by Kristi Jones
I pulled him more tightly against me.
This man, this mortal, was like no other I'd ever met. I'd had men before, when I was a young Valkyrie, but not like this. I'd enjoyed the taste of mortals, the strange softness of them, but I'd never felt the touch of a man's voice. Oh yes. I was in deep trouble now. And I had nobody to blame but myself.
Chapter Four
The morning dawned with its usual luminescent brightness. Jess slept beside me, his naked chest rising and falling against my hand. There is something unique about mortal man's breath. Though I take in breath and release it, filling my lungs with air just as any mortal does, there is a fearful rhythm to it. Leaping to a warrior's side or taking a hail of shrapnel rarely elevates my heart rate. Perhaps it is because we do not feel fear the way that a mortal does. Perhaps that is why my heartbeat plays like an eternal ticking clock.
I sensed a change in Jesse's breathing, anticipating his awakening before it occurred. I couldn't bring myself to pull my hand away, and when he opened his eyes and saw me, he started. He was naked, and I wore only my army green t-shirt, compelled to hide my wings. I saw his gaze flit to my sex and took satisfaction in the click of his contracting jaw muscle. He wanted me.
I reached out, ran my fingers through is hair and inched closer.
"What time is it?” he said, his voice heavy with lust. When he turned away and reached for his fatigues, I swallowed back the lump in my throat and did the same, pushing away the memory of him pulsing inside me.
"You can't leave yet," I said, pulling on my own uniform, stuffing my feet into my combat boots. "I told you it's not safe."
"I have to," Jess said. He stood with his back to me, stuffing and tucking as I was doing. “The guys will be out looking for me. I can’t have my buddies risking their lives trying to find me.”
"You don't understand," I said, moving into his line of sight. "Death has your scent now. He'll be on the watch for you."
“Maybe. Yesterday you said maybe.”
“Yes, but it’s a dangerous maybe, Jess. It’s too much of a risk to ignore.”
"Sabrina," he said, rolling the word out slowly. Once again, his voice sent a shiver through me, eliciting a responding vibration between my legs. "I hear you. I’ve listened to what you’ve said, but I can't just go AWOL. And I certainly can't tell my commanding officer that a Valkyrie told me to do it."
"Listen to me, Jess. Please. You won't survive the day."
"Did you ever consider that I wasn't meant to survive? That maybe my date with Death was yesterday?"
"But it wasn't."
"Only because you interfered," he said. "Why did you? If I'm not dreaming and you really are this ... this Valkyrie. If that's all true, then your job is to mark soldiers, right?"
"Heroes, yes."
"So, why aren't you out doing that?"
How could I tell him he was the hero I wanted? How could I explain?
I've made a total of seventeen trips to Valhalla during my lifetime, and though the place is filled with beauty and tantalizes the senses, it has the feel of an empty stage. It is nothing to the vitality of earthly life, the pulse and throb of mortal emotions and earth's countless ephemeral creatures.
Valkyries had been agents of this change. We no longer wanted to be serving wenches. We've seen too much, and once we taste the liberties of mortal life, we want to stay on earth. Valhalla was always meant to be a place above earthly life, but it isn't the place it once was, full of light and joy, of reward and beauty. And even if it was still the paradise Odin meant it to be, I didn't want to send Jess there.
Valhalla is a place of intrigue, betrayals and petty squabbles over privileges. The chosen heroes often try to seduce Valkyries into their beds to mate. For even the hero warriors want a break from the monotony of eternal pleasure, and to father a Valkyrie is the only possible way back.
Most Valkyries are hesitant to mate because of the laws governing childbirth. Gods are ruthless in their demands. I find it ironic that my job is to find the unselfish and send them into such a world. I soured on it long ago. No, this man deserved more. He should have a life, not the corruption of Valhalla.
"The only thing you need to worry about right now is Death," I said, knowing he wouldn't, couldn't understand about the false glimmer of Valhalla.
A rush of wind pulled at my hair, and a hawk's cry rang in my ears. I sniffed at the air.
"Take cover!" I shouted, pushing Jess against the rocks, shielding him with my body.
