Have I told you guys how great you are? Well you are and I am so grateful for the kind words in the reviews. I am enjoying writing this as much as you are enjoying reading it. This chapter is extra long to make up for the previous chapter's shortness and should answer some questions. I was battling a very brief bought of writers block but have no fear, I will be updating soon because it seems to have passed. Many thanks to messedwithavalkyrie for suggestions that helped me get through it. Having said that, enjoy!
Tamsin looked around the table at everyone sitting with her. They were chatting and making jokes as usual. The Morrigan's derogatory term for them was the "happy sunshine gang" and it wasn't hard to see why. Even in the midst of what could turn out to be the hardest battle of their lives they still managed to smile and enjoy each other's company. At first it angered her and made her feel uncomfortable but now the Valkyrie wasn't sure she could live without it. Even in her misery she had found solace among this group. Her drinking hadn't just been about Bo, but all of them. The thought of betraying the first people she considered true friends in centuries had been eating her alive. Then to have Bo come out of nowhere and steal her heart was like the final blow. Now as she sat there watching them, Bo gripping her hand under the table, she knew it was time.
She cleared her throat to get everyone's attention and they quieted down, looking to her with expectant eyes. Then her story began...
My mother told me when I was born she knew I would grow up to be a Valkyrie. Even in the womb I was always moving about and giving her heart burn. She took it as a sign that I would be strong and willful and she was right. We lived in a small one room cabin in the woods of Norway, making a living through our farm and my mother's seamstress work during the winters. It wasn't much but it was clean, safe and ours. I was an only child so as I grew, I helped my mother with everything. She was young when she had me, only 15 but back then people didn't have extended lives so often they struck out on their own in their early teens. As I got older the closeness in age made us akin to friends, like best friends I guess you could say.
I never knew my father and my mother wouldn't speak of him. I often heard whispers among some of the towns folk that he was a mysterious figure who appeared one night and never returned, there was even talk that he was some sort of god. It wasn't unusual for their kind to visit earth and have relations with the women, sometimes consensual often by force. I tried talking to my mother about it but she would never answer me when I brought it up so eventually I stopped asking. Didn't matter anyway, she was my mother and my father and I was fine with that.
When I turned sixteen a local boy named Anskar asked my mother for my hand in marriage. She agreed to it despite my protest because he came from a good family and she no longer thought I should be a Valkyrie. She was the orphan of a family of warriors and was hoping to change my fate. Only virgins are permitted to be Valkyries. Once you become one you may do as you wish but they require the purity of one who has not known a man. So my mother knew if I was married and laid with my husband there would be no way I could become one of Odin's maidens. She wanted more to my life than battles and death and had I been older I would have understood that. Instead I was resentful and felt like she was trying to control me so the night before I was to wed I ran away .
I made my way across the country side to a great field that would be known in English as the place where the sun constantly shines. There was a special tree there that the sunlight always directly hit and it was there that one could be transported to Valhalla but only during this special ceremony since humans could not get there on their own. The ceremony was happening the very day I was supposed to be getting married, I took it as a sign. I was so excited and never thought twice about my decision not even years later when I learned that my mother had died not long after I left. The towns people whispered about that too and said she didn't die of illness but from a broken heart.
Once I reached Valhalla I was in training for five years being conditioned and this was before even receiving any of the perks like immortality. This is used as a way to weed out the weak and unworthy. Well I was neither and I made it to my five year mark with flying colors. The ceremony they have is in the garden of the goddess Ioun. She grants you an apple from her tree which is what gives us our immortality and also our strength. Despite the immortality we are given Valkyries are originally human so we must go through a life cycle, albeit an extended one. So every five hundred years our bodies eventually give out and we must be "reborn". This allows us to come back renewed, all the abuses of the past centuries erased. We retain the memories of the lives we lived but none of the emotional attachment to those memories.
