by S. T. Bende
In the distance, a shadowy figure approached from the sky. As it drew closer, its ambiguous shape shifted to reveal a long neck and massive wingspan. A flame burst from its mouth, illuminating the figure of a lone rider atop its back. Blond braids streamed behind an enraged face as she lifted her sword and let out a battle cry.
Birna had returned.
And she looked ready to kill us all.
Chapter 17
“RIDE, SAGA,” AXEL ORDERED. “Odin only knows what she’ll do if she reaches the colony.”
My gut clenched. “Deathknell. Go.”
My dragon lowered her head and raced forward. Icy wind whipped at my face as we closed the distance between us and the former Valkyris rider. Axel’s grip on my waist tightened as he shifted his weight, and I figured he was reaching into the net for more weapons. My guess was confirmed when he tucked a fresh quiver of arrows in my belt and said simply, “You’re going to need these.”
No skit.
“Got anything stronger?” I was only half kidding.
“Listen, Saga.” Axel spoke low in my ear. “If it comes to blows, I want you to turn Deathknell around and fly like Helheim. She’s riding Killfire—the dragon I took to Clan Bjorn.”
Did none of these dragons have friendly names?
“Which means they did resurrect him—he was definitely dead,” Axel finished.
Oh, God.
“Since we don’t know what a reanimated dragon is capable of, we don’t want to take any chances. If it looks like she’s going in for the kill, get out and we’ll reassess.”
I angled my head back so Axel could hear me over the wind. “But if we get out, we expose the colony. We have to stop her before she kills everyone we love.”
“We can’t do that if we’re dead,” Axel pointed out. “Trust me, Saga. We’ll get her one way or another. But Erik would never forgive me if I lost you in the process.”
Aw.
“You’d miss me too, right?” I quipped.
“I guess,” he said.
“Good. Now back up—I need some room.”
Axel loosened his hold on my waist, and I pulled my bow off my shoulder, bringing it around so I could grip it in one hand. We’d nearly reached Birna, and I wanted to be ready for whatever came next. Though how one could be ready to face a homicidal Viking and a recently un-deceased dragon, I did not know.
“Ease up,” Axel said softly. “I’ll try talking her down, first.”
“Good luck,” I muttered. But I pulled Deathknell back, holding our position and allowing Birna to approach. While we waited, I nocked an arrow but angled my bow downward—an implied, rather than overt, threat. Here we go.
Killfire reared his head as Birna pulled hard on his reins, slowing his trajectory. He flapped angrily a few hundred feet in front of us, and blinked at his glowing red eyes, shimmering black scales, and the effervescent mist rising off his back. This dragon was definitely charged with dark magic.
Axel had better know what he was doing.
“Get out of my way,” Birna barked. Her voice was hoarser than I remembered. She had a raspy growl not unlike that of a lifelong smoker . . . or someone who’d spent too much time around a dark magic-fueled dragon.
“You don’t want to do this, Birna.” Axel spoke calmly. This wasn’t his first negotiation.
“Don’t want to do what? Destroy the tribe that killed my parents?”
“Your parents’ death was unfortunate,” Axel said slowly. “But they chose their path—nobody asked them to go into berserker territory.”
“Is that what your chieftess told you?” Birna laughed, a cold bark completely devoid of emotion. “Wake up, Axel. The Halvarssons have been lying to us for years.”
Crazy traitor Viking said what? “Excuse me?”
Birna glared at me. “After I left, I learned about my parents’ prophesy. They were to secure an alliance with an unlikely tribe, and expand Valkyris’ territory.”
“Let me guess.” I narrowed my eyes. “They decided the ‘unlikely tribe’ was the berserkers. And you somehow decided that was an order from the Halvarssons? You know Freia and Halvar can’t manipulate the prophesies.”
“No. But Freia could have forced the prophets to interpret them,” Birna spat. “Without any sort of direction, my parents had to figure it out on their own. If they’d had some kind of guidance, they would have known not to approach the berserkers—not on a trance night, not ever.”
