Chapter Nineteen

 More darkness. More passageways and secret places. The ancient people who once ruled this planet loved both. Leaning against Duncan MacLeod as she lit the way for them Calla began to reach a level of tired which was previously unknown to her. The last time she’d expended so much energy in such a short period of time she’d….

Weary head on Duncan’s shoulder her lead filled hand wormed its way upward to caress the little bulge in her belly. Not this time. The baby was fine and she was just a little tired, that’s all just a little tired. Nothing a little food, a little drink and, a cat nap wouldn’t cure.

“Are you all right, Ollie?” Duncan asked and slowed his pace but didn’t stop walking. The path was dark and the air was dank and musty. Beside him Ollie held onto him with one hand and holding the other out in front of her body she lit the way like Lady Liberty in New York Harbor.

“We’re almost there.”

Now Duncan did stop walking. “You said that over an hour ago, didn’t she Thor?”

“I believe that she did.” Thor replied.

“But I mean it this time.” Calla said with a soft glow in her cheeks and fuzzy distance in her eyes. “See, it’s right there.”

In the dark and the dank it was hard to see but Duncan strained his mahogany eyes until he thought it possible there was the outline of a double door not fifteen feet away. Calla stumbled those fifteen feet and waited for him and Thor. Holding her glowing hand up to the cracked outline suddenly carvings in the stone also began to glow. In ancient Norse etching it read; Hail! Welcome to the Hall of Warriors!

They made it.

“All right so how do we open it?” Duncan asked as he felt along the dusty cold stone for a knob or other apparatus which would spring the door.

A silence ensued and Calla didn’t answer. “Lady Callestah?” Thor inquired quietly looking up at her and then worriedly looking back at Duncan MacLeod. “Calla?” Thor asked once more.

“Hum?” Her eyes lolled around until she was looking down at the small creature standing next to her . “Oh, the door, yes, you want me to open the door.”

“Ollie?” Duncan didn’t like the tone in her voice of the sallowness of her cheeks. She didn’t seem to hear him.

“It’s simple really,” she mumbled and turned toward the door with a heavy sigh. “You just …..well…..you just….just…knock.” Yes that was it. Why was everything moving so slowly? Why couldn’t she form a thought let alone hold on to it? Calla didn’t know but she raised her fist and rapped upon the glowing stone. “Bragi?” She called through the rock. “Lord of Lyric, Muse of the Scribe, open the door to Valhalla, a Warrior worthy of Odin’s Hall am I.”

The lettering upon the door gave off a brighter glow as the double doors parted and in the empty space stood a giant of a man, the full beard on his chin extended almost to his knees as did the shock of red hair upon his head. “Who wrangles me from a good nap?” Bragi snapped. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he looked down to behold the little gray creature standing at the door blinking at him with black pupiless eyes. “Thor? Is that you my brother?”

“It is I…Bragi.” Thor exclaimed. “You’re alive!”

“You’ve been gone a long time,” Bragi said and stepped back from the door to allow them entrance. “Seeing you both fills me with joy and dread. If you are here something terrible must be coming to greet us. Who are your friends?”

“Duncan MacLeod and the Lady Callestah, Daughter of Ares.” Thor informed his long lost brother. “We must free the Valkyrie and the Einherjar, this world is in great danger.”

“The Goa’uld?” Bragi asked as he led down the small corridor and to the massive oak doors at the end. Tossing them open Odin’s Hall and Valhalla greeted them. As in the Dark Kingdom there were many people scurrying around and going about their daily business. Food cooked in open pits, wild boar and yams most notably, mead and ale was consumed by warriors in three varieties; Elf, Dwarf and Human. As in the Dark Kingdom music filled the air the warriors sitting, talking, eating and drinking were also singing a long with the tune.

The massive hall had equally massive columns deeply carved with rune stones and holding up a ceiling made of shields. The walls all had spears jutting from them and animal heads hung from most of them.

