by Justin Sloan
“Fucking terrified,” he said, and she believed him.
The others stopped running, though they were staring at her in horror as they continued slowly backing away.
“Where’s your den?” she asked. “I want to speak with the head god. The God? Whatever you call him.”
“You tell her, I’ll kill you myself,” one of the others said, so she causally threw her sword to lodge in the guy’s skull. His eyes moved up to process it and he fell back with a thud.
She glanced at the others, some lifting their rifles again, others preparing to attack.
“If you think I’m vulnerable because I’m unarmed, you’re stupider than you look.”
“Say we aren’t gods,” the Were in front of her said. “Say we take you to our den. What’s to stop you from killing all of us right then and there? Wouldn’t the smart move be to just let you kill us now and get it over with, if you’re as powerful as you claim to be?”
She thought about it, then nodded. “Yes, but then I’d make you hurt more. And here’s a secret… I might let you—and only you—live if you turn against the rest of these bunny-munchers and help me.”
A moment’s hesitation went through his eyes while the others laughed. Their laughter turned into a nervous chuckle, then shouting as the Were she was talking to turned on the one next to him, transforming and biting through the man’s jugular.
“This’s going to be fun,” Valerie shouted, then gave a warcry and turned to take down the ones closest to hurting her newest buddy.
Would she have to watch her back, considering how fast he had turned on his friends? Of course. But her goal right now was to keep one of the so-called gods alive long enough to take her to the den, so she could deal with the grand master of Weres in this area. The Alpha. She didn’t give a damn about making long-term friendships.
She had just taken down two and reclaimed her sword when a crossbow bolt hit one of the others. A glance to see where it had come from revealed more townsfolk approaching, weapons in hand. Having seen how easily their supposed gods fell, they were rallying in force.
That made her day.
“Good of you to join,” she shouted to Hans, and he saluted her before taking cover around the corner of a house and aiming at another Were.
She didn’t leave much work for them, but let them get in enough shots to feel like they’d contributed. Then she finished the others off, all except her new pal.
He had a bolt through his arm and a bullet in his stomach, but those wounds would heal easily enough. Ignoring his yelp as she pulled the bolt free, she motioned for him to lead the way.
“Your coat!” Hans shouted after Val.
“Hold on one second,” she told the Were, and jogged back for her coat. When she turned to follow him, he was running for it. She just laughed, expressed her appreciation to the town, and slipped the coat on as she ran after him.
For a while, she let him think he was actually getting away.
When he glanced back for the fourth time with eyes full of terror, she decided it wasn’t fun anymore.
“Boo!” she shouted, leaping forward and landing next to him.
The surprise in his eyes was priceless, but then he fell sideways, rolling down a small incline and hitting his head on the tree. “Fuck!”
“Watch your mouth. There’s a lady present.”
He rubbed his head, glaring up at her. “You’ve got some issues, I’m guessing.”
“How so?”
“I mean you’re crazy.”
“Probably.” She jumped down next to him and offered him a hand. “Kept you alive, and that was pretty wacky of me. I talk too much during fights, I’ve been told. Maybe that’s crazy.”
“What’s crazy is you wanting to take on Barskall.”
“Barskall?” she asked, gesturing for him to keep walking beside her.
“Jon Barskall, actually, but he makes us call him General Barskall. Comes from the Barskall family in Iceland, along with many of us. We figured we could set up this little cult thing with the locals. Kinda brilliant.”
She glared at him.
“Oh, I mean…not brilliant at all. Horrible, really.”
“I’m guessing he has something to do with this power drug everyone’s on?”
The Were nodded. “Something his family has been growing for the black market in Iceland. Part of why his father rose to power, if you ask me.”
She nodded, catching on. “So, some new power rises, putting this drug on the market, and the brilliant son figures he’ll go off and use his Were powers for an extra bit of evil in some other country, is that it?”
“Sounds about right.”
“Am I going to have to worry about his family? I mean, with this trans-Atlantic piracy and whatnot?”
“Not that I’d think. They stick to their own, which was one reason the General wanted to spread his wings.” The Were considered her, then turned back to watch his step. “Seems you have your hands damned full if you’re going to take care of all the problems in the world.”
“I’m not the only one out there doing this,” she told him, though she had to admit to herself that what he had said struck a chord. The thought had been at the back of her mind lately, though she hadn’t wanted to acknowledge it. Was going from problem to problem the best way to make the world a better place?
Hell, eventually the problems would just pop back up where she had already solved them, and she’d find herself in an endless loop. But certain problems were big enough to worry about, and a den of Weres that proclaimed themselves gods certainly fit the bill.
“Name’s Berg, by the way,” the Were said.
“What?”
“Just, you haven’t asked, so figured I’d tell you. Way I see it, you haven’t asked because maybe you’ll find it easier to kill me if you don’t think of me as a person. So now you have to, right? Think of me as a person, that is.”
