The valkyrie novels box.., p.51
The Valkyrie Novels Box Set, page 51
part #1 of Valkyrie Series
Not that I expected that vengeance would be on the guard's minds. At least not the two who were now resheathing their swords. Their eyes darted from me to Sarah to the bloody pillowcase. But then they turned and trotted out of the chamber, leaving us to stare at their departing backs. One of the guards ambled toward the chaise longue and casually snatched up a handful of fruit from the queen's silver platter. He grinned as he walked outside without a backward glance at what remained of his mistress.
Mika watched in disbelief as they left, raising an eyebrow at me when I met her eye. So far, no squadron of guards had come running in response to the queen's painful scream. Strange, but I wasn't about to question our good fortune.
Sarah handed me the cloak. "You don't have to worry about those two guards. They are her personal attendants, and if anything, they probably hate her more than I do."
I didn't plan on sticking around in case they changed their minds, though. I flung the cloak over my shoulders and pulled Sarah against my side. Mika stiffened, her eyes narrowing almost to slits. I felt a stab of regret that I'd thought first of the girl and not of Mika. But the cloak had just enough room for two, and Sarah was untrained and unarmed, except for the bagged head.
"Go, I will follow," Mika said, her voice so cold I almost flinched. I threw her a searching glance, but she returned my concern with a brief smile and just nodded toward the door.
A surge of fear struck me as we stepped into the deserted corridor. As much as I'd paid attention to the route as we made our way here, I now came up with a total blank.
"Damn." I gritted my teeth, mentally kicking myself for my lack of strategy. Fen would so not like this.
Sarah tensed, her tiny fist tightening around the silky fabric. "What?" she asked.
"I can't remember how to get out of here." My heart sank as I flicked a glance back at Mika, straggling a few yards behind us. "And even if I can find the way, we'll need to make another trip through the eating hall, too." I still found it strange that we weren’t yet on the run from hordes of vengeful dwarfs.
To my surprise, the girl's lips formed a tight, thin smile. "Do not worry. I can get you out of here. I have lived in this dungeon for almost a century. I know my way around, but we should hurry. Only those two guards know the queen is dead, and they are happy enough. But any guards we encountered on our way out would still be terrified of the queen's wrath. They would apprehend anyone running around the palace."
I nodded at her beneath the cloak, then peeked out at Mika from between the slits in the fabric. "Mika?"
"Yes, I heard. Let us be going." She scowled. "And let us hope the human will not lead us into further trouble."
"Let's go, then." We set a brisk pace, unable to run under the cover of the cloak but just about managing to speed up to a trot.
The thud of bootsteps from around the corner brought us to a panicked halt. We waited in the shadows at the intersection until the band of guards passed. Mika snuck past us to check for stragglers, and I used the delay to glance at the girl beside me. She stood there so calm and collected, and in that moment I felt a rush of admiration for her.
I realized then that I'd been thinking of her as "Sarah" all along, based on the dwarfs' chants, but I could have been wrong. "What's your name?" I whispered.
"Sarah. Sarah McLean," she answered, eyes on the corridor ahead.
"How did you end up here, Sarah?" The echoes of footsteps slowly faded in the distance.
"I met this gentleman at a ball in London. He was nice, nicer than the lecherous old fools I had to contend with. I think I was perhaps a bit too fond of him." Her voice faltered. "He wanted to take me to visit his family, before we married. So he brought me here. And introduced me to his mother. You just met her."
Sarah raised and lowered the bag in her hand, and shrugged, her eyes filled with sorrow and regret.
Yeah, I'd met Sarah's almost-mother-in-law.
I'd also just killed her.
Chapter 30
I sucked in a gasp.
Sarah continued her story, her voice as flat and dead as the shadowed forest outside. "His timing was perhaps not that fortunate. In his absence, his mother had killed his father and taken the kingdom for herself, and when we entered the palace the guards seized him, and he was taken straight to the queen. And I was placed in chains."
"And you never tried to escape?" I asked, the question bordering on interrogatory. She'd been a captive in peril, yes, but had it been me, I'd definitely have tried to escape. Guess good old King Brokk and I had something in common.
