The Black Spear Comes Home

I allowed myself only a half-hour's rest before I was on my feet again. I knew that our struggle with the lava dragon would not have gone unnoticed by the giants and I didn't want to have to fight off a party of scouts while I flew passengers across the river. I chose to fly Baldur across first, since if any giants did show up, he could keep them occupied until the rest of us joined him.

I placed my hands on Baldur's shoulders and whispered the words "Volare maximus!" Baldur slowly rose and floated about five feet into the air.

He glanced down at me uneasily. "What happens now? Do I try to walk on the air or something?"

"No. Just be still and I'll direct you across." I instructed. Then I waved a hand and he soared out over the river. When I lowered him to the ground on the other side he was grinning like a little kid in a candystore.

"Damn, but that was fun! I could get to like this flying thing real easy." He chuckled, then turned to glance at Crag Keep behind him.

"Belle and Leif, change into birds or something and get across there."

Belle blurred into a falcon and Leif into an owl, gliding across the river with ease. They flew a ways beyond where Baldur was standing to scout. I turned back to Marissa. "All right, sweetheart. I'm going to cast the same spell on you that I did on Baldur. Relax and you'll be on the other side in a flash."

I cast the spell on her and she floated up and across the river, landing safely on the other side. Then I used the same spell and flew across myself, since bird-shape made me nauseous. My head throbbed and I winced. I knew I couldn't risk transforming again that day.

"Where to now, Miss Turner?" I asked wearily. "Is it in Crag Keep?"

She shook her head. "No. But it is nearby. I can feel it shivering through my bones. It's moving, Loki. Whoever has it is carrying it somewhere."

"Probably right towards us, if I know Surtur," Baldur predicted. "And I ought to, considering how many times we've fought over the years. He's coming to see what in hell just trounced his pet dragon, or I'm no son of Odin."

"In that case, we'd better prepare some kind of welcome for them, Uncle Baldur," Belle said fiercely.

"Better hurry then, love," Leif called back from where he was flying overhead in owl shape. "They're coming in from the northwest, riding some kind of giant lizards."

"How many, Leif?"

"Six fire giants and one Vanir lord," he reported back grimly.

I exchanged worried glances with Baldur. "Think you can hold off that many lizard riders while I try and negotiate with Malastein?"

"Negotiate?" Baldur repeated in disbelief. "Hela's tits, Loki! Why not just kill the bastard?"

"Because I'm trying to stop a war, not start one." I pointed out. Warriors! Why was their answer to everything five feet of steel through the heart? "Besides, my daughter's betrothed to his son, and I don't want to start off their marriage with bad blood between me and my son-in-law."

"Uh, yeah, that would be kind of hard to forgive," the flaxen-haired warrior conceded. He unsheathed his sword. "Don't worry, my friend. Skullhammer and I will take care of those fire giants while you attempt to talk sense into that fool Vanir. I wish you luck. I have a funny feeling you're gonna need it."

I turned to Marissa, who was pale and sweating beneath her burnoose and scarves. "Listen. This may get nasty, and I can't spare much of my power to protect you, so I'm going to ask you to hide behind a rock or something until this is over. I don't want you to get killed if I can help it, so just lay low, okay?"

"All right. Getting squashed by a giant is not the way I want to remember my trip to Muspelheim," she joked, then kissed me hard. "I'll be behind this rock here if you need me. Kick the bastard's ass good, Loki. For Pa and me both."

"With pleasure." I'd be only too happy to thrash Malastein within an inch of his misbegotten life. After I reclaimed Gungnir, that is. I only hoped that my famous honey tongue would work on the hardheaded Vanir. Then again, I had no reason to doubt it wouldn't. I'd argued circles around better men and come out ahead.

Once I'd made sure Marissa was out of sight, I spun back around to see what little surprises my companions were planning for Malastein and company.

Belle had laid down a row of innocent-looking white pebbles in front Baldur. I recognized them as enchanted hailstones that when triggered would explode with all the force of a cannon shot. They should be enough to slow down the advance guard, if not disable them outright.

Up above, Leif was flying in the stealthy shape of a great horned owl. At first he'd wanted to try and snatch Gungnir from his father, but I quickly vetoed that plan. There was no telling how the spear would react to someone trying to take it from its wielder by force, and the last thing we needed was for Leif to be killed trying to redeem himself.

