The Love Of a Trickster

13

(Some mentions of minor gore)

When we reach the wastelands outside of Hel, there is no army there. Only bodies, hundreds and hundreds of bodies, each more mutilated than the last. Even the toughest Valkyrie's gag at the sight and stench. Eira kicks a body over and stares at it in mortification. She backs away, mouth open in a silent scream. I recognize the soldier as one Eira seemed particularly fond of. I put a hand on her shoulder and she doesn't bite my head off.

    Sigrun, the eldest Valkyrie, stands in front of us. "My sisters, we do not need to be afraid. We are Odin's Reapers! We have seen battlefields almost as bad as this and we do not balk at the stench of death. Hela and her armies will fail and we will be..."

    "Did I hear someone say my name?" Behind Sigrun, a black fog has appeared. Out of it walks a woman who looks eerily similar to Loki. She pulls her hair back and it transforms into a helmet with numerous horns protruding from it. She draws a sharp black crystal from the air and points it at us. "Did Odin send you to stop me? Did he really expect it to be so easy?"

    "Hela," I whisper.

    She looks directly at me and I have no doubt that she heard me. "At last. Someone who knows me! I will make your death quick, as a favor." She turns back to Sigrun. "Shall we start with you first?" We all attempt to fly, but Hela snaps her fingers.

    My head is forcibly thrown back as an invisible force tears my wings off. I fall to the ground, pain lancing through my back. My wings lay in front of me and I'm too afraid to see what waits where they once were. Staggeringly, I make my way over to Nuage, holding in the pain, although my body is screaming at me to break down. I draw my sword and mount, taking off with the rest of the Valkyries.

    Hela simply laughs. "You are brave, I'll give you that." Sigrun's arm falls and we plunge, swords aimed at Hela. She thrusts her hand out and a black crystal impales Eira. I see pain emblazoned on her face as she falls from the sky. We continue on.

    As I approach Hela, I guide Nuage around and swing my sword. It slices through her ivory skin. The other Valkyries follow my lead, bombarding her from all sides. She shrieks and a blast of magic sends us hurtling away from her. Her wounds amazingly mend themselves. She whirls around, thoroughly enraged. Even against hundreds of us, Hela refuses to fall. Black spikes shoot out all around and find their marks. Valkyries fall and Mares with them.

    I urge Nuage into a roll and we dive away from one of the spikes. Pain is still hammering on the stumps where my wings used to be. I catch a glimmer of moment below and try to bank. Nuage is too slow. One of the spikes drives through her silky black feathers. She hangs on the crystal as it tears through her wing. I let go and fall to the ground. The impact rattles my teeth.

    "Should've stayed on Earth," I growl. I rush towards Hela and join the others who are fighting on the ground. I see a glimpse of blue green eyes in my vision and they urge me to attack. I obey, plunging my sword into her back. She acts as though it were merely a fly and pushes it out.

    "Go for her head!" Sigrun orders. "It's the only way to kill her!" Her voice chokes. I turn to her. She is leaning forward, eyes already glazed over. A black spike is stuck through her abdomen. The Valkyries scream at the death of their leader.

    "Don't stop!" I scream back. "Kill her!" The attack resumes, Hela reveling gleefully in every death she causes. "Loki, if there was ever a time I long for your tricks, it's now!"

    Valkyrie after Valkyrie falls. The Reaping Mares are no more. I stare around the devastated battlefield. I'm completely numbed to the carnage around me. There aren't many of us left, I can tell. I hear a choking scream as another Valkyrie falls. Someone yanks me around to face them. Asena. I feel tears fall on my cheeks. "You're still alive."