WOLVERINE'S WORLD - THE ACCURSED

"I can't be a seeker!" Rahne protested frantically.

Actually, she did look quite upset.

"Why not?" I asked distractedly. There was a lot happening and Rahne's concerns about her calling were rather low on my list of problems..

Rahne hesitated, but didn't respond. She seemed confused by the question.

Behind the rest of us, Olivia dropped to one knee and slammed the butt of her pole-arm into the ground. There was a crack of thunder and a swirling roar of wind as dust and debris blew past us. When Olivia rose to her feet, she was an almost seven-foot tall daughter of Asgard. Benjamin, Faye and Rose hadn't seen that before. They were agape in amazement as Olivia strode purposefully past them and towards the portal that Ancient Strange had opened for us.

"Just what have you been up to lately?" Rose asked me disapprovingly. I just shrugged. I couldn't think of an answer that wouldn't take far too much time to explain.

"What's on the other side?" Olivia asked tersely as she nodded her head towards the portal.

"A hill overlooking the Dela river valley," I informed her. "There are shrines and graves."

"There is no immediate threat," the astral form of Ancient Strange added mildly. "However, that could change quickly. Be careful."

Olivia didn't break stride as she continued towards the rippling blue portal. Her massive polearm was slung across her shoulders.

"You and I," she told Blaze coldly. "We're on point. Betray us or somehow otherwise fuck this up and I'll break you in half."

Blaze actually grinned as it began following Olivia. The demon began slowly twirling the chain it was carrying. I had the distinct impression that the demon was examining Olivia's backside... and liked what it was seeing. After a few steps, Blaze also transformed. The pulse of heat was tangible, the stench to fire and sulfur pungent, and almost everyone flinched away from the burning skeleton that Blaze had become. The demon's flaming skull was a particularly terrible sight.

I noticed that what had been a mystical tattoo on Blaze's forehead was still visible as a dark engraving etched into his now flame-wreathed skull. Cyrus was obviously one of Ancient Strange's more talented students.

"What the HELL have you been doing!?" Rose yelled at me. She has a temper and she worries about me.

"The demon is the least of our problems," I replied dismissively.

Rose muttered something about age and senility and how she would have to start taking care of me.

Staring at Blaze, Faye crossed herself and then beginning turning into something that was taller, bulkier, and greener.

Meanwhile, Rahne was actually ignoring all of the drama around us as she began wildly gesturing for my attention.

"I can't be a seeker because I'm a girl!" she announced.

Yes, Rahne actually said that. I know it sounds incredible.

Emma looked away from Blaze and took a brief moment to consider Rahne's words. "Well... I can't say I've ever heard of a woman or girl who was a seeker."

"Female seekers aren't in any of the tales or songs I know," Anna agreed thoughtfully.

"Not precisely true," I replied. "After one of the Old One's deaths, Lady Laura took on his title for a time. It's accepted by my kind that she was the first seeker, although she perhaps didn't understand what she had become."

"That's an interesting interpretation of the Interregnum," Emma responded carefully - we were wandering into an area of the traditions that involved one of the goddesses. Like most priestesses, Emma took that sort of thing very seriously. "But I've never heard a Blade priestess describe Lady Laura's Rise in that manner."

"The priestesses who serve Lady Laura don't discuss all of her mysteries - even with the priestesses of the other goddesses," I replied with a shrug.

Emma was giving me a suspicious look. "I don't like it when you claim to know something about the goddesses that I don't know. I like it even less when you're probably right."

I shrugged again. "Emma... it is a big world filled with many secrets and wonders. For example: we've both recently learned that the Lady of Fire likes to have her ears nibbled. I don't think any other mortals know that."

Emma smiled and looked away. There might actually have been a trace of a blush high on her cheeks.

"You know," I persisted, "the Storm priestesses have a tradition that she and the Old One would...

"SHUT UP, JAMES!" Olivia roared just before she stepped through the portal and vanished. Blaze immediately followed her.

"But getting back to the question of female seekers," I continued imperturbably, "issues of gender were simply not much of a concern to the Old One. He was completely willing to accept female leadership. And he was more than willing to fight alongside women-warriors."

"He sure bedded a lot of them," Rose added brightly. "Lady Rogue, Lady Ororo, Lady Grey, Lady Elektra, the eastern princess, the cat in darkness, the shifting woman, the marvelous captain, the woods stalker, the black-eye, the widow, the fox, the tiger, the viper... the list goes on and on. If you believe the legends, he must have spent more time with his pants off than on."

