by T. G. Ayer
Guido waved to someone at the door, and a troop of warriors entered, bearing large chests which they took to the front of the hall and began to pile on the tables.
“Because so many of you are not yet ready for training, we do not have armor to your individual specifications. You are going to have to manage with substitute armor. Again, I am sorry as some will not fit you all that well.”
Joshua looked around to find many of the warriors around him nodding, including those who still looked weak and tired. It had something to do with the way Guido was addressing them. He wasn’t barking orders at them. Instead, he was showing them a great amount of compassion.
Which was strange in an environment that was meant to be filled with military might and random berserker violence. Was this a new-age attitude, or had these warriors always treated their fellows and subordinated with this much respect?
Joshua had little time to consider his questions as he, Aimee and Aidan were called to the front, given their undergarments and armor and then helped into them.
“You may be seated as soon as you are dressed. That should take a lot of the weight off and preserve your strength for the Choosing.”
It didn’t take too long before the room of warriors were dressed and ready, and waiting patiently. A set of doors on the right-hand side of the room swung open and Joshua’s eyes widened—a reaction he noticed to be mirrored in the eyes—and open mouths—of many of the room’s occupants.
“Er…there was no door there,” whispered Jill, the purple-haired recruit, as she peered past Joshua.
Aimee chuckled. “It the magic of Asgard. Pretty neat, huh?”
“You two should probably be quiet. We don’t need to get in trouble with the guy in charge,” said Aidan suddenly, his tone low with warning.
Joshua frowned and turned to study the guy. Aidan didn’t appear to be all that much older than Joshua, possible two years if that, and yet Joshua was unable to see him as a young person. There was an intensity in him, a latent darkness that gave him the appearance of someone much older than his years.
Joshua grunted. “That’s a bit out of line. I don’t think any of us here need to be ordered around. You don’t see him doing it do you?” Joshua jerked his chin toward Guido.
Aidan’s eyes darkened, and he opened his mouth to respond, but Aimee spoke up from Joshua’s left. “Look. Not sure where you come from or what that chip on your shoulder is, but we don’t need you to order us around. We’re not in Male-Controlled Land anymore. so you don’t need to pull that superior card on us,” Aimee snapped, giving Aidan a hard glare.
But Joshua caught the lift to his lip and the half sneer that he quickly hid. The guy had issues, that was clear, and he was very very angry. He had a long way to go if he wanted to succeed as a warrior here.
Aidan shook his head and huffed, then turned to stare at the open doorway where a large cart had drawn up. The room was abuzz as the warriors all took in the sight of the eight-legged, pitch-black horse that had drawn the cart. It tossed its head and pawed the ground, seemingly impatient to get moving. Around him, Joshua heard people whisper the word ‘Sleipnir’ and had to shake his head.
Sleipnir.
Odin’s eight-legged horse? Odin had sent his own horse to fetch the weakened warriors.
Now that was pretty damn cool.
Chapter 12
An hour later, the new warriors had run through the salute they were required to perform and were then being lined up and primped inside the bright and airy Great Hall.
Joshua was in awe of Odin’s Hall, and had stared entrances around him, soaking in the architecture. With its curved-beam ceiling reaching over sixty feet above the gathered warriors and the six enormous rune-carved pillars, the Hall gave the sense of space and yet Joshua felt at home.
But there was nothing homely about the stone dais up ahead, it too edged with entrancing Norse carvings, which bore a pair of massive gray-white marble thrones, backrests rising almost eighteen feet. It all had had him lost for words for a while.
He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to being within the Hall, but he supposed that most things, even the amazing ones, tended to lose their grandiosity over time.
Joshua had suffered a moment of disappointment when he’d been met with the sight of dozens of eight-legged horsed prancing along the roads and the entrance to the great castle.
He and Aimee had deduced that Sleipnir was likely a species name and not the moniker of one particularly magical horse. They decided that they could deal with that adjustment of the Norse legends merely because the horses themselves were so motherfluffin‘ amazing to behold.
