Chaos God 8, page 22
part #8 of Chaos God Series
“Of course.” Johnny nodded. “Don’t die.”
“I don’t plan to,” I said, and I took a deep breath.
With the double power of mine and Freesia’s magical orbs, I could feel Lharm’s Jötunn tribe members moving further toward the city, and Surtr’s magical aura was completely out of the water now. In the far distance, I thought I could hear the first human screams of fear at the sight of the primordial giant, and my brain screamed at me to move.
“We’ve got to go,” I said to everyone in the room. “Prepare yourselves, and get your steeds!”
The Jötunn moved right into actions as did my warriors. The only ones who lingered nearby were my lovers, the two women who wouldn’t be fighting, Vidar and Nenna, and Milo. I gave Astrid and Sassa a reassuring look.
“Stay here with the others,” I told them.
“Yes, Allfather,” Astrid said obediently.
Sassa nodded and turned to embrace Ayen before he hurried off to ready himself for battle. While they said their pre-battle goodbyes, I took the time to take Milo into my arms, and I smiled proudly at Johnny.
“This is my son,” I told my old trainer.
I longed to identify Ari and Ker as well, but I had a feeling that might be too much for the guy’s brain to handle at the moment.
“Hey, little dude,” Johnny said with an amazed laugh. “Oh, he’s cute. Well done, Levi.”
“Thanks,” I said, and I gave Milo a kiss on his forehead before I passed him off to Sassa. “Keep him safe.”
“I will, Levi,” Sassa said.
The combination of my given name mixed with the serious look in Sassa’s brown eyes told me she would lay down her life for my son if it came to it, and I gave her a grateful nod. Then I turned to Sylmarie and Freesia, and I pulled them both into my arms.
“I love you both so much,” I murmured.
“Be safe,” Freesia insisted with fear in her bright green eyes.
“I will,” I promised her, and I looked into Sylmarie’s dark blue eyes. “Keep them safe, Syl.”
“You know I will,” Sylmarie replied, but none of the usual humor was present in her voice or eyes.
“If Surtr…” I started to say, but my throat felt tight. “If it comes to it, call Ari and Ker and get anyone you can out of here.”
“Yes, my love,” Sylmarie replied.
I wanted to ask her if she could see what the outcome of this battle would be, but I knew she wouldn’t tell me even if she did. It would affect my focus and my confidence, not to mention, knowing my fate could completely destroy any chances of getting there.
But I knew I had done everything I could possibly do to ensure our victory today, and now all that was left was to do it.
“Believe in yourself, my love,” Sylmarie murmured.
And that was all I really needed to hear from the sexy Völva.
Elora touched my arm in a loving way, and I turned to look at her, Shalanna, and Lyrie gathered around me.
Innay was saying a brief farewell to her sister, Nenna, who appeared to be quite put out about staying behind with the others. But I could tell by the stiff look on Vidar’s face that he’d put his foot down about this one, and I couldn’t blame him.
I left them to their farewells for a moment, but as soon as Innay returned to my side, I took a deep breath.
“Are you ready?” I asked my women.
“Yes,” Elora said.
Shalanna nodded and smiled, and Lyrie’s face grew hard with determination.
“We are,” Innay replied, and then she turned to Johnny with a sheepish smile. “I must apologize for the flowers. I can remove them when we are finished.”
“The flowers?” Johnny asked with confusion, and he looked at me. “What does she mean?”
“Don’t worry about it right now,” I chuckled. “We’ve got to go.”
All the Jötunn and my other warriors had left the training gym, and I could feel the impatience in the stallions’ hooves as they stomped on the ground outside.
“Lock the doors behind us, Johnny!” I shouted. “And don’t open them for anyone but me!”
“Yeah, sure, man!” Johnny replied.
I hurried outside with Elora, Shalanna, Lyrie, and Innay close on my heels, and we rushed over to join the others on the stallions. My ladies hurried to take their positions in our army, and I took a moment to zero in on the enemy Jötunn’s location.
