The Valkyrie's Hunt - COMPLETE

Chapter 5. Pawnographic

⚠️ CW f/m, casual sex, biting, nails ⚠️

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The bell rang on the pawn shop door as it opened and a very tense Valkyrie stormed in. The shopkeeper didn’t have time to get through from the back room before she’d hammered on the counter-bell. 

“Hi! Sorry! I mean, are you looking for anything in particular today?” He was rumpled, dark hair sticking up at every angle, but with a disarming charm in his smile. Not disarming enough in this instance, however.

“Yes. I’m looking for four leather collars, with metal buttons in the centre, and the blood of the thief that stole them!” 

“Oh, um, uh.” He looked flustered. “I don’t get that many collars in here, but someone did come through with a few just a day or two ago. I took one but there just isn’t much of a market for collars… I’m afraid I didn’t get any of her blood though!” He disappeared into the backroom again, voice drifting through with the sound of heavy boxes being slid across a wooden table.

Luci was speechless. Could it be that easy?

“Aha! Here it is.” He returned holding a small leather strap, her sister's shield shimmering gold and blue in the centre, with sea creatures embossed across the surface, just as it should be. Luci reached for it instinctively and felt her heart fall as the shopkeep pulled back, a look of deep desire in his eyes. “Ah, um. Well, I was thinking I’d keep it, actually. I wouldn’t normally have bought it in the first place but there’s something about it…” He looked perplexed. The otherworldly magic which manifested in this world as a collar had wrapped its tendrils around his brain, a collar spoke of belonging. The magic just wanted to be kept.

“How much.” Luci asked, though she was beginning to suspect that this was going to take something other than money to extricate the poor man. He looked at Luci, and looked back at the collar. 

“Thief, you said?” He asked in return.

“Yes. That belongs to my sister.”

He sighed, heavily, making a decision that broke the misplaced enchantment of the object.

“Then you’d better return it to her.” He placed it reluctantly in Luci’s hands and she sighed with relief as she slid it into her pocket next to the runes, zipping it up safely. 

“Thank you!” 

He looked wistfully at her. 

“You’re welcome.” He replied. “You know, you remind me of my late wife. She would never take no for an answer. Do anything for her family, too.”

Luci wondered briefly whether they’d met, if she’d died honourably there was a good chance she was in Valhalla right now. Perhaps she could tell him… Luci thought better of it. Mortals got very weird about death before they went through it. But she thought perhaps there was another opportunity here. She smiled at him, putting that touch of magic into the air.

His body responded to the invitation. Luci moved closer, turning up the warmth. 

“Perhaps I could repay you in another way, for returning this to me?”

She watched as his awareness of the world narrowed to the woman in front of him, desire, and something more obviously visible, rose swiftly. Robin coughed quietly to get her attention.

“Yes Robin, please can you turn the sign to “back soon” and wait outside for a spell?”

“Certainly.” There was a bemused laugh in his voice but Robin complied, pulling a paperback from his back pocket as he quietly removed himself from the space.