Valkyrie

by Kate O'Hearn

  Both Valkyries let out howls that were so loud, windows shattered around them forcing the soldiers to drop their weapons and clutch their ears as the glass rained down on them.

  Without pausing, they opened their wings and launched into the air. Following closely behind Sylt, they were just climbing higher when they were met with a terrifying sight.

  Four large, black helicopters were hovering overhead, waiting to catch them. Their blinding searchlights shone directly on to them, lighting them up as a target.

  ‘Stop!’ boomed a voice from one of the helicopters. ‘Land on the roof right now or we’ll open fire! This is your only warning!’

  ‘This way!’ Freya shouted as she took the lead. She tilted her black wings and manoeuvered expertly away from the helicopters. She dipped down, close to street level, where they were protected by buildings. With the helicopters unable to follow at that level, they were able to escape into the darkness.

  Back at the house, they settled Sylt in the garage. Frightened and furious, Maya charged forward. ‘If that was your idea of fun . . .’

  ‘No!’ Freya cried. ‘I don’t know who they were.’ She looked over to Archie. ‘We’ve never seen them before, have we?’

  ‘No, never!’

  ‘Who were they?’ Maya demanded.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Archie said. ‘The military maybe? They’ve probably heard the stories about Gee and set a trap to capture her.’

  ‘Well they very nearly succeeded!’ Maya raged. ‘Do you have any idea what Odin would have done if they caught us? It would have meant war!’ She focused on Freya and raised a threatening finger. ‘As long as I am here, there will be no going back into that city again! Is that understood?’

  Freya nodded. ‘Understood.’

  Maya stormed out of the garage.

  Archie reached for a towel to wipe down Sylt. His hands were still shaking. ‘I was really scared, Gee. I thought they got you.’

  Freya smiled weakly and picked up a second towel. ‘So did I.’

  When Monday morning arrived Freya tried her best to convince her sister to join them at school.

  ‘Spend a whole day with human children? No thank you!’ Maya was adamant. ‘After last night I have had more than enough excitement. I’d rather marry a Dark Searcher.’

  Freya shot a look at her. Dark Searchers were a subject she’d rather not think about.

  ‘Sorry,’ Maya said quickly. ‘My words got away from me.’

  Archie looked suspiciously between the two. ‘Are you sure there’s not something you want to tell me?’

  Freya put on a forced smile. ‘Nope, everything’s fine.’ She waved goodbye to her sister. ‘We’ll be back by four.’

  Outside, Archie looked back at his house. ‘Will Mia be OK on her own?’

  Freya nodded. ‘Orus taught her how to use the television and remote. He’s told her all about his favourite shows. I’m sure we’ll find she hasn’t moved from the sofa all day.’

  Archie was met with loud shouts of greetings from the members of the Geek Squad as they all gathered round to welcome him back to school.

  ‘Boy, I thought I’d never see you again!’ Leo Max said. ‘We tried to visit you at the hospital, but the battle-axe on the desk wouldn’t let us in.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Kevin agreed. ‘I tried to sneak past her, but she caught me.’

  Freya nodded and laughed. ‘I saw you there. You almost made it.’

  ‘Where were you?’ Elizabeth asked. ‘I didn’t see you.’

  ‘Oops!’ Orus cawed in laughter. ‘Busted!’

  ‘Who, me?’ Freya stammered. ‘I was hiding beside Archie’s bed. The nurse didn’t see me there.’

  ‘Cool!’ Leo Max said. He caught Archie by the arm. ‘Did you hear? JP got away from Mr Powless right before the police got here. He stole his brother’s truck. That’s what he hit you with.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Kevin added. ‘He busted up Mr Powless’s lip good and broke his nose. He was away from school for two whole days.’

  ‘Where is JP?’ Archie asked.

  Leo Max shrugged. ‘No one knows. The police are still looking for him but they think he’s run away. His gang has been expelled permanently from school.’

  ‘Finally!’ Archie cried.

  The bell rang and everyone headed towards their classes.

  ‘Aren’t you coming?’ Archie asked as Freya stood back.

