Page 57 of Soothsayer

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Shut up.”

“There’s no need to be a broken record. I’m just asking a question.”

“We’re going to my land,” Sören said, eagerness shining in his eyes. “I can feel it drawing closer. My power is growing.”

“That’s nice.” I wanted Sören nice and powerful for what was going to go down. “You’ve missed it, huh?”

“As you have missed certain vital things yourself,” Sören said, and I reached out and took his hand.

“It’ll all be worked out soon.”

Rolf stared at the two of us like he couldn’t believe his own eyes. “What the hell?”

“Hmm?”

“What are youdoingwith it?”

“Which one of us are you referring to?” I asked. “Me or Sören?”

“It!The landvættir, obviously!” I felt Sören’s fingers tighten around mine, probably with annoyance at being spoken about so dismissively.

“I’m holding his hand. It’s something I like to do with people I enjoy. I understand that you’re probably not used to the sort of relationships that include nonviolent touching, but try not to judge, okay?”

“You really think of me as a friend?” Sören asked, staring at me.

There was nothing but purple mist in his eyes, no hint of the Sören I loved, but I was still able to look at him and say, with complete honestly, “Yeah, I do. I really do.”

“You’re crazy.” Rolf’s gun hand shivered, and I really hoped he’d set the safety because an accident would just be ludicrous at this point. “You’re totally crazy. Sören’s not in there. He’s gone.”

Sören’s gaze narrowed to a glare as he glanced over at his brother, and I decided to intervene beforehedecided to change the rules. “The shutting up thing goes both ways,” I said. “If you want to make it through the rest of this ride without complications, I suggest you follow your own advice.”

Thank god Rolf was smart enough to takethatat face value. I held on to Sören’s hand in total silence for the rest of the half-hour trip. By the time the SUV came to a stop outside a long beige warehouse, I didn’t even feel the cold anymore.

This was it. This was endgame: this was where I had to pull it all off. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath, felt my body hum with adrenaline and thelub-dubpurr of blood pumping through my veins, fast and smooth. Rolf was already out of the car, and before I followed him, I leaned in, cupped Sören’s face, and kissed him, fast and hard.

“That’s for both of you,” I said quietly, enjoying the dumbfounded expression on his face before I let go of his hand and stepped out into the sunshine.

Rolf was gesturing with the gun toward the offices in the front of the warehouse, but I was more interested in watching Sörenexpandas he got within touching distance of his land. His eyes burned brightly, vivid violet, penetrating purple and every shade in between.

He smiled broadly. “It is good to be here,” he said.

“I told you both to get the fuck inside!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Nevertheless, I followed directions and walked up to the open door of the office. I took one step inside and then doubled over as a huge fist impacted my gut, just below the diaphragm. The force of it drove me to my knees. I was really happy right then that I hadn’t had much to eat for breakfast, because I’d have lost it all right then if I had.

“Art?r!” Sören sounded annoyed. “That is not acceptable behavior.”

“It’s less than he deserves,” the eldest brother said with a sneer. “If I were doing thisquid pro quo, I’d have punched him in the nuts.”

“Nevertheless.” This time it was Jakob talking, the voice of reason calming the storm that brewed within his family. He stepped forward and helped me to stand up. “We must be hospitable.” He straightened my jacket, his eyes fixing for a moment on the Buddha at my neck, and then reached into my pockets.

“Not on the first date,” I croaked, but didn’t resist his investigations.

“I’m disappointed that you don’t count what happened before as our first date,” Jakob said mockingly as he pulled out my cigarettes and lighter. “It was such an explosively good time.” He held up the items to Rolf. “You were supposed to confiscate everything.”

“I already got his gun,” Rolf snapped. “What’s he gonna do with those, give me secondhand lung cancer?”

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