Dead Wrath (18 page)

Joshua nodded, lowering his cheek close to mine. "How does he look?"

My gaze tracked the lord as he spoke with the men in his group. He wore the requisite dark suit and tie, his hair combed back neatly. His collar appeared to be too loose and the jacket of his tuxedo looked a couple sizes too large. "Body language shows fear, tension. Eyes sorrow, fatigue. Looks like he's lost a ton of weight too."

I kept returning at intervals to watch McClellan speak to the group, addressing one man at a time, inclining his head respectfully, his face tight, his lips in a parody of hospitable cheer.

One of the men wore a red-patterned headscarf over his head, a coil of black rope around the top of his skull. He was clearly Middle Eastern, although I'd never be able to be more specific. The second man was Asian, a third of African origin. The last man had his back to me, and all I saw was a head of blond hair and muscle-bound shoulders. They all smoked cigars and looked particularly serious given this was meant to be a party.

"Group of deadly serious old dudes smoking cigars," I said, tilting my face back and giving him a disarming look.

"Bidders?" he asked.

"Most likely."

Static crackled in my ear, and Derek said, "Look at them again, Red. A little slower this time. I need all the pretty pictures to be clear for facial recognition."

I grinned at Derek's code name, then turned and angled Joshua so I could get a look at the men without them noticing. Seconds later, Derek said, "Perfect. It's running. Now I just need the big bad wolves and we're done."

I almost nodded but caught myself in time. Joshua took that moment to twirl me and change direction discreetly. I was now able to watch the Jotunn guards over Joshua's shoulder.

"They look like your regular bad guy... wolves," I said, stumbling on the code name.

"You're doing well. I have them all. We just need the one with his back to you."

Joshua leaned closer to me. "Any chance of remaining on the dance floor and still seeing him clearly?"

I shook my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Siri and Ed climb the stairs to the upper ballroom. They'd completed their scan of the downstairs and were now heading to the balcony. Neither of them met my eyes.

Just as Joshua slowed his movements, I caught sight of a gigantic mirror that topped an equally gigantic fireplace.

"Wait, there's a mirror. If we can just get to the right angle we should be fine," I said softly, and Joshua, keeping his arm around my waist, turned slightly. "Better?"

"A little more to the right," I guided him softly.

Joshua turned a fraction more, which brought me in line to see the reflections of all the men in the huge mirror. The music from the string quartet rose and fell again. The tall man turned his face to the right to address the Chinese man next to him, and I stiffened, my blood running cold. I didn't need to hear Derek's gasp of shock in my ear. I knew already whom I was staring at.

Loki.

I ducked around Joshua's neck, hoping the god hadn't seen me. Looking up at Joshua, I said, "It's Loki. Game over. Let's scram." He stopped dancing and led me off the dance floor.

I shuddered to think that I was so close to Loki so soon after supposedly killing him. Not that I even assumed for a second he'd die so easily. I'd just hoped he'd be a little damaged. I snorted silently. He didn't look in the least bit damaged to me.

And all I wanted was to get as far away from him as possible.

The only problem was when I looked up, McClellan was walking toward Joshua and me as he passed through the crowd. He was greeting guests as he went, and we couldn't leave without making it obvious. So we waited as he passed through the dance floor. When he got to me, he took my hand in his and I almost shuddered. His skin was cold as ice and a little damp, but I met his eyes and smiled.

"My dear, thank you so much for coming."

"It's my pleasure, my lord. I would have loved to see Ellen. Is she around?" I asked, moving closer to him.

He hesitated for a moment, then looked sadly at my face. "Sorry, dear, Ellen's gone skiing in the Alps. She left yesterday. Probably why you don't know." His voice was ragged as he spoke, as if he were holding back a rising dam of tears.

"Oh well, I'll bump into her sooner or later." I gave a shrug. "I was just wondering. If she's stuck, I could probably help her out," I said, keeping my eyes on his face. He hesitated again, his eyes flicking to his guards who stood closely behind him.

