Valkyrie (Kate O'Hearn) - By Kate O'Hearn Page 0,7
it. It crawled up to her shoulder and settled there.
‘See what I mean? Gondul loves me and would never nip my ear.’
‘Perhaps,’ Orus agreed. ‘But Gondul doesn’t have enough sense to come in from the rain. He’s hardly companion material, if you ask me.’
‘I didn’t ask you!’ Gwyn stuck her tongue out at Orus before focusing on Freya. ‘Are you ready for your first reaping?’
The smile dropped from Freya’s face as she was reminded of the horse’s purpose and her dark mission. To bring dead warriors back to Valhalla.
Maya came up behind her, dressed in her silver armour and helmet. She had a big grin on her face. ‘Of course she’s ready. She’s been looking forward to this for ages.’
Freya managed a strained smile as Maya put her arm around her and whispered, ‘It won’t be so bad. I promise. Just stay with me and do what I do. It won’t be a big reaping today, just a few soldiers.’
‘One soldier is too many,’ Freya muttered softly.
Maya looked at her and shook her head. ‘Just talk to your soldier. Let him show you they aren’t all bad. Now, mount up – it’s time to go.’
As it was Freya’s first mission, she took a position directly behind her mother’s massive pearl-grey Reaping Mare. Freya was riding Sylt as they made their way to Bifröst, the Rainbow Bridge, which linked Asgard to the World of Man. Even with their wings, the Valkyrie and Reaping Mares could not leave Asgard any other way. The bridge was the only route in and out.
Maya rode her own Reaping Mare behind Freya and her three other sisters followed further back. As they approached Bifröst, the bridge’s Watchman stepped forward and held up his heavy sword. He was massive in size and immensely powerful, with a head of bushy blond hair and a moustache that went down to his belly. It was said that Heimdall’s hearing was so keen he could hear grass grow and his vision so accurate he could see across all of Asgard both day and night. And if Heimdall didn’t want you to cross the bridge, there was little you could do to get past him.
‘State your purpose,’ he said formally.
‘Greetings, Heimdall,’ her mother responded with equal formality as she bowed her head to the Watchman. ‘We come in the service of Odin. It is Freya’s First Day and we journey to the reaping.’
‘Be welcome and journey well,’ Heimdall said as he bowed and swept his sword wide to invite them on to the bridge.
As Freya directed Sylt past Heimdall, he winked at her. ‘Good luck, child.’
Freya really liked Heimdall. Often times when she was feeling particularly lost or restless, she would fly to Bifröst and Heimdall would let her go halfway across the bridge to peer down into the World of Man. He wasn’t big on conversation, but that was another thing she liked about him. Sometimes they would walk out together and he would stand with her. Silent and unmoving. She often felt that Heimdall was as lonely as she was and understood all that she felt.
Bifröst was the longest bridge in Asgard and was aptly named the Rainbow Bridge. It shimmered and glistened in the many colours of the rainbow. The brightest colours were the flaming reds and oranges. From a distance, their brilliance gave the bridge the illusion of being on fire.
Once they crossed to the other side, Freya’s mother commanded her mare to fly. Almost immediately, her mother started to howl with a sound unique to their kind. It preceded their arrival to the battlefields.
Freya joined in the howling as she, her mother and sisters soared high in the sky over a rocky, golden desert. A tall mountain range loomed in the distance and the sun was starting to descend behind it, casting long shadows on the ground. As Freya gazed down, she saw very little growing on the dry, dusty earth.
A shiver started down her back at the sight of smoke rising in the air. The howling of her sisters grew louder and more intense, letting her know they had arrived at the appointed place of reaping.
Down below, three military trucks in a long convoy had been blown off the road and knocked to the side. The vehicle at the end was burning brightly, while the two in front smouldered and threatened to explode. Men were pouring out of the trucks and running back to help the soldiers in the flipped trucks.