Love's Choice

by Renee Jordan

“He was strong!” I screamed at the demon. “Strong, kind, heroic, romantic.” My words choked off. I looked down at Magnus. I brushed his blood-matted hair from his cheek. “I never got to tell you how beautiful those words were. It's not fair. I just met you. I just opened myself up to you. You can't be gone. Please don't be gone.”

  A shadow fell on me. Fetid breath washed over me.

  What did it matter. I was dead. I couldn't escape from this monster. I regretted never telling Magnus how I felt about him. He had left me this wonderful note. He had poured all his emotions out onto it.

  Magnus bared himself to me. I had to repay his beautiful gift. I had to share my heart before I died.

  “You were amazing,” I whispered, leaning over Magnus. I didn't want to look at the monster. “Twice you came to my rescue. I don't have any poems to quote or...or...amazing words to say. I don't know how to describe how strong and wonderful you were. I...I think I may have loved you. When you tried to warn me off from the bar, our eyes met and...I felt something. A connection. A feeling. I don't know. But it was real. I...I wanted to ride with you through the night. I wanted to be your beauty.”

  “Such touching words,” the monster snarled.

  I shuddered as his breath washed over me. I ignored the fear in my heart. There was no running from this. I leaned over and kissed Magnus on the lips. His blood was coppery. I closed my eyes and waited for death.

  Fire blazed inside me.

  Cold engulfed me.

  Fire burned on my lips.

  Magnus convulsed in my arms. His blue eyes opened. His lips kissed me back. White swirled around us, a blizzard had consumed us. His broken arm wrapped around me. His chest rose and fell as he drank in the fire on my lips. I held him tight as we kissed. My heart thudded with exultation. I didn't understand what magic was at work. How had my kiss restored his broken body to life? His arms were strong about me. I closed my eyes as the snow fell upon us.

  Magnus wasn't dead. My strong warrior lived.

  The snow melted as it touched us. Steam rose into the frigid air. A wind howled, whipping at my long hair. I didn't want to break the kiss, but the world had changed. I looked around at the piles of snow and ice. Shadowed buildings rose about us, windows covered in frost, thick icicles dangling from awnings and rusted traffic lights. Side view mirrors and antennas peaked out of snow covered mounds that lined the streets.

  Winter had buried Seattle in a heartbeat.

  “What is going on?” I whispered.

  “I don't know.” Magnus's voice was soft. His finger touched my cheek. “I saw you kneeling over me.”

  “What?”

  “I died. My soul drifted free. I watched you, helpless to stop the beast as it lumbered closer while you sobbed over my body.” He smiled. “I heard your words.”

  My cheeks warmed.

  “Such beauty. Those words called to me. You had chosen me. I felt it.”

  “Chosen...” Owen, Freddy, and Gerdie kept talking about the importance of my choice. Even the monster had claimed I poorly chose my protector.

  “And then you kissed me. You summoned me back.” He smiled. “My Valkyrie.”

  “That's what the monster called me,” I whispered.

  My breath frosted before my face. I should be freezing. A blizzard howled down the streets. Instead, I was comfortable in my torn shirt and ripped pants. The pain in my side and upper thigh vanished. I didn't burn from sliding along the asphalt in the crash. My raw skin had healed.

  “You must be one,” he whispered, stroking my face. “A Valkyrie. My warrior woman.”

  I blushed again. “I didn't do anything.”

  “You also stopped running.”

  “I couldn't let you fight him alone.”

  “Touching,” rumbled the monster.

  I jumped. A mirage moved beside us. Warm wind gusted around it, driving back the snow. The dingy-white fur of the ape-wolf rippled into reality, like it was bleeding into this place from our world and bringing a bit of its late spring warmth with it.

  “This is where you're from,” I gasped, remembering the snow that had appeared with the monster.

  “Did you think fleeing to Utgard would save you from me, little Valkyrie?” the demon growled as it manifested into the snowy waste.

  Magnus growled and rose. To my utter shock, he changed as he threw himself forward. Shaggy fur sprouted across his body, black and coarse. Magnus howled like a mad wolf and slammed into the demon's chest.

