by Michael Todd
Kraggen’s mouth was hanging slightly open. He shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around the treachery he felt had just been brought to a head. “I will not. I have a right to be here like anyone else, and you will not make the decision for me. Not you, and not that whore claiming to be an angel. This is not your choice.”
Katie laughed. “I think you are wrong. Seeing as how this is my planet, rather than yours or even Juntto’s, I have the right to kick hate out of this world. And you, sir, are looking for nothing more than adoration and slaves. We are free here, mostly. We don’t need you to bring that perversion here. Trust us when we say we’ve seen the worst of a frost giant, and we are prepared to protect our lands.”
Juntto put up his hand and shook his head. “This is not going to go down like that. Is it, Kraggen? No, see, I’m going to help you on your way to becoming a more intelligent frost giant, who knows the best way forward is through a portal back to the snow. What do you say to that?”
Kraggen licked his big blue lips, looking around at the others with a laugh. “You, sir, are in no position to be barking orders at me or anyone else in this army. We will do as we please, and when we have had our fun with these humans, we will decide when to return home.”
Juntto chuckled, shaking his head. “You are incredibly stubborn.” He breathed deeply through his nose and unlatched the fur robe from his back. “I guess we will just have to settle this the old way. I, Juntto, warrior king, rightful heir to the throne, descendant of the Great Allam of Frost, challenge you, Kraggen, to a fight. Whoever wins will have the right to rule the Earth.”
The Damned moved into a semi-circle to the right and behind Juntto. The frost giants did the same behind Kraggen. All parties, once settled, dropped to one knee and waited for the fight to begin. Sitting in the center of the line of Damned, Sean rolled forward and put the brakes on his chair. He looked at Juntto and nodded his head, the blue giant nodding back. Eddie walked up on one side of Sean and Turner stood on the other in solidarity with him. With Juntto. With the freedom for all beings on Earth.
Juntto rolled his shoulders, facing Kraggen. “How would you like to conduct this fight?”
Kraggen sucked a whole lot of air into his lungs and blew out, the stench of liquor hitting almost everyone. “I think this should be brute force. Let us solve this age-old question: who is stronger, the warrior king or the king of all? So, no weapons. We should only need our strength anyway. That is what we are known for.”
Juntto nodded, reaching down and pulling off the three knives strapped to his legs. He dropped them near Sean and grew to his full size. “I agree. This should be me showing you what it means to be a warrior.”
The two giants nodded and turned to their lines, preparing themselves. Juntto walked over to Pandora and Katie, who looked at him reverently. “We will be above you at all times. If there is anything shady going on, we will know about it.”
Juntto reached out and put his hands on both of their shoulders. “It is vital, no matter what happens in there, that you allow me to fight on my own. No picking up the pieces.”
Pandora snorted. “You are saying that if he bests you, to let you die. Sorry, you big blue fuck, that is not how we roll here.”
Juntto squeezed her shoulder lightly. “I appreciate your friendship, but this is the way it must be done. You should expect the same from his side.”
Pandora looked at the ground and back up at him. “Be careful in there.”
Juntto shook his head, looking around at all of the kneeling Damned waiting for the battle to begin. “I will not. I live on Earth now. I am one of you now. I will not be careful. I will be fearless in my love for this planet and fearless in my compassion for its humans. Angie taught me a saying, and I think this applies here. ‘Fortune favors the bold.’”
Katie smiled. “Be careful with that. Many of those who have pushed forward under Fortune’s protection have died.”
Juntto cracked a smile. “That is not on my list today. Today I will be a hero. Kraggen, if he were to rule the Earth, would rule with an iron fist. It’s time for me to send him home.”
As Juntto walked into the battle ring, Katie and Pandora took flight, soaring high into the sky. They began to circle like vultures, watching the crowd from all angles. Neither Katie nor the rest of them trusted the frost giants or Kraggen for a moment. Korbin led several of the Damned outside the battle area to watch the frost giants for any signs of a coup. Brock did the same, and Sean stayed put on the front lines.
