Time Magic Page 12

  “She keeps looking over at us. I think she can see us.”

  That was impossible—or it should be. I faced the woman, not caring about Gus’s idea to stay covert. If she could see us, we had other problems.

  She was young, in her mid-twenties, with long, wavy, brown hair and a creamy, light brown complexion.

  I huffed. “Are you sure she’s staring at us, or are you just staring at her?”

  The woman was wearing a short skirt that showed off a pair of shapely, toned legs.

  “I’m not.”

  He actually sounded offended that I’d make that inference. I couldn’t figure him out.

  Before I could question it further, the woman met my stare and smiled. A wide, knowing smile that formed ice on my spine.

  When the train made its next stop, our eye contact remained locked. She gestured in an ‘after you’ motion to the open doors in the center of the car.

  We hadn’t escaped the demon, he’d just changed forms.

  “Come on.”

  I stood and Gus followed. We walked, resigned, to the open door.

  We needed no signals or plan . . . as soon as we hit the subway platform, we bolted for the stairs. Seconds later, the heavy footsteps running behind us told us all we needed to know.

  The fresh, early morning air was a welcome advantage to the stuffiness of being trapped inside the train. My lungs were already burning from the sprint up the stairs, and my headache roared with a vengeance. Gus stayed stalwart at my side, his grip strong and sure.

  Hesitating for a heartbeat to get our bearings, we tore off in the direction of midtown. Before we even got to the corner, a screech rang through the air over our heads.

  The demon was back in hawk form.

  It dove, and Gus whipped us around a corner. We pushed ourselves harder, trying to find some cover.

  The hawk flew overhead, screeching occasionally and swooping in and out among the hanging signs and balconies of the buildings around us. When we neared another corner, Gus pointed his hand to the left.

  As soon as we turned, I saw what he already knew. A giant archway was at the end of the street, leading to a park full of trees for cover. I enjoyed having someone with me in this fight who was familiar with the city, I had to admit.

  I peeked to the skies and noticed the hawk make a swooping, casual turn around the corner, following us. It was too easy, as if the demon wanted us to go to the park. Thoughts swirled in my head as we passed under the arch and darted for the nearest cluster of trees. We stopped at the base of a large oak, huffing from the exertion—I was, anyway.

  “What is the point of this?” Gus asked. “Why does he want us here, in the park?”

  So he’d noticed too. I’d hoped I was wrong. The demon had led us here, but for what I couldn’t guess.

  “I don’t know. Where are we?”

  “This is Wellington Park. Does that mean anything?”

  “No, I’ve never been here.”

  Though we were in the middle of the city, it was quiet in the early hours before the sun came up. I felt as if we were in the middle of a glen, not a metropolis.

  Then I saw them.

  “Gus, we’re in trouble.”

  “What? What is it?”

  He snapped his head in both directions and up into the trees, looking for danger. But the threat came from below.

  Rising through the grass were the ghostly figures of draugar—shape-shifting, undead spirits. They came out at night, when someone dared disturb their rest or their treasure.

  Whatever peaceful place this park was now, in the past it must have been a burial ground . . . and the demon giant had known. He’d herded us here like sheep to let the draugar do his work.

  “Run,” I screamed and yanked on Gus’s arm, at the same time as he finally saw the zombie-like creatures.

  We took off as fast as we could, back the way we came, but stopped short at the sight of the demon standing smiling under the archway.

  There had to be other ways out of this park.

  If there were, I didn’t see them, and we were out of time. Draugar were rising in all directions.

  17

  I’d never faced such beings as these, and had barely ever heard the stories beyond drunken tales in the late hours of the feast hall.

  According to legend, they were those who’d been buried underground, and either couldn’t enter one of the halls of afterlife, or refused to because they still had unfinished business in the human realm.

  They were corporeal in form, but, being undead, they could obviously see Gus and I in our ethereal forms.