They were close, and Surtr was going to reach the shore in a matter of minutes. The screams in the distance were now definitely not in my imagination, and I let the chill in them fuel my shift.
My leather wings stretched out from my shoulders as I thickened all the skin on my body, and I pushed my proportions out so I stood taller than the oldest Jötunn. I intended to expand my body much more once we reached Surtr so I would be as close as possible to his size, but for now, this would make it easier to maneuver without trashing any buildings or cars.
“What are your orders, Brother?” Vidar asked.
Every one of my soldiers turned to look at me, and I felt a surge of strength come from their loyalty and friendship. Even the new members from Hersir and Progt’s tribes added to the deep sense of leadership that glowed in my chest like a beacon of hope.
“Take out Lharm’s tribe however you have to,” I instructed. “Protect the humans. Try to keep the destruction to a minimum, but protect the lives of Midgard’s people at all other costs.”
“And Surtr, Allfather?” Finnern asked.
“Leave Surtr to me.” I scowled. “Move out!”
I started to walk down the streets toward the sounds of terrified screams, running feet, and shattering glass. I expected the Jötunn had probably been given free rein to destroy whatever they pleased.
Not three minutes later, we encountered several groups of humans running for their lives. They screamed in fear as they saw us approaching and darted down alleyways, behind cars, and against closed and locked front doors.
One woman shrieked at the top of her lungs as she tried to force a pair of double doors open on a small convenience store, but the door was locked, and she wasn’t getting in.
I sighed at the panic that was rising, and I hoped word would get out quickly that there was someone here to stop the massive lava monster that had risen up out of the harbor.
My hopes were brought to life a few minutes later when a helicopter from the local news station flew up and shone a spotlight down on my army. I could only imagine what the people of Boston must be thinking when they turned on their TVs and saw me and my odd collection of warriors marching through the streets.
And the people who knew me?
They would probably freak out as much as Johnny had. Surely they’d all expected I was dead, and now I was going to show up on their TVs and all over the internet standing forty feet tall with an army of blue-skinned giants, a bunch of people looking like they were about to hit the local Ren Faire, and two women who could pass for angels.
Even with the people of Boston running for their lives away from us, the streets were crowded, and it took us several minutes before we saw any of the rival Jötunn.
There were about thirty of them, and they were all the size of Yönn. Their warpaint was a similar brownish-gray color as Hersir and Progt’s tribes, and the main distinguishing factor about them was the design painted across their blue skin.
They moved slowly toward the center of the city and were smashing everything along the way. They’d set off several car alarms and left a trail of shattered glass behind them.
“Lharm,” Hersir growled with hatred in his voice.
I followed the Jötunn leader’s gaze to the tallest giant among the enemy tribe. Lharm stood near the back of the group, and he wore a smug grin on his blue face that told me he was just enjoying the destruction.
It made my blood boil, and my voice seethed as I gave the order.
“Stop them.” I scowled and pointed at Lharm’s tribe. “Whatever it takes!”
“To war!” Hersir hollered.
“Yaaaah!” the collective group of Jötunn shouted, and they raced forward to attack Lharm’s tribe.
My warriors from Castle Levi lingered around me for a few seconds as if they didn’t really want to leave my side, and I couldn’t blame them. The giants were several times taller than even our gentle giant, Cedoric.
“Work in groups!” I ordered my warriors. “Keep the battle here if you can!”
All of the people whose lives I’d saved or bettered in one form or another over the last year looked up at my massive form with loyalty on their faces.
“To war!” Emneth shouted, and she raised her bone staff into the air.
The dark elves in my army released a collective war cry as they started to move toward the enemy tribe of Jötunn.
“Come on,” Finnern shouted to get them moving. “Let us join in the fun!”
“Finnern!” Ayen yelled. “With me?”
“Rightly so.” Finnern grinned and nodded.
