Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Loki led Val to a section not far from where Odin sat watching. "The rules are simple. No magic and no weapons."
Val studied the men in the ring. The match was about to be over. The helborn had gained the upper hand, and the human-looking man struggled to stay on his feet.
"Where's the fun in that?" she asked.
"Everything here is about being fair. You need to go up against each other with only what you have.
Anything else is considered an unfair advantage.
Also, you need to remember this isn't a fight to the death- not that Odin can die- but still.
He can't kill you. It's not allowed. Whoever ends up knocked out is the loser. "
She nodded. No killing, no weapons. That didn't quite raise the stakes enough for her, but she was game if those were the rules.
She may not be able to kill Odin, but she sure as hel would give him a battle.
A battle he didn't even know was coming.
On the occasions he'd fought alongside the Valkyrie, she had studied him at length, Thor as well. It had been the only reason she’d made it to the end of Ragnarok.
And she was more than happy to show him what it would be like to fight himself.
Minutes passed, and as Val predicted, the human went down like a felled tree. Gadius walked into the cage, grabbed the man by one arm, and dragged him down the stairs before laying him on a cot to the left of the door.
She would not be dragged out like that. Being dragged out would be even more humiliating than being beaten by Odin.
"Okay," said Loki. "You're up. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Absolutely."
Loki held out his hand. "No weapons."
Val wondered how he knew she hid a blade in her boot, but then remembered their first encounter, when she'd shown it to him... or rather, threatened him with it.
Val reached into her boot, pulled out the blade, and placed it in his palm. Loki nodded and held out his other hand.
"You really are irritating, you know that."
Loki winked at her. “So I get under your skin, too, huh?”
She reached behind her back and pulled the blade she kept strapped to her at all times between her shoulder blades.
The blade lengthened as she handed it to him, from the size of a butter knife to the full size. It’s golden, immortal metal flickered off the overhead lights and shone around them. Loki slipped the sword under his jacket, and it began to shrink again.
“And the last one?” He arched an eyebrow.
Damn him.
Val reached into her pocket and pulled out a utility knife. "You really are a killjoy."
"Never been told that before. But if it saves your life, I'll take it." He nodded. "Remember the rules." He looked like he wanted to say more, instead, he touched her cheek, sending a shiver through her. "Give ‘em, Hel."
She wanted to kiss him in that moment. Kiss him as they did in all those silly movies right before the hero went to risk his life. What the hel was that about? Why did she want to kiss him? She didn’t. She didn’t want to kiss him… right?
His eyes filled with a desire that mimicked her own.
Nope. Not happening.
Val nodded and walked toward the cage door before either of them did something she would regret.
"Val?" a low voice called.
Val’s gut clenched, and she turned. Marek sat a couple of rows from where she stood. What the hel is he doing there?
Marek walked down the aisle to her. "What are you doing here?"
"I was going to ask you the same." Her gaze flicked to the cage where Odin shrugged off his leather coat and took off his rings.
He looked over her shoulder. "Your friend gave me a card with the info for this place on it. This is the place I was going to bring you on Friday if it was good."
"You were going to take me to a cage match?"
"No,” he chuckled. “They serve food upstairs, but..."
She waited.
"It's a burlesque club. I didn't know, and I'm pretty sure that's not your kind of place."
She shrugged. "Trust me, I've seen enough breasts and asses in my lifetime that one is much like any other at this point. Besides, I hear they have great steaks."
Marek gave a nervous chuckle. "So... you want to come on Friday?"
"She's busy on Friday." Loki joined. "It's your turn, love."
Val glared at him.
"I think Val can decide for herself if she is busy on Friday or not," said Marek.
Loki smiled. "I would offer to take you to the ring to fight for her, but I don't see Val as the kind of woman who appreciates two men fighting over her.
"I can fight my own battles, thank you both." She couldn't believe this was happening. Here she was about to fight Odin and Marek, and Loki wanted to get in a dick-measuring match.
"How about I make it through the fight, and then we see if I'm in any shape to go anywhere on Friday. How about that?" said Val.
"Wait," said Marek. "You're fighting?"
She nodded. "I've waited longer than you can imagine for this opportunity."
His eyes flashed golden. "You could get hurt, though."
