Viking Sensitivity (Night World Series Book 2) (23 page)

Mia nodded a little more vigorously than she intended. She felt herself blush with embarrassment. Sitting on the couch and watching a movie sounded perfect. In a way it was avoidance of the problem at hand. But at the same time, if there was truly nothing they could do at the moment, spending time alone with him was exactly what she wanted to do.

Viking grinned down at her. Showing he was just as excited by the prospect as her. "All right, let me go tell Poet and Raider where we will be. Go ahead and put the cart with the books back with the rest of the inventory. You have to give the college students something to do tomorrow morning. Then I will meet you upstairs."

Mia smiled up at him in response. As he smiled back she got the idea they probably looked like smitten teenagers. But in that moment she simply didn't care.

He waited a few more beats before turning to find the other two Warriors.

Mia quickly finished the section she was working on and walked the cart to the nearest employee because she simply didn't have keys to the inventory storage area. Poet simply walked her over and helped her fill the cart. The young woman smiled at her and nodded before taking the cart. Part of Mia felt bad about leaving the work for someone else. Especially someone very pregnant. But she was pretty sure the other woman wouldn't have taken it if it wasn't something she couldn't handle. Setting those thoughts aside, she headed upstairs.

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A loud pounding noise scared Mia awake. For a moment she forgot where she was. Then the memories came flooding back to her. She and Viking had come upstairs and cuddled up on the couch to watch Dr. No. Her father loved James Bond and she watched the movies with him dozens of times growing up. So it wasn't entirely a surprise she fell asleep in the middle of the movie. Apparently, Viking had as well because her head was still on his chest.

The pounding continued and Mia's heart raced faster.

"It's okay. I'm pretty sure it's Raider and Carter." Then he took a deep breath and Mia covered her ears knowing he was about to shout. "Raider! Just use your key!"

There was some shuffling outside before the door opened. Mia took the opportunity to sit up on the couch. So she was on the middle cushion with Viking to her left. Just as he predicted, both Carter and Raider walked into the apartment.

"I take this to mean Carter found the sensitive in question?" Viking asked not bothering to move or stand up.

Carter nodded. "Yeah. The guy gave me a run for my money a bit there but I caught up with him. When I explained to him exactly what we’re trying to do he came in willingly. We've got him in the interrogation room if you want to come down and see."

Mia turned to watch Viking nod. "Okay, I will be down in a minute. I'd like Poet, Gwen, and Craig, if he’s still here, to listen in on the interrogation. Also, round up the MPs, if they are still here, too.  I'd like to see their progress about the spell of theirs. And I think they should hear what this guy has to say, just in case."

Raider nodded, walked back outside into the hallway and disappeared. Carter took a moment. As if he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to take orders from Viking. But after a beat or two he turned and followed Raider, shutting the door as he left.

Viking turned to face her before speaking. "You are more than welcome to stay here if you wish. But since this creature was after you, maybe you should be around for this interview. And for the discussion afterward on what exactly needs to be done. Plus, I would feel more comfortable if the MPs could give you one of these wards as well. But it is still up to you."

The thought of just shrugging it off, pretending it wasn't a problem, staying upstairs and sleeping was almost overwhelming. But Mia and knew she probably should see what was going on.

Earlier, while the previews ran for the movie Viking updated her on what they said during the interviews. And while not the most helpful of information, it was still important she know the warning signs of this being's attack. Just because the being said it was done with her didn't mean Mia believed it.

"All right, I'll head down with you. But I don't think I'll be much help. This isn't exactly my expertise. I'm kind of adrift in this whole thing."

Smiling down at her, Viking caressed her face and pushed some of her straight hair behind her ear. "That's perfectly fine. No one expects you to be an expert in any of this. Now, when we settle all of this you and I are going to go on a proper date. I am going to take you to one of the theaters where you can eat dinner while watching a movie. And it will be twenty-one and over because they serve alcohol. And we will enjoy ourselves and pretend that we are a regular couple. Then maybe after that, we will work on making you an expert on the Night World."

He smiled down at her with his hand resting against the side of her head for barely a second before dropping his arm and standing up. He held out his other arm as an offering to help her off the couch.

Mia knew darn well she could get off the couch by herself but somehow him offering and being able to hold his hand seemed more important in that moment than the sense of pride of getting up alone. After she stood he didn't bother to let go of her hand. Instead he use her momentum to pull her to his chest before ducking his head for a scorching kiss. Mia's mouth opened to his tongue as if it had a mind of its own. She felt herself melt against him. Viking was an unbelievably good kisser.

All too soon he pushed away from her, but continued to hold her hand. Mia knew her face was flushed, even from such a short, yet intense, kiss.

"That is certainly not going to help us get downstairs any time soon." Viking laughed. He gave her a lopsided smile before turning and leading the way out of the apartment. He held her hand all the way downstairs until they got to the tiny observation room. Only then did he let go simply because it was too crowded.

Her hand almost felt cold at the loss of his presence. Which she knew was silly since he stood right next to her. But it wasn't the same without the casual affection. Mia smiled inwardly. Viking was definitely someone she could get used to having around.

The room somehow seemed smaller with so many people in it. But Mia didn't say anything. As far as she knew this was normal. She looked through the glass window. She was sure it was a mirror on the other side. All she saw was Carter, the man Gwen called Deuce, and a younger man in his mid-twenties.

The younger man had blonde almost spiky hair. He wore a gray hoodie that looked brand-new. The younger man's expression was suspicious. But Mia couldn't blame him. After all, he sat in an interrogation room similar to that in a police precinct and his hands were somehow tied behind his back.

