* * *
Safely ensconced inside the bulldozer’s cab, Managarm giggled hysterically. It worked! The Yggdrasil runes mixed with the witch’s blood were stronger than he’d dared hope. He glanced at the rune Thurisaz in his palm, then clutched it tightly in his fist.
“Force of destruction!” he shouted at Bragi’s body. “The gods’ blood will turn this ground red before dawn!”
He saw Thor standing over Bragi, and Managarm’s smile cooled. “Taught me to hunt, did you?” Managarm whispered. “Bragged far and wide that you had tamed me? Who is the master now?!” he roared.
Through the cab’s open window, Managarm pointed his fist—still clutching Thurisaz—at Thor. He took a deep breath to gather the energy for another killing blast, but there was a loud crash as he was knocked suddenly sideways. The rune fell out of his hand.
“NO!” Managarm leaned out the cab’s window and caught sight of Thurisaz just as the bulldozer’s tread ground it into the earth.
“You feckless freak of a boy!” Managarm cursed David at the bulldozer’s controls, then stared open-mouthed as David clambered out the other side of the cab just before another bulldozer—piloted by a small, dark-skinned man and a young woman in a turtleneck—struck Managarm’s machine again, ramming it with their blade.
“Take that!” The man screamed at Managarm. “Tariq and Bonnie of the Einherjar will take you down, Moon Dog!”
Valhalla Page 60