Dark Deceit (20 page)

K
orvain faded back
to his house, rematerializing on the front steps when he heard a cry coming
from the garage behind the house. He peered around the corner, seeing the place
lit up. Slipping off the porch, Korvain hoofed it up to the garage and pushed
open the door.

Aggression, anger, determination and...fear tainted the air, stinging
his nostrils. Adrian glanced up at his arrival and the air seemed to thicken.
The other Mare stared openly at him, a series of undecipherable emotions
flashing in his eyes. That one look made Korvain uneasy, unsettling him like he
was sitting at the edge of a pit filled with vipers with nowhere else to go. 

Adrian dropped his defensive stance for a second, but that was all
the time Taer needed. She took advantage of her brother’s distraction. Leading
with her right hand, she stepped back, cutting the practice blade upwards before
stepping forward and bringing the blade back into contact with Adrian’s chest.

Adrian toppled over, dropping the matching blade he had in his hand
and falling to his knees. Taer stepped back, lowering her weapon—tip pointing
at the ground. Korvain couldn’t see it, but knew she’d have a huge shit-eating
grin on her face.

Korvain laughed out loud just picturing it. The noise startled Taer,
who spun around and brought her weapon to the ready again. When she saw who it
was, her face turned red and her gaze dropped to the floor.

‘Excuse me,’ she muttered, placing her weapon back into the rack on
the back wall and fading in front of his eyes. When Korvain looked back at
Adrian, his best friend’s eyes were latched onto his face, glaring. ‘What was
that about?’ he demanded, stashing his practice blade next to Taer’s.

Korvain hadn’t told him what had happened between him and his
sister, and there was no way in Hel he ever would. Ad would have castrated him
right there and then. He shrugged. ‘Beats me.’

Adrian’s cool green eyes narrowed on his face before he turned away,
scooping the rest of the sparring equipment up off the ground. That same uneasy
feeling as before came over Korvain.

‘Want to go out and play some pool or something tonight?’ Korvain
asked, clapping his best friend on the shoulder. He had to take his mind off
Bryn’s refusal to see things his way.

Adrian flinched away from the contact and Korvain noticed the lines
branching out from around Adrian’s eyes and mouth. He looked...strained, like an
enormous pressure was weighing down on his shoulders.

That was when the thought hit him.

Darrion had already spoken to him, and if Korvain knew Darrion, the
bastard had made it impossible for his best friend to refuse the contract.

‘He’s done it, hasn’t he?’ Korvain asked; his voice flat—hollow
sounding.

Adrian dropped his gaze, unable to maintain eye contact with him,
but nodded his head. ‘I can feel his will working on me right now,’ Ad
confessed.

‘Fuck,’ Korvain spat, lacing his fingers behind his neck and staring
up at the ceiling, his mind working.

That was what happened when it came to an assignment. If Adrian had
agreed to the terms put forth by Darrion, Darrion’s blood would begin to work
within him. His will would push against Ad’s mind. It would start off as gentle
whispers—a simple hushed breath that could be easily ignored—but as time wore
on, the voice would get louder and louder until the only way to silence it
would be by completing the assignment.

‘I didn’t want this, my brother,’ Adrian said. There was defeat in
his voice—such defeat that it made Korvain’s chest ache for him.

Korvain rested a hand of Adrian’s shoulder, gripping it so he would
finally look him in the eyes. ‘I know.’

Adrian tilted his head in a jerking movement, his eyes closing for a
moment then reopening. The compulsion.

‘You alright, my brother?’

‘Darrion’s blood is strong. The compulsion is working quickly, but I
think that’s because I’m standing right beside you.’ He repeated the process;
his head jerking, his eyes closing then reopening. When his pale eyes met
Korvain’s face again, he asked, ‘Is this what it’s like for you? Do you feel
his will so strongly?’

Korvain had never felt Darrion’s will. The truth was his pure blood
had burned through Darrion’s compulsion almost as soon as the ink had dried on
his tattoo. But Darrion didn’t know that, and neither did Adrian.

‘Yeah.’

Adrian’s head dropped, his chin touching his chest. ‘How can you
stand it?’ he whispered.

Korvain shrugged one shoulder. Up. Down. Slowly. ‘I don’t wait to
kill my mark. I just kill them.’ It sounded logical and easy, but for Adrian it
wasn’t so simple. ‘What did he threaten you with? Adding years to your
contract? Indefinite servitude?’

Adrian’s eyes were suddenly on fire and Korvain knew.

‘Fuck,’ he cursed again, rubbing both of his palms over the top of
his head while his fingers remained laced together. ‘Taer?’ he asked, just to
torture himself further.

Adrian nodded his head up and down jerkily. ‘He said he’d make her
the guild whore.’

‘Motherfucker.’

‘
After
he’d had his fill of her.’ Adrian’s words came out
from between gritted teeth. Korvain wanted to punch something repeatedly—namely
Darrion—for dragging Tay into this situation.

