Chapter 5
Lyall
Today has been a day like no other.
This afternoon I was overjoyed to see Soren.
Only in my wildest fantasies could I have imagined we would sit down and have mead together like we used to.
Everything about him is so familiar. It’s easy to slip up and share information about life from my timeline.
I have to remind myself to be careful, but it’s hard.
I have never kept secrets from Soren. We knew each other so well, as if we were extensions of each other’s souls.
Then I made the mistake of jumping over that obstacle in the subway.
It was only later that I remembered Anders had given me this thing called an OMNY card, some magical scroll that would help open those barriers so I could enter the underworld.
He’d said that the guards might get angry if I didn’t use the scroll, but I had forgotten—and I’d wanted to impress Soren.
As we’d rushed deeper into the underworld and a giant metal dragon had come charging in from the tunnel toward us, I’d begun to panic.
The humans had willingly walked right into the beast’s belly!
Why? It was then I realized… they were human souls, already passed on from this life.
This metal beast had been spiriting them away to the Hel’s realm.
It was nothing like the stories Father had told us lads about Helheim.
Soren hadn’t been afraid. No, he was the one who’d comforted me. Human as he is now, unaware of his past, he’d shown such bravery in the face of an uncertain journey we might never have returned from.
I’d uttered a prayer to the gods when we left the underworld behind and returned to Midgard. Hel would not have our souls this day. Not yet.
My spirits had lifted considerably when Soren and I had sparred. For a glorious moment, the man I knew and loved had shone through. He’d fought with the same skill and ferocity as the warrior I’d proudly called my mate.
But it hadn’t been enough for him to remember me.
The disappointment had nearly brought me to my knees, and so I’d escaped outside for some fresh air.
I’d taken the portal back down the tower to the city streets below and used the magic box—the phone, I think it’s called—to contact Anders and tell him everything.
“This is a good thing, though!” Jamie’s voice says.
I fail to see the positive in this. “Is it?”
“Pet, are you thinking what I am?”
“You bet your sexy ass I am.”
Anders adds, “Think about it, brother. His memories may be gone, but his body still remembers. The person he used to be still resides within him. Mayhap with more encouragement—”
My heart leaps as understanding hits me. “He’ll remember our history! Yes! That’s brilliant!”
Jamie says, “Keep doing stuff that’s similar to what you used to do together. Maybe it will help.”
“Such as? This timeline is too different.”
“Hang on, let me look something up,” Jamie says. After a short pause, he says, “How about axe throwing? There’s a place on Lafayette that does it. I’ll send you the link.”
We hang up and, true to his word, Jamie sends me directions to the place.
“Hey.” Soren’s voice makes me jump. “You okay?”
“Aye. It was hot up there, that’s all. Do you know how to get here?” I hold up the phone. Soren leans in to read the message, then nods.
“Yeah. It’s not too far. Why, what’s there?”
I shrug. “A surprise.”
Soren lifts his brows, lips curling playfully. “I like surprises.”
To my relief, we don’t go back into the underworld this time. Soren waves, and a yellow car pulls up to the curb. Driving is much more pleasant, especially when I roll down the window and the crisp, cold breeze blows my hair back.
“You’re crazy,” Soren says, laughing. “You’re gonna get frostbite!”
“It will be worth it. This breeze is wonderful!”
Soren mutters something about a golden retriever, whatever that is.
Once we arrive at our destination, we take another one of those portals up. I can’t fight back my nerves as the doors close, confining us in the narrow space. Soren doesn’t even blink, just pushes a button for our floor.
“You sure you’re okay?” Soren asks me.
I nod, forcing myself to laugh. “F-fine.”
“Not a fan of enclosed spaces, are you?”
Not sure what that means.
Soren leans back against the wall, his shoulder brushing mine. “We’ll be fine,” he says, and the confidence in his words makes the knot in my chest unwind. I exhale and lean into his side, my heart slowing to a steady thump. I trust Soren with my life. If he says we’re safe, then we are.
A flurry of delicious smells hits me as we step out of the portal and into a large dining hall.
There’s a crowded bar, and many of the tables are full of people enjoying delectable meals.
The music is loud, making me wince. I know human hearing is weaker than an ulfhednar’s superior senses, but do they really need the music that loud?
“A restaurant?” Soren guesses.
A woman smiles and waves at us. “Welcome, guys! Would you like a table or are you here for the axe throwing?”
