Siri then looked at me. "Okay then, looks like we're all set. Do these boys get airsick?" she asked, looking them up and down.
Joshua shook his head, but Edrik stared at Siri, a strange expression on his face, as if he were about to throw up. "I'll be fine. I'll just glamor up and run."
"All the way back to London?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Edrik stiffened. "Very well, then. I suppose I will have to hold on tight."
"Fear of flying?" Joshua asked him with a small smirk.
"More like a fear of dying," Edrik answered, and everyone laughed.
We reached the castle in darkness, but fortunately, the house was lit up like a veritable Christmas tree. There were lights that ran all the way from the steps of the castle right down to the gate hundreds of yards away. In real life, the castle looked even more impressive, and I had to admit I loved the look. The natural stone and creeping moss worked so well together.
The helicopter touched down in the middle of the parking lot at the bottom of the drive. Iain had assured us that he had RSVP'd with a notice to advise the host of our intended method of arrival. We were certainly going to make a spectacular entrance.
We waited a while for the blades to stop moving, then alighted and walked carefully, on spindly heels, across the gravel to the entrance where a surly red-coated guard watched and waited, tablet in hand.
I held on to Joshua's arm and beamed at the expressionless man, barely needing to scan him for glamor. I found a frost giant hidden beneath a shimmer of magic that gave off an electric buzz. I gritted my teeth and squeezed Joshua's arm as he tugged the invitation out of his breast pocket.
Behind us, Edrik did the same, handing over their invitation as well.
The guard scanned the stationery, then tapped the tablet in his hand. He scrolled through a list and then came to a stop, scanned the invitations, then nodded.
"Welcome, and have a nice evening," he said with a small bow.
We headed up the stone stairs, and as soon as we were out of earshot, I said, "The guard at the door is a creep."
Muffled chuckles reached me over the comms, and I smiled as we passed through the front doors and entered into the grand hall. The ballroom was filled with dancing couples and well-dressed men and women lining the sides of the marble floor. Definitely a first-time experience for me.
Joshua glanced at me, his brows rising almost to his hairline. As impressed as I was, then. We glided along looking around and scanning face after face. I noted a few more surly looking guards positioned near the exits. Seemed I didn't need to look for glamors to identity the Jotunns. They all looked like they would rather be elsewhere.
We kept a good distance from Siri and Edrik, who made their way around the other side of the room. Both Edrik and Siri could see glamors, but only Edrik's power was strong enough to see through a strong glamor. And the problem today was these glamors were damned strong.
Joshua and I headed up the stairs to the next level, walking slowly through the gathered couples. The string quartet set up in the far left corner of the room began a waltz, and Joshua grabbed me around the waist, his cheeky grin so pleasant, so normal. Nothing like what our real lives were like. "A dance, my lady?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.
I giggled. "Why, thank you, sir. I do believe I have an empty spot on my dance card."
He laughed and so did I. Then he swung me around toward the floor where dozens of other couples had begun to move to the music. Joining the dancing horde was a good cover, and as we went around and around, I scanned faces for the lord and anyone that looked like they were glamored.
It took less than five minutes to identify our host. And to notice that the two dark-suited men that stood a foot behind him were both frost giants. Their glamors were strong and gave off the same electric field the first Jotunn at the entrance had. Glamor magic on freaking steroids.
That was not a good sign.
CHAPTER TWENTY
I stiffened as soon as I set eyes on the Jotunn. Joshua bent close to my ear. "You see something?" he asked, moving his body slowly to the music.
I gazed up, giving him what I thought was a devoted look. "Yes. Scott and two big bad wolves a step behind him. Armed and dangerous."
Joshua nodded, lowering his cheek close to mine. "How does he look?"
My gaze tracked the lord as he spoke with the men in his group. He wore the requisite dark suit and tie, his hair combed back neatly. His collar appeared to be too loose and the jacket of his tuxedo looked a couple sizes too large. "Body language shows fear, tension. Eyes sorrow, fatigue. Looks like he's lost a ton of weight too."
I kept returning at intervals to watch McClellan speak to the group, addressing one man at a time, inclining his head respectfully, his face tight, his lips in a parody of hospitable cheer.