I convinced him instead to help out Baldur and Belle by attacking the salamanders and giants from above, using those huge talons to even the odds. Baldur was standing with his feet planted, his sword out and ready, like some immovable mountain, or a hero out of legend. He looked a bit strange without his customary mail and bearskin cloak, but I sensed he was just as deadly, even swathed in Arabian silks. In fact, the silks would give him an edge in mobility, and he could dodge and attack quicker than he'd of been able to in his Viking armor.

My daughter stood a few feet behind the big fighter, her hands cradling her water wizard's staff, with which she could summon storms that would pin Surtur's pointed ears back for him. It was made of white ash and set with pearls and a colossal turquoise at the top. I could feel the restless energy of the sea and the wind swirling inside it, waiting to be released.

I could feel the ground shudder as the lizard riders and Malastein drew nearer. Norns hear me now, I beg you. Protect my family and let no harm befall them. And give me the tongue of all the bards of Erin that I may persuade Malastein of his folly in stealing the Black Spear. I sent that prayer winging with the speed of thought to the Spinners of Fate, and hoped it would be enough to guarantee us victory.

For if I failed here, I knew it would mean another century or so of warfare between Aesir and Vanir. Therefore, Loki, I told myself sternly, you must not fail. You must recover Gungnir at all costs.

THUD! THUD! THUD! The feet of the salamanders slammed repeatedly into the rock, making the ground shake like a strawberry jelly mold on Yule Eve. My palms began to sweat and I wiped them hastily on my pants. I must project an aura of calm and coolness, act like I had the upper hand, the ace in my sleeve. Otherwise Malastein would think he could walk all over me.

The salamanders and their fire giant riders emerged from the cloud of black dust first, brandishing huge spears that looked as if they'd uprooted small saplings and set a spearhead on them. Their homely faces were set in a scowl so deep that I was sure it'd frozen there. As they saw us they let out huge yells that were designed to make us panic and bolt for cover.

But Baldur stood firm, as did Belle, only wincing at the volume. In fact, Baldur the Brave laughed in their faces, crying, "Come on, you spineless sons of goat turds! Is that the best you've got? My son could yell louder than that. Shall I show you how it's done?" he drew in a huge lungful of air, then released it in a truly piercing screech, like the howl of a banshee.

The lead salamander pulled up, shaking its head in pain. Its rider kicked it hard in the ribs, but the beast fought him, clearly not wanting to go anywhere near whatever produced that hateful noise. Furious, its rider cuffed it with one massive hand, almost knocking the lizard off its feet. Off balance from the blow, the unlucky lizard stumbled right into one of Belle's little hailstones.

The next thing I saw was a white swirl of snow and kaboom! The fire giant and his mount went flying some ten feet across the ground.

That's my girl! I cheered silently, fighting back a grin at my child's resourcefulness.

The other two giants roared in fury at sent their mounts pounding towards Baldur, who didn't bother with introductions, but jumped right into the middle of them, Skullhammer flashing. Giant blood and salamander brains splattered all over. Confident that Baldur was holding his own, I directed my gaze to the rider in the middle of the pack of lizard riders.

Malastein was wearing shiny Vanir mail and a blue cloak, his long fair hair bound back by a gold fillet, which proclaimed his noble ancestry. He carried Gungnir in one fist, tip lowered like a lance. I could feel the Black Spear thrumming with eagerness from here. This was what it had been made to do, and it was howling to be set free to shed blood and deal death.

Silently I bid the Vanir lord to come to me, and his cold sapphire gaze locked with mine as if summoned. I saw recognition flare in their icy depths and a slow smile spread across his narrow lips. He urged his mount into a trot, heading straight towards me.

Unlike the fire giants, Malastein was not fooled into setting off Bella's trap. He brought the salamander to a halt just before the pebbles and vaulted neatly over the ring to land before me in a crouch, Gungnir cradled in one hand.

"Well, well. Fancy meeting you here, Loki."

"I was about to say the same of you, Malastein," I drawled, giving him my best serpent's smile. "Then again, I guess it only makes sense for you to fall in with rogues and thieves, all things considered."

His eyes narrowed. "What things, little magician?"

"Let's not kid ourselves, Lord Malastein," I began, my voice low and sweet as poisoned honey. "You and I know that you've acquired property that doesn't belong to you. Now, won't you save yourself a lot of grief and just hand it over? Before it persuades you into doing something you'll regret."

