Eye of the Beholder (12 page)

Jordan turned the television on, but kept the volume low. She switched it to Lifetime. She raised her voice slightly, glancing at the door to the den. “How about a good victim of the week movie while we wait?”

Two male groans of disgust sounded from the den.

“Good. That should keep them out for a bit.” Jordan scooted closer to Jamie, a big grin on her face. “So. Travis. Is he as good with his tongue as I think he is?” She waggled her eyebrows, giggling when Jamie smacked her on the arm. “C’mon, sister to sister. Is he, y’know, enough to keep you satisfied?”

From the way Jordan held her hands apart Jamie had no problem figuring out what she meant. “Jordan!”

“What?”

“Logan is a bad influence on you.”

“Is Travis a bad influence on you?”

“I turned him down.”

Jordan stared at her blankly.

“Seriously. I totally panicked. I said no.”

“Did the word no leave your lips at any time?”

She thought back. “Um, no, not actually.”

“Good. Because I’d have to smack you silly if it had.”

“But I didn’t say yes, either.” Jamie groaned and put her head on her big sister’s shoulder. “What am I doing?”

Jordan didn’t even hesitate, her arms wrapping around Jamie’s shoulders in a big hug. “You’re claiming the man you’ve been in love with since you were sixteen, that’s what you’re doing.”

“But does he really want to be claimed?”

Jordan smacked her on top of her head.

“Ow.”

“That’s what you get for being stupid.”

“He never seemed interested before.”

“Well, he sure as hell is interested now.”

“And in the future?” Jamie cuddled in closer to her sister’s warmth and wished, not for the first time, that she could contact their mom. She didn’t even know if their mother knew who their father was, or anything that had happened to them. She hadn’t shown up at the hospital, nor had she tried to contact any of them since before Grimm attacked her. It was odd, because their family was usually pretty close. Maybe whatever power Grimm had used to sway the Aesir had been used on their mother? “How do I know he doesn’t just feel sorry for me?”

Jordan smacked her on top of her head again.

“Ow.”

“I tell people my momma didn’t raise any stupid children. Stop trying to make a liar outta me.”

Jamie bit her lip, barely holding back her grin. “So you think he’s really into me?” She grabbed Jordan’s hand before she could smack her again. “A simple yes would do.”

“Yes. Duh.” Jordan sighed. “The last time I saw a man look at a woman the way Travis looks at you, I found myself secretly married.”

Jamie gulped. “How do you deal with…you know.”

“What, loving two men?”

“No. Two gods.”

Jordan sat her up. “Is
that
what’s holding you back?”

Jamie nodded. “He’s a
god,
Jordan. He’s been alive for, what, thousands of years? How many women has he loved? How long will he live? Will he even remember me when I’m gone?” She frowned. “Why hasn’t he dated a redhead before now?”

Jordan held up Jamie’s hand. There wasn’t even a scar visible from where Logan had cut her the night before. “First off, how do you know he hasn’t dated any redheads? He’s, what, umpty-bazillion years old? I’d think by now he’d have hit on all the hair colors. Second, you’ve shared blood with two gods, not just one. I can tell already that you’ve got Logan’s ability to heal, you lucky bitch. You’ve probably gotten immortality from Travis.”

“I have?”

Jordan shrugged. “That’s what I got from bonding with Kir.”

“Yeah, but Kir is Aesir. Travis is Vanir. What if it doesn’t work the same way?”

Jordan opened her mouth, then closed it, her expression thoughtful. “You know, I don’t know how that would work.” She took Jamie’s hand and smiled. “But if it came down to it, I’m positive Kir would figure out a way to share blood with you, or Morgan, Magnus or Uncle Val, for that matter.”

“Yup, I would.” Jamie turned just as Kir pecked the top of her head. “Just as Logan and I plan on sharing with Jeff.” He plopped down at Jordan’s feet, his blond head resting against Jordan’s knee. “No way is Jordan going to go without her family. Not if we can help it.” He smiled up at Jordan as she caressed his hair. “Did you order any sodas with the pizza?”

Jordan just shook her head as the ruler of the gods pouted over the fact that she’d forgotten his cherry Pepsi.

“Wait. Why would I have to share blood with so many people? Isn’t it, like, unhygienic?”

