Göll’s eyes seemed to shift, light coming back into them somehow. She looked down at the chain, a soft, confused frown on her face.
“Haki Erik Styrsson!”
The voice was one he hadn’t heard since the first time a sword plunged into his body. He turned to see Vár walking toward him down the street. Tove was confused and solved the issue by coming closer to Erik.
“Vár, what an entirely unpleasant surprise.”
“As much a surprise as your ready progress in coming to Helborgen.”
“Yeah, about that, I thought Hel was supposed to help me? I’m already here.”
Vár scoffed in annoyance. “Do you believe the world is so simple as that? Or that your journey is through?” She shrugged. “I suppose that depends upon you, but still… my goddess offered you help, true. And said to come and find her. Failing your own end of a bargain does not mean the other has as well.”
“So why are you bothering me now?”
“A strange way to see it,” Vár said, looking over Tove. “And I’ve heard of your warband. Hel was pleased to hear you’d done such a thing.”
Göll took a step forward at the mention of Hel but Erik held an arm out to stop her.
“Okay, so what is it you want?”
Vár put on a wry smile. “I’ve come only to welcome you to Hel’s beautiful city. And to remind you of her outstanding offer of aid, should you choose to accept it.” Vár’s gaze shifted to Göll and the smile faded. “We have good reason to believe you should need it.”
“Sure, great. Tell her if I hate Valhalla, I’ll take her up on it.”
Göll’s hand appeared on Erik’s shoulder, gripping it hard. He turned his head half to her when he saw Vár give a disbelieving smile.
“A deal well struck.”
“Wait, what? No, no. I was—”
Hel’s agent laughed. “I will make sure you are well looked after, then.”
Göll pulled Erik back and rushed at Vár who fled before the valkyrie could do anything. Göll turned on her spot.
“What have you done?!” Göll shouted the words, her voice ragged, as if she’d not used it in days. “You must not—” Göll stood bolt upright, her eyes darkening. The words choked off, locked in her lungs.
From behind, Erik felt the tip of a sword push into his ribs. It was a familiar sting, he even knew the shape of the blade. Tove screamed, drawing her sword, but it was too late. The blade had hit his heart.
His chest spasmed as Tove tore through the crowd after the valkyrie who stabbed him. He hadn’t even seen her and didn’t now. His eyes were locked on Göll. She fell to her knees, muscles in her face twitching, a tear running down her face. She still held the necklace in her hands. Erik smiled and the world went black. He prepared himself for the pain to come.
His eyes tore open, and he was again unable to move. He felt his arms being pulled, and blades run through the meat of his forearms. His eyes cleared for a half second of the tears the pain forced from him. There were three valkyries in the room. One to either side. They were working their blades through the leather of his grips, whipping his only weapon away. The third picked them up, snapping the metal clean in half. As a scream worked its way out of him, a hot blade laid across his neck. The valkyrie pulled, a look of pure rage on her face. Blood poured into the hole she opened, choking him as he writhed on the bed. They all watched as he died again.
He came back in the same bed, immediately wet with his own blood. The blade came toward his neck as soon as his mind returned to him. He felt the power come but it was too late. He managed to slam a fist into the table at his side, destroying it.
He rose a third time to the sound of the door to his room crashing open. Ljunge surveyed the room, delaying two of the valkyries. The one who had cut his throat did so again as the other two put holes in Ljunge.
Erik returned, the power was somewhere deep beneath the pain coursing through his body. He could feel it there, but he could not find it. His bleary eyes saw Ljunge charge into the room again, shouting and bearing a pair of daggers toward the valkyrie who stood guard. He fell as the blade came across Erik’s neck again.
The valkyries took his life once more, Ljunge coming as they fled out the window, taking much of the wall of Erik’s room with them. Erik could see nothing. His throat throbbed and twitched violently. He could hardly pull a breath, gasping every ounce down through an unwilling throat. The air was not enough and the world slowly faded only to come roaring back, the pain seeming to multiply each time he lost his battle to breath.
The images of the time after that were sporadic. Ljunge was there, panicked. Tove came. A picture of his body being carried lived somewhere in his mind. All he could wonder was where Göll had gone. He could not calm himself, desperate to force an image of her into his mind. He did not know how long it had been or where he was when he felt a cool hand on his forehead and soft breath in his ear. It was Göll, her true voice, soft and kind.
“Sleep now, Erik. You are safe.”
chapter|32
It was more than a day before Erik could stand the pain enough to open his eyes. There was no mistaking how Haki ended up in the state Erik witnessed. Looking around, Erik saw that he was propped up in