I was glad to see the competitive nature of their friendship hadn’t changed, and I knew they would push and protect one another in the battle. My warriors divided up into groups of four and five as they rushed forward to join the fray.
The two brothers’ Jötunn tribes had moved together as one, and they’d taken the enemy tribe’s attention away from destroying the city. The screams of the humans had only increased, and I worried their fear would put them in harm’s way. The Jötunn barely seemed to notice what got crushed under their feet as they fought like angry gorillas in the streets.
A bright flash from Emneth’s bone staff streaked through the night like a spotlight, and it illuminated the dark faces of the other warriors for a split second. The churning green-black and blue-black mist of my twin children appeared as well, and I shuddered to think what the enemy Jötunn would now face.
Ari and Ker were a force to be reckoned with, and I knew they would fight with an intensity that would make me proud.
The only ones who remained by my sides were Elora, Shalanna, Innay, and Lyrie. It was odd to look down on them so far below me due to the large size of my shift, and I wondered what I looked like to them.
“We will stay by your side,” Lyrie insisted with a stubborn look.
“You cannot face Surtr on your own,” Elora added.
“We can help,” Innay said.
“Actually,” Shalanna hesitated. “I believe the three of you will be more suited to helping Levi than I. Elora, you have your wings, Innay, the plants, and Lyrie has her magic. I will only be in danger of getting stepped on.”
“Shalanna’s right,” I said, and I crouched down to look into her silver-flecked blue eyes. “You’ll be more effective against the Jötunn.”
“Take care of him,” Shalanna said to my other lovers.
Elora, Lyrie, and Innay pulled Shalanna into a big group hug, and assured her they would do whatever they could to help me. Then my black-haired warrior blew a kiss up at me and hurried off to join the fight without a backward glance.
“What is your plan?” Elora asked once it was just the four of us.
Before I could answer, my mind started to ache like a migraine with the bright red aura of Surtr’s magical signature, and I knew he was coming close.
“Surtr’s coming,” I growled as I rose back to my full height.
“Yes,” Innay said, and her voice shook just a bit. “I can feel the plants tremble in fear of him.”
Just as she finished her sentence, Surtr’s massive form came into view over the tops of the nearby buildings.
He was just as fucking huge as he’d been in my dreams. The primordial giant towered over us at close to two thousand feet, and his skin looked like stone flowing through molten lava. Two massive horns stretched out from his temples, and he held a sword that was rusted and chipped just like I’d dreamed.
He looked exactly as my subconscious mind had imagined him, and I wondered if I’d just remembered his appearance from my time as Loki, or if I’d seen the future in those dreams.
I silently scolded myself because it really didn’t matter right now how I had known what he would look like, and I was wasting time.
“What are you going to do?” Lyrie shouted up at me.
“Give him somebody his own size to fuck with,” I said with a determined grimace.
“Squash him like a bug,” Elora said with a blood-thirsty smirk.
“Don’t get too close,” I cautioned my three lovers. “Watch out for his feet, and try not to draw his attention. Help to weaken him, but if you get in trouble…”
I stared sharply at my ladies to show them how serious I was about this next order.
“Get. Out. Of. There,” I snarled each word as its own sentence, and I drew my flesh-rending sword and rot-dagger from my belt.
My ladies nodded obediently at me, and I turned to push my shifting magic further than I ever had dreamed I would.
I let the power of the two magical orbs flow into me as I stretched my body more than three hundred times its normal size. It took an immense amount of focus and energy to keep my proportions in ratio, and I struggled to add thicker skin and denser muscles to my shift. My sword and dagger fused inside my skin, and I hardened and extended my fingernails into claws.
I gazed out over Boston like I’d never seen it before, and I was struck with a forceful wave of vertigo as I looked down at my feet two thousand feet below me.
“Holy shit,” I whispered, and my voice rattled the windows in the nearby buildings.
My new massive size wasn’t going to go unnoticed, of course, and another wave of screams echoed all around me as I tried to figure out how to maneuver through the streets. And the residents of Boston weren’t the only ones who’d noticed me.
