Page 7 of Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings (Love X Magic #3)

No one would ever ask, because I’d give them no reason to.

No one would ever ask, because despite being drunk and late, I could hover over the entire field littered with blood and bodies and sense the few souls Odin would approve of.

I didn’t need to individually go into the minds of every single warrior.

I could watch them all at once, like a play of a hundred humans’ lives, and locate who had true, strong deaths—who risked their lives for the greater good, who went down in a blaze of unbridled glory.

When Rayna and I both nodded to each other, we descended upon the bridge.

A whoosh of air laced with beams of light hit our faces, and almost as soon as it started, it was over.

We were spat out into the Midgardian night, no rainbow hues to light our way, only stars dimmed by the pollution of a burning field.

Sisters of the House of Wings were already picking through the dead to find their chosen souls.

Some sisters frantically collected as fast as they could, wearing the black and silver armor of Helheim or the emerald and gold armor of Fólkvangr.

These were sisters from the other sects, gathering souls rejected by the Valhalla valkyries.

The Valhalla sect moved a little slower, watching the memories of the slain and deciding who would come back with them.

Rayna and Gunhild dove down to meet the rest of the valkyries while I hung high above them all.

I watched as the blue-tinted spirits rose from their bodies, guided by the choosers of the slain.

It’d been a smaller skirmish tonight, not leaving many souls to choose from.

As I closed my eyes, listening only to the sound of beating wings, I began to see images move behind my eyes: A man in leather armor tripping and falling on his own sword, a woman caught in a fire, and countless more.

I didn’t stop watching the last moments play out until I came across a memory of an older gentleman, laced up in his finest armor.

He’d been told to stay at home, where his family believed it to be safe, but he geared up anyway and ran into battle, despite his failing body.

At first, I’d thought the man had ignored his family to prevent passing on naturally and being sent to Helheim with the rest of the villagers who died of old age.

When I came upon his final moment, though, I realized the man had fled to save his family.

Raiders had encroached on the small family home, and if it weren’t for the elderly man using whatever strength he had left to fight off the three violent men about to attack, his family would have been lost to the night.

Apple dove down to the beacon the man’s memory provided.

He sat with his back against his home, eyes closed, as if he’d drifted off for a nap under the stars.

If I were to move his ruby red hands that laid across his belly, this man’s slumber would be seen for what it truly was: a final rest. I took a moment and listened for movement inside.

When I heard hushed whispers, I knew this man had succeeded in what he’d set off to do.

His wife and two daughters were alive, hiding in their longhouse until they felt it was safe to emerge.

What I’d do next wouldn’t help with their loss, but I hoped it would ease their transition.

Apple nudged a yellow wildflower unaffected by the flames toward me.

I took it from between her teeth, and I tucked the stem into one of the man’s curled hands.

When the stain on his tunic was partially covered, I placed my hand upon his chest and pulled the man free from his mortal confines.

He took shape in the form of a blue orb, which I held in my hands for only a moment before bottling his essence.

If anyone deserved to dine in the golden hall for all of eternity, it was him.

I gathered two more souls, wrapping all three bottles with the warriors’ essences in leather and tucking them into Apple’s armor.

Rayna was still wandering through the scene, being particular as ever, despite the slim pickings.

I gave her a few more moments to wrap up before we moved on.

Valkyries didn’t simply attend to one village or even one kingdom.

Once we were in Midgard, we would follow the scent of blood and the energy of souls. Wherever we were needed, we would be.

When Rayna was finished, the two of us hopped back onto our prospective pegasus and flew into the night.

We grew closer and closer to the village where I spent almost every night, even if no battle waged on.

Stormheim was a peaceful village—for now.

The surrounding areas had been hit one by one, all taken by the encroaching war.

It wasn’t our job to know why the war had begun or what side was in the right, if any, but this one, I found myself interested in, merely for the path of destruction it’d been taking.

When Rayna and I touched down in Toftvik, we assessed the battle scene and started all over again. I skimmed through final moments until I was satisfied with the four souls I plucked, adding to the collection I kept safe within Apple’s pouches.

Leaving Rayna to her selection process, I wandered away through dying autumn trees on Apple’s back until she took off into the sky. We were one village over from Stormheim now, and I feared what that might mean for my nightly routine.

Apple and I flew to Stormheim as always.

Neither one of us were necessarily able to blend in with the Midgardian villagers, Apple with her wings and me with my long white hair, not to mention our armor, shiny and golden with crimson detailing.

So, I always had her land on the outskirts.

We walked the rest of the way on foot, careful to stay hidden within the trees.

When I heard a shout in the distance, both Apple and I froze.

“Hello?” the voice called out, as familiar as ever, though never directed toward me. “Anyone there?”

I shook my head at Apple, who dared to walk forward. My hand found her back, and I swore, it was the only part of my body I was able to move. Even my lungs had frozen at the sound of the seeress' wondrous, perpetually curious voice.

I couldn’t see her from where I hid, but I could hear her ragged breathing with the help of my valkyrie gifts, the way she slowly backed away upon my silence.

When the sounds of her departing quieted, I finally moved, leaving Apple behind as I lurked through the ghost-infested trees to find my little mortal.

I caught a glimpse of her strawberry blonde hair, though the night never did the color justice the same way a roaring fire did.

She ducked under a rotting log, right into a cloud of pesky bloodflies.

They began attacking her unmarred skin, though there were more than enough corpses in the area to feast upon.

It was as if the greedy little insects couldn't wait until the Stormheim folk too had perished.

Her scream cut through the night, sending a shock of ice through my veins.

“Go find something dead to feast on, you rotten, no good, wastes of space!”

My shoulders relaxed, and I held in an amused chuckle as the seeress danced away the bugs, shouting at them as she went. I didn’t follow any further as she found a torch and carried it off to her village.

She and I sharing the same space was a rare thing. Over the years, I’d become addicted to her scent of wildflowers and spruce. I couldn’t help but follow the identical path she’d taken, wondering if her scent still hung in the air after she was gone.