Viking seemed to have read her mind because at that moment he leaned down and whispered in her ear. "They restrained his hands in case that being comes over him again."

That made sense to Mia. If this being traveled through people’s to blood, it was best to give the sensitive as little contact with others as possible.

"You know, this would be easier if you would just okay me to stand in the room with them. With all the spells on the glass it's hard for me to get a good read on how connected the being is to the guy." Gwen said from three people away.

Viking nodded and tapped his ear. From the men in the other room's reaction Mia assumed he had some sort of earpiece in, though she hadn't seen him add it.

"Gwen is coming in to get a better read in person. One of the MPs might join her."

Both Deuce and Carter gave the mirror a funny look before turning back to the guy they were interviewing. Gwen maneuvered past them and exited. A second later Barrett followed her out. The next moment both of them walked into the interrogation room.

Calling it an interrogation room in her head seemed a little too harsh. After all, this was not a police precinct. But she didn't know what else to call it. The interrogation rooms she'd seen on TV looked exactly like this. She supposed as long she didn't say it out loud, it would be fine.

"All right, so for our records, tell me how this being seemed to get control of you." Carter asked from where he stood against the wall.

The young guy started talking but Mia quickly drowned him out. It wasn't that she wasn't interested in what he said, it was simply that Gwen and Barrett caught her interest. Both of them stood behind the man being questioned on the opposite wall of the mirror. Barrett his hands out in front of him, fingers separated wide. His eyes were closed and his lips moved but she couldn't hear any sound. He seemed to tense up and almost get excited because his lips began to move faster. At the same time Marco leaned forward and put his hand against the glass. He closed his eyes.

"Barrett has the signature. That's all we need to complete the talismans. He is sort of collecting a sample to use in the spell. Give it another minute or two we'll be set."

Mia didn't realize she was speaking until the words were out of her mouth. "How does he know that?"

She heard several murmured chuckles to her right but kept her eyes straight forward.

It was Viking who answered her. "MPs tend to live in a Strata, or group, if a Strata is relatively close they tend to be able to communicate telepathically. Barrett, Marco, and the other member of their Strata, Lucia are three such MPs."

Mia settled her attention back to the room in front of them. Gwen stood about a foot from Barrett leaning against the wall. Her hands at her side and her eyes closed. She swayed ever so slightly. She wasn't talking, her mouth didn't even move. It was simply slightly open as if she was asleep.

Once again, it seemed as if Viking could hear her inner monologue. "One of the abilities the Lady of the Dead has is to, for lack of a better word, leave her body and astral project. That's what Gwen is doing. She's following the leash between the sensitive and being. To see if we can find a home base. Or a body he prefers to be in. Or something of that nature. As long as no one disturbs her, she should be fine."

It was yet another ability Mia heard of people doing that she hadn't experienced herself. Although this one she heard several others say they could do. She couldn't help but be more interested in what those two were doing than in the interrogation at hand. In an attempt to focus, she queued back into the conversation.

"No man, there isn't any warning. It just sort of springs on you. And there's nothing you can do about it. I met a couple people who have the same problem. But as for if he prefers, well I guess technically, it, but the voice I heard in my head was a he, a specific body I have no idea. I don't know of anybody who has to deal with him more often than anyone else. But then I don't think I've met everybody."

That did not sound like good news to Mia. If this being didn't prefer one body over all the others it was going to be harder to catch. Since this thing didn't seem to take much in order to travel it would be hard for them to track all of the bodies it inhabited fast enough. There had to be another way as far as Mia was concerned.

Mia listened on and off but this guy didn't give any truly new information. Mia could tell the others were disappointed. To Mia, at least, it appeared Carter and Deuce were stalling while Gwen searched for what she was needed. Barrett left the room already and now it all came down to Gwen. After a while it was almost as if Mia saw the other woman fall back into her body.

Gwen suddenly undulated, similar to a snake, and took a gasping breath. The noise was so sudden it startled the man sitting in the chair. He jumped and looked behind the chair. All Gwen did was smile before leaving the room. Viking brushed past Mia and headed for the door. As soon as he opened it Mia could see Gwen on the other side.

"Did you get it?"

Gwen shook her head. "Not exactly. I was able to track down the rest of the web. I have an approximation of where all the other people are that this being hitches rides on. There are seven more total. If we can give talismans to at least six of those and all the ones we have here today we should be good. Or at least have it cornered. My only fear is how strong it will be if it's only cornered in one person."

Viking stood in silence a moment as if debating his options. "All right, Raider," Viking looked over his shoulder. "Go with Gwen. Map out the locations of all these people. As soon as the MPs can create these talisman I want enough for all of them, as well as the ones we have here and Mia. I also want an extra few to be safe. We’re going to divvy up the Warriors to each of the locations you two get. We're going to track these people down one by one. We'll give them this protective thing, whatever it ends up being. The last person will be where we corner this being. Whoever that poor soul maybe."

Jerking his head in the affirmative Raider brushed past them out into the hall. He and Gwen started off in the direction of the lounge. Viking let the door shut behind them.

"That sounded hopeful. That sounded like we've made a good stride, or good progress. Am I right?" Mia asked as she watched Viking's back.

He turned around to look at her with a small smile on his face. "Well, it's definitely progress. But not necessarily how we'll ultimately beat it. We have to find a way to get it to that last body. I still have to talk to the MPs about whether they can do some kind of spell to corner the being into that one body, or into one building. And we just have to hope Gwen can control it."