Cattin Around

Author's note: The frouwa of my Kindred and I have been having a discussion for several years on whether or not alfs have pointed ears. Well for this story, I've decided to go with it and give them their points. The discussion still rages, but for the purposes of this story, alfs have pointed ears. On a second note, the vast majority of the places (on Earth) mentioned in this story are real places around where I grew up as a kid. Thirdly, because of the formatting limitations of certain sites to where this story is being posted I can't use the normal italicized lettering I usually use to represent telepathic speech. Therefore I'm borrowing an idea from Mercedes Lackey and putting all mind-speech between colons. So if you see a sentence bracketed between :'s then you know it's meant to be telepathic. (This is after all science fiction and fantasy). Fourthly: This chapter is VERY violent and contains a depiction of a very ancient form of execution used by the Vikings called a blood eagle.

Read at your own discretion.

As always feedback at elfcat@gmail.com is always welcome

At the end of this chapter is a short dictionary of Nordic terms used. I don't think anyone would really need it, but it's there if you do.

I awoke the next morning with the sun shining through the bedroom window and Emory curled up in my arms, both of us still naked. After a somewhat awkward moment she smiled over and said, "I think I'd better return to my own room."

"You don't have too," I told her.

"What would your parents say?" she asked somewhat surprised.

"Probably nothing. My folks have a pretty open mind about these kinds of things. Their only comment would Mom telling me that she's not rocking."

She simply nodded and curled up against me as she said, "Don't worry about that. Like I said earlier, I keep a certain spell going that takes care of that."

"Good," I told her wrapping my arms around her. "You sort of caught me off guard last night. I didn't have any "protection" handy."

"Sorry about that. I wanted to be held last night. I wanted to be reminded that I was alive. That was the only way I could think of to make sure that I was."

"It's okay," I told her. "Trust me, I'm not complaining."

She looked up from where her smaller form was wrapped in my larger one and said, "In that case, interested in round two?"

Hey, I was a teen age boy who'd just awakened with a gorgeous platinum blonde in my bed. What do you think I did? I leaned down and kissed her seriously, and found my morning hard-on which had begun to deflate return with a vengeance.

Suddenly, Sven came barging into the room talking, "Hey Hunter, you wanna'... oh shit!" He saw us and suddenly threw his hands up in the air and started walking back out of the door complaining. "Do you HAVE to tumble every girl you meet? Can't you keep that thing in your breeches!" he half yelled, but failed to close the door behind him.

"Ever heard of knocking?!" I yelled back at him. I crawled out of bed and went to close it. "Or closing a door behind you?"

Ingrid was standing in the hall at just the right angle to see into my room, and of course me standing there buck naked. "What are you two arguing about now?" she asked. Then seeing me she blushed covered her mouth with her hand and said, "Oh."

I shut the door quickly and looked over to where Emory was pulling the covers over herself. "I'm sorry." She just giggled and said, "I guess the cat's out of the bag now."

"I'll have you know, I've never been in a bag."

She threw a pillow at me.

Even through the heavy wooden floors of the old house I could hear Sven's voice downstairs in the kitchen complaining in Old Norse, "Sheesh, you'd think that Od's Wife's Commission included bedding everything in sight. I bet even the goats on the farm aren't even safe!"

"Watch your tongue, boy!" I heard Grandfather say. "What's got your ire up this morning?"

"I just walked into his room, and he was about to tumble that girl Emory," he said.

"Why don't we go take a walk," Grandfather told him. "We need to discuss your manners, and what is considered polite kitchen conversation."

I heard Sven's voice change timbre, "Yes sir."

"I guess we'd better head down. Can I take a rain check on round two?"

She smiled at me and said, "Deal."

Ten minutes later we were both dressed and downstairs in the kitchen with the rest of the family. Ingrid wouldn't meet my eyes, and Dad was keeping his head buried in the morning paper. Mom and Grandmother were busy at the stove, both keeping their backs pointedly toward me. My Aunt Helga was busy getting the twins settled into the table; only Uncle Sigurd would look me in the eye. He just chuckled and winked at me and greeted us as we entered the room, "Heilsa Hunter, Emory. I trust you slept well."

I raised an eyebrow, and am sure I blushed. Emory on the other hand simply said, "Yes sir. I've never slept better in my life." She sat down at the table and said, "Would you mind passing the tea?"

I thought my Dad was going to spit out his coffee as he tried not to snicker while he took a sip.

"Yes sir," I answered Uncle Sigurd.

"JD called," Mom said her back still to me as she continued to scramble eggs. "He wanted me to remind you that there was a furball game this afternoon at the North field. He hinted that I should make some crab salad to bring up there."

"Oh, I forgot about that!" I said hitting my forehead with my hand.

"What's furball?" Ingrid asked.

"It's a game we play with a ball. All the players are werewolves except for me," I told her.

"Is it permissible for me come watch?" Ingrid asked. "I think the idea of a contest of shifters would be exciting." That was more words that she'd said to me the whole trip that didn't involve her wedding plans, or her groom-to-be. I couldn't turn a request like that down.

However, before I could reply, Mom interjected, "You know, that might be a good idea. It would be a chance for everyone to get out and to meet some of the locals who wouldn't be thinking twice about anything unusual."

"Are we that unusual?" Ingrid asked.

"Not really," I told her as I began to rummage through the fridge for some milk. "It's the ears I think. Everyone thinks we're having a Star Trek Convention when they see you."

"A what?" my aunt asked.

"It was a popular television show several years ago with an alien character with pointed ears," Dad said.

"Well, we're aliens I guess," Uncle Sigurd said. "And we do have pointed ears." He reached down and touched the tips of one of the twin's ears.

"Yes sir," I replied, "But you don't have any problems expressing emotions."

"No, we don't at that. Just ask Sven, when he comes back in," my Aunt added with a hint of humor to her voice.

"I do hope he's alright. Something seemed to be bothering him earlier," Emory said. This time I nearly spit out the milk I was drinking from the jug.

"Then it's settled," Aunt Hilda came to my rescue. "We'll all go to the North Field and watch this furball game." She winked over at me, "And if your friend, JD likes, Summar's crab salad, wait 'til he tastes mine. I taught her everything she knows."

"Girls," Grandma warned. "You two can be worse than Sven and Hunter." She grinned over at me, "Besides, I'm the one that taught you both how to cook."

"Yes, ma'am," Mom and Aunt Hilda answered in unison.

Emory looked up at my Grandmother and said in a tone that butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, "In that case Frouwa Gondul, would you consider fostering me, and teaching me to cook at some point."

My grandmother fixed her with that look she uses, when she doesn't want to be trifled with. Emory lasted a whole three seconds before looking down. "I think young lady that you have other lessons to learn first. If the time comes when it is appropriate, you can count on it."

Emory smiled, "I'll be there milady, possibly with bells on."

"I don't doubt that, at all," Grandmother told her. I got the feeling that something important had just happened, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

~*~

That afternoon found us up at the North Field. It was basically over in the next hollow, or as we called them: hollers. My Dad had set up a ve' nearby that we used as an entrance point to the Bifrost Bridge, so he considered it a good thing that we kids spent a lot of time up there. It kept the locals away. Of course since my family had forged an agreement with local werewolf pack that let them hunt on the land, and hold their monthly gatherings there, it was pretty much a place of the wilds anyway. There's something about the primordial power of shifters than can change the land to make it more wild, more fertile, and not just a little more dangerous. So there is a certain primeval, even gothic feel to land as it is, and the presence of a concentration of beings that the general public wasn't supposed to know about simply added to that feeling.

Most of the pack knew my family was visiting, and were as excited about meeting them as Ingrid and crew were about meeting a pack of werewolves. Mom had packed a huge spread of food and Dad hooked the hay-wagon to the tractor and we all rode up there in it.

The field itself was about a hundred yards by a hundred fifty and was completely surrounded by a thick stand of oak and poplar trees. About thirty yards into the woods on the south side was a deep stream that fed off a waterfall into a small pond where I used to go fishing with JD and several other friends. We'd cut down several poplar trees and made two make-shift goal posts out of them at each end of the field and marked off the edges with large stones. My dad let me use the bush hog to keep the grass cut down and we marked off the yardage with cans of white spray paint.

