Authors: Kristi Jones
I rarely
saw my sister, but when we did meet, I was always impressed with her wing span.
She had a good two feet on me, her wings probably measuring twelve feet across
from tip to tip.
"
Gustel
," I said, hitching my thumbs to my belt loops. "This
is a surprise."
"Don't
be coy with me, Sabrina. What do you think you're doing?"
"I
don't know what you mean." I hoped the directness of my gaze, the thrust
of my jaw, might silence my outspoken sister.
"This
is the warrior, I presume," she said, looking Jess up and down with
appraising eyes.
"That's
just Jess," I said.
"Right.
Just Jess.
Sabrina, you never
were a very good liar. And you've certainly never been one to pick up a boy
toy. Though I wouldn't mind..."
"
Gustel
," I interrupted, hoping to shield Jess from my
sister's overt sexual advances. "This really isn't anything you need to
worry about."
Gustel
directed her attention back to me. "You know it's all
over the network. Word is spreading like cracked ice. I thought I'd come see
you, put the rumors to rest, but from what I see here, it's all too true. You
cheated Death."
"Not
exactly cheated..."
"Not
exactly."
Gustel
laughed. "Oh, I'm sure that will reassure Odin.
Not
exactly?
Then tell me, what exactly is going on here?"
I opened my
mouth to answer, but nothing came out. The truth was
,
I'd cheated Death to get what I'd had the night before. The realization hit me
like a thunder strike.
"Ah,"
Gustel
said, lifting her chin, her nostrils flaring. "I
get it. I can smell it. I can smell you on him. If you wanted him, you should
have taken him
—
before."
"I
didn't see him before. Besides, you're wrong."
"Am
I?"
Jess
watched this exchange but said nothing. I wondered how much he understood. I
knew that
Gustel
was wrong. I hadn't taken him for
sex. He moved me. It was as simple as that. He moved me in such a way that I'd
thrown all caution, all rules, out the window. I'd wanted what happened between
us, but I hadn't used my powers as a goddess to get it.
Or had I?
"You
could be demoted for this.
Or worse."
"Yeah,
thanks for pointing out the obvious,
Gustel
."
"Do
you even have a plan?"
"I ...
what do you care?"
Gustel
retracted her wings and stretched her neck. Jess's
shoulders dropped in obvious relief, and it was only then that I realized how
terrified he'd been by
Gustel's
dramatic arrival. His
gaze shifted from
Gustel
to me and back again. He was
probably wondering if I had wings as well.
My sister
adjusted her camouflage to match mine, outfitting herself with combat boots,
fatigues, an Army green tank top, dog tags, and aviator sunglasses.
"I
don't know, Sabrina,"
Gustel
said, pulling her
curling red hair back into a ponytail. "I don't know why I care. But you
know that I do."
"Yes,"
I said, giving her a weak smile. I was lucky to have
Gustel
as a sister, and there was no reason to antagonize my only friend. We are an isolated
race. Our lives are lived alone on the battlefield, and we rarely have the time
or the opportunity to congregate. Many Valkyries avoid social interaction after
the lonely years of the Death Duty. Some of us emerge from the decade of death
not quite sane.
Gustel
and I had had the unusual benefit of a kind, if not
loving, mother. It had brought us together as two Valkyries rarely
were."So
, what are you planning to do with him? Are
you going to mark him?"
"Hey,"
Jess said, "would you stop talking about me like I'm not here?" He
had taken a few steps away from us, but he looked more confused than afraid. I
suspected he was beginning to accept our existence. I wasn't sure how to feel
about that. It was a good thing, and yet, it made my position even more
precarious. Not only had I cheated Death, I had revealed myself to a mortal
without marking him, which was also forbidden.
Gustel
turned to him, eyebrows drawn together in irritation. "You'd
do better to keep silent, mortal. I only have so much patience with your
kind."
But Jess
didn't back down. He put his hands on his hips. The late dawn rose behind him,
casting his face in shadow. "Look, I don't know what's going on here. I
don't know if I'm having some sort of a breakdown or shell shock or what. Maybe
I died back there and this is some kind of purgatory." He was mumbling to
himself now. The pressure was getting to him, after all. I'd seen it before. The
last time I'd marked a warrior, on the island of
Peleliu
,
it had taken a full two days to talk the poor soul down.
Jess
continued. "Not that this is such a bad sort of purgatory," he said,
flicking a look at me. "Parts of it aren't too bad."
I could see
the lust in his eyes. I blushed, avoiding
Gustel's
amused gaze.
"But
never in any fantasy did I picture two bird women bossing me around, so don't
tell me not to speak." He lifted his chin, eyes steady on
Gustel
. "Whatever is going on, I guess I'm a part of
it. If I want to speak, I'll speak goddammit."
Gustel
returned his gaze, her delicate features contemplative. I
wanted to move closer to Jess, to shield him from
Gustel's
explosive reply. I knew my sister, and she did not take kindly to mortals
addressing goddesses in such a way.
"Well,"
Gustel
said, a smile playing across her lips,
"he's no coward, Sabrina. I'll give you that."
"Is it
true,
Gustel
? They know what happened?"
"Yes,"
Gustel
said, twisting her lips in sympathy, "I'm
afraid so. Death has been talking, I guess."
I shifted
my feet and released a shaky breath. "What can I do?"
