The Valkyries

angels,” she prayed. “Teach me to win. That I not disperse this flock of eight people, so that one day we might be thousands, millions. Forgive my errors, and fill my heart with enthusiasm. Grant me the strength to be both man and woman, both hard and soft.
    “May my word be your lance.
    “May my love be your scale.”
    She made the sign of the cross, and fell silent, listening to the howl of a coyote in the distance. She was wakeful, and began to think back on her life. She remembered when she had been just an employee at the Chase Manhattan Bank, and when her life amounted to nothing more than her husband and her two children.
    “Then I saw my angel,” she said to the silent desert. “The angel appeared to me, enveloped in light, and asked that I take on this mission. I was not forced, there were no threats, nor any promise of reward. My angel simply asked.”
    She had left the next day, and went straight to the Mojave Desert. She began preaching alone,speaking of the open gates to Paradise. Her husband divorced her and won custody of the children. She didn’t really understand clearly why she had accepted this mission, but every time she wept out of pain and solitude, her angel told her stories of other women who had accepted messages from God: the Virgin Mary, Saint Theresa, and Joan of Arc. The angel said that all the world needed was an example. People who were capable of following their dreams and of fighting for their ideas.
    She lived for almost a year outside Las Vegas. She exhausted the little money she had been able to pull together, went hungry, and slept outdoors. Until one day, a poem came into her hands.
    The poem told the story of a saint, Maria Egipciaca. She was traveling to Jerusalem, and had no money to pay for her passage across a river. The boatman, eyeing the attractive woman, suggested to her that, although she had no money, she did have her body. Maria Egipciaca surrendered herself to the boatman. When she arrived at Jerusalem, an angel appeared and blessed her for what she had done. And, although today almost no one remembers her, she was canonized by the church following her death.
    Valhalla interpreted the story as a sign. She preached in God’s name during the day, and twice a week went to the casinos, became the lover of wealthy men, and was able to put together some money. She never asked her angel whether she was doing the right thing—and her angel said nothing.
    Little by little, led by the invisible hands of other angels, her companions began to arrive.
    “One more trip,” she said again, aloud, to the silent desert. “Only one more trip to complete my mission, and then I can get back to the world. I have no idea what awaits me, but I want to get back. I need love, affection. I need someone who can protect me here on earth, just as my angel protects me in heaven. I have done my part; I have no regrets, even though it was awfully hard.”
    She made the sign of the cross again, and returned to the encampment.

Chapter 37
     
    S HE SAW THAT THE B RAZILIAN COUPLE was still seated by the campfire, gazing at the flames.
    “How many days until your fortieth?” she asked Paulo.
    “Eleven.”
    “Well then, tomorrow night, at ten o’clock, in Golden Canyon, I will make you accept forgiveness. The Ritual That Demolishes Rituals.”
    Paulo was astonished. She was right! The answer had been under his nose the whole time!
    “Using what?” he asked.
    “Using hatred,” Valhalla answered.
    “That’s fine,” he said, trying to conceal his surprise. But Valhalla knew that Paulo had never used hatred in the Ritual That Demolishes Rituals.
    She left the couple and went to where Rotha, the youngest of the Valkyries, was sleeping. She affectionately caressed the girl’s face to awaken her—Rotha might have been making contact with the angels that appear in one’s sleep, and Valhalla didn’t want to interrupt the conversation. Rotha finally opened her eyes.
    “Tomorrow night, you are going to learn how to accept forgiveness,” Valhalla said. “And then you will be able to see your angel.”
    “But I’m already a Valkyrie.”
    “Of course. And even if you are not able to see your angel, you will still be a Valkyrie.”
    Rotha smiled. She was twenty-three, and was proud to be roaming the desert with Valhalla.
    “Don’t wear your leather outfit tomorrow. Not from the moment the sun rises until the end of the Ritual That Demolishes Rituals.”
    She embraced her with