Triumph 19

 The sword bit into his throat, a sharp sting of pain as it pierced his tender flesh, blood welling up to the surface to coat the blade a dark red. Lezard could feel the drops inching it’s way down his neck, slipping under the collar of his shirt, staining the pristine white material red. To the left of him stood his attacker, Lenneth Valkyrie, hard determination in her blue eyes as she held onto the pommel of her sword in a two fisted grip. She clenched her teeth, sweat appearing on her brow, her arms shaking as she fought to sever Lezard’s head from his neck.

To the front of him floated Freya, her blonde hair swirling about her, golden ether appearing in the palm of both her hands. Her green eyes were narrowed, a crafty look on her face as she watched Lenneth struggle to drive her sword in deeper. Suddenly the sword was moving, sliding easily through his flesh as though a knife through butter. A smattering of divine energy was expended on Lezard’s part, his body going insubstantial so that the sword passed through him as though he was nothing more than a ghost. With a loud clang her sword struck the other side of the throne, embedding itself into the gold.

“Traitors!!” Shouted Lezard, rising to his feet, right hand taking tight hold of Gungnir’s handle. He heard the scrape of metal on metal, Lenneth attempting to free her sword. Without a glance towards her, he was waving his hand in her direction, hearing her let out a gasp. The Valkyrie went flying away from the throne, slamming into the wall, the wind knocked out of her. With the clamor of her armor, she fell to her knees, briefly stunned by the experience.

Lezard raised his hand to his neck, feeling the blood pooling out. He frowned at the red mess on his hand, the cut healing as he wiped away the blood. Freya screamed out a challenge, tossing down ether ball after ether ball at Lezard, mini explosions of light occurring all around him. Lezard blinked, vision distorted from the light show, dimly making out the approaching males, Tyr with his sword drawn, and Thor with blazing lightning bolts in his hands.

“Yargh!!” bellowed Tyr, rushing forward to strike his sword against Lezard’s chest.

Sensing movement, Lezard brought up Gungnir, hastily blocking the blade. Freya ceased tossing down ether balls, floating backwards, just watching as the two Aesir surrounded Lezard. “Oathbreakers, all of you!” hissed Lezard, twirling Gungnir before him, divine energy swirling about in a half arc. It formed a shield, that glowed purple when struck, wavering around Lezard.

“Oathbreaker?” Freya shouted with a laugh. “Maybe so, but you are mad to think we would ever swear loyalty to the likes of you!”

“Mortal scum!” Thor was pounding away at the forcefield, bolts slamming into it again and again. Tyr was hacking away with his sword, desperately testing the shield for weak spots.

“Enough!” bellowed Lezard, throwing up his arms, an explosion rocking the dais. Tyr and Thor fell away from him, tumbling down the staircase head over ass. With pained grunts, they got up on their knees, none the worse for wear from their fall. “You will die!” shouted Lezard, rising up into the air, cape flapping all about him.

“Maybe so.” acknowledged Freya. “But not before we take you with us!” She was flying forward, arms crossed over her face, clenched fists glowing. She quickly crossed the space to Lezard’s side, intent on ramming him with her body. With a snarl he backhanded her across the face, Freya sent flying away from him.

“Freya!” Thor gasped, and his hands glowed, forming storm clouds into the air beneath Freya’s tumbling body. She bounced against the soft, wet material, body cushioned on the gray cloud. Another storm cloud materialized under the Storm Lord’s feet, the cloud laboring to lift the bearded blonde into the air. Thunder and lightning flashed all around him, Thor’s hands glowing as he prepared to summon forth Mjollnir, his divine hammer.

Lenneth had recovered, creeping stealthily towards the throne, intent on retrieving her blade. Tyr having no means of flight, settled for rushing up the staircase, his footsteps pounded against the carpet, red hair streaming behind him as he ran.