  Freya shook her head. ‘I’ll be right there, but I’ve got to see the Principal first. I want to let her know that you’re back and to ask permission for my sister to come to the dance with us.’ She paused and looked sadly at Archie as he went off with Leo Max and Kevin. She couldn’t tell him that she was also going to let her know that this was their last week at the school.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Maya waited by the window and watched the street. She needed to be sure Freya and Archie weren’t coming back. When she was convinced, she picked up the large coat Alma had given to her.

  ‘What are you planning?’ Grul asked as she pulled it on.

  ‘I don’t think Freya realizes just how much danger we’re in. Last night will seem like a party compared to what Odin will do if Loki convinces him that I’ve come here. I’ve got an idea, and I just hope it works.’

  ‘I don’t like that look on your face,’ Grul warned.

  Maya smiled at her raven as they walked out the front door. ‘Then you’re especially not going to like what I’ve got planned.’

  The air was cold and it felt as if it might snow at any minute.

  ‘Will you at least tell me where we’re going?’

  ‘We saw a park not far from here when we first arrived. There are some trees in it. I hope they are dense enough to hide in. I can’t wear my helmet but I need to get back up into the air.’

  ‘Where are we going?’

  Maya grinned. ‘Asgard.’

  Maya paused. She had the feeling they were being followed, but hadn’t spotted anyone around her. Using her senses didn’t work – there were too many people in the area.

  ‘What is it?’ Grul asked.

  Maya’s keen eyes searched for movement behind parked cars or in bushes in people’s front yards. But she couldn’t see anything specific.

  ‘Nothing,’ she muttered. ‘I just have the feeling that we’re being watched.’

  ‘Do you think it’s Loki?’ Grul asked fearfully.

  Maya shook her head. ‘No, he’d come at us straight on, with Odin in tow. What I’m feeling is very Earthbound. I hope it’s not the same people from last night.’ After a moment, she started walking again.

  Reaching the park, they made their way over to a dense cluster of trees. ‘Perfect,’ Maya said. She pulled off her wool coat and freed her wings.

  Just as she was about to take to the air, she heard movement behind her. Turning sharply, she saw a tall, stocky boy approaching her.

  ‘Well, well, well,’ he said as he casually came forward. ‘What have we got here? It’s another winged freak living at Daisy’s house.’

  Maya sensed a darkness coming from the boy. Hatred so deep and intense, she could almost taste its foulness in her mouth.

  ‘Who are you?’ she demanded.

  ‘Don’t you know? I’d have thought that other winged freak would’ve told you all about me. The name’s JP. Who are you?’

  ‘Not someone you want to know,’ Maya said darkly. ‘Yes, I recognize your name. You tried to kill my sister and Archie.’

  ‘That black-winged demon is your sister?’

  Maya inhaled deeply. ‘I would tread very carefully, human,’ she warned. ‘I care a great deal for my sister. I won’t tolerate you calling her names.’

  ‘What are you gonna do about it, Valkyrie,’ JP shot back. A cruel, triumphant smile rose to his lips. ‘Yes, I know what you are. That black-winged freak told me, so I looked it up. I know what you do and where you’re from. You kill people. But you can’t kill me; this isn’t a battlefield. Thor wouldn’t like it.’

/>   ‘Odin, actually,’ Maya corrected. ‘Thor wouldn’t care who I killed.’ She used her speed and strength to catch JP by the coat before he could move. She hoisted him in the air with one hand and slammed him against a tree. When he fell to the ground, she put her boot on his chest.

  ‘Did your research also tell you that Valkyries can punish whomever we feel deserves it? And you, boy, deserve it more than anyone I’ve met in a very, very long time. I should break every bone in your body for what you’ve done.’

  ‘Go ahead!’ JP challenged. ‘Then I’ll tell everyone what you are. They’ll catch you and your sister and lock you up so far away that not even Odin will find you.’

  Maya was stunned by his arrogant defiance. The boy was as fearless as he was dangerous. She hauled him to his feet and pressed him against the trunk of the tree. JP struggled in her grip and tried to hit her. But Maya was faster and caught his arm.

  ‘What happened to you, boy? How could one so young be so angry?’ Her eyes bored into him, searching for answers. ‘No one is born evil. Who hurt you so badly that you have become this monster?’

