Part 11- Carried away in impossible hands.

Jackie awoke in a garden. A beautiful birch tree covered her, but she could see the moon and stars above her. She sat up moving her wings to fold under her cloak.

A man, not too old, but not young either, walked out of a pair of large doors nearby.

"Excuse me, miss, but… what's your name?"

Jackie was a little frightened. "Jackie."

"Well, Jackie, I'm here to take you to your room. Do you have any luggage?"

Jackie looked around the garden. Her guitar bag and field pack lay nearby. "Over there. Those bags are mine."

The man looked rejoiced. "This is the first time in a thousand years anyone's had luggage! Thanks, kid."

He collect the bags, treating them very gently. Jackie picked up her weapons, which lay scattered around where she had been lying.

"Follow me." Said the guy, walking back towards the door.

The hall on the inside was very fancy. He led her to a pair of elevators and pressed the number 19.

"My name is Hunding. I work as the bellhop here, at Hotel Valhalla."

Jackie froze. "Valhalla? You mean, Norse mythology, Valhalla?!"

"Yes. I thought you already knew that, since you were so calm."

Jackie shoved Hunding against the wall, holding her forearm across his throat. "Do you think I want to be here?! I am a Greek! I have to go home!"

Hunding shook his head. "I'm sorry. There's no backing out now."

Jackie cursed and slumped against the other wall. Hunding led her down a hallway, past a couple of rooms and to the end of the corridor.

A door marked 'Jacqueline Hunt' lay in the wall.

Hunding opened the door and passed her a set of keys. "The first one's for your door, second for the minibar and the third is for the private cupboard. I know you'll make friends with the other people along this corridor, just give them a bit of time."

Jackie reached into her pocket. All that was there to tip the old guy was a smashed chocolate from dessert the last night she'd spent with the Hunters.

She passed it to him. "Sorry. That's all I have."

He grinned. "Doesn't matter. Chocolate's better than a pound of red gold anyway."

He walked off, smiling brightly to himself.

Hunding stopped at Magnus Chase's door on the way past. Magnus, thankfully, was inside.

"Look, there's a new girl down the hall, just in. She's not real happy. Said something about being Greek? I don't know. But, she's not happy and barely spoke apart from when she gave me the tip and tried to attack me."

Magnus nodded. "I'll get the gang onto it."

Hunding left, examining the chocolate as he walked away.

Magnus asked for the help of the most capable person on floor 19. Since beggars couldn't be choosers, Alex (male today) joined him in the floor 19 lounge.

"What do we do about her?" Alex asked. "It's not like she's going to be approachable."

Magnus's face remained grim. "Alex… can you try talking to her? Like you do for the kids at the Chase Space?"

Alex pursed his lips. "Maggie, I'm not sure I want to get killed again before dinner…"

"Please, Alex."

Alex rolled his eyes and smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

Jackie rolled over on the bed. Her room was laid out in a huge cross. In the centre was a grassed area with a Hunters tent set up with lots of cushions and monster skins.

The bedroom was exactly the same as the one she had at the Jackson house, which just made her homesick.

Alex entered carefully, looking around. Jackie had dumped her weapons near the door, which didn't help with Alex's nerves.

He stepped out into the middle of the room. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

Jackie froze. She reached over and turned the light on in her bedroom. The only thing separating the open grassed area and the bedroom were a pair of silver silk curtains.

Alex stepped into the small room. "Hey. You must be Jackie, huh?"

Jackie held her boot knife out in front of her. "Who are you?"

"Alex Fierro, at your service." Alex grinned and sat down next to Jackie on the bed.

"You've got nerve to approach me like this." Jackie said, adjusting her cloth eyepatch.

Alex shrugged. "You're new. I'm just trying to be friendly."

Jackie narrowed her eyes and lowered the knife, but didn't put it away. "Why?"

"Because it's the nice thing to do. Jeez, you act as if you've got something to hide."

Jackie shuffled back nervously. "Umm…"

Alex looked straight at her. "What is it?"

Jackie growled. "Get out. Get out of my room!"

Alex leapt back as Jackie lifted the knife again. "Whoa! I just asked a question!"

"GET OUT!"

Alex retreated quickly, running back into the hall. Magnus stared at him.

"Not friendly?"

