Page 36 of Loki

Loki regarded them like they’d each grown a dozen heads. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

“Nope. And we don’t care. All we want is the two women. Hand them over, and we’ll let you live.”

“Now, hold on,” said Val. “What the hell makes you think he has the right to give you anything? I belong to no one. If I want to go with him, I will. If I want to go with you, I will. If I want to sever your heads from your ever pathetic bodies, I will. No one owns me.”

“Sever their heads?” asked Loki. “How boring is that? I can think of a thousand ways to eviscerate them, which would be much more entertaining.”

Val sighed. “I’m not looking for entertainment. I’m tired. I want to finish this and go to bed.”

“Ooooohhhh, am I invited?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Val rolled her eyes.

“What the hell is wrong with you two?” asked the male in front. “Don’t you realize there are six of us and only two of you? She can come with us now, and we’ll let you both live. Or you can resist, and we’ll end you both. Nowhere in the bounty does it say she needs to be alive.”

Loki and Val shared a look.

“They have no idea who I am,” said Loki. “I’m not sure whether I should be astonished or insulted.”

“I’d say insulted. But they don’t know me either, so...”

“But you aren’t a God.”

“Former God, if you want to be technical. Now you’re just a lawyer.”

Loki’s jaw dropped. “That hurt, love. That hurt.”

“Enough! Get the woman. Kill the man,” the leader yelled.

The group attacked. Two with wings took to the air and rose above them. Three ran across the street on all fours. Only the leader and the female hung back for a moment.

“Time for you to exercise those wings.” Loki produced two curved blades from behind his back.

Val rose into the air. The winged demons flew straight for her, but she pulled in her wings and spiraled between them. She slashed out with her sword catching one of their wings and slicing it clean off. The demon spiraled out of control and hurdled downward, where he crashed into the cobblestone and bounced into a building. The second demon spun around and flew back toward her. A stream of acid soared her direction, and she barely missed being pelted by it as she lifted higher. Down below, Loki fought with the demons who scampered across the road. She needed to stop screwing around and help him.

The demon flew at her again, talons out, and aimed right at her. Val lobbed her sword, planting it in the demon’s chest. He plummeted to the ground, missing Loki by less than a foot.

“Careful! We’re on the same side.”

Val dove to the ground and pulled her knives from her belt. She spun and slashed the throat of one of the demons before plunging her other knife deep into its neck, almost taking the thing’s head clean off.

“Stop playing around,” she said. “I told you I am tired.”

Loki threw his blade, and it stuck in the side of one of the demon’s necks. He leaped on the demon and pulled the knife from its neck before kicking it on its back and stabbing it through the chest.

“Sorry, love. I didn’t get to fight tonight like you. I hoped for a challenge.”

“I’ll give you a challenge if you don’t stop messing around.” She rushed and retrieved her sword before strapping it to her back again.

The last of the demons stopped and eyeballed the already spreading carnage. It backed up a pace and turned to the male leader who hadn’t moved from his spot in the road.

“Well,” said Val. “Are you going to come get me, or are we going to just keep dicking around looking at each other?”

The leader nodded to the female and then the demon at his side.

“Guess I’ll come to you.” Val flew at them, and the three demons scattered.

The female went right, and the male went left. The stupid one ran directly at her. But before she stabbed it, Loki cut off the demon’s head.

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