Shades of Valhalla - Inner Origins Book One

by Ellis Logan

  Chapter 23

  And then I was back. Vala was looking down at me thoughtfully, with a slightly amused gleam in her eye.

  “How interesting,” she murmured. The drumming was over. I glanced at Rowan and saw he’d dozed off. Vala motioned for me to be quiet with a finger to her lips and nodded for me to follow her. I carefully extracted myself from the couch without disturbing Rowan, leaving Miko to nestle into the pillows beside him. Apparently, they both needed a rest.

  Me, I needed a good run. The vision had invigorated me in ways sleep never had. I felt alive, buoyant, and for the first time in days, hopeful.

  I walked behind Vala down the hall to a screened in porch. She walked out the door, not even checking to see if I was following. I managed to not get smacked in the face by the door as it swung back and rushed to catch up with her as she headed down to the lake. We stopped at the lake’s edge, where she knelt down and trailed her hand in the water. She whispered something, waited, and then said some more words. When she stood up she dried her hand off on her skirt.

  “The lake is still today, it is good.”

  Um. Sure. Okay. We were talking weather now? I decided to follow her lead and just gazed out over the water.

  The water was still, she was right. It added to the overall sense of peace I was feeling at the moment. Which of course, made no sense, because how could a pretty lake help me or my mother in the long run. And yet, it did. Canadian geese swam slowly through the water, creating small ripples as they went, and the leaves of the trees on the other side reflected in a beautiful array of golden fire on the water’s edge.

  “I do not have any definite answers for you today, but I was able to see what you need to do next.”

  “Were you able to see my mom?”

  “No, I wasn’t. But I believe she is being held by the Council of the Shades. I was able to go deeper into your visions the second time around, and see that the man who appeared is a Dark leader known as Mikael Morrigan. By now, they will have moved your mother to a secure facility, so your only hope really is to appeal to Valhalla.”

  “Like, to the center of the Earth? How would I even get there?” I scoffed.

  “You’d need to go there eventually anyway. I was able to look into your soul and connect with who you really are. And who you are…well. Your father is in Valhalla. If you want to meet him, you will need to go. And if you want to save your mother, you must go.”

  “But how? I don’t have the first idea how to get there, or even what it’s like or anything? You expect Rowan and I to just haul off to the center of the earth?”

  “No. I expect you to go. Not Rowan. He cannot enter there. Only Light fae or their descendants can go to the inner realms. Those fated to the Dark cannot enter. I will explain it to him when he awakens.”

  “You know, I don’t believe in fate. Rowan isn’t destined for anything. He told me himself, he hasn’t chosen yet.”

  “Maybe not. It’s true he still has a chance to exert free will. But right now he cannot enter the Fae realm unless he chooses the Light. The Dark is simply too deeply embedded in his DNA at this point.”

  “Great,” I huffed. I know, I know. My body had been warning me against him all along. But it had also responded to him in positive ways, too. I mean, I wouldn’t even have made it this far if it wasn’t for Rowan. It didn’t feel right to me that I would have to leave him behind. Assuming, of course, that he even wanted to go with me. “So, what then?

  “I’ve contacted the Light Guard, and they will send a suitable escort. I have seen that the Dark are getting restless, and will be here in two days to question me again. Once they see that Rowan was unable to gather any useful information, they will send someone from the Council.”

  “Isn’t that dangerous for you? I mean, aren’t you supposed to be neutral?” In the short time I’d known her, I’d grown to like Vala. I didn’t want to see her get hurt by Thorn and her crew.

  Something flashed in Vala’s eyes. Anger? Her face settled into a mask of determination. “No. I am neutral in that I will not willingly engage in actions that cause harm to either side. By helping you, I accomplish that. Everything I do, I do with the hope that eventually both sides will learn to work together again for the good of all. I am loyal, above all, to the land, and to the spiritual and physical wellness of all beings on this planet.”

  “But…what if they hurt you?” I asked. “Helping me can’t be worth that to you.”

  Vala’s gaze softened and she pulled me into a warm embrace. I felt like cookies and hot chocolate were being mainlined into my bloodstream, and a sense of well-being flooded me.

  “Sweet child.” She leaned back and placed her hands on my shoulders, looking straight into my eyes. “You are worth everything to me. I’ve seen that you alone will have the power to bring the fae together into the Light, or to give the Shades the final victory they have always desired. If I don’t help you now, you will never make it to Aeden. The Earth will fall prey to the Shades on a scale we’ve not seen yet, and humanity will become mere slaves while the land is abused in ways that…well. What I saw was not a pretty sight, I’ll tell you that much.” She laughed mirthlessly.

  “Me? But I’m no one. What can I do?” Somehow, I didn’t think my martial arts trophies were going to be enough to help me here.

  “It isn’t my place to tell you. Your father, he must be the one. He has left you this long to figure things out on your own for a reason, perhaps to make you stronger, or so that he would not wrongly influence you. The Light tend to err on the side of fairness.”