And he knew,
he knew
, he could have prevented it all by
simply killing Bryn.

Gods, he felt sick to his stomach even thinking about it. 

‘What am I supposed to do, Korvain? I don’t want to kill you, but I
can’t let Darrion have my little sis either.’

Korvain laughed at the other Mare. ‘What makes you think you could
have succeeded in killing me anyway?’

This made Adrian grin. ‘Call it wishful thinking.’ He sighed and ran
a hand through his shaggy hair. ‘Gods, there has to be a way out of this,’ he
announced.

When the idea struck Korvain, he let it sit there at the front of
his mind for a moment—not touching it yet—just staring at it, contemplating it.

‘Any ideas?’ Adrian asked, carving grooves into the sparring mats
beneath his feet.

‘Maybe, but I don’t know how we could do it.’ Killing Darrion seemed
to be the most logical thing to do, but Korvain could see at least two
potential problems already.

Problem One: Korvain knew he could resist the compulsion thrown down
by Darrion. That wasn’t the problem. When the tattoos were inked, they swore an
oath not to attempt to take their master’s life. Every Walker in the guild
metaphysically had their hands tied; therefore, neither Korvain nor Adrian nor
any other Walker in their guild could kill Darrion.

Problem Two: Whoever did kill him would become the new guild master.
Whoever killed him would inherit all the assassins and all the territory
Darrion had amassed—and Darrion had amassed a fuckload since taking over nearly
five hundred years ago.

Having a guild master that powerful and well-stocked was dangerous.
Darrion might have sociopathic tendencies, but he knew his limitations. He was
intelligent. He understood how guilds worked—probably because he had been in
one since he was only a child.

‘What’s going through that head of yours, my brother?’

Korvain looked at his best friend and smiled. ‘Trying to figure out
how to kill Darrion.’

E
ir was sitting on
the couch in the living room, trying to figure out a way to get Kristy. Bryn had
said she’d had a headache and would try to sleep it off before Loki called back,
leaving Eir to let the guilt eat at her.  

Eir envied Bryn. She wished she could have forced her brain to stop
so she could get some rest, but it didn’t work that way. Hearing her twin’s
panic-stricken voice coming through on the other end of the call lapped her
head, cutting deeper and deeper with each revolution.

She knew Bryn would take the responsibility for getting her back,
but Eir couldn’t allow it. How could she when Kristy was her sister,
her
twin? She couldn’t ask Bryn to risk her life.

She had given up enough already.

So, Eir did the only thing she could while they waited. She paced
the living room floor because it would be impossible to sleep knowing Kristy
was suffering. Anxiety stretched out inside her, settling in for the long haul
even though her body cried out for rest.

In fact, the only way she could sleep now was if she had some anti-anxiety
drugs to calm her down. Eir paused mid-step, a plan forming in her mind. She
let out a breath and started toward her bedroom, pausing at Bryn’s, listening
through the door for movement.

Satisfied the other Valkyrie wouldn’t be waking anytime soon, Eir
closed her bedroom door behind her and began rifling through the hastily packed
bag she had brought with her. Pulling nearly all of the contents out, she
finally found what she was looking for.

She pulled the bottle of Valium with her name written on the label
all the way out, staring at it. She didn’t use the drug often—just when she’d
worked a particularly horrible shift and her palms were bothering her. It took
a lot of energy to heal people and the knock on effect it then had on her was insomnia.

Deciding it was for the best, Eir walked back out into the kitchen
to find a spoon when a shrill buzzing interrupted her thoughts. Near the door
there was a video screen next to a small numerical pad. Slipping the spoon into
her cardigan pocket, she walked over to the screen. Looking the system over, she
pressed a button with a green camera on it and the screen lit up.

It showed a shot of Odin from above, looking down at the backdoor. Biting
her lip, she pressed another button which unlocked the door and went down to
meet him. Riding down in the elevator, Eir’s stomach flipped nervously. What
was she going to say to him? What could he possibly have to say to her?

The doors opened slowly, letting Eir see that Odin was standing just
inside the closed door. Eir hadn’t seen the All-Father since their exodus
nearly one hundred years ago. She was used to seeing him all powerful—perfect
clothes, perfect face, perfect composure—but he was dressed in nothing more
than a smoking jacket and soft slippers.

‘All-Father?’ she asked softly, her arms wrapping around her
stomach.

‘Eir?’ he asked, his eyes a little unfocused. ‘What are you doing
here?’

She hugged herself a little tighter. ‘Bryn invited me to stay.’

Did he know about the abduction attempt?

Did Bryn keep in regular contact with him?

‘I need to see Bryn,’ he eventually said.

‘Okay.’ She turned back around to lead him down the hall, feeling
his power wash over her. Even after all these years and after the Fall, he
still commanded so much force over her body.