  They came at us in a slow, steady pace. Some emitted a low hum, as if singing with delight. Ghostly white with graying pieces of flesh hanging from their faces and bodies, they wore tattered clothing, but their eyes were clear and intelligent. They knew who we were, or what perhaps, and were excited to attack us.

  “Let us have the human, and we’ll let you go, Valkyrie,” an eerie voice sang out from the gathering crowd.

  Great. They were fully functioning, thinking beings. This could get dreadful.

  “Do you have any weapons hidden in that outfit of yours?” Gus asked.

  “A dagger and a knife. Do you have a preference?”

  “I’m not skilled in either, so pick one for me.”

  I hated the idea that we’d have to allow the creatures to come in close before we engaged, but there wasn’t much point in fighting them if I let go of Gus to fly at them from above.

  “Take the dagger. Swing it around, and you’re bound to hit something. It’s in the sheath on my back.”

  Gus leaned back and spent a half a second too long lingering a bit too low, if I wasn’t mistaken.

  “I don’t see it.”

  I snorted as I grabbed my knife from the sheath on my thigh. “It’s under my hair.” I tipped my head down while keeping my eyes on the encroaching draugar.

  Gus reached awkwardly across his body and slipped the dagger into his hand, making an embarrassed huff as he did.

  “Do you need to switch sides to use your sword hand?” My training commander had ensured we were ambidextrous in weapon use, but I needed to make sure Gus was as capable as possible. We only had about three more steps before we’d see action.

  “I’m left-handed.”

  Good to know. “Perfect. Stand back to back so we don’t get ambushed.”

  Gus shifted behind me in time for the first draugar to lunge. I managed to slice its neck, and it stumbled to its knees. No blood spurted from it, and as another lunged forward, I saw the first one rise again to its feet.

  “This isn’t working, Niasa! I sliced off an arm, and it only made the scumbag stumble. Then came at me again. What are these things? Can’t they die?”

  “They’re draugar and they are dead,” I grunted, as I kicked out and sent one body flying into several others.

  Gus growled, and I turned my head his way. There were blood splatters on my shoulder, and I knew it could only be his.

  This wasn’t going to end well.

  More draugar approached in the distance, and we weren’t even able to hold off the few in front of us. Our only hope would be for me to fly us away and hope we could get enough of a lead on the demon before he returned to hawk form.

  Except I could feel myself weakening with every swing of the knife.

  “Gus, hold on, I’m getting us out of here.”

  I didn’t give him time to respond before I spun sideways to allow room for my wings to expand, and then launched us into the air.

  My chest heaved and my vision darkened, but I managed to stay aloft. Gus was flopping around at the end of my arm, apparently trying to rip it from the socket.

  “Stop squirming!”

  “I’m still a little busy here!” he called through gritted teeth.

  Glancing down, I saw a draugar with its arms wrapped around Gus’s legs, trying to climb higher. Gus swung the dagger, wildly trying to knock the thing away. I knew I had t
o find a way to help him.

  A round dish structure on the top of a building came into view, and I headed for it.

  “Brace yourself.”

  I didn’t have too much time to warn him before they both slammed against the side. I’d tried to hit mostly undead body, but from Gus’s grunt, he’d taken part of the hit too.

  I was sure he’d be fine.

  The edge of the dish knocked off one of the draugar’s legs and cut into its side, causing it to lose its grip and fall away. I gave a hard push to my wings and flew us toward the direction Gus had said the library was in, hoping to find a nice place to land so we could finish the journey on foot.

  The angry hawk that screeched behind me changed my plan.

  “Go faster, it’s coming,” Gus cried out.

  Obviously.

  But as hard as I tried, I lost speed. Each flap of my wings gathered less air than the one before. We weren’t high enough to find a current to help me, and the demon was closing in fast.

  Then I had an idea.

