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Jem leaned over to Lettie. “Why didn’t the Valkyrie just keep their original names?” she asked.
Lettie shrugged. “I’m not sure to be honest. Maybe it just made it easier getting around Midgard.”
“Or maybe it was because we got sick of having to repeat our names to the descendants of our sisters. None of whom appear to have the intelligence or ability to pronounce them to save their lives.” Marthe said staring down her nose at them and walking away to join a group of red-clad women.
“Don’t worry about Marthe.” Reyna said with a smile, “She enjoys a little drama.” She said with a wink, her eyes sparkling with laughter.
“I’d still avoid her if I were you.” Maisie whispered leaning in close to Jem as Reyna made her way to the blue-clad Valkyrie.
“Jem?!” Jewel exclaimed, rushing over and launching herself into Jem’s arms. “I can’t believe you’re here too. If you’re here then I know I’m not going crazy. Right?” she asked looking around frantically.
“If anyone is going crazy it’s me.” Jem said.
“How so?” Maisie asked.
“You remember Dan.” Jem asked, posing the question to Jewel.
Jewel smiled. “Hotty Mc Phone guy. How could I forget?” She said with a smile, fanning herself as though the room had suddenly heated up.
“Well before an Aesir god transported me here, I had Dan standing buck naked in my lounge.” Jem said.
“You didn’t!!” Jewel exclaimed interrupting her, her smile wide.
“After I watched him transform into a human from an enormous black wolf.” Jem finished.
“You what?” Jewel said looking confused.
“You had a Fenrir. An actual Fenrir in your house?” Lettie asked.
“So it would seem.” Jem said with a sigh.
Jewel’s smile dropped. “Oh, Jem. I’m sorry.” She said, likely realising Dan’s invitation for Jem to go on a date with him was just a ploy to capture her.
At least that’s why Jem assumed she was saying sorry, both Freya and Lady Gna had been adamant about the danger of the Fenrir.
“I really thought. Or at least I hoped he was genuinely interested in me.” Jem admitted. “Turns out I was wrong yet again.” She said.
Jewel wrapped her arms around Jem pulling her into another hug.
“So if anyone is going crazy it’s me.” Jem said.
“If he wasn’t genuinely interested in you then the only crazy person around here is him.” Jewel said firmly, then she looked around the massive room, “Okay, and maybe us. I can’t believe any of this is real.” She said.
“Wait till you see the girls using magic, you’ll lose your mind.” Lettie said her smile wide.
“Nah. Wait till you get to try it yourself.” Maisie said, “It’s all kinds of bizarre. But still so so cool.”
“Some of the girls can even turn into swans.” Lettie said.
“It’s mostly the descendants of the swan sisters that can do that though.” Maisie said, then sighed wistfully, “Anyway, how about we show you two around.” She asked.
“I guess. I mean what choice do we really have?” Jem asked.
It seemed like for every new Valkyrie there was at least one seasoned Valkyrie who seemed to be buddying up with them, so presumably that was what Jem and Jewel were expected to be doing as well.
Lettie and Maisie laughed.
“You’ll love it. We promise.” Maisie said.
“That Lady Gna person said something about most Valkyrie ending up in the same faction as their Matriarch. What does that mean? I mean how do they have any idea who we’re the descendants of?” Jewel asked. “And will they ever let us in on it?”
“Back when Freya and her remaining Valkyrie started searching for Valkyrie descendants they would find them with magic. But the spells were a lot of hard work. Like physically draining, and they could only find one woman at a time. From what we’ve been told it was really slow going they were only finding maybe one or two new Valkyrie every month. But once they found a few tech-savvy girls it got a lot easier. They were able to do genealogy searches, trace girls through their family lines, then test with magic to make sure they’ve got the Valkyrie gifts, that sort of stuff. Since then most intakes of Valkyrie have had anywhere between twenty and a hundred girls.” Lettie said.
“How many Valkyrie are there exactly?” Jem asked.
“Originally, not many. But after Ragnarok lots of them went to Midgard, that’s what they call Earth here, and chose to live a normal human lifetime. They had kids, their kids had kids and so on.” Maisie said. “I think, now that you’ve arrived our numbers are sitting somewhere around five thousand women, maybe more.” She said.
