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Chapter Ten
“Too much ale and a man's heart is laid open for all to see.”
—The Saga of Olaf Haraldsson
“Valkyrie…”
“Why is she here...?”
“No! My sons! My husband…”
“Papa, is she a death-dealer? I don’t want anyone to die…”
Ere heaved a put-upon sigh as their band of four rode into the small village side by side, taking in the frenzied whispers and general air of fear and hostility.
Even though the half dozen children from the impromptu snowball war skipped along behind them happily, cooing and laughing as they rallied around the hairy donkey, distracted by its strange (endearing, though Ere would only admit it on pain of death) appearance, it was not enough to distract discerning villagers from the black-clad, black-haired, fierce-looking siren in their midst.
Eir’s glittering, cold green eyes and resting bitch face didn’t help any.
“Would a smile kill you, shield maiden?” Ere grouched, edging his and Sorin’s horse closer to Eir’s while Kai rode slightly ahead of them.
The warrioress didn’t deign to glance at him, keeping her stoic gaze focused ahead.
“Why would I smile if there is nothing to smile about?”
“Come on,” Ere coaxed. “Loosen up a little! You’re wound up tighter than a bull’s arse in fly season. Just because you pick people to die for a living doesn’t mean you have to look doom and gloom all the time.”
“You want me tosmilewhen I mark those who die?” She turned briefly toward him with a gimlet stare before facing forward once more.
“I’d rather you didn’t mark anyone to die, honestly,” Ere returned. “Certainly none of the people I love.”
“Yes, you’ve already given me the warning,” she remined him.
“It bears repeating.”
He glared ferociously at her profile, willing his implicit threat to sink in.
She breathed out visibly in what appeared to be a sigh of impatience.
“I do not intend to mark anyone in this village, including our immediate party,” she said. “Cease your vigilance while we are here.”
Ere felt himself decompress just a little bit.
Perhaps they ought to dally a while in this place if the Valkyrie promised a stay of execution. He needed some time to plot and plan.
She was clearly with them to take Kai to gods knew where. Most likely Valhalla. Given that they were on a separate quest, and Kai was not from this world, Ere estimated there was some likelihood she wouldn’t be able to take him even if she tried.
But.
He didn’t want to test that theory. Stranger things had happened.
After all, this wasn’t the first time they’d encountered gods from other pantheons, or taken people out of their own worlds as part of their quests. Hades had kept Chewie, as an example. And they’d taken Merlin out of the Dark Ages and into the Celestial Realm.
Ere needed time to work on the Valkyrie.
She hadn’t taken Kai yet, though he didn’t understand why. Well, besides the fact that she seemed…infatuatedwith Ere’s earth dragon brother.
But was it enough to stay her hand indefinitely?
