Freed: (Phoebe Meadows Book 2)

by Carlson, Amanda

  I watched Sam’s face go from pity to anger, her fists clenching as Junnal raised his club.

  We’d all had enough.

  But my friends couldn’t fight my battles for me. It was time to finish this, even if I wasn’t the victor. I turned slowly. “What did you call me?” My voice wasn’t above a whisper.

  Anya spat on the ground. “Spawn. You’re the bastard child of Odin, and you will bring ruin to us all.” Her words meant she was a believer in what the Asgardian seer had foretold. That a child born around the same time as I was would be a threat to the well-being of Asgard.

  “Say that again. I dare you.” My voice was so low it even surprised me. I began to pace toward Anya, unsheathing my weapons, taking no joy in the telltale zing or the currents of energy that raced into my palms as I grasped them both.

  Anya’s face was hard, but her eyes betrayed her once again. She was unsure, and that bolstered my resolve.

  As I advanced, she brought her battle ax up, swinging it in a circle above her head. Then, as she found her confidence, her face broke into a broad grin, her uncertainty morphing into cockiness. “Bastard spawn .”

  I leaped in the air, meeting her head on.

  She blocked one of my swords with her steel blade as we clashed, but my left hand whizzed around, biting into her breastplate, searing through it like it was made of liquid.

  When she realized what I’d done, she came at me again, cold fury lining her expression.

  I was ready. “Give me your best, Anya,” I told her. “You’re making it too easy.”

  She screamed as she swung her ax, spinning her body at the last minute, trying to confuse me. But she’d been using the same tired moves since I’d been here, and I anticipated which way she was going. I ducked, one knee hitting the dirt as I whipped my swords around one after the other, grazing them along her shin guards, careful not to put too much weight into it. I wanted to show her I was a boss, not hack off her leg. But using my control let her know I could if I wanted to.

  Rae had insisted we wear full fighting gear during our battle practices, which included metal leg guards and extended wrist guards. Some Valkyries even opted to wear chain mail, but Anya hadn’t worn it today, and neither had I.

  Her protection split in half, the bottoms of the guards tumbling to the ground with pinging noises.

  Satisfaction ran through me like a rocket, exploding bursts of happiness along the way. It felt empowering to finally be in charge. I knew anger fueled me, but I didn’t care. I was going to use whatever I could to my advantage.

  I rolled as Anya’s ax came down, twisting my body and bringing up my swords. I aimed for the handle of her weapon, keeping my swipes accurate and measured. Without sound, both my blades cut into the wood at the same time, one above where her hands grasped and one below.

  There was no resistance.

  A moment later, the battle ax broke apart in her hands, the double-edged blade careening into the dirt, slicing through the air with a whizzing sound, the bottom of the wood handle pinging after it a moment later.

  Her bellow of rage was nothing short of terrifying as she tossed the middle piece of the handle aside and came at me.

  I scuttled back, my weapons still in front of me.

  “Fight fair!” she yelled. “With your energy, not with your bastard gifts.”

  I stood, taking a few steps back, making a decision as I sheathed my swords in one motion. “I’m not going to fight you,” I told her. “I already defeated you. You are without your weapon and have no way to defend yourself.” I grinned. “I win.”

  “Any Valkyrie worth the skin covering her knows how to fight with her power,” Anya said. She stood not even three feet from me. “If we cannot use our weapons, we use what resides inside us.” She raised her hands toward the sky and closed her eyes.

  She began to gather energy and was planning to unleash it on me.

  I wasn’t skilled enough to battle her with lightning of my own, since I hadn’t yet learned how to channel it, so I did the only thing I could do. I closed the gap between us in one big step and threw a punch.

  My fist landed solidly against her cheek. She went down instantly, crumpling at my feet like she’d been unplugged. The satisfaction I’d felt before doubled. I’d been working out with Ingrid, specifically on hand-to-hand combat, and it had paid off. I was strong and toned, Yggdrasil fortifying me.

  Anya hadn’t been expecting a physical attack, so the advantage had been mine.

  There were noises, and I glanced up.

