Vimar fights against the rope, he throws himself back and forth with frustrated grunts where he is tied to the tree trunk.
Brage grunts at him to be quiet so he doesn't attract the demonic creatures, Indra just looks at Brage and shakes her head at Vimar. She swings her legs and kicks him hard on the shin. He squeals and looks bewildered at Indra, before she nods towards the campfire and The Army of Cain that’s gathered around it.
"Shut up, you idiot. You're bringing them here,' she tries to mumble through the fabric in her mouth.
Cain has forgotten one important thing when he captured them, and that is that Indra's powers are in her eyes – not in her hands that he has tied or her mouth that he has gagged. She tries to smile despite the cloth. Brage smiles back and immediately understands what Indra tries to communicate. Vimar looks confused and doesn't seem to have realized their plan yet.
Brage is trying to speak through the cloth. "Just tak
"Harald!" shouts King Laurin.The steward appears and bows deeply before his master."He's majesty?""Ask Hilma to pack supplies for a week," he orders.Harald nods and disappears towards the kitchen.On his way to the bathroom, Laurin undresses. He leaves a trail of muddy clothes behind. A warm bath has already been made up for him and he can't help but be impressed by how effective his staff are. He sinks into the bath and feels the tender muscles softened by the warm water. A little sigh eludes him when Harald shows up with a glass of whiskey."Thank you." Laurin waves him away with his hand, brings the glass to his mouth and sips on the golden-brown liquid. He lets the effect of the strong content burn right down to the stomach, tilts his head back onto the edge of the tub and closes his eyes for a moment.Thoughts drift through his resting mind. It'd just been sex, nothing else. Or? He reluctantly admits that his male pride took
The tip of the sword slices a deep cut in the terrified dwarf’s neck. He’s bent down on his knees with his hands raised over his head praying for his life."Reveal your motives in visiting the Hoia Baciu Forest," prompts Cain, standing between two grand Beech trees.Brokk bravely stutters. "It's none of your business."Cain smiles coldly and pushes the tip deeper into his throat. The deep cut causes the blood to flow into the grass, turning the patch around Brokk’s knees red."Okay... we're looking for someone.""Who?""A girl. Just a girl. No one who matters to you, my lord."Sindre straightens his broad back and interferes in the conversation between Brokk and Cain. "A girl, just an insignificant girl," he admits."It can't be such an insignificant girl if you've left Svartheimsbergen for her." Cain looks at the two dwarfs with narrow eyes.Brokk and Sindre look at each other and then back at Cain. Br
"I'm your father," Julien says."What did you say you were?" Indra punches him in the face. The hard blow makes his eyes tear up. He straightens his back and looks calmly at his daughter."Your father," he repeats."You're wrong – you’re your father’s slave. And that's all you are to me too," she replies in an icy voice."Indra! Can't you just forgive me? I know you thought my intention was to kill you, but I swear here and now that it wasn't. I just wanted you to understand the seriousness. I wanted you to understand the full potential of your powers."Indra sneers frustratedly. "But how did you escape the flames of Charot's castle?"Julien looks away, as if he needs to think about whether to answer her question. His shoulders slumps and he exhale deeply."Answer me!" she screams."He let me go. He wanted me to save you from yourself."Indra narrows her eyes. "You're lying. Charot would never go agains
Lucifer pushes Seven in front of him. He's brought the prisoner into the catacombs, and down there the marble floor is shiny and slippery. The walls of the long corridor are decorated with mosaics, deep cracks run through the colorful tiles. The message that was once clearly written in beautiful images along the walls are now worn and almost impossible to decipher. It smells stagnant and rank, like decomposed soil. He repeats the mosaics message quietly to himself.For if you confess with your mouth that Lucifer is your master, and in your heart believe that he is your salvation— then you shall be saved."Keep walking," Lucifer sneers."You won't hurt them. I will never forgive you if you hurt my family," Seven says in a threating but sincere tone."Do you think I care about your lame threats?" Lucifer hisses, pushing him harder in the back.Seven stumbles but manages to stay on his feet. He turns around and tackles his father, who f
A dull, rumbling sound can be heard from the horizon and Indra looks up at the clear blue sky. She can't see any dark clouds gathering overhead, but she can feel the muggy heat that makes the sweat drip from her scalp and trail down her back.For hours, they have been silently riding through the forest. The aged trunks of the trees are twisted to the east and the autumn foliage various in shades from matured green to garnet red. Some leaves are rolled up and dry. A few of the old tree trunks are distorted and twisted into strange looking portals. It is difficult to see if the trees are growing up or down; the forest has its own pulse like a rhythmic heartbeat traveling up from the ground into their own bodies.The heat rising out of the earth creates a low-lying haze among the trees. The light fog resembles a snake as it twists and caresses the protruding tree roots. This is not a place that wants you any good. Indra can feel it. A new rumbling sound rolls across the s