“Loki!” Surtr’s voice was like a million tons of stone in a planet-sized rock grinder.
Sylmarie had told me Surtr had always feared Loki, but he didn’t look afraid now. He looked pleased, and I wondered at his motives for the thousandth time.
Why was he here? Why did he want to destroy the realms? What was his end goal in all of this?
I didn’t have the answers to any of it, and this was the only opportunity I was going to get. It was going to end now. Either I would destroy Surtr and save the realms, or he would defeat me and burn everything to ash.
“Why are you here, Surtr?” I demanded, and a car alarm sounded near my feet. “What do you want?”
“Destruction,” Surtr replied with an evil smile. “Chaos. Death.”
“You won’t find it today,” I growled.
“Pitiful god,” Surtr laughed in a derisive tone. “Nothing can stop the primordial fires!”
Surtr laughed as he stretched his enormous arms down to touch the nearby buildings, and they burst into flames in a matter of seconds.
My heart clenched with fear for whoever might be inside those buildings, but my ladies were already on top of it.
“We have it, Levi!” Elora shouted as she soared past.
I spotted Innay moving Lyrie and herself quickly toward the burning building on a series of vines she was controlling, and I knew my ladies would rescue any people trapped in the fires. Elora was right, I had to focus on Surtr and stop him before he racked up an unimaginable death toll.
A fierce war cry escaped my mouth as I dug my huge feet onto the asphalt, and I propelled myself through the air at Surtr.
The primordial giant caught me with both hands at my shoulders, and the searing heat of his lava-skin burned me. I could smell the stench of burning flesh, but my nerves must have been destroyed immediately because I couldn’t feel any pain.
I angled my right hand up and slashed my hardened claws vertically along the middle of Surtr’s chest. There was no way to know how my flesh-rending sword would affect the primordial giant’s stone-and-lava body until I tried, and I was astounded by the results.
“Yaaaah!” Surtr screamed, and I heard hundreds of windows shatter all around us.
The stone parts of Surtr’s body ripped off from his torso, and they flew off from the underlayer of lava.
Hope sparked in my chest.
Maybe this would be easier than I thought.
But then ice ran down my spine and through my veins as Surtr laughed like nothing had happened.
I watched with utter horror as the lava on the surface of the wound hardened and formed new stone-flesh to protect whatever lay deeper inside the primordial giant’s body.
“What the fuck?” I gasped.
“I am as ancient as the universe,” Surtr cackled, and he pointed his massive sword at me. “You cannot destroy me so easily!”
Chapter 16
My teeth ground together as I growled, and I knew this was going to be the most challenging fight of both my lives. I felt oddly naked with my sword and dagger embedded in my skin somewhere, but I knew I wasn’t unarmed.
I extended the claws on both of my hands a bit further, and I sucked the extra energy of the magic orbs into my body. With their added power, I rose thick armor-like scales all over my hands and forearms.
The primordial giant laughed as he swung his sword at me, and the sound was like a booming subwoofer cranked up to twelve.
I shuddered to think of all the poor dogs in the city. They must be cowering under whatever furniture they had.
But I caught the blade flat between my hands like some kind of kung-fu movie master. I gripped around the blade with my fingers tentatively at first, and then with more force as I felt the armored scales protecting my skin.
Surtr’s laughter died away as I tried to yank the sword from him, and we struggled for a moment in a sort of tug-o-war. His rocky fingers clamped around the blade’s hilt, and I knew I needed an extra little something to get the advantage. I bent my right knee, pulled my leg close to my chest, and I kicked him right in the diaphragm.
I could almost see the shockwave of air pressure from my kick to his chest as Surtr’s breath rushed out in a huge burst of air. He doubled over in surprise, and I gripped the sword, yanked it from his fingers, and hurled it like a spear into the water past the docks.
