VALKYRIE

Chapter 20: Eric's POV

Juno's eyes sought out mine. We locked out gaze for a second, and in that one second, we each understood exactly what the other was thinking.

We both felt fear so strong, we were incredibly terrified of everything at the moment. We had faced the Dark Leader before, but there was no way to predict whether or not we would last throughout the battle.

Now we were weaker and more tired. But we had no other choice than to do this.

We needed to stay strong. We had to protect everyone and anyone.

Good or evil.

Troubled or innocent.

Slave or free.

In that moment, we realized we had to put aside all our fears to help all of humankind, all the Valkyries, and any Spirit at all.

We felt brave and protective. No matter how long the battle lasted, whether it lasted one second or one century, we would do everything in and out of our power to save everyone we could.

The Dark Leader was never going to stop us as long as we believed and stood together.

Suddenly, we heard a noise. It was the faint sound of footsteps from far away. But these footsteps did not sound like the soft sounds of the Light Leader when she walked. It was a harsh, guttural sound.

It sounded like the bottom of the sole of the person's shoes had long spikes that dug into the ground, softening the freshly turned earth. Everyone in our party have each other an uneasy glance.

Juno quietly whispered to me that she was going back to the Valkyrie realm to call the army to the Dark Realm. She disappeared and reappeared a few moments later.

"They're outside the castle, ready to attack," Juno whispered, looking around nervously. The Light Leader put one hand on each of our shoulders.

"The throne room is that way," she said, pointing to the left. "Follow me." The Light Leader cautiously stepped out into the slightly lit area. She craned her neck and looked in both directions. The she beckoned to Juno and I.

We slowly followed, turning right, then left, then right again. Soon, we ended up in the same corridor we had stood in when Iris sacrificed herself.

The thought caused me to stiffen up. I could tell that Juno was thinking the same thing. She looked uncomfortable.

Her eyes began to tear up as she leaned against me. I held her close as we burst into the throne room.

The Dark Leader stood there, his back facing us. He turned around, glaring daggers at everything he saw. His gaze intensified as he saw the three of us standing there, holding our weapons up.

"How did you escape my dungeon?" The Dark Leader questioned us, his scarred hand slightly raised.

"I told you I didn't need the necklace to perform magic," the Light Leader reiterated, tilting her chin up and her eyes squinting. The Dark Leader laughed.

"And I told you, you are absolutely nothing without that necklace. You will never defeat me without it," he arrogantly affirmed.

"That's not true!" My voice rang out through the castle, louder than I had ever spoken anything before. The Dark Leader's gaze slowly crawled over the Light Leader, then distastefully over Juno, then stopped at me.

His eyes traveled over me, making me uncomfortable. I wanted to go hide until he was gone, but I firmly stayed standing in the same spot, not allowing myself to move.

"And who might you be?" He scoffed, sharply looking me in the eyes with his boring into me.

"That doesn't matter. I've come to help stop you, once and for all," I defended myself, willing myself to stay stationary in my spot.

The Dark Leader threw his head back and laughed, a grating sound that made me cringe. I could see Juno beside me, shaking with rage, from my peripheral vision.

I silently held her back with my hand in front of her.

"You could never defeat me. I am the Dark Leader. The most powerful being ever to exist. How could a mortal like you stop someone like me?" He threw out casually, like we were having dinner together at a fast food restaurant.

"I don't need to tell you anything," I said. I was stalling, because the truth was, I didn't quite know.

Suddenly, I felt something. It was Juno, holding on to her necklace. She was using it to contact me in my thoughts.

"Eric. Distract him. I'll sneak up behind him and steal the necklace," she whispered in my mind. I tried not to change my facial expression as I continued to stare at the Dark Leader.

"So? What's your plan? Are you going to stand here, waiting for your troops to take over the world, or are you going to actually do something besides stand here, scaring as many people as possible, and wait for your army to get back?" I taunted, trying to keep him distracted and focused on me.

Juno was edging towards him, trying not to catch his attention. I continued to bluff my way through, trying not to let the Dark Leader see any emotion on my face. Juno was behind him, and slowly reached up to the Dark Leader's hideous neck.

She unhooked the necklace, and then threw it at the Light Leader. The Light Leader reached up and caught it, surprising the Dark Leader into whirling around.

Once he saw Juno standing behind him, her arm raised, he let out a roar of rage. He turned to the Light Leader, who was about to put on her necklace.

He took in a sharp, furious breath, and shot a blast of darkness at the necklace.

It hit the golden pendant in the middle, and the necklace began to flay away, the exact object we had traveled relentlessly for, our only hope of winning the war, slowly broke into millions of pieces, and fell to the floor in a pile by our feet.