Valkyrie's Kiss (12 page)

I pulled myself
into the shadow of the trees, breathing heavily and waited for my wounds to
heal. I never lost consciousness. That is a luxury Odin did not grant to
Valkyries. But it was many minutes before I was fully aware of my surroundings.

When the pain had
subsided and the muscles of my hands had tightened, I picked up the stone. It
weighed fifteen tons or more.

I hefted it onto
my shoulder and took a deep breath, pulling all reserves of strength from my
body.

 
Then I saw her.
Ermhilde
was returning.

“Strength,
Sabrina,” I said under my breath, girding myself for battle.
“Strength
and courage.”
I hefted the sword in my hand and took to the skies.

She saw me coming.
I saw the flash of her angry eyes, but I put my head down and beat my wings as
hard as I’d ever beaten them before. I held the stone tight with my right arm,
balancing the bulk of it on my shoulder. I should have been carrying it with
both hands, but I needed a free arm for my sword.

Ermhilde
came at me. We were like two
knights jousting in the sky.

My only advantage
was my speed.

I saw too late
that
Ermhilde
also brandished a sword.

She swung at me,
and I swerved hard to my left. Her sword missed me but slammed into the stone I
carried.

 
Ermhilde’s
sword
buried into the stone, and the force of her hand swung me around.
 
I clenched my arm tighter around the bulk of
it, picturing my arm as a steel vise.

Ermhilde
looked at what she’d done
with unconcealed horror. This was my chance to escape. I dropped my sword and
grasped the larger piece of the stone with two hands and yanked, hard. The
smaller piece, the piece
Ermhilde
had cut, broke free
and fell away.

I didn’t stop to
retrieve it. If I dove for it, I knew that she would win. I turned and beat a
fast retreat.

I tucked my head
under my arm and saw
Ermhilde
hesitate and then dive
bomb toward earth, apparently intent on retrieving the piece she’d stolen from
me.

Chapter Seven

I stood before
the elevator at
Hohensalzburg
trying to decide how
much to tell
Skuld
, debating my approach. I could
give
Skuld
the stone and hope that she wouldn
’
t notice a change. If she did notice that there was a piece
missing, I could say that I knew nothing about it, that this was what I
’
d found in the mountains. Or I could tell her the truth.
That a young Valkyrie had battled her own kind in order to have the
stone.
I decided to play dumb. All I had to do was give her the stone,
get the protection spell, and leave. Perhaps it would all be over in a matter
of minutes and
Skuld
would never know that the stone
was damaged.

I would
have to be careful.
Very, very careful.

I descended
into
Skuld
’
s
lair.

Standing in
the tunnel, I balanced the stone on my shoulder with the cleaved part facing
away from the light. My heart pounded, and my hands shook. I gripped the stone
tighter, closed my eyes, and gave myself a moment to calm down. My hands were
still sensitive, the skin still tightening, healing. I felt both anxiety and
anticipation.

When I
entered the chamber, Jess was sitting at
Skuld
’
s
feet, an open book in
his lap. His mouth spread into a wide grin when he saw me, and his beautiful
green eyes gleamed in the firelight. I felt the color rise in my cheeks. I
could see the relief in his face at my return, and heat radiated across my
chest.

Skuld
’
s
eyes were closed, her mouth slack. I
beckoned to Jess. He glanced at
Skuld
, closed the
book and carefully set it down on the stone floor.

“
You
have returned,
”
Skuld
said, rousing
herself
.

“
I
have.
”

“
Let
me see,
”
the goddess said, leaning forward in her chair. Her eyes
seemed to glow in the dim light, and her gnarled hands gripped the branches of
her throne.
“
Come closer.
”

I swallowed
audibly, took one step toward her,
then
stopped.
“
As you can see, I have retrieved your stone, great
Skuld
. Now give me the protection spell.
”

“
The
beast gave you no trouble then?
”
Skuld
asked, ignoring my
request.

“
Not
as much trouble as I gave him,
”
I said,
“
though it would have been helpful to have had some warning.
”

“
Pah
,
”
Skuld
said, thrusting out her chin.
“
I have learned to hold my tongue
Valkyr
,
for which you should be grateful.
”

I bowed my
head slightly.
“
I am grateful, goddess. And if you will give me the
protection spell, I will leave you with your precious stone.
”

Skuld
lifted her head and sniffed the air.
“
Are you taunting me?
”

 
“
I
would not be so foolish. I only wish to fulfill my mission and see this warrior
safely home.
”

“
Very
well,
”
Skuld
said, waving a hand.
“
Have the warrior come to me and I will bestow my gift upon
him.
”

I nodded to
Jess, and he stood before
Skuld
, tall and fearless,
his head held high.