Kraggen stepped out, his armor and furs gone, cracking his big knuckles. He had an amused smirk on his face as he glanced at the angels above them. “Look, Juntto, they are waiting for your dead body so they can pick you clean.”
Juntto smirked. “I believe that they would much rather have a chance to go at you themselves, but for the same reason they would not pick me dry: they don’t like scraps.”
Kraggen’s lip twitched as he frowned. Both giants lunged, slamming into each other. Juntto pushed Kraggen back, his feet creating huge divots in the ground beneath him. Juntto shifted to the right, spinning on his foot and then dropping low, knocking Kraggen’s legs out from under him. The Damned began to chant quietly, repeating Juntto’s name over and over.
Kraggen leapt back to his feet and jumped forward, grabbing Juntto by the back of his neck. With a whip-like motion of his arm, he threw Juntto down and punched him hard in the chest. The air left Juntto’s lungs and he grunted, grabbing his chest. Kraggen laughed loudly and turned, putting his arms out to the Damned.
Juntto climbed to all fours and Kraggen turned, rearing back and kicking him as hard as he could in the head. Juntto’s body spun, and he landed on his back with blue blood covering his face. The frost giants all stayed quiet as Kraggen gloated, pumping his fists. “A true king is able to keep the riffraff down. You made a mistake, Juntto the Warrior: you should have never come back. I took that home from you, and now I will take this one as well.”
Juntto heard him but sat still, collecting his strength. Up above Pandora hissed, clenching her fists and preparing to go down to help him. Katie grabbed her arm, shaking her head. “He made us promise. Give him a chance. Do not believe for a moment that Juntto is done yet. He is smart, and even more so when it comes to his own kind. I know it’s hard to watch.”
Pandora screeched in frustration. “I want to fly down there, reach through Kraggen’s asshole, and pull his balls out the back.”
Katie wrinkled her nose. “All right. Yeah. But right now, let’s keep our hands out of his butthole at the request of our big blue warrior.”
Pandora flipped her legs down and hovered. “Man, if I ever tell you some bullshit like that and you see me getting my ass beat, you better fucking help a bitch out. If you don’t, we will not be friends anymore.”
Katie flipped forward like Pandora and put her arm over her shoulder. “I’d stick my arm in a butthole for you any day.”
They both chuckled, their faces going straight as they watched the battle rage on. They would never admit it, but a very small part of them feared Juntto wouldn’t survive the fight.
Angie pushed the vacuum, listening to her music with the television on just for the news headlines. She danced a little, swaying her hips to the soft beat in her ears. As she turned, her eyes caught the screen as Juntto’s bloody face flashed across it.
She stopped moving, flipping off the vacuum and taking off her headphones, then curled up in the large chair in the room and turned up the television as the live footage rolled. It was her Juntto, and someone she assumed was the king of Juntto’s dimension. He lay there on the screen with blood on his face and Angie covered her mouth, staring at him as the moments passed.
She leaned forward and gripped the chair’s arms. “Get up, baby. Get up.”
Suddenly Juntto’s eyes opened wide. He flipped to his feet and took off, lunging for Kraggen.
“YES!” Angie screamed, throwing her hands up.
23
; The two frost giants broke from the circle, wrestling and rolling across the ground. Their bodies bounced wildly, knocking huge chunks of dirt from the hills. The Damned and the giants turned to watch, staying far enough back to not get beat to hell themselves. At the edge of the valley was a forest with tall, thick trees.
Juntto slammed his foot into Kraggen’s chest and ran over, yanking a huge tree out of the ground. He lunged forward as Kraggen got up and pulled back, sling-shotting the trunk around and hitting Kraggen in the ribs. The blow threw him several hundred feet, and he smashed into a group of fat old trees. He growled, grabbing one of them as he pulled himself to his feet.
Before Juntto could get another shot in, Kraggen raised the tree over his head and slammed it down on Juntto’s, splitting it straight down the middle. They went back and forth, beating the fuck out of each other. Juntto kept swinging, even after Kraggen looked as if he were slowing.
