The Mjolnir [3/13]
Title: The Mjolnir
Authors: ames449 and bb1128
Genre: Gen/Hurt/Comfort
Characters: Cal and Niko Leandros, and others.
Disclaimer: The Leandros brothers and other various characters belong to the one and only Rob Thurman, not us.
Summary: It should have been a simple job. However Cal and Niko find themselves caught up in something more dangerous than they could ever have imagined.
A/N: Here's chapter three, hope you like it!
New York. The city that never sleeps. That was true enough for the tourists, but me? I liked my sleep, and I liked to sleep well into the afternoon. It was pretty much astounding for me to be awake, let alone alert, this early in the day. Yeah, someone put a call through to Guinness, tell them Cal Leandros broke a world record. He surfaced from his pit before midday. It was nothing short of a miracle.
I was definitely more of a nocturnal creature. I wasn’t sure if that was because of my monster DNA, or simply because I was a lazy bastard. Niko would have said the latter, but I had to wonder about the former. After all, the ghouls did prefer the hours following sunset, and I was no different. Did that make me like them? Hell no! But sometimes I had to wonder about the traits I shared with my paternal family. The Auphe weren’t exactly fans of sun, sea and sand, and let’s face it I was hardly a bronzed Adonis.
Emerging from our apartment building, I followed Niko out onto the doorstep and squinted at the early morning sun. It was nearing the end of spring but despite the clear azure sky it was frigging cold. I guess I should have been grateful there wasn’t snow. It felt cold enough for snow. I pulled a face. I hated the fucking cold.
Dragging my jacket further around my torso, I turned to my now stationary brother. Niko had come to a standstill in the doorway. He reached out and grabbed a fistful of my jacket to halt my own movements. Frowning deeply, I glanced up at him.
“What?” I asked hesitantly, my own gaze following his, trying to figure out what had caught his attention. Niko’s eyes were scanning the milling crowd of people strolling up the street, although his head didn’t move an inch. My heart gave a strangled flutter under my ribs. I half expected to see the Auphe snarling towards me but there was nothing. Just humans.
“I’m just making sure…”
I knew what he making sure of. He was making sure nothing was going to drop out of the sky and take my ass out of the game permanently. I did seem to have a bull’s-eye painted on my ass. I attracted trouble like shit attracted flies. Nik knew that as well as I did. He was looking for danger, but I’d assumed there was danger, and my stomach was aching with the unsuspected adrenaline release. Niko wasn’t taking chances. Even with the Auphe gone, he couldn’t break the habit of a lifetime. He was still watching my ass. Monsters may have liked the dark but that didn’t mean they disappeared in the daytime either. Assuming they wouldn’t attack during the sun-filled hours was a colossal mistake - and one that was likely to result in eternal sleeping. It wasn’t the kind of sleeping I liked.
That said, it was the middle of the morning and the street was filled with New Yorkers rushing around. I was probably safer outside than I was in our damn apartment. Not that I said that to my brother. He had enough crap to deal with without having to worrying about that as well.
Since Darkling’s attack I had been on my guard, but I knew I didn’t even come close to the standard Niko expected. If he had his way I would be on a leash behind him every minute of every day. No way was I playing the little lost puppy role - no matter how much it soothed my brother’s anxiety. I was no one’s bitch, not even Nik’s - at least that was what I kept telling myself.
“Don’t do that!” I growled. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.” I smacked him in the arm. Niko glanced at me, his brow tightening.
“It doesn’t hurt to be cautionary, Cal.” Niko murmured softly, releasing his grip on me. I straightened my jacket and forced my pounding heart to slow its frantic beating. It wasn’t easy. It continued to palpate for several minutes afterwards. I guess there’s nothing like being possessed and almost forced to wipe out humanity to fuck up your nerves.
“So, how are we getting to the airport?” I demanded peevishly, shielding my stinging eyes with my hand even as I shot a sour glare at my brother. “Subway?”
Niko didn’t turn to me. His eyes were still scanning the area even as he shook his head.
“Goodfellow was kind enough to lend us a car.” I snorted. Kind enough? There had to be a catch. There always was with Robin. I liked the guy, but Jesus, he was an extortionist at heart.
A shiny new Chevrolet was parked up against the sidewalk. Deep red, it had all the trimmings. It was a phallic symbol with wheels. I wasn’t much for cars but even I could appreciate the shiny newness. It was like a new toy on Christmas morning, all wrapped up with bows.
