the said leader and her sidekick. Bloody witches. They were emotional beings, yet, arrogant at the same time.

  “You can fuck off, Lena!” Devon wasn’t exactly helping the situation. Shouting insults instead of fighting. Yeah, it was about right when it came to witches…and women.

  Lena extended her arm, smiling when a long spear materialised in her hand. Throwing it, she laughed when I ducked and the tip sliced through the Dark Crawler’s head, killing the host instantly.

  Shit. Skipping around Devon, I left her to defend herself as I jumped onto the Crawler before the body could fall to the ground. Plunging my dagger into his chest, I swore as nothing happened. It was too late.

  Devon started to laugh suddenly, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as she faced me. Oh fuck, the Crawler had jumped into the witch’s body. That was a really fucking dangerous combination. One that was rare.

  “Don’t worry, Trygger, I’m still Devon,” she said, the corner of her lips lifting into her cheeks. “I’m just…inhabiting the spirit at the same time. I’ve done a spell to make sure if he ever jumped into me, I would still have complete control.”

  The woman and men in the alley rushed towards their enemy. A rash decision made my feet walk my body in front of Devon. I was about to raise my dagger to call Thor’s lightning when Gavin shouted.

  Not allowing myself to be distracted, I crouched, ready to swipe the blade through the people who were almost upon us. Their hesitation had bought us time, but I needed it to end.