Viking Sensitivity (Night World Series Book 2) (15 page)

Part of him screamed out for her. He had only just found her. He didn't want to let her go. But he kept himself stoic as a new scene appeared. Once he and Gwen landed in the new scene he knew something was wrong.

They were in the woods. The woods the women's retreat had been in. Only there were no cabins or buildings or lights. The trees looked a little more menacing. And the moon wasn't quite shining as bright. A sense of dread came over Viking. He began scanning the trees trying to see if he can find Mia. Then he felt Gwen grab his upper arm.

"I can see them." She whispered. "At least I think I see him. I think he's chasing after her. If we move forward about three yards we're going to be smack dab in what looks like their path." She started moving forward.

He wanted to stop her. There was no reason for her to be endangering herself. But then he reminded himself she was the Lady of the Dead. The Spirit World was where she belonged. Taking a deep breath he picked up his stride so he could catch up with her. They stopped after several yards and he heard Gwen whisper.

"Can you see them yet?"

"No." He strained at the tree line where Gwen was looking.

She reached out and patted his shoulder, or at least he thought she was aiming for his shoulder. She ended up hitting him somewhere in the chest.

"Don't worry about it. When they come running around the corner grab Mia and swing her behind you. I'll see if I can get control of whatever he is."

Adrenaline shot through his system. Even though this was a dream, stakes were high. He got ready to jump out of the bushes onto the trail a few feet in front of them. He watched Gwen do the same.

Within seconds he heard someone crashing through the underbrush. A frightened Mia appeared around the bend. Just as she would've passed them Viking shot out and grabbed her. He covered her mouth as a scream vibrated into his hand. He turned her so she could see him. He watched the realization hit her and her eyes calmed.

He watched Gwen stand out in the middle of the path and face the direction Mia came from. Mia wiggled in his grasp trying to protest hiding away from the threat. But he held her still. Mia looked at him questioningly and he shook his head. The black oval shadow appeared around the corner. It was laughing until it saw Gwen. It stopped moving about six feet in front of her.

Its red eyes narrowed. "I heard rumors the Lady of the Dead had come knocking. I also heard rumors she was a wee bit stronger than the last two. So what brings you here to interfere with my…hobbies?"

Gwen smiled with newfound confidence in her abilities. "Well, let's have a little test shall we?"

The being chuckled something Viking couldn't hear. "Sure why not. All I got is time."

Gwen slid her hands to her hips. "Tell me who guards the Lady of the Dead."

Viking got the distinct impression the thing tilted his head curiously. But there was no head so to speak to tilt.

"The Warriors do." It said curiously.

"Good I'm glad you're up to date. Now the woman you've been chasing after happens to be the mate of the captain of my guard. So you can see why this might be a problem for me."

The being watched Gwen the second. "Liar."

It seemed to grow in size so Gwen had to look up another foot to look in their eyes.

"Liar, I was not informed she was anybody's mate. And I see no connection has been formed. If she was mated to something in the Night World it would be obvious."

Viking had no idea what the being was talking about. As far as he knew mates of Warriors didn't appear as anything special.

"I give you my word as the Lady of the Dead that she is the mate of my captain. Simply because no connection shows yet doesn't mean there won't be one soon. Now who told you there was no connection? Did someone give you a list of people to go after?"

Viking finally felt Gwen's power stirring and she pushed it behind those questions to make the being answer.

The being laughed again. "Don't go shooting your power at me child. I have been controlling people longer than your mother's mother has been alive. I have friends. Friends who have interesting ideas about the way things should be run. It is quid pro quo you see. I get to make friends with bright little humans and in turn my new friend helped my not so human friends." 

That was all the proof they needed. Viking was now sure this has something to do with the rebellion. Why the rebellion would use Sensitives he didn't know. Sensitives did not necessarily have active abilities. While his mother was a sensitive, her abilities were greatly in the minority.

"And what if I tell you not to help them?" Gwen asked.

Viking could feel her starting to pull her power.

The being moved so it was two feet in front of her. Towering over her. It was the stuff of nightmares but Gwen stood her ground. He could not have been more proud of her.

"Try it." Then the being attacked.

It lashed out at her. She ducked just as it would've sliced across her face. She held up both hands palms pointed at the creature.

"You will not move." she commanded.

The power behind her voice was stronger than Viking ever heard it. There was almost a rush of power that blew out of her like a hot wind. It jolted the being strongly enough that he flew back a yard.

It growled at her. "You little wretch."

Viking watched as the black cloud tried to move forward but seems to almost hit a wall. The being howled so loud and so inhuman it seemed to be ringing in Viking's ears. In the corner of his eye saw Mia to cover her ears.

"You will leave Mia alone from now on. Do you understand me?" The power surged again but it wasn't as strong as the first time.

"Isn't that just like you Night Worlders. Only looking out for your own. Don't worry little lady. I'll leave your captain’s mate alone. But everyone else is fair game."

The being disappeared. As if it snapped out of existence. What he didn't know was if Gwen's words had him go or if the thing removed itself. From the look on Gwen's face as she lowered her hands she was asking herself the same question.

Viking let go of Mia and the two of them walked back onto the trail to stand next Gwen.

"Viking, I don't know where he went. And I do not like that threat." Gwen said still scanning the tree line around them.

He found himself scanning the tree line around them as well. Even though he knew the being was gone and not coming back. Viking just couldn't help it. It was ingrained in him to check his surroundings for danger in all situations.

