Arctic Dawn (The Norse Chronicles Book 2) by Karissa Laurel Page B
Authors: Karissa Laurel
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wolf barked, and I whirled around. Skoll, the ruddy beast of my nightmares, crouched at the far end of an alley between containers. He spotted me and lunged forward, throwing an extra dash of speed into his step. I ran and turned into another impassable cul-de-sac.
If I climbed, the wolf couldn’t follow, right? Operating under that belief, I leaped toward one of the container’s front doors. Using the hinges and the locking mechanism for footholds, I worked my way up high enough to scramble onto the box’s flat top. I rolled to my feet, stumbled, cursed, and tried again to stand, but fatigue weighed against me. I panted like Darth Vader suffering a two-pack-a-day habit.
From the higher vantage point, I could see the exit, half a room away. Hopping from box to box, I skipped across the warehouse, aiming for escape, but I pulled up short when I saw two guards standing before the warehouse doors.
A thump behind me turned my attention away from the guards. Skoll, naked and in human form, had climbed to the top of a nearby container. He leapt to the box beside him, leaving two containers between us.
I threw up my hands and fell to my knees. “Okay, I surrender.”
Skoll stopped and cocked his head like a dog hearing a funny noise.
“I can’t believe you fell for that.” I dropped to my belly, rolled over the side, caught the edge, and hung there long enough to heave a breath before I dropped to the floor. The instant my feet hit the ground, I took off running again, heading toward the exit.
My lungs burned, my legs screamed, and fear sat on my shoulders like a crazy monkey riding piggyback. How long can I keep this up? Not much longer, and the wolf’s endurance surely eclipsed my own. I dodged around another container and another as desperate tears burned in my eyes. Dear God , I prayed, don’t let it end like this .
Gunshots rang out, deafening as sound waves rebounded against walls and containers. Not knowing what that meant, I slid to a halt and listened.
“Mundy!” Skyla’s voice echoed through the room.
Relief brought hot tears to my eyes.
“I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough. Whaddaya say we blow this popsicle stand?”
Chapter Ten
I ran toward Skyla’s voice and rounded the corner of a big blue box. If only it were the TARDIS instead of a mundane shipping crate… The exit loomed before me, and Skyla stood in the doorway, gun in hand, two human guards at her feet, blood pooling around their bodies. I had almost closed the remaining distance when a golem leaped from a nearby crate and landed on the floor between Skyla and me, blocking my way. Skyla didn’t hesitate. She leveled her gun and pulled the trigger twice. The stone man’s head exploded, providing the opportunity I needed to scoot by.
Skyla threw a hand out, urging me forward. She kept the gun aimed somewhere behind me, and when she fired again, the bullet whizzed past my head close enough to stir my hair.
When I stumbled, Skyla lurched forward, grabbed me, and said, “Let’s go, girlfriend.”
We staggered through the big doors, turned, and ran down an alley between two buildings.
“The hell was that thing?” Skyla asked. “Looked like a skinny version of Thing from the Fantastic Four . And where are your clothes?”
“Tell you later.” I huffed as we ran. “Where are you taking us?”
“We’ve got to get the guys. I found them before I found you.” She paused quickly for breath. “Baldur’s tied up in mistletoe. Thorin’s knocked out on something.”
“Wh-what about Val? We split up right before I found you.”
“Haven’t seen him.”
Skyla hugged a sharp turn and wheeled us around the back of a warehouse parallel to the one we had escaped. As soon as I cleared the corner, she leaned around me and fired a few shots. Someone barked a sound of pain, but I didn’t turn around to look. Skyla is so freaking awesome. I vowed to worship her at an appropriate opportunity.
“Where’d you get the
If I climbed, the wolf couldn’t follow, right? Operating under that belief, I leaped toward one of the container’s front doors. Using the hinges and the locking mechanism for footholds, I worked my way up high enough to scramble onto the box’s flat top. I rolled to my feet, stumbled, cursed, and tried again to stand, but fatigue weighed against me. I panted like Darth Vader suffering a two-pack-a-day habit.
From the higher vantage point, I could see the exit, half a room away. Hopping from box to box, I skipped across the warehouse, aiming for escape, but I pulled up short when I saw two guards standing before the warehouse doors.
A thump behind me turned my attention away from the guards. Skoll, naked and in human form, had climbed to the top of a nearby container. He leapt to the box beside him, leaving two containers between us.
I threw up my hands and fell to my knees. “Okay, I surrender.”
Skoll stopped and cocked his head like a dog hearing a funny noise.
“I can’t believe you fell for that.” I dropped to my belly, rolled over the side, caught the edge, and hung there long enough to heave a breath before I dropped to the floor. The instant my feet hit the ground, I took off running again, heading toward the exit.
My lungs burned, my legs screamed, and fear sat on my shoulders like a crazy monkey riding piggyback. How long can I keep this up? Not much longer, and the wolf’s endurance surely eclipsed my own. I dodged around another container and another as desperate tears burned in my eyes. Dear God , I prayed, don’t let it end like this .
Gunshots rang out, deafening as sound waves rebounded against walls and containers. Not knowing what that meant, I slid to a halt and listened.
“Mundy!” Skyla’s voice echoed through the room.
Relief brought hot tears to my eyes.
“I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough. Whaddaya say we blow this popsicle stand?”
Chapter Ten
I ran toward Skyla’s voice and rounded the corner of a big blue box. If only it were the TARDIS instead of a mundane shipping crate… The exit loomed before me, and Skyla stood in the doorway, gun in hand, two human guards at her feet, blood pooling around their bodies. I had almost closed the remaining distance when a golem leaped from a nearby crate and landed on the floor between Skyla and me, blocking my way. Skyla didn’t hesitate. She leveled her gun and pulled the trigger twice. The stone man’s head exploded, providing the opportunity I needed to scoot by.
Skyla threw a hand out, urging me forward. She kept the gun aimed somewhere behind me, and when she fired again, the bullet whizzed past my head close enough to stir my hair.
When I stumbled, Skyla lurched forward, grabbed me, and said, “Let’s go, girlfriend.”
We staggered through the big doors, turned, and ran down an alley between two buildings.
“The hell was that thing?” Skyla asked. “Looked like a skinny version of Thing from the Fantastic Four . And where are your clothes?”
“Tell you later.” I huffed as we ran. “Where are you taking us?”
“We’ve got to get the guys. I found them before I found you.” She paused quickly for breath. “Baldur’s tied up in mistletoe. Thorin’s knocked out on something.”
“Wh-what about Val? We split up right before I found you.”
“Haven’t seen him.”
Skyla hugged a sharp turn and wheeled us around the back of a warehouse parallel to the one we had escaped. As soon as I cleared the corner, she leaned around me and fired a few shots. Someone barked a sound of pain, but I didn’t turn around to look. Skyla is so freaking awesome. I vowed to worship her at an appropriate opportunity.
“Where’d you get the
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