The sight of the building somehow brought him no joy and before he’d made a thorough accounting of what it was he wanted to do, Göll started toward it.
“Hey, Göll.”
She did not stop so he trotted to catch up with her. Her face was stern, solemn, and her eyes were fixed on Odin’s great hall.
“Hey!”
He grabbed her arm and Göll whipped around, seeming to snap out of her trance.
“We must go to Valhalla.” She said the words almost as if there was panic hidden somewhere beneath her placid exterior.
“Why? Why right now?”
A murmur came over the crowd and Göll’s eyes shot to the sky. There was terror in them. Erik followed her gaze up and saw six valkyries hovering, a pair each with eyes locked on a chosen member of his warband. Panic flushed through him and he felt his body tense. They did not move, only watched.
“What is this, Göll? Why are they watching us?”
Göll shook her head, her hand raising to the chain on her neck. “I… I do not know.”
Erik’s expression turned sour and he looked up at the valkyries. Rage started to bubble in his stomach and the power he’d had so much trouble finding rose in him immediately, more readily than it ever had.
“Tove! Ljunge! Draw weapons!”
They did, both lowering their stances. The valkyries looked to each other for a moment and then back to Erik. He could hear the hissing and it stirred something terrible inside him. He felt pure hate.
The moment the first of the valkyries twitched to fly at them, Erik slammed his fist down into the ground below, sending stone and dirt flying up into the air.
“Go! The tree line!”
Neither Tove nor Ljunge waited to be told again. They fled at speed, keeping pace with Erik even as the power coursed through him. The valkyries followed, though not Göll. She still stood in the clearing, dumbstruck as people screamed around her, fleeing the fight.
Erik kept himself behind Tove and Ljunge, watching as the valkyries slowly closed the gap. As his warband cleared into the woods, Erik spun.
“Göll! Come on!”
He saw her snap out of her haze and he pulled a fist back, burying it in the arm of the first valkyrie to reach him. Four flooded past him, only the partner of the one he’d struck remaining behind. He ignored the other, turning to move into the woods. Göll was well on her way to the trees, flying over the crowd toward them.
Erik sped through the small forest, catching up with the valkyries who had split Tove and Ljunge. His warband were handling themselves well, keeping pace ahead of their pursuers and striking if they got too close. Erik closed on Tove first, reasoning that Ljunge could handle any damage he sustained. He stopped in front of a thin tree, plunging a hand through it, and before it fell, dragged it down in the path of a charging valkyrie. She stopped, looking at him for a moment and then returning to her pursuit of Tove.
It was all the support he could manage, as the pair who meant to attack him had found him among the trees. He spun to meet them. Their pace was quick, but seemed to slow as seconds passed. He slapped away the first blade, putting a square fist into the nearest valkyrie’s ribs. She was pushed away, her body snapping trees with a disturbing lack of resistance. The other drove at him, Erik forcing the short sword she held away, pounding her down into the ground where she formed a divot. He left the valkyrie there and returned his efforts to finding Tove. From the corner of his eye, he could see Göll moving through the forest parallel to him. A look of determination on her face gave him hope that whatever pulled at her resided for the time. He did not want to fight her, not ever.
Erik saw Tove rushing toward Ljunge. They came together and stopped, valkyries circling them. He could do nothing at his distance, but he rushed at them with all the speed he could manage. He was yards away when the sound of a deep, bellowing horn pierced the air around him.
Their attackers stood bolt upright, eyes turning toward Valhalla. He felt panic at the sight and turned to find Göll. She had dropped to her knees, screaming in pain. The two who had attacked him were at her already. They grabbed Göll, dragging her into the sky.
“No! Hey!”
He rushed after them, stopping hard at the edge of the forest. There was only open field between them and Valhalla and the valkyries were well across it and in the air at that.
Tove and Ljunge were quick to come to his side.
“Why would they leave? Why did they attack?” Tove was breathless, looking at the glimmering hall.
“I don’t know. They took Göll.”
Ljunge crouched after sheathing his daggers. “I don’t get the impression that was something we ought to have expected.” He looked up at Erik. “What will you do?”
“We have to go, right? They took Göll.”
“Took her to her home, you mean.”
Erik snapped at Ljunge. “And
