Rapture (33 page)

Bree
stepped back as though she’d been slapped. “You’re lying!”

“Did
you see any sentries at the top of the stairs?” The fact that there hadn’t been
any at the top of the stairs when she’d been escorted down had been pure luck,
not that she’d tell Bree that.

The
Valkyrie peered around, her face drawn into a sneer as she eyed the open cell
doors. She huffed and grabbed Raine’s shoulders, pushing her back into the cell
she’d occupied only days before. Raine shoved her wrist up, connecting with the
bitch’s nose and sending her head backward. Bree recovered and collided with
Raine, and her back crashed against the wooden table, rolling when Bree landed
on top of her and regaining her footing. She reached for her whip, finding
nothing but air. Dammit, Caleen had taken her whip and she hadn’t gotten it
back from her. No matter, she rushed her sister anyway.

Bree
whirled around and darted away, closing the cell door behind her just before
Raine reached where she’d been. “Ha,” she said, wiping her nose with the back
of her hand. “See how good of a warrioress you are behind the bars.”

“See
how easy it will be to reach me without the key.” Raine grinned in return.

The
Valkyrie’s face fell as her gaze found the now-empty key hook. “Where is it?”

“Long
gone. I assume the sentries made off with it.”

Bree’s
face burned with fury, and she huffed again before stomping away, through the
door and up the stairs. Raine sat down on the table and pulled her knees to her
chin. The others had to have made it. Whether they did or didn’t, though, Ferox
would be here by this time tomorrow night, and she needed to rest for battle.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Why
come to us now?”

Thor
eyed Ferox, all but ignoring everyone else in the room. “Because I have sat by
and watched my father imprison my sisters for centuries. And now that he has
Raine again…” He shook his head. “Hope will be lost amongst the Valkyries.”

“Why
haven’t you ever stood up to him before?” Ally asked. Both Ferox and Thor
glanced at her as she studied the god.

“I
do have some freedoms, young goddess, but I am nearly as trapped as my
sisters.”

“You’re
not trapped right now,” Draven pointed out.

“That
is because he sent me to locate the Valkyries that have been searching for the
sons of Raine.”

That
wasn’t a shock to anyone. Ferox had filled the Guardians in on what was
happening immediately upon his return to the realm, and ordered Draven and
Ethan to remain on the grounds. “He won’t get my sons.”

Thor
flicked his gaze toward Ferox. “That is my hope as well. The Guardians are
well-known and well-loved within the Lore, and I would hate for my father to
destroy this alliance because of his greed.”

“Do
you know what Odin wants with Draven and Ethan?” Demetrius asked. He’d remained
against the wall near the foyer, keeping as far away from them as possible. He
hadn’t said much this entire time, but it was easy to see that the warrior was
tense.

“It
could be anything. He could very well seek to take over your brotherhood for
all I know. My father seeks power, no matter the cost.”

“Do
you know where the other Valkyries are now?” Ally asked.

Thor
peered at her again, and it was easy to see that he found her remarkable by the
expression on his face—one that Ferox could tell Draven didn’t appreciate.
“They are very close. They could be watching, though from the wards I feel
protecting your temple and grounds, they’ll not have an easy time of getting
inside.”

Ally
flushed. “Oh, this isn’t a temple.”

“Your
home then,” Thor amended, and then glanced around at the entire room of
warriors and mates. “My father cannot know I’ve come to you.”

“You
won’t fight with us then?” Raider said, though he hadn’t phrased it as a
question.

“I
cannot afford to just yet. If this venture fails then my sisters need an ally,
and I may be all they have left.”

“We
won’t fail,” Ferox said. “Raine is breaking the others free of the dungeon
before I reach Valhalla tonight.”

“She’ll
fail,” Thor replied. “Father told me he suspected something was amiss with
Raine. She is watched at all times.”

“Then
it’s not just you going tonight,” Ethan said. It was the first thing he’d said
since the god showed up.

“Mistress?”
Carla said, peeking her head around the doorjamb, which caused Demetrius to
whirl around with his fists in the air. “Ummm,” she added, peering at him
before flicking her gaze to Ally. “Mistress Alaina, Savannah has just entered
the gates.”

Ally
jumped to her feet at the same instant that Ferox and most of the others had.
No one had heard from the Valkyrie since the others had been captured; had even
searched their rental with no luck at finding the female. Demetrius stepped
back as Ally whizzed past him on her way to the foyer and then to the front
door. She opened it as Savannah reached the top of the stairs. “Where have you
been?” she asked.

Savannah
stepped inside and froze as nearly every warrior stared at her from the foyer.
“I went into hiding.”

“Hiding,
why?” Ally closed the door behind her, and guided her back into the sitting
room where everyone else began to take their seats.

“When
Caleen, Odette, and Raven didn’t make it back, I knew something was wrong. And
since I haven’t been at my best until just recently, I knew I couldn’t fight
another Valkyrie if it came down to it.” She sat down beside Ally, catching
sight of Thor and doing a double-take.

“It’s
alright,” Thor said. “I’ve come for help, too.”

Savannah
flicked her gaze from Thor to Ferox, and then to Ally before looking at Thor
again. “Okay.”

“So
you think we need to storm Valhalla?” Ferox said to Thor, turning the
conversation back to the issue at hand.

“I
believe it is your best chance of getting Raine out alive. Father had planned
to use the others as examples, but if your bride is caught trying to help them
escape, he could very well use her instead.”

More
than one Guardian rubbed their face, and Draven muttered a quiet, “Fuck.”

“All
hands on deck, then,” Blaze said. He turned a questioning look on Demetrius.
“Can the other wait?”

“It
will have to,” the winged warrior responded.

