Jurik’s Story

The third Immortal Vikings paranormal romantic suspense is my work in progress. I don’t have much done yet, but here’s what I can tell readers:

The Characters:

Jurik is an Immortal Viking doctor who runs a crisis medical clinic in a war zone (I’m researching exactly where). Once upon a time he was a Viking with a mission to kill every dragon, a quest that killed a woman who loved him. He left the warrior part of his life far behind, but his vow to save lives instead of taking them is regularly challenged by mercenaries and rebel militia who threaten civilians in his care. The Viking chief Ivar has summoned Jurik repeatedly over the last two months, but the only messages Jurik cares about are emergency calls. He hasn’t bothered to answer Ivar.

Laura appeared in First to Burn as a combat zone photographer. She’s also the granddaughter of Ivar’s Italian property manager and knows all about the Viking chieftain and his brother Wulf. Her job provides the perfect cover to deliver a final written demand from Ivar to the Viking doctor working deep in dangerous territory. She expects to be in and out in a few days, message delivered and news-worthy photos to show for her trip. The errand shouldn’t be too hard. She might even make it through her third week in a row without a cigarette.

You don’t have to be fifteen centuries old to know neither quitting smoking nor corralling Vikings is ever easy. After taking a photo she shouldn’t have, the only way Laura’s getting out alive is with Jurik’s help to evade the rebels, the government and shadowy soldiers with mysterious abilities.

So what’s in Ivar’s message?

A thousand years ago, a woman who loved Jurik was killed by the last dragon, and he slew the fire-breathing wyrm in retaliation. History celebrated Jurik’s deed in the legend of St. George and the Dragon, but he blames himself for the extinction of the only species stronger than the Vikings. The only route their brethren had to find mortality was destroyed by his sword hand. Real dragons are gone, because of Jurik.

Or are they?

Ivar’s message described a dragon egg left centuries ago on an inhospitable volcanic island in the North Atlantic. Now Ivar needs Jurik to determine what, if anything, still lives on that rocky outcropping. The Dragon-Killer must become a Dragon-Catcher, because he has to deliver the ancient beast to a secret research zoo in a Louisiana swamp.

I toyed with Ivar building a dragon sanctuary on an island off the Connecticut coast, which would be convenient from the Manhattan townhouse Ivar shares with Wulf and Theresa, but after driving through Louisiana in May 2014, I knew exactly where to hide a dragon.

Yes, I know the real Saint George was martyred around the fourth century, and my heroes didn’t become immortal until after that, so I have to fudge the time stream.