by Kate O'Hearn
From all around, more police and military trucks arrived, pulling right up on to the pavement. They were surrounded.
‘Run!’ Freya warned them. ‘The Dark Searcher will kill you all. Your weapons are useless against him!’
‘Look!’ Tamika howled.
Behind them, the Dark Searcher was moving again. He focused his attention on Freya and charged forward.
‘Keep moving,’ Archie called as he released Freya and lifted her sword. ‘I’ll slow him down.’
‘Archie, no!’ Freya screamed. ‘Stop!’
Orus cawed. ‘Come back!’
Their cries could not stop him. Archie held up her weapon and charged forward.
The Dark Searcher only held one sword as his right hand was all but useless due to Archie’s cut. But the creature raised his weapon and took him on.
The fight was brief.
Beneath the bright helicopter lights and surrounded by police and military, Freya saw Archie try to block a cut from the skilled Dark Searcher. But at the last moment, the creature changed tack. He brought his weapon up and stabbed it deep into Archie’s stomach.
‘No!’ Freya howled.
‘Archie!’ Orus cawed.
Archie stood motionless as the Dark Searcher’s sword struck through to his back. When the wretched creature pulled the weapon out, Archie collapsed to the ground.
‘Archie!’ Tamika screamed.
The police and soldiers opened fire on the Dark Searcher but their bullets could not stop him. Instead, Orus, Tamika and Leo Max ran at the creature as he kicked Archie away and focused on Freya. Orus dived at his head, while the others ran to his rear. Both Leo Max and Tamika jumped on to his massive black wings.
‘Get away!’ Freya howled at them. ‘He’ll kill you. Get down and run!’
‘Save Archie!’ Orus cawed.
Holding on for their lives, Tamika and Leo Max were madly spun around as the Dark Searcher fought to bat Orus away while trying to shake them off. Black feathers filled the air as Tamika did all she could to pluck them out of the monstrous creature’s wings.
While the Dark Searcher was occupied, Freya limped as fast as she could over to Archie. He was still alive but bleeding heavily from the wound in his stomach.
From somewhere behind them, a distant clock chimed the hour. It was midnight. The start of a new day – the day after the dance. Freya collapsed beside Archie and pulled him into her arms, knowing what was about to happen. There was nothing she could do to save him. She had made the bargain. Soon the angel would come to collect.
‘I’m so sorry, Archie.’ Freya stroked his young face with her gloved hand. Tears filled her eyes. ‘I can’t save you.’
‘It is over, child.’
Freya looked up into the face of Archie’s Angel of Death as she cradled her best friend.
‘Gee?’ Archie whispered.
‘I’m here.’
‘I wanted to stay with you,’ he said softly. ‘I wanted you to show me Asgard.’
‘You’re going somewhere much better,’ she struggled to say. ‘I wish I could go with you . . .’ Finally the loud sobs she fought to contain escaped her.
‘Please don’t cry, Gee, not for me. I’m not worth it.’
‘Yes, you are,’ Freya whispered.
Archie shuddered as pain tore through him. He shivered as he clutched her arms. ‘I’m so cold. Please make me warm.’
Freya looked up pleadingly into the angel’s eyes. ‘Please,’ she wept, ‘I’m begging you, end his pain. Take him now.’
The Angel of Death shook his head and smiled gently. ‘He has fought valiantly to save you, Valkyrie. Archie is a brave warrior who has earned his rightful place at Valhalla. Take him, he is yours.’
Freya inhaled sharply, disbelieving.
‘But you’d better hurry. Archie’s time grows short, if you want to give him your name.’
Freya was shaking as she looked down into Archie’s fading eyes. ‘Archie, listen to me. You can stay with me. Just say my name. I’m Freya. I give you my true name. Please, accept it. Say it now.’
‘Gee?’ Archie whispered.
‘Not Gee,’ she pleaded. ‘I am Freya. Fre-ya, please say it!’
With his final, gasping breath, Archie uttered, ‘Freya . . .’ and closed his eyes.
