Haldor had shifted into a falcon and flown up to the ledge. Now in human form once again, theFalcon of the Faroe Islandsraised his arms to the steely sky and released the piercingFalcon’s Cry.Within moments, the sky turned black as hundreds of squawking, screeching birds plummeted from the skies likespears, gouging faces, eyes, and ears with curved claws and rapacious beaks.
Skjöld hollered to him above the raucous din. “Haldor!” With his free arm, he frantically gestured to the charging king. “Lothaire!”
From his perch above the battlefield, Haldor turned toward the charging king. With a flick of his hand, he directed a swarm of birds to swoop down onto Lothaire and his armored men. As the besieged king desperately struggled to maintain control of his rearing warhorse while fighting off the attacking birds, Skjöld retracted the shield of fire and raced across the blood-soaked field toward the real Hugh Capet. “Capet!With me!”
Luna’s desperate scream behind him made Skjöld’s heart drop. By the gods, he’d left her unprotected. Had the troll killed her?
Darting a frantic glance back to the huddled group, he sagged with relief to see she was unharmed and still standing with the council. But her horrified gaze was locked on the western edge of the forest.
Where Njáll—in wolf form—lay soaked in blood, stricken by aDökkálfarblade.He must have heard Luna’s cry and been distracted…and now, he’s critically wounded. As Skjöld raced toward Hugh Capet and the bishop, he uttered a quick prayer for Njáll. “AllfatherOdin, save your black wolf…”
Amidst the clashing of steel, shrieking of men, and screeching of birds, Skjöld grasped Capet’s arm, motioning for him and the bishop to follow. “This way! Quickly!” Leading the future king and the distraught priest across the field to the join the others, Skjöld rushed them into the protective circle, quickly scanning the group and noting that the imposter had vanished.
From theHrímsúlgem of hisÍsfirshield, Skjöld projected a plume offrostfireflame around Capet, the council, and Luna, whose limbs shook as her anguished emerald eyes remained locked on her beloved, bloodied wolf. As the crackling flames which encircled them licked the desolate sky, shegrasped Skjöld’s shoulder and screamed into his ear.
“Njáll has fallen— struck by aDökkálfarblade! Skjöld, let me through your shield. I must heal him. Skjöld, please!”
Beyond the raging battle, at the edge of the forest, Njáll—in his black wolf form—dragged his blood-soaked body into the dense woods.
Skjöld snapped his head to Luna. “Look—he’s crawling into the forest. Luna, yourLjósálfargiftwill heal him!”
“Skógahjarta,”she whispered, clasping her hands together as if in prayer. “The heart of the Moonlit Forest inÁlfheimwill cleanse him ofDökkálfardarkness… O Freyja, may theLjósálfarmagic heal him…”
As if to answer her plea, a snarling black wolf burst from the forest, fangs bared and claws curled. He slammed intoDökkálfar, severing limbs with savage jaws. Black gore dripping from his bloodied maw, he joined his wolf brothers and theLjósálfar,in driving the Dark Elves into Skadi’s fiery path.
A bone-piercing screech tore through the sky as Skadi—wings unfurled like a Valkyrie—swooped over Lothaire’s royal army and theDökkálfar,unleashing a deluge of ice blue flame. Men and beasts screamed as they succumbed tofrostfire, the ground scorched in a swathe of black as all were reduced to smoldering ash.
As she swirled in the air and swooped down for another run, a sudden fireball exploded against her massive hind leg, spraying sparks and a cascade of orange flame tumbling from the dark sky. Bellowing in pain, Skadi circled back, wings whipping, and blasted another rank of Frankish troopswith a wave of ice blue flame.
Dökkálfarsnapped at the edges of Skjöld’s shield of fire, desperate to break through and seize Capet. Keeping steady pressure on theEldhrímrrune, Skjöld struggled to maintain the intense stream offrostfirewhen he spotted a slithering shape emerge from the enemy ranks.
The troll.
An enormous beast—taller than warriors and warhorses alike—loomed at the base of the mountain, just beyond Skjöld’sprotective shield of fire. Shadows slithered from the ridged scales and sinewy hide of its black reptilian body. Long fangs curled from its jagged snout, and twisting horns rose from a misshapen skull. Beneath a heavy brow, the golden eyes of a venomous viper glowed with predatory malice. A massive tail trailed its thick hind legs, and veins of liquid fire pulsed beneath the blackened iron surface of his clawed, curved right arm.
Drawing molten embers from its fiery limb, the troll formed another fireball, just as Skadi circled for another sweeping pass.
Skjöld’s gaze snapped to Haldor, but a volley of arrows forced him to shift into a falcon and take to the skies. Panic surged through Skjõld as thoughts clashed like swords.
If he retracted the shield of flame to strike at the troll, theDökkálfarwould break through and slaughter Capet and the council. The entire battle would be lost, their lives all forfeit, sacrificed in vain.
But if he did not act now to stop the troll… it would fire a direct hit at Skadi.
And she would topple from the skies.
With a blur of brown fur and a bellowing roar, Yrjar—theBlóðsmiðrwho had hammered Skjöld into a brutal warrior through eight relentless winters—tore a path through the chaos in full berserker rage.
As the troll hurled its fireball toward the descendingfrostdragon, Yrjar threw himself into its fiery, fatal path.
To save Skadi for Skjöld.
Flames engulfed him.
Yrjar’s thick fur ignited like a funeral pyre as he bellowed in agony, collapsing in a blazing inferno that seared the blood-soaked ground.
Grief crushed Skjöld, nearly driving him to his knees. His bearskin cloak—the link between him and Yrjar—flared with searing heat, then went suddenly cold. In that instant, the bond was severed, Yrjar’s fierce spirit torn fromMidgard and taken to Valhalla’s flame-lit halls.
With dawning horror, Skjöld saw the troll amass another fireball as Skadi seared the western flank of Amiens’ Frankish troops and arced around to make another swoop.