“That isn’t how the prophesies work,” Axel said. “Freia and Halvar have never forced their hands with the seers. They place too much value on free will.”
“Well, their values cost my parents their lives.” Birna’s eyes blazed. “And they cost me my sister. When we received a similar prophesy, I chose to honor my parents’ sacrifice. Brigga, on the other hand . . .”
“She’s down there, you know,” I said. “Fighting for Valkyris. Fighting for you.”
Birna tossed her head back. “She made it clear she wants nothing to do with me.”
“She wants nothing to do with your interpretation of your prophesy,” I corrected. “But she’s worried about you. She asked me and Erik to find you, and bring you home.”
“Home to what? A tribe where I’d never be anything more than I was?” Birna pulled her shoulders back. “Valkyris never would have offered me command of an army. Or a seat on the council. I make the rules now. Why would I give that up?”
Birna’s knuckles whitened as she tightened her grip on her saddle. Killfire flapped twice, rising just enough to give Birna a twenty-foot height advantage. Her wild eyes and tightly clenched jaw made it clear that the time for negotiating was over.
Which meant it was time to bring in the enforcer.
God, I hope we can do this.
I leaned back so my elbow nudged Axel. His weight shifted, and I moved my leg forward as he reached inside the net.
“We’ll reinstate you as a rider. And I’ll personally talk to Freia about putting you on the council.” Axel slipped back into a neutral position, though I felt something cold and hard against my hip.
“She’ll never agree to that.” Birna’s icy laugh sliced through the sky. “And I don’t want to side with a tribe that’s about to be slaughtered. Within an hour, all that will be left of Valkyris is the smoking remains of a misguided civilization.”
“You’d do that to your home?” I called up. “To your sister?”
A flicker of hesitation crossed Birna’s face, her eyes shifting slightly out of focus before narrowing in a hate-filled glare. “I’ll do what I have to in order to survive.”
“Then you leave us no choice.” Axel leaned back and swung something dark over my head. By the time I registered what it was, the crossbow had already fired off two shots . . . and Birna was doubled over, clutching her ribs.
“You’ll pay for that,” she gritted. She kicked, and her dragon angled its head so it pointed right at us. “Ild!”
Skit.
“Hold on, Axel!” I flung myself against Deathknell’s back and dug my heel into her side. She lurched forward, spiraling toward the ground and narrowly avoiding the red fireball that sent a wave of heat along my back.
Axel swore loudly as Deathknell pulled up, coming out of her drop just a few dozen feet above the nearest tree line. I whipped my head around and echoed Axel’s curse. The blazing red eyes and smoking black scales of Birna’s dragon bore down on us with alarming speed. Unless Deathknell had some kind of turbo boost nobody had told me about, we were about to be toast.
Literally.
“Can you outfly them?” I shouted at Deathknell.
She lowered her head by way of response, and flapped her wings harder. We picked up speed until the wind came at me with such intensity that my eyes watered and my vision blurred.
“Axel,” I called over my shoulder. “I can’t see.”
“Just hold her steady,” he said evenly. “I have a clear shot from here.”
“Okay.” I dug my knees into
Deathknell’s ribs, applying even pressure to both sides. She held her course, soaring low above the treetops while I blinked the moisture from my eyes. “Tell me when.”
“Almost.” Axel shifted behind me. Despite the wind whooshing in my ears, I heard the distinct click of the loaded crossbow. “In three. Two. One.”
The light nudge at my back was followed by a furious shriek.
“Tell me that’s Birna crying, and not you!” I shouted.
“It’s her,” Axel confirmed. “I landed one in her shoulder.”
I gave up on blinking and leaned down to wipe my eyes with my forearm. Now that my vision was clear, I realized Deathknell was leading us toward a mountain range. Either she was trying to draw Birna away from Valkyris East, or she was trying to give us some kind of cover so we could outmaneuver the bat-skit crazy monster behind us and her dragon.
A red-hot wave of fire shot past us, and Deathknell took a sharp right. She dove down, maintaining a steady course above the tree line as Birna’s dragon fired another series of fireballs. The foliage ignited beneath us, sending bursts of heat from the treetops into the sky. I tapped Deathknell with my foot and høyre-ed her out of harm’s way.
