I erred once at the Gates of the Gods, never again. I stayed with them, I heard. Voices travel in the wind, I know.Heis my brother, never you.
“You patheticanimal,” Narfi sneered. “As if I ever trusted you,brother! Island Lyngve eagerly awaits your return.”
Breathing hard, Kira opened her wet eyes to a huge, furry black body in front of her, as if protecting her. The wolf snarled and leaped. Narfi flashed back, releasing a small, sizzling orb that arrowed through the air and struck the wolf dead-center of its chest. A hissing bluish haze surrounded the wolf,its yelp abruptly cut off as it vanished.
Narfi smirked, keeping Týr at a distance and counter-circling him. “You’re next.”
“Kira—” Echo grabbed her arm, pulling her toward the edge of the trees then whispered, “I called Aethan—” Whatever else she would have said got lost in the din of a terrifying, crackling sound, the noise reverberating in the clearing like icebergs shattering.
Echo cursed. Kira gaped, not sure if what she saw was real.
Zombie-like figures of decaying, armored soldiers crawled out of the ground. Metal creaking eerily, they rose and surrounded Týr, wielding heavy, corroded broadswords, axes, and spears. Rusting chainmail armor and rotting leggings of centuries ago sagged from skeletal frames. Tarnished half-helmets covered their decaying, withered faces.
This wasn’t a burial ground, especially for those types of dead.
“So, you summon dead warriors?” Týr taunted.
“Demons can be great allies,” Narfi smirked.
Týr’s entire body suddenly went utterly still. The movement was barely perceptible, and Kira only picked up on it because she was so in tune with him. His fingers clenched, and a look of absolute shock crossed his face. His gaze flashed to hers, his eyes narrowing.
Was he pissed that she was still here?
Too bad. Her man needed to get his big warrior head back into the game. She wasn’t leaving until this battle was over and all those scourges were sent back to wherever the hell they had come from.
She glared right back at him. Besides, she had a promise to keep.
His expression hardened, his attention back on his nemesis. In an eddy of smoke, his mystical black sword glowed briefly as it appeared in his hand.
“Yes, your magical weapon.” Narfi scoffed, surrounded by the dead. “Let’s see what you got,bróðir—” He flung out a hand as if to hold Týr back, but nothing happened.
Snarling, Týr rushed into the horde, his weapon coming down in a deadly arc. Skeletal heads flew, the dead soldiers crumbling into dust. More circled him.
His own sword palmed, Narfi lunged at Týr, who ducked, ramming his blade into Narfi’s belly. He roared, pitching a spell bolt with his other hand. The power of the hit sent Týr stumbling back.
The shithead!Kira shoved away from Echo and threw out her hands. Red tendrils streamed free, wrapping around the corpses surrounding Narfi.Dammit, missed. She clenched her fingers, and the net tightened, severing the dead into several pieces. They clattered, fell, and disintegrated.
Týr spun like a tornado, his sword a blazing flame in the night as he cut through the dead, demolishing them.
Narfi punched the frozen ground. Ice crackled. More dead scrambled out of the earth—
A feminine grunt erupted near Kira. Echo was at her back, her obsidian dagger in hand. She slashed and killed with the precision of a seasoned slayer.
Keeping one eye on the dangerous corpses, Kira removed her jambiya from its sheath, her focus on Narfi. He watched Týr with such hatred, her stomach dipped. She refused to let the scum who’d hurt him so brutally in Tartarus carry through with the threat of killing her mate. She ducked three swords coming at her, but the last one sliced her biceps through her jacket and sweater. Teeth clacking together at the sting, she lashed out, her blade cleaving off the dead’s hand. In a cloud of dust, he poofed and vanished, startling her. More came, and she eviscerated them in seconds.
Man, Wrath’s weapon was lethal in a fight.
“No, you don’t, whore!” Narfi appeared in a flash and kicked her hard in the belly, sending her flying backward.
An enraged snarl reverberated in the air as she crashed to the sludgy ground. Pain exploded through her, she lay there unable to breathe, so sure someone had yanked out her lungs.
“Kira!”
She couldn’t speak to reassure Týr she was okay.
The chilling clinks of squeaking, rusted metal drew closer. Several undead soldiers pitched towards her. Her jambiya lay buried in the snow several feet away. Yep, death was gonna happen if she didn’t get her butt up and moving. Wait! She couldn’t die, not with having immortal parents. But, damn. She groaned. Everything freakin’ hurt. She must have fractured a rib or something. Kira tried to summon her deadly ability but couldn’t concentrate with the pain sweeping through her.
Gritting her teeth, she scrambled to all fours, barely avoiding another rusty blade slashing at her. She dove forward and grabbed her weapon. Propelling to her knees, she swiped at the decaying legs near her, separating them from their body. With a dull thud, the corpse fell and crumbled.