Ancient Strange was trying not to smile. I just nodded. If you serve the Old One, you really should learn to accept his proclivities.

"Personally, I think it's great that you're a seeker!" the now-huge Faye boomed enthusiastically as she carefully patted Rahne on the back. Rahne smiled distractedly up at Faye. Size-wise, they were now a wildly mismatched pair. It was odd that they were becoming friends, but I welcomed that never-the-less. I would have been willing to swear they were fated to go in a completely different direction. Since their legendary first meeting, Blood and Green Bastards have been a difficult mix.

"Benjamin, Faye - you take rear-guard," I ordered. "Everyone else is with me."

Then I glanced at Ancient Strange.

"I'll accompany you," he said in response to my unasked question.

"Thank you," I replied. There was nothing else to say. His presence vastly improved our odds.

Then we all followed Olivia and Blaze through the flickering portal.

The portal took us elsewhere, then it soundlessly closed behind us.

We were on a tall hill that I knew well, with a view that was just as spectacular as I'd remembered. The hilltop itself was broad and flat, with no trees near the top, just a wide expanse of tall grass. The perimeter of the hilltop was marked by four neatly laid-out shrines that were dedicated to the Old One and the three goddesses.

Emma automatically clasped her hands together and bowed towards the shrine to the Lady of Fire. The shrine was in an older style - a bird with spread wings. Then Emma carefully repeated her bow towards the other shrines. Meanwhile, Olivia was humbly kneeling before the shrine to the Lady Storm. That shrine was a conventional and life-like statue of Lady Ororo, although the style was also quite old. The shrine to the Lady of Blades was more timeless, albeit slightly stylized. It showed her as a faceless woman with a katana in one hand, a sai in her belt, and the twin claws of a Blood female protruding from the knuckles of her other hand.

As always, the Old One's shrine was a simple cairn of stones. The Blood have used that as his representation ever since his final death. My father was the first to stack seven stones to honor the Old One. He did that to mark the place where the Old One had met his end. In the centuries since, the rest of us have simply been following his example.

In addition to the shrines placed around the perimeter, there was a cluster of graves at the center of the hilltop. They were organized in a style common to Blood mass burials. The graves formed a rough circle. In the center of the circle, the family progenitors are buried. Surrounding those centrally-located burials are the graves of their children.

In this particular case, there were three central graves and eight surrounding ones. The graves were marked with simple stones, but there were no carvings. The Blood traditionally assume that those who care will know who is buried underneath a marker.

"I worship Thor!" Rahne said suddenly. "I can't be a seeker if I worship Thor! Can I?"

I couldn't help but smile.

"The Old One used to fight, drink, and occasionally chase women with Thor," I reminded her. "He doesn't care about your religious inclinations. And I don't think Thor cares about your calling. Stop fighting reality, Rahne. You are who you are."

"But, I'm not like you!" Rahne insisted miserably. "I can't do the things you do!"

I nodded. "You're absolutely right. You won't be like me. And you won't do the things I do. Instead, you'll be yourself and do the things you do."

Assuming, of course, that she survived the coming fight...

Anna put a gentle hand on Rahne's shoulder. "Hush. Look around you. We should be respectful here."

At that point, Rahne realized she was standing next to a cluster of grazes and suddenly subsided.

"Sorry," she said softly in the direction of the graves.

At heart, Rahne has always been a good girl.

From the north and west, a squall was approaching. The dark clouds rippled with a sudden flare of lightning. After a brief pause, thunder called to us.

Olivia was still kneeling before the shrine to Lady Ororo, deep in prayer. I bowed towards the shrine and quietly added my own prayer of thanks. I didn't know which one of Olivia's ancestors was contributing to our cause - for all I knew, it might have been both - but I was grateful.

"Should we begin?" Blaze called from where he stood. A stray breeze wafted the stench of pitch and brimstone from his flame-wrapped form. Perhaps there was some impatience in his words.

"Soon," I replied. I was distracted and needed a moment to think. It had been a long time since I'd last been on that hill.

I was pleased to see that the local holders were still maintaining the site - including both the shrines and graves. That was a responsibility they'd voluntarily taken upon themselves. And oaths passed down the generations from father and mother to son and daughter are not an easy burden. If I survived the upcoming battle, I would have to express my gratitude.

Rose gave the oncoming storm a long look. Then she looked at me.