“The Chevy?” I whistled under my breath, wondering what the hell Niko had said to Goodfellow to wangle that. “Nice set of wheels, bro.”
A thin slither of teeth peeked beneath his lips as he shrugged.
“He was rather reluctant to part with such an expensive vehicle, but Promise can be highly persuasive when she needs to be.”
I didn’t doubt that. Promise could charm the birds out of the sky without even raising her voice - or showing a fang. I arched my brow, shifting my gaze back to the car.
“Yeah, and what’s this highly persuasive gift costing us?”
“Just your dignity, little brother.” I snapped my eyes to Niko. That sounded dubious, and I didn’t do dubious. Not ever - and especially not when it came to Robin.
“My dignity?” I asked confused, but Niko was grinning at me. Shit, he was grinning. I hadn’t seen my brother crack a full smile once in the last month, let alone grin. Our lives hadn’t exactly been rainbows and fairytales. Neither of us had much to smile about. Not that getting a smile out of my brother was an easy task, but it was a more regular occurrence than grinning.
“Use your imagination, Cal.”
My brain caught up a moment later. I didn’t like that it had. I didn’t want to think about what Niko was suggesting.
“Promise sold me to Robin for a car?” I demanded incredulously. I had to admit I was disappointed. I’d expected more from my potential sister-in-law. However, I had to wonder what kind of car we would have got if she had offered Goodfellow my brother.
He was loving every second of this. It was a lie of course… at least I hoped it was… It was hard to tell.
Niko regained control of his emotions and pulled his lips into a tight line.
“We needed transportation. The subway would have taken too long.” He replied as if I was overlooking something blatantly obvious.
I shifted uncomfortably. I didn’t like the way this conversation was going. Sure, Nik got one over on me on a daily basis, but I wasn’t above giving it back. Which I did - with glee.
“Yeah, well just remember it’s your ass he watches when you walk across the room, Cassanova.” I threw back with a grin. I didn’t need to see my brother’s expression to know I had hit a nerve. I could feel his eyes piercing holes in my back.
“Of course you could always walk.” Niko deadpanned. “The exercise would do you good.”
I might have filled the temple that was my body with crap but I still had a figure to be proud of. Ok, so I wasn’t as well muscled as Niko Schwarzenegger but Jesus, my brother took exercise to a whole new level of obsession.
“Nothing wrong with this fine exterior, Cyrano.” I patted my belly fondly.
“It’s a wonder you aren’t a walking commercial for obesity considering the amount of junk you put into that fine exterior, Cal.”
I recognised the chastisement for what it was, but shrugged impassively.
“You’re just bitter that you have to haul your ass nine miles a day to keep trim while I’m catching z’s.”
“Procrastination is not a lifestyle choice, little brother.”
I wanted to argue with him. In my opinion procrastination was the only lifestyle choice. However my brother had moved from the doorway and was striding across the sidewalk towards Goodfellow’s borrowed car. Brushing my dark hair off my face I started to follow.
It took us an hour and a half to get to the airport. You want to see Hell? I suggest going to any city airport. Screw fire and brimstone, screw pain and suffering, airports are worse. Thousands of giddy holiday makers offset by hundreds of pissed off assholes who’ve been bumped or had their flights delayed for hours. It’s a screaming pit of anger and despair. Not too strenuous Niko had said. Right now I was finding it impossible not to freak the hell out. I didn’t like crowds - unsurprising really, all things considered. Things could hide in crowds and it made me edgy not being able to see more than three rows ahead of me. There were too many people - and a helluva lot of them didn’t smell human.
That was an eye opener.
Apparently the preternatural world didn’t object to flying to new places to cause chaos. Welcome to the twenty-first century kids. Just makes sure the guy in the seat next to you isn’t going to eat your face when you book your holiday.
It was completely pathetic but I kept as close to Niko as I physically could without holding his damn hand. Yeah, I was in serious meltdown mode. I was freaked out to hell and it was such a bizarre reaction to the situation that I felt ridiculous. I’d faced so much crap in my life and yet it was the airport that was striking the fear of god into me. I never said I wasn’t nuts.
A wolf passed me suddenly, knocking my shoulder. He turned, amber eyes glaring at me and snarled even as he continued his pace, passing me. A werewolf! Jesus… How no one else noticed him I had no fucking idea. He wasn’t full wolf but he definitely couldn’t pass as human. I wondered what the hell the check-in girls made of this guy when he dumped his boarding pass on the desk. I flicked my head back round and realised Nik was still moving. Jogging, I caught up to him as quickly as I could. This place was giving me the creeps.
