The Valkyrie Returns and Slays (Raven)

Chapter 3

In a flash, a teenage girl, eighteen or so, stormed into view, decked out in sleek

black

gear.

The second the doctors laid eyes on her, their hearts skipped a beat.

She looked sharp, even lethal-way scarier than Dane Grayson ever dreamed of being.

Those icy eyes of hers pinned them in place, like their blood might freeze solid just from her stare.

The head doctor snapped out of it first, his face darkening.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" he roared. "Get out of-"

"Crack!" He didn't finish.

A scream tore out of him as he went flying, slammed into the wall by a brutal kick.

The nurse drawing Zach's blood gaped, wide-eyed.

One second the girl was at the door; now she was right there, looming over her.

the

hand clamped her wrist and twisted-gentle,

yelped, pain shooting up her

through the room, shrill

yanked the needle free from Zach's arm

care.

darted to the blood-processing machine nearby,

slipping

him, and the

back into him, and the fog in Zach's vision started to

is that... you?" he mumbled, his soft voice even

look exactly like it-older, harder-but something in his gut said it was her. The sister Grandma swore

syringe, just for a split

open, a ray

she murmured, voice soft.

her hand brushing his fluffy

the door, three of Raven's longtime crew stood frozen,

was all smiles on the regular, sure-but they knew it was a mask, a con. This? This warmth? They'd never seen it on her

pack of burly

Grayson stepped through, with this don't-mess-with-me

blood flowing back into him and sneered, "Well, isn't this cute. His

figured. People had forgotten what

tilted his head toward