An icy darkness wraps around Laurin as he enters Limbo. The barren ground is blanket in sharp icy shards. He is surrounded by a total nothingness, an unforgivable and lifeless black hole that devours everything that gets in its way. He hears screams and growls in the distance.Something's getting closer.Hunting down his scent.This whole world knows he's here. He hears something breathing in the dark, and he lets the magic flow out into his fingertips. It sparkles and grows to life in his hands. He brings his palms together and forms a ball of energy between them.A short distance away, he sees several silver-gray shadows approaching, reddish-colored eyes flickers in the dark. They're fighting to get to him first. Growls fill the air around him. He gets wary when he hears blood splashing when they attack each other.The creatures are getting closer now.More screams far away and more silver figures appear. He takes a few deep breaths and ge
I'm not going to tell you anything. I have to save Joar, so don't show any fear.Lucifer pushes the glowing iron deeper and deeper into her skin. She screams, and he smiles. Cain takes her hand. She can feel his palm touches hers lightly. She's looking at him. Laurin takes her other hand. His hand is rough and hard, but kind. She's looking at him.I'm not going to tell you anything. I have to save Joar, so don't show any fear.The sky is colored red. The old tree trunks blacken. The leaves wither and die. The grass bathes in blood – her blood. Everything is covered in sticky blood: the sky, the sea and the sun are painted red with blood.I'm not going to tell you anything. I have to save Joar, so don't show any fear.Lucifer laughs. Everybody's laughing.Laurin puts her body down in her own blood.No! Help me, Laurin. Help me...She reaches out a hand towards him and he laughs. A shadow
The guard turns the iron key and unlocks the heavy wooden door. The hinges protest in a loud squeaking noise as he opens the door and pushes Rebecca into the small cold space.Rebecca ignores the guard's crude manner. All she wants is to hold and comfort her son. Over by the window, stands a man looking out into the night. He is tall, muscular and striking with short blonde hair and noticeably pale complexion. Rebecca looks around to find Joar, but she can't see him.“Joar, where are you? Mummy’s here." She doesn't get an answer, so she turns to the guard. "Where's my son? You were supposed to put me in the same prison cell as my son."The guard laughs coldly, shakes his head and slams the door behind him. Rebecca runs towards the door, bangs hard on the wooden boards and screams, "Take me to my son!" But she doesn't get an answer, so instead she turns to the man standing by the window. "Who are you?"She's not getting an answer here either. S
A few months laterIndra looks out over the rose garden. The bright pink roses sparkle in the soft light of the sunrise, giving the morning mist a faint blush.This time of day is her favorite. She sips carefully on the hot coffee and sighs pleasurably. A light breeze caresses her face and she closes her eyes and listens to the crashing of the waves from the sea below, the sound is soothing for her chaotic thoughts. She's tired of being a pawn in everyone else's game. She had felt trapped for allowing herself to be that pawn. She had desperately and thoughtlessly tried to live up to other people's expectations without having a plan before acting.Now her immature attempt to be a fearless leader had to be over. She must think first and act only on well-thought-out strategies. Right now, she has one mission in her head, and that is to free her brother from Lucifer. And it's time to figure out how to get it done. Then she will take back Havor
The Oracle has observed the battle from afar. Now she sees her chance to be recognized as a God, instead of just serving the gods which she has for millennia’s. She has always predicted Indra's death – how her own brother would hand out the final fatal blow to his sister. The plan to persuade Lucifer to let Joar dance with the fairies had succeeded. She is very pleased with her plans, which in the end always turn out the way she intended. There are only advantages to foreseeing the future.Unfortunately, she can't predict her own future and it has always angered her. But maybe she can see her own destiny with the help of Indra's powers? The next step in her carefully calculated plan is to take them as her own. She would become ruler of the universe and all other dimensions. She would rule and everyone would bow before her and worship her as the rightful goddess she is.The oracle opens the box and the yellow-green glow fills the space around her. She brings
Indra is studying her army. She understands from the giant grey clouds rolling in from the West that the army of the gods is much larger than her own. She wished Frigg had succeeded in persuading Odin to come and fight alongside her, even though the prospects were always slim."Cain, we're going to need more help. Can you call upon your phantom army?" she asks, holding her breath.Cain smiles reassuringly. "They're already here." He bends down on one knee and puts his palm against the cold ground. A tremor passes in wave-like motions through the ground under their feet. From the underworld, hundreds of black shape less demons dig their way up, to stand by their ruler's side. Indra nods approvingly and turns to Enock."In which way can you contribute to this battle?" she asks gently.Enock walks up to the edge of the small freshwater snow lake, at the base of the towering mountain. He takes his pants off and neatly folds them in a pile, sits down on a rock
