Renegade Valkyrie (Valhalla's Curse Book 1)

by Stacy Claflin

  “You have better handwriting.”

  “What? You’ve never seen me write.”

  “Oh, come on. You’re a girl. All of you write nice, and you’ve had centuries to perfect the art.”

  “Sorry to break it to you, but my handwriting is less legible than a doctor’s. It makes chicken scratch look beautiful.”

  He throws me a sideways glance. “Seriously?”

  “One hundred percent. Besides, she knows you. Start writing before I get fed up and leave.”

  “Fine.” He picks up the pen and starts scrawling on the pad.

  I peek over his shoulder.

  Calla, this is Fox. I’m here with my friend and we need info on a witch in the area. I thought you might know something. We can get that last ingredient you need. She knows him.

  He sets down the pen, then we both hold our breath.

  The pen doesn’t move. No writing appears on the paper. I count to one hundred. Still nothing.

  I turn to Fox. “That was a good theory. It just didn’t work. What next?”

  “I know she’s here! There’s no other explanation. I’m out of ideas.”

  “I’m not.”

  His eyes widen. “What are you thinking?”

  “You’d better sit.”

  Fox tilts his head. “What are you going to do?”

  “Just sit.”

  He pulls out the chair from the desk and plops down.

  I move to the middle of the room and close my eyes, preparing myself. There’s no way to know if this will actually work, but it can’t hurt to try. I hope.

  Fox says something, but I wave him off to be quiet.

  I clench my fists and focus. A wave of energy ripples through me from head to toe and back again. My wings tear through my skin and clothes, eager to finally break free. I open my mouth and focus on a chick I’ve never met who may or may not be in the same room as us, invisible to our eyes.

  I’m careful to avoid taking in Fox’s essence. Soft, silky goodness enters my mouth, weaving its way down my throat. It’s too early to tell whose essence it is. It could be the faeries from outside since the window was open, or it could be Calla’s.

  It dances down past my throat and swirls around in my chest, warming me. Bright colors dance before my closed eyes. Swirling, sparkling, and happy. A euphoric blast of joy surges through me. All I can see are pretty flowers, sunshine, and rainbows. I’m taking in faerie essence.

  I’ll have to be careful, because with as small as they are, it would be all too easy to drain them. On the other hand, if they’re no longer here to tend the grounds, might the spell crumble? It could reveal Calla. But then again, killing a good faerie would be about as acceptable as drowning puppies.

  I start to close my mouth, unwilling to let myself harm the little faeries.

  A new swirl of essence enters my mouth. It’s bigger. Stronger. Less sweet and tasty. I stumble backward and fall.

  Something catches me. Fox? The bed? My wings? It’s impossible to tell. Everything outside of me is blurry. Distant. Moving farther away.

  More and more essence flows into me. I’m unable to stop the flow. I can’t close my mouth. My whole body goes rigid. I don’t have control of myself, and if the essence doesn’t stop soon, it will kill me.

  Twenty-Two

  I continue flailing against whatever is holding me up, trying to regain control over myself. The flow of essence grows stronger. Sickeningly stronger. It’s mind-numbing.

  Must. Keep. Fighting.

  A sharp pain runs through me, starting in my chest and radiating out in all directions.

  What’s going on? Is it part of the spell this place is under? Or is it something else entirely?

  I clench my fists. That’s something I can control. I’m making progress, small as it may be.

  A voice wafts in the distance. Is someone talking to me?

  The essence is still flowing into me.

  I have to stop it somehow. And fast.

  The voice continues bouncing around, faint. I can’t tell what it’s saying. Instead, I focus on my fists because I had managed to move them once.

  I can do it again. Gritting my teeth, I try again. Nothing. Again. I won’t give up.

  After a few more tries, I squeeze my fists and build up more strength. Enough that I sit up and gasp for air. I manage to close my mouth and cut off the flow of essence.

  The room spins around me, but something holds me in place. My stomach heaves, but if I vomit, it’ll be food and not essence.

  Memories and thoughts swirl around my mind like echoing chatter. None of them is mine. They all belong to those whose essence came to me.

  The voice in the distance is growing louder. It sounds frantic. But it’s only background noise against everything else. Bright colors. Tending flowers. Tending a pretty girl with black hair and eyes.

  Fear and darkness take over. Everything turns black. Cries of the faeries sound all around me. Their pain grips me, squeezing. Demanding attention.

  Then a new scene appears before me with light breaking out from the darkness. The girl is here in this house, lounging on the couch downstairs, yawning and checking the time. She must be Calla.

  Eveline appears in the middle of the living room. She shouts, stirring up a wind inside the house. Her long dress and hair flow around as she continues her yelling.

  A cage appears around Calla and the bright happiness of the house melts into a depressing black fog. Eveline calls out, then the cage moves up the stairs and settles in the attic.

  The entire scene disappears from my sight. I’m thrust back into the bedroom. Not that I ever left, not really.

  Fox is with me. His arms are grasped firmly around me. It was his voice drifting around, just out of my reach.

  I gasp for air while trying to make sense of the scene I just saw.

  “What happened?” His eyes are wide and his face pale. “Are you okay?”

