I blinked against the sun that was shining brightly on the battlefield. The once pristine snow was now slowly turning red, as the battle raged before me.
Midgardian and Asgardian soldiers were fighting side by side, valiantly fighting the undead army that had fallen upon them like a wave.

I channelled my anima through my voice until it could be heard over the battlefield, louder than the sounds of battle, deafening like thunder.

"My name is Sorcha, Goddess Queen of Jotunnheim. Harken to my voice and despair!
In the walls of the hold behind me lie the remains of my beloved husband Loki, God of Mischief. Weep, and pray to any god who might listen to have mercy on your souls, for I have none!"
I raised my hands to the skies, which instantly turned dark as night.
"My name is the Morrigan, and I am Vengeance!"

Thick drops of blood came raining from the darkened skies, sizzling as they burned through armour and skin alike as if made from acid.
Balls of fire rained down between them, not differentiating between friend or foe.
I had never felt this powerful. Between the necklace, the circlet with the Friezegem on my brow, and the rage within me fuelling my anima to new heights, I possessed a strength unlike any I have ever wielded before.
I smiled in satisfaction as body after body fell into the snow, not to rise again.
And still, they came.

Blinded by my anger, blinded by my rage, I saw not that I was killing our own men as well as our enemies, all I could see was the ranks of Hel's army advancing towards me, their numbers replenished almost as quickly as I could kill them.

"Get our men off the field, retreat!" Matt barked as he watched with horror as saw his own men fall by my hand.
Hogun was trying to lead his men towards Jotunnhold as well, hoping to escape the unrelenting rain of fire and blood that fell on them as so many tears falling from the skies.
Tears I could not cry.

Unhearing, unseeing, I pulled in even more anima and rose up as I took flight. It was impossible to retain the rain of fire and blood and fly at the same time. Instead, I pulled upon the innate power of my Frost Giant form to cast my spells. Fire and blood magic did not come naturally to a Jotunn, but frost and ice did and there was plenty of that around to use to my advantage.
Hel's troops stumbled and fell as the snow and ice beneath them began to churn. Freezing cold winds began to howl around me, icy shards sharp as glass swirling within the storm, rending decomposing flesh and tearing at rotten cloth as I flew over Hel's armies, tearing her soldiers apart until they moved no more.
And still, they came.

I was killing Hel's troops faster than they could advance, and slowly I moved further away from the hold, but there was no end to the undead in sight.
Now that the rains of fire and blood had ended, the Valkyrie flew behind me and my own army slowly followed.
Dimly aware of them I directed my storm forward, some part of me understanding the people behind me were on my side, knowing any undead left standing in my onslaught would be dealt with by my soldiers.

I nearly cackled as I saw my first real challenge: a dracolich was flying above Hel's armies, its skeletal wings slowly beating with powerful strokes as it came towards me.
I stopped channelling the storm that raged beneath me and sped up as I flew towards it. The dracolich opened its boney maw and a blast of deadly frost came surging towards me. For a moment I was tossed around in the air, failing to maintain my position. But the cold could not hurt me, and once the dragon breath ended, I was still alive and up in the air.
I gathered my own anima and frostfire streamed from my hands, engulfing the undead dragon as it screamed in pain. It tumbled down for a moment but caught itself just before it hit the ground, rising up again in a terrible rage.
But I had an anger of my own raging within me.
Again I gathered my anima, and another stream of frostfire came from my hands, this time focused purely on one of the dragon's wings.
The dragon bellowed in rage and pain as the wing tore right off and the dragon plummeted to the ground, crushing several of its own soldiers as it trashed in the snow.
Seeing my chance, I dove towards it and used the staff in my hand. The gem on Laufey's staff began to glow with an eerie light as it absorbed the anima from the undead creature that was trashing below me. Unable to halt its unlife being drained the dragon stopped moving, its bones crumbling to dust as the last of its magic was absorbed.
And still, they came.

I flew back up in the air again.
The battle was raging below me, and Valkyrie were fighting undead winged horrors in the air. I had no idea where the seemingly endless stream of undead was coming from, but I was dimly aware they must be coming from somewhere. And Halja had to be somewhere out there too, and she was going to pay.
They were all going to pay.
Pay for what I had done. Pay for what happened to my Loki.

Ignoring the battle below me I flew onwards, ignoring the arrows and magic launched at me. My Jotunn skin was nearly impenetrable and my Bee healed that which did have the power to hurt me.
Ahead of me loomed a large portal, made of ice and bone. Hel's army came pouring out of it in waves, seemingly without end.
Even in the distance, I could recognise Halja's distinct long white hair as she was overseeing the army's arrival.
Two more dracolichs came flying out of the portal towards me.
"Go, sister, we'll keep the other occupied!"
Bolts of lightning came shooting past me.
I turned around and saw Thor and Sif on Swift behind me. Mjolnir came hurtling past me and hit one of the dragons, sending it spinning. I nodded and flew towards the other one. I now knew what to do, and the undead dragon was easily taken care of. I absorbed its anima with the staff, which was glowing even brighter.
Sif and Thor had managed to ground the other dragon and I absorbed its life force as well.

