Struck: (Phoebe Meadows Book 1) (16 page)

“Okay, now wait just a goldarn minute.” I splashed my arms and tried to sit up, forgetting my nudity for the moment. I could not have this conversation lying down. Fen obliged by gliding me over to a submerged boulder. He set me down gently and moved to the other edge of the pool, crossing his arms, amusement in his eyes. “Let me get this straight,” I said once I was settled securely on the rock. “I was struck by some kind of magical energy sent from Odin that shot out of the lights in the storeroom at Macy’s, hitting me and knocking me into a pile of shoes? And because of that, I’m now
immortal
?”

“On your way to being immortal, Valkyrie. You are not there just yet.”

“How long does it take?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, not being a Valkyrie myself. But I do know that your body will need to consume energy on a regular basis to help the metamorphosis. It’s how you will survive and thrive. Without it, especially since you’re an infant, you will wither and die. You’ve been vastly depleted these last five days because of your recent…trauma. You will need to feed very soon.”

Feed?
It sounded like strapping a bag on a horse. But I was hungry. Strange hungry, like my cells were starving. “How do I…feed?”

“Um…” Fen cleared his throat as he repositioned himself, crossing his legs at his ankles. “There are several ways for a Valkyrie to consume minor energy, but your main sustenance must come from Yggdrasil itself. The life force of the tree is inherent to your very creation. There will be nothing else of its likeness that will keep you alive forever. You must always be near it.”

“I didn’t see the tree the entire time the demons were ferrying me across the plane. You’d think, because of its size, it would be a hard thing to miss.” The tree had made me glow, so therefore it gave me sustenance? Totally weird. Thinking of myself as anything but Phoebe Meadows from Wisconsin was surreal. But if what Fen was saying was true, and I was a shieldmaiden, and there were more creatures like these in the worlds, I had to learn how to fight them. I didn’t want to be a victim again.

I thought of Ingrid and smiled. She would be proud. After what happened with the demons, I couldn’t risk feeling that vulnerable again. My sanity wouldn’t be up for grabs a second time. My mind skipped to the memory of the demons slicing me up, their skeletal hands brandishing the onyx against my skin, and I gagged.

Never again!

“The fire demons guard Yggdrasil fiercely,” Fen said. “There is a vast crater to the east of their kingdom. The trunk is shown only partially there. The tree manifests itself differently on every plane and has the ability to move freely when it wants to. But for as long as I’ve been here, the tree has stayed in that same location.”

“How long have you been here?” I asked hesitantly.

“Many years, Valkyrie. Too many to count.”

“Oh,” I answered. What a horrible fate to be tossed in this unforgiving world. I wanted to know why he’d been cast here, but the closed look on his face redirected my next question. “You said there are other ways for me to get small bits of food?” My stomach wasn’t grumbling, but I was weary and fatigued in a way I’d never been before. If I truly wanted to heal, I knew he was right. I’d have to eat, and the sooner the better. “I think my body is really hungry, but not for food.” Consuming energy actually sounded appealing to me.

“There are a few ways you can get it.” Fen ran his hand over his face, appearing a little unnerved. He rearranged his body, and the water lapped against his abs. “In Midgard, human-generated electricity can keep you fueled for a time. On other planes, there are energy sources you can draw from. But here, I know of only one place you can get energy other than Yggdrasil.”

“Well, I don’t have a return ticket to Midgard, and the tree is far away, so how do I get it here?”

“As a demigod”—Fen cleared his throat—“I am flush with power. My power can be transformed into the kind of energy you need to feed.” As he spoke, his eyes sparked with something feral that sent shivers racing down my spine. “It can happen from touch, kissing, but the greatest source is during the act of…”

Ohmygodsinheaven.

