Page 48 of Outcast

“And who else would it be?” I called his bluff. Any god stupid enough to join in would meet Odin’s wrath soon enough.

“The true demons of Helheim, the ones who have been lurking in these halls for years, waiting and growing stronger. All under the one, mighty ruler of Hel. We are Hel’s true protectors.”

The demon who spoke seemed different. More aware than the feral pawns he sent to us to die. They severely lacked power, however. Monty, and even those I’d met in Helheim, glowed with power from the realm. Theirs was muted, if it was there at all.

Monty let out a bark of laughter as he finished his crazy monologue. It took over to the point that everyone was watching my commander as if he’d lost his mind. Then as abruptly as it started, he stopped and stood tall, facing off with them as the room descended into intense silence.

“You are no protectors of Hel. If you were, you would know where she was and what she stood for. You were nothing more than tools, used for her own gain. Notice she’s not even here anymore. She’s human, gave her power to escape, and left you behind. I don’t know why it’s so hard for you all to understand that. Your time is ending. We’re closing the portal and you’ll have nothing holding you here any longer, nor a way back home. You will fade into nothingness until you disappear completely. No second chances.”

“You know nothing about us,” one of them yelled before rushing forward. The entire group took that as their time to strike. Monty was laughing again as he killed the entire charge in one swoop of his hand.

Crew was now alone.

And I could tell that scared him. Good. He should fear us now that he’d tried to kill Layne, and frankly, I was beyond fed up with his bullshit.

“Attack!” Crew yelled. His war cry had summoned more demons. They rushed forward, weapons raised, filling the space in seconds so we were forced to continue our fight.

Wave after wave of demons struck, all while Crew stood against the back wall. He was my target. At some point, I had to let go of who he used to be and face him as the one causing hell to rain down on Dark Haven.

I made my way forward intending to knock some sense into his dumb ass. He would get one last chance but if I had to kill him to ensure Layne’s safety and my ability to close the portal, then that was a sacrifice I would have to face.

When I reached him, his face was blank, completely devoid of emotion. He held two daggers in his hands, lifting them high and watching me like a predator waiting to strike.

“Are you going to kill me, Crew?”

We were at a stalemate. Neither of us wanted to kill the other, or I liked to think something of the old Crew remained and that was why he hadn’t tried yet.

Then something changed within him. The fissures widened along his skin until blood was seeping from every sluice.

It was the perfect distraction, my eyes locking on his arms and face in horror so I could barely react when he lunged at me. I blocked the attack with my spear but he was right there again, forcing me to fight him.

Sparks erupted as our blades clashed over and over again, the sharp sound jolting every fucking time.

He was far better trained than a pyromaniac who lived on the streets should be. Every strike of my weapon was easily blocked by his.

Crew didn’t tire any more than I did. Calling on Helheim was all I could do, and I refused to let my humanity get in the way as I fought back, pushing the power through my weapon and into Crew with each blow.

I intended to drain the poison from his body but it was impossible. The attempt was met with no reaction, as if it were immune to the realm that created it.

I knew the demons had changed, but the fact they could corrupt and twist the power that gave them life seemed impossible. They weren’t special. In fact, they had less power than my group.

Unless Hel had intervened, given us a distraction to buy her time.

Anger boiled at the thought. She had given me enough to deal with. Everything I had done was met with resistance and confusion. Either I got a lack of explanation or another task thrown on my ever-growing list.

Fuck Hel and fuck these demons.

My anger built alongside the power I was pushing into Crew, my strikes even stronger so his knees buckled under. It was his turn now. The demons had died for their choices, and he would too.

“She was a true goddess, you know,” he said. “The first one to actually have faith in me. She deserves my loyalty.”

So Hel had twisted this situation as well. I should have realized it sooner. Recognized this as another of her many failures.

“Loyalty?” I shouted. “You’re not even a demon, Crew. Just a fucking human on a power trip. Your loyalty should be with those who cared about you, who were with you before you were deemed useful. If you think this is loyalty, then you never deserved Layne. Or us.”

He faltered for a moment, his eyes fading back to the normal brown eyes I recognized. It was as if he were battling himself, the two sides at war for what he truly wanted, and he was unable to get true freedom.

My heart broke, but there was no other choice. This wasn’t the first impossible task I was forced to face, and I doubted it would be the last.

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