It couldn’t be me.
The sound was hideous. It was a high-pitched keening, over and over again. I came to in a rush, my eyes flicking open just in time to see several demons dart away from the altar. Away from me.
That’s right, get the hell away from me!
My body throbbed, the pain immeasurable. I couldn’t believe I wasn’t dead. My entire soul screamed in wretched, numbing agony. The demons had taken flesh from everywhere. The blood loss was too much, the damage too great. I wasn’t going to make it. As it was, I was barely cognizant.
Why was I awake?
I couldn’t bring myself to gaze down the length of my battered body to see the damage. I was too scared. But I wasn’t going to be conscious for very long, so it didn’t matter.
Surtr stood over me with his sword raised.
Just end it already.
I tried to focus on him, but my vision swam. He yelled something to his demons, but could they even hear over the horrible screeching?
Someone stop that insufferable noise!
The demons were retreating in droves, some of them running. Surtr was furious. He wasn’t paying attention to me.
That’s odd, because he’s supposed to be killing me, right?
With supreme effort, I turned my head to see what the leader of the demons glared at, snarling with his fiery sword raised for battle.
Fen? Is it Fen?
I’m sorry, Fen. But you’re too late. There’s nothing left.
Not Fen.
So not Fen.
The thing speeding toward us looked deadly. My adrenaline jumped at the sight, even though my body was too injured to do anything about it. My eyes tightened, forcing the muscles to focus harder.
Its sleek, black body slithered along the ground, up and over obstacles like they weren’t there, crushing things in its path, lashing out with its tail, sending demons flying, demolishing shacks with one strike. I blinked.
That can’t be right. Why is everything here black? It’s a cruel joke.
It slithered closer. It had no fear.
It was the biggest snake I’d ever seen.
Behind it, another one advanced in its wake. Then two more.
No. No. No.
Didn’t they understand? There was nothing else they could do to me! They’d done it all. They didn’t need to bring in the terrifying snakes. They had broken me fine without them. They had torn and ripped my skin, drank my blood. There was nothing left for Verdandi to crush. I smiled at that. Nothing left for you, witch.
“Jondi! Jondi!” the demons screamed in their garbled voices.
Surtr’s lofted sword trembled above my head. The serpents were almost to the altar. The keening noise was overpowering. I still didn’t know who was making it. I heard a strange pop and felt blood flow out of my ear.
Hurts.
My vision faltered. Sounds around me grew shallow. My heartbeat was the only thing I heard. Thump…thump…thump.
“Releasssse…her.”
I forced my eyes back open. Was that the snake? Did it just speak? No. Impossible. But, Phoebe, everything can talk here! Even demons! I tried to laugh. Nothing came out. Awful place. Nothing should talk.
Something pressed against my body.
It didn’t crush me, but it was rough and it hurt. I called out in pain. Surtr was shouting again. He wasn’t next to me anymore.
I tried to focus, but everything in front of me was black. Black with smooth, shimmery scales. Holy crap, the snake was next to me! Actually, it was sort of bowed over me, pressing against my side, its gigantic head towering above the altar.
It had driven Surtr back.
I could feel its malice. Nothing good could come from this.
Are you going to eat me? Please, snake, do it quickly.
“Valkyrie!”
The snake sounds like Fen? That was funny. A small giggle escaped my mouth.
“Valkyrie, I’m here!” A hand landed on the top of my head, the only place the awful demons hadn’t sunk their terrible teeth. Didn’t want to get hair in their precious mouths, too unsuitable to chomp. Must get caught in their throats.
A soft voice was next to my ear. “I am so sorry, shieldmaiden. I failed you. But I’m here now.”
“Snake.” The sound was so small, I wondered if I’d spoken it out loud at all.
“Yes, snakes. I made an alliance with the Jondi serpents. It was the only way to gain entrance quickly. They will protect us now.”
He was here. Nice to have someone to hold my hand in the end.
“Valkyrie, I need to lift you. This is going to hurt.” His arms slid underneath my body.
