I Bring the Fire Part V: Warriors

by C. Gockel

  … and Gabbar is lifted from Bohdi’s body so fast air rushes into Bohdi’s lungs. Bohdi hears the sound of shattering wood, crumbling rock, and watches as two enormous green hands lift Gabbar like a rag doll. A bellow cuts through the air with such force that Bohdi can feel the reverberations in the mud beneath him.

  “Gabbar!” Bohdi screams.

  From where he hangs helplessly in the grip of a troll, the Einherjar’s dark eyes meet Bohdi’s. Gabbar’s mouth opens. The troll grunts, and with a fast, efficient movement, wrings the Einherjar’s neck and tosses him carelessly to the side.

  “Bohdi!” Amy screams from behind him. Bohdi scampers backwards on his hands into a hedge and finds himself beside his companions, cowering beneath the meager protection of leaves. A swarm of Einherjar flow over the troll—and for a minute Bohdi thinks it’s going to be over before it began. But then the first troll is knocked to the side, not by Odin’s warriors, but by another troll. The second troll rips Einherjar from the first troll’s back and begins smashing them into the ground and tossing them aside. Bohdi pulls his legs back just fast enough to avoid having two broken bodies land on his legs. The motion catches the second troll’s attention. He looks down at Bohdi and smiles … but then from behind the troll a hair-raising roar rises, and the second troll is knocked to the side by a third. Einherjar just keep coming … and so do trolls. Bohdi hears shouts in Asgardian growing more and more frantic.

  Sigyn says, “Nari, if you can make Dr. Lewis invisible, I think I can do the same for Beatrice.”

  “What about Bohdi?” Amy says.

  Above the bushes just barely concealing them, more troll growls rise.

  Valli leans over one of the shattered Einherjar at Bohdi’s feet. “I’m not so good at that sort of magic … but we can steal their armor …”

  “Helmets and chest plates are all we have time for!” says Sigyn, kneeling in the dirt beside a downed man and deftly working buckles that Bohdi hadn’t even seen. She tosses a helmet to Bohdi. He puts it on, just in time to catch the chest plate she throws at him, but he fumbles with its latches. An Einherjar goes flying over the bush and Bohdi ducks, the unfastened piece slipping from his chest. “I’ve got it for you!” he hears Amy whisper, and he feels soft fingers at his shoulder and back, and the sensation of a belt tightening just beneath his shoulder blades.

  He turns to Amy. Fenrir’s carrier is slung over her shoulder. Sunlight is silhouetting her from behind. He sees her give him a small smile. Or maybe its his eyes playing tricks on him. And then Nari puts a hand on her shoulder and she and Nari vanish.

  “Valli, clear us a path!” shouts Sigyn.

  Springing from the hedge, Valli sweeps his sword in a long arc through empty air. Bohdi hears the scream of a gale, and sees the shimmering shapes of Einherjar topple beyond the bushes. Troll howls rise behind him, and the ground shakes as they lumber into the swirling swarm of Einherjar.

  “Run, the way we came!” screams Sigyn close by, but Bohdi can’t see her.

  Bohdi scampers to his feet and barrels through the bushes, following a path cut before him by invisible forms. He hears Fenrir growling, but can’t see Amy.

  Clearing the hedge he sees the nearly invisible shapes of Einherjar clambering to their feet unsteadily, their order broken and uneven as trolls sweep through the ranks.

  Even though their legs and hands are visible, in the chaos Bohdi and Valli slip around clusters of warriors and trolls and through the trees. Shadows of Valkyries hover above, but they’re mostly shielded by branches. Behind him he hears more trolls bellowing, and another Einherjar body hurtles through the air and lands at his feet.

  He briefly sees Sigyn and Beatrice flicker into view a few steps ahead of him, close to the main path, but not on it, and then they wink away, just as some Einherjar turn their heads toward the women. Seeing nothing, the warrior’s eyes go to his and Valli’s uncovered legs. Before Bohdi can worry, the Einherjar are hit by a blast of wind and bowled over.

  “Run!” he hears Sigyn pant.

  Bohdi’s feet pound and squish on slightly muddy sod. He avoids the main path, filled with the nearly invisible warriors. Instead he twists through trees and the few men that have spilled from the trail, sometimes catching sight of Valli’s legs just in front of him.

