“To the study!” he ordered, snatching Clancy’s sleeve and pushing him toward the door. He grabbed Nox’s wrist. “Come along!”
As if Nox had other intentions or anything better to do.
“You’ll want to look at the Norse texts,” Clancy predicted once they had relocated to the study. He lowered onto the sofa with his coffee, grimacing as he sipped. “I shared our concerns that Dùbhghlas might have a valkyrie in his service with Ingrid. She was appalled at first, then she remembered that there was one that had been cast out for heresy. It was decades ago and the name had been forgotten, but Ingrid checked and Hildr’s grave is empty.”
“Hildr?” Merlin hurried to the proper shelf and hunted amongst the spines. “What kind of heresy?”
“She wanted to bring about a new era of legends with a new pantheon of gods—valkyriegods—to replace the ones men had forgotten.”
“Controversial, but I don’t think it’s as misguided as the concept of a single god,” Nox argued and was legitimately intrigued by the idea. If it could happen to him, why not a powerful valkyrie?
“Do not tell that to Ingrid,” Clancy said with a loaded look. “To even seek attention and glory is heretical. Hildr was marked as a traitor—to her kind and their sacred duty—and she was hunted down. Only a few of the old order knew where Hildr’s remains were buried, including Ingrid. She was there when Hildr was killed and she wants to see her buried again.”
“She has my blessing,” Nox stated wholeheartedly. “I don’t want anything to do with this Hildr if she’s half as badass as Ingrid.” He shuddered and Clancy raised his cup in salute and probably agreement.
Merlin clicked his teeth. “If shewashalf as badass as Ingrid, there’s no telling what Dùbhghlas has made of her and what she’s capable of now.”
“Don’t!” Nox held up a hand, sick as he thought of Nelson being anywhere near an undead valkyrie. “This is a good piece of news that I really don’t like. What would Nelson say if he was here?” He pushed out a hard breath and focused. “What can we learn from this, if it is Hildr? Because it seemsverylikely that it is.”
“Yes!” Merlin tapped on the page of the book he was holding. “That is exactly what our Nelson would say and we can learn a great deal!” He went to the blank side of the nearest board and swiped a piece of chalk from the tray. “Unlike most mystical beings, the valkyrie are anointed by the godsafterdying in battle. They are humans with no magickal lineage and existonlyat the whims of the gods of war. We can easily understand whythe valkyrie would take such offense and seek to punish her. But why would Hildr reject her very nature and risk the wrath of her sisters?”
“That’s an excellent question,” Nox said, rolling his hand and signaling for Merlin to get on with it.
He huffed indignantly. “Hildr was a great warrior and had fought bravely in many battles. So had her sister, but she was not rewarded the way Hildr was when she died. Her name is not even recorded, only that Hildr made her disappointment known. She refused to answer when the gods called and hid herself away until their time had passed.”
Clancy sat forward, scowling at the book. “It probably isn’t in there but there were rumors that Hildr had taken a man as a lover. A man who was said to be a warlock.”
“Oh…my,” Merlin said but he didn’t sound titillated. “That is interesting and concerning.”
There was a serious hum from Clancy and Nox groaned at the board. “That is concerning and explains how Dùbhghlas would have found her corpse and guided her back to it.”
In some legends, the valkyrie could be reincarnated alongside their lovers. Dùbhghlas’s death could have triggered Hildr’s awakening and given him the power to make her into something even more dangerous. Nox had always hoped that it was possible, for Clancy and Ingrid’s sake and was encouraged. But it was not great in regards to Hildr, if Dùbhghlas was her mystery warlock lover.
“Let’s say Ingrid did get her wish…” Nox raised a finger, glancing between Merlin and Clancy. “The chances of Hildr being reincarnated have to be slim if she’s sold her soulanddefied the will of the gods. Her Otherworld privileges have been revoked if I have any say in the matter.”
Merlin’s brows jumped and he turned back to the board. “Who can say, really? She has certainly broken her covenantwith the gods of war and nature. I would think that the valkyrie in her is truly dead and gone but it would depend on how she was reborn. If Dùbhghlas replaced her soul with demon fire, there’s no telling. She could be more demon than valkyrie now, for all we know.”
“Weknowto keep an eye out for her,” Clancy said. “Whatever she is, she isn’t stronger than she was before. Not if she gave up her soul and honor and she betrayed her divine oath to serve Dùbhghlas.”
“Good point, Darrach.” Merlin made a note on the board under “Weaknesses.”
Nox thought so as well. “Intention always matters in the end.”
“Indeed,” Merlin said distantly as he wrote.
Arawn and Fletcher were the first to come down and were surprised to find the three of them already at work.
“Has there been a development?” Arawn asked, earning a hesitant groan from Clancy.
“We know the identity of Dùbhghlas’s valkyrie and have deduced some…interesting details,” he said with a shiver.
Nox chuckled and waved as Bryn, Everly, and Niall gathered in the foyer. “She could be doing it for love but you’ll never believe who her dark, dead heart beats for. Or whatever the undead heart does,” Nox added with a clueless shrug. “She’s Huge Douchebag’s old lady. And by old, we mean really, really old. I’ll fill you in over breakfast and Merlin should have a presentation ready by the time Howard gets here.”
Despite Nox’s concerns, Howard hadn’t accepted his invitation to stay at the townhouse until matters with Dùbhghlas were settled. Howard said he had a store and employees to look after and that he was not afraid to face Dùbhghlas if that was what fate intended for him. Nox recalled his conversation with Merlin and appreciated that he was already asking a lot of theelderly man and Heidi. The store had to be closed so Heidi could play taxi whenever Howard needed a ride over from Adelphi, without Nelson there to transport him back and forth.
Like Merlin, Howard was crafty and could be surprisingly quick for his age when he needed to be. And for what he lacked in speed, strength, and wit, he made up for in knowledge and experience. He was on his way with more books about the valkyrie and a charm to cheer Nox up.
Howard’s presence would help and after another terrible night, Nox took note of how deeply blessed he was to be surrounded by so many good, loving souls. Surely, this was a sign that he was favored and meant to prevail. He had another sign when the doorbell rang and he went to greet Howard.
