It didn’t matter, he shook the thought away, knowing the distraction meant the end of him. His feet felt the change in the type of stone underneath and he felt the shadow of the gate pass over him more than he noticed it. He was in the streets of Lofgrund. Erik turned to the west and pounded his feet down on the stone, taking off as fast as he could manage. The hissing of the valkyries arched over walls around the keep’s court and they were behind him again. There were people in the square ahead, they’d slow him down too much to pass through and the valkyries wouldn’t care about plowing through them to get to him. He didn’t much care either, but they would cause enough delay to put a weapon into his back. He wouldn’t have that. Erik stamped a foot, turning himself around and squaring up to his pursuers. He’d gladly take a blade to the chest if it meant a chance to put a fist to the women who’d cut Tove to pieces.
The valkyrie with the loose braid squared up, her twin waiting back and watching. She charged like it was all she knew. Erik followed her. She moved like Haki had, only he could see all of it. He ducked, putting the blade of her short sword just above his arm but the valkyrie managed to angle it down, catching the edge of his shoulder. He spun his elbow up and over as she passed by, planting it at the base of her neck. She thundered to the ground, splitting the stone. He lifted a foot and stomped her arm, hearing a satisfying snap.
The hissing to his front grew in volume and he turned back to see the other charging him with her spear. He had nowhere to move. The spear tip plunged into his stomach and Erik let out a deep, guttural yell. He could feel the blade searing his insides, but it wasn’t pain. Energy seemed to shoot through him. He swung straight for the valkyrie’s face, catching her in the chin as she tried to spin away from the punch. He caught her, not cleanly, but it was enough to get her to take her hands off the weapon. Erik grabbed the staff of the spear and pulled it from his gut. His skin sizzled under the heat of it. He tossed it aside and ran toward the short-haired valkyrie, who now bled from her lip. She turned to flee as he chased and Erik reached out. His hand almost found purchase on the armor over her shoulder blade but instead it wrapped around something he hadn’t seen before. A faintly shimmering thing that came through a small slit in the leather. He gripped it tightly, the hissing noise dimming for just a second before his hand flew apart, shredded by invisible wings. He stopped, his hand useless and the pain starting to flood. With one arm limp, the valkyrie he’d put to the ground plunged her sword up through his ribs and into his heart. He felt the blood bubble and the strength in his legs disappear. He dropped to the ground, dying.
His eyes opened what felt like a second later and he was in the corner of the cell. The pain came immediately after his mind returned to him. It was the same as it had been with the wall. Hours of blazing pain that faded too slowly and a hand he was convinced would never work again from the way it felt. He’d heard the guards laughing as they did their rounds, saying word was the valkyries had flattened him into the street. When he could stand again, he did but there was still the distinct feeling that the steel was still inside his body. Bending to either side dropped him to his knees, but he was beginning to understand the pain better. It wasn’t manageable, but it faded soon enough and he could at least do simple things. He went to the door of his cell and opened it, walking directly to Haki’s.
He pulled the handle up and the door came open. Haki was sitting on a ratty sheet, curled at the edge of a wooden bed that had been worn over every inch. The smell of his shit was still fresh, but the pain kept it from Erik’s mind for the most part.
“I want answers to some questions Haki.”
The broken man rocked back and forth, staring at Erik. “Went outside… didn’t you? I… thought you were… a neighbor.”
“I’ll die out there as many times as it takes.”
Haki shook his head violently. “The brain… never forgets. Never. Never forgets.” He just started repeating fragments of the phrase over and over again.
“What are you fucking talking about?! Never forgets?!”
“He doesn’t remember the words so well anymore.”
Erik whipped around to see the younger guard from the administrative area. “Explain it to me.”
The guard sighed. “Come out of there. At the very least he deserves some peace.”
Erik looked back at Haki. He was clawing at the wood below him, eyes fixed on the door.
There was no reason to stay in the cell, so Erik did as he was asked. He closed the door and the guard motioned to the chair at the desk beside the cell, offering it.
“Sitting hurts. I’m out, what did he mean?”
The guard nodded. “It was something he used to say when he first came. How long did it take