 
“Will you fight with us?” Ferox kept his gaze
on Demetrius, wishing he didn’t have to put the male in this situation.
Demetrius and females didn’t mix, as was evident by his avoiding the general
proximity of every female in the room.

“Have
you ever even been to Valhalla?” Blaze asked, teasingly. That was the
warrior—always trying to lighten the mood. Demetrius turned a Demetrius-style
horrified look on him, as Blaze continued, “You know, with thousands upon
thousands of… right?” he asked quickly, glancing at Thor and Savannah. At
Savannah’s nod, he focused on Demetrius again. “Yeah, thousands and thousands
of females?”

“Gods,
no,” Demetrius replied. Ferox thought he saw the male shudder. He gave Blaze an
irritated, sidelong look and nodded at Ferox. “I’ll fight alongside you.”

“Great,”
Ferox said, feeling so much more appreciation for the winged warrior than he
ever had before. “It’s settled then. Tonight, we storm Valhalla.”

“How
do you expect us infiltrate a place we can’t even scope out first?” Raider
asked a while later.

“I
can map out the lay of the land. I don’t know precisely where the dungeon is,
but I do know the general vicinity once we breach Odin’s hall.”

Thor
had left some time ago, leaving the warriors, their mates, and Savannah to
figure out the plan. Carla found some paper and pens at Ally’s request, and now
everyone in residence looked at Ferox expectantly.
 

He
quickly scribbled some marks on the paper, placing it on the table so that
everyone had an equal view. “This is the portal I’ve been using, and the lake I
pass. Up here is the village and there is Odin’s hall.” He tapped the outline
of that building before flipping the page over to draw more detail around that.
“I believe the portal that Odin actually knows about is somewhere in here.
Raine once told me that it’s in the room that he frequents most of the time. I
think we should use both portals.”

Nitro
nodded as a sideways smile revealed a single fang. “Makes sense, then we can
attack from inside and out. Who uses that portal?”

“I
can,” Ally said, surprising the entire room, though none more than Draven who
gaped at her as though she were suddenly a leaper.

“You
will not,” he said. “You’re not taking a step out of this realm.”

Ally
folded her arms and glared at Draven. “If you think I’m about to sit by and
wait for you all to rescue my soon-to-be mother-in-law and friend, while I just
twiddle my thumbs and hope it all goes well, then you’ve got another think
coming.”

Dellingr
snorted from beside her, earning a glare from more than one of the vampires in
the room.

Draven
shook his head. “Ally, you can’t mean to—”

“I
can create a distraction,” she interrupted. “I’m a goddess more than worthy of Odin’s
time.”

“And
if it gets hairy?” Ethan asked, and Ferox noted the nervousness in his younger
son’s voice. He’d known that Ally had become a precious commodity within the
Guardianhood—all of the females had—but he hadn’t expected such protectiveness
over the goddess.

She
straightened, raising her nose ever so slightly to not invoke any question on
what she was about to say. “Then I’ll fight. Whoever I have to.”

Both
Draven and Dellingr gaped at that, and she smiled.

“Look
at her, one plunge through the stomach and she thinks she’s Xena.” Everyone
glared at Blaze, and he lifted his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I don’t know
why any of you think you can argue with the woman. You know she gets her way.”

It
was true, and if their silence was any indication, they all knew it—including
Ferox.

“I’ll
accompany her,” Dellingr offered. “I assume we are going to the realm Valhalla,
and not Odin’s Hall on Asgard?”

“There
are two?” Blaze asked.

“Yes.
Odin’s Hall in Asgard is where he lived when he created the first of the
Valkyries, but once his army grew over a couple hundred, he created his own
realm. Both are called Valhalla.”

Blaze
snorted. “Sounds like someone isn’t very creative.”

Dellingr
nodded in agreement. “From my understanding, he does not frequent his hall in
Asgard often, mostly preferring to stay with the Valkyries.” The god looked at
Ally. “We can be a couple searching for a new home since the raid on Unitas.”

Draven
gave the god a meaningful growl at the word “couple,” but Ferox had to admit
that it seemed a good plan. “That might work. If Odin senses the two of you
entering the realm, he may not pick up on the rest of us. Draven, are you
willing to let your female help?”

His
son kept an angry glare on Dellingr before finally facing Ally. “Are you sure you
want to do this?”

She
turned toward him so that her knees rested against his leg. “Your mom is
important to me, too. How could I call myself her friend if I can’t even help
bring her home?”

His
son had no response other than to give in. With a slump of his shoulders, he
gave Ferox a nod. Alright, they had their distraction. Now they just had to
figure out how to get everyone into Valhalla and find Raine undetected.

****

Valhalla

Present
Day

“You
just had to be difficult, didn’t you?” Darla stood from the wooden chair she’d
been perched on and peered at Raine. She’d been removed from the dungeon
forcibly some time ago, and now hung from chains that suspended from the
rafters in Odin’s hall. The room was dark, only lit by torchlights on either
side of each door, and a few spots of moonlight that shone in through the
overhead grates.

Darla
turned, huffing in exasperation. “Over fifteen centuries of honing my craft,
and you prove me a fool.”

Raine
lifted her head in an attempt to glance at the Valkyrie. It would have been
easier had both eyes not been swollen shut from Darla’s earlier retaliation.
“Un … intentional.” She breathed in and out three times, maybe four, before her
head fell forward again. Her entire body was numb: her hands and arms, from
being tied above her head for more hours than she’d been able to track; and
everything else, well, that had been taken care of by Darla personally.

“I
don’t think it was
un
intentional at
all. In fact, I think you live to embarrass us. To embarrass Father. First with
the tournament, and then by choosing a vampire over your own family.”

“He
is my family.”