Tainted: Book Three - Enslaved

19. Valhalla

Kerry

"Okay," Gigi chirped, "now that we know we can all play nicely together, Mimi, could you find Astrid Kasparian's ghost?"

"Of course!"

She led us down a hallway to a large conference room. By then, I had my walls back up, but I didn't wanna push it - or Titus. When Mimi took the chair at one end of the table, I sat as far away from her as I could get. Jax and Gigi sat on my left and Rome and Mira on my right.

Josef took the empty chair next to Gigi and Titus went to sit next to Mira, but Rome growled and changed places with her, which almost made me smile.

"You're a watcher?" Josef made conversation with Gigi.

"Yes. I can bend time and space, and teleport limited distances."

"You have quite a team here, Harker." He waved a hand around the table. "A watcher, a wrangler, and three strong warriors."

"All you're missing," Titus added, "is a healer."

"Yeah, I know." I gritted my teeth.

"You always know how to put your foot in your mouth, don't you?" Mimi shook her head.

"What? It's true."

"Your girl's a healer?" Josef asked.

I nodded.

"And a very strong one." Gigi gave me a fierce look. "Not just in power, either."

I knew what she was trying to say. Gemma was brave and determined.

And if her life's on the line, she'll fight. She'll fight as long as she can. My iron-winged angel.

"And you're wrong about me," Mira piped up, drawing Josef and Titus' eyes to her. "I'm an artificer, not a warrior."

"Really?" Josef was delighted. "What would I have to do to convince you to leave your team and join us?"

"You can't."

"We have money. Lots and lots of money." He wiggled his eyebrows, and I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be funny or not. "Does that sway you?"

"No."

"Rome could come, too." He grinned. "Everyone in Valhalla would welcome you both with open arms. A Valkyrie and a Viking."

"Valhalla?" Jax's eyes gleamed with curiosity behind the lenses of his glasses.

"As in the Norse realm of eternal feasting and fighting?" Gigi asked.

"Harker, you didn't tell them about Valhalla?" Titus shot me a disgusted look.

I shrugged and kept my eyes down. If he pushed me again, I knew my control wouldn't hold, so I played it safe and stayed silent.

"Valhalla is the outpost here in the Big Apple," Josef explained. "Most major U.S. cities have one. We operate under the Council and with their support. Those of us who protect the borders of Valhalla call ourselves the Huskarls. It's an old term for something like a bodyguard warrior from ancient Scandinavia."

A look from Josef, and Titus pulled up his jacket sleeve to show the tattoo encircling his wrist. Having seen it a dozen times before, I didn't need to look to know it was a line of runes between two bands of knotwork.

"What does it say?" Gigi wanted to know.

"'A wolf cares not for the opinions of sheep'," Titus said. "The knotwork is the same for everyone, but you pick your own proverb."

"My warden's says, 'A shield to friends, an ax to enemies'," I said.

"Hank Bishop." Titus nodded. "A true berserker, all right. Still holds a few Huskarl records."