by T. G. Ayer
Joshua (Einherjar - A Dead Radiance Companion Novel)
A Valkyrie Novel #6
T.G. Ayer
Contents
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
The Valkyrie Series
Also by T.G. Ayer
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About the Author
Copyright
Author’s Note
For the best reading experience, Joshua (Einherjar - A Dead Radiance Companion Novel) is to be read after completing Dead Radiance.
Dear Reader,
The Valkyrie Series has been one of the most enjoyable worlds to write, and even though Bryn’s adventures ended with Dead Silence, I haven’t stopped receiving emails asking when I will release the next series, or requests to know more about the supporting cast.
I’d always wanted to write Joshua’s story—there’s so much more to reveal when you dig deeper into each of the characters’ lives. As such, I began Joshua’s story, thinking I’d release a full companion novel to sate the Valkyrie fans.
Clearly I had no idea how much Joshua had to tell me. Whenever you delve into what happens off-screen, you tend to be surprised at how much it really amounts to.
The Valkyrie series didn’t only happen to Bryn, and it became clear as I learned what Joshua had experienced, that there were entire stories to write.
What was even more apparent was that Joshua’s off-screen activity was far too much to combine into one full novel. And if I did do that, what would it mean for the reader who picked it up and didn’t know it would be filled with spoilers? There’s a special place in Hel for spoilers, so I prefer to avoid them as much as possible.
To resolve this dilemma, Joshua has become a companion series that happens alongside each of the Valkyrie novels. As such, Joshua is a companion to Dead Radiance and should be read only once you have completed Bryn’s first book. The next book of Joshua will be a companion to Dead Embers, to be read after you complete the second Valkyrie novel, and so on and so forth.
I will be releasing a Box Set after Joshua V is released—which of course can be read after you have completed the full Valkyrie series.
So, for all the Valkyrie fans who have been patiently waiting for more from the Valkyrie Universe, here is Joshua: Dead Radiance.
T.G. Ayer
Midgard, 2018
Chapter 1
Growing up in Craven was a strange experience. Sometimes, Joshua wondered why his Dad had decided to move away to a small town when it would have been easier on them, easier to get lost among the people in a big city.
But Dad—in his infinite wisdom—had believed that a small-town upbringing would be better, healthier, safer.
It wasn’t.
Mom had a hard time fitting in. From a small suburb in Bangalore, she’d always struggled against the confines of a small town, and had never hidden her dislike of Craven.
Joshua could never have been sure of why, though he suspected the people here sometimes shunned her. She’d be forgotten when invitations were sent for potlucks, and fairs, sometimes ignored while shopping in town, often bypassed for community events.
Kala O’Connell had taken it all in her stride, always saying people never knew how to handle that which was different. She was always a fountain of wisdom.
Dad, on the other hand, was a giant goof. All Irish charm and good looks, which explained how Iain O’Connell had landed a pretty girl like Mom. And yeah, Joshua was not ashamed to admit his Mom was hot. She always got those sideways looks from the girls at school too. The ones that said they thought she was too beautiful.
Always made Joshua smile to himself.
He’d been a loner for a long time, though he’d had a few friends who’d stuck by him over the years. But he’d never found that one special person who’d light up the room with her presence, the way his mom had for his dad.
Not until Bryn.
The day Bryn Halbrook walked into North Wood High was the day Joshua knew she didn’t belong in Craven. She didn’t belong, in the way a panther didn’t belong in a den of jackals. She had a fluidity to her, all red hair and toned, tall frame. It didn’t seem fair for a girl to be that tall, but he guessed his own lack of height would make that particular aspect of her physique irk no matter who the girl was.
To add insult to injury, Bryn was beautiful. Oh, and Joshua didn’t think she knew it, or acknowledged it. The girl was oblivious to her own reflection.
Didn’t make her popular at all.
For a girl, Bryn was different too. She didn’t care about boys, stayed away from the popular crowd, kept her head down. Joshua’s dad had always said girls like Bryn were rare.
And how lucky was he to be her friend?
Biology was their first class together and Bryn, the most gorgeous girl to grace the halls of North Wood High, was staring at Joshua.
He frowned.
So the new girl is checking me out? Really?
Joshua flushed. And he was not the kind of guy who flushed.
At. All.
But he flushed. Because, well, she was new and she was hot, and she was staring at him.
But as soon as their eyes met, she broke contact. Joshua’s heart wobbled in his chest. And his heart never wobbled in his chest. He squirmed in his seat, a film of perspiration skimming the back of his neck.
He had to do something.
He waited until she looked up at him again and gave her his best cheeriest grin, and followed it closely with a wink.
Lame, Joshua. So, lame.
Joshua chided himself, hoping he wouldn’t go all red in the face. Thanks to his South Asian heritage on his mother’s side, his skin could hide a blush or two well enough, but full on red was hard to hide no matter how brown a guy was. He wanted to slap his forehead, or maybe smacking said forehead on his desk would be more appropriate.
