Valkyrie's Kiss by Kristi Jones

move, but the pain and the heaviness in my limbs and
the inability to breathe had rendered me immobile. A second jolt of pain
ignited in my right wrist, and I knew that Ermhilde had plunged another sword into my free hand.
    I lay there,
crucified to the ground, thinking of Jess. Thinking of his eyes, but I wasn’t
thinking about the kind, compassionate warrior I’d first seen. I was thinking
about the fire in his eyes, the greed, the wanting, the same wanting that I’d
felt for him.
    My heart was
broken, split down the middle by Ermhilde’s sword,
but my soul was full of Sergeant Jesse Moran.
    I needed to move.
I knew that if I could face the pain, I could return to Jess.
    Ermhilde stood contemplating the
shrine.
    “I don’t suppose
you’ll tell me which of the stones is the right one ?”
    I could not
answer. My heart was split; I had stopped breathing. It’s a funny thing, but no
being can speak without breath. If only I could speak, perhaps I could delay Ermhilde , this girl who was ruining all my plans to save
him.
    Ermhilde pulled at the stones. She
pulled them apart as if they weighed nothing. She finally chose one, but it was
not the stone that Skuld had sent me for.
    “I’ll be back
shortly,” she said lightly. “Don’t go anywhere.”
    She turned her
back to me, holding the stone she’d chosen, and released her wings. I waited
until the silhouette of her body had disappeared in the night sky.
    With all of my
strength I pulled my right hand free, shredding the tendons, snapping bone. Silently,
I thanked the gods that I had no breath for I would have screamed otherwise and
woken every immortal creature in the area. When it was free I saw that my hand
was hanging on to my wrist with the last shred of tendons and a strip of skin. I
felt as if my bones were on fire. Every bone in my body was screaming out in
pain.
    I knew it would
grow back. And I knew it would take time.
    The bones were
already reconstructing themselves. There was a stretching and pulling
sensation. There was also an incredible amount of pain. But I could not scream,
and I’d felt such agony before.
    Once. I was hit by a shell at the battle of Verdun.
    It is a terrible
thing to feel your body ripped asunder. To be blown apart. But it happened so
fast that there was a quick, intense flash of pain—then nothing. For a time. Until the healing begins. That’s when the real pain begins.
    The cells in my
muscles were gathering in tight, hot bundles. My hand felt like it was on fire.
But I thought of Jess. I pictured his eyes on me. I had no time to wait for the
skin to grow.
    I grasped the hilt
of the sword piercing my chest.
    The movement of
the sword sent another shockwave of pain through my entire body. My whole being
wailed, and without breath, I wailed inside. I had to pull quickly, or I would
go mad with the sound. I yanked as hard as I could. The sword came out with a
jolt.
    I lay there
waiting for the torn muscles of my heart to reach out to each other. I lost all
track of time.
    The nerves braided
together, and the first beat of my heart began. It was like an echo in an empty
chamber. It kicked along until the blood in my body began to flow again. The
heavenly air rushed into my lungs. I gasped. My first breath, one of many first
breaths, but this one was all the sweeter because I knew that I would get back
to my hero. I would fulfill my mission.
    I rolled onto my
side and pulled the sword out of my left wrist. I was still too weak to fly. I
needed another few minutes to gain strength enough to carry the stone. I
scanned the sky. How long would it take Ermhilde to
return? There was no way for me to know. I had no idea where she’d taken the
stone she carried.
    I pulled myself
into the shadow of the trees, breathing heavily and waited for my wounds to
heal. I never lost consciousness. That is a luxury Odin did not grant to
Valkyries. But it was many minutes before I was fully aware of my surroundings.
    When the pain had
subsided and