Freya leaned forward and kissed him tenderly. The moment her lips touched his, Archie died. She pulled him closer and rocked her friend in her arms.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Archie was hers. But for how long? Freya put his still body gently aside and rose to face the Dark Searcher. Archie’s spirit stood at her side, looking just the same. He had a huge grin on his face. ‘Thanks, Gee,’ he whispered. ‘Thank you so much.’
‘It’s Freya,’ she corrected.
Archie grinned. ‘Nah, you will always be my Gee.’
Freya lifted her sword. She had to get Orus, Tamika and Leo Max away from the Dark Searcher before he hurt them. ‘Stay here, I must surrender to him.’
‘Child, wait,’ the angel said. He pointed up. ‘Look.’
The Dark Searcher was shrieking in fury as Angels of Death descended from the sky. Holding hands, they formed a tight circle around him, imprisoning him.
Shocked by their sudden appearance, Orus fled as both Leo Max and Tamika fell from the Dark Searcher’s wings. They landed on the ground in stunned silence.
‘This way, children,’ urged an angel as she opened the circle a fraction to allow them out.
The searchlights shining from the helicopters above illuminated the brilliant white of the angels’ open wings as they surrounded the midnight-black Dark Searcher. Around them, police were ordering everyone to remain where they were. Soldiers piled out of their trucks and, with their weapons held high, they surrounded the circle of angels. Others raised their weapons on Freya, but stayed back a safe distance, as if they already knew who or what she was.
Trapped within the angels’ ring, the Dark Searcher shrieked and charged furiously forward, but could not break through them.
Freya looked back at the angel in confusion. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Just wait a bit and you will.’
‘Greta!’ Leo Max called as he and Tamika ran towards her. Soldiers tried to catch hold of them but they tore free of their grip. They approached Archie’s body.
‘Archie!’ Tamika shrieked as she knelt down beside their fallen friend.
‘He’s not there,’ Freya called. ‘He’s right here, beside me.’
‘Where?’ Leo Max said.
Freya offered her arm. ‘Touch me, but only where I’m covered.’
Both Leo Max and Tamika touched her arm. They gasped in shock when they saw Archie’s smiling face.
‘It is really you?’ Tamika sniffed.
Archie nodded. ‘Gee reaped me. That means I can stay with her. Please don’t be sad for me; I couldn’t be happier. We’re going to Asgard together.’
‘If we survive this!’ Orus cawed as he landed on Freya’s shoulder.
‘I don’t think we will,’ Freya said darkly. ‘Once he breaks free he’ll come after me. There is no escape from a Dark Searcher.’
‘Perhaps not,’ the angel said. ‘But he can be called off.’
As more soldiers surrounded them, they stood together and watched the circle of angels holding the trapped Dark Searcher. The creature’s enraged howls could be heard throughout the city.
Suddenly a sound Freya knew all too well filled the air around them. She looked back at the soldiers. ‘Please go! The Valkyries are coming. You can’t fight them – go now and save yourselves!’
The soldiers heard the sounds too and started to back away. ‘There!’ one cried fearfully. ‘What is that?’
Freya looked up. ‘Odin . . .
Odin, in full battle armour, was tearing through the night sky, riding Sylt. Thor was beside him on another Reaping Mare, wielding his hammer in his hand. On the other side of Odin flew the second Dark Searcher. In his arms he clutch
ed Maya and Grul.
Behind them flew the Valkyries of Asgard, led by Freya’s mother.
Freya looked over to Archie in regret. ‘I’m so sorry it’s going to end like this. I shouldn’t have reaped you. It’s not fair.’
‘Whatever happens,’ Archie said, ‘we’ll face it together.’
Above them, Thor waved Mjölnir in the air. All the helicopters were driven away as though blown by a thousand winds. And when he touched down on the ground he slammed his hammer down so hard that all the windows in the buildings around them exploded and rained glass on to the street. The police cars and military vehicles were blown backwards and the men sent flying away.
Beneath the pressure of the hammer, the ground cracked and a large pit opened. Ferocious, deafening roars could be heard coming from the newly opened hole.
Freya put her hands to her mouth. ‘Oh no!’
‘What is it?’ Leo Max asked.
‘Thor has freed the Midgard Serpent!’ Freya cried. ‘Odin is going to destroy Chicago because of me!’