“It could be closer to ten thousand.” Lettie said.
“Wow. That’s a lot of women.” Jewel said looking around the room again.
“If Queen Freya’s been recruiting for a while, and taking as many as a hundred women each time, then how is it that nobody’s noticed all these women disappearing all over the place?” Jem asked.
“You know what?” Lettie said. “I have no idea.”
“Maybe they are being noticed?” Maisie said. “Although, the Valkyrie come from all over the world, so it might not be that noticeable?”
“I’m fairly certain Sarah’s going to notice if neither Jewel or I turn up for work on Monday.” Jem said, “Marty will probably call the cops. He wasn’t too keen on either of us going on that date in the first place. He’ll think we’ve been murdered or something.”
“This is certainly something.” Jewel said, indicating a young woman who was standing with a white feathery cloak around her shoulders and her face all scrunched up, focusing very hard on something. Either that or she was suffering from some severe abdominal pains.
Next to the woman with the scrunched, and now very red face, stood a second woman her own white cloak over her shoulders. Within moments her skin bleached to an unnatural white, she sprouted feathers, shrunk to about half her size, and then, standing in the exact spot the woman had just been, stood an unnaturally large swan with a pile of clothing around her.
Jewel and Jem both froze and stared.
“Whoa.” Jewel said.
“And return please Leda.” The instructor said.
“That’s Leda Vlund, she’s a descendant of Hladgudr Svanhvit.” Lettie said as Leda swiftly changed back, though now the woman was standing there wearing only the cloak and a massive smile.
“She turned into a swan.” Jewel said in disbelief.
Maisie laughed. “We did tell you some of the girls could do that.” She said.
“Yeah, but I didn’t believe anyone could actually do it. I figured it was some kind of metaphor for something else. Like they went from being ugly ducklings to swans. Or to being graceful from being clumsy. But she was an actual freaking swan. A terrifyingly large one, but still, she was a swan.” Jewel said.
“Who knows, you might have that gift too. Do either of you know who you’re a descendant of?” Maisie asked.
Both Jem and Jewel shook their heads.
“Don’t worry. They’ll give you an orientation booklet later. That’s got all the info on your matriarch. You’ll likely even have a whole bunch of cousins here.” Lettie said. “Some of the girls have even got to meet their matriarch.”
“Really? But wouldn’t they be hundreds of years old?” Jewel said.
“Some of them are thousands of years old.” Maisie said.
“I’m sorry what?” Jem said.
“How does that work?” Jewel asked at the same time.
“I always feel like time works differently here.” Maisie answered, “But from what we’ve been taught it’s something about the Aesir genes, or at least Aesir magic being activated in us. It slows down the ageing process.”
“For the likes of Queen Freya, it’s practically stopped altogether.” Lettie said.
“Are you saying she can’t die?” Jewel asked.
Lettie shook her head. “No. She can definitely die. She just ages even slower than the other Aesir.”
“It could be because she has more magic than the others?” Maisie suggested, “Or maybe because she isn’t really Aesir. She’s from another race of people entirely. The Vanir. They were destroyed during Ragnarok. Queen Freya and her twin brother Freyr are the only Vanir left.”
“Their Father came with them to Asgard after the Vanir lost a war to the Aesir. But he passed away during Ragnarok.” Lettie said.
“That sounds kind of miserable. Living for so long, and seeing all the people you love die. Or at least knowing they’re all dead.” Jem said.
“If her people all died during Ragnarok and they lost the war against the Aesir, then how is it that’s she’s now Queen of the Aesir?” Jewel asked.
“Oh.” Maisie said, “After the war, Queen Freya, her brother Freyr and their Father Njord were sent by the Vanir to live with the Aesir, while the Aesir sent Mimir, and Hoenir to live with the Vanir. It was like a peace trade or something. So anyway, when she got here she was apparently one of the most beautiful women, well ever, and so Lord Odin married her. Then when he was killed by Fenrir during Ragnarok she became the ruler, since she was his Queen.” Maisie said.
“Is that why she hates these Fenrir people so much? Cause they killed her husband?” Jem asked.
She didn’t want to admit it, but she could understand how someone killing the person you love would make you hate their entire race.