After the immortality ceremony we go through another few years of training to learn how to hone our main ability which is to cast doubt and sway the tide of wars. I took to my job quickly and loved every aspect of it. Wherever Odin sent me I was ready and did my job well, I was one of his favorites. There is a myth that Valkyries are the daughters of Odin, we are not but he treats us like we are and we look to him like a father. Someone like me who never had that loved him dearly. A man who cared for me and was always quick to offer praise and advice, I soaked it up like a sponge. I never questioned his motives or what he asked of me, I just did what I was told. And for hundreds of years this was fine. Then I met him.
After 5 rebirths, Odin began trusting me with some of his most promising prospects. Mikhail Kuhne was the leader of a group that lived in a small village in Western Germany. His group had been fighting against a tyrant that lived on the opposite side of where their home was located for many years. Odin didn't normally choose warriors for his kingdom that fought in small and what he considered insignificant wars but something about Mikhail stood out. He took over as captain of the small army upon his father's death and was making inroads in the campaign to end the devastation against his people.
After observing him for some time Odin sent me in to investigate the situation further. It was my job to watch and observe then go back and let him know if Mikhail was worthy of his blessing. The first time I saw him was during a practice scrimmage between some of his men. I watched hidden behind some trees and was hypnotized by what I saw. Mikhail was tall, especially for that time, at least 6 feet. He had a head full of thick black hair and piercing gray eyes. His build was all muscle most likely from years of hard labor. He was strong as evidenced by the men he was flinging around as they playfully attempted to subdue him. I watched him for days, his interactions with his men and the people in his village. He was kind but stern, loving yet hard when he needed to be. It was obvious the people around him adored as well as respected him.
When it came time to report back to Odin I knew I was enamored with this man and desperately wanted to be his Valkyrie. It took everything in me to hide my feelings from Him because I knew the consequences. Valkyries are trained to be unfeeling and show no emotion. We are not meant to develop attachments outside of our sisters, elders and Odin. So I hid what was in my heart and convinced Odin that in fact Mikhail would make a great warrior for him one day and I was sent back.
I've heard that it is possible to know when you meet the person you are meant to be with and I believe it is true. I had a feeling my destiny and his were intertwined but I just didn't know how. After leaving Odin I went to Mikhail and made my presence known. He was grateful for the aid and together we destroyed the tyrant that had long held his people down. His army increased tenfold and he became the leader of his entire region. We gradually fell in love and while all of the women in his village longed to become his wife he only had eyes for me. But a warrior and Valkyrie cannot be man and wife so I made the ultimate sacrifice and became his shield maiden so that we could be together. Odin forbid it warning me that he saw something in Mikhail that no longer made him worthy for a place in Valhalla. In fact he had told me this shortly after I began working with him. But I couldn't see anything except the good man I knew Mikhail to be so I disobeyed Odin. He was not pleased but there was nothing he could do.
Once a Valkyrie is tied to a human that warrior is granted with a longer life and strength beyond anything a human could hope for. I was just happy we would have more time together. In the beginning we were fine, Mikhail continued to rule his people with a firm but kind hand and we were good. I was unable to have children but Mikhail didn't care, he said as long as we had each other that was enough. But it was a lie, all of it.
After 20 years I could see changes start to slowly creep into Mikhail's behavior. The kindness he was well known for started to shed and he became better known for his cruelty to anyone who crossed him. The territories he held were no longer enough and he started sending his army farther out to take over neighboring lands. I advised him against being greedy but he felt like as long as he had me no one could stop him. It was true, my abilities in battle were supernatural despite me no longer being an active Valkyrie. Invoking status as shield maiden allowed me to retain my abilities even though I was not directly linked to Odin. It is said this clause was implemented by Freya, the goddess of love and fertility but also the one who shares the souls of soldiers gathered by Valkyries with Odin. She believed that everyone, even Valkyries, were deserving of love and happiness so she felt if a Valkyrie found someone worthy it was their right to choose their love or their duty.
Mikhail began to drink and I found myself becoming fearful of him. He never laid a hand on me but his anger could cause him to be so hateful towards me that his words might as well have been fists. But no matter how horrid he was I stuck by him. A Valkyrie's love runs deep and wide which is why becoming a shield maiden is so serious. You bind yourself to someone else and there is no way to break it. You would die with that person's hands around your throat choking the life out of you and still the love would never end. A cruel addendum by Odin to make any Valkyrie rethink making the choice.
