by Kate O'Hearn
Freya and Maya both looked at JP. Suddenly they realized what he and another member of his gang held in their hands. It was their winged helmets.
‘No!’ Freya howled as JP lifted the one he was holding and pulled it on his head.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
There was no reaction from the humans in the room – their ears could not pick up the high-pitched squealing from the two distressed winged helmets. But the Valkyries could.
Freya put her hands to her ears and tried to block out the terrible sounds. Her sister was bent over and crying in agony. Both ravens cawed and shrieked in pain.
‘We’ve got to go!’ Maya screamed, reaching for Freya. ‘Odin will hear that! He’ll come for us!’
‘Odin?’ Dr Klobucher demanded. ‘What will he hear?’
Freya pointed a shaking finger at JP and shouted over the sounds. ‘It is forbidden for living humans to wear our helmets! Odin will hear their cries of distress and come for them.’
Both Freya and Maya were being deafened by the sounds from the helmets, but for everyone else in the hall, there was only silence. So they heard Freya’s shouted response to the Principal.
‘See what I mean!’ JP cried. ‘They’re both monsters!’
Confused expressions turned to fear as the students moved away from the DJ’s podium.
‘He’s lying!’
Freya heard Archie’s voice rising above the sound of the helmets. She looked into the crowd and saw him, with the Geek Squad, charging forward. ‘They’re just causing trouble.’
JP turned the sword on him.
‘What are you going to do?’ Archie demanded, facing the bully. ‘Kill all of us? Go on, try it, in front of all these witnesses! Use the sword. But I swear you won’t get out of here alive.’
‘Archie, stop!’ Freya shouted desperately. Was this it? Was this how Archie was to die? Murdered by JP, using her sword?
Archie looked up to her. ‘No, Gee, for too long we’ve all been terrified of JP and his gang. But not any more. I won’t be bullied by him or anyone else!’ Archie advanced on the bully. ‘Take off the helmets. Right now!’
‘No, Archie!’ Freya howled.
‘Who’s gonna make me?’ JP spat as he advanced on Archie. ‘You?’
Archie nodded.
‘And me!’ Leo Max added. ‘C’mon, everyone, let’s get him!’
JP took a frightened step backwards. ‘Stay back!’ He raised the sword in the air and swished it back and forth. ‘I swear I’ll kill anyone who comes near me! Just stay back.’
Suddenly all the windows in the gym shattered. Ferocious howling screams came from the entrance doors. Everyone turned and started screaming in terror at the sight.
Two creatures stood at the doors. They were dressed in long, flowing, hooded cloaks that covered their heads and obscured their faces. Black armour could be seen beneath their dark cloaks. Huge black wings extended from their backs. In each gloved hand they carried a sword with a black blade. If it were possible, they were blacker than the darkest night and seemed to absorb light.
Both creatures threw back their heads and howled again.
‘Dark Searchers!’ Maya screamed. ‘Odin sent the Searchers after us!’
Freya had never seen one before, let alone two. They were so much worse than she’d ever imagined.
Freya shouted to the room. ‘Everyone get out of here! They are after us, but will kill anyone who gets in their way!’
The two Dark Searchers stormed into the gym. Their heads were panning back and forth over the crowds, searching, searching, and searching until they found JP and his friend, wearing the Valkyrie helmets. They raised their swords and charged forward.
‘Take off your helmets!’ Freya cried frantically. ‘They are calling them!’
JP and his friend shrieked in terror as the two monstrous creatures ran at them.
‘The helmets!’ Maya shouted. ‘Take them off!’
JP’s friend was the first to understand. He pulled off his helmet and cast it aside. One of the Dark Searchers followed it as it rolled away. But for JP, it was too late. The Searcher caught hold of him before he could remove it.
The Dark Searcher held JP by the neck and hoisted him easily off the ground. The bully screamed and tried to break free, but the Searcher’s grip was too tight.
Freya pulled the blue cape free of her dress and exposed her wings. Opening them wide, she leaped from the podium and flew full speed at the Dark Searcher holding JP.
