Valkyrie of Desire

17. Let's Fly

A feline is a carnivore without a conscience

They kill efficiently and love conditionally

Understand, when backs are turned, destruction is wanton

Petting makes them purr but never consider them tamed

Cat owners that die, get eaten face first, for instance

Meat is meat no matter the years of faithful service

—Nameless "Jerry" Faceless

Hildr groans and rubs her tummy packed full with fatty meats. It has a slight curve, something like the bump her baby should give her soon.

Escape must happen before her pregnancy is apparent, or she will be imprisoned as a gift for Pales or for leverage over Scarlets.

She burps and fingers a steak bone. Elves cannot digest meat. Ishkur only being half, could handle it occasionally. What will their child prefer? She tosses the bone on a pile of sawdust.

The floorboards of the townhouse's crafting space are otherwise spotless. Against the wall, Meepsin pants with a broken crow feather covering his lap. The brownie has been gathering detritus all morning, cleaning a swath across the second story's floor.

Hildr stretches. "Meep, go fetch Apple. Let's see what he thinks of our escape plan."

"From fire man? Running, good plan."

"No from ... What do you mean by 'fire man?' "

He points out the window. "Man who makes fear and flame appear. Dap cawed, angry men with him and your name on their lips, grim."

Hildr gulps and ice travels down her spine. "Was he hairy?" She pats her chest. "An axe fit for a giant, did he carry?"

"Dap not do detail. Crows not good mental."

Could it be Ajax, returning as the monster formed from her betrayal and her demigoddess's curse of rebirth? Being caged or enslaved in matrimony may be better than suffering his wrath. She snorts. Why do bad things clump together like bubbles in a bath?

Hildr collapses to the floor. "By karma's rule, it is Jax as Ishkur's message warned."

"Who Jax? What Jax?"

"A dread walker, the most powerful form of berserker. I broke the heart of the man he was, and my demigoddess forged him into a living weapon of rage, fire, and fear."

The brownie dusts a spot on the floor with his broken feather. "Demigoddess cruel. Happy it not you."

She says, "How far?"

"Hours by crow. Days with toes. Do not know. We just go."

"Let me think while you go fetch Apple."

"I can go go. Watch me roll roll." Easing to his teaspoon-sized feet, Meepsin cartwheels with one arm down the stairs.

Hildr tightens the light green sheet she's wearing like a toga and tucks an arm against her chest as Meepsin did with his stunted right arm. With a huff, she leans into a cartwheel. Muscles relaxed, it is an effortless movement. Her cheeks flush as the world blurs. Despite stuffing herself with meat and the parasite in her womb, she has never been stronger, and she grins as her feet thump down.

Straightening, her left heel catches a splinter that sinks deep. "Shit logs!"

Gritting her teeth, she hops to a hardwood chair and falls into it. Finding the thorn of wood with her finger, she pinches and yanks it out. Blood streams like a leaking flask of wine and splatters across the floorboards.