Renegade Valkyrie (Valhalla's Curse Book 1)

by Stacy Claflin

  I grab a mirror from my nightstand. My eyes are super bright, but the color will fade before long. I turn back to him. “Sorry for pulling you away from the redhead.”

  “Don’t be.” He shudders.

  “That bad?”

  “I don’t mind when they play dumb, but flying hades, that girl was the real deal. I have no idea how she got into college.”

  I swing my feet to the floor. “Maybe she was lying about being in school.”

  “Could be. I’m not sure she had two working brain cells.”

  “Oh, be nice.” But I can’t help snickering.

  “Believe me, I am.”

  I study Titan’s profile. He’s got one of those faces where he possesses both rugged sexiness and adorable puppy cuteness at the same time. His smile can melt the hardest heart but his glare can also make the strongest supernatural tremble.

  And he knows it too. Doesn’t help that he’s a mesmer—a world class trickster. He can mess with people and control their minds if he wants to. Usually he doesn’t. That’s what I like best about him. He’s not your typical mesmer.

  Not that I have to worry about him getting inside my head. Neither of us can use our mental capabilities against each other. He can’t control my thoughts and I can’t read his. Drinking essence reveals everything to me, but not with him. I get nothing unless he’s drunk, but he’d basically have to drink an entire bar to get that way, so I’ve rarely gotten a peek into his mind.

  Titan rubs his five o’clock shadow and turns to me. “So, again I ask, what happened back there? You scared the hades out of the humans.”

  “Wasn’t me. Not this time.”

  He arches a brow and tilts his head. “Really?”

  I have no romantic interest in him, yet that look makes me want to grab his shirt and kiss him until I can’t see straight. Instead, I twist my hair and pull it into a ponytail. Then I get up and find a hair tie on my dresser. “Some witch showed up pissed that I killed her sister.”

  “Like a real witch? Or just some snarky coed?”

  “Oh, that chick is the real deal. Used the anti-Valkyrie call right there in front of all those humans.”

  “You mean that’s a real thing?”

  “How is it you’ve lived in the same house as me for three years yet you don’t know that?” I spin around and study him.

  Titan shrugs. “Guess it never came up in conversation.”

  “Apparently. Trust me, it’s real. Thankfully only a few ancient witches know how to use it.”

  “So she’s not just a witch, but ancient?”

  “Lucky me.”

  “Is she hot?”

  “Do you ever think of anything else?”

  He shrugs.

  I wave him off, then turn to the mirror. My complexion is better than it’s been for days, though now I have dark circles under my eyes. They’ll stick around a few days thanks to me getting so low on essence.

  “How dangerous do you think she is?” Titan asks.

  “Not sure yet, but given how low on essence I stay, the harder it’s going to be for me to beat her.”

  “Why not just fill up?”

  “Because it’ll make it too easy for my superiors to find me. Between using my sword on the wrong person and the fact that I still have nothing on the dictator I’m supposed to be after, they’ve got to be out for my blood. There’s no way they aren’t.”

  An explosion outside shakes the walls hard enough to knock down some of my framed photos.

  Titan grabs my hand. “They’re not here for you already, are they?”

  I stare at our hands, more freaked out by them than the blast outside. But I push away the thoughts. We just naturally feel close at the moment since I just drank his essence.

  “Are they here for you?” Titan asks again.

  “Let’s find out.”

  Three

  The walls shake again.

  Titan bolts to the window and lifts a shade. “I don’t think that’s from the witch. What did you say her name was?”

  “I didn’t.” I stand next to him and peek outside. The neighbors are gathered around a stump in the street with firecrackers and fireworks. “Idiots. They think this is the Fourth of July?”

  “No, just drunk.”

  “At least it’s not the witch.”

  Titan drops the shade and turns to me. “You think she’s going to find you here?”

  “She’ll look. What worries me is that she managed to find me at the club.” I step back and sit on the bed.

  “But that’s not really a surprise, is it? You’re there every single night.”

  “And married ones too.” Though I joke, it’s no laughing matter. He’s right. For someone trying to live undercover, I’m not doing it right. Or I need to be more careful.

  “What are you thinking?” He arches a brow.

  “I’m not sure.” If she’s anywhere near as powerful as her sister was, killing her won’t be easy. It might require something that will alert my location to my superiors in Valhalla—the same thing that got me into trouble in the first place.

  “Your wheels are spinning. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “As it always is with you.”

  “I am a Valkyrie.”

  Titan sits next to me. “Hey, I got your back. You know that. The least you can do is tell me what’s really going on.”

  Even clipped, the story could take all night. It could even take five books to tell it.

  “Soleil.” His tone holds a hint of warning mixed with curiosity.

  “The super-short version is that killing her sister is the reason I’m on the run. That’s why my superiors are hunting me.” I shudder. If they catch me and put me on trial, that could easily be the end of me.

  Titan nods like what I just told him is no big deal. “So, what do we do?”

  “You ask like there’s a simple solution. Killing her would basically be handing myself over for execution. She wants me dead. Either way you look at it, I’m dead.”

  “So, we move somewhere else. I can get us new identities.”

