Authors: Kristi Jones
"Jess.
Sergeant Jesse Moran."
"Jess,"
I said, dropping my voice, adopting the same gestures I'd seen him use with the
girl. "My name is Sabrina. I'm not going to hurt you. If you'll just sit
down, I'll try to explain."
Chapter Three
Sergeant
Jesse Moran was silent and avoided making eye contact. He had a wary, hunted
look, as if I might be Medusa and one glance could suddenly turn him to stone.
We sat
opposite each other, the small fire crackling between us. The temperature had
dropped. It would be a cold night after all.
"So,"
Jess said. "Assuming for a moment that I'm not crazy or suffering a
traumatic brain injury, why don't you go ahead and explain?"
"What
do you want to know?"
He
laughed,
a harsh, cynical laugh that didn't match the
compassion I'd seen earlier.
"I'm
sorry. What do you want to know
first
?"
"Well,
for starters, what exactly is a Valkyrie?"
I pulled the
pins from my hair and ran my fingers through the long strands, grateful to be
back to familiar territory, for while I had never rescued a soldier
before,
I had marked them and explained their fate. Of
course, usually I was on my way to Valhalla and not breaking rules and hiding
out in the desert with my contraband.
"Valkyries
haunt the battlefield. Our mission is to find the heroic, courageous warrior,
to mark him and bring him to Valhalla."
“
Mark
him? What does that mean?
”
“
It
means we claim that warrior.
”
“
Claim
him for what?
”
“
Well,
for Valhalla.
”
"What's
that?
Valhalla.
I've heard that word before."
"It's
a great hall, a castle if you will. It lies between worlds and so offers the
best of both." In theory, that is. From all accounts, Valhalla wasn't what
it used to be.
"What
do you
mean,
the best of both worlds?"
"A
chosen warrior is granted the gift of everlasting life. He is still human and
yet immortal. As a reward for bravery, the marked warrior receives everlasting
life as a young man. Like us, he will have his five senses and so enjoy the
taste of mead, the sound of music, the smell of fresh bread, the sight and
touch of beautiful women."
"Wait
a minute," he said, stopping my litany of rewards.
"Between
worlds?
Where is that?"
"Beyond.
Beyond this world that you know."
"And
you? You live between worlds?"
"Yes,"
I said, surprised by the question. No warrior had asked me that before.
"So
you go out and pick up men from the battlefields," Jess said, a note of
sarcasm lacing his words, "take them back to Valhalla, wine and dine them,
then head out to the battlefield again... what, when you get bored?"
I laughed,
pulling my hair over my shoulder.
"Not exactly.
To tell you the truth, Valkyries tend to avoid Valhalla."
"Why
is that?"
"You
ask a lot of questions for a mortal."
"Most
of the men you capture aren't curious?"
“
I
didn't capture you," I said, feeling a sudden sense of foreboding.
"I'm trying to keep you safe."
Jess
nodded, twisting his lips. "Feels more like capture, but hey, it's your
party."
"Well,
most men are dazed and confused, rarely inquisitive.
And
dead."
I didn't
mean for the words to sound like a lecture, an accusation, and I regretted them
the moment the fear leapt back into his eyes.
"I'm
sorry, Sergeant. I just ... I've never been in this position before."
"What
position is that?"
"Violating
the rules of engagement."
"How
did you do that? What rules?"
"I'm
not supposed to interact with mortals. Not unless I'm marking them for
Valhalla."
"So,
you interacted. So what? Thanks for saving my life and all, but I have to get
back to my unit."
"I'm
afraid you can't do that. Not yet."
"And
I'm afraid I don't have a choice. I can't go AWOL, no matter what violations
you've committed."
I didn't
want to tell him about Death. I didn't want to push his mental state too far.
Of course, I could keep him by sheer force, but I didn't want to do that
either. I realized with a blushing sort of embarrassment that I wanted him to
like me.
To trust me.
I was left with no choice but to
tell the truth. At least, as much truth as I thought he could handle.
"When
you saved the girl..."
"I
didn't save the girl. If anyone saved the girl, it was you."
A heavy
silence fell between us. The fire crackled and snapped, gleaming off Jess
’
s enticing skin.
I cleared
my throat and started again.
“
When the girl drew her weapon, she must have known she was
inviting Death.
”
“
What
does that mean? Inviting death?
”
“
It
’
s hard for me to explain to you, a mortal, but Death keeps
an eye out for situations that will give
It
a soul. It
wanted the girl.
”
“
You
’
re talking about death like he was a person.
”
“
Not
a person, no,
”
I said, shaking my head.