I screamed. Almost gone. I struggled. Needed to tell him not to worry. It wasn’t his fault. Don’t bother trying to save me. Hurts too much.
“What is it, Valkyrie? You have to stop struggling.” His head hovered above my mouth.
“There’s nothing…left to save.”
* * *
It’s wet. I can’t see. I lash out. It hurts so much.
“Shhh,” a voice soothes me. “It will get better. You are healing.”
“No,” I moaned, thrashing. “Can’t.”
“Yes, Valkyrie. You can.”
Blackness.
* * *
Water lapped at my neck. I didn’t know how long I’d been out. I was on my back. It was warm. It felt good, even though I still hurt.
I opened my eyes.
“Welcome back.” Fen grinned above me.
“What?” my voiced croaked, my vocal cords stiff. I swallowed and tried again. “Where am I?”
“We are in the healing pool, shieldmaiden. You’ve been…mending for a long while.” Fen’s voice held the hint of a growl. His arms were strong, supporting my weight easily.
I felt a sense of déjà vu.
Had we been in the pool the whole time? Bragnon’s bite had to be better by now.
Then it all came rushing back. This horrible world, all the hideous creatures, my capture, my torture, snakes, demons. I splashed and grabbed on to Fen’s shoulder, glancing around the cave. “What if they come back?” I craned my head toward the entrance. “Why are we still in here? I can’t go through that again! I can’t believe I’m not dead already. We have to get away. Right now!” I was babbling like an idiot, but I didn’t care. I wanted out of here. Had to get out of here.
“It’s going to be okay, Valkyrie. Calm yourself. The Jondi serpents patrol the entrances now. We are safe for the time being. You are still weak. Please relax.”
I did a solid once-over around the small cave again, still clutching Fen’s shoulders, just to make absolute sure, then reluctantly lay back down.
Water lapped over my exposed breasts, my nipples hardening from having been exposed to the cooler air. Cooler should’ve been an oxymoron in this place, because it was hot or hotter. “Oh my gods, I’m naked! Why am I naked?” I shot out of Fen’s arms, searching for footing on the pool floor, and failed badly.
My legs were as weak as a newborn’s. The extent of my injuries seared up my spine, crippling me as I put pressure on the balls of my feet. I flailed, my arms windmilling as I slowly slid under.
Large hands grabbed me and eased me out of the water, cradling me carefully in powerful arms. He clearly knew I was still in pain.
He said nothing.
I coughed, spitting the putrid water out of my mouth. “Ow.” I conceded my defeat and stopped fighting. Fen looked mildly amused by my antics. In fact, he was just short of full-on laughing. “Don’t snicker at me, wolf. Being naked in your arms…” As I said those words out loud, a kernel of heat seared through me, heat that had nothing at all to do with the scalding temperature of the water. “Well…let’s just say it surprised me, okay? I wasn’t expecting to be…unclothed or…alive, for that matter.”
“Valkyrie, your nakedness does not bother me in the least.” Did his eyes just flare a teensy bit? “It would’ve been counterproductive to heal you with your clothes on. What was left of them, anyway. I
figured your life was worth more than your modesty.” His lips went up in a cocky grin. “Plus, it kept me quite…focused on my task.”
I brought my arms out of the water and settled them over my chest, covering myself. At heart, I was still a small-town girl, and thus far, I’d had limited experience being completely nude with anyone, much less an unbelievably sexy demigod—one who’d just saved my life.
Once my arms were out of the water, I spotted lots of jagged scars, ugly and thick, like a web of horribly tainted skin. “Oh.”
“They will heal,” Fen said softly.
“How long have I been in…here?”
“Five days.”
“What?” The wounds the nasty demons gave me were healed over, it was true, but Bragnon’s bite and Fen’s cut from Gram had healed in mere moments compared to this. “Why…why has it taken so long?” I stammered, the ordeal rushing back through my mind like flickering scenes from a movie. I closed my eyes, a single finger up in the air. I needed a moment. The memory was solid, but my brain had the decency to change it slightly, making it seem like I’d been a spectator instead of re-living the vicious assault again. I was grateful, but it was strange.
