Viking Sensitivity (Night World Series Book 2) (18 page)

"I thought the point of me leaving the shower was so you can actually get cleaned up."

Viking laughed. "I fear you're more of a distraction than I initially anticipated." He didn't seem bothered by that fact at all.

Mia shook her head. "I'll go get you a towel since I don't have any in here. Don't worry, you can take your time. I'm going to get dressed first and grab one from the hall closet"

She quickly toweled off and wrapped her hair before stepping out into the bedroom. Before leaving, she stopped in the closet to grabbed jeans and a top as well as undergarments. She changed quickly and with her towel still in her hair she headed into the hallway.

It hadn't occurred to her that Poet was still in the house. But as she opened the door to the linen closet she heard him shout up the staircase.

"Mia, shall I make the assumption that everything is okay and went according to plan?"

Mia felt herself blush again and inwardly winced that she was so easily embarrassed. But it only just occurred to her that she and Viking had mind blowing sex with someone else in the house. Mia would have never seen herself doing that. "Yes. Everything is fine. We will be down in a few minutes."

"Take your time. I have found your magazine collection."

As Mia grabbed a towel she couldn't help but wonder which magazines he was reading. She only received three. She subscribed to Parabola, National Geographic, and as a joke one of her friends signed her up for subscription of Cosmo years ago and kept renewing it. Shaking her head, she headed back into the bathroom.

֍

Mia and Viking walked downstairs together about ten minutes later. Although she couldn't see him, Mia could tell Poet was on the phone.

"Yes, you can tell his Highness that his youngest general is back to normal. No, I did not see him myself but I think we can take Mia's word on it."

There was a pause as whoever was on the other end of the line answered. Mia and Viking turned the corner to see Poet turned away from them, looking out into her backyard, on his phone.

"They just walked into the room. If you really want to talk to him to verify what I'm telling you, you can."

Mia saw out of the corner of her eye Viking tilt his head slightly, as if listening. She wasn't sure if he could hear the other side of the telephone conversation are not, but she wouldn't have been surprised.

A few moments later Poet snorted into the phone. "Well fine, if you checked yourself then there's no need to continue this conversation. Go ahead and call in your magical sketch artists." Then Poet ended the call.

Mia looked up at Viking. But he already looking down at her.

"Gwen and I, We can communicate telepathically. She was simply checking on me. That is what Pope meant by 'checked yourself'. She reached out to me as soon as Poet told her I was fine. She must not trust him to tell her the truth." His lips twitched at that last part.

Poet snorted and turned to lean against the counter. "Don't project your and Raider's issues on Gwen. She and I have a unique understanding." He ran his tongue over his canines as he smiled.

Part of Mia was bothered by someone else being able to talk to Viking with their thoughts, but she quickly dismissed the thought. It was no different than a private phone call. Plus he was telling her outright about it, which meant there was nothing worth hiding. She had more questions but finding and getting rid of this being took precedent.

"Who are these sketch artists you mentioned?"

Poet slid his phone into his pocket. "She is sending two MPs. They are friends of hers, I guess you could say. They are doing this favor for us out of the goodness of their hearts. I think what they're planning to do is to take the images of what these people looked like from your memory and get them drawn on a paper. That would make it easier for them to do a tracking spell. But I, of course, could be wrong."

Mia racked her brain for a memory of Charlie ever doing something like that. "An MP, those are like witches is right?"

Poet cackled. "Oh yes, by all means please call them that when they get here. I would love to see how that goes over."

She couldn't help the frown that formed on her face. She knew MP's were somewhat similar to witches. That is what she remembered Charlie telling her. If Charlie wasn't offended by the comparison why would these other people?

Shaking her head Mia moved to her fridge. "If we are expecting more people I'm going to make dinner. It seems only fair that since they're doing us a favor, I can at least feed them. Especially considering it is dinner time. Do any of you have food restrictions I need to take into consideration?"

She continued to look into her fridge. When there was no responses she assumed that meant anything would go. So she racked her brain for what food she had on hand that would feed five or more people.

She was pretty sure she had ground beef and enough fixings to make enough taco salad to feed that many people. Provided no one was extremely hungry. Making up her mind, Mia busied herself doing something ordinary so she wouldn't have to think about the strange new world she found herself in.

Chapter 14

Viking was not sure what to do with himself. He and Poet each asked multiple times if there was anything they could do to help Mia. Each time both of them had been waived off.

So now they sat at the kitchen table watching her cook. After about five minutes Mia started to hum to herself. It was an upbeat tune Viking didn't recognize but it made him smile all the same that she was that comfortable and content around them. It made him want to walk up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. But he resisted because he knew that was not exactly appropriate with Poet sitting right there. So he contented himself to watching Mia bustle about her kitchen.

Soon Poet started tapping his fingers on the table and humming along. He clearly knew the song Mia hummed. She turned away from the pan in front of her, the ponytail she had put her hair in tapped her face. She grinned widely at Poet before humming louder and turning back around.