“Problems?” Niko asked, eying me carefully.
I shook my head and shrugged at the same time. “Not unless we’re planning on boarding Preternatural Airways to Vegas.” I muttered.
Niko raised a brow.
“I assume you also noticed that the crowd isn’t quite normal.”
Understatement of the fucking century, Nik! Not quiet normal? I couldn’t help but stare as my nose caught the scent of a… a… Jesus!
A vampire wearing a long leather duster was moving towards us. He gave me a sidelong glance as he passed, but didn’t stop. I frowned deeply at the small suitcase he was dragging behind him. It was possibly the most surreal goddamn thing I had ever seen.
“Not normal? Jesus, Cyrano, it’s like a walking horror movie in here.” I said, pushing through a group of teenage girls who had stopped in the middle of the walkway and were arguing around a pile of suitcases. I could have gone around them, but I was too preoccupied scanning the crowd for more creatures of the night. I half tripped over a suitcase but it didn’t slow my pace. Even when one of the girls shouted abuse at me I didn’t acknowledge them. I was too busy trying to keep up with Niko’s pace. The sooner we got this heirloom, the sooner we could get the hell out the damn place and back to our apartment. I was starting to feel like the walls were closing in on me.
Finally we reached the gate we needed. Collecting the package was easy enough, although I gave the woman behind the desk a quick sniff just to check if she was human. Astoundingly she was despite being made up like a Halloween mask. It was a wonder she could keep her head up considering how much make-up she was wearing.
I hung back a little and let my brother handle the proceedings. I was still scanning the crowd for creepy-crawlies. I was nervous as hell.
“That was easy enough.” I said as Niko strolled back over to me. He was clutching a small parcel box in his hands.
“Yes it was.” Niko agreed. “And you didn’t even have to break a sweat, little brother.”
I nodded, but it wasn’t entirely true. My hands were slick with sweat and my t-shirt was clinging to me underneath my jacket. I wiped my palms on my jeans and followed after my brother.
“What do you think is in the box?” I asked, curiosity overcoming my temporary agoraphobia for a moment.
Niko shifted his shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“You didn’t ask?” I shifted my gaze to the box warily. The crowd in front of us was slowing and I was forced to step around a dawdling group of tourists before coming back to Niko’s side.
My brother gave me a patient look. “The woman is in her eighties, Cal. I hardly think she is trafficking dangerous objects across America.”
I hesitated to mull that over. “You never know.” I said finally. “Weirder things have happened.”
Niko merely snorted and continued walking.
I barely made two steps.
Something hard collided with my right side. A shot of adrenaline instantly flew into my veins as I stumbled to the side, the momentum carrying me a few paces. It wasn’t one of my most graceful moments. I practically tripped over my own feet. I managed to stay upright even as my hands shot out seeking something to steady myself.
It took me a mere second to realise it wasn’t an evil creature with sharp claws, pointed teeth and glowing pools for eyes. It was a woman. Just a woman. The tiny brunette had walked right into me. Delicate fingers curled into my leather jacket, bright sapphire pools staring into my grey eyes. I noticed Niko was moving toward me out of my peripheral vision but the woman held my attention. There was something about her… something I couldn’t pinpoint. She grabbed me tighter and began speaking quickly in a language I didn’t understand. I frowned deeply at her, shifting my gaze to my brother. I barely managed English on a good day. I had no idea what this crazy broad was rambling about and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. Her tongue was rolling around her mouth so quickly that she was practically barking the words at me.
Niko was at my elbow within a millisecond of this all happening, his eyes locked on the woman. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to run her through or pack her off to an asylum. He went for the middle road and tried to extradite me from her grip. She was surprisingly strong considering her height.
“Let him go. Now.” Niko growled quietly but it was enough to stop her tirade. She turned to my brother and fixed him with a glare that made my stomach almost drop out of my frigging ass. Niko didn’t blink. His expression was no less dangerous than hers.
“Verna…” She rasped, pointing at me and shaking me a little to emphasis her point - whatever the hell that point was. “Verndari!”