She struck him and they tumbled to the ground. Freya was the first on her feet. She turned to the students in the gym and opened her wings fully, letting out a loud Valkyrie howl. ‘Go!’ she roared to the crowds. ‘Get out of here! Go now!’
Up on the podium, Maya shouted, ‘You heard her, go!’ She freed her own wings and unleashed a flying tackle on the second Dark Searcher.
Everyone in the gym followed their instructions and ran for the door, clambering over each other in their desperation to get out.
Freya was struggling to get JP free of the Dark Searcher but his grip wouldn’t loosen. The Searcher was so much stronger than she’d imagined. Much stronger than her.
It was as though the Dark Searcher suddenly realized who she was, and that he had found his true target. He released JP and reached for Freya. But she was faster. She moved just before his brutal grip caught hold of her arm.
Freya dashed for the weapon in JP’s hand. The bully was unconscious and she couldn’t tell if he was alive or dead. But before she could reach her sword, the Dark Searcher rose and blocked her. The monstrous creature raised his two black swords and advanced on her.
She only had seconds. Freya glanced over her shoulder and saw that the other creature was focusing on Maya. Both Dark Searchers now recognised their true targets. The remaining students in the gym were safe.
Freya opened her wings and cried, ‘Fly, sister, fly!’
With no time to say goodbye to Archie, Freya lifted off the ground and flew straight at the gymnasium’s shattered windows. She pulled her wings in tight and slipped through an opening too small for the Dark Searchers to follow.
Moments later, Maya was behind her in the sky. Orus and Grul quickly caught up with them as they headed away from Lincolnwood.
‘Faster, Freya, they’re right behind us!’ Orus cried as they rose higher into the sky.
Freya stole a glance back and saw the two Dark Searchers gaining on them. Even though she was the fastest flyer in Asgard, Freya’s wings were only half the size of theirs. There was no way they could ever hope to out-fly them and get to Bifröst.
Their only hope was to lose them. Freya called over to her sister. ‘They’re too close. Follow me. We’ll try to lose them in Chicago!’
‘Freya, no!’ Maya cried. ‘The soldiers are waiting for us in Chicago!’
‘That’s what I’m hoping for!’
Freya took the lead. With her sister close at her side, she reached over and caught Orus in her hands and pulled him to her. ‘Hold on, this is going to be rough.’
She took them lower in the sky and flew only a few metres above the ground. Darting in and out of traffic, car horns blared as drivers caught sight of the two Valkyries and the two monsters chasing behind.
No matter what they tried, Freya and Maya could not lose the Dark Searchers. They were able to get further ahead by manoeuvering around tight corners and hiding behind buildings. Then they heard the Searchers’ massive wings clip the corners and blast huge chunks out of the buildings, gaining on them once more.
As everyone in Asgard knew, once a Dark Searcher was after you, there was no escape. They would find you. The only thing to do was to give up and hope that, if they’d been ordered to kill, death came swiftly.
Freya was not ready to die but was quickly running out of ideas. No amount of dipping or dodging could get the Dark Searchers off their tails. Suddenly she heard a sound that on previous nights would be a warning to flee. But tonight, she welcomed it.
High above them in the sky, four black helicopters had arrived. The beams of their intense searchlights panned the ground.
‘Here!’ Freya called as climbed to meet them. She looked over to Maya. ‘Follow me!’
Freya flew into the beam of a searchlight. At once the other helicopters focused their searchlights on her and Maya. Freya squinted and tried to see the pilots. But all she saw was white light.
‘Stop!’ announced one of the helicopters. ‘Stop or we’ll open fire!’
Freya pointed back behind her. ‘Shoot them!’
The Dark Searchers had also been caught and blinded by the beams of light. The monstrous creatures were howling in pain and dropped their swords as they shielded their unseen eyes from the light. Their wings faltered and they began to fall from the sky.
But the blinding light was burning the Valkyries’ eyes too.
Freya tilted her wings to try to fly out of the beams but there were too many of them. Trapped and unable to see, both Freya and Maya flew headlong into the side of a building.
