The Valkyrie's Guardian

by Moriah Densley

  What was it with Jack and animals? People said that animals sense a person’s character, so maybe Jack’s attracted them. Or maybe because he was pretty much an animal himself, so all sorts of fauna followed after him to check out his funky smell.

  She stared at Jack and waited for him look up and see her. Their gazes locked and his expression went serious. He shrugged out of his buddies’ hold and limp-hopped over to her. She wriggled out of Kyros’ arms, relieved to find she could stand. Jack grabbed her and folded her into his arms, snug against his chest. His heart hammered a jagged beat which hers matched. He choked, fighting back tears, the struggle shielded from view with his face buried in her hair. His embrace was firm yet gentle, careful not to hurt her.

  His fingers cupped the back of her head and he crushed his mouth down on hers in a bitter-tangy kiss she would never forget. It was joyous, desperate, its energy deep and rowdy. He kissed like an angry husband. She kissed him back gently like an apology, relishing the contact.

  For a few ugly minutes, she’d been certain she would never do this again. She would take his wrath — she deserved it. Not that she regretted what she’d done. He nipped her bottom lip and stroked it with the tip of his tongue. His lips rolled against hers in a sexy, slow slide that promised more to come. Then he pecked her with a hard kiss square on her lips like a punctuation mark.

  Prelude to an argument.

  “You are in the biggest trouble of your life, Cassiopeia MacGunn.”

  She couldn’t help it, she grinned.

  “I mean it! I should turn ye over my knee and spank yer arse hard. Wipe that smile off your face, lass. I’ve never been more pissed off in my entire life!”

  A seductive wave of heat flared between them, a pleasant tension that made her want to pull him even closer despite being locked in his arms.

  “Why don’t we take this inside?” She bounced a brow at him and winked. It made him angrier. She grazed her nails over his jaw, tickling his skin through his ever-present five-o’clock shadow.

  “Yes, please!” called Ben, followed by a chorus of grumbling and chuckling.

  Jack groaned and looked at the sky, and she knew she’d won.

  • • •

  Movie stars smoked a cigarette in bed in morning-after scenes. Jack munched on carrots.

  Cassie smiled and propped her hands on his chest, ducking to bite the end off the carrot sticking out between his lips. He growled low in his throat, a feline sound which translated, That’s hot, baby.

  He rubbed a warm hand up and down her side. She heard him contemplating taking the boat out to the lake once they returned home. Normal, leisurely thoughts for a Saturday morning — refreshing. Cassie laid her head over his heart and listened to the noisy slow drumming. Such a strong, healthy rhythm, music to her ears as both a doctor and a wife. The sound of security.

  She felt guilty being so happy when there were people in the household still healing and others who grieved. Well, she was mostly happy. She needed to see Lyssa and ask her to tell the truth about the baby, but she just wasn’t ready for bad news yet.

  This is nice, Jack commented lazily, kneading down her side again. He meant the extra five pregnancy pounds she’d already packed on, in all the right places.

  Oh, no. She’d have to tell him. Would she strike him dead if he acted relieved at the news she’d lost the baby? Or would it be worse if he hung his head and wept? There was something unbearable about seeing a strong man cry. She didn’t think she could take it.

  “To give or reveal confidential or incriminating information,” came a raspy young voice, muffled through the door.

  Jack startled, then threw his head back onto the pillow. “Cheese? Not now. Remember when I talked to you about staying away when I’m in bed with my wife?”

  Cassie jabbed him in the ribs. Can you at least try to be age-appropriate?

  “Coition in a sexual relation, coupling, especially — ”

  Cassie thumped her forehead and shot a death-by-lightning expression at Jack. The kid was messed up enough already.

  Jack snorted. “Yeah, you got it. So not right now, okay? We’ll come see you later.”

  Henry’s voice rose, adorable with pint-sized indignation. “To consider or examine by argument, comment, to talk over, especially to explore solutions, debate — ”

  Just let him in, Jack.

  “Fine! You little bugger. Hang on a minute.”

  “To speak informally with another, exchange views or opinions by talking.” Henry sounded anxious.