Valerie scoffed. “Let me put it like this, Berg. I imagine there are quite a lot of things you’ve done in the not-so-distant past that you regret, or maybe you don’t, but others would frown on them, am I right?”
The nervous look in his eyes said it all.
“Exactly.” She had to pause to leap a few rocks, while he climbed behind. When he had caught up, she continued, “Now, given everything you’ve done and the way you yourself have probably said you aren’t exactly human—you know, with all this god talk—well, why should a name mean anything to me?”
He gulped and gave a half-hearted chuckle as if he hoped she were joking, and then his face went pale.
“Roger that. But assuming I help you here and don’t stab you in the back, forgetting for the moment that you’re super-fast and strong and I probably couldn’t even if I wanted to, what then? Do you let me live?”
She smiled. “We’ll have to wait and see. But know this—I’m not the type to kill just because.”
He nodded. “Glad to hear it. Not totally at ease, but I’ll take what I can get.”
They continued to climb the hill, maneuvering around rocks and between trees, and Berg told her all about the situation so far. He downplayed his role in the whole gods business, of course, but he knew enough of the details for her to guess he had been a lot more involved than he was saying. She would have to watch him, regardless of how much faster and stronger she was. For hours they traveled, soon able to see the water to their left along with a city Valerie thought was likely the one her friends would have gone to.
Just a little bit longer, she thought, then I will get back to them. They walked for at least another hour, though. It was well into the night when he finally stopped.
“That’s us,” he finally said, pointing out what looked like an old military base. “The Den of the Gods. Home, sweet home.”
“You’re kidding?” She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting. A hideout carved into the side of a hill like a wolf’s den or something? This was almost like a little town, but with metal gates and buildings tha
t all matched. Nothing godlike about it.
“We found the old armory and a few of the guns still worked, so we figured, might as well take that as a sign,” Berg offered. “Plus, the General likes the familiar.”
“That’s good, because me and him are about to get real familiar.” She thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. “No, that doesn’t sound right. How about this one? I hope he’s familiar with a good ass-kicking, because he’s about to receive one.”
She looked at Berg, who actually smiled. “Hey, I’m just glad I finally found your weakness. On-the-fly witticisms.”
“Fuck you. Is that witty enough for you?”
“Honestly, no, but I don’t want you to kill me, so…yes.”
She laughed. “Seriously, go shoot yourself in the face.”
He frowned.
“Okay, not seriously.” Valerie motioned to the base. “You can save that for after we take the base.”
“We?”
“Yes, clown. You don’t think you came all this way just to keep me company, did you?” Noting the fear in his eyes, she added, “You just point me in the right direction. I’ll block the bullets and whatnot, keep you alive. You’ll go from company-keeper to tour guide.”
“Fuck my life.”
“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.” The two of them knelt as he drew a map of the base in the dirt so they could discuss attack plans. Who knew? If all went well, maybe she would keep this guy around.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Den of the Gods
In the end, Berg and Valerie decided on a slightly different approach than they had originally intended. While she still liked the idea of sneaking in and going all assassin on their asses, there was something to be said for grandiose entrances and simply confronting your problems head on.
Besides, she had done the sneaking-around thing before. Here, she thought she should play to the Weres’ fancy.
They wanted to be gods?
Well, she would give them the goddess of all goddesses. It was time to present them with a taste of their own medicine.
“Are you sure about this?” Berg asked as they made their descent to the military compound looming before them. Soon the guards would notice, and there’d be no going back.
She nodded confidently. “If you get into trouble, make your way back to Meldal. I’ll try to meet up with you there. If it doesn’t work out…sorry.”
“Sorry?” He scoffed, then looked to see if she was joking. “I hope you can do a lot better than ‘sorry.’”
“Me too.” She offered him a reassuring smile, but he didn’t seem to be buying it.
With a group of delusional bullies like this, the only tactic she had ever found to work was intimidation. It was that or slaughter every last one of them, but she preferred to have faith that not all of them were completely evil.
He took a deep breath, eyed her warily, and prepared himself mentally. When he finally focused his eyes on the gates ahead, he had a different look to him: stronger, a man you didn’t want to mess with.
“The Goddess is here!” Berg shouted from in front of her, leading the way to the gates. “Move aside! The Goddess has arrived!”
It was hard enough not to laugh at him, but seeing the confusion in the eyes of the gate guards was just too much. The corner of her mouth turned up in a way she had to imagine gave her the look of a crazy person. Well, if a goddess were coming through like this, perhaps she would have a hint of a smile? Why not? she thought, and rolled with it.
She walked tall, fur coat trailing behind her like a cape in the heavy wind. Berg had adorned her with some of his jewelry. With her glowing red eyes and the slight fear she was pushing at them, she couldn’t imagine that they had ever seen anyone more godlike in their lives.
“I am the Goddess of Justice, here to claim my due,” she shouted in a stern voice. It took everything in her not to burst into laughter, and while this was a serious matter, she figured there wasn’t a lot of point to life if you couldn’t enjoy it. “Bring your master to me, that he may bend his knee and pay me what is rightfully mine.”
