"I'm going to offer you something that I've never offered anyone before-a choice. You can choose to come with me to Valhalla and fight on the side of good in a battle for mankind, or you may stay here." I put my hand out and motioned to the battlefield.

"From what I know, you were to live through this and live to be an old age." He looked around and then back at me. I heard someone coming and felt Gregorios draw on his power. He moved his body in front of mine.

I touched his arm, and felt my body react to being near him. I hadn't had the desire to be touched by a man since Kerr, and now I stood behind a man that was very much like me-a pract.i.tioner of magic. He possessed the gift of magic, the same gift that I had, and it would be rare to find that in someone I was attracted to again, and I knew it.

"Close your eyes, Valerie. I do not want to frighten you with the horrors that I am capable of," he said.

I moved my hand up his arm and let my power build. I let the tiniest bit of it spill out and onto him. He spun around and grabbed hold of me. "You have it as well!" He sounded a bit out breath, no doubt from shock.

I smiled at him and nodded my head. "I've never had anyone to share it with, at least no one who understood it and recognized it for what it was."

Gregorios looked around and then back down at me. "I shall come with you. What do you need to do now?"

Normally, I would have taken only his soul back with me. He would become corporeal once he set foot on Valhalla's ground and he would never again age, but I didn't want to take only his soul, I wanted all of him. I wanted to bring Kerr back with me like this, and would have if things hadn't turned out the way they did.

"This also has to be your choice," I pulled his mouth towards mine, and stopped just short of kissing him. "With this kiss, we will forever be bound-linked. You will be considered my equal-my mate."

Gregorios brought his lips down on mine and I let a piece of my very essence slip into him, and in return, I felt a piece of him move into me. I pulled away from him slowly, not wanting the moment to end. His green eyes closed and his face twisted. He let out a small moan, and tightened his grip on me.

"What just happened?" he asked.

"I bestowed upon you the gift of immortality, come, we have to hurry." I could feel the threat of evil looming around us. Their foot soldiers would have sensed the portal opening by now and be searching for me. I wasn't worried about losing Gregorios as I had Kerr, because now he was an immortal, like myself and they couldn't turn him into a demon, at least I didn't think so, but I didn't want to throw more at him than he was ready to deal with.

"Come, let's go."

I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the portal. He came with me willingly and moved his body into the portal. It wrapped around us both and yanked at our clothes and hair. I pulled Gregorios to me and held him close. His body wrapped around mine and I knew that he tried to protect me even though the portal posed no harm. The pressure on us increased, and Gregorios held me even tighter. With my ear pressed firmly to his chest, I could hear his heart beating fast-and him sighing.

The wind and pressure stopped and I felt the earth beneath my feet again. I opened my eyes and looked around at the beautiful tropical heaven that I called home. "This is Valhalla," I said, still holding onto him.

"It is beautiful." His eyes moved to the waterfalls and he leaned out to have a better look. I pulled him back to me and laughed.

"You don't want to fall over that, at least not just yet. Who knows where you'd end up? You'll be able to navigate through the portals on your own, soon enough." He didn't find it as funny as I did, but that was to be expected.

I laughed harder and turned to see Beau running towards us. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Gregorios standing with me. On all my other returns, including Beau's, I'd brought back their soul, in a soul-decanter, and once I reached Valhalla they would materialize-become corporeal-they were always nude, and Gregorios was not. Gregorios let go of me and tried to push me behind him. His red toga blew slightly in the wind and caught the attention of Beau.

Beau moved closer and gave me a puzzled look. "You okay, Princess?"

Gregorios turned and looked at me. "Princess?"

I shrugged my shoulders. I wasn't very impressed with my status, and didn't expect him to be either. Beau moved closer to us and Gregorios drew his sword. I put my hand out and touched his shoulder. "It's okay, this is Beau. He's one of the Captains of the guard. He'll be a.s.sisting you with anything you'll need." Beau made a coughing noise. I looked up at him. "Care to add anything?"

"Yeah, don't you mean I'll be showing him to his quarters, and getting him acquainted with the others?"

"No, I said what I meant, and Gregorios will be staying with me."

Beau took another look at Gregorios and then started to shake his head. "You didn't ... no, you wouldn't." He stepped forward and touched Gregorios lightly on the arm. "s.h.i.t, you did."

Chapter 12.

I rolled my eyes and listened to Alodie go on and on about the decision I had made. Her blonde hair was pulled back so tight from her head in a bun, that it made her skin pull as well. Beau often called her Joan Rivers, but I wasn't sure why.

I watched her sitting at the elders' table with her hands folded, making comments to the others like I wasn't even there. She was good at that. She hated the fact that I was a Princess and she wasn't. I couldn't help that. It wasn't a birthright so much as a show of power. Only the finest Valkyries were given Princess status. The greatest of us all was named Queen. Valhalla had been without a Queen since before I was born. My mother had been appointed Queen, but had refused to accept the throne. This shocked and angered some of the elders.

