CHAPTER TWO-THE ARRIVAL

"Well, at least we're heading over land again." As she peered out the small window of the plane over the dark water and snowy glacier below, Mory bounced her leg nervously against the metal wall.

She stretched her neck out from side to side then glanced down at the little blonde boy sitting beside her drawing pictures on the seat back tray. "That's pretty good. You're getting a whole lot better with those big red fire trucks. Don't forget to sign it this time so I can get top dollar for it when you're rich and famous."

The blue-eyed boy stuck out his tongue as he began writing his name in crayon along the bottom. "C, H, A, R,L,Y." He held it up and smiled at Mory with his snaggle toothed grin.

Mory pushed out her lips and raised her brows as she nodded. "First name only? That's a bold move, but I think it just might work for you. It sure did for Picasso and Madonna and you got way more talent than those two. Hands down."

Putting the drawing back down on the table, he sighed and rubbed his belly. As he looked up again, he asked, "Can I have a piece of candy? My belly hurts again."

Mory cleared her throat and nodded as she pushed the guilt down into her stomach. "Sure, honeybunches. You know Miss Mory always has the good stuff. I got a big ole sweet tooth myself."

As Mory set a snack sized candy bar on the little table, the flight attendant raised her brow and looked at Mory in confusion then leaned down over the seat. "Can you put on your seat belt, please? We'll be landing in a few moments."

Mory nodded and smiled at her. "Yes, ma'am." As she clicked the belt across her lap, Mory peeked over at the boy. "You need a hand with your seat belt Charly?"

"No, Miss Mory. I better get back to my mother. Don't tell her you gave me any candy though, Ok? They don't let me have candy."

Mory crossed her finger over her chest. "Your secrets safe with me. I'm sure I'll be seeing you again real soon little buddy."

While the plane started to make its descent, Mory braided back her long dark, mahogany hair then pulled her gray cable knit beanie down on her head. "I always hated this part the most." Gripping the arm rests so hard her knuckles turned white, Mory vibrated with the bouncing of her legs.

As the engines powered down, Mory's ears popped, and she flinched as she felt the plane drop down onto the runway. Closing her eyes, she tried to block out the sounds of gunshots that still echoed in her mind after all these years.

She took a deep breath through her nose and blew out through her mouth as the plane gradually came safely to a halt.

Her legs buckled briefly while she stood up from her seat as the adrenaline started to kick in once again. She'd only ever arrived for duty in the desert under the cover of night, and it felt dangerous to leave the plane in the bright light of day.

Gathering her bags from the belt, Mory's eyes darted around the hanger and finally saw the driver at the door waiting. She nodded her chin and waved at the older white-haired Irishman as he came towards her.

Garrett offered his hand to Mory. "Hello there, lass. How was the flight over from the mainland?"

Shaking his hand, Mory said, "Better now that I'm on the ground that's for damn sure." She slung the strap of her leather duffle across her chest as Garrett pulled her suitcase. "Aye, that's a frightful little jump over from the mainland, isn't it?"

Mory looked around the icy landscape as they stepped outside. "Yes, quite."

Garrett led her to an old blue pickup truck then opened the door for Mory. As she climbed inside, she rolled out her shoulders as the anxiety started to melt away now that she was on solid ground.

"You've never been to Norway before have you?" Garrett asked his he drove her into town.

Mory shook her head as she peered out the foggy window at the little brightly colored houses that lined the road. "No sir, but there was a blizzard back home as I was leaving that dumped nearly four feet of snow on the ground, so I don't expect that this will be much of a shock to my system."

Garrett glanced over to Mory and sighed. "It can be a lonely and sad place, young lady. I must warn you that those vultures will be all over you as soon as you set foot into the pub. The island doesn't see many single ladies, and rarely ever sees a handsome one."

Mory chuckled through her nose as a wide grin came to her lips. "Those poor bastards. They'll be disappointed as hell once they talk to me for a minute or two."

As Garrett laughed out at her very lazy mountain dialect, he pulled up to the pub and parked.

Haldir's heart began to pound as he saw the outline of a woman beyond the windshield. He fisted his hands to control the tremor as she met Garrett at the front of the vehicle before they walked through the door.

James stood as the blast of cold air smacked him in the back as Garrett shut the door. "Mory Faye! How the hell are you girl?"

Mory took off her hat and smoothed back her hair before she took off her gloves and put out her hand. "I'm just fine, sir, thank you. It's nice to meet you in person, finally."

As James shook her hand, Bose and Haldir stood and waited for their turn. "How was the flight?"

"Very bumpy," Mory said.

James smiled and said, "Yeah, it looks real peaceful when you're looking out the window, but the turbulence is a bitch."

