by Charley Case
Focusing her power into herself, similar to the way she made herself stronger and quicker, she thought about where she wanted to go. She felt herself become lighter, but a spurt of panic dropped her back to the loose stone covering the roof. She drew a breath and started over. This time, she opened her eyes and focused on where she wanted to go. Her legs flexed awkwardly as crackling power surrounded her and lifted her a foot off the roof.
“Okay, you got this, Mila,” she muttered, trying to psych herself up. “It’s only a quick little shot. Out and around—don’t let her see where you came from. Just a quick shot of power. You got this.”
“One minute!” Missy yelled into the oddly silent portion of the city.
Mila clenched her jaw. There was no time to fuck around. She let the power flow into her, and it launched her across the roof and out into the open.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to close her eyes. She wanted to land and never try this again. What she did instead was focus on all the people living in the condo building—people she now thought of as family—and swallowed her fear in one big lump, forcing it down into a corner of herself that was good at holding onto the things she didn’t like to think about. She stuffed it between her fear of being alone and her fear of public speaking, shelving it to collect dust until the day she faded from the universe.
It probably wasn’t the healthiest way to deal with it, but she didn’t care. She didn’t have time to talk it out with a therapist. She had a world to save.
The wind rushed past Mila’s face, making her eyes water as the city blurred below her. When she was a good mile out, which happened far faster than she thought possible, she changed direction, curving up and over and coming around to Larimar Street from an odd angle to the condo. She was several hundred feet in the air and coming back down at breakneck speed when she spotted Missy still staring at her watch.
The ground came up fast, and Mila used her magic to bolster her body and muscles, unsure of how to land properly. She kind of cut off the power and the golden buzzing field around her snapped out of existence, leaving her in free-fall for the last thirty feet or so. Her stomach came up into her throat, but she swallowed it and aimed her feet for the center of the road about twenty feet behind Missy.
“Tim—” Missy’s shout cut off as Mila slammed into the pavement, blasting a small crater from the semi-soft tarmac.
Mila flexed her legs and dropped to one knee as she put out a hand to keep herself from face-planting. Mila almost laughed when she realized she’d landed in the classic superhero three-point stance. She may as well milk it.
Missy spun around, her wide-mouthed smile looking more demonic than anything. Mila waited for her to take in the small crater and her stance before slowly rising to her feet and locking a hard stare onto the Dark Valkyrie.
Missy raised an eyebrow while looking Mila over. “A little dramatic, don’t you think? If you’re not careful, you’ll hurt yourself with those sorts of antics.”
Mila smirked while casually reaching back and pulling Gram free. She whispered the power word, and the golden sword unfolded with a series of quiet clicks. “Coming here alone is a good way to get yourself hurt as well.”
The dull ache in Mila’s knees was a telltale sign that Missy was right, but Mila wasn’t about to admit that.
Missy laughed—really laughed, throwing her head back and holding her stomach and everything. Mila found it a little obnoxious, even if Missy was crazy.
“Haven’t you figured it out yet, child? You weren’t my equal before I took the infernal taint. Now?” She chuckled again. “Well, now it’s not fair to you.”
“Maybe.” Mila casually shrugged. “But that’s a pissing contest I don’t need to concern myself with quite yet.”
“Oh, isn’t it? How do you—”
“I thought I had three days,” Mila interrupted, making Missy’s face darken with anger.
“Azoth gave you three days as a deadline. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want it sooner. If I can retrieve the Reaper before the deadline, then I get a reward.”
Mila snorted. “Like what? A box of candy? A toy car? A clue?”
“I get what I wanted all along—a way home. I bring him the Reaper before the three days are up, and he takes me to my Jennifer right then and there.” Her crazed look fell away for a moment as she stared off into the ancient past. That look of painful longing was almost enough for Mila to understand why Missy had done it all.
Mila thought about the lengths she would go to return to Finn if they had become separated. She could almost see herself going as far as Missy had, but Mila knew there was one thing that would always stop her from going too far.
