Valhalla

  * * *

  Managarm smiled as he rode in the cab of the next-to-last of his twelve bulldozers. Rita had again impressed him with her resourcefulness. While the rest of his Berserkers had been preoccupied with sugared drinks and fried snacks, Rita alone had built his arsenal of weapons and vehicles, and with amazing speed.

  Still, these mechanical beasts moved agonizingly slowly.

  He’d expected more resistance, and had Berserkers riding on top of the first six machines, ready to jump off and do hand-to-hand combat with whomever was unfortunate enough to get in their way. But the logging road they were on was poorly guarded, and the dozen or so humans Thor had posted were easily dispatched. With the crossbows Rita and David had picked up from the sporting goods stores, it had taken less than a minute to break through.

  He kept looking for more warriors around every turn, but each bend in the road was clear. A wide smile broke across Managarm’s face. Those few were the only humans Odin could muster?

  At the bulldozer’s controls, David grinned. “What’s so funny?”

  Managarm’s expression immediately soured. “Pay attention to the road.”

  They continued forward, navigating a slight curve. David smiled when they hit a small dip. “You know, this isn’t that hard, and it’s more fun than it looks. I mean, you wouldn’t think that, like, a bulldozer video game or anything would be all that interesting, but I might try it.”

  Managarm sighed in exasperation. “And shut up.”

  There was a loud crash ahead. Managarm sat up in his seat to get a better look at the front of the line of bulldozers. Tall trees shuddered and snapped into pieces as the first three bulldozers turned into the woods, moving side-by-side now rather than single-file.

  David grinned maniacally. “Here we go!” He shifted the controls and turned the bulldozer at a sharp angle to fall in behind the first three rows of machines headed into the forest.

  With Rita riding in the lead bulldozer to direct the charge, Managarm felt secure at the back of the pack. It might take a while to get to the Tree, but if anything did go wrong, he had the Yggdrasil runes, soaked in the witch’s blood.

  He couldn’t help making plans for the coming days. He’d appoint Rita as captain of his guard. She’d proven herself—with her strength, intelligence, and no-limit credit cards. As for the others  . . . Managarm looked sideways at David. No, Managarm would not bring all of these Berserkers into his new world. They would serve their purpose now, and those who didn’t fall in today’s conflict would be disposed of.

  The Black Moon Cosmos, he mused. Chief Managarm. Planet Wolf.

  But there was still no sign of Fenrir. Managarm rubbed his hands together and shifted in his seat. With any luck, Fenrir was already at the Tree and was this very moment tearing out Odin’s throat.