“Man the pulleys!” Osvif yelled as loud as he could.

Every Viking started shouting as Hallad, Skardi, Starkard, and Ospak all raced to their spots, working to quickly pull down the Leuca ango which was fighting against three different anchors.

Black blood was being flung around the flailing monster as it continued to try and flap its wings, struggling as the left one had a harpoon right under its wing.

The chains were taut on both sides, and the wire that had held it long enough was now slack, the creature struggling to stay in control of its movements.

“Pull! Pull! Pull!”

Einar stood just outside the blind, motioning for Thorleif to go and help the others who needed his protection.

A fireball exploded against the feathers and scales on the underside of the giant bird, flames washing over it.

Even though only minor damage was done, the beast cried out.

The spell had done its job, causing the bird to drop a few yards afterward, giving the Vikings time to wind the chain a few links on each side.

When it tried to free itself again, the chains grew tight, and it floundered once more in the air.

“Hit it again!”

Osvif’s shout brought two more fireballs, each of them blanketing the Leuca ango once more, causing it to roar and howl as it descended once more.

More shouts came as the men worked together, locking the chain system and holding the monster in place.

Minutes passed until finally, the behemoth was only twenty-five yards or so above, sometimes dropping to try and snap at the chains or the men operating them, finding itself unable to close the distance as the other chain kept it away.

Gods that Osvif… he’s a fucking genius!

“Spears!”

The three men tasked with the dangerous job moved into position. Each Viking took steps and threw their weapons at the beast, which could not dodge their attacks.

Two out of every three pierced the thick scale hide, and those that missed fell to the rocky ground below.

The wind and its wings are causing problems with the air currents.

Larger holes were torn into the creature's body as it fought against the harpoons and chains, the ground and men getting covered by the black lifeblood that was coating its underside.

Realizing its predicament, the Leuca ango dropped to the ground, the creature roaring as it slammed into the hard-packed dirt, sending up a cloud of dust that was quickly blown away.

It yanked on the chains, snapping its large tooth-filled mouth at the metal bonds and the men who worked them. The Leuca ango was now close enough that they had to back away when it drew near them on the off chance it freed itself from a harpoon and was suddenly in their midst.

Each strike of its mouth or claw made them vibrate, and chips from the rock where a ten-foot anchor was buried bent from the force it was under.

“EINAR!”

The spear in his hand had been absent in his mind as the battle unfolded.

I’m not sure how effective fire will be, but at least I know I can use it…

Flames began to run from his right hand and covered the entire length of the spear.

Charging the Leuca ango, the creature’s black eyes focused on him, the flaming weapon and the man who bore it.

It let out a roar, specs of saliva and blood spraying the area between them.

Ignoring the beating of the wings and the jaw that opened and closed, his eyes darted around, looking for somewhere to strike as the moment came for him to hurl the spear.

No thread was present and visible, so he aimed for a spot along the beast's neck.

It streaked across the air, and the behemoth turned its head. Its jaw absorbed the attack, slicing through part of the snout before falling to the ground, the flames now gone.

Einar covered his ears as a shriek came. The Leuca ango tugged at its bonds, a large gash on the left side of its mouth.

Running around the edge, the beast tried to turn, those black eyes never leaving him.

“Get its attention! Have the elves assault the other side!”

Einar collected another spear from one of the barrels sitting around the edge of the fight, watching as the men tasked with attacking didn’t hesitate to do their job.

More spears were now finding their marks, putting holes in the wings.

Dozens had fallen out from the beast's tremendous movement and force, and all he could do was wait until an opening came up.

Breathing in slowly, Einar tried to find that place Thorve had talked about.

Time seemed to slow down as men yelled and orders were given, yet inside him was a thread that didn’t want to be grasped. It evaded each attempt, no matter how badly he wanted to tap into the power that was there.

A pair of fireballs struck the Leuca ango’s side opposite of him, and the beast turned, yanking upon its chains and bugling its displeasure.

Focusing on the power he could harness, Einar once more coated his spear in flames and summoned more of his wyrd into it, watching as it rose three times higher than the last.

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Getting momentum, he saw the thread he hoped for appear and focused on it, sending the spear along the path needed to follow it.

A cry different than all the rest came from the Leuca ango as the flaming spear penetrated its neck, sinking deep within its flesh, the flames burning all around.

Frantically, it jerked, and a tearing sound came as the harpoon on the other side ripped from its flesh.

“Pull back!”

It came for him, hate-filled black eyes and clawed across the dirt, creating even more furrows in the soil from all the other times it had dragged its natural weapons underneath it.

Running at the approaching beast, Einar knew they couldn’t risk it getting close to the others. With only one chain holding, it would spell trouble if it damaged the ballista.

Rolling under the snapping jaw and then reaching his feet and jumping as a front claw came forward, a pain came as he landed the second time.

Ignoring the wet sensation that ran down his front, Einar forced his body to move, charging the line of Vikings looking at him with grimaces and narrowed eyes.

Stumbling just a few yards beyond the out reached claw of the Leuca ango as it swiped again, he could finally look down and see what had happened.

“Shit!”

Seeing his gut sliced open, part of his intestines hanging out, the blood that was running down left no real option.