“Would Jennifer approve of the things you’ve done to return to her?” Mila knew what Finn would say if it were her.
Missy’s face fell, then turned to anger in a smoldering flash as she locked her gaze on Mila once again. “You don’t have a clue what it’s like. How dare you talk to me as if you could even begin to understand the love Jenny and I have?” She took a step forward, her empty hand beginning to glow with gold and dark purple magic.
“I want to help you, Missy. When I defeat Azoth, I can free you of his taint on your soul. You can be free once again,” Mila pleaded but stood her ground.
Tears sprang to Missy’s eyes, and she fought to keep them at bay as she continued to advance. “You can’t defeat him. I didn’t stand a chance against him. He’ll crush you beneath his heel without thinking twice. There is no escape from a Drude. Only pain and servitude. My only option is to believe that he will set me free when I fulfill my end of the bargain.”
“That’s not going to happen. You know he won’t ever set you free.”
Missy swallowed. “I have to hope. It’s all I have.” She looked Mila over as if for the first time, her eyes growing wide. “Where is it? Where’s the Reaper? I told you to bring it!”
Mila felt sorry for this broken woman. She didn’t deserve what was being done to her. Then again, she started this intending to free her mortal enemy, so maybe she was getting what she deserved.
Mila sighed. “I didn’t bring it, Missy. Why would I hand it over when it’s the only thing keeping the Drude in check?”
The sorrow instantly vanished from Missy’s face. “You stupid child. I’m going to enjoy tearing you limb from limb. Thralls, attack!” she screamed, pointing her sword at Mila’s chest.
Chapter Ten
Mila raised an amused eyebrow while staring Missy down. The woman was slowly starting to realize that her minions weren’t attacking as she’d ordered.
The Valkyrie frowned, her expression more angry than confused. “I said attack, you worthless husks!” she screamed, spinning around to see what the holdup was.
Mila heard the click of Missy’s teeth as her jaw snapped shut and she sucked in a breath.
Arrayed down the street were two dozen stone spikes fifteen to twenty feet long. They were two feet in diameter at the base and tapered to a needle’s point. The long shafts stuck out at odd angles, creating a chaotic latticework filling the valley between buildings on either side of the street. Halfway up each of the spikes was an impaled thrall. Every one of them was limp and obviously dead.
Walking through that gruesome forest directly toward the two Valkyries was a dour-faced Finn. His right hand glowed with purple dwarven magic. As they watched, the spikes silently sucked themselves back into the asphalt at such great speed that the dead thralls hung in the air for a beat before they rained down onto the pavement with hollow, wet thumps.
Missy turned back to Mila, her rage burning with new fury. The two women stared at one another for a beat before Missy charged in while raising her sword for a killing blow.
Magic flowed through Mila in a flash, bolstering her body to heroic levels as she brought Gram up in a defensive posture. The two swords clashed, sending a shower of golden sparks into the night air. Missy slid her sword off Gram at an angle, grinding more sparks from the two blades b
efore she spun around, whipping her weapon in a wide arc to smash into Gram once again as Mila moved to block.
Gritting her teeth, Mila pushed back against Missy’s weight, making the taller but thinner woman have to dance backward or be slashed across the chest when the two swords slid apart.
Before Mila could reset for an attack, Missy was already on her again, this time coming at her with a one-handed overhead chopping motion. Mila dropped to one knee, getting Gram up barely in time for the weapons to ring out like a bell.
A glowing orb of black and gold shot from Missy’s free hand, only inches from Mila’s face. Mila pivoted on her knee with a speed she would have thought impossible only a few weeks ago and dodged out of the orb’s sizzling path.
The magic sphere slammed into the road, sending molten asphalt splashing into the air and raining down in a wide fan-shape for thirty feet.
Pulling Gram back, Mila held out her forearm and formed a translucent golden shield. With her other hand, she made a claw and focused raw celestial power into it. A ball of light so bright it hurt Mila’s eyes formed between her fingers before shooting out and slamming into the ground at Missy’s feet.