Alex panted. "Nah, she's fine. She was being defensive, so I asked if she had something to hide and she tried to kill me. Nice kid, just don't pry. Remind you of someone?"

Magnus grinned. "You, Alex. Come on, let's see if Mallory can help."

Mallory Keen came out of the room in about the same condition as Alex.

She shook her head as Halfborn went to enter the door. "She probably wouldn't like a ginormous Norse warrior walking into her room."

Halfborn shrugged. "Okay. Well, that leaves one more…"

TJ was shoved roughly through the door. He straightened his army coat and walked over to the couch.

He slumped into it, showing no signs of wanting to be aggressive.

After a few minutes, Jackie approached him. "What do you want with me?"

TJ shrugged. "It wasn't my idea to come in here."

Jackie became suspicious. "Why are you here then?"

"I was shoved in and told to talk to you."

Jackie looked at his jacket. "You're a Union soldier…"

"100% Black Union. TJ, at your service."

The knife slid dropped out of Jackie's hand. "No…"

She started to cry. TJ hopped off the couch and walked over to her. "Hey, it's okay. Why are you crying? A pretty little girl like you shouldn't cry."

Jackie unhooked her cloak, revealing her wings. "I'm not a… 'pretty little girl'… anymore…"

TJ put his arms around her, very gently. "You're fine. Look, you see? I got a piece of flint sticking out of my head. You think that's fun?"

Jackie touched the flint gently. "Why don't you get it taken out?"

"I can't. It was embedded into my skull when I left Hotel Valhalla last year or so. It only hurts when I try and take it out."

Jackie rubbed her finger over the flint's sharp edge. "Ow…"

TJ nodded. "Yeah. Why have you got wings, then?"

TJ felt a hand on his shoulder. "You'll find out tonight, if my video isn't tampered with again."

"Samirah!" Magnus, Mallory, Alex and Halfborn had entered the room too. "Were you seriously her Valkyrie?"

"Of course, Magnus. You expect me to pass by on someone else wearing a green scarf?"

Jackie rubbed the silk. "I hate you…"

Samirah turned to face her. "Pardon?"

"You were the one that brought me to this nut farm! I didn't ask to be here! Now, I'm sitting in a room with a Valkyrie, a Union soldier, a Norse Viking, a frizzy haired Gaelic and a couple of normal looking guys."

Alex raised his hand. "Actually, I'm gender-fluid and Magnus can talk to birds."

Jackie groaned. "I can't take this anymore!"

Her legs gave out, making her kneel down on the floor, her face in her hands and her wings drooping.

Samirah knelt beside her. "Magnus, do something!"

Magnus knelt beside Jackie and put his hand on her cheek, summoning the Power of Frey.

He saw into her past. Foster home after foster home, living on the streets, her battles to get to Camp Half-Blood, the truth of her past, defending New Rome, Dusk, Danny, absolutely everything she'd left behind.

"Maggie?" Alex's voice called. "You're finished."

Magnus pulled his hand away from Jackie. He was glowing, not that he cared. He stood up.

"I'm going for a walk."

Alex grabbed his shoulder before he could even take a step away. "No. You're going to talk to her."

"I'm going to call Annabeth to tell her that her friend is alright."

Now it was Samirah's turn to stare. "Wait… she's a Greek?"

"Probably best friends with Percy Jackson. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to call my cousin."

Annabeth burst into tears over the video call. "Magnus, you're lying! You have to be lying!"

"I'm not, I promise you. Annabeth, ask me anything about her. I'll answer correctly, I bet you."

Annabeth thought for a moment. "What is the colour of her eyes and the style of her hair?"

"She has amber eyes and her dark hair is done in hundreds of tiny braids and…"

Annabeth then started screaming. "Percy! THALIA! She's alive! SHE'S ALIVE!"

Two more faces appeared in the screen. A tall boy with green eyes and a shorter girl with short black hair.

"You're joking."

Annabeth shook her head. "Thalia, this is Magnus, the cousin from Boston I told you about? He says Jackie's in Valhalla with him."

Thalia scowled. "Why should I believe you two?"

Magnus grinned. "Black raven wings."

Thalia ran down the hill, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Annabeth smiled down at the video call. "Thanks Magnus. There will probably be a celebration tonight. Bye!"

"Bye, Annabeth." He said, ending the call.

