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“Yeah, but by what?”

“Evil?”

Hel could feel the Valkyrie’s mental shrug and wanted to respond with,“No shit,”but instead kept her eyes trained on her sibling and her comment to herself.

There was no doubt, Einn was possessed with something dark and evil, but it also felt familiar.It wasn’t from the dark regions of Helheim, or any Underworld Hel had ever visited, but that didn’t negate the fact that she’d encountered it somewhere–or something like it–before.So, what was it?How had it gotten inside of Einn?And what was its beef with the Norse Queen of the Dead.

It didn't really matter.As she’d always been taught,There are no coincidences, and there is no such thing as complete Evil.It can only exist in the absence of Good.Not even those residing in the depths Pits of Lucifer’s Hell were one-hundred-percent Wicked.It simply could not exist on its own.Darkness could only appear when there was no Light-even the Shadows needed Light to be seen.

So, did that mean that Einn could be saved?Did Hel want to rescue her or just send her back where she came from and let her mom and twin deal with her?

Would their father think less of Hel if she just opened a portal and shoved Einn into it?Did Hel care what he thought?

She wasn’t sure.

However, one thing was for certain, Einn was getting bigger, broader, and growing more misshapen with each passing second.Worse still, the hump that had always been at the base of her neck was growing in leaps and bounds, forcing her shoulders forward as her already too-long arms were elongating, her knuckles were about to drag the ground, and her neck was extending upward.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"The words were out of Hel’s mouth before her brain engaged.Shocked that she’d spoken but going with it to cover her faux pas, she continued to bellow, "Is this something you inherited from your mother?Did something slither inside of you?Have you pissed off a Demon lately?"

But no answers came.Not even a shrug of her shoulders.Time to come up with another plan.

Moving to the right as Einn moved to the left, Hel kept her distance and looked for an opening.All she had to do was get close to Einn, open a portal, shove her sister in, and hope for the best.

“Guess you decided that’s the plan to go with,”Carys chuckled.

“Yeah, there wasn’t much to eeny-meeny-miny-moe, now was there?Dad will just have to get over it.”

Not waiting for an answer, Hel continued with her half-baked plan.She needed to distract her sister, and the best way she knew of was to piss her off."You stink like rotten eggs and sour milk.You're literally gagging me.You’re making my eyes water.You’re gross.Did your mother forget to teach you to bathe?Do we need to run to the nearest discount store and grab a bar of soap?Is there water wherever you call home?"

Lashing out again, swiping at the air with the claws on her left side then her right in quick succession, Einn’s mouth opened but it wasn’t her nasally, whiney voice that came out.It was whatever was festering inside her that spoke, and it was roaring on a deep, gurgling, rasping baritone that vibrated the airwaves and assaulted Hel’s ears."Stop your incessant yammering, little goddess.Your time is done.Today you die."

"Wait!What?Little goddess?What the fu…?"

And that was as far as Hel got.Watching with wide eyes, refusing to stand still but having to concentrate on remaining upright, she couldn't believe her eyes.

Steam rising off Einn’s body, the stench of burning flesh assaulting Hel’s nose, her sister’s skin bubbled and popped ten times worse than the first time.It lifted away from the muscles and bone as if it was being heated from the inside out.Becoming gelatinous and runny right before Hel’s eyes, the mottled gray skin cascaded down her new, lofty height into a puddle of festering goo that hissed and crackled, killing the grass and fallen leaves where it landed.

The shiny, silver-grey scales she’d seen through Einn’s eyes was revealed in grotesquely intricate technicolor.Reflecting the sunlight, they nearly blinded Hel, as the giant insect’s body unfolded into its final ten-foot height.Wild, nearly uncontrollable Black Magic rolled off the bug in waves as it slithered and undulated like an uncoordinated belly dancer, then quickly found its balance and learned to move with its newfound height.

Trying to look past the first Uncanny Valley moment she’d ever had in her very long life; Hel’s mind was working over time to come up with exactly what was standing before her.Then it hit her like the proverbial ton of bricks."Holy shit!You’re a Silverfish?"The goddess spat.“One of those nasty little bugs that infiltrate bathroom floors and nasty drains on Earth!You’re…”

“SILENCE!”It seethed.“I am a Scrub, you insignificant waste of flesh and bone and Magic!”The beastly bug stomped the ground with its left foot.It curled its thin, bloodless lip into an evil smirk revealing row after row of jagged, pointed teeth.Its bloodred eyes pulsed with unspent Sorcery and pure malice and hatred.Then it spat, "I was born of spite and loathing in the depths of the cave of the Twin of Loki.I was fostered on their repugnance of you, all you stand for, and all you took from the unholy duo.I am here to do what Einn cannot.What Tveir has commanded.I am here to watch you bleed, to witness your death, and to take all that was denied the true goddesses, Einn and Tveir!”

Still moving to her left, keeping her distance, looking for any way to gain an advantage against an adversary nearly twice her own size and sadly hopped up on enough Black Magic that Hel wondered if she, Liv and Carys could take her down, the goddess scoffed, "You’re a bug, an insect, something the humans wash down the drain like the dirt from under their fingernails.All I need is a big can of Raid and your ass is toast."

Sure to keep her eyes on Scrub, Hel forced a laugh.“Hey, Liv!You think you could whip up some bug spray?”

“Oh, yeah,” the Valkyrie chuckled in response, but her voice came from a different direction than before.

When had Liv moved?Where the hell was she?Why did her voice come from behind the Scrub and not to Hel’s right?

The goddess had no idea, and unfortunately, she didn’t have time to find answers.She needed to get rid of the ginormous insect and find Hopper.After all, that was why she’d come to the island in the first place.That stupid message floating in the middle of her kitchen, threatening her Mate’s life.

Shehadto save him.If she didn’t, she would never be able to tell him that she loved him.She would never be able to say that she was sorry she’d been a big chicken and waited so long to come to him.She would never have any chance at all of claiming the one man made for her by the Universe and having her very own happily ever after.It was time to put the pedal to the metal, and truly and once and for all piss off the big ass bug that used to be her sister.

Just then, the Scrub threw back its head and roared.It was working.So, Hel kept taunting.It was the quickest way to force the idiotic insect to make a mistake."Okay, so let me see if I got this right.You’re a bug that lived wherever my sisters, the twins, call home, and you just decided you wanted to be ‘more’."Making air quotes with her free hand, the goddess kept right on going.“So, you gobbled up all their nasty little feelings toward me, used some shit Mysticism, and turned yourself in the very grotesque, extremely ooey, gooey, buggle I see before me?”Tilting her head to the right, she chuckled sarcastically, added a quick tsk and asked, “Did I get it right?”

All at once, the sound of pounding footsteps seemed to be coming from every direction.Arriving in a rag-tag semi-circle formation from somewhere behind their Leader were more Scrubs, not as big as the one bobbing and weaving before her, but still at least five feet tall with four huge claws and ugly gray feet.Not to mention, the furious rage and unmitigated hatred pouring off them that was no doubt fueling their every step.