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THE ONE-BEDROOM EFFICIENCY was smaller than my bathroom on Asgard, but it was the perfect hiding place for us. I stood in the entrance, appraising the small space, which included a bed, a dresser, and a tiny round kitchen table with two chairs. Boxes dotted the floor with things stacked in them carelessly, some not in any order at all, and there was a layer of dust on everything.
I sneezed as I stepped inside. It seemed our landlord was not a very organized individual. I hoped she ran her business better than she kept her home.
“She hasn’t been here in months.” Reyfyre stepped next to me and sighed at the state of our new living quarters. “I’ll see if I can find some rags in this mess and then we can start by at least cleaning the dust off everything.”
“Did you happen to grab my blanket?” I asked as I took in the dust-laden comforter on the only bed in the apartment.
“Yes. But that’s not going to keep us both warm.”
I pressed my lips against the salty smile that wanted to form. “You can have the comforter wherever you’re sleeping.”
He snorted at me. “It’s as big as the bed on the boat. Besides, if anyone is sleeping on the floor, it’s you.” He crossed and stripped the comforter and then headed onto the small balcony to shake it out. The dust cloud that came from the fabric resembled a snowstorm and by the time he was done shaking it, nothing seemed to be left clinging to the cotton. Still, he hung it over the railing and leaned the chair against it so it wouldn’t blow away in the wind.
A television hung on the wall across from the bed and the remote sat on the nightstand, so I clicked it on to have background noise while we rid this place of dust and dirt and neatly packed the boxes and things gathered on the table.
Reyfyre found a vacuum in the closet and just before he plugged it in, he stalled, his gaze glued to the screen. I turned away from wiping the thick layer of dust from the table and froze in the same way Reyfyre did.
A furious burn lit my blood at the sight of Thor and Odin on the screen. The door opened, and Charity burst in with an envelope with a broken seal in her hand and eyes as wild as a cornered deer. She halted a few feet away from me and pointed at the television with the envelope.
“They expect me to be at their ludicrous ball Saturday night,” Charity gasped. “I cannot be in the same room with the bastard who killed my parents.”
Her panicky statement held true to the announcement of a ball and those invited were required to attend. If they did not show up, they would be publicly executed.
I glanced at the invitation in her hand and then at her frantic eyes. “They’ll kill you if you don’t go.”
Her glare could have peeled my skin off if she had any magical talent hidden in her blood. She nearly snarled. “Who’s to say I’ll even walk out of the ball alive? Thor chooses a handful of women at each one of these events and...” She swallowed hard and put the back of her hand to her mouth as if she was about to be sick. “It’s aired.”
“What is aired?” Reyfyre asked.
“Where the hell have you been for the last month?” Charity snapped.
“At sea, bringing a boat up from the Caribbean. Why?”
“Those assholes have been looking for their lost Valkyrie. And he test-drives the ones he pulls aside.”
“Test-drives?” My gaze bounced between Reyfyre and Charity.
“He fucks them on live television?” Reyfyre’s voice cracked.
“Yes. And if they’re human, they die when he...you know.” She rolled her hand without expanding further.
My jaw slowly dropped with the horror reflected in Reyfyre’s eyes. “They die?”
She ran a hand down her face. “He made the first one give him a blow job and when he came, it blew a hole the size of a melon in the back of her head. I guess the same happens inside—we just can’t see the damage. And no one has willingly blown the asshole since.”
My stomach did the same slow roll it had on the boat, and I ran to the sink, dry heaving a few times before my stomach retreated to a state of less turmoil. But I was still sick at the thought.
“And if they aren’t human?” Reyfyre asked, still staring at the television with a glare that could blow the circuits.
“There hasn’t been any non-humans pulled aside. I don’t know if any exist. And now they are systematically going through New York City looking for someone who likely isn’t even here. And dozens of women will die just to satisfy his twisted libido.” Her entire form shook. “And now I have to go to a fucking ball.” She sat on the side of the bed and buried her face in her hands.
“I can see if any of my clients need their boats moved. And we can take you with us,” Reyfyre offered.
Charity stared at him. “No one can leave the city. Once you’re within city limits, you are stuck until you’ve been cleared by attending a ball.”
We exchanged a glance over Charity’s head. We were just as trapped as she was.
“How many are they planning on doing?”
Charity shrugged. “The target areas are only a couple blocks wide. And there is no rhyme or reason to what section they will choose next. The last one was downtown, so I figured I had more time to get used to the idea of facing them.”
“Okay. Well, just try not to bring attention to yourself.” Reyfyre sat next to her, draping his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t wear anything flashy. And follow whatever the rules they state without question.”
“They make the guests drink a truth serum,” she whispered. “And I’m likely to tell them to fuck off for killing my parents even before I drink their heinous drugs.” Her pleading eyes met mine.
“They can’t fault you for being angry that they killed your parents. I would think that should save you from being one of their victims.” I didn’t know whether that was true or not. I’d seen Odin smite someone for less, but I didn’t want to say as much to our newest benefactor.
“If something happens to me, my brother said he’d take over the bar, but he’s not stepping foot in the city.” She sniffled. “Which is why I haven’t been able to get all this stuff packed and across town.” She wiped her face and stuffed the invitation in her back pocket. “I think I’ll just pack the boxes neatly and store them in the closet here until after the ball.”
Charity glanced at the bed and then pointed at the dresser. “There are sheets in the bottom drawer and towels in the linen closet in the bathroom.”
“We can’t take your things,” Reyfyre said.
Charity pulled away. “You only have a suitcase between the two of you. You need this stuff more than I do. I have an entire two-bedroom apartment full of stuff, so I only need to pack my essentials and personal things. Okay?”
Reyfyre nodded, and I followed his lead.
“I’ll have the lease papers ready for you to sign on Saturday before your shift starts. I’d like you in at three and then I can show you the ropes.” Her chin trembled as she moved to the boxes and started to straighten her pictures and knickknacks up within the container.
Reyfyre helped her in silence while I went back to eradicating every inch of dust that had accumulated in the apartment. But my heart felt sick, like another terrible event was just on the horizon.