One of the men wore a red-patterned headscarf over his head, a coil of black rope around the top of his skull. He was clearly Middle Eastern, although I'd never be able to be more specific. The second man was Asian, a third of African origin. The last man had his back to me, and all I saw was a head of blond hair and muscle-bound shoulders. They all smoked cigars and looked particularly serious given this was meant to be a party.
"Group of deadly serious old dudes smoking cigars," I said, tilting my face back and giving him a disarming look.
"Bidders?" he asked.
"Most likely."
Static crackled in my ear, and Derek said, "Look at them again, Red. A little slower this time. I need all the pretty pictures to be clear for facial recognition."
I grinned at Derek's code name, then turned and angled Joshua so I could get a look at the men without them noticing. Seconds later, Derek said, "Perfect. It's running. Now I just need the big bad wolves and we're done."
I almost nodded but caught myself in time. Joshua took that moment to twirl me and change direction discreetly. I was now able to watch the Jotunn guards over Joshua's shoulder.
"They look like your regular bad guy... wolves," I said, stumbling on the code name.
"You're doing well. I have them all. We just need the one with his back to you."
Joshua leaned closer to me. "Any chance of remaining on the dance floor and still seeing him clearly?"
I shook my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Siri and Ed climb the stairs to the upper ballroom. They'd completed their scan of the downstairs and were now heading to the balcony. Neither of them met my eyes.
Just as Joshua slowed his movements, I caught sight of a gigantic mirror that topped an equally gigantic fireplace.
"Wait, there's a mirror. If we can just get to the right angle we should be fine," I said softly, and Joshua, keeping his arm around my waist, turned slightly. "Better?"
"A little more to the right," I guided him softly.
Joshua turned a fraction more, which brought me in line to see the reflections of all the men in the huge mirror. The music from the string quartet rose and fell again. The tall man turned his face to the right to address the Chinese man next to him, and I stiffened, my blood running cold. I didn't need to hear Derek's gasp of shock in my ear. I knew already whom I was staring at.
Loki.
I ducked around Joshua's neck, hoping the god hadn't seen me. Looking up at Joshua, I said, "It's Loki. Game over. Let's scram." He stopped dancing and led me off the dance floor.
I shuddered to think that I was so close to Loki so soon after supposedly killing him. Not that I even assumed for a second he'd die so easily. I'd just hoped he'd be a little damaged. I snorted silently. He didn't look in the least bit damaged to me.
And all I wanted was to get as far away from him as possible.
The only problem was when I looked up, McClellan was walking toward Joshua and me as he passed through the crowd. He was greeting guests as he went, and we couldn't leave without making it obvious. So we waited as he passed through the dance floor. When he got to me, he took my hand in his and I almost shuddered. His skin was cold as ice and a little damp, but I met his eyes and smiled.
"My dear, thank you so much for coming."
"It's my pleasure, my lord. I would have loved to see Ellen. Is she around?" I asked, moving closer to him.
He hesitated for a moment, then looked sadly at my face. "Sorry, dear, Ellen's gone skiing in the Alps. She left yesterday. Probably why you don't know." His voice was ragged as he spoke, as if he were holding back a rising dam of tears.
"Oh well, I'll bump into her sooner or later." I gave a shrug. "I was just wondering. If she's stuck, I could probably help her out," I said, keeping my eyes on his face. He hesitated again, his eyes flicking to his guards who stood closely behind him.
"What do you mean?" he asked, fear flashing across his face.
"Oh, you know, with school and stuff." I shrugged. "You'll tell her, won't you? I'm happy to be her savior." I giggled, and the lord's lips curved in a parody of a smile as I kept deadly serious eyes on him. For once, I was glad another human being was aware enough to read between the lines. He knew what I meant, but I needed more information from him.
I glanced at Joshua, then back at McClellan. "Lord McClellan? Might have a word with you in private?" I asked, giving him a sultry stare. That should throw his frosty goons off a little bit. They were listening closely to our conversation and seemed to be getting impatient.
"Of course, my dear. We can talk outside." He led me to the balcony where I was sure Siri and Ed were waiting, but when we walked out onto the marbled patio, it was empty.