Fen stayed quiet, his strong arms supporting me.
Once I was ready, I opened my eyes. I needed to swallow a few times before I spoke. “How come it’s taken me so long to mend?”
“The demons used their onyx stones to cut you. They are sacred here because they resist healing. That’s why they use them. That way they are able to inflict as much damage as possible. I told you, shieldmaiden, they don’t fool around when it comes to torture.” I shuddered, the water rippling softly around me. No, no they didn’t. “The stone leaves a residue behind that reacts negatively with the solay, these healing waters, so it keeps hurting you instead of healing you.”
“But my arms are scarred over.” Kind of. “If the onyx keeps your tissue from healing, why are they all closed up?” I was in pain, but it was a lingering ache, not a tissue-shriveling kind of pain.
Fen looked uncomfortable for a moment. “I had no choice but to cut the residue out.”
Ohmygods!
“When you say cut, what…exactly do you mean?” My stomach lurched. There couldn’t have been much to cut. I’d been filleted by those demons, my body bitten, sliced, and consumed. What had been left to slice out?
Fen’s eyes darkened with emotion. “I couldn’t let you die like that. It was lucky you had the dagger with you, though how you obtained it is still beyond me. Odin guards his treasures well. If it hadn’t been here, you wouldn’t be alive.”
“You used Gram?” I swallowed. “To slice and dice me?”
“I had no other choice, Valkyrie,” he replied quietly. “It was either that, or let you perish.”
I glanced away.
How hard could that have been for him? I wasn’t sure I could even do such a thing if he needed the same from me. It must have been awful. Thank goodness I’d stayed unconscious. Small favors, and all that.
By my count, he’d saved my life three times already.
Without thinking, I brought a hand up to his face, forgetting my nakedness for a moment. My fingers connected with his smooth skin, and energy rushed out to greet me. I brushed an errant piece of hair off his forehead, and he closed his eyes. I murmured, “It must have been horrible for you. But thank you. I’m happy to be alive, but I’m sorry you had to do such a hard thing.”
Fen’s eyes flew open. He looked slightly appalled by my words. “You’re sorry? Valkyrie, I diced you up. You shouldn’t thank me just yet.” His voice was rough. “It was hard to see where to cut, even with the aid of the dagger. There are no guarantees that you will be completely whole again.” He cleared his throat and glanced away. “But I did it to the best of my ability.”
“I don’t care if I’m scarred.” I really didn’t. “I’m lucky to be alive. And I have only you to thank for that. And, by the way, my name is Phoebe.”
“What?” Fen looked a little flustered at the change of topic, his gaze intense on mine.
“You always refer to me as Valkyrie or shieldmaiden, and I just realized I never properly introduced myself. My name is Phoebe Meadows.” I covered my nakedness again with my arms. “I know it’s a little late for this, since I’m currently lying butt naked in your arms, and you’ve already saved my life three times, but now is better than never. You can call me Phoebe if you’d like.”
Fen did that grin thing with his mouth again, where it just went up on one side. Another spike of heat hit me. “Thank you…Phoebe, for your introduction. I will keep that in mind. You’ve taken to calling me Fen, which none has ever done before. You may continue. It pleases me.”
I arched a brow.
He was right. I’d shortened his name without really realizing it. Fen just made sense. Fenrir was a mouthful. I paused and considered how to phrase my next question.
Now that I was alive, I wanted to make sure I stayed that way. If this Valkyrie stuff was real, and I was one, I had to find out more. “Can I ask you something? When I was fighting against the demons, right before they took me out of this cave and after I was cut for the first time, some strange stuff happened. There was lightning and thunder. And I think I might have…released some energy? Demons flew in different directions.” I took a deep breath and kept right on going. “I really don’t know what to think. And honestly, I don’t know if I’m fully capable of handling the news if I am a Valkyrie or not, but I can’t ignore it any longer. I have to be able to defend myself next time…” I trailed off not knowing what else to add, except, man, I hoped there wasn’t a next time.