His concern touched her. Marek was so different from Loki. Loki had encouraged her, whereas she was sure Marek would have tried to talk her out of it.
Loki chuckled. "You really are a soft heart, aren't you. Val is more than capable of handling herself in or out of the ring. She'll be fine. Besides, Odin isn't allowed to use magic or kill her, so I bet on Val to win."
Val appreciated Loki's confidence in her, but she couldn't tell whether he said it to make her feel better or meant it.
"You're fighting Odin? As in, the Odin? Norse God?" A ripple ran through Marek.
Whoa boy! Wolfing out would not be good. She was sure that would set off alarm bells and send some guards rushing in.
Marek's gaze traveled from Val to Loki and back. "Your name isn't a joke, is it? You really are a Valkyrie."
"Yes," she replied. There was no reason to lie. If he hung around long enough, he’d find out anyway; better that he learned the truth sooner rather than later. That way, he could run as far from her as possible. Someone as nice as Marek was bound to be hurt in the end. Nice guys weren’t her thing anymore and hadn’t been for hundreds of years.
Marek shook his head and looked to Loki. "Who are you? Thor?"
Loki sniffed. "Of course not. Thor is not half as good-looking as I am. I'm Loki."
Marek appeared as if he might pass out.
Val put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him down on the bench. "It's a lot to process, so why don't you sit here and consider whether or not you really want to take me out?"
Marek stared off.
Well... there goes one guy. Guess the measuring was over. At least she appreciated that.
Her gut twisted as she wondered when Loki would get tired of her. Dammit! Why did she keep doing that? She didn’t care about Loki, or what Loki thought, or how he felt about her.
“Don’t do it,” said Marek, breaking into her thoughts.
Yup. She’d been right. Marek was trying to stop her frm fighting. She looked to Loki.
He shrugged. “It’s your choice.”
As she stole a glance at the cage, Odin's eyes locked onto hers with unwavering intensity. There was no backing out. A fierce wave of anger surged through her, propelling her towards the enclosure. No backing out for her. Not for those who died. If she didn’t do it now, would she get another chance?
More than that, how would she be able to live with herself if she didn’t at least try?
With a resounding thud, the door slammed shut behind her, trapping her inside the cage. Casting a fleeting look at Loki, his strained smile barely masked the tension in his posture. Was he worried about her getting hurt?
"He favors the left hook," Loki said.
She smiled as adrenaline pulsed through her. "Trust me... I know all his moves."
Several beings approached Loki, talking to him animatedly as he backed away and blew her a kiss.
She rolled her eyes. Idiot.
She had no doubt the spectators were trying to figure out who she was, what she was doing in the ring with Odin, and what her relationship was to Loki.
"Well, daughter? Are we going to do this or not?" Odin called.
Oh, they were doing it. They were definitely doing it.
Val and Odin circled each other, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught Loki taking money from several men.
A woman sauntered up to him and ran her hand down his chest, but Loki simply smiled at her, peeled her hand from his shirt, and focused on Val.
A spike of jealousy rippled through her, and she wanted to rip out the woman’s bright red fingernails.
Jealousy? Really? Since when was she the jealous type?
In an instant of distraction, Odin seized an opportunity to strike Val. She evaded his blow and retaliated with equal force, but Odin managed to seize her fist and throw her off balance.
As Val hit the floor with a thud, she quickly regained her footing and leaped back into action, determined not to let Odin gain the upper hand again.
As Val and Odin circled each other, the tension crackled in the air like static electricity.
The sound of their footsteps echoed throughout the cage, creating a rhythmic beat that set the pace for the impending clash.
Without a word, she lunged forward, her movements swift and calculated.
Odin met her with equal aggression, their bodies colliding with a force that reverberated through the cage.
A surge of adrenaline coursed through Val as she focused on anticipating Odin's next move.
She evaded his incoming strike with a deft sidestep, then retaliated with a series of rapid jabs that landed squarely on Odin's chest.
His eye twitched.
Good. Now we both know where the other stands.
Odin appraised her for a moment and then attacked again, but she deflected his attack and counterattacked with one of his own moves.
Odin spun around to kick her in the gut, but she'd practiced the move a million times herself, so she grabbed his foot and twisted it at the last second, being sure to kick out and catching him on the side of the knee.