The next few minutes passed in a blur. As Adam staggered into a tiled courtyard, Maja vanished. At the same time, a tall, gray-haired woman came out of the building and issued a few commands in English. Three men in local dress emerged and followed her instructions. One of them took the boy from his arms, then Adam was carried inside and strong hands lifted him onto a portable examining table.
Exquisite pain followed as the woman probed the wound in his shoulder. After that, he dipped in and out of consciousness. He was aware of her clipped English tones telling him how lucky he was. He tried to laugh, to make a joke about the sort of luck that had brought him to Warda on this day. He wasn’t sure his voice had worked, but it didn’t matter because sweet, blessed darkness swept over him once more.
When he regained consciousness, he was in a small room. He took a moment to assimilate his surroundings. He was lying on a narrow bed with a broken ceiling fan above his head and a window with cracked shutters painted a faded shade of green. Oh...and his shoulder hurt like a demon.
“Where am I?” Since he was alone, he had no expectation of a response when he tried out his voice. Sure enough, it sounded like he had gargled with broken glass.
“Tarek called it ‘the mission.’”
Startled, Adam began to turn his head in the direction of the voice. The movement caused darts of sheer agony to shoot through his shoulder. He guessed the woman who had removed the bullet had done so without the benefit of anesthetic. He continued the movement of his head, slowly this time, and carefully.
Maja was seated on a chair near the window, her blue eyes fixed on his face. Her expression was one of mild curiosity. As if he was an interesting specimen she was studying and about which she was making mental notes.
“Who is Tarek, and who the hell are you?”
“Tarek is the child you rescued. And I have already told you I am Maja, Valkyrie shield maiden.”
“Of course you are.” Adam closed his eyes, too weary to pursue this strange alternate reality his mind appeared determined to force him into.
“Are you going to die?” The question had the effect of opening his eyes again. Fast.
“What sort of question is that?”
She got to her feet and he took a moment to appreciate the way the red corset fitted her curves. Who needed painkillers with that sort of distraction around? “What you did with the boy was brave. If you die, I can take your soul back to Valhalla and my journey will not have been wasted.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m planning on sticking around.” That was his ambition. Whether the government forces and the rebel opposition who were unleashing mayhem on the local area allowed him to fulfill it? That was another matter. Although sound was muted by distance, he could still hear the battle raging.
She bit her lip. “I was afraid you might say that.”
With those words, the ultraefficient, ice maiden facade slipped slightly and he saw another side to her. Briefly, he caught a glimpse of a frightened expression flitting across her perfect features. The swift change intrigued him, and he made an attempt at getting himself into a sitting position. It wasn’t successful.
“Can you lend a hand?” She might be something his mind had conjured up, but he seemed to be able to put her to use to get his body working. Sure enough, Maja slid an arm around his waist and, with some effort on both their parts, Adam managed to maneuver himself upright. “And some water would be good.”
She reached for the glass at the side of his bed and held it to his mouth. “None of this is helping.”
Adam took a long gulp of the lukewarm liquid. His shoulder was more painful than anything he could ever have imagined, but his head was clear. He still needed to know where Danny was, and Maja was a distraction he could do without. But she was looking at him with such wretchedness in her eyes that he found it impossible to ignore. “Helping what?”
“My defense.” She placed the glass back on the table next to the bed. “By interacting with you, I have broken the Valkyrie Code.” Her lower lip wobbled slightly. “By saving you instead of letting you die and securing your soul for Odin’s army, I may have signed my own death warrant.”
Copyright © 2017 by Amanda Anders
ISBN-13: 9781488031250
Charmed by the Wolf
Copyright © 2017 by Kristal Hollis
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