Son of Thunder (Heavenly War Series) Read online

  She located the closet where she’d stored the box hoping no one had made off with it. Empty boxes had a way of being reallocated as there were never enough of them, but this time she was lucky.

  “Here it is.”

  She handed the small box to Jord and the man began to inspect every inch for any clue. Finally he shrugged and handed the box back to her.

  “You’re right. No return address or clue of any kind as to where it came from. Not even a postmark.” Jord sighed.

  Meghan could see his hope had fallen a bit.

  As he handed the box back to her, his hand came in contact with hers. The raw heat and closeness of his body was almost more than she could take. She took a deep breath, stepped back and placed the box on a worktable.

  “The package just sort of appeared. One of my coworkers delivered it with the mail, but when I questioned her about it she told me it hadn’t come with the mail. She’d found it on a worktable here in the accessioning room and just assumed it had been delivered at some other time. No one remembered receiving it. The delivery, and why my name was on the package, is as big a mystery to me as the artifact itself.”

  Lightning flashed again and almost immediately the building shook as thunder crashed. Meghan jumped.

  “That seemed close,” she said with a nervous chuckle. She sure hoped the electricity wouldn’t go out. There was a flashlight around somewhere, but at that moment couldn’t recall where. Then again, being caught in the dark with sexy Professor Thorson wouldn’t be the worst of fates.

  Jord went suddenly stiff. There was a change in the air around her—a tingling on her skin, a sinking feeling. Something wasn’t right. Jord reached into his coat pocket as he moved a few steps toward one of the high windows.

  “Please get behind me, Dr. Larson.” Alarm rang in his voice.

  Before Meghan could move an explosion of wood splinters and glass shards rained into the room. She spun to see a huge figure squeezing its way through the shattered window. The accessioning room had a twelve-foot high ceiling, yet the man-like creature’s head almost touched it. Meghan stood frozen—her legs refusing to move. Was she dreaming? This couldn’t be real.

  Jord pulled a jackknife from his pocket and she wondered what good such a small weapon would be against the hulking behemoth advancing on them?

  However as Jord opened the knife, Meghan saw it begin to grow and expand. Within seconds the knife became a large sword. The blade reached over four-feet-long in only seconds. Even in her fear and confusion, the inquisitive side of Meghan’s mind noted the Nordic rune on the sword’s pommel. This had to be a dream.

  With his other hand, Jord reached back and grabbed her upper arm, jarring her out of her trance. “Get behind me!” His voice was rough as he pulled her back, placing his body between her and the giant creature.

  There was a litheness about him. His movements were fluid, his stance confident. The creature standing before Jord was a huge, hulk of a man. The giant’s thick beard bristled and its archaic-looking steel and leather armor creaked, as it brought to bear the huge two-headed battle axe it wielded. It was like something out of a fantasy.

  “Son of Thunder,” its voice reverberated throughout the room—low, guttural, almost a growl. “We knew you would come.”

  Jord raised his sword in readiness.

  The giant chuckled.

  “You are no longer in the safety of your university, Jord Thorson.”

  The giant raised its axe to strike.

  “And you are no longer in Jotunheim,” Jord answered as he danced back from the giant’s swing, then countered with a swipe of his sword.

  “There is no need to endanger the mortal. Surrender yourself and the belt to me,” the giant grunted, batting aside the sword with its axe.

  The mortal?

  Now Meghan knew she was dreaming. She’d probably laid her head on her desk for just a moment and fallen asleep. It had been a long, trying day. Any moment now she’d wake up and the real Jord Thorson, the old, gray-haired scholar, would stop by and tell her the strange belt was all just a hoax. It was too bad, she was becoming quite fond of the Fabio-like, sword-wielding college professor she’d dreamed up.

  “I don’t think so,” Fabio-Jord said. He charged at the giant. The big creature swung its axe, but Jord’s sword deflected the blow. Meghan watched in fascination as the man and the giant fought their battle with archaic weapons in the accessioning room of her museum.

  Well, if this was all a dream, she might as well enjoy it. The way Jord’s body moved—fluidly dodging and striking at the giant. Watching this man move was a slice of sensual heaven.

  The giant picked up a heavy bronze bust and threw it at Jord. The professor ducked just in time and the bust landed right at Meghan’s feet, so close she felt the shock wave and saw splinters fly.

  Nice effect. This was turning out to be one hell of a dream.

  “Get out of here,” Jord shouted at her, as he swung his sword at the giant. The creature was surprising nimble for its size and dodged the blow with a shift to the side. Meghan backed away as the two continued to exchange blows.

  A window shattered behind her and Meghan turned to see another of the giants squeezing through the opening. The creature surprised her, grabbing Meghan’s arm. The giant’s grip was strong and it hurt. Were dreams supposed to hurt?

  As it squeezed, Meghan felt her fingers going numb. In her hand, quickly slipping from her tingling fingers, was the old belt—the strange artifact hunky-man Jord recognized as something. What had he called it?

  “Megingjörð!” The giant’s yes widened in recognition. Again, that word. What could it mean? She’d have to Google it when she woke up, if she could figure out how to spell it.