“No, I’m afraid the threat is something different,” Thor replied. “But no less menacing.” He turned to Calla. “I still cannot believe you’ve brought us here,” turning back to Bragi “or that you’re here.”

“It’s good thing she remembered us then, hey?” Bragi said with a wide smile clapping his much smaller brother on the back.

Thor stumbled forward and Calla caught his little gray frame in her arms. “All right?”

“Yes,” he stuttered pulling away from her. “I had forgotten how robust we once were.” Thor intoned.

“Sit! Drink! Eat! Talk with me brother!’ Bragi chimed happily. “In a while you can free them and we will go off to war but now we will feast and reacquaint ourselves with one another.”

“Yes, a rest, that sounds good doesn’t it, Ollie?” Duncan asked. “A little something to eat perhaps?”

“Already you’ve been hanging around Daniel too long.” She groused. But a little drink sounded good her throat was very dry but chances were there was nothing but ale, mead and wine here. “I think we will be forced into sitting a moment.” For that she was grateful, Calla stumbled over to the first empty seat she saw.

“No!” Bragi complained loudly. “The beautiful lady shall sit with me!” He held out a thick arm to her. “It’s been a long long time since I had the company of one so fair.”

Calla knew she was supposed to be gracious and kindly accept his offer, she tried to do just that by reaching out for the hefty arm and missing. Her head light and her eyes betraying her perception she pitched forward and would have fallen over if Thor’s brother had not caught her.

“Your companion seems ill,” Bragi remarked in a concerned voice as he sat her upright once more. “Shall I bring her to a place where she can lie down?”

Thor and Duncan wanted to say ‘yes’ to that query. “No, thank you, I’m quite fine.” Calla said resuming her own strength. “I’m a pregnant and a bit tired from the journey,” she explained. “I’m afraid we’ve still a ways to go before I may rest.”

As much as he wanted to argue Duncan knew she was right. The sooner they got this over with the better off all of them would be. “Perhaps a drink of water and a little something to eat would help?” He suggested remembering that he did promise Daniel he would take care of his wife and unborn child. “What do you say, Ollie? Stay off your feet for a few minutes?”

“Then we must continue,” she said swiftly but the last thing she wanted to do was argue and expend strength which was rapidly soaking away. Bragi helped her to her feet and they sat at his table which was in the fore of the room. Thor and his brother spent some a few moments catching up while Calla drank a glass of water but refused the food and Duncan kept a close eye on her.

“Have some bread, Ollie,” Duncan pushed the basket of fresh bread in front of her but she didn’t reach for it. “Come on, you must be starving by now. Some meat? How about some vegetables?”

“No, really, Duncan,” she almost doubled over as she sat there, “just the smells are enough to make me want to…” Calla covered her mouth with her hand and looked away from the table. The smells and the thought of getting sick were enough to make it happen. Calla skittered away from the table as fast as she could, doubled over in a far corner and vomited up everything she didn’t have in her stomach. “Thor!” Duncan shouted getting the little guy’s attention and then motioning for him to look at Calla. “We should hurry this along, don’t you think?” Rising to his feet Duncan made his way over to her. “It’s all right, Ollie.” He soothed as he rubbed his hand along her back. “We’ll get out of here soon and you’ll be with Daniel, I know you’re worried about him and the kids, hey?”

“The Olympian woman is not well,” Bragi said downing the last of the mead in his cup. “What’s wrong with her?”

“She’s told you, she’s pregnant.” Thor told him. “Duncan is correct, we must finish this as soon as we can.”

“So be it!” Bragi said rising to his feet he began to bang the heavy pewter stein on the wood table. “My brothers and sisters! Warriors all!” All in the great hall turned toward him. “Our time is at hand!” He announced with something akin to delight. “It is not the Goa’uld we shall defend this land from but the Titan, Hecate who seeks to overrun this world spreading her foul stench to every corner. Will we let this happen?”

