For the briefest of moments I worried that he wouldslip out of my grasp and try to escape. I sprung forward as his trajectory headed downward and slammed him as hard as I could into the paved street below.
He gave a distinct “oof” as the wind escaped his lungs, and I think something inside him might have popped. I didn’t wait for him to recover. I grabbed him by the throat, lifting him into the air and shaking him. “What gives you the right? We all have to live under the code of the council!” I threw him backward and into the brick wall of the club. He flattened against the wall and was slowly sliding to the ground when I scooped him up again.
He croaked out a sound, and for some reason that pissed me off. I should be walking the nine worlds of Yggdrasil, but instead, here I was, out fucking West, dealing with a shithead like this. I shook him again and threw him to the ground.
He was obviously stunned and unresponsive. I drew the angel sword and it hummed in my hand. It felt good to hold such a deadly weapon and it felt even better that I was about to use it to draw blood once more.
I heard a distinct whimper behind me and spun. The woman he had attacked still lay on the ground, her eyes as big as saucers as I hefted the blade above my head. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she was more afraid of me than she was of her attacker.
I glanced back at the broken being at my feet. He almost looked pitiful. Still, I felt no remorse for him. I brought the blade down and as it sliced him neatly in half his ashes exploded and lifted up and into the breeze of the alley.
The woman screamed and crawled on hands and knees through the trash and broken glass to get away from me. I didn’t care. She was food.
“Sven!” Laura shouted.
I spun and saw her standing in the alleyway, the sword still in her hand. Her face was a mixture of emotions and I wasn’t sure what to think.
“What the hell are you doing?” She marched toward me, the sword swinging in her grip. For the briefest of moments I wanted to bring my own blade to bare and engage her.
Then reality kicked me in the ass.
“What?” I asked quietly as I sheathed my blade.
“You scared that woman to death.” Laura’s voice was low and whispered. If it’s possible to yell at someone in a whisper, she was doing it.
“So?”
“So?” She planted her fists on her hips, the blade still waving in front of her. “So, isn’t it our job to keep people from finding out about…us?”
I growled low in my throat. I knew she was right. I glanced back at where the woman was, but she was gone. I was sure we could track her, but considering that she’d just been attacked by a vampire, then watched as her attacker got turned into ashes, I doubted that anybody would believe her story. If nothing else, they would probably have her tested for drugs.
And in this town, I’m sure they’d find something.
“Point taken.” I turned and headed to the entrance to the alley.
“Hey! We’re not done here, mister.”
Laura grabbed my arm to spin me around but I wasn’t in the mood. As soon as she touched my arm I transported us both back to our house in Texas.
She fell to her knees and sort of wobbled before falling over and rolling to her back. She stared at the ceiling, wide eyed. “That was different.”
I plucked the sword from her hand and sheathed it for her. For just a moment I debated on reattaching it to my belt. I held the blade in my hand a moment too long. I glanced down at her and saw how disoriented she was. I suddenly realized that she was more fragile than I originally suspected.
I bent low and placed the sword on her chest.
“I have to go now.” I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “You’ll feel better in a few moments.”
I stood and stepped away from her. The look of sheer terror on her face made me want to stay. But not enough to keep me from the nine worlds of my people. I gave her a soft smile. “I love you more than I can say.”
Chapter 12
I had no idea what to expect and prayed that I wouldn’t open my eyes to the vacuum of space. I kept my eyes squeezed shut and inhaled deeply. The air was sweet. A bit like honeysuckle, but different.
I opened my eyes and beheld a world unlike anything I could have imagined. The colors were so vivid that my eyes and my brain could barely register them. I stepped forward and the grass was soft. Thick, short and so very, very green, it was like walking on the blades of a cloud. I felt a smile creep across my face and there was nothing I could do to remove it.
In the distance I could hear people. They spoke my native tongue and it was like music to my ears. I did a quick inventory and everything was still where I left it. My blades, the cuff, the crossbow, all still hidden within my long coat. I walked across the grass and found a well worn path paved with cobblestones. It led to the sound of the people. I knew I had to follow it.
I strode up the path and when I crested a short hill I saw a very large, very active village. People milled about, talking, carrying packages, working. It could well have been an ancient village of my people from a time before my own.
I approached and nobody seemed to care. A blacksmith looked up from whatever project he was crafting and gave me a confused look. He bumped the man next to him and pointed at me. The other man gave me a confused stare as well.
It took me a moment to realize, it was the clothes. I dismissed the pair and continued through the middle of the village. Children played and dogs chased them through the streets. It seemed that none had a care in the world.
I stopped and watched a young woman weave a basket from some kind of reed. I approached her and nodded at her wares. “Are they for sale?”
She looked at me as though I had lost my mind. “If you like one, please, take it. I have many.” I glanced behind her and noted, there were hundreds of them stacked to the ceiling of the small shelter.
“If you do not sell them, why do you make so many?”
Again with the confused look. “This is what I do. I enjoy weaving basketry. I make them for whoever may need them.”