Soren gapes at me. “Axe throwing? We’re throwing axes?” His face splits into a grin that I haven’t seen in years, one bright with the promise of adventure.
“The axes, please,” I say.
She leads the way through the crowded hall and up a set of stairs. There are several loud thwacks followed by cheering.
“Whoa!” Soren says, rushing ahead to watch as a woman in a cage throws an axe at a target and misses. Her friends laugh at her. Soren shakes his head, laughing too. “Drunk people throwing weapons. That can’t possibly backfire.”
There are several cages, all occupied by men and women throwing axes. Some hit their targets while others miss, but everyone appears to be having a good time. My fingers are already twitching to get my hands on an axe.
While we wait, an instructor gives us advice on stances and grips so that by the time Soren and I enter cages next to each other, we’re prepared.
Soren appears a little uneasy as he glances back at the instructor for advice on his posture.
I heft the axe with ease, unable to hold back my grin.
“What’s wrong, Soren? Afraid I’ll best you? ”
“I mean, you probably will.”
“Come on! Show me what you’ve got!” I fling the axe at the target, barking a laugh when it lands dead center just as I knew it would.
“We get it, you’re awesome,” Soren says, voice devoid of emotion. He steps up toward the target, shoulders tense. He’s in his head; I can see it in the way he keeps readjusting his grip.
“You can always walk away, Soren. No one will blame you for being a craven.”
Soren’s eyes light up at my teasing. “Fuck you,” he says, grinning, and hurls the axe across the room. It lands on target, and Soren throws his arms in the air and shouts in excitement.
I can’t help but laugh at his joy. I knew he could do it. He was always a natural. “A wager!” I say challengingly. “Whoever hits the most targets gets a free round of drinks!”
“You’re on!”
And so it begins. I work up a sweat as I throw and throw and throw.
My arms start to ache, and when I miss one of my shots, Soren howls with laughter.
Seeing him so happy and in his element suddenly becomes much more important than winning.
When the timer goes off, Soren has bested me.
I may have deliberately missed a few of my targets, but that will be my little secret.
Soren does a little dance, holding the axe over his head. “How do you like my dance? I’m calling it the free drinks dance!”
I lift my hands and show him my middle fingers, a gesture I learned from Kieran.
Soren laughs until he’s doubled over.
“Aye, you’ll have your drinks. Hope you choke on them,” I say, but without any venom. I’ll buy Soren whatever he wishes so long as it makes him happy. Swinging my arm around his shoulders, I guide him back to the bar and happily hand over my—well, Anders’s—card to pay for the first round.
Beyond the windows, the city lights come on as the sky darkens. By our second round of beers, Soren has regaled me with countless stories from his job as a tender of bars, each one more humorous than the last. I’ve laughed until my stomach aches and I fear I’ll throw up my beer.
“You jest!” I wheeze for air and thumb away a tear from the corner of my eye.
Soren shakes his head, cheeks red from drink and mirth. “Swear on my life! Five thousand dollars if I’d blow a line of coke up his ass!”
I am not sure what this coke is, but the visuals are enough for me to understand. “Tell me you refused!”
“Of course I did. Kept the money, though. He was so drunk, he didn’t even ask for it back!”
I slap the bar with a guffaw of laughter. “What did you spend it on?”
Soren’s humor sobers. “My granddad needed knee surgery, and his insurance wouldn’t cover it, so I chipped in.”
His grandfather? Soren never had a grandfather. All his family except for his father were killed in the attack on his village. Whoever this man is, he isn’t his relative. So who is he?
“That was kind of you. You must care for him deeply.”
Soren smiles, soft and loving. I missed that sight. “He’s the best. My mom had me really young, and she took off and left me with him. I can’t imagine raising kids was something he wanted to do after he retired, but he gave it his all.”
What? His mother? Realization slams into me, making my hand curl into a fist. These must be the memories the Council planted in Soren’s mind to help him adjust to this new timeline. It’s not real, any of it, but he believes it is with his whole heart.
I push my drink aside, the taste like ash in my mouth. If Soren were to learn the truth, that his entire life has been a lie… it would devastate him. Who is his grandfather? Is he somehow in on this whole thing?
Gods, I wish I could tell Soren the truth. He deserves to know. But I can’t. It would bring ruin to my family. I can’t risk it.