Lettie shook her head. “It wasn’t the Fenrir people that killed Lord Odin.” She said, “It was a massive wolf creature called the Fenrir beast. He was apparently part Aesir and part Jotun. They’re another race that were destroyed after Ragnarok. Anyway, apparently the Fenrir are descendants of that Fenrir beast and for some reason they’ve been trying to destroy the Aesir ever since Ragnarok. There’s even a prophecy about it. Personally, I think after Fenrir gobbled up Odin his people got a taste for Aesir blood.” Lettie said.
“Oh gross Lettie.” Maisie said.
“Hey it makes sense.” Lettie said.
“So this prophecy says that the Fenrir will what, destroy the Aesir if we don’t stop them?” Jem asked.
“More like the world. The prophecy says that if we don’t stop them the Fenrir won’t just destroy Asgard and the Aesir, they’ll destroy the entire human race.” Lettie said.
Jem found herself thinking of Dan. For someone who was apparently part of a race of people who were intent on destroying the world, he’d been awfully friendly. The more she thought about it, the more she questioned what was being said about him, and his people. Granted it could have all been an act. But he seemed so sincere. He’d really seemed to like her. He’d seemed excited to be seeing her again. If all he’d been planning on doing was kidnapping her, then he’d really gone way too far. The night before what would have been their date he had rang her, and they’d chatted into the wee hours. Not just about trivial things like the weather, or how her day had been either. They had talked about those things, of course, but more specifically they talked about which was their favourite season. Jem’s favourite season was summer because it was sunny and warm. Dan, on the other hand, liked summer, but spring was his favourite. He’d said he liked it the best because it was full of promise. New animals were being born. New flowers were blooming. The air was full of the sweet scents of life, and it was still cool enough to enjoy being outside without being cooked. They’d also talked about their families. Like the fact that she had no siblings, while he had seven. Why would he share that kind of information with her if he was planning on hurting her all along? It made no sense. Maybe it was all lies? It was just, usually, she was so good at spotting a liar, and he’d seemed so authentic.
Jewel looked at Jem and frowned.
“So what would happen if a Fenrir were to meet a Valkyrie or just a normal human?” Jem asked.
“From what we’ve been told they’re pretty hostile. Especially if you know what they are.” Maisie said.
“So the likelihood of one of them protecting a human?” Jem asked. “Or transforming in front of one?”
“It’s pretty low.” Maisie said, then she looked at Jem, “Did he transform in front of you? That Fenrir Ali saved you from.”
Jem had a sinking feeling. Something just didn’t feel right in this place. She nodded.
“Before or after Ali attached the Gleipnir bonds?” Lettie asked.
“I’m sorry, the what?” Jem asked.
“The Gleipnir bonds. They kind of look like red ribbons, only they can’t be broken by Fenrir. They’re enchanted to prevent any Fenrir from breaking free from them, and they hurt them if they try.” Lettie said.
“He transformed before.” Jem said.
Lettie and Maisie looked between each other, their eyes wide.
“Are you sure? I mean, it must have all happened really quickly.” Maisie said.
“I’m pretty sure.” Jem said.
It was clear Maisie and Lettie had no idea what to say after Jem’s little revelation, instead they went back to showing Jem and Jewel around Folkvang.
If Jem had thought the training hall was big, then the rest of the hall, palace really, was simply mind-boggling in its proportions. Folkvang was enormous. There was the training hall, the dining hall, the bathing rooms, classrooms and armour rooms. There were bedrooms and entertainment rooms. There were women everywhere, and that was just inside! Outside there were stables, training fields, walking tracks, mountains, and streams. In all likelihood, Jem still had plenty more to see. But from her small sampling, she knew that this was a whole other world. A vast one, and one where though some of the rules were the same, many were different.