  My stomach lurches, still threatening to release its contents. The essence rolls around inside me, making me sicker.

  “Soleil!”

  I burst out from his hold and lean against the wall, clutching my stomach. Gasping for air. I need to get rid of some of the essence.

  “What just happened? It was like you were possessed!”

  “Worse.”

  “Worse than a demon possession?” He looks at me like I’m crazy.

  “Calla’s still here.”

  “What? Where?”

  I draw in another deep breath. “The attic.”

  “Attic? There’s no attic.”

  “There has to be. That’s where Eveline put her.”

  Fox gives me a double-take. “Your witch put Calla in an attic that doesn’t exist?”

  “She’s not my witch.”

  “How did Eveline get here?”

  “You’ll have to ask her.” I run from the room and look around the hallway for a door I might’ve missed before.

  Fox appears from the bedroom. “You saw all that happen when you were possessed?”

  “I wasn’t possessed! Would you stop saying that? The flow of essence overpowered me. That’s it.”

  “And that’s how you know Calla’s in an attic?”

  “Yes!” I study every crevice of the walls and ceiling, trying to find a secret entrance.

  “What did you see exactly?”

  I recount the vision in detail as I run my hands along the walls, still not finding anything.

  “Did Eveline create an attic?”

  “No.” I bend down to feel the molding at the bottom. “She made a cage and took it to the attic with Calla inside. I’m assuming that was Calla since she was here.”

  “What’d she look like?”

  “Pretty. Black hair and eyes. Had kind of an exotic look about her.”

  Fox frowns. “That’d be her. Her mom is from China and her dad from the Middle East somewhere. Nobody can ever tell what her nationality is.” He comes closer and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Are you su
re you’re okay? Your eyes are still glowing that electric green color.”

  I grimace. “And they will for quite some time after as much essence as I took in.”

  “But you’re okay?”

  “Yeah. With any luck, I’ll find a good reason to release some of it. Heal someone. Teleport, maybe.”

  His expression intensifies. “You don’t remember how they got to the attic?”

  I shake my head. “It was a blur.”

  “Was it through a wall or a ceiling?”

  “I don’t know. Asking me more questions isn’t going to make me figure out something when I don’t know.”

  He releases a long slow breath. “This is frustrating.”

  “You’re telling me?” I snap. “The same witch who hurt Titan did this too. How long ago did she do this to Calla?”

  “A few years. Maybe just a little more than that.”

  “And you don’t know why?”

  “I told you everything I know. Once we find her, you can ask her all the questions you want.”

  I close my eyes and focus on the memories. It’s all a mess in my mind between the faeries and Calla’s imprisonment.

  “Calla!” Fox calls. “Calla!”

  I head back to the bedroom to look for the entrance to the attic.

  Fox follows me. “Do you think she can hear us?”

  “Maybe. Depends on the spell Eveline used.”

  “You know, if you don’t kill that witch, I will.”

  “You’re more than welcome to help. The more of us the better.”

  “And you’re sure she’s actually here? Eveline didn’t take her somewhere else? To another house that actually has an attic?”

  “I couldn’t have accessed her memories if she weren’t here. Part of the essence I drank was hers.”

  “At least that’s something. I was worried that—”

  “Unless I drank Eveline’s essence again.” My heart skips a beat and my skin crawls. “But that would mean Eveline is here. Now.”

  Twenty-Three

  Fox stares at me, wide-eyed. “What did you say?”

  My skin crawls again. “Eveline could be here. Either she is or Calla.”

  “You don’t know whose memories you siphoned?”

  “I see them like an outsider looking in.”

  “But you can feel their emotions?”

  “Right.”

  He puts his hands on my shoulders and stares into my eyes. “Think, Soleil. Did you feel Calla’s fear or Eveline’s thirst for power? Surely you can remember that much.”

  I try to remember. “All I felt was the faeries’ fear. I didn’t feel anything when watching Calla and Eveline. It happened so fast and the faeries’ emotions were running rampant.”

  “So maybe you saw it through their eyes? Maybe Calla isn’t even here?”

  “Possibly, but I did see her go into the attic here.”

  “Not another house that looks just like this one?”

  “That’s not the way it looked. You’re making my head hurt.”

  He reaches up and presses his fingers against the corner where the wall meets the ceiling. Runs them the length of the walls until he circles back to where he started. “How do we get to the attic?”

  “Magic?”

  Fox swears. “Close your eyes and try to remember. Or can you feed me the essence and let me have a look?”

  “It doesn’t always work that way. Often, I can only see it when the flow comes to me directly from the source. However, if I were to give you my essence, that would be a different matter.”

  “What are we going to do then? We have to help her!”

  “I can only do so much, and I’m doing my best.”

  “It’s not enough.”

  I glare at him. “Fine. You figure it out on your own.”

  His nostrils flare. “I may as well for all the good you’re doing.”

  “At least you know where she is!” I spin around and storm down the stairs.

  Fox doesn’t follow.

  Good. I don’t want to look at him right now, anyway. Yes, emotions are high, but he’s being unreasonable.

