Into the Void (The Godhunter, Book 10) Page 19

  “It's hard enough to stare into the pit,” he nodded, “but then to have it stare back? That's terrifying.”

  “Exactly,” I sighed. “So maybe I'll take a pass on Neverland. There's only one place I want to go anyway.”

  “I think it would be best if you let me lead you there,” his eyes sparked once and then seemed to ignite the tattoo on his cheek briefly. “It can be a difficult place to find.”

  “Okay,” I agreed. “I wanted to teach a friend of mine to project as well. Her husband also died and she wants to have the solace of seeing him once more.”

  “I understand,” he nodded. “Actually, a group is a better way to travel, having three bodies to return to, as long as they remain together, makes the pull that much stronger.”

  “Great,” I swept my legs out of bed. “I'll let you know when we're ready.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  “Just a little further,” Trevor coaxed.

  He'd brought me to Fenrir's territory, saying that there was something he wanted to show me. Then he led me out into the wilderness that surrounded Fenrir's Hall and up into the mountains. It was turning into quite a hike and I was very glad he'd told me to wear my boots. At least there weren't any mosquitoes in the God Realm.

  The mountains were beautiful though, the crisp air perfumed by pine and juniper, the ground covered in a cushion of fallen leaves and moss, and the slashing lines of the late afternoon sun dissecting it all into golden green patterns. I didn't mind the hike, it was nice to stretch my legs without adrenaline surging through them, but I was extremely curious over what Trevor had brought me way out here to see and I was hoping it would be revealed soon.

  Then the ridge we were cresting evened out and started to slope downward into a little valley hidden among the mountain range. At the bottom of the valley there was a lake and on the shores of the lake stood a massive rustic cabin. The lake was crystal clear and from our vantage point I could see straight to the rock covered bottom of it. I saw the slight glimmer of little fish and sunlight caught on the back of white birds that swooped down to the surface to try and catch some lunch.

  “Trevor, it's amazing,” I whispered.

  “This is our little retreat,” he came up beside me, putting an arm around my waist and pulling me into his side.

  We stood like that as the sun set, watching it paint the valley in bright orange and red before sliding behind the mountain. Then he led me down a path that took us straight to the cabin, which was much bigger than I'd realized. It was more like what rich people thought a cabin should be. Maybe a lodge was a better word for it. It was very wide and two stories high, with a generous porch facing the lake that was home to several chairs and even a swing.

  We went up the stairs and into the building, which of course was open. Why would Fenrir need to lock anything on his own land? However, when I saw the inside, I thought twice about the lock. It was resort quality. Trevor hadn't been kidding when he called it their retreat.

  The main room that we entered into was open all the way up to the second floor, where you could see a loft. There was a massive fireplace, set with logs already, made from rough-hewn rock and adorned with a polished wood mantel. The juxtaposition of the elegant mantel with the savage stones was really beautiful and it was a perfect prelude to the rest of the room.

  Hardwood floors were covered by sumptuous Persian rugs, couches consisted of thick wood bases with luxurious overstuffed pillows, the coffee table was a cross section of a huge tree polished to a mirror shine and topped with a carved crystal wolf on a silver tray. Above it all hung a sparkling crystal chandelier that would have fit in comfortably inside any European palace.

  “This is freakin' incredible,” I went through the room and into the kitchen which was open to the living room, separated only by a wood breakfast bar. The kitchen was country chic, with baskets and bundles of dried herbs hanging from the ceiling, and huge windows that looked out onto the lake. I turned and went back out, going to a central staircase that led up to the loft.

  I climbed the stairs with Trevor on my heels, grinning widely. There was another comfy sitting area up there, with hallways to either side and display cabinets filled with magnificent pieces of art. I looked over the items on display, it always made me smile to see the delicate things Fenrir liked to collect. Then I ventured a little down each hallway, just far enough to see that there were several rooms to either side and bathrooms as well. The cabin could host a huge gathering of Froekn easily.

