by Ray O'Neil
Everyone at the table cheered.
“And thanks to our saviors answering to our cries, replying with a new blessing from above, our enemies are going to be… no more.”
Everyone cheered louder.
The Seithr raised her cup high. “A toast… to a number of new things.” She motioned to Ashley. “A new acolyte for our family. A new day for the savoirs we’ve released. A new dawn for the world as we know it! Cheers!”
Ashley couldn’t help but smile, clinking her cup with her Seithr and her fellow acolytes.
The host returned, standing in front of the table and waiting for them to finish off their short celebration. “Come, come. Master Lo will see you now.”
Getting out of the booth, they followed the host to the back kitchen, the sound tossing rice and frying meat the complete opposite of tranquil. A side door lead them down to the warehouse, the lights dim inside. Shelves of food and goods in the large warehouse were shared among every segment of the tower. The restaurant was one of many, joined into plenty of businesses, most of them kept hidden from plain sight. Once they saw NDA soldiers entering the warehouse, the mass amount of armed guards made the small group of Neo Ettin more than intimidated.
None of them were wearing Exoframes, but the NDA had plenty of ways to make people fear and suffer.
At the center, the line of green-uniformed soldiers split apart, revealing their leader. He wore a bright red beret, the NDA emblem on the front. A Niflheim skull, the symbol of future enlightenment. Unlike the small army he entered with, he was armed with only a small gun, kept in his hip holster for all to see. A briefcase with a dragon-head decal was in his left hand, same as always.
“Well, well, well,” Lo Kai greeted with enthusiasm. “I hope you are all enjoying yourselves. This is a time of great news and a time of change. How did my uncle out there treat you? Good?”
“Like always, Master Lo.” The Seithr stepped forward.
Lo Kai waved a hand, sending all of his soldiers to check the Neo Ettin for weapons. As two soldiers patted Ashley down, she could see Lo was staring at her. She looked away, feeling a sudden chill going up her back — and it wasn’t from the flash of hands patting against her sides. Finding nothing on them, the soldiers returned to their positions, the Neo Ettin group putting their arms down. Lo Kai walked up to the Seithr, passing the NDA soldiers hurrying to their spot.
Handing the money off to the Seithr, both of them bowed to each other. “It’s been an honor to work with the Neo Ettin. Your team has shown its worth and has been paid so.” Motioning his hand to the side, he showed her a row of crates at waist level. “You can go ahead and count it up if you like. It’s all there. You’ve earned it.”
Lead by their Seithr, the team took hold next to the creates, followed by the click of the locks being undone. Ashely was behind them, until a hand swing out in front of her. She was tempted to grab it and toss him overhead, but the amount of guns on the other side stopped her. Instead, she looked up at him, hoping a stern look would be enough. What she got in return was another stare that made the chill come back once more.
“I don’t believe we’ve met.”
The Seithr looked up from the briefcase, money in hand. “That’s our new acolyte. She was an initiate until just yesterday.”
Lo widened his eyes, his small mouth turned into a big circle. “Oh, so you’ve been promoted have you? How sweet. And so young.”
Ashley didn’t answer, just returned his stare, but couldn’t match his intensity.
Walking away from her, he snapped his fingers. The line of soldiers pulled out their Z-140s, gunfire tearing through the Neo Ettin, spraying blood against the wall and creates. Ashley dove for cover, bullets following her over the shelf full of cans and boxes. Lifting up his hand and closing a fist, Lo Kai shouted over the gunfire for it to stop. It became quiet enough to hear the bullet casings clattering on the cold floor.
Ashley's Seithr lay dead over the briefcase, her blood soaking into the money under her; the rest of her cultist family slain. She could hear feet shuffling slowly. A shiver took her over, the feeling coming back. The feeling of being a helpless child. The feeling that she was going to die.
Lo Kai stood in front of the shelf she was hiding behind, juice pouring from the bullet holes in the line of cans. “The Neo Ettin are not needed anymore, little one. Now that our saviors have returned from the heavens, they can reclaim their children on their own. We don’t need the services of your pitiful cult anymore.”