That sounded nice, but made no sense to me. Why bother creating something if you couldn’t barter or sell it when you were done.
I stood and looked around at the village. “Surely this is not Asgard.”
I heard the young lady laugh and turned back to her. “Where are you from stranger?”
I gave her a soft smile. “Earth.”
She gave me that look. I think it’s a universal look that proclaims me a dumbass. “What part?” She stood and brushed the remnants of her weaving from her dress. “We haven’t had many newcomers in a very long time. We were beginning to think that all of our people had died out in a great war or…worse.”
“Worse?” She had my interest piqued.
She nodded, staring intently at her slippers. “There are rumors that they have stopped worshipping our gods.”
Ah. This is the land of men. “Midgard.”
She smiled and nodded. “Where were you going if not Midgard?”
“Valhalla. Asgard.”
Her eyes grew wide. “You were a warrior?”
I opened my mouth but my brain couldn’t find the words. I finally closed it and nodded. “Yes.”
She pointed to the distance and I could see a rainbow. “The bridge. You must take it to enter Valhalla.” She turned back to me and gave me another confused look. “Why didn’t the Valkyrie escort you there?”
I patted her shoulder. “Because I’m not yet dead.”
I walked away and left her speechless. No man entered Midgard unless he were dead. No man dared enter Asgard or Valhalla unless escorted by the Valkyrie.
But I am no man.
* * *
The Rainbow Bridge was just that. A bridge. Painted like a rainbow. You could see through it and unless your hand or foot touched it, it appeared as though it were not solid.
It’s very disheartening to walk across something that you can see through and watch birds fly
through. But I did.
Don’t ask me why I didn’t just transport myself to Asgard. I had already tried and landed in Midgard. I felt myself quite fortunate to have made it that far in one piece.
As I made my way up the winding arc, I saw it. Yggdrasil. The tree of the universe. I could see its mighty trunk twist and wind up and into the clouds. As I looked up at the disappearing tree, I imagined that this must be what Jack stared at when faced with his magical beanstalk.
Don’t laugh. I was a Viking vampire walking across the rainbow bridge between Midgard and Asgard. Jack and his magical stalk could just as easily have been real. Giants most definitely are real. If I wanted to prove it, I would simply go across the limbs to Jotunheim. That was the land of giants.
I have no idea how long it took me. I watched as Midgard slowly faded from view and all I could see was the bridge and the trunk of Yggdrasil. I didn’t tire and I noticed the sun never set. Surely they must have night and day here. How else would they have their nightly battles in Valhalla?
Something was forming in the distance and after much more walking, I came to a partially built wall, a giant arched opening with my people’s writing across the top. Asgard.
I stepped through and made my way to where the land formed from the clouds. The grass in Asgard felt like the grass of Midgard. I crossed the rolling hills and past the stands of trees until I reached another path.
This time, the sounds of people didn’t caress my ears. The place was silent and the path was long and lonely. I followed it until the first spires of the city of Asgard came into view. I knew this was the city of the gods, but I had no idea how to find Valhalla.
I paused under the shade of a great oak and pondered. How would one find Valhalla in a city as great as this? It would be like trying to find a specific wad of gum in the city of New York. What I wouldn’t give for a Valkyrie to follow.
“You called.”
I nearly jumped out of my skin. I spun and found a very tall and very beautiful woman standing beside me. She was nearly my height and her arms and legs were bare and corded with muscle.
“You startled me.” I had to catch my breath.
She cocked her head to the side the way those stupid angels did. “Why would I startle you? You called for me, did you not?”
“You are a Valkyrie?”
Again with that look. I’m telling you, it is universal.
“Was there a battle I wasn’t told of?”
I shook my head. “No. I simply need to find Valhalla.”
Her eyes widened and she took a step back. “A god that doesn’t know Valhalla?” She reached for the blade on her belt and I raised my hands up to plead with her. She had it unsheathed in a heartbeat and swung for my head.
If it hadn’t been for that warning sense, I would be minus my skull. I barely dodged her swing and brought the angel sword up. It vibrated in my hand unlike any other time and my wrist nearly went numb. I was beginning to think that this blade had a mind of its own and it really wanted Valkyrie blood.
She lunged forward and swung again. I brought the angel blade up to block and the clang was so loud, I feared that every inhabitant of Asgard heard the battle. I parried, thrust and swung the golden blade, moving the Valkyrie farther back. I could feel my anger brewing and the blood lust rose in my heart again.
Just as it had with Rog, with the attacker in Colorado, and again just now, I wanted nothing more than to drive my blade into her heart and wear her skin as a coat.
She launched herself into the air but there was no downward arc. I forgot that Valkyries could fly. She went for an airborne attack.
I rolled away from her and came up onto my feet. I launched into the air and met her blade with as strong of a swing as I could muster without my feet under me. The blades clanged and I felt something give.
I landed with another roll and came to a hunkered position, my feet back under me and my hands at the ready. I glanced to my blade, expecting to find it shattered.
It was still intact.
I looked to the Valkyrie and she held her bloody hand in her other hand, her blade shattered and scattered across the ground.
