by Charley Case
Mila took a sip of coffee and frowned. “You mean he’s been wearing the same style of robe for longer than recorded human history?”
Finn shook his head. “No, it’s the same robe. Like, it gets taken off the dead king’s body and put on the new king. It’s the mantle of rulership. He wouldn’t be the king without it.”
Danica stopped slicing her banana and made a face like she had just stepped in dog shit. “Eww, that’s gross!”
“How can a piece of clothing last that long? Especially if they wear it all the time?” Mila found herself fascinated by the anthropological ramifications of an actual mantle of power.
“Well, it’s magical.” Finn laughed.
Danica laid out the slices of banana on the gooey toast, then took a big bite and washed it down with hot coffee. “You about ready, Finn? I want to leave in the next couple of minutes. I have a shit ton of paperwork that needs to be filled out before I start my shift.”
He nodded, rose from the stool, and took a huge gulp of steaming coffee. “Let me grab my bag, then we can take off.” He slammed the rest of the coffee back and slid the mug towards Mila, who snatched it up and placed it in the sink. He gave her a wink while swallowing the coffee, then jogged towards their room.
“I still don’t know how he can do that.” Mila blew on her own mug to cool it down enough to drink. “I know he’s a dwarf and they can handle temperatures better than us, but still…”
Danica laughed and took another sip of her own beverage. “Honestly, there’s not a whole lot I do understand about him.”
Mila chuckled, picked one of the banana slices off the toast still on the plate, and quickly ate it.
“Hey! That’s my breakfast. There are still some slices from the banana on the cutting board.” Danica slid her plate away from Mila and gave her a narrow-eyed stare.
“Yeah, but those don't have peanut butter residue on them.”
“Well, the jar is right there. The knife is still in it.” She took a bite and sprayed crumbs when she added, “Hans opf.”
Mila smiled and pulled the knife from the jar before smearing the remaining portion of banana with it.
“Ready.” Finn came around the corner with the large green backpack he had bought in Mexico and reinforced to carry unbelievable amounts of weight.
Mila came around the counter and held up an arm for a hug while she chewed the remainder of her first bite. Finn bent down and lifted her in a tight embrace, before kissing her.
“Tastes like peanut butter.” He chuckled and licked his lips.
Mila just rolled her eyes and kissed him again before he put her back down. “Be careful. And have some fun. It’s not every day you get to go to the beach.”
“I will. Should be home by dinner. Maybe a little later, if I have to do a bunch of digging. What are you going to get into today?”
Mila shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe Penny and I can come up with some ideas on how to neutralize Azoth. There has to be something out there to deal with infernal magic.”
Finn nodded. “Penny’s a good one to talk to about it. She has a lot of experience with other magic systems. And if she doesn't know, I’m betting she can find someone that does.”
Danica picked up her second piece of toast along with her satchel and came around the island to stand next to Finn. “Ready?”
He nodded. “Let’s go.”
“See ya, babe. Tell Penny I said bye,” Danica said around her toast.
“I will,” Mila waved, “Have a good day, guys.”
The tall elf held up a hand, and a large bubble formed around her and Finn, then with a pop it vanished, along with two of Mila’s favorite people.
On looking around the condo and noticing that early twilight lay over the city, she decided to finish her coffee on the balcony.
“Hope it’s not another boring day,” she muttered to herself as she opened the French doors to let in the late spring morning breeze. She sat down and sighed. “How long is Penny going to sleep?”
She guessed it couldn’t be all that much longer and pulled out her phone to play the game of the month she had become obsessed with.
This particular game involved baking copious amounts of cupcakes in a poorly designed kitchen so that her character had a stockpile of cakes in order to use them as ammunition to throw at slowly marching teddy bears who wanted to shut her business down for some reason. It was called Cupcaction!, and Mila loved it.
Chapter Four
Mila was in the downward dog position later as she worked through a simple yoga routine in the dojo while she waited for Penny to come out of her room. She had already gone through a full cycle of magic exercises and had exhausted her magical reserves in record time. She had moved on to exercise her body.
In truth, Mila felt supremely bored. She had run out of lives on Cupcaction! almost immediately, and she refused to pay real money for more. All the shows she was currently watching were with either Danica or Finn, and she didn’t want to watch without them. She had considered going to the Museum, from which she was still on sabbatical, but she had a few months left on her year off and didn’t want to give them the idea that she planned to cut the time short. In the end, it was yoga or stare at the wall.
When her phone rang, she nearly pulled a muscle scrambling to the side of the mats to answer.
“Hello?” She sucked in a breath, not realizing how winded she had become from the simple moves.
“Mila,” Victoria answered, her voice tense. “Are you okay?”
Mila wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, then blew some loose hair out of her face. “Yeah, just doing some yoga. What happened in Dubai?”
“We were able to catch up with Azoth in the city. He was getting ready to move out, but some locals at the Market pointed us to an empty hotel that was still under construction.”
Mila’s brows rose in surprise as she tucked her legs under herself in a cross-legged position. “You got him? It’s over?”