  ~ ~ ~

  The raven Muninn watched from the top of an icy streetlight as the berserk Einherjer threw himself at the frost troll. The Valkyrie scrambled to her feet, the howling wind whipping her raven-black hair. A flaming sword appeared in her shocked hand as the Einherjer, berserk and wearing the wolf's cloak, tore at the troll's dingy-white fur.

  With a caw, Muninn took flight. It easily passed from Utgard back to Midgard. Winter vanished and the warm air of later spring engulfed the raven. Below, fearful humans stared at the wreckage the frost troll's rampage had left. Sirens blared and lights flashed blue and red as the mortal's emergency responders raced through the choked streets.

  The raven reached the end of the destruction. Its master, the One-Eyed God Odin, stood beside the wreckage of the yellow cab. Muninn dived and landed on the god's shoulder, his sharp talons digging into the dull-green material of the god's jacket. Muninn shared its vision with the god.

  Odin sighed. “I'm sorry to do this to you, Raven,” he whispered. “But I don't have time to coddle you and Magnus.”

  The raven cawed.

  The One-Eyed God smiled, “Yes, she chose well. Even without any powers, Magnus didn't flinch.”

  Chapter Eight

  Magnus

  Rage filled me. A deep, bloody maw opened inside me. Only the monster's death could fill it. The beast attacked my Valkyrie.

  My body was stronger. My claws were steal, my muscles iron. My teeth savaged into the thick hide of the monster. Its knuckled fists swung at me. I ignored the pain hammering my sides. I couldn't let go. I had to fight.

  I had to kill.

  ~ ~ ~

  Raven

  I almost dropped the flaming sword that appeared in my hand. I don't know how I summoned it. The sword just burst out of my soul.

  A wolf howled. I recovered from my shock. Magnus had thrown himself at the monster, transformed into some sort of...wolf creature. A werewolf. He was black fur, snarling jaws, and sharp claws. Red blood stained the chest of the monster as Magnus savaged it, howling in berserker rage.

  Again he was protecting me. And I couldn't do anything about it. I had to help him fight the monster. I couldn't stand to see his body lying broken and dead before me. That would be too much after this insanity.

  And so a sword appeared out of fire, whirling into existence in my hand. I gasped in shock, staring at the silvery metal wreathed in fire. The flames whipped in the wind howling down the street. My hand gripped the hilt as I stared at the weapon. It was long and straight, the end tapering to a chisel-like point. The edges on both sides gleamed sharp. A groove ran down the middle of the sword from the cross-like bars above the handle, slowly vanishing as it reached the point. Strange symbols glittered on either side of the groove, angular and stamped into the metal.

  Runes? The Norse used runes, right?

  The monster had called me a Valkyrie. Was it true? The sword felt...comfortable in my grip, like I knew it. Had I ever before summoned a sword? Had I ever fought with a weapon?

  Yes. As a girl, I was always picking up sticks and playing swords with them, emulating my mother. My parents encouraged me. I never thought it was strange. It was how I was raised. It was only when I entered the foster care system that I discovered girls didn't play with sticks. Boys did. I had to only play with dolls.

  Magnus howled.

  I pulled my gaze away from the hypnotic burning of my magical weapon. My berserk biker ripped and tore at the monster. The beast was fierce, strong, wild, Magnus stripped of
his poetic side, the dangerous biker unleashed and manifested as a raging werewolf.

  Magnus was magnificent. He moved on the monster's body, dodging the monster's punches as he continued to savage the thing. Magnus howled again. I almost understood what his growls and snarls said: “You will not harm her! Mine!”

  Magnus fought to protect me. It was...sexy.

  No. Not now. Contemplate how sexy Magnus is later. First, we must defeat the monster.

  I strode through the knee high snow. It steamed off my black slacks. The cloth wetly clung to my calves. I was melting the snow as I walked. I should be freezing, but I wasn't. I had internal fire, driving back the frozen apocalypse seeking to bury me in endless snow.

  The monster swung a hard fist at Magnus. The biker wolf leaped off the monster, landing at my side. He stood, his body hunched over. His arms were thick and long, covered in the dark fur. Blood stained his claws and muzzle. His golden eyes looked at me; a snarl growled from his lips.

  It sounded like, “Left.”

