Valhalla Virus, Nick Harrow [simple ebook reader txt] 📗

Gunnar teetered on the edge of the decision. If he only had himself to worry about, there’d be no second thought. He’d fight to do the right thing, no matter the cost.

But he wasn’t alone. And if the jötunn could offer safety for Ray, Bridget, and Mimi, then her offer was better than the alternative. That was the choice his old man would want him to make: protect yourself, protect your people, forget the world.

The jötunn’s seductive words had stirred up emotions Gunnar had struggled with most of his life. The old man had always warned his son he cared too much, that he put himself at risk to help other people when there was no gain in it for him.

He still struggled to reconcile the lessons his father had instilled in him with the way he felt. Logically, his dad had always been right. Gunnar had stuck his neck out for people who didn’t deserve it. He had suffered for the help he offered.

But that was okay. Not everyone who needed help knew how to accept it. And sometimes the rewards for helping others, for upholding the good in the world when it would be easier to just let the bad win the little battles, outweighed all the pain and suffering. Sometimes, maybe most of the time, the reward for doing the right thing was knowing you’d done it.

And that was enough.

“We’re done here,” Gunnar said, disgusted at the jötunn and himself for even considering the offer. “If that’s what you think I want, we have nothing else to discuss.”

Hyrrokkin sneered as if she’d read his thoughts and thought he was a fool. She opened her mouth to spout more nonsense, but a rapid-fire trio of lightning cracks drowned out her words. The earth smoked where the lightning touched down, wholesome red flames pushing back against the unnaturally green fire that flanked the jötunn.

“You heard him,” Ray said as she stepped through the fire. Her dark hair was bound in complex braids, and sparks danced in her icy blue eyes. “It’s time for you to go.”

“There is no place for you here,” Mimi called out, her voice trembling with emotion.

Bridget was the last to emerge. Her snow-white hair trailed flakes of frost in the air behind her, and her white eyes flashed angrily. “And there never will be.”

The three women joined Gunnar and glared at Hyrrokkin through the smoke and fire. Mimi and Ray were to his left, Bridget to his right. Their presence seemed to accelerate the transformation spreading from the Valknut. The bodyguard felt stronger with them beside him, but he also felt as if his control was slipping, his emotions raging.

“Last chance,” Hyrrokkin said. “Take my hand, Gunnar. Be my champion as you were destined to be before Odin interfered. We can be friends. Or you can die. Because my armies are already gathering. My chieftains even now search for the relics. We will find them, and we will destroy you. Make your choice. Now.”

“What you offer me is worse than nothing.” Gunnar spat the words at the jötunn’s feet. “An endless torrent of chaos without reason is pointless. No matter how powerful you think you are, no matter how great your army may be, I—no, we—will stop you. Now fuck off, Hyrrokkin. I have work to do.”

The giantess screamed defiantly, and the dark, smoky world shattered around Gunnar.

THE BODYGUARD WOKE in the guesthouse’s bed, which was a lot more crowded than he expected. Ray was curled up on his right side, her head resting on his chest. Bridget’s arm lay across Gunnar’s throat, her head on his shoulder. A big hole in Gunnar’s memory had eaten the story of how the three of them ended up in bed together. He’d have to puzzle out how much good stuff he’d missed later. What he needed now was food. A lot of it.

The women sprawled in the bed with him grumbled in their sleep as Gunnar left them. They didn’t wake up, though Bridget muttered something before rolling over. The three of them shifted, seeking the warm spot he’d left behind. That didn’t leave much room for him in that bed.

That was all right. Now that he was up, Gunnar doubted he’d be falling back to sleep soon.

There was a new energy in his step. He didn’t feel good—he felt amazing. His fingers gently probed his nose and eye socket for any signs of damage. Not even a twinge of pain remained. His injuries had miraculously healed.

Of course, he still had a rock in his head. Weirdly, it worked almost as well as his old eye had, though the world he saw through it had a strange sepia hue. When he closed his flesh-and-blood eye, the Valknut showed him a world that looked older, more primitive. The stone walls of the bunker shimmered with an overlay of thick logs. The floor was raw earth, the lights torches. Though those changes looked like they came from the past, Gunnar had a strange feeling the vision showed him a glimpse of the future.

The Valknut also gave him excellent low-light vision. Mimi had dimmed all but a handful of weak ambient lights, but Gunnar still saw as well as in bright daylight. Swirls of ethereal fog, like pale reflections of the hamingja the bodyguard had taken from the jötnar, wafted around the edges of the subterranean hideout. He wondered how many other special powers the Swiss Army eye held.

“Thanks, Odin,” Gunnar said with a chuckle. He’d have to figure out what all this meant. After he had a sandwich. Or three. He left the guesthouse behind and headed for the main house in search of food to fill the yawning cavern of his stomach.

With no windows, it was impossible to tell what time it really was, but the dim lighting suggested it was early in the morning or very late at night. He was surprised to see lights on in the main house