In answer, a rattling noise filled the air and the chain started juddering as something moved our way.
I sucked in a breath as a viking longboat appeared, its hull a deathly black and the prow curved up into a tall head in the shape of a dragon. Wooden shields were attached to the outer edges, the sigils representing the tribes of old. There were no oars rowing it; it was pulled to shore by a figure in a hooded cloak as he used the chain to drag the boat to the edge of the river.
I gazed upon the strange apparition, lifting my chin as he moved to the side of the boat and surveyed us. I couldn't see anything within the impenetrable darkness of his hood and a chill fled down my spine as his fearsome presence slid over me.
“We need to cross,” Magnar said gruffly.
“It is the dead who pass to the other side, I cannot take you on this ride,” a dry, rattling voice emitted from the hood and a cloud of vapour filled the air with his rancid breath.
“We will,” I growled as anger stormed through my body. “Give us passage across or we'll kill you and take your boat.”
The wraith angled his head towards the treasures we held and a rasping chuckle followed. “Never have I seen such weapons in the hands of mortals, why do you seek to travel through the final portals?”
“We have something to do,” I said, despising his rhymes. He didn't fear us, but I'd make him fear me if he believed he wasn't going to help.
“You know what these weapons are capable of,” Magnar snarled, stepping forward in an aggressive stance. “Take us and keep your life.”
The hooded wraith regarded us, flexing his bony fingers. “You seek something I cannot give, and it makes no difference if I live.”
“There must be something we can offer?” I demanded and another cloud of vapour filled the air as the wraith sighed. He lifted his hands and curled his fingers, a strange power emitting from them. The amulet I'd taken from the gods' treasure floated up from where it hung on a chain around my neck. It moved over my head and dangled in the space between us, slowly circling.
“Eternal years the souls have come, speaking of the Earth they lived upon. I yearn for all their knowledge to be mine, I look upon their faces and truly pine. But this amulet of the god Mimir, could teach me everything I long to hear. The whispers of a thousand souls, the knowledge of the world untold. Would you give it to this being on his lonely pond, who wonders at the mysteries of the world beyond?”
“Here.” I snatched it from the air and tossed it to him. An imprint seemed to be left on my palm and I sucked in a breath as a vision of the world filled my mind. Mere seconds passed but it was as if I'd witnessed the beginnings of time, the Earth created under the great power of the gods. Volcanoes spewing, oceans forming, the first glimmer of life stirring in the ether.
I released a choked noise as the powerful sensation ebbed from my body. Magnar eyed me with a frown, then looked back at the wraith. “A deal is made, take us across.”
The wraith fingered the amulet hungrily, then stowed it in his robes, starting to laugh. “Oh I have seen what you have been,” he said excitedly. “Children of moon and blood and sun, united in their cause as one.”
I reached for the edge of the boat, hauling myself into it and Magnar sprang up after me, landing at my side.
“Stop with the poems,” I growled, taking a seat and Magnar dropped down beside me.
The wraith fell silent and took hold of the chain, yanking it hard and towing the boat out into the river.
The water lapped and bubbled around us as the steam swallowed us up, heating my skin. I forced the red cloak from my shoulders and Magnar did the same, grunting his anger at the item.
My heart hurt so much, the only thing keeping me grounded was our bid for revenge. Andvari had to die. I couldn't let him live after he'd taken my entire life from me. My love.
Montana was lost and with every tug of the chain, we drew closer to the land her soul was housed in with her sister's. Two startling bright lights which would never stop burning, even in the home of the dead. And mine would burn beside hers soon...
We reached the other side and the steam parted, revealing a desolate land beyond. A dark plain of nothingness, but at the heart of it was a staircase of gold, glimmering as if it were wrought from sunlight itself.
“The hall of Valhalla awaits, I wish you well upon your fates,” the wraith said and we leapt from the boat, heading across the dusty ground.
We started running, tearing over the land toward the towering stairway that reached into a thick mass of swirling white clouds above.
My foot hit the first step and a gong resounded like bells ringing in the sky. Magnar and I sped up them side by side, climbing, climbing, climbing.
We ascended into the clouds and all I could see was a blur of bright light. It moved around us, parting to reveal a huge wooden door.
Magnar strode forward, gripping the bronze handle and yanking it open.
A cacophony of noise filled my ears. Laughter, chatter, raucous cheers. We dove into the room prepared to fight if Andvari were close. But no gods awaited us, only souls. A cavernous golden room of them, stretching on forever. The sprawling hall was filled with rows of tables and an endless flow of ale ran from a waterfall above us into an enormous iron fountain. The men and women scooped it into silver tankards, sitting at tables, laughing merrily as they drank. I could tell they were souls by the strange, near-transparency of their bodies.
“The hall of the fallen,” Magnar breathed in awe and I nodded as we hurried forward, knowing we needed to find a way out. Another door, a gate – something.
“Erik?” a voice caught my ear and I turned sharply. Shock spilled through me and stole every other emotion away for a single moment. It was the voice of a man I knew so well. A man who had been my brother for over a thousand years. A Belvedere.
