by Kiki Howell
Alone.
At least, Adala thought, she had her sister. Although, she was tired of Madde’s sour disposition. Madde was resentful, and Adala blamed herself for that. After all, if it weren’t for Adala not paying attention and getting caught in 1952, they wouldn’t be Valkyrie. They might have all the possibilities that other dísir have. Like love.
Skuld shook her head and popped out her phone, dialed a few numbers, and then Zhenzhen and the child were gone with a poof of gold and silver sparkles.
The Norn heavily sighed. “The people will find the mother soon and take care of her body. Thank you, princesses, for doing your duty.”
Madde gave a curt nod, glancing at Adala. “Let’s go. I need rest.” Which actually meant Madde thought she needed rest. Madde might be cranky and cantankerous, but she cared, and Adala clung to that when she felt her emotional barometer tip into sadness.
“I, ah, need to talk to Adala first,” Skuld said, glancing at her phone. She inhaled and, for once, looked exhausted, with little lavender half-moons under her owl-like brown eyes.
“I don’t want to talk here.” Adala looked at the little mother. It felt disrespectful to talk in front of the body.
Skuld nodded. “I’ll take us all back home.”
“Gus and Bear are tethered to the rooftop,” Adala said, pointing up.
Skuld nodded, touched her phone, and the room was nothing but a blur.
Adala hoped that soon her memory of today would be a blur too. She was tired. And she did need rest; although, she’d grown tired of Madde telling her what to do, like she was an invalid. Ever since the capture, that’s all anyone ever treated her like—an emotional cripple.
In a heartbeat, they were in Ireland, standing inside the nine-foot chain-link fence with the razor-blade barbed wire threaded on top. Long before Adala’s time, for thousands of years, their home had been in Ireland. No matter if the dís had been born in Asia or Africa or wherever, they’d find their way there, with all the other females, and live. For hundreds of years, the Norns had used a lot of energy to conceal the place from human eyes, but now they hid in plain sight by disguising the place as a women’s correctional facility. A prison had a way of keeping prying humans away.
Madde squeezed Adala’s arm. “Want me to stick around?” She held onto Gus and Bear’s reins.
Adala smoothed her hand over her sister’s, smiling, trying not to prickle at the over-protectiveness. She shook her head and walked close to one of the benches, turning and sitting while glancing at her sister, who had strode away with the Pegai, frowning. The frown was a permanent feature on Madde’s face. And Adala blamed herself for that as well.
Skuld sighed again.
“Are you okay?”
The Norn smiled. “That’s sweet of you to ask. Thank you. I just...I forget your job. I forget what you do, the things you see.”
Adala nodded. “Today, the little girl and mother, was rougher than many other days.”
Skuld sat next to her, her purple hair bright even though it was well into a dark evening. “You and Madde went to visit Sam because you were going to save her from Luke, am I understanding this correctly?”
Adala knew the Norns would ask, and they had a right to know. She and Madde had gone to the small dís’s house to take her away from her human because they’d been told that Luke was making her sick. But they had been fooled by Sam’s cousin, Astrid, who seemed to have some kind of vendetta against humans.
Adala nodded. “We thought we were helping.”
Skuld nodded herself. “We’ll get to the bottom of what happened soon. I’m heartsick that Astrid tried to kill a human, this Luke.”
Adala glanced at the Norn, wondering about her choice of words and the fact that Skuld didn’t look well. The dísir were an immortal bunch, all females, but there were a few things that could end their long lives—beheadings and too much iron. And, worst of all, heartache. The dísir who currently lived could not remember their mothers very well, since most of them had died from heartache.
“I just noticed that you didn’t answer me.” Adala wanted to reach out to Skuld and caress her hand, comfort her, but since turning into a Valkyrie, no one wanted her to touch them. The dísir were immune from dying from her touch. But they avoided her all the same. So she interlaced her fingers on her lap. “Are you all right?”
Skuld shrugged her small shoulders. “I don’t know. I really don’t know. But I’m not here to talk about me. I have a request.”
