One or two Draugr were no problem. They could take them, maybe even three. Val was strong enough to take them on with her shield.

However, double the amount was much trickier—nay implausible in her current state. Pair it with the fact that Maya was not a fighter. The situation was not favourable.

To top it all, a witch employed the undead Vikings.

“Of course, it has to be a witch!” Maya muttered, discomposed. “Why couldn’t it have been something less dangerous? Like rabbits? But nooooo, it’s always the uncanny kind.”

“Please tell me she’s not a witch,” hoped Maya, only to meet Val’s typical frown that said: “Good News! It’s not good news!”

“A. Völva.” Val gritted her teeth and clenched her hands. “Dangerous. Seidr. Wielding. Women.”

“There it is. Whenever Val’s speech pattern breaks, means she’s either nervous, agitated, or both.”

Brushing aside the bushes, Maya squinted her eyes to get a better look at the Völva, as Val coined her.

Like any good witch, the Völva wore a midnight blue coat that came down to her knees with silver fur for the upper parts, fastened by a gold button.

Underneath it, she wore a dark blue, black and white dress lined with unfamiliar lines that Maya guessed were runes. The middle of her dress for her chest area was a wide opening going down to her solar plexus, revealing the slightest curve. Just slightly above the line, she wore a slider medallion depicting an idol, a pagan goddess.

A furred hood hid her face, but underneath it Maya saw distinct black makeup all over her face, accentuating her green set of eyes. Brown tufts of thick hair cascaded from the hood.

Her manicured nails were painted blue. She carried an iron staff with deep embroidery and lines coiling over its surface and enlarging on the top in an oval shape.

Scary and (slightly) good-looking, Maya also assumed that she was pretentious and haughty as she used two Draugr as her personal carriage to carry her around the cemetery.

“Little princess needs a right, no? What else to do if you can summon hordes of undead? At least she’s not using them for chest support. Not like she could.”

Val grunted at the undignified comment, giving Maya a look.

“What? I’ve seen it in an anime. It looked ridiculous!”

“I believe you. Though. Not. What I meant.” Val stepped closer to Maya. “Be careful. Words can be. Dangerous.”

“What could she do? Curse me? Give me a bigger rack as revenge, so my back hurt even more?” Maya asked jokingly.

“Yes. And Yes,” replied Val carefully. “Don’t tempt. Fate. It never. Ends well.”

“OK, fair enough.” Both winced at the prospect, messaging their shoulders nervously. “What should we do now? Do you know what she’s looking for?”

Val focused back on the area. They observed how the Draugr prowled around like predators in search of something. They knocked down gravestones—before placing them back up, pulled out grass and put their heads into trunks before they migrated to somewhere else with their master.

Carefully, the duo stalked them at a safe distance. Val had yet to utter a single word about what they might be searching for.

The Völva and her entourage stopped at a clearing with—you might have guessed it—more Draugr at the disposal, doubling their numbers again.

“This is increasingly starting to get bad. How are we supposed to stand a chance, anyway?” worried Maya, watching how the Draugr placed down the Völva at the clearing of freshly cut grass with tombstones lined all around her. “I think we better go back before-”

Somehow it looked as if the graves were bending towards the witch, oozing out a milk-white gas that looked almost like undulating liquid.

The Völva sang a strange throaty and deep melody, swinging her rod before jabbing it to the ground before her, drawing a circle around her without moving the legs for even a centimetre.

“I swear to god, I’ve never seen someone’s back bend so much. Wow.”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Maya was at a circus two times in her life. The first one was the best show she had ever seen, and the last one remained the last one for a reason. The one thing she liked the most—apart from the elephants—were the acrobats.

They had an alluring appeal of gracefulness that Maya just loved to watch. She had once tried to do gymnastics, but because of her eating disorder and weight problems, it remained a pipe dream.

Her pen pal, Fey, loved to talk about gymnastics a lot, taking up at least half of the papers she sent Maya in her letters. Although, Val was less than enthused to witness Maya’s interest spike like that.

She pouted.

“Something wrong?” Maya asked for a split second before watching the Völva doing her strange thing, bending her arms, sticking out her chest and arching her back in ways Maya thought were impossible. “Goodness! She’s goooood.”

“Focus,” Val reminded her sternly. “We’re not. Here for fun.”

“Right, sorry, I’m focused… so, what exactly are we seeing? A ritual? A gateway to one of the Nine Realms? Or is she just dancing there as a hobby?”

