Page 99 of Rune

Beyond that, torches had been lit throughout the town, casting an orange glow against the streets. Odin pointed toward a rectangle building with long eves and a sloped awning. “Njal is there.”

My heart skipped a beat. “And how many others?” It seemed like a question I’d ask if I hadn’t watched the entire thing. Yet Odin glanced to me with an arched brow.

“Only two eligible players.”

That felt incriminating. My palms sweated. It was then that I realized the one mistake I forgot about. I’d taken off my sandals to fight. I never put them back on. The cold floor felt like ice against my feet, but I stood my ground as if nothing were wrong and stared at the building where Njal was. Doors should be locked, so he shouldn’t be inside, but I didn’t put it past him to break down the door anyway and wait until the fight was almost over. There was no honor in his strategy, and perhaps the gods would lean the balance of fates toward Tova tonight.

There, across the street, something moved.

My hands moved to cover my mouth as Tova moved through the streets, letting herself be in the wide open. I wanted to scream at her. Tell her to hide. Show her where Njal was. But all I could do was watch as she got closer and closer to the building, step by step, until she was almost upon the awning.

I pressed my hands into the glass.

One more step.

Now Njal moved.

His huge body charged from behind the awning, headed straight for Tova. She rolled, slicing at his feet with her dagger, before returning to her feet and drawing a second. She held up the two blades, and hermouth moved. I wished to know what she said, but whatever it was, it provoked Njal. He didn’t wait for her to be worn out. He attacked.

Ve stepped closer, right behind my shoulder. I locked onto the steady sound of his breathing to ground myself, praying I wasn’t about to watch my sister die.

Njal reached to his back, and produced his weapon. I gasped. He had an axe.

So far, I’d yet to see an axe in the city, and I’d guessed it was because the gods didn’t want the mortals to fight with something they were comfortable with. But the other reason was obvious. An axe would beat a sword in a fight any day. The sword would get caught up in the axe and easily torn away. Worse, Tova didn’t have a sword, she had daggers. Those stood no chance. Her only hope was good aim, and that did little help as the axe was aimed for her head.

He might be able to throw it and finish this in one breath, but Njal was smart. He knew as long as he had that axe in his hands, he would win. My cheeks were wet before I knew I was crying. Tova didn’t try to throw her blades. She kept low and on the balls of her feet, swerving beneath swings and rolling between his legs.

“Stay alive, stay alive,” I pleaded. Some eyes shifted to me but I ignored them all.

Tova tried to throw one dagger, but Njal swatted it away with the back of his hand as if he were made of stone. That shook her, and she darted sideways.

Njal advanced slowly, like a beast who knew he’d won. This was a fight to her. This was a game to him. He swung again, but it was lazier, like playing with food. My stomach rolled. So did Tova.

When she popped back up, she took stock of the building next to her, eyeing the streets and the windows and alleys. Then she tucked herblades away, and ran to a nearby fence, climbing atop the thin posts until she was braced along the wood. Njal, seeing that she wasn’t fleeing, hadn’t thrown anything, and was now watching her with an intrigued expression. His lips moved, and she must have said something back.

Tova bent, tearing the hem of her shirt to tie her ankle to the fence, binding herself there. A moment later, she stood with her hands raised, empty, braced right in front of her chest, and my heart plummeted. She was unarmed, and tied down.

“No,” I breathed. “Don’t do this.”

“What?” Ve asked.

From below, Njal gave a slow smile. He took a step, but Tova held out her hand. He was maybe fifty paces away from her, and would be allowed no closer.

For this trick, he should be seventy.

“She’s going to try to catch the axe,” I said. Every eye found me. I swallowed. “It was a trick we were learning on Earth, but only with practice axes. The weight is all different with real ones.”

“Can she do it?” Ve asked.

Saying no felt like betrayal. Saying yes felt like false hope.

“Half the time.” With a practice axe.

From below, Njal was laughing, but Tova didn’t budge. He shrugged, and readied his feet. The dome fell into complete silence, all of us hanging onto breaths, thrumming with anticipation and pounding pulses.

Njal took aim. My hand found Ve’s.

He took his time to throw, first holding the axe in front of his face so it split his image in two, muttering something under his breath. He extended it toward Tova then brought it back again.

---