Val looked at Gang. She could be selfish, but not when it came to his life. Come hell or high water, the Jian was going back.
“You have my word,” Val said.
The Jian lifted from its pedestal and floated to her. She reached for the sword and felt a rush of air hit her. The sword was perfectly balanced. She loved the feel of it in her hand as she swung. It was only when Gang coughed that she remembered he was there.
“We should get back,” Val said, shaking her head. She was immune to magick, but maybe this was influencing her somehow? Whatever it was, she needed to help the Long family and return the Jian as quickly as possible. For the first time in millennia, she didn’t trust herself.
As the tether pulled them back to their physical bodies, Val was surprised to feel the sword still in her hands. How was it possible? Slowly, she opened her eyes to find a war raged around her and Gang in the living room.
The Long family fought to protect them. Somehow Xiang Yao had found out what they were after and was there to stop them.
Val leapt into battle with the Long family. They were fierce warriors, but Xiang Yao was a handful for even them. Xiang Yao was the most hideous creature she had laid eyes on. He had a serpentine body and nine human heads. His razor sharp tail tip swung like a weapon. Two of his heads were lying in a puddle of green blood, sightless on the wood floor.
Two of the family members had fallen. She couldn’t tell if they lived. Before she could check on them, Xiang Yao spotted Val and the Jian in her hand. His eyes narrowed and he swung his sharp tail at her with laser precision. If she had been any slower, that tail would have pierced her shoulder, pinning her to the wall. Instead, it hit a wall behind her and stuck in the stud.
Val struck Xiang Yao’s tail. He roared in pain. The severed tip of his tail protruded from the wall, wiggling.
Val glanced over at Gang, still lying on the air mattress. What the hell? Val thought. Are they holding him hostage until I return the Jian?
Her thoughts were interrupted when Xiang Yao’s bloody stumped tail sent her flying across the room, cracking the granite countertop in the kitchen.
She jumped up and brushed off the crushed granite from her sleeve. The sword still in her hand, she swung it effortlessly.
“How do you kill this thing?” she yelled to no one in particular.
It was Gang’s father Bo who answered. “All of his heads need to be severed and his body cut into pieces!” he yelled, before he launched himself at Xiang Yao, plucking out a set of eyes.
Xiang Yao screamed, the sound like seven teapots shrieking at the same time. The beast had hands, but they resembled those of a T-Rex, short and underdeveloped. That didn’t stop Xiang Yao from hitting Fu and sending her flying across the room, slamming into a support in the wall.
With Xiang Yao distracted, Val leapt into the air. She swung her sword and took two more heads. That left five putrid heads. The Jian cut through Xiang Yao with little effort. Val wanted to draw the creature outside, but the fact was, this space confined him and made his movements a little more difficult. She felt bad that the Long family home was being destroyed in the process, but if they stopped Xiang Yao, then it was a small price to pay.
Val was covered in green blood, as if she had walked off the set of Ghostbusters. She looked at the beast in time to see him move toward the still lifeless Gang. She let out a feral growl. Something she had never done before.
“You will not touch him!”
Xiang Yao hissed a laugh and launched his tree trunk body at Gang, but Val was faster. The beast snarled at her, clearly not expecting her to have such speed. If she had been a shifter like the Long family, Xiang Yao would have beaten her.
“You have feelings for this dragon shifter,” Yao’s remaining heads said with disgust.
“My love life is not your concern.”
“I will kill your beloved and enjoy watching you suffer for eternity, Valkyrie.”
“Hearing you talk out of five mouths is creeptacular. It’s even worse than talking out of your ass,” Val taunted. She knew that if she could anger him, she would have the upper hand. “You’d think with all those heads, you’d have more brains. You definitely got the short stick when you were born.”
Xiang Yao charged her and she leapt into the air, somersaulting onto his scaly back. The Jian glowed and when she swung it through the air, it was as if she was painting with light. Golden arcs trailed behind the sword. She used all of her strength, and the Jian cut through Xiang Yao, easily separating the remaining heads from his long body. His screeching abruptly cut off. Val rode the stump as it hit the floor with a sickening thump.