“
Sex
? Are you referring to sex?” My voice ended an octave higher, and I gaped, my eyes losing focus for a good, solid moment. I almost slid off my rock. I gripped the slippery surface like my life depended on it to keep from tumbling under. “Why…why on earth does it have to be…sex?”
Maybe because you’re not on
earth
, Phoebe.
My hand slipped again, and I had to regroup. I wasn’t a prude—and truth be told, the thought of sleeping with Fen made my libido skyrocket and my legs quake—but I’d never had a one-night stand before. Sex to me had always been a commitment, something you did with a lover. “You said touch and kissing. Does that give enough?” I asked hopefully.

“Valkyrie, know this,” Fen said, his voice stony. “I will never force myself upon you. There is no need to look so horrified. I did not know that you would be…so averse to our coupling. Touching and kissing, although nice, will not provide you with enough food, but will give you some. During the act of copulation, there are a few other…factors involved.” He brought an arm up and rubbed the back of his neck, his bicep jumping. “My power becomes concentrated for…a very brief moment. It’s all about the transfer of energy from one body to another.” He looked wildly uncomfortable. “All who live in Asgard know this already. I’ve never had to explain it to someone.”

His semen packs a punch?

Is that what he’s talking about?

Why did I find that more surprising than a huge, talking snake? Or fire demons with acid blood? Or a witch out to kill me?

“I’m…I’m not horrified”—I was kind of horrified—“or…averse.” I definitely wasn’t averse. “I just…need time to digest this.”
Yikes, not
digest
, Phoebe! Ick.

“Valkyrie, I will leave you to your thoughts. I am going to check in with the Jondi.” Fen hoisted himself out of the pool. He wore the same pant-shorts, but the way they clung to his muscular legs made me tingly inside this time. Having sex with him would not be a hardship. It would just be strange and awkward. He turned back to me, and I had to look away, pretending to fix my hair so he couldn’t read my face. “When I get back, we must formulate a plan. We need to get to Yggdrasil, and it will be a dangerous journey.”

He walked away before I could reply.

* * *

Fen had been gone a long time, and I was sleepy. I’d hooked my ankles on the edge of the pool and had managed to keep floating without much effort, but I was in danger of falling asleep.

While he’d been gone, my mind whirled. I kept trying to wrap my brain around the crazy idea that I might, in fact, be immortal, but then just as quickly dismissing it. It was too strange.

On one hand, with everything I’d experienced in the last few days, it seemed feasible. But on the other, when I thought of my normal human life in New York, and of growing up in a small town with two human parents, there was no part of me that could match the two together.

Instead of forcing the issue, I floated in the warmth, doing my best to ignore the stinky
solay
, and tried to clear my head of all thoughts. Meditation didn’t come easy to me, but in college I’d learned to do it out of necessity. It was either get a handle on my stress, or let it eat me up. It was going pretty well, but the problem was, with each growing hour, I felt more depleted, my movements more sluggish.

I yawned.

My body was threatening to shut down whether I wanted it to or not. The damage done to me by the demons and not eating had taken a hefty toll. Emotionally and physically.

Where was Fen, anyway?

I hadn’t asked him anything about the deal he’d made with the snakes and why he hadn’t forged an alliance before today. If he’d been here for years, it seemed like making a deal with the serpents would’ve made his life a lot easier in this dark place.

Unless the snakes had demanded something from him that was too big?

Something he hadn’t been willing to give before.

Oh, no
.

A bad feeling whispered through me. What if Fen had agreed to give the monsters something he didn’t want to part with? What if the price had been too high?

My ankles splashed into the water as I struggled to stand, my arms doggie paddling. I’d moved around the pool in the last few hours and had taken some tentative steps that hadn’t ached too badly, but the sudden strain on my body sent new shock waves burning up my legs.

“Ugh. I’m getting sick of this.” I slapped the water in frustration, instantly regretting it when a spray of water shot up my nose. Then my arms started to ache with all the sudden motion. “Damn.”

I was ready to exit this pool.

