Valkyrie Uprising

by A. J. Flowers

  “Oh.” She had a point. The moment I bumped up against someone, I’d give them third-degree burns, and any chance of saving Tyler would go up in flames, along with anyone who ventured too close to me.

  “As you’ve seen, us outcasts have learned how to suppress our natural form.”

  As Iris continued on with the technicalities of how to suppress Muspelheim’s raw heat that ran in my blood, I couldn’t help but think of what Will had said. I shouldn’t deny who and what I was, but if it meant saving Tyler, wasn’t it worth it?

  “Is it reversible?” I asked. If I did this, I wanted to be able to return to Muspelheim. I didn’t belong on earth anymore. Will and I were over, that much was apparent. If I managed to save the universe from the clutches of Ragnarök, I wanted to return to my old life—with some improvements, of course. I hadn’t thought too much beyond saving the universe, but as a Frigg, the future was always on my mind. I could teach my sisters how to use their powers without reaping souls. Perhaps I could even find a way to reroute suffering that already existed in the universe and help Freya continue to grow her army while being able to finally put an end to the Norn. I knew the necessity of military might, so I would not deny my mother her daughters. Even if I managed to defeat Ragnarök, Baldr was going to be a permanent, Immortal thorn in my side. I never wanted to be unprepared for him again.

  Iris bit her lip before replying to my earlier question. “I’m afraid it’s a permanent alteration. This isn’t a mortal skin you can just shed. This is your true self that you must change on a fundamental level.”

  “I know why you did it,” I said, my voice lowering. I glanced through the doors and spotted Paul at the table with Daniel. I sensed something supernatural humming through the air and Paul grinned before turning over his cards. Daniel’s face flushed red. He opened his mouth to speak, but the glass used in Dalia’s condos was akin to one of Ymir’s inventions and I couldn’t hear a thing. Paul threw his head back with a laugh.

  Iris sighed as she watched her mate thoroughly enjoy himself. “He’s my everything. When I met him, I just couldn’t imagine going back to Muspelheim. I couldn’t pretend that reaping a soul was a necessary evil. I’d done it for a long time, but when I met Paul, I just couldn’t go through with it.”

  “Was it love?” I found myself asking. I desperately needed to know if what Will and I had shared was just my imagination, or if he was pushing me away.

  She squeezed my arm again. “You know, at first I think it was just our bond, the one that forms between a Valkyrie and her soul. But over time… love grew to replace what we’d both lost.” Her gaze flicked to Will who sat at the fireplace with Henry and Michael. Michael hovered one of the burning logs while Nina clapped her hands. Henry ruffled her hair and even if he hadn’t shown signs of his powers yet, he seemed quite content. “You and Will have something, but I think he knows how you feel about Tyler. He’s not the kind of guy to stand in the way of what you two had before he was in the picture.”

  I startled and pulled away from her. “What do you mean? Tyler and I—”

  She laughed, the sound musical and gentle on the cool breeze. “I didn’t know who your heart belonged to, but it was obvious you’ve been pining away for some boy out there.” She grinned. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’re going to get Tyler back.” She offered her hand. “You just have to be willing to have a little faith.”

  The process to douse the sharp edge of being a Valkyrie wasn’t as hard as I’d imagined. All I had to do was rip off my necklace.

  I gripped the locket. I’d hardly given it a single thought except for when my mother had used it to remind me I was still under her scrutiny. It burned under my touch, the core of my heat resting inside it.

  I’d never questioned that it didn’t have a clasp, or that I never took it off. I’d slipped it under any blouse I wore as a mortal, and it had its own space underneath my battle leathers when I was in my Valkyrie form. As a human, it’d kept me grounded, kept all of my Valkyrie’s heat strapped safe inside it for when I would shed my mortal skin.

  But now… now I gripped it as if I held on for dear life. “I don’t know if I can do it,” I whispered.

  All of the Valkyries had come out onto the balcony when they’d notice embers erupt across my wings. The guys stayed inside and made themselves busy, pretending not to notice that I’d gone into full crises mode.

  “You just gotta yank it,” Nina said helpfully, jumping up and down with excitement.

