“We all think we can outrun fate.”
—Unknown
Two days out in the wilderness with the cold wind sweeping out of Jotunheim had never been a fantasy of mine, so we found ourselves a place to camp between a spattering of spruce trees. One had fallen over, leaning against another, and we set to work covering it with brush and branches to make a canopy. And just in time, too, since the rain arrived not long after.
There wasn’t a lot of room inside, not with a tiny fire to keep the heat. A hole was cut in the branches for the smoke, and we hung more branches for makeshift walls. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it was warmer and dryer than outside at the very least.
Night fell, and we laid down to sleep. Hreidulfr and Váli curled up on one side of the fire while Narvi and I took the other. I dozed in and out of dreams, and once, in the early hours, woke to small whispers and the not-so-subtle sound of kissing. Young, reckless love. I remembered what it felt like. Who was I to ruin whatever comfort they could find in the middle of this desperation?
The third day came and went. No Loki.
I woke on the fourth day with a knot in my stomach. I didn’t think he was dead; he wasn’t capable of dying that quietly. But it didn’t sit right with me. Looking across the fire, Váli was still asleep, Hreidulfr behind him. Narvi’s warmth radiated inside the sleeping roll, his back against mine. By all accounts, everything was peaceful…so why was there a war raging in my heart?
Loki had until noon. Then we would leave, with or without him.
I had people to protect.
The fire had died in the night, so I reached into the corner where we’d stacked small bits of wood. Trying not to wake anyone, I put them on top of the ashes, tucking twigs and brush in between. A rune for wildfire and the flame was burning lavender once more.
Narvi stirred as I pulled myself out of the sleeping roll and sat up, rustling through the bag of rations. I put the last of the meat near the fire to warm and broke off bits of the quickly staling bread. Cheese and nuts, a handful of the berries we’d found nearby. There wasn’t as much left as I’d have liked.
“I’ll go hunting.” Váli was rubbing his eyes, his leg stretching out the furs. “Today will be better than yesterday.”
“Have something to eat first.” I passed him a cut of meat, and he propped his head up on his hand, chewing sleepily. Hreidulfr’s arm tightened around Váli’s waist, a subtle snore rising up, and Váli smiled as he ate.
I kept my voice low. “He really loves you. You know that, right?”
Embarrassment wasn’t something Váli showed often, but his expression was wavering between that and the happiest I’d ever seen him. “I know.” And I thought he’d leave it at that, but a moment later, he pulled the furs down from his bare chest, pointing to a curl in the runes that were tattooed there. The runes came together in the shape of a wolf head. “A week before we left, I got them to add these.” And beneath his fingers was a scattering of runes that, when you knew it was there, read Hreidulfr.
A silly thing that only a young person would do, tattooing their partner’s name on them like their love would be as permanent as the ink. But I smiled. I’d once been foolishly in love too.
Soon, everyone was awake, the sound of barely conscious conversation permeating the little space. We pulled the outer layers of our clothing back on and stepped out into the day. The ground was still damp, but the sky was clear. Good for moving on.
That was when we heard the hoof beats.
I whipped around, trying to determine where it was coming from. Váli and Hreidulfr had already pulled their weapons from inside the shelter, a sword for Váli and an axe for Hreidulfr. Narvi was channelling energy, his fists locked at his sides.
The same phrase repeated in my head.
It could be Loki. It could be Loki. It could be Loki.
But there were too many hoofbeats. I summoned up wildfire, a flame roaring in each palm.
When the horses came over the crest of the hill, there were seven riders – six einherjar, and Skadi leading the charge. Beside her ran two wolves, frost-white and fangs bared.
There was nowhere to run. We were too easy to find, the only shelter, the only living things in sight. There would be no hiding.
I waited until they were in earshot. “Turn around and leave! We’ve done nothing!”
Skadi pulled her horse to a halt a dozen paces away and whistled. Her wolves circled back to her, still coiled up and ready to attack. She laughed. “Now why would I do that?”
“Loki isn’t here.” Váli stepped forward, head high. “We don’t know where he is.”
That laugh again, icy and unwavering. “Of course he isn’t here. We have him already. But Odin wants a full set.”
She whistled, and the wolves sprang into motion, closing the distance at incredible speed, their teeth bared with dozens of tiny daggers.
The air shimmered, a thin blue tinge surrounding us. One of the wolves collided with the barrier Narvi had summoned, bouncing to the ground. It shook its head and was up again, moving just in time to avoid the tip of Váli’s sword.
The second wolf rounded the barrier and leapt at me. I lobbed wildfire at it, but it was too fast. It pinned me to the ground and the air left my lungs. Its foul, meaty breath was only inches from my face, gnashing and snarling, my forearm against its neck the only thing keeping it from ripping me to shreds. It was too heavy to throw. I filled my other hand with wildfire and pressed my palm into its eye.
The wolf rolled off with a yelp and dragged its face against the dirt, whimpering. Hreidulfr struck it in the side with the axe, and it backed away, limping. But Odin’s einherjar had dismounted and they were on us, coming from every side.
I reached out for the closet one, runes on my breath. I touched my fingertips to her face, and her body jolted with electricity. She writhed to the ground, the scent of urine filling my nose. She tried to get up, and I kicked her in the teeth instead.
“You’re really going to kill me, Lofarr?” One of the einherjar had wrapped his arm around Váli’s neck, a blade against his skin. “I taught you to use that thing. This is how you repay me?”
The einherji hesitated, and I punched him in the face. Váli hissed as the knife drew blood. Then he sunk his sword into Lofarr’s stomach. “Fucking coward.”
Four to go. And Skadi, but she was still on her horse, watching. Hreidulfr was keeping them away from Narvi as the boy continued to whisper runes for shields and wards. But he’d learned to heal and protect, not to fight.
Pain tore into my leg as a wolf sunk its teeth into my ankle. I pulled the knife from my belt and drove it into its burned eye socket. It let go, howling.
Hooves charged toward me. Skadi dove from her saddle and tackled me to the ground. My head hit the dirt, and the world blurred, the weight of her muscle crushing the breath from me.
“No one hurts my wolves, Wife of Lies. Especially not you.” Skadi’s lips were pulled back around her teeth, snarling. I tried to fight back, looking for a way to push her off, but she was twice my size, and I didn’t stand a chance in a fair fight.
I managed to pull my dagger from my belt, swinging for her throat. In the time it took me to raise the blade, she drove her fist into my stomach. Nausea poured through me. I tried to stab her somewhere, anywhere. Then she had hold of my wrist. She twisted. Wrenching pain ran up to my shoulder, a scream ripping from me. The dagger dropped.
Somewhere nearby, the boys were fighting their own fight, steel and violence the only thing I could hear. I couldn’t see. Couldn’t see if they were alive or dead.
“Leave us. We aren’t him. Just let us go!” I willed the wildfire back into my palms and pressed it against her chest. Her skin was searing; I could smell it. She just grinned, the pain fuelling the wild look in her eyes.
“Not yet.” Her fist hit my jaw and the world went black.