  Valkyries two deep stood watching us, their weapons drawn.

  I was so surprised I dropped my fists, which I hadn’t even realized I still had clenched in front of me. I turned toward the spectator area. Sam and Junnal both stood poised at the edge of the fence, ready to help. Sam’s face was a mask of concern.

  I met her gaze, and she mouthed something I couldn’t understand, but it looked like, You’re growing , which was weird. I glanced down at my adversary.

  Anya wasn’t moving.

  Flustered, I crouched down beside her. When I reached out to touch her neck to feel for her pulse, I realized what Sam had been trying to tell me.

  I wasn’t growing. I was glowing .

  7

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  T here wasn’t just a little bit of light filtering out of me. I was bright white . Trying to ignore the vibrant color of my skin, I forced myself to check Anya’s pulse. Luckily, her heart was beating and she was breathing. She was fine.

  I’d just knocked her out.

  On my first try.

  An inner whoop of joy was dying to make its way out, but I didn’t have time to congratulate myself. Ingrid and Rae walked purposefully toward me.

  I rose to meet them, straightening. I’d be damned if I was going to apologize. “I didn’t mean to knock her out”—I kind of did—“but she forced me to fight. After I dismantled her weapon, I had no other choice but to…”

  “It’s okay, Phoebe.” Ingrid’s voice was cautious, like she was speaking to a horse she didn’t want to spook. Living on a farm for most of my childhood, I knew that tone well. Ingrid extended a hand in front of her like she wanted to ward something off, but then thought better of it. “No need to explain. We witnessed the entire thing. That Valkyrie had it coming. But we’re just…we just…” She dropped her arm and rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, we don’t glow like that. I mean, we do, sometimes, like right after we’ve eaten, or when we get into an extremely euphoric state, usually after battle. But, honestly, it’s just a teensy glow, like a bit of our energy seeps through our skin. I’m not quite sure what’s going on with you, but I think it might be a good idea to take a break. Let’s head someplace where you can rest and get yourself back to normal.” She finally clasped my shoulder, and I relaxed a bit. “That was some fighting, though. I couldn’t even track some of your moves. Outstanding!” Her jovial tone returned.

  Rae stood next to her. “Take a ten-minute break,” she ordered. “I’ll deal with Anya.” Her voice held respect, and a hint of weariness. “That was a fair fight.”

  As we walked out, Ingrid tried to assuage my fears. “Don’t stress, kid. I think glowing that brightly means you’re finally coming fully into your immortality. It takes time for our bodies to adjust after they’re struck. Depending on our parents, and what’s in your gene pool, each Valkyrie brings something different to the table. With your father being the biggest god around, it shouldn’t really be a surprise that you would light up like the Fourth of July. We’ve just never seen it before.”

  “That’s what Fen says,” I mumbled. “He says I burn brighter than any other. I just…I thought all Valkyries glowed at odd times. I had no idea I was the only one.”

  “Like I said, we do glow. We just manage it on a smaller scale.” We stopped in front of Sam and Junnal. “How about we stroll to the next valley over?” Ingrid suggested. “You can hang out there for a bit and get
yourself back together. Take all the time you need.”

  I felt fine.

  I didn’t need to get myself back together.

  This was Anya’s fault, and now I felt like a pariah. My unease turned to ire. “You know what?” I told the group. “Getting myself back together sounds like a great idea, but I’m going by myself. I want to be alone.”

  Judging by her face, Sam was chomping at the bit to tell me something.

  “Okay, that’s fine,” Ingrid agreed. “When you get back, everything will work itself out, you’ll see. You did the right thing. In Asgard, we come to blows a lot. It’s just a rite of passage.”

  “I understand,” I said. “I’ll be back in ten.”

  Ingrid nodded and headed back into the Park.

  Sam grabbed on to my arm, her nails digging in. “Holy crap, Phoebe! That was so intense. Your fist swung so fast I didn’t even know you’d clocked her until she was a sack of bones on the ground! She so had it coming. It was beyond satisfying to see her crumple.”