  With a grunt, I hauled Gus higher up my body, and he wrapped his free arm around my waist. I hadn’t realized when I’d done it that we’d be face to face and uncomfortably close, but I couldn’t yell the plan down to him, it would have wasted too much time, so we’d just have to deal with the awkwardness.

  “Wrap your other arm around me so you can use the dagger.”

  At least that helped, and Gus had no problem holding himself against me with one arm.

  One very strong arm . . .

  I needed to focus.

  “I’m going to slow down and let the hawk get close. If you can slash any part of him—damage a wing, cut him somewhere, anywhere—he should lose the use of the cloak.”

  “Then he won’t be able to fly?”

  I nodded. The effort of keeping Gus higher in the air, talking, and flying was taking a toll on me.

  Ignoring Gus and the demon, I focused on pulling out every bit of energy I had.

  One thing about demons I knew, they charged into a fight without thought. Just like giants, it was all about brute strength for them. That strategy was the whole reason I’d tried to create a thinking army.

  This was a chance for me to test that theory on a small scale.

  The demon came right at us, as expected. But what I didn’t foresee were the outstretched talons slicing through part of my wing. We were thrown off-kilter, tilted awkwardly, until I could grit my teeth and fight through the pain. My vision blurred and darkened around the edges.

  We needed to get this over with before I crashed.

  Once more, the bird attacked. Just as it stretched to swipe at me again, I slammed my wings closed behind me, and Gus managed to pierce the giant’s side. He sliced the dagger sideways before he pulled it out, leaving a nice long gash. With an ear-splitting screech that turned into a roar, the hawk cloak disappeared and the demon plummeted to the ground.

  I unfurled my wings and screamed with the effort of heaving us forward. Seconds later, we watched as the center grassy area of another park came at us a little too fast. I did the best I could to slow our fall, but I was spent. Gus rolled toward me and I tucked in my wings as we landed. Thankfully, we were both athletic enough that, as we tumbled to a stop, we didn’t let go of each other.

  “Niasa, are you all right?” Gus propped himself up next to me and brushed my hair off my face as I lay on my back. His arm was pinned under me—I could feel it, otherwise I’d have questioned why he was hovering so close to my face.

  “I’m fine. Sit up.”

  I wasn’t fine. If we had to do anything like that again, we would die . . . Which meant I wasn’t sure how I was going to get us back to Valhalla when, or if, we found the information we needed to keep me out of a trial.

  I landed in a grassy area behind the library we’d been to earlier. Thankfully, we wouldn’t have to wait long for it to open. Neither of us wanted to be in a park just then, so we headed toward Grand Central Station. It was always accessible, and there would be benches where I could rest.

  I groaned as we passed a coffee shop opening for the day. The warm, nutty smells wafted from the door when a man stepped outside to set a sign on the sidewalk.

  “I would love a large coffee right now,” I said, more to myself than to Gus.

  “It’s not possible though, right?”

  I glared at him, then realized he was asking a genuine question.

  “No. We don’t need to eat in this form.”

  “Ever?”

  “No, there’s no need. Why?”

  “I just realized how much I’m going to miss a good steak. You mentioned a feast hall, so I thought . . . nevermind.”

  I had to chuckle, but I understood his concern. It would be awful if I couldn’t get a maple scone or coffee ever again.

  “Don’t worry yourself. There’s food for us in Valhalla, and I’ll make sure you’re properly fed once we make it there.”

  “Good to know.”

  The information didn’t seem to settle his worries as much as I thought it would. “What else is bothering you?”

  Gus looked at me sidelong and then went back to studying the sidewalk as we strolled toward the station. “What will happen when we arrive in Valhalla?”

  “I’m not sure. Hopefully we’ll be able to find a place for you to stay for a while before going to the induction hall and the battlefield. I’d like to find a way for you to train the others in strategy and tactics.”

  “But, what happens?”

  I stopped walking and stared at him. “What do you mean?”

  “What happens to me, my body—my mind?”

  Oh.

