Godhunter

Chapter 5

I sputtered and almost wasted good tequila. I said almost.

"Excuse me?"My hand hovered mid-air; unsure whether to continue with the drinking program or just give up in favor of open-mouthed confusion.

"I believe we're after the same things."Thor reached over and gently nudged my glass upwards.

I drank the rest of the shot without thinking and without taking my eyes off him.

"I barely know you."I turned the glass over this time. "How could you possibly know what I'm after?"

"You were trying to steal the same information that I was."Thor shot a quick glance around the bar.

"Trying?"I huffed.

Questions flew around my head like annoying gnats. Had Thor been sent to get the plans back? Oh, did I mention that I had the forbearance to grab said plans while I was kneeing him? Well, I did and now, the Norse God of Thunder sat across from me; drinking tequila and talking about wanting me due to our similar goals. Why hadn't he just killed me and taken the plans if he wanted them? Why all the games? What the hell was going on?

"You do have them."Thor smiled like a cat that had just found a fallen bird-feeder… still full of birds.

"Why would you be trying to steal them?"I ignored how sexy his smile was. I am a professional after all.

"Not all gods are as horrible as you think."Thor downed another shot; his eyes narrowing briefly under his furrowed brow.

"Yeah; that's what the Christians keep telling me."I smirked. "Can't say for sure though; never met Jesus."

One perfectly formed eyebrow winged upward over the swirling blues and greens of his eyes. Was it the tequila affecting me, or were the colors in his eyes actually flowing together like mist? I pushed the shot glass away and sighed. It wouldn't do to get all sloppy drunk with a god. Who knows where I'd wake up, or if I'd wake up.

"Some of us don't agree with the majority."Thor pretended to misinterpret my signal to stop drinking and refilled my glass before placing it back in front of me.

I stared hard at the shot glass for a second so it knew who was boss and then picked it up to take a resigned sip.

"What do you mean; you don't agree?"I looked around and faintly realized the sun was setting.

Oh, great; time for the rest of the monsters to come out and play.

"I don't think we need people to die for us to give us power."Thor frowned at my distraction, and I settled my attention back firmly onto what he was saying. "Most of us believe it's the only way to raise as much power as the freely given blood used to bring, but I don't agree."

"The blood?"I smirked at him and shook my head. "You mean sacrifice—specifically; human—don't you?"

"I believe that's what I just said."He sighed. "There's no way around the fact that blood holds life and life is magic. When people sacrificed to us, we gained their magic and there's nothing like it. The sacrifice of animals was good too, but that was only due to the magic imbued into the blood by human intention, and it never came close to the power a human life brought. It's that rush of magic that my fellow deities are striving for. They plot to bring war among your kind so you'll kill each other in their name again; this time on a mass scale, and they will all share in the waves of energy it brings."

"Yes, yes."I waved a hand imperiously. "I know all that. What I don't know is why you, the God of Thunder, God of War, God of the Vikings who were known for their viciousness, would suddenly grow a soft spot and decide that you don't want us to fight anymore."

"Trust me; I have no soft spots."Thor's lips twitched a little. "I just don't think that mass destruction is a good idea. You've learned about us; you know that we need followers to increase our strength. The more people who remember us and respect us, the more we thrive. Some of us have grown immense in ability. What you might not know is that we don't need any more power to survive. Our talents are old, and our magic will sustain us until the earth crumbles away and is nothing but space debris. Even then, we may still survive long enough to find another suitable planet. And by the way, I'm not just a god of war; I also rule the sky, all storms, sea-journeys, and justice."

I could feel my eyes grow round at Thor's candor. I had no idea the Gods were strong enough to survive eternity without our sacrifice. I'd always assumed that without humanity, the Atlanteans would have died out long ago. I knew their magic was great, but I had no idea it was comic book, super villain great. My magic seemed a poor shadow of it, although Ku's book held enough of their spells to bring me a little closer to their level. Without that book, I'd already be dead.

"Impressive résumé."I found myself shooting tequila again. Damn it; I had to stop that. "It still doesn't explain why you'd choose to miss out on all the extra power."

"As I said; I don't think the current course of action is wise. The way things are heading, your kind could blow the whole world apart, and I like it here."

"Cause it's where you keep your stuff?"I smirked.

"Some of it."Thor smirked back.

"So, what do you propose?"I could feel the stolen documents crinkling against my waist.

The black silk of my top was already limp from the heat so it was a good guess that Thor knew where the documents were. I started to reach to pull them out, but his hand flew across the table and grabbed mine.

"Not here."Thor caressed my hand along the line of the glove where the leather was cut to leave my fingers bare.

I assumed that he was trying to make it appear—to anyone who might be watching—that affection had been his true intention.

"You wisely chose a public place to speak with me, but if we go any further, we need privacy,"he said.

Privacy. Go any further. The words seemed to curl in my gut and try to snake their way lower. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be alone with the Nordic giant. It had been awhile since I was alone with any man in a non-killing sense and the last time hadn't turned out so well.

"What do you have in mind?"I slid my hand out from beneath Thor's.

He turned his head to the side; a little wrinkle appearing between his brows.

"I have a boat up at the Yacht Club."Thor refilled my glass again, and the wrinkle disappeared.