  The giant released her arm and grabbed for the belt as it fell toward the floor, but the thing evaded the grasping hand. Like an eel swimming through water the belt flew through the giant’s fingers back toward Meghan. The medallion led, and the leather strap flapped behind it like a tail. Meghan grabbed the belt and wrapped it around her waist, thinking she could probably tie it there quickly to free up both hands, but as she brought the strap around the medallion/buckle gathered in the leather tail and sealed itself around Meghan’s waist with a loud click.

  The giant again grabbed Meghan’s arm. “Give it to me,” the monster demanded. She felt the grip tighten. This time it really hurt. The creature seemed determined to crush her arm. In desperation she jerked her arm to the side. The giant tried to keep its grasp but was pulled from its feet and flung across the room.

  The creature flew into the Native American display Meghan had been working on. The glass display case shattered and the big creature crushed the wigwam and stretched deer hide. Weeks of work were destroyed in seconds. The giant lay slumped on top of the shattered display. It didn’t move.

  Meghan’s mind, however, was elsewhere. How had she been able to throw such a huge creature? It must have weighed a ton.

  She glanced down at the belt, and ran her still tingling hand over the medallion.

  “The belt has certain properties . . .” she remembered Jord saying. Super strength?

  Cool.

  She’d never had a dream this vivid before in her life. This was kind of fun.

  Meghan scanned around for Hunky Man. She wasn’t about to wake up before she got another gawk at him. He towered over the fallen form of the giant he’d been fighting. Those sexy, expressive eyes were so intense. His massive shoulders were heaving as he stood over the still body of the creature. Jord flexed his shoulders then leaned on his sword while catching his breath. She was just starting to really enjoy the view when the window behind him shattered and yet a third giant stumbled through the opening.

  Seriously? Two wasn’t enough already?

  This giant wielded a huge wooden club, wh
ich it swung to attack. Jord ducked the blow and the club smacked into another display. Two weeks of work and five irreplaceable artifacts lay shattered and strewn across the accessioning room floor.

  Meghan lost it. “Son of a bitch!”

  She reached down for the bronze bust the first giant had thrown, remembering how it had taken five of her staff just to slide the heavy thing across the floor. Now she hefted it with no problem and hurled it at the advancing giant. There was a crunching sound as the creature went down under the massive weight of the bust. It wouldn’t be getting back up.

  Jord stared down at the prone creature, then back up at Meghan. “How did you . . .”

  His eyes scanned to her waist. “Oh, that explains it.”

  He sighed and shook his head. “Well played, Doctor Larson. Well played.”

  Suddenly, every other window in the room shattered. Meghan could make out a half dozen more giants pulling themselves into the room. In the gloom behind, she heard dozens of guttural voices. Jord grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the doorway.

  “More are coming,” he said. “We have to get out of here.”

  Meghan shook off his grip.

  “Back off, Fabio. No one messes with my museum . . . even when I’m dreaming.”

  She picked up a heavy oak worktable and lobbed it at the closest giant. Her heart thundered. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her system. She’d take them all on. Dream—Meghan was a kick-ass superhero.

  The dreamy-eyed professor stepped suddenly in front of her, his warm hands clutching her arms. Would a kiss be out of line? This was, after all, her dream. She leaned in, but Jord shook her.

  “Meghan, this is no dream. You’re awake and very much in danger. You need to come with me, right now.”

  Duh! Hunky Man is the hero. If I want the kiss, I need to let him save me.

  Jord grabbed her hand and pulled her with him as he ran out the doorway and through the museum toward the service entrance. She could hear the grunting voices and the heavy footsteps of the creatures behind her. Glass shattered and wood splintered as the creatures pushed aside displays and forced their way through too-small doorways. The giants were in close pursuit.

  Meghan found herself caught up in the thrill of the adventure. If this had all been actually happening, of course, she’d have been pissed at the amount of damage the museum was sustaining.

  As they ran, Meghan saw the sword in Jord’s hands begin to shrink. They reached the door just as the sword was once again a jackknife. Jord folded it up and shoved it into his coat pocket as he wrenched the door open.

  Outside, a chilly breeze shot through the thin material of Meghan’s blouse as the heaviness of the coming storm swirled around her. Thunder rumbled. Lightning danced among the clouds. Her coat was back in her office on the second floor, but did that really matter in a dream?

  “Here,” Jord said, wrapping his leather duster around her. How gallant her hero was! She had just time to push her arms through the sleeves before he was once again dragging her along.

  Out on the street sat a big Harley-Davidson motorcycle and he pulled her to it.

  “You’re kidding me,” she said. “It’s November!”

  Now she began to wonder what kind of idiot she’d dreamed up.

  “Sorry.” He took a helmet off the back of the seat and jammed it onto her head.

  Jord kicked the starter and the big machine roared to life, just as a hoard of the giant creatures burst through the museum doorway.

  “Get on and hold tight,” he shouted over the roar of the engine. She jumped onto the back, settling behind him.