Even if I used every ability, it wouldn’t be enough to heal me.

“Einar!”

Skardi came forward, charging toward him.

Two large hands grabbed his shoulders, stopping him from rising.

“Help me up,” he muttered. “I need to go back.”

“You can’t! You’re–”

“Dead either way.”

A second passed, the creature's howl behind him filling his ears.

The next, he was on his feet, set down softer than he had expected, as the large Viking looked at him in the eyes.

“What do you need?”

Holding his hand against his intestines as strength in his body began to leave, Einar motioned to the item on Skardi’s back.

“I need your weapon and something to wrap me up! Quickly!”

Coughing, he spat blood, grimacing at how much was already setting in.

Hogni arrived and quickly took off his pants. Both men did what they could, blood covering Einar and their hands as intestines were pushed into the gaping wound, and the clothing was wrapped around his midsection, tied off in the back.

“Thank… you… Now the axe.”

Ignoring the way Skardi’s eyes looked at him, he took the weapon that was not built for him at all and turned.

“End this,” Hogni stated as Einar's entire body erupted in flames.

There was no time to respond as his strength was quickly vanishing, and the call of his wyrd was rapidly decreasing.

I was going to save this for the male but…

[ Rune Empower ]

Life roared through him, and the flames around him doubled in size in a second.

The pain of everything he felt decreased tremendously, and the Leuca ango’s eyes blinked, those scale-covered lids rising and closing a few times as Einar faced it.

“For Midgard!”

The shout hurt, the pain in his core reminding him that even with all this newfound energy and power, there was no time to waste. He was going to die soon.

The world seemed to be moving slower, even the beast's movements and those of his men as he raced toward the creature.

His perception picked up every detail of the behemoth as it moved, mouth opening, front claws preparing to attack again.

What he needed and desired came as the last ten feet before they met appeared like a beacon.

A pulsating thread, wound around the beasts neck and seemingly impossible to accomplish at any moment besides right now, was there.

Einar’s eyes were fixated on it, sensing what he had to do and committed to it.

The Leuca ango came at him, snapping once more, its head turning sideways, mouth wide open, a tongue covered in its black blood wiggling inside.

Leaping upward, Einar passed through the mouth, kicking off a tooth as the maw began to close around him, missing his legs by inches and landed on the side of its face.

One step, two steps, pain lancing through him with each one, the pair of pants failing to hold in everything as something slapped against his leg with every stride.

None of that mattered. The thread was there.

Swinging downward as the Leuca ango tried to twist and shake off the insect that had landed upon it, bright orange flames covered the axe as it connected with the base of the beast's neck.

It jerked as the blade bit, slicing through the protective hide. The Dane axe buried itself until it struck something solid.

Its power was stopped briefly before it slid just a few inches between the two neck bones and touched the cord that was protected within.

Only another few inches dug into the space, cutting that section of the creature's anatomy.

Einar found himself airborne, flung upward from the spasm and movement of the Leuca ango.

Beneath him, thirty feet or more below, were his men and his Elven friends.

He could see their faces, the look of shock on some. Others, like Osvif’s face, had drawn lips and appeared to be nodding as he watched his friend fly through the air.

Then time returned to normal, and gravity claimed the Viking who could not fly.

The pain came as he struck the hard dirt, his body seeming to almost tear in half from the injury that had grown.

Darkness came as the sound of men and a beast all cried out in different ways.

***

The sound of tsking reached his ears, and the all-too-familiar sensation of cold stone against his bare back announced where he was.

“It would seem you keep finding ways to die, each one more glorious than the last.”

Sitting up, Einar found himself smiling, seeing the shape of his favorite Valkyrie standing before him.

“We need to stop running into each other like this, Geiravör.”

The blond-haired woman laughed, her voice carrying an ethereal quality like a harp. The Valkyrie shook her head, a slight smirk upon her face.

“Indeed Einar Sibbison. Yet here we are once more. Just know that Asgard is overjoyed with your success, and they are anxious to see you complete this quest.”

“The male Leuca ango…”

She nodded as he frowned.

“Such is a feat worthy of many songs. Perhaps even to be written in a book inside the library of Asgard, but for now, we shall wait and see how this fight actually takes place.”

“Any advice?”

She chuckled and shook her head.

“Besides not dying? No. That is not something I am allowed to offer. The gift of knowledge you were given of the undead was about the most that could be allowed. Any more would have permitted action by the others who fight against us.”

She leaned forward, her braid falling over her shoulder as she drew close to him, ignoring the fact he was as naked as a babe.

“Know that they, too are aware of you and what you are doing. Be prepared for what might come.”

“What might come? Can you–”

He stopped as she shook her head.

“I know this meeting seems short, but I was not here to welcome you; I only just arrived. Last time, I knew what was coming and was able to get here beforehand, which gave us a longer time together. Just know Einar, Odin is watching and I…”

She paused, glanced over her shoulder, and up into the shifting universe that decorated the ceiling.

Geiravör sighed and turned her attention back to him.

“You are proving worthy of what it cost him. Now go, it is time.”

Once more, he felt himself falling backward, striking the stone and passing through it.