  From the loft there was an even better view out of the two-story high window set into the front of the cabin and I wandered over to enjoy it. I leaned against the railing and sighed, the lake was displayed perfectly against the backdrop of the lush mountainside. Fenrir had done good.

  “Beautiful, isn't it?” Trevor leaned against the rustic rail beside me.

  “It's so very,” I nodded and looked over at him. “Thank you for bringing me here. I really needed a moment of peace.”

  “I had an ulterior motive,” he confessed.

  “Oh really?” I smirked and cast an eye back toward the bedrooms.

  “Well that too but,” he chewed his lip. “Remember how I told you I didn't want you to bond with me?”

  “You've changed your mind?”

  “No,” he sighed and looked out toward the view. “I do want something that you could give me but I feel strange asking.”

  “Honey-Eyes,” I laughed, “come on, you know if I have the power to give you something you want, I'll gladly give it to you. What's this really about?”

  “I want this,” he waved a hand out toward the lake. “I want you to create a retreat for us up in the mountains surrounding Pride Palace. You could change the terrain there without it affecting the rest of the territory.”

  “You want this exactly?” I lifted a brow at him.

  “It doesn't have to be exact,” he shrugged. “But I'd like it as close to this as possible. This is home to me, Minn Elska. This is the first place I ever felt safe and I never thought that I'd leave it. Everyone of the guys has a place of their own. Pride Palace is Kirill's, as much as I'm alpha, that land is Intare and I don't feel a connection to it. Azrael has Shehaquim, and Arach has a whole damn kingdom. Even Odin had three halls in Asgard, while I have nothing to call mine. I want this.”

  “Trevor,” I gaped at him. “I had no idea you felt this way. Of course you deserve something of your own. We all need a place where we can say, this is mine. I understand that and we should have found something for you sooner. Especially with all of you having to share me, you each need your own domain, someplace yours where we can be together alone, and I've neglected that. I've made you and Kirill share, thinking that you were happy that way but even if you are happy, I should have known that a little bower in the garden wouldn't be enough for you. You've always had Moonshine and I guess that tricked me into believing you had something for yourself but Moonshine is different, it's not a home. I'm so sorry, Trevor.”

  “No,” he pulled me against him. “Don't apologize, it's not your responsibility to figure out what I need. I should have told you.”

  “But you're wrong,” I pulled away. “It is my responsibility. We may not have the full Binding but we have enough that I can sense what you need. I know what you require of me and I've neglected those instincts for awhile now. I've just been so distracted with all the other aspects of my life, the changes I've been going through. I should have paid more attention to you and your needs. I promise I'll do better. I won't neglect you or us again.”

  “You don't know what hearing that means to me,” he exhaled a rush of air. “It's a strange situation we're in and my wolf has moments of confusion when it wants to rebel against the lioness magic that has bound us all together. It gets really difficult around the full moon, when the Froekn magic gets stronger.”

  “The scent-marking,” I nodded. “I've enjoyed that.”

  “So have I,” he grinned. “But that's only a bandage on my wolf'
s appetites. I need someplace like this to bring you to. Someplace where I can let my wolf out fully, to howl and run and claim his mate without any hint of another male in the vicinity. He needs to feel that you're his completely.”

  “You'll have it,” I promised. “I'll make it exactly like this, down to the crystal wolf on the coffee table. It will be yours, just as I am.”

  “I love you, Vervain.”

  “I love you too, Honey-Eyes,” I nuzzled his nose. “Next time I'm acting like an asshole, will you please tell me instead of suffering in silence?”

  “Absolutely,” he nodded. “I'll be on full asshole alert.”

  “That sounded kind of gross,” I made a face at him.

  “Not exactly the hole I prefer,” he chuckled.

  “Ewww, you're such a boy,” I punched shoulder and ran for the bedrooms.

  “I'm not a boy,” he bared his teeth. “I'm a wolf, baby.”