"Love you," she told me with a tiny smile. Then she gave me a peck on the cheek, put on her ancient helmet, and flew straight up. The hum of her energies surrounded her as she gained altitude.

Once she was fifty or so feet above ground, Rose did a slow twirl, carefully scanning our surroundings.

"All clear!" Rose called down to us.

I waved at her to signal that I'd heard. Then, heedless of the approaching storm, Rose continued to rise. There are some tricks she knew that allowed her to avoid lightning.

"I know this place," Anna said suddenly. "I've been here before."

The look on Anna's face was uncharacteristically withdrawn. Memory can do that to even the most ebullient of us. The others gave her a curious look. Even Olivia, who had just finished her supplication to Lady Storm and was getting back on her feet.

"This is the Great Lord's hill," Anna explained to them, her voice filled with quiet wonder. "It's located in what was once his personal holding. My father took me here when I was a little girl. We prayed and made an offering. Then he taught me the tales of the Great Lord. He said bards had a responsibility to never let his deeds be forgotten."

Emma peered around herself, obviously confirming to her satisfaction where we were.

Then she turned to face me. "James, is this really the best place for a battle?"

"Yes," I told Emma. "In fact, there is no better place than here."

Blaze let out a hissing, rattling chuckle. I'd forgotten how irritating that was. Of course, I'd never told Blaze any part of my story, but its kind seems to intrinsically know things you'd rather they didn't.

The expression on Faye's broad, green, face was diffident and worried - which was most uncharacteristic for her. She nodded towards the nearby graves. "I've heard of this place. That's the Great Lord's family, isn't it?"

"Yes," Benjamin answered shortly. Then he hesitated and said to me, "Perhaps Faye and I shouldn't be here?"

The wall-crawlers venerate their own ancestral spirits, so I understood why Benjamin would want to be careful about offending any local shades. Many Folk feel that the Great Lord's hill is only a place for Blood and Wilder. And no matter what powers they may possess, Scatter like Benjamin and Faye are ultimately Folk.

Anna looked at Benjamin and Faye. Then, after a polite bow towards the dead, she stepped inside the circle of gravestones and gestured to one of the large central stones.

And suddenly, Anna was a story-teller. As a bard, that's much of what she does.

"This is Wanda," Anna told Benjamin and Faye gently, but firmly. "She was Folk, and she was the youngest of the Great Lord's wives. When Malekith's warriors murdered her, she was carrying his child. This place is not forbidden to the Folk. It never has been and never will be. Anyone who says otherwise is at best wrong and at worse a liar."

I found myself nodding in agreement.

Faye looked clearly relieved. Benjamin slowly bowed his head in quiet assent.

"Who are in the other graves?" Rahne asked softly.

Anna looked at the other two central stones thoughtfully. Then she gestured to one of them.

"Sarah was the Great Lord's eldest wife. She was a Wilder of the lineage of Lady Grey, The Great Lord married her well before his rise, back when he was just a wandering claws-for-hire."

The fact that a woman of such an honored family would deign to marry a scruffy and landless ronin surprised nobody more than me. Of course, I settled down, took land, and became a respectable holder immediately after she and I were finally joined.

Then I put as much of the world as I could at Sarah's feet.

It was the very least I could do for her.

"Malia was Blood," Anna continued, nodding at the last of the three central stones. "The Great Lord's marriage to her was political - it united the forces of the Great Lord with those of an important lord named Shiro. It's said that she was proud and very stubborn. The marriage between the Great Lord and Malia was supposedly quite tense until they finally made peace with each other."

I caught Malia - the stern and proper lady-warrior - playing with Sarah's younger children. She smiled at me in embarrassment. We had been married for almost a year, yet it was the first time Malia had actually deigned to smile at me. It was as glorious and breath-taking as any sunrise, and I will never forget it.

Then Anna made an all encompassing gesture. "The remaining stones are for the sons and daughters of the Great Lord and his wives. Six were born of Sarah. Two of Malia. Wanda was pregnant when she died - the child does not have a separate stone."

"Twins," I said suddenly.

Everyone looked at me, as if surprised that I'd spoken.

I could hear the tiny double heartbeats, complementing Wanda's heartbeat as she lay next to me in our bed...

"Wanda was carrying twins," I clarified.

Emma put a gentle hand on my arm. She could see inside of me - see things that were memory instead of history or the tales of a bard. For a moment, I wondered if she thought I was mad. Perhaps she was wondering if my long life had driven me to delusion?