“Each of you, start cutting!” Val commanded the Long family.
Xiang Yao’s body was already trying to come back together. It was like cutting the head off a snake, the body still twitched and the head was still capable of biting.
“Do you have a fireplace, somewhere we can burn these pieces?” she asked the family.
“Follow me,” one of the brothers said.
Each of the family grabbed two pieces, and Val grabbed a couple of Yao’s heads, but she was apprehensive about leaving Gang open to attack.
“Can one of you stay with Gang?” she said, threading the sword through her belt. It didn’t feel right leaving him. She wanted to stay, but they had asked her to do this task, so she needed to see it through.
“I’ll stay with him,” said a young girl. “I’m Mingxia.”
She appeared to be the youngest of Gang’s sisters, and she was quite pretty. She couldn’t have been but twenty years old.
“Thank you, Mingxia. We’ll talk more after we take care of Xiang Yao,” Val said, holding up one of the severed heads.
Mingxia nodded and sat near Gang’s feet. She was a living barrier between him and the wiggling pieces of the immortal.
Val nodded and jogged out of the house. Outside, the family gathered around a brownish, metal bowl large enough to fit several pieces of cut wood. The fire was slow to start, and Val grew anxious. This is taking too long, she thought.
When the fire took hold, Bo and Fu tossed chunks of Xiang Yao into the fire. When they were half way done, they heard a scream.
“Mingxia!” Val tossed the two heads into the fire and ran to the girl.
When she and the others entered the room, they all froze. Gang had the spiky tail of Xiang Yao to Mingxia’s throat.
“Thank you for leaving me an empty vessel. It’s going to take some time getting used to this new body, but I will manage. Now give me the Jian, or I’ll take this sweet little morsel’s life,” Yao said, with Gang’s voice.
The point of his tail pressed into Mingxia’s throat and a trail of dark, red blood dripped down her pale neck. Yao pushed harder, and the blood flow increased. The look in Mingxia’s eyes gave Val pause.
“Mingxia, please don’t,” she said.
Bo and Fu saw too and tried to reason with Mingxia.
“My little angel, please do not do this. You have not yet reached immortality, and this can take your life prematurely,” Bo said, stricken with worry.
“Father, you have always said that I would do something great with my life. Do not deny me the destiny I am meant for.”
The girl looked to Val.
“Save my brother,” she said. Then Mingxia pushed the spike through her neck.
Yao looked down and smirked. “She had guts.” He shoved her away and stood.
Both Bo and Fu launched at their son’s body, knocking him back on the air mattress. A loud POP sounded, and the mattress went flat. Bo and Fu held their son down.
“Val, there is some tea left. You must take the sword back and retrieve Gang’s soul. The spirit tether is the only way he can push Xiang Yao out and make his soul go to Diyu,” Bo said, through gritted teeth as he struggled to hold Yao.
Val dashed to the dainty teapot and poured the rest of its contents straight into her mouth, chugging what was left. As soon as the last of the liquid hit her throat,
she felt the teapot slip from her fingers and crash to the floor. The tether extended out through the back of her spine at the thought of the temple where she first laid eyes on the Jian.
In the space of seconds, she appeared in the temple and found Gang on his knees. He was crying, but there were no tears. She looked around, and like before, there was no one. She reached behind her and grasped the Jian on her belt. Once she pulled it out, it was bathed in golden light and floated from her hand.
“You have done well, Valkyrie. We were uncertain how this would end, so we were watching. Unfortunately, Gang witnessed his sister’s death. He pleaded for us to save her and take him, but that is not our duty. He has his own destiny to fulfill,” the voice said.
Val walked over to Gang. She crouched down and held him, as much as their current state would allow.
“You have done as requested. Now leave here,” the voice said, fading away.