  They reach the open incline that leads to the pedestrian walkway beneath Lake Shore Drive. There are no trees giving cover on the incline—shadows of the Valkyries overhead slip across it. Bohdi’s jaw drops in dismay. Worse, seemingly emerging from thin air just within the tunnel, are Einherjar. They pour from beneath the bridge onto the main pathway and up the stairs.

  He hears Nari pant. “There was … no … gate … there before.”

  Bohdi looks southward where Ohio Street winds around the peninsula’s single skyscraper. His eyes go wide. Two trolls are blocking the street. One is swinging a motorcycle, bowling over members of Odin’s cavalry. He looks back at the endless flood of Einherjar. If they remain invisible, it might be the better to face the trolls.

  Sigyn pants. “Can’t … remain … invisible … much longer.”

  “Down the slope,” Beatrice hisses, somewhere very close, and Bohdi obeys without questioning. A few of the Einherjar must see his legs now that he’s in the open, because a few stop, turn, and shout. He hears shrieks from above him, and the shadows of the Valkyries grow larger.

  “I’ve got this!” Beatrice says. “Cover me, Valli!”

  Beatrice flickers into view. The shimmering wave of warriors draws to a halt mid-stride and turns toward her as one. Ignoring them, Beatrice barrels down the slope, umbrella swinging from her wrist, DM34 upraised. Drawing to a halt, she fires into the tunnel.

  The single round flies through the air and explodes into flame, fanning out fifteen meters wide and spilling into the tunnel. Bohdi raises a hand against the heat. From the tunnel comes a chorus of screams.

  “Valli, handle the rest!” Sigyn shouts, flickering into view a few meters down the slope from Bohdi and Valli. Nari and Amy also come into view.

  Valli swings his blade. Bohdi can hear the gale force winds that rise from it, even if he can’t feel it.

  “Run!” Sigyn shouts, charging forward. Bohdi follows, glancing backwards just once as he does. Behind them men topple in the wind, Valkyries go hurtling backwards through the air, and farther away Bohdi catches sight of a few horses, their armor blown aside. Turning, he dashes into the tunnel, the heat from the DM34 radiating from the walls. Einherjar warriors moan on the ground, their armor no longer mirrors, but glowing red from the heat. He hears Amy gasp with dismay, looks and sees her turning toward one of the downed men, Nari leaning on her shoulder.

  “Run!” Nari pants.

  Nari and Sigyn both look like they’re at the last leg of a marathon, their steps faltering and uncertain. Beatrice throws Sigyn’s arm over her shoulder. And maybe that’s who Bohdi should help, but he runs to Nari’s side, worried that Nari will slow Amy down. He throws Nari’s other arm over his shoulders, and with Amy half carries the man to the end of the tunnel, Valli cursing a few steps behind.

  Bohdi hears the sound of many footsteps and shouts and looks back and sees more Einherjar emerge from the World Gate that Odin must have created in the tunnel. Raising his sword, Valli gives a shout, and the scream of wind blocks out the sound of anything else. The soldiers topple just before Bohdi stumbles out of the other side of the tunnel and into the bright light of the sun.

  He cranes his neck around. The street is mostly clear except for a single police car facing the tunnel. One of the officers is looking back through the tunnel, eyes wide, gun out.

  Tipping her head toward Nari, Amy whips out her badge and shouts. “FBI, we need to get these people out of here!”

  “Are those swords?” says one of the officers.

  “These people are with us,” says Beatrice, inclining her head to Loki’s family. “The men in the tunnel belong to the people who shot Steve Rogers!”

  “Hop in!”
shouts the other officer.

  A shriek rises from the sky. Bohdi looks overhead and sees Valkyries in the air above Lakeshore Drive. In the tunnel he sees Einherjar running in their direction.

  “Into the car, Bohdi!” Amy shouts.

  Bohdi snaps around and sees Nari stumbling into the backseat, Amy, and then Sigyn, following. Beatrice jumps into the front seat just before the officers hop in.

  Bohdi hops into the car, sliding into the backseat next to Sigyn. On the far side Amy is sitting on Nari’s lap. Bohdi blinks and a moment later Valli is standing beside him, just outside the car.

  “Get in!” shouts one of the officers.

  Standing behind the open back door, Valli growls and swings the sword. The air is filled with the sound of wind whipping from the tunnel. Some of the Valkyries are blown backwards, and the Einherjar in the tunnel throw up their arms, and drop to their knees. An instant later they are up again and running toward the car.