“Miles?” I gasped, spotting him rising from a table with Warren at his side. The two of them looked younger than I remembered, dressed in fine black robes the same as those Magnar and I wore.
I shook my head, unable to believe the impossible sight before me. They ran forward and I noticed more differences in them. Their bodies weren't quite solid but somewhere in between. But their eyes were brighter and filled with more warmth than I'd ever seen in their earthly forms.
Miles crashed into me and I felt the real presence of him with pain ripping at my insides.
“Brother.” I clung to him more fiercely, holding him tight, never wanting to let go again.
“You're dead?” he asked, stepping back, his azure eyes falling down me. He frowned as if seeing the differences in our physiques. “No...you're not.”
I nodded, an ache growing in me that hurt too much to focus on. “I'm here for Andvari,” I snarled, latching onto the single reason I still existed.
“Have a drink with us!” Warren begged, turning to scoop a pint of ale into a tankard.
I shook my head, a lump growing and growing in my throat. “Montana and Callie,” I choked out. “They're dead.”
Miles's mouth parted in horror and I gazed around the hall, suddenly struck by the hope that they could be here.
Miles clapped a hand to my shoulder. “How is this possible?”
I started explaining what had happened, noticing Magnar had slipped away into the crowd. I kept stealing glances around the place, praying my wife's dark eyes would meet mine across the room.
But they never did.
“They're not here,” Warren said eventually, tilting his head with a sad expression. “There are many lands from here on out. If Andvari has them, he will have taken them to his own domain.”
“Where is that?” I begged, my heart cracking.
“Across the battlefield...beyond that I don't know,” Warren said gravely. “But Erik...if Andvari took them, they're already lost. We've learned in this place what he does with the souls that are pledged to him.”
“What?” I demanded through my teeth, the heat rising in my veins.
“H
e devours them,” Miles replied, his face pale and his eyes apologetic.
I didn't need to hear any more as tears threatened to overwhelm me. I'd known she was gone, but at least if she'd been here amongst friends she might have been happy. But this was too much to bear.
I pulled my brother into another tight embrace, prepared to do whatever I could to finish Andvari and rid the world of his plague. “Goodbye, Miles.”
“That sounds like forever,” he growled, pushing me back so he could look into my eyes. “If you die here, you’ll come back to the hall of the fallen. You’ll be with us.”
I gritted my jaw, staring back at him. “No. When Andvari is gone, I will be too. I cannot remain in any form, here or otherwise. Not without her.”
Miles shook his head fiercely. “No Erik. You have to live. How can you say such things?”
“Because I don't want mortality without her, I don’t want any life,” I growled and Miles's gaze glowed with pain.
“I love you,” he breathed. “Please don’t do this, Erik.”
I sighed, knowing I couldn’t convince him to accept this. But he would have to. “I'm dead already, my heart just hasn't realised it yet.”
My eyes scoured the vast hall as Erik was reunited with his brother and a fierce longing gripped me as I turned away from him.
I started walking, weaving between the revelling warriors as my heart pounded with hope for who I might find in this place of legend.
I crossed through an arching doorway and the sound of drums drew me on.
A deep pressure filled the air and it felt as though a hand had taken mine, drawing me further between the press of bodies.
I passed through another door and found myself in a part of the hall without a roof so that gleaming sunlight shone down over those who gathered there.
“Magnar!” Elissa screamed, launching herself into my arms before I could turn towards the sound of her voice.
I pushed her back, staring at her face in wonder as she laughed with joy. She looked just as I remembered her and for a moment I worried that meant she’d died young but as I looked at the sea of faces around me I realised everyone here was youthful and full of energy. It was as if the hall chose to house them in their strongest forms so that they were the best warriors they could possibly be for the rest of time.
“We’ve waited too long for you dear brother!” Aelfric bellowed, slamming into us too and an incredulous laugh fell from my lips as I was reunited with my dearest friends.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” I gasped, the memory of my grief for them rising like an angry beast in my heart.
“How could you have such little faith?” Elissa teased as she stepped back. “Wait until you see how tall little Magnar grew.”
Aelfric slapped an arm around my shoulders and I gripped him fiercely as we followed his wife through the crowd towards a group of warriors who bore resemblances to the two of them.
A man rose from the centre of the group and he smiled broadly as he recognised me.
“I often wondered if I’d just dreamed up how damn big you were,” he said as he looked me over.
“This can’t be little Magnar?” I breathed in disbelief. He was nearly as tall as me and he had his father’s muscular build. The last time I’d seen him he’d been a small child.
“You know they never stopped calling me that,” he said with a laugh. “Even when I was older than you had been before you slept, the whole clan still called me little Magnar. I could never live up to the legend I was named after.”
“That’s why he grew so tall,” a girl added. “In hopes that he would outgrow his little nickname.” She looked so similar to little Magnar that I was sure she must have been his sibling.
“How many babes did you have in the end?” I asked my friends eagerly, lapping up this chance to find out what had become of those I’d had to leave behind when I slept.
“Thirteen,” Elissa replied ruefully.