Alodie looked down the table to her twin sister, Annice, and then back at me. "What prompted your decision to make him an equal?" she asked, sounding every bit as condescending as she looked.

"I've already been over this with you a thousand times. I'm hungry, tired, and I'm leaving now."

"Linnea...."

I spun around. "You will address me as Valerie and Valerie only. Do you understand? And, if one of you dares to question my decision again.... "I let hot fire build in my hand. I spun my hand around it and formed a blazing ball. It wasn't really hot, nor was it fire. It was an illusion. I learned to do that when I was young and it still scared the others. It was a parlor trick-smoke and mirrors. Yet, they were still afraid. I could create real fire, but I don't think I could control it as well.

I glanced down at the bluish-orange ball in my hand. I smiled softly and then looked up. I watched the table of elder Valkyrie women, who all looked to be no more than thirty, sit back in their seats-scared. Bronte, one of my mother's biggest supporters stood up and clapped. The others looked at her like she'd just grown a second head.

"I think we may have a new candidate for Queen in our presence."

The silence in the room was deafening. Alodie was the first one to make a sound of protest. I looked up at her and then down at the ball of fire in my hand. I winked and she shut her mouth. I didn't want to be appointed Queen. I just didn't want to hear her mouth run anymore. I let the fire dissipate and rounded on my heels. I stormed out of the hall, and down the path to the training fields.

I was halfway to the training grounds when I heard shouts. My pace increased when I recognized Gregorios' voice as one of them. I cut through the bamboo that grew wild along the edges of the path, and regretted it almost immediately. I came out on the other side battered and bruised to find Beau and Gregorios engaged in a sword fight.Beau wore a pair of camouflage army pants and a black tee shirt. Gregorios hadn't taken to wearing modern clothes yet, and still wore his tunic. They looked so odd-the modern man versus the gladiator.

Beau's sword was above his right shoulder, drawn back with his arm, as he circled Gregorios. I moved in closer, but wasn't sure what to do. If I yelled out and distracted either of them, someone could get hurt. Immortality meant little if you lost your head or heart in a sword fight. I moved in closer and watched as Beau's facial expression hardened.

"You've no business here, in the form you're in. She'll never love you. You're just a pet, something she brought home to try and patch up an ugly incident. You're a band-aid. She'll discard you soon, like the trash you are."

Gregorios didn't accept the bait. He just kept his eye on Beau and his sword out in front of him. Beau struck out at him, and Gregorios deflected it with ease. Beau tried again, and again he deflected it. Their swords locked and their faces pressed close together. The hate in Beau's eyes shocked me. He had no reason to hate Gregorios, they weren't from the same time period, and had never met prior to Valhalla. As far as I knew, Americans had no problems with ancient Romans.

"She'll never love you," Beau spit his words out as he went.

Gregorios spun around and brought Beau's feet out from under him. He thrust his sword down, and stopped just short of ramming it through Beau's neck. I stood in horror as the tip of the sword pushed lightly on Beau's skin. "Are you worried for her, or are you jealous that she did not choose you? She may never love me, and that's fine, but I will follow her anywhere and give my life for her and her happiness. Would you do the same?"

Beau kicked out and caught Gregorios' stomach. He sprung to his feet and went at Gregorios with an intensity I'd never seen before. I decided that this had gone way too far and ran towards them. Gregorios saw me coming and it broke his concentration, giving Beau the upper hand and leaving Gregorios now dangerously close to being beheaded.

"You deserve to die. You don't deserve her, neither did that filthy Scot. I know she let him touch her ... at least he got what was coming to him ... as if he ever had a chance with the Princess."

My blood boiled and I screamed out Beau's name while I ran at him. He spun around just in time for me to pummel him to the ground. I slapped his face so hard that my hand stung, and then I balled my hands into fists and began beating on his chest and face. I felt someone pulling me off of Beau. I kicked out, and managed to catch Beau several more times before I was moved too far away to reach him.

"It's okay, Valerie," Gregorios said softly in my ear.

Beau sat up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "Her name isn't Valerie, it's...."

"Don't ... don't ever let me hear you utter my name again, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

Beau looked up at me. "Princess, I didn't mean to offend you, I was just.... "He turned to spit blood out. "I know you've had a hard go of it since you lost that Scot, and I...."

I kicked out frantically, but Gregorios held tight to my waist. "If you ever utter one word about him again, I'll kill you, do you understand, Beau? I will cut your head off and put it on a stake in the center of the grounds for all to see." I glared at him.

"I'm sorry, Linnea ... Valerie. I didn't mean ... please forgive me...."

