Free Valkyrie's Kiss by Kristi Jones Page B

getting Jess out of Skuld’s lair.
    “I can’t help you.
I’m sorry. And I can’t let you have the stone.”
    “Why? Because you have to save someone?”
    I felt I’d already
given her too much information. She was a dangerous young Valkyrie. Of that I
was now sure. But she wasn’t leaving here with the stone.
    “I think you must
have gone mad. You’re young for it, but it has been known to happen.”
    Ermhilde laughed. “I’m not mad. I
haven’t been to see Skuld , if that’s what you’re
thinking. I just—”
    She stopped and
stepped forward. She grabbed me by the arms. “But you have,” she said.
    “Wait,” I said,
catching the scent of perfume, a human scent. “You haven’t served the Death
Duty yet! How old are you?”
    Ermhilde released me. She laughed
again, a nervous laugh, and tossed her hair. “Of course I have.”
    “No, you haven’t.
You smell of perfume. You’ve been living with the humans.”
    “You’ve seen Skuld ,” Ermhilde said, ignoring
my questions. “You’ve seen her, and you appear to have retained your sanity
somehow. She told you which stone, didn’t she?”
    “No, of course not,”
I said. I realized how foolish I’d been. I should have expected the Fenrir . Of course the stone would be guarded. And I should
have expected that other Valkyries might be circling, hoping for a chance to
claim Skuld’s stone. Gustel had warned me of the danger, and in my haste to save Jess, I had been careless.
    I’d spoken long
enough with this strange Valkyrie, with the strange plans. It was time to do
what I came for and get back to the business of saving my hero.
    I hefted my sword
and levelled it at Ermhilde . “I’m sorry, Ermhilde , but I don’t have time for this discussion,
interesting as it may be.”
    I shuffled right,
inching my way toward the shrine.
    Ermhilde cocked her head, frowning.
“After everything I’ve done for you? Pity.”
    She reached for
her gun, but I was ready. I swung my sword, aiming for her wrist, and knocked
the gun away.
    Ermhilde bared her teeth, hissing in
pain.
    “You realize that
this is ridiculous,” I said in a conciliatory voice. “We can’t hurt each. Not
really.”
    Ermhilde licked her lips, slowly,
almost provocatively. “But we can do a little damage. Might
be fun. A change of pace. Don’t you get tired
of the never ending predictability of our days, Sabrina?”
    The girl picked up
and threw the top of the shrine at me, then took the column in her hands and
spun, winding herself like a top.
    I threw my hips
back, hoping to avoid the blow, but I was a fraction of a second too late. The
stone hit me in the side, hard, and I went flying into the road. I wrapped my
wings around my body to protect my skin as I rolled across the hard asphalt.
    Quickly, I got to
my feet and launched myself with the speed of a bullet train, slamming into Ermhilde .
    She met me
mid-air. We collided, the force of the blow knocking the wind out of me. Before
I knew what was happening, she had forced my hand, and turned my sword against
me. We fell back to earth, and I was powerless in her arms. We hit the ground,
and the sword’s tip sank deep into my chest, pinning me against the soft,
giving earth.
    I sucked in one
breath, exhaled it, and coughed blood into Ermhilde’s face. She wiped it away with the back of her hand.
    “You’re not
getting the stone,” she said, her lips curling into a smile.
    The sword had cloven
my heart. I couldn’t get my breath, for without my heart, the blood in my lungs
was pooling. I needed to remove the sword, but my body felt heavy and my
thoughts slowed. My eyes closed. I tried to open them, but my eyelids felt like
boulders. I wondered if this is what humans experienced when they fell asleep.
    I couldn’t
breathe. I couldn’t move.
    Suddenly a
piercing pain exploded in my left wrist. My eyes flew open, and I turned my
head. A sword was embedded in my wrist, the hand nearly severed. The pain was
fierce. I knew I needed to