Eric Flint - Pyramid Power

"He's given it up," said Marie, crossing her fingers behind her back. "So that's where we need to go." It also happened to be where her man and children were, but she didn't see any reason to get into that with the Valkyries. "Now we just need some way to put out a piece of the fire."

"The fire is magical," said Sigfrida. "It cannot be extinguished."

"But we could call our horses and go over the top," said Gudrun. "If you are sure Thor would have a place for us?"

"Honey, trust me on this. Thor will have a place for you because I will throw him out of there on his fat ass otherwise," said Marie. The Valkyries gawked at her.

"Call these horses of yours," she commanded. "Time's a-wasting and I haven't got much."

She adjusted her sword and then bent over and picked up a thorn. She wouldn't mind giving it back to the son of a bitch. She had a good idea of a great place to push it up, too.

Hel's troops had been crossing the pontoon bridge for three days now, and more were still coming. But Loki was not going to wait. He knew that he could not.

He walked beside the great wolf, and behind him followed the legions of the dead, the files of frost giants, and the huge mountain giants.

Thor's new chariot rumbled beside them as they moved across the thin snow of the Vrigid plain. As the walls of Asgard came in sight, the chunky boy beside Thor picked up a huge horn, with a silver chased mouthpiece. That Emmitt could play the trumpet-without much expertise, true-was something of a bonus.

Emmitt put the horn to lips and blew.

Emmitt blew his heart and soul into that horn, fully expecting a noise like a sick fart.

What came out the other end was the roaring of many trumpets, so loud he nearly dropped it. There was no way he could finger any notes, but somehow he was playing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." And behind them the dead began to beat their shields like some vast heartbeat, loud and strong.

Thor raised his hammer and thunder spoke. It rolled across the plain, and echoed off the white walls. Loki and the great wolf stalked ever closer to Frey and Freyja, assembled with the Vanir on the plain.

Now the wolves howled and the great dog Garm gave tongue.

Ever closer.

No order to charge was given.

In the distance they could see the lines of fire, of Surt's minions pouring out of Myrkvid.

"If they're not all watching now… they never will be."

A flight of Valkyries turned above the battlefield.

"Let there be fire and smoke," said Loki.

And there was.

"Look," Jerry had said, pointing at the map that Liz had created with Thor, Thrud, Sigyn and Loki. "This." He pointed to the river that ran through Asgard.

"It disappears around here. The bit where the fenlands are."

"Ah. The Gjalar. Yes, it disappears into the ground there."

"It comes out here," said Jormungand pointing with her tongue. "To the north of the Vrigid plain. It is how I got into Asgard to drink with Thor. But it is no use to anyone but me. It is at least a league long and there is no air in most of it." She brightened. "I could go in and cause a distraction, if you like. The boys say I'm very distracting."

"Vain, more-like," said Fenrir.

Jerry tugged his goatee. Sigyn told brother and sister to hush. "The distraction," said Jerry, "will be on the Vrigid plain. Loki, I know you would like to conduct your battle with Odin in person, but the truth is, the Vanir will need you. They will need Frey's sword, and they will need Hel's host, to defeat Surt and the sons of Muspell. Otherwise fire will consume Asgard, Midgard and even Jotunheim. I am right, aren't I? You are the trickster, but also Logi, the fire-god, both the friend and foe of mankind. You can warm, or destroy. Your nature is mercurial, just like fire itself. Fire always has a place in every pantheon, just as the trickster does. I just hadn't thought it through."

Loki nodded. "And Sigyn is the hearth-goddess. She who shapes fire into something to warm and nurture."

"I should have guessed that earlier," said Jerry. "Frey is a fertility god. The maker of green things, which is why he and he alone is effective against Surt, because Surt is fire uncontained."

Loki nodded. "Surt is fire the destroyer. That is his power. Frey can stand against him, but not without huge hurt. The others are powerless."

"But you can deal with Surt. Njord said as much."

Loki nodded.

"And just who can deal with Odin?"

Loki shrugged. "Me. Or Fenrir." He looked at the great wolf and said, apologetically, "Fenrir fully grown, that is."

"And Jormungand? If I recall correctly she was supposed to be Thor's adversary, not his drinking buddy. Norse myth was always very balanced. This against that."

"Possibly Jormungand. Thor would prevail against Odin," said Loki.

"If Odin didn't out-think me," said Thor.

"To keep it simple, I want a feint-a noisy feint-on the battlefield. And then I want you, Loki, to attack and deal with Surt. Do you think the Vanir will honor their bargain?"

Loki nodded. "The Vanir are old enemies of Surt and the sons of Muspell. When Odin allied with them, he lost much of the support and loyalty of the Vanir. Odin has let his vanity about his power as chief of the?sir go to his head." He smiled wryly. "It always did. So: we deal with Surt. And Odin attacks us in the rear."

Jerry shook his head. "He'll have his own problems. What if the wall is breached?"

Loki raised his eyebrow. "If that were possible, the giants would have attacked and destroyed Asgard these ages past."

"But if it were possible?"

"He'd have to hold the breach, of course. Odin is as cunning as a snake. He'd assume we'd made the breach to charge through."

"That's what I thought," said Jerry. "I talked to Lamont about this, and it is basically his idea. I'm going to let him explain."

Lamont stood up. "Water weighs. It's heavy stuff. The fenland down there," he pointed, "is the lowest land in Asgard. It's a pretty narrow valley, and the river is a mighty big one since it drains all of Asgard. We estimate one hundred thousand gallons a second. If we were able to stop it flowing through its underground channel, even for an hour or two, it will build up against that wall."

Loki laughed. "The wall is magically proof against the frost and mountain giants-as well as just being high and large. But it is not proof against water. I like it. The softest will bring down the hardest." He looked at Thor. "And maybe we can even organize a bit of extra rain."

"I suppose so," said Thor. "Though it feels wrong to bring down Asgard's wall. Anyway, how would you block the river?"

"With a cork," said Lamont.

"By magic," said Jerry, more cooperatively. "We tried it out on a stream. But we'll have to get there first, and we'll have to hope it works as fast and well as we think it will."

"And how will you get there?" asked Loki skeptically. "Even with Freyja's falcon-cloak, out-flying the arrows of Ull's archers is not likely. You could go by night, but my informants tell me that great fires burn on the walls."

"Thanks to our traitors, they will be looking for an attack from above-but not from below."

Loki shook his head. "Tunneling is not an option, and there are no cave-paths that go under the walls."

"The river does. And Jormungand swims it."

"There is a difference between her swimming it and you swimming it," said Thor. "Just a little, of course," he said, looking warily at Liz. It was funny how she had that effect on people.

"We've built a craft, what we would call a submarine, which, with a little magic, will carry us and our paraphernalia underwater. We can take several people, and Jormungand can tow it. And we've used the principals of Ran's net to make a magical net that can hold anything. Even Loki."