Chapter 33

Heida looked up from her compact. “Oh, good. I was worried you’d stand me up.”

“Never,” I replied. “Especially not after the way you got me going earlier.”

Heida was a vision in the flickering lanternlight, and I could tell that was no accident. We had traded our uniforms for overalls once we had begun pitching in at the farm, so I hadn’t seen her in anything more enticing than a work shirt for weeks. She must have snuck her traditional dress along for just such an emergency, and her makeup was expertly applied. Her finery contrasted with Viktor’s barn, which only accentuated the effect.

“A girl can worry,” she said. “You spent all afternoon with Yamada after our ride.”

“It was all professional,” I said.

“See anything interesting with that x-ray vision of yours?” she asked.

“Just magic flowing through her body.” I considered how secretive to be. Had Heida seen Mariko’s scar when they’d roomed together? I decided not to mention it, just in case. The flow through her ruined arm was distressing, as normal, but not any business of Heida’s. “Nothing much to say, besides to say she can dissolve old plastic wrap father than she could those bicycles.”

Heida’s worried face shifted into a sardonic grin. “I’m glad to hear it was so dull.”

I sniffed, pretending to be wounded. “Oh, I see. I think you enjoy seeing me miserable.”

She chuckled, getting my dry tone. “Not exactly. I do prefer to be the highlight of your day, though.” She glanced nervously towards the barn door. “Nobody saw you, right? We don’t want Pabbi throwing a fit.”

“Everybody was asleep, and I cast sound deadening spells,” I replied. “And you most certainly are the highlight. You make me feel a tad underdressed.” I had worn a cleanish set of work clothes; I was worried my white uniform would make me too visible in the moonlight.

“Good, keep the flattery coming,” she said.

I glanced around. “Where’s Viktor?”

Heida pursed her lips and stepped towards me. “I dolled myself up and all you can think about is that smelly beast? Don’t worry; he’s out in his pasture with a snack.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “I’m surprised he put up with you.”

She shrugged. “Once somebody’s given you a ride, they tend to calm down a bit.”

“Really? It didn’t work on me.” I reached out for her, but she danced out of reach.

“Nuh uh, not yet. I didn’t doll myself up not to have you appreciate it. Especially not in this weather.”

“It is rather cold out there, isn’t it? What if he freezes?”

“Don’t flatter yourself; we won’t be that long,” she said. “Speaking of flattery, I believe I said to keep it coming?”

“Hm…” I scratched my chin thoughtfully as I circled her. “I’ve never wanted to be anything but English, but that outfit makes me wish I’d been born a bit further north.”

“Mm, decent,” she said, miming writing on an invisible clipboard. “Three points.”

“You fit that gown even better than the last time you wore it. All this clean living agrees with you, my dear.”

She shook her head and tsked me. “Ooh, implying being stuck out here is a positive, and indirectly calling me fat? Minus five hundred points.”

“Oh my,” I said. “That’s quite the deficit to make up. I suppose saying you’re looking radiant wouldn’t be enough?”

“Two points,” she replied.

“Well, we don’t have all night,” I said. “I imagine that actions count for more points than words?” Without waiting for a response, I swept her off her feet.

“Hm, you’re doing better than last time,” she said, giving my biceps a squeeze. “I guess all of that hard work isn’t hurting you any.”

“This straw looks clean enough for our purposes,” I said, carrying her over to one of the empty stalls. “Thank goodness Viktor’s in here alone”

“Agreed,” she said. “Though… maybe we don’t have to get right into it?”

“Oh?” I set her down gently on the straw bed before joining her. “It’s not like you to wait.”

“I’m… you know how we agreed not to talk about anything too heavy?”

“More or less.” She had always declared serious topics out of bounds, and I’d never cared to intrude. Our Father Below knows I have enough neurotic girls to keep track of. Boys too, though they’re less fun.

“You and Yamada… should I be worried?” Her blue eyes glinted in the light of the lanterns as she looked up at me.

“Why would you be?” I recalled what Kowalski and I had overheard; she certainly hadn’t sounded concerned. “Mariko and I are only friends.”

“Sure,” she said. “And the short girl from the news reports? The one with the gun?” She levered herself up on an arm, a defiant glimmer in her eye. “Aha, I knew it! The news said she was your girlfriend. Am I the other woman?”

“My dear, I thought you were more sensible than to trust the media,” I replied. “We were together, but I… I ruined that. So no, you aren’t ‘the other woman’.”

She let out a sigh. “That’s a relief.”

“I’m confused why you would care, though,” I said. “This is all rather casual, isn’t it?”

“It is,” she said. “It is.” She sounded surer the second time. “You’re going home soon, and then I go back to chasing Sverðhvalur in the harbor and trolls in the gardens. Nothing lasting. That’s all it can be.” She sighed again.

“Is everything alright?” I asked, knowing damned well it wasn’t. Why do I keep adding other people’s problems onto my own? It was a strict violation of Our Father Below’s great law: others do not matter, insofar as they are not you. In another time, I’d have tried to find a way to claim it was for my own self-interest, but I wasn’t in the mood to lie to myself.

How about this? As much as Heida wants to have a literal roll in the hay, I’m just as ardent, and I won’t be able to enjoy myself if she can’t?

It rang hollow. No, I simply cared, damn my bleeding heart.

