Annoyingly, the hammering force of his strikes lacks his usual strength. It is as if his joints themselves are working against him.
Sigvid grabs Thrain’s neck with both hands, cutting off his blood and air supply. “I know you tried to kill Avina!” Her name catches in his throat, and once more, his mind replays the infinite ways Mali forced him to watch her die at Thrain’s hands.
“Do you have any last words?”
Thrain laughs. He fucking laughs.
“After I kill you, brother, I will beat your child out of her. Even if I have to stick my hand up inside of her and strangle it myself.”
Thrain twists, managing to toss off Sigvid. He sits up into a kneeling position as he struggles to catch his breath.
Sigvid jumps to his feet. “Get up!” He grabs his neck again, lifting him to his feet. He swings his fist but is blocked as Thrain retaliates, swinging low and catching his brother’s kidney. Thrain elbows his nose before he has a chance to recover. The crack in his nose temporarily blinds him with pain.
“Fuck!” Sigvid groans nasally.
He grabs Thrain’s waist and slams him to the ground. Below him, his brother spins, knocking his legs out from underneath him. Sigvid collapses as the red of the berserker flashes in his eyes.
Not yet. Just a bit longer.
Both men regain their footing, and Sigvid sways while Thrain smiles.
“You don’t look so good, Sig. Why don’t you go lie down? While you sleep, I’ll deal with ripping your baby out of the whore Queen and pumping mine in its rightful place.”
The brothers glower at each other. Bloody and bruised, their muscles flex in apprehension.
“She is the air I breathe. The mead I drink. The blood pulsing through my veins knows only her.” Scarlet stains Sigvid’s sight. Now is the time to unleash the Beast.
“Now hold on there, brother, you agreed not to use your power.”
“I cannot stop when you threaten the woman I love.”
Sigvid charges with a deep bellow, and his punch collides with Thrain’s chest, knocking the wind from his lungs. He repeatedly pummels him in the face and chest. He pauses only to take sweet satisfaction in Thrain’s gory appearance and struggles to breathe.
Thrain manages to catch Sigvid’s fist with both eyes blackened to slits. Sigvid snarls while he strains against the pressure of his brother’s grip, keeping his own attack out of reach.
“Give in, brother. You lost.” Sigvid seethes, spitting into his face.
Thrain wraps his legs around him, tugging him to the ground. They roll into the dirt, punching and gouging at each other like ravenous wolves fighting for the last scrap of meat. The ground quakes from their growls as if threatening to open and swallow them whole.
When Sigvid flips onto his back, he catches the glint of his axe blade within arm’s reach. He closes his fingers around the bottom of the blackwood handle and swings it toward Thrain, who catches the top of the shaft. The brothers each flash their teeth in between snarls. Once one pushes the axe back, the other thrusts it forward. The point of the blade inches toward Sigvid’s face, and he feels the edge slice against his cheek.
His berserker flares, and he shoves his brother off of him with a roar. He stalks back toward Thrain, who is recovering from the ground and wielding Sigvid’s axe.
Thrain raises Sigvid’s blackwood axe with both hands and embeds it in his chest with a groan.
Dark laughter erupts from Sigvid. “You will need to do better than that if you wish to kill me, little brother.”
He removes the axe and tosses it to the ground just as Thrain plucks both of his axes from the dirt. With wildfire in his brown eyes, he slams them into Sigvid’s chest.
Was it the force of the axes that had him stumbling back?
Thrain’s smile is disconcerting as Sigvid falls to his knees, staring at the handles in shock as an uncomfortable cold sensation trickles out from the wounds.
“A special poison of my own creation. You will die horribly. I can see Avina in the crowd. Shall I summon her, dear brother? Do you wish to see me take my prize while you still draw breath?”
Sigvid kicks Thrain’s legs out from under him, forcing him to collapse onto Sigvid. The shock seems to disorient his brother, allowing Sigvid full advantage. He tosses the poison-stained axes to the side. Still in berserker mode, he bites into Thrain’s neck and rips out his throat. Blood pours from the wound over both of them.
Thrain clutches his bloodied neck with a shaky hand. Sigvid is relentless, licking up his brother’s blood until he renews his stamina. Heknees him between his legs and punches the side of his head, sending him rolling to the side.