A long pause made Ashely hold her breath. Droplets of blood clung to the side of her face, the pool from her fallen comrades slowly running towards her. Pushing the bodies off of the briefcase, Lo closed it up and handed it off to one of his soldiers. She could see him, through the gaps in the shelf. He was facing away from her, but he knew exactly where she was.
“There’s a reason I didn’t kill you.” Lo said, crossing his arms. “I know you have it.”
She stayed behind cover. “I don’t know what you are talking about!”
“The Nidhogg Völva. You are the one who took it from Yggdrasil Gyfu during the Trident War. You were a dirty ERA back then. Did you really think your history wouldn’t come back to haunt you?”
He turned around, looking directly at her.
She dropped back down, keeping herself close to the ground. “I erased it.”
“You erased it from us. But the Niflheim… the Niflheim never forget a killer of their kind. They never mistake a retaliator to their cleansing.”
She could see the end of his boots by the shelf’s edge. Looking up, he was standing above her, holding himself against the shelf casually. Slowly, she got up, wiping the blood from her face when it mixed with the sweat dripping off her nose. She tried to compose herself, but he could tell. He knew he reduced a hardened soldier to a helpless child.
“If I give it to you, will you let me go?”
Lo walked up to her, grabbing her by the chin faster than she could react to. “I’ll let you live. There is no way I could let a dirty Niflheim killer go free.”
Ashley took a second too long, receiving a strong squeeze that made her face feel like it was going to collapse within his palm. She nodded, unable to move her mouth to answer. With a smirk, Lo released his grip, dropping her back to the floor. Rubbing her sore mouth, she held herself against the shelf’s frame, having it be the only thing keeping her standing. She didn’t know how long they were planning to keep her, but any amount of time to think of a way out was better than lying dead with the rest of her teammates.
Outside, in the street of upper Shanghai, everyone continued to celebrate.
Chapter 12
Flames shot into the cavern, wisping into a dark cloud. The Zumwalt skimmed against the hard ground, sparks flying. Turning to its side, it tumbled, rolling in the air as it hopped. With a final launch, the wrecked spacecraft slammed into the end of the wall, crunching into itself. With a loud bang, the hatch swung loose, falling to the floor from a strong kick.
MBC4 at the ready, Emich rolled out, seeing a pack of Niflheim responding to the sudden explosion. Blue steaks from their plasma blasters filled the Zumwalt with holes, making it even less likely as a getaway vehicle. The burst of fire from his cannon sent the Wotans flying back, their limbs and heads blowing apart. With more firepower at a faster rate, he didn’t have to worry about the recoil downtime — clearing the area by the time he could make it to the wall across from his destroyed ship. Keeping his back to the wall, he looked down the corridor he blasted out of, seeing the massive hole up above.
Crystal scarring formed over the Muspell’s wall, covering up the hole to avoid more blastback from its solar beam. It wasn’t going to stop firing until its powercore is destroyed. Seeing that the area only had those few on patrol, he hurried back to the ship. Part of its outer skin was torn off in the back, the rest melted away. The back storage was nothing but bright hot metal, the demo charges turned to liquid. They didn’t go off prematurely–due to ch
emical safety measures that prevented heat from setting them off–but there was no way he could use them in the state they were in.
Slamming his hand against the ship’s frame, he pushed away from it and turned on his communicator. “Valerie, Demeitri, come in.”
“You survived?” Valerie asked, little emotion behind her words, other than a snide tone.
“I won’t for long.” He returned to cover, getting out of plain sight. “The Zumwalt is toast… same with the demo charges.”
There was a silence from the other side.
Emich didn’t know how well the signal was, having it bounce from the satellite on the moonbase. For all he knew, it could have been destroyed in the middle of talking. “Do you copy?”
“I’m thinking,” Valerie snapped.
“Where’s Demeitri?”
“He’s off handling some business. I’m your contact for now, until he returns. How is the suit holding up?”