Kir grinned. “Logan’s not really a god.”

Jamie blinked. “That cleared things right up.”

Jordan bopped her on the head again. “What he means is, Logan, as a Jotun, can give you the ability to use fire magic, or his expanded healing, but he
can’t
give you immortality. Kir can, because he’s Aesir.”

“So what did Travis give me?”

Kir’s lips opened, but a confused look crossed his face. “Huh. I have no idea. I don’t think he’s shared blood with anyone else before.”

Jamie couldn’t help the satisfied smirk that crossed her face. Take that, blonde bimbos of the world!

They sat quietly for a few moments, watching some woman on the screen try to explain to her friend why she thought her husband was up to no good. When the lights turned out at the end of the scene, Jamie was reminded of what she’d done the day before. “Something else has been bothering me too.”

“What would that be?” Jordan was playing with strands of Kir’s hair, her expression thoughtful. She didn’t even protest when Kir changed the channel.

“Dimming Travis’s light.”

Jordan’s fingers paused. Jamie looked down at Kir to find him studying her with an intensity that made her squirm.

“Look, several of you guys appeared a little freaked by that.” Jamie stared down at her hands. “What did I do and how did I do it?”

“You’re a mage.” She turned as Logan settled on the ottoman in front of her, his hands clasped between his knees. He too was studying her intently.

“Mage. Harry Potter woo-woo mage?” She wiggled her fingers at Logan.

Logan snorted. “Not quite, Pita. And, seriously, now you’re more god than mage anyway.”

Jamie choked on spit. “G-God?”

Logan was grinning. “There are five types of magic in the world, and several of them are intertwined. The ones you need to be worried about now are elemental, divine and runic.”

“What are the other two?”

“Decisive and petition.”

“Um. Okay.” She hoped she didn’t look as lost as she felt.

Logan reached up and tapped her nose. “You
were
a decisive mage. Now you’re a divine mage.”

Jordan was practically bouncing. “Like me?”

Logan shook his head. “Remember how I said that magic was intertwined?”

“Yes?”

“Your magic is much more elemental than Jamie’s.”

“Oh.” Jordan looked disappointed for some bizarre reason. Jamie didn’t understand why.

Wait a minute.
Jamie bit her lip. “So Jordan’s eyes really
did
have flames in them at the hospital?”

Logan glared at Jordan. “You have got to learn to control that.”

“Bite me, Logan.”

He smirked. “Later, dear.”

Jamie was beginning to see why Jeff was fed up with Casa de Luuuv. “So what am I again? Exactly?”

“You were decisive.” He stared at her for a moment as if he were sizing her up. “Okay. The two magics that are most alike are divine and decisive. A decisive mage works his magic by forcing his will on the world around him, but he’s limited by his humanity. Whereas a god…” Logan shrugged.

“A god is limited only by their own innate goodness. So how come none of you have, I dunno, flooded the world or something?”

Logan stared at her in exaggerated horror. “Are you kidding? This is where I keep all my stuff.”

Kir smacked Logan on the knee. “There are limits to what even we can do. You’ve heard of the great flood, right? Every religion has an account of the world being covered in water.”

“I may have heard a story or two, yes.” Was he about to tell her that really happened?

“The god who actually started that flood?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering where he was going with this.

“Gone. He lost his temper, let loose the waves and…poof. Disappeared. He poured too much of himself into it. We still don’t know if what he did was deliberate or if it simply got away from him and sucked him in after.”

Jamie shuddered. “So if Logan were to attempt to cover the world in fire…”

Kir nodded. “He could do it, but he’d
become
the fire. When it finally died out…” Kir shuddered, his hand burrowing into Logan’s hair.

She winced. “Ouch.”

Logan leaned back into his lover’s touch, but his expression was stern. “Quicky class: don’t try to cover the world in whatever your divine power turns out to be,
do
try and figure out what you can and can’t do, and do it behind wards.”

“Why, and what, are wards?” Her head was beginning to spin.

From the sympathetic look on Jordan’s face she figured her sister had already gotten a lecture similar to this. She proved it by answering Jamie’s question. “Runic magic that can be used to hide our signature, dampen our signal if you will. We sound like normal mages when we use our abilities behind wards.” Jordan frowned down at Logan. “Wait a moment. When you did the thing with Dick Head and changed my paperwork to Saeter, you weren’t behind wards.”