More than two thousand years they’d sat here waiting for their chance to kick a little ass. “NO!” Came the rousing roar.

“We will open the doors of Valhalla!” Brag shouted whipping his troops up into a high spirited frenzy. “Ready yourselves, tonight we march to war!”

“They’re going to help us,” Calla sighed happily.

“Did you doubt it?” Duncan asked. “You told everyone that this would happen, didn’t you believe it?”

“Perhaps I didn’t.”

The warriors in the hall whooped and cheered their approval of the fight. Bragi turned to his brother. “It’s up to you now, you’ve only to open the door, my little brother.”

One arm looped around the waist of Duncan MacLeod they walked the small distance to a great door which appeared to be made of glass but no glass was ever that thick. Looking up at Calla and at the place in the door where his hand would go Thor spoke, “I am sorry I did not believe you, Lady.” With that Thor placed his hand on the door in the little impression which was perfect for his palm and his palm only. The door flew open onto a room so huge none of them could see the other end of it. The room was filled with doors, 540 of them and the high pitched screech of the Valkeryie pierced the air all around. “Ragnarok!” Thor shouted at them. The screeching ceased. “Ragnarok!” He shouted again. The hearty and stout warrior women mounted their horses. 540 doors flew open ushering forth 540 battled hardened warriors through each door. As in Odin’s Hall beyond, warriors of all types, elf, dwarf and human alike stood shoulder to shoulder as they marched with bows, spears, knives, swords, battle axes and more in rough blood thirsty hands. The only thing missing was for one fur-clad, horn wearing warrior to look into a camera and ask; “what’s in your wallet?”

“I’ll never doubt you again.” Thor said looking up at Calla as they exited the secret land to the top side of the island.

All around them the sun was going down which meant back in Colorado it was high in the sky. What felt like nothing more than two hours at most in actuality was nine. Calla hoped the lag in time didn’t cost her family too dearly. All toll she’d been away from them for over a day and a half and she’d not rested or eaten in that time. “As well you shouldn’t,” she said with a smile. “You must lead them from here. The planet is swiftly becoming overrun I’m afraid. You will have to fight them on land and in air for a while. If Fiona’s alive she will call forth the dragons together them and the Valkyrie will lay waste to Hecat—to her ships. That battle will be quick.”

“You do not appear well enough to travel the astral, Callestah. I can offer you a safe haven in which to rest for a while.” Thor said in a concerned voice.

“You know I can’t.” She stuttered grateful at his offer and his concern.

“Then I will send you and Duncan to the SGC if that is where you wish to go.”

“It’s where we have to go.” She said sadly not looking forward to seeing her children, her husband or confronting the Brother who’d been dead so long. Deep inside of her she’d rather run away from it all than anything else but that wasn’t possible. “It will be good to see Daniel again.”

“I’m sure you’ll feel much better.” Duncan agreed putting his arm around her. Thor wasn’t the only one growing more worried about her. “I think we should go.”

“Not just yet.” She said looking up into the sky watching the mythical flyers rise up and take flight. “Aren’t they grand?”

Duncan and Thor also gazed upward at the warrior women on their way to storm Aphrodite’s ships and the warriors taking off for all corners of the Earth to disperse the enemy already here. “Yes they are.” Duncan said squeezing her a little tighter. “You’ve done an excellent job, Ollie. The rest is up to them and Ares.”

“And Achilles,”

“Him too.” Duncan agreed with a bad taste in his mouth. His first impression of the legendary Achilles was not what he’d hoped for, in fact he found Achilles to be too bold and full of himself. Although Daniel was probably too wrapped up in seeing his wife, Duncan took hard note of the way Achilles looked at her and the slyness in his deep brown eyes.

End of Chapter Nineteen
The Cradle Will Fall
Continue to
Chapter Twenty

This story and all stories in the Cradle Will Fall series are copyrighted to Lisa Beth Darling these stories may not be transferred outside of this URL in any fashion.