Chapter Ten

The gas station manager scanned the computer screen. “Bus won’t be here for another half hour.” He eyed them. “Gonna need to transfer twice before San Diego, once in Los Angeles. No direct route. Layover in King City for two hours. Be about a twelve-hour trip.”

“What?” Brenna snapped. “It’s only an eight-hour drive.” She glanced at Erik. “I rented a car and drove up the coast after you. Took a cab to the warehouse.” She glared at the manager. “No way this should take that long.”

The older man shrugged. “Rural bus routes. Stops at every small town.” He paused. “Like this one.” He waved a hand at the window. “You can try to hitchhike, but…”

“We’re good.” Erik nodded as he counted out the cash. “Two tickets, please.”

She shook her head as they settled on the curb, bags beside them. “This is ridiculous. If we had kept your car…”

“My call.” The abruptness in his voice caught her off-guard. “This is my life at stake, my soul. I made the decision.” He glanced down the road back toward the hotel. “Kara didn’t strike me as being stupid. First thing I’d do is try to track the car, the phones—take us off the grid and we’ve got a better chance of surviving.” He picked up a pebble and tossed it out into the parking lot. “At least we’d see her coming here.”

She fell silent, at a loss at what to say.

After a few minutes, he spoke. “About you becoming a Valkyrie.” He smiled. “Can’t expect me to let that one go without getting the full story.”

“I was born in a small village in what is now Norway.” She remembered the cold biting at her toes despite the hot, sunny day. “I don’t recall much. My father worked as a carpenter.” She inhaled deeply. “Always sawdust in the air. I still think of him whenever I smell it.” She swallowed hard, choking back the sadness. “My mother cared for him, for us. She loved to bake fresh bread.”

“Were you kidnapped?”

The question brought the world back into focus. “No, of course not. Freyja doesn’t steal children away; she’s not a monster.” She shook her head. “I thought you said you’d heard of the Gods.”

“I didn’t pay close attention. Besides, what goes on behind the scenes usually doesn’t make it into the history books.” He waited a few seconds before speaking. “What happened to your parents?”

“Plague. Disease.” She rolled her shoulders back. “Don’t remember the details. I had a family, and then I didn’t. My mother was crying, and then there was just me, alone in the house.”

She picked up a stone and tossed it after Erik’s pebble. “I knew how to make some food for myself, but eventually the pantry was empty, and well… I couldn’t go out and hunt. I assumed the rest of the village either died or ran away; I never saw anyone else. When the fire finally went out, I headed into the forest. I’m not sure if I planned to find kindling or hoped something would kill me fast, save me from starving to death.”

He reached over and squeezed her hand.

“The next thing I remember is Mother appearing to me.” She couldn’t help smiling, the emotional rush still fresh after all these centuries.

“Your mother? I thought you said she died.”

“No. Mother Freyja. She came down from the clouds, riding a beam of sunlight.” Brenna drew a deep breath. “The most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, her long white robes just touching the ground. I wasn’t afraid for some reason. I guess I knew she wouldn’t hurt me.”

Erik made a humming noise she took to be agreement.

“She reached out to me and asked me if I wanted to come with her.”

A hot breeze whipped around them, and she felt the lightness on her back, the lack of her wings still paining her.

“We rose to Valhalla, and she took me to the barracks. An older woman met us. Freyja kissed me on the forehead and handed me over to the sisters. I began my training with the other little girls.”

“Why does she need to replace Valkyries?” Erik asked. “Didn’t you say you were all immortal?”

“Yes, but…” Brenna hesitated, unsure about exposing one of her family secrets. “After so many years of dealing with the dead, they get tired, weary of the job. They don’t want to do it anymore. They cry and scream, jab at themselves with their own lances. When that happens, Mother sometimes assigns them to train new Valkyries, and they stay in Valhalla, never to leave again. We learn from them and each other. We’re all sisters, in thought if not in blood.”

Kara.

She bit the inside of her cheek as she remembered all the times they’d sat and talked, laughed together. True, there’d been instances where they’d been at odds. Most recently during a heated discussion over who their mother liked more. It’d been a childish fight, a silly dispute over who held higher rank. Kara had seniority, having been there longer, but Brenna’s battle abilities had placed her above her friend.

But this…this went far beyond a bit of swearing and shoving, competitiveness on the training floor. Kara was now out to kill her and Erik.

“I’m sorry.”

She turned and looked at him, taken aback by his words.

“I can’t say I know what it feels like, what’s going on between you and Kara. But I’m sorry.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

They sat in silence until the bus arrived. The driver grunted, punched their tickets, and waved them on board.

Erik led her to a seat not far from the front, away from the handful of passengers clustered at the back near the washroom.

“Little privacy here,” he explained as the bus lurched forward. “You showed the driver your identification—where did you get that from?”

She withdrew her wallet and showed him the driver’s license and social security card. “I had this when I landed. Mother wasn’t going to send me down with nothing.”

He gave her a wry smile. “Of course not. Freyja thinks of everything.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to berate him for mocking Mother, but she said nothing.

Another hour of starting and stopping at street corners, picking up and dropping off the odd person, and her patience was almost at an end.

“How much longer can this take?” she fumed.

“It’ll take what it takes. Here.” He opened his duffel bag and extracted a pair of energy bars. “I could use a snack.”