  Meghan threw her arms around Jord’s waist and held on for dear life. The streets were all but deserted as the big Harley roared off into the night. This was all getting just a little too bizarre.

  Meghan had a fleeting thought it would be okay to wake up now.

  Chapter 2

  The sky opened up and a drenching rain fell as Jord and Meghan raced through the night. Trees were bending to the fierce winds and the torrential downpour saturated the landscape around her. Meghan could see the rain through the windscreen of the motorcycle helmet, but somehow none of it hit her. Even when the motorcycle splashed through deep puddles in the road they managed to somehow stay dry. It was a cold November rain that could easily turn to sleet and snow if the temperature dipped a few degrees lower. In fact, snow was predicted in the next few days.

  Somehow, in the heart of the raging storm, Meghan remained warm and dry. She had a feeling it was more than just the leather coat and motorcycle helmet. It was as if they rode in a protective bubble. Her hands could feel the material of Jord Thorson’s T-shirt, which also remained dry in the face of the driving rain around them. Through the thin material she could feel the tense, corded muscle of Jord’s abs. Despite her growing sense of concern, there was a small section of her mind that remained intrigued. This guy had to be ripped. There was nothing soft or flabby about the body she was holding on to.

  It was so surreal. What she’d seen was just not possible. Giants did not just crash through windows and attack people. Pocket-knives did not become swords. She was not strong enough to lift that bronze bust. Yet it all seemed so real. This just didn’t feel like a dream. Certainly it was like no dream she’d ever had before.

  Jord turned into the campus of the University of Minnesota. Under most circumstances Meghan enjoyed any opportunity to visit the school. Now, however, she was not so sure. Maybe she’d wake up soon and laugh at all the strangeness she’d dreamed up.

  Jord pulled in and parked by Pillsbury Hall. The stately old building was one of the oldest on campus and while Meghan had always admired it from the outside, she’d never had the opportunity to enter it.

  “Come on,” he said. “We should be safe here for a bit.”

  He guided her into the building, down hallways and up a flight of steps to a door with his name on it. Above the doorway she noted the design carved in the mantle. A passerby would have thought it just a bit of student vandalism, but Meghan recognized it immediately. To prepare for her work at the museum, Meghan had studied Nordic history somewhat extensively.

  “That’s a Nordic rune,” she said as Jord unlocked the door. “Dalecarlian in origin, if I’m not mistaken.”

  “Yes it is, Doctor Larson, and it’s a big part of why we’ll be much safer here.”

  Jord’s outer office had a desk for his administrative assistant, a comfortable looking couch and some chairs where students could wait to meet with the professor. The inner office held a large oak desk, a second couch, and walls lined with bookcases.

  He pointed to a second doorway in his office. “There’s a bathroom through there, if you’d like to freshen up.”

  Meghan plopped down on the couch. “Right now I’d just like some answers.”

  The adrenalin started to drain from her system and exhaustion threatened to overtake her, but her mind would not let her rest until she found out what was going on.

  “Yeah, I imagine you would.”

  Jord began to pace. It seemed to Meghan he was hesitant—trying to figure out how to start.

  “Sorry about the motorcycle,” he began. “I really don’t like being enclosed in a car so I drive the Harley as long as I can in the fall.”

  She met his gaze. “That’s probably not the first answer I was looking for. But I guess it’s a start.”

  He struggled a bit more, then sighed. “Look. You’re going to find most of this unbelievable and most likely think I’m crazy, but you’re involved now, so you need to know what’s going on.”

  Meghan nodded. A chill was creeping up her spine. If this wasn’t a dream, and she was beginning to suspect it wasn’t, then something was definitely out of sync somewhere.

  The intensity in Jord’s eyes w
as still there, but she also saw some reticence. Somehow she knew, as strange as this night had been, things were about to get even stranger.

  “Those creatures you saw were stone giants. How that many slipped into Midgaard without being detected is a complete mystery to me.”

  It was probably her tiredness, but only one part of what Jord said made any sense to Meghan at all. “Midgaard?”

  “Sorry.” He smiled sheepishly. “Earth . . . here. The mortal realm.”

  He seemed so earnest. She would have thought him crazy if she hadn’t seen the giants with her own eyes. “Midgaard was the name given to Earth in old Norse mythology. Is that what you’re talking about?”

  Jord was pacing now. “How much do you know of the old Nordic legends?”

  Meghan could tell he was building up to something. “We regularly feature Nordic displays at the museum. I’ve read through some of the old mythology. Thor, Odin, Asgaard. I’m no expert though. What has mythology got to do with all this?”

  Norse mythology had been her mother’s passion. Meghan enjoyed some of the stories, but her mother, right up to the end of her life, had devoured anything associated with Norse legend. Meghan still had her mother’s ratty, well-read copy of the Prose Edda, although she’d never sat down to actually read it.

  “What if I told you those old myths are true—those people really exist?”

  Where was Jord going with this? Meghan thought about what he’d said . . . and what he wasn’t saying.

  “Most old legends have some basis in real events. It’s pretty much accepted there was a real king the Arthur legends are based around.”