Adala arched her brows, ready to do whatever the Norn wanted. This little teenage-looking female had raised her and Madde after their mother died. She and the other Norn were the closest things to mothers she had. But she didn’t obey them simply because they had been her guardians. She loved them and respected their wishes, even if they did make a few mistakes along the way.
“Do you remember the other human at Sam’s house? Aaron?”
Adala had to swallow and did everything within her to conceal her reaction, hoping her speeding heart rate wasn’t too noticeable. She nodded slowly.
“You know him from being with him on the battlefield?”
“Yes.”
“He wants to know that. He wants to talk to you.”
“He wants to know that I saw him try to save his unit? He wants to know how I watched him do heroic, miraculous things, but that all of his men died anyway? And I was the one who took several of them to the afterlife? Does he really want to know that?”
Skuld nodded, not revealing what she was thinking. Adala wished she had that good of a poker face.
“So...do I really tell him that? I mean, he might be embarrassed or feel shame that I saw him when he...that’s deeply personal information. I don’t think he wants to know that I was there.”
Skuld shrugged again, looking even more tired. “He seems to want to know just that. I think you should tell him. Be honest. He’s in on the secret now...that we exist. You can tell him more about our kind.”
“You mean tell him more about the dísir or being a Valkyrie?”
Skuld turned, her brown eyes wide. Surprising Adala, the Norn embraced her in a hard grip.
“You’re still a dís. You’ll always be a dís.”
Oh, how those words stung, vibrating deep like a tattoo into her bones, because no matter what anyone said or did, Adala, from the day her wings had been sawed off, didn’t feel like she belonged any longer. She adored her sister and couldn’t believe Madde would cut her own wings for her. So she felt like she belonged to at least one person.
Maybe.
As much as Madde was fiercely loyal, she was also non-communicative. So not like Adala, who might not talk a lot to strangers, but talked way too much for Madde. Often, Adala wondered if she fit in anywhere, with anyone.
She sniffed and pulled away from Skuld, forcing a smile into place. But she was beyond shocked to see the Norn with tear streaks down her pale cheeks, diamonds making little clinking noises as they fell to the bench.
Skuld smiled and wiped at her face. “I’m sorry for crying. You’ve probably never seen a dís cry before.”
Adala inhaled sharply. She found a handkerchief inside her breastplate and handed it to Skuld. The Norn giggled as she looked at the kerchief.
“This is lovely.” She fingered the hand-embroidered pink roses. “Did you make this?”
Adala shrugged then nodded, feeling silly. “I guess...you can take the girl out of the dark ages, but you can’t take the dark ages out of the girl.”
Skuld laughed harder. “Yes, some traditions are hard to let go, like embroidery.” She hugged Adala again. “You truly are a medieval princess.”
Adala felt her lips tug into a genuine smile, which felt warm but odd. Too often, she forced the smile into place, knowing it made others more comfortable. But in so doing, she’d become a prisoner within her own smile.
Skuld shook her head. “Anyway, will you go and talk to Aaron? He’d like to know you, talk to you.”
“J
ust me?” She pointed at her chest, wondering when had been the last time she’d been asked to do anything without her sister.
Skuld nodded. “Unless you want Madde there?”
She shook her head vigorously. Maybe even a tad too enthusiastically. She didn’t know which excited her more, the thought of being without grumpy Madde or...yeah, she was more excited at the thought of seeing Aaron. Although, that was silly. Preposterous. She was a Valkyrie, a creature who caused death everywhere she went. It wasn’t like Aaron wanted to see her because...no, he just wanted answers. That was all.
“Will you see him? Talk to him?” Skuld asked, whipping her phone out again, her fingers ready to whisk Adala away.
Adala told herself not to hope for anything. Hope was a bitter pill to swallow anyway. So she pushed her emotions down, put her smiling mask into place, and nodded.
