Tro (Elsker Saga Book 3) (14 page)

“Regroup,” Ull commanded. The warriors formed a tight circle at his side.

“You okay, mate?” Gunnar nudged Ull with his elbow. He never lowered his crossbow as his eyes scanned the trees for another attack.

“Fit as a fiddle,” Ull grunted, shifting his sword in his hand.

“Kristia’s little idioms rubbing off on you?” Gunnar’s game face disappeared as he broke into a smirk.

“Shove it,” Ull retorted. “My two o’clock.”

The warriors turned as a unit, and charged at the figures emerging from the fog. The ikkedød came in the form of bushes but when Gunnar fired a series of arrows the foliage exploded, leaving behind nothing more than the stench of decay.

“Was that all of them?” Gunnar turned a full circle, never lowering his crossbow.

“Anders is on stats. What was the projection?” Ull turned to the ginger-haired god next to him.

“An attack unit should have held a dozen.”

“And how many went down?”

“By my count? Eleven.”

“Dritt,”
Ull swore.

Gunnar stalked toward the nearest boulder. He leaped into the air and came down, crushing it with his bow. The rock dissipated, and shards of granite flew in all directions.

“Was that it?” one of the warriors called.

“Naw. No stench.” Gunnar threw his fist at a tree. The impact left a deep hole, but the tree remained standing. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he warbled.

“That should send it running. Is that your plan? Flush it out with bad singing?” Ull swung his sword at a shrub, chopping off seven inches.

“Maybe.” Gunnar grinned. “You got a better plan?”

“Get down!” Ull yelled. Gunnar dropped to the ground without question, disappearing beneath the fog as a rotting figure flew out of the trees. It dove after Gunnar, and for a moment all I could see was the ripple of the mist as god and monster struggled underneath. Ull charged across the forest. He leapt at the spot I’d last seen Gunnar, arms and legs outstretched. There was a heavy thud as he struck the ground, followed by the raking sound of metal on bone. For a brief moment I could see Ull’s sword poke through the vapor before it disappeared again. Then I heard the sound of metal piercing flesh, followed by a thick gurgling; it sounded like a clogged sink. In a flash I surmised someone was choking on his or her own blood, and my stomach clenched as I waited to see whom it was. I hadn’t seen Gunnar in more than a minute.

Ull’s sword flew out of the fog, the final ikkedød still attached to the blade. It struck the thick trunk of the nearest tree, pegging the monster to the trunk. Before I could blink, the demon vaporized, leaving nothing more than a heinous odor behind.

My eyes combed through the haze, searching for the spot Ull and Gunnar had been. I waited for what felt like an interminable period, but the mist stayed as still as the Nehalem River at low tide. Ull’s team closed in, canvassing the ground through three feet of pea-soup fog. As they searched, a movement caught my eyes. A tousled, blond head rose from the mist, followed by thick shoulders, and finally a strong torso. Ull stood, carrying Gunnar in his arms. Our friend’s chest was covered in blood, and his eyes were tightly closed. His left arm hung limp at his side, sliced so deep I got an anatomy lesson much more vivid than anything I’d had in school. Before it had been destroyed, the ikkedød had sliced clean through Gunnar’s tendons.

“Is the forest clear?” Ull barked. Without waiting for an answer, he lowered his head and started to run.

His team followed suit. “Yes, sir.”

“Then move out. Gunnar needs a healer.”

“He took the serum.” Anders jogged along side Ull. “It should expel the venom.”

“It should,” Ull agreed. “But that does him no good if he bleeds out first. Gunnar saved my life on more than one occasion. He is not going to die tonight. Someone retrieve my sword. I need to move.”

With that Ull flew through the forest. By the time he broke through the fog, his feet moved so fast I couldn’t see their movement. He disappeared from my view.

“Tell me he’s okay.” My eyes flew open as I pulled my face away from Ull’s. “If anything ever happened to Gunnar…”

“He is fine.” Ull nodded. “Idunn extracted the venom, performed a transfusion, and stitched his wounds. She reattached the tendon first, so he will have full use of his arm within half a day. Did you know she was a neurosurgeon?”

“I think someone mentioned it once.” The backs of my arms tingled. Ull still didn’t know the full extent of what Idunn had to do to my brain to make me immortal. And I intended to keep it that way.

“Gunnar will appreciate your concern.”

“Jeez, Ull. Those things are terrifying. Did you kill all of them?”

Ull grimaced. “All Hel sent, yes. But do you believe the ruler of the underworld only has two units of demons in her charge?”

“No,” I whispered. “What are we going to do?”

“The only thing we can do.” Ull shrugged. “We will take this one battle at a time. You performed brilliantly tonight, Kristia. You secured the intel we needed to disable the opposition. Now Odin will confer with our war god, Tyr, and we will follow orders. There is nothing more we can do tonight.”

Ull wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me to him. I rested my cheek on his bare shoulder, relishing the familiar smell of pine and soap. My eyelids grew heavy as the stress of the night overtook me. Before I nodded off, I felt Ull’s lips brush my forehead.

“Kristia, what you did tonight was incredibly brave…but doing it without me here to protect you… well, do not
ever
worry me like that again,” he commanded fiercely. “I could not live without you.”

“Don’t ever worry
me
like that again!” I countered. “Mythological zombie demons, and Gunnar nearly losing his arm, and you showing up looking like death warmed over…just promise me you’ll be careful. I need you.”

