Raven Demarco grew up living a sheltered life. When she starts University to get away from that she is caught up in the world of the paranormal. Secret organizations, magic, creatures from myth and legend, and worst of all her own legacy and the demons who want her blood.

Thanks to my readers for reading my work and patiently waiting for new chapters and to the Big Closet team who give so much of themselves to keep this site going

The night’s race was set to start at ten o’clock at Arborlynn Park in North Vancouver, with the route taking them onto the Trans-Canada Highway to the finish line at Burnaby Lake. Erin and I made sure to be at the park by nine and once I found a spot that would give me a good view of the starting point I sent Erin home, promising to call her on my cell if I needed a ride home or ran into a snag. Then it was the waiting game until the drivers, and those wishing to see the start of the race, arrived.

Once the crowd had gathered, it was a simple matter to join them and watch the cars. Before the race each driver would have to leave their car for a short time to give their entrance fee to the one who would hold the money and take it ahead to the finish line to give the total amount to the winner. That would be my chance. Rather than keeping my eyes on the Pixie that would be holding the pot, I kept my eyes on the cars that pulled up to the starting line. It was near time for the race to start and so far there were five entrants.

A red new model Corvette joined the other cars at the starting point and I watched the driver get out, just as I had the previous five. My heart skipped a beat as I recognized her face from the photograph. Her hair was short and shaved at the sides and she wore a pair of jeans, a black leather jacket, and boots. I didn’t see any wings, but there was no doubt in my mind that it was her. While she made her way through the crowd to the Pixie holding the pot I slipped along the outer edge of the crowd toward the Corvette. Then I opened the driver’s side door to her car and made my way into the passenger’s seat, closing the door behind me, and sat back to wait.

The crowd outside was starting to get rowdy. The race was set to start in less than two minutes, judging by my watch, when the driver climbed into the car. “Hello,” I said with a smile as she settled into the driver’s seat.

“Who the fuck are you, and what the hell do you think you’re doing in my car?” she snapped with a slight Scandinavian accent. I figured the darkness in the car was working to my advantage otherwise my face, so much like my mother’s, would have been a giveaway.

I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat as I replied, “I’m someone who really needs your help.”
To my surprise she laughed. “Are you trying to annoy me to keep me from starting this race on time? Look kid, you have exactly ten seconds to get out of this car or fasten your seat belt, because I am starting this race whether you’re in this car or not. So whoever put you up to this is out of luck.”

I fastened my seat belt. “I’m not leaving this car until you agree to help me.”

“Fine, be that way.” She started the car and began to rev the engine. The signal to start was given and she floored it, causing us to launch forward among the sound of squealing tires as I was pushed back in my seat. She quickly pulled ahead of three of the drivers, leaving only two cars ahead of us. “You know kid, I might be more open to helping you if I knew exactly what kind of help you need,” she said after a short time of staring intently at the road and cars in front of us.

“There are Demons after me; they put a bounty on me. I need you to teach me to fight,” I admitted.

She laughed again as she responded, “I race cars, what makes you think I know anything about fighting?”

“And here I thought all Valkyries were great warriors,” I said, leaning back casually in my seat.

To her credit, the car only swerved a little bit at my comment. She also didn’t try to deny it. “I gave up fighting a long time ago kid, there’s plenty of Paranormals out there who can teach you to fight. You can get the PDA to help you.”

“I don’t need other Paranormals,” I stated firmly, “I need a Valkyrie. I need you.”

“I don’t know what you’ve heard about Valkyries, but there is one thing I will tell you. We don’t share our teachings with outsiders. Our customs, our fighting styles, and our abilities are just that, ours. To share them with outsiders opens us to defeat.” We were making our way onto the highway now and there were more lanes available. The Valkyrie gritted her teeth as she considered the cars ahead of us, and the other traffic on the highway. “Hold on kid, I’m hitting the nitrous.”

I was pushed back into my seat once again as the sudden acceleration sent us rocketing forward. Deft movements of Lin’s hands wove us through traffic, and ahead of the other drivers. With each near collision I feared that I might just need my Demon regeneration. My aunt’s face though, wore a look of sheer bliss and exhilaration. She looked over at me and laughed, “What’s the matter kid? Are you afraid of dying?”