"You'll
have to mark him, Sabrina. You have no choice."
"I
can't," I said, my words hushed, barely more than a sigh. I couldn't look
at Jess. "He deserves more."
"You're
due, you know. How long has it been? Sixty years?"
Gustel
crossed over to Jess and laid a hand on his shoulder. He flinched under her
grasp. "You have to mark one soon anyway, or you'll be in danger of
reassignment."
"Not
him," I said, my voice rising.
Gustel
leaned in
close to him, her lips just inches away from his.
"
Gustel
, no!"
Jesse's
eyes went wide, and he spun away from
Gustel
. My
sister glanced my way, then threw back her head and laughed.
He'd scaled
the rocks behind us and was fleeing into the empty desert.
"Are
you going to go get him, or shall I?"
Gustel
asked, releasing her wings.
"I'll
do it. Wait here.
”
****
I extended
my wings, shredding my green tank top in the process, and took flight. I
hovered above him for a moment, watching his legs and arms pumping, muscles
bulging. The muscles in his back stood out against his sweat soaked t-shirt.
Delicious
.
I timed my
landing perfectly. He came to a skidding halt, sending tiny grains of sand
flying into my eyes. I blinked them away.
"Jess,
come back. You won't survive out here on your own."
He darted
to the right. Of course, it was too easy to step into his path to stop him. He
ducked and weaved like a boxer dodging a blow and took off again, heading west
this time. If I let him go, which I had no intention of doing, he would die of
thirst in three days. He gave me little choice, and I was glad for it. I took
to the sky again, swooped down and snatched him from the sand, clutching him to
my naked breasts.
He
struggled at first. I held his writhing body against mine, and soon our height
stilled his feeble fighting. He wouldn't want to fall from this height. Not
that I would let him hit the ground. Valkyries are fast, our movements
sometimes barely perceptible to the naked human eye. We have to be fast. We
have to outrun howitzers, RPGs, machine gun fire. We've had to outfly biplanes,
bombers, and jets.
I took a
lazy arc, flying past our makeshift camp, giving him time to calm down and
myself
time to figure out how I was going to convince him of
the seriousness of his situation. I couldn't let him get himself killed. Not
after everything I'd risked.
I spotted a
sand dune that would shield us from sight. Not that it would fool
Gustel
. She would find us if she wanted to, but I expected
she would give me the time I needed.
We landed,
and Jess stumbled away from me. He watched me retract my wings, his face filled
with awe, and yes, a touch of fear. I felt unaccountably self-conscious under
his penetrating gaze and
magicked
a fresh t-shirt to
cover my naked breasts.
A trickle
of sweat was making its way down his suntanned cheek. I had a completely
irrational desire to taste that trickle, to lick him, to drink of his salty
skin.
"Jess,
I wish I could say I'm sorry that I pulled you into this, but if I hadn't,
you'd be dead now. I have a chance to save you, I think.
Gustel's
here,
and maybe she can help. She's willing to, and
that has to mean something. But if you run off, if you try to go back to your
unit, Death
will
find you. It
’
s picked up your scent now, and
It
’
s
angry with me for
taking you. It thinks I've cheated him, so as much as you may hate
it,
you need to stay with me. I'm the only one who can give
you a chance to live. That is what you want, isn't it?
To
live?"
He wiped
the tantalizing sweat from the side of his face and looked back toward our
camp. "Of course I do."
Our eyes
met, and I felt a sudden lump in my throat. Did he want me as much as I wanted
him? Did he want more than my body?
No, of course not.
He wanted to live, and I was his only hope. I swallowed back the useless
disappointment I felt and offered him a smile.
"Good.
That's good. We should go back now."
"Wait."
His muscles bulging beneath his shirt were distracting me again, and I had to
drag my eyes to meet his. "What does that ... the other one...
"
"She's
my sister.
Gustel
."
"Is
she right? Is that what you plan to do with me? Mark me?
”
“
No,
Jess. I told you. I
’
m going to do whatever it takes to get Death off your
trail.
”
"I can
’
t believe this is happening."
I moved
close and brought his hands to my lips. I kissed each knuckle, lingering over
his scent. "Trust me, Jess. I'm going to do everything I can to undo this.
I'll keep you safe. I promise."
"What
about you? Who will keep you safe?"
I gave him
a small smile. "I've gotten pretty good at taking care of myself."
"From
what I see, you're pretty good at getting yourself into trouble."
"Just
this once," I admitted.
His eyes
turned serious. "I'm sorry about that."
"I'm
not," I said, swallowing back the sudden lump in my throat, "I'll
never be sorry I met you."
****
When we got
back,
Gustel
was pacing the desert, kicking up the
sand in frustration.
"I was
just about to come get you,
”
she said, striding toward us. She yanked my arm hard and
pulled me aside.
“
What took you so long?
”
"Sorry,"
I said, meeting her gaze. "We needed a chance to talk."
"Talk?"
She looked from me to Jess, her full, sensuous mouth
curled at the ends. "Oh, right. Talk.
Got it."
I didn't
dare look at Jess. I hoped he couldn
’
t
hear us. He stood a few hundred yards away, hands on his hips, combat boots
splayed, looking every bit the hero he was. "No, really,
Gustel
."
"What is the big deal with this guy?"
"I don't know how to explain it,
Gustel
.
You should have seen him. He..."