“Axel, how many more shots do you think you’ll need to take her down?” I yelled over my shoulder.
“I don’t know!” Another nudge at my back was followed by Birna’s fierce cry. “She must have the pain threshold of a shieldmaiden.”
“Or she’s hopped up on dark mage juice,” I countered. “You’ve shot how many arrows into her?”
“Four,” Axel said grimly.
Another shriek was followed by a fresh wave of fire.
“Make that five,” Axel amended.
“She’s definitely on something.” I scanned the mountain range until I saw a fork in the tree line. “Keep shooting—I’m going to try to lose her.”
“Already on it.” Axel leaned to one side, likely pulling more arrows from the net. While he loaded the crossbow, I flew Deathknell to the edge of a maze of trees. I held her on course until we reached the first fork, then steered sharply to the right and dropped below the tree line. The corridor was barely wide enough for her wings to stretch out, but it provided the first bit of cover we’d had. Hopefully, it would confuse Birna long enough for us to circle behind her and, if we were lucky, for Axel to get in the perfect shot.
“She’s directly above us,” Axel warned. “Pull back or her dragon’s going to—”
Without warning, a wall of fire rained down on us. It crashed through the treetops, instantly igniting branches that fell on us in a flaming heap. Pain ripped through me as the fire ravaged my arm, burning through my cloak and leaving bubbling blisters atop my skin. I held tight to Deathknell with my knees. Pain exploded behind my eyeballs as I patted down the flames, the sensation slowly easing until I’d extinguished the fire. At the next fork, I steered Deathknell right before turning to check on my friend.
“Are you okay? Oh, God. Axel!”
“I’m fine.” He grimaced as he swatted at the flame engulfing his leg.
“You’re on fire!” I held on with my knees and turned as much as the saddle would allow. I tugged my cloak out from under my butt, and used it to smother the flames. Deathknell flew on, adjusting her speed based on the proximity of falling fiery branches. This was not going the way I’d hoped.
“We have to get behind her.” Desperation colored Axel’s voice as he patted the remnants of the fire from his thigh. “The forest looks lighter up ahead. If we hold back, we should be able to cut through the trees just as she passes by. If I can hit her between the shoulder blades, it’s game over.”
I nodded. “Then that’s our plan. You weapon up—I’ll get us where we need to be.”
I pulled Deathknell back as a fiery shadow passed overhead. Then we followed the trail of fiery logs until we reached the gap in the trees.
“I’m pulling up in three,” I called. “Two. One. Now!”
Deathknell rocketed upwards, bursting through the treetops and leveling off a hundred feet behind Birna. She didn’t have time to register our presence before Axel leaned to my left and fired a perfectly aimed arrow. It landed between Birna’s shoulder blades, jarring her chest so she doubled over. She lay limp across her dragon’s back, and my pulse quickened as I realized that we’d actually done it. We’d stopped the traitor leading the charge to destroy our world. Breath escaped my lips in a slow, shaky exhale. Thank God.
And then Birna reached around, ripped the arrow from her back, and wrenched her head until she met my horrified gaze with a cold, calculated look.
“You’re going to regret that,” she shrieked.
“How is she not dead?” I hissed.
“Like you said, it could be dark magic,” Axel called back. “Or she could be on that stuff the berserkers take before battle.”
“Don’t berserkers go completely and totally mad?”
“Pretty much.” Axel drew a sharp breath. “Skit. She’s turning around. Retreat, Saga!”
He didn’t have to tell me twice.
“Høyre! Hard!” I shouted. Deathknell swung around and headed west at top speed while Axel continued shooting at Birna. We dove back below the tree line, dodging fireballs and rerouting our course until the air above us was still. When we finally broke through the forest Birna was nowhere to be seen, though we remained well on our guard. We’d nearly reached the ocean when a bright light caught my attention. Valkyris East was completely engulfed in flames, our once-vibrant mainland colony now reduced to a crimson wasteland. Thick ash rained down on the settlement, cloaking what remained of its structures in a filmy haze. I could barely make out the silhouettes of Valkyris warriors, their swords raised against Clan Bjorn’s axes and sticks. To the left, the undead army drove Ingrid’s regiment back while the limp form of a fallen dragon lay at the edge of a cliff. Despite our best efforts, we’d found ourselves outnumbered, outmanned, and outmaneuvered.
