Thor came over and gripped Alex's forearm. "Stay safe, if not for me, then for your mother. I promise you we will release her today and those elves will pay dearly for harming her."
Alex returned the grip and nodded.
Baldur clasped Sasha to his chest in a tight hug. "The power is there sweetheart. It will come when you need it, don't worry."
She bit her bottom lip and nodded against his chest. "Be careful of Loki Dad. He's not worth losing you to Hel again."
"I will, I'll just knock some sense into him," laughed Baldur, pushing her away gently.
"Come on Thor, let's have some fun," he said drawing his sword and wrapping his arm around Thor's shoulders.
Thor grinned at him, gave a half salute to Alex and they strode off down the hill, without a backward glance. Sasha sighed loudly. "Those two sure love a good fight."
"Ha, not as much as me," laughed Odin. "Come on, they're about to make contact. We can see better from over there." He pointed to a large rock which was overhanging the hill.
They stood on the rock and watched the two sides march slowly towards each other. The Light Elves had moved closer together and their shields interlocked creating an impenetrable wall of silver metal. Alex's stomach was churning. He wasn't sure if it was excitement, fear or a bit of both. He looked out over the plain and could see a naked man running forwards towards the Light Elf army. He was waving his sword above his head and was frothing at the mouth.
"Ah, there goes Harold," said Odin proudly.
"What's he doing? He looks like a nutter," asked Alex, shielding his eyes from the sun.
"He's in full berserker mode. Just watch and see what happens when he makes contact," said Odin, leaning on his spear.
Harold wasn't the only warrior from Valhalla who had broken ranks; there were at least twenty who had run forward to engage the enemy. Alex kept his eyes fixed on Harold. He was hopping and skipping in circles now, shouting out obscenities to the Light Elves and waving a long sword in one hand and a short dagger in the other. The Light Elves just ignored his taunts though and marched on steadily towards the warriors. Alex thought they looked like a machine, ready to trample over anything that came in their path. Harold and the other berserkers were going hysterical now; one took a running leap at the wall of shields, he grabbed the top edge of a shield and sprung off it to jump over the head of the Light Elf. He brought down the Light Elf in the second rank by stabbing down with his short sword. Blood sprayed up in an arc and both disappeared underneath the boots of the moving army. Seconds later the berserker jumped up and he carved down all of the Light Elves who were within range of his sword. It looked like he was making a crop circle. Within moments though he was overwhelmed and crashed to the earth with limbs flailing, wounding any who was near him. The warriors cheered the man's bravery and ran forward quickly closing the gap between the two sides.
The two sides met with an enormous crack and the Light Elves staggered back a few paces with the weight of the warriors on their shields. Alex could see the sun glinting off numerous weapons of all shapes and sizes as the warriors hacked and stabbed at the line of shields. More berserkers had jumped over the first line and were creating mayhem in the tightly packed ranks of the Light Elves. However sheer numbers soon overwhelmed them and the gaps they had created were soon filled from the Elves pressing forward from behind. The Light Elf army recovered quickly from the initial impact and they started to beat their way forward, pushing out with their shields as one to create space and then stabbing anything before them with their swords. Alex looked at Odin concerned. The warriors were being mown down systematically and their numbers were dwindling fast.
"Odin, do something quickly. The Elves are winning," he cried desperately.
Odin chuckled softly and placed his hand on Alex's shoulder.
"It's fine, just keep watching. Those first warriors were a sacrifice to create a barrier, look."
Alex turned to the field, Odin was right; the Elves had come to a standstill due to the number of slain warriors before them. The only way forward would be to climb over the bodies and that would mean that they would have to break rank and ruin their solid shield wall which would leave gaps.
"Ah, here comes Tyr, this should be fun," said Odin, slapping his hand on his thigh.
Alex saw a huge man with a black helmet with ram horns jutting out from the sides stride forward. He was wearing a black cloak made from the skin of a bear; Alex could see the bears head dangling down his back, complete with sharp teeth and glass eyes. Tyr carried a giant axe in one hand and a circular, heavy looking wooden shield in the other which had a black raven painted on it.