“Oh…” murmured Freya, raising a hand to her face. She eased up on her elbows, peering around the room, quickly recalling the fight she had initiated. She jumped off of Thor’s cloud, body taking off into the air, floating on her own power. “Prepare to be cleansed!” Freya shouted, floating up to the highest point in the room. She hovered near the domed ceiling, wrists crossed over each other, glowing with ether. “Divine assault…”

Freya began teleporting from spot to spot, vanishing quicker than the eye could follow. Lezard turned, in a desperate attempt to track her, feeling her energy build. “Ether Strike!” She flung out her hands away from her body, aiming at Lezard’s back.

“Bah! Not good enough!” retorted Lezard, teleporting out of the way. The divine energy smashed into Tyr, the scarred warrior once again falling down off the high stair case.

“Tyr!” Freya gasped in horror, disappearing only to rematerialize by his side. “Are you all right…?” She asked, kneeling down, helping him to sit up.

“I’ll live…” The War God muttered, feeling as though a Gigant Dragon had run him over.

“What say we even the odds a little bit?!” Lezard said, a hint of laughter in his voice. He floated forward, his shadow passing over the two Gods as he zoomed towards the stone gargoyles. He pointed at the creatures, purple ether shooting out his finger, and with a groan stone began to move. The gathered Gods watched as rock crumbled, squat legs breaking free of the pedestal the gargoyles rested upon.

Heavy stone wings began to flap, laboring to lift the heavy creatures up into the air. “That’s impossible!” gasped Lenneth seeing the creatures take flight, their eyes gleaming with malice, shining with purple ether. One opened it’s jaw, maw gaping wide as it let out a roar. The two stone gargoyles hurried to surround Lezard, hovering near their master like faithful guard dogs.

“That’s not my only trick!” laughed Lezard, free hand dipping into ether, sifting through the dimensional folds. He drew back his hand, a sword clenched between his fingers.

“Levantine!” gasped Tyr, watching as the sword floated in front of Lezard. “But how…the sword was thought lost forever!”

“Maybe now you’ll realize nothing is impossible for me!” smirked Lezard, even as he brought forth the Sylvan Bow. He gestured with his hand, and the two treasures began spinning around his body. Faster and faster they went, until they became a blur of colors. Light shone from within them, blinding the Gods, forcing them to look away.

Lezard’s laughter filled the room, high pitched and triumphant, and they risked looking at him, only to gape at the jewel encrusted armor he wore. The sylvan bow and Levantine had been transformed, remade into the very armor that covered his body. “It is hopeless!” taunted the necromancer. “Give up now while you still can!”

“Never!” shouted Freya, the other voices rising in agreement.

“We’ll fight you to our last breath.” Lenneth said quietly, concentrating. White light poured out of her shoulder blades, flowing like water. It shifted, forming into wings larger than her body. She gave an experimental flap, lifting up off the dais, sword tightly clenched in her hand.

“So be it!” laughed Lezard, gesturing at her with one hand to come forward. Out of the corner of his eye he noted Freya and Thor approaching, and he gave a silent command to his stone pets. The two Gargoyles broke formation, one charging towards the floating Gods. The other flew down to touch upon the ground, body thudding heavily on the marble floor. It growled at the grounded Tyr, issuing a challenge.

“You know…” Lezard said, as he crossed Gungnir with Lenneth’s Radiance Blade. “We’ve already had this fight…and you proved no match for me…” She thrust her sword forward, the blade’s tip scraping harmlessly against the metal plates of his armor. “What makes you think you will win this time?!”

“I won’t know until I try!” retorted Lenneth, blocking his downwards swing. She countered with her foot, leg lifting up high to kick across his armor covered stomach.

“I must confess…you have me at a disadvantage my dear…” Lezard said, floating backwards a few inches from the force of her kick.

“Oh?” She arched an eyebrow, driving towards him with her sword. He spun, sword tip tearing through his cape, but leaving the wizard unharmed as she flew past him.

“I really don’t want to harm you…” explained Lezard shooting a blast of ether at her.

“Too bad I can’t say the same!” snarled Lenneth, folding her wings over the front of her body in a protective shield of feathers.