“Ok, lady,” I began, frustration taking over. I wasn’t noted for my damn patience and this woman was pissing me off. Evil glaring aside, she was pretty small. If it came down to it I could totally take her - and if couldn’t, I had no doubt my brother could. I was sure Niko’s sense of chivalry wouldn’t even object in this case. “You need to take your damn hands off me. I don’t speak whatever the hell language you’re blabbering in.”
She glanced over her shoulder briefly before snapping her gaze back to me.
“Verna!” She repeated the word.
I tried to pull back from her grip but shit, I barely moved an inch. I didn’t know why but my stomach was rolling and my head was spinning. I wanted her off me and I wanted her off me now. Wrapping my fingers around her wrist, I tried to prise her hands off me.
“The tourist desk is near the entrance, lady.” I growled. “I’m sure they can help you out.”
And with that she released me and took off at full pelt. I watched her go bemused, my heart thrumming beneath my ribs. What the hell had that been about? The woman, however, was moving like a bat out of hell, seemingly oblivious to the people she was mowing down in her wake. It took less than a couple of seconds before she was lost in the crowd.
“Are you ok?” Niko’s voice brought me back to reality. Was I ok? Yeah I was fine. Was I freaked out? Damn straight I was. I didn’t do well with people getting into my personal space.
“She was nine buckets of whacked out craziness, but yeah, I’m just peachy, Nik.” I muttered, straightening my leather jacket feeling distinctly ruffled and a little bit violated.
“She was probably just confused, Cal.” Grey eyes twinkled whimsically now that the danger had passed. “She probably thought you were a celebrity.”
I scowled and was glad my nerves were starting to settle. “Come on, let’s just get back to the car. The sooner we get rid of this damn package, the sooner I can go back to bed.”
“Did you listen to a word I said about procrastination?”
“Yeah. I just chose to ignore you.” I smirked. “Besides, I make procrastination an art form.”
My brother shook his head. “You’re unbelievable.”
I smiled and clapped Niko on the shoulder.
“We all have our swords to bear, bro.”
Yeah and wouldn’t those words come back to bite me on the ass? Sometimes I wished my brain to mouth filter would actually work. Poking fate was nearly as suicidal as poking a grizzly with a stick. Only we poked something worse. Far worse. I guess I should have realized by now that bad luck was the only stick I was beaten with. Gibbering lady? Yeah she really came back to bite us on the ass.
Chapter Four
Authors: ames449 and bb1128
Genre: Gen/Hurt/Comfort
Characters: Cal and Niko Leandros, and others.
Disclaimer: The Leandros brothers and other various characters belong to the one and only Rob Thurman, not us.
Summary: It should have been a simple job. However Cal and Niko find themselves caught up in something more dangerous than they could ever have imagined.
A/N: Here's chapter three, hope you like it!
New York. The city that never sleeps. That was true enough for the tourists, but me? I liked my sleep, and I liked to sleep well into the afternoon. It was pretty much astounding for me to be awake, let alone alert, this early in the day. Yeah, someone put a call through to Guinness, tell them Cal Leandros broke a world record. He surfaced from his pit before midday. It was nothing short of a miracle.
I was definitely more of a nocturnal creature. I wasn’t sure if that was because of my monster DNA, or simply because I was a lazy bastard. Niko would have said the latter, but I had to wonder about the former. After all, the ghouls did prefer the hours following sunset, and I was no different. Did that make me like them? Hell no! But sometimes I had to wonder about the traits I shared with my paternal family. The Auphe weren’t exactly fans of sun, sea and sand, and let’s face it I was hardly a bronzed Adonis.
Emerging from our apartment building, I followed Niko out onto the doorstep and squinted at the early morning sun. It was nearing the end of spring but despite the clear azure sky it was frigging cold. I guess I should have been grateful there wasn’t snow. It felt cold enough for snow. I pulled a face. I hated the fucking cold.
Dragging my jacket further around my torso, I turned to my now stationary brother. Niko had come to a standstill in the doorway. He reached out and grabbed a fistful of my jacket to halt my own movements. Frowning deeply, I glanced up at him.
“What?” I asked hesitantly, my own gaze following his, trying to figure out what had caught his attention. Niko’s eyes were scanning the milling crowd of people strolling up the street, although his head didn’t move an inch. My heart gave a strangled flutter under my ribs. I half expected to see the Auphe snarling towards me but there was nothing. Just humans.