"Is he a god?" whispered Alex, in awe.
"The god of war," said Odin, proudly.
Tyr bellowed out a giant war cry and swept his axe out in front of him. The first three ranks of Light Elves crashed to the floor lifeless and he hadn't even made contact with them. He let out a belly shaking laugh and struck the axe into the ground in front of him. The earth shuddered and the next two ranks of Light Elves fell to the floor stone dead. He strode forward as the Elves tried to reorganise themselves into a tighter unit. Suddenly a horn blew a low haunting sound behind the Elves and they stopped moving forward and planted their shields into the earth. Alex could see a lot of movement towards the rear of the ranks and then realised what was happening; the Elves in the rear cohorts were transforming into giant eagles. They shed their armour as they sprouted wings and feathers and then they burst into the sky altogether. There were so many of them they blocked out the sun. Odin didn't look at all concerned, he just nodded approvingly.
"Perfect, now my boys can have a little shade. It must be getting a bit warm down there."
Alex raised his eyebrows but didn't look away, he was riveted to the spot at the sight before him. The eagles dove as one towards Tyr and when they neared him they stretched back their wings and stuck out their talons towards him. He roared at them and swept his axe towards the sky. The first line of eagles fell out of the sky and were dead before they hit the ground, however the second wave managed to dig their talons into the thick muscles on his arms before he had a chance to sweep the axe back into the sky again. One ripped the axe out of his hand and flew into the sky crying in victory. The others held on tight and beat their wings together. Despite his best efforts to shake them off they carried him up into the air and flew towards the mountains.
Odin stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Hmm, I didn't expect that, very clever...yes, very clever. Muninn tell the Valkyries to get stuck in. They can deal with those birds."
The raven, who had just returned launched itself off his shoulder and flew towards the back of the warriors who were gathering together again to make another running attack on the shield wall.
"Odin, let me at them. I can handle this and we won't need to lose anyone else," pleaded Alex.
"No, not yet, the time isn't right," said Odin thoughtfully.
Alex sighed in frustration, he could already feel the energy coursing through his veins and he was desperate to release it. Suddenly he heard blood curdling screams. The Valkyries had arrived. They flew through the air and their long black wings beat so fast that they created a fierce wind which made Alex stagger back a step. He planted his feet more firmly in the ground and shielded his eyes from the grit which was blowing around in the air. Through half closed eyes he saw the Valkyries rip into the eagles with their long swords. The eagles tried to duck and swoop out of their reach but the Valkyries were quicker and struck out slicing off anything which came within reach of their swords. Odin smiled to himself and nodded approvingly, however movement over to the back of the Light Elf army caught his eye and he frowned. The Light Elves were parting in the middle and the gaps were being filled by giants. Hundreds of them poured through the gap and they kicked the dead out of the way as though they were leaves.
"What's Thor up to?" asked Odin, annoyed.
The giants were creating havoc and were sweeping away the wa
rriors with their meaty fists. They were fearsome creatures, at least twelve feet tall, with long unkempt hair and long shaggy beards. They were snarling and spitting, their faces screwed up in anger as they killed anyone who came within their reach. Each one wore brown leather armour which was strapped to their hulking bodies with thick metal clasps. Some carried enormous swords which they swept around them, cutting down warriors as though they were scything corn. The warrior army was dwindling fast and the Valkyries couldn't help as they were still dealing with the eagles. Odin tutted and looked about for Thor. He finally saw him behind the giants, he was laying into the ones at the back with Mjolnir, crushing bones and sending severed limbs flying up into the air. He was totally overwhelmed though and received a good number of punches from the giants who turned to face him.
Suddenly Sasha screamed and held her hands to her mouth in horror. Baldur was flying through the air and he landed heavily on his back just below them on the hill. Alex could see him start to roll onto his side to heave himself to him feet when Loki came charging towards him and kicked him in the head with a meaty thwack. Baldur crashed onto his back again and Loki lifted the spear he was holding above his head ready to stab it into Baldur's chest.
