by Michael Todd
Calvin put his fist up. “The fearless have arrived. It’s about damn time. What were you doing, schmoozing with the bigwigs?”
Eddie glanced up and smirked. “How do you think he started getting all the good jobs? Apparently, his aim is nothing compared to his suction.”
Brock rolled his eyes and put his bag up in the overhead. “I’m sorry you guys suck so much that you can’t believe I could actually just be good at my job.”
“Right, and I have working legs,” a voice said behind him.
Brock turned around to find Sean moving from his wheelchair into one of the seats. Brock shook his head. “But you’re not Damned.”
Sean raised an eyebrow. “I can’t walk either, but I’ll still punch you in the dick, dick.”
The Fasten Seatbelts sign came on, and Brock sat down, laughing. The plane taxied onto the runway and they were on their way, soaring into the sky. Turner took the earbuds out of his ears, rotating his jaw to get his ears to pop. “I swear, Brock, you go to Europe more than anyone I know.”
Brock turned in his seat, his hand running over his scruffy chin. “Yeah, but under the circumstances, I would say it really doesn’t count.”
Everyone got serious for a moment. “Do you think Juntto is going to be able to control himself with a bunch of his kind there, all bloodthirsty and ready to kill everyone?”
Brock shrugged. “I can’t say I’m one hundred percent on it, but at the same time, we have no reason not to trust him. After the change, he became a solid member of this group, not to mention that he is as tough as nails. It was worth the shot.”
Turner stood up and pointed hard at Brock. “Damn right. I’ve seen that motherfucker take a missile in the back and go to his knees, only get back up and throw the fucking thing back at them. He’s tough as shit.”
Sean agreed. “Not to mention that he loves Angie, and has more than once expressed how much he loves his life now. I really don’t think he would throw it all away. Of course, people have done crazier things. But, no—I think he’s gonna play a tough fucker like he was before to get the help we need, and then he’ll drop it.”
Turner shrugged. “I think we all give way more credit to an alien species we know very little about regardless of how close we seem to be to them.”
Sean laughed. “He’s a person. A giant, as close to human as you can be while being a different species. You talk about him like people talk about adopted wild animals. He is wild, no matter how much he seems to love you. Come on, man.”
Eddie leaned forward, rubbing his tired face. “I don’t understand why the Army just doesn’t take care of this. Drop a fucking nuke and take them out. Why is this being dragged out?”
Brock unbuckled his belt and stood up, holding onto the back of the seat when there was a small bit of turbulence. “I don’t think you guys fully appreciate the full magnitude of the power this Leviathan has. I’ve stood before two of them. I’ve watched them attack. Within two seconds, Korbin went from talking to me about strategy to pulling his dual swords and trying to decapitate me. His eyes glowed, and he just seemed to not be in there anymore. It was incredible.”
Calvin turned around, hearing the story. “He’s all right now, isn’t he?”
Brock nodded. “Yeah, of course. He’s at a base in Iraq, and probably getting ready to head back home. After I shot him…”
Calvin’s mouth dropped wide open. “Hold up. Did you just say you shot the man?”
Brock gave Calvin a small grin. “I did. Technically I shot him twice, once in each knee.”
“And you’re still alive?” Calvin was baffled.
Brock put out his arms, chuckling. “So far.”
Calvin whistled, shaking his head. “Lucky son of a…”
The fucking insane battle raged wildly in the curving and twisting hill-covered Romanian landscape. The sounds of the fight could be heard for miles: battles cries, screams, and shouts of pure terror from both sides. The frost giants started on one side, looming several feet above the Legion soldiers. But although their size was a factor, the Legion army’s only thoughts were about what they had to do to protect their family. What they had to do to protect their leader, Legion.
It was the frost giants versus the Legion’s Damned soldiers, the strongest of the troops and the alphas among them. Their desire to win matched the frost giants’, but they weren’t quite as strong. Even with demons inside them, entranced by the idea of Legion, the giants’ sheer size made it hard for them to begin to understand how to handle them.
The battle was bloody on more than one level. Limbs flew overhead in arcs, spraying blood over Legion’s Damned. With every leg, arm, or torso, the murderous screams could be heard for miles. The blue giants raced across the field, grabbing the Damned by the heads and ripping their purple eyes straight out of their skulls.
Legion watched from a distance, standing behind a guard of Damned soldiers. Vinders stayed with him, never leaving his side for more than a moment. Legion peeked through the cracks between the Damned, narrowing his eyes at a large blue giant tearing his men limb from limb. He stretched his arms out and pushed his men apart, stepping out into the open. Immediately Vinders came up next to him, ready to protect him from anything and everything.
“We. Are. Legion,” the Leviathan whispered, focusing his attention on the giant in front of him.
The giant continued to rage, grabbing a Damned around the waist and slamming him into the ground until there was nothing left but a bloody pulp. Legion tried again, pushing the giant to assimilate, but he got nothing more than a small twitch of a muscle, and even that was questionable. He slammed his hands to his sides and went behind his Damned guards again.