“Gang, please get up. We will go back and you can be the one that sends Xiang Yao to Diyu. Mingxia’s death will not be in vain. Every good thing you do from here on out will honor her. What she did was the ultimate act of love. She gave up her life so that you could live.”
She wasn’t the type to think less of a man if he cried. Everyone had a breaking point, but it’s what a person does with that emotion that defines them. She was about to give Gang another pep talk when he looked in her eyes. She saw sheer determination. Val knew in that moment that Xiang Yao was going to regret his actions today.
She released Gang, and stood. They didn’t need words to communicate. They were both going to kick some ass.
Val’s tether pulled her away from the temple and slammed her back into her body. She sat up in time to see Gang’s body jerk and twist at an unnatural angle. Bo and Fu struggled to hold onto him.
For several minutes, the struggle continued, and then Gang crumpled to the floor. His mother cradled his head in her lap. Bo wiped sweat from his son’s brow. When Gang opened his eyes, his whole family gathered around him, watching and waiting. Val held his hand. She never doubted who would win.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had so many people doting on me,” Gang said, with a small smile.
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief as Gang sat up. The first thing he did was hug his father and mother.
He looked at Val with an unreadable expression on his face. “Will you stay for a moment?” he whispered.
When Val nodded, he turned to his fallen sister and stroked her face. Tears fell once again when he picked up her body.
Val gasped when a raven flew into the room. Everyone looked at her. They could see the raven, but only Gang would understand what was happening. He’d seen it before.
Mingxia clung to life, just barely, until her final breath exited her body. The raven’s spirit bathed her in a blue light, and Val knew that her father had chosen her to bring his new daughter home.
She wouldn’t need anything to cloak what was about to happen. This would bring the Long family great comfort. Their daughter would live, but she would not remember them, unless Odin willed it. She wasn’t sure what would happen, since she was from an immortal family.
Once the raven flew away and the light faded, Val whistled for Grimm, and the sound of hooves approached. Grimm didn’t need a runway. The room was large enough to accommodate his size.
As Val walked to him, Gang gave her a smile and handed over Mingxia to the only person that he would trust with his sister, apart from his family.
“Take care of her,” Gang said as his voice cracked.
Val smiled at the Long family, making eye contact with each of them.
“Your sister will make a fantastic Valkyrie. The courage that she showed in the face of danger has moved Odin in a way that few ever do. She has lost her mortal life, but has gained immortality as a Valkyrie. I’ll watch over our newest sister. I’ll even petition Odin on your behalf, so that she can retain her memories. She would have become a Variant, had she lived. As soon as I have an answer, I will come and let you know,” she said softly.
She placed Mingxia on Grimm’s back and turned her gaze to Gang. He looked between her and his sister. Val stepped over to him for a moment and took his hand.
“I will be seeing you again. We have a date,” she said.
Val leaned in and gave Gang a soft kiss on his cheek and then leapt onto Grimm’s back. She pulled Mingxia into her arms, cradling her. In a burst of brilliant white light, Val, Mingxia, and Grimm disappeared.
Val, dressed in traditional Valkyrie attire, walked into the Grand Hall where her father waited. She knelt at his feet until he acknowledged her. When he did, she stood and addressed him.
“Father, I’m here to petition that Mingxia keep her mortal memories. Her family is Variant, and she would have been too. As you know, she showed great courage, and I know that her family would swear fealty to you in return for this favor. And I’ll take full responsibility for her.”
It felt like an eternity before he finally spoke. His voice was deep and filled with authority. She loved listening to him speak, but right now she was on edge, waiting for his reply.
“Your petition is granted, my child.”
Joy flooded through her, and she bowed deeply in gratitude.
“Thank you, Father. I will go now and share this joyous news.”
Once dismissed, she raced off to tell the Long family the good news.
It was not an end, but a beginning.
Head Under Water
Jasie Gale
“It smells like fish in here.” Sasha huddled against the cave wall and tucked her hands into the pouch of her hoodie. The hollow room was small, and she bumped the back of her head as she recoiled from the splash of sea water aimed at her.