“Do you ever think that this is all there is?” she asked. “Just distracting ourselves, until the Horde eventually rolls over us?”

“When you go heavy, you go heavy,” I replied.

“I think about it all the time,” she said. “Those devils are out there, waiting to pounce if they get the chance.”

I don’t know, you’re doing an awfully good job of keeping this devil from pouncing on you.

“They’re never going to get a boat out to Iceland,” I replied. I knew that from personal experience; the rowboat I’d taken from Calais to England during the invasion nearly sunk without the Royal Navy’s efforts. “You’re safe out here.”

“Pabbi told me the same thing,” she said. “Then while I was taking my exams, they sent him to England and… and some of him didn’t come home.”

“He has a sense of humor about it; you can, too.”

“That’s what I don’t get,” she said. “I think about facing them down and I...” She extended her hand upwards, squeezing it into a trembling fist. “Clench up. Do you feel me?”

I nodded. It certainly explained her poor performance at the Starlight. “Again, when you go heavy, you go heavy.”

“You’re right,” she said with obvious disappointment. “That isn’t what we have, is it?” She sat up and presented her back to me, moving her dirty-blonde hair to the side to expose her zipper. “Well, go on, if that’s what you want.”

“I didn’t say to stop,” I said. “All I can say is paraphrase a little Shakespeare; the one who worries dies a thousand deaths, but the sure man only dies once.”

“You left out the word coward,” she replied, glaring at me over her shoulder. “Is that what you think of me?”

“No, and believe you me, I’m not brave. Ow! Why did you flick my nose again?”

Her eyes narrowed as she tucked her legs to her chest. “I told you not to be modest with me. You keep being in the news for doing these insane feats. No way in heck you can tell me you’re a coward.”

I tapped my forehead. “Oh, I’m a yellow-belly up here. It’s my darned legs that keep carrying me into danger without checking first.”

“Yeah, you have what Pabbi has,” she muttered. “I’ve seen your scars. If I looked like you, I don’t think I could leave my room again.”

“Hmph, I think they’re rather dashing.”

She shook her head. “Not like that, just… how do you keep going?”

I shrugged. “It beats the alternative, and I keep finding myself in danger, whether I consent or not. Believe me, my dear, you get used to it.”

She winced. “You sound like Pabbi.”

“In a good way?”

“Not even a little.” She cradled her head. “Ugh, I could use a drink, and Pabbi doesn’t keep ‘poison’ under his roof.” She cracked a weak smile. “But, hey, you listened. One thousand points for that. I’m going to miss you when you get reassigned.”

I reached out and touched her shoulder. “Do you want to keep things going after I leave?” I wasn’t sure if I was too enthused by the idea; this girl was fun, but the way she way she treated the others gave me pause. Besides, baring souls wasn’t part of our arrangement. I didn’t feel the same warmth in my belly that Kiyo had given me when she needed me. This felt more like an unexpected obligation, and not a welcome one.

“I’m sorry I brought that up,” she said, dodging the question. She chuckled and started undoing her own zipper. “I’m bringing down the mood now, and now is what we have. How about I make you forget all about it?”

An honorable man wouldn’t have let her distract him. Something was clearly weighing on her, and ignoring it wouldn’t do her any good.

Sadly for her, all she had was me, and I was more than ready to do what came naturally.

I had just finished unzipping her when a horrific screech assaulted my ears from outside.

“The devil was that?” I said, undoing my work.

“An owl?” offered Heida. “Come on, don’t worry about—”

The sound came again, much closer this time. Something heavy banged against the back door, and I realized that Viktor was desperately trying to get back in.

“Viktor! Svalinn’s Wrath!” I hadn’t been lying to Heida about my rebellious feet; I rushed towards the locked door without a thought. The retreating mackie nearly trampled me, and that gave me pause. Viktor was a mountain of a beast on top of being a trained war-mount. What could send him running?

I peered into the moonlit night. “Heida, can you…”

She had anticipated my request and flung a ball of light over my shoulder. It seemed her Lightshow didn’t make stable structures, as it exploded into a hail of sparks. Stars danced in my eyes, but I could still make out the outline of the sinister form before me.

An inky, unnaturally dark being stood before us, conspicuously black even against the Icelandic midnight. Its long talons dripped with blood, highlighting its foot-long claws. It was humanoid, save a set of batlike wings that extended to either side of it. Hateful white eyes drilled into me.

“Buddy? What are you doing out here?”

He replied by rushing forward, and my head and neck very nearly parted ways.

There was no way in Hell I was going hand to hand with that thing. I flung the energy blade to free my hands and buy myself some time. It dipped its shadowy head beneath the attack and crouched down. Muscular legs coiled, ready to launch it right at me.

“Magic Bolt!” No need to be fancy. The blue sphere shot forward, and this spell found its mark, for all the good it did. The energy briefly lit its dark chest before bursting like a water balloon. A spray of residuum illuminated everything except the monster, who stubbornly refused to reflect the light.

Still, Buddy seemed startled, flinching away from the impact. With a flap of his wings, he vanished into the night.

Heida slumped to the ground on nerveless legs. “Was that…”

I dissipated the discarded magical blade and crouched down to her level. The startled woman threw her arms around me, which shouldn’t have been a surprise. “Buddy? Almost certainly.” I held her tight, watching the limping mackie moving to hide in his pen. “And somebody owes us an explanation.”