Valkyrie (Kate O'Hearn) - By Kate O'Hearn Page 0,10

He showed her how to use his phone to look at photographs. He told her of his life in Chicago and the pride he felt in serving his country to protect his family.

Tyrone could find no peace in Asgard. Fighting all day and drinking all night was not what he wanted. He never gloried in battle and didn’t want to kill. To stay would be torture, not paradise.

Knowing he was unhappy, Freya finally escorted him to the Gates of Ascension. Through these, soldiers could leave Asgard to go to the afterlife where those who hadn’t died valiantly in battle were taken by the Angels of Death.

Standing before the gates, he turned towards her one last time. ‘Forgive me for not staying,’ he said softly. ‘But this place isn’t for me. I must find a way back to my family. I need to know what’s happening.’

‘When you pass through those gates, you will not be allowed back to the World of Man. Your time there is done.’

‘But my family is in danger!’

Freya dropped her head. ‘I’m sorry, but you cannot help them now.’

‘If I can’t go back, will you?’ he asked desperately. ‘Go to Chicago. Find my family. Protect them, somehow. Do whatever you must, but get them away from the danger.’

‘I can’t,’ Freya insisted. ‘My duties are here.’

‘Please, just think about it,’ Tyrone pressed. ‘How can I ever find peace if I don’t know what is happening with them? All I know is that there is trouble.’

Seeing the desperation in his eyes, Freya didn’t have the heart to say no. ‘I will try. I promise I’ll do all I can to protect your family.’ Freya regretted the words the moment they left her mouth. Had she really just made a promise she knew she couldn’t possibly keep?

‘What?’ Orus cried hysterically. ‘Tell me you didn’t just say that!’

Tears of relief filled Tyrone’s eyes. ‘How can I ever thank you?’

‘There is no need,’ Freya said guiltily. ‘Just find your peace.’

Freya had never been through the Gates of Ascension. As a Valkyrie, she was not allowed. But watching Tyrone Johnson’s radiant face as he passed through the gates and saw what lay on the other side, suddenly she envied him.

She also realized she would miss him. He was the first human she’d ever spent time with and she’d discovered he was nothing like she’d imagined. He was gentle and caring. Freya never knew her father, but the more time she spent with Tyrone Johnson, the more she wished he could have been hers.

‘I told you so,’ Maya said softly, coming up to her at the gates right after Tyrone ascended. ‘The soldiers of today are nothing like the warriors of old. Most of them don’t want to stay. We aren’t needed like we used to be. There are actually too many Valkyries now, even though wars on Earth continue.’

Freya sighed. ‘I feel so bad for his family. They’ll never know how much he loved them.’ She pulled the phone from her pocket. ‘Here, look at his children.’

‘Freya, no!’ Maya cried in alarm. ‘You can’t have that here!’

‘It’s all right. Tyrone gave it to me.’

Fear was in Maya’s eyes. ‘Get rid of it right now. Throw it off Bifröst. You know it’s forbidden. If Odin finds that you’ve brought something back from a reap, he’ll have your wings!’

But Tyrone gave this to me. I didn’t steal it.’

‘It doesn’t matter how you acquired it. We can’t have anything from Earth here.’

‘Why?’ Freya asked.

Maya shook her head. ‘I don’t know. All I do know is that as long as it’s here, you are in grave danger. Please, let’s fly to Bifröst right now and throw it off together.’

Freya hid the phone in her pocket and shook her head. ‘No, Tyrone gave it to me. It’s all I have left from him. I’m keeping it.’

‘Orus, talk to her,’ Maya said to the raven. ‘Tell her what will happen if she’s caught with it.’

‘I’ve tried,’ Orus said. ‘But she won’t listen to me.’

‘It was a gift,’ Freya insisted. ‘I am not throwing it away.’

Maya threw up her arms in frustration and her wings fluttered in annoyance. ‘You are going to be the death of me!’ As she stormed off, she turned back to Freya. ‘Just keep it hidden.’

Freya watched her sister go. Once again, she was overcome with emptiness. While Tyrone was with her, the feeling had stopped. Now it was back – even stronger.

‘What’s wrong with me, Orus? Why am I so unhappy? Why can’t I be