He ripped a thinner tree from the ground and used it like a baseball bat, knocking Kraggen around like a rag doll. As the frost king wavered on his big blue feet, Juntto patted the ground with the end and wound around, bringing it down and under like he was driving a golf ball down the course. The tree trunk hit Kraggen under the chin and lifted him off his feet. He landed with a thud, not moving for a moment.
Juntto stumbled, blood dripping down his chin and bruises growing darker all over his arms and legs. They had beaten each other to a stand-still, both almost too tired and bruised to continue. He limped over to where Kraggen was, kicking him in the leg. Kraggen groaned and rolled over, heaving himself up. He teetered and thrust out his arm, catching himself on a tree.
Kraggen coughed and spat a mouthful of blood on the ground. One of his eyes was already swollen shut, and there was a huge bruise forming over his entire abdomen. He stepped forward to continue, but dropped to all fours, hacking. Blood and spittle dripped from his lips to the ground. It looked as if Kraggen was on his last legs.
Juntto knew he could end it right there, but he hoped beyond hope that Kraggen would fold and surrender. He was not a warrior, so he saw no shame in saving his own life. Juntto felt that as the king of his world, no matter how much he was hated, he deserved that respect. Finally, Kraggen got to his knees and wiped his mouth with his arm.
His eyes shifted to Juntto, and anger surged through them. He flipped his arm out and pointed at his army. “Fools! I order you to attack this frost giant! He threatens our freedom, and he has soiled your king!”
The frost giants looked at each other. Kraggen snorted and clenched his fists, shaking them at his warriors. “What are you waiting for, you good-for-nothing sacks of shit? Attack him!”
Juntto turned and looked at the frost giants. They all climbed to their feet but did not move. They watched Kraggen struggling on the ground for several moments, then their eyes turned to Juntto, a legend they had only heard tales of. A legend who in their minds represented their land much better than Kraggen did. Slowly one of them took a knee again.
“Why are you not attacking?” Kraggen screamed.
Juntto looked at him. “Because they are something you will never be.”
Kraggen spat again, a tooth landing on the ground this time. “Oh, yeah? Please, by all means, Juntto, enlighten your king about what that might be.”
“Honorable,” Juntto said as he bowed slightly to them.
Kraggen watched with a dropped jaw as every single one of the frost giants bowed their heads in return before slamming their arms across their chests, their fists striking their shoulders. They cried out in a simultaneous battle salute reserved for kings. Juntto was truly touched, and if it weren’t for his swollen tear ducts, he would have shed a couple in return for their kindness.
The giant soldiers dropped their arms, and one by one looked down at the ground. This was their way of giving Juntto permission to finish Kraggen. They were not permitted to watch their king die; it would be a shame to their honor, and when they died, they would find themselves in the grasp of their own version of Lucifer.
Juntto turned to Kraggen, who had fallen again, barely able to hold his head up. He reached down with a groan and picked up one of his daggers. He stared at the blade for several moments. Visions of his former life on his planet flashed before him, but the violence he had formerly practiced was not enough to ignite the flame of killing in his chest. He looked at Kraggen again, imagining the travesties he had subjected his people to, but as he stepped forward to finish him, Angie’s face floated through his mind.
The compassion in her eyes and the innocence of her soul sent shivers down his spine. He dropped the dagger to the ground point-down and marched over, grabbing Kraggen by the shoulder. The beaten and battered king opened his one good eye and blinked at him.
“Finish it,” he whispered. “You have been given that right.”
Juntto stared down at him and shook his head. “That would be an honor for you.”
Rearing back, he screamed as he slammed his fist into Kraggen’s face, knocking him out. Kraggen’s body fell to the ground, unmoving. Juntto shook his hand out, wincing. The Damned stood up and looked at him, confused. Juntto waved at them, nodding at Kraggen. “Put him in chains. Make them tight, and wipe the blood from his wounds. He belongs to the people of the frost planet. They will decide his fate. I have only set foot in my land once this millennium. It wouldn’t be right.”