Down on the ground Tyr and the gargoyle circled each other, looking for an opening. The ground cracked under the gargoyle’s heavy tread, splintering the marble open. Stray feathers drifted down, causing Tyr to glance up, seeing Lenneth driven back by the force of Lezard’s attack. Spotting it’s chance, the gargoyle roared, charging forward. It slammed into Tyr’s body, the God grabbing hold of it’s head, holding on. Gritting his teeth, Tyr dug his feet into the ground, inch by inch slowing it’s forward progress. His other hand was lifting his sword, trying to drive it into the gargoyle’s eyes, the blade easily slipping off the stone surface. Again and again Tyr drove his sword against the eye, trying to carve it open.

“Damn it!” He shouted, arms tensing up as he prepared to jump. “How do we stop these things?! They’re not alive…not in the normal sense!” His arms released his hold, Tyr propelling his body up and over the gargoyle, landing on it’s back.

“I’ll tell you how you stop them!” shouted Thor, flying towards the head of the gargoyle that stalked Freya. He gripped Mjollnir two fisted, and with a mighty cry was swinging upwards, smashing his hammer into the face of the stone creature. It let out a surprised sound, bits of rock falling to the ground below. It let out an angry roar, it’s face missing it’s nose, and half it’s jaw.

“You smash them to pieces.” Thor said, looking with satisfaction at his handiwork.

“Easy for you to say…” muttered Tyr. “My sword is meant more for stabbing than smashing!”

“Ether blast!” shouted Freya, slamming her mystical energy into the beast Tyr rode. It yelped, a horn breaking off in the process.

“Watch where you’re aiming!” shouted Tyr, hanging on for dear life as the creature began running around the room frantically. It screamed out it’s rage, wings begginning to flap, taking off into the air. It’s beady eyes tracked Freya, blood thirsty intention focused on the Goddess.

“Filthy creature!” sneered Freya, hands moving super fast, blast after blast jutting out from her palms. A queasy Tyr hung on to the creature, the stone gargoyle zig zagging in the air, dodging her attacks. A cocky smile was on the Goddess’ face, Freya allowing the rock monster in close. It slashed upwards with it’s claws, tearing open the front of her green dress.

“How dare you!” gasped Freya, an arm going over her breasts, the other smacking across the face of the creature. It was knocked away from her, and she yelled, wordless rage as she shot another blast of ether at the creature.

“Shit!” cried Tyr, leaping off it’s back as it crashed into the floor. He scrambled to get away, seeing Freya had unleashed her thunder sword attack. It slammed into the center of the stone creature, smashing it into smithereens. Bits of rocks pounded against Tyr’s back, the God cautiously turning to look at the remains. Purple ether flared along the pieces, slowly pulling them towards each other.

“No way…” whispered Tyr, watching as the stone molded together, reforming the destroyed gargoyle. It shook it’s head, disorientated, cracks appearing all over it’s body. It took a shaky step forward, spotting the war God, and opened it’s mouth, revealing it’s jagged teeth. “Anyone got a plan B?!”

Thor was still smashing away at the gargoyle he faced, breaking off pieces bit by bit. “If we ground ’em to a fine dust then maybe…” The creature was suddenly spinning around, it’s spiked tail lashing across his face, blinding him. Thor screamed, hand over his eyes, feeling blood leak out.

“Thor!” Freya materialized next to him, gripping him by the shoulders. She hurriedly eased him out of the way of the charging gargoyle, placing a hand over his eyes. Her hand glowed golden, and she whispered a blessing over his eyes.

“I thank you Freya…” The God breathed better, seeing his vision slowly return to him.

“Stay sharp.” She advised, and was flying off again.

“Yah!” shouted Lenneth, bringing her sword around to Lezard’s right side. He swung Gungnir at her, and she threw up her left hand, the lance cutting open the gauntlet on her arm. She let out a hiss of air, glaring at him. Lezard laughed in reply, poking her gently in the chest with Gungnir. The move only served to further enraged the Valkyrie, the Goddess jabbing forth with her sword, kicking upwards with her legs. Her feet slammed into his chest plate, pummeling her heels over and over again into him.

