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  As I lay there making animal noises and feeling my orgasm build, I held Gregorios even closer to me, leaving him lying flat against me. His long body left me staring at his chest. He moved his arms out and propped himself up so that he wouldn’t suffocate me. When I found his green eyes looking directly at me, I knew that he would be the one that would fill the void in my heart that Kerr had left.

  Gregorios’ rhythm changed and I felt my like my entire body was being touched by tiny fingers. My magic answered his, and rose to the surface. It countered with a soft breeze that blew around us, and through us. I felt Gregorios reaching places inside me that were impossible for anyone to reach. I screamed out for him as I tightened around him. His throbbing shaft let loose the power it had been holding back, and for one brief shining moment, our magic and our bodies merged into one entity.

  I lay under him shaking from my toes up. It was involuntary and each shake sent another wave of pleasure throughout my body. He pulled out slowly, but didn’t move away. He wrapped me in his arms and rolled onto the bed next to me. I snuggled into his body and traced the edges of his nipple.

  "What did you think?" I asked, curious to see if his first time had been as joyous as mine had been.

  He kissed the top of my head, and pulled me closer to him. "I could not form a thought right now to save my life, Valerie."

  I laughed. "That’s good, right?"

  "That is very good."

  Chapter 14

  "It’s nice to be home."

  I took Gregorios’ hand in mine and smiled. "It is good, but I like it better when we’re gone."

  He retied his ponytail and looked around at the waterfalls. "I still can’t get used to the time thing, Valerie, we were in South America for thirteen months, and before that we were in Germany for close to a year, but here, on Valhalla, we’ve only been gone a few days."

  "You get used to it. I’ve told you before that we can jump around any time from the past to the present, and while we could spend a hundred years there, only to come back to Valhalla to find that a few years has passed—if that. I stopped trying to figure it out when I was a child. You should too, Gregory. It will only make your head hurt," I said, laughing.

  He winked at me and took the soul-decanter that held the souls of the men we’d recruited out. "I should get these to Beau. He’ll want to start getting them accustomed to their new surroundings as soon as possible."

  "You two seem to be getting along better now."

  "I’ve been at Valhalla for four years now, and if you factor in the time we’ve spent in other places, then I’ve been with you for close to a century. I think he’s figured out that I’m not going anywhere."

  "Gregory?"

  He laughed a little at me as he smiled. The sun caught his blonde hair and made my breathing quicken. "I love the fact that you decided to up and shorten my name, I guess it’s fair, I totally changed yours." He stopped talking and looked at me. "What’s wrong?"

  "Are you happy here? I mean, do you ever regret coming with me?"

  Gregory set the decanter down gently and came to me. "I love you and I can’t imagine my life without you in it."

  I pulled his hand around my waist and stood on my tiptoes to reach his mouth. "Mmm…." he said as he pulled away slowly.

  I reached my hand out and planted it on the front of his pants. He made another groan and tipped his head back. "Val, I have to get these souls to Beau. Some have been trapped for months."

  I let out a sigh. "I know, I know, and in my own defense, to them it’s only been a matter of seconds since they agreed to come with us."

  "Are you saying they could wait a little longer then?" Gregory asked, looking back down at me.

  I ran my fingers up his chest and let my hands slide to the sides of his neck. He purred softly as I traced the edges of his jaw. He had to lean down to reach me. I always felt bad about that, but Gregory never seemed to mind. His mouth touched mine and I was just about to slip my tongue in when I heard a loud cracking noise, and then something I’d never dreamed I’d hear—drums.

  Growing up I’d heard tales of the drums beating to warn of danger approaching, but I’d never in my life heard them do it. I knew that Valhalla was enchanted, so did every demon, that’s why we never had any problems, not until now that was.

  Gregory looked around, unsure of what was going on. He glanced at me and I smiled up at him. If Valhalla was in danger then the waterfalls would be the way the enemy arrived. They were the only portals in and out of the Valhalla and I didn’t want Gregory anywhere near them. I felt the temperature changing and the air pressure increasing. Something was on the verge of coming through and it was large—larger than anything I’d ever seen pass through them before.