I stopped kicking and Gregorios put me down gently. I turned away from Beau. He tried to say something else to me, but Gregorios intervened. "Perhaps, you should leave her be for a bit, she is upset and could use...."

Beau let out a laugh. "Oh, give it a rest. Kissing her a.s.s now won't make her want you anymore. She doesn't f.u.c.k men ... no ...

she just lures them from the battlefield with her beauty, teases them, and then turns on them. Sorry there, Caesar, but she'll never f.u.c.k you.""How dare you speak of her like that?" Gregorios tried to go around me and I caught his arm and pulled him to me. His body was stiff and his attentions on Beau, I reached up and pulled his neck down to me. I put my lips on his. It took a minute for his body to relax, but finally his arm moved around me and he started to return my kisses. Beau laughed out loud behind me, and I pulled away from Gregorios to look at him.

"Don't get your hopes up, Caesar, that's what she does best, she teases. She wouldn't know how to handle a real man-a real d.i.c.k in her."

Gregorios' arms tightened, and I noticed the veins in his neck starting to pop out. I leaned up and kissed his cheek gently. "Let me handle Beau, please." He nodded softly, and I turned my attention back to Beau. I walked to him and put my chest against his. I pulled on his tee shirt to bring his face closer to mine.

"For your information, I do know what to do with a d.i.c.k, too bad that Scot's not around. You could ask him about it, or in the morning, you could ask Gregorios how I am in bed, because you'll never find out first hand."

I pulled away from Beau and watched as the realization of what I'd just said sank in. He looked like he'd been slapped and I loved it. He had no business bringing Kerr into this. h.e.l.l, he had no business in my affairs at all. He turned away from me and stormed off. I wanted to shout out details of my time with Kerr, but those were private and I had too much respect for Kerr to do that.

Gregorios came to my side and touched my shoulder. I let my head fall down onto his hand and started to cry. He pulled me close to him. He never asked what had made me so upset, or who this Scot was that we'd been talking about. He just stood there holding me in his arms, letting me weep freely without guilt.

Chapter 13.

"I should really go and sleep with the other soldiers. This is not right. I do not deserve special treatment," Gregorios said as he moved towards my bedroom door.

I took a step towards him. "You've been sleeping here for close to a week now, why the sudden change of heart?" I already knew what had prompted it. At least I think I knew anyway. Beau's little outburst early in the day had left me crying in Gregorios'

arms and feeling very vulnerable. I wondered if he now felt the same way.

"Valerie, I do not want to burden you. This paradise has many other accommodations that are better than any other lodging I've ever known. I do not need to be under your feet." He started to walk out of the room.

"Wait, don't go."

He ran his fingers through his long blonde hair and bent his head down. "I cannot stay with you tonight."

I moved off the edge of the bed and walked to him. "Why? Why is tonight different from the other nights you've spent here with me, lying in that very bed, sleeping sound by my side?" We hadn't had s.e.x, we had really just slept, and it had been the best rest I'd had since I'd lost Kerr.

Gregorios lifted his head slightly. His green eyes darted away from my gaze. "I do not sleep sound next to you, I lay there watching you rest, memorizing every tiny feature of your beautiful face, and longing to touch you. When you kissed me today, my body reacted in ways it shouldn't have, and I know now that I cannot lay by your side and just sleep. It is better that I go, and...."

I touched his arm. "Wait, your body reacted? You mean you got an.... "I almost said erection, but didn't. Gregorios didn't need me to finish my sentence. He nodded and dropped his head in shame. "My G.o.ds, Gregorios, I watched you move from brothel to brothel, you had at least a dozen women in the room with you at each one. I find it hard to believe that your body reacted to me in a way any different than with them."

He looked up at me. "I knew I'd seen you before ... in the market place, a year ago, I b.u.mped into you ... then you fell through the door, and," he started to laugh, "you thought I had intercourse with those women?"

I didn't find it as funny as he did, but now that he asked, yeah, that is precisely what I thought. I nodded my head, and he burst out into laughter. When he was able to catch his breath, he reached out and took me in his arms. It was a bold move on his part, and I liked it.

"Valerie, I've never known the touch of a woman. I wasn't in the room with the wh.o.r.es for pleasure. No, I was there to give them some of my magic. I cast out energy, a spell of sorts that keeps their wombs from accepting new life-from having children for at least a year, sometimes two. It's all they have, and they tell no one about me. So many of them have died giving birth, or died trying not to give birth. Some have children and can't afford them, and dump them off or worse yet, raise them in that environment."

He looked away and I saw his eyes start to tear up. "My mother was a woman like them. She worked on her back for next to nothing, and conceived me while doing it. She had no clue who my father was, and I'm sure I got my gift of the magic from him.

