AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I grabbed onto him, and he hoisted me into the boat like my six feet of mass was a feather.
He turned toward the gray-eyed warrior, who had just finished positioning Daniel onto the bench. “Are you positive, Ales? She doesn’t look like a Valkyrie. She looks like a butchered rat.”
Ales.
Three years, and he finally had a name. “AY-les.” I liked the way it sounded. The surname meant defender. The way he protected me from those guards—he certainly took his name seriously. I assumed his name would’ve been more exotic, something unruly and unrecognizable. I didn't know what word would’ve matched the strength within him, but Ales was an oversimplification of the man who had haunted me for so long.
I looked down at my wet, tangled hair. Thanks to the sprinkler system, my bloodied sports bra and sodden hiking pants were still drenched. Everything was stained and torn beyond repair. Before I could agree with the brown-haired man’s statement, Ales looked at the man and nodded. “I am, Crixus, and the Valkyrie needs us.”
I wanted Ales to expand on his statement, but the boat jerked backwards, and we started moving away from the dock. The boat dipped again, and I reached out to steady myself.
I searched for Daniel. He was the reason I needed these strange men. I hoped they were willing to save him. If not, I wasn’t beyond taking their strength. It wasn’t my first choice, but I’d done it before, and it hadn’t ended too badly.
Logan was holding him across his lap. “Hang on, Danny,” he pleaded over and over.
Danny was barely awake. His eyelids fluttered open, and he looked up at me.
I sank down to my knees next to him.
Ales came to hover over us before dipping his head to my ear. “Change him, Valkyrie, like you did his brother.”
“I don’t know how. I mean, how do I take what I need from different people at the same time?” My hand went to Danny’s face. “I’m so sorry. Just give me a moment. I can do this.” I hope I can… I better fucking figure it out fast.
“It’s okay.” Blood dribbled from the side of his mouth. “I’m fine.” Danny groaned and shook violently. His lips were now as white as his cheeks.
Ales came closer; his sheer presence made me shiver. “They share the same blood as me. The blood of a warrior. Their strength is as powerful as mine. With Leo and Cri, the four of us will be enough to change him. Reach to them as you did to me. Your aether will complete the rest.”
But it wasn’t the same. These men were strangers, not like Ales and Logan. Connecting to them would be difficult at best. I was tethering to their soul, that’s what I was doing, wasn’t I? That’s what fed the light inside me—the aether, as Ales put it. It was the strength from their souls.
I swallowed quickly. The thought of playing with the light from a soul, from many souls, would paralyze me if I lingered on it.
What if I took too much, was that possible?
My palms drifted over Danny for a moment. I lifted his shirt to see his bleeding abdomen. “Um, okay. Everybody just be quiet, and… think encouraging thoughts.”
Logan withdrew his arms, allowing my fingers to hover over the gaping hole in Danny’s torso. I stopped a breath shy of covering it before I pleaded to the light within. I summoned the fading embers of aether, and then reached for Ales first. He would know how to lead me through this. I needed to be careful though. I had taken so much from him before. He hadn’t explicitly said it, but he must’ve been weakened by what he had given me.
I recognized his cunning strength, ancient and pure. My light flickered and sought more. It was veracious when it connected to him.
“Gentle. Please be gentle. Don’t take too much from him, or any of them,” I pleaded with the Valkyrie.
I reached for Logan’s warmth next, and the light crackled, aching to take more. I searched for the man called Cri next. His power was like Ales, very old, but more tenuous. It curved and danced as I reached for it. My light surged, brimming toward the surface when it linked to him.
I needed just a little more. Then I could release it, and give it to Danny. Leo was the last soul I reached toward. His strength welcomed my request. He was younger than the other two, but it was easier to link to him. It was kind, almost jovial when it fed my light. Together, all four, were unbelievably powerful.
The Valkyrie, the part of me harnessing the aether, took everything they offered. I strained slightly, fighting against the female warrior. If she became too powerful, it would consume me. There would be nothing left of Charlie, and only the Valkyrie would remain.
Holding the aether and its master at bay, I traced a symbol into his chest, using the fresh blood coating his flesh. In the slick blood, I created the eight lined symbol. My finger finished the last marking on the eighth line, and the boat slowed to a stop. My aether took energy from the ocean, even when I tried to hamper its thirst.
I wanted to pour the light into Danny, without allowing it to take over me entirely, but the Valkyrie wouldn’t be denied.
The wind began to howl around us, encircling Danny in a protective shield. It sang to me the song of the old gods, the words soft and feminine. They danced through the air. The Valkyrie surged with power.
I laid my head on Danny’s chest, next to my palm that now covered the marking. The swirling tattoos began to flow down my arms. The pain was euphoric. They burned into my skin as my arms were enveloped with the familiar markings of light. They seared into place, and the ecstasy built even higher.
The ocean stilled, and then dipped, bowing in response to the light flowing from me.
I pleaded with Valkyrie. Every part of me willed him to live.