  "You’d better get those souls to Beau, he’ll be needing them. I’ll meet you back at the house in a little bit."

  "Val, what’s going on with the drums? Did I miss something, is today a day for celebration?"

  I smiled and wanted him to go, to run, but I didn’t alert him. "Yeah, Beau will fill you in on it, you should get going. The faster you get there, the faster you can meet me at home for a little celebration of our own."

  Gregory kissed the top of my head and took off in a fast run towards the training grounds. I exhaled a breath that I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. This was serious and I couldn’t risk Gregory. I’d lost Kerr being foolish and letting my guard down, and I wouldn’t lose him too—I couldn’t.

  Chapter 15

  I bent down and retrieved my sword, and gun. I wasn’t sure what was coming through the portal and I wasn’t about to take any chances. I backed up and waited as the waterfalls faded away for a moment only to return to view with several demon brigades standing before them. I lost count around hundred and prepared myself to die fighting to defend Valhalla and all its inhabitants.

  A line of the demons turned and looked in my direction. Some of them were obvious, and had horns or scales, some even had additional eyes, but others looked like normal men. I suspected that those were the vampires. They seemed to be the masterminds behind most of the demonic operations. I backed up a little to get a better stance before they starting swarming me, but stopped when I saw the thin pale face of the monster I’d had nightmares about for close to five years, Captain Corbin. His dark eyes locked on me and formed a grin so sinister that it made me shudder.

  "Bring her to me!" he shouted out.

  The entire group of demons turned and looked at me. I couldn’t take them all on with just my sword and gun. I concentrated hard on the earth below me. I let nature be my guide and I pulled at it with my magic. I begged it to come to me, to help me protect it. After a second, I heard it answer. I heard the sound of whistling wind, and thunder. Corbin spun around and then back to me.

  "Seize the witch now, before she can use anymore magic!"

  I put my hands out to my side and let my palms face upward. I looked a little like a scarecrow near the edge of a cliff, but I didn’t care. I just needed to feed off the power of the land and to direct my energy appropriately, and as far as I was concerned, Corbin was the one I was gunning for.

  A pain ripped through my right shoulder. I screamed out and looked down to see an arrow sticking out of it. Two gray beasts hurdled towards me and I kicked out to keep them at bay. I tried to pull the arrow from my shoulder, but it wouldn’t budge. I settled on snapping it off at the base of my skin and dropping down to avoid taking a demon to the head—which would, I’m sure, hurt like hell.

  I stood quickly and starting calling on the power of the land again. I felt another arrow hit me in the stomach. I reached down and snapped it off too. Arrows whizzed past my body, but not from the direction of the intruders, but at them. I turned and saw Gregorios and Beau charging at us with legions of our men in tow. I looked back at Corbin and smiled.

  "Game on," I said, lunging for my sword. I grabbed it and rolled. I came to my knee and delivered a blow that left a half-snake, half-man lying in two pieces on
the ground before me. I heard something growl and then saw a blur before I felt the impact of the beast slamming into me. Its furred body rode mine to the ground and its wolf-like face held teeth that were razor sharp, and snapping at me. I pushed my fingers through its eyes and it rolled off of me. I grabbed my sword and tried to run it through its body. Someone grabbed me by my hair and yanked me off my feet. I heard Corbin laugh right before I felt him sink his teeth deep into my shoulder.

  I screamed out, the pain was more intense than I had ever felt before. Corbin used his mind tricks to see to it that I suffered greatly.

  Gregorios appeared next to me and thrust a handful of fire out at Corbin. He tore his mouth away from me and fell backwards. "Retreat, retreat!" he cried out. His black eyes met mine and he licked his bloodied lips. "I will find you again. My Master wishes to have you."

