Page 20 of Valkyrie Unknown

“Okay. I’ll nix the ring idea.” And move on to my real reason for being here. “So you called?” I settled on the bed and reached for one of my knife holsters, as much out of habit as anything.

“My contact is ready to meet you, but I’m supposed to convey that their information comes at a cost.”

Most things did. She’d found me someone who had experience with other potentials. With helping them access some of their abilities.Costrarely meant money, which was good, since what I made being a friend for hire went to things like shelter, food, and a disturbing number of replacement burner phones. Even those broke more than normal around me.

“How much?” I traced my thumb absentmindedly over the design on my holster, the way I had thousands of times before. Something was wrong with the texture.

“They said you have to negotiate that with them, but promised it was a price you should be willing to pay, given what you want.”

That didn’t sound ominous at all. “What do I oweyou?” I always found a way to pay Enid for her help. Something Mom taught me when I was young, and I agreed, was that I didn’t want to be one of those selfish gods who used people when I ascended. Since my entire reason for pursuing this path was to stop people from hurting as much, it didn’t make sense for me to do harm in order to accomplish my goal.

“A full and complete description of what happens when you meet this individual,” Enid said.

“Deal.” My thumb passed over something smooth. A stone, not leather. That shouldn’t be there. I looked at the holster in my hand. There was a gem tucked inside the decorative straps of leather.Davyn. “What does Amethyst do?”

“You already know the answer to that.”

I did. It was one of the easy things even non-believers got right. But I needed to hear her say it. “Humor me.”

“It’s protection. Frequently used for spells that mask magic and hide their owner-slash-keep them safe from harm.”

Davyn had my holsters last night, while I was unconscious. He’d removed them and put them on the nightstand. He must have done this then, because they weren’t out of my sight otherwise. “Thanks. Where do I meet this contact of yours?”

She gave me the address, as well as some instructions that had been passed along to her. Landmarks in town. “I hope that means something to you.”

“It’s not a big town. Left at the diner is sufficient.”

“Good.” Enid hesitated. “Be careful.”

“I always am.” A lie. The world wasn’t going to kill me until prophecy was done with me.

“You rarely are.” Her teasing was gone. “But I have a bad feeling about this.”

Fortunately for me, she wasn’t a seer, so herfeelingdidn’t matter. “I’ll call you when I’m done, but I don’t know how long it will be.” Hours. Days. No way to tell. “Talk then.” I hung up before she could say anything else.

Her warning stuck in my head.I have a bad feeling…I stared at the protection charm Davyn snuck into my gear. He had to know I’d see it. I wasn’t happy about being warded in any way without my permission.

I wanted my destiny to come to me. I was tired of hiding from it, and if I thought standing on top of the tallest casino in town and screaming,Come get me, bitch, would do me any good, I’d give it a try.

On the other hand, I was about to walk into the unknown, meet with someone Enid hadn’t been able to uncover much about, and ask them to help me unlock what I could do, without having any idea what that meant to them.

Images flashed in my mind of the past. Of Rayne. Of her attackers and her death. If she’d been hidden then, would she still be here now?

That was as useless a question as the others I tended to assault myself with around her death. If I’d been a better fighter… If I’d been willing to kill… If… If… If… Asking those things had never brought me answers or peace.

So why not add one more question to the stack?

I grabbed my things. Most of what I owned fit in my backpack, and the rest was disposable and in a small studio apartment in Salt Lake. I left my keycard on the dresser near the TV to check out, and walked out the door.

And ran smack into a solid wall of grimy T-shirt and jeans, covering muscle.

Davyn.

Seven

Davyn

I was aboutto knock on Azzie’s hotel room door, when she opened it and walked into me.

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