Page 52 of A Serenade To The Elf Queen
A demon of the Hollow that defeated my knights, the Grimsbane of Tiamat and even Ragnar now lay dismantled on the ground like a broken toy.
Svenn studies the lifeless demon in his grip with the innocence of a child and tosses it aside almost tediously.
I can feel the blood draining from my face.
There is no way this savage beast is human.
Oh gods…
I feel the terror clenching my bones as Svenn—the creature—saunters towards his next prey.
Me.
The world stands in silence, the horrifying kind right before death comes knocking on one’s door. He moves slowly with the lethal grace of a panther.
Every instinct is telling me to get away, but my trembling legs will not budge. I have never felt anything like this all my life.
This is true fear. Pure and unadulterated.
It shackles me to the forest floor.
The ground shudders beneath my feet. Something massive and fast is heading straight for us.
Ragnar.
But I’m not the only one who sees the three-headed bear coming. Svenn is half a second ahead of me as he evades the demon’s deadly paw.
None of the berserker’s wild punches manage to hit him. He raises his brow, almost amused at the Bödvar Bjadki’s attempts.
His return blow hits the demon’s throat with such a lightning speed, I barely see him move. There is no hesitation in his attack. A thunderous boom echoes as his fist lands on the bear’s head once again. Just like that, the right and left head are down. Ragnar sways on his feet just as Svenn’s knee connects to his gut.
He follows the assault with a series of successive strikes, pummeling the demon to death. I clasp my hand to my mouth atthe savagery. Ragnar’s eyes fall on me the moment I try to move towards them.
Run.
He’s telling me to escape while I still have a chance.
I shake my head. “I can’t—”
My heart is heavy to leave him fighting this monster that I’ve unlocked. The creature is trying to tear Ragnar’s jaw apart with brute strength. Legend has it if all three heads of the Bödvar Bjarki are knocked out, the berserker will die.
I won’t let that happen.
“Let go of him!” I scream.
I throw my sword straight towards the monster. The blade hits him directly on the wrist.
Svenn releases his grip on the thrashing bear, turning his sharp, piercing eyes to me. My breathing escalates from the horror of that simple gaze. He pulls the rapier buried in his wrist easily. I watch as the bleeding wound heals faster than any creature I’ve ever seen. He studies my blade momentarily.
I swear he almost waves to me in gratitude before he slams my weapon into the bear’s snout.
“No!”
Oh Gods. He killed Ragnar with my sword…
Ragnar who had spared Aelfric from a cruel fate, who enjoys literature and history, who I never learned the real name of…
I stare in horror as the demon’s body slumps on the ground, unmoving.