  I nodded, understanding what he wanted me to do.

  “Now,” he growled.

  Magnus sprang to the right, racing for the creature. I charged left.

  My excitement beat through me. Heat burned inside me. The snow melted faster as I charged forward. It stopped slowing me down, my internal fires melting a path. I grinned as I clutched my sword in both hands and raced towards the creature's side.

  The monster turned to face Magnus's leaping charge from the right. A knuckled fist swung, striking Magnus. The werewolf snarled in pain. Fear clutched my heart as the biker crashed to the snow. White puffed around him, whipped away by the fierce wind. Magnus came up in a crouch, growling in rage.

  Magnus was fine. He could take hits in his werewolf form. I didn't understand why. Nothing made sense. Maybe, when the motorcycle crashed, I hit my head, and this was all a crazy delusion. Was I lying on the Seattle street with a cracked-open skull?

  But no, the monster attacked me before that. I couldn't remember hitting my head in the cafe. Either way, I wasn't about to have an existential debate on whether this was real or fake. It felt real. That was good enough for now.

  The monster's back was to me. I charged in and raised my sword. Despite how long the blade was, it was well-balanced and moved with ease. Snow hissed at my feet. The monster turned on its stunted legs, snarling like a mangy dog. It raised a knuckled fist.

  My sword swung. It cut through the roaring air, melting driving snow and trailing cloudy vapor. My blade cut through the meat of the monster's calf. The demon howled in pain. Flames danced around its wound, burning mangy, white fur. I gagged at the foul stench of burning hair.

  The monster's fist crashed into the snow beside me, supporting its weight on that arm. I had lamed its right leg. The monster loomed over me, spittle dripping from its foul muzzle. Its lips curled back as he growled in pain and anger at me.

  “Bitch!”

  I grinned. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

  Behind the monster, Magnus stalked forward.

  I swung my flaming blade at the monster's face. He flinched back, his heavy fist dragging through the snow. “Oh, yeah, I'm a bitch. A Valkyrie bitch that you pissed off. You tried to kill my new boyfriend.”

  I almost stumbled at admitting those words. Boyfriend. Was that what Magnus was? I guess so. He bared his heart to me and I bared mine right back. Now we were on the most exciting first date in the history of the human race.

  The monster lunged forward at me. I yelped in surprised as his jaw snapped down at my face. I stepped back. I tripped over my own shoes. My arms pinwheeled. My sword was a circle of fire as I struggled not to fall.

  I failed.

  I landed on the snow. It melted beneath me and I sank down to the buried street. Steam swirled around me. The monster's muzzle burst through it, mouth open. Sharp teeth dripped with saliva. I struggled to crawl back. Snow melted behind me and soaked my clothing. My feet pushed against the exposed asphalt. I couldn't escape.

  I messed up.

  Magnus sprang. The biker werewolf landed on the back of the monster. His powerful, furry arms wrapped around the monster's throat. The monster reared, jaw pulling back inches from my flesh. Magnus bit the monster's neck. Blood spurted.

  The creature howled in pain. He violently shook, trying to toss Magnus. My werewolf boyfriend held on tight. His legs swung back and forth. Only his powerful grip around the monster's neck held him in place.

  Golden eyes met mine. A flash of communication sprang between us. It wasn't anything psychic, but instinctive. Primal. I knew what Magnus needed me to do. I rose. My flaming sword gripped in my hand. I lunged forward and thrust.

  My flaming sword stabbed into the monster's belly. For a moment, the hide resisted. And then the point popped in and I sank the blade to the hilt. Blood poured out. Smoke rose thick and greasy. The monster howled in agony. Smoke belched from his mouth.

  I was burning him from the inside.

  “You will die in Utgard, Valkyrie!” howled the monster as he crashed to the snow. His limbs thrashed, kicking up a spray of white.

  My sword was ripped out of my grasp. It wavered and vanished in a puff of flames. I could feel it inside me. I could summon it out of the fires that raged inside me. I marched to the monster's maw. Fire licked at his tongue.

  “What is Utgard?”

  He laughed. “Here. My brethren rule this land. And more than frost trolls stalk Utgard. There is only death here, Valkyrie. You should fit right in. How long until you get your Einherjer killed again?” He laughed again, his body convulsing. “You will die.”