He could feel the fear coming off of Mia. He felt bad, it was a lot to handle but there was no way around it. She needed as much information as she could if she was going to stay safe.

Gwen turned to Mia. "Are you alright? How are you holding up with all this?" She watched the other woman with concern on her face. "I know this is a lot to take in. But I'm afraid we're not quite out of the woods yet. Did he say anything to you before we arrived?"

Mia simply shook her head. "No. What did he mean, ‘everyone else is fair game’?"

Shaking her head Gwen frowned. "I don't know. It means you are probably safe. Beyond that I'm guessing it means he's going to go after his next intended target. But he also could be saying he's going to go after somebody else that matters to us in spite. I just don't have a way of knowing until he makes his move."

"I'm sorry. I never would've wanted to trade my safety for somebody else's."

Gwen frowned at the other woman. "You can't think like that. You were on the list of Sensitives he's supposed to go after. You're not trading yourself for anyone. Odds are you're just getting removed from the list and he's moving on. That being said, I think our time is almost up. We only had about a forty-five minute window to begin with and I have no idea how long we've been here. I'll give you two some privacy before we end up heading out." Gwen turned on her heels and started walking straight into the woods.

She had grown up quite a bit since Viking met her. A decade ago she would never wander off into the woods of somebody's dreamscape. The constant attacks made her fear any new situation. And now that she had come into her own she seemed to be almost a whole new person.

When he looked back to the woman next to him she was staring up at him.

"Should I be concerned? You ran off with such haste."

There was a sneer on his face. He couldn't help it. "I wasn't running. I want you to have as much time as I can give you. That isn't necessarily going to happen if we are together in close quarters with no one else around.

The concern and worry in her eyes made his chest hurt.

"I am so sorry. I…"

Before she could continue Viking cut her off. "There is no need for you to keep apologizing. You were thrown into this situation. None of it is your fault."

He raised his arm and brushed some hair out of her face and behind her ear. She closed her eyes as he ran the back of his hand down the side of her face. For a moment, a small moment it felt as if this was something he could do, something he could cherish every day. It seemed like such a normal warm gesture. Sighing, he pulled his hand back. She opened her eyes at the loss of contact.

Viking took a step away from her. Sighing again, he shook his head. "Is there anything that I can do for you? Is there anything you need?"

"I think that you should come back tonight."

Her words lay heavy in the air between them. She said it with such conviction. Part of his spirit lifted and the other part plummeted. She had not been given a choice, but by the same token the more he got to know her more time he wanted to spend with her.

"Are you sure about that?"

A curt nod was all she gave as a response

He wasn't sure how long they stood there looking at each other. He couldn't think of anything else to say and he wanted to take in as much of her as he could.

When he started to see the world blur around the edges he knew he was about to leave. When it felt as if a giant hand pulled his collar and was about to rip him from Mia's consciousness he lifted his hand goodbye.

After second or two he and Gwen stood in the same field they had earlier facing his mother.

"How did it go? Did you see it? What do you know about it?"

His mother's shotgun questions came to faster than Viking could form answers. But luckily Gwen seems to be used to them.

"It went interestingly, I think. We did see it, however, it got away. I seem to have convinced it to leave Mia alone, however, it said everyone else was open season. I'm not sure whether that means it's going to go after somebody else we know or if that means it's just going to go further down the list. I was able to recognize it. And by that I mean I could recognize its signature if I ran into it. But I am not sure I could track it.

“My best bet is to go to an MP I know and asked if she could possibly formulate some kind of tracking spell. But there is no guarantee since I don't know exactly what the other Sensitives look like. Although, if we could get a sketch it might work or might not."

As they watched, Gwen seemed to be forming a plan. It was fascinating to watch. He couldn't help the small sense of pride.

"That being said, we still don't know what to do with it once we find it or the people attached to it. Have you ever heard of such a being that could attach itself to multiple people at once?"

His mother watched Gwen for second. Viking didn't know whether she was thinking of an answer or waiting to see if Gwen was done talking. Either way the silence only last a moment or two.

"Are you sure it is controlling multiple people at once and not just jumping from person to person?" She asked, giving Gwen her full attention.

The younger woman shrugged. "I don't know really. I have no proof one way or the other. I can only guess. But from what I know about beings that can latch on to people it takes time for the bond to solidify. A day and a half does not seem like a reasonable amount of time for the being to accomplish that. But I could be wrong. There is not exactly a handbook for the Spirit World and as far as I have found, Ladies of the Dead are not the best record keepers."

Viking itched to be of help, but he knew Gwen and his mother possessed far more knowledge than he did. He might see bits and pieces of the Spirit World from time to time and have trained Gwen, but that still did not give him the experience.

"I have actually heard of both. When I realized you were this century's Lady of the Dead I did some asking around so I would be better equip to help you. If it is jumping from body to body you will need to trap it in a body then send it back to the Spirit World. If it is controlling multiple people then you have to find the first person it controlled. The being will be using them as a base and its power will stretch out like an octopus from there. If you can cut all the connections then trap it, you can send it back. But finding the first person will be a challenge."

The two women started at each other for a long moment. Both seemed to be frustrated that there was no easy answer.

"How do I know when I have found the being's patient zero?"

His mother shrugged. "I don't know. My guess is the being would feel more there than anywhere else. That is the sort of thing no one knew. I have been trying to track down a previous Lady of the Dead from the other side of the veil but they remain allusive. The only two I have ever found were both much weaker than you so that was not much help."