Behind her metal mask, the Valkyrie s violet eyes were contemptuous.
Drawing in a deep shuddering breath, Sophie straightened. She stretched out
both arms, fingers closed into tight fists. Closing her eyes, breathing
deeply, trying to calm her thundering heart, she visualized gloves of flame;
she saw herself bringing her hands together, shaping a ball of fire in her
fists like dough and then flinging it at the figure standing before her. But
when she opened her eyes, only the merest hints of gossamer blue flames
danced over her flesh. She clapped her hands together and sparks danced
harmlessly across the warrior s chain mail.
The Disir tapped her sword against her gloved hand. Your petty fire tricks
do not impress me.
A tremendous crash from the kitchen shook the house again. The ornate
chandelier over the center of the hallway started to sway to and fro,
tinkling musically as the shadows danced.
Josh, Sophie whispered. Her fear turned to anger: this creature was
preventing her from getting to her brother. And the anger gave her strength.
Remembering what Saint-Germain had done on the roof, the girl pointed her
index finger at the warrior and unleashed her rage in a single focused beam.
A dirty yellow-black spear of solid fire leapt from Sophie s finger and
exploded against the Disir s chain mail. Fire splashed all over the warrior,
and the force of the blow drove her to her knees. She shouted an
incomprehensible word that sounded like a wolf s howl.
Across the hall, Joan took advantage of the distraction and pressed her
attacker hard, pushing her back toward the gaping ruin of a door. The two
women were evenly matched, and while Joan s sword was longer and heavier than
her opponent s, the Disir had the advantage of wielding two weapons. In
addition, it had been a long time since Joan had worn armor and fought with a
sword. She could feel the burn in the muscles of her shoulders, and her hips
and knees were aching from the weight of the metal she was carrying. She had
to finish this.
The fallen Valkyrie climbed to her feet in front of Sophie. The front of her
chain mail had taken the full force of the fire bolt, and the links had
melted and run like softened wax. The warrior grabbed a handful of the mail
and ripped it away from her body, flinging it aside. The plain white robe
underneath was scorched and blackened, with sparkling chunks of metal melted
into the cloth. Little girl, the Disir whispered, I am going to teach you
never to play with fire.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
still pinned against the kitchen wall, wrapped tightly in the creature s
claws. The Warrior fought in complete silence, struggling in the monster s
grip, wrenching herself from side to side, boot heels scrambling for purchase
on the slippery tiled floor. With her arms pinned to her sides, she was
unable to use her short swords.
Josh knew that if he even paused for thought, he was not going to be able to
go through with what he meant to do. The smell of the creature was making him
sick to his stomach, and his heart was thumping so hard he could barely catch
his breath.
The forked tongue brushed across the table, leaving a deep burn mark on the
wood. It punched right through a wooden chair as it headed straight for the
Warrior s head.
All he had to do, Josh kept reminding himself, was to think of his sword as a
football. Holding Clarent high above his head in the two-handed grip Joan had
shown him earlier, he launched himself forward in a move that the coach at
his last school had spent an entire season trying and failing to teach him.
But even as he was jumping, he knew he d miscalculated. The tongue was moving
too fast, and he was too far away. With a last desperate effort, he flung the
sword from his hand.
The flat of the blade struck the side of Nidhogg s meaty tongue. And stuck
fast.
Years of tae kwon do training took over as Josh crashed onto the tiled floor.
He hit it hard but still managed to slap it with the palm of his hand,
sending his body forward into a neat roll that brought him back to his
feet within inches of the meaty acid-dripping tongue. And the sword.
Catching hold of the hilt, he used all his strength to pull it away from the
tongue it came free with a sticky Velcro sound, and the tongue sizzled and
hissed as it snapped back into the monster s mouth. Josh knew that if he
stopped, both he and Scatty were dead. He plunged Clarent point first into
the serpent s arm just above the wrist joint. As the blade sank smoothly into
the alligator-like hide, it began to vibrate, a high-pitched keening sound
that set Josh s teeth on edge. He felt a rush of warmth flowing up his arm
and into his chest. A heartbeat later, a surge of strength and energy wiped
away his aches and pains. His aura blossomed bright blinding gold, and there
was a tracery of light curling around the gray stone blade when he wrenched
it out of the creature.
The claws, Josh. Cut off a claw, Scathach grunted as Nidhogg shook her
hard. The two swords fell from her hands and clattered to the floor.
Josh lashed out at the monster, trying to cut off a claw, but the heavy stone
blade turned at the last moment and bounced harmlessly off its foot. He tried
again, and this time the sword struck sparks off the creature s armored hide.
Hey! Be careful, Scathach yelped as the swinging blade came dangerously
close to her head. That s one of the few weapons that really can kill me.
Sorry, Josh muttered through clenched teeth. I ve never done anything like
this before. He slashed out at the claw again. Sparks flew into the
Warrior s face. Why do we want a claw? he grunted, hacking at the iron-hard
skin.
It can only be killed with one of its own claws, Scathach said, her voice
surprisingly calm. Look out! Get back!
Josh turned just as the thing s huge head lunged forward, pushing into the
side of the ruined house, its white tongue darting forward again. It was
coming for him. It was moving too fast; there was nowhere to go and if he did
move, it would just hit Scatty. Planting his feet firmly, both hands wrapped
tightly around Clarent s hilt, he held the sword before his face. He closed
his eyes at the approaching horror and immediately opened them again. If he