  “Hey, I have to put some pants on, okay?” Jack called.

  Cassie couldn’t find her shirt. Jack pulled it down from the light fixture and tossed it in her lap, with one more salacious glance and a wink.

  Jack opened the door and Henry stumbled through — he’d been plastered against the door. Henry dashed to the bed and threw himself face-down in Cassie’s lap. He exhaled in shaky breaths, his hands trembling. She stroked his head and muttered nonsense in a low voice; she couldn’t think of what else to do.

  “What’s the matter, Henry? Are you all right?”

  His tiny voice came muted from her lap, “Word over all, beautiful as the sky. Beautiful that war and all its deeds of carnage must in time be utterly lost. That the hands of the sisters Death and Night, incessantly, softly wash again and ever again, this soiled world.”

  “That’s beautiful, Henry.” She exchanged glances with Jack, who totally didn’t get it. Dona Nobis Pacem, lyrics from a musical work about war and reconciliation. “You saw terrible things yesterday. I’m sorry for that.”

  He tossed his head. “Deserving reproach or censure, blameworthy.”

  “No! Henry, that’s not true. An evil man exploited your power. No one faults you.”

  “Full of grave risk or peril, hazardous, dangerous.”

  Jack scoffed and leaned back against the wall. “Join the club, Cheese. Everyone at Network-One is dangerous.” He rubbed Henry’s shoulder in the rough way men show awkward affection. “Hell, that wasn’t even the first time a kid blew up an academy.”

  Cassie rolled her eyes. What is wrong with you?

  Jack shrugged. What? Just trying to help.

  “And may the sin of your servant have forgiveness, for the Lord will make thy house strong, inasmuch as my master fights in the Lord’s war.”

  “Henry, I will buy you a lifetime supply of busted radios if you will just talk like a normal kid. Try it, buddy. Say, ‘I want a Twinkie.’ ”

  Jack, shut up. “Henry, you’re not in trouble, sweetheart.”

  “Reparation made by giving an equivalent or compensation for loss, damage, or injury caused.” He crawled to Jack and pawed at his leg. Jack scrambled out of the way, cursing under his breath. Cassie warned him to be still. Henry seemed earnest, and she wanted to see where this would go.

  He tugged Jack’s pant leg until Jack leaned over and pulled it up over his knee, hissing as Henry pushed impatiently.

  Totally weirded out here.

  Just go with it, Jack.

  Henry blinked and muttered as he poked the swollen, bruised joint. Pink scars scored the sides of his kneecap where Kyros and Cassie had repaired what they could with surgery yesterday. No one had dared speak aloud what they all knew: Jack’s leg was hamburger, and he’d never be the same.

  Jack held his breath as Henry laid an ear to his knee. Nothing happened for a full minute, then Henry looked sideways at Cassie and whispered, “Contribute strength or means to render assistance.”

  “Okay.” Cassie moved next to Jack on the bed. She slipped inside Jack’s mind and worked her way down to his knee, honing her mind the way a microscope zooms in to focus on the miniscule world of cells. Awareness blossomed as her probing met Henry’s presence. His was brilliant and intense, his energy a complex f
orce unfamiliar to her. A strange sensation as he merged with her mind, like a piggy back ride. It was uncomfortable at first, like trying to carry something heavy and awkwardly-sized.

  Jack kept squirming, his breath too rapid. She knew he felt the teeming energy, tingling, penetrating deep through blood, muscle and bone. It generated heat, but like a healing balm.

  Cassie? What’s going on?

  Shh. I’m concentrating. Sit still. She worked side by side with Henry, fascinated by the explosive dimension he’d opened. She was accustomed to working with electrical impulses, fluids and cells. Henry’s power succeeded where hers fell short, because he operated on a sub-atomic level. He commanded the matter to transform, and the beautiful circuitry of particles zinged and rotated at his bidding. Physics on steroids, even like nanotech. Kyros would freak out.

  She worked quickly, managing all the repairs she’d wished she could have done yesterday, racing against the fatigue beating her down. Henry nudged her impatiently, and she felt like a freshman stuck in a theoretical calculus exam. She thought askance that Henry was wise to always keep his mind shielded. He’d mow everyone over with this kind of power unleashed.