He turned to the rest of the group. "They know she's alive."

Jackie sniffed, burying her face in TJ's shoulder. "What about Mom?"

Magnus put his hand on her shoulder. "Who's your mom?"

"Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt."

Mallory's pitiful expression faltered. "Isn't she meant to be a maiden?"

"Don't ask." Muttered Jackie, accepting TJ's embrace.

A siren sounded out in the halls. "There's dinner. Coming?" Called Alex, walking towards the door.

"Let me get changed first." Jackie grumbled, walking back towards her room.

She came out wearing a short white shirt (torn to allow her wings to fit) and her short black jacket.

"Let's go." She said, dragging TJ by the arm.

He grinned at Magnus. "She trusts me."

"I don't trust you. I just trust the others less, especially that one." She said, indicating Halfborn.

Floor 19 were some of the first to arrive, so grabbed good seats to watch the Valkyrie Vision videos.

Sam took Jackie to go sit at a different table, where other Valkyries had their new einherjar.

Jackie fidgeted in her seat. Her wings were folded tight against her back, but she was still scared someone might call her out on them.

The Thanes were soon seated, along with the other hundred-or-so einherjar. Helgi, the Hotel Manager, stood up to address the diners.

"Tonight, we must welcome three new einherjar to our ranks! Let us watch them in order, starting with, Katy Riggs, Washington!"

Katy had died during a fight while defending a group of kids during their escape from kidnappers. All the kids had survived, but she was shot.

The room was in uproar at her show of bravery, even though she wasn't related to the gods.

Her future was read. She would fight many battles in Valhalla, and have her legs and head cut off tomorrow.

The second was a tall boy called Angus Reed. He'd died in a fight between two local gangs while defending an injured friend and trying to break them up.

He was a son of Tyr and would rise to the Thanes table over the next 700 years. He would fight bravely at Ragnarok alongside his own father.

Next it was Jackie. She tried to refuse standing, but was dragged to her feet by Sam. Her green scarf caught some attention, but the statement from Helgi caught more eyes.

"Jacqueline Hunt, Daughter of… the Greek gods Hades and Artemis. Occupation, Hunter of Artemis, Camp Half-Blood camper and high schooler.

Place of death – Greece. Let' watch the video, shall we?"

Silence followed as the video played. It showed pretty much the entire battle. Samirah must have been proud.

Jackie swooped out of the clouds attacking Kampe head-on. The entire battle was shown, but it seemed more heroic than Jackie had anticipated. She looked gratefully at Samirah, who smiled back.

When it came to the scene where Jackie fell, half of the einherjar shut their eyes, frightened by the video.

The two figures hit the ground with a horrible crunch. The video then showed Artemis crying over her daughter's body.

Jackie cried out. "Mom!"

Thalia comforted Artemis as the video took a nose dive. The screens went black.

Helgi looked over at Jackie. "Her future shall now be told."

The seer stepped forward, scattering runes over the table in front of Jackie.

"Her near future is unclear, but she will fight bravely and selflessly at Ragnarok alongside Odin himself. She will rise among the ranks of the einherjar and rise, not to the Thanes table, but to the level of Head Valkyrie."

Jackie stared. "Is that allowed?"

Helgi nodded. "If Odin chooses you, then you become a Valkyrie, no questions asked."

Jackie nodded. She felt Samirah pat her on the shoulder. "It's okay to be scared."

Jackie sniffed. "What about Mom? How will she know I'm here?"

Helgi shook his head. "She will not."

Jackie sat down again. The Valkyries brought around the food, but she barely ate. The mead was pleasant enough, but she didn't feel like drinking it.

Magnus nudged Alex. "What's wrong with her? She's not eating!"

Alex looked over at Jackie. "If I'm not wrong, I'd say she's pining. You contacted Annabeth, right?"

"Yep."

"Well, all we got to do now is wait to see if her mom knows she's alright. Dead, but alright."

Magnus nodded, watching as Jackie stood up and walked out of the dining room.

"Should we follow her?" He asked, whispering to Alex.

"Whatever, I need the exercise." Alex said, standing up and following Magnus to the exit.

Jackie had taken one of the elevators to floor 19, so it was easy to work out where she'd gone.

Magnus knocked lightly on her door. "Jackie? You in there?"