And then he went and made it worse.
After biology, he followed her out into the hall. Not as if he had any control of his legs or anything. She was digging around in her locker, red head half buried in the metal interior. Joshua wasn’t sure if he should wait. But his body seemed to be more in control of him than his soft brain was.
He cleared his throat.
That did it. She jerked her head out of the locker, almost dropping the books she was juggling, and turned to look straight into his eyes.
Good god. She has the most beautiful green eyes on the planet.
Then he reminded himself to swallow. And breathe. It became easier when it finally struck him that his neck was tilted slightly upward as he looked at her.
Yeah, about that whole height thing again.
Joshua gritted his teeth and tried to tamp down his deep disappointment with himself as a representative of the male of the species. Really should be illegal for a guy to be shorter than a girl. And especially a girl who looked like she was interested in him. And one who also happened to be drop dead hot.
“Hi,” he said, pasting that stupid, cheesy grin on his face again and hoping for the best. “You must be new. I’m Joshua O’Connell.” Then he stuck out his hand and waited.
She stared at his hand for a moment, as though he’d pointed a gun at her. Then her eyes lightened, and a small smile teased the corner of her lips. She grasped his hand and gave it a good solid shake. Joshua
liked the firm grip, and the new girl rose higher in his estimation in that single moment.
“I’m Bryn, and yeah, I just transferred in.”
“Good thing you’re just in time for senior orientation too.”
“I guess the timing worked out well.” She gave him a shy smile, and Joshua was amazed when it came without the fluttery eyelashes and breathy sighs he was used too. It stopped him short.
Was she giving him mixed signals? The Bryn in Biology hadn’t been able to keep her eyes off him, but this Bryn was smiling at him all friendly and open, not a coy, enticing smile for miles.
I must be losing my touch.
“Nice to meet you, Joshua O’Connell,” Bryn spoke, and Joshua almost missed her words. She smiled that shy smile again, and turned and glided down the hallway, weaving between the kids milling about.
He was still staring at her disappearing back when a voice breathed in his ear, “Hey baby.”
Joshua stiffened. He had to force himself to stand his ground in the face of the greater force of Cherise Barnes. In one fleeting sweep, his gaze took Cherise in. Perfect hair and makeup even though it’s just school, perfect posture even though all she was doing was talking to Joshua, and the perfect miniskirt to reveal just the right amount of bare thigh even though a fairly high percentage of the guys at North Wood were decidedly familiar with those thighs.
Joshua mentally rebuked himself. That was a very unkind way of thinking, and yet a part of him couldn’t deny it was true. Pity Joshua had also ended up as a notch on Cherise’s belt. That was certainly something he wasn’t proud of.
“Hi,” was all Joshua could muster.
“Aww, you having a bad day, baby?”
“Don’t call me that,” Joshua responded, almost automatically. He’d always hated it when Cherise called him that. Probably had more to do with the way she said it than the actual word, though.
“Come on, Joshua, we both know we’re not over. We had such a good thing going. And a love like ours doesn’t die that easily.” Cherise poured the words out like warm honey, her fingers seeking and finding the crook of his arm, spreading slowly and possessive over his biceps.
Joshua stared down at Cherise’s fingers, loud red nails curled around his arm. He shrugged her off, “Cherise, for the millionth time, we are done. There’s nothing between us, and there never will be. So, save us both the grief and leave me alone.”
“Aww, you don’t mean that, darling.” Cherise pouted, her blue eyes large and luminous. How had I not seen her for what she was, all this pouting and posturing, it’s so obvious?
“Actually I do mean it, Cherise,” he said. “Just leave me alone. Find someone else to waste your time on.”
“Oh, really?” In that instant, her voice chilled a few degrees, the blue of her eyes iced over, and the skin at the corners of her eyes tightened as her gaze flicked down the hall in the direction of Bryn’s disappearing red head. “I can only think of one reason little Joshua O’Connell would turn me down. Josh has a crush on the new girl, doesn’t he? But don’t forget you have one big problem that’s quite insurmountable right now, baby.”
“And what’s that Cherise?” Joshua asked, resigned to ending the conversation even if it meant handing the score to his ex.
“Well, aren’t you a bit on the short side for the new girl, Joshua?” Cherise smirked, the skin on her face still a frigid mask. “I’m sure it’s hard to make out with a girl who is soooo much taller than you. Don’t you think, baby?”
With that, she released his arm and walked down the passage. Definitely, score one to Cherise. She knew how his height bugged him. Showed a lot about Cherise’s character that she’d used his weakness to ridicule him.
Being one of the shortest guys on campus wasn’t easy, especially being a senior. At last Joshua unclenched his fists, surprised at how tight he’d been holding them. His stomach jumped at the thought that Cherise would now target Bryn, and his fists clenched again.
He’d do whatever it took to prevent that from happening.
