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He took him in his arms and threw his head back, bellowing to the top of the mountain. My mind played back what Garmr had told me with his last breath. To sever the link.

“Ella, you need to continue to take back Fenrir’s soul, I will keep him busy.”

I grabbed Jared, holding him back, amazed to find his skin didn’t scorch me like it looked like it would.

“But he’s a God, Jared!” I argued, but then he smirked at me and said,

“Yeah, but even Gods can bleed… and if they bleed, then they can die.”

Stepping back, he dropped to the floor before changing into his HellBeast. Every inch of him was born to rule the gates of the Underworld, being exactly as I remembered. He was huge, and a force to be reckoned with.

At the same time, Loki sensed danger, so he let go of his son and stood to face the snarling beast. The shapeshifting God suddenly burst into a red flame before emerging through the smoke as a… snarling beast.

One to match that of Jared’s.

I watched as they started to circle each other, before suddenly, Loki lunged at him. Being far more skilled fighting in this form, Jared dodged each attack, something that only frustrated the God. Especially when Jared lashed out with his claws and tore into the underbelly of Loki’s beast.

Which was when Loki changed tactics, seeing as this form wasn’t working for him. He quickly changed from one creature to another, from small to large, from winged, to four legged, he lashed out at Jared from all around, making it near impossible for him to fight him.

As for me, I continued to draw back Fenrir’s soul once more, causing another roar of anger to shake the mountain. A sound Loki couldn’t miss as his head shot to his remaining son, the monstrous wolf.

This was enough of a distraction that it allowed Jared to bite into the giant stag Loki portrayed, but as he roared in pain, he used his giant antlers to toss Jared’s HellBeast body off him, throwing him so far, that he hit the mountain wall.

“NO!” I screamed, but when I looked, ready to hit him with my power, Loki was gone. I whipped around, trying to find him, not wanting to let him get the better of me again. But that was easier said than done, seeing as the God could shapeshift into any living creature. Say…

A Hellhound.

The second I heard it snarling behind me, I turned just as it was lunging for me, making me send a blast of power toward it. It hit him, but it wasn’t enough to stop him completely, only slowing him down so I could run.

And run I did.

But then the next time I turned, I found nothing chasing me and stupidly ran straight into the enemy.

Loki who was now back to his most terrifying form yet, that of a vengeful, furious God.

This time he gripped my throat and started to choke me.

He lifted me straight up off my feet, so I was left with nothing to do but to try and pry his fingers off me, clawing at his hand, but it was no use.

I couldn’t breathe and black spots appeared in my vision… I knew that I didn’t have long. I looked to see Jared still on the ground, but then my watery gaze shifted to the lifeless figure of Loki’s kin, and I knew what I had to do.

I had to use his body somehow… so my hand left the one choking me and reached out toward Garmr. I then used my Summoning power to resurrect him, adding him as one of my collection. Which meant I could control him… and the very first thing I did with that control was to attack his father.

The raging soul of a Hellhound suddenly charged at Loki, taking him off his feet and giving him no choice but to release me.

I landed hard, choking through my breaths, each one burning my lungs.

But the pain was good because it meant I was still alive.

So, I forced myself back to my feet and when I saw Loki fighting with the soul of his dead son, I raced over to Jared.

Someone who had turned back to his demonic form, no longer his HellBeast.

“Jared, come on! Wake up!” I shouted, making him groan before lifting his head up and saying,

“I feel like I was just thrown into a mountain.”

“Yeah, it pretty much looked like that too,” I agreed, making him scoff.

“Who is he fighting?” he asked, making me nod toward the body of Garmr, one slumped and lifeless without his soul.

“His son,” I told him, but when Loki realized how hard it was to kill a soul, he changed tactics.

He was fighting him, but at the same time, forcing Garmr’s soul closer to the portal. As soon as it was close enough, Loki kicked out and his son’s soul was sucked right in. Just like all the sacrificed Hellhounds it had taken him to get here.

Which was when Garmr’s last words came back to me, making me look to the portal.

“Ella, what is it?”

“I think I know how to stop him,” I told Jared in shock.

“Well, you better think quick, babe, ‘cause we got trouble.” And he wasn’t wrong, because Loki was now storming his way over to us, looking mighty pissed.

“We have to destroy the portal, Garmr told me to sever the link, I thought he was talking about Fenrir, but now I think he means the link to his own realm.”

Jared nodded, asking me,

“Do you know how?”

“I think so, it’s powered by the souls I brought back, so if I can pull them back through and into me, then it should start to collapse.”

Jared hooked me at the back of my neck and told me,

“If anyone can stop this, it’s you, Ella. I believe in you.”

I closed my eyes and nodded, thankful for his support and his belief in me. It was all I needed.

“And you, what will you do?”

“What I seem to do best… piss off the Gods,” he said, rising, and this time he didn’t change into his HellBeast, but remained as a man.

I didn’t want to waste a minute, so I ran toward the portal.

Then when I was close enough, I concentrated all my power at pulling at it, just like I had been doing with Fenrir.

This one was thankfully easier, and one by one, they came back at me.

Each soul I retook possession of, only seemed to make me stronger.

And with it, the less power the portal had, making it start to break away at the edges.

The darkness behind it peeked through as the giant wolf, Fenrir, roared to try and warn his father. More of the mountain shook and I shot a worried glance above, hoping this place would survive long enough to get this done.

But in doing so, I saw that Jared was being beaten by the God, and I was torn between what needed to be done and saving the man I loved. He was lashing out with his claws, but in doing so Jared didn’t see the blade Loki was creating in the hand by his side.

“Oh who am I kidding, no contest!” I said, throwing out a free hand toward Loki, this time lassoing him with a snake of my own.

A green serpent of power wrapped around his arm, stopping him just in time from delivering a killing blow to Jared’s heart.

The flaming dagger formed in his hand aimed to kill.

Well, not on my watch!

I snapped my wrist down, causing the weapon to fall from his hand, before the power started to coil tighter around the God’s wrist, forcing him away from Jared.

As for my other hand, this was held out to the crumbling portal as more souls came flooding back to me, one after the other, like a constant stream of power.

It fueled the serpents as more and more of them lashed out, taking hold of the God.

However, he wasn’t done fighting yet, and he suddenly slipped out of my hold before re-emerging next to me.

“ELLA, LOOK OUT!” Jared’s warning came a moment too late, and I screamed in agony as Loki morphed into a snake that had coiled around my arm. But before I could react anymore, it bit into my hand, biting my little finger clean off.

I staggered back, and the pain of losing a finger became secondary to the poison that started to flood through my bloodstream.

This time when I fell…

I didn’t ever expect to…

Get back up again.