*No, my most honored lord,* Emma whispered privately in my mind.

The gust front from the approaching storm finally arrived. The temperature dropped several degrees as a wild tangle of winds blew past us.

"What's the military situation?" I asked Emma.

She paused and looked to the north. Emma wasn't actually seeing some sort of vision - instead she was gauging the intensity of emotions created by an event as massive as a full-blown battle.

Emma winced. "The main body of the Blood army has encountered the dark-elves," she reported to me. "The bloodshed is... well, it's bad, James."

I'm sure it was. The Blood remembered the dark-elves from their last incursion. They remembered the neatly piled stacks of Blood, Wilder and Folk bodies in the ruins of Delphi. The dark-elves knew that mercy would not be offered.

Then Ancient Strange spoke into my mind. *The dark-elves were attempting to preemptively strike the army. Instead, they ran into lord Shea's advance force of Blood. The Captain is moving north and slightly west as he tries to turn the dark-elf flank, but because this developed so quickly, he hasn't had the time to organize his marching columns into a true fighting formation. Meanwhile, the northern force from Alban and Cats Kill is out of position. They are hurrying in an attempt to make up time and attack the dark-elf rear.*

In other words, the battle had become a thing of confusion and fury. As most battles do.

I took a moment to contemplate the graves of my first family. The first wind-driven raindrops fell. The storm was almost upon us.

All around, I could sense the same massive influx of spirits as we'd witnessed at the fort. The vengeful dead were assembling to witness the upcoming battle. However, I didn't look too close. I didn't dare, because I might recognize some of those spirits and there was simply no time for that.

Everyone was still looking at me when I turned my eyes to Blaze. "Let's begin," I said.

Blaze touched the spot on its flaming skull where Cyrus had tattooed that spell-image. And then Blaze seemingly transformed into the Destroyer. I could even feel a fraudulent mystical ripple that signified the Destroyer's existence. It seemed to flare out from the simulacrum of the Destroyer and shout the lie of its presence.

"I felt that," Emma told me in awe. Her voice was shaky.

"Now what?" Rahne asked.

I shrugged. "Emma, Anna - fall back and strike when needed. The rest of us will form a semi-circle facing the portal when it arrives. Remember to spread out. Don't bunch up next to each other."

We didn't have to wait long. Another portal opened up almost immediately.

As if somehow coordinated, the cold winds of the oncoming storm washed over the hill at almost the same second the portal opened.

The Folk have a saying that goes like this: "and then all hell broke loose." I've always felt it was an extremely expressive phrase. And it describes nothing better than war.

Two massive, hunch-backed, and heavily armored ogres advanced through the portal. They were easily eight-foot tall and carrying enormous clubs. Behind them, an even larger form was shoving its way through the glimmering blue of the portal.

I noted that with some interest. Two ogres and a smaller giant - the standard force for scouting and securing the far side of a portal gate. It was noteworthy that dark-elf doctrine had not changed much over the centuries.

"Let them through!" I called out to the others. I didn't want the remaining dark-elf force to hesitate or perhaps even abandon their effort to come to our side.

Blaze still had the appearance of the Destroyer as it lashed out with its chain. Somehow, the chain was now longer than it had ever been, and the links flared with red heat as they wrapped around the neck of one of the surprised ogres. Then Blaze yanked the ogre off his feet and towards us. A pair of dark-steel daggers in his hands, Benjamin whirl-winded into the entangled ogre and there was a roar of pain amidst an arcing spray of dark blood.

Meanwhile, Olivia called down a lightning bolt from the storm and slammed it into the other ogre. The ogre flew back and away, bouncing across the hilltop and leaving gouges in the grass-covered soil. Rose - still high above us - used her powers to pick up the ogre and throw him. The ogre dwindled away, became a shrinking dot, and then vanished into the dark clouds.

The giant - over a dozen feet tall - picked up a club dropped by one of the ogres and pitched it at Blaze with incredible force. Spinning end-over-end, the club smashed into the demon with a terrific crunching sound. Blaze was knocked flat. I swear that I saw burning fragments of broken bone splinter away from him.

