Had I killed him? Surely it couldn’t be that easy.
It wasn’t.
Verenix was just stunned. He quickly recovered and whipped his head back, flinging me off and into the air. I threw out more snare tendrils and used them to push off the ground and grab trees on the mountain to hold myself steady in the air. It required precise timing and balance, but with my new powers I could manage it with hardly a thought.
I tried to get in close again and hit Verenix with the hammer, but he had learned his lesson from my first attempt and blocked me each time I approached.
I was forced to resort to throwing the hammer, which was less accurate and had a decidedly weaker effect than when I was able to actually stand and hit him.
We battled back and forth, each trying to attack and defend against the other. I attacked with the hammer and Verenix snapped at me with jaws the size of an apartment building. Each tooth was the size of a bus. And there were a lot of teeth in that mouth.
I wasn’t sure what would happen if he managed to bite me, but I had to imagine that if it didn’t kill me, it had to hurt enough to make me wish it had.
I began to grow frustrated with the fight. We were basically at a stalemate, neither of us gaining an advantage over the other.
Then the pain hit.
Something hit me hard enough to send me flying though the air for several miles. I hit the ground and my body dug a huge trench half a mile long before finally stopping. Had I been a normal human, or even a normal Berserker, I might not have survived. But I was more than a normal Berserker. I had the power of the Aesir flowing through me. I wasn’t going down easily.
Once I recovered enough to see straight, I realized what had happened. I had been so focused on avoiding Verenix’s head and jaws, that I hadn’t noticed him bring his tail around the other side of the mountain and attack me from behind.
Apparently I wasn’t quite able to see everything all at once. But in all fairness, it wasn’t often I had to fight something big enough to wrap itself completely around a mountain.
Two could play at that game.
Instead of attacking his head, I used my snares to pull me the opposite direction and follow his tail. While on the other side of the mountain, I was out of his direct line of sight and took the chance to attack one of his legs with the hammer.
I used my snares to lash myself onto Verenix’s body, right at the joint where a back leg connected to his body.
Then I brought the hammer down.
The hammer smashed into the dragon with all the force I could deliver. Lightning flew out in all directions from the hammer’s impact. On the opposite side of the mountain Verninix roared in pain and his leg went limp. It could no longer hold the massive weight and the part of Verenix’s body supported by that leg crashed to the ground.
Before Verenix could retaliate, I moved to the other side of his body and smashed the second leg as well. Now his entire tail and hindquarters were collapsed to the ground, unable to move.
From over the top of the mountain, the front half of Verenix came racing down. His jaws were open wide and his massive eyes were filled with pain and anger.
I leaped out of the way as he drove his snout into the ground where I had been, digging a massive channel in the ground. I may have disabled his back legs, but he was still so long that his other legs could maneuver him around for miles.
I thought about luring him away from the mountain and forcing him to stretch out. That would limit his striking ability somewhat. But it would also destroy more of the land and put more people in danger.
I needed a way to end this. According to Odin I had the answer, I just needed to trust my instincts.
What did my instincts tell me?
They told me there was no way I was going to be able to kill Verenix. Even with the powers of six Norse gods combined, Verenix was too big, too powerful. He was a force of nature, a natural part of the world. Not this world, but he belonged at the World Tree.
Then I knew what to do.
I had been going about this all wrong. I couldn’t kill him. That had been Loki who first gave me that idea. The only reason Verenix had to be bound was because he would destroy earth. But he had existed for millennia before in his home with the World Tree.
I couldn’t kill him, but I had the power to send him back.
I switched the hammer from my hand to a snare tendril and grabbed Odin’s spear in both hands. I lifted it aloft and proceeded to rip through reality.
Wherever I dragged the tip of the spear, a tear appeared in the air. It rippled and shimmered with a golden light. I ran in a wide circle holding the spear out, cutting through reality until I came back to where I had started. Once the spear closed the loop, the inside of the circle began to glow and then slowly changed to show another world. The World Tree was clearly visible through the portal. I could also see the pond nearby with the giant swans gliding across the surface.
Just as Loki had used a portal to bring him here, I would use a portal to send him back. The glowing portal stayed anchored to the ground but the top rose into the air as the hole became large and larger. I maneuvered out of its way, not sure what would happen to me if I accidentally went through it.
Verenix saw the world tree and let out a hiss of anger. It turned away from the portal and began to run away.
The flaw in my plan was now very clear – Verenix didn’t want to go back. He wanted to be here. He had been pulled into our world through the portal Loki had made, but when faced with the possibility of going back, he ran away from my portal.
To make matters worse, Verenix’s back legs were no longer visible. Whatever damage Thor’s hammer had done must have been temporary and they were now strong enough to walk again.
I pushed up with my snares, leaping over the mountain and following Verenix. I couldn’t let him get away. I had to somehow force him into the portal.
How do you shove an unwilling dragon the size of a mountain through a portal?
The answer – you didn’t.
You dragged him through.