"What is it?" Jess asked, pushing against me, struggling to free himself from my embrace.
“Shh, stay still. Something is coming.”
Jess froze. We lay there together for a few moments. I relished the feel of his body below mine and the gentle rise and fall of his breathing.
I finally caught the scent of our intruder. "Oh. Great."
"What?" Jess said, pushing me back, trying to get to his feet.
I helped him up. "Don't say anything," I said, "I'll handle this."
Gustel dropped out of the sky like a settling air balloon. She was dressed in a holographic blue body suit that shifted with her movements, mimicking the colors of the sky. Camouflage for Valkyries. I'd used it myself on occasion, but found the body suit restricting and uncomfortable.
Gustel's hair today was a drifting white, like cotton batting. When she landed her skin instantly turned the color of sand.
I rarely saw my sister, but when we did meet, I was always impressed with her wing span. She had a good two feet on me, her wings probably measuring twelve feet across from tip to tip.
"Gustel," I said, hitching my thumbs to my belt loops. "This is a surprise."
"Don't be coy with me, Sabrina. What do you think you're doing?"
"I don't know what you mean." I hoped the directness of my gaze, the thrust of my jaw, might silence my outspoken sister.
"This is the warrior, I presume," she said, looking Jess up and down with appraising eyes.
"That's just Jess," I said.
"Right. Just Jess. Sabrina, you never were a very good liar. And you've certainly never been one to pick up a boy toy. Though I wouldn't mind..."
"Gustel," I interrupted, hoping to shield Jess from my sister's overt sexual advances. "This really isn't anything you need to worry about."
Gustel directed her attention back to me. "You know it's all over the network. Word is spreading like cracked ice. I thought I'd come see you, put the rumors to rest, but from what I see here, it's all too true. You cheated Death."
"Not exactly cheated..."
"Not exactly." Gustel laughed. "Oh, I'm sure that will reassure Odin. Not exactly? Then tell me, what exactly is going on here?"
I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out. The truth was, I'd cheated Death to get what I'd had the night before. The realization hit me like a thunder strike.
"Ah," Gustel said, lifting her chin, her nostrils flaring. "I get it. I can smell it. I can smell you on him. If you wanted him, you should have taken him—before."
"I didn't see him before. Besides, you're wrong."
"Am I?"
Jess watched this exchange but said nothing. I wondered how much he understood. I knew that Gustel was wrong. I hadn't taken him for sex. He moved me. It was as simple as that. He moved me in such a way that I'd thrown all caution, all rules, out the window. I'd wanted what happened between us, but I hadn't used my powers as a goddess to get it. Or had I?
"You could be demoted for this. Or worse."
"Yeah, thanks for pointing out the obvious, Gustel."
"Do you even have a plan?"
"I ... what do you care?"
Gustel retracted her wings and stretched her neck. Jess's shoulders dropped in obvious relief, and it was only then that I realized how terrified he'd been by Gustel's dramatic arrival. His gaze shifted from Gustel to me and back again. He was probably wondering if I had wings as well.
My sister adjusted her camouflage to match mine, outfitting herself with com
bat boots, fatigues, an Army green tank top, dog tags, and aviator sunglasses.
"I don't know, Sabrina," Gustel said, pulling her curling red hair back into a ponytail. "I don't know why I care. But you know that I do."
"Yes," I said, giving her a weak smile. I was lucky to have Gustel as a sister, and there was no reason to antagonize my only friend. We are an isolated race. Our lives are lived alone on the battlefield, and we rarely have the time or the opportunity to congregate. Many Valkyries avoid social interaction after the lonely years of the Death Duty. Some of us emerge from the decade of death not quite sane.
Gustel and I had had the unusual benefit of a kind, if not loving, mother. It had brought us together as two Valkyries rarely were."So, what are you planning to do with him? Are you going to mark him?"
"Hey," Jess said, "would you stop talking about me like I'm not here?" He had taken a few steps away from us, but he looked more confused than afraid. I suspected he was beginning to accept our existence. I wasn't sure how to feel about that. It was a good thing, and yet, it made my position even more precarious. Not only had I cheated Death, I had revealed myself to a mortal without marking him, which was also forbidden.