Despite all the changes, Jewel, it seemed, was thoroughly enjoying herself. Of course, Jewel always seemed that way, right up until that moment when you knew she wasn’t. Jem’s best friend seemed airy-fairy and carefree, but once you got to know Jewel, really know her, you could see that she used her carefree, happy exterior as a mask. Sometimes when it seemed all was well with Jewel, deep down she was actually really unhappy, miserable even. Even having known Jewel most of her life, Jem often struggled to see the cues that let her know her friend was unhappy. For now, as far as Jem could tell, it seemed like she was genuinely happy, and when it came down to it Jem couldn’t pretend that this place wasn’t amazing. Because it was. Jem doubted she could imagine a place half as wonderful, and she had quite an imagination. The women here were amazing too. Jem found herself not only liking most, if not all, of the women she met but feeling as though she had an instant connection with many of them. Jem enjoyed chatting with the other women as they ate, and the bunk room style accommodation, used specifically for Valkyrie who had been in Folkvang under a year, reminded her of camping trips with her youth group when she was younger. The women even stayed up chatting most of the first night which sparked a real feeling of nostalgia. As the new Valkyrie had chatted, Jem had noticed Jewel’s ears perk up at the mention of the Einherjar. A group of male warriors, much like Valkyrie, that they would often train either with or against them in competitions. The Einherjar were apparently rather attractive, at least according to the woman who had worked alongside them, or in some cases had gone to collect their spirits from the battlefield. That was one of the special things about Valkyrie. They could go to a battlefield to collect the souls of worthy men, worthy warriors who had died, or were dying, and bring them to Valhalla to train and fight to protect Asgard from the threats that faced this world. The Einherjar’s earthly lives ended, but they had another shot at life here in Asgard, while the women all chatted animatedly about the hot Einherjar, Jem couldn’t stop her thoughts from detouring straight back to Dan. Every time she relaxed for even a second she found herself wondering where they had taken him. Obviously to the dungeon, but she couldn’t stop herself from wanting to know exactly where. Jem wanted to see him. To talk to him. She wanted to understand why he had really come for her because for better or worse she had liked him. She possibly still liked him. Even the fact that he was sometimes a huge wolf didn’t bother her. Not really. Sure she’d been shocked when he’d transformed right in front of her. But the more she thought about it, the more she found that she didn’t really care. It actually kind of made sense, in a strange way. The way he moved. The way his eyes changed colour. The way her heart raced around him. Well. Maybe that was more to do with how he looked in his human form. The fact that he was a wolf, a Fenrir, it just fit. Jem just couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that he was gone now. That he was a prisoner of the Aesir, or that he was the bad guy. At least she kept being told he was the bad guy. Over and over again she heard it repeated that the Fenrir were dangerous, aggressive, evil. But no matter how hard she tried to listen to what the women were saying, women who had been in battle with the Fenrir for thousands of years, there just never seemed to be any solid proof that the Fenrir had ever done anything that could even be considered bad. At least if you didn’t include the Fenrir beast killing Odin. When it came down to it, no matter what anyone had to say about the Fenrir, Jem still couldn’t stop herself from thinking of Dan, and every time she did her heart ached. It ached much in the same way it had when she had lost her Mum, which was crazy because she had loved her Mum her entire life, and had only known Dan a few days, most of which she hadn’t even seen him over.
Jem’s shoes padded softly against the pressed dirt path as she walked the tree-lined walkways surrounding the Hall of Folkvang. She’d tried to avoid wandering inside the bustling walls of Folkvang, instead opting to walk outside. That way she could avoid most of the women. In the evenings when the bulk of the training had ended for the day you could find women everywhere. Sitting together around campfires, sharing meals indoors, and though Jem had joined the social groups more than once over the two weeks since she arrived. More often than not she found herself needing time on her own. It was the only way she could decompress from the day of learning. So far she’d done training under all four of the Valkyrie factions and had found herself able to complete the tasks set by each. She’d also found that she was the descendant of the Valkyrie Pogn, a negotiator Valkyrie, which suited her because she found herself enjoying the company of the blue-clad women. Even though she was disappointed to find Jewel was the descendant of Hildr, a warrior Valkyrie, and that they wouldn’t be training together. At least not much. In particular, Jem was drawn to Reyna. She reminded Jem of her Gran. Although she looked much younger and had latte coloured skin, rather than her Gran’s porcelain. It was something about her manner. Something about her nature. It radiated from the negotiator Valkyrie and made Jem feel safe and secure, just as she did with her Gran. Both Reyna and her Gran were calming. They listened and really heard you. They weighed carefully what they were going to say before opening their mouths, and when they did open them, the people around them left feeling empowered and cared for, even when the conversation hadn’t ended where they had wanted it too. Jem had no doubt that she was meant to be a negotiator Valkyrie. That knowledge was only trumped by her desire to walk the halls. With each step she tried to convince herself that she wasn’t searching for Dan. But she was. It didn’t matter if she was inside or out. Training. Studying. Eating. Or well anything else. He was never far from her mind. Two weeks. It’d been two weeks, and now she was waking up at night. She couldn’t shut off the feeling that he was calling her, asking for her help. Which was why she found herself at one o’clock in the morning walking around the forest, before making her way back into Folkvang where she would no doubt wander the now familiar halls ‘not searching’ for Dan. Some nights she would swear that beyond the gentle snoring and the occasional flush of a toilet she could hear screaming, and her heart would wrench deep inside her chest, afraid that it was Dan, and that she’d never see him again.
