If she was truly lucky, it would also help to show Odin just how much her love towards Helgi meant.
Although, if she were being entirely honest with herself, her magic and willpower was likely no match against Odin’s fierce presence. She pinched her lip between her thumb and forefinger. Her very happiness would come into conflict today and she worried that she would never feel its intoxicating vigour again.
“Kara.” Mist said her name softly and still, she jumped. “It’s alright.”
Her Valkyrie sister wrapped her arms around Kara, pulling her in tight. She couldn’t help herself and her shoulders shook as she allowed herself to cry. Her sobs were ugly in their intensity and Mist merely pulled her closer. Then, Kara felt other arms encircle her as more of her sisters approached.
She welcomed their touch and revelled in their embrace. Even though she had angered the gods, her sisters still supported her. No matter what, they would always stand beside her.
“We’ll do everything in our power,” Gondul whispered in her ear as the group eased apart.
How much help would they be against the All-Father? But, the power of the Valkyries combined was all they had. It was Kara and Helgi’s only hope.
The women trailed along, each holding hands with the one in front of them. Kara led the row of Valkyries and when they arrived at their grey steeds, she was feeling more confident. They wouldn’t be broken. She didn’t want this to fail. Instead, she would fight to the bitter end, look fate straight in the eye and dare it to defeat her. After all, what was Odin’s power against the fates anyway?
As she mounted her horse, Kara took a deep breath, savouring the quiet before the storm of war. Her sisters crowded around her, their beasts stamping their hooves and snorting impatiently. She was sympathetic to the horses, for she also felt desperate to be moving, ready to take on the world.
The air cooled quickly as they made their descent from Valhalla to the battlefield below. It was time. She could feel it in her bones. Something was about to happen, something that could never be altered. And, she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Her skin crawled with nervous anticipation. Yet, she wished time would slow down, that her fate wasn’t quite ready to be displayed yet.
The clouds parted and Kara got her first look at the war below. Men were already attacking each other, their blood spraying across the field, marring it. Looking around, Kara could see the ravens gathered. They always knew, they always revelled in the destruction of the battleground. Kara sneered at them, disgusted by their eager anticipation of death.
Her horse touched down on the bloody earth and she slipped quickly from the animal’s back. Kara’s grey dress trailed behind and her bare feet sunk into the muck below. Allowing her fingers to trail along the flank of her mare, Kara enjoyed this last moment before everything changed.
Summoning her magic, she brought down her glamour and took on the appearance of a swan. Her grey dress transforming into feathers and her hair drawing up into her scalp until nothing but an orange swan’s beak remained.
Raising her wings, Kara flapped them a couple of times, testing her own strength as she acclimatised to her new form. Using her muscles, she flapped her wings more confidently and rose into the air. She flew over the conflict, searching desperately for Helgi, hoping he was doing well in the battle, that she could protect him completely like she usually did.
While Kara searched, she also kept a lookout for Odin. She needed to know where he was in order to protect Helgi.
As she flew high over the battle, Kara opened her beak and began to sing. Her voice echoed out over the battle, pure in its sound. She sang with all the anguish she could muster, belting out her tune as loudly as she could so that everyone could hear it. As she gazed downwards, she could see men turning their heads to the sky, searching, mesmerized by her beautiful, intoxicating voice.
Kara continued to search while she sang. She fought against the loss of her identity, of becoming too much of the swan and losing her memory of why she was here, of what was important today. Gazing far below, she searched for her lover. She hoped that Helgi’s presence would anchor her, that it would remind the animal instincts within her that he was her mission and her only reason for existing.
There he was.
Kara was relieved to see him still battling on in the midst of war. His form glowing, summoning her, as it always did when she was in her animal form. Around him, the bodies of five men were already strewn and Kara saw him cut down another one as she flew overhead.
As she tried to hold back her animal instincts, of losing herself to flight and feather, she held onto the notion that they would make it. That their plan would work.
Until she saw Odin step out from behind a tree.