He stumbled back, feeling the force of her feet pounding against his chest, and reached up to snag her by the ankle. With a mighty swing, Lezard was thrusting her away from him, throwing her into the near wall. She slammed hard into it, wall cracking from the force of her momentum. She struggled to step free of the wall, only to have her eyes widen in shock, Lezard barreling towards her, Gungnir’s tip gleaming sharp and deadly.

Lezard slammed Gungnir into the wall, just missing Lenneth’s face, spearing some of her hair instead. He smirked, pressing his body against her, pinning her there. “Give up!” He told her. “You’ve no hope of winning!”

“Never” was on the tip of her tongue, and she started to form the first syllable when Lezard pressed his mouth onto hers. She screamed into his mouth, shocked that he would attempt such a thing in the middle of a fight. Her wings fluttered and flapped, beating against the wall as she struggled, praying one of her companions would notice Lezard’s distraction and strike him down.

No such attack came, and Lezard touched her face, gripping her jaw tightly, deepening the kiss. Suddenly electricity flowed through her body, blue lightning crackling over her form, magnified by the metal conduit of her armor. Lenneth screamed into Lezard’s mouth, thrashing about as he zapped her with magic. Her body writhed against his, limbs growing heavy and weak as he continued to assault her body with the magical lightning. Lenneth struggled to keep hold of her sword, but her hand was growing weaker, fingers starting to open.

Freya flew, a gargoyle hot on her heels. It roared and it screamed, lashing at her feet with it’s granite claws, trying to take hold of her between it’s paws. The Goddess managed to stay just ahead of the creature, flying towards a wall. Just when it looked as though she would slam face first into it’s surface, she dove downwards. Too late did the gargoyle have time to react, with a screech it slammed into the wall, breaking apart.

Turning onto her back, Freya aimed her hands upwards, palms facing the broken pieces of the gargoyle. “Critical Flare!” Ether lasers shot out of her hands, spearing the pieces of rocks, crumbling them into smaller and smaller pieces. A fine coating of gray dust fell on her, dirtying her face and clothes, but she smiled, victorious.

Brushing off her dress, she turned, eyes searching out Lezard and gasped. The God was floating in the air, Gungnir held in his right hand, an unconscious Lenneth Valkyrie limp in his left arm. Her wings drooped downwards, battered and molting, her head tossed back to rest on Lezard’s shoulder.

“Lenneth no!” shouted Freya, teleporting before Lezard.

“What will you do now Freya?!” demanded Lezard with a grin. “Your champion has fallen!”

“You…you monster!” snarled Freya, moving to slap her gloved hand across his face. Lezard blinked, his head rocked to the side from the force of her strike.

“A monster am I?!” He demanded. “Well, let me show you how monstrous I can be!” He let go of Lenneth, ether swirling around her body to gently float her to the ground far below them. “I will teach you not to take me so lightly, dear Freya…” He thrust out his hands, Lezard blasting Freya away from him. “No mercy for the damned!” A rumble was heard, the domed ceiling of the room shaking apart, glass falling to the floor. “Thus, thou has no escape from the grasp of catastrophe!”

“What are you doing?!” Freya shouted, glancing upward to see the sky through the open remains of the ceiling. It swirled a dark orange and red, the colors mixing together. Brown bits of rock flew towards Valhalla, increasing in speed, their very surface on fire.

“Meteor Swarm!” shouted Lezard, and gestured at Freya. With a shriek, she was hit, body smashing into the floor, meteors slamming into her over and over again.

“Freya!” shouted Tyr.

“No!” screamed Thor, rushing forward to assist the Goddess. A stray meteor slammed into him, knocking him across the floor.

