Hammered

arm around his hairy shoulders. Together we limped back toward the root of Yggdrasil.
    » Is Odin killed? « he asked.
    » I don’t think so. I got one of his ravens, so he’s currently functioning without thought—or maybe it’s memory. « The remaining raven was circling over the spot where Odin fell. Vidar was bent over him, trying to get him to respond. » Plus whatever it feels like to have Hrym tee off on you with an ice club. «
    The Russian thunder god laughed. » Is good enough for me, then. For wise one to be crippled in mind is fate worse than death. «
    » We have to get out of here, « I said. » If the Einherjar or more of the Æsir arrive, we won’t make it. « Two of us and fifteen of the frost giants were dead. We could have left with only two frost giants dead, with Väinämöinen and Gunnar still alive; the thought made me want to weep.
    » Da . Is truth. But Thor still lives and fights. «
    » Leif could probably use our help. «
    Perun chuckled wryly. » I do not think we help much at this point. «
    Leif was now trying to get past the shield by circling around the thunder god. All he needed was one good strike against Thor for Moralltach to do its work. Unlike Fragarach, Moralltach couldn’t cut through shields or armor, but its power was to kill with one blow. Lopping off a pinky, a flesh wound to the calf, a pound of flesh from the forearm, it didn’t matter: All were fatal wounds when Moralltach delivered them. At least, that was how it was supposed to work. I’d never seen it work like that, because when I decapitated the Norns with Moralltach, its magic was redundant. But Thor was pivoting easily to meet Leif’s blows. Occasionally he lashed out with his hammer, but Leif was never there.
    That told me my friend was a fraction faster than the thunder god. Leif hadn’t figured out how to get around that shield, though. He needed to try something new. Even as I thought this, his blurred circle around Thor came to a halt and he squared off perhaps ten yards away from the thunder god’s shield. A human’s chest would be heaving for breath at this point, but Leif was perfectly still, a statue of a pale blond ninja in a field of white. His booted left leg was bent in front of his right; his right arm was cocked to the side, with the hilt of Moralltach held at ear height, its blade a cold blue gash in the dark above Leif’s head.
    A silence fell on the plain. Zhang Guo Lao flipped backward three times to put some distance between himself and Týr, holding up his hands in a clear signal to hold. The warrior god held. The frost giants tore their gazes from Freyja and stopped grunting long enough to listen.
    » Do you know who we are, thunder god? « Leif said into the silence. I translated the Old Norse for Perun’s benefit.
    » I care not! « Thor sneered.
    » That is precisely why we are here. You are a careless, thoughtless god wrapped in protective myths of goodness. You are a slayer of innocents. You killed my family a thousand years ago and dared me to become a vampire. You probably do not even remember, do you? «
    The thunder god’s voice rang with icy scorn. » No. Why should I remember a moment’s amusement from a thousand years ago? «
    » Amusement? My family’s death was amusing to you? It is as I thought. Come on, Thor, « Leif said, beckoning to him with his left hand. » Your destiny awaits. «
    He wanted Thor to charge, thinking he would gain some advantage by it, but I could not see any. Thor bellowed and rushed him, shield and hammer held high. Leif remained immobile, and as I watched the headlong progress of Thor, Leif’s plan became clear to me.
    » No, Leif, « I breathed.
    In order for Thor to follow through on his hammer blow, he’d have to lower his shield and rotate it to his left side. For the space of a split second, his left shoulder would be unguarded, and Leif wanted to take advantage of it. But, in so doing, Leif could not avoid the hammer.
    Their collision was a blurred, dull explosion of crunching bones. Thor’s hammer burst Leif’s skull apart like a watermelon, and he collapsed to the plain without a head. Thor remained standing.
    » Ha! « he shouted. » Who has met his destiny? Not I! « But then his shield dropped and he turned to face the spectators. Moralltach was lodged in the muscle above his collarbone, between his neck and left shoulder. It had missed the brigandine and successfully parted the mail; Thor had worn no gorget. It was