  At last she and Henry agreed it was done, and Jack eased back onto the mattress as the pain subsided. Cassie murmured her thanks and curled up on Jack’s shoulder, unable to hold back the exhaustion any longer. She drifted pleasantly, high on the wonder of working a miracle.

  “Progeny.”

  “Hmm?” was all she could manage.

  “Fire and Ice. Shield maiden of Odin.”

  Cassie blinked awake with a jolt. “You can hear the baby? Is she okay?”

  “She?” Jack half-shouted.

  Sorry, I didn’t get a chance to tell you. Lyssa said she heard a female presence.

  Henry shook his head. “Children of Odin.”

  “Right, it’s a valkyrie, a female.”

  Henry scowled then pounded his forehead on the mattress.

  She stilled him with a hand on his shoulder. “What is it? If you don’t want to tell me bad news, you don’t have to. It’s okay.” Cassie turned her face to Jack’s, hating the knowing expression he wore. I might have lost the baby yesterday, Kyros wouldn’t say.

  “Jack and Jill went up a hill to fetch a pail of water!” Henry shouted, his fists clenched.

  It felt like a bad game of charades.

  “Cassie, I think he means twins.” Jack scrubbed his face with his hands. “Is that what you mean, Cheese?”

  “Expressing agreement or assent,” Henry sighed, as though they were the two stupidest people in the whole world.

  Her mouth hung open. Unattractive, she knew, but even if she managed to move her mouth, her brain wouldn’t process the words. Jack gusted a few heavy breaths then burst out laughing. It was the unhinged sound of a maniac, nothing in common with mirth.

  “Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice.”

  Cassie fought to calm the prickling behind her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. “I know, Henry. I’m not scared.”

  He shook his head again. “Fire and Ice. A state of equilibrium.”

  “Okay. I get it. Hang on, okay?” Lyssa! Can you come?

  Lyssa’s mental voice answered from somewhere upstairs. Sure. Everything all right?

  Maybe.

  The two minutes and twelve seconds before Lyssa came through the door were the longest of Cassie’s life. She explained what went on with Henry. “Can you hear it, too? Do you know what he means?”

  Lyssa knelt, closed her eyes and touched Cassie’s belly. A smile turned up the corners of her mouth, and she chuckled in an irritatingly delighted tone. “Oh, wow. This is new.” She squinted in concentration, and Cassie fought the urge to shout, What? What?

  “Her voice is louder. This is going to sound so weird, but I think she’s younger, by weeks. Because behind her is the boy. He’s quiet, and he’s huge. Not just his size, but his development. Like two months. The girl is more like one month. I can hardly believe it, Cass, but you do have twins.” She looked up and smiled with misty eyes. “Congratulations, mommy and daddy.”

  Cassie went dizzy and thought she might pass out. She put a hand to her forehead and fought the swoon. The heavy thud on the floor meant Jack wasn’t so lucky. “That went over well.”

  Lyssa bit back a smile. “He should have stuck around for the punchline. Equilibrium, fire and ice. I can see now what Henry means. The two babies soothe each other. Their energy works like yin and yang. With any luck, it should mean an easier time for you.”

  “Only two months along and I can’t even jog half a mile without contractions doubling me over.”

  “I’m no expert, but you’re carrying twins. Extra-sentient twins. I don’t think you’re supposed to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Bed rest is probably in order. Lots of it.”

  “Shoot me now.”

  Lyssa laughed as Jack came to and pulled himself back onto the bed, looking shell-shocked. “I think you’re going to be fine, but Jack will need the anesthesia.” Everyone but Jack thought it was funny.

  Lyssa hugged Cassie tightly and whispered, I am so happy for you, then ushered Henry out the door, leaving Jack and Cassie alone again.

  “Jack, please tell me you’re happy.”

  “Of course I’m happy.” He said it in the same tone he would say, I hate traffic! “Sorry.” He sighed and squeezed his temples. “I’m sorry, Cass. I was scared to death before this.” He closed his eyes and confessed, “I can’t lose you.”

