Most of the houses were dark and many front yards had SOLD signs in them or were boarded up. Two looked as if they had been burned down. It seemed the entire area was moving out.
They counted down the numbers until they reached one of the few lit houses, right beside a burned-out hulk.
‘Number forty-five, here it is,’ Archie said.
Freya looked up at the house her soldier had lived in with his family. It was a simple, two-storey structure. The house looked like it had seen better days and was in desperate need of repair.
‘Tyrone lived here?’ Orus said. ‘No wonder he went off to war!’
Freya swatted the bird. ‘Be nice.’
From the street, Freya could hear the sound of a baby crying. ‘That’s Tyrone’s baby daughter, Uniik. He never got to hold her. She was born while he was on the battlefield and he died before he could come home to see her.’
‘That’s so sad,’ Archie said. ‘I read that Valkyries can choose who lives and who dies. Couldn’t you save him?’
Freya removed her helmet and became invisible. ‘He was badly wounded. It was his time to die and I couldn’t change that, even if I wanted to. I brought him to Valhalla but promised to let his family know they were in his thoughts every minute.’
Archie and Freya stood in silence as they listened to the cries of the baby. ‘Stay here. I’ll get in through the baby’s window up there. Then I’ll take a look around. I won’t be long.’ Freya opened her wings and pulled her helmet back on.
‘Be careful,’ Archie warned. ‘If the family is in danger, they might have a gun.’
Freya smiled at her new friend, even though he wouldn’t see it. ‘I’ll be careful.’ She didn’t bother to tell him that while she wore her armour she couldn’t be wounded.
Freya leaped into the air and flapped her wings. It was a short flight up to the window of the baby’s room. She gripped the sill with one hand and shoved open the window with the other.
With little effort, she hauled herself inside. Orus returned to her shoulder when she stood. Freya walked over to the crib.
Uniik was the first human baby she had ever seen up close. She was beautiful. Her dark skin was the same colour as Tyrone’s. She had a head of dark curly hair and a powerful cry, bursting with life. She had kicked off her covers.
‘She’s cute, but a little loud,’ Orus complained.
Wearing her gloves, Freya stroked the baby’s face with a trembling hand. ‘Shhhh, little one,’ she whispered gently. ‘It will be all right. Your father loved you dearly and gave his life protecting you.’
Suddenly a light came on in the room as a woman’s voice cried, ‘No, please, you can’t take her!’
Freya’s wings flashed open as she turned and was met by a pleading old woman standing in the doorway. Her dark face bore the wrinkles of a long, troubled life and her body was wasted by age and illness. ‘Angel, take me if you must, but leave my granddaughter alone.’
It took a moment for Freya to realize that she was still wearing her helmet. ‘You can see me?’
The old woman moved stiffly as she knelt down before her. ‘Please,’ she begged. ‘She’s just a baby with her whole life ahead of her. If you must take someone, take me. I am old and ready to go.’
‘This is not good,’ Orus said. ‘If she can see you, she’s dying.’
Freya removed her helmet. ‘I’m not here to take anyone. I knew Uniik’s father and promised him I would come. Do not be afraid of me.’ As she helped the old woman to rise, Freya felt pain coming from her. Pain, and something else; something hovering very near. It was a feeling of impending death.
The old woman squinted up at her. ‘Why, you’re just a child!’
‘I am old enough,’ Freya said. ‘I was with Tyrone Johnson when he died.’
The old woman grasped her chest and staggered back. ‘My Tyrone? You were the one who took my son?’
‘I did not want to,’ Freya started as she steadied her. ‘But I had to. It was his time. He was wounded and dying, nothing could change that. All I did was end his suffering.’ She reached into her pouch and pulled out Tyrone’s phone. ‘Your son gave me this. He showed me his daughters and begged me to come and protect his family. He regretted that he never held his new baby and