28. Erik

Ihit the ground in a cascade of bricks and Magnar sped toward me with his face twisted into a furious snarl. I stooped down, grabbing a jagged stone and waiting for his attack.

He leapt at me and I swung my right arm, smashing the makeshift weapon against his temple, and he stumbled back as blood poured.

A scream tore through the air which I was sure belonged to Montana’s sister, but I refused to acknowledge it. The twins had been in our lives for so little time in comparison to this age-old feud. Magnar and I had been enemies for a thousand years. No force on earth could rectify that but death.

Magnar threw a heavy punch, and I danced aside, evading a barrage of attacks as he stormed toward me. Vengeance burned in his gaze like acid, and I met it with an ire of my own. “I will have your heart in my fist by the end of this,” he growled.

I dodged another punch, but his other fist impacted with my jaw, and I snarled as pain flared through the bone. I slammed my palms to his chest and launched him into the air with all my strength. As his body hit the ground a hundred feet away, a great crack tore along the centre of the cement and a tremor quaked the earth beneath my feet. Adrenaline surged through me as thunder cracked like cannon fire above, the thrill of the brawl setting my blood alight.

Fabian and Julius were fighting near the shore, moving in a surge of motion as they parried each other’s fists.

My gaze whipped to the key high above us and I stalked toward Magnar as he gained his feet, rolling his shoulders back. This fight was written in the stars. Today we’d finish this madness. I’d be rid of Idun’s pawns forever, and I’d take my goddamn wife back.

Magnar roared a challenge as I approached, sprinting to meet me. I moved at full speed, readying for the collision as the two of us hit with the force of a car crash. A tremor resounded in my bones as I tried to keep a hold of him, his muscles tensing and his fists swinging.

He swept out my legs and my back slammed against the ground, the blood-red sky silhouetting him for half a second before he fell on top of me, throwing a jaw-splitting punch into my face. I caught his next fist, twisting his arm so sharply that he growled in agony. His free hand locked around my throat and dark laughter bubbled from my chest.

“I don’t breathe, you fool,” I spat.

“I am not trying to choke you, parasite.” He yanked his other arm free, and I slammed my knuckles into his gut as he locked a second hand around my throat. “I’m trying to rip your fucking head off.”

I gritted my teeth and locked my own fingers around his muscular neck, squeezing until he started to turn blue. He twisted my head so sharply, I could feel my vertebrae on the verge of breaking. Pain daggered along my spine, and I tightened my fingers, snarling my ferocity. It had come down to who was going to kill the other first and I was determined to be the victor.

Julius threw Fabian toward us and he crashed into Magnar full-force, knocking him far away from me as the two hit the ground in a tangle of limbs. I gained my feet, rolling my head side to side as the damage the slayer had caused slowly healed.

I spotted Fabian on top of Magnar, grinning at the turn of events, my body alive with the clash of battle.

“I’m taking Callie home, you son of a bitch.” Fabian slammed Magnar’s head down on the stone, but the slayer drove a fist into his side, forcing him away.

Julius rammed into me from behind, knocking me forward several steps as he clung to my back. Something sharp collided with my head and I shouted my rage, launching myself backwards onto the ground and crushing him beneath me. A bronze door handle came free from his hand, bouncing across the stones out of reach.

I sat up, throwing an elbow back into Julius’s face as he tried to hold onto me. He groaned as I got to my feet, and I turned to face him, waiting for him to rise too so he could face me man to man. If this was my last fight on earth, it wasn’t going to be without honour. I’d do anything I could to increase the chance of my soul earning its place in Valhalla, even if that was a pointless endeavour.

Julius sprang upright, bending forward and sprinting to tackle me. As his shoulder slammed into my gut, I threw a solid punch into his kidney. He coughed, never faltering and I shoved him away again, batting his next attack aside with a dark smile.

“Is that all you’ve got?” I goaded him.

Energy poured through my veins as we circled one another. I had so much pent up anger from the past few days, it felt good to unleash it at last.

“I have plenty left to give,” he snarled. “I am a man of flesh and fury. My blood is gilded with the power of the gods, and I am made to destroy you.”

Julius kicked out, slamming his boot into my knee and something cracked. I growled in pain, limping back a step as it took a second too long for my body to heal. The slayer smiled ruthlessly, pressing his advantage as he smashed a palm to my chest, but I caught his elbow, twisting until a satisfying snap filled the air. He roared in pain as his left arm fell limp at his side, but he raised his other in a fist, not retreating.

“I still have one arm left to kill you with, and that will be all I need” he hissed, his eyes hooded as he advanced on me.

My leg healed, but I continued to feign my limp as I retreated, letting him think he had the upper hand. As he darted forward to seize his mistaken advantage, I brought up my healed leg and kicked him squarely in the stomach. He yelled as he flew backwards through the air, crashing into the golden cage with a deafening gong before slumping to the ground unmoving.

Satisfaction spread through me and the sound of Andvari’s laughter rang in my ears.

“Erik!” Montana’s eyes locked with mine as she reached for Julius’s prone form through the bars. He seemed unconscious, possibly dead, but I only felt bad about that because of the look in my wife’s eyes. Something akin to guilt touched the blackened husk of my heart, but I didn’t have a moment to dwell on that as Fabian’s agonised yells filled the air.

I turned in panic, speeding toward him as Magnar tore my brother’s right arm from its socket. All I could see was red as blood poured from the gaping wound, and Fabian’s screams pitched up into the sky.

An oncoming storm of rage, pain and death was approaching fast. But I would not see Fabian die.