Gustel turned to him, eyebrows drawn together in irritation. "You'd do better to keep silent, mortal. I only have so much patience with your kind."
But Jess didn't back down. He put his hands on his hips. The late dawn rose behind him, casting his face in shadow. "Look, I don't know what's going on here. I don't know if I'm having some sort of a breakdown or shell shock or what. Maybe I died back there and this is some kind of purgatory." He was mumbling to himself now. The pressure was getting to him, after all. I'd seen it before. The last time I'd marked a warrior, on the island of Peleliu, it had taken a full two days to talk the poor soul down.
Jess continued. "Not that this is such a bad sort of purgatory," he said, flicking a look at me. "Parts of it aren't too bad."
I could see the lust in his eyes. I blushed, avoiding Gustel's amused gaze.
"But never in any fantasy did I picture two bird women bossing me around, so don't tell me not to speak." He lifted his chin, eyes steady on Gustel. "Whatever is going on, I guess I'm a part of it. If I want to speak, I'll speak goddammit."
Gustel returned his gaze, her delicate features contemplative. I wanted to move closer to Jess, to shield him from Gustel's explosive reply. I knew my sister, and she did not take kindly to mortals addressing goddesses in such a way.
"Well," Gustel said, a smile playing across her lips, "he's no coward, Sabrina. I'll give you that."
"Is it true, Gustel? They know what happened?"
"Yes," Gustel said, twisting her lips in sympathy, "I'm afraid so. Death has been talking, I guess."
I shifted my feet and released a shaky breath. "What can I do?"
"You'll have to mark him, Sabrina. You have no choice."
"I can't," I said, my words hushed, barely more than a sigh. I couldn't look at Jess. "He deserves more."
"You're due, you know. How long has it been? Sixty years?" Gustel crossed over to Jess and laid a hand on his shoulder. He flinched under her grasp. "You have to mark one soon anyway, or you'll be in danger of reassignment."
"Not him," I said, my voice rising. Gustel leaned in close to him, her lips just inches away from his.
"Gustel, no!"
Jesse's eyes went wide, and he spun away from Gustel. My sister glanced my way, then threw back her head and laughed.
He'd scaled the rocks behind us and was fleeing into the empty desert.
"Are you going to go get him, or shall I?" Gustel asked, releasing her wings.
"I'll do it. Wait here.”
****
I extended my wings, shredding my green tank top in the process, and took flight. I hovered above him for a moment, watching his legs and arms pumping, muscles bulging. The muscles in his back stood out against his sweat soaked t-shirt. Delicious.
I timed my landing perfectly. He came to a skidding halt, sending tiny grains of sand flying into my eyes. I blinked them away.
"Jess, come back. You won't survive out here on your own."
He darted to the right. Of course, it was too easy to step into his path to stop him. He ducked and weaved like a boxer dodging a blow and took off again, heading west this time. If I let him go, which I had no intention of doing, he would die of thirst in three days. He gave me little choice, and I was glad for it. I took to the sky again, swooped down and snatched him from the sand, clutching him to my naked breasts.
He struggled at first. I held his writhing body against mine, and soon our height stilled his feeble fighting. He wouldn't want to fall from this height. Not that I would let him hit the ground. Valkyries are fast, our movements sometimes barely perceptible to the naked human eye. We have to be fast. We have to outrun howitzers, RPGs, machine gun fire. We've had to outfly biplanes, bombers, and jets.
I took a lazy arc, flying past our makeshift camp, giving him time to calm down and myself time to figure out how I was going to convince him of the seriousness of his situation. I couldn't let him get himself killed. Not after everything I'd risked.
I spotted a sand dune that would shield us from sight. Not that it would fool Gustel. She would find us if she wanted to, but I expected she would give me the time I needed.
We landed, and Jess stumbled away from me. He watched me retract my wings, his face filled with awe, and yes, a touch of fear. I felt unaccountably self-conscious under his penetrating gaze and magicked a fresh t-shirt to cover my naked breasts.