The Damned nodded and hurried off in different directions to retrieve materials to chain him with, cloth, and his cloak. They went to work chaining him tightly at the ankles and wrists. A couple of the giants came to help, making sure the bonds were tight enough to hold him if he came back to a conscious state.
Juntto stumbled forward and took a knee in front of the giants. They all rose and began to surround him, humming in a deep, low tone. They circled him, each of them running their left hand across his shoulders and over his head.
Above them, Katie and Pandora watched uncertainly as Juntto rose and the giant army began to cheer. Katie shook her head, very confused. “What is this? What are they doing? He just beat the hell out of their leader.”
Pandora’s face was contemplative and slightly uncomfortable. “He is no longer their leader. They don’t allow losers to be leaders, unlike humans, who seem to flock to the most ridiculous people out there. It looks to me as if Juntto has an army now. A real one.”
Katie and Pandora slowly flew back to the ground and moved to the side, staying out of the way. Juntto had not acknowledged them or the Damned, with the exception of ordering the soldiers to chain Kraggen up. Instead, he stayed surrounded by his new army, a huge grin on his face.
This all made Katie a bit uneasy. Pandora, too. She watched as the giant army continued to congratulate him, bringing his cloak, cleaning his daggers, and tending to his wounds. They were honoring him, and his eyes sparkled as he pointed out the different things he wanted, being waited on hand and foot.
Pandora turned back to Katie and crossed her arms. Katie looked almost sad. “He has forgotten his life here. He is consumed by his giants.”
Pandora nodded. “And he’s starting to look like the old Juntto, the one who really likes to fuck shit up. The one who meticulously plans every move.”
Katie looked at Kraggen, who was still unconscious. “Like not killing Kraggen.”
Pandora nodded. “Like not killing Kraggen.”
Lucifer pursed his lips and waved his hand, getting rid of the screen. He sat silently for several moments, staring off into space. “I really thought this would be the end for Juntto. I really, really did. I also thought that by the end of it, Lilith would have been returned to the land of the dead.”
Baal felt the sense of being let down that Lucifer was emitting. He had been waiting for Lilith for far too long, and he wished there was a way to bring her back to him. But from the way it looked, not even an army of frost giants could fix that problem. Plus, she was still an angel and wouldn’t end up in hell if she died, but Baal was not about to remind hi
m of that.
Baal let him wallow in his grief for several minutes before speaking. “Would you like me to plan an attack after the frost giants are gone? They will be looking forward to getting back to their lives. It would be a surprise attack. We would catch them out of nowhere. I have observed in the past that when they are caught off guard, they tend to be a lot less effective in their fights.”
Baal went quiet, knowing he had said enough. Lucifer would reply when he chose to. He sat with his head in his hand, leaning his elbow on the arm of the chair. He waved his other hand. “No, I suppose not.”
To Baal’s surprise, he was actually relatively thoughtful about the subject. He leaned back, pressing his horned head against the headrest and glaring at the picture on the wall with the burned spot where Lilith had once stood. “In all honesty, I could not do that to her. I have always admired one thing about her; one thing that never wavered. I always madly respected just how batshit-crazy that broad could be. In my opinion, she flourished as Queen of the Damned. She was on point with everything.”
Baal smiled. “Well, she did bring frost giants to Earth. To me, that means she was either confident in their abilities or she was absolutely insane. Not judging either way, but it did cross my mind.”
Lucifer smiled. “It is most likely that she is insane. I won’t say she isn’t intelligent since she has bested me a couple of times, but crazy is the first word I would use to describe her. To be honest, I can’t stop laughing at the thought of her convincing the humans that having those big frozen bastards on Earth was a good idea. If she could do that, I am pretty sure she could do anything.”
They sat there for a couple of minutes, chuckling at the thought. Baal worked with Lucifer for quite a while during Lilith’s time in hell, and he knew that everything Lucifer was saying was the absolute truth. “My Lord, may I ask you a question?”