On top of a hill on the other side of the field looking down over the battle, Katie, Pandora, and Juntto reluctantly stayed put on the frost giants’ side. It was the safest place they could be and still watch the battle rage. None of them could chance being taken over. The results would be terrifying for everyone involved. Not just for the people in the field, but if Juntto and the two angels were under Legion’s control, the world would have no one to protect them. At that point, the fight or flight response would be the only factor deciding whether anyone survived or perished—a decision the three of them didn’t want people to have to make.
Lucifer sat back in his chair and shook his head, glancing at Baal. They were watching the shit show from the comfort of Lucifer’s throne room. Lucifer threw out his hands. “Jesus Christ.”
Baal recoiled, and Lucifer rolled his eyes. “I can say it. Don’t be a pussy.”
Baal covered his mouth as he watched body parts soar through the air. “I just don’t get it. Up until now, besides the whole bombing hell thing, the humans have played it relatively safe. This just doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Lucifer shook his head. “Me either, little slave, me either. The humans must have fucking lost it. Thrown their hands up and said, ‘Hey, if we’re going down, we might as make it a fucking blowout.’ That’s the only reason I can think of to bring the frost giants in. Total insanity.”
The frost giants were really getting pumped up. The ground was already covered in blood and body parts, but they seemed to be just getting started. Their rage grew with every strike and every blast of the Damned Legion’s weapons. They weren’t really hurting them, but their amusement had run its course, and now the giants were just done. They didn’t want to keep letting them play. It was time to get down to business and make sure that anything left of the Damned Legion was unable to be reattached.
Katie bounced her foot up and down and wrung her hands as she watched what was going on. With every human death, Damned or not, Legion or not, she couldn’t help but think about the plane full of soldiers who would never have the chance to break the spell. The ones they’d sacrificed. She wasn’t sure now if it had been the right thing to do.
After a few minutes, Pandora looked at her, just as anxious. Katie shook her head and marched over to where Juntto an
d Kraggen stood. “Excuse me.”
Kraggen glanced at her. “Your little muse is speaking.”
Katie narrowed her eyes. “I’ll say it again, but this time, I am warning you that I fucking mean it. You need to tell your giants to not kill everyone.”
Kraggen put his head back and began to laugh. “That is adorable. You are still trying to act as if being an angel means you have the ability to save these people. They are obviously weak if they have been taken over by that pathetic Leviathan.”
Juntto glanced down at her, his eyes wide, watching her jaw clench and unclench. Her fists were so tight that they were almost paper-white. She reached up and poked Kraggen hard on the shoulder. “Look, I know you think you are tough because you are bigger and stronger—and who knows, maybe it’s true—but those humans out there are not bad. They were once very good and very important soldiers. They have just been taken over, that’s all.”
Kraggen eyed her for a moment. “They were soldiers? You mean, human warriors?”
Katie nodded, and Pandora walked up next to her. “They were held in high regard, having saved sometimes upward of a thousand or more lives with one single action. They are Damned, yes, but they are good, and they were working to clear the Earth of demons.”
Kraggen thought about it for a moment but still shrugged her off. “They are going to get what they are going to get. It is that simple.”
Juntto put up his hand. “Now, hold on. These are people from my world. Humans who have worked, not just for my cause, but for everyone’s. Do you think you are immune to hell’s demons? I think not. One of the reasons it took me so long to get back was because they attempted to brainwash me and use me to kill others.”
Kraggen smirked. “So, you are not as strong as you seem. Too bad for you. I will not order them to stop killing.”
Juntto gritted his teeth, tired of being told no. He grabbed Kraggen by the shoulder and leaned in close. “I think you have forgotten your place, Lord. You are no longer in our dimension. You are on Earth, and on Earth, I am the king, the ruler, the almighty. Now, pull your guys back, or you and I are going to have some very serious problems. I don’t believe you truly want to be stuck on this planet, now, do you?”
Kraggen snarled and crossed his arms, trying to figure out whether he had been had or if he would get a choice in the matter. The problem was, Kraggen was used to being the big shit. He was used to always having his way with no one questioning him. But now there was Juntto, who had rolled in on his noble steed of bravery and nobility, and Kraggen had to bow down.
After a few moments, though, he realized that fighting Juntto was probably incredibly stupid. He was not in his dimension, he did not have his weapons, and he needed the girl to get them back.
Finally, after far too much contemplation, Kraggen threw his arms up. “Fine, you get your way this time, but only because I am on your territory.”
Kraggen shook his head as he walked forward, putting his hands to his mouth and shouting out in a language that neither Katie nor Pandora had ever heard before. They didn’t know what he was telling them exactly, but moments later the carnage began to slow. Instead of ripping them apart, the giants were ripping the Damned away, pulling them as far back as they could go in order to free them from Legion’s influence.
It was almost too simple. As soon as they crossed the threshold of power, their eyes cleared and they found themselves blinking up at the giants. It was a little hard for some of them to take, since they didn’t know what had happened to them, not to mention seeing giant blue men standing over them. Katie and Pandora were able to help that part, though. They used their angel magic to send a wave of comfort and understanding across the Damned, helping their bodies and their minds relax and clear from the assimilation.