“
But
Death
is
a being, of sorts. It can
take on the guise of any life form. It can move from one life form to another,
though it is weakened during the times between bodies, and
Its
purpose is to collect souls.
”
“
God,
”
Jess said, running a hand through his hair, blinking.
“
What does it do with the souls it takes?
”
I shrugged.
“
Depends.
Some are
taken to
Its
lair, of course. Others ascend. I don
’
t really know what happens to them after that.
”
“
But
you collect souls yourself.
”
“
No.
I can mark a soul for Valhalla. The souls I do not mark? I
’
m not sure what happens to them.
”
“
I
don
’
t understand,
”
Jess said, shifting his legs, moving into a crouch, legs splayed wide, resting
his arms on his thighs.
“
If you
’
re a goddess, you
’
re
part of the
—
you know
—
the afterlife.
”
“
I
’
m sorry to disappoint you, but there isn
’
t one cohesive system that accounts for everything in the
universe. There are other worlds, worlds apart from the mortal life you know on
earth. There are worlds beneath this world and above. Each of these worlds has
a history and a litany of gods and demons, mortal creatures, and immortals.
”
Jess shook
his head. He rose to his feet and began pacing.
“
This
is crazy. It
’
s just crazy.
”
“
I
know it must sound crazy, but the universe is a swirl of strange worlds and
strange creatures, full of unexplained and inexplicable things. On some level,
you must know this.
”
“
Yeah,
I guess I do. I guess I
’
ve learned that on the battlefield. It
’
s one of the hardest things to accept in combat. You can
draw battle lines on a map, you can plan a mission down the last detail, but
the real thing is, well, it
’
s a mess.
”
He took my
breath away. He stood there, silhouetted against the star struck night sky,
puzzling over the mysteries of the universe with me, as if it were quite
natural. He was overwhelming and captivating and completely attractive.
“
I
know this is overwhelming, Jess,
”
I said, getting to my feet and trying to keep my voice steady and reassuring,
“
but you don
’
t need to work out the mysteries of the universe right now.
We have a bigger, more immediate problem.
”
Jess just
looked at me, his jaw set as if he were bracing for my next words.
“
Death
has an overdeveloped sense of smell. It
’
s
a relentless tracker.
”
“
That
makes sense I guess,
”
Jess said, uncomprehending and so sweetly innocent.
“
I
’
m afraid, well, it
’
s
possible that
It
has your scent now,
”
I said, meeting his eyes,
“
It
’
s angry with me for setting in motion a chain of events
that saved the girl. It was counting on having her soul, and I believe
It
will want revenge.
An accounting.
”
“
What
are you saying? That
It
will find the girl and kill
her?
”
My heart
filled with pity and some other, welling, crashing emotion that I had no words
for.
“
No, Jess,
”
I said, shaking my head sadly,
“
I
’
m saying that It wants you, and if I don
’
t find a way to stop it, Death will find you, and kill you.
”
“
Oh.
”
“
That
’
s why you can
’
t
go back to your unit just yet. I have to find a way to keep Death from
following you there.
”
“
Can
you do that?
”
“
I
will, Jess,
”
I said, going to him. I put my hands on his shoulders,
turning him to face me.
“
I
’
ll do everything in my power to free you from Death. I
promise.
”
Jess
stepped away from my touch. That muscle in his jaw twitched, and his fists were
clenched. I
’
d frightened him, moving so close, so fast.
"We
should get some sleep," I said, stepping away from him. It hurt to see the
fear in his eyes, but I shouldn
’
t have expected anything else. He was only human, after
all. I busied myself building a bed using Jesse
’
s
emergency blanket, kicking away stones that might dig into his flesh while he
slept.
When it was
complete, I stretched out on the blanket with slow, deliberate movements. I laced
my hands behind my back and looked up at the stars, giving him time to relax.
Jess watched me with wary, hooded eyes.
"You're
not going to do anything weird, are you?"
"Weird?"
"I
don't know," he said, running a hand through his hair. "You don't
crave human flesh at midnight or anything like that, do you?"
"I'm a
Valkyrie, not a
Fenrir
."
"A
Fen-what?"
I propped
up on my elbow and smiled at him. "I'm not going to hurt you, Jess. I did
just save your life, remember?"
"Just
keep your hands to yourself."
"Fine,"
I said, rolling my eyes. But I wasn't sure I could keep my word. His green eyes
had turned
a dark
amber in the moonlight, and I was
mesmerized by the light playing across the planes of his face. He was so soft,
so fragile, and yet so strong. I felt an almost irresistible urge to run my
fingers along his jawline, to test its mettle.
We lay side
by side underneath the emergency blanket, our bodies close, but not touching.