The Berserker returned his attention to the road after Kara returned to her seat. He reached for his sunglasses and put them back on. He drove in silence until she broke it. The blond man was divided about Nix having answers for Kara. Rather, he was skeptical about the proto-valkyrie providing those answers to the young woman. The soothsayer's lucidity was generally questionable at best, and there was no telling what her state of mind would be if one managed to find her. The valkyries were a chaotic breed, and none more so than the first of them. But there was no need to reveal his employer's madness now.<br/><br/>"You probably need blood." Hallbjorn said to Kara's weak question. The tone of her voice fired protective urges in the big man that he had not felt for hundreds of years. The last time he'd felt such a fierce urge to protect something, he'd been a boy too young to shave. The Berserker stopped himself from experiencing the memories. He let them lie. There was no need to go back to that time and that place. The Berserker dared a glance at her curled up in the seat. "Try to rest. We will be in Tuscon soon."<br/><br/>This was not quite the same. The desire to protect and provide for his female was not the same as the urge to protect home and blood kin.<br/><br/>He drove smoothly, and took extra care to avoid the bumps and dips in the road. It was not always possible, but in the main, the ride was a lot more pleasant for Kara than it could otherwise have been. The suspension of the truck could not be praised enough, either. It proved to be worth the expense that night.<br/><br/>On the way to Tuscon Hallbjorn used his phone to find the closest butcher shop. They would arrive well before they opened, but Hallbjorn was not above breaking and entering. When they did arrive within Tuscon's city limits, Hallbjorn stopped at a butcher shop half a mile away from the main inroads. Dawn had not yet arrived and so they arrived well outside regular business hours. Hallbjorn did not let that stop him: he handily picked the lock at the rear of the establishment and secured a supply of blood. He'd found it in the freezer, and left money for it. More than it was worth, truthfully. The stuff was in tall plastic containers, almost like soda bottles but opaque. He'd grabbed four, each of them containing a liter of blood. From there, it was time for a motel 6. The Berserker had not been exaggerating when he told her that he watched her day and night. He was on night nine of no sleep and that was pushing it for an immortal.<br/><br/>Hallbjorn paid for a room for the two of them with cash, and then he brought Kara and her clothes into the room. The sun was just cresting the horizon as he got her inside. If she was part vampire, as he guessed, the sun might not agree with her. He did not want to risk her being exposed to the sun's rays.<br/><br/>He got Kara sat up in the bed and opened one of the bottles of blood. "Here, Kara. Drink." The blond man said, tilting the plastic container to her lips to bring the thick, red fluid to her mouth.