“She’s a damn saint,” Aelfric added proudly.
“And they gave us forty seven grandchildren between them,” she added.
I smiled widely, wanting to hear about each of them as the fractured remnants of my heart swelled with happiness at the knowledge they’d led full lives. It had been my dearest wish for them.
“Are you going to leave me waiting much longer, my boy?” a deep voice called from behind me and I stilled as recognition washed over me.
I held my breath, afraid to turn while desperate to see him in equal measures.
I spun around slowly and the warriors surrounding us moved away so that a wide space was left between me and my father.
He was just as I remembered, although a little younger. His skin was warm with the echoes of life, his long hair braided with beads marked with runes. A smile hid beneath his beard and his golden eyes sparked with joy at the sight of me before him.
So many nights I’d spent laying awake, doubting what I’d done to him. Especially since my own transformation had taken place and I’d been forced to wonder if he might have been able to survive beyond the curse. But as I looked at him I knew I’d done the right thing by him. There was no accusation in his eyes. No judgement or regret. Just a shimmering pool of love and joy at our reunion.
I gave up all effort at holding back and ran to meet him, colliding with him with such force as to knock a lesser man from his feet.
My father laughed as he wrapped his arms around me, slapping my back with a fearsome joy as I shook in his arms, overwhelmed with the emotion of seeing him again.
Another set of arms wound their way around us and I laughed as I recognised my mother’s embrace. She was here. With him. Just as I knew she’d longed to be from the moment of his death.
“It was worth the price of my life just to see the two of you again,” I murmured as I bathed in the love of my family.
My father pushed me back so that he could look at me more closely and I was surprised to realise I was a little taller than him now.
“You’re not dead yet, boy,” he said fiercely.
“And your fight isn’t done,” my mother agreed. “We’ve been watching you, we saw what Andvari did. You have to claim vengeance for your love.”
“Is she here?” I asked suddenly, desperately wondering if Callie was close. She’d given her life for humanity and if that wasn’t a warrior’s death then I didn’t know what was, so I was sure she had earned her place in the hall.
“No,” Mother replied sadly. “Andvari took their souls for his own purposes. He devoured them. They are lost to all plains of existence.”
The pain of that fact ripped into me like a fresh wound. The god had done more than just kill them; he’d destroyed them entirely. There was no hope of me ever reuniting with the girl who’d set my heart alight and I refused to face an eternity in this hall without her.
“Where is he?” I snarled. I would kill that demon among the gods and take from him everything he’d stolen from me and more. And when it was done, I would cast my soul into the unending fire. I wouldn’t exist in any form without her by my side.
“Beyond the eternal war,” Mother sighed, reaching up to brush her fingers along my face.
“Farther even than that, my boy. If you want to kill that monster it may take more than you can give,” Father added.
“I will give it all. Every fibre of my soul in the name of her,” I replied fiercely. Nothing mattered to me now but exacting revenge upon the creature who had taken my love from me. And there was nothing I wouldn’t sacrifice to see his end at my hand.
“Then you should go now,” Mother said sadly. “This is no place for the living, the longer you are here the more it will take from you.”
She brushed her hand over mine and for a moment my skin seemed near transparent. I curled my fingers into a fist and the colour returned to my flesh but her warning was clear.
I eyed the people I loved with a pang of regret before turning and heading away from them. I didn’t say goodbye and
neither did they. We would meet again when my time came or I would follow Callie into the jaws of the god who had claimed her soul. Either way, the dead didn’t need farewells.
Erik met me before I could search for him and I nodded to him as he turned towards the far end of the hall.
We passed between warriors of every ilk. Enemies drinking alongside old friends. Valhalla was a place for joy and revelry and we didn’t belong within its golden walls with our broken hearts and fractured souls.
It seemed as if we walked forever but eventually we came upon a door at the farthest reach of the great hall. It was small and dark and hidden within a shadowy corner where none of the warriors seemed to look. They were happy where they were and this exit meant nothing to them but it called to us with the promise of vengeance.
Erik led the way through it and we found ourselves upon a hilltop which overlooked an immense battle raging across the flat plains below.
The sea of warriors stretched away endlessly in every direction and I stared at them in wonder as the clamour of clashing steel set the air alight with noise.
The sky above them was deepest red as if it reflected back the blood which stained the ground below.
As I watched, warriors were cut down, falling in battle as their blood poured from their bodies only to flow back in so that they could rise again and fight on. It was never ending. They died and were remade. Time and again. Always rising to rejoin the fight, never slowing, never ceasing. It was a battle which would rage for all of time and I could see no way for us to pass it by without having to join the fray.
“How do you like our chances there?” Erik asked stoically and I frowned.
“I do not see a way that we could cross that sea with our lives intact,” I murmured in response. My death did not concern me anymore but I wasn’t sure if I would be able to complete this task if I was without my flesh.
A faint pressure was growing on my back and I frowned as the weight of it grew and grew. I reached over my shoulder and drew the war horn that I’d taken from Andvari’s treasure into my grasp.
Age of Vampires- The Complete Series Page 188