"Yes, of course I did." She traced the red band on her wrist. "I was not as adept at subterfuge as I had hoped. When I was discovered, Queen Huld used the Black Manacles on me."
"Oh, the black cuffs the guard had in the dining hall?"
Sarah frowned. "You were there?" She didn't wait for my answer. "The manacles are forged with the black rock of Swartelfheim and the black magic of the frost giants. They burn with icy fire, and the wounds take years to heal. I never tried to leave again."
I couldn't find anything appropriate to say to that. What could I say that would make her feel better about her captivity?
"If you two are done with your little heart to heart, could we leave?" Mika's gruff voice interrupted us. "And Bryn, is it really necessary to take this human with us? She is slowing us down."
I parted the cloak and glared at Mika, annoyed with her lack of compassion. "We're taking her with us," I said, my voice and eyes brimming with anger.
Mika shrugged, her own eyes flaring yellow. I couldn't care less about her temper. I held onto Sarah's arm and snuck around the corner, allowing the girl to lead us up and down corridors; some dark, many brightly lit by torches.
I hoped I wasn't going to regret it.
Soon the dull throb of the forges could be felt through the stone floor and walls. We were almost there.
But just when we thought the end was in sight, the thunder of bootsteps rang down the corridor. A dozen or so dwarfs bore down on us. Any second now, they would see Mika and it would all be over.
My heart thudded, faster than the forges but unable to match the stamping of oncoming boots. Sarah and I were safe, hidden within the Tarnkappe, but Mika was totally at their mercy.
Unless . . .
At the very last second, I grabbed Sarah and jumped in front of Mika, flattening her between the cloak and the wall. The breath whooshed out of her in an angry huff, but thankfully she didn't resist. I'd banked her safety on my assumption that anything behind the cloak could not be seen.
I was right.
The guards stormed past us, so close that Sarah and I had to hold our tummies in to avoid being jabbed by errant elbows and dangerous dagger scabbards. I held my breath too, imagining the cloak catching on a guard's sword and being pulled off, ending with the three of us being beheaded for killing the ruler of Swartelfheim.
I needn't have worried.
The troop passed us by, and not until the last of them disappeared into the darkness did we begin to breathe again at last.
"As exciting as that was, I think we should be going." I grinned, and Sarah and I headed off. Mika followed without even a thank you. Guess she didn't appreciate being pancaked between us and the wall.
Tough.
We picked up the pace and took the next turn at a canter.
And almost ran straight into a dwarf pushing a cart filled with black rock. The dwarf goggled at us; the cart wobbled, tipping over, black rock cascading onto the ground. He grunted, and what I could make out of his cheeks flared red. He stared hesitantly at us, fingers hovering a few seconds above his sword. He pulled free the obsidian blade and squared his shoulders, ready to charge. A single torch beside us cast a doubtful flame upon our contrary gathering.
My heart gave a resoundingly relieved thump as it dawned on me that he couldn’t see us hidden inside the folds of the cloak.
But he could see Mika.
Sarah and I shared a worried glance, then looked from dwarf to ice-cold Ulfr. The dwarf's nostrils flared.
A low growl erupted from Mika's throat, and a sickening dread ferreted in my gut. This would not end well. Once again, I wondered at the irony of taking an Ulfr along, right into a den of Ulfr-detecting dwarfs. I squeezed Sarah's arm and held a finger to my lips. At her acknowledgement, I snuck out from under the cloak, drawing my sword as I sprang forward.
The sword sang, startling both Ulfr and dwarf. I rammed into Mika, registering her almost fully transformed Ulfr form: eyes glaring yellow, canines lengthened and deadly. She backpedalled, and I took the opportunity and bore down on the dwarf.
He stared at the sword, then at me. Or maybe not at me, but at my wings. All he saw was a charging Valkyrie. Fear flooded his eyes, but he held his ground. A courageous dwarf? I was impressed.
