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Thane felt something touch his foot, a boney hand wrapped around his ankle. The decrepit body of a nude male, lying on his belly, crawling toward him. “Take me with you. Free me of this place.”

Thane’s nose scrunched up at the sight of him. He kicked his hand off. “Don’t touch me, demon.”

“I’m not a demon. I’m a prisoner here, one of the damned.” His voice was weak. “You are a god, a hero. Free me.”

“Don’t listen to it,” Hel said and stomped on his head, cracking the skull with a snap. “It’s deception.”

The dog demons crept in again, jaws snapping and snarling, as the giant troll stomped closer.

“I’ll take out the troll,” Thane said. “You two wipe out the rest of the dogs so we can get out of here.” Without waiting for confirmation, Thane sprinted, and with a leap, he soared through the air, sword, and ax gleaming. The curved blade of the ax embedded in the troll’s neck. Thane grunted trying to pull it free, but the troll’s hide was thick and stiff. Thane’s eyes narrowed—the skin began to grow around his weapon, as if his body absorbed it.What in the realms?The troll bellowed again, spraying bits of goo all over Thane, and grabbed him around the waist, like he was a toy, squeezing so hard he thought his ribs would snap.Can’t breathe. Can’t breathe.

With a deep roar, Hel appeared in the air, and came down with a sword, straight through the troll’s arm. Thane fell with it and crashed into the ground. He rolled out of the hand’s grip onto his knees and threw out his hand. A wave of his magic rippled out, hitting the troll. Its skin began to peel off as it burned again. It cried out, writhing and hit the ground and convulsed, forcing the trees to sway with its thrashing. Until it stopped and was nothing more than a pile of goo and bones.

Hel laughed. “Remind me not to piss you off.”

“I wasn’t going to give it my ax.” He picked it up out of the sludge and—

“War, behind you!” Hel cried lifting his hand, but pain lanced his calf.

A demon dog sunk his teeth into Thane and snarled. He gritted his teeth and sliced it in half.Shit—shit, poison. Valeen met his stare and with more fury than he’d ever seen, she let out a warrior’s scream and a wave of black whooshed out. Thane turned and curled in on himself. Hel followed as the blast rocked them like the clap of a massive ocean wave. But there was no water and it suddenly smelled of charred flesh and earth, but it was quiet. No more snarling beasts.

Thane opened his eyes to find the ground was scorched, the troll’s body was ash, the trees around them nothing but charred stumps. A small circle around both he and Hel were the only things left untouched for a hundred yards or more. Thane stood, brushing off the ash and soot from his shoulders. His calf pulsed with a strange heat that slowly began to creep through his body.

“Now!” Valeen said and shoved open the door. Hel grabbed Thane’s arm and dragged him toward the door. He stumbled through into bright light. The venom of the demon pulsed through him, making the world around him spin. He slumped to the floor and then everything went dark.

Thane wokeup lying in the grass, staring up at a blue sky and the faces of Layala, Hel, and his friends hovering above him.

“Thane, are you alright?” Layala asked. “What happened?”

“One minute you were standing, the next you hit the ground like a tree in a windstorm,” Leif said.

“I told you he was fine,” Hel said and stood.

“What did you do to him?” Fennan glared. “He looks confused.”

“Just a little magic.”

Thane blinked, shielding the bright sun with his palm. His calf still ached, and he shot up, pulling up his pant leg. There were no marks. “Was that real?”

“It happened a long time ago,” Hel said, crossing his arms. “And do you know what happened after?”

Thane’s brow furrowed. “Yes…”

The Past

Valeen pressed a cool damp cloth to his forehead. “Are you sure he’ll get better on his own?”

“He’s immortal, Val,” Hel said. “It will take time for his body to push the poison out but yes, he’ll be fine.”

He stared into her worried eyes. A halo of light like a starburst glowed all around her. She was so beautiful, so lovely, and he couldn’t think of anyone he’d rather take care of him at this moment. It was wrong to think such things, to feel this much fondness toward Hel’s wife. He couldn’t say he was in love with her, at least he’d never admit it, not even to himself, but he thought of her more often than he should. He blinked, trying to clear the haze but it only worsened, and he was scorching, sweat covered his entire body and he wished he could jump into an ice bath.

Valeen lifted the cloth to Hel, and he touched it and frost spread over the surface. She pressed it flat against his left cheek and he leaned into it. Would it be alright if he… his hand brushed her fingers then he slipped his palm into hers and held it like she was his anchor to this world. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” she said, giving his hand a squeeze. “You’ll be alright soon.”

In the corner of the room a pair of big red eyes glowed in the shadows. Panic jolted him out of his haze. “They’re here!” He shot up, nearly knocking Valeen off the bed. “Hel! The demons are here!”

Hel whipped around, hands sparking with bright light. The demon hound prowled from the shadows, more grotesque than before with chunks of exposed muscle and bones, scars across its body, larger teeth.