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Authors: Amy Sumida

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Paranormal

Of Gods and Wolves (10 page)

BOOK: Of Gods and Wolves
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There are swords everywhere,” the painted characters lifted their weapons and swung them at each other across the boundaries of the cards. “You live in the heart of battle. It’s invaded your home and you don’t know who to trust but there’s a new beginning,” I laid the Death card, the Six of Cups, and then The Star. The fighting stopped, all those little faces peering at the final three like they held the most significance. “Death and rebirth…life and reincarnation, a card of transformation,” my stomach filled with the Love butterflies, as if I'd summoned them with the word. Was it talking about me? Was I supposed to transform Odin? I looked at the Six of Cups and sighed in relief. It wasn't me he needed. “Someone from your past will return and bring new hope. This person will give you the answers you need and help you transform your life. When you are lost,
they
will be your guiding star.” 

When I looked up, he was staring at me with a funny look. “Thank you.”

I nodded and took a deep breath, coming out of my semi-trance. “My pleasure. You have a fine deck here, take good care of it.” I gathered the cards and placed them gently in their box before I started to stand.


Vervain,” Odin caught me by the wrist and I shivered like someone had walked over my grave. “Take them,” he handed me the cards.


No,” I started to reach for them anyway and quickly closed my hand into a fist. “I can’t, they were your lover’s.”


I know,” he kept staring at me intently and for a one-eyed man, he could manage some serious stare. “She’d want you to have them. Please take them as my Yule gift to you.”

I searched his face for some sort of trick but found nothing to betray the honesty in his voice. The raw, emotional honesty. Part of me wanted those cards badly and part of me was screaming to just run away. Run away from Odin, from the party, from everything.

In the end, pride won out. I couldn't let all the gods see me running away from Odin and it would be rude to refuse such a generous gift. Plus, I just plain wanted them.


Thank you,” I took the cards and held them to my chest. Before I knew what I was doing, I laid a soft kiss on his cheek. I pulled back suddenly to stare at him in shock. Swallowing hard, I stood abruptly. “Thank you, Odin, and Happy Yule.” It took all my willpower not to run.


Happy Yule... Vervain,” his whisper followed me, feeling more intimate than it had the right to.


Oh what fresh hell is this?” I groaned as I walked away.

I stopped short of the dining tables and looked around me at all the shiny faces, all the deceitful gods who Odin called friends. They toasted each other and laughed, never knowing that their leader knew of their duplicity. He saw more with his one eye than any of them did with two. They plotted behind his back and their arrogance blinded them to his wisdom.

“In the land of the blind,” I said as I stared at the room with a little smile.


The one-eyed man is King,” Thor’s voice came from behind me and I jerked around, still clutching the box of cards. “Vervain, what did he say to you?”


Nothing really,” I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat. “I read his cards and he gave them to me as a Yule gift.”

Thor frowned and reached for the cards but I clutched them tighter. “Are those Sabine’s cards?”

“He said they belonged to an old lover, a witch.” They felt good, even through the wood box.


Sabine,” Thor nodded. “She was Odin’s only human and his only weakness.”


That was his third wife, right? The woman he still mourns?” I felt cold and sad suddenly. Sabine. Was that what he had whispered? Had I unknowingly made his pain worse? Reminded him of her? Maybe he'd given me the cards in an attempt to finally let her go.


Yeah, one and the same,” Thor shook his head. “He buried those cards with her but then he went back later for them. He said he could still feel her in the paint. I cannot believe he’d give them to you so easily. What did he make you promise for them?”


Nothing,” he stared so hard at me, I cringed. “I swear. I even refused them at first but he insisted I take them. He said she’d have wanted me to have them.”

Thor looked shaken as he stared over to the table where Odin still sat. Odin was staring back at us and he smiled at Thor but there was no happiness in that smile. It was a smile full of regret and irony. Thor narrowed his eyes and started over to Odin but I stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong with those cards?” He looked at the box like it might suddenly turn into a snake and bite him.


There’s magic in them but it’s gentle with me,” I rubbed the worn wood. “It holds no threat. Don’t worry about it, I’m fine.” I smiled and pulled him toward the high table. “And I'm hungry. Can we eat already?”


Of course, darling,” he laughed and followed me to our seats.

 

Chapter Ten
 

It had been a long night but the party was still going strong when we left. I stared at Valhalla from Thor's balcony at Bilskinir and smiled as the sound of revelry drifted across the water to us. The golden hall looked huge, even from so far away, but it didn't appear to be as massive as it truly was.