When we got there, several players were already there, including Wanda, the pack's unofficial alpha female. Okay, let me clear something up here. When I say "pack" I don't mean the whole werewolf pack for the area. That's a completely different organization. I mean the group of werewolf kids ranging from between thirteen and eighteen that all went to various schools in Walker County. JD, Wanda, Chase, and Steven all went to Oakman High School with me. Mark, Joey, and Tammy went to Cordova, and Kelli, Tammy's sister went to Bankhead. Nathan and Bart along with their little sister Elaine who hadn't gone through her first change yet went to Curry, and Matt, Todd, and Ken went to Parrish. They were sort of a pack within the pack back then. Today, most of them hold adult positions of authority in the larger pack. But this was back then when were all kids..

Like I said, Wanda was sort of head honcho as far as the girls were concerned, and she and Tammy were just standing off to the side watching as JD, and Chase were setting up the field. That mainly meant touching up the yardage lines with a couple of cans of spray paint they'd picked up at Posey's Hardware, and looking for any large stones that tended to sometimes find their way to the field from the bush hog.

Wanda kind of looked over at Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Hilda and smiled. Alpha female among us kids she might have been, werewolf she might have been, but she knew that if she didn't give the right amount of respect to the women who owned the land, not only would they put her in her place, but a phone call to her Daddy would make sure that she knew how to act in the future. "Hello, Mrs. Greenbough," she told Mom. Then nodding to Grams, and Aunt Hilda she said, "Ma'ams."

"Hello Wanda," Mom told her. "Why don't you and Tammy help Emory and Ingrid get the food out of the wagon. Sven and Trey are supposed," she turned and gave us hard looks to remind us that she'd already told us to do it, "to be setting up some tables for us to use. We thought we'd make a day of the game."

I immediately turned toward the wagon and grabbed the folding table we'd brought along, hefted it onto my shoulder and grabbed two folding chairs before hopping down off the wagon. I looked over at Sven and said, "Grab some chairs and let's go. Mom doesn't usually give two warnings."

Sven gave me a worried look as he glanced over at Mom, grabbed two chairs and followed. When he got to where I was, he leaned in close and asked, "Are we entirely safe? I mean aren't werewolves supposed to be pretty violent?"

"Don't worry my little elfling," Wanda said from about ten feet away, "You're perfectly safe with us. First of all, fey have a hard time contracting lycanthropy or in Trey's case, ailunthropy. One of us would have to bite you pretty hard and deep to turn you- and often. " Then she turned and gave him an appraising look up and down before adding, "Although you DO look good enough to eat- at least metaphorically speaking that is." She smiled sultrily.

I just laughed and told him, "One thing you have to remember around shifters- be they werecat or werewolf- we've all got very keen senses. If we can see you, then you're probably within earshot. I can hear JD telling Chase from across the field about the car he and his dad are rebuilding."

I'm not sure if it was what I'd said, or what Wanda had alluded to that caused it, but Sven managed to blush rather prettily. I just smiled at him. "Tell you what. I'll finish up here, and you go and see if you can help our Dads with the tractor."

He nodded and headed off with a couple of glances back at Wanda. I got the feeling that before this day was over, I was going to be able to tease him about "keeping it in his breeches." Wanda had a certain reputation of going after what she liked, and she definitely seemed to like Sven.

As I finished setting up the table, a conversation caught my attention from about fifty feet away:

TAMMY: You've got Trey's scent all over you.

EMORY: So?

TAMMY: You two together?

EMORY: Define together?

TAMMY: Don't be coy, you know what I mean.

EMORY: We just met.

TAMMY: You move fast girl, almost as fast as Trey.

EMORY: What are you concerned about? Jealous?

TAMMY: Me? Nothing, I don't mess around outside the pack.

EMORY: Then what?

TAMMY: Trey's our friend. Heck, he'd be pack if he wasn't a cat. You hurt him, and we'll hurt you.

EMORY: You can try.

I figured I'd better head this off before it got out of control. I understood what Tammy was trying to do and even appreciated it, but sometimes she and the rest of the pack tended to forget that I am capable of taking care of myself. I guess it's because I don't smell like a wolf.

I came up to where they were talking and asked, "You girls think you could get along long enough for us to get the game started?" I'm not sure, but I think Tammy actually blushed.

Emory turned and said, "Oh, we're just getting to know each other." I swear she was smiling when she reached over hugged Tammy.

If I live to be a thousand I'll never understand women. I just walked off shaking my head to get ready for the game. JD came up beside me and asked, "You go stick your nose in something that's between the womenfolk?"

I chuckled and replied, "Not really. Just trying to make sure things don't get out of hand. Those two start going at it, and we could have a real mess on our hands."

"I saw the fight you two had with that French villain on the news last night. I think Emory can handle herself."

I laughed out loud, "It wasn't Emory I was worried about getting hurt."

He gave a hard look and asked, "You saying my pack can't take care of itself?" Then a broad smile crossed his face as he looked back over to the girls.

I shook my head and said, "No, I'm saying I don't want to have to break up a fight between them."

"That's why I just sit and watch," JD offered. "It's safer that way, and when the claws come out, all kinds of interesting things get exposed."

"And people call me a horndog,"

"Hey, I'm a wolf, not a dog!"

"Well, you're about to be cat chow," I bragged. "My team is going to eat yours alive."

"Yeah right, Kittenshit. We're going to chase you right up that goal post."

I just grinned and walked away saying, "By the way, did I tell you that Dad wants to play today?"

Two hours and a lot of sweat and bruises later, the game was over. The final score was fourteen to nine, and Dad really did make a difference to the team. So much that as we were walking off the field, JD commented, "New rule: next time Trey's Dad wants to play, he and Trey have to be on opposite teams. One tiger is bad enough. Two are impossible."

I picked up the big mason jar of tea Mom had set out on the table and swished my tail at him and said, "Like I promised JD. We ate you alive."

"Only because in your battle form, you've got about four feet of reach on the rest of us," he argued.

"Yeah, but my team doesn't use pack tactics on you guys," I told him.

"That's because you can't. You don't have a complete pack team. You can't communicate the way we do," he countered smugly.

"Yeah, but the next one of you guys who bites my butt, I'm going to back kick across the field," I told him. Bart had taken about a pound and a half of flesh out of my ass when he bit me.

"I was aiming for your hamstring!" Bart protested.

"Well you missed Muttmunch," I told him.

"More like Buttmunch," his twin Nathan said.

"Boys!" Dad warned. "There are ladies present."

We all turned to where the women were gathered around a blushing Sven. Ingrid was saying, "I especially liked it when Wanda tackled Sven."

"Wait a minute," JD said. "Sven wasn't playing, neither was Wanda for that matter."

"Maybe not with you guys," Ingrid teased. "But he and Wanda had their own game going on down by the waterfall."

I just raised an eyebrow, "Sven! What was it you were saying about me this morning?"

"Uh, never mind," he told me turning a deep shade of crimson.

Wanda just grinned over at me and said, "Got any more of them like that back home?"

I shrugged, "A few I guess. Why?"

"I could get to like elves."

"Alfs," Ingrid told her. "We're distantly related to elves, but not quite the same."

"Elves, alfs? What's the difference?" she asked.

"Iron," I told her. "Alfs don't burn when touched with it."

"Oh," she said. "So I can use the handcuffs."

"Interesting game," my grandfather interrupted as he looked out over the field. Huge chunks of turf and rock had been thrown up. Werewolf and magecat claws are designed for traction and tearing. Get ten or so of us at one time out there for a couple of hours and we can do some serious damage to the grass. "It's sort of controlled warfare," he said.

"Something like that, Papa," I replied.

"What is the significance of the ball?" he asked.

"It's a prize to get over the goal line, sir," JD told him. "Otherwise we'd just be out there knocking each other down."

Papa grinned, "So it's your excuse for knocking each other down. Perhaps it would make a good diversion for some of our rowdier boys on the steading." Suddenly I had images of Alf football leagues springing up all over Alfheim.

However, before I could reply a messenger came down the trail leading up to the ve`. "Jarl Galdrson!" he yelled. "Jarl Galdrson!" The man was dressed in a chain mail shirt, wearing a dented helm and was carrying a battle-axe. Instinctive, I put myself between him and the rest of the gathering. So did Dad, and to my surprise we were joined by JD.

"Wait!" Grandfather said in English. "It's Leif! He's from the village." As we warily parted to let the out-of-breath man through, he took off his helm to reveal a large gash on the side of his head.

"The village was attacked by three Jotuns! They killed one of the priests!" He said in Norse.

My blood ran cold. I turned on the man and asked, no, I'll admit, I demanded it. "Which priest?"