  “Don't you mean, you're a baby wolf?” I laughed as his eyes widened and he ran after me.

  I screeched and made a swift turn away from the bedrooms to run instead down the stairs and out the front door. He chased me all the way down to the lake and caught me with a sweeping gesture that lifted me off my feet. I squealed and twisted in his arms so I could wrap both arms and legs around him.

  The moon was high above us, shining her silver light over our bodies as he laid me down into the soft grass and began to slide our garments off. I got impatient, yanking at his shirt while he was still removing my jeans and he gave me a little nip on my belly.

  “Slowly,” he chided.

  “Fine,” I sighed and relaxed into the pleasure of having Trevor undress me.

  It was a bit like torture. The slide of material down my legs and hot breath on my skin. Slow movements of fingertips pushing my shirt over my head and then the rasp of a stubbled chin against the top of my breasts. A nip at my neck, a kiss on my collarbone, cool air on overheated flesh. It all fell just short of being satisfying.

  Finally skin to skin, I sucked in a satisfied breath. His hips were warm between my legs, his mouth even hotter at my breast, and his hands were bringing me to new levels of lust by the minute. I sank my hands into his thick hair and then slid them down the muscles of his back, enjoying the way they twitched in response. His back was wide but tapered in to his narrow hips and I followed the angle happily, coming to the end of my journey at the crest of his full ass. I took handfuls of flesh there and pulled him in closer, urging him to make us complete.

  “So demanding,” he shook his head against my neck, nibbling there for a moment. “I finally got you out here, let me enjoy this.”

  “But wouldn't you enjoy it more if we were just a little more intimate?”

  “Little?” He groaned. “Now she's gone and used the word little while we're making love.”

  “As if you need to worry about that,” I laughed and pulled him up for a kiss.

  The kiss was languorous, deep, and fulfilling in a way that most kisses weren't. It went beyond our mouths, tingling its way to places I wish he were already. He was rubbing against them, an obvious tease, and it somehow made the kiss that much richer. Like your first kiss in the back of a car with your teenage boyfriend. Touching and daring but not quite daring enough to go there, it still seemed to touch you there anyway, rocketing you over the edge of pleasure with just the touch of lips on lips.

  That kiss was a predecessor for the night. Slow and yet grasping with need, we alternated between rampant delight and elegant arousal. By the time he lifted his head and howled to the moon, I was practically glowing in pleasure and it had nothing to do with my lust magic. It was just us, the magic of us.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  “They've been paid,” Torrent announced as he entered the new and improved common room.

  The space was much larger now, on the second floor instead of ground level, and was on the opposite side of the palace from where it had been, so that it overlooked the training field. There was a wide balcony down the length of it, with two doors to access it, and several comfortable seating arrangements. Inside, the room was paneled in a golden wood and had not only the old pool tables and entertainment units but a full bar, card tables, dart boards, an air hockey table, and(against my better judgment) a Dance Dance Revolution full size arcade game. The lions loved it... sigh. I was going to put in computer terminals too but figured that all that noise would be too annoying to someone online and so I put the computers in the library sitting room, gasp.

  “Who's been paid?” I tore my eyes from Aidan, who I was watching with morbid fascination as he danced away to the arrows provided. And I use the word dance loosely.

  “That zombie making group, Cross Fire,” Torrent plopped into the seat beside me. “I've been monitoring that account like you asked and they've just received the money.”

  “And still no leads on who owns the account?”

  “No, even though they had the safety of a numbered account, they took great pains to set up an identity that passed most thorough inspections but is truly false. There is no Theresa Lisbon.”

  “Man, why does that name sound so familiar to me?” I chewed my lip. “I could swear I know it, I've heard it someplace.”

  “Because it's the name of that cop on The Mentalist,” Aidan shouted over his shoulder as he continued to leap about the platform.

  “Holy shit,” I sat up straight, “he's right. Lisbon, that's what Jane is always calling her.”

