Mirror of the Gods, page 19
At the window she peered out, seeing a river and trees on the opposite bank.
So many different feelings were swirling inside of her. The most prominent was that she was forgetting something. Placing her hands on the dirty windowsill, she stood there for a few moments, then shook her head.
She was still coming down from the effects of the chloroform—not to mention the rather violent beating she’d received.
Her mind had been so muddled she hadn’t even thought to use her powers. Lucy wasn’t sure she could have if she’d tried. With so much pain and confusion, it could have been dangerous. Not just for the members of the Order, but for herself. And for the Vanir, if they’d shown up in the middle of her losing control.
Turning back around, she blinked, her eyes narrowing on what she was seeing, taking in her surroundings with a semi-clear mind for the first time. There was a sense, an odd pull to what she was seeing that Lucy couldn’t quite place.
Then she remembered.
Five figures stood under cold fluorescent lights. The image felt familiar, but not, at the same time. The ground was littered with bodies, dressed in black, weapons scattered about. And blood. A spray of dark red droplets covered the dusty gray concrete.
Her stomach churned as she gripped the edge of the windowsill, fingers trembling.
A shot rang out, a deafening crack ringing in her ears as one of the five figures crumpled to the floor. A man. A man with black hair and broad shoulders.
Her vision. The one she had in the shower the day before she’d woken to Dira in her home.
The man.
Ridder.
Her stomach churned as she turned back toward the Vanir, and Clint.
To her horror, she realized James was no longer unconscious, and he had a gun the one that had been knocked from Ridder’s hands earlier, pointed at the man she loved, hands shaking as he struggled to aim. And none of them had noticed.
The scream from her vision, the sound of her own voice screaming in her head, echoed as she opened her mouth. Her legs moved her faster, ignoring the searing pain in her body as she sprinted.
“No!”
Shouldering her way between Kreager and Ridder, she stepped right into the line of fire.
The gunshot rang out, echoing through the warehouse.
Chapter Twenty-Five
White-hot pain exploded in her right shoulder, sending her straight to the ground. Blinking in surprise, she looked up as Kreager’s horrified face appeared in her line of sight.
Her ears were ringing so she couldn’t hear him, couldn’t hear what he was saying. Her eyes blurred as she turned her head to the side, just in time to see Ridder put three bullets into Dr. Foster. He turned to her, dropping to his knees at her side. His gaze was filled with despair.
Closing her eyes, she gasped in surprise as the pain in her body subsided.
“—stupid, why would you do that? You reckless woman,” Ridder was growling.
Turning back to him, she was struck by the sight of his face glowing with pale blue light.
He wasn’t looking at her, merely placing his hands on either side of her face, holding it gently.
“I-I’m sorry,” she murmured, as those smoke-filled eyes she loved flicked up to her face.
He frowned at her, shaking his head. “You’re going to give me a heart attack, Lucy Sheridan. My life will never be uneventful again.” He brushed her hair back as Kreager pulled away with the medallion.
“It was a through-and-through,” Kreager said with relief. “It’s already starting to knit closed.”
Kreager began to heal her other injuries, Ridder watching over her as she simply melted into the floor in relief at the easing of some of her pain.
Her ribs didn’t ache anymore, and her eyes were becoming clearer with every passing moment.
“That’s enough for now, Kreager,” Dira commanded, placing a hand on her brother’s shoulder.
Lucy blinked at the siblings, then looked to the man she felt was her brother. His brow was slick with sweat, his eyes straining, jaw clenched. Reaching up, she pressed a hand to the side of his face, and gingerly sat up. “No more. I didn’t realize healing someone took energy from you.” Lucy let him pull her to her feet. She felt steadier. The pain was only a dull ache now.
Kreager put the medallion back on, letting it rest openly against his chest. “Swear to me you’ll never do that again,” he said, reaching out to place a hand on the top of her head.
“I can’t promise you that,” she said.
She looked back at Ridder, who stood protectively behind her. “I love you, and I had a vision of you being shot before I even met you. I forgot about it until I saw it happening again, right in front of me. I just went on instinct. I can’t promise I won’t put myself in danger if you or any of your siblings are in harm’s way.” He said nothing. He simply held out his hand for her to take. As her smaller hand slid into his rough, warm one, he helped her up and pulled her into his side once more, where she belonged.
Dira sighed softly and shook her head, while the others breathed a relieved sigh.
“Life will never be boring with you around, that’s for certain, little sister,” Kreager commented as he stepped up, throwing an arm around her and Ridder, who stood on her other free side.
Lucy grinned at him, then turned her face up to Ridder’s. “You wouldn’t promise me the same. So instead, I’ll just acquiesce to trying my hardest not to put myself in life-and-death situations.”
Ridder sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Everyone else just laughed.
***
The next day, Lucy watched from her perch, relegated to sitting and relaxing as Clint and the four Vanir packed up their belongings, preparing to leave Oxford later that day.
Once they had returned to the safe house, all gathered in the living room, exhausted but relieved, she’d asked Clint what he was going to do.
He’d just laughed. “I’m going home, Sheridan. All this, it’s too much. Besides, I’ve got classes to teach and a department to run.”
