* * *
“Almost all dead on the logging road,” Freyr’s anguished voice broke in on the radio. “Two survivors. Two out of twenty-seven.”
Heimdall stared hard at the radio and cursed himself for not positioning at least one of the gods with the young Vikings on the logging road—and he knew Thor was doing the same as he listened from his position.
How could they have guessed the technology-hating Moon Dog would choose modern machinery for his assault?
Heimdall clicked in. “How did it happen?”
There was a long pause before Freyr replied. “Most have been shot through with arrows. At least two were simply run down.”
“Run down by what?” Thor broke in.
“Bulldozers. One survivor is conscious. She said a fleet of bulldozers ran right over their position.” Freyr sighed into the radio. “This was supposed to be the retreat path. They were just supposed to be here to make sure Managarm couldn’t get away. You said he’d never come up this road, that it was too exposed!”
Heimdall kicked over the nearest picnic basket and raised the radio to shout into it, but Thor broke in before Heimdall could respond. “There are always casualties in war, cousin. They will be rewarded in Valhalla. But don’t for a second think I’m unaffected. We need to re-examine our strategy.”
Heimdall was surprised. Thor almost sounded calm, methodical—a far cry from his usual blustering self. But then Thor always had been at his best in battle.
“Re-examine our strategy?!” Freyr protested.
Heimdall cut in. “That’s enough. We know what the stakes are here. Let’s just get through this, and we can rip each other to shreds after, okay?” Heimdall crouched down and looked over his shoulder at the Tree. Freya, Frigga, Saga, and Opal stood together at the Yggdrasil’s base, facing the noise of the approaching bulldozers, growing louder by the second. Odin and Bragi stood behind the Tree, ready to take on an attack from the rear.
All of the Einherjar Vikings were on the service roads, positioned to thwart the Moon Dog where they’d thought he would advance.
Did Managarm have a big enough army to hit them from more than one direction? Would a second wave armed with chain saws and flame-throwers come at them from the rear? At this point, Heimdall imagined Managarm might even employ helicopters to get to the Tree. The atomic bomb he’d joked about earlier suddenly didn’t seem so funny.
“Fall back on the Tree,” Thor commanded. “Freyr, bring the wounded with you, but don’t follow the bulldozers. Cut directly through the forest. I’ll bring everyone up from the service roads, and we’ll convene at the Yggdrasil.”
Heimdall looked back again at the Tree and his kin standing before it. Within minutes, this place would be a war zone.
“Concentrate all of our forces at a single location?” Freyr interjected. “Are you crazy?”
“We only get one shot at this,” Thor replied. “Might as well make it count. Are you moving yet?”
Freyr ignored the question. “So if we’re all at the Tree, what’s to stop Managarm from launching a missile and taking us all out—and the Yggdrasil—in one move?”
“If he destroys the Tree, it won’t matter one whit whether we’re standing right next to it or are thousands of miles away, will it?”
Freyr paused. “Okay. Leaving now.”
“Heimdall,” Thor called. “We’re coming your way.”
“Make it fast.” Heimdall listened to the growing roar of the bulldozers, waiting for them to break through the surrounding trees. He glanced again at the anxious faces of those who stood protecting the Tree. This would be an excellent time for a god to pray.
He walked toward his mother at the base of the Yggdrasil.
Frigga nodded at his approach. “Tell me.”
“Managarm is already through.” Heimdall looked up into the Tree’s bright leaves unfurling out of season on the vast array of branches, then he rested his forehead against the trunk. Eyes closed, he breathed in the Tree’s ancient scent and felt its bark against his skin.
Frigga patted him on the back. “No time for doubt, or weariness. We will get through this. Or we won’t.”
Heimdall stood up and nodded, then looked around the surrounding stand of young trees. “Where’s Loki?”
Valhalla Page 53