I lay in darkness expecting the horns of Valhalla to call me to the great hall. But in place of music and cheering, I was met with a kiss.
Not yet, my warrior, Idun sighed, her breath washing over my lips.
A hand pressed against my chest and power flooded into me beneath her palm. It tingled between the layers of my flesh, soaking down into my bones.
Heat built in my injuries and my lungs expanded, filling with the air I so desperately needed. The shard of broken rib was forced out of my organ and the pain was swept away on a tide of power so sweet I ached for its return.
A harsh click sounded as my ribs realigned, the bones fusing back together.
The outside world found me as I rose towards consciousness. I could hear people fighting, screaming, crying and I tried to remember why.
My eyes snapped open and the stars shone above me, watching over the game we were being forced to play.
Idun’s power continued to infuse me and my muscles swelled with the strength of the gods.
I pushed myself to my feet, feeling as fresh as if I’d woken from a deep and untroubled sleep. My eyes fell towards the cage as everything came flooding back to me and my fear for Callie returned.
I saw her. The reason I’d come back from the brink of beyond. The one pure thing I had in this foul world. She ran towards me with a relieved smile on her face and bright red blood coating her white dress. She was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen. A vision of the truest, most desperate desires of my heart.
I noticed Fabian’s decapitated body with a surge of pride and took a step in her direction, intending to take her in my arms and hold her close for the rest of my years.
A huge crash sounded and Julius cried out in pain behind me. I turned sharply to seek him out, forgetting all else in my need to help him.
Erik had him pinned to the wall beneath the statue, his teeth lodged in my brother’s throat as he drank deeply from his veins. Julius fought to free himself but his efforts went unnoticed as the demon continued feasting.
I bellowed a challenge as I raced to Julius’s aid, leaving Callie behind as my commands from earlier that afternoon stopped her from following. She couldn’t intervene in our battle. My will bound her and I knew it would keep her safe. I turned my mind from her as I charged forward at an incredible speed, the goddess lending me more power than I’d ever known.
Erik’s head snapped around as he heard me coming and he released his hold on Julius. My brother slumped to the ground, pressing a hand to the wound on his neck as the blood loss stole his strength from him.
I slammed into Erik with the force of Thor’s hammer and the sound of our collision shook the foundations of the island we stood upon.
He absorbed the blow with a snarl of rage and I locked eyes with him, peering straight into the black depths of his soul. His pupils were two dark, round disks and I could feel the foul tang of Andvari’s power flowing through his body.
The gods had picked their sides. It was time to find out which one of them had bet correctly.
Erik’s fist slammed into my face and I whipped my head back as I absorbed the impact.
He lunged forwards, his fangs aimed at my neck as his thirst drove him to act upon his basest desires.
His teeth met with my knuckles instead and I growled in defiance as his venom burned through my skin before he was thrown away from me.
I leapt at him but he spun aside with impossible speed. I landed on my feet, skidding on the broken rubble which had been a solid footpath before our battle had begun.
Erik snarled as he grabbed my arm, his vice-like grip almost breaking the bone as he swung me away from him. He was stronger than he’d been before; Andvari’s dark magic fuelled him as Idun powered me. I flew through the air, slamming into the tilting statue with an echoing bang which vibrated the whole structure.
A scream from above met my ears as I tumbled to the ground but I had no time to investigate it as Erik crashed into me again.
His teeth found my flesh before we hit the dirt; fire burning through my shoulder as his fingernails gouged into my chest.
We smashed into the ground, carving another crater into existence beneath us as soil and rubble exploded around our bodies.
I threw all of my strength into my fist, hitting the side of his skull so hard that I heard his neck snap as he was thrown off of me.
Erik rolled away, quickly regaining his feet as he glared at me with his head hanging at an unnatural angle.
He bared his teeth as he realigned his spine and his bones fused back together.
I roared in defiance as I charged towards him again.
He was the most unnatural of creatures. And I would rid the earth of his existence at long last.
Andvari's cold essence leaked through my veins. I was a monster in full form. A beast without thought or reason. The slayer was my target. I had a singular desire driving my movements: to drink all of his blood until this need was sated.
I sensed Idun's power behind his blows, making him a savage opponent.
I was an animal; a starved wolf desperate for this meal, nothing but a husk to be filled.
I was done throwing punches and cracking bones, it was time to rip open flesh and sinew, find the sweet nectar my body craved.
The only way to end this pain is to sate my most primal need.
As Magnar came at me once more, I raked my nails down his chest, tearing his skin apart. He roared his anger, throwing another punch but I dodged it, guided by Andvari's gifts as I darted between his arms. My fangs sank deep into the thick muscle of his neck and the ache in me grew more desperate, demanding I drink every last drop of his life-force.
Magnar fisted his hand in my hair, ripping my teeth free and pushing me back. His face was contorted and caked in filth. Blood marred our flesh and was reflected in our eyes. Red...everything was red.
My true self flickered on the edges of my mind, desperate to take back control. Shock momentarily seeped through me as I managed to reclaim some small part of myself. For a brief moment I governed my own actions, just enough to stay my hand. Trembling with exertion, I wrestled to shake Andvari's hold on me.
