Authors: Kristi Jones
“
For
a Valkyrie, having a child is complicated.
”
“
Complicated
how?
”
I took a deep breath and gave myself some time to
decide how much to tell him. I’d already told him so much. “There are rules.
The Rules of Progeny.
Rules that the gods
put into place centuries ago.”
“Okay, that’s weird,” Jess said, shaking his head. “What
kind of rules?”
“When I’m ready, I can choose one of my heroes for a
mate. The expectation is that I will give birth within one year. If I’m lucky,
I will give birth to a daughter. My hero and I will be granted twenty-one years
to raise the child, and then we have to give her up to the Death Duty. All
Valkyries are required to serve the Death Duty, spending a decade walking the
earth as a corpse. As bad as that pain can be—to see someone you love, or
someone you have the potential to love, walk around as a corpse for ten years—it's
nothing compared to the bleak choices available if a Valkyrie gives birth to a
boy.”
I stopped to take a breath and found I could not go
on.
“Jesus.”
I gave Jess a weak smile. “I suppose it’s no
surprise that most Valkyries avoid mating for as long as possible. But
eventually, mating is required.”
Jess nodded, licking his lips. “And you’ve managed
to avoid it for how long?”
“Too long.”
“Meaning?”
“I’m due.” I shrugged. “Overdue.”
“God, Sabrina, I don’t know what to say.”
“Oh, Jess,” I said. This time I managed a genuine
smile. “It’s just the way of things. I can’t change it any more than you can
change your mortality.”
“We are what we are?”
“Yes. We are what we are.”
Despite the fire and the mild spring weather, the
ancient stones of The Nest seemed to suck the heat right out of the very air. I
picked the trench coat up from the divan and handed it to Jess. I was shivering
in my green silk.
Jess’s eyes followed my every move
..
“Are you hungry? There’s a pump in the kitchen. I
can boil some water for coffee.”
Jess got to his feet, throwing the trench coat aside.
"I'm sorry I don't have any real food."
“
I
’
m not hungry,
”
he said, running his eyes up and down my body. He pulled at the collar of the
pea coat, taking in the green silk dress, his mouth slightly open, lips moist.
“
Are you?
”
There was a
teasing note in his voice.
“
Not
really,
”
I said.
“
Can
I ask you a question, Sabrina?
”
“
Sure,
”
I said, the word coming out in a whisper. The heat of his
body and the smell of his skin were making me feel drunk, disoriented.
"Your
wings," he said, "where do they go? You know, when you're not using
them?"
"Oh,
there's an opening in my back. They fold in, under the skin."
"Can I
see?"
He moved
behind me, and before I could resist, he slipped the dress from my shoulders,
exploring my back.
I caught
the threadbare fabric of the dress before it fell to the floor, and then his
hands were on me.
"You
can hardly see it," he said, his voice full of wonder. "How is it
possible for something that size to fit here?"
"Well,
they're thin."
"But
strong?"
"Yes."
"Like
bat wings."
I laughed,
supremely conscious of my bouncing breasts. "Something
like
that, I suppose."
"Can
you open them up?"
"Are
you sure?" I said, turning my head.
Jess
nodded. His mouth was open, his greedy eyes on my exposed flesh.
"All right
then. Stand back."
I turned to
face him and released my wings. I stood tall, but held on to the dress at my
waist. I was bare underneath.
Jesse's
eyes widened.
"My God."
He stepped closer.
"Can I touch them?"
I swallowed
back the sudden lump in my throat and released a shaky breath. Without another
word, he reached out a trembling hand and stroked the silky feathers. My
nipples swelled, as if anticipating his touch.
"What's
it made of?"
"Silk.
Its structure is similar to spider webbing," I said, watching his hand,
"or so I've been told."
His hand
moved to my cheek, then travelled down along my neck until it rested on the
swell of my right breast. He cupped my breast and ran his thumb over my nipple,
but his eyes never left my wings. I let out a small moan, and he reached with
his other hand behind my neck and bent to kiss me.
I watched
his mouth move to mine, as if in slow motion. Realizing what was happening, I slapped
my left hand over his mouth. "No!"
He took my
hand and moved it between his legs.
“
Yes.
”
I didn't
waste time. I let the dress fall,
then
worked at
getting Jess out of his pants while he peeled off his shirt.
I
contracted my wings.
"No!"
he said, his breath coming in short bursts. "Leave them."
He took my
hand and pulled me onto the divan.
When
he grasped my hips and lowered me onto his pulsing need, I let out a cry of
pleasure. I bent down and kissed his ear. Again he tried to turn toward me, to
return the kiss.
I pulled
away and sat up tall, riding him, my wings spread wide. He watched me, taking
in the sight of me, and I felt an incredible surge of power flow through me.
Not the power of flying through the air or taking a bullet, but the power of arresting
a man's full and complete attention and adulation. It was a feeling I'd never
experienced, and the pulse of him sent me to a shuddering climax all too soon.
When it was
over, I let my wings fall, enveloping us in a silky cocoon.
****
We sat
before the dying fire, naked, drinking from a bottle of wine I'd found in the
cellar. I let my eyes roam over his glorious body, feasting without food. He
did the same.
