Valkyrie of Desire

38. Black And Blue

Every mind has a closet full of masks

Lies worn like clothing keep lonely souls warm

Do not judge when I spy, steal, and murder

My face and delusion is a costume

—Haden Abdi Nasar

Hildr squints up at the blazing eye in the clear blue sky, the summer sun halfway done with its daily mission. She frowns and squats on the dusty library steps next to the wide river. Voices travel across the gray water, laborers filling barges at the city's docks with trade goods coming from local industry and neighboring towns and villages. The street behind her bustles, wagon wheels and hooves grinding and clanking on cobbled stone above the steady hum of people's chatter. The thick air sticks to her skin, and a breeze brings a hint of shit from the water. River cities always have sewage mixing in.

"Meepsin!" She waves to the tiny brownie at corner of the building. "Tell Pam to come around and the others to wait with Agro at the side entrance. I'm sure the Pales have eyes on us. Remind them to distract curious folk any way they can."

"I obey." He salutes, clanking his woody arm against his pea-green forehead. "On my way."

Hildr stands as he scampers off like a squirrel on an acorn hunt. The young fae has served her the longest and killed for her twice. More death is sure to come. He deserves something special, something to inspire loyalty among others.

Her adventuring band used the silhouette of a lute as their symbol. A volcano could be hers, a flat-topped triangle engraved into a broach sized for the brownie.

People on the street gasp and scurry. Hildr grips the hilt of her knife. Have Pale's soldiers arrived?

Thudding around the building's corner Pam, the she-orc giantess, churns the packed dirt of the path with her hooked toenails. Towering twice Hildr's height, Pam roars and her horse-sized belly stretches from the inside.

Hildr hops up the steps to the massive doors, bumping the bronze lantern at the landing with her heel. "Is it baby time?"

Pam groans and tugs on her tusks. "Feisty. Probably teething and gnawing on my insides. We better get Master Jerry free now."

Hildr winces and points at the double doors sized for the giant orc. "They're unlocked this time. Push them open, and I'll have my pet ghost lead us to your old master."

Pam huffs and strides up the granite steps. With a growl she leans against the doors, and they open with a hiss. The thick slabs gain momentum and swing inward. A feat of engineering beyond the current age to make something so large move without a creak or grind, giving the stone an illusion of weightlessness.

Hildr picks up the lantern and hurries in after the giant orc. Sidestepping into the shadows, she clicks the knob on the side of her lantern to spark a light.

"Close those, and I'll summon Ruse," says Hildr.

Pam holds her belly and pushes the doors closed one heave at a time.

Hildr shuffles to the left of the doors, holding up her light and squinting. Finding the raised spot on the wall, she presses the button in with her palm. Gears click and a thick iron bar slides across from the other side.

She points at the bar. "No wonder, right?"

The metal clanks and settles, locking the doors closed. Pam covers her belly with her massive hands, as if to lock her babies in.

Hildr clears her throat. "I mean this is a titan-made lock you were pressing against yesterday. So, no need to feel—"

"I am past feelings." The giantess shudders and drools spills from her loose lips. "I am will alone."