Page 45 of Reaper
“I’m sorry to sneak in on you,” she says, her tone gentle and sweet. “There was no other way, unfortunately.”
“No other way to what?” I ask, my voice cooperating.
This can’t be happening.
Whateverthisis.
“No other way to show you that what you witnessed was real.”
“I… But… Explain,” I finally demand.
“It might be better to show you,” Skuld says, lifting her hands again and nodding at my head. “May I?”
“May you what?”
“Show you.”
“How?”
“It won’t hurt, I promise.”
“Sure, why not?” I say, the words coming out snarky.
How much stranger can the night get?
Skuld cups my head, and a warmth spreads through my veins a second before I'm transported to another place, at least in my mind. Visions of Reaper in fields of white and gold appear like a movie, and frame after frame whizzes by. I see Viking, Inferno, Acid, Demo, and Grump, along with many, many other men.Beautiful women, dressed in ethereal garb like Skuld introduce themselves to me. It reminds me of heaven but… darker somehow.
The last image is one of me and Reaper in a room with Heidi and Hunter, but I don’t recognize the room. A bright white light filters through a large window, and that’s when I notice the monitors surrounding the bed.
They look just like the monitors that were in the delivery room when I had the twins.
“Stop!” I shout, and Skuld releases me. Checking to make sure I’m home, in my own living room, I take deep breaths to steady myself. “What was that?”
“That, dear Kyra, was Valhalla,” she says. “You’re right that it’s a heaven, but not the one humans teach you about. Valhalla is Warrior Heaven, and it’s ruled by Odin.”
“Wait, no. That’s all mythology.”
“You’re wrong. It’s as real as you are, as real as I am.”
“So, what? Reaper is from that place?”
“Valhalla.” She nods. “Yes, he is.”
“And that means what exactly?”
“Before I answer that, I want you to answer a question of mine.”
“Okay.”
“Before tonight, was there anything about Reaper that scared you? That made you question whether or not he’s a good man?”
“No, of course not.”
“And was any part of what I showed you frightening or bad?”
I narrow my eyes. “That’s two questions.”
Skuld smiles. She really is beautiful.