Victoria chuckled grimly. “Hardly. I could only gather six of the sisters for the attack. I don't know if he knew we were coming or what, but it was a blood bath. Azoth was far more powerful than we anticipated. He must have had fifty thralls and Rougarou with him, not to mention his new disciple. She matched your description from that first nightmare perfectly.”
“So, the dreams are real events.” Mila frowned. When she didn’t know, it was easier to process the things she had seen. Now… She shivered.
“Looks like it. To be honest, I’m not surprised. Azoth doesn’t seem to be all that creative. His new disciple, I heard him call her Yaminah, is a hell of a mage. She could sling spells with the best of them, and she was smart. Two of our sisters were killed in the attack. Not permanently killed, just body killed, but still. It’s a serious blow to our already small ranks.”
“That leaves us with eight Valkyries who aren’t Lone Valkyries.” Mila bit her lip, trying to think of how they were going to fight Azoth if six weren’t a match for him and he was still recovering his powers.
“Nine,” Victoria corrected. “Remember, Missy is back.”
“Right. Speaking of which, did you ever get a hold of her?”
“She showed up about halfway through the fight. Good thing, too. She had to kill Jenny to keep her from being drained by Azoth. After that, the Drude and his thralls teleported away. I tried to track him, but his infernal magic is too hard to keep a spell on.”
“You lost him?” Mila sighed, not wanting to have to track him through the dreams again.
“I lost him, but I did get a general location when I slapped a tracking spell on Yaminah. She’s been infused with infernal magic, but there is still a thread of humanity in her. The spell failed eventually, but I at least have their location in the western United States. That’s why I was calling. I wanted to be sure he hadn’t gone looking for you.”
“No, we’re all good here. I can ask around if you want. The Market is close by. There’s usually someon
e there who knows something.”
Victoria hesitated, obviously weighing the danger to Mila. “Do you think it would be safe? What if he’s in the city and waiting for you to show up somewhere public?”
Mila snorted, remembering what he kept telling her in the nightmares. “No, he won’t be waiting for me. He’s made it a point that he wants to take me last. I think he thinks that the anticipation is killing me or something. I’ll be fine; besides, I have friends that can go with me. I won’t be alone. I was going to head over there soon anyway to see if there was anyone who might have an idea on how to counteract the infernal magic.”
“That’s a dangerous game, Mila. Just the mention of infernal magic can drive some people crazy with fear. The Drude are not liked throughout the galaxy.”
“I’ll be careful who I talk to. We need more than our fists if we’re going to take this guy out. He took on six of us at once and still got away. We need an edge.”
Victoria sighed as if the weight of the world lay on her shoulders. “Good point. If there’s something that can help, even a little, we could really use it. See what you can find, but be careful.”
“I will. You do the same.” Mila considered something before hanging up. “Victoria, you said he was more powerful than you expected. Could he have gotten that powerful on normal magicals, or do you think this wasn’t the first Lone Valkyrie he had taken?”
Victoria sucked in a sharp breath before pulling the phone from her mouth and yelling to someone close by. “Michelle, Gina! Start calling all the Lone Valkyries. We need a headcount.” She put the phone back to her ear. “Good call, Mila. I’m going to have the remaining lone sisters start moving from place to place. I don’t think it was a coincidence that he found a Lone Valkyrie. He or his disciples must have a way to track them. It’s really inconvenient that we can’t all gather together.”
“What if we gather the Lone Valkyries together? The rest of you can stay away, but at least we would have the numbers to fight if it came down to it.”
“Remember that Lone Valkyries will drain any Valkyrie’s power if they are in close proximity, even other Lone Valkyries. At least on your own, you still have your powers to defend yourself.”
“Unless he comes and takes us in our sleep,” Mila growled. “We can get others to protect us. We don’t need our magic to be safe if we have guards. I can talk with Preston; I’m sure he would loan us a few G.A.E.L. teams to look after us.”
“I keep forgetting that you are still new to all this,” Victoria sighed. “The Valkyries would never agree to let others watch over them. A Valkyrie without her magic is like a fish without water. They would rather die than be without it.”
“Well, if we don’t do something, then they might just have to put that to the test. Personally, I would rather live to fight another day.”
“That’s why you’re special, Mila. You don’t think like the rest of us. Hang on.” Victoria covered the microphone, and Mila could hear a muffled conversation before Victoria came back. “Three of the Lone Valkyries are not answering. I’m going to send some of the sisters over to their places to check on them. See what you can find out about Azoth’s location, but don’t get yourself into trouble. We don’t have the resources to get you out.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll keep my head down,” Mila reassured her.
“Why do I have the feeling you have your fingers crossed?” Victoria snorted.
“Because you’re getting to know me better.”
Chapter Five
Mila hung up and tossed the phone on the mat beside her before rolling onto her back and putting her hands behind her knees. As she pointed her toes toward the ceiling, she pulled her knees towards her face to stretch out her hamstrings.
Going from exercise to sitting still so quickly had cramped her legs a little, and she wanted to be sure she didn’t pull anything when she got back to her routine.
A green face wreathed in white hair leaned into her view, sharp white teeth showing in a huge grin. “Hey, boss lady.”
Mila screamed and rolled to the side, then bounced up onto her bare feet, fists up and ready to defend herself.