"What do you mean?" he asked, fear flashing across his face.

"Oh, you know, with school and stuff." I shrugged. "You'll tell her, won't you? I'm happy to be her savior." I giggled, and the lord's lips curved in a parody of a smile as I kept deadly serious eyes on him. For once, I was glad another human being was aware enough to read between the lines. He knew what I meant, but I needed more information from him.

I glanced at Joshua, then back at McClellan. "Lord McClellan? Might have a word with you in private?" I asked, giving him a sultry stare. That should throw his frosty goons off a little bit. They were listening closely to our conversation and seemed to be getting impatient.

"Of course, my dear. We can talk outside." He led me to the balcony where I was sure Siri and Ed were waiting, but when we walked out onto the marbled patio, it was empty.

Joshua walked closely behind us with the frost giants bringing up the rear. They seemed agitated, as if McClellan were acting out of character. Which he probably was considering I was pressing him for info.

As I walked toward the balustrade with McClellan, I faked a trip and fell to my knees. As soon as McClellan came close to help me up, I whispered, "Where are they keeping them?"

This time he didn't hesitate. He whispered an address in my ear, and thankfully I didn't need to worry about memorizing it. My attention remained on the frost giant guards who were more suspicious than ever.

As I rose to my feet, I whispered. "As soon as we have them, we will come for you."

He said nothing, but the look in his eyes showed me how grateful he was. Then he took a deep breath. "Ah yes, my dear. I am so glad you are friends with Ellen. She's a good girl."

Joshua closed in on my left while the two, now exceedingly suspicious, Jotunn closed in on us. One went to McClellan and whispered something in his ear, to which the old man said, "She's just a friend of my daughter's. Of course I have to speak to her." Then he turned to me, clearly upset by whatever the Jotunn had said. "I'm sorry, my dear. You'll have to excuse me. Duty calls."

I continued to smile and nod respectfully as he stalked off, his guards in tow.

One of the frost giants gave me a suspicious glare, and I tightened the glamor around my wings. My glamor was particularly powerful, but I couldn't tell if he knew something or not.

I held my breath as Joshua and I watched them go. As soon as they left the balcony, Edrik and Siri appeared, the air around them silky and shimmering. I looked at Siri. She was about to transform when the Jotunn that had eyeballed me returned through the doors and headed straight for me. Everyone stiffened.

"May I see your invitations, please?" he asked, his hand held out, palm up. Fury rippled through me at the gall of this creature. We had just established that the frost giants were controlling McClellan by holding his family ransom, and it was seriously pissing me off.

I wanted to slice his head off his body right there, but the only weapon I'd brought was Gungnir, and right now a spear between the eyes looked doable. I glanced at Joshua then Edrik, a sign to be ready just in case this creep decided to try anything.

He didn't wait too long to make his move. "Stay right where you are and don't move," he growled, as if we were about to obey him.

I couldn't wait to figure out if they'd made us. Surely enough time had passed for them to have figured out we weren't who we claimed to be. By now, the whole house full of guards should be descending on us, and I could only assume this particular Jotunn was the first of the lot.

He reached inside his jacket and withdrew a gun, which he aimed at me. Joshua pushed me behind him. "Careful where you point that thing, man," said Joshua, injecting a good amount of annoyance into his voice.

"I said don't move," the Jotunn repeated, and I could tell from the look in his eye that he had no compunctions about pulling the trigger.

Hidden by Joshua, I slipped the spear free from the harness behind me while watching the Jotunn as his hand moved to his side and he grabbed the speaker of a walkie-talkie. I couldn't allow him to speak into it and let security know where we were.

I gripped the spear and slipped around Joshua. At the same time, I saw Edrik glamor up and fly straight at the frost giant. I certainly didn't need his help, but thankfully, I could still see the haze of his glamor and was able to tell the two apart.