I reached deep within me and drew on the power there. I let it engulf me and surround me.
Then I pushed it out toward Verenix with every last ounce I had. A thousand snares each the width of a giant redwood tree burst out of me and flew toward Verenix.
The snares wrapped around him, squeezing and holding him tight. He continued running until his legs had been tangled and he collapsed to the ground, thrashing in anger.
I had him. I had stopped him! I tried to pull him, but I had the strength of six Aesir, not the mass of a world-devouring dragon. As I pulled, I drove myself deeper and deeper into the earth. Soon, I was in a hole, up to my waist. It was useless, I needed something to anchor myself to so I could use my strength to pull him.
My instincts told me there was really only one choice. I dropped the spear and hammer and ran to the portal, keeping the snares tight on Verenix and jumped in.
The feeling of euphoria I felt when I entered that world was beyond description. This was the world I belonged in. Everything about it felt right. I could breathe deeper, stand taller, and joy flooded through me.
It would be so easy to just stay here and let go of everything else. Why should I care about earth? That was the place of mortals. I was no longer mortal. I was Aesir. The most powerful of the Aesir. And I was finally home.
“But what about Rhys?” said a voice in my head. “Do you want to live here without him? Do you want to let Verenix destroy earth and kill him in the process?”
At that moment, Rhys and the rest of Earth seemed so far – literally a world away from me. I wanted to let the peacefulness of this world surround me and keep this feeling forever.
But what about Mom and Dad? What about Amy and even Ginger? Josh? All the friends and people I knew. All the billions of people on the earth I never did know but who would be killed by my choice.
Did I really want to be responsible for the deaths of every living person on
the earth and destroying the planet so that no more could be born? Sure, I wouldn’t have been the one to kill them directly, but I would be responsible just the same.
I couldn’t stay here. As good and right as it felt, I had a duty to the world and all the people on it. I had a flashback to my lunch time conversations with Rhys and Eric about this same issue.
True duty trumped personal comfort or happiness. Sometimes you had to do things you don’t want to simply because there was no one else to do them and they needed to be done.
That was the situation I was in now. I wanted nothing more than to stay here and let myself bask in the euphoria of this place.
But my duty was to Earth.
I reached out and wrapped as many more snares as I could muster around the world tree. I even had to remove some from Verenix to make sure the tendrils around the tree would hold.
Once I felt the snares were securely in place, I began to pull Verenix in. Using the World Tree as an anchor, I was able to slowly drag Verenix towards the portal.
I somehow knew that the World Tree was more than just a big tree. It was an immovable object. If anything would be strong enough to not break under the strain, it would be the tree.
I just hoped I would be strong enough. The strain was horrific, more physically and mentally taxing than anything I had ever done before. I was in a tug-of-war with a planet destroying dragon.
And I was somehow winning.
Inch by inch, foot by foot, I pulled Verenix toward the portal. He fought the entire way, digging huge trenches with his claws as he struggled to pull away from the portal.
But I was anchored to the World Tree, and I refused to quit. I refused to give up. I would to this for Rhys, for my family and friends, and for all the billions of people who had no idea they were counting on me to keep their world safe.
His tail came in first, the tip thrashing about, trying to stop him from going through the portal. I pulled harder and his back legs came through, scrabbling to find something to hold onto that would stop me from bringing him into the portal. His claws left huge furrows in dirt and rock as I pulled him along.
The strain was becoming greater. I could feel my snares reaching their breaking point. I was trying to restrain an unstoppable force, something that was never meant to be controlled or contained.
I reached deeper and continued to pull. My world became nothing but pain and pulling. When Verenix was halfway through the portal, I heard a loud crack behind me. I risked a glance backwards and saw that one of the big roots had snapped and the world tree was now tilted at a slight angle.
Not a good sign. I needed to end this now. I closed my eyes, reached even deeper and continued to pull. Verenix fought me for every inch, but I would not quit. I was strong enough to do this. Odin had gone to the brink of death to learn that the combined powers of the Aesir would be enough to bring Verenix back to the World Tree.
I would not be the reason this failed.
But I quickly realized I would be the reason this failed. I had reached the limit of my strength. It was all I could do to hang on and prevent him from going back. How could I possibly pull him the rest of the way in?
There was another loud crack, and I felt a jerk as the world tree shifted again, tilting even farther. It was only a matter of time until either it broke or I did.
I held on as best I could. If I failed, it wouldn’t be because I quit. I would not quit. I would not quit.
I would not quit!
From off to the side I saw a flash of white. Several of them. Dozens of them. The giant white swans from the lake by the tree where there, grasping onto my snare tendrils with their beaks and pulling with me.
Not only the swans, but thousands of animals had climbed out of the branches of the World Tree and were all helping me pull Verenix back in.
Massive wolves, bears, buffalo, and oxen all the size of houses grasped onto snare tendrils and started pulling. Huge badgers, beavers, and even elephants and lions worked together to help.
With their strength combined with mine, Verenix began moving again.
