by Jane Cousins
Brodie leapt high into the air, bringing the sturdy pieces of timber slamming together. Of course they couldn’t meet because Lanyard’s big, fat head was in the way. “That.” She smiled as Lanyard cried out, his skull ringing. “Is for hurting Fen.”
Lanyard stumbled slightly but didn’t fall. The surprised look on his face shifting to disbelief.
Brodie landed, twirled gracefully on one foot to get momentum, hauled back and slammed the piece of timber in her right hand hard up under Lanyard’s chin. Snapping his head back. That move used on a weaker man, a mortal man, it would have taken his head clean off. “That’s for calling me wench.”
Lanyard tried to defend himself, holding up a protective arm but Brodie slapped it aside, the slab of timber connecting painfully with his exposed wrist. “Wha-”
Brodie pin wheeled her arms, the pieces of timber she held slamming into the sides of Lanyard’s head, like it was a ping pong ball. “You will pay for all the damage you caused.” Slam. “You will treat women with more respect.” Slam. Slam. Slam. “Women are not chattel.” Slam. Slam.
Lanyard roared, his head ringing and he was clearly dazed. Flinging his arms up he grabbed the timber from Brodie, wrenching them easily from her, throwing them away. “Stop! Stop trying to hurt me. Why are you acting this way?” Lanyard seemed genuinely mystified and shocked, though his dazed state didn’t stop him from enjoying the view of Brodie’s breasts heaving under her gold breast plate.
“Asshole.” Brodie gritted out, noting where the Vulcan’s attention had gone. Despite her attack the demi-god had little in the way of injuries. No cuts, no bruises. Except for his slightly dazed expression, she hadn’t made a dent in hurting Lanyard. She called Raven.
“No.” Fen called out in a breathless voice. He had finally managed to shove the pins from the hinges of the manacles but all his strength was gone, more problematic his body was still trying to heal. He felt as weak as a new born kitten.
“Your little sword is useless against me.” Lanyard taunted, straightening his stance, looming over Brodie.
Brodie smiled with wicked assurance, any smart man seeing that smile would have started running. “You sure about that?” She turned, leapt, landing on the arm of the nearby dilapidated sofa, launching herself backwards, performing a somersault that she had seen executed on Xena. Landing behind Lanyard she reached up, grabbed as much of his hair as she could before bringing Raven down in a sharp, chopping motion. Twirling away she held up her prize, a thick handful of shiny, lustrous, tawny hair.
Lanyard cried out in horror. “No!” He reached back, confirming for himself what his eyes were seeing. “Why you-” Anger blazed in his dark amber eyes, orange sparks flaring brightly in their depths. He lowered his head and ran at Brodie like a bull seeing the colour red for the first time.
Brodie laughed, side stepping his charge, pivoting, and sweeping Raven out carefully in a tightly controlled close arc.
Lanyard turned just in time to watch the lock of hair she’d just cut off flutter to the floor.
“Look.” Brodie beamed, throwing the hank of hair she still had in her hand up into the air. “It’s raining hair.”
The edges of Lanyard’s dark amber eyes began to glow orange; bright, flaring, molten orange.
Fen had managed to shuffle backwards across the floor, coming to rest under one of the boarded up windows. Cutting the Vulcan’s hair had been a genius move, but to taunt him with that fact… Brodie didn’t seem to realise what a dangerous game she was now playing. Even in his weakened state, Fen felt the air in the living room shift balance, the ozone was tainted with a sharp lance of heat. He really didn’t like the way Lanyard’s eyes had begun to change colour. Crap.
The Vulcan held muscular arms out wide, snarled, and ran at Brodie.
She had the good sense to disappear Raven, even as she threw herself forward to dive well under the reach of the minor Godling. “And you expected me to service you?” Brodie rolled her eyes. “I am a Valkyrie. You are a braying donkey. A preening peacock. I would not consider you worthy to clean my boots. The only dance I would ever offer you is one of victory, when I kick your ass.”
Lanyard tipped his head back, roared, and then charged at her again, arms spread wide. Brodie’s dodge to avoid him would have worked, except her boot came down on a stray piece of the broken armchair. Her balance off, she gasped, all the breath leaving her body as the Vulcan swept her up into a bone crunching bear hug.