“Wasn’t I?” He grinned.

“
Logan.
”

Kir laughed at Jordan’s scowl. “He wears a specially made piece of jewelry that acts as a portable ward. It’s good for short bursts of magic, but anything prolonged would fry it so he doesn’t use it very often.”

“Oh.” Jordan stared at Logan intently. A small smile formed. “Clever.”

Now that Jamie looked, she thought she could detect it too. There was a faint red haze around… “Your nose ring.”

He grinned and clapped his hands. “And thus ends today’s lesson.” He stood. “Now if you’ll excuse me I have some things to take care of.” He tugged Kir to his feet. “C’mon, blondie, you can give me a hand.” He leaned down and kissed Jordan. “Keep an eye on Jamie while she practices, okay?”

“Got it.”

“Don’t step in the way of anything that flies out of her hands.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Oh, and if beams shoot out of her eyes—”

“Duck behind the couch. Got it already.”

Jamie put her hands on her hips and glared at the two men walking toward the den. “Is she here to watch or be target practice?”

Her only answer was Logan’s amused snort.

Chapter Eight

Travis stared at the devastation of his house. He shook his head as he squished over soaked carpet. The window panes had cracked, letting him know how Grimm had burst the pipes. He’d thrown so much frost into the room that the glass had broken under the pressure.

Fucking Rina
. All of Travis’s wards were down, unable to hold up to the combined magical might of the Jotun and the Aesir. He’d learned from Val that Grimm had shared blood with the frost giant female and gained her abilities over ice magic. Seeing the proof of it in his home was devastating. He’d loved this house, dreamed of some day bringing Jamie here to live in peace.

It was just one more thing the Old Man would pay for.

Morgan, wearing rain boots, followed behind him, his disgust plain to see. “Told you it was bad.” Jeff and Magnus could be heard sliding on the once pristine tile floor of his kitchen. The natural slate had cost him a bundle too.

Travis nodded, wondering if there was anything left in the house worth salvaging.

“Knock knock.”

Travis turned to find a woman standing in the doorway. She had long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. Bright hazel eyes watched them with thinly veiled suspicion.

Travis held up his hand. “It’s my house.”

She smiled, an expression full of cynical amusement. “Travis Yardley-Rudiger?”

“Yes?”

She held up a badge. “Detective Antonia Mancinelli, Homicide. I have a warrant to search these premises.”

He frowned. “A warrant?”

“Yes, sir.” She stepped gingerly into the house, making a face as her sensible shoes squished on the soaking carpet. “Yeah. You need to step outside, both of you, and let my people do their job.” She shook her head as the techs pushed their way into the house. “What the hell happened in here?”

“Burst pipe.” He ignored her dubious look and focused on why she was there. “Can I ask what this is in relation to?” Although he had a pretty good idea.

“The murder of Oliver Grimm.”

Travis almost growled, but the detective was watching him closely. “Murder? I thought he simply left.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Magnus and Jeff walk cautiously into the room, their eyes glued to the detective in the doorway.

She smiled, a gotcha expression if he ever saw one. “Step outside please, Mr. Rudiger.”

Jeff stepped forward. “Let me see the warrant.”

She raised her brows. “You are?”

“Jeff Grimm.” He waved. “Those two bookends are Morgan and Magnus Grimm, my brothers.”

When the detective held out the warrant all of them studied it. It was legit, which didn’t leave Travis much choice. Travis exited his house with a grimace as a team of techs rushed past him. He wasn’t certain what they hoped to find in the waterlogged mess, but he wasn’t too concerned considering there was nothing there. He avoided the brothers as they stood near the entrance of his house, watching the technicians and cops with suspicion and concern. Instead he waited near his car and answered questions put to him by a detective he’d had dealings with in the past. The man was all business, though, asking his questions with no sign that they’d helped each other on several occasions.

He frowned when he saw Detective Mancinelli exiting the house with a smile. She was chatting with one of the other detectives who held several evidence bags in his gloved hands and looked like he’d found the lost city of gold. She sauntered over to where Travis was answering questions. “I need an address where I can reach you.”