  “Don’t talk like that.” She balanced her hands on his shoulders and straddled his lap. “Whether it’s tomorrow, eight months from now or eighty years, I will die without regrets. I already have everything I want, Jack. You make me so happy, it’s enough for me. I love you.”

  “Loan me half of your courage and I’ll make it through, lass.” He kissed her temple and drew a deep breath with his nose pressed to her hair. Tha gaol agam ort-fhèin, anam cara.

  You say things in Gaelic with such a sexy voice, how do I know you’re not teasing me?

  I said I love you too, and called you ‘anam cara,’ my soul mate.

  Hmm. Okay now shut up, I want to fall asleep with that fresh in my mind. Say it again.

  Anam cara.

  Epilogue

  Cassie took one bite of her chocolate birthday cake and her stomach heaved. She smiled, because this time it didn’t mean she was pregnant. Hallelujah.

  Eighteen-month-old Max sat on her foot, cheerfully tying her shoelaces in knots. Three-year-old William and Maggie raced up and down the hallway upstairs, rattling the light fixtures in the dining room below. Cassie had quit yelling for them to calm down an hour ago; it was a lost cause. Jack was coming home tonight — any moment now, and they were excited.

  She sampled the frosting on her finger just to be sure. Even more revolting than the cake. Ever since the twins were born she’d had a suspicion, which she tested occasionally. The way her C-section scars had healed, her shifting appetite, how her body reacted to artificial flavoring and preservatives … she might be immortal. Either she was late in developing it, or she had Jack to thank for it.

  Kyros had confirmed that her blood composition still closely resembled Jack’s, and theorized her physiology had been altered by the exchange of genetic material while the children developed in utero. She’d wondered the same. It was a matter of wait-and-see. Most immortal extra-sentients knew it when their driver license looked like a joke.

  When most men were balding and softening around the middle, Jack still looked every bit the collegiate football star. Since she’d proven able to survive bearing his children, it was nice to know she could have the rest of her fairytale and live forever with him. Cassie knew forever meant until their luck ran out, but that was the uncertainty every soldier�
��s family lived with.

  It never got easier, the waiting and wondering when Jack deployed. His scent lingered on his pillow and it fooled her brain into imagining his comfort as she slept, but that only lasted a week or so before it faded. Sometimes she could point to a spot on the globe with a toy airplane and say to the kids, Daddy flew on an airplane, all the way over here. Other times he left the same minute his pager went off and came home as mysteriously, and she had to guess where he’d been by unpacking his gear. Even harder to wear a poker face when Chief called her in to heal an operator, and she saw first-hand what the team went up against.

  Yes, any minute now. She couldn’t wait. Cassie looked over the kitchen, having just won a battle versus two days’ worth of stinky dishes. She had their humble three-bedroom suburban house looking as well as could be expected, considering the offspring she wrangled on a daily basis.

  After a nasty argument with Jack over money, involving his pay grade, her inheritance, and interference from Kyros, she insisted on being a housewife. She’d proven she wasn’t a snob, and it was worth it just to shut him up on the subject. He’d quit sulking after only one day, when he came home to find her wearing his apron and nothing else. So she stayed home with the kids and hadn’t looked back.

  Maybe someday she would try a career in a fast-paced, high-stakes field, work for some agency with an official-sounding acronym as a name … but after Will and Maggie had dismantled the trampoline in the backyard last week, she decided she had all the excitement she could handle for now. Between the kids and the occasional call from SEAL Team Three, she had her hands full. Besides, her children would only be little for such a short time, and she didn’t want to miss it.

  The sound of the garage door opening brought the twins down the stairs with all the commotion of a Roman chariot race. She heard a thud, a crash, then high-pitched arguing voices. Sounded like she’d have to patch the drywall again. She goalie-snatched Will and Maggie, wiped the nose of one and tied the shoe of the other, then they were off again.

  She heard Jack shout, “Look out, it’s the cavalry!” The kids cheered as he picked them up. “Where’s our birthday girl, huh?”