  ‘No one touched me, they wouldn’t dare!’ JP shot. ‘I do what I want. Always have, always will, and nobody can stop me.’

  Maya shook her head sadly and lifted the bully until his feet dangled off the ground. ‘Now, you listen to me. I don’t think you fully comprehend the danger you are in. I could break your body or I could destroy your mind and make you forget who you are. Then you won’t be able to hurt anyone ever again.’

  For the first time, fear rose in his eyes.

  ‘Would you like that, JP? Would you like me to destroy your mind? Because I will. Right here and right now.’

  JP shook his head.

  ‘Say it!’ Maya commanded.

  JP slouched in her grip. He dropped his eyes. ‘Please don’t hurt me.’

  Maya leaned in closer to his face. ‘If I didn’t have somewhere very important to go, I would stay and make you beg. But I don’t have time. So hear me well, human. Leave this town. Go as far away from here as you can and turn your life around. If I ever see you again, you will not survive the encounter. Whatever you think a Valkyrie is, it’s only a fraction of what we truly are. Remember that!’

  Maya stared into JP’s eyes. The bully’s emotions betrayed him. He was terrified. She shoved him away. ‘Go now, and pray we don’t meet again!’

  JP stumbled away from her. When he was out in the open he turned back and raised his fist. ‘This isn’t over, freak!’

  ‘He won’t learn. Go get him!’ Grul cawed furiously.

  Maya shook her head. ‘He’s the least of our worries. If we fail and Odin releases the Midgard Serpent on Earth, he’ll wish I had ended his life. Come, let’s go.’

  Maya leaped into the air. With the trees offering her cover, she and Grul headed straight up. Finally she changed direction in the sky and sought the entrance to Bifröst.

  ‘Heimdall,’ Maya called softly. She was standing within the brilliant glow of the Rainbow Bridge.

  ‘Maya?’ the Watchman called back. He left his post and approached the entrance of the bridge.

  ‘Are we alone? Is it safe for me to come off Bifröst?’

  When Heimdall nodded, Maya exited the bridge. It was still dark out in Asgard, but she could feel it wouldn’t be long until dawn.

  ‘Where is Freya?’ Heimdall asked, looking past her.

  Maya sighed. ‘There’s been a bit of a delay.’

  ‘What! There can be no delays. Freya must come back right now before we are all found out!’

  ‘It’s not as simple as that,’ Maya said. She stepped up to Heimdall and started to tell him about Freya’s life on Earth, the friends she had made and the deal she struck with the Angel of Death.

  ‘She is risking her life for this human boy?’

  Maya nodded. ‘I have never seen my sister so devoted.’

  ‘Are they in love?’

  Maya nodded. ‘Of a sort, but not like you think. Archie isn’t like that. What they have is a bond of friendship that runs just as deep.’ She paused and looked away. ‘Heimdall, if I’m honest, I envy her. She has found something so special there. Something wonderful, but tragic. Archie has only a few days left to live. The Angel of Death is going to take him the day after the dance . . .’

  ‘And?’ Heimdall asked gently.

  Maya sighed. ‘. . . And I want to give Freya those last few days to share with him.’

  ‘You may not have a choice. Dawn is but a short time away. Soon the Valkyries will gather for the reaping. If you and your sister aren’t there . . .’

  ‘I know,’ Maya said. ‘But I’ve got an idea to buy her some time.’

  The Watchman’s bushy blond eyebrows knitted together in a deep frown. ‘What are you planning?’

  Maya grinned. ‘When I was a child, I remember when the senior Valkyrie, Broomhilde, had too much mead at Valhalla. She thought it would be fun to let the Reaping Mares out of their stalls for a long, late-night flight.’

  Heimdall chuckled. ‘I remember. It caused pandemonium. It took all night to catch the mares and get them back into their stalls. When Odin found out, he was furious and demoted her. Your mother then became senior Valkyrie.’

  Maya nodded. ‘Heimdall, I am going to do the same thing.’

  ‘Maya, you can’t! If Odin discovers it was you . . .’

  ‘It can’t be any worse than sending Dark Searchers after us or unleashing the Midgard Serpent on Earth. If I release the Reaping Mares, it might cause enough of a diversion that I can get Freya back here without anyone noticing.’