Senior warriors walked up and down the line, inspecting the warriors’ dress, their expressions serious enough to make Joshua’s stomach harden. He looked to his left and caught sight of Jill fiddling with her helmet, her purple hair slipping past the rim.
The stern warrior who’d been walking the line came to a sudden halt in front of her and grabbed the helmet off her head. Aimee stiffened beside Joshua, and he touched her arm, hoping she’d wait before she yelled at the warrior who was already stalking off down the line.
Moments later, she returned with a different helmet. She leaned toward Jill who nodded and then tilted her head forward. Joshua was amazed as he watched the tall warrior twist and secure Jill’s hair and then settle the new helmet onto her head. With a satisfied nod, the warrior walked off, and Aimee exhaled deeply.
“See?” Joshua whispered. “Things are not always what they seem.”
Aimee turned to Joshua and was about to answer him when her gaze settled on something beyond Jill’s shoulder. “Now when it comes to him, I think things are what they seem.”
Joshua shook his head and straightened, knowing without looking that she was staring at Aidan. “He’ll get what’s coming to him.”
“Like Bryn, you mean?” Aimee snapped, as if the very idea disgusted her.
“What do you have against him anyway?” Joshua asked, then followed that question with another. “Why are you so protective of her?”
“Because I watched how people treated her in school, and despite that, she rose above it all. She was elegant and decent and kind all through it. I admire a woman like that. One who isn’t waiting to put the next woman down without a second thought. Bryn is a person who would fight to the death to protect a stranger. And she doesn’t deserve a lying asshole like him. Especially not one she seems to have feelings for.”
Joshua wasn’t sure how to respond. Aimee was right about everything including Aidan. But he was saved from responding as a horn rang out, the sound echoing around the hall. The warriors all came to attention as a shimmering light appeared on the dais before them.
A tall man appeared, his armor golden, his staff shimmering as he held it out to the occupants of the hall in silent greeting. One eye was covered by a golden eye-patch, and Joshua suppressed the urge to follow Aimee’s ‘Wow’ with one of his own.
Joshua noticed the god did not take a throne and instead stood to the side of one as a second column of light shimmered and the form of a woman took shape. Stunningly beautiful, Frigga bestowed the crowd with a loving smile and took a seat on the throne beside her husband.
Just then, the sound of marching boots neared the doorway.
A woman rode in on a sleipnir in front of a procession of valkyries, her skin glinting with gold. Her entire dress was made of what looked like gold chainmail, and a glance at Aimee confirmed that she was drooling in her mind. “Wow,” she whispered as the woman drew closer. “And Freya is a stunner too,” Aimee said in admiration.
Joshua conceded that the goddess was beautiful, but his eyes were on another valkyrie who’d been walking close to Freya’s side. Bryn looked stunning herself in her bronze armor and with her red wings flaring out at her back.
Joshua swallowed and shook his head, still unable to process the reality that Bryn was a valkyrie. That Bryn had wings. That Bryn was here in Asgard.
The p
rocession slowed as Freya stopped her sleipnir and slid off. She headed up to the dais and sat beside Frigga on the empty throne. Odd that Odin would offer his throne to Freya, but Joshua figured the wise old god would have his reasons.
Right now, Freya looked very much at home on the throne, smiling serenely at the gathered warriors. She waited as her valkyries filled the right-hand side of the hall and then Odin took a step forward.
“Goddess Freya,” Odin said, his loud voice echoing around the hall despite the incredibly high ceiling, “your people are gathered here to welcome you home for the Choosing. The goddess Frigga is ready to aid your choice.”
Joshua watched with no small amount of impatience as the two goddesses discussed and made their individual selections of warriors within the hall. Warriors bustled around as Freya and Frigga chose battalion after battalion as their own, sometimes conferring, sometimes not.
After a time, just under half the entire contingent of warriors present in the hall had shifted around to stand before the dais. Once they’d arranged themselves, Freya got to her feet and descended the dais, heading over to the gathered valkyries.