Viking felt a spike of angry jealously. But before it could take root he pushed it from his mind. Viking knew it was just a side effect from the first stage of mating and completely irrational. He narrowed his eyes at Poet all the same.

The other Warrior smiled at him, letting Viking know he knew exactly the reaction Viking had, before increasing his volume.

Viking frowned but didn't want to cause a scene, so instead he concentrated on Mia's humming.

Sometime between putting the ground beef on the stove and adding in the seasonings, the doorbell rang. He stood up before Poet, wanting to be the one to answer her door.

The other man chuckled at him.

Viking knew before he opened the door that it would be Marco and Barrett standing out front. It wasn't that he had some kind of sixth sense about it but the two men were talking rather loudly outside the door. When he opened it both men went quiet and eyed him suspiciously.

"Nobody told us this woman was your mate." Marco said suspiciously narrowing his eyes before cursing.

"Yeah, what is it with you Warriors and suddenly mating women. I can't remember the last time I saw one and suddenly two within two months. It's like its catching."

Viking rolled his eyes and moved out of the way so both men could walk inside the house. "Oh, what smells so good?"

Viking shook his head as he closed the door and walked in front of them. "Mia is making taco salad. She felt it was the least she could do to feed you."

Viking barely heard Barrett mumbling under his breath.

"I think I might like this woman after all."

When all three of them entered into the kitchen the MPs nodded to Poet who smiled in return.

Mia put down her spatula "Hi. Thank you for coming. My name is Mia"

Marco's hand shot out first "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Marco and this is my less that chatty associate Barrett."

Barrett rolled his eyes and stuck out his hand but didn't respond.

Mia gave them a lopsided smile before turning back to the food. "Feel free to get started, or take a seat. Whichever you prefer. It will be another ten minutes or so."

Both MPs nodded and headed toward the table Poet occupied.

Barrett dropped the bag he was carrying before plopping into a seat. "We will wait. We need your brain in order to begin."

Out of the corner of his eye Viking could see Mia stiffen a little. He wanted to reach out and hold her but he knew better than to draw attention to her change in body language.

"Oh, I am sorry. I do not want to make you to fall behind."

There was a snort and Viking turned to see Marco shaking his head.

"Don't you worry about us, we are not going to complain about getting free food."

Mia nodded but did not respond.

Viking found himself almost unable to move farther away from Mia with so many other men in the room. Plus he simply wanted to be close to her. So instead he leaned on the door frame near the kitchen counter.

"So, what is the plan, anyway?" Poet asked.

Both MPs leaned back in their chairs and exchanged looks.

"The plan, as far as I know, is to search through Mia's mind and see if we can find pictures of what our two assailants look like. Once we find those, we get the sketches, then we use a spell to see if we can track them down. If we can track them down then maybe we'll be able to find this being that seems to be running about. To the extent of my knowledge, that is the entire plan." After he finished talking Barrett looked at Viking questioningly.

It was not the most detailed plan Viking had ever heard. But it wasn't like they had much choice. He found he was very grateful that the being was not after Mia anytime soon since it did not appear they would be catching this being very quickly. If the being worked with the rebellion it was too dangerous for them to ignore. Viking didn't respond out right but just nodded to Barrett.

The room was silent while Mia finished cooking. They did not really have anything to talk about. So the silence seemed a little strained but not too uncomfortable. Once Mia finished the food it gave them all an excuse to be quiet and gave them something to concentrate on.

Mia was the one to finally break the silence. Although Viking did not know whether she could not stand the silence or she simply wanted to get things over with. There was so much he didn't know about her. He had to remind himself that he had all the time in the world to learn. He decided right then and there he was going to woo her as if they were a normal couple. He was going to take her on dates, take her to dinner, all the sort of things that regular couples do. He wanted her to have a regular dating experience. Satisfied with his decision, he smiled to himself. Then he realized he missed the first part of what Mia said.

"So what exactly do you need from me?"

Barrett stood up and took his plate to the sink. Rinsing it off before answering. "Well it would help if you were comfortable. So if you're okay setting up in the living room I will have you sit on the middle cushion of the couch and we will work around you."

Mia nodded as she stood up repeating the same actions Barrett had just done. Without saying anything, she headed into the living room and sat on the middle cushion as instructed.

Barrett bent down and picked up the bag he left next to the kitchen table before following Mia.

Viking set his plate in the sink and followed the others. He didn't want Mia to be alone with the MPs even if it was just in the next room. He knew it was irrational. He trusted these MPs. He trusted them with Gwen's life on several occasions. There was no reason for him to doubt their abilities. But he simply couldn't help it. He needed to protect Mia even if there was nothing to protect her from. So Viking stood in the living room behind the couch a few feet to one side.

He crossed his arms and watched as Barrett took ingredients out and set them on the small table in front of the couch. After a few seconds Marco joined them and started mixing something from the ingredients. Barrett took out a small pouch. He then turned and looked Mia straight in her eyes.