The primordial giant had mostly recovered from the surprise kick to the ribcage, and he straightened up with rage in his coal-red eyes.
“I don’t plan to,” I said, and I took a deep breath.
With the double power of mine and Freesia’s magical orbs, I could feel Lharm’s Jötunn tribe members moving further toward the city, and Surtr’s magical aura was completely out of the water now. In the far distance, I thought I could hear the first human screams of fear at the sight of the primordial giant, and my brain screamed at me to move.
“We’ve got to go,” I said to everyone in the room. “Prepare yourselves, and get your steeds!”
The Jötunn moved right into actions as did my warriors. The only ones who lingered nearby were my lovers, the two women who wouldn’t be fighting, Vidar and Nenna, and Milo. I gave Astrid and Sassa a reassuring look.
“Stay here with the others,” I told them.
“Yes, Allfather,” Astrid said obediently.
Sassa nodded and turned to embrace Ayen before he hurried off to ready himself for battle. While they said their pre-battle goodbyes, I took the time to take Milo into my arms, and I smiled proudly at Johnny.
“This is my son,” I told my old trainer.
I longed to identify Ari and Ker as well, but I had a feeling that might be too much for the guy’s brain to handle at the moment.
“Hey, little dude,” Johnny said with an amazed laugh. “Oh, he’s cute. Well done, Levi.”
“Thanks,” I said, and I gave Milo a kiss on his forehead before I passed him off to Sassa. “Keep him safe.”
“I will, Levi,” Sassa said.
The combination of my given name mixed with the serious look in Sassa’s brown eyes told me she would lay down her life for my son if it came to it, and I gave her a grateful nod. Then I turned to Sylmarie and Freesia, and I pulled them both into my arms.
“I love you both so much,” I murmured.
“Be safe,” Freesia insisted with fear in her bright green eyes.
“I will,” I promised her, and I looked into Sylmarie’s dark blue eyes. “Keep them safe, Syl.”
“You know I will,” Sylmarie replied, but none of the usual humor was present in her voice or eyes.
“If Surtr…” I started to say, but my throat felt tight. “If it comes to it, call Ari and Ker and get anyone you can out of here.”
“Yes, my love,” Sylmarie replied.
I wanted to ask her if she could see what the outcome of this battle would be, but I knew she wouldn’t tell me even if she did. It would affect my focus and my confidence, not to mention, knowing my fate could completely destroy any chances of getting there.
But I knew I had done everything I could possibly do to ensure our victory today, and now all that was left was to do it.
“Believe in yourself, my love,” Sylmarie murmured.
And that was all I really needed to hear from the sexy Völva.
Elora touched my arm in a loving way, and I turned to look at her, Shalanna, and Lyrie gathered around me.
Innay was saying a brief farewell to her sister, Nenna, who appeared to be quite put out about staying behind with the others. But I could tell by the stiff look on Vidar’s face that he’d put his foot down about this one, and I couldn’t blame him.
I left them to their farewells for a moment, but as soon as Innay returned to my side, I took a deep breath.
“Are you ready?” I asked my women.
“Yes,” Elora said.
Shalanna nodded and smiled, and Lyrie’s face grew hard with determination.
“We are,” Innay replied, and then she turned to Johnny with a sheepish smile. “I must apologize for the flowers. I can remove them when we are finished.”
“The flowers?” Johnny asked with confusion, and he looked at me. “What does she mean?”
“Don’t worry about it right now,” I chuckled. “We’ve got to go.”
All the Jötunn and my other warriors had left the training gym, and I could feel the impatience in the stallions’ hooves as they stomped on the ground outside.
“Lock the doors behind us, Johnny!” I shouted. “And don’t open them for anyone but me!”
“Yeah, sure, man!” Johnny replied.
I hurried outside with Elora, Shalanna, Lyrie, and Innay close on my heels, and we rushed over to join the others on the stallions. My ladies hurried to take their positions in our army, and I took a moment to zero in on the enemy Jötunn’s location.
