Page 53 of Valkyrie Unknown

Knock it off.

Fuck off, me.But Ishouldreign my thoughts in. What happened a few days ago was proof that letting my guard down was dangerous for more than me.

He was seriously into that game, racking up win after win. With each one, with each chance to enter his initials, he let out a low growl of ayes, and the initialsLGMpushed further down the top-scorer list, replaced with another set ofZZZ.

Gabby brought my food. Mythankswas barely out of my mouth, before I grabbed three fries, dipped them in the shake, and shoved the mess in my mouth.

She was watching me with a curious expression, so I gave her the best smile I could. “It’s good,” I managed before grabbing more food.

It wasn’t that I’d been starving for the last few days, but if I couldn’t brawl or bang…

Her smile was kind and patient. She was probably only a decade older than me, but the pink polyester uniform with the white apron gave her a frozen-in-time sort of look. “You new here?” She ran a clean rag over a clean spot on the counter.

I didn’t blame her for digging for more details about the redheaded stranger in a place where everyone probably knew everyone else.

“Just passing through. I heard this diner had the best milkshakes.” I hadn’t heard that, but they weren’t bad. Top one-third of the list.

“You know people here, then? You looking for anything specific?”

The questions weren’t subtle. Since I’d been told to come here and ask for the guy, I might as well. “I heard there was someone here who does unique metalwork. Elven.”

Her immediate laugh wasn’t the answer I hoped for, but it wasn’t a surprise. The great thing about saying weird shit to people who didn’t expect it was they tended to think I was joking.

“Are you one of those cosplayers?” she asked.

I forced a chuckle of my own. “Something like that. My mom was huge into magic and Tolkien and stuff.”

“My second husband was like that too.” Gabby gave a light shake of her head. “But I can’t help you. I’m sorry.”

The cook called her name, and she turned away.

I dug into my meal but kept looking up at the mirror, at the other patron. What was it about him?

There was a small electronic screen near me—one of several on the counter and a sharp contrast to the rest of the decor. According to the screensaver, it gave me access to the jukebox. Davyn would grumble that this took the fun out of the experience of going up to the machine and picking a song, but today, it was convenient.

One of the things that surprised me most about Davyn was that he was a pop-culture nut. Not really anything post-2000, but he loved his classic rock.

There was no way to search for songs, and scrolling to the bottom of the artist list took longer than I wanted, but there it was. “Pinball Wizard” by The Who.

The song played through the empty diner, and when I glanced in the mirror again, the man was gone.

“Did Finn send you?” The deep voice came from next to me.

Holy shit, how did he do that? No one snuck up on me. And who the fuck was Finn? “I’m sorry—what?”

Fifteen

Zeke

Since I met Finn,since word slipped out that I could work with enchanted weapons, a handful of interesting people had come to town looking for me.

As I watched the woman at the counter, I couldn’t remember a single other one of them.

Okay, that wasn’t really true, but the instant she walked in, a voice inside roared to life. One I’d never heard before, A humming in my thoughts. An insistence that I pay attention to the stunning redhead who moved like a dancer and held herself like the world might attack at any moment.

I wasn’t in the habit of indulging random destructive urges—not since I quit drinking—and I fought instinct, in order to keep playing the pinball game.

But when she asked about elven weapons…

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