The Rise of Hel {Loki Laufeyson} Book Two

Chapter Twenty

My feet pound against the asphalt, my breaths coming out in huffs. I feel something stirring inside me - pure, raging fury. I'm going to explode.

Hel stands among scattered bodies that litter the lawn. Blood peppers the siding, appearing black in the light of the moon - black like her hair, black like her goddamn soul.

I'm panicking, who is among the bodies? Victoria? Jonah? Skyson?

Skyson.

I see him.

He's in Hel's arms.

I scream. It comes out as hysterical but I mean for it to be a warning. The heat intensifies as Hel turns and sees me coming at her. Her scarlet eyes burn bright against the night sky, as I imagine mine do. Our scarlet eyes - the same colour as the liquid that covers the pavement.

She smiles, turning her full body toward me. "Rebecca, how nice of you to join us." She looks down, pointing to my feet. "Nice boots by the way."

"Get away from my brother." I growl on instinct. I know that he's not related to me in any way, but I'm furious. I'll kill her - I swear to f**k!

Her smile widens. "He's not your brother anymore, dear. He's hers." She brushes his blond hair off of his forehead, her long lashes fluttering as she watches his peaceful face.

"Shut up! Let Sky go - it's me you want." She's using Skyson to get to me. She knows that the Connors' are a sensitive topic. Maybe she's here because she heard my conversation with Tony? I push it away, my anger only rising.

"What a cliche line for such a witty young girl." She looks up at me, her bright white teeth glittering in the moonlight, her jet black hair flowing in the slight breeze. She's the true devil in prada.

"Hel-"

"Let me guess - what do I want?" She asks, dropping Skyson's body. He crashes to the ground, going limp on the grass. "I want my father." Her expression turns cold, grave - completely indifferent toward Skyson.

I shake my head. "I don't know where he is." I say and glance down at my ring. Green energy pulses furiously, colouring my pale hands with emerald shadows. Hel notices and stalks over to me. She takes my hand in hers. Her touch scorches my skin and I cry out but she grips me tighter, skimming her thumb over the ring. Her skin used to freeze me, but with the heat of anger radiating off of her, my skin feels like it's boiling just from her touch.

"A Taleese..." She mumbles, yanking on it. As if the pain I felt right now needed to become worse.

I scream as I smell my flesh burning. The pain is excruciating.

She holds up her index finger, the nail lengthening and sharpening. She jabs it into my finger and I scream louder, feeling the blood trailing over my skin. I continue screaming as she digs underneath the ring, twisting and then pulling away. The ring makes a sound of release and the emerald in the middle explodes, a black vortex swallowing it whole. My finger is ringed with blood, the wound oozing with more fresh additions. I whimper, covering it with a fist and dropping to my knees.

Hel smirks. "Taleese: Infinity Ring. It attaches itself to it's bearer for eternity. It also creates a bond between the giver and the receiver. When the receiving end has either high emotions or has been summoned, they are able to teleport to the givers location and interact with them for a limited amount of time." She explains

"You son of a bitch!" I spit and cry out again. Two injured hands - I'm screwed.

"It can only be detached by either the giver or undergoing a surgery that is able to amputate the finger. You see, the ring is like a tree. Once planted, it grows roots that ensure it's survival. It's wires wrap around the bone, reading your emotions and glowing according to the amount of pain or turmoil the person is feeling. And by the look of it, you've been in distress for quite some time."

"Really?" I say. "Care to elaborate on that theory?"

Hel's eyes narrow, her irises burning more brightly than earlier. "I deactivated it in a far more manual way. I poisoned the roots with Oni venom."

"Oni venom?" I struggle.

"That's why you're in so much pain. It's spreading - slowly shutting down your metabolism until finally reaching your heart and killing you."

"You bitch!" I lunge at her, knocking her off of her feet. She slams onto the pavement, screaming. I catch a glimpse of her fiery hands before she throws a fireball at my head. I dodge, pulling out my dagger from earlier today. I can feel my finger pulsing as I grip it in my hands, slashing at Hel. She rolls to the side, kicking out her leg and colliding with my stomach. The force flies me backwards and I smash into a light-pole, pain surging up my spine. I growl and charge again, ignoring the intense agony I'm in. Hel throws another ball toward me but I jump, rolling to the side and pushing myself forward. I lash out, swinging in every which way until finally, I cut her and black sludge pours from the wound. She screams and hurtles a ball of the same green energy as the ring at me.

It hits me and I fly back again, skittering across the road. My knees arms and elbows ache as I struggle to my feet. They're all bleeding from the impact of the pavement.

Hel flies up, rushing over to me and I hold up my dagger as she nears me. I close my eyes and hear her cry out, then crash into the road a few feet away. I limp over to her. She lies in a huge crater in the the road, literally smoking.

Relief floods me and I feel a trickle of either sweat, blood or both roll down my forehead. I touch it and my fingers come back stained with scarlet.

Scarlet.

Skyson!

I turn away, charging toward the house but am knocked to the side by a strong force. I squeal, colliding with the road again. Hel rolls on top of me, forcing my hands to point the dagger at my stomach. At this angle, I can see scratches on the charms of my bracelet.

She screams in my face and I scream back, pushing against her force. I eventually twist the dagger to face her and bring it down on her face. It grazes her cheek, the black sludge pouring out again and leaving a lengthy cut to accompany the scar of her other cheek. Her nails lengthen and sharpen as she lashes out at me, slicing me in several places. I kick and punch and scream until finally I give up - feeling my body start to shut down. The Oni venom is working extremely fast, causing my energy to quickly deplete. It's over. I'm going to die. This is it.

I close my eyes, stilling my body. Hel blinks, grabbing the dagger from my hands. A single tear rolls down the side of my face, dampening the pavement beneath me.

Hel smiles as she raises the dagger above her head and brings it down.

(MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! Yay! Anyway, yeah - I actually really like this chapter because it's kinda intense and yeah. So.... bye!)