Which god had been responsible for inspiring humans to make that?
Fen shook his head. Humans had evolved into a very strange species. He was glad Jeff would soon no longer be a part of it. Rubber things you shoved up your ass were not something Fenris wanted to experience, especially not in that shade of purple. No matter how pretty the sparkles were.
He shuddered and clenched his butt cheeks at the thought.
Admittedly, some of the things he’d seen had been interesting. He’d learned a few new tricks, found a few new ideas he’d love to show his mate, if only the man would forgive him and come home.
The knock came again, startling him out of his thoughts. He opened the door, astonished at who was on the other side. “Skuld?”
The blonde-haired, blue-eyed female before him tilted her head with a frown. She seemed confused. “Who?”
“Your name is Skuld, is it not?” Now Fen was confused.
“Uh, no. My name’s Skye, and you’re in my condo.”
“I am not. I am in my own condo.” It was filled with things that reminded him of home. He adored the hand-painted chest, the sturdy leather furniture.
The television he would adapt to, and as for the computer… He shivered.
Perhaps not.
“Look.” She darted a glance behind her. “Can I come in? There’s something really weird going on, and I think the condo manager is out to get you, Mr.
Saeter.”
That piqued his interest. This could be a trap laid by Grimm, but he didn’t think so. When she’d denied being Skuld he couldn’t smell a lie on her. It was possible he was wrong—it had been so long since the last time he’d seen the three Norns of Fate.
He held the door open wider. “Please do.”
She entered cautiously and stared around the room. “Wow. It doesn’t even look like my place anymore.”
“Because it belongs to me and my mate.” He closed the door behind her.
“That’s just it. It doesn’t.” She took a seat on the sofa gingerly, barely making herself comfortable. Fen was careful to take the chair with the wolf heads, unwilling to make her too nervous. She seemed as if she could break at any moment. “I went on vacation recently, and when I got back I found not only has my condo been moved, my whole life has been moved. Hell, even the dust marks are still there.”
Uh-oh. Fen was beginning to get the picture. This woman, who claimed not to be a Norn, had either shaken off his father’s misdirection spell or had never fallen under its influence to begin with. Only two races could withstand the magic of the gods—the Norns and the Valkyries, both female, both powerful in their magic. If this woman wasn’t one or the other, then she was descended from them somehow. Could she be one of Skuld’s daughters? That would account for the uncanny resemblance.
“Hello? Am I boring you? It’s not like this little problem doesn’t affect both our lives, especially with the police involved.”
“Police?”
“Yeah. I think I saw a police detective knocking on one of the condo doors before I got here. If you and your…roommate somehow managed to pull a fast one the cops will figure it out before you can say ten to twenty.”
Pappa was not going to be happy about this. “They are at my father’s, then.”
He stood. “Come. We will clear this up.” He hoped. If Logan couldn’t fix this, then they were all screwed.
“Gods.” Their mother was staring at them as if they’d just told her pumpkins were growing on her behind. “You’re telling me the entire Grimm family is chock full of Norse gods. And that I married one.” One of Jeanne’s eyebrows rose into her hair. Her voice was full of disbelief. “And you’re engaged to one.”
“Yup.” Jamie sipped her coffee, but Jeff could see her hands shaking. “Do you have any creamer?”
“Okay. Fine.” Jeanne stood and snatched the cup from Jamie’s fingers. “If you don’t want to tell me what’s going on, that’s fine. You don’t have to. But you know how I feel about being lied to.”
Jamie took a deep breath. “Mom?”
“Yes?” Jeanne’s voice was as cold as it ever got, which meant it was about as cold as a spring morning. The woman just didn’t have it in her to be mean to anyone.
“Look at my chair.”
Jeff winced. He knew where this was going—up. He now understood why Logan had asked if he and Jamie were ready for Plan A-1, because he had the feeling their butts were about to be well done.
Jeanne shrieked as Jamie’s chair rose a good five feet off the floor. She kept going until her curls brushed the ceiling. She glowed faintly, illuminating the ceiling. “Yeah, Mom. Gods.”
Jeanne was breathing heavily. She stood just off to the side of Jamie’s floating chair, her hands waving under it. She was breathing so hard Jeff was afraid she’d hyperventilate. “This isn’t a trick.”
“No, it’s not. And it gets worse.”
“Worse how?”
Jamie floated to the ground. “Do you want to know what happened to Grimm?”
Jeff decided enough was enough. His mother needed to know everything that had happened to them, especially Jamie. “And what he did to Jamie?”
Jeanne froze. Her eyes glittered, her lips went tight and her fists clenched at her sides. “What do you mean, what he did to Jamie?”
For the first time since he was a little boy, Jeff was afraid of his mother.
“Fen, come in. I’d like you to meet Detective Antonia Mancinelli and the building manager, Joe Stearman. Toni, Joe, this is my—” Logan eyed Skye, standing quietly next to Fen, and smoothly uttered the lie “—cousin, Fenris Saeter.”
Fen smiled at Antonia, who paled at the sight of him. “Hello, Detective.
Stearman.”
Stearman nodded his greeting, his expression one of unholy glee. “You need to vacate the premises immediately.”
Logan crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t think so.”
“You’re the only one who could have caused this kind of grief. I know your type. You’re a troublemaker to the core.”
Toni rolled her eyes. “And I told you that you don’t have the authority to evict him. He’s not a tenant, he’s a homeowner.” She turned to Logan. “Sorry about this. I’m not even sure why he brought me here instead of over to the problem condo.”
“Because his cousin is the one who’s now living in the stolen condo.”
Stearman crossed his arms over his chest, but thanks to a paunch it wasn’t nearly as impressive as when Logan did it. “He had to be the one who messed with the paperwork.”
“Um, excuse me.” Skye stepped into the room, her eyes going wide as Logan’s wards flared around her body. “Whoa.”
Logan was staring at her in shock. “Do I know you?”
Skye blinked. “Um. The condo you all are mentioning? It’s mine.”
Toni turned to her. “Can you explain to me the nature of your complaint?”
Kir hooked his arm around Logan’s neck. “I thought Toni was homicide.” He whispered in Logan’s ear low enough that only Fenris could hear it.
Logan shrugged, but his dark gaze were glued to Skye.
“I was away on vacation. When I got back, my key didn’t fit the lock.”
“How the fuck did she even get on the floor?” Clouds raced across Kir’s eyes as he watched the group by his front door. His fingers danced across the pendant he wore.
Fenris’s eyes went wide. Was that Gungnir? If it was, and if Kir believed Logan was threatened, this would get ugly fast.
“So I went to complain and found out that everyone believed my condo was actually a different number than it really is.” Skye’s cheeks flushed. “They all thought I was crazy, and sure enough my key fit in a different lock two floors up.