I watched as the world sped by at unsafe velocities and, swallowing my fear, I turned to the Valkyrie in the driver's seat to ask, "Can't you go any slower?" I wasn’t too concerned about dying, but if there was an accident at this speed and I did live, healing was probably going to hurt, a lot.

"And lose this race?" She turned to look at me incredulously before shaking her head. "Not a chance in Hel kid, racing is my thing and I don't lose to or for anybody."

"The road! Keep your eyes on the damn road!" I bit my lip and closed my eyes, hoping this would be over soon as I muttered, "You don't act like a Valkyrie. I thought you were warriors and the handmaidens of Odin."

I could hear her snort beside me, “Oh I’m sorry, am I not living up to the stereotype? Shall I get you a beer? Or would you rather I kick your ass?” She sighed, and opening my eyes I discovered that her eyes were again on the road and her face was grim. "Get one thing straight kid, Valkyrie’s serve no man, ‘God’ or otherwise."

"But..." I began before she cut me off.

"Look kid, my patience is wearing thin with you. Now be quiet so I can win this race. You had better spend that time thinking about the next words that come out of your mouth, because if you want me to help you then you're going to have to give me a damn good reason."

We were both quiet for the remainder of the drive and crossed the finish line ahead of the other drivers. Lin left the car for a time and returned, counting her winnings as she settled back into the driver's seat. Then those cold blue eyes looked me over as she said, "You're still here? You have five words to convince me why I should help you, otherwise get out of my car."

I looked right into those eyes, swallowed the lump that was rising in my throat, and said, "Siv Demarco was my mother."

“Siv,” she said in barely a whisper. “You said she was your mother? Past tense?”

I nodded sadly as I withdrew the note from my purse and offered it to her. “I never really knew her; she died seventeen years ago when I was still a baby. She left me this note in a room only I could enter that told me to look for you.”

She looked at me in the dim light of the car. “You look like her, but are you sure you’re a Valkyrie? We’re always blonde, your hair is black.”

“So are my wings, “I said with a shrug. “I’m a mixed blood, my father was half Demon and the mixing of blood caused me to be born like this. The note has some of the details. I have some Demon abilities, but mostly I take after my mom. The PDA put me through some pretty vigorous testing and they said I’m aligned to the Divine, but I don’t have the gift she had with Divine magic. Peter sensed a Divine ability that was similar to something he sensed in my Mom, but he had no idea what it could be.”

“He probably sensed your andivapn, every true Valkyrie has one.” She paused to read the note, and when she was done I was surprised to see tears rolling down her cheeks. She stepped out of the car and was quiet for several minutes before returning to the driver’s seat and closing the door. “Siv always was selfless. If she’s been dead for seventeen years though why are you seeking me out now? The note mentioned you were sealed.”

I nodded as I took the note back and carefully folded it before putting it back in my purse. “She wanted me to be able to live a normal human life until I was ready to learn about my heritage. She put a fail-safe on the seal though, so that it would break if I ever needed to defend myself against Demons. On Halloween that happened, and two weeks ago I went down into the basement and discovered a room with old weapons and armor and a bunch of old books and scrolls. That’s where I found the note, and nobody could enter the basement but me.”

“That sounds like Siv alright; she always liked to be prepared for anything. How much do you know about Valkyries?” she asked as she started the car.

“Only what I’ve read in my class on Norse Mythology,” I admitted.

“Figures,” she said with a snort, “that’s why you pulled out that idiocy about us serving Odin.”

“We don’t fight for the Gods then? Or decide who lives and dies on the battlefield?” I asked, just a little disappointed.
“Odin and the other Aesir are no more Gods than we are, I am no closer to whatever Gods are up there than any mortal is, and I’m just as unsure as to whether they exist,” she replied. “And Valkyrie’s don’t decide who lives and dies on the battlefield any more than any other warrior; we slay our enemies and attempt to heal our injured comrades, and if a good friend dies honorably in battle then we will do our best to make it a death worthy of legend.”

“I guess I have a lot to learn then,” I sighed.

Lin nodded as she put the car into gear and started driving. “Let me give you an abbreviated history of our people. We, like the Aesir, were one of the first races of Paranormals and in that age people often mistook us for Gods. Our language was the basis for the Germanic dialects that came after. When humans began to form a more complex society and their numbers increased, our people decided that we would leave them to develop without our interference. We Valkyries numbered less than five hundred and our allies, the Aesir, were not much more than that. Despite our power the humans outnumbered us greatly.”