The only problem was they were now wrestling on the ground before us, grunts and growls emanating from the struggling pair. I winced, hoping it wasn't loud enough to alert anyone. We had to get this sorted.

I glanced at Siri. "Scale up," I said, and she gave me short nod before walking backward a few yards. I didn't bother to tell Joshua to get up onto Siri because I knew he wouldn't do it without me.

It was pretty hard not to watch Siri's transformation. Golden dust and light swirled around her, the sparkling ball growing larger until it was the size of a semi. Then in a puff of golden smoke, the dust and light disappeared and a golden dragon stood in its place, giving a sniff that sounded more like a sneeze.

The Jotunn on the floor was in the perfect position to see the dragon, who now stared back at him. He struggled even harder, and I was proud of Edrik giving the creep a run for his money, matching him in both strength and technique.

But it was time to end this.

I waited, then aimed my spear. As I calmed myself, I said three words, "Edrik, go right."

He moved immediately, rolling off the Jotunn and away toward Siri. I didn't see his reaction to her new form, my eyes focusing on the Jotunn. I aimed and threw the spear. It landed in the middle of the frost giant's neck, the slight plink of metal against stone confirming it went right through.

The Jotunn huffed, then fell slack, his glamor disappearing to reveal a blue-skinned, blue-veined ugly-as-hell frost giant. I grabbed Gungnir and pulled it out of his neck, making a face, knowing I'd have to wipe frost giant blood off it. And I had nothing with me. We certainly hadn't planned for every situation.

I held the spear away from me, thinking only of the rich and expensive fabric of the dress that would certainly be ruined by the Jotunn blood. I ran for Siri and she knelt, lowering her leg so we'd have something to climb up on. Joshua and I made it all the way up to the top of her back before realizing Edrik still stood beside her, stock still.

"Edrik," I called as loudly as I dared. "Get moving."

But he seemed deaf to my voice. Siri glanced around at me, her great big golden eyes asking a question I couldn't understand. Then she turned around and opened the claws of her arm, wrapping them gently around the Ulfr.

Siri lowered her body, and I could feel the tension build and ripple through her as she prepared for takeoff, but she never got off the ground.

The Jotunn I'd stuck through the neck groaned and shoved himself up on his elbows. I stared at him over my shoulder in horror. What the hell was he? Some kind of Terminator frost giant?

I turned back to Siri, ready to tell her I'd sort him out once and for all, but instead, in her low dragon voice, she said, "Leave him to me." The was a certain edge to her tone that told me she would not welcome my interference. So I stayed silent on her back.

She shifted to face him, one hand still holding Edrik, whose face was now red and stressed. She opened her mouth and sent a column of flame straight at the frost giant. She fried him to a crisp, leaving nothing more than a pile of ash on the floor.

Then she flapped her wings and rose into the air, the wind she generated blowing the ash all across the patio and out onto the lawn. There was no sign of the Jotunn left.

With a snuff and a toss of her head, she turned and flew away from the castle.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Siri flew off, flapping her leathery wings hard against the cold night air. I wondered if it was difficult for her to carry all that extra weight and chided myself for not thinking of checking with her before we set out on this escapade. A glance behind me at the brightly lit castle confirmed nobody had come running to look for the frost giant. I snorted. When they did finally miss him, they'd wonder forever where he'd gone.

I was still chilled to the bone to think that Loki had been right there within reach and I couldn't do a thing about it. It looked to me like he wanted to be near the big deal when it finally went off. Knowing the audacity of the god he'd likely carry out the purchase himself. Poor McClellan. He'd never stood a chance against the Trickster.

The wind grabbed my hair as Siri banked right and headed in the direction of the helicopter, which still sat waiting in the field. As we flew closer, I managed to make out the dark splodge of shadow that was our ticket out of here. It gleamed in the dull light of the moon like a giant whetstone. At this time of night, it was hard to see if we'd destroyed crops or other vegetation by landing in the field, but that was the last thing I had time to think about right now.