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Authors: Kristi Jones
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memories.
My own mother
helped me through it. She took me to The Nest and gave me morphine to dull the
pain. She spoke reassuring words. She read to me. That was the greatest gift.
The words of Byron and Blake, Goethe and Keats soothed my wretched soul and took
me away from the pain of the body.
I watched the
graveyard and caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye.
“Dammit.”
A stiff was
walking toward the midden , led by two Valkyries and
two humans. They must be planning an internment. I’d have to wait. And every
minute that I was away from Jess was a minute of anguish. I felt anxiety
building inside me, seeping into my muscles and I had an insane urge to scream,
to beat my wings and try to scare them off. But I had to wait. I had no choice.
If they saw me, they might ask for help or supplies, and I had but one mission. To save Jess. I couldn’t do anything to jeopardize the
success of that mission.
I felt a rush of
relief and gratitude as they made their way slowly past the midden .
They were not yet embarking on an internment. Perhaps they still needed their
supply of morphine? I hated to work without fully understanding their presence
here, but I had to act.
I waited for the
tiny group to leave, then coasted down into the
graveyard, taking on the form of darkness itself. The outline of my body might
be visible in the moonlight, but I hoped there would be no human or Valkyrie
eyes to see me.
I decided to
choose a weapon. There was no telling what creature might be guarding Skuld’s stone. Using all of my strength, I pulled out the
horizontal piece from an iron cross towering over the grave of a mortal. The
metal wailed in protest. When the iron sword pulled free, I waited, listening.
I eyed a second
iron cross to my left, but decided against taking another weapon. I dared not
risk waking the stiffs. Another shriek of metal against metal was sure to bring
at least one of them to the surface.
I moved down the
pilgrims’ road, keeping my eyes on the midden ,
straining to see any movement of dirt or cross, but the night was still and
quiet.
I sensed the
presence of the Fenrir just as I caught sight of the
wayside shrine. I darted into the vegetation beside the road and pressed myself
against the nearest tree. My heart, once so reliable, so constant, pulsed in
great pounding beats.
I needed time to
think. I’d never battled a Fenrir before, but I’d
heard enough about them to know that their bite was dangerous even to the flesh
of a lower goddess. A Fenrir could not inflict a
mortal wound of course, but they could inflict wounds that were difficult to
heal by the nature of their enchantments.
Fenrirs had been made legend by the
mortals, as the creature known as werewolf. It is true that they can take human
form when the moon is low, but they are not human at all, nor have they ever
been human. But the moon was high, and the Fenrir guarding the stone would not be taking human form tonight.
In any case, the Fenrir could not kill me. Any pain I suffered would be
welcome, as long as I triumphed and brought the stone back to Skuld .
I stepped out into
the street, clutching my sword tightly.
The wolf lifted its
head as I approached and emitted a low growl.
I stood before
him, holding my head high. I hoped that he would not smell my fear. The shrine
loomed behind the wolf. It was of simple construction, and I wondered at Skuld’s decision to hide her valuable stone at the side of
the road this way. The road was seldom used, except by those living under the
mountain, and she had bribed a Fenrir to guard it.
Still, it was not a difficult place to find or access.
“Keep walking, Valkyr ,” the Fenrir said, lifting
its lips and revealing an impressive set of teeth.
“I have been sent
on a mission by the goddess Skuld . She has asked that
I retrieve her stone.”
“The stone is not
to be removed, by the order of the great and almighty Odin, as you must well
know, Valkyr .”
“ Skuld
My own mother
helped me through it. She took me to The Nest and gave me morphine to dull the
pain. She spoke reassuring words. She read to me. That was the greatest gift.
The words of Byron and Blake, Goethe and Keats soothed my wretched soul and took
me away from the pain of the body.
I watched the
graveyard and caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye.
“Dammit.”
A stiff was
walking toward the midden , led by two Valkyries and
two humans. They must be planning an internment. I’d have to wait. And every
minute that I was away from Jess was a minute of anguish. I felt anxiety
building inside me, seeping into my muscles and I had an insane urge to scream,
to beat my wings and try to scare them off. But I had to wait. I had no choice.
If they saw me, they might ask for help or supplies, and I had but one mission. To save Jess. I couldn’t do anything to jeopardize the
success of that mission.
I felt a rush of
relief and gratitude as they made their way slowly past the midden .
They were not yet embarking on an internment. Perhaps they still needed their
supply of morphine? I hated to work without fully understanding their presence
here, but I had to act.
I waited for the
tiny group to leave, then coasted down into the
graveyard, taking on the form of darkness itself. The outline of my body might
be visible in the moonlight, but I hoped there would be no human or Valkyrie
eyes to see me.
I decided to
choose a weapon. There was no telling what creature might be guarding Skuld’s stone. Using all of my strength, I pulled out the
horizontal piece from an iron cross towering over the grave of a mortal. The
metal wailed in protest. When the iron sword pulled free, I waited, listening.
I eyed a second
iron cross to my left, but decided against taking another weapon. I dared not
risk waking the stiffs. Another shriek of metal against metal was sure to bring
at least one of them to the surface.
I moved down the
pilgrims’ road, keeping my eyes on the midden ,
straining to see any movement of dirt or cross, but the night was still and
quiet.
I sensed the
presence of the Fenrir just as I caught sight of the
wayside shrine. I darted into the vegetation beside the road and pressed myself
against the nearest tree. My heart, once so reliable, so constant, pulsed in
great pounding beats.
I needed time to
think. I’d never battled a Fenrir before, but I’d
heard enough about them to know that their bite was dangerous even to the flesh
of a lower goddess. A Fenrir could not inflict a
mortal wound of course, but they could inflict wounds that were difficult to
heal by the nature of their enchantments.
Fenrirs had been made legend by the
mortals, as the creature known as werewolf. It is true that they can take human
form when the moon is low, but they are not human at all, nor have they ever
been human. But the moon was high, and the Fenrir guarding the stone would not be taking human form tonight.
In any case, the Fenrir could not kill me. Any pain I suffered would be
welcome, as long as I triumphed and brought the stone back to Skuld .
I stepped out into
the street, clutching my sword tightly.
The wolf lifted its
head as I approached and emitted a low growl.
I stood before
him, holding my head high. I hoped that he would not smell my fear. The shrine
loomed behind the wolf. It was of simple construction, and I wondered at Skuld’s decision to hide her valuable stone at the side of
the road this way. The road was seldom used, except by those living under the
mountain, and she had bribed a Fenrir to guard it.
Still, it was not a difficult place to find or access.
“Keep walking, Valkyr ,” the Fenrir said, lifting
its lips and revealing an impressive set of teeth.
“I have been sent
on a mission by the goddess Skuld . She has asked that
I retrieve her stone.”
“The stone is not
to be removed, by the order of the great and almighty Odin, as you must well
know, Valkyr .”
“ Skuld
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