Free Valkyrie Symptoms by Ingrid Paulson

settled over their pupils, they started conferring in whispers. More than a few unfriendly faces had already turned my way. “C’mon, Margit, Sven.”
    â€œWe’re not going anywhere with her .” Margit stood, shaking her head. “She’s one of them.”
    Kjell and I had reached the middle of the room, and Kjell fired back an angry torrent of Norwegian. The words were fast and furious, and I was surprised to find I could catch a few. Kjell was calling Margit stupid, demanding to know why I would have stood up for him if I was one of them.
    Whoever they were.
    The important part, the touching part, was that Kjell was begging Margit to give me a chance. I looked back at Margit, more curious about her reaction than anything else. Given the undercurrent of jealousy that had swept through the evening, I was pretty sure Kjell was making it worse by defending me.
    â€œDon’t you even look at us,” Margit snarled, covering Sven’s eyes with one hand. “You already have my brother. Isn’t that enough? Besides, Sven’s too young, remember? That’s what they said last time. You have to be eighteen.” She took four quick steps until she was right in front of me, dragging Sven behind her.
    â€œToo young for what?” I backed away, right into Kjell. “And I’ve never even met your brother. I just met you tonight.” I couldn’t believe I’d been stupid enough to get myself into this position. I was alone in a bar in Norway with a weird boy talking in riddles and a paranoid stranger who was preparing to wring my neck.
    Margit’s finger was in my face, practically poking my eye out. “She can’t be trusted.” She hurled the words at Kjell. “I told you. What she did proves it. She’s just like her grandmother.”
    â€œYou say that like it’s a bad thing,” I shot back, surprising myself yet again that night.
    Margit was dying to hit me. But that wasn’t what scared me. I was horrified by the image that flashed through my mind, courtesy of the new voice that had stirred to life inside me. My retaliation would be swift and brutal if she even tried.
    Sven shook his face free of Margit’s hand and grabbed Kjell roughly by the shoulder.
    â€œWe can’t let you leave with her,” Sven said. “You’ll thank us for this tomorrow.”
    â€œBack off.” Kjell knocked Sven’s arm away and shoved his chest, just hard enough to send him back a few paces.
    Margit pulled the personal locator beacon out of her pocket.
    â€œDon’t you dare,” Kjell hissed.
    But without even hesitating, Margit pressed a flat red button on the front. This time, a red light on the top blinked to life, flashing in time with my thundering pulse.
    â€œTurn that off,” Kjell said, taking a step toward Margit and making a grab for it. Sven blocked him. “You’re gonna have the Royal Navy out looking for you,” Kjell said. “That’s not a toy.”
    â€œNo,” Margit said. “We changed the frequency to one the navy won’t pick up. You can’t pretend this isn’t happening now,” she added, suddenly all smug self-satisfaction. “You’ve seen it too. No more thinking you’re so much better than us, Dr. Perfect back from Oslo, acting like you know everything.” The tangible resentment in her words surprised me and made me wonder if I’d been misreading Margit’s behavior all along. Because bitter wasn’t the best way to sweet-talk your crush.
    â€œI know what I saw,” Kjell said, rubbing his forehead with his palm. “But that doesn’t mean Ellie’s part of it. She has no idea what’s been going on.”
    â€œFine.” Margit glared at me, and I started inching my way toward the door, pepper spray in hand. “If she’s innocent, she can prove it to the others when they get here.”
    â€œWhat others?” I