I’ve a gift for you,” Thor whispered from behind me and a silver chain dangled in front of my face.

There was a hand-blown glass dolphin hanging from it. It was deep blue with hints of green in it and reminded me of Thor's eyes. Even with the vibrant coloring, it was so life-like, it looked as if it would leap off the chain at any second. He put it around my neck as I wiped at my suddenly wet eyes. His body enveloped mine, one arm around my waist, the other lightly touching the dolphin where it lay on my chest.

“To remind you that courage sometimes means leaping into the unknown,” he kissed my cheek. “And that sometimes the unknown is wonderful.”


You're
wonderful,” I turned in his arms and studied his gorgeous face. “I may know Trevor like I know myself now but half the fun in a relationship is discovering the other person. You're absolutely right, the unknown is sometimes wonderful.”


Happy Yule, darling,” he smiled wide.


Thank you, baby,” I pulled away and headed back inside. “I have a little something for you too.”


You do?” He followed me, his face lighting up like a child's.


You thought I forgot about you?” I raised a brow and handed him a tiny box.

He raised a brow back at me and held the miniscule present between his thumb and pointer.

“Great things come in small packages,” I chided.


Yes, I can see that,” he leered at me and I smacked him.


Open it, will you?”

He pulled at the tiny bow but only managed to get it knotted tighter. I would have helped him but it was way too amusing to watch his big fingers fumbling with the wrapping. Finally he cursed, pulled a dagger, and cut the ribbon away. He grinned at me smugly and tore the paper. The lid fell off and he pulled out a thick gold ring. His face fell into serious lines as he studied it and my stomach dropped. He'd totally misunderstood the gift and gotten the wrong impression. It wouldn't have been so bad, if he wasn't so obviously opposed to the idea.

“Don't worry,” I tried to make light of it but I have to admit it stung. I'd thought he was open to the idea of a long term relationship, pushing for it even. I guess I was wrong. Again. “It's not that type of ring, just a ring.”


Why would I be worried?” His frown transferred to me.


If you thought I was proposing or something,” I shrugged. “I'm not, it's just a ring.”


I didn't think that,” Thor's head cocked to the side and his lips tilted up. “You're a very blunt woman, darling. If you decided to propose to me, I doubt you'd do it like this. Besides, I'm sure I'll propose before the thought even enters your head.”


Uh,” my Love butterflies were going crazy in my belly. “What do you think of the ring?”


I was staring at it intently because the gold seems to be encasing something dark.” He looked at me sharply. “Is that your hair?”


Yes,” I smiled as he finally got it. “I had it made from some of my old jewelry, so even the gold has been close to me. I thought that since I had your oath, you should have something of mine.”


Vervain,” Thor breathed as he touched the ring reverently. “You're a witch so I know you're aware of the ramifications of giving me your hair and items you've worn.”


Yeah, I want not only you but everyone who sees this, to know how much I trust you,” I took the ring and held it out to him. “Will you wear it?”


Of course I will,” he held out his hand and let me slip it on his pointer.


The pointer finger, for success,” I murmured.


I already feel like I've won,” he pulled me against him and lowered his face for a scorching kiss. “Thank you, darling.”


You’re welcome, baby thunder.”

 

Chapter Eleven
 

Grand Opening New Year’s Eve Party

Gods and Goddesses, Wolves and Witches

All are welcome at

Moonshine

Please go though our special VIP entrance for oathing

Moonshine is a magic-free club for the safety and enjoyment of all

 

I looked over the flier that had been passed around the God Realm, as our limo pulled up in front of Moonshine, Trevor's new club. I was more than a little shocked to see the line of people waiting to get in. Not to mention the local media. I smoothed the brown leather of my dress nervously and checked to make sure it was still in place. My curves had a tendency to fall out of dresses when they were cut too low and this one had a deep V neckline. Its hem was ragged like it had been pieced together from unfinished hides, giving it a savage look, which seemed appropriate for both the occasion and the way I was feeling.

I threw my long, dark ponytail over my shoulder and checked out my date. Black slacks clung to Trevor’s thick legs and a bit of muscled chest flashed through the open collar of his matching silk shirt.

Trevor was a prime piece of wolf flesh. At six-foot-six and built like a pro-wrestler, the Froekn Prince was the most impressive of all Fenrir's children. It was no wonder why Fenrir had wanted better for him than a human who would die, taking Trevor down with her. Sigh. It was not the night for morbid thoughts, better to focus back on the Prince.