  Once downstairs, I head outside and slam the door behind me. I march around the house, trying to figure out where the attic would be. All I can see is two levels—the two we already explored.

  The attic has to be either magical or hidden by magic. Not that I’m surprised. The whole property is under Eveline’s spell. In the real world, it’s nighttime. Not this incessant bright cheery place full of little colorful faeries.

  How is it that I can’t get away from her? What are the odds that she’d be behind this as well?

  I stop in my tracks. It’s highly unlikely. There’s no way it’s a coincidence. Not even a remote chance. It can’t be.

  Does that mean this is a trap? Not for Calla, but for me?

  What if it wasn’t chance that I ran into Fox? He might be in on all of this with Eveline. She might’ve found a way around me reading his essence using some spell to give him fake memories and emotions.

  He might not even have a broken heart. There might be no Roxy.

  What if there’s no Calla?

  Anger surges through me. It turns into blind rage in a matter of moments thanks to the heavy flow of essence running through me.

  I have half a mind to storm back upstairs and suck that djinn dry. He led me right into Eveline’s trap.

  Fuming, I stomp back inside and up the steps to the bedroom where Fox is examining the ceiling.

  “Oh, give up the act.”

  He spins around. “I’m sorry for getting mad at you, Soleil. I’m frustrated about Calla. It’s not your fault, and I know it.”

  I study him, trying to tell if he’s speaking the truth. It’s impossible to know, especially if I can’t trust my essence reading.

  “Soleil?”

  I’m so furious, I can’t even speak. Questions fill my mind, but none of them make it to my mouth. If he really is working with Eveline, then I’m stupid for coming back to the bedroom. It’s all a trap, and now that I’m onto them, the witch is likely to attack sooner rather than later.

  Fox steps closer.

  Pressure builds in my eyes. “Stop!”

  He does, and his face pales.

  My wings are pressing against my skin again. I don’t even remember them retracting.

  “Soleil?” His voice is barely a whisper and it trembles.

  I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My eyes are as black as they get and the color bleeds to my face.

  If he was just a human, the terror of the sight would be enough to kill him on the spot. Lucky for him, he’s a djinn.

  However, I could still kill him if I wanted. But I don’t. I just want answers.

  For now.

  I cross one arm over the other and stare him down. “Are you working for her?”

  “Who?”

  “You know who!” My voice is so powerful, he stumbles back.

  “Calla?”

  “Eveline!”

  His face pales even more. “You think I’m working with the witch?”

  “I don’t know what to think!”

  “I’m on your side.”

  “So you say.”

  Fox swallows then steps closer. “Drink my essence and see.” He opens his mouth and lets his hands fall to his sides.

  “I can’t even trust essence right now. I’m dealing with a psychotic powerful witch and a trickster.”

  He shakes his head. “I’m on your side. I just want to free Calla from this spell. I hate Eveline as much as you do, for trapping my friend here against her will.”

  My fury fades, but only slightly. I want to believe him, but I don’t know if I can.

  “What can I do to prove it?”

  “Why do you care if I believe you or not? We’ve known each other for one day!”

  “It’s been quite a day, wouldn’t you say?”

  I just glare at him.

  He takes a deep breath. �
��If you don’t trust in my friendship, then do you believe I want to save Calla? You can get the one ingredient she needs that I’ve never come close to finding.”

  “Why do you want to save her so badly? I thought Roxy was your true love.”

  Fox sits on the bed. “Calla and I go way back. She’s been my best friend for as long as I can remember. We used to be inseparable. At least until she was trapped here. I spent a long time gathering the ingredients needed to break this spell.”

  “Then why stop?”

  He holds my gaze for a moment before speaking. “Because until I met you, the original vampire was nothing more than a myth. There are stories about him, but nobody has seen him with their own eyes. The only accounts I could validate are the ones that claim he died a thousand years ago. Calla finally told me to live my life and forget about her. I couldn’t, of course. But she shut me out. Stopped answering the door when I came by. Roxy was only a distraction and she knew it. My heart is really broken because I can’t help my best friend.”

  I let all of that sink in. He seems to be genuine, but it goes against what I saw and felt in his essence. “Did you use Eveline so I wouldn’t be able to read your essence properly?”

  Fox shakes his head. “No, you just misread it. Everything was real, but my heartbreak is for Calla, not Roxy. Sure, I miss her company, but that’s about it.”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “You said she left you because you were overbearing. You were looking at engagement rings.”

  Pain fills his eyes. “Looking only. And I wasn’t being overbearing. I told you the truth. I clung to her—didn’t give her any breathing room. I used her to try and forget about Calla. Not only did it not work, but it pushed Roxy away. It hurts to even think about it. I never let anyone see that side of me. I figured you might when you drank my essence, but I let you. I trusted you.”

  By now, my rage has almost completely melted away.

  “Do you believe me?”

  I lean against the wall. “Why did you trust me to see your pain? Your weakness?”

  “I could tell you were a kindred spirit. Strong on the outside, broken on the inside. Wouldn’t you say that describes us both?”

  I’m completely gutted. He’s right, and I was so furious that I was ready to drain him of his essence. I turn away from him, unable to look him in the eyes.