The strongest of all warriors are these two – Time and Patience.
- War and Peace 1865-1867; 1869
Leo Tolstoy
The problem seemed to be that we’d run out of time, and the southern Sire’s had run out of patience. We’d known they’d demand our psych assessments sooner or later, but we’d hoped for a little more advanced warning than they gave us.
“Tomorrow? They’re arriving tomorrow?”
Gunner nodded at my question and Will sagged in his seat, uttering the single word which described our situation.
“Fuck.”
“We all knew it was coming,” Conn murmured, but he sounded no happier than Will. “At least we won’t need to worry about it for much longer.”
“That’s not comforting, Leof. Not if getting passed it means losing our heads.”
I rubbed the back of my neck then shuddered as an image of Tiw, stood in the darkness of Valhalla, reared in my mind. He wielded the chain he’d brutally taken to my back, and behind him his dead warriors crept out of the treeline, coming to carry out his bidding... whatever that might be.
With my goddesses body hidden out of Tiw’s reach, in the hidden fortress town where I’d also left Woden’s body, I had to wonder what he’d do to my soul if I died. Would he use it as bait for his warriors, as he’d promised Amyrdrian? Abuse it as he had Conn? More likely both, for the rest of eternity, long after he broke my mind and Conn’s along with me.
Leof stroked my back, trying to offer a small measure of comfort.
“Don’t think about it, Little Warrior. For both our sakes, don’t think about it.”
Will’s hazel gaze met mine, a plea in them.
“Yes, please don’t, because the look you two get whenever death is mentioned scares the hell out of me.”
Katie gripped his hand, leaning against him even as her eyes silvered with a possessive need to protect him. He kissed her gently, but it didn’t calm her anxiety. Not that anyone expected it to. I’d felt what she felt too many times to think her drive to protect Will could be comforted away.
“It scares the hell out of me too, that’s the problem,” I answered, scrunching up my nose in disgust and frustration. “I’ve seen Valhalla often enough, and spent enough time with Tiw, to know I don’t particularly want to face the executioners block. And then there’s the ever constant truth... I’d kill before I let anyone condemn Leof. I’d challenge every piece of southern scum and take each of their cohorts before that happened. Fuck them all.”
“A rather antagonistic approach, Sire,” Gunner muttered, appraising me. “One that risks seeing you cast as dictator. How do we stop it from coming to that?”
He asked as if one of us should know. Sighing, Will shook his head in response, looking harassed.
“We haven’t found a way to ensure that I remain attached to Katie. You two”, he nodded in the direction of Conn and me, “can use your gifts to feel or hear each other. You have a chance of holding it together. Me though... if I’m drained and caged...”
Will didn’t finish. He didn’t need to. We’d all suffered panic attacks and moments of insanity. We knew what would happen if he ended up in a cell; fear, screaming, and something close enough to madness that BritVaC wouldn’t give Will the chance to show he could function outside of their cage. I didn’t want to risk Will’s life by putting him in another cage, and I didn’t want to risk mine of Conn’s either. Just because we might stand a better chance than Will didn’t make it anywhere near certain.