Behind him, Hromundr also revealed himself and unsheathed Mistletoe. The weapon, bearing the symbol of the Volsung clan, that she had once given to Helgi in another lifetime, the weapon that was now their foe.
The shock of the moment caused her to pause in her singing and she could swear that Odin smiled at her.
Chapter 17: HELGI
Helgi sliced through the last man, knowing that all of Hromundr’s brothers now lay dead at his feet. He wanted to turn his gaze skyward, to see Kara above him, protecting him. Yet, he didn’t dare for fear it would distract him. Hromundr hadn’t appeared yet and Helgi was already tired.
To hear her beautiful song would have to be enough for the moment.
Then, Kara’s singing paused and Helgi felt a tremor of fear. It rippled up his spine and made him want to run far away from the battleground. Instead, he forced the feeling aside and glanced around, knowing trouble had arrived, knowing that it was bad enough to have distracted Kara in her task.
Yet, he couldn’t work out from where the threat was approaching.
All around him men were starting to come back to life after being momentarily dazed by Kara’s singing. Some shook their heads as if they were attempting to clear the magic from their ears. Others struck straight back into the battle, their weapons cleaving through enemies as though there had never been a pause in the fighting.
Mud and blood and gore splattered around him and he flung his weapon out blindly as his face was pummelled with the debris of the battlefield. The sting of blood and the scratch of dirt in his eyes made he clench his jaw tightly, his teeth feeling like they could splinter apart at any moment.
Still, he swung his axe.
The noise had picked up, assaulting his ears as metal on metal sang harshly and the screams of dying men overtook everything else.
Helgi shook his head, trying to clear his vision, desperate to see his next opponent.
Was that Hromundr up ahead?
He risked swiping across his face with the back of his hand, his axe heavy as he did so. Holding his shield up high to protect himself during the task, Helgi managed to regain some vision.
Looking around, he searched desperately for Hromundr. A movement off to his left side had Helgi turning that way and he was rewarded with his first confirmation of his foe.
The man stood tall, smiling at Helgi, his arms outstretched as though goading Helgi forward. Hromundr’s clothing was still pristine, indicating he hadn’t been in the midst of battle for long.
“Your brothers are dead!” Helgi yelled at him while swinging his axe, not even sure if his words were true or not. “I took your blood in retribution for my blood. Still, it isn’t enough.”
His words were hollow, spoken only to provoke Hromundr and not because he really meant them anymore. Helgi watched as the man glanced around, absorbing the sight of the battle surrounding him. He followed Hromundr’s line of vision and saw bodies strewn everywhere, some of which could have been his siblings.
For the briefest of moments, Helgi saw grief flash across Hromundr’s face. It was quickly replaced with rage. The man rushed forward, his face becoming purple with fury and he swung his battle axe with such force that he knocked a man to his knees as he passed. Blood flew out from the fa
llen warrior and hit Helgi, obscuring his vision once more.
He didn’t have time to wipe his eyes this time and had to blindly fend for his own life. As he did so, he heard the flap of wings and knew that Kara was coming. She would help him and Helgi felt relieved at the prospect.
Swinging his axe as ferociously as Hromundr did, Helgi lunged forward, feeling the impact of a body as he struck out. A scream gargled in from of him and Helgi smiled even though the voice sounded odd.
It sounded feminine.
It sounded like Kara.
Chapter 18: KARA
The flash of burning heat from the impact threw Kara backward. As she fell, her feathers dropped away, returning once more to become her grey dress. Her hair whipped out, blinding her as she sunk downwards into the wet mud below.
She gasped with the pain, never knowing how anything could burn so greatly, or how it could make her lose her mind with the agony. Kara closed her eyes as she hissed through her teeth, another scream threatening to erupt.
“Kara! Oh, Kara. Where are you? What have I done?”
It was Helgi.
