Gods, this cold sucks.

I'd modified my fighting leathers to include fur-lined boots and a hood to shield my head, but I was still cold. Damn it, I was not a fan of cold, unless it meant I was on one of the ski hills near my Vancouver home. Even then, I bundled up in layers. My goddess powers meant I rarely experienced cold now. Why would I when I could modify the air temperature around me? But I couldn't waste energy needlessly. Not now. Not when I might need it to fight.

Twisting around every few minutes, I checked behind me to ensure my cloaking fog continued surrounding Loki and Elatha. It did no good to muffle the sound of our passing through this frozen wasteland if they stuck out like a goose turd on freshly fallen snow. This damn realm made it harder than it should have been and my stomach rumbled, pain cramping. I was getting hungry and burning too much energy, but we had to be close. Surely it couldn't be much farther.

Perhaps we'd be able to stop to get food out of the packs before we descended the cliff ladders by the roaring cauldron spring. Or maybe beside it at the bottom, if it was safe.

I'd definitely like a boost of energy before we fought the geminii twin giants, Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea, that guarded the gate. From Loki's description, they sounded like huge viking warriors with their horned helms and battle axes. Of course, Baldur and Loki had grinned when talking about fighting them. I shook my head. Crazy, both brothers.

I snorted quietly. Who was I kidding? All three of them were like that. If he was here, Thor would be diving right into that fight with his brothers.

Elatha wasn't as eager, although he certainly didn't back down or shy away from a fight if needed. Yet he didn't seem to view it as sport. I enjoyed that difference, but by the same token, I wanted him to fight for himself more. My heart was uneasy, a pit in my centre that he hadn't challenged Loki about the still incomplete soulmate bond. Elatha hadn't been quiet about wanting Loki, but he kept letting Loki turn aside from the final step. He hadn't called Loki on it. Was he afraid Loki wouldn't, so if he didn't ask, he didn't have to face the rejection?

A smile turned my lips up in the corners as I recalled them together last night. In my fantasies, I'd never considered how hot it'd be to see them together. Even though Elatha had the larger muscle mass, he'd writhed and begged on Loki's lap. Fuck, that had been insanely hot. I'd been sure Loki would finally take Elatha when he'd begged Loki to fuck him.

But Loki continued to resist.

Was it me? Did I need to leave the two of them on their own so Loki would quit putting me in the middle and avoiding intercourse? It seemed every time they would, Loki turned aside at the last moment.

Moving a little faster, I caught up with Baldur, leaving Loki and Elatha farther behind.

"Shannon, it worries me when you and Baldur get so far ahead," Loki said. "We don't want to move so fast that we attract attention."

"Baldur, Loki is asking us to slow down so our movement doesn't attract attention," I murmured.

Baldur turned, looking over his shoulder, then back at me. "Sorry. I'm finding this empty plateau unnerving. I want to get off of it, but I'll slow down."

Continuing to walk, but at a slower pace, I looked around. The hair on the back of my neck prickled. It did feel like there were eyes on us. Mountain peaks finally appeared in front and to our right. The break in topography made for a nice change in the otherwise monotonous, flat, snowy landscape. Only the occasional mound had provided any relief until now.

Was that where the sensation came from?

Something swirled in the white and it drew my eye. Bouncing. Something was bouncing. No... not bouncing. Realization came in the churning of my stomach at the same time eerie howls sounded over the frigid air.

White hellhounds with blood-red eyes and ears ran towards us. Alongside them, grey vrykolokas loped on all fours in huge bounding strides. Part man, part wolf, they reminded me of werewolf depictions I'd seen in modern movies and television shows at home.

Beside me, Baldur drew his sword. Loki and Elatha weren't going to reach us before those creatures did. I took aim with my throwing daggers, releasing one after another after another, taking out six hellhounds and two vrykolokas before I ran out. Although the knives would return to me, I had no more time.

The first of the vrykolokas leapt. Ducking the outstretched slashing claws, I raised my sai and gutted the creature with its own momentum. The second leaping beast was a hellhound that I sidestepped and shoved with a blast of wind.

"Put your back to mine," shouted Baldur over the hellhounds' hair-raising howls.

Quickly, I spun and set myself against him. His sword flashed in lethal sweeps, and I sent out a wave of flames that had both the hounds and vrykolokas yelping as fur caught fire in a putrid wet-dog stench.

Loki and Elatha ran full out to reach us, but were still more than twenty metres away when the creatures swarmed them. There seemed to be an endless number appearing out of the snowy landscape.

The fire gave me a chance to retrieve my throwing knives, and I sent them out again, taking down another wave of hounds and vrykolokas. Loki also used fire, his sword flaming as he exploded and burnt hound and vrykolokas alike.

"Duck!" shouted Baldur.

I dropped to feel the whoosh of claws where my head had been moments before.

Snarling, I sent out another wave of fire and heard the beasts squeal in agony. The orange-red flames flickered over the white snow, reflecting off hundreds of eyes and drooling jaws. Fuck. There was a gods-damned sea of the creatures.

Baldur swore. "I had no idea there would be this many."

I didn't reply. What was there to say? Instead, I sent out another wave of fire, trying to kill as many as I could. But I was tiring, my limbs aching, and a headache starting behind my eyes. My flames didn't reach as far. I didn't have the energy. Not after hours of trying to mask our presence in a realm designed to kill us.

Several vrykolokas crouched, prepared to spring. I braced myself for their attack. Yet when it came, it was from behind me. Baldur cried out, then staggered and knocked into me as he fought three off. Although I dropped when they came for me, one still managed to slash at my back before I spun to cut it with my sais.

The creature hadn't gotten through my armour and it took me a minute to understand what it had dangling from its claws as it backed away into the surrounding beasts.

My pack. It had taken my pack.

I winced at the loss of first aid supplies and food. But hopefully, the others still had enough if we could just escape this cursed realm. The vrykolokas tore at my pack, shredding the tough material.

Two more attacked, and I stabbed one through the eye, blasting the other away with sai and air, when the little glass bottle spun out from my ruined pack and shattered under a heavy hellhound paw.

"No!" I screamed, reaching uselessly for the bottle.

But it was too late. The restorative potion we needed to bring Baldur over the final bridge, into life and out of Helheim, soaked into the snow with a faint blue glow.

Perhaps I could scoop up the snow and save some of it.

Desperately, I sent out another wave of flame but it sputtered and died, sudden lethargy weakening my limbs. I dropped to my knees, my eyes meeting Loki's and Elatha's over the gulf of attacking creatures. The horror in their gaze had me clenching my jaw and raising my sais, trying to slash as the overwhelming stench of sulphur washed over me.

Raw, fiery pain stole my breath as savage teeth tore the sais from my hands. Copper filled my nose as red splashed the unyielding white around me. My body jerked under claws that tore into me from numerous directions, and as the white darkened, stealing my eyesight, I had time to send one last thought to them.

"I love you."