“What the fuck is this, Berg?” one of the guards asked, and before the other guard understood what was happening, Valerie had leaped forward and kicked out both guards’ knees from behind so that they knelt to her. Aside from the beating their knees had taken they were relatively unharmed, and tossed their rifles aside.
“Was that so difficult?” she asked with a wink.
The guards looked at each other, then stood and ran away from the compound.
“You’ve got a hell of a way of making an entrance,” Berg remarked, nodding to show he was impressed.
“We aren’t done yet.”
Berg sighed, opened the gate, and led her into the compound while continuing to announce her coming.
“The Goddess of Justice! Welcome your Goddess, and bow before her!”
Two wide doors opened in a building to their left, from which half-a-dozen Weres exited. They looked like thugs ready to close a shop, but at least half of them appeared to be as confused as they were angry.
“The circus in town?” a Were at the front of the group asked. He was a small man, short, and covered in so much hair it was probably the hairiest a man could be before transforming into a wolf. “I’d know, and I wasn’t told of any circus.”
A couple of the others laughed, and he turned on them. “I get to laugh at my jokes, not you.”
When he faced Valerie again, she had taken two quick steps to close the gap between them. “Bow.”
“I’m a god, bitch. I don’t—”
She picked him up and threw him against the building so hard he slammed into its side with an ooomph and collapsed to the ground.
“Next,” she said, turning to the other five.
“I’d do as she says,” Berg advised, but the front two drew batons on her.
Big mistake.
She grabbed their weapons in an instant, beating them mercilessly with the rods. When they’d had enough and tried to crawl away, she turned to see the other three bowing.
“Huh, it actually works.” She tossed the batons aside. “Good. Follow me if you want to live.”
As Berg once again led the way, she heard mumbling in Norwegian behind her, but a quick glance from her red eyes shut them up.
She could guess what they were saying—let the main one, this General Barskall, deal with her. She looked forward to it.
Berg led her into an old warehouse filled with training dummies, obstacle courses, and more. Weres trained on various courses and weapons. Some, she saw, were even using real knives as they sparred.
At his announcement they turned to stare, totally flabbergasted by what they were seeing, which was her, with her new retinue. She kept thinking they would attack at any moment, but no one did. Glancing around at their faces, she could almost imagine herself in a place just like this back in France under the Duke.
Back with Donovan and the others.
With Sandra at her side.
Her smile faltered just as Berg reached the far side of the warehouse and led her out into a grand courtyard. This place couldn’t have been here in the days before the collapse. It was obviously a worship hall or storage place for the offerings and stolen goods they had collected over the years. Tall statues of gold, wooden carvings of wolves, and piles of what could only be described as treasure filled the space.
They might not call themselves pirates like the corny sons of bitches back home, but for all intents and purposes, they were.
At the opposite side was an old general’s house. All of the Weres had followed them out of the warehouse and were staring up at the balcony of this house.
Berg glanced back at her nervously, but she nodded for him to go on. “The Goddess of Justice demands you submit to her, bend your knee, and…” He looked back again, really not wanting to say this last part. She gave him a nod, so he shouted, “And kiss her vampiric ass.”
A murmur of outrage
rose from the crowd, but none moved. All continued watching the balcony.
Finally its two doors opened, and out stepped a man. He did not wear a general’s uniform, but was dressed as a Norse god from myth. He was wrapped in a thick fur coat, and carried a giant hammer over one shoulder. His face was marked by scars that crisscrossed most of his visible skin, and one eye was completely white.
His full head of snowy hair flew out behind him as if he had just been struck by lightning, and it gave him a ferocious look when paired with his scars and deep features.
“A vampire in our midst, is it?” General Barskall asked with a sniff. “And not one of you all has brought me her head?”
Valerie laughed, loud and long. “You forgot the Goddess part. And some of your boys tried. You can ask them about it, or give it a go yourself and see what happens.”
Anger flashed in his good eye, and he adjusted the war hammer so that he now held its handle with both hands.
“I’ll tell you what,” he declared. “First to bring me her tongue will be my right-hand man. I want to wipe my ass with it. Attached? Up to you.”
“You’ve got a sick imagination,” Valerie shot back before anyone could respond. “How’s this for a counteroffer? Everyone here reject this man as your leader, then lay down your arms and get the hell out of here, never to cause trouble again. No threats from me. No childish demands.” She turned to the crowd, getting real now. “And let me be clear. I do not believe I am a goddess, but I know for a fact anyone who stands in my way here tonight won’t live to see the sun rise, so make up your minds.”
Because she didn’t want to kill anyone she didn’t have to, she pushed an extra amount of fear as she drew her sword. The red of her eyes was reflected in its blade, and she smiled.
The silence that followed seemed to last forever, and was only interrupted by the sound of several dozen Weres retreating.