  Helena glowered at her. “Don’t rush her. She has to make the same decision we all did. Even you had a necklace once, even if you didn’t live on Muspelheim.”

  Nina rolled her eyes. “I ripped that thing off so fast. Being a Gina sucked. It’s all ‘be one with water and fire’ my friends,” she said, wiggling her fingers. “I got out of there and headed straight for the closest forest. It was a bit of a jog… but can’t say I regretted it.” She grinned. “Henry was a missionary, you know that? He thought I was some savage that needed his lectures.” She winked. “He’s lucky he’s cute.”

  As much as I wanted to hear more about Nina’s history, Elena gripped my hands. My locket burned underneath my fingertips.

  I gazed up into her ruby-rimmed irises. “I’m afraid I’ll lose everything,” I admitted in a low whisper. If I gave up the deepest part of me just for a chance to save Tyler, what if I was wrong? What if I lost any power to save him just like Baldr wanted, and then Ragnarök devoured the world, all because I acted rashly?

  “You’re overthinking it,” Elena said. “No one is going to make you do anything you don’t want to do, and if you ask it of us, we’ll go after Baldr ourselves. You don’t have to do a thing.”

  Immediately I shook my head. I couldn’t send them off to face Baldr alone. He was a Frigg… just like me. I was the only one who could face him and make it out alive.

  “No. This is something I have to do.” I closed my eyes and tightened my grip around my necklace. Elena pulled away, but then her hand rested on my arm. Another touch grazed my skin, until all the Valkyries gave me their support with their touch on my blazing skin.

  I drew in a deep breath, and then I tore the necklace off my body.

  The cascade of unbelievable cold that flooded in to replace the gaping wound in my soul made me gasp.

  My sisters gave a collective shudder, but didn’t yank away as if they’d known this part was coming.

  “Fight through it,” Elena offered.

  “We’re here for you,” Iris added.

  I opened my eyes and my breath frosted the air and my teeth chattered. I’d never been so cold in all my life. “W-when does t-this pass?” I asked, my jaw nearly clacking off my face as I tried to speak.

  They held on tight, offering me what meager warmth they had to give. “Just a few seconds,” Nina said through gritted teeth, and at first I thought she was trying to comfort me, but when she dug her nails into my skin I realized she was talking to herself.

  When the sensation of icy daggers passed, leaving me dizzy, the Valkyries helped me inside.

  “Make a spot on the sofa,” Helena said, barking orders and making sure that the guys adjusted the pillows to perfectly hug my body as they set me down.

  Darkness faded in and out of my vision as my consciousness threatened to collapse, then one more familiar touch caressed my cheek.

  I fluttered my eyes open to find Will smiling down at me. “Rest, Val. We’ll be right here when you wake up.”

  The Unknown

  For the first time in… ever, I slept in a dreamless sleep. As a Valkyrie, we slept just like mortals did, but as a Frigg I dreamed of different layers in time. A reoccurring dream trapped me in the pits of Muspelheim with gushing lava spewing into a giant cavern, likely a place I’d found myself in when I’d gotten lost playing with Billy in Jotunheim.

  Tonight I didn’t have my necklace to feed me the constant fuel of my race, and I realized that the fires of Muspelheim didn’t come naturally to the Valky
rie. We were Freya’s weapons, forged with the hottest of flames.

  Without her oppressive guidance, I was left with what I was on my own, which was a ball of determination and emotion, and the Immortal drive of a Frigg scorned.

  I awoke to the scent of coffee and waffles. A human breakfast if I’d ever smelled one, but my stomach surprised me with a gurgle of protest that I wasn’t jumping off the couch and devouring everything there was to eat right now.

  Groaning, I sat up and clutched at my head. In spite of Will’s promise, exactly no one was waiting for me when I woke up. Well, Nina was curled in a ball in front of the fireplace, but by the slow rise and fall of her chest, and her slack-jawed posture assured me that nothing short of an explosion was going to move her from that spot.

  Feeling sore and stiff, I wobbled to the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe. Everyone had crammed inside, crowding around the bar and finding a task to prepare the feast.