The screams were louder tonight, or were they more strangled, as though the owner of the scream was losing their fight to take another breath. Whatever they were, Jem’s heart was racing in panic. A bone-deep fear gripped her. The anxiety was so overwhelming that when she heard the heavy footfalls of someone else walking the halls she ducked around the corner, out of view. When she came back out she saw a tall thin man with blood-red hair, much like Queen Freya’s, disappear around the corner. except for of Ali, who she had seen only once or twice since he brought her to Folkvang, this red-haired man was one of the only males Jem had seen, and there was something about him that made her skin crawl. Which was strange, because the more she thought about it, the more she realised he looked very much like a masculine version of Freya. Jem’s heart rate amped up, and before she realised what she was doing she found herself halfway down a stained glass-lined hallway, the one the red-haired man had just come from. Once she was sure she wouldn’t be seen she descended the stairs to who knows where. The further down she went the faster her heart seemed to race, and the more determined her footsteps. It was as though something deep within her had taken over, her brain had been circumvented and some primal part of her was in control. The air became damper and mustier, as though both dust and mould had found its way into this place and were fighting for dominance. She continued walking forward not even glancing left or right. Almost as though she knew exactly where she was going. Only she had no idea, and maybe, just maybe it was fear that kept her from looking to the sides, because no matter how much she tried to deny it, this place that she’d found seemed more and more like a dungeon, and from what she could tell a dungeon was a lot more like an abattoir than it was like the jail cells in Midgard police stations. Surely they wouldn’t be keeping Dan and his wolf friend here? It had been two weeks, what could they possibly gain from keeping them here. Besides, the Aesir were supposed to be the good guys, and the good guys didn’t torture people. Did they?
A husky voice croaked from a cell at the end of the hall. “Dan. Dan?! Are you alright?”
She heard a cough and thump, and her heart skipped a beat.
“No names, remember.” Dan’s voice said.
“He already knows our names Dan.” The first voice said in exasperation.
“He thinks he does. But he’s not sure.” Dan said.
Jem reached the huge wooden door and looked past the bars that formed a small window at the top. Jem couldn’t prevent the gasp when she looked inside and saw Dan, naked, his hair matted, and the floor around him covered in blood, some old, some clearly new. His eyes shot up to meet hers, at first shocked, but then softening.
“Hello little dove.” He said, forcing a smile.
Dan’s friend looked between the two of them and growled, his lip rolling back to expose his teeth. Dan shot him a look, shaking his head, and his friend went silent, though he glared at Jem as though she were evil incarnate.
“Dan...” she started, but there were no words. How did you say sorry? He was supposed to be evil. This was apparently how criminals were treated in this world. But no matter how she tried to justify it, seeing him sitting on the ground, his friend crouched beside him looking completely unharmed, with the exception of deep wounds around his wrists, while Dan’s flesh was red raw, torn into strips that hung from his thinning frame and still bleeding, made her feel like vomiting. She felt like a monster. There was no way, not in any world that this was right. She felt a tear run down her cheek and Dan frowned.
“What’s wrong Jemima?” he asked, completely ignoring the condition of his broken body, focusing instead on her.
She shook her head in disbelief, hoping against hope that if she shook her head hard enough all of this would disappear.
“What happened to you?” she asked dumbly, as though she couldn’t figure it out. As though it wasn’t her fault that he was here.