I believed that Mikhail was still a good man deep down. So when children started appearing in the village that bore his likeness, I ignored it. When screams of agony could be heard coming from the distance in an area I was told he used as a torture chamber, I pretended I didn't hear. When his cruel remarks cut too deep and I thought I was going to break, I took it out on those we battled against. And so we existed like this for many years. I say exist because one cannot live in such a miserable environment. You merely go on because it is the only thing you can do.
Our final fight was after the raid of the last village he hadn't yet conquered. I was trying to convince him to allow the leader and his family to live. They were kind people who had easily surrendered to Mikhail's might. But he no longer had need for kindness or goodwill to get what he wanted so instead he wished to incite fear and respect by killing them in the public square. I refused to participate in the act and he looked at me with utter disgust and rage then proceeded to hit me across the face. As I wiped the blood from my mouth and looked into his eyes I knew then that he did not love me, perhaps never had. I was just a means to an end like everything he had been doing over the years.
That night I made my way to a temple dedicated to Odin and prayed to him so that he would come to me. He did and I begged his forgiveness for not doing as he asked. He told me that the only way to break the bond between Mikhail and I was to kill him thereby severing the love tie. I reluctantly agreed and made my way back home. Music was being played and everyone was partying in the village. There were fires burning in the square and I could see the bodies of the family he had put up on stakes that were burning too. I felt ill as I bypassed them, pushing the drunken revelers out of my way. As I closed in on my home I saw one of the village women leaving my place, fixing her gown as she attempted to hide in the shadows. I left her alone, my fury affixed to one target.
I knew Mikhail was paranoid so I had to figure out a way to get him when he was most vulnerable. I found him in the kitchen half clothed and throwing back mead. I offered to draw him a bath and though he looked suspicious he agreed to it. I bathed him and fed him more drink as he assailed me with stories I had heard a million times of his youth. Then we retired to bed and even though it turned my stomach that he had been with someone earlier I made love to him knowing that he would be most relaxed after. As he laid snoring beside me I found the dagger I kept hidden and strapped underneath our bed and crept to his side of the bed. During sleep was probably the only time her ever looked at peace anymore. As I raised my arms his eyes snapped open, illuminated by the moonlight. For a moment he looked like the man I had fallen in love with and I hesitated but then he sneered at me. And I knew then he believed I could never do it, he was counting on my love to keep me bound to him, possibly forever. I knew I couldn't let him live. I plunged the dagger deep into his chest and watched as blood spilled from his mouth. It looked like black mud in the light of the moon. I backed away from his body and suddenly felt someone behind me. I knew who it was without looking. Odin enfolded me in his arms and took me back to Valhalla.
I wasn't back home long before I knew something was different. I thought I would readily be accepted back into the fold but I soon learned that the anger of gods is not something to be trifled with. Odin accepted me back because he had to but he did not have to allow me to continue my Valkyrie duties. So instead I was forced to serve fallen soldiers in the great halls of Valhalla morning, noon and night. Drink, food whatever they wanted. I said nothing and worked hoping to win his favor again. But there was someone who now had Odin's ear and he was not to be trusted. His name was Danielus, a god of the old world he hailed from the realm known as Vanaheim. There are nine worlds in my realm and Vanaheim is home to gods that existed even before Odin and those who rule with him. The only one from this world we ever knew of was Njord, father of Freya, who came with his children after a great war in his land. According to him no one else survived but Danielus appeared one day claiming he was able to use magic to free himself after centuries. Magic and sorcery are the gifts these gods possess and his skill was such that Odin saw him as an asset.
By the time I arrived back, Danielus was head of Odin's council. I didn't care for him but many were in awe of his skills. My dislike was warranted when Danielus convinced Odin to make an example of me so that other Valkyrie would be less likely to make the choice I had. I was imprisoned underneath Valhalla in the rarely used dungeons and only allowed out to serve in the hall. It was a hateful existence that lasted for decades.