A trickle of sweat was making its way down his suntanned cheek. I had a completely irrational desire to taste that trickle, to lick him, to drink of his salty skin.
"Jess, I wish I could say I'm sorry that I pulled you into this, but if I hadn't, you'd be dead now. I have a chance to save you, I think. Gustel's here, and maybe she can help. She's willing to, and that has to mean something. But if you run off, if you try to go back to your unit, Death will find you. It’s picked up your scent now, and It’s angry with me for taking you. It thinks I've cheated him, so as much as you may hate it, you need to stay with me. I'm the only one who can give you a chance to live. That is what you want, isn't it? To live?"
He wiped the tantalizing sweat from the side of his face and looked back toward our camp. "Of course I do."
Our eyes met, and I felt a sudden lump in my throat. Did he want me as much as I wanted him? Did he want more than my body? No, of course not. He wanted to live, and I was his only hope. I swallowed back the useless disappointment I felt and offered him a smile.
"Good. That's good. We should go back now."
"Wait." His muscles bulging beneath his shirt were distracting me again, and I had to drag my eyes to meet his. "What does that ... the other one..."
"She's my sister. Gustel."
"Is she right? Is that what you plan to do with me? Mark me?”
“No, Jess. I told you. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get Death off your trail.”
"I can’t believe this is happening."
I moved close and brought his hands to my lips. I kissed each knuckle, lingering over his scent. "Trust me, Jess. I'm going to do everything I can to undo this. I'll keep you safe. I promise."
"What about you? Who will keep you safe?"
I gave him a small smile. "I've gotten pretty good at taking care of myself."
"From what I see, you're pretty good at getting yourself into trouble."
"Just this once," I admitted.
His eyes turned serious. "I'm sorry about that."
"I'm not," I said, swallowing back the sudden lump in my throat, "I'll never be sorry I met you."
****
When we got back, Gustel was pacing the desert, kicking up the sand in frustration.
"I was just about to come get you,” she said, striding toward us. She yanked my arm hard and pulled me aside. “What took you so long?”
"Sorry," I said, meeting her gaze. "We needed a c
hance to talk."
"Talk?" She looked from me to Jess, her full, sensuous mouth curled at the ends. "Oh, right. Talk. Got it."
I didn't dare look at Jess. I hoped he couldn’t hear us. He stood a few hundred yards away, hands on his hips, combat boots splayed, looking every bit the hero he was. "No, really, Gustel."
"What is the big deal with this guy?"
"I don't know how to explain it, Gustel. You should have seen him. He..."
"He what?"
"He was standing in front of a young girl aiming an AK-47 at his head, and he laid his weapon down. He's the bravest—no, he's the only truly brave warrior I've ever seen."
"So all the more reason to mark him."
"Gustel, you know what Valhalla has become. I don't want to send him there. He's young. He deserves a full life. He deserves what we can't have."
"Is that what this is about? You pining away again to be mortal?"
The question stopped me. The truth was, I didn't know. I'd lost my drive in the past few decades, lost my taste for my job. It happened with the old-timers often enough. But we both knew I was too young to be having such feelings.
"I don't think that's it. I think it's him."
"If you mark him, you could claim him for a mate," Gustel said in a quiet voice.
"If the Progeny Rules didn't exist, maybe."
"But they do exist."
"So it's not an option."
"Maybe you'll have a girl."
"Maybe I won’t. I'm not ready to make those choices, Gustel. That much I think you can understand."
My sister tilted her head as if considering, then gave me a hard punch in the shoulder. "Agreed."
We could say no more, but the air between us was pregnant with unsaid things. Odin has big ears and a wide net. And even if Odin couldn't hear, neither one of us wanted to say it out loud, what it meant to choose a mate.
“So what are you going to do?”
I turned my back to Jess and whispered the words. “I could go see Skuld.”
“Are you crazy?” Gustel said, her voice rising sharply. “You can't do that."
"It's the only solution I can think of, Gustel."
"But you’ve never strayed from the battlefield, Sabrina. It’s dangerous. Besides, how would you even find her?"