Emich checked the status on his suit, looking at the right corner of his visor. His air supply wasn’t being used, letting him know there was air on the ship. He was so busy in battle, he nearly forgot he could hear the sound of gunfire and Wotan cries. Taking a deep breath, it was the first full breath he’s had since he left Earth. If he didn’t think of a plan B soon, it was surely going to be one of his last.
“Everything checks out fine. At least now I know Niflheim need air as much as we do.”
“If only we had a layout of the Muspell ship, but this is our first time seeing something like this. But, from what we could gather, a high amount of energy levels seem to come from the back end of the cannon. We figure the most likely area for the control center is there. Check your sonar map. How far into the ship are you?”
Emich looked down at his wrist screen, pressing a button to set off the sonar pulse. Watching the map create itself as the pulse transferred outwards, he saw he was located closer to the barrel’s end than he thought. “Not too far. I should find it, no problem.”
“Report to me once you’re there. Together we can find a way to destroy it for good.”
“Right,” Emich finished off, “over and out.”
He ran deeper into the Muspell cavern, knowing where to go, but unaware of what was lying in wait.
. . .
A Niflheim Queen will only trust a Wotan with a ship once he’s deemed himself worthy in combat. A Wotan in white, one that has had years of fighting across the galaxy. Chieftain Hlӧkk stood before the crystal lense, Niflheim symbols flying by, giving everyone in the control room information about the entire ship. Spike hooked upward on his shoulders, curling like the horns of a goat. On his back, his Queen’s rune was burned into his white scales, showing that he was chieftain of the Muspell.
The lense flashed red in a steady pulse, letting him know they had an intruder. Turning around, he walked along the plank way, held high over the power core down below. Breaking his psychic connection with the Muspell, he changed links. The Niflheim had no need for vocal communication, all being connected to the Vanir plane. Only the Niflheim were worthy of such a connection, keeping mental contact from all across the universe.
“Before me, night maidens.”
In seconds, four bright flashes appeared behind him, as if they teleported. The black-hide Frickas sat at attention, their long limbs folding into themselves. The air wavered around their bodies, making it hard to tell exactly where they were. Being the only female Neflheim with mouths, they shrieked, the tentacles on their heads floating downward. The only part of them that was truly visible was the glow of their red eyes.
The one in front lowered its head at the white Wotan, her forked tongue flickering out. “At your command, Chieftain.”
“Kill the human.” With a roar, Hlӧkk pointed at the crystal wall behind them, still flashing red.
“I can smell him from here,” one of them said. “Strange.”
“Are you sure it’s a human?” Another one asked, the pincers on the sides of her mouth twitching.
“No matter,” Hlӧkk stated with a wave of his arm. “Kill.”
The Fricka stood up, their lanky limbs unfolding to make them taller than the Wotan. They bowed in compliance, the tentacles on their heads flowing downward. In a flash, they leaped up towards the ceiling, disappearing from sight. Hlӧkk approached the crystal wall, reading the lense. Closing all four of his eyes, he reconnected himself with the Muspell, directing its next solar beam strike.
. . .
Giant mushrooms lit the way, as it was in all Niflheim ships. In the Muspell, however, their glow was like a pulsing light bulb, fueled by the sun’s energy stored within. The caverns were mostly made of crystal as he hurried to the powercore, his reflection appearing in the corners. Slamming his back against the wall, he checked the cross way for any targets. Right when he stuck his head out, a blue streak of light shattered the crystal next to his helmet.
More shots blasted the wall more, Emich doubling back as his cover was being blown apart. One of their shots hit a mushroom, erupting it into a fiery explosion. Flying back, the kinetic repulsors on his Exoframe lit up, shielding him from being crippled by the blast. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, Emich falling flat on his stomach, groaning in pain. Lying on the ground, he could see the reflections of the Wotans crossing into each other, telling him they were advancing forward.
Lifting up his burst cannon, Emich rolled onto his side, taking them out as they straifed into sight. Blue beams flew overhead, filling the corridor with aesirium shards and roaring flames. The Wotans fell one by one, their purple blood spraying against the wall as they were torn apart. Only one stayed standing, the onslaught of rounds filling its broad chest with gaping holes. Stumbling back, the Wotan fell as Emich stood.