  Iris spotted me first, her bi-colored gaze flashing with excitement. “She’s awake!”

  I groaned when they shouted. “Not so loud,” I complained. “It feels like I got hit with a boulder.”

  I flinched away when Will came to my side and moved to take my arm. My feathers brushed against his face and for a moment I watched him, horrified, just waiting for his beautiful features to scab over with blisters, but nothing happened. Instead he swatted away my feathers with a laugh. “Don’t be skittish. You’re safe now.”

  Feeling sheepish, I took his offered hand and let him guide me to the closest stool. Daniel shoved a plate full of delicious food in front of my face. “The girls say you become a little bit mortal when you take off the necklace. That means you need to eat.”

  Without even asking, I grabbed a fork and shoved half a waffle in my mouth. I groaned. It was so unbelievably delicious.

  He slid a bottle of maple syrup. “It’s even better with this.”

  Murmuring my thanks around a mouthful of food, I popped off the cap and doused my waffles with the goop my memories said would be quite sweet and indeed scrumptious. Another mouthful fulfilled on that promise and my toes curled.

  “How are you feeling?” Will asked.

  I tore my gaze away from my food and realized that the entire room had been watching me gorge myself. I swallowed my final mouthful and dabbed away the crumbs with a napkin. It was nice to be able to use napkins again. “Other than starving and willing to eat my own arm, pretty good.” Guilt washed over me. Here I was, indulging, meanwhile Tyler was out there somewhere as Baldr’s prisoner. Was he making him suffer even now, or would he save that for the party?

  “What day is it?” I asked, suddenly worried I might have slept through the whole thing.

  “Relax,” Elena said, pushing a glass of orange juice at me. “Gather your strength. The party’s tonight.”

  “Do you think she’ll be ready?” Helena asked, always practical, as she gave Elena a raised brow. “She slept two days while she was undergoing the change.”

  “I’m fine,” I growled before stabbing my waffle with my fork. Less talking. More food.

  Nina joined me with her own plate as she happily ate with her hands. She opted for a plate full of oranges. “I just love fruit,” she commented as she split a peel and the scent hit me right in the gut, making me think of Sam.

  I continued to eat, but slower this time. Will gave me a pensive look, but I ignored him. I’d already been through so much, and now I could never go back to Muspelheim.

  For the first time in my life, I didn’t know what the future might hold.

  Michael had turned on the television and flipped through the channels, only to find all of them talking about Baldr’s party.

  “You sure he doesn’t have a hacked version of Grimhildr?” Helena asked to no one in particular. She sat cross-legged on the couch and frowned at the screen that glowed over the mantle.

  Nina, seeming to have formed a bond with Helena, swatted at her ankle—at least as much as Henry would allow. Her mate wrapped his arms around her until she squealed and finally relented, falling into him with a contented growl.

  “Why don’t you tell us,” Daniel asked Paul with a scowl. “You’re the one who can read minds.”

  Paul grabbed his chest in mock-surprise. “Whatever do you mean?”

  Daniel crossed his arms and joined his equally serious mate on the couch. “No one beats me at poker. That’s the only way you could have possibly won.”

  “Shh,” I hissed and grabbed the remote from Henry as I turned the volume up.

  Abnormal weather reports black-out all over the skies as a strange phenomenon means stargazers will need to take a night off.

  The serious reports turned to encouragement that said stargazers should attend Baldr’s party. I scoffed and turned off the TV.

  “Hey,” Michael complained and the remote flung out of my grip of its own accord. He caught it in midair and grinned. “I wasn’t finished watching.”

  “No, Val’s right,” Will said, standing and offering me his hand. “It’s time to make our game plan.”

  We tallied up our strengths. Paul could read minds and tell us who was working for Baldr and who wasn’t. Michael could follow me and react the fastest, taking any weapons out of enemy hands with a mere thought. The other Valkyries would attend, garbed with their own faux-wings Dalia had so kindly contributed. We didn’t tell her that Tyler was the star of the show, or else she might have insisted on coming herself—and ruining any efforts at subtlety.