His voice was filled with anguish and Kara opened her eyes even though the wound he had inflicted seemed to consume her with its torment. She could see him, stumbling across the battleground, searching for her even though his eyes were filled with debris. Kara looked beyond him and saw Odin smirking at her. She wanted to reach out and grab Helgi’s weapon to use on the All-Father. As she glared at the god, she saw him fling another handful of muck at Helgi.
“I’m here, my love,” Kara called out even though the pain set her teeth on edge. Looking down, she could see blood gushing from the would Helgi had inflicted on her. Her dress was no longer grey, having absorbed so much of her own blood. She couldn’t believe so much spilled out from inside of her body. “Come this way, Helgi. I am over here.”
She concentrated on Helgi’s form, moving rapidly through the conflict rather than think about the pain. He stepped around corpses only staggering a couple of times. She noticed him wipe his eyes and she hoped that Odin would not appear again, ready to blind him once more.
Kara wanted Helgi to make it to her side before she died. She could feel the otherworld creeping up to greet her, siding up to her and gently caressing her as she lay in the bloody mess of the field.
Helgi struggled, his eyes now clearer but there were bodies everywhere and Kara concentrated hard to keep him protected. Everywhere she looked, her sisters had stopped their onward onslaught for new warriors and were gathering around Helgi like a protective barrier, not only against the conflict but against Odin as well.
Kara tried to smile through the agony but the effort made her cough and flecks of blood flew from her mouth as she did so.
She could see tears in her sisters’ eyes. Some had been here before, had lost her previously. Others were newer, younger, hadn’t known the rebirth cycle to which Kara was enslaved. Regardless, they all cried, tears running tracks down their faces and blurring their dark eye makeup.
Behind her sisters, Odin gathered, trying desperately to get in between the Valkyries but they held tight. They did not fear him and they would not let him through.
However, Kara had noted a new threat. While Helgi had managed to wound her mortally, he had also hit Hromundr. A deep gash bled but Kara could tell Hromundr was in no danger of dying. Instead, his eyes flashed dangerously and he waited patiently for Helgi to approach.
“Helgi,” Kara whispered, trying in vain to alert him to the danger nearby. However, the mere word caused her to cough again.
She wheezed and her breath caught in her throat with a gurgle of blood. Her eyes widened with panic and she tried to see Helgi but he wasn’t there anymore.
Kara felt the wet heat of tears on her cheeks and her sisters crowded in around her. Hands reached out to embrace her, to hold her hands, to gently smooth her hair away from her face. They were protecting her from the danger of Odin but not even seeing the real threat. She could hear their voices as they told her they loved her.
Then, everything around her started to fade out.
She struggled against the encroaching blackness. Kara saw the giant blur in front of her before she could focus properly. She willed her eyes to work as they were supposed to and wondered if Odin was there, ready to take her own life in an effort to halt the cycle.
As her eyes cleared, a man came into focus and Kara smiled.
“Helgi,” she whispered and tried not to cough again. “You came.”
“Kara, I am so sorry,” Helgi said, his voice frantic as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
“No… bother…” Kara whimpered through her bloody lips and she hoped Helgi understood her words.
Helgi pressed his lips carefully to her forehead and they felt cool against her burning skin. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation, wishing it would last for an eternity.
“I love you,” Helgi whispered and Kara forced her eyes open once more.
Helgi’s face was out of focus but, behind him, she could see all of her sisters. They stood in a half circle, sheltering Helgi from Odin. She smiled at her sisters before her smile started to fade.
“Hel—” she started to say her lover’s name but couldn’t finish the word. Kara took another breath and tried to repeat it once more.
Hromundr stepped up behind Helgi, his magical sword at the ready. Kara’s sisters were distracted in their task of shielding Helgi from Odin and hadn’t noticed that the true threat actually came from the other side. The threat that couldn’t be stopped now that Odin had willed it.