The asphalt exploded upward like with Missy’s orb. However, Mila’s attack blasted Missy into the air as well. Mila used the shield to protect herself from the point-blank attack, but the force of the blast sent her to her ass, where she dismissed the shield so she didn’t cut herself with the razor-sharp Gram.
Missy tumbled backward, a snarling scream escaping her lips. She was spinning head over feet, molten bits of tarmac sizzling into her clothes and skin.
Golden light instantly formed around the fallen Valkyrie and she shot forward, her sword pointed at Mila’s throat.
While bringing Gram up to block the diving blow, Mila realized she wasn’t going to get her defenses up in time. A pillar of rock shot up from under Missy in mid-flight, slamming into her stomach like a stone fist. The blow practically folded her in two as her momentum instantly changed from forward to upward. Mila heard the gush of air from Missy’s open mouth.
Finn gave Mila a questioning nod as the purple magic faded from his hand. Mila nodded back, noticing that a flood of thralls was pouring in from the side streets and alleys. Finn turned, his jaw setting and Fragar flashing in the streetlights as her dwarf charged the closest group.
Not having any time to admire Finn doing what he did best, Mila scrambled to her feet barely in time to get a shield up and block another diving charge from Missy, who now had blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Taking the opportunity to finally strike, Mila swung Gram up around her shield, aiming for the exposed torso between Missy’s short skirt and cropped top.
Golden sparks exploded from where Gram slammed into Missy’s hastily erected shield.
The next thing Mila knew, she and Missy were tumbling across the street in a tangle of arms, shields, and swords since Missy hadn’t slowed her dive into Mila in the least. Pain exploded in Mila’s right thigh as her knee struck the curb, and the impact finally threw the two women apart.
Mila tried to stand, but her knee wouldn’t take her weight and she fell back down, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Missy’s sword whistled through the air where her neck would have been.
Growling like a wild animal, the older but younger-looking Valkyrie kicked out with one of her high platform combat boots, aiming for Mila’s face.
Mila dropped her shoulder and rolled to the side while reaching behind her back with her free hand. Coming back up onto her knee as it burned with pain, she pointed the Ivar at Missy’s exposed side and pulled the trigger.
A lance of pure celestial power shot out at point-blank range and slammed into Missy’s shield arm. The golden translucent barrier blocked most of the shot, but the core of the bolt drove a hole in the shield and slammed into Missy’s exposed side.
There was a flash of blinding light, and Mila threw up her shield to protect herself from the blowback as Missy was once again launched backward into the street.
“Finn!” Mila shouted, judging where the flailing Missy would land. Finn chopped a thrall in half, its upper body sliding to the ground as the legs took one last step before collapsing. He turned and saw Missy headed his way and smiled with that evil grin he got in the heat of his berserker’s rage. “Don’t kill her!”
He gave a reluctant nod and turned Fragar so he would strike with the flat of the blade. Missy realized what was happening a split second too late as she looked up and saw Finn stepping into a two-handed swing with his axe.
A hollow gong sound rang up and down the street as the runed axe blade smashed into the side of Missy’s head. Her body went limp and tumbled to the side, rolling for a good fifteen feet before stopping, her eyes closed and arms twisted around her limp form in an uncomfortable-looking position.
Mila blinked in silent surprise at how well it had played out. She had been trying to line up the shot to do exactly what she had but was impressed that she’d pulled it off.
Finn spun back around to face the still-advancing horde of thralls, but the soulless beings shuffled to a stop and looked around with blank stares.
“What the fuck?” Finn stood from his crouched attack position and cocked his head to the side.
Then black void portals opened behind each of the remaining thralls, and they stepped backward into them before they all winked out in quick succession.
“What the fuck?” Finn echoed himself, but this time with a little more force.