Gold and silver sparkles blurred her vision and she felt removed from her home. She told herself to calm down. Yes, she’d talk to the man she was infatuated with, had a crush on for the last six years. And she’d carry that conversation with her—right where she kept her embroidered kerchiefs, next to her heart—for the next few years of her tedious life, knowing it wouldn’t mean much to Aaron. Well, he might be fascinated that he was talking to a Valkyrie, but once he knew her powers, he’d be revolted and want her to go. As everyone else did.
After all, who wanted a Valkyrie in their life?
Chapter Three
ASTRID DÍS WATCHED, confused because the man she’d tried to kill, Luke Anderson, was still alive. No bullet wound marked his chest, which she’d clearly seen, a tad horrified with herself for doing it. That and she’d shot a human in front of the Norns, some man who must have been there to help defend Luke, and the two Valkyries—all of them trying to stop her. So she’d run afterward.
She’d returned when she thought the coast was clear, especially of the Norns, to see the damage she’d done. But Luke wore a towel around his hips, laughing and touching her cousin, Samuella, also clad in a towel. They looked like they’d just taken a shower. Together.
Astrid sat in the large willow tree that centered Sam’s backyard, staring at the couple through an open window as they kissed and fondled each other’s arms and shoulders, their nauseating affection obvious.
She’d shot him. She knew she had. It hadn’t been a figment of her imagination. She’d done it less than two hours ago, shooting him through the heart, hoping that eventually her cousin would see the wisdom of getting rid of the human.
It didn’t make any sense. Sure, a dís could survive such a wound, but Luke was a human.
Or was he?
From her jeans pocket, she extracted a cell phone—a human contraption that had nowhere near the technology she was used to but gave her peace of mind that she wasn’t being listened to by the Norns—and called Keira, another dís and an ally.
Keira picked up immediately. “Did you really go to Sam’s house and...and...we had a plan. That wasn’t part of the plan!”
Astrid understood the other dís’s frustration. They did have a plan. And she’d gone and messed it up. She’d been frantic to save her cousin from the human, for she’d seen the way Sam had looked at Luke. She’d known that Sam was falling in love—the one kryptonite the dís had. Well, other than beheadings. Oh, and iron was horrible—almost instant anaphylaxis.
Anyway, Astrid had been trying to look out for Sam, had been trying to save her from their mothers’ fate—death. But it looked like somehow Luke had outlived the fatal shot to the heart.
“I know,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I got desperate.”
“You shot him?”
“Yes. But he’s alive.”
“I know.” Keira hummed a little. “Everyone’s talking about it, how Sam’s human is now...immortal-ish. That’s what they’re calling him. They think somehow by having sex or falling in love or something about the combination, he became kind of immortal.”
“Yeah, and she’s now impervious to iron.” Astrid had seen it with her own eyes. Sam had touched iron but she hadn’t had the usual anaphylactic reaction.
Keira tsked. “They don’t know what we know.”
“They know it. Every dísir knows human men are evil and will kill us with their greed and selfishness and insane jealousy. They just don’t want to remember.”
“We’re going to have to remind them.” Keira’s voice sounded strong. Usually, the dís sounded eerie and odd. But now she was...in command.
Astrid nodded, even though Keira wasn’t there to see. “Yes.”
“And this time we’re going to stick to the plan.”
Astrid’s pride stung from Keira’s rebuke, but their mission was so much bigger than her pride. “Yes, I’m not going to call the Valkyries for support ever again. They’ve chosen their side and it’s not ours.”
No matter what happened to Luke or Sam or how it seemed their disgusting attachment to each other seemed to save them, Astrid knew and apparently Keira did too, that human men would eventually go mad and a dís would get sick, potentially die. Astrid knew from first-hand experience, feeling much better now that her own human male was imprisoned.
“That’s okay.” Keira snorted. “I know of even more powerful females who might help us.”
“Who?” Being a dís meant they were secluded. Had been for thousands of years. They only knew of other dísir and humans. Well, more than one thousand, five hundred years ago, the Immortal Eight had found them in Ireland. But other than those eight, Astrid—heck, all the other dísir—didn’t know what “others” might exist in this world.