I swiped my sword at him, and he struck back, defending himself. Swinging again, I shifted my body, pushing him further against the wall. The cart sat almost in the middle of the passage, and my maneuver gave Sarah and Mika the chance to move around to the opposite end, into the waiting darkness of the passageway. I played my little swordfight act with the dwarf. It was really no challenge. He was a worker, not a warrior.
My peripheral vision confirmed that Mika had passed safely to the other end of the corridor. "Sarah?" I grunted as the dwarf lunged and I parried, his blade missing me by an inch. Never underestimate an opponent, dwarf or otherwise.
"I am here," she said.
With both Mika and Sarah safe, I forced the dwarf to lunge again, allowed the momentum of his swipe to carry him forward, then kicked his feet out from under him. The poor guy landed on his face, eating black rock.
He struggled to his feet. I winced, knowing I had no choice, but still not happy to beat up an almost defenseless dwarf. Maybe I needed to borrow some of Mika's coldness. Glad that, anatomy-wise, dwarfs were built pretty much the same as humans, I slammed the heel of my hand into the base of the dwarf's skull.
Lights out.
I wasted no time checking on the poor dwarf, just turned and fled toward Mika, slipping beneath the cloak held open by a grinning Sarah.
Despite stumbling onward in near darkness, it didn't take long to get to the entrance, and soon we were pushing the stone door open peeking out into . . . bright sunlight? Morning already? I blinked and squinted. Weird. Wasn't this the bloody underworld? What happened to the gloomy shadows?
I began to step out into the light—when a snarl and a sniff right at my elbow made my heart thump. The brothers—we had forgotten the two dwarf princes.
I turned around, an inch at a time, keeping Sarah safely against the wall. But the brothers, safely out of the deadly rays of the sun and no doubt searching the corridors for their attacker, had come up behind us. And spotted Mika. And smelled her. The two dwarfs, faces bearing bruises and scratches from their earlier encounter with her, lifted their weapons, grimaced, and charged toward us.
My heart thumped at their proximity. But I was safe beneath the invisible cloak. Or so I thought. The tip of one brother's sword hooked onto the edge of the cloak, ripping it free in a whoosh of satiny fabric.
And I stood there, suddenly exposed, wondering if I'd be better off not visualizing bad endings. I'd just imagined my worst nightmare into reality.
The first dwarf slid to a stop, and his jaw dropped. I trembled, certain we would meet a gory end. On the point of his sword. But his dark and swarthy face transformed into something resembling a pretty good-looking dude. "Sarah!"
He dropped his sword to the floor in a thunk and rushed past me again, this time to wrap his arms around the girl. "What happened? How did you get free?" He grabbed her shoulders to peer at her face, then squashed her to him in a gripping hug all over again. His brother blinked and gave a confused-looking grin that bordered on a sneer.
"They helped me," Sarah said, pointing a finger at me and Mika over her shoulder, a tender, happy smile on her face.
The dwarf's eyes widened. Near Mika, the other dwarf prince lowered his weapon. "You have my thanks, Valkyrie," he said to me. And then to Mika, less warmly, he added, "And you."
"Don't mention it. Just take care of Sarah." I inclined my head.
As the dwarf prince glanced at his beloved, his face shifted from tenderness to worry. "We will have to leave, Sarah, before my mother realizes you have escaped! But we cannot go this way." Bright sunlight poured through the doorway. "The far tunnels! We must hurry."
The prince spoke with a desperate urgency that revealed the depth of his affection for the human girl. I was amazed.
The dwarf and the girl—a romance? Who would've thought?
Sarah shook her head. "No, she won't be looking for us." She pulled herself free from the arms of her beloved and held up the bloody pillowcase. Then she tipped the queen's head out of the pillowslip. It thudded again, rolling along the stone.
The dead queen's head disconcerted me. I gaped as it rolled over and over—her wide open, staring eyes were there one moment, gone the next.
The queen's decapitated head didn't pause in its journey to the open doorway. And no one made a move to stop it. It bumped along across the threshold until it came to a hesitant, rocking halt. Five pairs of eyes watched in silence as the sun fell upon the queen's dark skin and, as if a magical hand had passed across it, the ebony color turned to a pale grey.
I shuddered.