  “Okay. Well, can you at least tell me his name? And what about my mom? Did she look…was she hurt?”

  “You’re mother looked a bit roughed up, which is to be expected given her skill at fighting. I’m sure she wasn’t taken easily. They seem to be keeping her comfortable -- well, as comfortable as one can be in a cell.”

  Frustration hit me when I heard that. I wanted to go to her right now, and break her out. Except I didn’t know where she was. My feelings must have shown clearly on my face, because Vala continued.

  “You’ll need a team of highly skilled fae to break her out. This is part of why you must go to Aeden, and appeal to your father, Bran Le Fay. You will meet him soon enough. For now, why don’t you go shower and rest? Your ride won’t be here until tomorrow morning, at the earliest. I’ll put together a nice warm supper, and you can turn in early. I’m sure you are tired after all you’ve been through.”

  “Actually, what I’d really love to do is go on a run. Is it safe here? Are there any trails through the forest I can run on?”

  My mind flashed back to my earlier vision. The trees had been covered in greens of every hues, and the foliage here was in its full fall glory. Wherever I’d been, it wasn’t here, not today. Still. I needed to move, to feel the earth pounding under my feet and free my body.

  “Yes, I have extensive walking trails through the woods. The land is protected for miles, this trust owns over 1000 acres privately, and no fae is allowed to roam freely without my permission, unless they want to find themselves at the mercy of the oaks.”

  “The oaks?” I looked around at some of the trees, wondering if she had some old Ents hidden among them or something.

  “Yes, never you mind, they won’t harm you while you are under my protection. You’ll be quite safe anywhere on this property. Still. Can’t be too careful right now; you’d best take Miko with you and Rowan if he’s up for it.”

  Vala pointed out several trails leading into the woods, explaining which ones looped and the various distances each one covered. Then we walked back up to the house, where I collected my bag and she showed me the room where I’d be sleeping later so I could change.

  I threw on my shorts from the day before and sat on the bed to tie on my running shoes. The room had a beautiful eastern view overlooking the forest and part of the lake. I’d be up early with the sun, since the room only had thin white curtains. I guessed Vala liked her
guests to be up for breakfast. The walls were painted a pale peach color, and all the furniture was made of rich burl wood, just like downstairs.

  They had some serious antiques in this house. Even the bedding was ancient, with a handstitched quilt decorated with a square knot filled with swirls, much like the knot work downstairs, colored in burnt orange, yellow and peach. I imagined that the early morning sun would light up the room like it was on fire.

  Rowan was still sleeping when I made way downstairs. Poor guy. Miko opened his eyes and I waved for him to come along. He scampered down the hallway after me and I opened the door for us to go out on the lawn.

  What’s up? Miko looked at me with his head tilted to one side.

  “I thought I’d go on a run. You up for it? Vala thought you should keep me company, just in case.”

  “Oh yeah, I’d love a good chase. Haven’t been out in the trees for too long. Let’s go!”

  He bounded off across the lawn towards one of the forest trails.

  “That trail loops around the lake in a two mile loop, is that too far for you?”

  “No way, I can outrun you all day, any day, just wait and see.” He ran up a tree and out across a limb, leaping to the next tree down the trail.

  “Ha!” I barked at him as I followed, we’d see about that.

  The thing was though, he wasn’t wrong. Up in the canopy, he was able to soar over obstacles in ways my freerunning-self envied and admired. He was incredibly agile, and obviously used to running all day long. He was able to process variables in jumps that I was still learning to master. After the first mile, I gave up trying to race him and started focusing more on honing my parkour skills, running alongside the trail instead of on it, so that I would have more obstacles to conquer.

  All too soon, we emerged from the trail, having run all the way around the little lake. I wasn’t even close to being tired, and started to run over to another trail, one that Vala had said traveled several miles over some small hills in a closed loop.

  “Siri, wait up!” I heard Rowan yell. I looked around and spotted him heading over across the soft grass. “I was hoping you’d run back through here. Want some company?”

  We headed into the woods, running companionably together. Rowan was able to keep up with me with no problem, but it wasn’t like running with the guy in my vision. We stayed quiet and serious. I sort of forgot Rowan was even there as I replayed the events of the weekend in my head. I tried to come up with a plan for how to find my mom, but I couldn’t even begin to imagine where I would be going next or what would happen.

  Frustrated, I put everything from my head and pushed myself to run faster, barely noticing that I was losing Rowan and Miko as I ran. It was just me and the forest. Nothing else existed.

  Fae problems could wait. Vala and her guard rescuer could wait. The visions could wait. My mother, too. She would have to wait, there was nothing I could do. Not now. So I just pounded the earth with my feet, running flat out, reveling in the strength of my body and the promise it held.

  I would become faster. Stronger. And the next time a Shade crossed me, I wouldn’t lose.