  “I appreciate the gesture, but this chick has some serious magic available to her. She found me once. She’ll find me again.”

  He scratches his chin, looking deep in thought. “You’re supposed to be on a mission to kill some dictator, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And if you do that, you can return to Valhalla having completed your mission?”

  “What’s your point?”

  “Why not do that?”

  I lean back and lay on the bed. “Easier said than done. I’ve been looking. He doesn’t want to be found.”

  “Seriously? You’re a Valkyrie. He’s a mere man. Try harder! Take out the bastard, go back to Valhalla with his soul, and you’re a hero. Can’t be harder than taking out a witch.”

  “Oh, to be a simple trickster.”

  “I resent that.” He glares at me.

  “You think it’s going to be easy to get near the dictator? He’s trying to create a new country. There’s a reason they weren’t expecting me to return for ten years or more.”

  “You teleport, right?” Titan leans on his elbow and glances at me. “Teleport yourself over to the dictator, take him by surprise, and kill him. Done. Then send Odin after the witch who’s bold enough to go after a Valkyrie.”

  I laugh. Not just a simple laugh, but one that rolls through me and makes my stomach hurt because I can’t stop.

  He twists his mouth. “What’s wrong with my plan?”

  “Let me point out one thing.”

  “Go for it.” He waves his arm toward me. “I want to hear it.”

  “The farther I have to teleport, the more it takes out of me. Look what going from the club to here did to me.”

  “You also hadn’t had any essence in how long?” Titan lifts a brow. “Fill up on mine, jump to that dictator, and pow. You’re done.”

  I shake my head. “I hav
e to study the jerk. There’s no way I can just show up and kill him.”

  “I’ve got a gun that says otherwise.”

  “What if he never goes anywhere without five armed guards?” I sit up and wait for his answer.

  “Then we send you with a high-powered rifle. Done.”

  “Assuming they all aren’t in body armor.”

  “Wait. You’re a Valkyrie. Just suck their essence. That solves everything. You’ll kill them all and refuel yourself. See? I’m a genius.” He claps. I think he’s trying to hi-five himself.

  “It’s more complicated than that. I can’t drink the dictator’s essence dry. Like you said, I have to return with his soul.”

  “Can’t you kill him, then suck—”

  “Drink,” I correct.

  “Whatever. Almost-kill him, then drink from his buddies. Return to Valhalla with his soul, and you’re a hero.”

  I shake my head. “Nobody’s a hero for doing their duty. And you’re forgetting that I don’t even know where he is—not exactly, anyway. Just a general idea at this point. I can’t just teleport anywhere I want. It has to be a specific location, and I need to know what I’m walking into. I may be harder to kill than most, but I can be killed.”

  Titan flings himself on his back. “You’re wearing me out.”

  “And you’re wearing me out.”

  “You haven’t looked into the dictator at all?”

  “I just told you! I’ve looked, but can’t find him. It’s not like he’s advertising his whereabouts online.”

  “Let me help. You can take his sorry soul to Valhalla this weekend. Guaranteed.”

  I groan. “For all I know, my superiors are already there with him, waiting for me.”

  “You really think so?”

  I shrug. “Anything’s possible.”

  Boom!

  The walls shake. Laughter roars outside.

  Titan turns to me. “Moving isn’t exactly the worst idea, you know.”

  I frown. “It’s not the best idea, either.”

  “We could travel the world. I’ve always wanted to go to the Big Apple. They probably have tons of dance clubs. We could go to a new one every night. Then nobody would be able to track you down. It’s a lot better than living here in—”

  “Don’t say it!” I cover his mouth. “I don’t want to even think the name of this place, remember?”

  He scowls at me. “You really think they can find you based on your thoughts? If that’s the case, they should’ve found you long ago.”

  “It’s more complicated than that. You forget I’ve been doing this Valkyrie thing for thousands of years. You’ve been alive how long?”

  “A few hundred.”

  “Infant.”

  He shoves me. “Old fart.”

  We both laugh.

  Titan gets up. “Well, if you don’t have a plan, I’m going to watch a movie. You’re giving me a headache.”

  “Then stop trying to manipulate my mind. It’ll never work.”

  “I’m a mesmer. There’s a workaround somewhere.”

  “And once you find it, I’ll be able to read your essence. I’ll know all your deepest, darkest secrets.”

  “Spoiler alert—I’m not deep. About as shallow as they come.”

  “Keep telling yourself that.”

  He throws me a playful smirk. “You wanna watch a movie with me?”

  “Next time. I need to think all this through.”

  Titan jumps to the floor. “Good. Didn’t want your company, anyway. Got a hot date downstairs waiting for me. She’s probably getting bored.”

  “Liar.” I throw a pillow at him.

  He tosses it back at me. “I got ice cream.”

  I glare at him. Ice cream has been my latest weakness.

  “Oh, and I managed to get some unicorn horn flakes. We can sprinkle those on top.”

  My mouth waters. “When did you get those?”

  “This morning. Found a hole-in-the-wall spice shop that sells quite a bit more than spices.”

  “Give me five minutes.”