Fen’s face held a look of wonder. He shook his head slowly. “Phoebe, you really and truly don’t know what you are?”
“I really, truly don’t,” I grumbled. “It would be nice if you laid it on me.”
14
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When Fen had said my name, my arms had erupted in goose bumps. I was distracted, but listening. “There is no doubt you are a shieldmaiden. Ever since you came tumbling through my portal,” he told me, “I’ve had my suspicions about you. That’s why I didn’t kill you immediately. A normal Valkyrie, armed with a powerful weapon forged for a god, wouldn’t make it far into my lair. I can assure you. But”—he stopped, consternation showing on his face—“there was something different about you from the very start. And even though you shone brighter than any Valkyrie I’d ever seen, you didn’t threaten me. Instead, it was the opposite. I’ve been trying to puzzle it out ever since. Your humanness is at the forefront, that much is clear. You are young, just struck, correct?”
“I guess so.” I shrugged, causing my head to bob down into the water. “I didn’t realize anything important had happened. I mean, yes, I woke up in a pile of shoes, but we all thought it was faulty lighting. So, yes, I was just…struck. What does that actually mean?”
“Valkyries come into their immortality in their twenties, I believe. In order to achieve this, they are struck with an energy charge that changes their body chemistry drastically. The strike is sent by Odin himself to those he deems worthy. Not every child born of a Valkyrie becomes immortal, and Odin can choose any female from any race, in any world, and grant her the gift of immortality if he sees fit. After her strike, her human body begins to change as her Valkyrie powers rise to the forefront.”
“Okay, now wait just a goldarn minute.” I splashed my arms and tried to sit up, forgetting my nudity for the moment. I could not have this conversation lying down. Fen obliged by gliding me over to a submerged boulder. He set me down gently and moved to the other edge of the pool, crossing his arms, amusement in his eyes. “Let me get this straight,” I said once I was settled securely on the rock. “I was struck by some kind of magical energy sent from Odin that shot out of the lights in the storeroom at Macy’s, hitting me and knocking me into a pile of shoes? And because of that, I’m now immortal?”
“On y
our way to being immortal, Valkyrie. You are not there just yet.”
“How long does it take?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, not being a Valkyrie myself. But I do know that your body will need to consume energy on a regular basis to help the metamorphosis. It’s how you will survive and thrive. Without it, especially since you’re an infant, you will wither and die. You’ve been vastly depleted these last five days because of your recent…trauma. You will need to feed very soon.”
Feed? It sounded like strapping a bag on a horse. But I was hungry. Strange hungry, like my cells were starving. “How do I…feed?”
“Um…” Fen cleared his throat as he repositioned himself, crossing his legs at his ankles. “There are several ways for a Valkyrie to consume minor energy, but your main sustenance must come from Yggdrasil itself. The life force of the tree is inherent to your very creation. There will be nothing else of its likeness that will keep you alive forever. You must always be near it.”
“I didn’t see the tree the entire time the demons were ferrying me across the plane. You’d think, because of its size, it would be a hard thing to miss.” The tree had made me glow, so therefore it gave me sustenance? Totally weird. Thinking of myself as anything but Phoebe Meadows from Wisconsin was surreal. But if what Fen was saying was true, and I was a shieldmaiden, and there were more creatures like these in the worlds, I had to learn how to fight them. I didn’t want to be a victim again.
I thought of Ingrid and smiled. She would be proud. After what happened with the demons, I couldn’t risk feeling that vulnerable again. My sanity wouldn’t be up for grabs a second time. My mind skipped to the memory of the demons slicing me up, their skeletal hands brandishing the onyx against my skin, and I gagged.
Never again!
“The fire demons guard Yggdrasil fiercely,” Fen said. “There is a vast crater to the east of their kingdom. The trunk is shown only partially there. The tree manifests itself differently on every plane and has the ability to move freely when it wants to. But for as long as I’ve been here, the tree has stayed in that same location.”
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