Page 50 of Loki

“I’ll be waiting right here. Well, no. I’ll be right down there at the edge of the cage, ensuring you are safe.”

“Promise me one thing. No matter what happens, you won’t stop the match.”

“Signe—”

“Promise me, Loki.” Her voice came out stronger than anticipated.

Loki sucked in a breath and nodded. “I promise.”

She gave him a tight smile and then turned and headed to the cage. Almax already stood in the ring. Shirtless and in nothing but workout shorts and bare feet, she calculated what his skills might consist of.

Val ascended into the cage and walked to the middle opposite Almax.

“I just want you to know I’ll take no pleasure in hurting you,” he said. “I’m not that kind of demon.”

“Don’t stress it. I’m going to take great pleasure in kicking your ass.”

He shook his head. “I wish I was taking you out instead of taking you to Surtr.”

“Again, don’t stress about it. I’m spoken for anyway.” Why the hell had she told him that?

His eyebrows rose. “Anyone I know?”

“Are we fighting or chatting like long-distance sisters?”

He smiled, revealing his pointed teeth. He didn’t give Val a chance to prepare before he leapt forward and kicked her in the gut, sending her flying into the wall and dropping to the floor, winded. Val pushed to her hands and knees as he plummeted next to her and kicked her in the stomach again. Val rolled over and hopped to her feet, trying desperately to suck in a breath. But Almax wasn’t going to give her a chance. He moved as fast as any enemy she’d ever fought. He swung at her, and Val released her wings, lifted two feet above his head, and sucked in air.

Almax looked up where she hovered and smiled. “Above the mats works.” Black feathery wings sprouted from his back, and he met her where she hovered.

A fallen angel. Almax was a fallen angel. Damn. That explained a lot.

Again, he didn’t give her a moment to recover and instead charged her. She spun out of the way, and round housed him in the back. He smashed face-first into the chain link and bounced off. He flew right at her, fist raised, but she struck first and connected with his right wing joint making his wing contract and him tumble to the floor.

She dove down and landed on his wings with both feet. He cried out as she grabbed one of his wings and yanked it backward, snapping it. He shuddered, and his wings retracted as he curled into a ball, but Val refused to let up. She slammed him in the stomach with her heavy boot and then in the face when he doubled over. He tried to trip her, but she lifted off the ground, and he missed. He rolled on his back, and she landed on his chest. The crack which emanated from his chest told her she’d broken his sternum, collarbone, and ribs with one brutal stroke. Almax struggled to bring air into his lungs.

Val knelt over him and held her fist above his face. “Concede and tell Surtr you couldn’t find us.”

Almax coughed up blood. “I’ve never once not fulfilled a contract,” he choked out.

“There is always a time for a first. I can keep beating you until you pass out, but I’m allowing you to save face.”

He tried to laugh but ended up coughing and spitting blood everywhere. “You think throwing in the towel will help me save face? You obviously don’t know the kinds of beings I work with. The only way for me to save face is for you to knock me out. Killing me would be better.”

“If that’s what you wish.”

“But just so you’re aware, if you win, I won’t take you to Surtr. I’ll even tell him I couldn’t find you, but that doesn’t mean one of my siblings won’t go to him and make a deal.”

“What? You promised—”

“I wouldn’t tell him. I can’t say the same for my siblings. I have many of them, and we’re all in the hunting business.”

Val’s mind reeled. What did she do? They had an agreement, but he was breaking it. Loki had told her not to trust him, and she should have listened. Her fists rained down on him like thunder from above. He tried in vain to push her off and protect himself from her blows, but he’d become too weak.

“Tell me you’ll make sure your siblings do the same,” she shouted.

Almax lay on the ground and laughed, choking on his blood as she pummeled him. Finally, he stopped moving, and his eyes rolled back in his head.

She shook him. “Keep your end of the bargain. Keep your end!”

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