The door opened a crack. "Go away."

Alex pried the door open a little further. "Jackie, there's a training battle, tomorrow morning straight after breakfast. It will be Thursday, so we'll be battling dragons. You coming?"

Jackie thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll be there."

Magnus smiled. "Okay. If you need anything, just ask."

Jackie nodded, then shut the door. What a crazy place.

She awoke the next morning to find Mallory poking her shoulder. "Do you mind, Mallory?"

Mallory smiled. "Up and at 'em, kid! I brought you some breakfast."

Jackie looked at what Mallory was offering her. An apple. She sighed. "Put it on the bed, then I'll take it."

Mallory looked confused, but did it anyway. "Why?"

Jackie picked up the apple and took a bite. "Giving someone an apple, either throwing it to them or just passing it, is proposing in ancient Greek."

Mallory nodded. "I'll meet you outside."

Jackie finished her breakfast and got dressed, her khopesh gripped tight in her hand. She looked at the mantelpiece and nearly dropped the khopesh on her foot.

In a frame, just sitting there, was a picture of her in the bridal gown with her mom beside her. It did look beautiful.

She took it down and traced her finger over the engraved ivory frame. A siren sounded outside, signalling everyone to the battlefield.

She put it back and raced to the door. She swapped her weapon from her khopesh to her axe, bow and arrows, deciding that they would work better against a dragon.

She opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Magnus and the rest of the gang were already outside.

"Nice axe." Halfborn said, examining her blade carefully. She snatched it away from him.

"No touching." She commanded, shifting her wings nervously.

Magnus led the group down the hall, towards the battlefield.

The dragons, were huge, aggressive and horrible. Pretty much on easy level.

"Watch out for the frills on their necks." Warned Alex. "They're full of poison."

Jackie hefted her bow. "Let's get it over with."

Halfborn charged straight at a dragon. Mallory rolled her eyes, drawing her knives and chasing after him. TJ ran over to a small hill and started to load his gun, aiming for a group of einherjar down the hill.

Magnus summoned Jack, the talking sword. "Senor! I heard you needed help!"

"Just go kill a dragon, Jack." Magnus said, rolling his eyes. Jack grumbled something about the new girl's bow and flew off, leaving Magnus to draw a standard Hotel Valhalla sword.

Jackie shrank back into the trees, curling her wings around her shoulders. Magnus called out to her. "You coming?"

Jackie nodded, Shadow Traveling directly under the dragon that was playing tug-of-war with Halfborn over Mallory. Halfborn was winning.

Jackie stabbed her boot knife into the dragon's chest through a chink in its armour. It roared in agony and went belly-up.

Jackie beat her wings and flew out from under the dragon, just in time to see it fall on a group of enemy einherjar.

Halfborn stared in awe at her. "How did you…?"

She smiled, then indicated the survivors from the squashed einherjar. "I'll tell you later, after you kill that lot."

Murderous light danced in Halfborn's eyes as he ran off to slaughter the enemies. Someone had ordered him to kill, which was an order he completed to the fullest.

Magnus ran over. "Jack! Did you see that?"

Jack's blade shone magenta and he swooped over to Jackie. "Can I have a date with your bow, please? She is gorgeous!"

Jackie grinned. "After the battle, tough guy. First, I need a favour."

"Anything!"

Jackie grabbed Jack's handle and threw him as hard as she could at another dragon. The beast crumpled over.

Jack flew back. "Cool! Do it again, do it again!"

She took his handle again. "Ready?"

"Sure!"

She threw him even harder, using her wings to gather momentum. He sailed through the air and stabbed three einherjar through the chests as he went.

Magnus rolled his eyes. "Jack! Come here!"

Jack flew over. "Senor? Why aren't you fighting?"

"Because there's nothing left to do here. Let's go."

Jackie landed next to him and ran alongside him to the next battle, which was in the middle of the shady forest. She grinned. "This is my territory."

She Shadow Travelled around the place, murdering einherjar like there was no tomorrow.

Magnus was decapitated while fighting a pair of berserkers. Jack flew to Jackie's side and helped her while trying to flirt with her bow, which she was using half the time.

Suddenly, pain shot through her chest. Someone had stabbed her from behind.

Jack screamed. "Senorita!"

She panted as she melted into darkness, dying.