Chapter 2

" You failed me!" Odin's voice was roaring in anger. He was facing away from Tamsin, with one of his hand behind his back, the other holding his walking stick.

" Well, you told me to use the rune glass on the succubus, and I did. I didn't make that thing, maybe it was a flawed product." Tamsin tried as hard she could to sound indifferent.

" Don't bullshit me." Odin's voice turned lower, and calm, like the sudden silent right before the thunder storm. " You should have brought her to me long time ago."

" What can I say? Did you really expect that a dying Valkyrie could bring you the succubus during the first try?"

Odin turned around. Anger was burning in his eye. Suddenly Tamsin felt his hand gripping her neck, suffocating her. " I could crush you right here, right now. It would not be so different from crushing a human, or a cockroach."

" Then do it! I'm so done with your empty threats, your tricks and your bullshit!" Tamsin squeezed the words out from her throat, with her eyes staring at him.

" Pity, I'm not done using you yet." Odin let her go. Tamsin crashed on the floor, gasping for air. " I need you to do one last thing for me, then all your betrayal will be forgiven." He said.

" You are a lot of things, but, forgiving is not one of them. I am not going to hurt her, no matter what you say, what you do."

" Tisk, tisk." Odin smiled. He was staring at Tamsin with a cold look on his face, as if his smile was just an illusion. " All you Valkyries think of are killing and fighting. It seems that you never understand the big picture here."

" Whatever it is, I'm not interested. Either you kill me now or let me go."

" We'll see each other again, soon." Odin laughed. His laughter hummed in the air, in a very unpleasant way. He reached his hand out and laid it on Tamsin's forehead. Like being hit by a hammer, Tamsin felt herself getting pushed away.

Like falling from somewhere really high, Tamsin reached her hands out, trying to grasp something. She opened her eyes, and panted. She could feel the sweat running down her face and her body. She could feel herself shaking.

Then she felt a warm, soft hand moving on her face. She saw Bo's face, just inches away from hers, with a caring, worrying look on it. She could tell the succubus was relieved when she saw her wake up.

Tamsin closed her eyes and lied back to the bed again. It was then she started to feel the pain all over her body, as if every inch of her had been crushed. She tried to move, but she couldn't." Shit!" She cursed in frustration, trying to fight it.

" Hey, stay still." Bo said, " You need to rest."

" What I need is a bottle of vodka..."

" Ya, try something else, 'cause you may actually get it." Bo rolled her eyes at the Valkyrie.

" Why are you here?" Tamsin turned her head to Bo, frowning.

" Just want to make sure you are ok, and Dyson."

" How's the wolf?"

" In much better shape than you." Bo said, " Just rest. I'll come back later. I need to go find Lauren."

" Of course you do." Tamsin murmured. She curled up in the bed, with her eyes closed again.

After leaving the hospital, Bo went to Lauren's apartment, hoping that she could find Lauren there, but no one was there. No one had been there since her last visit either.

Bo leaned against the wall and sighed in frustration. She couldn't help thinking about the last encounter she had with Lauren. It was pure surprising, sad and weird. She couldn't tell whether Lauren meant what she said, or she was just trying to fool the mad scientist.

Bo, I can't save you both, just like you can't love us both. This line tore Bo's heart like a sharp blade. She wanted to apologize to Lauren, or maybe explain to her that she didn't love Dyson the same way she did before, or just hold her in her arms till the doctor calmed down and agreed to listen to her again. But seeing Lauren in front of her that day, she just couldn't move.

Bo looked at the stuff in Lauren's apartment. Everything was exactly as she remembered. For a moment, she almost thought Lauren was still there and she would walk down from the second floor at any time, like everything happened after their break was just nothing but a bad dream.

But Bo knew, Lauren was gone. She didn't know where she was, and she couldn't contact her either, because Lauren decided to leave. She even left the pendent of the Ash behind.

That thought hurt her more than anything else. Desperation filled Bo's heart. She closed her eyes and sighed again.

After a while, Bo decided to call Hale. Hale told Bo Trick was with Stella in Scotland right now.

" Do you have any news on Lauren?" Bo asked.

" No. Not yet. She was last spotted with Isaac's men. We've already searched the compound, but didn't find anything that could lead to her. We'll find her, before the Morrigan does."