Pandora and Katie had bodies all around them again, but this time they were alive and well. Even the demons were sending vibes of thanks instead of fear to Pandora. But still, the fight was not over. It would never be over until Legion was as far away from Earth as he could get. Or dead, which was preferable for most of them.
Katie stepped to the edge of the hill and watched as the frost giants cleared the last of the Damned Legion from the grounds. They began to circle, chanting, slapping their hands loudly on their thighs. Their bodies moved sinuously, dancing to their ancestors, to their victories. Dancing to the capture of a creature that didn’t belong on Earth. He didn’t belong anywhere that they knew of.
Vinders stepped in front of Legion to ensure that no one harmed him. Facing out, all he could see and hear were the eyes of the frost giants and their bellowing calls. The ground shook with each stomp and the circle closed in, trapping the two with nowhere to go.
21
“Aye yay a ya yaaaa!” one of the frost giants bellowed in a high-pitched tone, piercing the deep voices of the others and causing all the sound to cease instantly.
Vinders looked around frantically as the giants stomped again, then the front row took a knee. Through the ranks of the frosts, one of the higher-ranking warriors stepped through. He had black tattoos up his neck and across his face. His long silvery hair was shaved on one side and his clothes were thick, small bones hanging from every seam.
Shaking his head, Vinders put his hands up in front of himself. The warrior roared and lunged, grabbing Vinders by the throat and the legs and ripping his jugular from his body. He slashed the remaining limbs apart, tossing them in all directions. When he was done, the entire group grunted, jumping back to their feet.
Every other giant took a leap forward, and they repeated this until they were close enough to reach him with their spears. Legion just stood there with no fear in his eyes, unconcerned about their proximity. One of the giants in back clapped his hands hard over his head and rubbed his palms together quickly.
Then he stopped and grunted, which was followed by the others aiming their spears. Every giant close to him slammed their spears into Legion, thinking that would be the end. They speared him again and again until every last tip of their bone spears had broken off. They all stopped and slowly backed up, holding the spears in their hands and looking at them wildly. They had never imagined something like that could happen. The beast could not be killed.
Pandora narrowed her eyes. “Even if we can’t kill him, he still needs to get the fuck out of here.”
Katie cracked her knuckles. “I have to agree with you on that one.”
They had to think fast. Legion was beginning to regain his strength, and a hell of a lot of people had been released from his control. She wasn’t willing to even think about giving them up again. They had survived it, and they deserved her protection.
Pandora’s eyes grew wide and she reached out, grabbing Katie and pulling her close to her. She whispered in her ear, and Katie smiled broadly. They nodded to each other and took off down the hill, waving at Juntto. He was on the sidelines, watching in dismay as Legion endured attack after attack. He saw them running, and Pandora pointed two fingers at her eyes.
He started toward the group as Pandora and Katie stopped about ten feet back. Katie licked her lips and pulled the energy in, concentrating hard on one specific place. She pulled her hands apart and flung the portal to the Crystal dimension open wide behind them.
Juntto waved his arms. “Throw him in! Throw him in the portal now!”
One of the giants glanced back at the portal and dove over the others, grabbing Legion by the neck. He tossed him under his arm to another giant, who flipped him back over his head to the line closest to the portal. The closest frost giant held him tightly in his hand, and with one smooth swipe, he punted Legion straight into the portal. The Leviathan sailed through, hitting branches and leaves of crystals as he tumbled head over heels and then hit the ground, skidding through the sharp stones and leaving blood behind him.
The frost giants all took a knee, waiting for the perfect moment to celebrate. Pandora gave the Leviathan the finger before slamming the portal shut. The frost giants jumped to th
eir feet, throwing their hands straight up. Deep wild cheers echoed around the Romanian landscape.
Katie dusted off her hands and Pandora hip-checked her, both of them grinning. It was the first cheerful moment they’d had since they’d brought the frost giants back with them, and although they still didn’t know if they would become a new problem, at that moment neither Katie or Pandora cared. They had been successful in the first part, which was vital.
Pandora shook Katie’s arm and pointed at the other hill. What looked like hundreds of people came over the top, dazed and confused about where they were. Their eyes were no longer purple, and they had been given their lives back. They were the ones who weren’t Damned and had been kept in the shadows for safety. All the Damned who had been spared no longer had purple eyes, returning to the deep crimson they were used to.
Juntto lumbered up to them and nodded. “That was quick thinking. Fucking Leviathan deserved to be ripped apart starting with his mummy dick, but I guess some time in the crystal dimension will do him good. Besides, I doubt he will live long there. There is nothing to sustain him.”
Pandora patted him on the back. “Sorry about your slave, dude. I mean, I’m pretty sure it would have been an issue here anyway. The humans don’t take too kindly to the word ‘slave.’”
The frost giants had gotten even rowdier in the background, and Juntto looked over his shoulder with a glint of excitement in his eyes. Katie shook her head and waved him off. “Go be with your people. I know it has been a very long time. Just try not to break the planet or start any wars.”
Juntto smirked. “We will do our very best.”