“Deal.” Ull squeezed me tight.

I buried my head in his chest, giving in to my exhaustion. I closed my eyes, and within moments fell into a deep sleep.

Ull’s mobile woke me too soon, and he eyed it with annoyance.

I smiled groggily. “Perfect timing.”

“Hardly. You were sleeping.”

I pulled my wrap sweater around me before running my hand across Ull’s abdomen. The skin was clean and firm; there was no evidence of the gruesome wound he’d just incurred. “Do you want me to run upstairs and get you a shirt? I don’t want you to catch cold.”

“I am fine, sweetheart.” Ull kissed the top of my head. “Besides, Olaug is here.”

Ull shifted me in his arms as the portal opened and Olaug stepped out. She didn’t waste a minute. She hurried across the room and began tacking pins to the map on the wall, demonstrating our counterattack. Ull and I exchanged a sideways glance. Under Tyr’s direction, Odin, Thor, and Sif were hard at work to thwart the jotuns’ onslaught. It would be easy enough now that they knew which elements would move together to break the Bifrost, and which monsters would mount attacks on the key Asgardians. Tyr had orchestrated a plan for him and Odin to sink the ship before it could break its moorings, preventing the invasion of the Bifrost and blocking the primary entrance to Asgard. Heimdall would keep guard at the bridge to make sure unwanted visitors were denied access, and two members of the Elite Team were assigned to protect the Bifrost’s protector. The secret entrance to Odin’s chamber was sealed. A team of warriors would wait there for Loki. Thor would lead the attack on the serpent and the wolf. Once they were dead Odin would sever Jotunheim from Earth and Asgard, cutting off access between the realms. Ull would stay at Ýdalir to protect me from Loki. We all knew the idea of my visions would be too tempting for him to ignore. And the remainder of Asgard’s considerable guard had been dispatched to suppress skirmishes breaking out near key inter-realm portals. There were three teams of warriors stationed in Muspelheim, where Surtr had assembled a batallion of fire giants and was preparing to launch an all out attack on Asgard. Two more teams of warriors were stationed in Jotunheim, and another pair was en route to Helheim. Peacekeeping squadrons were traveling to allied realms, and the Elite Team was manning the Dark Forest. Every precaution had been taken. If things went according to plan, Ragnarok would be won without the loss of one Asgardian or human life. It was almost too good to be true.

Our waiting game began.

I WOKE UP EARLY
on Thursday morning, filled with more nerves than I’d had at my first middle school dance; it was going to be a very long day. My new family would be fighting for their lives and I couldn’t do anything but wait. Neither Ull nor I were supposed to leave the cottage in case Loki was watching. I’d done as much as I could to help Asgard, and now our future was in the hands of the more experienced fighters. I knew they’d be able to rise to the occasion, but it was still unnerving to have to wait for news.

I focused on Ull. Even in sleep his powerful muscles seemed tensed for battle, his strong jaw firmly clenched, and his bare chest rising rhythmically. My breath caught in my throat, and I reached out to touch him. He wrapped an arm around me, murmuring my name as he woke. I snuggled into his chest and wrapped my fingers around his bicep, holding on tight. For the next half-hour we lay quietly in the pre-dawn light, listening to the birds, hoping fervently that this was not the last morning we would spend together.

When Ull’s mobile rang later that morning, I jumped so high I nearly spilled my tea.

“
Ja
,” he answered cautiously. He pushed his own mug across the dining room table and glanced out the window toward the garden. When he pressed a finger to the phone, Olaug’s voice came through the speaker, loud enough for me to hear.

“Tyr and Odin are preparing to attack the ship so it cannot sail for the Bifrost. They will depart from Asgard this afternoon. Thor and Sif are on their way to the battlefield to meet the serpent and the wolf, but they do not anticipate any problems killing their charges.”

“And Loki?” Ull was guarded.

“Nobody has heard from him.” Olaug sounded worried. “Naturally, he is no longer permitted in Asgard. We do not know whether he is aware of our attacks. I will return to Ýdalir immediately to wait for news with you. Odin will send reinforcements to guard Kristia as soon as he can spare them.”

“I appreciate that. Travel safely.” As Ull hung up the phone, I wondered who Loki would go after first—now it was a question of when, not if, he would come for us.

“It’s scary,” I whispered.

Ull reached over and rubbed my shoulder softly. “You do not have anything to worry about, darling. Loki cannot get to you, or to me, for that matter, so long as we stay within Ýdalir’s borders. I set protective enchantments around the property so no unwanted visitors can enter. We are perfectly safe here. But do not, under any circumstances, cross the borders. Is that clear?”

I nodded. I felt oddly secure, considering the enormity of what was most likely coming for us.

“Strange.” Ull stared at his phone.

“What is it?”

“I have not heard from Gunnar since last night. Once Idunn cleared him, he was supposed to collect Inga and bring her here until the Loki situation was sorted.” His finger tapped the screen.

I chewed my thumbnail. “When should they have gotten here?”

Ull continued his tapping. “When I left Asgard he was healing. Idunn said it would only be another half hour before he could be released. Inga was out on assignment, but she was due back shortly. They should have been in Bibury this morning.”

Our eyes met, the air between us thick with anxiety. Dagnabbit, this was so not good.

“You have to make sure they’re okay, Ull. Take the Bifrost. Go.”