Valkyrie (Kate O'Hearn) - By Kate O'Hearn Page 0,19
clothing looked worn, but clean and well kept. She could feel he was a gentle, sensitive soul. Not one meant for war or battlefields.
‘Why were those boys beating you?’
Archie dropped his head. ‘They always have, ever since I was young. They call me Daisy, steal my money and beat me up.’
‘Why?’
‘Because they can,’ Archie said flatly. ‘There’s a group of us that they pick on. They call us the Geek Squad. We don’t fit into any of the groups at school. But because we’re a little bit different and get higher marks than them, they always beat us up.’
Freya shook her head. ‘I don’t understand. Why don’t you fight back? Defend yourself?’
‘I can’t,’ Archie said. ‘I don’t know how to fight.’
‘You could learn. I am sure no one taught them how.’
‘But there’s too many of them.’
Freya frowned. ‘But you just said there are others they pick on. You could unite to protect yourselves.’
‘I don’t really know the others in the Geek Squad. We’re not friends.’
‘This makes no sense,’ Freya said. ‘In war, if your army is smaller than your opponents, you increase its size or its skills base. It’s a simple principle that has worked for thousands of years.’
‘This isn’t a war,’ Archie said.
‘It sure looked like one to me.’
Archie sighed. ‘You’d understand better if you went to my school. Bullies are always picking on weaker students. It’s just the way it is.’
‘Then it is stupid,’ Freya argued. ‘The strong should protect the weak, not abuse them.’
Archie leaned against the fence and took a deep, unsteady breath. His right eye was swollen almost shut. ‘Thanks for saving my life.’
‘You are welcome.’
There was something about this boy that intrigued her. He was the first boy her age she’d ever spoken to, and he was so different from what she expected. There was so much more she wanted to learn from him.
At her shoulder, Orus nipped Freya’s ear. ‘The boy is fine. Can we go now?’
‘Orus, calm down.’ She pulled the raven from her shoulder and placed him on the ground. ‘This is Orus. He’s my companion. But he’s in a bit of a bad mood.’
‘That’s the first intelligent thing this human has said,’ Orus remarked as he puffed up his feathers proudly.
Freya smiled. ‘Orus says hello.’
‘I did not!’ the raven complained.
‘You can talk to him?’
Freya nodded. ‘He came from Asgard with me . . .’ She stopped mid-sentence, reached for her helmet and pulled it on. ‘Silence! Someone is coming.’
‘Wait, please don’t go.’ Archie started to panic, looking around desperately. ‘They could be coming back to get me.’
‘I’m still right here,’ Freya said. ‘You just can’t see me. I won’t let them hurt you again.’
The sounds of voices were growing closer. ‘It is two of the boys who attacked you,’ Freya warned. ‘They have brought others. Can you walk?’
Archie climbed painfully to his feet. It was then that Freya saw he was several centimetres taller than her, but with a slight build. He staggered and fell forward. She instinctively reached out to steady him. Her hands went around his arms but his heavy winter coat protected him from her lethal touch.
‘Do you have gloves?’ Freya asked. When he nodded, she continued. ‘Give them to me. I can’t risk touching your skin.’
Freya pulled on Archie’s gloves, and then put out her arm to steady him. Holding him close at her side, she whispered, ‘My helmet will keep us both hidden. Just don’t move and keep quiet.’
Freya supported Archie as they stood still, watching the bullies arrive in the yard. They listened as the two attackers described in detail what had happened.
‘I swear, it happened right here,’ one of them claimed. ‘Look, you can still see the blood from Daisy’s nose.’
‘Where is he?’ a new boy demanded. ‘Or did the invisible creature take him away?’ He started to laugh and make scary cartoon sounds.
‘I don’t know,’ said the other attacker. ‘Maybe it did.’
‘Well, I don’t believe you,’ chimed a new boy. He was standing with his hands on his hips, looking doubtful.
‘Oh, no?’ the first one said. ‘Who do you think broke JP’s wrist? It sure wasn’t Daisy. He was too busy crying and begging for his pathetic life.’
‘Yeah, it was the invisible creature. She did it,’ claimed the other bully.
The boys searched the yard for signs of Archie. When they moved close, Freya tensed to fight again.
‘I’ll tell you one thing,’ the first boy said. ‘Daisy had better hope that creature does take