  Beau ran past and started for Corbin. I grabbed his arm and stopped him in mid-motion. The demons jumped over the edges of the waterfall and into the portals. The drums stopped when the last of them was gone. I looked around at the corpses that littered the ground around us and looked up at Gregory. He flicked his wrist and they burst into flames. Beau staggered backwards and then grabbed me. He pulled my hair back and looked at my neck.

  "Shit, he got you, Val!"

  Gregory looked closer at my bite mark and then at Beau. "Will she turn into one of them?"

  "I don’t know. There’s a good chance that she will if we don’t get it cleaned out, and fast."

  "Guys, I’m fine … real-ly…." I said, falling to the ground.

  Chapter 16

  "But you still haven’t answered the question of how they managed to pass through the portals to begin with," Bronte said from the end of the elders table.

  Alodie looked like she was ready to snap. Everyone had been pointing the finger in her direction and demanding answers to how Valhalla could have been invaded. She was as clueless as the rest of us, but everyone looked for a scapegoat and as her eyes darted towards me, I knew that she’d found one. She pointed her long finger at me and stood up.

  "There, there is your problem. She brought a man back in our midst as an equal!"

  The elders all turned their attentions to me. Gregory tried to stand and I put my hand on his knee to stop him. I stood slowly and had to lean on Gregory to keep my balance. I hadn’t felt quite right since Corbin had bitten me. Gregory patted my hand gently to let me know that he was there to support me. I looked up into Alodie’s cold blue eyes and let her see my anger. She stiffened a bit, no doubt worried that I might decide to burn her alive. It was a thought, but I didn’t think I’d have to resort to that—at least I hoped not.

  "My bringing Gregorios back with me, as my equal, had nothing to do with the demons coming through the portals. They have found a way to access the grounds and we need to be focused on that, not pointing fingers at one another. They’ve been heavily recruiting from the same power sources we have. Who knows who they’ve got on their side now, and what they’re capable of?"

  Bronte stood and pounded on the table. It was a way to show support. I watched as others followed. When Annice started to show her support, Alodie had no choice but to join in. She put her hands up to indicate that she wanted to speak. All fell silent.

  She looked at me. "You and Gregorios are to put together a team and go in search of more supernatural potentials, and then we shall attack the demons in their home—on their grounds … they have brought the fight to our front door. Let them see what we are truly capable of."

  "Excuse me," Gregorios said. He stood slowly and moved close to me. "I think that they may have come here strictly for Valerie."

  We all turned and looked at him—shocked. It was Alodie who finally asked him to clarify what it was he talked about, and he did. "They never once attacked us, they went for her, but none of their shots were fatal." He reached out and touched my shoulder. "They went for areas that would not kill her, and when the one bit her he said that his master wants her."

  "It is a trap." I heard my mother’s voice and turned, surprised to see that she’d left the house. She moved down the center isle. She wore one of her long white gowns that I loved on her. Gregory had commented that she looked more like my sister than my mother, and it was true, she didn’t look to be much older than me. Her eyes met mine. "Do not leave Valhalla, Linnea, I beg you."

  Alodie cleared her throat. "If you do not mind, my lady, I believe, as does the rest of the board that we need to be fully prepared to fight the coming war. We need your daughter to find more men, she and Gregorios are the only two who can handle themselves against the magic that the demons have now. As much as we respect you, and want to honor your wishes, we have to do what is right for Valhalla."

  My mother looked up at Alodie and shook her head. "Do you really think that I would suggest anything that wasn’t right for Valhalla? I love this place, even more than you. I’ve sacrificed much to be here, and you know this, Alodie."

  The way my mother said her name made me think that Alodie knew more of the story than I did, but now wasn’t the time or place to push that. I filed that away for another date and took Gregory’s hand in mine. "I will go in search of more men, but I will do it alone."

  Gregory yanked me to him. "No, Valerie, this is suicide. You can’t go alone, take me, take the team, take all of Valhalla, just don’t go alone."