  “When did I start glowing?” I whispered, leaning in.

  “Pretty much when you turned around and decided to go after her. It was a slow build at first, but when you chopped her ax up, you really started to burn. You don’t even need a flashlight anymore. You’re a human glow stick!”

  “It only happened because I was pissed off.” I think. “My adrenaline was racing, and my blood was pumping. The weird thing was, once I decided I was going to fight, everything kind of slowed down. It made it easy to see what Anya was going to do.”

  “It didn’t seem like that to us,” Sam said. “You were both going at warp speed.”

  I glanced up at Junnal. “Did it look fast to you?”

  The big guy nodded.

  “Junnal wanted to step in,” Sam said, a hint of pride in her voice. “But I held him back.” I arched my eyebrow at her. “Okay, I didn’t actually, like, physically hold him back. I sort of grabbed on and pleaded for him to stay out of it. If he’d gone in there, it wouldn’t have been a fair fight, and they would’ve kicked us all out before you could say trolls kick ass .”

  “That’s true.” I addressed the giant, my voice grave. “You have to stay back unless I’m in serious trouble. Especially with the Valkyries. They barely tolerate you here as it is. Now I’m going to do what they want and have some alone time. Apparently, I need to get my thoughts back together.” I stifled a snort. It made me feel like I was in grade school.

  “Your thoughts are fine,” Sam scoffed, swishing her hand. “You gave it to Anya fair and square. You should be on top of the world, not skulking off someplace to brood.”

  “I hear you, Sam. But I’m going to take a few and try to de-glowify.” I held my hands up to emphasize my point—not that it needed to be emphasized. They were still star-bright. “I also need to figure out how I’m going to play this entire thing. Anya’s going to insist that I bested her because I cheated somehow. I’m going to shut her down somehow. I want her off my back permanently.”

  “Got it,” Sam said. “Okay, if you’re doing that, I’m going to get something to eat. Some of us still need to eat an actual sandwich to survive around here.”

  “I’ll see you back here in ten.” I turned to leave, and heavy footfalls fell in line behind me. I stopped. “Junnal, you don’t have to accompany me. I’m just going down the road a bit.”

  The giant shook his head. “Come…”

  “Suit yourself,” I replied. It might actually be nice to have the Jotun around. He was a bodyguard on some serious steroids, but one who was totally sweet.

  I wove my way through a pathway that led to a small valley next to the Park, and once we crossed into it, I spotted some thick overgrowth to the right. I’d been in this valley only one other time since I’d been here. There wasn’t a lot of downtime to explore, but the stronghold was full of nooks and crannies.

  I paced over to the dense brush. It was thick and jumbled, like a wall of tangles, with something behind it. I glanced over my shoulder at the Jotun. “Should we investigate?” Junnal stared back. I wasn’t sure if the big guy could shrug his shoulders or not. It didn’t seem like he cared what we did, as long as he could see me. I glanced around the small valley. I assumed Fen would come find us soon. He likely saw what went down and would want to check in. “I say we go through. It looks like there’s a passageway into another valley behind all this stuff.” I grasped on to some brush to move it, but it wouldn’t budge.

  The branches were so overgrown, they were locked in place.

  Junnal came forward, and I stepped out of the way. He lofted his massive club and swiped downward, clearing most of the brambles in one stroke.

  “You’re pretty handy to have around in a pinch,” I joked as I took out my weapons, hacking at a few leftover pieces. “Whoa,” I said as I glanced through the obliterated brush. “It’s a tiny valley inside. It’s so lush.” It was teeming with trees and greenery, which was surprising for this area. Most of the stronghold was covered in browns and yellows with a few scattered scrubby trees.

  I wondered why the Valkyries didn’t use this space.

  Without hesitation, I headed inside. The area wasn’t more than a square block in size, if that. It was surrounded by high rock walls on all sides. Judging by the overgrowth, nobody had been back here in a long time. “There must be water back here,” I commented as we moved through more thick brush. “It’s so green. This might be my new favorite spot.” A big ponderosa pine forced us to one side, and as we passed, I noticed something high up on one of the sandstone walls. “Does that look like an archway to you?” I moved toward it like it was a beacon.