He turned and looked at me and said, "The young one, Ridvin. He was performing a wedding when the attack occurred. He held them off with a woodsman's axe while the wedding party escaped. They were after the bride." He stopped to catch his breath. "They cut him to pieces."

Suddenly my world turned black. I felt a slow and cold anger rise in my stomach. Without much thought I pushed past the pack behind me and went to my where my bag lay. Mother followed me, "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"They killed Rid," I growled at her. "I'm going to kill them back." I reached into my pack and pulled my charm bracelet from the pocket on the side. Shaking it into my hand, I said, "Vaxa!" The sword grew to its normal size in my hand.

"And how do you plan to get there?" she asked, her hands on her hips. Mom moved in front of me to block my way to the ve`.

"I know the spell to open the bridge. I'll use my own blood if I have to," I said as I stepped around her. It was true. I'd figured out that spell a long time ago. It really wasn't as difficult as she thought it was. Granted, I'd never actually cast it, but I knew it, and I knew I could cast it.

"You're not going," she said. "It's too dangerous."

Never in my life have I ever defied my Mother. It was more than just out of respect; it was ingrained into my very bones. I knew how rare it was for a magecat to actually have a living mother. However, this was what I was created to do. This was very much within the realm of the Freyja's Commission: to stand between the innocent and those who would destroy what is built by men and Gods, to stand between everyday folk and those who would the free enchain.

I stood up as tall as I could and looked her in the eye. "I am going. They killed Rid; they attacked a village under the leadership of my Grandfather. I'm obligated to go," I told her as clearly as I could. "If ever there was a situation within the Od's Wife's Commission, this is it."

"He's right, Summar," Grandfather said in English. "He's of age. He has a stake in what has happened, and he's scion of my blood."

"Father, you aren't helping," Mom said.

"I'm not trying to," he replied. "Hunter is right."

The standoff must have totally shocked JD and the rest of the pack because he grabbed my arm and said. "Whoa, there. That's your mom you're talking to. You don't use that tone of voice to her." I stopped and gave him a hard look. He stopped and took his hands from my shoulders before asking, "Mind telling us what's going on? What happened to Rid? What did the guy in armor say? What's got your shorts in a bunch?"

Emory answered him, "Some giants attacked the village near his Grandfather's steading. They cut him down as he was trying to defend a wedding party."

"This is the same guy you told me about?" JD asked stepping in front of me and grabbing my shoulders. JD was the one person I'd told about Ridvin- everything about him. He knew what Rid meant to me.

I nodded.

He turned to the other members of the pack and said, "Saddle up folks. We're going hunting giants."

"No you're not," Mother said.

"Yes he is," Dad finally said. "We can't protect him forever, and this is something he has to do."

"Oh no, not you too!" Mother turned on him.

"We're not ganging up on you, Summar. But Trey is right. This is his battle. This is what we were created for."

"Then you go," Mother said.

Dad shook his head, "I can't. If you think about it, you'll understand why. This is his duty, his right. We can't stand in his way."

"I'm not sending my son out to fight a Surt's scion with only a jotun's blade," Mother said. "I don't care what the Lady's Commission is."

"Nobody said he was going alone," Grandfather said. He turned to the Leif and said, "You're a skald, right?"

The man nodded.

"Good, you'll go with my grandson and his hunting party. Return to my farm and tell the stable master to saddle for you my fastest war horse. You'll need it to keep up with what will happen this night."

The man nodded and then headed back toward the ve` with a simple acknowledgement, "Aye milord,"

"Meet Hunter and his party at the temple when Sunna is disappearing from the sky," he called to man.

"Aye milord," the man replied again.

"I'm going too," Emory suddenly said from behind my Grandmother.

"Can you keep up?" JD asked. "We're going to be moving pretty fast."

Emory reached into her pack and pulled something feathery out. "I think I can manage." She shook the long cloak of white feathers and with a flourish of movement wrapped it around her shoulders. It settled along her shoulders and arms and seemed to meld into her skin like a new set of wings.

"Loki's tethered balls!" Grandfather said. I'd never heard him curse before, and definitely not in front of the womenfolk. "That's a swanmay's cloak!"

Mother simply stood in shock and then asked, "Where did you get that?"

"It was my mother's," Emory replied. "She told me that I'd know when to use it."

"Girl, if that was your mother's, she was not just an alf," I told her. "She was a valkyrie."

Mother looked over at where the pack was shedding their clothes and slowly shifting into large red wolves in preparation for fast travel. She then looked over to where the cloak was shifting into wings around Emory's shoulders. Then turning to where I was holding Isstonn in front of me, she sighed and said, "Very well, I concede." Then spinning on my father and grandfather she said in a cold voice, "But if anything happens to him, I'm holding you two responsible."

Dad and Grandfather exchanged glances and then nodded back to her and in unison said, "Accepted."

I stripped to the loin cloth I was wearing and headed toward the ve`. I could feel the anger in me begin to seethe and boil, and knew that if I were going to open the way to Asgarth, I'd have to do it soon. Otherwise the rage would over take me and magic would be that much harder. Behind me I could feel my tail slashing the air like a blade. I looked over my shoulder and said, "If you're coming, you'd better hurry. I don't know how long I can hold open the bridge."

"I'm going too," Sven said.

Emory and I both turned on him, and before I could reply she said, "No you're not."

"I don't take orders from women," he told her. Then turning to me he asked, "Why not? I can use a sword and I can ride as well as Leif- better than you."

"It's not about how good you can ride or how good you can fight. It's about what we're going to be facing." I stopped and chose my words carefully. I didn't want to hurt him, but I couldn't afford the attention to keep an eye on him. "Look, I'm not trying to be mean. This is simply the way things are. I'll be traveling fast, and light, and with a pack of werewolves. When we get there, it's going to be a nasty, in-close fight with claws, spells, and talons. That means there's going to be a great deal of rage involved and when that happens I can't guarantee your safety from my own forces. I know you're a good huntsman and good rider, but this is different. Magic is involved, serious magic and I don't want to have to explain to your father why I let his son get ripped to pieces- or worse yet, why I did it."

That stopped him. He looked at me in horror and asked, "You'd do something like that?"

I shook my head, "Not intentionally, but we're talking about beings capable of tossing tractors, and we're talking about nasty in-close fighting. Sometimes things happen in that kind of fight that we don't intend."

Emory stepped between us holding her hands out as if to separate us. "Look, let me talk to him," she said putting an arm around his shoulders. He seemed to relax a little and was slightly less defensive toward her. He never saw the punch coming. She clocked him with the prettiest right cross I'd seen in years.

Sven collapsed like sack of potatoes as she said, "I hated to do that, but we really don't have time to argue about it." She looked over at Ingrid and said, "Please apologize for me."

Ingrid just giggled and said, "I will do my best."

I turned back toward the ve and as a unit the pack of wolves fell in behind me, their yellow eyes gleaming at the thought of a hunt. With her cloak of swan feathers rippling behind her, Emory joined me, silent and grim. Reaching the two raised stones at the far side of the ve I pulled my saxa from my belt and drew it across my palm. As the blood welled up from the amber embedded blade, I called each of the runes by names and using the tip of the blade, I filled them with it. Finally, I sang the last of the spell and felt my will swell out of me into the runes, and then along the trunk of Yggdrassil- the Worlds Tree.

The area between the stones began to glow with familiar light as the tri-colored deck of the Bifrost Bridge appeared before us. I turned to the others and said, "What ever you do, don't step off this path, and no matter whom we meet, let me do the talking."

"Trey, they're wolves, they can't talk," Emory told me.

"You don't know Bart," I told her. "He can talk no matter what form he takes, and he doesn't always choose his words wisely."

She glanced over Bart and the large red wolf nodded, and said in a growling voice, "It's a rare gift, but useful."

I turned back to the bridge and stepped on the glowing deck and started the journey. Each stride seemed to take us a thousand feet and before we knew it, we were high above Earth. Slowly the sky shifted from blue and clouds to the limbs of the World Tree as the path winded through the branches that made up of the Nine Worlds. Suddenly the Bridge ended where a large man dressed in mail stood looking out over the expanse below.

"Heilsa Rigg, father of the classes of men!" Even from this distance I could feel the divine presence of Guardian of the Bifrost Bridge.

I've passed this way many times in my life and never has the Son of Nine Mothers acknowledged my or my family's hails. This time however, he turned to face me and in a voice that was both booming and soft asked, "Heilsa Hunter Greenbough, Son of Summar Galdrsdottir. Where doest thou travel in the Realms of the Gods with the Scion of Angrboda at your back?"