“And so, you shall die,” Hromundr roared as he raised his sword and slashed it downwards, cutting through Helgi and ending his life. Kara tried to scream out, to summon the strength to strike out at Hromundr. However, the effort made her splutter and blood sprayed out of her mouth with each cough until she felt her eyes roll back in her head and the world started fading away to darkness again.
The last thing Kara heard was the sound of her sisters crying.
Chapter 19: KARA
Kara blinked, the world hazy in front of her eyes and she allowed her lids to shutter once more, her mind too foggy to remember what had happened.
“She’s awake!” Mist said and Kara could hear the clapping of hands and squeals from her sisters.
With an effort, she tried to open her eyes once more and the pain of remembrance clouded her vision.
Helgi was dead.
She sobbed, her hand coming up to her mouth as she tried to stop her angry tears. Hromundr had killed Helgi and Odin had allowed it.
Kara willed her eyes open and was greeted with the sight of her smiling sisters. They crowded around her, as they had done on the battleground. Although, this time, the fear was no longer present in their haunted expressions. Instead, they appeared joyful to see her.
“How am I alive?” Kara asked, wondering if she really had died and was born once more. “What is my name?”
“You didn’t die, Kara,” a voice off to the side said.
Freya came into view and sat down beside Kara, taking hold of one of her hands. Kara wanted to pull away from the touch. Freya was Odin’s lover, after all, and she wanted nothing more to do with the All-Father. Freya held tight, though, and smiled down at her as her sisters had done only moments earlier.
“What happened? Where is Helgi?” Although, she knew the answer to that one. She had seen his face. It held the same look she had seen countless times before. It was the cold grey look of death. There was no escape for Helgi and Kara choked back a sob. “Oh, Helgi.”
“Helgi, is here, in Valhalla,” Freya said, still smiling. With those words, Kara wanted to reach up and punch Freya in her beautifully formed face.
“I guess that makes you happy, doesn’t it,” Kara spat out rather than hit the goddess.
“Just hear her out,” Rota said, stepping forward and smoothing back Kara’s hair.
Kara frowned at her sister, not sure what
to make of her words. What did she mean? Was there some sort of good news amongst all this? Kara doubted it. After all, what good could come of her being alive and Helgi dead? However, she was still too tired, too emotionally drained to really be able to consider arguing back. Instead, she huffed an exasperated sigh and waited for an answer, irritated with herself for being so feeble.
“Yes, Helgi is dead,” Freya continued and Kara gave an involuntary sob at the sound of his name. Rota, who still had her hand on Kara’s forehead, leaned in closer, placing her arm around her shoulders in a small embrace. The action managed to comfort Kara. “However, considering the long path you and Helgi have had to take to get to this point in time, Odin has decided it is time to step in and intervene.”
“Odin has always tried to intervene,” Kara argued and Freya made a shushing sound that the surrounding Valkyries mimicked.
“He might have,” Freya continued. “But, this time, I have made sure Odin did the right thing. While Odin’s fear was that the never-ending cycle of death and rebirth for you and Helgi was going against the structures of our world, he has realised that the pair of you deserve some form of happiness after all of your suffering.”
“But he allowed Hromundr to kill Helgi,” Kara insisted. She was tired from her ordeal. However, it didn’t mean she couldn’t speak up about the injustice.
“Indeed, he did. And, in doing so, the mighty sword Mistletoe, the weapon that has been just as entwined in your saga as your death and rebirth, has managed to break the cycle that has gone on for far too long between you and Helgi. It was always his plan to sever that spell. However, since the cycle was never truly your fault, he also believed that you deserved some sort of compensation for your repeated misery.”
Kara felt her heart clench with the news that the cursed sword, the one she had joyously given to Helgi all those lifetimes ago, had broken their cycle. She wished she had never gifted it to him, that it had remained in that dank cave, rotting away for all eternity. Instead, it had caused them a refreshed misery. With Helgi being dead, it meant she would never have another chance to lay with him, to hear his voice, or to enjoy his company again in this lifetime.
The Breaker of Curses (Valkyrie Secrets Book 3) Page 6