Fen had said my clothes were toast. Maybe he’d set something to wear by the pool? Very carefully, I maneuvered along the edge, checking hopefully for any clothes lying around. There were none. With effort, I hoisted my upper body out of the water, panting as I pulled one leg over the side. I was forced to leave this pool like an old lady after a water aerobics class. If this didn’t mark me as a big, strong immortal, I didn’t know what would. Once I had both legs out, I lay on my stomach, panting like a dog after a long walk in one-hundred-and-twenty-degree heat.

Two down, one to go
.

I inhaled and shifted my body so my legs dangled off the side. Then I slid down the wall until my feet hit the dirt floor. I stood slowly. My legs shook like leaves in high wind as hundreds of needles of pain rushed upward from my feet.

But I managed to stay upright.

After a few minutes, the pinpricks receded to a dull throb.

I can do this.

I took one step forward, and then another. I was wobbly and weak, but I was moving on my own. I passed the tunnel opening to the larger cavern on my way to Fen’s lair. Right as I stepped in front of it, I heard a noise.

It was an unmistakable slithering sound.

Sssssssssssssss.

Before I had a chance to react, a giant black, scaly head emerged, not ten feet from where I stood.

I screamed and fell backward, hitting the ground. The thing was massive up close. As it came nearer, I saw its eyes were a violent shade of amethyst. I scooted back as fast as I could, ignoring the pain, my palms scraping as they maneuvered over the rocky terrain. “What do you want?” I yelled. “Get away from me!” I searched for something to defend myself with. There was nothing around me but small rocks. I picked one up, fisted it, and launched it at the giant snake, which had no qualms about coming closer and closer.

“Valkyrie!” Fen shouted from somewhere in the tunnel. “Do not fear! The serpent is just coming to get your scent.”

The snake angled its neck toward Fen, and then back at me.

I froze as it extended its huge head over me menacingly. It had to be enjoying this. I watched in horror as its long, forked tongue unrolled out of its mouth soundlessly.

It must be mandatory to have a forked tongue in this world.

A low hiss emitted from its throat as its barbed tongue slowly whipped back and forth just short of my face. I closed my eyes, but didn’t flinch. I wasn’t going to let this serpent have any more of my fear. I’d given it away too many times already.

After a few moments, I opened my eyes, ready to heave another rock, or grab on to its tongue, or do
something
to make it go away, just in time to see it fly backward.

It smashed into the cavern wall with a clamorous boom, rocks exploding and dirt and sand raining down. I brought my arms up to shield my head from the falling debris.

“This is not how we agreed to do business, Jondi!” Fen raged. The snake had bounced once, but sustained little damage. It recovered in moments, hissing like a madman, advancing on Fen so fast I couldn’t track it. Fen swung his powerful fist, and the serpent went flying again. “You were to wait for me to enter first.
That
was our agreement.”

15

__________________________

____________

I
scuttled out of the way, wedging myself into the shelter of a midsize boulder. My adrenaline had kicked in, so I felt no pain. I was grateful, as it infused me with hyperenergy as I watched the fight unfold. I needed all the energy I could get.

The serpent was three times as big as Fen. Its black scales glittered iridescent in the low lighting. But this was not a fair fight. Fen’s arms bulged with power. His tapered waist swung to the side, his abdomen flexing as his fist shot out again, connecting squarely with the serpent.

But this time the beast didn’t fly backward. It was ready. It absorbed the impact, ripples streaming through it like quaking Jell-O. It immediately lunged forward, its horrid serpent face stopping inches from Fen, the barbs on its tongue wagging, ready to strike.

The standoff was intense. Neither of them backed down.

My heart began to race. If the snake monster won, I was dead. It would gobble me up in one bite or sell me back to the demons. I had just vowed not to be a victim. I had to
do
something.

I made up my mind. No more weakness.

I would survive
.

But before I could make a move, Fen yelled, “Get the hell out of my domain, Jondi! Or else you die here. You know you cannot best me. This is your last chance.”