  “Get in! Get in!” shriek Nari and Sigyn.

  A blast of plasma fire hits the car door. With a snarl Valli slides onto Bohdi’s lap, curling into near fetal position to fit, his weight crushing Bohdi’s thighs and his AK-47 thunking Bohdi on the chin. The car lurches backwards. Bohdi grabs the car door; shuts it and then gives a hiss of pain from the heat.

  The car backs around a corner and screeches to a halt. Einherjar pour down the street in a glittering rush. The police officer in the passenger side fires a shotgun. It hits a warrior, and he slows down, but then keeps running toward them. The officer curses; the driver hits the accelerator just as a few warriors collide with the car. But the car screeches forward, outpacing them in seconds. The siren goes on, and the car speeds north up the street, Einherjar following on foot behind.

  “Where are we going?” shouts the driver. Behind and above come the sound of screaming Valkyries.

  “To Northwestern Memorial Hospital,” says Beatrice.

  “What? We’re leading them to a hospital?” says the guy in the passenger seat.

  “There’s a friendly army there,” shouts Sigyn. “With armor-piercing bullets!”

  Bohdi sneezes at her words, hitting his head against Valli’s back.

  “I bless you,” says Valli, and then he snickers.

  Bohdi delivers a weak punch to Valli’s side. “You’re not a god!” he says. Beside him he hears Sigyn mutter softly, “I hope they have armor-piercing bullets.”

  A blast of plasma hits the windshield. Bohdi hears the sound of impact on glass and feels heat behind him; thankfully, the glass doesn’t shatter. He blinks. It didn’t even shatter the glass? Plasma weapons are a lot less impressive than he expected.

  “Can you take off my rifle?” Valli shouts. Sigyn reaches toward Valli’s AK-47, and Bohdi’s eyes slide to the side. Nari looks a lot more comfortable with Amy on his lap than Bohdi is with Valli’s bony ass on his legs.

  “Trying to get mine,” says Nari, and Amy turns around and helps him. As Nari leans forward, his chin nearly rests on her breasts. Bohdi’s skin heats—and Sigyn bonks his nose with the butt end of the AK-47. “Sorry,” she says through gritted teeth. “Tight in here.”

  The driver up ahead mutters, “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” and takes a sharp left, up the street leading to Northwestern Memorial.

  Another blast of plasma hits them. The car swerves. Everyone ducks instinctively, and when Bohdi lifts his head he sees sparks flying from behind them.

  “They hit the bumper,” says the officer on the passenger’s side.

  “Only the bumper and they didn’t break the glass,” Sigyn says softly. “They’re not trying to kill us …” her eyes slide to the side. “Odin opened a gate for you, Doctor Lewis … he wants you very badly.”

  “They didn’t break the glass on purpose?” says Bohdi.

  Nari and Sigyn turn toward him, mouths agape. On his lap Valli snorts. “What sort of silly weapon can’t break glass? Of course, they didn’t break it on purpose.”

  Bohdi turns his eyes to Valli’s back. Okay, plasma spears … not the most pathetic weapon ever. He looks out the window and sees the hospital only a block away. Agents are pouring out, and civilians, too. In the confusion they’ll be able to slip away. Bohdi feels hope rising in his chest.

  “Stop the car!” Amy cries.

  “What?” says Beatrice.

  “We can’t take them any closer to the hospital!” Amy shouts.

  The driver hits the brakes so fast they skid to a stop, the car spinning ninety degrees. Bohdi hears the driver give a long sigh.

  Amy grabs the door handle. “They want me so badly,” she says. “I’m not going to hurt any more people!”

  Bohdi hears the sound of wings, footsteps, shouts, and distant hooves. They aren’t fired on.

  Amy pulls on the handle, and Bohdi’s heart drops.

  CHAPTER 9

  The door handle is locked. Amy shakes it frantically and looks for the unlock switch. She doesn’t see it anywhere. A dim part of her brain registers that of course the police officers would have locked it from the front—with good reason. And of course backseat doors of police cars wouldn’t have their own unlock switches. But those thoughts are drowning in a rising wave of cold panic. In her mind she sees Gabbar’s startled face as the troll lifted him from Bohdi’s body, and hears the swift crack of his neck.

  She can’t be the reason more people die.

  “No!” her grandmother shouts. “You won’t give yourself to them.”

  “Of course I won’t!” Amy says. “I’ll run!”