“Urgh…” moaned Freya, face down on the floor. She pushed down with her hands, struggling to her knees, a shadow falling over her form. She glanced up with a gasp, seeing Lezard before her. He lifted his foot, placing it against her shoulder, kicking her onto her back. Freya glared up at him, rage in her pretty green eyes.

“Defiant to the last, eh?” demanded Lezard, placing Gungnir’s tip against the rip in her dress.

“Go to Hel!” Freya snarled, a gob of spit lobbing from her lips at Lezard’s pants.

“I think not…” He grinned, kneeling down. Tyr, his sword in hand, started to move towards the two Gods, but the remaining stone creature landed in front of him, issuing out a warning.

“Proud Vanir Maiden…” Lezard said, fingers touching her cheek, a tender caress that did not match the malice in his eyes. “Your end is at hand…”

“At least I will have died with honor!” Freya retorted jerking her head away from his stroking fingers.

“Oh no…you won’t die…death is too…easy an end for you…” Lezard smiled, leaning down over her. “I have something special in mind.”

“What are you…” She started to say, and then his mouth was on hers. She gasped at his audacity, lifting up her hands to push him away. Lezard caught at Freya’s wrists, holding them prisoner as he kissed her. She struggled and screamed, eyes growing wide as she felt something draining out of her. NO! She thought desperately, fingers curling into claws, bits of ether forming on the tips. The gold power sparked and fluttered, growing dim as Lezard continued to suck the power out of her body.

Freya’s aura flared to life, and the Gods could see it changing, losing it’s iridescence sheen. The gold and purple fled from it, turning an ordinary blue. When at last all of the gold and purple was gone, Lezard pulled away from her with a breathy sigh, eyes looking sated. “Hmm..” He licked his lips. “That was delicious…”

“What have you done to me?!” demanded Freya, weakly attempting to shove Lezard away from her. She felt as weak as a kitten, and try as she might she could not form even the tiniest ball of ether.

“Turned you into what you hate the most…” Lezard smirked. “You’re mortal now Freya…”

“No…” She whispered, scrambling to her feet. “NO!!” She shrieked, pounding her fists against his chest. Lezard’s expression was sheer boredom, and he pushed her away from him. With a cry she was back on the floor, green eyes narrowed and looking close to tears.

Thor and Tyr stared aghast at what had transpired. “Can he do that?!” demanded the War God.

“He just did…” breathed out Thor in sheer amazement.

“I’m not sticking around for the same thing to happen to me!” announced Tyr, and he spun on his heels, intending to flee the room. He ignored Thor’s shout, not bothering to stop as he ran across the floor. Closer and closer the throne room’s doors loomed, and for one brief instant hope flared in his heart. I’m going to make it! He thought jubilantly.

Lezard had turned, no longer interested in the weakling Freya had become. His eyes narrowed as he spied the escaping Tyr, and with a gesture the doors were slamming shut, a magical seal forming over the center. “Ah ah ah.” Lezard smirked. “No one is going anywhere.”

—————————————————————————————————————————————

It had rained during the night, flooding the forest’s grounds with hundreds of puddles, coating both people and the trees with dew. Alicia carefully stepped over a puddle, keenly aware that some of those clear piles of trapped water were deeper than they looked. Rufus walked ahead of her, drenched from head to toe, the half elf having fallen victim to one of those deceptive puddles.

His boots squelched with every step, Rufus muttering under his breath as he lifted up a tree branch, holding it up for Alicia to pass harmlessly under. She smiled her thanks at him, brushing by his wet front with her body. He let go, the branch snapping forward to slap Arngrim in the face, the beserker letting out a snarl but otherwise staying quiet.

A night out in the storms had put everyone in a bad mood, even their Elven honor guard was wet and miserable. There was three women in all, of varying degrees of beauty, with green hair that ranged from mint to forest green. Two of them carried bows, easily dispatching enemies from afar, while the third carried a spear for hand to hand combat. All had proven themselves in battle, fine warriors that were determined to see their charges reach their boat unharmed.