  That was a good question, and one that didn’t have an answer. At least, not from me. I’d never watched what happened to the men who arrived, or learned what the procedure was for one to transform into an einherjar. It wasn’t part of my job.

  “I don’t know.” I was embarrassed to admit it, and didn’t like the feeling.

  Gus became silent. Even his hand grew cold in mine. Suddenly I wished there was a way to stay in Midgard and survive.

  I was having a hard time keeping my thoughts straight. How many assignments had I been on? I couldn’t even remember, but I’d always made sure every one of the men had made it to the regenerators.

  As if that was supposed to make it better. How had I never cared to know what happened to them?

  “Niasa . . .” Gus trailed off, his voice just a whisper, and I couldn’t look at him.

  I knew he was disappointed in me. It even felt like he wanted to let go.

  “I know you’re upset, but you have to hold on. You’ll have some personal space once we find out what’s going on and can go home.”

  Gus stopped walking. Rather, he stumbled to his knees.

  “Gus!”

  I knelt beside him as his chin drooped to his chest and wobbled. He started to fall sideways, and I caught him around the shoulders as my butt landed on the concrete.

  “Talk to me! What’s wrong?”

  His eyes were closed and his head lolled against me. The arm I’d wrapped around his torso was warm . . . and wet.

  18

  I knew I could be injured in ethereal form, but I didn’t realize Gus could. A slash along his side dripped blood over my arm as evidence of my ignorance.

  This couldn’t happen. If I let him die, I’d ruin everything. There would be no excuse for my actions and no hope for my future—not to mention Gus’s life would have been sacrificed for nothing. I had to help him.

  The question was, how?

  It was rare, but there were times that a Valkyrie who rushed too close to a battle could be wounded. In those instances, she would be attended to by another from the sisterhood. I’d never seen it done, but I knew how to do it.

  Though would it work for Gus? I didn’t know, but I didn’t have a choice, I had to try.

  “I’m so sorry about this, Gus.” Please let this work.

  I slid my knife out f
rom my thigh sheath and pulled Gus closer to me so that I could use my arm that was closest to his wound. It was awkward, and my core muscles shook with the strain of holding both of us upright as I leaned back.

  I didn’t dare administer a drop of the tsori from my finger. It would give him a chance to recover without pain, but I had no idea how long I could stay conscious enough to watch over him. Not to mention that I didn’t know how to do it, and too big of dose would be disastrous.

  With a swift motion that I didn’t give myself time to think about, I sliced a line down my forearm. Allowing the blood to flow from me, I sat up and leaned Gus against my arm, forcing our blood to mix together. If it worked the way it did for my sisters, it would clot his wound and seal the gash.

  More and more people were beginning to hustle down the sidewalk around us. It would have taken greater energy than I could spare to move out of the way, so I ignored the gasps and confused looks from several people who felt our presence and shivered at the unknown sensation.

  I didn’t dare move my arm, either. It wasn’t until I felt myself becoming woozy that I noticed our blood had stopped dripping. Slower than I’d hoped, the gash in Gus’s side had begun to close. Mine closed along with his, and just in time, too, or I’d have had to cut myself again—something I would have done gladly rather than let him slip away.

  There wasn’t any way for me to know how long we sat there. I tried not to think about it, as my shoulders screamed from the effort of holding Gus’s weight. I knew my arm no longer provided him any healing powers, but I didn’t dare move. Not until his eyelids started to flutter.

  “Gus,” I whispered, “can you hear me?” Worry choked my words.

  He groaned, and I squeezed my eyes, allowing two tears to sneak past my lashes. Relief flooded through me.

  When he opened his eyes, they were brighter than usual, which startled me. The icy blue was almost crystalline, and the dark ring around the edges more pronounced. As he stared, the effect faded slowly, and I breathed easier.

  “Hi.” His voice sounded rough. It rumbled through me.

  “That was rude.”

  He’d scared me, but I wasn’t about to admit how much.