When she paused in front of Bryn, something in her expression terrified Joshua. The goddess leaned toward Bryn, and they spoke briefly. Then Freya headed back to the dais where she turned to the gathering.
“It would be remiss of me not to thank those who have helped to care for, and train, my Warriors,” she said. “To the Valkyries, my strong women warriors. And to Fenrir and his remarkable team, for honing them into powerful and strong soldiers who can help defend the House of Odin.”
Warriors around the Hall began to cheer, and the valkyries joined in too. The feeling was of mutual joy, but Joshua felt nothing as he stared at Freya, fear for Bryn filling his heart.
“And this brings me to a decision that I have made just this morning. I usually only make the Choosing from the trained Warriors. But sometimes, I see a Warrior who is so worthy that it really does not matter if he is not fully healed or fully trained. It does not happen often, but today there is one Warrior whom I want. With the All-Father’s blessing, of course.”
Odin appeared confused as he stared at Freya. The god’s expression wasn’t completely benign but he nodded, and Freya continued, “The Warrior I have chosen is so new to Valhalla that he is still recovering, so I will go to him.”
Joshua’s heart beat faster as Freya descended the dais and walked over to the small contingent of new warriors. Beside him, the redheaded girl weaved on her feet, clearly fatigued after having to stand so long. Joshua gripped her elbow, giving her a little support, long enough that she took a breath and stabilized herself.
Freya came straight to Joshua, pausing to study his face. He could see her glistening skin so clearly, feel the power that emanated from her. He knew the sight of her would enchant anyone with a pulse, but for some reason, she didn’t appeal to him one bit. What she did do was make him tense and almost angry, although he didn’t know exactly why.
But, without a word, Freya moved on to Aimee, who stared the goddess down as if daring her to choose Aimee. Only when Freya moved on did Aimee heave a sigh of relief. Joshua hid his smile. Freya moved further down the line and stopped in front of Aidan.
And suddenly it began to make sense to Joshua.
He wasn’t surprised when Freya lifted her hand up to Aidan, giving him an almost seductive smile. Aidan bowed over her hand and kissed her knuckles, and Joshua shook his head at the incongruity of it all. The guy looked entranced by the goddess, besotted more like.
Then, when Aidan finally straightened and released the goddess’s hand, Freya reached for his arm and gripped it tightly.
And her voice rang out around the hall. “You, Aidan Lee, are my chosen Warrior.”
Joshua’s blood raged, and he almost missed Aimee’s words.
“Well, knock me over with a motherfluffin’ rose petal, why don’t ya.”
Joshua couldn’t have said it better himself.
Chapter 13
Joshua stood in the emptying hall, wondering what had just happened.
Bryn had left the hall, hurrying after Freya as she’d departed. He’d assumed she’d gone off to meet Freya, but he had no idea as to why—well maybe he did have an idea. It had to do with Aidan, that much Joshua was certain of.
Aidan had disappeared with Freya, walking along with the goddess holding on to his arm as though he were her consort or something.
“What the heck just happened?” asked Aimee, apparently her emotions mirroring Joshua’s. “That is not what I’d expected when we were told Freya was meeting us.” Her eyes were wide as she stared out the great doors.
“I’m not sure, but I have a feeling whatever it is, it won’t be good for Bryn.”
“Yeah, I saw how Freya looked at her. Almost the way a snake looks at a tasty morsel.”
Joshua snorted. “That pretty much sums up my impression of her too. Which makes me worried for Bryn.”
Aimee shook her head. “Me too. But I don’t think Odin will let Freya just hurt his valkyries.”
Joshua wasn’t in a position to guess. Nor did he didn’t get a chance to reply. A senior warrior waved for them to head to the door and they obeyed and headed out of the great hall, jostled on all sides by warriors and valkyries in armor.
Joshua straightened and rolled his shoulders back. His armor weighed him down, and he winced. “How the hell is a person supposed to fight in this thing?” he asked, frowning.