  “How do I get back?”

  He cackled as the fire consumed him. The flames burst through his flesh, consuming him from the inside. And still he laughed. The smoke rose thicker. Falling snow mixed with rising ash. The fires burned hot, cutting off his laugh. Flames engulfed his entire body.

  “Raven,” Magnus said.

  I pulled my gaze away from the burning monster.

  Magnus was human again. His clothes seemed to have reformed about him. His leather vest snapped in the wind, exposing most of his muscular torso and the tattoo of a woman clutched by a black dragon on his chest.

  Magnus's arms swept around me, pulling me to his chest. His heart thudded through my wet clothes. The wind howled fiercer around us. Our hair whipped about our heads. White seemed to engulf us, pressing in and swallowing up everything.

  “It's a blizzard!” he shouted, his words ripped away by the raging wind. “We need to find cover.”

  “How about a house?”

  I gasped in shock as Magnus lifted me into his arms. I almost objected to being carried, but it was nice to be cradled. I put on arm around his neck, squirming in his strong grip. In the driving blizzard, snow freezing in his dirty-blond hair, he resembled a fierce Viking warrior. It was like we had stepped through time into a world long lost.

  Magnus plowed through the whiteout to carry me to safety.

  Chapter Nine

  Raven

  A snowy house appeared out of the blizzard. It was tall and narrow. On either side, I could just make out similar houses, their brick facades hazy in the driving blizzard. This Utgard was a reflection of Seattle buried in winter. Were the houses occupied? What else lived in this horrid place besides the monster?

  Magnus marched up buried stairs to the house's entrance. The snow lessened towards the door, revealing the concrete porch. There was a roof leaning out to shield the porch. A welcome mat, the gray, fuzzy fibers matted with ice, lay before the white door.

  Magnus tried the door. It was locked. With a single kick, he shattered open the door.

  “Magnus?” I gasped. “This is someone's house.”

  “Is it?” he asked as we strode in.

  Snow swirled in with us, landing on a beige carpet. The house felt...empty. Furniture decorated the living room, a large TV hanging on a wall opposite a matching couch and recliner. Little knickknacks adorned shelves and pictu
res hung on the walls of a smiling, African-American family. This house belonged to someone and yet...it felt like we were the first people to enter here. The air was stale.

  “It's only a reflection,” I whispered as Magnus moved to the stairs. He flipped a switch and lights hummed on, maybe for the first time in this place. “This world is just some...terrible, frozen version of ours.”

  “We need to get you dry,” he growled. “Figuring out the rules of this place can wait.”

  The stairs creaked beneath him. I couldn't help smiling.

  “What?” Magnus asked.

  “Nothing,” I giggled. “But, well, it's kinda like...you're carrying me across the threshold.”

  A grin split his lips. “Thinking of marriage already?”

  My cheeks warmed. “No, but...” This was romantic. He fought that monster for me, became that sexy wolf, and now was carrying me out of the danger upstairs. Heat flushed through me.

  Impulsively, I leaned up and kissed him on the lips.

  It differed from our last kiss. He wasn't dead. I wasn't sobbing my heart out. There was no coppery blood, only the strong taste of him. His arms tightened about me. His lips worked against mine. I clung to his neck, my eyes closing as I savored the kiss.

  My heart raced. The heat built between my thighs. I squirmed in his arms. The battle with the monster had been exciting. I felt so alive. And it still beat through me. I was full of this energy that needed releasing. Kissing Magnus was a great start.

  “My beauty,” Magnus grinned when we broke the kiss.

  “You were sexy as a wolf,” I purred. I stroked his chest with my left hand as he rushed up the stairs. “You were sexy the entire time. When I was clinging to your back as we raced through the streets, despite the monster chasing me, I enjoyed hugging your broad back. It was like the night we met.”

  Memory of that passionate night warmed me.

  We reached the top of the stairs and he threw open the first door we came to, revealing the master bedroom. A cream comforter covered a king-sized bed, the frame made of dark-stained wood, which dominated the center of the room. A matching dresser and makeup table lined the walls besides the louvered doors of a closet.