Duality : Book 1 of Codex Elysium

Chapter 40 (edited)

Chapter 40

Present time: Elysium

Hella stood and stared at her reflection, she just could not believe what she was seeing, a young woman with milky white skin was staring back at her, she wore a sleeveless black dress that barely dropped to her knees, two deep brown eyes, lush, long, raven black hair that cascaded down to her waist.  Hella's eyes came to rest on her reflections chest. 

" And since when have I had cleavage?"

Gullveig smiled wickedly and draped an arm around Hella's shoulders.

"I thought I would help you out a little there, besides how can you be beautiful without cleavage?"

The witch was wearing an identical dress, she smiled at her sister's reflection, and Hella smiled back revealing a perfect set of white teeth.

"Look at you, my little sister, how beautiful you are!"

Hella tugged at her dress, she had never worn anything so revealing in all her life. She had always tried to cover up as much as possible but now there was nothing to hide, all traces of the corpse were gone, Gullveig truly had performed a miracle.

"This is a trick! It's just an illusion!"

Gullveig laughed in her girlish way. "No, no, it is no trick. This is the power of the Vanir. Now come my sister witch, we have much work to do."

Gullveig walked at a brisk pace. Hella was surprised and pleased to find that she could easily keep up.  No more corpse leg to slow me down? A childish impulse came over her and she couldn't help but start skipping along behind the witch.  Gullveig turned and grinned at the sight.

"Do you still think this is an illusion?" Outside, the stony courtyard was no longer empty, it was full of Furies training for combat. Fallon stood on a raised rock barking out commands, she was flanked by Rayne and Mist.

"How come there are no male warriors?" asked Hella.

A playful smile crossed Gullveig's lips.

"Oh, I see, now that you are beautiful and have a nice body you want some male company for some good loving?"

Hella's pale cheeks flamed scarlet as she stammered to defend her question. "What? I? No, that's not what I was thinking of. I just wondered why it was only women."

Gullveig took her sister's hand as they walked. She felt a bit bad about that joke, now she thought about it. Given Hella's previous form she had probably never known the pleasure of male company.  She quickly tried to change the topic.

"Women naturally make better fighters, that is why."

Hella scowled, she didn't agree with that. She had been raised in a world of mighty warriors who were all strong, powerful and well, male.

Gullveig paused at a door embedded into the mountainside. She turned and faced her sister.

"I can see in your face that you do not agree with me, but think about it, men might be stronger, bigger and able to wield massive weapons but their weakness is speed! If you were to match a huge brute against a small agile woman, who do you think would win?"

"The brute obviously," said Hella. "If he landed a heavy blow with a massive weapon it would be over in seconds."

Gullveig grabbed her sister by the shoulders, eyes alight with passion and excitement. "Yes, that is very true but if the smaller opponent could dodge the blow, they could close in and land blows of their own in those vital few seconds it would take for the brute to swing again."