" What are you going to do with her when we find her?"

" I don't know. It's not up to me anymore. Things are getting out of control between the light and the dark now. Tell Kenzi to be careful. The Morrigan might not be a threat right this minute, but her minions are probably still hunting Kenzi."

" She'll be fine. She has a bodyguard now." Bo said, " But I will keep an eye on her."

" You be careful too. You are probably not favored by the Morrigan's men right now either."

" Yeah, yeah, I know. She wanted me so bad."

" Anyway, I have to go now. We'll be in touch."

Bo went home. She wanted to have some drinks, but she had nowhere to go. With Trick gone, the Dal was closed. She had the keys to that place, but she didn't feel like drinking by herself tonight.

It was already passed midnight when she got home. She turned on the lights, and surprised someone in the kitchen.

" Tamsin!" Bo exclaimed when she realized who that person was. " Why the hell are you here? I thought you were in the hospital!"

" I was. Then I left." Tamsin tilted her head, with her nose scrunched. Bo noticed that she had a bottle of vodka in her hand, and that bottle was already half empty.

" Hey!" Bo grabbed the bottle and pulled it out from Tamsin's hand. Tamsin rolled her eyes, walking to the living room. The Valkyrie tripped. Bo reached out to grab her but she lost balance too. Both of them fell on the couch.

" Anyone ever told you that you are a pain in the ass?" Bo said. She tried to get up, but with Tamsin on top of her, she couldn't. Things suddenly felt awkward when she realized that the Valkyrie's face was only inches away from hers.

Tamsin stared at her, half conscious, half drunk. Bo could see the sadness and the pain floating in her eyes. It was a look of desperation, and she had seen that look before, that day when they were both in the bathtub. It felt like the Valkyrie wanted something, but she just knew she couldn't have it.

" Get off me, Tamsin." Bo whispered to her. She couldn't handle being this close to the Valkyrie, because she didn't know what to do. Just like that day when they were both in the bathtub, she had no idea what to do but freeze where she was. She had her hands on Tamsin's waist when they fell, but now she felt the warmth coming from the Valkyrie burn her like flames.

Tamsin chuckled. She leaned over and pressed her lips on Bo's lightly. She pulled herself away before Bo could react. " Everyone's favorite succubus..." She murmured, " I've tasted better..."

Bo had not yet recovered from the shock the sudden kiss the Valkyrie had given her. She just pulled herself up on the couch to sit straight, with her eyes wide open.

The blonde rolled off her. She lied down on the couch too, with her eyes closed. She sighed and laid one of her hand on her own forehead.

Bo sat on the other end of the couch. She couldn't think straight. She tried to get the kiss off her mind, but somehow it reminded her of the kiss they had shared in Brazenwood, and it stirred her mind even more. Neither of them said anything for a while, till Tamsin finally broke the silence. " So, what now?" She asked, suddenly she sounded sober.

" Honestly, I don't know. I don't even know what happened. I guess I've met my father, and the only thing he told me is that a storm is coming, and we'll see each other again." Bo said.

" Sounds like him." Tamsin shook her head.

" Do you know what he's up to?" Bo asked.

" Do I look like I know?"

" Well, I guess we'll figure it out together then."

" There is no we."

" Oh, don't give me that crap. From now on, we fight together." Bo said, " Likey or not."

Tamsin smiled bitterly. She turned her head away to avoid eye contact with the succubus. The pain over her body started to come back again. She inhaled and bit her lips to stop the moans.

Bo noticed that too. She hesitated for a while. Then she laid her fingers on the blonde's arm, sending out her charms. She saw the blonde's burrowing eyebrows relieved, and she was not biting her lips anymore.

" If you are trying to charm me to bed, you are gonna have to try harder..." Tamsin murmured.

" Oh, shut up and rest." Bo said, " We got a shit ton of crap to deal with, but you have to recover first."

Tamsin let out a deep breath and closed her eyes again. The charms the succubus passed through gave her a warm, tickling sensation, masking the pain. She had been charmed by other faes before, but none of them had given her such a relaxing feeling like she had right now. She didn't want to admit it, but with the succubus next to her and her hands on her, she felt safe, and warm.