"By Ymir's ingrown toenail, what is that?" Thor swore as he looked past me.
Out of the portal came a giant. Not a Frost Giant, but a humongous monstrosity, easily twice as tall as I was in my Jotunn form.
As it came closer I saw it was not one undead, but an unholy abomination made of dozens of dead mutilated bodies held together in one twisted form, created by magic of the darkest kind.
"We have to stop it before it reaches our men," Sif yelled at me. I was already flying towards it. Going too close to it would be suicide even in my Jotunn form. Not only was it strong beyond imagination, but a miasma of disease and decay also hung around it that I wasn't sure my Bee would be able to outheal.
Instead, I blasted it with frostfire. It shuddered and bellowed, more in annoyance than in pain. Without any regard for its own fellow undead, it stomped right over them, pulverising the ones that got in its way right into the ground as it lumbered towards me.
I blasted it again and again with frostfire, pulling on my own anima, the gem and the necklace until even I had reached my limits.
Thor's lighting was hitting the abomination from all sides, Mjolnir pounding its body over and over again.
It stumbled but didn't fall.

"I… just… need… more.." I groaned as I strained to draw more anima inside me. I grabbed hold of the necklace hoping to draw more anima from it directly, but the enchanted item had reached the limits of its power.
I felt something break. I raised my hand in horror.
The gems had shattered, some of them pulverised into dust. Shards of cerulean cut into my flesh that now turned back to its normal hue, the Jotunn blue fading like ink from parchment in water.
I tumbled down as I was suddenly weak, unable to maintain flight.
"Sif," I called out, but Swift was too far away and would never catch me in time. I threw Laufey's staff towards her with all my might, knowing I wouldn't survive the fall and it would take time to return to my body after I died.

I braced myself for impact, but instead, I felt two strong arms around me. "I have you, my girl," Odin's voice was gravelly as he and Sleipnir caught me just in time. The eight-legged horse thundered underneath us, as bolts of lightning flew from Gungnir, Odin's spear.
I smiled in relief and began gathering my anima again. I still had the Friezegem and my own powers. Soon balls of fire were pelting the abomination at the same time Thor and Odin's lightning hit it from all sides.
All around us the battle was raging, both on the ground below and up above in the air. My relentless onslaught had meant we had gained precious ground, but now our men were fighting for their lives.
I could see Cedric and Fandral fighting side by side, Cedric using his blood magic to heal Fandral's arm which was hanging limply by his side while Fandral was using Cedric's rapier to impale the skeletal knight that was attacking them.
Calinda was sitting behind Val on Val's winged horse, a never-ending stream of bullets coming from her pistols as she was using her anima to create the ammo that was far more effective than real bullets would ever be.
All around me were familiar faces, some of Asgard, some of Midgard, fighting together.
And still, Hel's armies came.

I watched in horror as a Valkyrie fell off her mount, tumbling to the ground only to be torn apart by the undead horrors below her.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Thor bellowed, changing his focus from the abomination, as Mjolnir hit the skeletal gargoyle that had killed the Valkyrie and was now about to tear open the flank of her flying horse with its sharp claws.
Thor took a mighty leap from Swift unto the riderless mount and pummeled the gargoyle with Mjolnir until it crashed to the ground below.

Sif still had the staff, and without Thor weighing Swift down she saw her chance and flew towards the abomination.
"Be careful Sif, mind the miasma around it," I yelled.
"She will be fine, Valkyrie have their own magical protection against the foul magic of the undead," Odin reassured me as he used Gungnir to repel the undead that were trying to kill us at the same time.
A spray of fire fanned from my hands and hit the skeletal soldiers before us.
Sif raised her shield as she came closer to the abomination. Without Thor to weigh Swift down, the winged horse easily dodged the lumbering giant's arms as she brought her rider closer.
Thor was flying around on his own mount, throwing Mjolnir and raining down lightning on Hel's troops below.
Odin and I were defending ourselves against the waves of undead that were coming towards us, the huge eight-legged horse rising high above the footsoldiers and making us an easy-to-see target.
Suddenly, the undead abomination stumbled and fell, body parts raining down around us as the foul magics that held it together were absorbed by Laufey's Staff. Sif had seen her chance and taken it.
A loud cheer went up from our own ranks.

With the abomination out of the way, the way to the portal was open.
"Halja is mine!" Sif yelled at us as she directed Swift towards the portal.
"Oh no, you don't…" I began but Odin interrupted me.
"It is her duty as a Valkyrie and her right as a sister. Let Sif fight her own fight."
"But I…"
"You will get your pound in flesh, and then some. There are plenty more enemies to unleash your wrath upon," Odin pointed out, his voice stern but not without sympathy.