Stunned from the impact, they both started to fall.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Freya crashed to the ground with a deafening impact. She landed on her wings and, without her breastplate for protection, she felt many of the fine bones snap. The pain drove the wind from her lungs and left her unable to move.
‘Freya, are you all right?’ Orus cried as he landed beside her.
Freya shook her head. ‘I’ve broken my wings.’
‘You can’t fly?’
‘I can’t move . . .’
‘Freya . . .’ Maya moaned. She was lying crumpled on the ground not far from her. Her left leg was at an odd angle and bone could be seen sticking out of it. The feathers on her open wings were bent and frayed and she was bleeding.
‘Orus, where are they?’ Freya weakly asked.
‘Several streets away. They landed just as hard as you did. I hope they’re both dead.’
‘Don’t count on it,’ Grul cried. ‘Nothing can kill a Dark Searcher. Maya, Freya, please, you must get up. They will come for you.’
Above them, the helicopters continued to shine their lights down. But with the closeness of the buildings, they couldn’t land. However, the sounds of sirens and heavy vehicles could be heard getting closer.
‘Please get up!’ Orus howled. ‘The Searchers will get you.’
‘Or the soldiers,’ Grul added as he stayed with Maya.
‘Gee!’
‘Archie?’ Orus called.
Freya looked to her left and saw Sylt in the beam of the bright searchlights. Archie, Tamika and Leo Max were jammed on her back and struggling to climb down.
‘What are you doing here?’ Freya cried.
‘We came to give you these.’
Archie held up Freya’s sword and breastplate. Leo Max and Tamika were holding their helmets.
‘How?’
‘It was Sylt,’ Archie explained. ‘She knew how to find you. Now, get up.’
‘I can’t,’ Freya moaned. ‘I’m broken. I can’t move.’
Grim determination rose on Archie’s face. ‘You’re not giving up, Gee. I won’t let you. I said, get up!’ He caught hold of her hand and hauled Freya to her feet. ‘We don’t have much time. Put this on.’
Freya looked at her armour. ‘What happened to JP?’
‘He’s dead,’ Archie said. ‘That thing killed him.’
‘It was a Dark Searcher,’ Freya explained as she struggled to stay upright. ‘Odin sent them here to get us. They crashed on another street. But they will be here soon.’
‘Then you’d better be ready,’ Archie called.
He was still wearing his gloves as he helped Freya put on her breastplate. She howled in agony as he moved her broken wings aside so he could fasten it closed around her.
But once the armour was in place, Freya found the pain faded and with its support she could move again. She stepped over to her sister. Without her armour, Maya was too battered to move.
‘Leave me,’ she moaned. ‘Take Sylt and go home. Maybe Odin will forgive you.’
‘I’m not going to leave you here for them,’ Freya said. ‘Sylt, come.’
Leo Max walked beside the winged Reaping Mare as they approached Freya. He shaded his eyes as he stared at her in disbelief. ‘Greta?’
‘I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you,’ Freya said to him. She looked over to Archie. ‘Can you help me get my sister up on Sylt’s back? Maybe they can out-fly the Searchers.’
Archie and Freya managed to get her wounded sister up on Sylt. Maya was fading in and out of consciousness. Her leg was bleeding, she had a deep cut on her head and both her wings were badly broken.
Archie tore pieces off Maya’s dress to bandage her leg. ‘You’ve both got to go,’ he shouted above the roar of the helicopters. They were trying to manoeuvre closer to the ground.
Suddenly the sound of machine-gun fire spiked the air. They looked up and saw flashes coming from the circling helicopters. Following the line of fire, their hearts sank. The Dark Searchers were moving steadily down their street, and the bullets from the helicopters did nothing to slow their advance.
‘They’re coming!’ Orus cried.
Freya looked back at her friends. ‘They are here for us. Stay back. They won’t hurt you if you aren’t a threat to them.’
‘But they’ll kill you!’ Archie cried.
Freya reached for her sword. ‘Not without a fight.’ She inhaled deeply. ‘Thank you, Archie, for everything. You’ve shown me what it is to be human, if only for a little while, and I will treasure those memories forever.’