"No," cried Odin. "It's the mistletoe spear, he'll kill him. Sasha..."
He turned to Sasha but she wasn't there, she was running down the hill, her long blonde hair flying behind her. She took a running leap to cover the last distance between herself and her father and cried, "stop!"
Loki looked at her and laughed. "Really little girl, you think you can stop me?"
She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them slowly, concentrating her gaze solely on Loki. She raised both hands and pointed them at him.
"Oh, no, I'm scared," Loki said in a high pitched voice sarcastically. "I..."
He didn't get a chance to finish, suddenly a stream of fire burst from both of her hands and struck Loki square in the chest. He went flying back and disappeared under the foot of an enormous giant. Sasha shook her hands which were still on fire and patted them on her trousers to put the flames out.
"That's my girl," laughed Baldur, standing behind her.
"Oh my god, are you ok?" she asked, throwing herself into his arms. "I thought he was going to kill you."
"Ha, no chance. I just needed to draw him over here so you could trigger your power," he said hugging her back tightly. "That was brilliant, really good for your first time, though you'll need to control it before you burn through all your clothes."
Sasha's jeans were smoking where she had tried to put out the flames. She looked at Baldur in shock.
"Are you for real? You did that on purpose? I thought I'd lost you," she shouted at him angrily.
Sparks of fire flickered in her eyes and he took a step back.
"Calm down princess, no harm done. Your eyes are amazing, there is actually fire coming out of them," he said, peering at her eyes closer.
"Hey Sasha, that looked amazing," cried Alex, bounding down the hill. "Oh wow, look at your hair."
"What do you mean?" she asked reaching for her ponytail in a panic.
There was a long thin streak of fiery red amongst her pale blonde locks.
"What the?" she asked horrified.
"It's cool, Matt will love it," laughed Alex, pulling her ponytail playfully.
"Right it's my turn to get stuck in. I can't let you girls have all the fun," he said cheekily, ducking out of the way as Baldur went to clip him around the ear.
"Let's finish this eh? I've got some catching up to do with my mum."
Alex strode forward bravely and summoned the pent up energy into his hands. He struck out at the nearest giant to him and the giant went flying through the air and landed on two other giants, taking them out of action.
"Oh look, the Ironman wannabe has finally shown up," sneered a voice to his left.
He looked around quickly, his hands raised defensively and saw a Light Elf coming towards him holding a drawn and bloody sword and a long rectangular silver shield. The Elf took his helmet off and Alex tensed when he saw the streak of lighting in his eye. Hadron.
"Yo birdman, didn't you get enough last time?" growled Alex. "Where's my mother, you big eared freak?"
Hadron curled his lip in disdain. "Oh she's having a wonderful time with my father. He rather likes tall blonde women."
Alex let go of a blast of energy from his hand but Hadron ducked to the side quickly and Alex missed.
"How about you fight like a man, sword to sword?" asked Hadron, pointing his blade at Alex's face.
"Fine," snarled Alex, angrily, reaching for the pommel of his sword.
"Alex, no," cut in Sasha, knocking his hand away from the sword. "You can't use the sword. The curse remember? One more death and the curse will be complete then Ragnarok will begin."
"What's this?" asked Hadron, suddenly curious.
"It's none of your business," growled Alex. "Tell me where my mother is or I'll blast you into tomorrow."
He held up his hands in warning and Hadron took a step backwards.
"What do you mean Ragnarok will begin if the curse ends?" asked Hadron, circling around Alex cautiously, eyeing up his sword.
"What part of, it isn't your business didn't you understand?" asked Alex, seething with anger.
Sparks of electricity were starting to form in his eyes and his skin felt itchy from the power coursing through his body. He was determined not to miss next time but he needed to find out where his mother was first.
"Now tell me where my mother is you punk."
