Valkyrie
The sun woke Jorn and Aitna before it broke over the hill to the east. They spent a few minutes rubbing against each other playfully, but quickly remembered their goal, and the reality of their situation. Jigount would show up soon and would be unrestrained by polite convention. He was sure to come unhinged at what he found in the chambers below.
They wiped each other’s naked bodies down with sponges left for them in a glass basin they found near the door. Afterward the pair dressed and descended the grand staircase, crossed the entryway and entered the dining hall. Jorn smiled in amusement thinking that he had been in a space this big so many times, but then it had been filled with the acrid smell of ground garbanzo beans and nearly-rancid oil. Aitna saw his smile.
“What’s got you smiling so big, Jorn?” He smiled bigger, thinking of how he enjoyed the playful lilt in her voice when she would say his name, almost like it was a song coming from her lips.
“I was thinking about how different things were for me a week ago. I was so scared of everything. Now, just look at this place. I’m here — with you. It’s all so amazing that I could die today and,” he paused to swallow hard. “I know how lucky I am to live this life, even just for a minute.” He sighed when he finished.
“I know what you mean. I didn’t know if I would ever get to be in my own body again, and all this has worked out so amazingly.” She paused as they reached the breakfast laid out on the banquet table at the far end of the room to grab a plate of fresh fruit. “Now, no talking about death. You won’t be dying today.”
They silently ate fruits and pastries until they heard the clacking of metal-toed shoes and a steel-tipped cane on the polished stone floor, along with the exaggerated thud of synchronized boots. Aitna touched Jorn’s left hand where the ring sat on his index finger. They turned around casually to greet Jigount who was walking quickly toward them across the enormous hall.
“Good Morning, Jigount! There’s a wonderful tray of fruits here. Can I make you a plate?”
“You think you’re so smart, don’t you, boy?” There was still a half a pitch between them, but the gap was closing fast.
“Who, him?” Aitna couldn’t wait to get in on the banter. “Oh he’s not the smart one here. That’s me.”
“Wait,” Jorn said. “I thought you were the beautiful one, and I was the smart one.”
“No-no-no. I mean yes, I am the beautiful one, but you’re the strong one, remember?”
“Well I suppose I can live with that.”
“And the sexy one. Definitely the sexy one.” Aitna winked at him and glanced at the ring again to make sure he remembered to use it.
“Now hold on!” Jorn was looking in her direction but keeping his advancing foe in peripheral vision. “You have that little crease right where your hip meets your tummy, and I can’t see how you’re not the sexy one. What else could I be?”
“Cunning, my love. Cunning.” Aitna flashed her gaze at Jorn.
Jigount closed the last three meters quickly and with his cane in his left hand. At the last second he grabbed the head and pulled a long, skinny sword out of it. In one smooth motion he swiped at Jorn’s ear. As the sword was about to sever his jugular artery and pour his blood over the chocolate croissant left on his polished silver plate, Jorn spun the ring to the right. The blade struck him, but instead of cutting the life out of him, it passed through him, and through Aitna who was holding his hand.
The shock of missing made Jigount freeze for a second. He was unsure what had happened and by the time he was preparing to swipe again it was too late.
Aitna — the sexy one, the beautiful one, the smart one — suddenly became Aitna the storm of the mountains. She intercepted Jigount’s thought of a second strike before it reached his hand. Her first strike landed on the flesh inside of his bicep, making his hand release the sword. As it fell to the ground, Aitna attacked with so much speed and ferocity that the servants who saw it believed she was turned into a beast from mythology. By the time it clanged to silence on the stone floor, four of the eight armed men in Jigount’s entourage were disarmed, or at least their arms were partially removed. She had taken two of the knives from the breakfast table, and cut tendons and joints so that even though they could be repaired, they were useless in this battle.
Aitna spun around Jigount and in the same motion sliced the back of the wrist on the first man and the elbow of the second. They fell to their knees holding their limbs together with their remaining functional hands. Her next twirl was the opposite direction and cut clean through the bicep of the third victim, and buried the other knife in the shoulder of the fourth man. Two men on the outside of those two spun to shoot her. Aitna dropped to the floor nearly flat on fingertips and spreading her right leg out while balancing on her left foot with her knee bent above her crouched position. They burned holes through each other with E-Rifle bolts above her head.
She shifted her weight to her right leg, giving the other two the chance to fall down dead. Two men had already moved to check on Jigount, leaving only two to face her. They hesitated for a half second, which was more than enough. Aitna leapt from her crouch above the head of the one closest to her, and landed with her feet on his pelvic bones, breaking them both and locking his hips. This leverage allowed her to spring backward off of him, throwing him to the ground paralyzed. Her backflip with a half twist let her land on the last man’s shoulders with her crotch in his face. His shock only lasted until she locked his head between her knees and threw her arms backward so that he was thrown forward with his face smashing into the stone floor.
Jigount fell to one knee watching the magical display of feline agility combined with dragon-like violence. He watches as his most deadly bodyguards fall in less time than it took Jorn to eat half a chocolate croissant. His mouth opened and closed in silence several times. In desperation he reached for the sword which had finally stopped wobbling on the floor. Jorn took a step and pinned his hand to the floor. Aitna stood up from her crouch, wiped some wild hair out of her face with the back of her hand, and winked at Jorn.
Jigount had a different look on his face now. He was terrified. His face was turning red and he was sweating profusely.
“Please,” he tried to say, but it came out as much wheeze as word. His breath was weak and he began to pant for breath. “Please, help me.”
Aitna looked around but saw no shock vest to save him with. “Jorn, we really should make sure he lives. That way he gets to enjoy a long life in the service industry, shouldn’t we?”
“Oh that would be appropriate, wouldn’t it?”
Jigount had fallen to the floor and was gasping and turning purple. Jorn — the strong one, the sexy one, the cunning one — brought his massive fist pounding down on the huge man’s chest. Once. Twice. Thrice. The third impact cracked two ribs, but Jigount rolled to his side and coughed loudly, then took in a deep breath.
“Why did you save me?” He sputtered while his face slowly returned to its former pale shade.
“My Valkyrie was right. You have a fate to meet and it’s not mine to short-cut. You will get yours. But… all this is mine. Your fate is up to her.” Jorn waved one hand around the room and flashed the ring in Jigount’s face, keeping his foot on Jigount’s hand. Aitna slid the sword out of reach, then reached down and pulled a small curved knife out of her boot. In one quick motion she slit his throat and wiped the blade on his shoulder as he lay gurgling on the marble floor.
#AtoZChallenge is truly a challenge. This story is a scene from a book in process. Let me know if you want to know more about these characters and see the rest of the book!