Dark eyes leered from the pool that consumed most of the hidden space, leaving only a slim rock ledge around the perimeter. The fading sunlight slipped beneath an underwater tunnel and made the pool glow a haunting blue. The light bounced off the cave walls as the water churned angrily, less from the tide and more from Pearl’s wrathful temper.
“I am a fish, you urchin,” Pearl said.
Mermaids were such drama queens.
Of course, Sasha had only met the one. Their love affair blossomed at the beginning of the summer, but fall was creeping in on them now, and their time together dwindled with the shorter daylight hours and declining temperatures. Sasha’s libido seemed to have dwindled as well.
Pearl splashed again, this time with less malice. A pout tugged at her pale lips. “What are you waiting for? Why aren’t you in the water yet?”
“Are you kidding me? It’s like forty degrees. Feeling you up is less appealing when second base is hypothermia!”
Pearl unleashed a gloomy siren wail. It shook the cave, and warning bubbles rose to the surface of the pool. “You’re so cruel. I should have let you drown.”
Sasha sighed and sat down cross-legged on the rock ledge. She reached her hand into the water, but Pearl’s shimmery tail quickly broke the surface and propelled the mermaid to the opposite side. Another siren sob shook the cave.
Sasha pulled her hand away and tucked it back inside her hoodie. Her brows pinched and her lips pursed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. But I’m serious about the hypothermia. I’m human. I’ll freeze to death if I get in the water.”
Pearl inched forward. “You mean this is as close as we’ll be until next spring?” Her whimper echoed pitifully, like a dolphin trapped in a fisherman’s net.
“I don’t know what else we can do.” Sasha ran a hand through her short hair and sucked in a long breath of salty air. “I could bring you home, and you could stay in my bathtub,” she said, only half-teasing.
Pearl’s tail whipped through the water. “And keep me like a pet goldfish? I don’t think so.” Her voice clipped off at the end as her eyes scrunched shut, and a sudden sneeze rocked her shoulders. It sounded like a squeaky bath toy being put through a meat grinder.
Sasha sn
orted. “I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard you make that noise before—and I’ve heard quite a few of your noises,” she said, lifting a brow suggestively.
Pearl slapped her tail against the surface of the pool, sprinkling Sasha with sea water. “I’m not supposed to make that noise. I have a cold.”
“Mermaids catch colds?”
“When they don’t migrate.” Pearl bit her lip, as if she wished she could take back her words.
“What?” Sasha stood. “You’re supposed to migrate?”
“Yeah. I’m warm-blooded, stupid. I don’t have as much blubber as a dolphin or a whale.”
“Why haven’t you migrated?” Sasha paced the rock ledge, anxiety gripping her insides. She felt stupid for not knowing anything substantial about mermaids. Why hadn’t she thought to ask more questions? Most of her time with Pearl had been spent doing other things.
Pearl shrugged. “My best friend’s pod hasn’t left yet. Then there’s you, of course.”
“So not all of the mermaids have left? You still have time?”
“My best friend is a cow.” Pearl sniffed.
Sasha stopped at the edge of the pool. “That’s not a very nice thing to say about your best friend.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. “She’s a dolphin. Female dolphins are called cows.”
“Oh.” Sasha’s face twisted as her mind grasped for straws. “You could still migrate with her pod though. Right?”
“You clearly don’t know anything about male dolphins. They’re not choosy, and they’re not gentle.” Pearl folded her arms under her breasts, two small orbs tucked under tangled red locks. Sasha was sure she’d died and gone to Disney hell when the pale beauty rescued her from a nasty fall at the beginning of the summer.
“They look pretty friendly at Sea World,” Sasha said, earning another splash from Pearl.
The mermaid shrieked her frustrations and dipped her head under the water, zipping around the pool frantically. By the time she came up for air, Sasha’s senses had returned to her.
She stomped her sneakered foot on the rock ledge. “So what did you plan on doing about winter? You skipped out on your pod. You don’t want to be a goldfish. What was your plan?”
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