"As if I'd follow you onto your boat,"I huffed.

"Do you have a problem with boats?"

Thor's eyes crinkled at the corners and, just for a second, I wondered exactly how much he knew about me.

"You think you know me?"I narrowed my eyes at Thor and tried to look as fierce as possible, which is hard to do when you're built like I am.

I worked out, but I wasn't what you'd call "ripped."My love of food prevented that, and I preferred it that way. I liked my curves. Unfortunately, my lack of height on top of my lack of prominent muscles didn't exactly make me sss warrior material. What it did do was make it hard for me to look intimidating. I was about as scary as an angry Poodle.

"I do know you, Vervain."Thor smiled when my jaw dropped. "Did you think I wouldn't know the Godhunter when I saw her?"

"Godhunter?"My whisper was almost a whimper.

"Were you unaware that you'd made a name for yourself?"His eyes showed a little surprise too.

Well, yippee-kai-yay; I wasn't the only one in shock.

"I didn't realize that I was known to the Gods at all,"I said.

I had hoped my kills had gone unnoticed, or at least unaccounted for by the Gods.

"Oh, you're known."Thor's smile returned. "Did you really think that you could kill gods and no one would notice?"

"Well, it's not as if I left my business card,"I snapped.

Grisly scenes passed through my mind; images that I try hard not to dwell on and which I sometimes needed large amounts of alcohol to banish. I hunted gods; it wasn't as if I were going to give them a fair fight if I could help it. Most of the time, I felt like an assassin; sneaking up on my unsuspecting victims and leaving bloody crime scenes in my wake. I never worried about getting caught since most of their homes were in the God Realm. It's not as if the police would be investigating. So, I never thought to cover my tracks. Maybe next time, I'd torch the place after I was done.

"A few of the gods you killed had surveillance systems."Thor smiled as the blood drained from my face.

Gods with security cameras. No; I hadn't counted on that.

"You also left your scent everywhere. As soon as I smelled you, I knew who you were,"he added.

"What; are you part Bloodhound or something?"I asked churlishly.

I didn't like being in the dark, but then I was still fairly new to this game. Maybe I should cut myself some slack just this once. I'd have to be more careful in the future, though. Fire; definitely fire. It would take care of any evidence I left behind and be a double guarantee on death. If only I could burn the memories as well.

"We have very acute senses."Thor licked his full lips, and I couldn't tear my gaze away. "Taste, hearing, touch, sight, and smell; they're all heightened on us."

"Well, woopdee-diddley-doo,"I exclaimed.

I couldn't help it; I was getting turned on, and I needed to cover it up with something. Sarcasm won out as usual.

Thor did that godly-laughing thing again which did nothing for my efforts to tamp down my libido. Maybe I needed to start dating. Going five years without getting some lovin' was not good for god-resisting. I made a mental note to go out that weekend.

"I've forgotten how amusing humans can be."Thor was laughing so hard that he had tears in his eyes.

"Okay, fine."I sighed. "I'm funny, and I stink. No matter how much you flatter me, I'm still not getting on your damn boat."

"I didn't say that you smell bad."Thor was getting that confused look again, but at least he had stopped laughing. "Why don't you accept compliments like a normal woman?"

"There is no normal here, Thor,"I said his name as if it explained it all. "Lots of interesting things going on but none of them are normal."

"Point taken."He licked his lips again; the bastard. "I'm intrigued."

"No; you're not."I put my pointer finger in his face. "You're amused, remember? And the answer is still; no."

"I offer you my blood as safeguard."Thor pulled a tiny blade from his pocket and cut his thumb with it.

If the situation hadn't been so dangerous, I would have laughed to have seen such a big man holding such a tiny knife. But then, if you're that big, you don't need a large weapon, do you? Thor made Mr. Dundee seem as if he were overcompensating.

I stared at the blood welling up on Thor's thumb and didn't have a clue on how to proceed. I had the weirdest feeling that he was offering me an extreme compliment, and I probably shouldn't insult him by refusing, but what was I supposed to do? I couldn't remember coming across this in Ku's book. Did Thor want me to cut my thumb and press it to his, or what? Was I going to be blood brothers—I mean; blood siblings—with a god? The confusion must have shown on my face because Thor smiled and suddenly went all deity. He looked at me as if he were bestowing a blessing on me, and I had to shake off the sudden urge to kneel.

"Will you accept my protection?"Thor lifted his hand and his thumb hovered over my lips. The bead of blood seemed to shimmer as it welled up.

Oh, damn. Was Thor going to put his blood on my mouth? Gross. I couldn't even bring myself to say yes; I just nodded, and Thor instantly lowered his bloody thumb. I blinked as the shock-waves coursed through me. Tingling, biting power ran inside me like needle-legged spiders as I felt Thor's blood melt into my skin. I absorbed it and knew immediately that his offer of protection was eternal. I was under Thor's protection. A god was protecting the Godhunter. What irony.

"Why did you do that?"I rubbed at my lips and stared at the vanishing cut on Thor's thumb; his body just kinda sucked the blood back in.

"We need you with us."Thor slammed back another shot and his hand shook for just a second as he put the glass down. "We can't fight both you and them. Now, do you accompany me to my boat or not?"