As he reloaded, he could hear faint sound, like a whisper. “There it is…”
“I hear it…”
“I’ve found the human…”
Smacking in the fresh magazine, Emich quickly aimed down the sight, scanning in all directions. He couldn’t see anything moving, but he could feel eyes on him. There was a presence nearby, keeping him on guard. Slowly walking back to the cross way, a flicker of white dots caught his eye, coming in from above. He didn’t see it in time, taking a good amount of hits in the side as he tried to dive out of the way.
Sliding into a crouch, he searched the area where the shots came from. There was nothing there, only crystal spikes sticking out in lines. Checking his suits motion sensor, there was something nearby taking up space, multiple targets moving quickly. Several times they crossed his mark on the sensor’s screen, but he still couldn’t see anything. Lowering his wrist screen, he saw his left side was sizzling — smoke coming off of the blackened armor and his charred skin.
Fighting through the pain, he got up, avoiding another wave of gunfire. He knew it was from a Fricka weapon, having seen it before; this being the first time he’s felt its sting. Even though the armor protected him from the hit and was regenerating as he moved, he knew he wouldn’t be able to take too many of those. If he passed out from the pain like he would in that dreadful facility, there would be no telling what would happen. He had to keep his blood pumping, fight through the pain that told him to lie down and scream.
“It’s on the run!”
“Let’s play with it!”
His heavy footsteps echoed, but the voices didn’t. They were coming from his head. Talking like if snakes were given the ability to speak. He couldn’t stop to think, he had to keep moving. The particle shots followed close behind him, making him zig zag through the cavern. His leg got hit by a shot in mid stride, knocking him right off of his feet.
Falling forward, he rolled to avoid more gunfire. Stopping his momentum with an elbow, he was able to see where a stream of shots were coming from, the flashes riding along the wall. Sending a burst its way, one of his rounds hit a solid object, purple blood bursting from thin air. A puddle began to form on the ground, a small warping of the air revealing a black Fricka
— her lower half completely torn off, landing closer to Emich than the rest of her.
“It will regret that!”
A quick shine slashed downwards, Emich leaping backwards fast enough to slide. Crystals clashed where he was lying, a burst of blue light coming out of the ground. Floating in midair, the crystal blade receded back into the invisible Fricka’s wrist, hiding her position once more. Emich fired in its direction, hitting empty air. From behind, a swift pain shot up his back, his feet shuffling forward.
Grabbing his neck with a long spidery hand, the Fricka unsheathed her other wrist blade, ready to slice it across his throat. Struggling to stand, Emich spun in place, sending her into the wall, the blade coming out of his body with a wet swish. As she bounced off for another attack, he whipped his auto cannon upwards and sent a burst her way. Her left arm turned into bits, while her body was split at the collar. Landing back against the way, she slide down, her long legs losing strength.
A line of white dots came at Emich, being predicted before they could hit him. He knew they would fire the second he stops moving, trying to get the upper hand on him. Seeing the continuous flashing from down the corridor, he opened fire, shooting of as much as he could. His shots echoed down the passages, joined by a pain filled scream from the Fricka. Her right leg was hit, the lower half flying away, leaving a trail behind it.
Crawling up to him, she wouldn’t let up. Her hands got close enough to claw at him, reaching out to him. Before she could touch him, Emich fired a burst straight into her partially invisible face, the warping of the air fading away from whatever was left. He couldn’t stand steady, his feet growing weak. The armor was rebuilding its plates, but the hole was taking its toll.
“I have you now!”
As he stumbled, to keep moving, he was knocked down, falling flat on his back. The Fricka’s face was right next to his, her bulging red eyes rubbing against his visor. With a delighted shriek, her pincers clamped against the armor on Emich’s neck, slicing through the metal with their crystal tips. Before he could even know what hit him, he could feel his neck being chewed through, the tearing of his flesh. The pain was enough for him to scream, the Fricka’s digging her way further with her tongue, little by little.