Týr
Clashing steel and wood and cries of battle rang all around me. The tides of battle swelled deep within me, spurring me on and filling me with more strength.
I swung my engraved onyx sword, slicing through one man, and then pivoted to block another attacker with my shield. Usually, I didn’t need to worry about mortals harming me, but a surprisingly powerful völva strengthened them.
I don’t have time for this. My true quarry, King Geir, fought amongst these mortals, hiding from those more powerful than him. Coward. He brought this fight upon us, demanding reparations for Astrid’s insulting behavior when word got to him about Astrid’s and my betrothal. I refused to allow his ego to bring harm to her, her family, or her people. He will die for his insolence.
Fenrir howled and snarled nearby, tearing warriors and shield-maidens apart with relative ease. Baldr fought with reckless abandon to my other side. Blood streaked his skin and a wildness crazed his eyes. Freyja fought somewhere around here as well, all three coming to my aid to protect my Valkyrie.
She along with her mother were safe at the back side of the battle, using their magic to aid our warriors. Our numbers weren’t as large as the king’s, but with two völvur to bolster them, and four gods, the king’s army did not hold as strong as one would have expected.
It helped we had warriors from allied villages and towns willing to defy the king. Even two of Geir’s own sons and their loyal warriors fought with us. They disagreed with their father’s actions, calling him mad. His behavior was out of character for any king. He may be possessed. Or he may merely have too large of an ego.
My senses picked up the presence of Valkyries, watching the battle for souls they would deem worthy of Valhalla after this fight ended. I blocked them out. I didn’t care what they did.
A familiar battle cry came behind me, and a sword sliced into a warrior whose attack I had blocked. Leif, covered in the blood of our enemies, swung his sword again and cut down the warrior. A concussive blast pushed back even more of them. My breath hitched at the sight of Astrid this far into the battle.
Before I could yell at her, Leif turned to me. “Have you seen our mother?”
Muscles in my back tightened. “No. Why is she not with you and Astrid?”
“King Geir had a force of warriors that pushed harder than expected. It separated Mother and Father from us. We think some other warriors are with them, but we can’t be sure.”
Jarl Rune and his son Bjarke, their bodies transformed into the hairy, bipedal forms of bear berserkers, entered the fray around us, keeping the warriors from reaching Astrid. Her magic filled the air, empowering all her allies, but I could see the weariness on her face. She wouldn’t last much longer at this rate.
“Go find her,” Rune barked. “We can hold them off. I don’t know if Geir meant for Randi to be the one singled out, but I don’t trust he wouldn’t take advantage of it.”
I turned to Fenrir. “Fen, can you smell Randi?”
The wolf god shook his head. “Too much blood in the air.”
Creation, that wasn’t good. “You and Baldr protect us from behind with Rune and the others. We’re going after her.”
Baldr tossed one warrior into another in response.
Leif, Astrid and I ran off in the direction they last knew his mother and father had been pushed. My pulse pumped hard. Something didn’t feel right. That force shouldn’t have gotten past us gods. And if Geir was the reason for it, he should have been after the force protecting Astrid. Unless…
I pushed harder. Astrid wasn’t his target. She may have said no, but in his eyes, she had no power to do so. It was her father who had the ultimate say. Bjørn sided with her, and ultimately gave her to me instead upon her request.
And everyone knew how devoted he was to Randi.
Leif and Astrid both struggled to keep up, weary from the battle, but managed, their desires to protect their mother driving them forward.
Arrows rained down on us, and in perfect unison, we pivoted and ducked in with other warriors, shielding together. Astrid bolstered our defenses with a thin magical barrier.
I’d trained with these men and women through these past few days of prep. Leif and I even found good synergy. It was a shame he, too, was mortal. I would be happy to have another warrior like him alongside me for all battles.
I grabbed Astrid’s elbow when she listed to one side. “Are you all right?”
“I’ll be fine. We need to find my mother.” There was unconcealed panic in her voice.
“We will,” I assure her.
Astrid’s breath came quicker. “We need to. I think… she saw her death in a vision. I can’t… I can’t allow…”
Her panic overwhelmed her ability to speak. My blood ran cold. Astrid had been acting all out of sorts lately around her mother. I assumed it was because Frida was due to give birth any day now. But now… Now I understood.
We pushed harder, fighting our way through when needed.