They were close, and Surtr was going to reach the shore in a matter of minutes. The screams in the distance were now definitely not in my imagination, and I let the chill in them fuel my shift.
My leather wings stretched out from my shoulders as I thickened all the skin on my body, and I pushed my proportions out so I stood taller than the oldest Jötunn. I intended to expand my body much more once we reached Surtr so I would be as close as possible to his size, but for now, this would make it easier to maneuver without trashing any buildings or cars.
“What are your orders, Brother?” Vidar asked.
Every one of my soldiers turned to look at me, and I felt a surge of strength come from their loyalty and friendship. Even the new members from Hersir and Progt’s tribes added to the deep sense of leadership that glowed in my chest like a beacon of hope.
“Take out Lharm’s tribe however you have to,” I instructed. “Protect the humans. Try to keep the destruction to a minimum, but protect the lives of Midgard’s people at all other costs.”
“And Surtr, Allfather?” Finnern asked.
“Leave Surtr to me.” I scowled. “Move out!”
I started to walk down the streets toward the sounds of terrified screams, running feet, and shattering glass. I expected the Jötunn had probably been given free rein to destroy whatever they pleased.
Not three minutes later, we encountered several groups of humans running for their lives. They screamed in fear as they saw us approaching and darted down alleyways, behind cars, and against closed and locked front doors.
One woman shrieked at the top of her lungs as she tried to force a pair of double doors open on a small convenience store, but the door was locked, and she wasn’t getting in.
I sighed at the panic that was rising, and I hoped word would get out quickly that there was someone here to stop the massive lava monster that had risen up out of the harbor.
My hopes were brought to life a few minutes later when a helicopter from the local news station flew up and shone a spotlight down on my army. I could only imagine what the people of Boston must be thinking when they turned on their TVs and saw me and my odd collection of warriors marching through the streets.
And the people who knew me?
They would probably freak out as much as Johnny had. Surely they’d all expected I was dead, and now I was going to show up on their TVs and all over the internet standing forty feet tall with an army of blue-skinned giants, a bunch of people looking like they were about to hit the local Ren Faire, and two women who could pass for angels.
Even with the people of Boston running for their lives away from us, the streets were crowded, and it took us several minutes before we saw any of the rival Jötunn.
There were about thirty of them, and they were all the size of Yönn. Their warpaint was a similar brownish-gray color as Hersir and Progt’s tribes, and the main distinguishing factor about them was the design painted across their blue skin.
They moved slowly toward the center of the city and were smashing everything along the way. They’d set off several car alarms and left a trail of shattered glass behind them.
“Lharm,” Hersir growled with hatred in his voice.
I followed the Jötunn leader’s gaze to the tallest giant among the enemy tribe. Lharm stood near the back of the group, and he wore a smug grin on his blue face that told me he was just enjoying the destruction.
It made my blood boil, and my voice seethed as I gave the order.
“Stop them.” I scowled and pointed at Lharm’s tribe. “Whatever it takes!”
“To war!” Hersir hollered.
“Yaaaah!” the collective group of Jötunn shouted, and they raced forward to attack Lharm’s tribe.
My warriors from Castle Levi lingered around me for a few seconds as if they didn’t really want to leave my side, and I couldn’t blame them. The giants were several times taller than even our gentle giant, Cedoric.
“Work in groups!” I ordered my warriors. “Keep the battle here if you can!”
All of the people whose lives I’d saved or bettered in one form or another over the last year looked up at my massive form with loyalty on their faces.
“To war!” Emneth shouted, and she raised her bone staff into the air.
The dark elves in my army released a collective war cry as they started to move toward the enemy tribe of Jötunn.
“Come on,” Finnern shouted to get them moving. “Let us join in the fun!”
“Finnern!” Ayen yelled. “With me?”
“Rightly so.” Finnern grinned and nodded.
I was glad to see the competitive nature of their friendship hadn’t changed, and I knew they would push and protect one another in the battle. My warriors divided up into groups of four and five as they rushed forward to join the fray.