He’d been growing his black hair out since we’d first been bonded, so it hung a little past his wide shoulders in loose, bad-boy waves, framing features a romance novelist would call chiseled. I called them perfect. He had that manly look I preferred. I don’t like pretty men, beautiful yes but not pretty. Yes, there’s a difference. I like men to look like men and Trevor, though not technically a man, looked all male.

His honey colored eyes could deepen to amber and they were striking, lined with thick black lashes. They were his one delicate attribute. Why was it always the men who got lashes like that? Although I guess I couldn’t complain anymore. I got some nice long ones when I'd absorbed Aphrodite’s magic.

Trevor got out of the limo first, then reached back and helped me out with a smooth movement. Immediately, people pressed in close and cameras flashed. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision and frowning in confusion. A new club opening in Hawaii shouldn’t cause so much of a stir. Why were all the cameras there?

Then I looked a little closer.

Some of the “news reporters” were a little too slick looking, even for television. There was a sheen about them that seemed off and their cameras flashed a strange blue. What the hell? The gods had their own reporters?

And soon they would all have a picture of the Godhunter. I almost groaned aloud.

“Mr. Fenrirson,” Pamela Young, one of our local news reporters and one of the actual human ones, pointed a microphone at Trevor. “What makes your club so different from the swarms of others we already have here in the islands?”


This isn’t a place to go to if you like the music loud enough to burst your eardrums,” he put an arm around my waist as he talked. “We’re keeping it at a nice level so you can still have a conversation with someone. We’ve also tried to keep the interior unique and safe. If you get tired of dancing, have a seat on the grass and our surveillance system as well as our security team will see to it that you’re safe enough to relax.”


The grass?” Pamela was wide-eyed, which was quite a feat for an Asian woman.


Moonshine has an outdoor theme, there's grass and trees inside the club,” Trevor grinned his endearing lopsided grin. “We even have a waterfall.”


Fascinating. It sounds like a place an older crowd might appreciate,” Pamela smiled and I smiled back. She had no idea how much older he was intending the crowd to be.


We hope so,” Trevor steered me past her. “This is definitely not a place for the kiddies.”


Thank you, Mr. Fenrirson,” Pamela turned back to the camera to finish her report.


Prince VѐulfR,” one of the god reporters called, in a low tone. “How about a picture with your new Rouva?”


Of course,” he angled me toward the man who I was now absolutely positive was a god and a blue flash went off. Yep, that picture was going to be passed around to all my enemies. I smiled big.


How do you respond to rumors that this club was created to appease the Godhunter, who it's said has demanded the Froekn change their ways?” A young man with golden-blonde curls held out a shiny microphone. He had a casual suit jacket on over jeans and looked like he belonged on a college campus.


What did you say?” I was about to go Godhunter on his ass but Trevor caught my arm.


I'd say your information, as always, is only partly correct, Hermes,” Trevor smirked. “I did open this club because I knew how my new Rouva felt about the Froekn's... previous occupation, but it was not at her behest. I was influenced by a new perspective and decided to give my family the opportunity to try something different if they so wished. I was happily surprised to find that quite a few of my people wanted the change. So you see,” he pulled my limp body against his side, “Vervain has already become a good Rouva, without even lifting a finger.”


You did this for me?” I whispered in amazement. His response was a quick wink.


And what about reports that she has bewitched not only you but your father as well?” Hermes continued. Boy he was an annoying bastard, no wonder his daddy had made him a messenger. “That you are both in love with her?”


Well, they're half right,” he was so cool under pressure. I wanted to shove that mic down Hermes' throat. “I'm in love with her but Dad just thinks of her like a daughter.”


But isn't Thor involved with this woman?” Hermes pushed the mic even closer and I saw a gold emblem of spread wings on the handle.


Yes,” Trevor said simply. “You can love someone and not make love to them. You, above all people, should know that.”


Yes,” he nodded as his eyes narrowed and he lowered the microphone. “I do know about that, all about love and loss. Your new Rouva took one of those loves away from me. I can smell Aphrodite’s power on her,” he hissed.


What you too?” My mouth fell open. “How many men was that woman with?”


We have a son together,” Hermes ignored the insult. “She was a true goddess, beautiful, magnificent, beautiful...”


Yeah, we got that she was a looker,” I rolled my eyes.


... and now you wear her magic like a trophy, you murderess!”

I looked over my shoulder to see the human reporters starting to take an interest in what was happening but then some Froekn bouncers slid between us, effectively blocking the view.


She
was trying to kill
me
,” I hissed back at Hermes.


Because you're the Godhunter,” he snarled. “She was defending her people.”