“Listen…” hissed Rufus, coming to a stop. Alicia paused behind him, going on tip toe, attempting to peer over his shoulder. “Something’s coming…”

“More monsters?” Arngrim said with a groan, even as the two archers began cocking their bow strings.

“Don’t know…but whatever it is, it’s not bothering to be quiet!” Rufus said, hands catching at Alicia’s waist. He drew her into his protective embrace, moving her towards the bushes. One by one, the party of six made itself scarce, hiding behind trees, or ducking down in the shrubbery. They held their breaths, watching and within a few moments were rewarded for their patience.

Three Aesir strode forth, burly sized males carrying thick swords in their hands. They chattered amicably to each other, in high spirits, passing by the hiding spot of Alicia and Rufus. He caught the sight of mint green curls, Orla peering around her tree, arrow tracking the movements of the Gods. Rufus silently shook his head no, and she frowned, displeased but lowered her weapon.

The Gods moved on, unaware of how close they had come to one of their own being injured. It wasn’t until a few minutes had passed, that the party of six dared to emerge from their hiding places. “That was too close.” Rufus murmured, still peering in the direction the Gods had traveled towards.

“We shouldn’t be encountering patrols this far away from Bifrost.” Orla said, with a grimace. “They are getting bolder…”

“Or desperate.” suggested Armgrim. “They may be planning to take your forest from you should Asgard completely fall.”

“Then they will be in for the fight of their lives.” Orla vowed, a grim smile on her face. “We Elves will not give up our home so easily.”

“I wish we could stay and help you…” Alicia said sadly. “It’s not right…”

“No it is not.” agreed Lusitania. “But to stay means risking the Dragon Orb falling into their hands. If that happens, not only would the forest be lost, but so would the rest of Midgard. You must go, guardian…”

“I understand.” Alicia nodded, and began walking forward. Rufus hurried after her, the other four walking far more cautiously behind the couple. They were forced to hack and slash their way towards the shore, fighting off monster after monster. After several hours they reached the beach, only to be greeted with an unpleasant sight. Aesir were camped on the shore, some drinking and laughing, others exploring the boat anchored to the tree. Their emergency supplies were spread out on the beach, tossed aside as unimportant.

“What do we now?” Alicia asked, peering through the bushes at the Gods.

“We fight…” Arngrim said grimly, hand moving to draw his sword.

“No…” Orla said, her hand on Arngrim’s. “Stay your hand warrior…let us take care of them.”

“But you’re outnumbered, three to one!” protested Alicia. “You’ll surely die!”

“If it is our time to go, then we go gladly!” Orla said, the other two elves nodding their heads in agreement.

“No!” protested Rufus, his voice coming out almost too loud. “No…” He whispered at a much lower tone. “I won’t have anyone else die for me…” He shook his head. “It’s not right, I won’t allow it.”

“You have no choice, we must do this…To protect the guardian and the Dragon Orb.” Lusitania said.

Still Rufus shook his head no, frowning. “We will fight…live or die together.”

“Fool!” hissed Orla. “You would endanger the whole world to save a few lives…It doesn’t balance out!”

“Maybe it doesn’t make a lot of sense to you…but that’s what the good guys do…We try to find a way to save everyone.” Rufus retorted.

“Never thought of myself as a good guy…” Arngrim muttered, exchanging a side long glance with Orla. At her nod, he was stepping forward, placing his hands on the half elf’s shoulders. Startled, Rufus looked up at the beserker, just in time to get a fist to the jaw.

“Rufus!” exclaimed Alicia, her cry alerting the Aesir on the beach to their presence.

“Relax…” grunted Arngrim, catching the slumping man in his arms. “I only knocked him out.” He heaved, tossing Rufus over his shoulder. “It’s up to you now.” He said, shaking Orla’s hand.

She smiled and nodded, letting out a war cry. Whooping and yelling, the three elves ran onto the beach, firing their arrows at the Aesir. Lusitania brought up her spear, stabbing it into the chest of a blue haired God. The man let out an outraged screamed, throwing down his drink, his hand moving to draw his sword. With a smirk, she pulled her spear free of his chest cavity, twirling it around to smash into his face.