The two brothers’ Jötunn tribes had moved together as one, and they’d taken the enemy tribe’s attention away from destroying the city. The screams of the humans had only increased, and I worried their fear would put them in harm’s way. The Jötunn barely seemed to notice what got crushed under their feet as they fought like angry gorillas in the streets.
A bright flash from Emneth’s bone staff streaked through the night like a spotlight, and it illuminated the dark faces of the other warriors for a split second. The churning green-black and blue-black mist of my twin children appeared as well, and I shuddered to think what the enemy Jötunn would now face.
Ari and Ker were a force to be reckoned with, and I knew they would fight with an intensity that would make me proud.
The only ones who remained by my sides were Elora, Shalanna, Innay, and Lyrie. It was odd to look down on them so far below me due to the large size of my shift, and I wondered what I looked like to them.
“We will stay by your side,” Lyrie insisted with a stubborn look.
“You cannot face Surtr on your own,” Elora added.
“We can help,” Innay said.
“Actually,” Shalanna hesitated. “I believe the three of you will be more suited to helping Levi than I. Elora, you have your wings, Innay, the plants, and Lyrie has her magic. I will only be in danger of getting stepped on.”
“Shalanna’s right,” I said, and I crouched down to look into her silver-flecked blue eyes. “You’ll be more effective against the Jötunn.”
“Take care of him,” Shalanna said to my other lovers.
Elora, Lyrie, and Innay pulled Shalanna into a big group hug, and assured her they would do whatever they could to help me. Then my black-haired warrior blew a kiss up at me and hurried off to join the fight without a backward glance.
“What is your plan?” Elora asked once it was just the four of us.
Before I could answer, my mind started to ache like a migraine with the bright red aura of Surtr’s magical signature, and I knew he was coming close.
“Surtr’s coming,” I growled as I rose back to my full height.
“Yes,” Innay said, and her voice shook just a bit. “I can feel the plants tremble in fear of him.”
Just as she finished her sentence, Surtr’s massive form came into view over the tops of the nearby buildings.
He was just as fucking huge as he’d been in my dreams. The primordial giant towered over us at close to two thousand feet, and his skin looked like stone flowing through molten lava. Two massive horns stretched out from his temples, and he held a sword that was rusted and chipped just like I’d dreamed.
He looked exactly as my subconscious mind had imagined him, and I wondered if I’d just remembered his appearance from my time as Loki, or if I’d seen the future in those dreams.
I silently scolded myself because it really didn’t matter right now how I had known what he would look like, and I was wasting time.
“What are you going to do?” Lyrie shouted up at me.
“Give him somebody his own size to fuck with,” I said with a determined grimace.
“Squash him like a bug,” Elora said with a blood-thirsty smirk.
“Don’t get too close,” I cautioned my three lovers. “Watch out for his feet, and try not to draw his attention. Help to weaken him, but if you get in trouble…”
I stared sharply at my ladies to show them how serious I was about this next order.
“Get. Out. Of. There,” I snarled each word as its own sentence, and I drew my flesh-rending sword and rot-dagger from my belt.
My ladies nodded obediently at me, and I turned to push my shifting magic further than I ever had dreamed I would.
I let the power of the two magical orbs flow into me as I stretched my body more than three hundred times its normal size. It took an immense amount of focus and energy to keep my proportions in ratio, and I struggled to add thicker skin and denser muscles to my shift. My sword and dagger fused inside my skin, and I hardened and extended my fingernails into claws.
I gazed out over Boston like I’d never seen it before, and I was struck with a forceful wave of vertigo as I looked down at my feet two thousand feet below me.
“Holy shit,” I whispered, and my voice rattled the windows in the nearby buildings.
My new massive size wasn’t going to go unnoticed, of course, and another wave of screams echoed all around me as I tried to figure out how to maneuver through the streets. And the residents of Boston weren’t the only ones who’d noticed me.