“I’m just making sure…”
I knew what he making sure of. He was making sure nothing was going to drop out of the sky and take my ass out of the game permanently. I did seem to have a bull’s-eye painted on my ass. I attracted trouble like shit attracted flies. Nik knew that as well as I did. He was looking for danger, but I’d assumed there was danger, and my stomach was aching with the unsuspected adrenaline release. Niko wasn’t taking chances. Even with the Auphe gone, he couldn’t break the habit of a lifetime. He was still watching my ass. Monsters may have liked the dark but that didn’t mean they disappeared in the daytime either. Assuming they wouldn’t attack during the sun-filled hours was a colossal mistake - and one that was likely to result in eternal sleeping. It wasn’t the kind of sleeping I liked.
That said, it was the middle of the morning and the street was filled with New Yorkers rushing around. I was probably safer outside than I was in our damn apartment. Not that I said that to my brother. He had enough crap to deal with without having to worrying about that as well.
Since Darkling’s attack I had been on my guard, but I knew I didn’t even come close to the standard Niko expected. If he had his way I would be on a leash behind him every minute of every day. No way was I playing the little lost puppy role - no matter how much it soothed my brother’s anxiety. I was no one’s bitch, not even Nik’s - at least that was what I kept telling myself.
“Don’t do that!” I growled. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.” I smacked him in the arm. Niko glanced at me, his brow tightening.
“It doesn’t hurt to be cautionary, Cal.” Niko murmured softly, releasing his grip on me. I straightened my jacket and forced my pounding heart to slow its frantic beating. It wasn’t easy. It continued to palpate for several minutes afterwards. I guess there’s nothing like being possessed and almost forced to wipe out humanity to fuck up your nerves.
“So, how are we getting to the airport?” I demanded peevishly, shielding my stinging eyes with my hand even as I shot a sour glare at my brother. “Subway?”
Niko didn’t turn to me. His eyes were still scanning the area even as he shook his head.
“Goodfellow was kind enough to lend us a car.” I snorted. Kind enough? There had to be a catch. There always was with Robin. I liked the guy, but Jesus, he was an extortionist at heart.
A shiny new Chevrolet was parked up against the sidewalk. Deep red, it had all the trimmings. It was a phallic symbol with wheels. I wasn’t much for cars but even I could appreciate the shiny newness. It was like a new toy on Christmas morning, all wrapped up with bows.
“The Chevy?” I whistled under my breath, wondering what the hell Niko had said to Goodfellow to wangle that. “Nice set of wheels, bro.”
A thin slither of teeth peeked beneath his lips as he shrugged.
“He was rather reluctant to part with such an expensive vehicle, but Promise can be highly persuasive when she needs to be.”
I didn’t doubt that. Promise could charm the birds out of the sky without even raising her voice - or showing a fang. I arched my brow, shifting my gaze back to the car.
“Yeah, and what’s this highly persuasive gift costing us?”
“Just your dignity, little brother.” I snapped my eyes to Niko. That sounded dubious, and I didn’t do dubious. Not ever - and especially not when it came to Robin.
“My dignity?” I asked confused, but Niko was grinning at me. Shit, he was grinning. I hadn’t seen my brother crack a full smile once in the last month, let alone grin. Our lives hadn’t exactly been rainbows and fairytales. Neither of us had much to smile about. Not that getting a smile out of my brother was an easy task, but it was a more regular occurrence than grinning.
“Use your imagination, Cal.”
My brain caught up a moment later. I didn’t like that it had. I didn’t want to think about what Niko was suggesting.
“Promise sold me to Robin for a car?” I demanded incredulously. I had to admit I was disappointed. I’d expected more from my potential sister-in-law. However, I had to wonder what kind of car we would have got if she had offered Goodfellow my brother.
He was loving every second of this. It was a lie of course… at least I hoped it was… It was hard to tell.
Niko regained control of his emotions and pulled his lips into a tight line.
“We needed transportation. The subway would have taken too long.” He replied as if I was overlooking something blatantly obvious.
I shifted uncomfortably. I didn’t like the way this conversation was going. Sure, Nik got one over on me on a daily basis, but I wasn’t above giving it back. Which I did - with glee.
“Yeah, well just remember it’s your ass he watches when you walk across the room, Cassanova.” I threw back with a grin. I didn’t need to see my brother’s expression to know I had hit a nerve. I could feel his eyes piercing holes in my back.
“Of course you could always walk.” Niko deadpanned. “The exercise would do you good.”