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
‘Valkyrie!’ Odin roared as he climbed down from Sylt.
A large eagle touched down beside him. Moments later it changed. Freya’s heart sank at the sight of Loki’s grinning face.
Freya turned back to Tamika and Leo Max. ‘Whatever happens, stay here with the angel; he’ll protect you. Odin does not forgive. It won’t matter that you are young and human. He’ll punish you too.’
She looked at Archie, pulled off her glove and offered him her bare hand. ‘We may not have much time left together. But I don’t regret a moment of what we’ve had.’
Archie pulled off his glove as well and for the first time they actually held bare hands. He nodded. ‘Me neither.’
Together they walked to Odin. They both knelt before the leader of Asgard.
‘You were warned,’ Odin boomed. ‘You know the punishment for running away.’
Freya raised her head. ‘I do, Great Odin. But I beg you, please don’t punish Maya. She has done nothing wrong. She came here to bring me back to you. Not to stay. She did not run away. And Orus could not stop me, though he tried. This isn’t his fault.’
Odin looked back at Maya as she struggled in the Dark Searcher’s arms. ‘Your sister is far from innocent in this. She released all the Reaping Mares from the stables in a futile attempt to delay the reaping. They have caused havoc in Asgard. Even now, half of them are still flying wild. She tried to disguise her crime, but there was a witness.’
Freya looked at her sister in shock. ‘She couldn’t have done it. She was with me. Who saw her?’
‘Me,’ Loki said proudly. ‘I knew she would try something to protect you. But she made a terrible mistake.’
‘He’s lying!’ Freya shouted.
Odin’s face went red with rage. ‘She has confessed her crime! That she convinced Heimdall to go along with her is further evidence of her deceit.’
Freya was left speechless. Her eyes sought her sister in the Dark Searcher’s arms. Maya had endangered herself for her sake.
‘As for your raven,’ continued Odin, ‘he will be punished with you.’ His harsh blue eyes blazed as he drew his sword. ‘Open your wings!’
Freya struggled to open her badly broken wings. She dropped her head and bent forward to offer them up to him.
‘No, sir, please don’t!’ Archie cried.
‘Archie, no!’ Freya warned. ‘I knew the penalty for breaking the rules. Odin must take my wings.’
‘No!’ Archie shouted. ‘It’s not fair. Gee isn’t a runaway, she came here to help. She’s helped Tamika’s family and she helped me!’
‘Archie, be quiet!’ Orus cawed.
‘She helped you to your grave, boy!’ Odin spat. ‘If you think I am going to allow you to stay in Asgard, you are sorely mistaken!’
‘I gave him my true name,’ Freya said softly.
‘What?’ Odin shrieked.
‘Freya, no!’ her mother cried, coming forward. She was still dressed in her nightclothes. ‘Tell me you didn’t!’
Freya raised her head. ‘Yes, Mother, I did. And I don’t regret it.’
‘Freya,’ Orus warned.
‘Impudent child!’ Odin shouted. ‘If you have given him your true name, so be it. He will join you in your banishment!’
Odin raised his sword higher. Just as it was swinging down to cut off Freya’s wings, the Angel of Death blocked the blow with Freya’s sword.
‘What is this?’ Odin roared. ‘Azrael, you have no right to halt my justice!’
‘In this case, Odin, I believe I do.’
‘Azrael?’ Freya was in complete shock as she gazed up at Archie’s Angel of Death. ‘You are Azrael?’
The angel’s gentle, warm eyes sparkled and he chuckled. ‘Fooled you, didn’t I?’
‘I don’t understand,’ Freya said.
Azrael bent closer to her. ‘I wanted to meet the Valkyrie that was causing so much mischief and interfering with my angels’ work. You were so passionate, so determined to help these people.’ He rose and faced Odin. ‘She has done you proud.’
‘She has betrayed me,’ Odin spat. ‘Broken the rules. My rules.’
Azrael shook his head. ‘You are Odin, leader of Asgard. Freya is a Valkyrie. That is understood. But she is much more than that. She came here with good intentions. She has saved lives and enriched the existence of all who know her.’
‘What does that matter to me?’ demanded Odin.