“Loki!” Surtr’s voice was like a million tons of stone in a planet-sized rock grinder.
Sylmarie had told me Surtr had always feared Loki, but he didn’t look afraid now. He looked pleased, and I wondered at his motives for the thousandth time.
Why was he here? Why did he want to destroy the realms? What was his end goal in all of this?
I didn’t have the answers to any of it, and this was the only opportunity I was going to get. It was going to end now. Either I would destroy Surtr and save the realms, or he would defeat me and burn everything to ash.
“Why are you here, Surtr?” I demanded, and a car alarm sounded near my feet. “What do you want?”
“Destruction,” Surtr replied with an evil smile. “Chaos. Death.”
“You won’t find it today,” I growled.
“Pitiful god,” Surtr laughed in a derisive tone. “Nothing can stop the primordial fires!”
Surtr laughed as he stretched his enormous arms down to touch the nearby buildings, and they burst into flames in a matter of seconds.
My heart clenched with fear for whoever might be inside those buildings, but my ladies were already on top of it.
“We have it, Levi!” Elora shouted as she soared past.
I spotted Innay moving Lyrie and herself quickly toward the burning building on a series of vines she was controlling, and I knew my ladies would rescue any people trapped in the fires. Elora was right, I had to focus on Surtr and stop him before he racked up an unimaginable death toll.
A fierce war cry escaped my mouth as I dug my huge feet onto the asphalt, and I propelled myself through the air at Surtr.
The primordial giant caught me with both hands at my shoulders, and the searing heat of his lava-skin burned me. I could smell the stench of burning flesh, but my nerves must have been destroyed immediately because I couldn’t feel any pain.
I angled my right hand up and slashed my hardened claws vertically along the middle of Surtr’s chest. There was no way to know how my flesh-rending sword would affect the primordial giant’s stone-and-lava body until I tried, and I was astounded by the results.
“Yaaaah!” Surtr screamed, and I heard hundreds of windows shatter all around us.
The stone parts of Surtr’s body ripped off from his torso, and they flew off from the underlayer of lava.
Hope sparked in my chest.
Maybe this would be easier than I thought.
But then ice ran down my spine and through my veins as Surtr laughed like nothing had happened.
I watched with utter horror as the lava on the surface of the wound hardened and formed new stone-flesh to protect whatever lay deeper inside the primordial giant’s body.
“What the fuck?” I gasped.
“I am as ancient as the universe,” Surtr cackled, and he pointed his massive sword at me. “You cannot destroy me so easily!”
Chapter 16
My teeth ground together as I growled, and I knew this was going to be the most challenging fight of both my lives. I felt oddly naked with my sword and dagger embedded in my skin somewhere, but I knew I wasn’t unarmed.
I extended the claws on both of my hands a bit further, and I sucked the extra energy of the magic orbs into my body. With their added power, I rose thick armor-like scales all over my hands and forearms.
The primordial giant laughed as he swung his sword at me, and the sound was like a booming subwoofer cranked up to twelve.
I shuddered to think of all the poor dogs in the city. They must be cowering under whatever furniture they had.
But I caught the blade flat between my hands like some kind of kung-fu movie master. I gripped around the blade with my fingers tentatively at first, and then with more force as I felt the armored scales protecting my skin.
Surtr’s laughter died away as I tried to yank the sword from him, and we struggled for a moment in a sort of tug-o-war. His rocky fingers clamped around the blade’s hilt, and I knew I needed an extra little something to get the advantage. I bent my right knee, pulled my leg close to my chest, and I kicked him right in the diaphragm.
I could almost see the shockwave of air pressure from my kick to his chest as Surtr’s breath rushed out in a huge burst of air. He doubled over in surprise, and I gripped the sword, yanked it from his fingers, and hurled it like a spear into the water past the docks.
The primordial giant had mostly recovered from the surprise kick to the ribcage, and he straightened up with rage in his coal-red eyes.