I might have filled the temple that was my body with crap but I still had a figure to be proud of. Ok, so I wasn’t as well muscled as Niko Schwarzenegger but Jesus, my brother took exercise to a whole new level of obsession.
“Nothing wrong with this fine exterior, Cyrano.” I patted my belly fondly.
“It’s a wonder you aren’t a walking commercial for obesity considering the amount of junk you put into that fine exterior, Cal.”
I recognised the chastisement for what it was, but shrugged impassively.
“You’re just bitter that you have to haul your ass nine miles a day to keep trim while I’m catching z’s.”
“Procrastination is not a lifestyle choice, little brother.”
I wanted to argue with him. In my opinion procrastination was the only lifestyle choice. However my brother had moved from the doorway and was striding across the sidewalk towards Goodfellow’s borrowed car. Brushing my dark hair off my face I started to follow.
It took us an hour and a half to get to the airport. You want to see Hell? I suggest going to any city airport. Screw fire and brimstone, screw pain and suffering, airports are worse. Thousands of giddy holiday makers offset by hundreds of pissed off assholes who’ve been bumped or had their flights delayed for hours. It’s a screaming pit of anger and despair. Not too strenuous Niko had said. Right now I was finding it impossible not to freak the hell out. I didn’t like crowds - unsurprising really, all things considered. Things could hide in crowds and it made me edgy not being able to see more than three rows ahead of me. There were too many people - and a helluva lot of them didn’t smell human.
That was an eye opener.
Apparently the preternatural world didn’t object to flying to new places to cause chaos. Welcome to the twenty-first century kids. Just makes sure the guy in the seat next to you isn’t going to eat your face when you book your holiday.
It was completely pathetic but I kept as close to Niko as I physically could without holding his damn hand. Yeah, I was in serious meltdown mode. I was freaked out to hell and it was such a bizarre reaction to the situation that I felt ridiculous. I’d faced so much crap in my life and yet it was the airport that was striking the fear of god into me. I never said I wasn’t nuts.
A wolf passed me suddenly, knocking my shoulder. He turned, amber eyes glaring at me and snarled even as he continued his pace, passing me. A werewolf! Jesus… How no one else noticed him I had no fucking idea. He wasn’t full wolf but he definitely couldn’t pass as human. I wondered what the hell the check-in girls made of this guy when he dumped his boarding pass on the desk. I flicked my head back round and realised Nik was still moving. Jogging, I caught up to him as quickly as I could. This place was giving me the creeps.
“Problems?” Niko asked, eying me carefully.
I shook my head and shrugged at the same time. “Not unless we’re planning on boarding Preternatural Airways to Vegas.” I muttered.
Niko raised a brow.
“I assume you also noticed that the crowd isn’t quite normal.”
Understatement of the fucking century, Nik! Not quiet normal? I couldn’t help but stare as my nose caught the scent of a… a… Jesus!
A vampire wearing a long leather duster was moving towards us. He gave me a sidelong glance as he passed, but didn’t stop. I frowned deeply at the small suitcase he was dragging behind him. It was possibly the most surreal goddamn thing I had ever seen.
“Not normal? Jesus, Cyrano, it’s like a walking horror movie in here.” I said, pushing through a group of teenage girls who had stopped in the middle of the walkway and were arguing around a pile of suitcases. I could have gone around them, but I was too preoccupied scanning the crowd for more creatures of the night. I half tripped over a suitcase but it didn’t slow my pace. Even when one of the girls shouted abuse at me I didn’t acknowledge them. I was too busy trying to keep up with Niko’s pace. The sooner we got this heirloom, the sooner we could get the hell out the damn place and back to our apartment. I was starting to feel like the walls were closing in on me.
Finally we reached the gate we needed. Collecting the package was easy enough, although I gave the woman behind the desk a quick sniff just to check if she was human. Astoundingly she was despite being made up like a Halloween mask. It was a wonder she could keep her head up considering how much make-up she was wearing.
I hung back a little and let my brother handle the proceedings. I was still scanning the crowd for creepy-crawlies. I was nervous as hell.
“That was easy enough.” I said as Niko strolled back over to me. He was clutching a small parcel box in his hands.
“Yes it was.” Niko agreed. “And you didn’t even have to break a sweat, little brother.”
I nodded, but it wasn’t entirely true. My hands were slick with sweat and my t-shirt was clinging to me underneath my jacket. I wiped my palms on my jeans and followed after my brother.
“What do you think is in the box?” I asked, curiosity overcoming my temporary agoraphobia for a moment.