Lucy bit back a comment as his eyes tracked Dira across the room. “I have a feeling this won’t be the last time I see you, though, Dr. McCain.”
He sighed, an almost wistful look on his face as Dira pushed up from her spot on the floor and disappeared around the corner into the kitchen to grab some beers. “You know what Lucy? I think you may be right. And that terrifies me.”
Lucy had smiled at him as he watched the doorway diligently. Lost in her thoughts, she sipped at the mug of tea Ridder had prepared for her before starting his own packing. It had long since gone cold, but she still sipped at it, wincing a bit as her split lip pulled, stinging.
She’d refused to let Kreager heal the rest of her more superficial injuries because she didn’t want him to waste energy on them. Lucy knew without a shadow of a doubt that he’d heal them before the day was done, but for now, he let her win this round. Besides, she was sort of proud of them. They made her feel like a warrior. Proud she had endured such pain and still refused to turn on those she loved.
The doorbell rang, jolting her from her thoughts. Ridder appeared from the stairs, crossing to open the door.
“Ah, Dr. Krauss. Come in, please.”
“Thank you.”
Lucy smiled softly at the man as he made his way into the living room. His eyes widened at the sight of her on the couch, sympathy flashing across his face. “Oh, you poor dear. I’m so sorry, Miss Sheridan.”
“Please, Edward. Just Lucy is fine.”
He hummed as he sat beside her, setting his comically large briefcase on his lap. “I got a call from Dira last night, instructing me to pass on this special object to you, as well as notes on where to start researching to translate it.”
As he spoke, he flicked open the buckle on the case and slid out a large envelope, passing it over to her. Then he pulled the Book of Mastery from the briefcase, gingerly setting it on her lap. The weight of it, both metaphorically and physically, was not lost on her.
Lucy stared at the leather cover with wide eyes. “I—”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be able to do it, my dear. You are extraordinary. Your Dr. McCain has passed along some of the research papers that you completed during your graduate course work and, needless to say, I am very impressed.”
Lucy was stunned, lifting her eyes to stare at the man across from her.
“If you need any help, I’ve included my contact information within the folder. Please feel free to call me anytime.” He patted her hand gently before standing. “Now, I’m off to speak with Dira before you all leave. Take care, Lucy.”
As he left the room, he passed Ridder, who gave him a polite nod, leaning against the doorframe.
Lucy beamed as he made his way to kneel down in front of her, and stared at the book.
“Dira told him he was to give it to me. That I’m the one to take care of it,” she told him.
He placed his large hand against the side of her face, cupping her now healed cheek gently. “She trusts you more than she’s ever trusted anyone outside our family. And I have a feeling you are the one who should be looking after it. How was the call to your parents?”
Lucy had called her parents on the SAT phone a few hours earlier. Hearing their happy voices had brought tears to her eyes. While she wanted to informally introduce the man she loved to her family, she was grateful he’d given her a bit of privacy. Now wasn’t quite the time for that.
They’d asked why she was calling from a different number. She’d lied and said she’d broken her phone and had to get a new one. Then she explained how she’d been selected for a special program to work in the field for course credits.
And that despite the semester having already started, she was going to take it and head back to Norway immediately.
Her parents had been concerned at first, but when she explained she’d be working closely with the top people in her field, and earning credits, they relented. They were happy for her and excited, insisting on video chatting with her the second she got situated.
“It was good,” she told Ridder now. “They believed everything I told them. I feel guilty, but I need them not to worry about me, or wonder what’s happening in my life, for now at least.”
Ridder hummed, his eyes soft as the pad of his thumb dragged across her cheek.
“I’m sorry you had to lie. But I promise, someday soon we will go see them. I’ll take you,” he said lightly, watching as her face lit up.
“Thank you,” she whispered, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss on his lips.
“I came down here to tell you we’re almost ready,” he said once she pulled back. “We’ll drop Clint off at the commercial airport, then head to the private airfield outside of the city.”
Lucy nodded, leaning her face into his hand, turning to brush her lips across his calloused palm. “None of you have told me where it is exactly that we’re headed.”
Ridder’s smile was brighter than any she’d ever seen on his face. “We’re going home, querida.”
Lucy’s brow furrowed, her eyes searching his. “Home?” she asked him softly.
He leaned forward, inhaling her scent before placing a kiss on her forehead. “Home.” His lips ghosted across hers. “To Vanaheim.”
About the Author
Entranced at a young age by the practice of weaving strands of words and ideas together to create an enchanting story, this impassioned author always knew writing was her heart's desire. Inspired and driven by travels, music, art, and of course, her intense love of all things literature, S.E. Mattison, known to friends and family simply as Sarah, strives to share the magic that lives and breathes in the world around us.
Day-to-day lives can be mundane, but getting lost in the universes, battles, heartbreaks, triumphs, losses, and lives of characters is something Sarah has done for as long as she can remember. She hopes that through sharing her own stories, the worlds she's created, and the characters she has breathed life into, she can provide an escape from reality for her own readers.
@semattison_author
S.E. Mattison, Mirror of the Gods
