A Vigil in the Mourning (Soulbound #4) - Hailey Turner Page 0,98
probably the next targets.”
“You mortals invented phones for a reason.”
“Oh, fuck you. I would’ve called, but I don’t have their numbers, and no one is picking up at the restaurant. Now be a good messenger god and go warn them.”
Hermes shook his head, dyed curls flopping against his forehead. Jono never took his eyes off the god in the rearview mirror. “Wish I could, but the veil isn’t where any of us want to be right now.”
Jono felt the way Patrick’s muscles tightened beneath his fingertips. Jono looked over his shoulder at Hermes and tried not to scowl. “What the bloody fuck do you mean by that?”
Hermes leaned forward, glancing at Jono before meeting Patrick’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “It took me hours to get here to you when it shouldn’t have.”
“Why?” Patrick demanded.
“Because another realm is pushing at the veil, trying to break through, and it is not any ruled over by my pantheon.”
“Ethan performed a fertility rite, not a sacrifice. There’s been no sightings of soultakers in Chicago.”
“Yes, but how many souls has Odin accepted as payment over the years for mortals to do business in his home away from home?”
Jono dug his fingers into Patrick’s thigh. “Drive faster, Pat.”
“Motherfucker,” Patrick ground out and pressed on the gas.
Driving in the snow above the speed limit was always a risk, but maybe the Fates were looking out for them tonight. The SUV only skidded out of the lane twice, and Patrick managed to get the vehicle under control every time without injuring anyone else on the road. The lights and sirens on the SUV cleared them a path, but the way forward wasn’t easy.
The reactionary storm had finally, fully made it to shore. Snow was dropping furiously all over the city. Jono wouldn’t be surprised if whiteout conditions happened within the next half hour. All that mattered was that they got to Au Hall before visibility dropped to zero.
Patrick was focused on the road, the snow swirling in front of them dipping through the flashing colors of the SUV’s emergency lights. Jono didn’t try to draw him into conversation, but that changed when they drove across a bridge spanning the Chicago River. Jono didn’t expect Wade to frantically smack them both on the shoulder.
“There’s something in the water,” Wade said.
Jono craned his head around, trying to peer through the snow beyond the window. He looked at Wade, who almost had his face pressed up against the fogged window.
“How the hell can you see anything in this weather?” Patrick wanted to know.
“I, uh, can feel it? It’s big.”
“Kid can sniff out gods,” Jono reminded him, still squinting through the snow.
“The kid is right,” Hermes said.
Wade scowled at Jono and Hermes, his brown eyes gold with reptilian slit pupils. “I’m not a kid.”
“Hide your eyes, Wade,” Patrick said. “Whatever is in the river can wait.”
Jono wasn’t so sure about that, but Patrick was in charge at the moment. Right now their priority was getting to Au Hall. If a monster was in the river, they’d deal with it after they saved Thor and found Odin.
They drove off the bridge, and Wade settled back down in his seat. No one spoke as Patrick maneuvered them through city streets, aiming for the stretch of road running parallel to Grant Park. When he finally turned onto South Michigan Avenue, the steering wheel slipped through his grip from the howling wind that slammed into the vehicle. Jono grabbed it and held it steady until Patrick got a better grip and straightened out the SUV.
“Thanks,” Patrick muttered.
Jono let the steering wheel go. “’Course, love.”
They’d left the wall of skyscrapers and its steel buffer behind them. The ferocity of the reactionary storm blew across the open shores of Lake Michigan with a roar that almost drowned out the SUV’s sirens.
“If we have to fight in this, I’m going to freeze,” Wade said.
“What do you mean if?” Patrick asked.
A single bright headlight flashed across the rearview mirror before disappearing. It was replaced by another, and being almost boxed in made Jono tense. A mageglobe flared into existence near Patrick’s elbow, and Jono shifted claws out of his fingertips. The roar of a motorcycle cut through the storm, and Jono flexed his fingers. Jono tracked the shadow as the dark shape on Patrick’s side of the road pulled up alongside the SUV.
“That’s Brynhildr and Dynfari,” Wade said, sounding excited. “And Eir!”
Jono forced his claws back, leaving his hands human-shaped for the moment. The valkyries followed them up the