I’m not saying I wanted to lose any of them, but Kanesha was the woman I loved, was specifically under my personal protection.

I didn’t need to tell anyone else. Monica, after some hesitation, had taken care of it. Which meant everyone was warned to be careful.

And if it was so uncertain, it probably wasn’t fixed in stone. Yet. We could not exactly cheat it, because you couldn’t, but we could dodge it. Maybe I could take whatever blow it was myself and either survive or, well, come back.

That was probably, I thought, the best plan. Have somebody who could take it die instead.

The best laid plans of mice, men, and goddesses, of course. I didn’t really think it would work, but it was on the table. I didn’t want to repeat the experience of falling off the dragon, but…

It occurred to me that Thruor would have a different view of matters. Maybe this was why I wasn’t cut out to be a Valkyrie. I was caring too much for their lives and not enough for the true spark within.

I had a sudden image of the world as being nothing more than an illusion, set over a framework of the true reality.
Which I was part of. But so were they, it just wasn’t as obvious. No. Not an illusion.

A nursery. A proving ground. Somewhere for those precious sparks to develop. Which…what did that make us?

I thought I understood. The rest of what I needed was locked up somewhere in my memories, frustratingly almost within reach. I could remember knowing it.

Dang it. I needed to get it out of my system. Maybe destroy a punching bag or something. Hunt some vampires.

Instead, I took my sword and went to find a quiet corner where nobody would notice me practicing. At least, nobody without supernatural senses anyway. Working through the exercises helped. It cleared my mind. It made me more ready to deal with what might happen.

Monica was going to die, that much I knew. So was somebody else, and I didn’t know who and I was glad I didn’t know and worried at the same time.

But I got my head clear. Really, the only thing I could do with the prophecy was ignore it. Make sure everyone was careful.

Ignore it and hope it would go away, or hope that the resolution would be there when the time came. That it would form itself.

Of course, I couldn’t.

The best laid plans, as I said. They never quite work, and knowing something means you can’t put it out of your mind.

What did I know that Odin had put out of my mind?