The look in his eyes let me know he meant business. I glanced over at Mack, but he just glowered menacingly at the door. Clearly, this was not the moment to invoke his educationally sound feminist principles. I’d have to save that battle for another day. Sigh. I unclipped my armor and set it gently on the floor. “Jerk,” I murmured under my breath. I understood that the armor was a beacon, but if night elves were here, I wanted to be able to protect myself. Luck favored the prepared.
Tore ignored my muttered word, and the boys split up, two at each entrance of the barn. Tore and Bodie took the north side, Mack and Johann the south. I stayed where I was told, behind a pile of mats like the damsel they seemed to think I was. Ugh.
Tore’s whisper broke through the tension filling the space. “Mack, can you still sense them?”
Mack nodded from across the barn. “They’re moving up the hill, toward the house.”
Tore set his jaw. “How many hostiles are there?”
“I can’t tell.” Mack sniffed the air. “The scent is strong, which means either they sent a team or they sent an assassin.”
“There are assassin elves?” I hissed. Holy hotcakes, that sucked.
“There are assassin everythings.” Bodie jumped up to grab the frame of the highest window. He did an easy pull-up so his chin rested on the sill. “I don’t see anything yet. The storm’s kicking back up; hopefully that will interfere with whatever locator they’re using.”
“Skit,” Johann swore. “What if they have a tracker?”
“What’s a tracker?” I whispered. What the hell was a locator, too? Clearly, I needed to study more Asgardian books.
Bodie dropped down from the window. “They’re the most lethal weapon night elves have. Trackers sense energy signatures and out their prey’s location before they can run. It’s nearly impossible to escape them. Tracking’s a pretty uncommon gift—Asgard only has a few gods who can sense signatures. At the moment, Tore’s one of them. Though the weaker Eir gets, the weaker his abilities seem to be on this realm.”
Fan-freaking-tastic. “Well, I can sense energy signatures, too,” I reminded the guys. “If Tore’s vision shorts out, or Mack’s super sniffer can’t tell us how many dark elves there are, maybe I can help.”
Tore looked over at me as if seeing me in a new light. Yes, you caveman, I can be useful. He tilted his head, seemingly mulling over my proposition, then gave a tight nod. “You can try. But let me neutralize your energy first. At the moment, you’re like a glowing ‘come and find me’ beacon.”
“Do what, now?” I blinked. Tore crossed the space between us and held up his hand. A white beam shot from his palm straight at my face, striking me in the sixth energy center—the spot dead between my eyes. “What are you doing? That burns!” I shouted, clutching my face.
“Be quiet, Allie,” Tore hissed as I rubbed my forehead and glared.
Tore moved his hand in weird circles around my head. I watched in shock as my energy signature diminished from its normal five-foot radius to a measly twelve inches. Tore had shrunk my freaking bubble. My chest tightened, and I shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. That demigod had better be able to fix me later. I felt claustrophobic like this; having my energy compressed made it really hard to breathe.
Mack sniffed the air again, and raised his sword. “They’re close. About a hundred meters due south.”
“Skit,” Tore swore. “Here’s the exit plan. Allie, get behind the mats, and do not move unless I tell you to. Mack, when I give the signal, move outside, and circle around to take out the assailants from the south. I’ll strike from the north. Today’s going to be a kill day, so don’t leave any survivors. Bodie and Johann, stay here, and guard Allie. If Mack and I don’t make it back, get her as far from the complex as you can. Then call for the Bifrost.”
With a curt nod, the boys shifted into position. Bodie and Johann flanked me as panic squeezed my gut. What did Tore mean, if Mack and I don’t make it back? He didn’t really think he was about to die, did he? Did that mean there was a chance I could die? Oh God. I so wasn’t going there. Not unless I had to.
“Behind the mats, Allie.” Tore pointed with his sword. My legs wouldn’t move, so Bodie helpfully lifted my fear-locked self and deposited me on my mark. The burning in my forehead had ebbed, but it didn’t take any of my anxiety with it. “Okay, you’re clear, Allie. See what you can find out from the hostile’s energy signatures. Fast.”
“Fifty meters,” Mack cautioned. All four of my protectors crouched into defensive stances. My legs felt shaky, but I held my ground.
“Okay.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then reached out with my energy. This exercise wasn’t new to me—I scanned signatures all the time, but usually I was looking for someone I knew, or just taking a general read of the room. I’d only met one dark elf, and I wasn’t familiar enough with their species’ energy to know what I should look for. With another grounding breath, I tried to remember the darkness I’d felt the night of the attack. Then I sent my feelers out, looking for something similar. Not far from the complex, I came across two distinct signatures that were too heavy to be human. Both were unnaturally dense with black energy. Bingo. Trespassers found.
“There are two of them,” I relayed. “They’re approaching the complex. One’s energy is heavier than the other; it seems like there’s more . . . darkness in him? Is that a thing?”
“It’s a thing,” Tore confirmed, the crease in his brow deepening.
“Okay. They’re coming closer. Now they’re . . . huh.” I paused.
“What? What are they doing?” Bodie urged.
“They’re slowing down. And their energy is turning red.” Usually red implied anger, but wasn’t that what the blackness meant? An anger/fear/hatred emotional cocktail?
“Are they still approaching?” Tore gripped his sword in two hands and squared his shoulders so he faced the door. He looked like he was ready to bust through it and kick some night elf butt. It was kind of hot.
“No, they’ve stopped moving. The redness is taking over the black, and . . . and I’m picking up three additional energy signatures. All black. No,” I paused. “Now they’re red, too.”
“Mack?” Tore asked.
The lumberjack sniffed the air. “More dark elves.”
“Five elves?” Johann swung what looked like a glowing mace at his side. “We’d better get out there and eliminate the threat before they find the complex.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary.” Tore turned suddenly so he faced the south door. “My signature sense is spotty on Midgard these days, but my sense of death works everywhere.”
Did he just say his sense of death?
“Allie, check those signatures again. How many do you feel?” Tore kept a tight grip on his sword.