Remmy jumped nearly a foot in the air and scampered back a few shuffling steps, her own hands up. “I figured we would warm up first, but we can get right to practice if you want.”
Mila relaxed on realizing who it was. “Remmy. Fuck me. You scared the shit out of me. How did you get in here?”
The little goblin tossed her braid over her shoulder and hiked a thumb at the door. “Boss told me to practice my sneaky stuff. I picked the lock.”
Mila snorted with relief. “He would tell you to do that. Finn isn’t here. You’ll have to come back tonight when he gets home if you want to spar with him some more.”
Remmy deflated, her smile falling into a frown. “Aw, man. Tonight is so far away. I even put clothes on!” She punctuated her words by snapping the band of her spandex shorts. Then she grabbed the straps of her matching sports bra and shook them angrily. “I hate this thing, but the boss man said it would help. If he thinks it helps so much, why doesn’t he wear one?”
Mila laughed, picturing Finn in a sports bra. “It’s not for men. It just helps us ladies. It keeps the girls in place.”
“If you say so.” Remmy put her hands on her hips and looked around the room. “So, whatcha up to?”
Mila sighed, considered going back to her yoga, then dismissed it. “I was about to make some breakfast. You want some?”
Remmy brightened up considerably. “I could eat. What are we having?”
Mila grabbed her phone and slid it into the pocket of her leggings before leading the way into the kitchen. “What sounds good to you?”
“Waffles?”
“Waffles work for me. Plus, the smell should get Penny out here. She loves waffles.”
Remmy climbed up onto one of the island’s stools. “Doesn’t Penny like everything? That’s like her thing, right?”
Mila chuckled, then pulled a mixing bowl and the waffle machine from under the counter. “That’s one way to put it.”
When the first waffle sat on a plate and the second cooked in the iron, Penny finally made her appearance. The sound of her little door opening, then closing made Mila and Remmy turn as the little blue dragon flew around the corner.
“Penny! We’re having waffles!” Remmy exclaimed around a mouthful of golden cake and syrup as she waved her fork in the air.
“Shir,” Penny groaned, her eyes still half-closed as she landed on the island counter and pointed at the coffee pot.
Mila had brewed a new pot in anticipation of Penny’s need. She filled a mug from the dishwasher with the black brew, then dumped a small handful of Charleston Chews from the freezer into the mug before sliding it to Penny.
“Chi.” Penny gave Mila a thumbs up before sipping loudly at the coffee.
“How late were you up?” Mila forked the second waffle onto a new plate for Penny.
Four talons came up as the little dragon continued to slurp the coffee.
“Four?” Mila glanced at the clock on the stove. “You’ve only been asleep for three hours?”
Mila knew Penny didn’t require nearly as much sleep as her or Finn, but three hours was pretty short even for her.
Penny nodded and licked coffee from her lips. She reached over for the syrup and used her whole body to lift the bottle sideways and dump a generous amount of the sweet brown liquid all over the waffle. With an effort, she returned the bottle to its upright position before slurping more coffee.
Mila used a ladle to pour another waffle into the iron, then closed it, sending a puff of sizzling steam from the sides. “I know you’re still waking up, but Finn wanted me to ask you if you knew of any way to neutralize infernal magic. I’m starting to look into other ways to combat Azoth, and Finn thought you would be a good resource.”
Penny lifted her head form the mug and smiled. “Shir shee. Squee shir chi.”
Mila’s ey
ebrows rose in surprise. “Really?”
“What id ee ay?” A chunk of waffle shot from Remmy’s mouth. Quick as a cat, she swiped it from the air, stuffed it back into her mouth and grinned.
“She said that’s what she was doing up so late. She may have found someone to help. She found a note that mentions a family of witches that made a point of studying the races and finding their weaknesses. Evidently, they have been here since Earth first left port.” Mila cocked her head and regarded Penny, who had torn a chunk of her waffle loose and now chewed it slowly. “You think they’re still around?”
Penny nodded and swallowed. “Chi chi. Squee.”
“Louisiana? Really? Are you sure the relative still keeps notes on the races? We’re talking thousands of years.”
Penny shook her head in the negative. “Chi?”
Mila shrugged. “I guess it’s worth a try. So, when do we leave?”
Penny gave her a pained face. “Shir chi.”
“Oh,” Mila felt a rush of disappointment. “I guess I can just stay here. I was thinking of heading over to the Market to see if I could find anything out about Azoth’s location anyway.”
“You could always talk to Christine, boss lady,” Remmy interjected. “Her people fought off the Drude on their home planet way back when. I would be guessin’ that she knows somethin’ about fightin’ infernal magic.”
Mila’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s Christine?”
“The naga,” Remmy said as if that were an answer.
Penny brightened up and nodded. “Shir shee shee. Chi chi.”
“Oh, that’s who Finn helped out when he was getting me that Favor? She’s the one your tribe is guarding, right?” Mila asked Remmy, who nodded. “I didn’t know her name was Christine.”
“Yeah, she’s super nice and knows lots of stuff,” Remmy confirmed.
“Okay, that sounds like a plan. Where does she live?”
“We can get there through the Market. It’s not that far.”