Without any hesitation, Faye jumped right at the giant. She slammed into the giant's face and there was a dire breaking sound that could be heard even above the rumbling storm. Dying, but still on its feet, the mangled giant kept staggering forward. Faye was still perched on its upper body, her arms wrapped around its neck, and her legs locked around its chest. Then, with a massive surge of her shoulders, Faye tore off the giant's head. There was an immense geyser of blood. Soaked red, Faye threw the head to one side and jumped off as the giant's body kept blindly stumbling forward. A halo of the giant's blood splashed away from Faye's body as she landed on her bare feet.

Meanwhile, Rahne and I had drifted further to one side of the portal, waiting for more prey to appear. The next set of intruders was a pair of dark-elf warrior-mages. They immediately attempted to cast spells, but nothing happened. However, that wasn't their fault. After all, Ancient Strange himself was providing us with counter-magical assistance. Spells would only work on that hilltop with the direct permission of the Sorcerer Supreme himself. Rahne and I seized the opportunity and rushed through and past the dark-elf mages before they had time to wonder what was wrong. They collapsed, their lifeblood soaking into the ground around their split-open bodies.

A third giant materialized through the portal, and another was forming in the blue mist behind him. The new giant was more intelligent than most of his breed - he saw the carnage in front of him, instantly jumped to the side, and landed in a defensive crouch. Blaze scrambled to its feet and charged the giant. Faye took another mighty leap. Faye and the demon hit the giant simultaneously.

Meanwhile, the giant that was partially through the gateway absorbed Olivia's next bolt of lightning and recoiled backwards. The portal itself flared bright blue and white as it soaked up stray energy from the lightning. Either that - or the sudden whipsaw of motion from the giant caused the portal to pulse erratically - and the partially formed giant howled in frustrated agony just before it simply faded away into nothingness.

For a moment, the portal became fully transparent and we could see right through it. On the portal's far side, a trio of ogres were rushing toward us. A troll - its gray skin strewn with warts and pustules - was with them. A huge war-giant, easily twenty feet tall, was also lumbering into position.

However, they weren't important. Amidst the over-sized slave-warriors there was a scatter of dark-elves. I recognized Malekith immediately. He was wearing long and dark robes and standing among a cluster of his bodyguards and officers. His thin face - split into dark and light halves - was wearing an expression of puzzlement and anger as he stared at us through the portal.

Our gazes momentarily met. Just as I remembered, Malekith's eyes were heterochromatic - one blue and the other brown, contrasting with the differing hues of his face.

Malekith didn't recognize me, but I wasn't offended. It had been a long time and, after all, we would be remaking our acquaintance quite soon.

Blaze, still appearing to be the Destroyer, tore itself away from the giant that it and Faye were exchanging blows with and rushed the portal. In a moment, it was through and on the other side. Blaze immediately collided with the three advancing ogres.

Panic set in among the dark-elves as it seemed as if the Destroyer itself was now among them.

I lunged through the portal. Rahne was with me. The others followed as best they could.

The ogres, the troll, and the giant all crashed into the still-disguised Blaze. I could only conclude that they were seeking to save their dark-elf masters from what they thought was certain doom at the hands of the Destroyer. Actually, I could not help but admire their loyalty and courage. It was just a shame that it was so badly misplaced. As I ran past the melee, I slashed at the legs of one of the ogres. Hamstrung, he collapsed to the ground. I stepped away from a wild backhand swing of his club.

The dark-elf side of the portal was located on the westward bluffs of the Huds river. I instantly recognized the location - we were just a few miles from the abandoned cabins where we'd killed Laufey Sigmundson and sent the true Destroyer back to Asgard. To the south of us, I could see swarms of Blood and dark-elf warriors fighting a confused, half-hidden battle in the heavy woods of the bluffs. The terrain favored the Blood, but the dark-elves had superior magical support and the assistance of their mighty war-creatures. The battle looked like it could tilt either way.

Rose flew over us, gesturing widely with her arms. Nearby formations of dark-elf warriors were thrown backwards as she isolated the area around the portal from the rest of the battlefield.

Benjamin sprinted into the melee that was raging around Blaze and performed an acrobatic, feet-first dive that impacted into the face of the troll. With an astonished howl, the creature rocked backwards and fell on its vast backside. I couldn't see Faye, so I presumed she was still fighting the giant back on the other side of the portal.

Rahne encountered a coldly lovely and aggressive dark-elf officer who was wielding a pair of curved and silvery blades. The officer had rushed forward in an effort to block our movement towards Malekith. She and Rahne immediately became entangled in a blindingly fast exchange of sword-and-claw play.

