Chapter 194
Nadia's POV
Nadia carefully balanced the last glass on the draining board, stepping back and rubbing her eyes tiredly. Only three days and two nights had passed since Valkyrie had left with Solomon but the loneliness was pressing on her despite moving into Aine's house. It was strange to not share her bed with her fiancée, it was strange living with people besides Valkyrie and the Dead Men, she desperately missed Laila, and it was so, so strange to have to refer to Aine as Crystal again.
"Are you doing alright, honey?" Beryl asked in a fake simpering voice.
"Yes, thank you," she said immediately, drying her hands and taking her ring off the kitchen windowsill. "Thank you for making dinner, it was really nice."
"Oh, that's fine," she said, waving the compliment away. "I'm glad someone liked it anyway."
Nadia had noticed how Carol and Fergus had barely touched their chicken salads. In truth, the meal was bland and needed something to liven it up. A creamy sauce would have turned it around, and some spice on the meat, and she didn't think Beryl had used a single grain of salt. Then again, the chicken was overcooked and dry, so perhaps it wouldn't have made a difference, and the lettuce seemed wilted. But she was hardly about to say that to her host. Aine had eaten half of hers before claiming she was full. Nadia would have done the same but Beryl just could not leave her alone, so she chose to keep eating.
She decided not to comment on it at all. "Would you like me to help you with anything else? I could make Fergus' lunch for work tomorrow if you like."
"No, no," Beryl said, going straight for the fridge. "You don't need to help around the house, I have it all under control. Say, did Stephanie call you today?"
"No," Nadia said shortly. "She's going to be out of range for a long time."
"That's a shame dear. Well, you're more than welcome to stay as long as you like."
Nadia nodded and left the kitchen without another word, rushing past the open living room door and heading up to Aine's tiny room, flopping onto the futon that had been set up into a bed for her.
Alone, she rubbed her temples tiredly. It was like when she'd been stupid enough to break up with Valkyrie, or the time she'd suffered a brain injury. Alone, cold, incomplete. She'd known Valkyrie since she was thirteen, they'd been as good as dating since the moment they met. It was hard for Nadia to be away from the woman she loved, especially when she was going to be having her eggs removed for their future babies any day, assuming it wasn't already done.
She felt she should be with Valkyrie for that. It was something couples stood by each other for. She couldn't help but imagine that something had gone wrong and there were no eggs and Valkyrie was crying about it because of how big of a deal Nadia had made of it all. She felt awful. She'd love Valkyrie, biological child or not. But she'd made a big deal out of it and now Valkyrie was getting her eggs removed alone and if anything wrong happened she would blame herself all because Nadia couldn't give her a break.
Nadia took a deep breath and counted to twenty, slowly letting the tension out of her body. She kept counting, feeling through every muscle, every part of her body, until she was totally relaxed and her mind was clear. It wasn't her fault or Valkyrie's if anything happened. They would come together and comfort each other when the time came. For now, she just had to remain strong and, more than anything, remain safe. That was all Valkyrie asked of her. To be safe and remember she loved her. Everything else was Valkyrie's choice because she was a capable, practically grown woman of outstanding intelligence and strength.
Feeling better for stopping herself from spiralling, Nadia sat herself up and reached into the wardrobe, pulling out a book on Symbol Magic. Even the books she currently had were stretching her understanding of the subject, which she had previously thought she was fairly familiar with. As it turned out, she was wrong and it was very hard. She had to have a renewed respect of China Sorrows, and usually she was somewhat wary of the woman. She was grateful for her advice and guidance so far.
Nadia read until Aine came up to bed, and then they changed and exchanged a few words before settling down. Tomorrow was her next counselling session, and in the afternoon she was going to study for her driving theory test.
Fiddling with her ring in Valkyrie's old shirt and shorts, she hoped Valkyrie knew she was thinking of her.
.*****.
Tanith's POV, same time
The phone buzzed excitedly on the floor where Tanith had dropped it. Laila, her beautiful, innocent baby, wailed frightfully from the sudden noise of the phone hitting the floor, not settling until her mouth had latched firmly on her mother's nipple. She didn't drink, having had a good feed only half an hour previously before she went down to sleep for the second half of the night, but it had been the only thing to calm her child recently, so Tanith spent more of her time in their room shirtless, talking and playing with Laila, letting her lay on her breast for comfort.
