Page 10 (1/2)

We began to receive reports that Hel was building forges in her real for raw materials from the Svartálfar The dwarfs, bless theard that swords and shields would not be enough to carry the day About nine years ago she started to ar in their use She now has a massive army of soldiers with automatic weapons, who cannot be killed unless their heads are destroyed or struck off fro the Einherjar to meet thee The dwarfs have chosen to cast their lots with ours and have likewise beenpreparation for the final battle They have new transports and weapons unlike any I have seen

According to our esti the past year with a fair chance of success, especially once Surtr and the sons of Muspell got involved With no Thor to andr, and no one to stop Fenris, her victory seemed assured--at least on paper

What has prevented her seeical inability to proceed without her father, Loki She could have the world for her own right now, she could lay waste to Midgard and shape it howsoever she wills, but instead she craves his favor

Soht two thousand arainst our fifty Einherjar She stepped over their honorable corpses and entered the cave, wearing the fornized her and demanded that she leave

"You have no cause to be here!" she cried "Is not Niflheinored her and spoke in her sepulchral voice to Loki, as the snake dripped its venoyn held above his face

"Father," she rasped, "we can leave this place today and win Ragnarok The old prophecies are null The Norns are dead Heimdall, as fated to slay you, is dead Freyr is dead Týr and Vidar are dead Even od of od "What?" Loki said "You say Thor is dead? How?"

She told hiard and how you surprised us with defeat She named your party: the olf, the vaod

"What thunder god?" Loki wanted to know

"Perun The Slavic god He has disappeared"

"But he is not dead?"

"I do not know, Father," she said "Hein such a way as he had not for centuries "Set hter"

"Father, I cannot unbind you Only you can do this But I can make you do it sooner rather than later"

"How?"

"Answer me first: Do you still love this cow?" Hel jutted her chin toward Sigyn, who had protected Loki as best she could from the snake’s dire venom all these years But she was not Hel’s iantess

"Her?" Loki sneered "No, I hate her She has neither killed the snake nor erected a roof over htless, worthless"

"And so I set you free," Hel said She sloughed off her hu like an unwholesome weed to the roof of the cave She pulled the wicked knife, Faed it into the neck of the faithful Sigyn

Loki’s wife gurgled her last breath, and the bowl of caustic venom toppled full into Loki’s face He screamed and writhed violently, and still the snake dripped on, under the goddess Skadi’s command to continue Loki jerked and pulled at his restraints, and the earth shook underneath Hel’s feet He cursed her He swore vengeance upon her And then, as the venom continued to eat at his eyes and chew at the substance of his flesh, he begged her for mercy

But Hel had none Mercy was an e at all was sacred and no living creature, not even her father, could cry so piteously as to make her take heed

Loki bucked and howled as the venom bore deeper He thrashed and shouted his defiance The earth trerew until his bonds were finally snapped and he was set free Blood and tears strea cheeks, and he seized the snake that had tormented him so and burned it alive in his hands, his fire returned to hiht with so inning with the Slavic thunder god

We do not knohy he focused on Perun rather than on the vaet of convenience Loki knew that the entrance to the Slavic plane lay hidden somewhere in the Ural Mountains, and it was to these he flew upon first leaving his cave

He left Hel behind, without thanks, bereft of approval, and with no signal that she should begin Ragnarok Unable to follow him, she returned to her realm, sullen and uncertain, to await further word from her father

"And that is e ling for the non sequitur of the year

"I beg your pardon?" I said

"Wean attack on Asgard Odin has decided that the best way to do that is to slay Fenris"

"Well, that’s nice, but we can do it a bit later"

"Now is the perfect ti’s eyes clouded, and the ravens above squawked "You swore you would help us You swore to render what aid you could in place of a blood price"

"And render it I shall But not right now I have an apprentice to bind to the earth, and until she’s bound, I’ shifted her eyes to Granuaile and pursed her lips in dislike, realizing that , then," she said

"No way" I shook my head to emphasize the point "She isn’t ready yet After she’s bound she could actually be helpful and ht now she’s a liability and a potential hostage"

I flattened ainst the sun as I searched out Odin’s ravens I called out to them to make sure the mind they represented heard me

"If my apprentice falls victim to an ‘accident,’ Odin, I won’t help you at all, you hear ins while we are being patient?" Frigg asked

"I’ll take on J&ouandr myself if it does," I said "That’s how confident I am that it won’t happen, okay? I think we have a year left" At least, I hoped we did

"Based on what infored here, Frigg I will keephad nothing nice to say, so she didn’t say anything She nodded curtly and turned her back on us, floating up the rainbow into the northern sky The ravens followed her

I hoped that after this encounter Granuaile would beto talk, but my optimistic expression was immediately crushed when she shook her head at e, Atticus?" she said "Really?"

"Fall to your knees and grovel Now!"

"Well--"

"Nope Fall!"