I interrupted her to ask, “If we were around for so long why were there so few of us?”

“There are two reasons for that,” she explained. “First, humans lives are so short that they tend to reproduce exponentially, to leave something of themselves behind when they die. Aesir and Valkyries are ageless; we have all the time in the world to have children, unless something manages to kill us, so we’re not in a hurry to have children. Second, being only a female race we Valkyries have to reproduce with humans or other Paranormals. We only seemed to have female children and there weren’t many children period since we vowed to leave humans to their own devices, and by necessity we were aloof from the other Paranormal races.”

“What do you mean by ageless?” I asked nervously.

“What do you think I mean by ageless?” she snapped. “We’re immortal. We usually Manifest around the middle of puberty and by the end of puberty we stop aging completely. That’s why, despite being over one thousand two hundred years old, I look no older than you do. And before you ask, yes you won’t age either, Valkyries are all or nothing. I believe that you’re not so much a mix of Demon and Valkyrie, but rather a Valkyrie with some Demonic attributes thrown in.”

“Why can’t I use Divine magic like my mother could then?”

“It’s not an inherent ability of our kind; it’s a talent, like painting or cooking. Some people are great at it, some are okay, and some can’t do it at all. You happen to be the latter,” she said with a shrug. “Now are you going to let me finish our history or not?”

“Sorry,” I replied sheepishly, “please go on.”

Thank you,” she said before continuing. “We kept ourselves out of human affairs and didn’t stray often from our village in the mountains of Norway. Despite our lack of potential mates, my mother had given birth to two daughters. Your mom was my true sister, and was born close to one hundred years before I was. Not long after I had finished my training as a warrior, the Aesir Thor came to our village to request our aid. The Frost Giants had managed to open a portal to our plane from their home in the Ice Plane and were intent on conquest.”

“And you and Mom offered to help them?” I guessed.

She shook her head sadly. “The entire village was mobilized to stop them. They greatly outnumbered us and the Aesir, but while we vowed to not interfere in the human world, neither would we let any harm come to those who would not be able to defend themselves. The Frost Giants were thirty feet tall and frighteningly strong, the humans wouldn’t have stood a chance. Your grandmother, and close to three quarters of our warriors, died in the first offensive. The Aesir took similar losses, and it was decided that we would make one last offensive to push them back into the portal while Loki and your mother found a way to close it. I was one of four Valkyries, and six Aesir, who stayed behind to protect them while they worked.”

I watched her intently until she paused, then I pressed, “So what happened then?”

“They found a way to close the portal, and keep it closed, and we called a retreat. Our kin kept fighting on the other side until the Aesir got clear with our wounded. They kept fighting, even as the portal closed. Our wounded didn’t survive long enough for us to heal them. The Aesir offered the five of us who remained a place in their village Asgard, but we decided to wander and live among the humans. When there were threats from Paranormals who would try to rule the humans, we would offer our services to those who would protect them.”

“The five from the photographs,” I realized. “What happened to the other three?”

“We lost our remaining comrades in Germany during World War Two,” she said. “Hitler employed Demons, to try and put a quicker end to the war, and we joined other Paranormals from the alliance forces to stop them. Ashilda was taken out by an artillery shell to the back. Unne and Syn were captured, and the Demons tortured them to death before we could save them. After the war was over Siv and I decided to move overseas to Canada, to attempt to make a new start among the humans here and gave up fighting."

“Mom said in her note that you two had a falling out, did it have something to do with that?” I asked.

She nodded as she turned the steering wheel to take a left turn. “About twenty years ago your mother couldn’t take sitting on the sidelines anymore. Battle was in her blood, and she always had a soft spot for humanity. She wanted us both to join the PDA with her boyfriend Nick to help protect the humans from Paranormal threats and vice versa. I had started racing cars by then and didn’t want to go back to fighting when I could risk my life just as easily behind a steering wheel, or on a motorcycle. We both said some things we regretted and went our separate ways. We were both too stubborn to try to make up.”

I could feel the regret in her voice and felt bad for both her and my mom. How would things have turned out if they hadn’t been so stubborn? “Huh?” I asked as I realized that she had said something more.