Too close for her to kick at him effectively. Her arms trapped by her sides. All she could manage were hard jabs with her fists, pummelling his ribs, but the demi-god didn’t seem to register her efforts.
Staring at her, Lanyard’s face was flushed with high colour, his pupils now more orange than amber. Brodie thanked her lucky stars the Vulcan couldn’t breathe fire, but even so, with him holding her like this, moulded to him, her boots dangling off the ground, she could feel the waves of heat coming off him. Searing her bare flesh where ever he touched her.
Worse, she could feel her armour beginning to heat up. It had been blessed by Freyja herself, and impervious to most things but if she remained much longer in the Vulcan’s hold, who knows what would happen to it. She had to get free somehow.
Fen clawed at the floor trying to get to his feet. Brodie was in trouble. Shit. He needed to help her. He couldn’t just sit here and do nothing. Magic, he needed more magic.
Lanyard squeezed Brodie tighter, grinning as she winced. “You will pay for your insults. And for what you did to my hair…” His eyes flared, the pupils nothing but a hot, molten, orange colour. “…you must die.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Fen had never felt such all encompassing fear as he did right then, watching Brodie dangle helplessly in the Vulcan’s tight body lock. Heat shimmering off of them in waves, distorting the surrounding air. Shit, if Lanyard didn’t squeeze Brodie to death, he’d melt her.
Fen’s training kicked in. Life or death split second decisions were his forte. When you thought you were on your last legs, your last breath, you dug deeper. The magic was weak, but a tiny thread of it came to his call. Just enough for him to send a puff of air to lift what remained of Lanyard’s long hair, sending it swishing forward and into Brodie’s face.
Brodie’s reflexes were lightning fast as she snapped open her mouth, clamping her teeth down on the hank of hair that had suddenly hit her in the face.
Lanyard’s eyes widened in both worry and fury at the sight of what little was left of his once long, lustrous mane stuffed into the Valkyrie’s mouth. Then he humfphed an amused laugh. Big deal, it wasn’t like she was going anywhere. He hoped she choked on it, considering the damage she had already inflicted.
Brodie allowed her eyes to shine in triumph, enjoying the unsure look that finally settled over Lanyard’s face.
“You-” Lanyard’s words were cut off as Brodie abruptly slammed her head forward, breaking his nose with her forehead. Howling, instinctively thrusting the Valkyrie away. Lanyard bellowed loudly again, this time as a large hank of his hair was ripped out by the roots.
Brodie dropped and rolled away, getting to her feet she spat out the Vulcan’s hair. Watching as the clump fell to the floor in a tawny tangled mess. “Yikes, now that’s a big hairball.”
She watched as Lanyard straightened, a mask of rage on his face. The man radiated so much heat now the air felt too thin to breathe. Molten waves beating at her flesh, niggling at the burns she’d suffered on her arms and back thanks to Lanyard’s bear hug.
More telling, the pitted ancient floorboards beneath his boots were beginning to smoulder and pop up, the rusted, old nails draining away like melted tears. “Elijah, now would be good.” Brodie muttered under her breath, but seconds passed by and nothing. “Elijah?”
Damn, either she’d lost the earpiece, or it had stopped working. Double damn, with all the boarded up windows, Elijah had no clear line of sight as to the events taking place inside. He was no doubt waiting for a signal
from her.
Hmm, Brodie circled the room, pacing away from Lanyard who was stalking her. His chest heaving as he panted hard. His choppy, uneven hair sticking out at all angles, but still somehow managing to be flattering. The demi-god’s eyes glowing liquid orange with tiny blue sparks shimmering in their depths.
More floorboards popped up under the Vulcan’s boots, a piece of fabric from the broken armchair catching fire for a brief moment before it was entirely consumed, leaving nothing but a scorch mark behind.
Shit, perhaps Fen could… no, a lightning quick glance in his direction confirmed that he was pale, and too drained, to do anything but lay there and heal at the moment. It was up to her to come up with a way of sending Elijah a signal. Hmmm, besides the smoke one, as the air began to thicken, lazy drifts of smoke heading up the old, disused chimney off to her left.
“You will pay dearly for the insult you have inflicted upon me.” Lanyard growled, arms outstretched as he stalked after Brodie. For every step she took back, he mirrored by taking one forward.