I'd never
let a mortal, or any man for that matter, see me like this. Naked, exposed, my
wings released but drooping with fatigue.
"Why
did you join the war?" I asked. I wanted to know what chain of events had
led him to me.
"My
father was a soldier and his father before him."
"So
it's a family thing. Like me?"
He laughed.
"Yes and no. I was fourteen when the Twin Towers fell. My Uncle Steve was
in Tower One."
"I'm
so sorry."
"After
I got out of high school, I don't know
…
it just seemed like the right thing to do. I knew it couldn't bring him back,
but I had to do something, you know?"
I thought back
to when I finished my training. I was so optimistic, so certain in the nobility
of my calling. I imagined myself as some sort of fatal Florence Nightingale,
swooping down and choosing from among hundreds of brave warriors.
Finding that one special man who deserved Valhalla.
"I
thought if I could fight terrorism where it starts, that I could protect
people. I thought I could stop innocent people from getting killed,
”
Jess said. He traced the lines in my palm as he spoke.
“
But I don
’
t know anymore. There hasn
’
t
been another 9/11, but I see innocent people die every day. You probably think
I
’
m pretty stupid, huh?"
"No,"
I said, pulling myself back to the present. Those days of foolish innocent
pride were long gone for me.
"Of course not.
It's
never wrong to fight for the innocent."
"The
innocent," he said, as if mulling over the meaning of the word. "I'm
not sure innocence exists anymore, not even among children."
"Perhaps
you're right." I could see he was thinking about the girl with the AK-47.
"Perhaps innocence is overrated. I'll admit I've had my fill of war, but
you fight for a valiant cause. You chose to fight for the safety of your
homeland. And perhaps for the innocence that might still reside there."
He laughed.
"What?"
"It's
the way you talk," he said, shaking his head, "valiant cause."
His words
stung. "Are you not fighting to protect others? To stop those who would
commit violence against the innocents? If that is not valiant, then what
is?"
"I'm
sorry," he said, "I wasn't making fun of you. I guess when you're
doing it, fighting for any reason doesn't seem so valiant."
"Yes,
I suppose that's true. But there have always been wars, and there always will
be. It's in your nature."
"But
not in yours?"
I retracted
my wings and moved closer to him. "I was made to withstand battles, not
fight them."
"What
are we doing tomorrow, Sabrina?"
"Securing
your life."
"And
battling Death to do it?"
His face
was inches from mine. I kissed his cheek. Jess reached for my breast,
then
pulled back. "What exactly are we going to do? I
don't like going into a mission blind."
"We're
going to ask
Skuld
for a protection spell," I
said, running my hand across his chest.
"Something that
will give me enough time to get you safely back to your unit."
I
reached for his erection, and he buried his face in my hair.
"Something
that will throw Death off your scent."
“
What
if it doesn
’
t work, Sabrina?
”
“
It
will. It has to.
”
“
What
if we can
’
t get it?
”
"Let
me worry about that," I said, kissing my way down his chest. "The
important thing is to get Death off your scent and get you out of here.
Safe."
"What
about your safety?" Jess said, lifting my chin. I stared into his green
eyes, losing myself for a moment.
"I'll
be fine, Jess. Death can't hurt me if I can get you out of here. It will have
no proof."
"What
would happen to you?
If this Odin turned up?"
"I
don't know. Odin rarely takes an interest in our affairs these days." I
returned to the business of kissing my way down to his waiting erection.
"Do you really want to talk about this now, Jess?" I said, in between
kisses.
A low
guttural moan was my only answer.
****
The fire
was long dead, and I felt a shiver run through Jesse's naked body. I wondered
what would happen if we just stayed at The Nest. We could spend our days and
nights making love, eating, drinking each other in.
Forever.
But someone
would come. Mother might decide to have another child
—
or
any one of the dozen or so
Brunhilde
descendants who
shared ownership of the castle. No, I couldn't keep Jess locked away forever.
Even if I could keep him for a decade or so, even if he agreed to isolate
himself from the world he knew, I wouldn't be able to live with the theft. For
theft it would
be,
the stealing of a mortal man's
life. The whole point in saving him was to give him his life back.
"Why
was
Gustel
so afraid of this witch?" Jesse's
voice startled me.
"You're
awake."
"She
was scared.
Your sister."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"
Skuld
can tell you things that you don't want to
know."
"What
kinds of things?"
"The
future."
"That
doesn't sound so bad."
"Maybe
not, but it's very bad for a Valkyrie."
"Why? What
happens to a Valkyrie who hears her future?"
"She
dies."
"But
you said Valkyries were immortal."
"We
are. But there are lots of ways to die, Jess. Imagine if you knew every minute
of your future?
Every event, significant and insignificant,
for a hundred years.
Now imagine extending that knowing into infinity.
It's like being on a constant instant replay. It drives Valkyries mad. If I
hear what my future is, if
Skuld
tells me all there
is to discover in this long, long, everlasting life, it would be the end of me.
Of my mind, anyway.
My body would go on, but the
essential self would die."