I can't say I was surprised when I learned of Danielus's dismissal by Odin. It was discovered that he was using his powers to influence other members of the council and even to win wars against those that Odin wanted to succeed. Danielus wanted to replace Odin as ruler in Asgard so he was banished, where I never knew. He was a dangerous man because he had the ability to not only control thoughts but also manipulate people's minds. He could do something he called harvesting in which he would bring forth a person's true potential. It is said that human's only use 20% of their brain power but this is also true of those with supernatural abilities. There is always more we are capable of and he is able to unlock that potential and make it a reality. It's a gift and a curse depending on what is being brought forth.
After his dismissal from Odin's court I sought an audience with Odin hoping to find him more pleasant in the absence of Danielus's evil presence. I was wrong, my imprisonment and enslavement weren't enough of a punishment for him so he sent me to earth. He felt if I spent time down here I would learn how good I really had it and truly regret what I had done. He knew that my rebirth would be coming up soon and I think he wanted me to live out the end of my life in the cruelest way possible. Up until recently he was right. I've been alone, angry and miserable for much longer than I can remember being happy in this lifetime. But now I realize it was really a gift. I've rediscovered myself more here than I ever could have at home.
Tamsin finally stopped speaking and looked around the table. Everyone was staring at her with the same shocked expressions on their faces. Kenzi was the first to speak.
"Girl you are over 2,000 years old? Someone, please give this woman a drink pronto."
The comment broke the tension and Tamsin could feel everyone visibly relax. Trick got up and went to the bar. Bo squeezed Tamsin's hand, she had yet to let it go.
"Are you ok?" Bo said looking concerned.
"I've never shared that story. No one knows it except other Valkyries and I'm pretty sure it's used as a cautionary tale," Tamsin said looking down.
"You're no one's cautionary tale, you're a big bad Valkyrie," Bo said grinning and lifting her chin. "My big bad Valkyrie."
Tamsin started to talk when the door to the Dal slammed open. A large man entered wearing all black. His face was hidden by some sort of scarf and all that could be seen were his eyes that looked like pools of black. The gang tensed up as Bo, Dyson and Hale all got out from the table and stood ready to fight. The man held his hand out and removed a card from his pocket.
"I am here with an invitation for one Bo Dennis," the man said holding the card out in front of him.
Bo moved forward and took the card from his hand. She flipped it over but looked confused. The man exited the Dal and Bo shouted after him.
"Hey, its blank."
Trick walked over and took hold of the card, "It was probably done with a special ink so it could only be seen by the recipient. Wait right here, I have just the thing to view it."
Trick made his way downstairs and Bo walked back over to the table.
"Well that was weird," she said plopping back down into her chair.
"I must admit Tams, I was wrong. Your story was way better than Friday the 13th," Kenzi said with a grin.
"I do have a question though," Lauren said.
"Just one?" Hale said with a laugh.
"If you had completed your mission and brought Bo in he would have accepted you back, but why employ you for the task if he was able to take her without you?"
"I think it was a test, one that I failed miserably," Tamsin said with a bitter laugh. "He wanted to see if I had finally been broken, willing to do whatever he asked without question. Looks like I'm way more stubborn than he anticipated."
"Okay, here is the liquid," Trick said bring a vial to the table. "Bo, I just need you to nick your finger and drop some blood inside of this."
He handed her a knife and Bo proceeded to do as he asked.
"Why do you have to use my blood?" she asked sticking the cut finger into her mouth.
"It's the only way the ink will become visible. This is a very ancient magic tool used to ensure a message will not be read by anyone but the recipient."
"Hmm, who knew that something could be both gross and cool at the same time," Kenzi said leaning over to watch as Trick poured the liquid on the letter.
Dyson got up and signaled to Tamsin to walk with him. She followed him to the side of the bar.
"Are you doing okay?" He asked.
"I'm fine partner, great actually. I was expecting way more disgust from you guys," Tamsin said with a smirk.
"Listen, we know you're a good person. You did what you had to, we've all been there. What I want to know is when are we going to deal with this blood thing and Bo?"
