Valkyrie

Taking deep breaths, Jai calmed down for what seemed like the fiftieth time this afternoon, or at least what he felt has been an afternoon.

Mr. Non-stop babble, was still babbling on in the background of Jai's thoughts. It's as if the guy would not be satisfied unless he was talking and doing something. Until now, Jai still has yet to learn the guy's name. He even suspects that Michael might not even know the his name, and Michael's the one that invited everyone to tag along with him to a party.

Michael was sitting on the couch typing away on his phone. Probably messaging one of the many group chats he was apart of. Michael had been ignoring everything since he understood they still have time and no one was in a rush.

Since no one else was talking, besides Mr. Non-stop babble, and Jai felt tired from the hallucination, at least he thought, Jai just flopped next to Michael and waited for them to go. He didn't even bother trying to listen to what the other guy was saying.

Either way Jai did not have to wait for long because another person entered the room. When she entered the room, Jai thought the temperature dropped a few degrees. She had long legs and a figure to match. She was a top-notch beauty with curves in the right places. Her hair was a dark brunette that on others would have looked muddy. However, on her, people would have to describe he as earthy. Her lips were luscious and if she smiled at a guy, he would probably do a double take. Her eyes drew you in. They were hazel and the touch of gold made her eyes seem to glow. Her body looked perfect, however she wasn't smiling. Rather she seemed cold and the glow in her eyes were as if she looked down on everyone. Like she disdained even looking at a person.

She might have the temperament of someone of a higher social class and looked down on the guys in the living room, but at that moment she held their attention in the palm of her hand. Mr. Non-stop babble had also tapered off, stunned for a bit when he felt something was off.

The girl, rather lady, stood at the entrance to the hallway and looked at them. "Costume." A single word is all she said to them. Like she treated her words like gold and it was a treat to the guys, that they had to appreciate and admire over.

Michael had been typing away on his phone, but when he heard the angelic-like voice he stopped and looked up. "Goddess." He had a single word response as well.

Mr. Non-stop babble took that moment to gather his bearings. "This is my sister and don't bother I haven't seen her get close to any man before." He told us, glancing at us then looking back at his sister. "Damn, sis. Put on a bathrobe at least, didn't you hear the bell? These guys were just picking me up. Oh, yeah. I finished the costume. It's hanging on the back of my chair in my room. The accessories are on my desk you should see them."

Now that he mentioned it, Michael and Jai realized that his sister only had a towel to cover her. Her hair was still wet and she was in the process of wrapping it up in a towel. Jai could even spot some purple highlights in her hair before they were covered by the towel.

Before anyone could say anything else, she already turned around and walked off. Then before Michael and Jai could even ask a question or state how beautiful she was. Mr. Non-stop babble continued on telling them how she had made him make her costume and what he did. Michael didn't want to know about her costume. He wanted to know all about her. But, first he had to share with everyone in chat about how he just met a goddess.

He texted away, doing his best to try and describe her. A girl quickly responded saying there was someone in their yoga class that matched that description. "I heard her name was Rie, pronounced Ree. I can't even be jealous of her, I can only admire her that's how good she looks." The chat was all a buzz now. A few of them saw her before and shared the same sentiments. Someone else made a comment saying, "I think Rie is just her nickname. I think it's short for..."

"Valkyrie. The chooser of the slain. Boy were my parents into mythology. Naming their daughter Valkyrie and their son Coeus after the Greek titan of intelligence. They..." Jai finally learned that Mr. Non-stop babble was named Coeus. But, he should actually be named after the Tower of Babel, because his mouth can go on and on as if he is speaking in tongues.

"All right done. Let's" Coeus stood up, closing his laptop when he stopped mid sentence. The room got colder yet again. However, if the previous chill demanded one's attention, then this chill demanded death. Jai already looked death in the face, so he was quicker to find the source of the chill. It came from the wall right behind Coeus. Standing there was Rie, still in a towel and still beautiful. However, when Jai saw her, he knew that wasn't actually Rie. She had left on the other side of the room. How could she possibly appear from behind Coeus as if she was coming out of the wall. Not only that, Jai noticed her eyes looked lifeless and without the previous disdain.

As Jai was staring into her eyes, the fake Rie raised her hand to Coeus. Coeus seemed frozen and fake Rie's fingernails was placed to the right of Coeus' neck. Her nails looked freakishly long, but still a natural color. Fake Rie swooped her hand to the side and with no suspension, Coeus' head came off and his body fell to the floor. Her nails were now painted red with blood. Jai now saw, for the second time, a vibrant blood red color. For the second time Jai felt an animalistic fear. For the second time he heard a thump to his side. Michael had fainted on the couch. For the second time, Jai gathered his breath to yell fire. The word was on the tip of his tongue when fake Rie appeared within arms reach of him and swung her hand. For the second time, Jai's vision was going dark and then a ding sound was heard.

A new random voice said, "Second death, gained Minor chameleon."

"Oh, come on!" Jai yelled as he grabbed his neck. "Why always the neck?" Jai was taking this better than he thought he would. At least he felt no pain, but still, what was happening to him?

"Master, it is time to get ready for the ball. I'm coming in" A knock and then the sound of a door opening could be heard. "Master? Hurry up, the invitation said costume ball so everyone will be in costume. Michael is waiting in the main hall and he looks dashing. You have to make some effort to compare, so get up." A young girl with auburn hair and a maid outfit was rushing around the room getting things together.

"Hmmm?" Jai was already confused with his dying and whatnot, but now there was a girl rushing around him. Jai looked around. He saw he was sitting on a chair by a window in a fancy bedroom. Everything seemed large and very fancy. "What? Who? Where am I?" Jai looked out the window and got an even bigger shock. There was a large and fancy garden with a hedge maze on the side. However, the real surprise was the horse-drawn carriage that was parked in-waiting.

"What is going on?" Jai mumbled to himself as he saw the coachman feeding his horses.