I stopped and looked back at the pack of red wolves who were now sitting on their haunches waiting my reaction. Then turning back to Heimdall, I said, "The village near my Grandfather's steading was attacked by Jotuns. They killed Ridvin, the priest of Freyr there. We travel across to Alfheim to hunt them down and exact from them either the weirgild or their lives."

"I know of the attack of which you speak. Foul gifts of Skytreader and Surt were used in that dread deed. The dispensation of the soul of the priest Ridvin has caused some consternation between the Keeper of the Halls of the Dead and the Lord of the Earth." He turned again to look at the pack at my heels and asked, "Still, that does not explain why you have brought a pack of werewolves to this realm."

"They go with me to help hunt those Jotun responsible for the attack. They are my friends," I told him.

"And the wearer of the valkyrie's cloak? Does she go to bear away the souls of the battle slain?" He asked.

"She too is my friend. She goes with me to help bring down the Jotuns." I turned back to look at Emory. "She's not yet a valkyrie."

Heimdall nodded and stepped aside. "This is good. You have made powerful allies on Midgarth. You now bring them here to make justice in the name of your family's holdings." His serious continence shifted to something softer for a moment as he added, "And if I'm not mistaken, you go to avenge the death of a beloved one in a manner to do your Lady AND her Brother honor. Pass safely and may your path be clear and your sword true. Heed my words carefully though. Make a wise choice for setting the weirgild for your beloved friend. Do him honor and great honor will come to you."

"Aye, My Lord," I told him as I considered his words. When a God gives you advice, it's a good idea to think hard on it. Turning to the others, I told them, "Let's go. We've all of Vanaheim to cross before the day is gone. We'll be hunting at night, so it's going to be dangerous."

Emory stepped up next to me and asked, "What was all that about weirgild?"

"As my grandfather's agent in this matter, it's my responsibility to set the man-price for Ridvin. If the Jotun can pay it and does, then I have to let him go and consider all debts paid. There's little that the Jotuns can not afford."

"So, who gets the money?" she asked.

"Everyone who will be affected by his being gone, his family, the temple, the village," I told her.

"And you," she said meaningfully.

I felt my stomach knot up at the thought of just how much I was going to miss him, just how much I really did love him. "And me," I said tightly.

"It sounds like he touched a lot of people's lives," she said quietly.

"He did," I told her. "He was well-liked by the village, and by the temple." Again, I deflected the anger and loss I felt welling up inside me by spreading it out among all the people who knew him.

"Men die, cattle die, and you too shall die. But, a glory is forever for those who earn it," she quoted the Sayings of Har in the Poetic Eddas.

I nodded and looked back at the wolves and then at her. "If we're going to make it before Sunna sets in the western sky, we need to pick up the pace. You might want to put that cloak to the use it was intended."

She nodded at me said, "This conversation is not yet over Trey Greenbough. You are not going to hide your loss behind duty." Spreading her arms wide, the cloak began to billow like the wings of a great swan as she took to the air. "I'll keep up with you and your wolf pack, but you keep your mind on what the Heimdall told you. There's something we're both missing here, and I don't want it to cost us any more of your friends."

The trip across the fertile fields of Vanaheim was for the most part uneventful. I shifted into my tiger form and loped off into the west, the pack of werewolves spreading out to cover each flank, and Emory giving us air coverage. We traveled fast and by the time Sunna began to touch to the tips of the western mountains I was shifting into my natural form to meet with Leif at the temple.

The place looked like the Iron Bowl Classic had been played there. Everything was in disarray. Several houses were smashed; people were tending the wounded, and trying to round up where what was left of the cattle- actually aurochs, and extinct species on Midgarth- had been set free. The village mill was nothing but a pile of rubble, the smithy had been set on fire, and it looked like a cow had been hurled through the timbered walls and impaled on one of the snapped support columns of the temple. Gilfrey, the high priest, was talking to Leif, "They headed off to the North, toward the River Iving."

"How long have they been gone?" I asked coming up beside him.

Gilfrey turned to me and said, "Hello Hunter." His tone was one of reproach for my rudeness.

"How long Gilfrey?" I asked again.

"Why? Do you think you can stop them? Can you bring back the dead?" he asked.

I shook my head, "No. I can't bring back the dead, but I can make sure that they know that there is a cost for attacking this village."

"What concern is it of yours?" he asked. "You live on Midgarth, your commission is there. The ways of the alfs is not for such as you."

I stepped up close to him, and growled lowly. "They killed my friend. That's my concern. They attacked a village that is part of my grandfather's holdings. That is my concern. If you doubt my mother's blood runs through my veins, then you are a fool. Now I ask for the third time Gilfrey, how long have they been gone?"

Something in my voice must have warned him that I meant business. He sighed and said, "They've been gone for just over half a day. They're on foot, but their strides are long. I'd say they've got a hard day's ride head start. By the time you leave in the morning, it'll be two days. It's hopeless."

I simply smiled and told him coldly, "Hopeless for you maybe, but not for me or mine. We leave now. We'll track through night, and when we catch them, they'll pay the weirgild or they'll die." I stopped and looked around at the devastation of the village and asked. "How many were killed?"

"Only Ridvin," Gilfrey said. "He'd be alive too if he hadn't tried to stop them from taking the bride."

"Did they take her?" I asked.

Gilfrey shook his head and said, "No, he delayed them long enough for the wedding party to disappear. When the Jotuns discovered that, they took their anger out on him." I suddenly felt a sense of pride in what Rid had done. In his own way he was much braver than I could ever be. He didn't have my advantages, my power, and yet he stood facing certain death to give his charges a chance to escape. I could do no less than avenge him. "The weirgild isn't much, just the damage to the property, and a simple foolish village priest," Gilfrey said.

That last part cut me to the bone. I stepped up in his face and said, "You fool! He was worth a hundred of you. He met his death without flinching while you cowered somewhere. He died as a thane, and his weirgild will show that." I spun on my heel and walked away telling Leif, "Get on your horse and follow me if you intend to go along. If you can keep up, I can only promise you a long hard ride with a vicious fight at the end and should you survive a song to be sung."

I met the rest of the pack outside the village and told them simply, "North." I shifted again and looked for their spoor. It didn't take long to find. It was summer and Jotuns were exactly known for their flowery smell. As we spread out, I felt the call of the hunt fill me and I roared. Surprisingly enough, the pack answered with howls of their own.

We cut through the night howling and roaring as we slowly gained ground on the Jotuns. The forests were silent as we tracked our prey, for we carried with us a megin of power and fury that could be felt in the very rocks of the land. It swept out around us, filling the very air with a sense of violence and danger. Every steading we passed was dark and silent, with only sheep foolish enough to call to each other in fear. The primal fire of Muspelheim that met with the primal ice of Niflheim in the chasm of Ginnungagap ran through our very souls as Mani rose full in the sky above. It was a perfect night for hunting, a perfect night for the spilling of blood, and a perfect night for vengeance and justice.

Above us on silent wings, Emory flew like one of Odin's battle eagles and to this day I know not what thoughts passed through her mind. She was our watcher on the winds; our forward observer who kept us together and on the right track. It was her early warning that kept us from running headlong into a trap our quarry had set when they'd realized that the howling in the night air was meant for them.

We were traveling through the mountainous terrain just south of the river and had entered a narrow pass when Emory spoke directly to mind. :Trey, JD, the pass narrows up ahead. Just around a corner, one of the giants is waiting with a boulder. The other two have climbed up onto ledges on either side of the gap and are waiting with war axes.:

I slowed my pace and thought about what she was telling me. A quick call into the night brought the pack to a halt and JD and Bart to my side. JD shifted to become human- not an easy task for a werewolf on a night with Mani shining so full above us- and I went to my magecat form. Bart shifted up to his battle form and said in his gravelly voice, "We heard." Then looking over his shoulder to where Emory was circling above us like some silent bird he added, "That little witch is a valuable ally. If you hadn't already bedded her, I might give you a run for your money."

JD cuffed him and scolded, "Keep your mind on business."

Leif rode up behind us, his horse silent in spite of the primal fear we were giving off. He looked down and said, "Good ride."

I grinned at him and said, "Glad you can keep up. Now it's going to get interesting."

He drew his sword and smiled, "You promised me a fight. I hope you aren't going to disappoint me."

"Don't worry, Leif. You'll get more than you bargained for. But when it gets in close, I want you to back off. Like I told Sven, I can't guarantee your safety when the claws start flying, and the last thing I want you to do is end up getting infected by one of us, or worse yet, killed."