As soon as the doors of the elevator slid shut, a musty, kind of
metallic scent filled the space. She looked at Odin from the corner of her eye,
noting the way his shoulders hung.

The doors opened slowly onto the upper levels. Odin held out his arm
to allow her to go first, and she quickly stepped out of the confining space.
Odin followed at her back, but even his movements seemed sluggish.

‘I’ll go wake Bryn,’ she murmured.

‘No,’ he said softly. ‘Please. I’ll do it.’

Eir didn’t know whether that was such a good idea, but she shrugged
and pointed out Bryn’s door. Retreating back to her room, Eir sat down in the
chair and popped the lid on the bottle of Valium. With shaking hands, she
pulled out six tablets and placed them on the desk. With the back of the spoon
she’d taken from the kitchen, she began crushing the circular blue tablets into
a fine powder.

Admittedly, she didn’t know how many it would take to render Bryn
unconscious, so she was erring on the side of more rather than less. Eir felt
the tears sitting in the corners of her eyes as she worked. She didn’t want to
do this to her friend, but she really had no other choice. In fact, every bone
in her healing body was screaming at her to stop and think about her actions,
but she shoved away all the doubts and focused on her twin.

She’d decided she would drug Bryn after Loki called back with the
specifics of where to meet for the exchange. Eir would take her cloak and give
herself up if her sister was freed. If that didn’t work, well, she didn’t want
to think about what would happen.

* * *

B
ryn sucked in a
deep breath, waking suddenly. She blinked, scrubbing a hand down her face to
wake herself up. When she was finally able to focus on the room, her eyes
narrowed at the figure standing near the door.

‘Fuck! How did you get in here?’ she snapped, directing the question
at the shadowy figure.

Odin stepped forward, palms outstretched like he was pleading with
her.

‘Who let you in here?’ she snarled again, throwing her legs over the
side of the bed, her toes gripping into the carpet. Still Odin remained silent.
Well, this was new. She peered at him, trying to discern shadow from his
tailored suit. It looked as if his crisp white shirt was covered in black
stains.

‘Odin?’ she croaked.

The All-Father fell to his knees, a sob escaping his throat. In the
same instant, Bryn went to him. Now that she was closer, she could see he
wasn’t in a suit, but a smoking jacket and the black stains were actually red.

Blood.

Her All-Father’s shoulders had dropped, hunching his tall body over.
His frame shook in an attempt to hold back the tide of grief he was
feeling—Bryn knew that now. He was grieving.

Placing a hand on his shoulder gently, she bit her lip and shook her
head. This was the first time she had allowed herself to touch him—to feel
anything for him—in nearly one hundred years. ‘Tell me what’s happened.’

‘Frigg is dead.’ He said the words so calmly, she didn’t know
whether he was telling the truth, or lying to her in order to get his way. She
looked down at him, seeing the blood, knowing he couldn’t possibly lie about
that. Odin was nothing if not devoted and completely faithful to his wife even
if it was misguided.

‘What happened?’ Her voice was firmer that time. Odin blinked up at
her, his throat working.

‘I have failed you,’ he croaked.

‘No shit,’ she muttered. Blowing out a frustrated breath, she added,
‘I know Loki’s behind it.’

For the first time ever, Odin actually looked at her with awe in his
eyes. ‘How do you know?’

She sat back on her heels. ‘He has Kristy. He called to negotiate
with me.’

‘He did?’

Bryn nodded. ‘The only thing I don’t understand is why. Why does he
want me? And why is he targeting us?’

Odin had seemed to have recovered some of his usual snideness with
the revelation that Bryn already knew about Loki. The All-Father shook his
head.

‘He has...
reasons
...I refuse to get into with you.’

She frowned. ‘You know why he’s doing this then?’

Odin nodded; a short, sharp motion, but offered up no further
explanation.

‘And you’re not going to tell me? Even though Kristy’s life hangs in
the balance?’ she asked incredulously. ‘What the fuck is wrong with you?’ Bryn
couldn’t believe how selfish he was being, how self-centered. ‘Why are you so desperate to get me back by your side? What’s in
it for you?’

‘I only wish to keep you safe,’ he explained, looking unrepentant.

‘The others be damned?! Is that it?’

‘It is the way it has to be.’

Bryn stood up and walked away from the man she had considered her
father for nearly one thousand years. ‘I can’t believe how callous you’re
being.’

His eyes alighted on her face, the obsidian orb sitting in his right
eye cold. ‘I’m being realistic. Their lives are inconsequential. I only wished
to keep one of you safe, and that’s you, Bryn.’

Bryn threw her hands over her ears. She couldn’t believe what she
was hearing. She truly didn’t know Odin.

‘Get out.’

‘Bryn, please listen to me,’ Odin begged.

‘Odin, get out of here before I do something I’ll regret.’ Her
finger was twitching for her sword, but so help her, if she drew the steel she
would use it on Odin. She would strike him down right there where he kneeled.