Olivia came through the portal next and - this is difficult to explain - she brought part of the storm along with her. The portal turned dark-gray as a furious stream of black clouds, shot through with yellow and white lightning, accompanied Olivia and then howled up into the sky above. For a brief moment, I thought I saw a dark, diffuse, feminine form riding among the winds of the storm.

She seemed to smile at me.

Malekith screamed something as he gestured at Olivia. Perhaps, with his vision partially obscured by the roiling storm-clouds, he feared that Thor himself had arrived. However, Ancient Strange prevented Malekith from casting any spells. The conflict between the two sorcerers was became visible as a strange interlacing of green and blue energies that cracked and strained around Malekith.

I ignored everything else and charged Malekith.

A dark-elf officer cursed in his native tongue as he yanked a sword made of some iridescent metal from its scabbard. Then he stepped between Malekith and I. A pair of bodyguards were backing him up. Behind them, Malekith was still wrestling with Ancient Strange's counter-magic. A mage in astral form - such as Ancient Strange - is usually at a disadvantage when contesting a physically present mage. The fully-formed mage can draw upon more raw power since he doesn't have to waste part of his strength to maintain an astral form. So far, Ancient Strange had been so much stronger than the other dark-elf spell-casters that it simply hadn't mattered. However, Malekith was a different matter. He was a formidable magic-user, with thousands of years of experience.

It seemed to me that the struggle between Ancient Strange and Malekith has beginning to slowly turn the dark-elf's way.

I spun to the side and killed one of the dark-elf bodyguards, using his falling body as a moving shield against the officer. However, that left the second bodyguard free to act and he jammed his sword deep into my side. Ignoring the pain, I removed the second bodyguard's sword-hand and then kicked him away. He collided with the officer, but I was too out of position to take advantage of that. Meanwhile, more bodyguards were approaching.

The officer recovered and advanced on me. I dodged away, but a blindingly fast swing from one of the bodyguards caught me on the shoulder and partially spun me around. The dark-elf officer closed on me. I slashed a triple track of cuts along his sword-arm, while simultaneously ripping open a bodyguard's throat.

Behind me, I heard a BAMF! as Anna arrived. Then I felt the tingle of a mental attack slide past me - Emma was with Anna. The dark-elf officer's face contorted and he fell to the ground, his sword dropping from his bloody hand. The bodyguards also collapsed. A bodyguard who hadn't been struck by Emma's attack threw a spear. Behind me, I heard Emma cry out in pain.

I was too busy to even look. Instead, I kept staggering forward, holding one arm tight against my side as that wound tried to regenerate - dark-elf blades are ensorcled and the wounds they inflict are slow to heal. I didn't want to lose too much blood. An attack of dizziness, no matter how minor, would probably be lethal.

Anna appeared in midair above the spear-thrower and landed on top of him. He never saw her coming and was driven to his knees by the force of the impact. Anna grappled the bodyguard's wrists with her hands and feet and began strangling him with her tail.

With a shout of triumph, Faye bounded past us all and went directly for Malekith. She hit the crackling energies surrounding him and was blown explosively backwards. Faye flew up and back, her body rag-doll limp as it rotated through the air. I never even heard her hit the ground.

The unnatural blue and green forces surrounding Malekith faded away as he smiled in triumph. He had finally beaten Ancient Strange. At best, Stephen had been forced into his physical form and was back in his Sanctum Sanctorum. At worst, the long, long tale of Ancient Strange was finally done.

Near the portal, the battle was still raging. Behind me, multiple lightning strikes flared and died - illuminating the hill with stark flashes of pure white light - as Olivia slew our foes. The others in our band were keeping stray members of Malekith's staff and personal guard busy, but they were so tangled up with their struggles that they couldn't help Rahne and I against Malekith himself.

Rahne appeared near me. She was splattered with the life-blood of the dark-elf officer she had been fighting. The officer hadn't been strong or skilled enough for Rahne. Without a word, Rahne and I split up and approached Malekith from different sides. In the end, the Blood are always predators.

Anna broke the neck of the bodyguard she'd been wrestling with and rose to her feet. She was the closest to Malekith and...

Malekith gestured. Anna's eyes widened and she tried to dodge away, but instead Malekith's magical attack engulfed her and a nimbus of cold and blue-white light blazed around her body. Then she collapsed motionless to the ground. I went cold inside as Rahne gasped in horror. However, the Old One was with us both - nothing could stop us from fighting. And we would fight until we won or died.

