Page 143 of Valkyrie Unknown

Where was it coming from? As I turned to locate the source, a flash of movement caught my eye, and I spun in time to see a glimpse of dark hair that reminded me of Diego, and a flash of blond so pale it was nearly white.

Then both were gone. Were they ghosts?

I was trapped in a mind maze by a siren and may or may not be influencing my surroundings without knowing it; ghosts shouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility.

This felt more like I'd witnessed something that hadn't happened yet.

What an odd thought.

"Why won't you take me seriously?"

Azzie?

I whirled so fast toward her frustration, the room spun. Like before, a flash of color caught my eye—a glimpse of familiar red hair—before the sight vanished. It wasn’t as if Azzie had walked into one of the rooms, though. It was more like she was a projection, overlaid with the space I occupied, that faded into nothing.

Bring her back. I pushed the thought both in and out, willing it to happen until the words meant nothing, but the vision didn’t emerge again.

“Hello?” Unlike the other voices this one was solid. Did Davyn’s shout come from the other side of the door I put the rune on?

It didn't matter that I'd tried all three doors many times, I reached for it again. Before I could twist the knob, a force from the other side pushed it toward me.

My pulse hammered in my ears, and I jumped back before the door could hit me.

The first woman who stepped out was familiar. The platinum blond hair was unique, but so were the circumstances we'd met under. Callie was with another woman who had long black hair, sensual curves, and was she glowing? Only faintly.

"Hey. How did you get in here?" I'd be polite in a moment, after I got the important questions out of the way.

Neither of them so much as glanced in my direction.

"Hey." My shout echoed off the walls, and rebounded at me.

They were talking to each other, but their words were faint and distant. Too indistinct for me to make out.

I reached for Callie's arm, and my hand passed through her as the pair vanished.

Before I could process, the door--which no one had closed, but which was somehow shut--opened again.

"Thank Creation we found you." Azzie was standing immediately next to me. "We have to go now."

"Yes.Christyes. Let's go." As the last syllables fell past my lips, I realized she wasn't looking at me. "Azzie."

She was looking at Callie and the brunette, who had just stepped into the hallway again.

I snapped my fingers in front of Azzie's face. She remained focused on them.

Azzie had wings. Beautiful and golden, like those I'd seen in my mind when I drew her tattoo.

The dim lighting in the hallway glinted off the metal of her armor. The chainmail hugged her torso, and there was no padding or other armor underneath. If that wasn't impractical enough, the skull pauldrons would make the armor one-hundred percent costume.

It didn't matter because she was stunning.

Had she ascended?

Azzie, Callie, and the brunette vanished.

Was I dead? This was purgatory, filled with...

Things I'd never seen before?

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