I nodded over at JD and said, "If you take half the pack up along the west ridge, and Bart takes the other half up the side of the east, I can go down the middle and draw their fire. When I've got their attention, you can take them from above."

"You sure he's not part wolf?" Bart asked. "That's good pack tactics."

JD grinned, "I've been teaching him."

I just nodded and said, "Then do it."

Like silent shadows, they faded into the darkness and I let the rage that was inside me take a hold as I flicked Isstonn out and once again said the command word, "Vaxa." As I shifted to my battle form so too did the sword grow to fit my hand.

Emory's voice cut through the rage in my mind. It was softer, farther away. I think that the rage was making it more difficult for her to stay in contact. She said, :Be careful. They all three carry the same mind. They may be three bodies, but they only have one mind, and its cunning and evil.:

I simply nodded into the darkness as I headed down the gully. It was early summer and I could smell the water still in the earth from the spring runoff in the mountains. In the distance I heard the howls of the pack as they communicated among themselves on how to spread out. A low growl escaped my throat as I considered what was about to happen.

I crouched low and inched my way along the edges of the stream bed, stalking my prey. Tigers are ambush predators, and I'm among the best of my species. I waited for the signal to tell me that the others were ready and thought bloody thoughts of battle and war. My beast was the closest it had ever been to taking over. I knew that I was in danger of unleashing something dark and deadly from inside me.

Behind me, I could hear the Leif's horse breathing heavy from the long ride. He was staying back for right now, letting us get the moment of surprise before unleashing a mounted charge on our foes. In the distance I heard Bart and JD howl their readiness. I took a deep breath, stood up, roared and charged into the night.

As I rounded the corner I saw what we were fighting. Now I'm considered a big guy in my battle form standing a little over fourteen feet tall. This guy was twice my size, and half that wide. His hair was a dirty blond, and his right eye twitched with some strange madness. He had a build that would make Schwarzenegger envious and was wearing boiled leather shirt and a loin cloth-sans breeches- held up with a wide leather belt from which hung several alfar skulls. His legs were the size of tree trunks and it must have taken a whole cow to make the leather for his boots. As I rounded the corner he hurled a boulder the size of a Buick at me.

I was angry. I was hurt, and I wasn't in the mood for being subtle. I didn't dodge the damn thing, I stood my ground and swung Isstonn around in a powerful cleaving blow. I know, I know, my Grandfather has already taken me to task for mistreating my sword in such a way, but to be honest, the blade is no worse for wear for it. The boulder shattered under the force of my blow and I kept charging forward.

Above me, I heard the howling of the wolves as they descended in their battle forms on the other two giants. Lightning split the air and blasted the rocks from under them as Emory made her presence known. One of the giants tumbled down the cliff wall with two of the pack tearing at his flesh. The other hung from a ledge by a single hand as Bart's contingent bit and clawed at the limb.

The giant in front of me looked on in shock as I closed the distance between us. Finally realizing his danger, he picked up his own war axe and swung a mighty two handed blow at my head. I ducked as the blade passed over my noggin, whistling as it cut through the air. At the last moment, I danced to the side, twisted and brought my sword down on his huge gauntleted wrist in a great two handed blow of my own.

I could feel the air around us freeze when Isstonn imparted the rime frost on the metal as it cut deep into the gauntlet. The giant bellowed in pain and pulled his injured wrist up close to his chest. It was a bloodless wound as the rime frost froze destroyed the blood carrying vessels in his flesh.

Off to the side, I could see one of the giants lying on his back as JD, Chase, Mark, and Steven tore into him with tooth and claw. Above us and to the left, Emory was once again unleashing a barrage of lightning at the one clinging to the wall. Some small part of my mind wondered what Thor would say about her using lightning to kill giants. Behind me, I heard the thunder of hooves as Leif rode past me to charge into the fray.

The great war horse bore down on the giant with a speed that belied its size, Leif sitting low in the saddle with his own axe raised above his head as he steered with his knees. As he reached the stunned giant, he stood up high in the stirrups and struck the jotun in the back of the knee a powerful blow that bit deep into the flesh.

Apparently in a mindless rage, the giant swung his injured hand around at Leif, catching him full in the back and knocking him from the war horse. The sound of the gauntlet hitting the skald's mailed shirt rang strangely in the pre-dawn air just before the entire hand shattered into a thousand frozen pieces. Again the jotun screamed in pain.

"Trey! Look out!" Emory called from above.

I looked up just in time to see the giant that had been holding onto the ledge hurtling toward me. A fist the size of my head caught me square in the chest. It was my turn to be hurled backward. The blow to the body hurt. Hitting the stone wall of the cliff behind me hurt more and made me see stars.

I crawled out of the hole I'd left in the rock and shook my head, just in time to catch another fist upside the head. My sword went flying. This one I rolled with and came up on my toes. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me, and all that. I was ready for his charge this time.

I side stepped his the double fisted blow that came down where I was seconds before, twisted on my hips and raked deep along the soft vulnerable flesh on the inside of his right thigh. I hit pay dirt with my claws as I watched blood spurt in pulses from the wound. I knew I'd hit his femoral artery. He was dead and didn't even know it yet.

Suddenly he lurched to the side as JD and Steven both caught him high on the shoulder and Chase and Mark hit him low at the knees. From above, I heard Emory yell, "Timber!" At least she had a sense of humor.

Looking around, I could see where Leif, Bart, Matt, Todd, and Ken had the giant with the wounded hand backed into a corner. I noticed that he'd lost a finger from his other hand, and unlike the wound at his wrist, it was spurting blood. I couldn't really tell who looked the most feral at the moment, Leif, or the werewolves. The other giant lay in a charred heap at the foot of the cliff. A mist was rising from it, as it slowly seemed to disintegrate before our very eyes. Emory was coming in to light on the cliff ledge where the giant that just went down had been hanging.

I closed the distance with the giant, growling menacingly. "Wait!" I heard him call in Norse. "Give me a chance to make amends! I'll pay the man-price! I'm from a powerful family. If you kill me then there will be more death and more destruction! Name your man-price!"

I looked behind me where the giant the JD and crew had just taken down was also melting away into a mist. Powerful magic was at work here. I looked back at the giant pinned against the wall. In the distance I could hear a cock crowing as sunrise approached. "I would have your name," I demanded. The werewolves stopped and looked back at me questioningly.

"I'm called Haflison, I am Gymir's nephew! I can pay any price," the giant said.

I strode forward and asked, "Can you bring back the dead? That is my price. You have taken something from me and I want it back!"

"That is beyond even Odin's power," the giant trembled. "You name the impossible!"

I thought about what he'd said. He was right. Although I don't doubt that he Allfather could grant life to a mortal, or even an Alf, after all, he did breathe life into the first man and woman, but he was unable to return one of his own to the Aesir. I shook my head and then it hit me about who he'd claimed as kin. "Then return to me the bride price the Lord paid to your cousin for Gerd. That is my price for Ridvin the priest, Ridvin the thane, Ridvin my friend. That is MY bride-price."

"I can't do that! The Jotuns would kill me!" he protested.

"That is my price," I told him. "You tried to steal another man's wife to be. You killed a priest and somebody's lover. A sword given out of love is fit payment for those crimes; that or your life." I looked around to where the other two giants had faded away and said, "Ridvin was worth any three of you. Now either give me Freyr's sword or I'll take your life."

"I'd rather die on my feet than betray my kin at Ragnarok!" He growled at me.

I looked at him and said, "What makes you think you will die on your feet?" I looked over to the werewolves and said, "Hold him."

Suddenly there was fear in his eyes. Emory must have sensed what I meant to do as she quickly protested, "Trey, no! That's barbaric!"

I stopped and looked at her, "You said you wanted to get to know the other half of your heritage. Did you think it was all elves playing in the sun? We're a hard people, and we do hard things. I am what I am, a servant of Freyja, and true to the Vanir and the Aesir. He has committed crimes against my people and if I let him go, or simply kill him, that won't stop the raids. I have to send a message to the jotuns that they will understand. This is what the Son of Nine Mothers was trying to tell me."

"Trey?" JD asked warily. "What are you going to do?" I did notice that the pack grabbed and held the giant, who now understood what I meant by not dying on his feet. Strong he might be, but he was losing blood from the wound on his hand fast, and was already weak from the fight. He couldn't match the strength of a pack of werewolves.

"It's called the blood-eagle," Leif said in stiff English.

I turned and looked at him in surprise. "You speak English?"