Hadron lowered his sword. "Look, let's make a deal here. Give me a golden apple and I'll tell you where your mother is. I call off the army and we can all part as friends.
"How about you tell me where my mother is and I won't ruin your other eye," snapped Alex.
Hadron looked behind nervously and realised he was on his own. His guards were all in the midst of the battle fighting the warriors. He knew he wouldn't be able to defeat Alex on his own and so he raised his head to the sky and cried like an eagle. Immediately the eagles which had survived the Valkyries attack swooped down from the sky and headed straight towards Alex's head. Hadron laughed when he saw the look of alarm on Alex's face. He placed his helmet back onto his head and transformed into an eagle himself. The helmet changed shape as he did and fit snugly onto his elongated eagle face.
Alex rolled onto the ground as two eagles reached for him with outstretched talons. They flew back into the sky, screaming with frustration when they missed him. Another was aiming directing for Sasha, she raised her arm and a bolt of fire shot from her hand and hit the eagle on its wing. It dropped from the sky like a stone and hit the hard ground with a thud. Alex jumped to his feet and directed a blast of energy at another bird who was careering towards him. He hit it directly on its chest and it exploded backwards into a ball of feathers. However another had swept in behind Alex and grasped him firmly by the arms with his talons. As the eagle heaved him off the ground a Valkyrie darted in, wings stretched backwards to make her go faster. With one sweep of her sword she lopped the head off the eagle. Alex came crashing to the ground in a heap and the head of the eagle landed between his legs, splashing him with blood. He scrambled back on his arms and legs to get away from the hideous sight when he saw a shadow above him. Hadron was diving straight for him, head first; his silver helmet glinting in the sun. Alex threw both hands into the air and discharged a massive bolt directly at Hadron's head. The bolt connected with Hadron but reflected back off his helmet and shot back to the floor striking the sword by Alex's side. A flash of light burst up from the sword straight into the sky as Hadron came crashing down on top of Alex.
Alex groaned and rolled Hadron off him. He had transformed back into a Light Elf and was completely unconscious.
"Is he dead?" asked Sasha, helping Alex to his feet.
He felt shaky and staggered back a few steps as he straightened.
"No, just knocked out. Did yo
u see that? The energy bounced off his helmet. I could have killed myself."
"Alex, oh my god, look at the sword," cried Sasha, pointing to his hip.
He looked down and gasped. The scabbard was destroyed and the sword was split in two, right down the middle.
"It's destroyed, oh god, does that mean the curse has finished?" asked Alex, horror etched on his face.
Sasha had turned completely pale and she shook her head. "I don't know, it's still a sword I guess. It's not completely destroyed. You could still hurt someone with it."
"Sasha, look at it. It's split in half. The only thing keeping it together is the handle."
"Pommel," she corrected. "Dad, look."
She turned around but he had moved to the edge of the battle and was searching the ground. He bent down and heaved a crumpled body up into the air.
"There you are," he grinned, shaking the man.
Loki groaned and kicked his legs out at Baldur but missed.
"Now, now, do you want my daughter to take another shot?" laughed Baldur.
"Put me down," moaned Loki.
He looked terrible. His long black leather coat was full of ragged holes, which were smoking, and his black hair was sticking up in all directions. Blood was pouring out of his nose.
"Tell me where King Ingwe is holding Alex's mother and I'll let you go," promised Baldur.
"You'll let me go?" asked Loki suspiciously.
"Yes. I'll give you a head start on Thor. He'll enjoy chasing you down again. I think our father might have some other ideas about where to send you this time though. The Jotnar giants were obviously not his best idea," said Baldur.
"They're total fools. It was so easy to persuade them to join the Light Elves. I promised them a share of the golden apples. I mean as if! We can't have immortal giants running around."
"What would you have done if the Light Elves had won?" asked Baldur.
"Won? Are you kidding me? They could never have won. A bunch of big-eared pansies against the gods. Even with the giants they never stood a chance. I mean look at Thor go."
Helheim (The Nine Worlds Trilogy Book 2) Page 21