"Such as?" he said silkily, his long fingers caressing the spear fondly.

"Such as starting a war you can't win," I said bluntly, knowing that subtlety was lost on him now. Gungnir's siryn call had settled deep within his mind and he was deaf to the finer points of diplomacy.

Malastein smirked at me, clearly amused by my words. "Ah, magician, I think you have that backwards. You Aesir better be careful not to start a war you can't win. For I'm the holder of the Black Spear now, and the one who holds the spear shall triumph in battle over any enemy." He lifted the spear and shook it, reminding me of nothing so much as small boy trying to intimidate an older rival with his shiny new toy.

"Only if the one who wields the spear knows how to control it, my lord," I reminded him gently. "Poor Malastein! You've been led astray, I fear, by the very thing you sought to master. Gungnir's been whispering in your head, hasn't he? Promising you victory and glory unending if you'll allow it to drink your blood, hasn't it?"

The Vanir lord went white. Then he bared his teeth in a feral snarl and cried, "What's it to you if I have? Now Gungnir knows me and it will obey me and only me. So best go crawling back to your one-eyed master, Loki Son of Nobody, and tell him that the time of the Aesir is over. Now it's the Vanir's turn to rule! For too long have we been ground under the heel of that tyrant Odin and his idiot sons, humiliated and reviled because of our beauty and our magic. Our culture is better than yours, our poets smarter, and our warriors more honorable," he boasted. "And our women are more beautiful and virtuous than your Aesir sluts."

"And your lords are more treacherous, aren't they Lord Malastein?" I shot back, beginning to get sick of all his preening. It was worse than watching the peacocks strut across the lawn at Valhalla. "Who was it that had to resort to deceiving and intimidating his own son in order to get Gungnir? Hardly a deed the skalds will sing of, now is it? Malastein the Sly, stealing Gungnir from the hands of his own son, after he'd sworn upon his sacred honor to never use the spear against his new Aesir relatives. Does Gungnir's voice drown out the cries of kinslayer and murderer now, Malastein?"

"You're no kin of mine, nor ever will be, Loki! I forbid my son to have anything to do with your bitch of a foundling." Malastein growled.

"Pity he didn't listen to you then," I taunted. "For he is contracted by word and deed to my daughter Belle, which is the only reason I'm here arguing with you now, you warmongering bastard. For once in your life, listen when someone else talks, Malastein Haraldsson. Is your pride worth the price of your honor? Or that of your people? How many innocents will die if the Vanir and Aesir go to war again? Your people have prospered these many years, trading with mine. Will you throw away all you have gained for a few bloody minutes of glory that will be forgotten with your death? Think of your children, my lord. Would you have them rule over a barren land, soaked in blood, haunted by the spirits of the betrayed? Or would you rather see them reign over a prosperous land, green and alive, happy and content, in friendship with their neighbors? Gungnir can't give you that, Malastein. All it brings is death and destruction. Give it back to us, before it's too late."

He was silent for a few moments, and I began to hope that my desperate pleas had reached him. I soon realized that my words, heartfelt as they were, had fallen on deaf ears. "No more of your tricks, Loki! I'm not stupid. Once you have the spear back, what's to prevent you from using it on us? I know you, Trickster. Odin won't hesitate to bring the full force of his wrath down on Vanaheim for my taking Gungnir. And if you think I'll roll over and expose my throat to his fangs, than you're more of a fool than you look."

"I promise you, Malastein, that if you return the Black Spear now, no retaliation will take place. This I swear by the Norns, who spin the threads of all, even the gods." I placed my hand over my heart, the way one did when making a sacred vow. "Odin desires peace between our people, that's why he has kept Gungnir on the wall of the mead hall all these years. Let it return there, where it belongs."

"It belongs in my hand, Loki, dealing death to the Aesir whelps who oppose me. So best mind your manners, cur, before I cut you a new mouth."

"Jackass!" I cried, furious at his stubbornness. "Keep the spear and you condemn not only your people but your son to death. Stealing Gungnir from Valhalla is the act of a traitor, and unless it is returned, Leif will be executed as such. Is that what you want? To see your child's head chopped off while the entire Asgardian court watches?"

All of that was, of course, pure fabrication on my part. Leif was not under a sentence of death, nor would I have ever allowed anyone to arrest him as a traitor. But this was my trump card, my last-ditch attempt to get him to give up the spear without bloodshed.