I thrust my blade out at her and yelled, “Yield!”
She bowed slightly then glanced over her shoulder. There were no reinforcements. She looked to the ground then up at me. “I yield for no god.”
I felt time slow down again. I watched as she poised to jump back up into the air. My hand thrust outward and I caught her by the ankle. I jerked hard and pulled her back to the ground. I planted my booted foot across her chest and held the blade to her throat.
“Yield or die.”
She squared her jaw and glared at me. “It is a warrior’s death for me.”
I held the vibrating blade to her throat and for a brief moment, I wanted nothing more than to push the blade through the back of her neck. I caught myself and had to shake it off. This wasn’t me.
I sheathed the blade then held a hand out to her. I had no idea if she’d slap it away, run another hidden blade through it or take it. I was actually relieved when she accepted my hand and I pulled her to her feet.
I tried to position myself between her and the air, keeping the great oak to her back. “Don’t leave. Please.” I held my hands up to her, showing her that I meant no harm. “I seek only knowledge. I swear.”
She gave me a cautious stare. “What knowledge do you seek?”
I took a deep breath, praying that I could find the right words. “I need to know if a certain warrior’s soul is in Valhalla. That is all.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You are a god. You can know.”
I shook my head. “I’m…” How do I explain this? “I’m not supposed to be a god.” That obviously didn’t compute with her. “It’s a very long story. But I am just a…man. I got this…power without any knowledge of how to use it.” She still didn’t understand. I had to keep trying. “I need to know if my soul is in Valhalla.”
She shook her head at me. “If you are a man with the power of a god…how did you lose your soul?”
I sighed heavily. I knew that as soon as the words escaped my mouth she would turn against me.
Again.
“I am…draugar.”
I no sooner murmured the word and I heard her gasp. “You cannot be here!”
She jumped and took to the air again. I nearly collapsed from the rejection. I knew it was coming, but just her reaction exhausted me. I leaned against the tree and was ready to surrender. Let whatever guards or security force that Asgard held take me. Maybe after a few lifetimes in the dungeon I might find out what happened to my soul.
She circled a few times and I heard her cry out. I knew she was calling for help. My minutes were numbered.
I looked to the skyline of the city and saw what appeared to be a cloud rising. I focused on the cloud and the realization struck me like a brick wall. It wasn’t smoke. It wasn’t a dark cloud. It was Valkyries.
* * *
“Fuck this.” I closed my eyes and concentrated on Valhalla.
I opened them and stood before two great and mighty wooden doors. I needed to remember that “being a god” thing. No guards stood on either side protecting those within. I turned around slowly and saw the mighty city of Asgard spread out around the great hall.
I saw no handles or pulls on the doors. How to get in? I pulled my angel blade and stuck it between the two doors. I pried with all of my strength and one of the doors began to give. It creaked as it pulled open and I was finally able to get my fingers around the edge. I tugged and the door flew open.
I glanced into what had to be the greatest of great halls ever. Three tables ran the length until they faded from view. Platters of food and flagons of honey wine were scattered throughout and there were silver goblets at each place setting. The long benches were well worn and stained with the food and blood of those who had feasted here for centuries.
I walked into the great hall and was completely awestruck. I could smell
the smoke, the mead, the breads, the meats, the sweat and blood of the warriors who feasted here daily. This truly was heaven. It called to the fiber of my very being as my feet carried me farther into my destiny.
I could hear the laughter and talking of my people as it echoed against the hallways that entered from every direction. I ran deeper into the hall and waited. I began to see shadows along the hallways then suddenly warriors emerged, telling tales of their greatest adventures.
I was dumbfounded once more as thousands of my forefathers strode into the great hall and began making their way around the tables. The swell of men and women entering seemed to last forever.
I was still standing in the middle of the great hall, staring, when a strong hand clapped my shoulder. I spun, ready for battle again when a familiar voice yelled above the drone, “Where have you been?”
I had to do a double take before I recognized him. It was my grandfather.
“Answer me, boy! Where have you been?”
I shook my head, unable to answer. My grandfather stood before me, looking to be in his late twenties, perhaps early thirties. The last I saw him, he was old and wrinkled. “I…I have been away.” I could feel emotions swelling within me that I can’t describe. I felt my eyes fill with tears of joy.
“When Thor came for you, I thought he had a great battle for you to–”
“Thor came for me?” I cut him short. “When?”
He looked at me as though I had lost my mind. “Why…days ago. Did he not appear to you?”
I felt as though the wind had been knocked from me. My legs felt weak and I practically stumbled back and onto one of the benches.
“What’s wrong with you, boy?” My grandfather knelt beside me and grasped my hand. He stared at it for a moment then his eyes met mine. “Who are you?”
“I am your grandson. It’s me, Sven!”
He shook his head and backed away slowly. “Not my Sven.”
I suddenly found my legs and came to my feet. “It is I, grandfather.” I pulled open my long coat and drew the angel sword. “I have returned. To find my soul.”
Hunter 3 : Lost Souls Page 11
