AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Everyone wasearnestly busy updating and dragging into this century all the old laws, rulesand regulations that a large Corporation - that made its living primarily bybloodshed - required to keep its Valkyries safe. Ensuring the Valkyrie Empirewas protected from every litigious supernatural nutter who wanted to sue merelybecause one of her sisters farted noisily in their direction.
Shaw, having nolegal experience what so ever, had sought advice from Galen, Stephanie’s meldmate, who happened to be a kickass divorce attorney, in how to go about runningthe department. Asking him how was she supposed to know if her team were doinga good job or not. His reply, if she read a document and it looked likeShakespeare had written it, then send it back to be reworked.
SurprisinglyGalen’s advice was working a treat so far. Her team mistakenly convinced Shawwas some sort of secret legal savant.
Shaw’s mood wasdefinitely lightening the closer she got to her office. She’d managed to coerceStephanie into going on maternity leave. And once she handed off the clipboardto her new personal dogsbody, her life could return to normal. Yes, in anotherten minutes she’d be back at her desk, feet up, glaring at her knee, drummingher fingers, waiting for Medical to ring. Same old, same old.
Except… Shaw’sstride faltered in surprise momentarily as a horrendously loud noise rippedthrough the air. Everyone in the immediate vicinity instinctively flinching.What, in the name of Freyja? A second explosive sound followed, even louder.Then a third and a fourth.
Oh, no. No!Helgastein wouldn’t have… would she? The honking sound of a nose being blownlong and loud made it clear that Shaw’s worst fears had been realised, evenbefore the desk located directly outside her office came into view. By theSword. No.
The surface of thedesk was layered with a variety of squat pill bottles, boxes of tissues, andcups full of mysterious liquids. All interspersed by a large number ofcolourful bottles that came in all shapes and sizes. A dehumidifier sat frontand centre, further obscuring the desk’s occupant as it released little puffsof steam into the air, creating a haze. Whilst a large floor lamp now archedover the desk, casting a mellow yellow UV spotlight.
Crashing to a haltbeside the desk, Shaw fought not to shrink back as a hand abruptly thrust itsway out of the murky haze clutching a tissue. “What colour would you say thatis? Moss green or closer to something in the sage family?”
“Olrun? What areyou doing here?”
The occupant ofthe desk, wearing a black shirt and pants, was looking particularly red today,from her boxer braided hair, to her runny raw nose, to her bloodshot eyes.Glancing up from the large colour coded binder she was currently filling in,the occupant of the desk grinned, sneezed again explosively, and then casuallywiped her nose. “Hey, Shaw. Didn’t Helgastein fill you in? I’m your newexecutive assistant. Well, temporary assistant. Just my luck…” Olrun sneezedagain. “…I’ve developed an allergy to the red dust found on most of theFjornfall Planes. But once I get the mix right.” She gestured to the array ofpotions and pills cramming her desk. “Then I’ll be out of here.”
Shaw loved all herfellow Valkyries, it was just that Olrun was so… snotty. She was probably theone Valkyrie who spent more time in Medical than Shaw did. Trying to find curesfor all her allergies and balance her massive daily medicinal intake. The womanwas allergic to basically everything. Sometimes even their enemies. More thanone had died with a horrified expression on their face when Olrun sneezed rightin their gob, just seconds before she disembowelled them. Geez, and now,according to Olrun, she was adding dirt to her ever expanding allergy list.
“Um.”
“I’m leaningtowards sage green.” Olrun muttered under her breath, before dutifully making anote of it in her massive wellness binder and then thankfully discarding thenasty tissue she’d been clutching. Finished, Olrun switched her attention backto Shaw. “Okay, so until I find a cure.” She smiled cheerfully before sneezingquickly five times in a row. “I’m all yours, Boss.”
“Um.” Shaw wastempted to throw the clipboard at Olrun’s head, make a run for her office andbarricade the door. But then Olrun proceeded to cough loudly, followed by aguttural clearing of her throat that Shaw believed could be heard by theStaging Crew located five floors below them. Oh, fuck. There was no way shecould mope… sit in her office with all these gut churning wet explosive noisesgoing on right outside her door. Gritting her teeth in further horror as Olrunhawked up something into a fresh tissue, studying the contents intently. Oh,hell no.
Before Shaw’s newpersonal assistant could ask her opinion on the colour of whatever that wasshe’d just coughed up, Shaw ripped the top page from the clipboard, dumping theclipboard itself into the nearest rubbish bin. One that was already threequarters full of discarded tissues and empty pill bottles.
“You hold down thefort here. If you see even a glimpse of a computer game on any screen, thencome down like the proverbial on their ass, okay?”
“Happy to. Andwhere will you be if I need anything?”
Shaw held upStephanie’s to-do list. “Kicking butts until I’ve crossed every item off ofthis list.”
Olrun frowned forthe first time. “You know, they say you can catch more flies with honey thanvinegar.” Punctuating her sentence by sneezing explosively.
Shaw begansteadily backing away out of the blast zone. “Anyone who says that should bedecapitated and their head displayed on a stake to deter others from makingsuch asinine comments.”
“Sure.” Olrunnodded in cheerful agreement. “Have fun, Boss. Oh, before you go. Here, trythis.” Olrun threw a small folded square of silver fabric at Shaw.
“What is it?” Itwas so light it barely felt like she was holding anything.
“I heard you in Medicala while ago talking about your knee, and got to wondering if you’d tried asupport bandage?”
“And let myenemies know I have a weakness they can target? Never.”
“Oh, but that’swhat makes this one so great. It’s spun from webbing made by the Kil’tiark.Silk to the touch, but mega tough and incredibly supportive. Best of all, onceon it’ll mimic your skin tone perfectly.”
Shaw was about to throwthe small bit of fabric back at Olrun but her new executive assistant held up afinger for her to wait, proceeding to sneeze, cough and then sneeze some more.Yikes, spinning, Shaw grimly stalked away. First item on the list, getStephanie’s unborn babies into pre-school. That should be easy enough.
She’d get somefresh air. Scare a few officious office minions. More importantly, she’d getthe hell out of Valkyrie Headquarters. Praying harder than she’d ever prayedbefore that her knee wouldn’t fail her at this critical moment as she... fledwas the wrong word. Valkyries didn’t flee. But they were known to occasionallyhastily leave the battleground if there was an emergency. Like if the ale wagonwas on fire or under threat.
Shaw wasn’t onefor seeing bad omens everywhere like some of her sisters. Despite that, analien sense of foreboding sat heavily in her gut. Was she being manipulatedhere? But for what reason? She considered pausing for a moment to take stock ofeverything going on. Perhaps her best course of action would be to hole upsomewhere on the Staging Floor, in an empty utility closet, take a deep breathand work out how her life had suddenly seemed to go sideways in a matter ofhours.
Just as theelevator arrived and Shaw stepped in, a tsunami of horrendous coughing andhawking up of Freyja knows what rent the air in her wake. Decision made, Shawhurriedly stabbed the button for the basement garage. Fuck foreboding, she wasout of here.
Chapter Two