He gave her one before he ripped his own open. “About Hel. You said it’s basically for the worst of the worst—betrayers.” Erik pulled out a water bottle. “Who takes them there? Valkyries?”

She nodded. “Of a sort. They have their place at the other end of the compound, away from us. We train together, but we’re not close—they keep to themselves.”

Erik finished off the bar in two bites. “Who chooses where you go? When Freyja saved you back in the forest, why didn’t you go to the dark side? Who decides where you’re assigned?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe that’s not where I was needed.”

He fell silent, and she was grateful for the quiet. She didn’t like to think about Hel and definitely not about the Valkyries who spent their time delivering damned souls. They might be her sisters, but their haunted eyes, their weary faces made her uneasy. They rarely talked, and when they did it was in whispers, wincing at the smallest sound as if it hurt their ears.

The bus dropped them off in King City around noon. They ate lunch in a small diner, Erik counting his cash as he left a tip for the waitress. She winced inside, more aware than ever of her empty wallet. Freyja withdrawing her blessings wasn’t the biggest problem in her life right now, but it’d become one soon enough.

“Where to now?” She followed him out of the diner and into the street.

“There’s a park.” He pointed to their right. “We’ve still got a good hour or so before the next bus arrives. Time to rest up.”

He led her in, gesturing at the cool shade under a fat tree.

“Go and nap. I’ll stand watch.” He sat with his back to the broad trunk. “Ditching the car might slow her down, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

Brenna folded her jacket and lay her head down, watching him.

Erik stared straight ahead, his hands curled around his knees.

She closed her eyes and let her breath out slowly, willing herself to sleep.

She was back in Valhalla, flying over the Great Halls filled with warriors, feasting and fighting as they waited for the final call to arms. They spread out in front of her in rows, the different uniforms merging into one mighty army as they drank together, laughed together, and enjoyed each other’s company.

Her wings carried her to the barracks where she landed lightly, careful not to bang her lance on the marble floor. She pressed the button on the side, and it collapsed to the size of a walking stick, making it easier to handle. It was a small but useful feature, one she’d come to appreciate over the centuries. The Valkyries were trained in stick fighting as well, in case during Ragnarok their spears broke, and they had to make do with any weapon at hand.

She placed it in the rack before pulling off her helmet and tucking it under her arm. She began unsnapping the buckles holding her breastplate secure as she walked, preparing to put it away along with the rest of her equipment.

A man stepped in front of her, bringing up his shield and barring her way.

Brenna frowned. “Let me pass.”

He shook his head. He wore the Guards’ generic armor, their primary assignment to keep unauthorized people from wandering into the barracks. With so many warriors around, it was natural for one or two to become curious about the Valkyries and attempt to find out more by visiting their private quarters.

It was very much discouraged.

“Let me pass,” Brenna repeated.

He stood his ground.

“Sister.”

She turned to see Kara standing there in full armor. She held out the walking stick Brenna had just placed in the rack and pressed the button, extending the spear to full length.

“You’re not allowed in here anymore.” She leveled the point of the lance at Brenna. “You’ve shamed us all. For a man.” She spat on the ground. “For a mortal.”

“I didn’t…” Brenna swallowed hard. “You don’t understand.”

“What’s to understand?” Kara advanced on her. “This was never a complicated plan. You were supposed to find him and kill him. You had one job, one thing to do, and you failed. You faltered because you were weak.” She stopped, well within thrusting range for the weapon. “Too weak to do what you were born to do, trained to do. Why?”

“Lower your lance,” Brenna said. She narrowed her eyes. “I won’t fight you.”

“Really? Because I’m willing to fight you. To restore our honor.” Kara growled. She took a step forward, the sharp spear aimed at Brenna’s chest. “You are a disgrace to our sisters and to our Mother. You have no right to this lance, to this armor—to these wings and to the call.”

Brenna stepped back. Suddenly she teetered on the edge of a precipice, the darkness of eternity behind her. No stars, none of the other Realms, nothing but void.

She spread her wings instinctively, ready to fly.

They weren’t there. Her shoulder blades burned with their absence.

“I’ll kill you and take your place.” Kara moved again, the metal point almost touching now. “Freyja will have to recognize me as the best among us.”

“Is that what this is all about?” Brenna couldn’t hold back the scorn. “Because I bested you years ago?” She shook her head. “It was just a game, an exercise to assign us ranks, as the Allfather commanded. Our Mother told us that. I’ve never treated you as less than an equal.”

Kara’s eyes narrowed. “No matter.” The razor-sharp edge pressed against the cool metal breastplate. “Your betrayal is complete. Your sins will follow you in Helheim forever, desperate and alone.” Her lips curled up in a sneer. “Fly straight.”

Before Brenna could reply to the traditional saying, the spear shot forward, slamming into her chest and pushing her off the edge.

She screamed as she spiraled into the Void, arms and legs flailing around in an attempt to catch and hold on to something, anything to steady herself. Her hands grabbed at empty space, and her stomach twisted as she realized her fate—to fall forever between worlds, an even worse punishment than wandering alone in the barren wasteland of Helheim.

An image of Freyja appeared in her mind’s eye, the gentle smile washing over her like a cool breeze. The long blonde hair framed her angelic face, the deep blue eyes locking with hers.

I will always be with you.

“Are you all right?”

The soft voice wrapped around Brenna, drawing her back out of the vision.

“I said, are you all right?”