  “I appreciate the help,” I began, making my third attempt to go it alone. “You don’t need to help me, none of you do.” I stood at the door with Dalia’s outfit for me, something closer to my Valkyrie leathers that hugged me. The gold trim around the waistband was soft against my fingertips and the flowing folds of the dress hugged my thighs all the way down to my heeled boots. Not the best wear for fighting, but it helped me fit in at a human party.

  Nina propped her hands on her hips and smiled, although it was more of a show of pointed teeth. “You gave me Henry back. If you think I’m letting you walk into that place alone, you’re a neon frog.”

  When I gave Henry a raised brow, he waved me away. “Don’t ask. She liked to pounce on the poisonous frogs back home and ‘test her mettle.’” He scooped her up in his arms and gave her a squeeze. “Regardless, Nina has a point. You gave us our lives back, but we know it’s not over yet. That black-out the humans are talking about is Ragnarök, isn’t it?”

  I hesitated, but all eyes were on me. I nodded.

  Helena adjusted one of her fake wings, fussing with Daniel to stop touching it. “Then let’s get going.” She brushed away invisible dust and then gave me a smile. “Where I come from, fashionably late isn’t a thing. You’re just late.”

  Filtering out the door and getting hit by New York’s chill air reminded me that I wasn’t a daughter of Muspelheim anymore. I shivered and wrapped my feathers around myself. When I noticed Will shivering too, I opened one wing and drew him into the cocoon of warmth.

  We bypassed the limo that Dalia had waiting for us. I preferred walking, and I wasn’t interested in facing the end of one of her telescopes. If she wanted to spy on us, she’d have to do it from a safe distance. Just the fact that we hadn’t heard from her cemented my theory that Dalia couldn’t see past Ragnarök’s shadows. Tyler was unreachable, even to a goddess and that should have scared me, but I felt like I finally had my head on straight. No matter what happened, I was doing the right thing.

  Will’s shivers eased as we walked together. He matched my stride and my wing brushed up against his back. The nerves were sensitive, and I wouldn’t allow myself to get this close to just anyone, but Will wasn’t just anyone. No matter our falling out, I cared deeper about him than I’d ever thought possible.

  “What do you think Baldr will try to do, once you’re inside, I mean?” he asked.

  I didn’t know if he was just trying to make conversation or if he was concerned, but there was
no sense in lying to him. “He’s going to try and bait me with Tyler.”

  His eyes widened and if it hadn’t been from the encouraging shove of my wing, he would have stopped in his tracks. “He’s got Tyler?”

  I nodded. “He must have breached the Einherjar.” I didn’t know what that meant for my parents, but if the ancient Norse gods hadn’t been able to stop Baldr from coming to earth, then I didn’t want to think of what might have happened to them.

  There’d been an entire army of Skuld bearing down on the Einherjar when I’d gone to Muspelheim. I shouldn’t have abandoned Tyler there to fend for himself, but he’d ordered me to go. There hadn’t been any time and Ragnarök was still my greatest threat—at least, I’d thought it was. Now I was beginning to question that. If Ragnarök could be controlled, then it mattered more who was at the helm.

  The ground beneath my feet seemed to jump to a low bass that rumbled the streets the closer we ventured to the venue, and old building with a crowd and velvet rope blocking off the entrance. I paused to take in the sheer number of people that spilled out into Central Park. “Wow,” I breathed.

  Nina jumped up and down, nearly skipping down the street as people started to filter past us. At first I panicked, wondering if Thor would crash down onto us in retaliation of breaching mortals witnessing a Valkyrie in the flesh, but they hooted their marvel at my “costume” and grabbed the edges of wings attached to their back, spreading them and pretending to flap away.

  “How are we supposed to get in?” Iris asked, her brow knitting with concern. “There’re so many people. The main event can’t hold so many.”

  Will seemed unconcerned. “Baldr wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble to lure Val out if he wasn’t going to let her inside.” He turned to me and leaned in, lowering his voice. “This is where you’re on your own, Val, but you have to find a way to get us all inside. Baldr won’t expect you to be coming with friends.”