"Soon, I just need to find out something..."
"Soon is not quick enough. Every minute you have her blood inside of you is one more minute you are close to being fully enthralled. It's not a chance we can take," Dyson said trying to maintain a whisper.
"Hey guys, get over here," Hale yelled out.
"Trust me D, I'm going to handle it. Just let me talk to Bo first," Tamsin said.
"Fine, but this needs to be dealt with," Dyson said as he walked over.
Tamsin followed and saw that the invite was now visible and written in calligraphy.
Bo began reading it out loud, "Bo Dennis, daughter of Odin, you have been invited to attend a masquerade ball in honor of your homecoming. You may bring one guest."
"Wow, a masquerade ball with gods must be really awesome I'm guessing," Kenzi said grabbing the invite from Bo's hand and rereading it.
"Well, I've never been one to turn down a party invite. You up to partying with me?" Bo asked turning to Tamsin.
"Did you not just hear that story I told you? Odin would never let me into Asgard, as your guest or not."
"Baby, it's okay ," Bo said reaching to grab Tamsin's hand. "You'll be safe with me."
Tamsin yanked her hand back, "Why don't you care about the story I just told you, about Mikhail? You cry over road kill beside your house but the woman you are involved with tells you she murdered the love of her life and you don't react? "
"I don't know what you mean, I.."
"You knew about him already didn't you?"
Everyone quieted and looked at the two women as they faced each other. Bo's raised her hand and suddenly everything stopped. The ticking clock above their heads, Kenzi's gum popping, any movement from the gang. Startled Tamsin realized Bo had frozen everything and everyone in the room.
"Another neat little trick I learned. Got a few of them," Bo said stepping back. "They can't hear what I am about to say to you," she said pointing to the group.
"What's happening ?" Tamsin said hearing her voice crack.
"I am becoming something so much more than I was Tamsin and I want you to be with me as it occurs. We could do so much together," Bo said stepping forward and grabbing Tamsin's hands.
"Is that why you shared your blood with me? So that I would be with you?"
"No," Bo said dropping her hands. "I did that to save you. Odin wanted you dead or tortured and the only way I could convince him to leave you alone was to enthrall you. He believed it would be the only way to control you."
"Control me, like a goddamn puppet?" Tamsin said her voice rising.
"No, of course not. I had a feeling it wouldn't change you and I was right. When I came back you seemed different but happy. Your behavior wasn't like Ryan when he was enthralled. I figured your Valkyrie spirit was stronger and maybe you were immune somehow so I didn't say anything."
"And now?"
"Now you're asking too many questions and He knows about it. I tried to stop you from going back to Valhalla, even sent those two Valkyries after you."
"You sent Herja and Roma, the two Valkyries I hate the most to watch me? Then why did they try to kill me?" Tamsin said moving her shirt so Bo could see the bruising underneath.
Bo touched the bruise and sent some of pulses of energy into Tamsin's body. The Valkyrie could feel her senses tingling as she became aroused, then Bo moved her hand away. The bruise was gone.
"They weren't supposed to and I had no idea you hated them. They were who father chose to be my guardians."
"On purpose no doubt," Tamsin said moving back until she hit a bar stool. "How did you do that? Let me guess, another new trick you learned?"
"Danielus isn't as bad as you think. He's taught me so much," Bo said stepping closer to Tamsin. "He can teach you too."
"I want no part of this Bo and you shouldn't either. Nothing good can come from what you're doing."
"I know you're scared that I'll become like Mikhail. But he was weak and human, he couldn't handle the power he gained. I can."
"Pride always comes before the fall Bo."
The succubus closed the distance between them and looked deep into Tamsin's eyes. She leaned in and despite fighting with every fiber in her being the Valkyrie found herself leaning forward and pressing their lips together. It felt soft and loving just like the first time they kissed. By the time Bo began taking her chi Tamsin was in a daze and had no strength to fight her. She could feel herself getting sleepy the more Bo took and as she closed her eyes and drifted into darkness she heard Bo say one last thing. Forgive me...