"Okay Mia, I'm going to put this powder on my hands. There's nothing bad in it. It simply helps focus my magic. But it is going to get in your hair. So I hope you are not squeamish about that kind of thing." He watched her a second to see if she would protest. When she didn't, he continued. "Once I set my hands on either side of your head, since you are a sensitive, you might feel me. Or rather feel my energy traipsing around in your head. Try not to fight it because that is when we'll run into problems. Then you'll start to see something similar to a Rolodex. First I’ll ask you to find what one of the people looks like. Then I'll flip through the memory like a Rolodex to see if I can find the perfect picture. We'll do the same with the second person. Once I have pictures good enough to use for the other spell, I'll let go. Does that all make sense?"

Mia simply nodded.

Barrett smiled at her before setting the pouch down on the small table and opening it up. He dipped his fingers in and then proceeded to wipe them across his palms. A fine light purple dust covered the inside of his hands.

It did not seem to be getting on the table or the floor. Viking wasn't sure why. But he wasn't about to ask.

Once he coated his hands, he turned to Mia again and set one hand on either side of her head right above her ears. His fingers separated out so they clasped the back of her head. Then he closed his eyes and hunkered down in front of her. While he did that Marco continued mixing ingredients but at the same time, with his free hand, he whipped out two pieces of paper and set them on the couch next to Mia. He laid one in front of the other.

"All right Mia, show me what your first assailant looked like. I believe he was male."

Mia closed her eyes and seemed to be concentrating. He knew the moment Barrett’s spell worked. Because Mia stiffened slightly as she seemed to feel him wandering around in her mind.

Part of him wanted to stop them, to protect her. But at the same time he knew this needed to be done to catch this being, so he stayed where he was.

After a few seconds, or at least what felt like only a few seconds, Barrett cleared his throat. "Okay Mia I got that one now show me the second one."

In this silence, Viking finally noticed Poet had come to stand beside him. He chanced a look at the other man. Poet seemed to be watching Barrett intently. While Viking could see a slight glow that told him magic was being used, he couldn't make out much more than that. He was pretty sure Poet had a much clearer sense or at least a clear sight of what was going on.

"Perfect." Barrett released Mia's head, then set each palm on a sheet of paper and began chanting.

As they watched, the sheets of paper seem to be filling themselves. At first, it looked almost like an abstract drawing. Then it started to fill-in, looking more like a painting and finally by the time Barrett went quiet, they looked like photographs. Viking would've thought they were photographs if he'd seen them from afar. But if you really looked at them you could tell there was something not quite right. Once he stopped, Barrett took his hands off the sheets and picked up each paper examining the pictures.

"What do you think Marco? Are these clear enough?"

Marco squinted at him, "I don't know why you bother asking me as you are the only MP in the area any good at that particular spell. We both know they are more than passable for what we need. There is no need for you to brag." The other man's tone sounded put out but his eyes seemed to be smiling.

Barrett didn't talk much as a general rule. So Viking was somewhat surprised he would be bragging. Let alone the cat ate the canary grin that was on his face now.

Marco opened a bottle that looked like it was filled with something green. "All right, ready."

He tapped several drops against the bowl they had on the table. The liquid began to bubble. Not quite like it was boiling over but very similar. Marco set the bottle down and started chanting with his hands over the bowl. Viking didn't know the chant but he could see a slight haze of magic around the other man's hands. There seem to be some time in the chanting when a certain stage was complete because Barrett waited before setting the pictures in the bowl.

Viking had seen them perform a similar spell before. But usually the bowl was bigger, apparently the cauldron was too big to carry around. Because the pictures could usually be set neatly inside. But in this case Barrett almost had to wedge them in, while avoiding touching the bubbling liquid with his hands. Once he set the photographs in he joined Marco in chanting. The bubbling stopped. Barrett then turned to a relatively blank wall and started chanting, arms out, and palms parallel to the wall. The light shot out from the bowl and seem to funnel through Barrett's hands and project onto the wall like a movie. It was a split screen. As if one hand was watching the male assailant and one hand was watching the female.

The male was at a Dick's. There was a heap of burgers sitting in in the middle of the table. He wasn't alone either. There were two other men about the same age sitting with him.

"All three of them are controlled by the being." Barrett commented. "We'll set the spell to track them giving those pictures as sort of the starting point. Bad news is: this means having to go after a bunch of people at once so the being doesn't see us coming.

That made Viking worry. This being was in control of at least four people. They had no idea how many more there were. This was not good. This was something he needed to tell the king.

He looked back up to see the female walking down the street. She had another woman with her with bright red hair.

"They are in Tacoma, I can see the history museum down the street. Both of them have connections to the being. What do you want to bet they are both Sensitives? Either the being has already staked out all the Sensitives it wants or it's chasing several at one time." Barrett said while keeping his eyes on the wall.

"Both are bad news. We cannot chase down every sensitive in the Puget Sound" Poet added, his arms crossing over his chest.

"Have you ever heard of anything like this?"

Viking didn't usually ask Poet about his past. It wasn't something the other man likes to share. However, any insight in this particular situation would help them.