The entire head took on a solid, almost stony look. Ripples of disgust and relief warred their way up and down my spine. The witch's head solidified into smooth stone. The sun had done its job, and the queen was no more.
I held my breath, unsure of what Sarah's prince's reaction would be. Would he want to kill us? Would he want revenge for the death of his mother? The muscles in his face tightened at the sight of the head, and he didn't move, nor did he challenge us to a death duel. He shook his head and sighed, turning to face his brother. "She is dead, my brother. We are free at last."
His brother nodded weakly, his leathery face streaked with pain, and I knew in that instant that Mika had hurt him pretty badly. I glared at her, but she merely shrugged. Protecting the entrance to Swartelfheim was his duty, but he didn't deserve a mauling by a rabid Ulfr for his troubles. What did she have against dwarfs anyway? Was it the fact that the dwarfs had helped to imprison Fen, long ago? I guess that would give her a reason to hate them.
"Thank you," Sarah said, and I beamed at her. I quite liked this feisty, courageous girl. A little unsure of her choice in partner, but who was I to judge? The boy I cared for was no longer alive.
"It was the least I could do."
"I too thank you, Valkyrie." The dwarf prince bowed low, and I felt like a curtsy was almost in order, but I restrained the urge and just nodded. He continued, his tone and attitude so formal I wanted to smile, "You have freed our realm from the tyranny of my mother's rule. All of Swartelfheim is grateful."
"I did only what I had to do." I inclined my head, throwing a quick glance toward the door. I really wanted to get out of there before Sarah slipped up and mentioned the goblet. What if it was important to them for some reason? The last thing I needed was to have to battle the princes for it. "I'm afraid it's time for us to leave."
Mika drew closer to me, and the princes bowed again. "Come, Sarah." They limped past me, without a word to Mika, leaving us at the unguarded entrance, alone with the stone head of their mother.
"Finally." Mika said, staring at the disappearing trio. She glanced at me, her face hardened, resolved. Boy, was she eager to get the Hel out of there.
I grabbed the cloak, folding it over my arm as we walked out, and shoved the door shut with a nudge of my shoulder. With the door closed behind us and warm sunlight on our heads, the whole experience seemed quite surreal. And yet the queen's stony eyes stared sightlessly at us as we passed, sending a shudder down my spine. Stony eyes that proved all the craziness of the last few hours had really happened.
At least it was all over. Relief and elation bubbling up inside me like a geyser, I turned to Mika, a smile of triumph on my face. I wanted to enjoy the victory with her, to celebrate our triumph. Despite her special Ulfr aroma giving us away all the time, Mika had been instrumental in the success of this mission. How would I ever be able to thank her for insisting on coming with me?
I meant to reach out to her and give her the biggest hug.
Instead I froze, feral fear now flooding my senses.
Mika glared at me, her eyes half transformed, her forehead low and teeth bared.
With deadly intent, Mika sprang at me.
Chapter 31
She attacked with a ferocity that surprised and hurt me. But I didn't have time to ponder the possible reasons for her assault.
Mika struggled against me, hands grappling with my bag. I stumbled backward. We fell to the ground, stones crunching beneath my back as Mika straddled my torso, hands still feverishly digging within the leather satchel.
It took me far too long to realize what she was after. She wanted the goblet. I dived for it. Too late. She'd already grabbed it and rolled away.
Fury reddened my vision and I rose, throwing myself at Mika, lunging at her, wrapped within a ball of pained anger as I berated myself for ever trusting her.
On my knees, I ignored the bite of the stones on the ground. I grabbed Mika's hands, struggling, putting all my strength into my upper body; biceps and triceps strained against the leather of my jacket as I fought against my Ulfr, my friend and my own betrayed heart.
Mika elbowed me in the chest and shoved me away as I struggled to force air back into my lungs. She grasped her sword with her free hand, swinging it around wildly, aiming for my head.
I lay there panting, flat on my back. My heart froze in my chest as her sword descended, sunlight glinting on the vicious metal as it bore down on me. I flicked a glance at Mika's crazed expression. She grinned, sure of her aim.
