Valkyrie (Complete)

10: The First Battle

It's been three more days since she burned her house down. She has continued to heal mentally and her training has increased to stronger than it was before the Ankathians invaded. She spars with her teammates, but she has reached a point where she can take them easily in hand-to-hand combat. They have also improved greatly over the last ten days and she smiles secretly every time they are able to best her.

They also work on their controlling their powers. The stronger those get, the better they get at combat skills as well. Valkyrie is still the only one to control more than one element, but they've all learned how to incorporate that into their weapons. Phoenix can set his blades on fire, Eira can add extra spiky points to hers made of ice, and Kaj can use the land in place of arrows in his bow.

Valkyrie can do all of those things, but her favorite is wrapping her blades in lightning. It's electric hot and she's found that it's even more powerful if she allows the lightning to wrap up her arms as well. It takes a huge amount of her energy to maintain it, but it makes her attack over twice as strong.

They're all high-strung in anticipation of the oncoming war, none of them knowing when it will begin. The Ankathians know that they're back, that much is for sure, but they do not know when each other will attack. Tension is thick in the air and the house soon is too cramped for it. If they're all in the house, it makes them vulnerable to being surrounded and killed quickly. They have started taking turns keeping watch again and no one goes anywhere alone. One single warrior is too easy to take out, even as highly trained as they are.

Finally, when it seems that nothing is happening, they wake before the sun and go to The Academy one last time. The building has obviously been pillaged and some areas have been burned, but the structure does not fall. It represents the Mauliks: strong, enduring, and relentless. They walk around silently and the first place they go is the weapons room. They strap as many weapons as they can, many of them knives or short blades. They're around their legs, in their boots, and hidden beneath the fabric of their clothing. Valkyrie straps two more swords to her hips. They don't feel as natural as the ones on her back, but it could make the difference between life and death.

After that, they settle into the main hall of The Academy to wait.

* * *

Valkyrie is nearly asleep when a ground-shaking boom pulls her from it. The others are pulled from sleep as well, looking around in confusion. Another rumble reverberates throughout the building and dust falls from the stone ceiling. "What's going on?" Kaj asks.

"The war is starting," Valkyrie replies lowly, her eyes burning red-orange in the darkness of the room. Small flames ignite from her fingertips and light the room.

They move around the debris and as they near the entrance, bullets rush in. The four Mauliks take cover and are preparing to return fire with arrows and elemental ammunition before Valkyrie stops them. "They don't know where we are yet. They're firing blindly."

She motions for them to stay where they are while she moves closer. She's ready to shield herself, having learned that her shockwaves are strong enough to block bullets. She makes it to the front door before she stops. She sees countless Ankathian soldiers, probably somewhere around two hundred of them if she's estimating correctly.

She seems movement out of the corner of her eye but doesn't react quickly enough. Pain flares in her calf and her leg buckles from the shock of it, exposing her to the entire enemy army. Her teammates make a move to help her but she stops them, putting her hand out for them to stay where they are.

Three soldiers come to get her and she smiles. They hesitate when they see it, unsure of why she's smiling, but don't stop nevertheless. She allows them to haul her to her feet and curses under her breath when they throw her across the ground. She struggles to regain her footing as she limps, but she still does not look afraid. Her teammates watch in awe as she whips out a short sword from a sheath on her thigh and takes out two of the three soldiers right around her in a matter of seconds. The third has time to pull out a sword of his own and she blocks his blow easily. She blocks lazily as the man attacks desperately, a frightened look on his face. She decides to get serious and deflects his sword before ending the fight with a single strike.

More soldiers run at her and she pulls out a long knife, waiting to use her good swords until the real battle begins. She takes on six soldiers at once and not a single one of them can touch her, even though she's wounded and hopping around on one foot.

Finally, she gives the signal for her friends to join in. They come rushing out and as they start making their way through the sea of enemy troops, it becomes obvious how poorly trained the Ankathians are. They have numbers, but nearly none of them can actually fight. This leave Valkyrie to conclude that they rely on numbers and brute strength instead of skill.

Shots are fired from the trees into the crowd and many of them hit their own soldiers. It makes it easier for the Eikonidian warriors to get through the mass as more and more of them are felled by friendly fire.

Finally, a hasty retreat is made by the Ankathians as over three-quarters of their forces lay dead on the blood-soaked ground. They run back into the protection of the forest and the warriors chase them off before stopping to catch their breath.

Phoenix is closest to Valkyrie and he hurries over to hug her tightly. "We did it!"

She allows herself to be happy and celebrate for a moment, before her eyes land on a sight that takes her breath away. She pulls away from Phoenix sharply and he's about to ask what the matter is when he sees the look on her face. Her face is pale and her eyes are wide, focused on something behind him. He turns and when he sees it, he's sure that his expression matches hers.

She tries to run over to her teammates, but her leg buckles beneath her. Phoenix catches her and wraps a supporting arm around her waist. They hurry over and Valkyrie drops to her knees. Tears well in her eyes and she makes no attempt to stop them from falling.

Gentle hands smooth them from her cheeks and she fights to contain a sob. "Eira," she cries.

Eira is lying on her back. She's been struck by several bullets and the look of agony on her face is more than her friends can bear. Most of the shots hit her torso and her uniform is bathed in blood.

Kaj is beside her, holding her hand tightly as he watches the love of his life dying. Tears run unchecked down his face and it hurts her to see him like this. Her breath is rattling in her chest and she coughs, blood splattering on her lips. Her face is pale and a sweat is covering her skin. She can feel herself weakening and the others can see it, every one of them knowing that there's nothing that can be done.

"I love you guys," she says hoarsely, struggling to get the words out. "It was an honor to fight with you."

"I love you," Kaj says to her, his voice thick and cracking with emotion. "I always will." He leans over and kisses her one last time. Valkyrie holds her friend's hand tightly and Eira squeezes one more time as she smiles gently. Phoenix gives her a watery smile and smooths some stray hairs from her face, and just like that, she's gone. She closed her eyes and then her chest didn't rise after it fell.

Kaj breaks out into sobs and Valkyrie cries silently. Phoenix is fighting tears of his own as he moves next to Kaj, placing a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. Kaj leans over and puts his forehead on her chest, clutching her hand tightly to him. His wails are heartbreaking and the three of them are unable to move for hours.

Finally, as the sun begins to set, they get up. They take her body to the meadow where Valkyrie's father and Phoenix's sister are buried, and they add another grave. It's the hardest burial yet and as they make their way back to town, none of them can help but feel as if a piece of them died with Eira.