She tried to raise me and still work. I was forced to sit outside the door while she.... "He couldn't hold back the tears anymore. I moved my body close to his and wrapped my arms around him. He didn't tell me any more about his mother, but I suddenly understood his commitment to helping the women who worked in brothels.

I decided to break the tension and lighten the mood. "You mean to tell me that in all that time you never once got to...?"

His laughter cut me off. "Oh, no, I think I scared them, and for good reason. I'm a monster. Did you see what I did on the battlefield? I burnt those men alive, Valerie."

I took two steps back from him and put my hand out. I called upon the fire and formed it into a ball like I'd done for the elders earlier. Gregorios' eyes lit up. He put his finger out to touch it and I closed my hand, making it disappear in the process. "See, you're not alone, and you're not a monster."

His hand closed over mine and I found myself looking right at his chest. I wished that I was taller so I could see directly into his eyes, but my view wasn't too bad either. I put the palm of my hand on his chest and waited to see if he'd push me away.

"Valerie, why do I feel this way every time you touch me?"

I didn't need him to clarify. I knew what he was talking about. Since I'd shared my essence with him I'd noticed a heightened thrill every time his body was close to mine. Whatever it was, it made me want to run my fingers over him-all the time. I hadn't been sure if the feeling went both ways, until now. His hand slid over mine, and our fingers laced together. He brought my hand to his lips and I felt like I was going to liquefy. He kissed it gently, and I let out a small sigh.

"If I stay here with you tonight, I do not think I will be able to conduct myself in a proper manner, so I should go. Pleasant dreams, Valerie," Gregorios said, bending down to kiss me.

I moved my hands behind his neck and laced my fingers tightly. When he tried to stand up, I went with him. His hands moved around me and he lifted me with ease. I never thought of myself as large, but I wasn't waify either. I was toned-I had to be-my line of work demanded it. Gregorios never broke a sweat. Holding me up put us eye to eye, and for the first time I was able to see just how beautiful his emerald green eyes truly were.

"Gregory, you have the fullest lips I've ever seen on a man."

He looked away sheepishly. I put my lips on his and bit down gently, tugging him back to me in the process. "I like them," I said, with my teeth still tugging on him. I pushed my tongue into his mouth and found his. He was reluctant to respond to me at first, but when I wrapped my legs around his waist, he gave in to me.

He moved our bodies towards the bed and kept his mouth in constant contact with mine the entire time. He laid me gently across the bed and even took the time to make sure that I wasn't lying on my hair. I thought that was sweet. He stood up and backed away from me. His normally milky white face was flushed now. He walked away."Gregorios, no, don't go, stay with me." I moved my hands down and slid my dress up, revealing my upper thighs to him. His eyes followed my hands as I moved the black material up higher on my body. I stopped just short of showing him all I had to offer, when he came closer to me.

"I've never...."

I put my hand out to him. "I'm sure you'll do just fine."

Gregorios took my hand and leaned over the edge of the bed, his legs now planted firmly between mine. He took his time taking his tunic off. He was embarra.s.sed, and I couldn't see why. He was s.e.xy beyond words. His body was lean and tight. He wasn't a large man, so much as he was tall, but he was perfect all the same. I glanced down at the nest of blonde curls between his legs and had to take back my original thought of him not being a large man. He tried to cover himself with his hands, and failed, even his big hands couldn't hide his excitement.

Gregorios began to back away, and I reached down and pulled my tiny black dress up and almost over my head. The cool air hit my naked b.r.e.a.s.t.s and my nipples responded to it.

Gregorios' eyes looked my body over and his fingers moved away from his groin and to my stomach. He was reluctant to touch me at first. I pulled on his wrist and brought his hand, and his body, to my breast. He helped me slide my dress over my head and caught one of my nipples in his mouth on the way back down. I quickly moved my hands into his hair and let the silky strands glide through my fingers.

Gregorios' hands moved down my sides and he stopped when he hit my panties. He knew what they were now. He'd asked me about them when he'd walked in on me changing our second day back. This world was so very new to him, and he learned quickly. He slipped his fingers under my panties and pulled them down slowly. He drew in a deep breath when he uncovered the dark patch of curls between my legs. His grip on my underwear tightened and I heard a ripping noise before I felt them falling away from my body.

"Sorry, I.... "he said, pulling back from my body.

"Gregorios, its okay, I want you too ... I want you now."

He nodded and moved his body back to mine. He was being so careful not to touch me that we'd be at this for a year before he got up the nerve to just take me. I pulled on his body.

"Here, lie next to me ... wait, you said that you had a spell that would prevent a woman from conceiving a child, like birth control, right?"

"Yes, I mean, it is not permanent, well, only as permanent as I make it, I could give enough magic to get a woman through a night, or enough to get her through several hundred years."