Mila tried to stand, but her knee screamed, and she fell onto her ass. She reached down and felt her knee through the supple leather pants, which had already healed themselves back into perfect condition although she’d seen the large hole in the knee from the impact.
She sucked in a breath as she felt the split in her kneecap. Holding back a screaming sob of agony, Mila felt the normally hard bone flex down a central crack and open like a split fruit.
Closing her eyes, and feeling a tear of pain roll down her cheek, she channeled her power into the bone, flooding the area with healing magic.
The move drained her power reserves severely as the bone knitted together, but she didn’t care. If it took everything she had, she would do it to make the pain stop. She had never realized how sensitive a knee could be.
After what felt like an eternity, the pain faded away and a numb buzzing feeling that sent pins and needles down her calf and into her foot replaced it.
“You okay?” Finn squatted in front of her.
She nodded and wiped the tear away with the back of her hand. She noticed that he’d broken his rage and was coming down from his high as the battle lust drained away. “Broke my kneecap. I already took care of it.” She folded Gram down and clicked it and the Ivar back into the holster at the small of her back before holding her hands out to him. “Help me up. My leg’s asleep.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get over the idea that you can heal yourself. That’s not a common thing, F.Y.I.” He pulled her to her feet with no effort on his part.
“F.Y.I.? Well, look at you finally getting the lingo down.” She laughed while using his arm for support as she tested out the still-numb leg.
“I’m a quick study.”
She gave him a doubtful smile. “You’ve been here for nearly a year. I don’t know that I would call that fast.”
“When you live for a couple of hundred years, nine months is pretty fast.”
“Is that all it’s been? Nine months? That can’t be right.” Wonder made her eyes larger than usual as she looked up at him.
“Just about,” he confirmed while looking at the mess in the street. “We need to do something about this. That spell she put up won’t last forever, and I don’t think people will ignore a couple of dozen chopped-up bodies in the road.”
The numb tingling had finally faded, and Mila felt comfortable taking her weight. She stomped her foot a few times and didn’t feel any pain in her knee, so she marked it down as a win.
When she glanced up, she saw what he was talking about. The scene was gory, to say the least. When Finn went on a killing spree with the bad guys, he wasn’t normally thinking of the cleanup afterward, and that night wasn’t an exception.
More than a few of the thralls had been cut clean in half, spilling their blood and guts in wide arcs of bright red and purple viscera.
It looked like Salvador Dali and Jackson Pollock had teamed up and foregone paints in favor of the remains of soulless human husks controlled by an evil space alien that drove his victims insane by invading their dreams and being an all-around asshole.
Mila nodded to herself. Yeah, it looked exactly like that.
“I guess we should give Herman and Garret a call,” Finn suggested and pulled out his phone.
“I don’t think we want to get the Huldu involved. They’re still pretty upset about the last time with the Dark Star.” Mila smirked. She liked the two gnomes, so she didn’t want to get them involved if she didn’t have to. Besides, they had their hands full doing their part to keep Earth running smoothly. Well, as smoothly as they could, considering it was a few thousand years overdue for an oil change.
“You have a better idea?”
Mila smiled at the fact that there wasn’t even a lick of sarcasm in his question. He genuinely thought she had a better idea. It was one of the reasons she loved him so much.
“I might.” She walked over to the closest dead thrall and squatted for a closer look. She chose to squat instead of kneel so she wouldn’t get blood on her pants—not that the enchanted leather would let the stain stay on their beautiful surface for long. She reached out and let her hand hover a few inches over the dead man’s chest and tried to feel the body’s aura.
For whatever reason, Mila had trouble seeing magic. She could feel it, and she could sense it, but she couldn’t get her mind’s eye to see it. The overtly obvious stuff was easy to see—even an unawakened Peabrain could see overt magic—but when it came to the subtle things like auras or the glow of magical tattoos, she was mostly blind. She caught things every once in a while, like the crown of tattoos around Finn’s head that marked him as royalty, but it was fleeting at best and usually only from the periphery of her vision, and never when she was trying.