It was like a twisted version of some Disney movie where the princess was helped out by the friendly forest creatures. But we weren’t doing household chores or going for a walk in the forest, and there was no time for a happy little song. We had serious work to do, and I would take any help I could get.
With their help, once again Verenix started coming through the portal. But it was slow. Agonizingly slow. Even with all of these creature’s help, we might not make it.
Then I felt a wind from above. I looked up and saw an eagle far larger than any of the other creatures in this world. The majestic bird swooped down from above and grasped my snare with his talons. He beat his massive wings and squawked and screamed as he pulled.
It was the final piece we needed. Now we had enough strength to really pull Verenix in. With our combined efforts we pulled the last of Verenix through the portal. He roared and thrashed with anger, but he was through. For the first time in millennia, Verenix was back in his own world.
He twisted around and began snapping at the animals that had been helping to pull, but they were quick and dodged out of his way, leaving him even more frustrated and angry than before. The eagle flew in front of Verenix’s face, clawing at his eyes, and distracting it from the other animals.
Verenix roared in frustration and snapped at the eagle, who managed to stay just out of his reach, taunting him and luring him farther into the world and away from the portal. Verenix chased the bird to the base of the tree and then started climbing in a vain attempt to get high enough to catch him. Within a few minutes, they had circled to the other side of the tree and were both out of sight.
I collapsed to the ground, mentally and physically exhausted. All I wanted to do was lay down and sleep for a few dozen years. Then I would get up and feel much better.
But I noticed the quality of light around me was changing. I cracked an eye open and saw that the reason the light was changing was because the portal was shrinking.
It was starting to close.
Chapter 26
Restoration
Cold fear raced through me. I had no idea what would happen if that portal closed, and I was still on this side. Sure, I would have saved our world from Verenix, but despite the good vibrations I felt in this world, I didn’t want to stay here for eternity.
Forcing my exhausted body to obey, I ran for the collapsing opening. It continued to shrink at an alarming rate, so I pushed my speed to the limit. It was going to be close.
By the time I got to the portal it was too small for me to run through standing upright. I took a flying leap and jumped through the disappearing hole. I pulled my legs in at the last second, afraid that the closing portal might slice them off.
I hit the ground on the other side and rolled several times. I tried to get up, but exhaustion finally caught up with me.
I passed out instead.
***
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Rhys staring down at me, a worried expression clouding his features. I loved that man. I could look at his face forever and not get tired of it.
“Madison?”
“I’m ok,” I said. The fact that my voice slurred as I said those words made for a rather less-than-convincing argument.
I shook my head to clear it and slowly sat up. Rhys helped me, or I might not have succeeded. I took a deep breath and smiled. Verenix was back in his world. I could finally relax.
Couldn’t I?
“Please tell me there are no more monsters,” I said. “I’m sick of fighting monsters.”
Rhys reached out a hand and stroked my face. “There are no more monsters, Madison,” he said.
I liked it when he said my name. I liked it even more when he told me what I wanted to hear. A girl could get used to both of those.
“How’s your shoulder?” I asked. But even as I asked, I realized I could focus on it and see through his clothes and into
the skin. The new skin was healing, and it was mostly free of dirt and germs. I had done an impressive job of repairing his shoulder if I do say so myself.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “You saved my life.”
“Yeah, you kind of owe me,” I said.
Rhys kissed my hand. “I will forever be indebted to you,” he said.
“You got that right,” I said, but I couldn’t help smiling.
Movement from behind us caught my attention. In a flash I was up and in a defensive crouch. Perhaps I wasn’t as tired as I thought.
Odin and the other Aesir stumbled towards us. Odin and Thor had recovered their weapons from where I had dropped them before going into the portal. Odin held onto his spear tightly, using it as walking stick to keep himself upright.
But it wasn’t just Odin who looked weak – all the Aesir looked even older and more frail than before I went through the portal. Each of them seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
“You did it,” said Odin, weakly. “You sent Nidhogg back to where he belongs. You have undone the damage that Loki did.” He coughed and his entire body shook with the effort.
Frigg stepped forward and dropped to her knees in front of me, her hands clasped together in a pleading gesture. “Please,” she said. “My husband is weak and does not have much life left in him. Will you return his powers so that he may live? You may keep mine if you wish, but please spare Odin. There may come a time again when the world needs the help of the Aesir and Odin is the greatest of us all.”
I blinked in surprise, shocked at her words. Did she really think I was going to keep their powers and let them die?
A small voice in the back of my head whispered to me that I could. I could let them die and keep their powers forever. I would be the most powerful being on earth. I wouldn’t just age slowly, I would never die. I would be an immortal, the greatest of all the Aesir.
Think of all the good I could do.
But that was just an excuse, and I knew it. Besides, keeping all their powers wasn’t what I wanted. I had experienced that power. It was fun for a while, but the weight of the responsibility that came with it was more than I could bear for an eternity.
Bonds That Break (The Havoc Chronicles Book 3) Page 33