  "I will go with Gregorios and Valerie," Beau’s strong voice boomed over the entire room. I started to shake my head, but Alodie nodded.

  "Very well, prepare to leave at once. We will send additional Valkyries out to retrieve the souls from you. This will save you from having to stop back here unnecessarily."

  I knew that there was no point in arguing with Alodie, she knew that I didn’t want Gregorios, or anyone else for that matter, to be hurt, and that’s why she insisted I take them with me. I pushed past Gregory and started past my mother. She grabbed my arm and pulled me to her. She pressed her mouth to my ear and whispered softly. "Do not go, it’s a trap. I have dreamt of your Scotsman two nights in a row."

  I couldn’t move. She had never once mentioned Kerr in the last four years. Now, I wasn’t sure what to do. I touched her shoulder and looked back at the board of elders. They were watching us with wide eyes. I smiled at them and nodded.

  "It begins tonight."

  Chapter 17

  "I grabbed everything that you told me to," Beau said, his arms full of three backpacks. I put my hand out over them and they morphed into bags more appropriate for Italy in the 1700’s. Beau smiled and set them down gently. "Watching you work your magic never gets old."

  "Thanks, I think," I said, brushing past him to head to my wardrobe. I put my hands on it and thought of our destination. I opened the door and pulled out three white wigs. I handed one to Beau and he looked at it like it would bite.

  "It’s time to play dress up or you don’t come," I said, unwilling to give even an inch on this. I handed the shorter of the two jackets in the wardrobe to Beau, and then gave him his pants and boots to match.

  He looked down at the pile and then back to me. "They’re baby blue."

  "I know, mine’s not much better, stay there, you’re going to have to help me with this one." I turned my back to him and undressed. I reached in and grabbed my under garments. I pulled the corset on and turned back to Beau, holding my arm across my breasts, and shrugged. "Yeah, and you thought yours was bad"

  Beau’s eyes were on my breasts. I touched his chin and he looked up at me lazily. "I’m sorry, did you say something?"

  I laughed softy and turned around. "Help me lace this up, please."

  "Sure," he said. I felt his fingers moving up my back. His breath was hot against my neck and I wondered what he must be thinking about.

  "How are things with Sorena going?"

  Beau made a tiny noise and his fingers moved up to my shoulders. He turned me to him and looked down at my breasts. They were pushed up high, and looked like they were being offered to hi
m. "Sorena is good. She is worried about me leaving, but I told her I’d be fine."

  I was happy to hear that they were still together. He’d started dating another Valkyrie six months earlier. In fact, most of the men were now dating. The elders were starting to loose their grip on Valhalla, but maybe it was for the best. It worked out nicely, but the men out numbered us three to one, so not everyone was happy.

  The door opened and Gregory walked in. He took one look at Beau and I, and spun on his heels to leave.

  "Gregory, no, wait!"

  He stopped, but he didn’t turn around. Beau moved past us with his clothes in hand and shut the door behind him. I was thankful that he didn’t try to smooth things over. I put my hand on Gregory’s back and let my cheek rest against him. "I love you."

  I reached my hands around him, and his fingers found mine. "I know … I just can’t shake the feeling that I’m going to lose you to another man. The dreams are getting worse."

  "The ones where I run off with a demon?" I asked, unable to hide the amusement in my voice. It was so absurd.

  "The ones where you are a demon, Valerie," he said, turning his body to me. "I keep seeing you as demon, and you’re with another man. I try and get you back, but you won’t come, you don’t even know me." He tipped his head back and I knew that he fought his emotions. I’d had to wake him too many times during the night because he screamed out in a cold sweat, to not take him seriously. He kissed the top of my head and pulled me close to him. "The last one was the worst."

  "Why?"

  His body stiffened, and he held me so tight to him that he started to cut my air off. I had to tap on him to get him to let go. "I ran a sword straight through you, Valerie. I killed you. Your blood was on my hands, and I held you as you took your last breath."