Magnar came at me like a freight train.
As his fist impacted with my head, I caught a glimpse of who I was again. Rebel entered my mind and love spilled into all the dark shadows Andvari had cast inside me.
I searched left and right, finding the golden cage empty. Panic started a fire in the pit of my stomach.
Where are you?
Another punch from Magnar brought the god's power flooding back into me like a tsunami. I fell into another desperate, endless fight with my enemy. My body was battered, torn, breaking and re-mending.
It couldn't go on forever. One of us would fall. It was all I wanted. And yet, on the verges of my being, I sensed I desired something beyond that. A yearning only my heart knew. A girl with dark hair and eyes that captivated me in every sense of the word.
I didn't know who she was, but somehow, impossibly...I needed her more than blood. More than anything.
The darkness of Andvari's magic sank deeper, burrowing like ants into my body and driving out everything but hate. And I was a demon once more.
I trembled with unspent energy as I stood in the statue's shadow, watching Magnar and Erik fighting. I ached to run to the slayer’s aid, to join him as he fought and do whatever I could to protect him.
I couldn’t see Montana anywhere and I just hoped she’d found some place to hide from the danger of the battle. I wasn’t overly concerned for her though; she was the only one of us here who didn’t have an enemy present. If she had managed to get out of the way then I knew she’d be safe.
I was trapped on the sidelines by the power of the commands Magnar had laid on me before this fight began. They flowed alongside my blood, powering my muscles as they fought for his will, working against me. I’d been betrayed by my own body yet again.
You will not intervene in any way.
&nbs
p; But he needed me. I’d already watched him die once and there was no way I could endure it again. I had to find a way around his commands but his words had been cleverly selected. I couldn’t so much as call out to him or try to cause some kind of distraction.
I swore in frustration and ran to Julius instead. He was sitting against the wall, his eyes hooded as he pressed a hand to his throat where Erik’s bite continued to bleed slowly.
“Are you alright?” I breathed desperately as I crouched before him, reaching out to touch him then dropping my hand uncertainly.
“Pfft this little thing?” he replied but his voice was weak despite his mocking tone. “Though if you really think it looks fatal maybe you should take the opportunity to kiss me?”
“Kiss you?” I snorted half a laugh at the fact that he could crack jokes while he stood on death’s door.
“It could be your last chance. You don’t want to spend the rest of your life wondering what if.”
I rolled my eyes and ripped a length of material from my dress. I dipped it in a dirty puddle beside us before peeling his fingers from his throat so that I could wipe the venom out of the wound. It wasn’t particularly hygienic but he was capable of healing an infection and once the venom was gone he’d feel a lot better.
A great crash sounded as Erik threw Magnar away from him and I ducked my head, using my body to shield Julius from the spray of debris that followed.
The ferocity of their battle had reached a new high; I could feel the power of the gods billowing around them as they fought with all the strength of the deities themselves. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t natural. Watching them felt like watching a show performed on behalf of the beings which guided them. They weren’t fighting their own war anymore. This was between Idun and Andvari. Magnar and Erik were just the puppets they’d chosen to use. And I knew I had to find a way to stop them before they tore apart the men my sister and I loved.
“Magnar needs my help,” I said desperately as Julius’s wound stopped bleeding. He followed my gaze to the battle which blazed between his brother and Erik.
“He can take that parasite,” he replied though he didn’t sound sure.
“Tell me how to break his hold on me!” I growled.
Julius shook his head feebly and his eyelids drooped as he nearly lost consciousness. I slapped him just hard enough to force him back to wakefulness and his gaze met mine as he scowled.
“Ow,” he objected but I didn’t have time for his nonsense. I needed to break Magnar’s hold on me and help all of us.
“Tell me how to break it, Julius!” I demanded.
He frowned at me, clearly unsure if he should go against his brother’s decision. Magnar cried out in pain behind us and Julius gritted his teeth in response.
“You just have to want it enough,” he replied. “You have to know that you know better than him. That you can take the consequences of your actions upon yourself without needing his guidance anymore. But it won’t work. It takes months... years-”
I stood and turned my back on him, clenching my fists as I glared at the battle which raged on between the two men the gods had chosen for their servants.
A cold wind blew around me and my hair spun over my shoulders, fluttering out behind me as though even the elements wished to stop my advance.
But I refused to bow to their demands. If all it took was knowing better than Magnar then that was easy. I knew that the goddess was using him. Just as Andvari was using Erik. Their quarrel had been fuelled by the deities beyond all natural solutions. Their bodies had been taken captive, their souls enslaved.
So I needed to know better than Magnar? Well I sure as hell did. I’d been bucking against Idun’s rules from the moment I’d first heard her name. There was a reason I hadn’t grown up fearing her. There was a reason she’d been forgotten in the years that had passed since the vikings’ reign. I needed no deity to guide my future. I accepted no greater power to steer my fate.
My life was my own. And I was done following rules which I knew to be wrong.
My chest constricted as I took a step forward, the pressure of a mountain falling upon my shoulders as the goddess fought to keep me chained.
