The Valkyries

"I want to see my angel." He was quite close to the woman, and he was staring at her.

"What for?" The Valkyrie appeared to be intimidated. The trick was working.

"Because I'm desperately in need of help. I have won important things for myself, but I am going to destroy them, because I tell myself that they have lost their meaning. I know it's not true. I know they are still important, and that if I destroy them, I'll be destroying myself, as well."

He maintained a neutral tone of voice, showing no emotion.

"When I learned that channeling was all that was needed in order to speak with my angel, I lost interest. It was no longer a challenge, but rather something I knew very well. I realized that my path to magic was about to end; the unknown was becoming too familiar to me."

Chris was shocked: Why was he making this confession in such a public place, in front of people whom he had never seen before?

"In order to continue along my path, I need something more," he finished. "I need mountains that are taller and taller."

The Valkyrie said nothing for a moment.

"If I teach you how to see your angel," she said, "your desire to seek out taller and taller mountains may disappear. And that's not always a good thing."

"No, that will never disappear," Paulo replied. "What will vanish is the idea that the mountains I've conquered are too small. I will be able to keep alive my love for what I've accomplished. That's what my master was trying to say to me."

Maybe he's talking about our marriage, too, Chris thought.

The Valkyrie held out her hand to Paulo.

"My name is M.," she said.

"My name is S.," Paulo answered.

Chris was startled. Paulo had given his magic name! Very few people knew that secret, since the only way to cause a certain kind of evil to a magus is by using his magic name. Only those who were completely trustworthy were allowed to know the name.

Paulo had just met this woman. He couldn't trust her that much.

"But you can call me Valhalla," the red-haired woman continued.

That's the name of the Vikings' paradise, Paulo thought, and he told her his given name in return.

The redhead appeared to relax a bit. For the first time, she looked at Chris, seated at the table.

"In order to see an angel, three things are needed," said the Valkyrie, turning back to Paulo as if Chris didn't exist.

"And, in addition to those three things, courage is needed. A woman's courage, not a man's."

Paulo made it appear that he was paying no attention.

"Tomorrow, we will be near Tucson," Valhalla said. "Come to see us at noon, if your ring is authentic."

Paulo got the map out of the car, and Valhalla showed him the place where they should meet. One of the other Valkyries told Valhalla that her breakfast was getting cold. She turned back to her place at the counter and asked the man to turn on the radio again.

For a long time, Paulo and Chris sat over their coffee, watching the Valkyries eat.

Finally, the women got up and began to leave. As Valhalla reached the door, Paulo called out, "What are the three conditions for conversing with one's angel?"

Quietly, the redhead replied: "Break a pact. Accept forgiveness. And make a bet."

PAULO AND CHRIS LOOKED OUT AT THE CITY BELOW. FOR the first time in almost three weeks, they were in a real hotel--room service, bar, and breakfast in bed.

It was six in the evening, the hour in which they had gotten into the habit of practicing their channeling exercises. But Paulo was fast asleep.

Chris knew that the meeting that morning at the diner had changed everything; if she wanted to talk to her angel, she would have to do it on her own.