Gerard growled. “I don’t care if you do think she’s your mate Dan. This stupid girl. This Valkyrie is the reason I’m watching Freyr beat you to death.” He said to Dan, then he turned to her. “You want to know what’s happening?” he growled.
“Gerard.” Dan said, warning in his voice.
Gerard shook his head. “Dan came to save you, from me. To stop me from capturing you and bringing you back to the den, and in return you got him captured by the Aesir, and now they’re making me watch while they torture him to get information about our den so they can kill all our people.”
“You were trying to capture me then?” she asked.
Dan nodded and though he looked ashamed he refused to look away from her.
“So you never really liked me?” she asked, her voice full of hurt.
“I fell in love with you from the moment I saw you Jemima. You’re my mate.” Dan said.
“I don’t believe you.” She said, and then she turned and ran, tears streaming down her face, while Dan called out her name. No, while Dan said, as loudly as he could manage in his condition. “I’m sorry Jemima. I love you.”
Dan couldn’t believe he’d seen her. Jemima. His little dove. She’d been right outside the door of the cell. He would have done almost anything to be able to get up and walk over to her. But the fact was, it had taken every ounce of his strength to just lift his head up and look at her rather than collapsing to the ground, allowing his body to rest and heal before Freyr returned to give him his next beating. Just seeing her gave him hope. He’d been praying that the Creator would let him see her again, and clearly, He had been listening. Dan might not see her again, though he hoped he would. But even if he didn’t, seeing her gave him hope that he could hold out through the next beating. She reminded him why he was keeping his mouth closed. She reminded him of all the people he was protecting. He knew that as long as he and Gerard were down here there would be another beating. He just didn’t know when it would be. There was no rhyme or reason to when Freyr would come. The beatings were never at the same time. Sometimes Freyr waited for what seemed like a few days before he beat Dan, other times it seemed as if he’d only been gone a few hours. The only constant in the dungeon was that Freyr was always on his own. That, and that Dan and Gerard were only given food after a beating. Food that Freyr provided. In fact, anything they were given came via Freyr. Things like water or bandages, and except for seeing Jemima, Dan and Gerard hadn’t seen a single soul aside from Freyr. It made Dan wonder how, and why Jemima had come down here. At least he knew she was okay. It broke his heart to see her crying. To have her think that he was only trying to capture her. To have her doubting that he cared for her. If anything his time in the dungeon with Freyr had solidified how Dan felt about her. Because every time Freyr beat him Dan had been able to find a place of calm deep within himself, and Jemima was always there. She had become his place of peace.
Gerard was still raging even after Jemima was gone. All the while Dan found himself breathing in her scent, thankful to have just a moment with her. She was alive. She was safe, and no amount of torture would change that.
“I should have killed her.” Gerard raged.
At those words, Dan’s attention snapped to Gerard. He growled at his friend, and Gerard glared at him.
“I can’t believe you’re still insisting that woman is your mate.” Gerard yelled “She’s the reason we’re stuck here! She’s the reason you’re getting tortured everyday! If it weren’t for the fact that you’re Fenrir you’d have been dead a week ago, but as it is I’m going to be watching you be beaten for weeks, if not years!” Gerard yelled, his face getting redder and redder.
Dan glared right back. “She. Is. My. Mate.” He said, his voice low with warning.
“She’s a filthy Valkyrie!” Gerard yelled at him.
“If you call her that again I’ll make you regret it.” Dan said.
“It’s what she is! A Valkyrie! She’s not one of us. She’s not Fenrir. She. Is. A. FILTHY. Valkyrie!” Gerard raged.
Dan turned to Gerard, whipped back his fist and let fly. His fist finding Gerard’s nose with a crunch.
Gerard looked at him in shock, cradling his nose.
“If she’s your mate, then why did she leave?” Gerard said, though the anger seemed to have seeped away.
“She may be my mate.” Dan said, “But until she accepts me, I’m not hers.”
Gerard sighed. “How much more of this can you take?” he asked.
Dan shifted his position, and his raw skin protested the movement “I’ll take whatever I need to.” He said, “I’ll die before I sell out our people.”
Gerard nodded. “I know you will. That’s what worries me.” He said.