"It's okay honey, Mummy's got you," she whispered, keeping her voice from waking the men in the other rooms. "You don't have to be scared, I'm sorry for waking you with that noise. Mummy just got very angry with someone. When you're older, you'll understand. See, someone hurt your Aunty Val this morning and now Mummy needs to decide if she wants to stay with Daddy and your Uncles or if she should go and get revenge. And Mummy doesn't know which is better right now."
Laila looked up at her, cooing around her breast, one hand holding tightly to a lock of Tanith's hair. She had big, blue eyes and a small bit of blonde hair on her head, making her seem like the most innocent, cutest creature on the planet. A few tears were around her eyes but she had stopped crying and instead looking up at Tanith as if she understood the words. It was enough to make Tanith's mind up, despite the need to avenge her sisters' pain.
"Don't worry, baby. I won't leave you. I'll always be right here for you," she smiled.
.*****.
Valkyrie's POV, one week later
"Take my hand," Solomon whispered into the silence.
Valkyrie, trying to control her pants after their gruelling twelve-hour hike, put her tired, tingling hand in his. She'd have felt bad for being so sweaty and nasty, but he was the one that insisted on walking solidly with only a few hours' sleep and no food for four days straight.
He didn't tell her what he was doing so she watched him. He muttered words she couldn't pick up, holding his Necromancy cane tightly, and shadows wrapped around them from behind the trees and thorny undergrowth. She felt it wrap around her, felt her claustrophobia clawing at her gut, and squeezed his hand tightly.
Time went by, she wasn't sure how much, and then Solomon released a breath and the shadows disappeared, leaving them somewhere cooler than the Egyptian air they had just been standing in.
"Where are we?" She breathed, unwilling to break the silence. She got a moment of virago and put her hands on her head.
"Underground. We're still in Kharga, of course," he said, dropping her hand. "Norma and Helena are meeting us."
"Is anyone else here?" She asked.
"This is an old Temple, like the ones you learnt of when you came to stay at the Temple in Ireland," Solomon explained. Subtle blue light was filtering down from signals on the ceiling, but Valkyrie didn't know what any of them meant. "It's less of a Temple and more of a Sect really. A small place for a small number of specialist Necromancers devoting their lives like monks to their cause. This particular one is dedicated to some of the oldest Rituals we know of. It's a closely guarded secret that myself and Norma knew of from some past research we did on other projects, but Helena had to be granted special permission for. She's been here for the last six weeks, and Norma came a week ago to set up the facilities."
"Why are they getting it ready now if we're going to be here for a month or two? It's going to take ages to clear my head," she said seriously.
"There are many parts to a Ritual, Valkyrie, not just one magic spell. True, ancient Rituals take weeks. Magic Keeping, thankfully, is relatively simple and was performed relatively recently in sorcerer times. That is, people here have actually performed several of them. Luckily for you, you are only needed for the final part. The rest is just creating and powering the signals," he explained. "It'll be painful and hard on your body, but you will be able to get through the pain. I know you can."
She smiled at the wall, trying to keep her mouth from twisting. "I don't have a choice, really. With the 'All Power Capacity', thingy. Which really, really needs a new name."
"It does. It's called the 'Toute la capacité de puissance'."
"Yeah, but that's just the same words in a different language. It's still stupid," she argued.
"I suppose," he sniffed, getting a small huff out of her. "What do you suggest? I'm sure Norma would love your input for her life's work."
"I don't know. Just as long as she doesn't call it 'The Magic Sucker Three-Thousand' I'm sure anything else would be fine," she rolled her eyes.
He huffed a laugh this time. "How about the Magicae Furem Device?"
"Magic-a Fur-em? Is that Gaelic?"
"No, it's Latin like its current name, and is pronounced magi-ka fo-yem. It means 'magic thief' and it represents what it does quite accurately. I saw it in Norma's notes."
Valkyrie considered it as they turned towards the sound of feet coming their way. "I like it."
Norma was on them quickly, having run to meet them, and gave them a bright smile that shone even in the dim, drab lighting. "It's so good to see you again Valkyrie! Solomon's been keeping me up to date on your progress. We should have you sorted out in just a few weeks!"
