Outside my ring, Bodie and Tore cut down night elves like maniacs. Their preferred approach seemed to be to slice a perp in half, then hack the black mist that rose off its corpse into particle-sized pieces. They’d eliminated at least half of the hunting party when I heard a rustling in the trees above me. I barely registered the movement before a night elf leaped from a branch and flew overhead, landing right within the circle of the shield. Oh, God.
I wasted no time raising my blade and dropping back into a fighting stance. With a flick of my wrist, I molded an energy bowl out of the forest dirt. Then, before the elf could get his bearings, I pivoted forward, jabbing him with a quick elbow to the temple while sucking a large chunk of his energy away. The blackness skittered down my armor and fell into my bowl, where it hissed menacingly. I took a step back and drove my sword down to his shoulder, but he blocked the blade with his own, stopping me from severing his arm. I used the reverberation to my advantage, spinning to my left and raising one foot so I could drive my knee into his groin. He fell forward with a groan. Game. Set. As he lay doubled over, I shifted my grip so I held my sword in front of me. With no hesitation, I placed both hands on the hilt and drove the blade through his heart. Black, tar-like blood gurgled from his chest while thick claws raked my leg. The elf hissed his last breath at the same time his hands wrapped around my ankle, snapping it.
“Argh!” I screamed as I fell backward. Through my pain-filled vision, I saw the dark mist rise over the elf’s body. I tried to lift my sword to hack it into pieces, but the agony streaming from my shattered ankle was overwhelming. I couldn’t get my arm off the ground . . . and the mist was descending, seemingly looking for another host. Oh, God.
In a burst of blue light, Tore’s sword blasted through the shield and pierced the black mist. He chopped the elf’s soul into pieces, then threw his blade to the ground and dropped to kneel at my side. His eyes were full of concern as they scanned my body. When they got to my foot, he frowned. “Your ankle okay, Pepper?”
“No. But it will be, right? You promised me demigod healing.” I shivered as a fresh wave of pain wracked my leg.
“It will be. But that looks like a bad break. We’ll call for a healer to help you fix it sooner.” Tore looked back at the dead elf, and then at the black blood that coated my sword. He carefully helped me stand, wrapping his arm around my waist to support my weight. “Well done, Allie. You’re definitely destined for Valhalla, now.” He winked.
I returned his wink with a tense smile. My foot dangled at an unnatural angle, and my body felt paralyzed with pain. But I had the piece of Gud Morder in my satchel, and I still had my life. For those two things, I was very grateful.
I was learning to appreciate small victories these days.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“TO ALLIE!” JOHANN HELD up his glass, and the rest of the guys followed suit.
“To Allie!” Bodie grinned. “May all your kills be as deliciously sweet as your first. Sk?l!”
Those were hardly the words I’d have chosen, but I sensed the pride behind Bodie’s words. And I had to remind myself these guys were warriors—killing elves was their version of playing football. I raised my glass in thanks.
“Sk?l,” I toasted back, taking a drink before setting my glass down on the table by the couch. After ending the dark elves, we’d Bifrosted back to the Canadian safe house and locked the piece of Gud Morder in our safe. Then we’d commenced celebrating. My ankle still sat at an unnaturally bent angle, and while we’d called for an Asgardian healer, she hadn’t arrived yet. So this party was being held in the living room, where I could prop my busted leg up on the plushy ottoman that matched the tan, L-shaped couch. I’d tried clinging to my necklace since that had sped up my healing before, but this break was much worse than the ‘mild’ fracture in my jaw. I tried not to spoil the festivities by wincing in pain every ten seconds, but it was really hard. That night elf had made my ankle hurt like a mother.
“I’m sorry we didn’t shield the top of the protection ring,” Mack apologized for the umpteenth time. “My brothers will work on that.”
His brothers had saved my life with that shield. I wasn’t about to complain.
“Speaking of, you have a lot of brothers. And they all look exactly like you. Are you guys . . .” I did mental math, “sextuplets?”
“No, but we are each a year apart.” Mack lowered himself into the armchair beneath the window.
“Well, thank them all for saving my butt back there. I really loved meeting your family. Your mom’s all kinds of awesome.” I raised my glass at my newly minted god-brother. My attention shifted to Tore as he lowered himself on the couch next to me. “And thank you. If you hadn’t killed those night elves, a lot more of them might have been jumping down on me from the trees. You saved my butt, too.”
“That was purely selfish. It would be a travesty if anything happened to your butt.” Tore winked, and heat flooded my cheeks. Did he just . . . ?
From their seats in front of the fire, Johann and Bodie gave in to fits of hysteria.
“Stuff it,” I hissed.
“That’s what she said,” Bodie guffawed.
Honestly, were all guys giant fifteen-year-olds? I looked to Tore for support, but he just lifted one corner of his mouth in a lazy smirk. Men.
“How’s the ankle, Allie?” Mack’s gentle voice redirected the conversation. I sent him an energetic message of thanks.
“It hurts,” I admitted. “I’m ready for that healer to show up, already.”
“She should be here soon.” Mack checked his communicator. “She said she’d drop in after she finished her rounds in the healing unit.”
I assumed the healing unit was the Asgardian equivalent of a hospital.
“My sister’s supposed to be sending some cookies with her, so I hope she gets here soon.” Bodie looked at the oversized clock that hung over the doorway. “I’m hungry.”
“You have a sister?” I asked. It occurred to me that I didn’t know a lot about my protectors, except that Mack had a gaggle of brothers, and Bodie and Johann took tremendous joy in making me turn every shade of red. Bless.
“I have two sisters,” Bodie corrected. “The Alf?dr gifted me with twin terrors. Drove me nuts when we were kids. Of course, now that they’re older, and they have hot friends . . . well.” He shrugged. “I have a healthy appreciation for my siblings.”
“Of course you do.” I laughed. “What about you, Johann? Any brothers or sisters?”
“One of each.” He leaned back on his elbows, and tilted his face toward the fire. “My brother’s a warrior, and my sister teaches primary students.”
“Do you miss your families?” I looked around the room.
“Ja, but we see them when we get leave.” Johann shrugged.
“And we have each other.” Bodie reached over and slugged Johann in the shoulder. Johann’s arm buckled so he fell onto his elbow.
“Right. Lucky me, I get to spend an eternity working with you.” Johann pushed himself back up and rolled his eyes.
“You love me, Hannie, and you know it.” Bodie grinned.