“Now I’m confused, Larry. Am I going to pay, or am I going to die?”
“My name is Lanyard.” He took another step closer, the floorboard behind him erupting into flames.
Brodie shrugged, coming to a halt directly in front of Fen. Watching as several small spot fires ate away hungrily at the floorboards in Lanyard’s wake. “When I laugh about this with the other Valkyries… and we will laugh, I think I shall continue to call you Larry.” Brodie backed up just a little more, Fen only two feet behind her now. “Get ready.” She whispered the words under her breath.
“Brodie.” Fen whispered her name back in warning. She was courting danger here for his sake, it would kill him if she got hurt or worse.
He wanted to tell her to be careful. Wanted to tell her that it would rip him apart if anything happened to her. That he cared… that he loved her. But all of that would be distracting, and selfish. So he kept his mouth shut and lay there like a useless lump of wood, whilst Brodie faced off against the Vulcan.
“I’ll tell them about what I did to your hair.” Brodie’s eyes travelled over the choppy mess and she allowed amusement to sparkle in her eyes. Still the Vulcan did nothing but glare at her, the heat radiating off of him slapping at her and trying to steal the very air from her lungs. Come on, come on. The cushions of the crappy old sofa burst into flames. Come on. Brodie’s gaze radiated disdain as she slowly perused Lanyard’s frame. “Then I’ll tell them about those tight breeches that you wear, and how it’s all too obvious that they contain nothing there of consequence that would ever tempt a Valky-”
Lanyard’s head dropped and he roared like a grizzly bear, charging forward at a surprisingly fast pace.
Fen bit his lip to refrain from crying out a warning. He needed to have faith, Brodie knew what she was doing. But he still couldn’t stop himself from wincing as the two came together in a bone crunching smack of flesh.
Brodie’s feet left the ground, as Lanyard barrelled into her. Gritting her teeth, she grappled for him, latching onto his shoulders, his flesh searing her hands. Ignoring the pain, she dug her fingers in tightly, swinging her momentum around, so that it was Lanyard’s back that smacked up hard against the boarded up window.
Fen barely had a moment to roll himself out of the way as the twosome rebounded and hit the floor hard. Brodie rolled away in the other direction, managing to rise to her knees. She glared at the blackened smouldering outline Lanyard’s body had left behind where it had hit the still boarded up window. Shit.
“You had to be a perfectionist.” She gritted out, dropping and rolling further away as Lanyard shook off the hit and started to scramble in her direction.
“Sorry.” Fen watched Brodie duck and dive behind the burning sofa. The furniture in here had been sparse to begin with, the armchair was broken and that only left the fast burning sofa. With the floorboards catching alight where ever the Vulcan now stepped, there were few places for Brodie to hide. Shit. They needed to get out of here and fast.
Okay, so his magic was drained. But he wasn’t useless. Rolling over onto his back, Fen snuffed out a few flickering flames where Lanyard had landed. Raising his feet in the air he began kicking at the smouldering boards nailed across the window frame with the heels of his boots.
Brodie zigzagged left, pivoted, leapt over a charred section of floorboards and crouched low. The air was clearer closer to ground level. Damn, damn. She edged away from a section of wall that had caught fire, the flames lickings upwards eagerly to dance across the edge of the ceiling. She could hear Fen attacking the boarded up window, though she couldn’t check on his progress. Not with all the smoke, and the large Vulcan blocking her view.
Despite his lack of fighting skills, the demi-god’s sheer height and breadth, and his being impervious to pain or damage made Lanyard an opponent not to be taken lightly.
Brodie ducked again as the Vulcan charged, twirling to plant her boot on his ass and give him a little extra shove. Lanyard caught himself on the doorway leading into the kitchen, flames instantly darting around the wooden frame, effectively creating a fiery crown for the minor Godling.
Damn, nothing fazed the man except when his hair was threatened. He could melt metal with a touch, was impervious to the flames he created, and barely acknowledged all her other attempts at causing him injury. Even his broken nose seemed to have done no more than briefly stun him. No sign of blood, swelling or any bruising.
