Read Online Demon Crossings by Eleri Stone - Free Book Online

face for a moment and then let out a sigh. “You really don’t know anything about this, do you?”
    “I know you’re crazy and I want my gun back.”
    He got up and walked into the foyer where he’d left his sword and her guns. When he came back, he dropped both guns into her lap then sat back down on the couch. “Better?”
    She checked the clip and nodded tightly. How had she misjudged him so badly? She’d gotten too used to trusting her instincts. Careless and stupid. But Aiden looked so freaking normal. Even now, sitting back and running a hand through his hair, he seemed like an honest, hard-working man not particularly pleased to be having this conversation. Like he was getting ready to tell her some bad news about crop failure or sick cattle. Like he didn’t want to do this but was too honorable to shirk his duty.
    “Stop looking at me like that,” he said. “I’m not crazy, Grace, and neither are you.”
    “Then explain this to me. I mean, come on… demons? Tell me how that’s supposed to make sense.”
    “I’m stuck with the truth. The names aren’t really important anyway. Just hear me out and then I’ll answer whatever questions you have.” He swallowed a frustrated laugh and leaned forward, clasping his hands between his knees. “Do you know anything about the Norse gods or their legends?”
    She actually knew quite a bit about Norse mythology. At the hospital, she hadn’t been allowed to read fiction and had developed a fascination with mythology. Gods of Northern Europe and Bulfinch’s Mythology were old favorites. But she wasn’t going to tip her hand until she figured out where he was going with this.
    So, she cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips. “You’re not going to say that you’re Thor and ask if I want to see your big hammer, are you? Because let me tell you, Aiden, there’ve got to be easier ways to pick up women. Even out here.”
    He scratched at his jaw, a flush of color riding high on his cheekbones.
    She choked on her laughter. “Oh, God.”
    “Odin,” he said, “not Thor. And it’s an honorary title. The real Odin died when Asgard fell. Dozens bear that title now, leading the different clans.”
    “You’re serious.”
    “This isn’t a joke. You’ve seen the demons.”
    Indeed she had. She’d been hoping for a reasonable explanation like drugs in the water. Genetically engineered superhogs. Something horrific but not crazy. She started to rise but he caught her wrist, a plea in his eyes. She sat down but only after she remembered she had no way of leaving unless she was willing to walk fifty miles to the next town or steal his truck.
    “Thank you,” he said and she nodded. “You really know nothing about this?”
    “About demons and Norse gods? In Iowa? Nuh-uh. Nope. Not ringing a bell.” She crossed her arms over her chest, noticed the way Aiden’s eyes followed the movement and unexpectedly felt a brief flare of triumph. She was seriously disturbed.
    “Your parents should have told you.”
    “They’re dead.”
    The stern set of his face yielded to sympathy. “Grace…I’m sorry.”
    “I’m not.” Not precisely true, but she didn’t want to talk about her parents. “So why don’t you explain it to me…Odin.”
    He winced like her distrust hurt him and she felt vaguely guilty.
    “Okay, then. The basics,” he said, pushing forward. “The Celts called Odin a god but he was only a man, a very gifted man, who was able to travel between dimensions. He was the leader of a tribe called the Æsir, the tribe I’m descended from. All of the people who live in Ragnarok are Æsir descendants. Our world, Asgard, was destroyed a long time ago, overrun by creatures like the one you saw today. We’re refugees here. Our world tied to this one with a fault line on this land that allows passage between dimensions. We guard the portal to keep the demons from crossing over.”
    “You’re talking about Asbrú,” she whispered, shocked into