He nodded and said, "I was at Lindisfarne when we first attacked. I was later part of the settlements in Scotland until I came back after Harold died at the Battle of Hastings." He grinned, "You're mother is not the only person from our village who has been stricken with the wanderlust for Midgarth."

"I don't care how old you are," JD said. "What's a blood-eagle?"

"It's a form of execution that is meant to send a message. It also dedicates the kill to the Allfather."

"It's barbaric!" Emory protested.

"So was cutting a priest to pieces. So was what he had planned for the bride of that wedding." Leif turned on Emory. "Do you think she would have survived the rape he had planned? Do you really think that she could have even walked after being violated by something that size?" He reached over and yanked the loin cloth from the giant, revealing a flaccid dick the size of her forearm.

I watched as she reached out with her mind to read the giant's thoughts. I could see her sifting through his memory, his thoughts, and knew she had her answer as the realization of what Haflison had planned for the alf girl who was getting married. "He's done that before," she said quietly. "He deserves no less."

I nodded and then looked back the giant. "You know what comes next. One last chance, Freyr's sword for your life. That is the weirgild for Ridvin's life."

Haflison shook his head and spit at me. "I have no regrets. I refuse to beg for my life. If things were different, I'd be doing the same to you."

I nodded and looked over at Leif as I retrieved Isstonn from where she lay in the sand along the creek bank. Emory turned her back on me. JD simply looked on in horror, but didn't move. Nor did he tell the other wolves to let the giant go. He knew that Haflison would only do it again if given the chance.

I moved quickly and acted before the jotun knew what was coming. Angry I may have been, but cruel I'm not. With a single blow I opened his back from shoulder to hip, neatly slicing through the ribs at the spine and piercing the diaphragm. He slumped to one side as the support for his arms was severed away and he stopped breathing at that point. Then a second blow opened the other side with nary a sound from the giant and he collapsed in on himself, his arms now useless appendages hanging at hiss ide. Reaching in with both hands I pulled the ribs open and removed his lungs to lay them along side- revealing the wings of the eagle.

When I was done, I looked to the rising sun in the East and chanted, "Allfather, this defeated foe I give to you. Blood eagle upon his back to make the Raven God glad. May all who see this know that justice will be meted out to any who attack the holdings of Galdrson. Ridvin, friend beloved, you may now go to the halls of your ancestors knowing that you've been avenged."

I turned to the rest and said, "Let's go home."

"What about the corpse?" Bart asked. "We can't just leave it out here."

"Yes we can," Leif told him. "It's a message to the other jotuns. They will know why it was done."

"How?" Bart asked.

"The very rocks will tell them. Do not underestimate the power of mountain giants. They can literally move mountain with their magic." I told him.

The walk back to the village was quiet. We'd all expended a great deal of energy in the hunt and the subsequent fight. Now it seemed that this night of howls was taking its toll. Emory was lost deep in her own thoughts and I wondered if I'd queered things between us. JD and the rest of the pack seemed to be in shock. I think that up until that point they'd all thought of me as a tamed tiger, a domestic cat that looked like a wild beast. Now they knew better, they understood just how dangerous I could be and that sort of shocked them.

Upon return to the village late that evening, I told Gilfrey that the deed was done and left for Grandfather's steading. We were all too tired to travel back across Vanaheim and were in desperate need of rest. By this time Grandfather and the rest of the family had returned from my house in order to see to the village repairs and help put things back into order. He offered the pack the use of the great hall at the steading to sleep. Emory was given a bed in Ingrid's room and I took to my usual bedroom above the smithy in order to get some rest. That of course was not to be this night for the deeds of the day were not yet finished with weaving my orlog and building my megin.

It was several hours after midnight when I felt a presence in the room. As someone slid into my bed next to me, at first I thought it was Emory. But then I felt the hard body next to mine and smelled a scent that I was convinced I would never smell again. I turned to look directly into the face of a wight, for Ridvin was smiling over at me. "Shh, we've only this night," he whispered as he snuggled up against me.

"I don't understand," I protested. "You're dead."

He nodded and smiled, "Yes, but remember Brunhild and Sugurd? We've been granted this one night together." Then he kissed me passionately and added, "Do you want to waste it talking?"

I pulled him to me and felt his body against mine. For someone who was dead, he sure felt warm and alive to me. "Talk later."

I felt him kiss along the side of my neck and it sent shivers through my body as I began to respond to his familiar touch. My exhaustion fell away as we began to move against each other. His hand reached below to gently work my foreskin back and forth over the head of my dick. "I want you, Hunter," he whispered into my ear.

I smiled and rolled him over and began to kiss down his body. In the moonlight, if I looked carefully with my mage sight, I could barely make out the outlines of the scars left by the terrible wounds from the jotuns' axe. I kissed along each one of them, reveling in the idea of having him with me for one last night. I licked my tongue down the length of one that ran from his shoulder to disappear into the curly blond hair of his pubes. I kissed the base of his hard cock and then licked up its shaft, tasting the precum that was flowing from under the foreskin.

Gently pushing the hot flesh back, I exposed the large purple head, once again marveling at the sheer size of his manhood, and open my jaws wide to take it into my mouth. It was hard and spongy all at the same time, and scraped the back of my throat. I heard him groan in pleasure above me as I began to gently cup his balls in one hand while I stroked the length of his dick with my other.

After a few moments he pulled my head off his dick with a strength that surprised me. "Not yet," he said. "There's much passion to be had tonight." Then he rolled me over onto my back and began to kiss down the fur on my chest. He circled my left nipple and then my right with his tongue taking time to nibble on each and sending ripples of pleasure up and down my spine.

He continued with his oral manipulations as he licked further down my abs to where my cock was poised- hard as a rock over my stomach. With a wicked little wink up at me, he took the shaft in his hand and began to kiss along the underside until he reached the tip. Then, he pulled the foreskin forward and ran his tongue down between it and the head of my dick. I arched my hips forward in pleasure, threw my harm over my face and groaned softly into my elbow.

He just smiled at me as he took the entire length of my dick all the way down his throat. Again I thrust my hips forward as he went down on me. Then I pulled them back as he pulled up. I could feel his spit and my precum begin to pool in the curls of my pubes. After several long moments of establishing a rhythm: thrust up, pull back, thrust up, pull back, he placed his hand squarely on my stomach and pushed me down.

Throwing his legs over mine, he straddled my groin, grabbed my cock and put it at the entrance to his ass. Before I could react, he lowered himself down onto my hardness. He was as hot and tight as the first time we'd done this, and my dick felt like it was encased in a warm wet velvet glove. He leaned forward and kissed me solidly as he rocked his ass up and down on my shaft.

I reached around and grabbed two handfuls of that beautiful ass of his and kneaded them for all I was worth. Just feeling those taught muscles made me that much harder as I thrust up to meet his movements. We lay there for long moments rocking back and forth as he stretched out on top of me, his tongue dancing against mine.

Finally it was more than I could take. I grabbed him with both hands, rolled him over and thrust deep inside him as his knees came up to lock around my shoulders. I pulled out until just the head of my dick was inside him, and then thrust forward again, feeling his hot wetness engulf me. It was my turn to kiss him hard and run my fingers, and probably my claws as well down his well-muscled arms.

I felt his hands roam down the back of my legs and then up to pull hard on my ass as I thrust harder into him. His fingers played along my ass cheeks and then dipped under my tail to the tight ring he found there. He ran his finger along the outside for several minutes, building my excitement. Finally he plunged one finger inside, and I arched my back and thrust deep inside him. A second joined the first and I felt my balls contract up against my body as I blasted a load of cum deep inside his bowels.

He would plunge his fingers in, and I would thrust forward, blowing another length of hot ropy cum inside him. Thrust, blow, thrust, blow, thrust, blow- the cycle kept repeating itself, as I emptied myself inside him. Finally, exhausted I lay down on top of him, rolled to the side and without withdrawing; I pulled him to me and kissed his nose gently. "I don't think I've ever come that hard in my life," I told him as I reached down to stroke his still hard cock. "And you still haven't come yet."

He just grinned at me and said, "I know. Not yet." He firmly but gently removed my hand from his dick.

"Why?" I asked.

"I'm not ready yet," he told me. "Don't worry. I'll come when I'm ready. For now, let's talk."

I grinned and teased him, "Aren't you the one who didn't want to waste this night with talking?"

He shook his head and said, "No, I just don't want to spend all of it talking. But I do want to talk to you. I've something to tell you."

"What?" I asked.