  “Knew I’d have you with the flakes.” He smirks again before leaving.

  I go to my closet and change into fluffy pajamas perfect for a movie and ice cream. My mouth waters again as I think about the unicorn horn flakes. Those are especially hard to come by in big cities where the so-called mythical creatures never venture.

  In my bathroom, I wash off my makeup and study my face. My mind immediately wanders to the Olympic Peninsula where my family lives. They’re not family in the traditional sense—not a single relative. In fact, I’m the only Valkyrie in the pack of misfit shifters.

  My heart nearly breaks as I think about them. It kills me to be away from them, especially considering how long it’s been. But I stay away for their safety. Every so often I teleport there to check on them, but I never get close enough to be seen.

  I’ll never again be able to see the one who holds my heart, though. He died, but not to Valhalla. Because of the gut-wrenching pain of our separation, I’ve decided never to give in to love again. It’s not worth the agony.

  “You coming?” Titan’s voice breaks through my thoughts.

  Four

  The unicorn horn flakes melt in my mouth while bringing out heightened flavors in the ice cream—a delicacy mere mortals never get to experience.

  I can’t get into the movie, so my mind wanders back to the witch. It strikes me that though Azure’s coven was there when I killed her, the revenge-filled sister hadn’t been there.

  That doesn’t sit right with me. If Azure meant so much to her, why hadn’t she been there for such an important event? The coven would’ve needed all their strength.

  Was the witch lying about being related to Azure? Did she have ulterior motives for hunting me down? Such as working with or for my superiors? Or could it really be as simple as her actually being the dead witch’s sister?

  As much as I just want to sleep and party, rinse and repeat, it’s clear I can’t. If I return to the club, she’ll be waiting with the anti-Valkyrie call—and that alone tells me she’s likely telling the truth about being related to the witch I killed.

  I need a plan, and before making one, I have to decide if I want to drag Titan into the mess. He wants to help, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready. And besides that, those who get close to me tend to get hurt or killed. I don’t want to lose someone else. Especially not someone who has become my best friend.

  Titan roars with laughter, pulling me from my thoughts. He turns to me. “That was hilarious!”

  I smile and nod, having no idea what just happened on the screen.

  He throws a handful of popcorn into the air, catching none of it in his mouth.

  I turn my attention toward the movie, just wanting to get my mind off everything for a few minutes. Too bad I’m not as carefree as the trickster. But he’s not the one with the target on his back. I’ve got not only the higher-ups at Valhalla after me, but now a powerful ancient witch.

  What a mess.

  Ding-dong!

  Titan turns to me. “Who would that be at this hour?”

  “Probably the neighbors looking for more firecrackers. The walls haven’t shaken in at least twenty minutes.”

  He grumbles and turns up the volume on the TV.

  Ding-dong!

  “Time for some mind control.” He pauses the movie. “Should I make them dance the robot back home?”

  “Again?”

  “I did that last time, didn’t I?”

  I nod and stretch. “How about just convince them to go to bed?”

  “Boring.” He strolls to the door, opens it, then swears.

  My mind conjures up an image of Azure’s sister at the door, but then I realize Titan doesn’t know what she looks like. I race over to see who’s there.

  It’s our landlord. He’s wearing a business suit like it isn’t the middle of the night. “Rent’s late. Again.”

  Titan stares into his eyes. �
�We paid it. What are you talking about?”

  The annoying human pulls out a notebook and opens to a chart, pointing near the middle. “Nope. Look right here.”

  Even a mesmer’s mind tricks will only go so far.

  Titan turns to me. “You got the money?” He knits his brows together, then arches one.

  His signal.

  “Right here.” I get up and grab a lamp that’s been burnt out for months.

  “Oh, there it is.” Titan slaps his forehead. “How did I miss it?”

  “You’re careless like that.” I hand the lamp to the landlord.

  “We’ll need a receipt.” Titan holds out his hand.

  “Fine. Next time, you’ll get a late fee.” He puts the lamp down, then scribbles out a receipt and hands it to Titan. “And you guys need to mow the lawn. It’s starting to look like a jungle out there.”

  “I mowed it yesterday.” Titan stares into his eyes.

  The man glances outside. “So you did. See you next month.” He steps onto the dilapidated porch.

  “Pleasure doing business with you.” Titan slams the door.

  “You think he’s ever going to figure it out?”

  “They never do.” He goes back to the couch and plops down.

  “Then why aren’t we living in a penthouse instead of this crappy little shack?”

  “First of all, this is no shack. Second, it’s more complicated when we have to deal with rich people. They have videos of everything. It gets to be a real mess.”

  “Can’t you just make them think they’re seeing something else?”

  “Sure, but then I have to make everyone else who sees the recording think they’re seeing something else. It’s not worth the effort. Besides, this place has some undeniable charm.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I do.” He kicks his feet onto the coffee table and turns the movie back on. “And besides, now we’re here for another month without anyone bothering us.”

  Anyone other than a witch bent on my death.

  I have a hard time focusing on the storyline and about halfway through, something compels me to glance over at Titan. He’s looking at me.