The second step was weighed with lead, my bare foot sliding across the broken concrete as though it were fused to the ground.
The wind grew stronger as I took the third step, my golden hair flying around me in a maelstrom designed to hold me back.
But I pushed on. Because I did know better. And I knew exactly what we needed to stop this madness.
As I raised my foot again, the shackles fell from my soul. I felt light, dizzy, euphoric with the sudden freedom as everything Magnar had forced me to do simply fell away.
My left hand tingled and I looked down at it as the mark which bound me to my Elder faded from my skin. I was a slayer in my own right. Free of his commands.
With a vicious smile, I started running.
My bare feet pounded the concrete and my bloodstained dress streamed behind me as I tore after Magnar and Erik. Their battle had taken them to the water’s edge and they moved so quickly that I couldn’t tell if either of them had gained the upper hand.
I set my eyes on Magnar, his bare chest heaving with effort as he kicked Erik squarely in the centre of his torso. The vampire flew towards me and I leapt aside just before he slammed into the pathway, gouging a line through the brickwork and deep into the ground below it.
Erik noticed me as he regained his feet and he raced towards me, his face alight with a feral hunger.
I screamed, raising Fury and throwing it at him as he shot closer. The blade landed in his shoulder a moment before he reached me and the stench of burning flesh sizzled through the air.
He swore at me, swinging the back of his hand into my face with all the force of a charging bull.
I was tossed away from him like a rag doll and I hit the ground, rolling over and over before I managed to push myself up onto my hands and knees.
Erik raced after me with his fangs bared but Magnar collided with him before he could reach me. The sound of their impact set my ears ringing and I rose on shaky legs as the pain in my face throbbed.
I chased after them again, knowing that this insanity would only end with bloodshed unless I could get to Magnar first.
I could feel the gods watching me with amusement, wondering what I was trying to achieve. I knew I was no match for Erik while Andvari aided him but I had no intention of trying to involve myself in their fight.
“Callie, get out of here!” Magnar shouted, trying to wield his power over me again. But I felt no urge to do as he’d said. No insatiable impulse to follow his every command as though my body were his instead of my own. I was free. And I was going to stay that way.
I sprinted towards them again and managed to catch up to them as they paused to survey each other. Magnar’s eyes fell on me and confusion flickered in his gaze for a moment quickly followed by a dawning comprehension.
Erik snarled as he eyed me too, both of them waiting for the other to make the first move.
I bit my lip as I noted the thirst which burned in Erik’s eyes. Fury still lay in his shoulder as though he couldn’t even feel the blade cooking his flesh. He was insatiable. Greed given life. I wondered if the man Montana loved was even in there anymore.
I felt the moment his restraint snapped and he leapt at me with the promise of death in his gaze. I recoiled, knowing I was unable to move fast enough to escape him, but Magnar got to me first.
He slammed me to the ground, protecting me with his body as Erik jumped onto his back. Magnar bellowed in pain as the vampire bit him and my heart leapt in panic.
I reached out quickly, yanking the chain from Magnar’s neck and ripping my mother’s ring free of it. I slid it onto my trembling finger and the bubble of peace surrounded me as the gods were forced to retreat. I couldn’t feel them anymore. I couldn’t sense anything from the mark on my palm or its connection to Fabian.
Within this
net I’d cast, no god could see me.
I smiled triumphantly as I pushed the bubble over Magnar and Erik too and the gods were forced to retreat from their bodies as well.
Magnar blinked down at me in surprise and Erik reared back, his eyes wide with horror as he wiped Magnar’s blood from his mouth. He wrenched Fury from his shoulder as if he’d suddenly realised it was there and it clattered to the ground between us.
“How?” he gasped, staring at us as Magnar pushed himself upright, dragging me with him. He guided me behind him, placing himself between me and the vampire.
Erik backed up, holding out a hand as Magnar began to advance again. The bloodlust was gone from the vampire’s gaze and he suddenly seemed much more human than should have been possible.
I caught Magnar’s elbow and he let me stop him as he seemed to notice the difference in our enemy too. Magnar held onto me as he glared at Erik, both of them unsure if their fight was over or not.
“Stay close,” I commanded. “This protection doesn’t stretch far.”
“How?” Erik breathed again, staring at me as though I’d just saved him from something far worse than death.
“The gods can’t see us,” I said. “Were you under their spell? Controlled by Andvari?”
I hoped so desperately that that was true. Montana believed there was so much good in this monster that he was deserving of her love. If I could find even an inch of what she’d discovered in him then perhaps we could find a way out of this that wouldn’t end in death.
Magnar shifted slightly so that he was between me and Erik once more. This moment of peace between them felt immeasurably fragile and I was sure that if I couldn’t maintain it there would be no way to stop them again.
“Yes... I was lost to him. You pulled me out of the dark,” Erik breathed, gratitude lacing his tone.
I glanced up at Magnar, unsure what to make of this exchange. He was still tense, as though he expected to fall back into battle at any moment but he made no move to attack. I wondered if he was seeing the glimmer of humanity in his enemy that I was beginning to notice.
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