Odin looked Zane/Zoe up
and down. “Well, well. It seems you have learned new tricks. And what noble warrior did you have to
betray and kill to obtain such armor?”
“The Armor of Tundra chose
me and my sister to wear it. It’s ours
by right. Can you say the same? According to the myths about you, didn’t you
steal most of the magical weapons you used to have?”
Odin charged at them with
a ferocious growl. He jabbed towards
Zane/Zoe’s leg with his spear. They
knocked the tip away with their shield.
Odin brought up the end of the spear to strike them in the side. Zane/Zoe swung their shield back to block
it. Their arm tingled from the force of
the blow.
“Keep him angry,
Zane. He doesn’t seem to be thinking very hard about his
attacks—just lashing out. His anger’s
making him sloppy.”
Zane decided to goad him
as much as possible. “You hate Loki
because he was a liar and a thief, yet you constantly broke faith with other
races to get what you wanted. The elves,
the dwarves, the giants, the Vanir. You
cheated them all and boasted about it.
You’re nothing but a hypocrite!”
Odin slashed at his head
in a wide arc. Zane/Zoe easily stepped
to the side out of the way. Odin put
too much weight into the swing and almost fell forward when he missed the
target. He spun quickly to face
Zane/Zoe. “You are losing your touch,
Loki. You should’ve struck me in the back
when you had the chance. A cowardly
move, but one of your favorites.”
“Oh, yeah? Is that anything like beating on a
half-conscious guy who’s chained up and can’t fight back?”
Odin was seething. Zane/Zoe could see the fire in his
eyes. They rushed Odin, thrusting their
spear at his side. Then the Warrior of
Tundra hopped back, shield up. Odin
came at them with an underhand jab that almost made it past their shield. Zane/Zoe moved in and slashed low at his
left side. Odin brought his shield down
to block. That’s when they stepped in
closer and smacked Odin in the head with their shield. With a surge of fury, Odin pushed Zane/Zoe
away. The mighty All-Father looked
slightly dazed.
Zane laughed, his voice
mocking. “How did someone like you get
to be king of the gods? Sure you’re a
strong fighter, but you’re not a smart fighter. Maybe it was your dark scowl that put the fear of Odin in the
others. Or the way you could make the
heavens rumble with your anger.
Whatever it was, you’ve lost it.
Maybe you’re getting old. Oh, I
forgot. You don’t age much here, do
you? I guess you’ve just gotten lazy.”
Odin snarled like a madman
and ran at his hated enemy. Slice. Retreat.
Thrust. Retreat. Odin managed to get past one of Zane/Zoe’s
blocks. His spear grazed Zane’s face,
slicing a small red line. “So who is
the lazy warrior now, Loki? I am your
better. I always have been.”
“Now I understand why you
hate Loki so much! You were jealous of
him!”
“Me? Jealous of that treacherous worm? You are insane.”
They noticed he’d referred
to Loki in the third person that time.
“He was better looking, wasn’t he?
All the women wanted him and he had them all. Women were attracted to your power, but never to your looks. And he was so charming. You didn’t have his way with words—you
always had to fight for everything you possessed. But good things just seemed to fall into Loki’s lap. You only made him your blood brother because
he was devious and helped you steal magic objects and weapons. You soon found you couldn’t control him,
though. He was slowly taking your
place. And he had freedom—a freedom you
could never experience. Loki could do
as he pleased. Even when he wronged the
other gods, he always managed to sweet-talk them into forgiving him. He never had to face the consequences of his
actions until he went too far and had Balder killed. It wasn’t justice for you then, was it? You enjoyed the thought of him on the side of that mountain,
helpless and in pain, his handsome face scarred by that snake’s acidic
venom. But you still couldn’t get rid
of the jealousy. The other gods obey
you only because they’re afraid of you.
They don’t love you—they never did.
But they loved him. He was their
golden boy. I bet some of them even
pleaded with you to go easy on him.
Some of the women probably cried when he was taken away. I’m right aren’t I?”
Odin jumped at him,
punching at Zane/Zoe’s shield with his gauntlet-covered fist. He still had his spear in hand and started
striking the shield over and over again.
They jumped back just as their ice shield shattered. Odin thought he had Loki and moved in with
his spear aimed at the warrior’s chest.
Zane/Zoe quickly formed another shield and blocked him just in
time. Odin was taken off guard. They punched him in the face with their
fist. Odin dropped his shield and
staggered back. The Warrior of Tundra
jammed the blunt end of the spear into Odin’s stomach, then brought it up at an
angle and whacked him in the side of the head with it. Odin faltered, almost falling to the
ground. Zane/Zoe spun and cracked him
in the jaw with a roundhouse kick. Odin
crumpled to the floor, blood dripping from his mouth. They rotated the spear and thrust the point towards Odin’s
neck. The entire hall fell completely
silent. Words pounded in Zane/Zoe’s
head as loud as the wild beating of their heart. “Be as you have always been and the truth of who you are will
be evident. You are only
yourself.” They stood over Odin,
their spear mere inches from the All-Father’s throat. Zane and Zoe could both feel the adrenaline pumping through their
merged body. They forced their muscles to
relax and slowly drew the spear away to point it at the floor.