"First, I know you Hunter. You're likely get all gloomy after a few months and then try to follow me. Don't," he told me. "You've your whole life ahead of you, and what you are, what you will become is going to be needed on Midgarth if the Old Faith is to return."

I hadn't thought about that, but he was right. I could very easily see myself becoming depressed and doing something stupid if I wasn't careful. I looked up at him and tried to protest, "But..."

He put his finger against my lips and said, "No buts. I've already spoken to your friend, Emory about it. We've come to an understanding. You are going to need someone in this life to keep you on an even keel. I like her. I think she'd be a good person for that, much like your mother keeps your father in line."

"I just met her..." I started.

Again, he stopped me this time with a kiss as he moved closer to me, "And you've already tumbled her. I know. You move fast, that's the nature of what you are. I think that the Keeper of Cats put more than just a little of herself in your kind when she made you. You are not satisfied with a single lover, and never can be.. I've always known that I could never on my own hold you. But after a while, I think she eventually can. She can be everything you need, and you can be what she needs as well."

I snuggled against him, feeling myself, still hard, moving deeper inside him. "Why are you telling me this? This night is supposed to be for us. Why bring her into it right now?"

"Because we've only got this night, and there's much you've got to know." He slowly traces the outline of my stripes with a finger as he continued to move against me. "That doesn't mean we can't have fun while we talk though." He grinned at me mischievously.

I nodded and kissed him again. "I'll cross the bridge that is Emory Northmore when I come to it."

"Just remember what I said. You can't try to come to me yet. The Gods won't allow it. There's too much for you to do. When the time comes we'll be together, but not if you try to go the Halls of your ancestors before then."

"Okay," I told him. "I won't do anything stupid."

He rolled me over on my back and began to move gently against me again as he smiled down and said, "Don't make any promises you can't keep my little vitkikottr. We all know you aren't always the sharpest sword in the smithy, and you often let this head do the thinking for your big one." He reached behind him and touched the shaft of my dick where it entered his body.

I chuckled and nodded, "Okay. I won't try to follow you. Now what is it that you need to tell me?"

He stopped his movements for a moment and stared into my eyes. "There's a war coming. There are forces at work who really would the free enchain. The Desert God's forces are building, and they are going to try and take over the whole world- to convert everyone to him by the sword. The war they bring will use people like your friend Emory, and the woman you fought the other day to bring about a holocaust that will make what his Christian followers did look like a walk in dales. If the Old Faith is to survive, if freedom itself is to survive, you and Emory and others like you must steel yourselves for a long war with many casualties. The fate of all humanity lies in those with gifts like you."

"I've heard Mom and Dad talk about it. They say that there is a cadre of countries moving in the General Assembly to force parahumans to register with and serve the UN," I told him. "I can't believe that the Security Council will allow that to happen."

He put both hands on my shoulders and pushed himself up straight. "It will happen. Every seidr worker in Vanaheim has seen it in their portents and their dreams. If things go badly the Bifrost Bridge could be shattered, and Surt's forces unleashed before their time." He rocked back and forth against me for a few moments enjoying the feeling of me inside of him. This time our love-making was not hurried and passionate, but was a gentle sharing of our bodies as we spoke of things of importance.

After a few moments he said, "And that brings me to me the second thing I need to tell you."

"What?" I asked as I reached between his legs and began to gently stroke his massive cock.

He shuddered gently in pleasure, smiled down at me and took my hand away saying, "Not yet, my love. We've still much to discuss before I do that." I began to have a nagging feeling about what he meant with that comment.

I nodded to him and said, "Okay, what were you going to tell me?"

He smiled, leaned down and said, "Your actions have woven a powerful orlog for you and your family. The High Holy Ones are very pleased with them right now. Your sacrifice to the Allfather was unexpected and has pleased him greatly. Your choice of my weirgild has impressed the God of the Alfs, and he is well pleased with your actions. Your Lady is beside herself with joy over what you've done, and she'll not soon let many in the Halls of Asgarth or Vanaheim forget them. Leif is already composing a song about the battle. I've been sent to give you a gift from Freyr himself."

"It was not my intention to impress anyone- except the jotuns," I told him. "I don't want them to ever forget what price they'll pay for attacking my grandfather's holdings, for what they did to you."

He smiled and lay his head on my shoulders and snuggled, "I too am pleased, and this gift of our night together is as pleasing to me as it is to you. But you should not be modest. You are a thane, a vitki, and one day may even be a jarl. Modesty is for commoners, for thralls, and for Christians. It is not our way. Make your boasts loud and proud. Let people know that you are force with which to be reckoned in the world of men and alfs."

I just chuckled and ran my fingers through his hair as our bodies continued to move against each other. "I'll keep that in mind, but I've got a number of werewolf friends who are likely to poke a hole in my ego if I get too boastful."

"That's what friends do. If they did not keep us in line then they would not be friends, and these werewolf friends of yours are good friends. Remember, a friend will help you when you are in trouble. A good friend will be right there beside you, telling you how much fun it was. Do not let the grass grow high between your steading and theirs." That was twice in two days, I've had the Sayings of Har quoted to me.

"I won't," I told him. "I am happy that my actions are pleasing to the High Holy Ones, but that is not why I did what I did. I did it because it was my duty, my right, and it was the right thing to do. I did it out of love for you Ridvin. No matter how long I live, I'll never forget what we've shared this night nor all the others."

He sat up and ran his fingers along my ribs, tickling me. "That is as it should be. What we have had is special, but it could have never lasted. We serve different High Holy Ones and that along with our duty to reproduce would have eventually pulled us apart. What we have will be a sweet memory to last me through the long stay in the halls of my Lord, for I have neither chick nor child to carry on the line for me to be born back into."

It hit me then. Ridvin had no children. What he was, what he had been would always remain within the halls of his ancestors. He could not be reborn. "I'm sorry, Rid. I couldn't save you." I began to cry.

"Shhh, don't," he told me kissing the tears away. "I have no regrets. I would change nothing. I am safe in the Halls of Freyr until Heimdall blows the final trump. Then I will fight by his side against all the forces that Surt can muster. After that, I'll rest. Don't cry for me. Remember me with honor."

I nodded and pulled him tightly to me. "In that case let me give you a gift." I gently removed myself from him and lay him down on his back. I kissed his neck gently and then worked my way down his body. Reaching his straining cock, I took it into my mouth worked it as carefully as I could. Sliding my body around so that I could get a straighter shot at its length, I began to carefully bob up and down around the head. Four years later, nature had only added to its size. The thing was huge by any standards. I could barely fit my mouth around the head, as I relaxed my throat and began to push it deeper. Calling on the lessons in shape shifting I'd learned the other day, I willed those muscles to relax, to alter and widen to make it easier to slide down my throat.

After several moments, I was rewarded when my nose began to brush against the blond hair of his pubes. I felt him begin to move under me as he slowly fucked my mouth and throat, moaning softly. As far as I knew, nobody had ever been able to completely please Rid. He had no interest in girls, and most of them would have taken one look at this monster and run. And let's face it- there weren't a lot of boys or men willing to do this in his small village. What few lovers he'd had were not able to take the massive piece of meat that he had swinging between his legs.

He stopped moving under me after a few moments. "Hunter, please stop. I'm not ready to leave."

"What?" I asked.

He pulled me off him and said, "I'm not ready."

"Okay," I told him as I worked my way back up his body. "I don't understand. Normally you would have let me taste you at least a couple of times by now."

"Not tonight, Hunter. When I finally get release tonight, I'll be released from this form. I want to make it last as long as I can. As long as I don't come, I've until daylight to be with you."

I nodded and snuggled up beside him. "Then we can cuddle for a while."

He just laughed at me and said, "My beautiful fool. Just because I can't have release right now doesn't mean that you must do without." He winked at me, "And it doesn't mean that I don't get a certain amount of pleasure from your release."

He rolled me back onto my back and once again impaled himself upon my still hard dick. "And I do so love having you inside me like this. Each time you come, that gives me that much more of you to take with me to the barrow. Don't deprive me of that."

I nodded and began to gently thrust into him again. Watching his huge dick bounce in the air as he moved atop me was one of the most erotic things I've ever seen. It was made even more erotic by the fact that I knew I could look, but that to touch could end our night together. I slowly made up my mind about how I was going to end this night, and I began to think back to those lessons I'd learned a few days ago as a plan came to mind.

We lay there, him gently rocking up and down on my dick as the pressure in my balls built. Finally, I grabbed his thighs and thrust up hard into him, unleashing another load of hot cum. I watched his face as he felt me spasm inside him and realized that he truly did gain pleasure from my release.