Just by his sheer invulnerability, Lanyard would win. He just needed to keep her occupied until either the smoke and flames engulfed her, or he got in a lucky punch with one of those large fists of his. But Brodie didn’t have to win, she just had to keep Lanyard occupied long enough for Fen to get to safety.
Relief swept over Fen as his booted foot smashed through the blackened board he’d been concentrating his efforts on. What? Damn. His foot had gone all the way through. He attempted to pull it back, large jagged splinters digging through the denim of his jeans into his lower leg. Great, just fucking wonderful. Then he froze. Someone had grabbed his booted foot. A hand coming down to squeeze his ankle gently before releasing him.
Several quick taps followed, a hammer, widening the hole Fen had made. He pulled his leg back as soon as it was safe. Watching from a prone position as first one side of the already broken board was ripped free of the frame, then the other side.
Taite’s cool blue eyes appeared, squinting as smoke billowed out the newly created exit. “You okay?” Taite enquired, trying to get a good look at Fen.
Fen flinched as the flames around the room leapt higher. Thanks to the influx of oxygen rushing into the house, there would be little left for the demolition crew to do Tuesday if someone didn’t put the fire out soon. “I’ll be better once you get a few more of these boards off.”
“I’ve got Fen. Let the fire truck through.” Taite instructed into his comms as he speedily went about yanking off the remaining boards. “Come on.” He leant in, grabbing Fen by the hand, hauling him upright.
“Wait.” Fen baulked. He rested his butt on the charred timber edge of the hole. “Not without Brodie.” He swivelled, yanking up his t-shirt with his spare hand to cover his nose and mouth. “Brodie!” If Taite hadn’t been gripping him by the shoulder, practically holding him upright, Fen would have attempted to go looking for her. “Brodie!”
“Go!” Her voice sounded husky and far away.
“Not without you!” Fen vowed. Where was she? Over there. Circling the sofa, keeping the fiery piece of furniture between her and the Vulcan.
Brodie wasn’t sure whether to smile or grit her teeth. It was sweet of Fen, to make such a statement. But then on the more practical side, he was now blocking her only means of egress, considering the front section of the house was on fire. There would be no calmly strolling out the front door in her near future. “Go! I’ll be right behind you!”
Lanyard grinned broadly, his blazing eyes fixed on her over the remains of the small
sofa inferno. Soot and dirt marred his breeches, dark streaks clinging stubbornly to his tanned, broad, muscular chest. Other than a few smudges and his weird, freshly chopped hairdo, the man still looked photo shoot ready. “You think to hide behind this pitiful barrier?”
Brodie blinked rapidly, trying not to cough, the smoke had thickened so much she could no longer see if Fen had followed her orders. She could only pray that he had done so. Continuing to circle to the left, Brodie only needed a few more steps, then she could dodge the Vulcan and run for the open window.
Luckily she was adaptable, as Lanyard’s next words had her rapidly revising her plan.
“Because I am immune to fire after all, and this is no barrier at all.”
And the asshole stepped forward, proving that he had just been toying with her as he walked right through the flames, kicking aside the remaining sofa debris that blocked his path.
Brodie fought the urge to curse out loud. She needed all her wits and choking down more thick smoke would not be helpful… unless. She only had one recourse. If the Vulcan thought to surprise her, then she needed to return the favour.
Not stopping to think, she channelled her favourite new TV heroine, opened her mouth and emitted the war cry Xena always used when she battled her opponents. “Yeee-eeyeee!” And then she proceeded to run directly at a surprised Lanyard who had almost cleared the burning sofa debris.
Leaping, Brodie hooked her fingers into claws, aiming right for Lanyard’s eyes. And just as she hoped, the large man ducked, allowing her to plant her hands down on his shoulders, spring up, somersault and land directly behind him. Thanks to the thick smoke she could no longer see the exit but there was no time to hesitate with the Vulcan swivelling in place and coming after her. There, a lighter patch in the smoky greyness.
Throwing up her arm over her nose and mouth, Brodie ran. Full tilt. Floorboards behind her creaking and groaning as Lanyard, impervious to the smoke, followed close on her heels.
Please be right, please be right. She ducked her head low and dived, out through the window frame, landing in the dirt, rolling several times, before managing to regain her footing in time to turn and watch Lanyard dive out through the same hole.