"Leif? A traitor?" Malastein repeated in disbelief. "Odin's bloody eye, you're not serious? The brat can't even lace up his boots without help. And they'd demand a traitor's death from him?"

"If Gungnir isn't returned, Thor has decreed Leif must die, as he was in bondage to the Aesir when he committed the crime. Will you stand by and see your youngest child killed for a deed he committed to gain your approval, Malastein?" I pressed.

The Vanir lord hesitated, his sapphire eyes clouded with indecision.

"You can save him, my lord. All you have to do is return what he stole and all will be forgiven," I purred. Surely he must see the sense in my offer. What man would condemn his son to death for the sake of a spear?

He bent forward, Gungnir extended for me to take.

I reached for it, thanking all the Norns he'd come to his senses.

Only to have the Black Spear snatched back with a mocking laugh. I gazed up at Malastein in confusion. "What game are you playing here, my lord?"

"One I mean to win. The Black Spear is mine and so it will remain. You may take my son's head and be welcome for it, as it's the last thing you shall have of my House."

"You can't mean that!" Marissa cried, horrified. She came forward from behind the rock that had shielded her, disbelief and outrage at the Vanir lord making her careless of her own safety. "What kind of father condemns his child to death? And you name us barbarians!"

Malastein whirled on her, his eyes wild. "Silence, mortal! When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it. Until then keep thy tongue behind thy teeth where it belongs, insolent wench!"

Marissa opened her mouth to tell him to go to hell, but I jumped in before she could give him a piece of her mind. "Don't be hasty, Malastein. You're not thinking this through."

"Wrong again, half-breed. I meant what I said. Leif's nothing but a milksop, he's no great loss to me or mine. What's one son more or less? I can always breed up some more, better than that little coward any day of the week." He drew himself up to his full height. "At least his death will be useful to me."

I remained speechless at that last declaration, aghast at his callousness. Leif had been right. He really was an unmitigated bastard. No wonder Gungnir had such a hold on him. Only one who was as selfish and uncaring as Malastein could have fallen so fully under the spell of the Spear of War and Death.

"Very well then, you Vanir pig!" I snarled. "You want a fight? Then a fight you'll have."

And with that I drew back my hand and threw a handful of sparks in his face. I intended to blind him, for I didn't want to have his death on my hands. The sparks sizzled and burned where they struck his face, and Malastein fell back with a howl.

"Treacherous Aesir bastard!" he screamed, one hand lifting to cover his face.

While he was thus occupied, I darted in to grab the Black Spear, forgetting in my haste that the spear was not going to come to me without a fight, not blood-bonded as it was to Malastein.

As soon as my fingers touched the shaft, a jolt of electricity shot through me, and I was sent flying back against the rock Marissa was hiding behind, my head hitting the obsidian with a sharp crack. My vision blurred and I tasted blood in my mouth. Sharp pain stabbed me in the side and I knew I'd cracked a couple of ribs at least.

I lifted my head, trying desperately to focus.

I could hear my enemy moving and I knew I had to move, but I was so tired . . . Norns help me, I was exhausted . . .and I hurt like all the fires of Muspelheim . . .I blinked woozily, peering through half-closed lids at the dark shapes in front of me.

Malastein was there, and in his face was all the ages old hate and vengeance of the Vanir for every man of Aesir blood ever born. I looked into his cold eyes and knew my death waited there, pitiless and implacable.

I had no more tricks left, no more magic that I could pull out of my sleeve to divert the dark specter. Yet I refused to cower and look away. If the Norns had chosen Malastein as the instrument of my destruction, I would face it unflinchingly.

Belle, forgive me . . .Marissa, forgive me. . . I wanted so much for us to be together . . .

I saw Gungnir gleaming in the Vanir's hand, heard its soft mocking laughter, whispering of its need for blood and death and tears . . .watched as Malastein drew it back . . .

"Leave him alone, you bastard!"

A shadow blocked my sight, but I didn't need to see to know that the spear had been cast. I could hear the hissing of its passage as it flew, unerringly on its course.

I braced myself for the impact of iron through flesh and bone.

The Black Spear flew true . . .

. . . straight into the breast of Marissa Turner, who had sprang in front of me at the last instant, taking the blow and the death meant for me upon herself.

The impact drove the spear's point deep into the ground, leaving Marissa's fragile form impaled upon the shaft, a willing sacrifice to the Fates.