Niko shifted his shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“You didn’t ask?” I shifted my gaze to the box warily. The crowd in front of us was slowing and I was forced to step around a dawdling group of tourists before coming back to Niko’s side.
My brother gave me a patient look. “The woman is in her eighties, Cal. I hardly think she is trafficking dangerous objects across America.”
I hesitated to mull that over. “You never know.” I said finally. “Weirder things have happened.”
Niko merely snorted and continued walking.
I barely made two steps.
Something hard collided with my right side. A shot of adrenaline instantly flew into my veins as I stumbled to the side, the momentum carrying me a few paces. It wasn’t one of my most graceful moments. I practically tripped over my own feet. I managed to stay upright even as my hands shot out seeking something to steady myself.
It took me a mere second to realise it wasn’t an evil creature with sharp claws, pointed teeth and glowing pools for eyes. It was a woman. Just a woman. The tiny brunette had walked right into me. Delicate fingers curled into my leather jacket, bright sapphire pools staring into my grey eyes. I noticed Niko was moving toward me out of my peripheral vision but the woman held my attention. There was something about her… something I couldn’t pinpoint. She grabbed me tighter and began speaking quickly in a language I didn’t understand. I frowned deeply at her, shifting my gaze to my brother. I barely managed English on a good day. I had no idea what this crazy broad was rambling about and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. Her tongue was rolling around her mouth so quickly that she was practically barking the words at me.
Niko was at my elbow within a millisecond of this all happening, his eyes locked on the woman. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to run her through or pack her off to an asylum. He went for the middle road and tried to extradite me from her grip. She was surprisingly strong considering her height.
“Let him go. Now.” Niko growled quietly but it was enough to stop her tirade. She turned to my brother and fixed him with a glare that made my stomach almost drop out of my frigging ass. Niko didn’t blink. His expression was no less dangerous than hers.
“Verna…” She rasped, pointing at me and shaking me a little to emphasis her point - whatever the hell that point was. “Verndari!”
“Ok, lady,” I began, frustration taking over. I wasn’t noted for my damn patience and this woman was pissing me off. Evil glaring aside, she was pretty small. If it came down to it I could totally take her - and if couldn’t, I had no doubt my brother could. I was sure Niko’s sense of chivalry wouldn’t even object in this case. “You need to take your damn hands off me. I don’t speak whatever the hell language you’re blabbering in.”
She glanced over her shoulder briefly before snapping her gaze back to me.
“Verna!” She repeated the word.
I tried to pull back from her grip but shit, I barely moved an inch. I didn’t know why but my stomach was rolling and my head was spinning. I wanted her off me and I wanted her off me now. Wrapping my fingers around her wrist, I tried to prise her hands off me.
“The tourist desk is near the entrance, lady.” I growled. “I’m sure they can help you out.”
And with that she released me and took off at full pelt. I watched her go bemused, my heart thrumming beneath my ribs. What the hell had that been about? The woman, however, was moving like a bat out of hell, seemingly oblivious to the people she was mowing down in her wake. It took less than a couple of seconds before she was lost in the crowd.
“Are you ok?” Niko’s voice brought me back to reality. Was I ok? Yeah I was fine. Was I freaked out? Damn straight I was. I didn’t do well with people getting into my personal space.
“She was nine buckets of whacked out craziness, but yeah, I’m just peachy, Nik.” I muttered, straightening my leather jacket feeling distinctly ruffled and a little bit violated.
“She was probably just confused, Cal.” Grey eyes twinkled whimsically now that the danger had passed. “She probably thought you were a celebrity.”
I scowled and was glad my nerves were starting to settle. “Come on, let’s just get back to the car. The sooner we get rid of this damn package, the sooner I can go back to bed.”
“Did you listen to a word I said about procrastination?”
“Yeah. I just chose to ignore you.” I smirked. “Besides, I make procrastination an art form.”
My brother shook his head. “You’re unbelievable.”
I smiled and clapped Niko on the shoulder.
“We all have our swords to bear, bro.”
Yeah and wouldn’t those words come back to bite me on the ass? Sometimes I wished my brain to mouth filter would actually work. Poking fate was nearly as suicidal as poking a grizzly with a stick. Only we poked something worse. Far worse. I guess I should have realized by now that bad luck was the only stick I was beaten with. Gibbering lady? Yeah she really came back to bite us on the ass.
Chapter Four