Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson

said softly. “I had no idea.”
    “And it’s getting more public,” he said. “Yesterday three crew members from my dad’s boat disappeared all at once from the dock. One minute they were there, and the next they were gone.”
    “I’m so sorry, Kjell—but you should focus on yourself, then. Don’t worry about me,” I said. “I won’t disappear too.”
    “No, I don’t think you will,” he said drily. “They only take boys. Boys around my age. And they take the best. The strongest and smartest.”
    Fear stirred to life deep in my heart. No one fitted that description better than Graham. “Well then, no reason to worry about me, huh?” I replied, trying to sound lighthearted. Like what he was saying hadn’t sent me into a cold sweat.
    “That’s not why I’m worried about you,” he said. “No one’s been able to stop them—until you did. According to legend, only a Valkyrie can defeat another Valkyrie.” He paused and looked me straight in the eye. “That’s why my friends think you’re one too. Because of what you did.”
    I stood there in stunned, stone-cold shock.
    “Plus, every single boy who’s disappeared was last seen in the company of two or three girls—tall, beautiful girls who make people stop and stare.”
    “So naturally they thought of me.”
    The eyes he turned to my face were completely devoid of humor. “No, I mean … yes, you’re young, but you fit the description,” he said. “These things weren’t happening here until you came.”
    I started to incoherently defend myself, but he interrupted. “Look, I know you’d never do anything to hurt anyone.” He paused, and his fingers brushed my cheek. “But I’m biased. I don’t think I’d care if you did.”
    The conversation was cruising right past creepy and taking a hard left into horrifying. “It doesn’t matter,” I said. “It’s not true. Your friends are nuts.” I started to move away, seriously needing to be by myself. Because as the shock of the accusation subsided, I found myself wondering how I had stopped those girls from taking Kjell.
    “There’s more,” Kjell said, grabbing my arm again before I could take another step back. “And you need to know this.” His tone warned me I would not like what would come next. “Margit and Sven have, well, joined this group—they’re keeping watch on the bars and sports clubs. Places where people have disappeared. They’re planning to put a stop to this.”
    “Like vigilantes?”
    “Exactly.”
    “Interesting.” A shiver rocked my spine as I realized where this was headed. “That’s who those guys were. The guys who came to the bar the other night after we left?” The guys who were armed with rifles and fully prepared to use them.
    Kjell nodded. “They’ve been watching you.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “They’ve been watching you.”
    “I heard you,” I said, annoyed. “I just wish I hadn’t.” At least now I knew my instincts the day before had been dead-on. Spying on the Overholt household was the new national pastime.
    “They think you’re dangerous.”
    “That’s ridiculous.”
    “I know,” he said. “But they’re scared.” He paused, and said the rest in a voice so low, I had to strain my ears to catch it all. “There’ve always been rumors about your grandmother. That she has some sort of powers. Fifty years ago, when she first moved to town, she rescued the crew off a sinking trawler. Most of the town was grateful, but others were suspicious. They said what she did was impossible. And some of them, well, they never let go of their fear, even after she married your grandfather. You heard what Margit said. They think she’s a witch.”
    “She’s not,” I said, shaking my head like that would drive away his words.
    “I know. I’ve known your grandmother my whole life. But the old people in this town have been saying this. For years. And now, well, other people are suddenly listening. After that incident at the pub in Selje,