Valkyris East had fallen.
“Axel,” I whispered.
“I see it.”
I reached back to grip his hand as we flew over complete and total destruction. Where did we go from here?
I’d barely formed the thought when a second light caught my attention—this one from the ocean. I squinted through the haze until I made out the source. A torch—no, several torches—were raised at the bow of a massive Viking ship. Red and white sails were topped with a smaller flag bearing the Valkyris crest, and it was filled with row upon row of warriors. As I stared, four more ships sailed through the haze, each filled with shield-wielding warriors. A lone rider atop a purple dragon accompanied the ships from behind, his presence easing the knot in my gut. He’d brought with him more than reinforcements; more than weapons, or troops, or another dragon to stave off certain death. He’d brought the impossible to the absolute bleakest of landscapes.
He had brought hope.
Chapter 18
BY THE TIME DEATHKNELL dropped Axel and I at the beach, Erik was already directing the first landing party ashore.
“Turn left at the big boulder and head inland,” Erik ordered. “One of our teams is battling an undead army. Find the squadron leader, Ingrid, and tell her Erik sent you.”
“Undead army?” One of the newcomers balked.
I jumped off Deathknell’s back and ran forward to greet the gaping man. I’d have recognized that braided beard and bulbous belly anywhere.
“Chief Ragfinn.” I clasped his hands. “Thank you for coming to help us.”
“When I agreed to come, I knew nothing of an undead army.” Ragfinn frowned.
“They’re a, er, recent development.” A recently resurrected development.
“How are we to defend ourselves against them?” Ragfinn asked.
“Ingrid will tell you. Go!” Erik pointed to the trees.
Ragfinn nodded. “Be safe, Saga.”
“And you as well.” I offered a smile as Ragfinn waved his troops forward. They jogged after him, takin
g a left at the boulder and heading inland.
“Next wave, step up!” Erik barked. While the second ship disembarked, he leaned over to squeeze my hand. “You’re doing all right?”
“I’m still standing,” I said lightly. “Where do you need us?”
“Us?” Erik looked over my shoulder. “Axel, where’s your dragon?”
“No longer with us, but in a secure location.” Axel swore loudly. “They took her down. And another, too—near the cliffs. If you can spare anyone, I suggest we hide that dragon, as well.”
“I’ll send a team.” Erik bowed his head. “I’m sorry to hear of the losses.”
“You and me both.” Axel reached my side, and scanned the waves of ships approaching the shore. “So? Where do you need us?”
“Everywhere.” Erik shook his head. “They’ve destroyed the colony.”
“We saw,” I said softly.
“But that was before we had backup.” Axel nodded at the ships. “We can still turn this around.”
“We have to,” Erik said grimly. “I’m not willing to live under Olaf and Lars.”
“Don’t think you’ll have to worry about that.” Axel crossed his arms. “I’m pretty sure they’re planning to kill you on sight.”
“Problem solved,” Erik quipped.
“Stop it. Both of you.” I drew my shoulders back. “Erik, you said you need us everywhere? Fine. We’ll be everywhere. Tell us where each of the teams are going, and we’ll make sure they get there safely—and provide airborne backup when they arrive. Ragfinn went to help Ingrid. Who’s coming next, and where are you sending them?”
Erik pointed to the nearest ship. “This is Chief Egil’s tribe—the ones who refused us initially.”
My lips parted in a smile. “What turned them around?”
“Bjorn sent raiders—made their decision easy.”
“Thank you, Clan Bjorn.” I raised a hand at the chief wading from the ship to the shore. “Where are you sending Egil’s men?”
“They’re going with the next two ships to the front lines. We need to slow Bjorn’s progress or they’re going to slaughter us all.”