“
Hold
out your hand, mortal.
”

Jess did as
instructed.
Skuld
pulled a gold ring from her finger
and placed it in Jesse
’
s open palm.

I felt my
throat thicken with unshed tears. He was safe.

Jess bowed
to the goddess and turned to me, striding toward me, his handsome face suffused
with the same relief I felt.

“
Put
it on your finger,
”
I said in a hushed voice,
“
and
stand behind me.
”

He gave me
a curt nod, slipped the ring on his finger and put a hand on my shoulder. I had
the fleeting feeling that if I weren
’
t
holding a fifteen ton stone, he would have kissed me.

“
Now
give me my stone,
”
Skuld
said, pointing at us with
her long wrinkled index finger.

“
Of
course, goddess.
”

I laid the
stone down at my feet, far from
Skuld
’
s
throne. She put a hand
to her throat and rose from her throne, peering at the hulking stone.

“
What
have you done?
”

“
I
have brought you the stone, great and good goddess
Skuld
.
”

“
You
…
you did this?
”
Skuld
shuffled toward the stone and pointed a shaking
finger at me, her long pointed nails
an
accusation.

Jess
slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me to him.
Skuld
didn
’
t seem to notice. Her eyes were now fixated on the stone.

She put her
hand to her mouth, almost a kiss and then held it out to the stone.
“
Oh my, my darling
.
“

When she
laid her hand on the stone it turned an iridescent blue where she touched it.

“
You
destroyed her,
”
Skuld
said.
“
You have injured her.
”

The old
goddess bared her teeth, her eyes burning the same iridescent blue that coated
the stone. I saw rage.
Anger.
Despair.

I stumbled
back, pulling Jess with me.

“
You are damned,
”
she said, screaming, her voice breaking.
“
I
will tell you everything!
”
“
It wasn
’
t me, great goddess! It wasn
’
t
me.
”

I wanted to
tell her about
Ermhilde
and what she had done, that
it wasn
’
t me that had destroyed her valuable stone, but there was
no reason in
Skuld
’
s
eyes. She was insane with grief and fury.

 
“
Wait,
please. There was a Valkyrie at the shrine.
Ermhilde
.
She was waiting.
”

“
You
will hear it all,
”
Skuld
screeched, raising her
hands, her eyes rolling back in her head.
“
Everything
about your sister and the death of your son
…”

Jess threw
his trench coat over my head and pushed me down the tunnel. We ran. I wrapped
my wings around us, but
Skuld
’
s
words reached me as we ascended.

“
Your son
…
will burn in the fires of Hell. I
will see to it. He will suffer as no Valkyrie has ever suffered before
…
.
”

Chapter Eight

I wanted to take Jess back to The Nest. I wanted to
spend more time with him. I wanted to have him without the threat of Death
waiting in the shadows, but it was not to be. Jess had already been away from
his unit for three days. If he didn’t go back, they might not believe his
story.

We stood together
in the broken apartment building in Kandahar, trying to find the words to say
good-bye.

Jess turned
the ring on his finger around and around. I took his hands in mine.

“
You
’
ll be okay now, Jess.
”

“
But
will you be all right?
”
He asked, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

“
I
told you,
”
I said, swallowing back the sudden lump in my throat,
“
I
’
m always all right.
”

“
But
the prophecy.
You heard what
Skuld
said.
”

“
It
was a threat, not a prophecy.
”

“
What
about
Gustel
?
Skuld
said
your sister would betray you.
”

I brought
his hands up to my lips.
“
Anything that happens between us will get worked out. We
fight sometimes, but we always find a way to forgive each other.
”

Jess
nodded, but looked doubtful.

“
We
should get going,
”
I said, hating the words as they left my mouth, wishing I
could take them back.

"I
don't know how I'm going to explain all this."

“You were ambushed. Your men saw the girl. They saw
it happen. Tell them you were trapped in the apartment building, that you lost
consciousness. They’ll believe that.”

"What
would you do if I kissed you right now?"

"Jess,
”
I said, putting my hand up to his cheek,
“
I
’
d have to watch you die."

"What
if I don't care?"

"I
care. And I'm strong enough to get my way."

Jess
smiled, shaking his head, but his eyes were serious when he said, "So you
hold all the cards."