The gate in the north appears on the horizon. It's an impressive sight towering in front of them, it takes their breath away.The landscape is ancient and powerful. The gigantic mountains with their snow-capped white peaks and vast green landscape at the base create harmony, mystery and magic. It is difficult to take in the raw, wild and naked beauty that extends out in front of their feet. Indra thinks it looks like someone has taken a big bite out of the mountain to taste its exquisite splendor.But the gate in the north is not happy to share its secrets and Indra can feel the vibrations from its unwelcoming reception. As they ride towards the gate, Indra sees that several forest creatures have already made it there. Melia the fairy queen stands proud on her bridge of dense fog with her subjects around her. Further afield she glimpses the Forest Mistress Rana and by her side are Cain and Enock.She can see that Enock has finally put on a pair of loose-fitting pa
It is late summer, but the weather is chilly, as it is almost always in the northernmost part of the Nordic region. The midnight sun shines with its last rays and guides them through the mountain’s ranges. The winds that form powerful gusts across the open, barren landscape make Indra's frozen fingers cramp as she holds the reins."Where are you taking us?" Laurin whispers in her ear. His breath is warm on her skin and creates small faint tufts in the air around them."We're going to Abisko in northern Sweden," she says, smiling with rattling teeth."That explains why it's so damn cold."” Mm …”"I know a way to warm us both." He moves his hands tighter around her waist, pulls her closer to his chest and kisses her in the neck to emphasize his words. She shudders under his warm lips trailing along her neck, and she's about to turn around to meet his soft lips in a kiss, when Rubrum interrupts her with his soft voice inside
The mandatory alarm rings out loudly, as it always does in Asgard when something or someone unauthorized and not yet invited enters the Vikings dimension.The persistent high-pitched sound cuts through Indra's sensitive ears. Laurin lets go of her waist and writhes in agony from the intense sound. Indra decides to take a detour and show herself to Heimdall, so he can see that she is the one who has come home to Asgard again.Heimdall stands tall and blows hard into the Gjallarhorn to warn the Vikings, but then he looks up and sees Indra coming towards him. She pulls on the reins and Rubrum slides the last few meters until he comes to a complete stop in front of Heimdall."It's me. Heimdall, I'm here to talk to Odin.""Greetings, Indra, and welcome home! You've been missed." He smiles welcomingly."Thank you. I've missed you too.""Although you are welcome back, I am not sure Odin feels the same way about your new friends." Heimdall nods to L
When Indra opens her eyes early the next morning, her gaze immediately focuses on her backpack, which contents lays scattered around her."But who ..." She sits up and looks around. The others are fast asleep spread out in a circle near the smoldering fire. The fog is dense and damp over the green meadows. She looks down at her backpack and glimpses something in the open compartment that shimmers faintly in the soft morning light. It's the gift she received from the fairy queen Melia. How could she forget it?She picks up the gift in her hand and inspects it closely. It’s a thin light Byzantine silver chain with an intricate design with a rope-like texture. Each of the chains links passes through four others making the chain both strong and flexible. Indra tugs the chain gently and it immediately gets longer. She quickly ties it together into a lasso, gets up and looks at the sleeping men. Imagine how surprised they would be if she managed to catch one of the dem
Indra sighs heavily. The rain pours down over the barely visual dusk covered deep valley. Most of yesterday and almost all of this day they have been searching for the three demon horses across the vast open spaces. Indra has always been proud of her ability to catch wild horses in Asgard. With her sharp mind and great sense of hearing, she has been one of the best at tracking the beautiful wild horses. No wild horse ever escapes her, even in the thickest fog. Tonight, there is no fog, but the dark and persistent rain disrupts their repeated attempts to outsmart the demon horses.Something's moving at the edge of Indra's peripheral view. She casts a quick glance to her side, and there basking in the faint moonlight, stands Laurin as a motionless Greek statue. He's wearing a pair of loose-fitting pants that clings to his wet legs, his muscular torso is bare and glistens in the dull light. He is barefoot and ankle deep in mud, his body language shows his frustration at today's
Indra squirms in an attempt to get comfortable. The long and tiresome ride has left its mark on her muscles. She tries to scootch forward a few centimeters towards Viridi's neck, mostly to avoid feeling what's poking her in the back. She feels uncomfortable with Laurin's apparent excitement when there are so many people around them.Viridi stops and with a loud high-pitched neigh he informs. "We're at the witch." He tosses his large head and stomps impatiently with his oval shaped hooves in the rocky ground.Everyone looks up. The cliff of the mountain side is enormous. On the top of the mountain the gray shades shift in the light, carving dark contours into the rugged surface in the shape of a face. Tears flow through an endless stream from the eyes cut into the stone. In fact, it looks like the mountain is crying real tears.A little further ahead, below the mountain, runs an immense alley of green lush trees. Viridi stops."Are you sure this is what yo