Page 43 of Daddy's Justice

Chapter Thirteen

Forseti

“Remember what I told you last night, little goddess?” I had held her until her pulse had slowed to a steady pace and then walked her back over to see Winter again. She brushed him as we spoke.

“Which part, Daddy?”

“The part where I said that everything I told you to do had a reason behind it?”

“Yes, Daddy. I remember.”

Good, my lesson had made an impact. I thought it might have with how she had controlled herself earlier and obeyed, even though it was obvious she was tired. I didn’t want her to think of me as a monster. I was pushing her in part because I had to and because I knew, without any question, that she could do everything I was asking her to do.

“The problem here is time. We don’t have any. I have to assess your ability and find your weaknesses so that we can help turn those into strengths. To do so, I have to throw things your way that I wouldn’t normally ever throw at a beginner. I could tell from wrestling with you last night that your hand-to-hand skills are more than adequate. I needed to see your skills with a bow today, sweets.”

“But, was it necessary to shoot at me?”

“Yes. The enemy isn’t going to care if you are new or not. You are a threat and defeating you is their mission. You learned some valuable lessons this morning. A straight line makes an easy target. Arrows are all but silent. You have to feel their presence and be hyper aware. It is harder to hit your target under fire; you have to concentrate that much more.” I named the lessons, ticking them off on my fingers as I rattled them off.

“I guess that makes sense,” she begrudgingly replied. “I’m still not happy about it.”

“I’m sure you aren’t. I wouldn’t be happy about someone shooting a barrage of arrows at me, either.” I paused, and sobered. “We have a lot more training to do today, little goddess. Why don’t we go inside and get some lunch before running some more drills?” I watched her shoulders slump as she turned to obey.

“I don’t want to leave Winter.”

“He’ll be just fine here. He has waited his entire life to meet you. He won’t be going anywhere.”

She pouted but turned to leave Winter’s side.

“Good, it makes me happy when you obey, little goddess.”

After a quick lunch with the team, the rest of the afternoon was spent training and observing Morrigan. She had impressed the hell out of me. She had a super human strength that almost rivaled my own. She was agile, fast and had a higher pain tolerance than any valkyrie I had ever met. Unless at the mercy of my hands, she felt next to no pain. Kara and Edda, giving her the best they had, couldn’t fell her. I found it odd that a swat from my hand on her butt could make her cry out in pain, but when a stray arrow pierced her arm, she didn’t even notice. We had to stop her and pull it out.

As the afternoon progressed, an uncomfortableness settled over me. Something was wrong, off. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was there. She wasn’t happy. It was as if she was nervous.

Of course, she is nervous, you fool. You are asking her to do things that she had thought before today were impossible. You are forcing her to expose talents she never knew she had and asking her to be vulnerable with strangers.

Though that was the best answer I could come up with to explain it, my gut told me something more was going on, but what?

* * *

Morrigan

After dinner, we gathered in the living room. There was a table that hadn’t been there before. On it were two items, a sword and a spear. Both were weapons we had used earlier in the day. Like the bow, I was incredibly proficient with both, although I had never touched either before.

“These are for you, Morrigan. This sword is all but indestructible, a lot like the clothes you currently wear. Beyond that, it is your gateway into Asgard. It will allow you to transport between worlds. Guard it with your life and it will guard yours.”

A magical sword. Of course. What else would it be?

“And this is your spear,” Forseti continued. “It is enchanted, it is like a magic wand. When you need food, supplies or aide, it can provide it with a flick of the wrist. It is also incredibly important for hand-to-hand combat.”

“It is collapsible,” Kara said. “Our models are so much cooler than our ancestors were. Check it out.”

I watched as she reached into her belt loop, pulled out something no longer than a pencil and with two flicks of the wrist turned it into a large spear with an incredibly sharp and pointed spearhead.

“Humans are so proud of the way their cell phones shrink in size, but we have spears. Much more useful.”

If you say so.

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