Valkyrie (Kate O'Hearn) - By Kate O'Hearn Page 0,53

him. ‘It’s all right,’ she called, helping him up. ‘They won’t hurt you.’

Archie’s mouth was hanging open as he looked at the large flying horse in his lounge. ‘Is that Pegasus?’

‘Who?’ Freya asked.

‘Pegasus – you know, from the Greek myths. He’s a flying horse who lives on Olympus.’

Freya shook her head. ‘No, this is Sylt. She’s my Reaping Mare. Now, come here – I want you to meet my sister. You can call her Mia.’

Archie approached Maya in her shining silver armour. She was taller than Freya and her hair was in two long braids. Her elegant white wings were folded neatly on her back. She was clutching her winged helmet in her hand. ‘You’re Gee’s sister? Are you a Valkyrie too?’

Maya frowned. ‘Gee?’

‘That’s me,’ Freya said. ‘He calls me Gee.’

A dark expression crossed Maya’s face. ‘What’s going on here? What have you told this human of us?’

‘Everything,’ Freya said. ‘I’ve been living with Archie and we go to school together. He knows all about me. He’s teaching me to be human.’

Maya shook her head in disbelief. ‘But you’re not human, you are Valkyrie!’

‘I know,’ Freya said. ‘But you were the one who told me I had to get to know them to understand them.’

‘Yes!’ Maya cried. ‘By talking to the warriors at Valhalla! I didn’t mean for you to come here and pretend to be one! Have you completely lost your mind? Do you have any idea what Mother will do when she finds out? Especially when she sees what you’ve done to yourself?’

‘I like how I look,’ Freya defended. She looked down her front. ‘It’s called Steampunk. And I like living here with Archie. I don’t care what Mother thinks. All she worries about is pleasing Odin! I could never live up to her expectations anyway. I’m not beautiful like you, or as graceful as the others.’

‘Of course you’re beautiful,’ Archie cut in. ‘Everyone at school thinks so.’

‘Don’t help her, human,’ Maya shot as her pale eyes flashed fury.

‘That’s enough,’ Freya said to her sister. ‘I’m glad you are here. But Archie is my friend. I won’t let you talk to him like that.’

‘Your friend?’ Maya exclaimed. ‘What is wrong with you?’

‘Nothing! For the first time in my long life, I have a friend. Yes, he’s human, but so what. Orus is a raven and he’s my companion. You have Grul. What about Sylt? She’s part of my life too. What difference does it make what they are? It is how we feel that matters!’

‘But I’m your friend,’ Maya said.

Freya’s shoulders sagged. She had wanted Maya to see her new life, but now that she was here it was all going wrong.

‘You’re my sister,’ Freya started. ‘And you know I love you, but we aren’t the same. You love dancing at Valhalla with the warriors. I don’t. You are content to stay in Asgard, I’m not. I yearn to know more, see more and do more. I want to understand these humans and the reasons for the things they do. No one in Asgard can understand that, let alone explain it to me. So I came here to see for myself.’

Archie was standing between the two Valkyries while they argued. Finally his eyes settled on Freya. He started to frown. Leaning closer, he caught hold of her open coat.

‘Gee, is that blood?’ he asked. ‘What are those holes in your coat?’

Maya stopped lecturing her sister and leaned closer. ‘He’s right. These are bullet holes.’ She sniffed the patch of red. ‘That’s human blood. What have you been doing?’

Freya’s eyes darted between Maya and Archie.

‘Tell them,’ Orus said. ‘They’ll find out anyway.’

Freya sighed. ‘It’s been a bad night and I need some cocoa.’ She left the lounge and headed into the kitchen. ‘Anyone else thirsty?’

The sun was up fully by the time Freya finished telling Archie and her sister the events of the past evening. Like her, Maya sat on a back-to-front chair and let her wings hang open.

Sylt was standing in the entrance to the kitchen, enjoying a bowl of apples. On the table the two ravens glared at each other.

‘You left a feather behind!’ Maya cried. ‘Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Even away from our bodies, our feathers retain power. This is the World of Man. They might find a way to use that power against us, or against each other. Didn’t Mother ever tell you about that?’

‘I know!’ Freya cried. ‘But by the time I saw it, the policeman was already picking