She was defending her claim to another god,” I stepped away from Trevor. “She didn't care about the rest of you, she just cared that Huitzilopochtli wanted me instead of her.”


You're a filthy human,” Hermes scoffed, “a pale comparison to a goddess like her. There is no way Huitzilopochtli would prefer you over the magnificent Aphrodite.”


Enough,” Trevor had finally gotten mad. “Insult my Rouva once more, messenger boy, and you'll find out firsthand that this wolf is far from tamed.”


You're a fool,” Hermes pointed his finger at Trevor and blue flashes went off from all the other god reporter's cameras. “She'll destroy you too.”


Oh,” Trevor grinned evilly, “but what a way to go.”

Before Hermes could say another word, Trevor turned me around and the bouncer slid smoothly behind us. We were ushered into the club amidst more flashing lights.

“Well, that was unsettling.” I sighed.


Don't concern yourself with it,” Trevor guided me through the entry room. “Heralds aren't allowed into the club.”


Excuse me?” I stopped him. “Heralds? What's a herald?”


Heralds,” he waved behind us, “news announcers. In the God Realm, we refer to them as heralds.”


So wait,” I shook my head, “are you telling me you guys have your own news network? Your own broadcast stations? TVs?”


Not as you do,” he frowned. “I wish we did. I bet we could make some amazing movies but no, we only communicate things of great importance. There are only a few chosen gods deemed neutral enough to relay notable events to the rest of us. They record things they believe other gods would like to know and then send their messages to us magically.”


So you do have TVs.” I had an image of Hermes sitting behind a news desk with a big photo of me and Trevor pasted on a screen behind his head. Neutral, my ass.


No,” he laughed. “Every god is different, we each have our own receptacle to collect the messages in and play them back later for us.”


Receptacle?”


Yeah, like father has a mirror.”


A mirror?” My eyes got wide. “Does he have to say something to activate the magic?”


Of course,” Trevor frowned a little.


Is it
Mirror, Mirror on the wall
?” I giggled, thinking of Fenrir flipping back his hair and asking who the fairest of them all was. “Oh please say it is.”


Did you just compare my father to the wicked queen in
Snow White
?”


Uh, yeah,” I gave him my
of course I did
look.


You are unbelievable,” he chuckled. “Don't ever say that to his face.”


Well I'm not suicidal,” I grimaced, thinking about all the other things I'd said to Fenrir. Maybe I was suicidal. “Hey, back to those Harold people.”


Heralds,” Trevor laughed harder, “with an
E
and and
A.”


Yeah, those guys,” I rolled my eyes. “So you think Hermes is gonna influence popular god opinion about me?”

  “
Seriously?” He raised his brows. “You're worried about what other gods think?”


Not worried about what they think exactly,” I shrugged. “I just don't want a whole bunch of angry gods gunning for me.”


Vervain, you hunt gods,” he shook his head. “Hermes could swear you're a saint and it wouldn't matter one bit. They'd still hate you. We can't all fall for your charm and beauty.”


Har har,” I huffed and finally took a good look around the sparkling white entryway. There was a line of gods waiting for passage through the special VIP room he had set up.

The entire club was warded, so anyone with strong magical abilities had to be sworn in with an employee in the VIP room before being allowed in. There was an additional door next to the public entrance which let them into the club. Normal people just saw a line of VIPs but actually they were gods waiting to make an oath to harm none while on the premises.

The club would be an area of truce. Good, bad, and in between, they could all come and party together without killing each other… hopefully. 

Above the doorway to the VIP room was a sign which read:
For all our Divinely Special Patrons
. Trevor had made sure the god world knew his policy but if some other magic wielder showed up and tried to get in without being oathed, they’d be stuck at the door where the bouncer on guard would immediately “
recognize
” our VIP and direct them to the oathing room.


Oh my god,” I stopped short when we got inside the club. It really was amazing what he’d done with an old warehouse off of Nimitz.


Not exactly,” Trevor grinned, “but my dad is one.”


Trevor, it's beautiful.”

It was an indoor forest. Ahead of me was a dance floor of tough but soft vinyl in dark green. It was mostly an open space, but there were also a few trees rising out of it majestically, their branches brushing the ceiling. People were already dancing around them and instead of the trees being obstacles, they added an intriguing touch of privacy. I’m sure no one felt like they were being watched, which was a good thing, since everyone was.

There was a full moon hanging from a ceiling painted to look like the night sky and dusted with little sparkling star lights. The moon housed some Atlantean security cameras. Top of the line and donated to Trevor by Fenrir, I'd been told.

BOOK: Of Gods and Wolves
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