Valkyrie 107

Chapter 1

I thought I was ready to face the Afterlife Academy again but… maybe I was wrong. Being here was different. Scary. It brought back a whole host of memories from the last time I was here. When Ormslang painted the walls with my blood and tears. I thought I’d be excited to come back and reclaim my wings, my wounds, my pride. Var’s encouraging words had fuelled me on my way here but now that I was actually looking at the building, fear was creeping into my heart.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. Perhaps I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to make a big decision like this. Even though it had been a couple of months since the Midnight Ravens took over the school, the wounds were still fresh. They were healing around the edges but that didn’t mean anything. One mistake and I’d be ripped apart and torn open wider than before.

I should turn back.

No, I must do this. I was done being a victim, done being a passive bystander in the war while all my friends were out there risking their lives. It was time to make my final stand.

The cold wind brought a chill down my spine and I shivered, trying to block out the uncomfortable surroundings. I shuffled around in the bush I was hiding in, trying to get the twigs from poking out my eyes. I’d already lost my sight once, I did not want a repeat of that.

With my arms wrapped around me, I watched the school and the paths leading up to it. Any plans to just storm in was derailed by the arrival of the Ravens and the Elves they took prisoner. Now I had Sim and his people to consider too.

I rubbed my hands over my skin, trying to create some friction and warmth. I didn’t know how long I’d been sitting here in the bushes but it felt like an eternity already.

Just as I moved back, a twig snapped behind me. I turned to the noise but before I could figure out what made it, an arm reached around my head and a hand was pressed over my mouth.

I screamed into the palm of my attacker, no longer worried about making too much noise and being seen. If I drew some attention, perhaps that would scare this person away.

“Be quiet!” a voice hissed.

The familiar tone silenced me and I grew still, waiting for the other person to let go of me. The tension on my mouth lessened and I turned around, only to be met with a pale face and harrowed eyes.

“Flavia?” I frowned, processing the woman in front of me. Her usually pristine braid was frazzled and dirty, the blonde no longer visible. There were streaks of mud on her face and the usual shimmer in her eyes was dulled. I barely recognised her. “What are you doing here?”

“Shh.”

I lowered my voice, trying to get a grip on my surprise and confusion. “What are you doing here?”

She groaned softly and grabbed me by the arm. Without an explanation, she dragged me further into the shrubbery, away from the path and the school. Only when she deemed us at an appropriate distance, she spoke.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed, turning the question back on me. “I thought you were at the military base.”

you“And I thought you left to help Sim.”

Flavia released a soft sob. “I didn’t make it in time. I arrived just after the Ravens. I had to watch as they took advantage of the Rangers fighting themselves. They captured everyone… Killed so many more… There was nothing I could do but watch.”

There were silver streaks down her face, evidence that she’d cried at some point. She was no longer crying right now. Her voice was cold, detached. Like it happened to someone else. If I hadn’t known my friend, I would have mistaken for her not caring but she was here. She’d put everything on the line for Sim, there was no better proof that she cared.

“Why didn’t you come back for help?” I whispered, hearing the horror in my own voice.

“I was going to but I… I couldn’t leave. I kept hoping for an opportunity to free Sim so we could figure it out together. It never happened.” She gestured to the school, her voice bitter. “And now they’re in there. With him.”

him.“Ormslang,” I muttered. Just saying his name sent chills down my spine. Why did I ever fear Commander Folk more than him?

I stared at my friend, not sure how to process the state of her. I recognised the look in her eyes, I’d seen that enough in my own reflection.

In a pathetic attempt, I reached out and patted her shoulder. “We can do this.”

“What are the two of us going to do against a whole army of Ravens?”

“I don’t know but I came here just by myself and so did you. Now that we’re together, that’s already twice as many people and power.”

The slightest of smile appeared on Flavia’s face. “That’s one way to look at it. Very optimistic.”

“It must be Ryoko rubbing off on me,” I decided. The thought of her filled me with a flicker of warmth until I remembered how far away she was.

I could see the question in Flavia’s eyes but she was too polite to ask. That was how Wind Children did things. We minded our own business and kept intimate things intimate. People didn’t ask awkward questions and in return, they didn’t share uncomfortable stories either. An unspoken rule that we all lived by.

Except I didn’t want to.

“She couldn’t come. Ryoko,” I clarified, like it wasn’t obvious who I was talking about.

“Ah.”

“She, umm… She couldn’t walk away from her duty. I mean, I wouldn’t want her to. I admire that in her and if I made her come with me, I would have made her less of who she is,” I rambled on. “And of course, I wouldn’t want that. I love her just like she is. I just miss her and I wish she was here. But I know why she isn’t. I respect why she isn’t.”

Flavia nodded slowly. “You don’t have to explain.”

“No, I know. I just…” I stared at my friend, trying to find a way to put my thoughts into words. “I’ve never really understood duty the way she does. Or you.”

The blonde released a bitter laugh. “And yet… Here I am… Abandoned my post as Heir, my position in the army, my pride as a Valkyrie to save… an Elf.”

ElfI know she didn’t actually mean it but the way she said Elf brought shivers down my spine. Once, not that long ago, I spoke about others like that and hearing it was a painful reminder of my ignornace.

There was a little bite in my tone as I spoke. “He’s not an Elf, he’s Sim.”

Sim“There’s no honour in leaving your post,” Flavia muttered stubbornly.

“There’s no honour in leaving your friends behind either,” I snapped back.

She cast her gaze down, the frustration visible in her tight shoulders. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care about honour or pride. I just want him back.”

“And we will,” I said, sounding more confident than I felt. Small twigs cracked as I shifted my weight, trying to find a better position. “Somehow.”

“You got a plan?”

“Plan?”

Despite all the grime on her face, Flavia managed to raise an eyebrow. “You don’t have a plan.”

“I—”

A crackling sound came from behind us and Flavia pulled me into the dirt, her voice barely a whisper. “Shhhh.”

Pressed into the cold ground with the leaves of the bushes obstructing my view, I couldn’t make out what was going on or what made the sound. Just when I was about to pop back up, I found a little gap in the thick shrubbery and saw another group marching towards the school.

“More prisoners?” I whispered as I tried to get a good look at them.

“No… I think they’re…”

The people passed through a silver patch of moonlight, giving me a better view of what was going on. Just like with Sim, a handful of Ravens seemed littered throughout the group, escorting them along the path. While some of them had serious looks on their faces, I didn’t see any restraints. There weren’t as many Elf ears either, only a few. The group was much more diverse which could only mean one thing.

“New recruits,” I muttered.

Flavia and I exchanged a brief look and for a moment, it was like we could read each other’s mind. We nodded and a faint flicker of hope rose in my chest. Now there was a plan.