Malekith thought he had the battle well in hand. He glanced over his shoulder to gauge how his troops were doing against Lord Shea's Blood...

And then, out of nowhere, Blaze's thrown chain spun into Malekith, wrapping him in its coils. The steel attached to Malekith's body was all Rose and Olivia needed - they struck simultaneously and their respective energies coursed through Malekith as his body contorted and twisted. His magical protections flared and died in a sizzle of heat that ignited the long dry grass around him.

Ignoring the flames, the crackling electricity, and the red-hot chain, Rahne leaped onto Malekith. The claws of one of her fists jammed through his thigh and pinned him to the ground. The other dug deep into Malekith's stomach, the bones of her claws scraping against the chain that was wrapped around Malekith. She was trying to get her claws under his rib cage and into Malekith's heart, but Blaze's chain was now contrarily acting as armor.

Malekith wriggled an arm loose from the chain and back-handed Rahne across the face. The blow rocked her back and left a savage burn-mark on her face.

I landed with both knees on Malekith's chest, driving the wind out of him. My left-hand claws entered his sternum and jammed into the earth below him, the others went through his neck.

Somehow, using his unpinned leg, Malekith managed to kick Rahne away. With one hand, he grabbed my left wrist and half-pulled my claws out of his body. With the other, he scrabbled at my right wrist. Both of his hands were glowing with the residual heat of his magics and I could smell my flesh searing away under his touch. Given the injuries Malekith had suffered, that show of resistance was a staggering feat of strength and durability. Malekith was best known as a mage, but he was still a formidable warrior.

Once again, the eyes of the dark-elf met mine. My face was only inches from his. That close, he looked surprisingly mortal.

"Who?" Malekith gurgled up at me as his mouth and throat filled with blood. More than anything else, he simply seemed puzzled and disbelieving. Death is often a surprise - especially to those who have lived so long that they've forgotten its inevitability. That's the great failing of gods, near-gods, and other entities of mythic power. They don't realize that even they can end. The just don't believe that the day will come when their power fails them, when their minions aren't enough, and they will run into someone who plays by a different set of rules than the rest of their pantheon...

"We've met before," I told Malekith, "but it has been a while."

There was a flare of light from Malekith's eyes. And suddenly, the flesh was flayed away from my face. Blood flooded my eyes, and I was blind.

That was enough.

I twisted my right hand, the flesh of my wrist peeling away in Malekith's burning grip. I felt the pop of severing vertebrae and the gush of hot blood as the rotation of my claws finished separating Malekith's head from his body.

Malekith's body thrashed far longer than it should have, and then it went still.

Staggering to my feet, I stood among hot, scattered, flames and held high the blood-drizzling head of the dark-elf king. My vision was slowly coming back, but everything was indistinct and bleary.

Rose flew overhead, yelling my name. I tossed the head up to her. It was a poor throw, but she caught it anyway and then climbed further into the sky, brandishing our grisly trophy in both of her hands.

"Warriors of Svartaflheim!" she called out, somehow amplifying her voice to incredible proportions. It's a trick of hers. Her words boomed and echoed along the bluff ridgeline.

"Look upon your king!" Rose bellowed - somehow even louder. "Look upon Malekith the Accursed!"

Rose's voice broke on the last word. Below us, a low moan of horror and disbelief spread through the dark-elf army.

My vision was just clear enough to see what came next. The dark-elf formations began to disintegrate in panic.

For a long moment, the watching Blood and Wilder were strangely silent and still. Even though they had offered their lives to fight Malekith, perhaps they never really believed that he could actually be killed.

I was having trouble remaining on my feet. The magic-tainted wounds I'd taken were slow to heal. Rahne put her shoulder under mine, carefully wrapped an arm around my waist, and began walking me away from Malekith's body.

"Rahne..." I told her dazedly, "you'll be a far better seeker than I ever was."

She frowned in surprise.

"I didn't do this for the Old One," I confessed. "I didn't do this for the Goddesses or for our people. I didn't do this to warn the other-worldly powers away. I didn't do this because it was necessary or right or just. I did it all - lost all that we've lost, done all that we've done, sacrificed lives and almost burned down the Huds valley - just so I could kill Malekith with my own hands."

"I know," Rahne told me softly. Then she hugged me.

"Take me to Anna and Emma," I ordered.

Rahne hesitated and then looked up at me. Her blue eyes were filled with uncertainty. I didn't want to know what that meant.