“I said you’ve got a choice to make,” she repeated. “We are the last of our kind, do you want to embrace our traditions and become a warrior, or do you want me to hunt down those Demons for you? What kind of help did you come to me for? Think carefully, because this is the only time I’m going to offer you this choice.”

What did I want? Things would be so much easier if she killed them for me. I might be able to go back to a normal life, but I would also be a danger to others unless I learned to control my strength and other abilities. The mysterious ability Peter had sensed also had me burning with curiosity. Finally, I had to take into account that I was one of the last Valkyries, and my mother had hoped that I would be a warrior like her. Lin showed no interest in being a warrior anymore, so if I didn’t learn then thousands of years of tradition would end. Did I want it to end? I had a duty to my people, and myself, and there was that thrill I got from fighting the Ogre as well. Finally I said, “I want to become a warrior.”

“Congratulations, you’ve passed your first test; a true Valkyrie never lets anyone else fight her battles.” She took another left turn and I realized that I had no idea where we were.

“Where are we going?” I asked as I looked out the window for familiar landmarks.

“We’re going to my hotel to get some clothes, and other things I’ll need if I’m going to be training you. We’ll need to figure out a safe location I can take you for training as well,” she replied.

“My basement has mats and some weapons and equipment, and the wards Mom placed there should keep us safe,” I suggested.

She shook her head. “It’s not big enough; we’ll need some place outdoors. Traditionally we took trainees away from the village and into the woods to train. Learning to use the lay of the land in tactics is part of the training. We’ll need to buy camping supplies and enough food to last a while. Even with a Valkyrie’s natural fighting ability the training can take months, so the sooner we start the better.”

“We can go buy supplies tomorrow, and I think maybe Erin or Alice can help us find a place away from prying eyes to train,” I suggested.

We pulled into the underground parking lot for the Nordic Hotel, one of Vancouver’s older high class hotels geared toward tourists. She parked right beside the elevator, and once we were inside she pressed the button for the penthouse. At first I thought she was playing a prank on me, but after a long elevator ride she walked right up to one of the two penthouse suites and slid her key into the lock. “Come on in,” she offered, “make yourself at home.”

The living room of the penthouse was decorated in earth tones, with expensive looking furniture with soft cream colored carpet and prints of famous paintings. I stared around me in wonder trying to picture the racing queen living in such luxury, but I just couldn’t see it. “You live here? How the hell can you afford a penthouse?”

“I don’t have to pay to live in the penthouse since I co-own the hotel.” I must have had quite the expression on my face, because looking at me caused her to laugh. “Do you really think a girl can live over a thousand years and not have a decent nest egg set aside? Your mother and I didn’t spend all our wandering time fighting you know. There was always money to be made working as some Paranormal’s private body guards, and some of the little things we collected in our youths are worth a lot now. In the fifties I started playing with our money on the stock exchange, our portfolio is pretty versatile.”

“Well that does explain my house and inheritance,” I replied still somewhat in shock. “My friends and I were wondering how she left me so much on a government salary.” Since we were safe inside I decided to let my wings out for some air.

The other Valkyrie gasped at the sight. “You weren’t kidding about them being black. It’s probably because of the Demon influence, I see you have claws too. I’ll take those into account while I’m training you; they give you an advantage while unarmed.” She let out her own white wings and I stared at them for a while, wondering if that was what my mom’s looked like in person.

I felt myself starting to tear up. “You two were together for over a thousand years; it must have been hard staying apart like you did.”

She nodded and looked around in an antique desk, coming up with a key. “This is the key to the other penthouse. Your mother was the other owner of the hotel; I guess we should change it to your name now. When we had our big fight and she left I never had the heart to rent out her penthouse. I may have been too stubborn to go look for her to make up, but I would have welcomed her back in an instant. The income from the hotel and our investments go into a joint account; I’ll have to change her name to yours on that too. I know you already said that you have a house, but this can be your home away from home if you want. Your apartment won’t be rented out unless you want it to be and I've placed wards to keep people from sensing Paranormals in this hotel, so it's fairly safe”

I took the key and stared at it as I thought about her out of date address in the PDA records. “If you lived here all this time how come the PDA had another address for you?”