  Bohdi’s hand snakes so fast across the car Amy doesn’t even see it before it’s on her wrist.

  “You’re a slow runner, Amy!” he shouts. He’s yelling at her. She looks at him. His nostrils are wide. He’s leaning over Sigyn, Valli toppling awkwardly onto his mother’s lap in the small space.

  She tries to yank her wrist away, but his grip is too strong, and trapped on Nari’s lap she doesn’t have room to use her whole body. “Let. Me. Go!” She snaps, trying to pry his fingers away.

  “No!” say Bohdi and Beatrice at the same time.

  “Uh…” says the officer on the passenger side. “What are we doing?”

  Nari grabs Bohdi’s wrist, and Amy’s hand. “Dr. Lewis,” he says, “I think I have a solution.”

  Amy slides her eyes nervously to him. Looking at Valli and Nari make her distinctly uncomfortable. They look so much like Loki.

  “I’ll talk to them,” Nari says, “My magic will work.”

  Amy blinks at him. “I don’t see how the magic of democracy will help us,” she says.

  Nari’s mouth falls open. Sigyn draws back. Valli whispers, “How do you know that is Nari’s magic?”

  Amy looks resolutely down at her knees and does not answer. She knows because Loki thought of Nari as the so-called God of Democracy. In Loki’s memories, Nari talked a lot about democracy, freedom, and the good of all hominid kinds. Other Asgardians were mesmerized by Nari’s words on the subject. Not Loki. She feels a tightening in her stomach. Loki loved his son in a visceral way … but he thought Nari was a lot of intellectualization and little action; and he’d never thought much of his son’s magical ability to inspire.

  Outside the car a Valkyrie shouts, “Get out of the car, now!”

  She hears a raven rawking.

  And then another sound … something she associates with old Westerns … is it the release of a gun safety?

  Nari pulls Amy’s hand to his lips and kisses her knuckles, snapping her eyes back to him. “Democracy is all about compromise and diplomacy.” His eyes are very intent on hers. Loki’s eyes were gray, and a little eerie. Nari’s eyes are a deep, sky blue, his hair like sunlight, his jaw stronger … She looks away. Democracy has a certain charm to it, just like Nari. Is he really attractive to her, or is it just his magic?

  Voice a low seductive sigh, Nari says, “Diplomacy works best with threat of violence—and when both sides have a lot to lose. The conditions are perfect.
”

  “Go, Nari,” Sigyn says.

  Nari’s eyes go to the front seat. “Officers, would you be so kind as to open the door?”

  Amy hears the lock disengage. “Thank you,” he says, lifting the latch. “Dr. Lewis, as much as I’ve enjoyed the seating arrangements—”

  On the other side of the car Bohdi snorts.

  “—I need to get out,” Nari finishes, pushing the door open.

  Amy scampers out of the car. The way the vehicle skidded to a halt, the side she’s on is facing west, away from the advancing army. On the other side of the car are Einherjar and Valkyries, spears pointing in the car’s direction, molten points glowing. Other Valkyries circle in the sky. Why haven’t they surrounded the car? She looks toward the hospital and gasps. Standing in the middle of the road is Steve’s father, Henry, a shotgun in his hand. There are also agents and civilians … her jaw drops. Yes, some civilians, but intermixed with them are people a little more petite than average, a little too beautiful. Dark Elves.

  Nari steps out of the car and whispers, “Stay back.”

  Before Amy can slip back into the car, Sigyn pushes past her and says to Nari, “I’m standing with you.” On the other side of the car, the door opens and Valli gets out. “I’m always with you,” he says.

  “Amy,” says Bohdi, and before she knows what is happening, he is out on her side of the car. He meets her eyes, and then Nari says, “Mr. Patel, can you use this?”

  Amy’s eyes flick to Nari’s son. He’s holding a rifle she’s pretty sure is an M-16.

  “Yeah,” Bohdi says, taking it from his hands.

  Around them Amy hears a rise of murmurs from humans, elves, and Asgardians alike.

  In the car, Beatrice yells, “Let me out.”

  The police officers grumble, and a moment later, they’re out of the car, too. Beatrice slides out on the side by Amy, her umbrella on one arm, a small gun in her other hand.

  “Well?” shouts a Valkyrie, stepping forward, spear upraised.

  Raising his hands above his head, Nari steps around the car. “You’re making a mistake,” he says, his voice level and unhurried.