‘Freya, don’t do this!’ Orus cawed.
Freya handed the raven to Archie. ‘Stay with Archie, my sweet Orus. I can’t watch you die.’
‘No!’ the raven cawed.
‘Don’t go, Gee,’ Archie begged, clinging to the raven. Tears were rimming his eyes. ‘Stay with me, please. I’m nothing without you.’
‘You’re wrong, Archie,’ Freya said, controlling her wild emotions. ‘You are everything. I won’t let those things hurt any of you.’ Unable to say more, Freya turned from him and started towards the two Dark Searchers. She heard Orus calling after her, but she ignored his pleas.
The pain of leaving them was tearing at her heart. But she turned that pain into rage as she faced the Dark Searchers.
‘You want me?’ she cried furiously. ‘You’re going to have to fight!’
Raising her sword, Freya charged at the two creatures. All her fury rose to the surface as she used the skills she’d been taught since birth to fight them. Swords flashed and sparks flew as Freya’s one sword fought against their combined four.
But even as her fury carried her forward, she was wounded and badly outmatched. The tip of a Dark Searcher’s sword grazed down her leg. Freya cried out in pain as the blade sliced through her beautiful long dress and into her flesh. A second blade cut deeply into her arm.
Her breastplate offered her protection from human weapons, but little against the Dark Searchers. Moment by moment, Freya was losing ground. As she focused on one advancing creature, she could not defend herself against the other.
With each cut and swipe of their blades, Freya cried out in pain. She realized they weren’t going to kill her quickly. These Dark Searchers wanted to draw it out slowly, to hurt her as much as possible.
As she stumbled backwards, a powerful blow knocked the weapon out of Freya’s hand and hurled her through the plate-glass window of a large department store.
Without pausing, the creature stormed forward and followed her through the broken glass. The second Searcher returned his attention to Maya.
As Freya struggled to untangle herself from a rack of expensive clothing, the sounds of her sister’s weak cries tormented her.
‘Fly, Sylt!’ Archie was shouting. ‘Get out of here!’
Gaining her feet, Freya’s heart pounded as she looked for the Dark Searcher. She could hear his furious movements knoc
king sales displays over as he searched for her.
With her leg badly damaged, Freya kept low as she limped back to the window. Being as quiet as possible, she carefully climbed out.
Just before she jumped down from the window ledge, a fearsome hand flashed out and caught hold of the edge of her broken wing.
The Dark Searcher screeched in triumph as he drew her back to him.
Freya screamed in agony. Her wing exploded in pain as the creature pulled the broken bones in his vice-like grip. She was powerless to stop him as he came forward – a terrifying, black monster looming above her.
Moments before his other hand went round her neck for the final snap, Archie screamed, ‘Let her go!’
He was holding Freya’s sword and brought it down on the hand clinging to Freya’s wing. The blade sliced through the creature’s black gauntlet and down to the bone of its ghostly-white wrist.
The Dark Searcher howled and released her.
Freya fell forward and hit the ground hard.
‘Run!’ Archie cried as he caught hold of her bleeding arm and pulled her forward. ‘C’mon, Gee, get up and run!’
Freya was dragged alongside Archie for a few steps, but the wound in her leg slowed them both down. ‘I can’t – my leg is hurt. Archie, go. He’ll kill you if he catches you. Just go and leave me.’
‘Stop complaining and run!’ Archie screamed. He half dragged and half carried her into the street. ‘What kind of Valkyrie are you? You’re stronger than this. Now, run with me!’
She looked up, searching for her sister. ‘Where’s Mia?’ She was careful, even now, not to use Maya’s real name so as to protect Archie.
‘She’s gone,’ Archie answered. ‘Sylt took her away, but the Dark Searcher followed right behind. We tried to slow him down but he got away from us.’
Leo Max and Tamika ran forward to help Freya, but Freya warned them back. ‘No, you’re not wearing gloves. You’ll die if you touch me!’
As they ran further down the street, police vehicles came to a screeching halt before them. ‘Stop!’ an officer shouted as he opened his door and drew his weapon.