"That's good," she smiled back. "How's Helena?"
"Well. She's honoured to have been given the chance to work in this Sect. As am I, naturally."
Valkyrie hummed. "Solomon told me you thought of a new name for the All Power Capacity. Magicae Furem Device sounds pretty cool to me."
She shot Valkyrie a big grin. "Thank you, I just submitted it to the board as a rename. Since All Power Capacity sounds incredibly stupid and we know it is not the original, it should be an easy change."
Valkyrie nodded.
"How close do you think she is, Solomon?" Norma asked politely.
"Physically, Valkyrie is healthy, in good fitness and should be more than ready. Magically, she has improved significantly but I believe she has a way to go. Whether it is enough for the Ritual to take place or not, I am not certain," he said factually. Valkyrie listened as attentively as Norma, having no true idea of how far she really had to go before the Ritual could happen. "Mentally and emotionally, I am concerned."
"Ah," Norma nodded before smiling kindly at Valkyrie. "For someone your age, I wouldn't expect anything less. We'll work on it until you're ready."
Valkyrie nodded, somewhat uncomfortable but happy that Norma was willing to help her at all. They could all go to prison for having any part in helping her get a Magic Keeping Ritual. She was grateful for them.
Down in the deep bowels of the Sect, the dark tunnel opened into a cold, slightly brighter but still dim hall with high ceilings. They went up several steps and then had to stop as an elderly man and woman came forward to greet them.
They said something in another language, probably Egyptian considering where they were, unless there was a more local language she didn't know about, and Norma told them they had to clean and change. Both Valkyrie and Solomon stripped, Valkyrie keeping her eyes on the floor as she felt the embarrassment of being naked in front of strangers and Solomon, and then squealed when frozen water fell from the ceiling out of nowhere. Norma stood in front of Valkyrie, back to Solomon and looking at the ceiling to give her a sense of privacy from the strangers and told them to wash their bodies and hair with the water quickly.
Shivering violently, Valkyrie raised her head and used her hands to rub her body of the sweat, grime and dust of the last week. When she was done, she hugged herself closely and the water shut off. The man and woman she couldn't understand came forward and gave them towels and Valkyrie quickly dried herself with hers despite it being old and scratchy.
"Everyone wear's clothes to mark their position," Norma told them as they were handed new clothes. "Ours are grey, and those further up the ranks get darker uniforms."
Valkyrie nodded as she pulled hers on and left her old clothes in a puddle to follow the man, woman and Norma. None of them had shoes, but the floors from the shower onwards were flat and smooth, like the walls and ceilings. They were taken down a new tunnel to another large cave-like room which was filled with tables in rows, and off to the right was an open kitchen, and another smaller room with storage. No one was in there but themselves, but the man and woman took them over and gave them a plate that was already prepared, filled with food Valkyrie had never seen. She took it gratefully, her stomach growling, evoking a quiet laugh from Norma. Norma sat with them at one of the benches, but the man and woman stood and watched them eat the food with their hands from a distance like they were some strange creatures.
It was different to what she'd eaten before. But nothing introduced new flavours and textures to a person's diet more readily than being practically starved for a week. She had been taught how to eat with her hands at least, she'd have made a mess of herself otherwise, like she had when she learnt. She wasn't sure it was the thing done in this region of the world normally or not, but it went well with the incredibly minimalist living situation.
After that, they left the dining hall and went to another tunnel, which had a cleaning station in which they used on their hands and feet before following to the sleeping room. Rows of beds were set up, full of Necromancer's, all quietly sleeping apart from a handful of snorers. Valkyrie and Solomon were shown their beds at the very, very back, a few feet further away from the other beds, and were instructed to sleep through Norma who laid down on her own bed next to her sister.
It was silent after that. Some shuffling from the man and woman getting into their beds. No goodnights. Valkyrie was grateful, if a little perplexed, and fell into sleep quickly.
qeg
Remus Crux: I mean, I did kill off her three favourite and closest family members in the first three chapters, but I know what you mean! I let Val win almost every fight for a very long time. It's my style though, I come to fanfictions for happiness and fun, not drama and death, so it's nice for me to create wholesome moments for the characters. I know a lot of SP fans prefer the fighting though ;)
Lilly: Thank you, I like this too