“I have never fully trusted any government agency like the PDA, there’s too much chance that they can take advantage of the Paranormals they’re supposed to protect. So when I registered I gave them my secondary address, the one I used as a cover. It made Siv happy that I was in the system in case I ever needed help, and it kept them from getting too intrusive. All the staff here are either Paranormals or know about them, are paid well enough to stay loyal and keep secrets, and the wards keep them safe from Paranormal predators and human hunters. I will let them know who you are and that you are the other owner of the hotel.”

“Are you sure we can trust them?” I asked uncertainly, “the Demons have put a bounty on me.”

“I’ve known most of these people since they were born, their parents and sometimes grandparents worked for me and your mom,” she replied. “I trust them far more with both of our lives than I do the government.”

“I’ll trust your judgement then,” I agreed before asking tentatively. “Why didn’t my Mom just tell me about the hotel in the letter? It would have made finding you easier.”

“Valkyrie’s believe that if you want something it should be earned, and that includes training,” she replied with a shrug. “It’s tradition that young Valkyries must search for their chosen instructors and find them on their own before they can begin training. They can be given one or two clues, but beyond that they need to use their own skills and resources. Siv was following that tradition by only giving you my name and picture.” Then she went to a door and opened it and then turned around to ask, “Did you want to stay here tonight? You can look over your apartment and see if you like it. It’s getting late, and I should get some paperwork started to change your mom’s name to yours on the records while I’m thinking of it. What is your full name anyway? It only said Raven on the note.”

I was a bit uncertain about her, but she seemed to have really loved my mom and was willing to accept me as her niece. “Sure I’ll just call home to let my roommates know I won’t be coming home tonight.” I suddenly felt silly for not introducing myself properly earlier. “My name is Raven Lin Demarco.”

I could see her eyes moistening. “She always was too sentimental for her own good, but then, I would have named my daughter for her too. Why don’t you go get settled in and call home while I leave a message for my lawyer about the paperwork and start sorting out what I’ll need for our trip. If you get hungry the kitchen offers room service twenty four seven.”

“Thanks Aunt Lin, I’ll do that. Good night, I’ll see you in the morning.” I left the apartment and closed the door to leave her alone with her memories.

Once I had used the key to open the door to my new apartment, I stepped inside to look around. It felt strange thinking of this place as mine. The living room was decorated in the same tasteful fashion as my aunt’s, with earth tones, thick cream carpeting, and fine artwork. The couch and chairs were upholstered with black leather, and the coffee table and antique desk looked to be made of oak. Before I went to explore the rest of the apartment I decided to phone home. Erin picked up after the first ring and I was concerned that I might have worried her as she quickly answered, “Raven? Is that you?”

“Yeah it’s me Erin, you can start breathing again,” I replied.

I could hear her let out a long breath on the other end. “Did you find her? Are you okay? Where are you?”

“Calm down, I’m fine, and yes I did find her and she’s agreed to train me. As for where I am, I’m in one of the penthouse suites of the Nordic hotel,” I told her. “My aunt lives in the other penthouse.”

“Thank goodness you’re alright,” she said, letting out another long breath before continuing. “How can a woman who races cars for money afford a penthouse apartment in a fancy hotel like that?”

“I think the racing is just for the thrill of it, she owns the hotel,” I replied. “Or rather we own it, since she co-owned it with my mom and now my mom’s share and her penthouse are being passed on to me.”

“You own a hotel?!” I could almost hear her jaw drop.

“Co-own, but yes from what I’m told this hotel belongs to me and my aunt, and this lavish penthouse suite is mine to use as I wish.”

“How are you so fucking rich?” she asked, sounding flustered. “Were your mom and aunt part of the Scandinavian Paranormal mafia or something?”

I chuckled at her reaction. If she reacted like that to what I just told her how would she react to what I planned on saying next? Once I thought I could manage to say it without laughing I answered, “Apparently living for over a thousand years gives a person plenty of time to save money and my aunt plays the stock market with part of what they saved.”

Erin laughed on the other end. “I must have misheard you; I could have sworn you just said your aunt is a thousand years old.”

“Actually, she’s over one thousand two hundred years old,” I clarified. “My mom was even older when she was killed; Valkyries stop aging once puberty is over. Alice did tell us that there were immortal species of Paranormals.”