  “Didn't that guy who plays Jane also star in a zombie movie?” Aidan asked.

  “Yeah, Land of the Dead,” I nodded. “It was pretty good too. That's a strange coincidence.”

  “So we're looking for a goddess who enjoys The Mentalist,” Torrent mused.

  “Or a god who enjoys dressing in drag and has a crush on Simon Baker,” I slid my eyes away guiltily. “Because you know, he's kinda dreamy.”

  “Gods in drag or Simon Baker?” Torrent sounded truly confused.

  Aidan burst into laughter so violent that he ended up falling off the dancing platform.

  “Shut up, Aidan,” I growled and then looked back at Torr. “Simon Baker, the guy who plays the main character. He's very attractive.”

  “Oh,” Torr nodded, “Okay. So anyway, I have no idea who this Theresa Lisbon is but once she accesses her account, I'll have another trail to follow. It's just a matter of time before I can locate her or shim.”

  Aidan started with the laughter again, rolling on the floor and holding his belly.

  “You know what?” I looked over at Torrent. “I've got an idea, there might be a way of finding them without me knowing where they are.”

  “Are you going to tell me how?”

  “Not yet,” I frowned at Aidan. “Let me give it a try first and I'll let you know how it goes.” I got up to leave but then turned back around. “If he's still like that in fifteen minutes,” I pointed to Aidan. “Hose him down with the seltzer bottle behind the bar.”

  “Hey!” Aidan stopped laughing, just as I predicted, and I smirked at him as I left. “You're a vicious woman with strange seltzer predilections!”

  Chapter Forty

  I went through the whole training exercise with Mrs. E first, then asked her to watch over my body as I tried it on my own. She agreed immediately, wanting to see if she could pick up any more tips during my session.

  I went easily through the steps, teaching them to Mrs. E. had given me an even better grasp on them. Then, when I came to the part where I reached for the gold cord, I kept going. The vibrations became a humming in my head and I was dizzy for a second. I had to stop and just hold onto the cord. Then the dizziness subsided and I pushed on. I pulled myself completely out of my body and up the cord, hand by hand. There was a popping feeling, like opening a jar, and then I was free. The cord was still there but I didn't need it anymore. I looked down and saw my body, a very strange experience, even for me.

  It was disorientating and disturbing. I had a brief moment of pa
nic that I wouldn't be able to get back inside myself, and then I calmed down and let go of the fear. I had to do this, for even more reasons than I had originally. Mrs. E was seated calmly beside me and when I focused on her, she turned slowly and looked up at me. Not directly into my eyes but in my general area. If I'd still been in my body, I would have shivered. It was a bit creepy but then she smiled and I waved at her. She didn't see it of course but maybe she felt it.

  Then I focused on where I wanted to be. Cross Fire, I wanted to be where Cross Fire held their meetings. I saw the email in my head and thought about the zombie virus. It seemed to be enough because suddenly, my astral body was pulled away swiftly. I lifted out of the palace and saw my territory from a bird's eye view for the first time. It was beautiful and I wondered why I'd never gone up before. I'd flown in Heaven but never in my own territory. I vowed to go for a flight when I got back. It would help me plan where I was going to put Trevor's valley.

  Then I was gone, pulled downward very fast, and I realized that I was traveling through the Aether. It zipped by quickly though and I came out in a small room filled with people. There weren't a lot of people, only about twenty-five or so, but it seemed like more because they filled the room. They were all seated on folding chairs, facing a dry erase board mounted on the wall in front of them. A woman was standing before it and I knew she was a goddess but she was wearing a glamor and I couldn't see past it. It blurred with a shimmer around the edges but I couldn't make out her true face.

  “With this money,” she was saying, “we can buy a better facility and the ingredients to make the amounts of the virus we'll need. I expect that we'll be ready within two months to hit Washington DC.”

  “And the underground bunkers?” A man asked.

  “They'll be built with the lab,” the leader nodded. “So that everything will be prepared by the time the virus is ready.”