  Heimdall shook his head. ‘Odin is no fool. He’ll know you did it and why.’

  ‘Perhaps,’ Maya agreed. ‘But by then Freya and I will be back and Loki won’t have any proof of where we’ve been.’

  ‘But you’ll be punished,’ Heimdall insisted. He dropped his head. ‘I don’t want to see you hurt.’

  Maya was touched by his concern. ‘I know,’ she agreed softly. ‘But seeing Freya so happy will be worth whatever Odin does to me.’

  The Watchman paused and rubbed his chin with a massive hand. Finally he nodded. ‘Stay here a moment.’

  Heimdall went back to his guard house. He returned carrying an unopened keg of mead. ‘Take this. When you get to the stables, open it and spill mead around the area and then leave the opened keg where it will be found. With luck, Odin will suspect it was a reveller from Valhalla who freed the mares.’

  Maya was struck silent by his generosity. ‘I – I don’t know how to thank you for this.’

  Heimdall blushed bright red. ‘I just hope Freya appreciates what a wonderful sister she has in you.’

  Maya nodded and lifted the heavy keg. ‘She does. She will also know what a true friend you have been to her . . . and to me.’ Opening her wings, she leaped up into the air and headed for the stables of the Reaping Mares.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  The week passed in a blur. Days were spent in school, while nights were passed with Freya, Maya and Archie soaring in the skies above Illinois.

  With the threat of the black helicopters patrolling the skies over Chicago, they kept away from the city and soared over open farmland.

  On Thursday afternoon the Valkyries, Archie and the rest of the Geek Squad helped Tamika, Alma and Uniik move into their new home with Curtis and Carol. It was in the same neighbourhood as Leo Max.

  Everyone in the Geek Squad was excited that Tamika would be living closer to them and that they could all spend more time together.

  ‘It’s huge,’ Archie cried as he explored the house with Freya and Leo Max. ‘It’s almost as big as yours, Leo Max!’

  Leo Max nodded. ‘This is so cool. Now we have two big yards to train in.’

  ‘Or play football,’ Curtis offered as he tossed the ball to Leo Max. ‘Come on, let’s take a break and try it out.’

  For the first time since she’d arrived on Earth, Freya joined her friends in a quick game of t
ouch football. Her hair was tucked up in a winter hat and every inch of skin was covered, including a wool scarf that mostly covered her face.

  Maya stood on the sidelines with Orus and Grul, cheering and clapping as her sister played with the others.

  The ground was frozen solid and the first flakes of snow were just starting to fall. Maya watched as Freya caught the tossed ball and ran for the end zone, slipped and fell on the slippery ground.

  Despite the pain of landing on her wings, she roared with laughter as the others gathered round and made light-hearted jokes about her poor running style. ‘I’d like to see you all trying to run with your wings bound behind you!’ she laughed as she climbed awkwardly to her feet.

  Archie and Tamika’s faces showed surprise at the comment, but the others in the Geek Squad just took the remark as normal, when coming from her.

  When the game ended, Leo Max invited everyone back to his house for snacks. They stayed on into the evening, playing in the games room Leo Max’s father had built. Even Maya joined in. Her light laughter had the boys in the Geek Squad bewitched as they all pressed in closer to her and invited her to play against them.

  Maya looked at her sister and winked as she won game after game.

  Freya was used to men swooning over her sister and felt no jealousy as the Geek Squad fawned over Maya. Instead, she stood back with Archie and Tamika, laughing and teasing her.

  At the end of a great day they made their way back to Archie’s house, to find the lights were on.

  ‘Mom!’ Archie cried as he ran up the steps. He put the key in the lock and charged through the door.

  ‘Archie, is that you?’ a woman’s voice shouted.

  ‘This isn’t good,’ Orus remarked.

  ‘I think we’re in trouble,’ Grul agreed.

  Freya and Maya stood back in the entranceway as Archie entered the living room.

  ‘Where have you been?’ his mother angrily demanded. ‘Do you know what time it is? And who were those boys who came around earlier, looking for you? What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?’

  Her slurred words reminded Freya of the warriors at Valhalla who had consumed too much mead.