Orla and the third elf fired arrow after arrow at the Gods, shouting out threats. Lusitania kicked out her leg, slamming her foot into the crotch of the blue haired God, and then whooping she ran into the forest. The other two females followed her, rushing into the bushes.

Growling, the injured God gestured for his men to follow him, and with a roar of battle lust, the small patrol group ran off into the woods, intent on catching the elves. “May your feet be swift…” Alicia murmured a prayer, unsure of who to pray to for the elves’ continued survival.

“Let’s get a move on princess!” Arngrim shouted, running forward, easily carrying Rufus. The half elf let out a moan, raising a hand to his jaw, rubbing at the soreness he felt. Alicia hurried after them, shooting one last worried glance in the woods, hearing the sound of Elven hawks screaming. The birds were upset over something, and she feared she knew what it was.

Running towards the boat, she saw Arngrim dump Rufus into the back. “Get some of the supplies.” ordered Arngrim, knowing it was a long trip before they would reach the main land. “Only what you can carry.”

“Right…” She nodded, scooping up scattered boxes of food. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Arngrim grabbing canteens and wineskins, making sure they would have drinkable water. She ran to the boat, dumping her cargo inside.

“Get in!” order Arngrim, throwing his load in the front of the boat.

“But…” She protested, looking at all the food still scattered across the sand.

‘”Now!” bellowed Arngrim, and he was drawing his heavy blade. With a mighty cry, he brought it down, snapping the boat’s anchoring rope in half. Alicia hastily scrambled inside, landing next to Rufus who was just starting to awaken.

“Oooooh…my jaw…” The half elf complained as the boat started to move.

Alicia touched his face, hands glowing. “Heal!” She shouted, intent on taking away his pain. Angrim was running forward, and grabbed the edge of the boat, swinging his heavy frame up over the ledge. The boat rocked as he landed on his feet, the warrior easily keeping his balance, rushing for the steering wheel. He gripped it tightly, fighting for control of the boat, trying to avoid crashing the front against the rocks that bordered the water. The wheel spun, the muscles in Arngrim’s arms straining as he attempted to slow it’s mad movements.

“What…?!” Rufus was becoming more coherent, eyes widening as he realized where he was. “No!!” He tried to stand up, stumbling to the edge of the boat.

“Rufus!” Alicia cried out, hands going around his waist, trying to stop him from climbing over the edge. “Don’t leave me!”

“Where is Orla and the others?!” He demanded. “What happened?!”

“They led the Aesir away…” She whispered against his back. “Don’t let their sacrifice be for nothing…”

“Damn it!” Rufus slammed his fist against the wooden ledge of the boat, slumping to his knees. “Not again…” He jerked his head up to glare at Arngrim. “You shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t have stopped me!”

“You weren’t listening to reason.” Arngrim shouted over his shoulder, breathing a bit easier now that they were away from the shore. “Something had to be done.”

“Who are you to decide that?!” Rufus shouted.

“Hey you can throw away your life at any time.” retorted the warrior. “But leave Alicia and me out of it.” His hands moved, turning the wheel counter clockwise, the little boat groaning as it began to turn in the sea.

Rufus sighed, and slumped downwards, Alicia still holding onto him. He heard her let out a sniffle, and realized the princess was crying. “Hey…it’s okay…” He said, turning in her embrace to awkwardly hug her to him. “I’m not mad at you…”

“They risked their lives for us Rufus…” She sobbed. “We can’t ever forget their sacrifice.”

“We won’t.” He assured her, hand rubbing the back of her head. “We won’t.” He repeated softly, staring at the swirling water of the open sea.

——————————————————————————————————-

To Be Continued…

I was originally gonna kill Freya, than during the meteor swarm scene I got hit with last minute inspiration. What better “punishment” for her, than to make her a mortal! ;-p

—-Michelle