  “Yggdrasil,” Junnal intoned, slow and steady.

  “It can’t be Yggdrasil,” I disagreed. “I feed from that tree every day. It’s way over by the Valkyrie lodgings, at least a mile or two from here. They basically built their homes around it. It can’t be in two places at once.”

  “Tree,” Junnal insisted.

  “Listen, I can hear trickling water.” A babbling brook was not far away. “I wonder why they don’t utilize this. It’s a great space to hang out. Likely, the Valkyries aren’t required to find a place they have to calm down in very often,” I muttered. The archway reminded me of the one in Fen’s cave. “Let’s go check it out.”

  The mysterious monument was up a short but steep hill, the bottom obscured in dense brush. I had to hack a bunch of overgrowth out of the way to get through. After it was cleared, we climbed up the short distance.

  As we came closer, my hands ached to touch it.

  To my shock, I realized Junnal might be right. This strange rock face called to me in the way Yggdrasil did, with a pull I felt all the way from my toes. I sheathed my weapons as I came to a stop in front of it, reaching out to allow my fingertips to graze the gritty surface. It was warm to the touch, and within moments I felt a tug.

  I snatched my hand back. “What in the world?” I turned to Junnal, my eyebrows raised. “Is this a portal?” It came out as a question, but I already knew the answer. Fen had described some portals as cillars, or offshoot paths, from Yggdrasil, but they were usually dead.

  This one was alive and well.

  Before the giant could respond, a humming noise issued from inside the stone. We stepped back as a large raven soared out, cawing as he went.

  “Huggie!” The bird surprised me, and I had to steady my footing so I didn’t tumble backward off the slope. “What are you doing here?” Odin’s agent circled in the air twice before finding a branch near us to settle on.

  I felt a puff of air a moment before Huggie’s words filtered through my mind.

  It is time.

  “Time for what?” I glanced around. I was missing something.

  For you to leave.

  “You’re not making any sense, bird,” I said. “Where am I supposed to go?”

  You are ready. You found the path. But you must hurry, or you will be too late.

  “Slow down for a minute,
” I said, suddenly wary. “I haven’t seen you since I arrived in the stronghold, and now you’re telling me I have to leave?”

  Invaldi will not permit the Valkyries to enter his realm, and there are too many to go undetected. Your mother is in jeopardy. She will be moved soon to a place that is unreachable. This is your only chance to slip in unseen.

  My heart leaped into my throat. “Where are they taking her?”

  The dark elves know the Valkyries seek to hunt them and that they will break in very soon. They have made deals. You are the only one who can go in unseen, through this cillar. But you must go now, with the troll. Have no fear, you are ready.

  I was dumbfounded. “You want…you want me to go to Svartalfheim by myself without the other shieldmaidens?”

  It is the only way.

  “How do you know?” I asked. “We’ve been preparing for the mission as a team. Rae is leading the Valkyries. I can’t do it alone. I’m not nearly skilled enough.”

  The bird cocked his head at me. I have been listening and watching. Your skills are sufficient, and your mother needs you, as you are the only Valkyrie who can traverse this cillar. It is a gift you have been given. You will be able to pass into the realm undetected.

  “What about Junnal?” I asked. “Won’t the elves know he’s there?”

  Yes, the elves will know, but trolls come and go in their world regularly, and the Jotun can ride any portal. He will not raise an alarm. That is why he was sent to you. Together, you can free your mother. But you will not get a second chance. You must hurry. The raven gave an irritated squawk. He comes.

  “He?” I asked, right as Fen’s voice bellowed into the small valley.

  “Valkyrie!” Fen called. “Where are you?”

  Oh, no.

  All the pieces began to fall together in my mind. “Are you telling me I have to choose between my mother and leaving Fen without a word?”

  The wolf may not accompany you. You would be captured immediately and face death. Once you retrieve your mother, you will take Yggdrasil back here. You have my word. If things change, the wolf will be granted access to the cillar. But he must wait.