“No. Idea,” replied Val, nervously stapling her fingers and shifting from one foot to the other.

Her problem was she that knew what it was, but her brain refused to give her access to the information. Seeing the mist swirl around the rod, over the Draugr and the graves, didn’t put Val at ease.

She saw the energy ebb and flow, become dense and then relax before moving out into the world. There was a familiarity to this all that she couldn’t place and alarmed every fibre in her body.

Her Valkyrie senses were telling her to get Maya out of there.

“What do we have here?” the Völva’s voice echoed in their minds, and a set of hands grabbed the girls. “Guests, I presume? Welcome back.”

—☽—

“Oh, this is much worse than detention.”

In school, Maya did rarely get in trouble. One instance was particularly messy—when a diva in her class called her names during a break. She would shrug it off, but that girl pestered Maya about why she wasn’t eating like a pig again, as she usually did. The girl snickered at the remarks.

Maya, who was on a diet that day and more than agitated already, smacked the girl with an apple against the head, which she wanted to save for later. After detention, her day only spiralled after lunch.

Back to the topic at hand;

That’s how Maya felt today, as her day only continued to spiral. Being manhandled by pairs of undead hands was NOT the Friday evening she envisioned.

“Why? Why does it always have to be them?” grumbled Maya, nausea rising from her stomach. Glancing worriedly over to Val, she didn’t like her predicament any better.

As strong and unruly as Val was against adversaries, she couldn’t break free from the three Draugr who gave her a death hug from the sides and from behind. A weird method of constraint, but Maya couldn’t help but shake her head with a slight smile.

The undead could barely hold her in place. “Good luck with that,” Maya laughed, remembering how she struggled to hold Val in place while treating her wounds. "I know I had my share of troubles with that.”

“What are you laughing about?” asked the Völva while stretching out her arms. Two Draugr picked her up like a ballerina dancer and transported her to them. She cupped Maya’s jaw and pinched it. “I’d say it’s nice to see you again, but how did you get here?”

Maya gave her a look. “Through the front door? Wait- have we met before- YOU BROUGHT THOSE ZOMBIES ON US LAST TIME!”

The Völva smiled at her widely, showing off her white teeth and canines that stood in contrast to her black lips. “10 points for you, deary.” The Völva playfully patted Maya’s cheek and released a green mist of breath on her face, smelling of elderberries. Val’s face contorted in anger. She struggled in her hold as the mist clouded Maya’s eyes. “Now, you’ll listen to–”

“Please don’t just breathe at me,” grimaced Maya, shaking the mist out of her proximity. “I’m not a fan of that since I don’t know you. Also, I have a stomachache from eating a bit too much today and don’t feel so good.” Maya squirmed uncomfortably under the constraints of undead hands. “Do you mind having your underlings lessen their hold on me? Not like I am much of a threat, and I’d rather not throw up here, believe me.“

The Völva gave Maya a blank stare with her green eyes. She narrowed them in confusion. “Is that all? You’re not feeling any,” She let out another green breath, “different?”

“I’m serious. I’m turning green here. Oh, I need to lie down,” Maya grumbled and leaned forward. The Völva took a step back with her ride.

“Fine, just… just take a breath and try not to mess up this place!” The Völva relented and ordered her underlings to go easy on her captive. Still stunned, she turned to Val now. “Valkyrie, answer. How did you enter my ground?”

Val ignored the Völva and kept her focus on Maya, worried as to why she wasn’t feeling well. “Hey, focus, please. Don’t ignore me,” said the Völva, snapping her fingers before Val’s face to get her attention. “Talk, Valkyrie. How did you slip past my barrier?”

Val sneered and tried to free herself and snap the witch’s neck. The Draugr didn’t butch. She laughed at the attempt. “Nice try, but you won’t—”

“Ergh,” a groan ruined the witch’s moment. She snapped back to Maya.

“What is it now- oh goddess… you don’t look so good.”

Seeing Maya’s face turning green and her slumped to the ground did not set the right mood for the witch. Maya's groaning intensified; she did her best to keep her composure—it did not work well.

The Völva let out a sigh. “Be right back… I’ll put on a kettle. Just breathe… and please try to keep it in.” She snapped with her fingers again. “Carry away the Valkyrie. We’ll deal with her later.”

“What? No. Wait. Let. Me. GO!” Val gave one last glance at Maya, protesting futilely in the Draugr hold. “Maya? You alright? I’ll come. And help you. Wait. For me!”