Hammered

rose too and stretched.
    The massive trunk of Yggdrasil still loomed to the north, a gray wall that secured our right flank, though it was a football field away from where I stood. Gunnar and I were on the far right of our company, and the rest of the group was spread out to the south, scanning the western sky.
    Even with night vision, there wasn’t much for me to see except for a bright point of light that was probably the boar Gullinbursti. Forced to rely on Leif, I asked him what he saw.
    » Odin and Freyr for certain. The lady with the cat chariot must be Freyja. «
    Saying that in hearing of the frost Jötnar was a mistake; they became extremely animated and repeated her name like fanboys, some of them even jamming their hands down their furs.
    Leif continued, raising his voice to drown out the randy chorus of the giants. » I count three others. «
    » Including Thor? «
    » No. I do not see Thor. «
    » Six of the Æsir but no Thor? Something’s up. «
    » I should like to take this opportunity to name you Sherlock and point out that there is no shit. «
    » What? Leif, no. You said that completely wrong. You’re supposed to say, › No shit, Sher— ‹ «
    » Incoming! « Leif interrupted me. » Odin’s spear! I cannot tell who has been targeted from this distance. «
    » Gods Below, « I breathed. » How can he target any of us? Aren’t we under a seeming right now? «
    » Aye, we are, « Väinämöinen confirmed.
    » It might be proof against Hugin and Munin but apparently not against Odin himself. « I shape-shifted to a hound, then back again in case it was aimed at me. Taking Fragarach with me, I drifted to the left and watched the phosphorus glow of Gullinbursti grow brighter. He was so bright that he was lighting up the puffed blanket of clouds above.
    » Oh, bugger, the clouds! « I said. » Thor’s above the clouds! « I got no response, for that’s when Odin’s plan hit us. The long flight of his spear ended through Väinämöinen’s chest, throwing the Finn backward ten yards and spilling him dead into the snow. His seeming dissipated with his death, and now our exact positions were revealed to the Æsir. How Odin had known to target Väinämöinen was anyone’s guess, but it was clearly the linchpin of his plan.
    » One of the Æsir is an archer, « Leif said. » Arrows incoming. That must be Ullr. «
    » Take him out, Perun! «
    » Da! « The happy hairy thunder god grinned, and lightning lanced down from the sky, but nothing happened except for a frost giant taking an arrow in the throat.
    » They’re ready for it this time, « I said. » They learned from their mistakes. They’re protected like we are. You’ll have to make do with your axe. If you see either of Odin’s ravens, take a shot. « I hurried over to the frost Jötnar as another arrow found its mark, albeit not fatally. » Hrym! Suttung! Can you do anything about that archer? Wind or ice or something to throw off his aim? He’ll just pick us off otherwise. «
    » Graah, « Hrym said. » Hrrrrgh, « he added, and a long ice club grew from the palm of his right hand, sort of like an extreme beardcicle. The other frost giants followed suit, condensing and freezing their own clubs, then they pointed them in concert in the direction of the Æsir. Shortly thereafter, a curtain of snow was thrown up perhaps a hundred yards in front of us, violent tempests in miniature that were sure to throw off anything flying in our direction—including winged horses and chariots and giant shiny dwarf-made pigs, as well as arrows.
    » That’s good, « I said, » but keep an eye on the sky above. Thor is up there above the clouds, and he’ll try to drop in on us soon. « I moved back to the body of Väinämöinen to retrieve Odin’s spear. The cold iron touch of my hand on its shaft did nothing to deactivate the targeting runes on the spearhead, so I had a surefire kill shot here. But using it would mean giving the Æsir a chance to throw it at us again.
    The Finnish wizard looked surprised, his eyes open in an unblinking stare, focused on the spear sprouting from his chest. I closed his eyes and hoped that his soul, wherever it was, felt content with his brief contribution to the battle. I was not content, I would have liked to hear more of his stories, and more of his songs. I would have liked for him to feel he’d done right by the sea serpent he championed. And I would have liked time to mourn him properly, but the demands of battle