Except Keira seemed to know. For the last eighty years, she’d hung up her fairy godmother hat and had explored the earth, something Astrid wanted to do too. But saving the dísir was more important than knowing what Japan looked like in the spring. She could imagine the cherry blossoms. And one day, when this battle was over, she’d see it in person.
Or perhaps what Astrid had done, shooting the human, had turned everything into a war? Maybe it should have been a war against the humans the whole time. Yes, there were plenty more of them than dísir. But they had apathy, while the dísir had protected them for eons. Humans lacked sympathy, while the dísir had dwindled to fewer and fewer numbers because they’d been caring for the humans. And it was time for the protection and caring to stop.
It was long past time.
“You know of...others who can help our cause?” Astrid’s voice was high-pitched, excited. Maybe, just maybe she could find a way to kill Luke for good and keep her cousin safe after all.
“Yes.” Keira giggled. “Have you heard of the Furies?”
“They’re real?” Astrid smiled, feeling hope skitter across her skin, causing goosebumps, her heart pounding.
“Yes.” Keira kept giggling, sounding maniacal once again. “And they aren’t fond of human men either.”
“I want to meet them—” She stopped talking, glancing at Sam’s neighbor’s backyard as gold and silver sparkles swam through the air. With her heart slamming against her ribs even more, her lips parted as Adala appeared. “Oh my goddess, Adala is here.”
“With you? Did the Valkyrie change their minds?”
“No,” Astrid whispered, ensuring an invisibility shield protected her from all eyes. “She’s in Sam’s neighbor’s yard.”
“The house that Luke actually owns?”
“Yes.”
“Luke donated it to one of the men he knows. Someone who goes to the PTSD therapy group with him.”
Astrid glanced at her phone. “How do you know that?”
Keira hummed and giggled. “You don’t think I stay home and eat bonbons all day, do you? We’ve got a revolution to plan and run. The dísir cannot be connected to humans any longer. And I’ve been doing my part, spying on Sam and that human.”
Adala paced back and forth in the backyard, seeming to try to make up her mind about something. Astrid watched fascinated as a man inside the two-story home gazed at th
e Valkyrie. She thought about putting an invisible shield around Adala, but it seemed the Valkyrie already had. Odd, but it appeared the human could see her regardless.
“Do you think Adala is here to...why is she here?”
Astrid waited for a long time for Keira to answer. Just as she was about to check and see if the phone was even functioning, Keira sighed. “The other dísir have been talking. There’s a lot of speculation about having relationships with humans now, about...procreating, growing our numbers again.”
“No.” Astrid caught herself from getting too loud. “But Adala’s a Valkyrie. She can’t have a relationship with a man. She’d kill him.”
“Let’s keep an eye on her, see what she’s up to. Maybe she’s willing to risk a man’s life for—”
“For heartache. For death.” Astrid huffed. “Humans are going to be the death of all of us if we don’t put a stop to this.”
“Yes, Astrid. We know the truth. We know that the end is nigh. We know that human men will kill us if we don’t stop them.” She hummed again. “Watch Adala and the human for a while, then we’ll meet the Furies. We need as many allies as possible, and the Furies know of other creatures who steer clear of humans.”
“If there’s enough of them, we could wipe out humanity. Have the earth for our own. Finally have peace.”
Keira’s hum went flat as she giggled. “I’m so happy, Astrid. You see things my way. And, yes, we’ll wipe them out.”
Chapter Four
“SO...AH,” AARON said after he opened the sliding glass door to the wooden deck and backyard. “You want to come inside?”
He tried smiling but wasn’t sure he was pulling off the feat as he stared at the—shit you not—Valkyrie in the backyard. She wore a brass breastplate and other armor, maybe because it had come from the Brass Age. Jesus, this was weird. Sucking in a gulp of air didn’t help his nerves. Not a lot would. Maybe getting drunk. He’d think about doing that once she left.
The woman—wait, could he call her a woman?—the Valkyrie, the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen, turned to him, her little outfit emphasizing her shape. Perfect with sculpted arms and legs. She looked every bit a warrior, but there was a softness to her, an unexpected vulnerability in her wide, hazel eyes.
