Flight of Dragons(66)
The broad figure of Thorsson approached in the darkness. “My lord.” He knelt in front of him.
“Get up, Thorsson. There’s no need for that.”
The blond man looked up, puzzled.
“You’re my security, not a servant, for Odin’s sake. Besides, it’s embarrassing.”
“Of course.” He rose. “Miss Haraldsdóttir is shivering in the car, despite my turning on the heat.”
Eva. The great risks she had taken to find his scale. He followed Thorsson and got into the seat beside her. “I heard you were cold,” he said softly as the vehicles took off.
She nodded, rubbing her arms briskly. “Even with the heat on, the cold seeps through.”
“Let me see if I can help with that.” He wrapped an arm around her, drew her close, and kissed the top of her head. “Better?”
“Yeah. Your body’s like a furnace.”
“Oh, I’ll make sure you find out how hot I can get.”
***
“Ti is on his way back to South America,” Balthazar announced. “But I don’t think it’ll be the last time we hear from him.”
“We’ll be ready.” Eva reclined on the sofa, sipping tea. Thorsson and Lancelot talked quietly by the windows.
“So, unless no one else is curious, I’m dying to know.” He sat by Eva’s feet and gently captured her foot in one hand. He traced a finger across her heel and down the center until she squirmed. “Out with it.”
“Okay, okay.” She snatched her foot away and sat up. “I don’t have as much experience as Papa, but I know a thing or two.” She pointed at him. “And your detailed questions about the Lysuhóll dig had me wondering what exactly you were looking for. I couldn’t do anything while cooped up in here. Even though I understood your concern, I had to take the chance of going to the museum.”
“I’m still not pleased about that.” He glanced at Thorsson, who looked away hurriedly.
“Don’t blame Thorsson. I begged him not to say anything, and he knew it was a risk worth taking.”
Balthazar pulled her close.
“I took the artifacts out and looked them over carefully. Only the vase had something relating to your story. I had found three sets of runes on the bottom when I catalogued it and deciphered them, but thought nothing of it. When I talked to Thorsson about going to the city to look for clues, I saw those exact runes on his sword. It was a long shot, but I believed the stick figure on the vase and Thorsson were related. I remembered finding evidence that a Viking keeps a piece of his defeated enemy in order to increase his strength. And what’s better than a dragon scale blended with a Viking’s prized possession?” She fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. “Thank God I managed to put two and two together before Ti showed up.” She trembled. “And told Papa to stay home.”
He nodded. “And what about you, Thorsson?” he said. “Did you figure it out too?”
“Unfortunately I wasn’t as quick-thinking as Miss Haraldsdóttir,” Thorsson admitted. “It was only when she yelled at me to strike you that I understood her meaning.”
“I’m confused about something,” Lancelot spoke up. “Dragons don’t take hostages. We usually kill first and negotiate later.”
Eva looked smug. “I convinced Ti I should be his hostage.”
Balthazar blinked. “How in Odin’s name did you convince him to do that?”
“His ego. Ti told me he could smell your scent on me. I gave him the hostage idea so that he could rub it in your face.” She shrugged. “Kill me in front of you, then destroy you. The idea appealed to him.”
It certainly would. Balthazar knew Eva was intelligent, but this… “Go on.”
“It was the only way I could think of so that I could be here and give Thorsson the hint in case he hadn’t figured it out in time.”
“How did my scale end up in Thorsson’s sword?”
She shrugged. “Luck? Fate? Who knows. His ancestor found it and kept it for himself. Had it hidden within the pommel of his sword and passed it down to his descendants. It seemed obvious that he believed in the myth about keeping a piece of an enemy. It’s hard to say, but he certainly knew the scale’s importance.” She smiled at Thorsson. “You held the answer all this time.”
The big man blushed. “I didn’t know the significance of that last set of runes. Lord Balthazar…”
He held up his hand. “Thorsson, I’m not blaming you for anything that’s happened. You didn’t know.” He kissed Eva’s cheek. “But with Eva’s knowledge, you have a story to tell about that sword.”