Odin wasn't wrong, more and more undead came streaming from the portal. We fought on, but all of us were beginning to tire.
"Thor! We need to close that portal!" Odin's voice rang across the battlefield.
"I need to get closer to break it, throwing Mjolnir isn't doing the job!" Thor answered. He had realised the same and had tried.
"Sorcha, let us concentrate on clearing a path for Thor," Odin wasn't exactly asking.
Together we focussed our attacks, fire and lighting creating an endless barrage. Some of the others realised what we were doing, and slowly a path towards the portal began to clear.
Sif was fighting Halja, both women evenly matched in strength and resolve. I wished there was something I could do to help her, but they were too far away and any magic I might have cast was as likely to hit one as it was the other.
Sleipnir thundered onwards, grinding undead soldiers beneath his powerful hooves as we advanced towards the portal. Thor had landed and was using Mjolnir to break down the structure, ice and bone falling around him as he did so. Cedric and Fandral were soon joined by Hogun and Volstagg by his side, protecting the big god while he continued his grim work.

"This is for Loki!" Sif yelled as she drove Halja to her knees. "And this is for Trude!"
Her sword lashed out, again and again, rapid strikes against which Halja's greatsword was too slow a weapon to defend. Seeing an opening, Sif ran Halja through with her sword, watching in grim satisfaction as a gulf of blood splurted from the other woman's mouth.
"You messed with the wrong family, you bitch!"
Sif picked up Laufey's Staff, and before the light went out in Halja's eyes, drained her of her remaining life force.
From the portal came a loud, unearthly wail.
Hel, aware of what was happening, mourned the fall of her daughter.

Hel! Another one who would be made to pay!
I jumped off Sleipnir and begin to run to the portal before Thor could close it completely.
"Wait! I need to go through!" I screamed at the god of Thunder, but he continued his onslaught.
Odin spurned on Sleipnir and caught up with me, dismounted and grabbed hold of me before I could jump through. Just in time, as the portal before me collapsed.
"No! No! She needs to pay! They all need to pay!" I struggled against the hold the old god had on me.
"You can not attack Hel in her own realm, she is immensely powerful and practically immortal there."
Odin's voice was not unkind.
"Hel's armies lie wasted, and her daughter lies dead.
Hel has paid her price.
A life for a life."

A life for a life.

I closed my eyes.

A life for a life.

I began to shake as I was reminded of the price we had paid for our victory.

"Come, let's get you home. The others can take care of the remaining undead."
Odin lifted me up on Sleipnir, and followed by Thor and Sif, we rode home.

We walked into the room in silence, weary, bone tired, all of us wrapped up in our grief.
I closed my eyes again as I saw the casket of ice.
"I maintained the spell, just like you asked," Carter's voice shook.
I nodded at her, not trusting my voice to speak.
"Loki gave me a letter for you a few days ago," she continued. "In case something were to happen to him."
She held out the letter but I mutely shook my head. I could not cope with that right now.
"I'll put it in your room for you," Carter seemed to understand.

"We will take him to Asgard, and give him the funeral a son of Odin deserves," Odin's voice broke.
I looked at the ancient god, my own pain and grief reflected on his face.
"He would have appreciated that," I said softly. My voice shook. "But I will take him to Jotunnheim. He was the last one of his kind, the last one of his family. He belongs with them."
Odin nodded.
I looked at the icy casket. My necklace had broken.
"I have no way to get him there…" my voice sounded very small. "I don't know how…"
"I'll carry him. I'll carry him one last time," Thor's eyes filled with tears as he made his offer.
"You can't, you are Asgardian. The remaining spirits of the Frost Giants would tear you apart." I said sadly.

"Then let this be my last gift to him," Odin spoke softly.
He closed his eye and began to weave his magic. His hands began to glow with white light and so did the casket as he placed his hands upon it. Slowly it rose up in the air until it floated a foot above the ground.
"I cast a Feather spell. The casket will levitate above ground until you push it down and firmly hold it in place for a few counts."
I nodded gratefully.

The casket weighed nothing as I pushed it ahead of me, through the hallways of our home towards the portal to Jotunnheim.
Alone, I took him to the realm where he was born.
Alone, I pushed him through the haunted ruined streets of what remained of what should have been his home.
Alone, I brought him to the catacombs and interred him next to the father and mother he had never known.
Gently I pushed down, holding the casket made of ice in place until it would rise no more.
Alone, I said my last goodbyes to the one I loved, the one who had come to mean the world to me.
My love, my soulmate, my husband.
My Loki.

And then, alone, I cried.
Loud sobs escaped from my lips as the tears rolled hotly down my cheeks only to freeze onto the casket made of magic ice.
Never would I hear Loki's voice again, see his beautiful face, hear his beloved voice.
By my hand, thanks to my foolish impulsiveness, my one true love lay dead.
And I was, once again, alone.