Rubbing her hands together, Mory smiled. "Yes, sir. You got that right."

James briefly glanced to his left and saw Haldir and Bose waiting to be introduced and nodded to them. As he held his hand out to usher her that way, James said, "Mory, these are a couple of the islands more colorful characters, Bose and Haldir."

As Mory looked in Haldir's icy blue eyes, her shoulders dropped as all the air in her lungs escaped her. Her heart beat wildly against her chest as a surge of heat rushed through her veins and chased away all the cold from her fingers and toes. She blinked away quickly and tucked her gloves in her pockets. "It's nice to meet you both."

Garrett returned from behind the bar and interrupted them. "Miss Faye, I have your room key. Your flat won't be ready for another few days, I'm afraid. The stove needed replacing and it takes forever for anything to happen here."

Mory took the key in her small, delicate shaking hand. "Thank you, sir."

Bose crossed his arms and looked Mory over. "So that wouldn't be Mrs. Faye, would it?"

Garrett rolled his eyes and leaned into her ear. "I told you, didn't I? Vultures, the whole lot of them."

Mory huffed out through her nose as she grinned at the ornery old man. "No, sir. Thankfully, I cured myself of that terrible disease a long time ago. I believe I'm immune to it now."

While Bose and James laughed, Mory's eyes traveled back to Haldir as he watched her face.

Haldir took in every perfect curve, button nose and fiery amber eyes. She barely came to the shoulders of any of the men standing around her and even with her parka on, he guessed she couldn't be more than 120 pounds soaking wet. This was really the war hero that James told them about?

Noticing the tension between them, James interrupted and broke Mory from the intense stare of Haldir. "So, if you want to go drop your things upstairs, Mory, I'll take you on a tour of the town and the facility you'll be spending most of your time in."

Mory nodded and licked her lips as she nervously rubbed her neck. "Sure thing. Give me a few minutes."

As Garrett took her suitcase, Mory picked up her bag from the floor. She could feel the prickly uneasiness of Haldir's eyes on her, and she resisted the urge to look back.

Bose turned his head slightly as he watched her take the turn for the staircase then he looked to Haldir. "What do you think? Is it a match?"

Haldir rubbed his fingers over his mouth and huffed through his nose. "Well, she definitely doesn't look like you at least."

As they went back to their booth, Haldir drummed his fingers on the table. Mory was definitely an attractive woman, but he didn't know if the attraction was anything more than any other man would feel for her. It was more than he remembered feeling for someone, but it's also been two years since he's been with any woman at all. The pickings are slim there.

To his disappointment, she didn't have the shimmer of a magical being to her at all. If she was a human, whatever was brewing between them wouldn't matter. He wouldn't be able to take her with him anyway even if she was his mate. It wouldn't be the first time the Fates had been so cruel to Haldir.

Pulling her beanie back down over her ears as she came back in the pub, Mory looked at James and nodded towards the door. "Ready whenever you are Chief."

James stood and chuckled to himself as he put his gloves back on put on. "Chief? I could get used to that." As he looked back to the booth, James saluted them playfully. "See you fellas later."

Mory bit her lip then reluctantly glanced over to the tall booth seat back and met Haldir's gaze once again. As the door closed behind her and the flash of bitter air reached her skin, the fire growing within her was suddenly extinguished.

As they walked to the government building across the center of town, James said, "Just so you know...and I'm not saying that any of this is true or anything...but Haldir, he's, well, the folks in town here say that he's a Viking. Like original thousand-year-old Viking."

Mory shook her head and glanced back to him. "You surely can't be serious. What century are we living in here? That little old hopper plane didn't carry me back through time, did it? Or maybe to the Twilight Zone?"

James pushed out his lips and shrugged. "The people here, they're all fisherman and a lot of them are Sami. They're very superstitious people. They see Haldir as some kind of guardian against evil or something. They go to him with their problems, and...apparently...he's a wizard."

Mory laughed to herself as she licked her lips. "Jesus, I thought the mountain people back home were ridiculous. Appalachians got nothing on these folks."

Waiting for the police car to pass by, James chuckled to himself and glanced to Mory. "Honestly, Mory. I've been here for nearly a decade now, and that man hasn't aged a day. I don't know what kind of deal he made with the devil, but it's working for him."

Mory took a deep breath through her nose as she thought about Haldir's face. "Some people are just lucky that way. Aren't they?"

"I was just trying to warn you, he seemed to be pretty interested in you." James held the door open as Mory walked through it. "Not that I'm saying that he's a bad man or anything, if he's your type. It gets mighty lonely around here for single folks like yourself."

As she walked along side him, she took in the clean steel and cylinder block construction of the hall. "You don't have to worry about me, Chief. I came here to work, not to find myself a mate."