He rolled to the side and stretched out next to me so that his body was lying against mine. I pulled him to me and he smelled of fresh hay, invoking memories of our first time together in the hayloft of my grandfather's barn. "What say we cuddle a while, so I can recover?" I asked.

"As long as I'm with you that's fine with me my beautiful kottr," he replied snuggling up against me.

We must have lain there for over an hour just enjoying each other's company and the feel of our bodies against each other. Finally, looking out the window, I could see a glow in the mountains to the east. I knew that Sunna would be rising soon and if I was going to carry out my plan I would have to hurry.

I began to kiss down his well muscled body to find his now flaccid cock lying against his left thigh. Taking it into my mouth I gently ran my tongue between his foreskin and the head. I felt it begin to grow in my mouth. I also felt my own dick begin to respond as he stroked its length. "Hunter, we haven't much time. I have a final gift for you," he said.

"I have something for you too." I knew that Rid wasn't the least bit interested in the anatomy of girls, but I had learned a few things from my shapeshifting lessons the other day. I purposefully reached for the memories of what my body felt like when I'd taken Emory's form the other day. I focused on the effects it had on my lower anatomy and concentrated that feeling to the area of the tight ring of my asshole. I knew that I enjoyed a finger or two inserted there when I was having sex, so I might as well enjoy what I was about to do.

Suddenly I felt the muscles around my ass shift and change, and could feel a hot wetness there. At first I thought I'd made a mistake and ended up loosening things up so much as to cause an accident, but there was no pungent smell. Instead I could smell the same hot wet juices that Emory, or Sharon, or Ljufa all produced. I smiled to myself and before Ridvin could react, I straddled his legs and impaled myself on that monster cock of his. "Hunter! What are you doing?" he asked suddenly. Then as I felt his dick slide deep in my bowels, I heard him say, "Oh, that feels good."

It was painful and pleasurable all at the same time. I know it would have been better had I taken the time to get used to it, but I didn't have time for that. We only had a few minutes left. I leaned forward and kissed him. "It is the least I can do for you. You've never had anyone take you before. Now I can ride you like you ride me."

I knew my change wasn't complete. I'd simply shifted a few muscles to make "taking" him easier, and to add some lubrication. But it still felt good, and every time that cock head would brush against my prostate it sent shivers of pleasures through my body that made my own dick stand out hard and proud. I suddenly understood what Ridvin got out of riding me like he did. I pushed my ass down, loving the feel of his pubic hair brushing against the bottom of my balls.

"I have another gift for you," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"The jotun you killed, the secret of his power," he said as he began to thrust against me.

"What is that?" I asked reveling in the fullness in my bowels as he thrust deeper inside me.

"The power to be your own war band," he grunted to me. "That is why I didn't want released yet. I am a priest of Freyr, the Lord of Earth, the God of fertility. The power is in the seed," he grunted as he suddenly trembled inside me. "Take my seed. Take the power." It was my turn to feel his hot seed splash deep inside me. That was enough to send me over the edge as I blasted my own cum all over his stomach and chest.

Suddenly my bowels were on fire as the power he'd inseminated me with burned through my body. It like some hot liquid was coursing through my veins, spreading out through every fiber of my body. I could feel the power take hold, open up and I understood what he meant. I knew the jotun's secret of duplicating himself. I knew how to use it. It filled my very soul.

I looked down at Rid and he smiled. "I told you. The power is in the seed. Now a part of me will live on in Midgarth through you." He reached up and touched my face as he began to fade from under me. I felt the muscles in my ass slowly close with a rude sound as the invading force that was his dick slowly faded away. "Remember to lift a cup on the Night of Spectres for me," his voice slowly faded from my mind. I collapsed down onto the pillow crying in exhaustion.

The next day found me sandy-eyed and empty. If it hadn't been for the soreness in my ass, I would have sworn it had all been a dream. That and the fact that I could still feel the power he imparted to me coursing through my body. I went through the day like a man in a daze.

My family spent the next week and a half in the village helping put things back together and making preparations for Rid's funeral. Mother was not about to make me leave without my saying my final farewells when the last of his mortal shell was returned to the very land that he loved and served.

With me, my dad, and a pack of werewolves we were able to make short work of heavier repairs on the village. I reset the grindstone myself, as most people were giving me a wide berth. Don't get me wrong, they weren't afraid of me. I'd proven a long time ago that I was no danger to the village. But I had also led a pack of Angrboda's children on a wild hunt through the night to kill three mountain giants. Of course my sacrifice of the last jotun to the Allfather had left JD and the rest of the pack a little unnerved.

It seems that the only person who really wasn't giving me a wide berth was Emory. We talked. She let me tell her about Rid. She listened. We worked side by side, and I slowly healed. I began to understand what Rid meant by her being good for me.

On the ninth day, when we were taking our leave of the village elders a hawk landed on the cover of the village well. Gilfrey, Grandfather, Dad, Mother and myself all felt the touch of the divine from the bird. Its feathers were dark brown with a honey-colored band across its chest.

A hush went through the village as all eyes turned to where we were staring. The hawk seemed to sense that it had everyone's attention and took to the air to circle and weave in between first Dad, then Mom, then Emory and finally myself. After circling me, it suddenly flew up into the air and woman's voice was heard clearly throughout the village. "These are my children with whom I am very pleased."

JD had a coughing fit.

Short Dictionary of Nordic Terms

Angrboda- Giantess who is the mother of the Fenris Wolf and supposedly of all werewolves.

Asgarth- The realm of the Gods, consisting of Vanaheim (Lands of the Vanir Gods- Njorth, Freyr, Freyja) Asgarth (Land of the Aesir Gods- Odin, Thor, etc...) and Alfheim (Land of the alfar)

Bifrost Bridge- Rainbow Bridge between Midgarth and Asgarth.

Brunhild and Sigurd- A warrior and a valkyrie who fell in love, died tragically, and were reincarnated to do it all over again. They were granted one night together after Bunhild died and that started the whole cycle.

Frouwa- wife, title for head of a house. (In Viking homes the wife had more power than the husband)

Gerd- Freyr's wife, daughter of the Giant Gymir to whom he gave his sword as a bride-price that could fight on its own knowing that it would cost him his life at Ragnarok)

Ginnungagap- The chasm where the universe was created by a meeting of primal fire and primal ice.

Helisa- Hello, hail.

Jarl- King/chief

Jotun- Giant

Jotunheim (Land of the Mountain Giants)

(The) Lord, or Lord of the Earth- kenning for Freyr, Freyja's brother.

Kottr- Old Norse word for cat.

Mani- God of the Moon and sometimes used in reference to the Moon.

Megin- power (root word for the word mien)

Midgarth- Earth

Muspelheim (Land of fire, home of the Fire Giants)

Niflheim (Land of the Frost Giants)

Od's Wife- kenning for Freyja, goddess love, battle, and magic. Keeper of cats.

Orlog- luck, momentum of fortune possessed by all beings, and inherited from ancestors.

Ragnarok (The final battle between the Gods and men. A cosmic reset button)

Rigg- Another kenning for Heimdall. Name he used when he fathered the three classes of man.

Saxa- knife used in ritual rune magic called Galdr.

Sayings of Har- A series of comments and advice given by Odin in the Havamaal section of the Poetic Eddas.

Seidr- women's magic, involving being ridden by spirits. Used for seeing the future at times.

Skald- poet/bard/storyteller

Son of Nine Mothers- a kenning for the God Heimdall who guards the Bifrost Bridge.

Sunna- Goddess of the Sun and sometimes used in reference to the Sun.

Surt- King of the Fire Giants who will stride through the world setting it ablaze at the Battle of Ragnarok.

Swanmay- wereswans who can transform into swans via a cloak. Some folklore suggests that Valkyries also have swanmay cloaks that allow them to fly.

Thane- freeman warrior Ve`- Holy site, usually where an altar is kept.

Thrall- slave.

Vitki- wizard/will worker.

Vitkikottr- mage cat

Weirgild- man price. Price paid for committing crimes. If you can pay restitution then you do so and may simply face outlawry instead of execution.

Yddgrassill- The world tree that connects the nine worlds.

Valkyrie- Handmaidens of Odin who choose the warriors for Valhalla and Folksvang. Valkyries must remain virgins (To the Norse that meant not getting pregnant, not no sex) or they lose their immortality as described in the Wagner's Ring Cycle.