A Valkyrie's Apprentice: Book Two

Cause & Effect

The guild master had real balls. Suicidal, Kaden sized balls. She smiled at me in what she thought was cruelty. Held us in what she thought was impenetrable. It probably would cause a problem for my immortal energy... but my Valkyrie. I chuckled again at the thought.

"You have no idea who you are dealing with." The guild master returned in a cold voice.

I smiled back slowly. "And you, mortal. Have no idea what you are dealing with." 

The assassins behind her shifted between themselves and a few heartbeats increased.

"If you think she's captured, she's waiting for you. And if you think its the death of your enemies you're getting tonight you best start digging your own graves. You buffoons have just captured a god damned demi-god." I finished with a tired laugh again.

The guild master's poker face had degraded considerably. "You bleed like us. You scream. You die like us. We have your weapons. Your armour. The Captain–"

"Will be dust soon enough. Hey, you still have some time to clear the city walls though." I offered nonchalantly. It was an effort just to appear unfazed now. I could taste the blood in my throat, building in the wrong places.

"You do not know me, Lion. But you killed my kin on that island. I have not forgotten."

And just like that. She had sealed her fate and every mortal in the room. Just like that I was back on a sandy beach of killers that laughed while they toyed with the last of my life. Much like this moment. The poison never left them.

"And your snake of a leader murdered both–of my parents for a scrap of iron ore but who's keeping count these days." I retorted in false sweetness.

"I could cut you up into pieces and watch them heal shut only to cause you the pain again and again. Are you sure you want to test me?" She growled back. Monsters were so obvious these days. They couldn't even hide themselves.

"I'm sure every cut will be matched tenfold by the lovely blonde you took."

The guild master watched me silently. They were the eyes of someone recalculating. Good. I didn't have much more time for this before these injuries started becoming mortal.

"Can we skip to the part where you make me a deal and people walk away with their heads attached." I deadpanned while she flinched. I had no intention of letting a single one back into the night but let us pretend.

"We have already made our deal with the Captain."

"Unmake it. Before there is no guild." I suggested.

"What is it you want?" She growled out.

"The Captain. Then we are gone." I lied simply. "These games earn you nothing but death. If your survivors told you of my abilities you have no idea what she can do." I told her with heavy emphasis.

After too long she nodded imperceptibly. Not a complete fool after all. Or perhaps she had begun weighing her life. I had started weighing my own. My injuries had taken all of it from me. Every spike felt like a drain on my time.

"If you are so sure of her why has this not happened yet?" She demanded in more fear than anger now. "What's stopping her?"

You've just told me. I thought simply. The Captain of the Odians was coming to her. That is the only thing stopping her from levelling the whole gods damned building. But I was not about to let the assassins know as much. I smiled at her silently and gave a very limited shrug against my bindings that bled further.

The guild master let out a half growl and whirled from me for the door, but stopped before it.

"We are going to walk her into a room with that witch. Then we are going to disappear and we may call it even–"