“Yeah, but I never thought that you might be one of them. It does make sense why the women in those photos all looked alike though. Damn life must get boring after that long,” she muttered.

“I think that’s why Valkyries are warriors actually, and why my aunt likes racing,” I replied, “when you can’t die by normal means life loses its meaning. So they look for ways to constantly put themselves in the position where something could kill them, and cheat death to make themselves feel more alive.”

“You could be right about that, it kind of makes sense. Jamie would have loved to do a paper on something like that, the psychological implications of immortality and all that.” She stopped talking for a moment before saying, “I just told Alice that you’re fine and you’re with your aunt, she’s going to let Lydia know so she’ll stop swearing and pacing a hole in the floor. Do you need me to come pick you up?”

“No I’ll be staying here tonight,” I replied. “By the way, my aunt wants to take me somewhere secluded for training once we can make preparations. Could we use your family cabin?”

“I would say yes, but there are usually a lot of tourists in that area of the island and the last thing we need is a picture of two women with wings on the six o’clock news.” There was another silence as she seemed to be considering the problem. “Maybe the PDA will know of a secluded spot without prying human eyes. You could come to the office with me tomorrow afternoon; I need your strength anyway.”

“Why do you need my strength?” I asked. “I thought you were going for a martial arts lesson, I really wouldn’t want to hurt you.”

My friend laughed. “I need you to carry my grandfather’s chest, that thing is damn heavy. After my martial arts lesson I’m meeting with a Faith Healer that the PDA called in from Japan. She arrives tomorrow and they think she might be able to help me with my training. They want me to bring all the Shaman stuff to the training center so we can work on the training there.”

That’s going to be a pain in the ass for you to drag back and forth while I’m gone,” I pointed out.

“Don’t worry about it; they’re letting me keep it there under lock and key. I don’t want to be hauling that thing around anymore than I have to.”

“Okay, I’ll go with you, but I don’t think I’ll be able to convince my aunt to come, she doesn’t seem to trust the PDA,” I answered. “I’ll be home before we have to go. I’m going to take a look around to see what this place is like and then go to sleep.”

“Good night Raven, have fun.” She disconnected the call and I stepped further into the apartment to look around. Everything was kept clean and free of dust and looked very modern. Lin must have really hoped to make up with my mom if she didn’t rent the place out but kept it as modern and comfortable as possible. The place was absolutely massive with the open living room, a dining room with a crystal chandelier and a large oak table and six chairs that were noticeable as soon as I entered. There was also a modern kitchen with a huge refrigerator and a gas stove, library, media room, wine room, large master bathroom with a shower and Jacuzzi, laundry room, powder room, and an empty room with a skylight that I thought might be a solarium.

I found three large bedrooms early on, two of which had access to a balcony overlooking the city and the ocean beyond. The bedrooms were all tastefully decorated with different color themes, earth tones and blues for the two that accessed the balcony and soft pink and deep rose for the one beside the master bathroom. Each contained a comfortable looking bed, dresser, two large closets, bed side tables and a desk.

When I finally stepped out onto the balcony from one of the bedrooms, I discovered that it went along the side of the building, to be accessible by the living room as well. It continued on even further than that and I walked around the corner at the end to find that the balcony became a large terrace which overlooked the bay, North Vancouver, and the mountains beyond. There was wooden patio furniture, a barbeque, and a hot tub, but in the late evening light I had to get close to make out much detail on anything. I stepped back inside the apartment by a glass door on the terrace to find myself in what I thought must be the master bedroom.

Once I found a light switch I discovered that the master bedroom was decorated in soft creams and dark red. It was furnished much like the other bedrooms but instead of a double bed it housed a king sized, four poster canopied bed with satin sheets and a warm looking comforter. And rather than the regular sized closets there were two massive walk-in closets, which were currently bare. One of room’s other two doors led back toward the dining room and kitchen while the other led to a large en suite bathroom decorated in cool blues and ivory with a large bath, a shower, two sinks, a vanity, and all the regular necessities.

This was the kind of place I would never have spent my money on. I may have been well off, but so much space just for myself felt wasteful and an unnecessary expense. That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to enjoy it though, especially that bed. Once I finished my tour I returned to the master bedroom, quickly shed my clothes, and climbed under the sheets. The soft bed had me asleep in minutes.