Aimee squinted at him, but he wasn’t sure if it was just the bright sunshine that forced her eyes to half closed. “You were pulled into it too early. I wasn’t sure why we needed to be here. From what I heard, new warriors are never brought to a choosing, mainly because we’re far too weak.”
“Tell me about it,” mumbled Jill as she closed in on them. Beside her was Karim whose face still looked pained. Jill held her side and winced. “I’m still getting back to being in one piece. I’m going to have to sleep for a week to get over this effort.”
Aimee glanced over at the purple-haired girl. “We should get everyone back to Valhalla immediately. I think we all need a rest.”
“You don’t look like you need it,” said Karim, a tone of envy or perhaps anger in his voice. Joshua studied the guy and wondered what his story was. Then he gave a mental shrug. The warriors were slowly regaining their memories and talking about their past lives as they healed. He’d figured the prince would relax and mingle with the commoners soon enough, but Karim had shown no sign of it yet.
Aimee smiled amiably. “Trust me, I do. I only did one day of training proper. And then it was to just walk around a muddy field trying to wave a sword in front of me without falling on my face, or worse chopping off an arm or a nose.”
Jill laughed, and Joshua cracked a smiled.
Aimee raised her hands. “What I’m saying is that we’ll all get there no matter where we are in the journey. We just need to be patient.”
“What if you don’t want to be patient. What if you don’t even want to be here?” asked Karim, his eyes dark with frustration.
Aimee glanced over at Joshua, her eyes begging for help, but before he could answer, the group was jostled by a tall blonde valkyrie. Her white wings and armor gave her away, and her blue eyes flashed as she glared at them. “Keep walking or move aside,” she snapped as she pushed past them. Then she paused and turned on her heel. “I know you two.” She pointed at Joshua and Aimee. “You are from Brynhildr’s home town, are you not?”
Aimee pursed her lips, noncommittal. “We know a Bryn from our hometown, yes. Can’t say that I knew her well. Met her once.” She shrugged and glanced over at Joshua.
The valkyrie sneered, making her beautiful features look somewhat scary. “You do not need to lie to me, you know. I saw her come to speak to you in the infirmary so you cannot deny you know her.”
Joshua straightened and stared at the valkyrie. “So what if we knew her? What’s it to you?”
The woman’s lip curled. “People here do not get free rides. Bryn’s had a golden ticket from the moment she entered Asgard and a lot of people are not happy about it. She is a modern teenager for Freya’s sake. What does she know about being a valkyrie, let alone doing Freya’s bidding?” The valkyrie’s tone was harsh and filled with bitterness. “It will be interesting to see if she returns alive from her quest. Serves her right for stealing a piece of Brisingamen.”
“Astrid?” Another Valkyrie stopped beside the blonde and narrowed her gray eyes at her. She seemed familiar, and Joshua frowned as he tried to place her face.
The blonde—Astrid—shifted to face the newcomer who faced the taller valkyrie down, her silvery-gray wings shivering at her back, seeming to resonate a power that impressed Joshua no end.
“Whatever you are up to,” snapped the gray-winged fury, “I have to warn you that the All-Father will not be pleased. You are risking your position as Valkyrie in Asgard with your behavior.”
Astrid tossed her blonde ponytail over her shoulder and sniffed. “Of course, you would side with her. What is she, Sigrun? Your new little pet project? You retrieved her, did you not? So I am guessing you are playing babysitter and guard dog as well.”
Sigrun? This was who Bryn had referred to as having helped her get into Valhalla.
Joshua watched as Sigrun shook her head and smiled serenely at the venomous valkyrie. “I think we all have better things to do than to stand here listening to Astrid’s bitterness and jealousy.” She took a deep breath and scanned the warriors who’d all remained in place, watching the performance despite the fatigue they were feeling. She nodded and then clapped her hands. “It is time for you lot to get some rest. Come with me,” she said, waving at them as she turned and walked toward Valhalla.