Chapter 2
Despite Cherise’s attempts, Joshua managed—over the ensuing days—to fall into a comfortable ‘friendship’ with Bryn.
He’d always hated the way some people assumed that every friendship between a girl and a guy was based on a romantic emotion on one or both parts, or that inevitably friendship would turn into love.
In this particular case, Joshua was wrong. But as much as he liked Bryn, he respected that barrier, the subtle distance that she’d erected around her. He’d walk her home from school, chat on the porch while sipping Ms. Custer’s delicious iced tea, talk about school and homework, and everything under the sun besides a relationship.
Because there was no way in hell Joshua was ever going to put her in the position to choose between their friendship and a romantic relationship. He wasn’t that selfish.
But soon Bryn’s behavior began to make him wonder how she really felt. When a girl begins to avoid you, when she barely chats for more than a couple minutes, when she repeatedly refuses to study or do homework together, a guy has to be stupid not to get the hint that something is wrong.
Most of the time it was okay. Joshua could handle it. But it hurt when it got to a stage where Bryn barely even looked at him. That was the point where he began to wonder what he’d done wrong. Had he hurt her feelings, said something wrong? Or maybe she’d realized how he felt about her and felt uncomfortable about it?
Joshua was pacing outside the entrance to the school, waiting for Bryn to exit the building. She’d been called again to vice-principal Warren’s office. The man was a bit of a tyrant, his thick glasses, oily hair, and overly cruel criticisms ensuring a lot of people stayed far away from him.
Joshua was one of those who tended to steer clear of him. It had taken him a few weeks to figure out the man was a closet racist who hated that Joshua was a half-breed.
God only knew the reason for Warren’s meeting with Bryn. She’d admitted once that Warren’s constant barrage of one-on-one meetings were for no reason other than to make her feel worse about herself, both as a student and as a person. Knowing the vice-principal, Joshua had to agree with her.
And now Joshua walked an invisible line on the broken concrete path, waiting for Bryn to emerge from her meeting with the odious man.
At last, she exited the building, and with long, athletic strides, she reached the sidewalk in little time. She gave Joshua a brief, impersonal smile then turned in the direction of Ms. Custer’s house.
He frowned and began to walk after her. “Bryn?” Joshua called, hoping she’d stop and talk.
But she didn’t. She held her books close to her chest, ducked her chin, and kept walking.
Joshua hurried and caught up with her, then reached out and touched her arm gently. “Bryn?”
Finally, she drew abreast of Joshua, glancing at him as they walked but not really meeting his eyes. She seemed to focus on a spot on his shoulder for some reason. She’d been doing that a lot, and it was beginning to annoy him.
“Why are you avoiding me?” Joshua said, scowling as he kept pace with her. He was both angry and hurt at the same time, and he couldn’t keep total control of his tone.
She looked away, her jaw tight, the muscle near her ear bulging a little. He’d often warned her the clenching her jaw would give her headaches and from the look of her eyes, she more than likely already had one.
Joshua accompanied her home, despite being ignored the whole time. As they walked the windblown streets, he wondered if he was making a mistake with Bryn. But then, he’d already decided he wasn’t with her for more than friendship because he had a strong suspicion that she wasn’t in the market for a boyfriend.
She seemed far too preoccupied for that, as if something else was in control of her, as if some force drove her harder than it did most girls. Or most people for that matter.
It was the day after Joshua’s friend Aimee Graham had died that Bryn’s behavior changed. He’d nev
er been able to figure out what one had had to do with the other, but he wasn’t about to question it.
A few days went by before Joshua caught up with Bryn again after school. He kept pace then sidestepped in her direction and bumped shoulders with her.
She glanced at him and slowly came to a halt. Wrinkling her nose, she said, “You reek like an engine.” She was smiling the way she usually did when she teased him, for once relaxed and falling into their usual camaraderie.
Of course, he knew he didn’t reek. Although he had been working on his car that morning. His mom had yelled loud enough that he knew he’d have to shower the stink off or be in trouble with her.
His Dad’s ‘85 sat in the garage, and Joshua suspected he kept it there just to get on her nerves. Mom hated cars, and hated fast ones even more. She was pretty unimpressed when she found out he’d given Joshua the car bug.
Now it was a matter of working on it but not ever mentioning it to her. She’d deliberately turned a blind eye, and Joshua was happy to play her game.
Bryn stared at the grease stains on his old jeans and smiled. “What are you working on?”
Joshua laughed, pretending she hadn’t just insulted him about his personal hygiene. “Camaro Z28,” he said, giving his head a bad-ass, way too feminine, don’t-mess-with-me twist.
“Ha! A Camaro? Now if you’d said Mustang Cobra, I’d have been impressed.” She stared at Joshua, and he knew she was having trouble containing her laughter. Something about the tiny upward tilt to her lips, and the little flash of amusement in her eyes. She passed at bad-ass but totally failed at macho.