‘It should mean everything,’ Azrael said. ‘For too long we have resented each other. We serve the same purpose and yet there is animosity between us. This one Valkyrie has changed that. Look . . .’
The angel pointed to the others encircling the Dark Searcher. ‘I did not command them to do that. They wanted to. They all know what Freya has done. Though she has interfered with their duties, she did it for the right reasons. They have come here to protect her. We are all pleading on her behalf. If you will not allow her back in Asgard, I will gladly claim her for my own.’
Odin looked at Azrael in disbelief. ‘You would claim a Valkyrie?’
Azrael smiled lovingly on Freya. ‘I would gladly ask her to join us and be grateful if she did. You should be proud of her, Odin, not punish her.’
From beneath the earth, the roaring increased. The ground trembled and the street cracked further as the Midgard Serpent shot like an erupting volcano to the surface. It looked like a giant snake, but with long, sharp fangs and flaming red eyes. It loomed several storeys high as it pulled itself from its prison deep within the earth. Slithering through the streets, its long tail grazed a tall building. Within moments, the building collapsed to the ground in a demolished heap.
The Midgard Serpent roared in delight at its destructive freedom. Its red eyes blazed and its long fangs dripped acid on to the ground. It slid through the streets of Chicago, biting huge chunks out of buildings and devouring the military trucks like they were sweets.
‘Send him back, Odin,’ Azrael ordered. ‘There has been no crime committed here. The world has done nothing to deserve this punishment.’
‘Only Loki can command his child,’ Odin said.
Loki stepped forward. ‘And I won’t stop him until this place is in ruins.’
Freya pointed an accusing finger at Loki. ‘But it was Loki who helped me come here. He’s just as guilty as I am. He should be punished too.’
‘What?’ Odin demanded. ‘Explain yourself!’
‘Go on, Loki,’ she challenged. ‘Tell him, if you dare.’ She turned to Odin. ‘I would not have come here if it weren’t for him. He suggested I see the World of Man for myself. It was Loki who gave Heimdall the sleeping powder that allowed me to cross Bifröst. He said he always does that whenever he wants to come here.’
‘Loki?’ Odin repeated.
‘It is true,’ Azrael agreed. ‘Loki is the one who has betrayed you, not Freya or Maya.’
Odin’s face went red with rage as he faced Loki. �
��Explain yourself!’
‘They’re lying to you,’ Loki cried as he backed away. His eyes were wild and desperate. ‘You know I would never betray you.’ After several more steps, Loki transformed into a hawk and flew away.
Odin turned to Thor. ‘I will see to him later. Go get the Midgard Serpent. Without Loki here to stop him it’s up to you to drive him back to the pit! And don’t be too gentle.’
Thor nodded to his father. He raised his hammer and gleefully chased after the disappearing serpent. As everyone stood together, they could hear the roaring sound of destruction at the fight starting between the two.
‘They’ve always hated each other,’ Freya whispered to Archie. ‘I just hope there’s something left of Chicago when they are finished.’
‘Silence!’ Odin commanded. ‘Rise, Valkyrie.’
Freya climbed painfully to her feet. Archie stood at her side, holding her hand tightly while Orus remained loyally at her shoulder.
‘Azrael has pleaded for mercy on your behalf,’ Odin started. ‘I will grant that mercy. But you cannot go unpunished.’
Freya dropped her head. ‘I understand.’
‘I am stripping you of your powers,’ Odin continued. ‘They will not be returned until you can prove to me that you have earned your place among the Valkyries. From this moment forward, you and your human companion will work in the stables of the Reaping Mares. You will be servants to the Valkyries, but not hold any of their privileges. You are banned from Valhalla and will not be welcome at any of the reapings or celebrations. Until further notice, you are nothing more than a simple citizen of Asgard.’
He turned back to the Dark Searcher holding Maya. ‘You have served me well, Searcher. Release her, your duty is finished. You may return to your home.’
The Dark Searcher released Maya and Grul. Her mother and sisters flew instantly to Maya’s side to support her.
Odin then faced Azrael. ‘Your words hold power. Perhaps it is time we considered working together and not against each other. Will you release my Searcher?’
Azrael bowed. ‘As you wish, Odin. Release him,’ he called to his angels.