Page 24 of Valkyrie Unknown

“He was a great fighter.” Davyn sounded almost reverent.

Ulf nodded. “And he died the way he wanted. In a glorious battle.”

The way I understood it, a newly created Berserker wasn’t immortal; they simply healed more quickly. The longer they lived, though, the tougher they got, until they were all but unkillable. I assumed it was the same for those who were born Berserker, and I suspected Davyn was close to unkillable.

“That must’ve been one hell of a fight,” I said.

“It was.” Ulf’s voice went tight. “And if I’d been allowed to partake…”

He’d have died, like his presumably thousand-year-old grandfather. No reason to rub salt in the wound.

Ulf let out a loud cough, as if clearing his throat, and pushed another door open, to reveal a large room with a concrete floor. The epoxy paint was stained dark in places, and a few drains dotted the room.

Not the least-welcoming place, but the sight put me on the defensive.

“About earlier—both outside and last night—” Ulf looked at me. “It wasn’t personal.”

And this was his version of an apology. “It was about the fight. I understand.”

“Exactly.” His smile was a toothy grin that reminded me he was hiding things, and the sight curdled my gut.

“So…” I was tired of the back and forth. “Is there some sort of ritual I need to follow, or can I just ask how we do this?”

His smile grew. “Davyn, give Ginger Kitty some room.”

I could correct him. Tell him my real name or at least my real fake name, but I’d been called far worse by the people who trained me.

Davyn didn’t look happy about backing up, but ten minutes ago, he crossed meters faster than I could blink, to attack Ulf.

“I’m good,” I assured Davyn anyway.

He shook his head. “We’ll see.”

“The way this works is simple,” Ulf said. “You show me what you can do, and we go from there, as far asstrengthis concerned. “

I moved my feet a hint further apart, dropped one arm, and left the other up, to attack or block as needed. “Against you?”

“No.” Ulf’s reply was overlapped by another growl from Davyn. “Against you.” He snapped, and a movement caught my attention out of the corner of my eye.

I whirled toward the shape, already reaching for a knife again. What lumbered toward us looked like a vaguely human-shaped dummy, made of coarse beige fabric and filled with something lumpy.

As it got closer, its appearance shifted, and by the time it reached us, I was staring at a mirror image of myself. Aside from the fact that she wore pink kitty ears and a belt with a tail.

“Cute.” Sarcasm dripped from my voice.

Ulf chuckled. “Isn’t she?”

Shedidn’t move or even so much as blink. Her chest didn’t even rise and fall. Could I learn how to be that much of a blank slate?

“What else do I need to know?” I asked. There were always rules, and it was important to keep them in mind.

Ulf grabbed my wrist so quickly I didn’t have a chance to react. One of his fingers was extended in a long claw that pricked my ring finger.

The dummy-me held out her hand, and he squeezed a few drops of blood onto her.

The fact that the exchange wasn’t enough to make Davyn react didn’t make me feel any safer. I yanked my wrist back as soon as Ulf let go, and sucked on the bleeding finger. At least the asshole used my left hand.

“Now she knows everything about fighting that you do.” Ulf took several steps back. “You beat her or she beats you, and the fight is over. Only you or I can stop the fight otherwise.” He cast a pointed look at Davyn. “Under threat of intense pain.”

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