Chapter Ten

Libelle chuckled nervously. "Well, it'll sound a wee bit mad when I say it. But the logic and planning behind it makes it much more of a solid plan, more than we have had in a while. The gods are willing to lend us their strength. Loki has given me this scroll, and within it is his power. He told me that using this scroll against Eskil will render him no more fearsome that a kitten."

Vegeir chuckled. "That would be a sight to see, slayer."

"Yes, it would be. Loki said that this magic will make it so Eskil will not be able to harm any mortal. Odin believes that if the dragon 'prince' is unable to take a life, naturally, the remaining dragons will change their opinion on this war. Either way, Eskil will not be able to harm any mortal. Not in this life or the next. He will not be able to take the life of a mortal. He will not even be able to command an action that could cause harm to mortals.

"This plan is testing my knowledge, but I am putting all of my faith into the gods. If they want this war to end, they will not fail us. That much I believe."

Libelle looked around at her companions who stared back at her silently, the wheels turning in their minds as they thought over the details of her plan. Yes, she agreed it sounded like lunacy, but it was the only plan they had. She waited for one of them to respond.

Davyn was the first to respond and actually scowled at Libelle. "This is madness, slayer, and you know it as well as I do."

"Yes!" she shouted at him without raising her head to look at him. "It is madness, yet maybe we need a little bit of madness to win this war. Everything I've done up till now has been for nothing!"

"Slayer, this will not work. Never has anything like this been done, combining magic and the strength of the gods? It will be chaos," Davyn said, trying to find an ounce of logic behind Libelle's mad plan.

"Davyn, I am one of very few slayers left. The cursed beings are dying off one by one, and with our deaths, the Nords are losing the one thing that gave them hope in this war. We are mortal, but we have the soul of a dragon and with it their strength. If I don't try, what's to stop Eskil and his army from winning?"

She looked pleadingly towards the priests before looking back at Vegeir. "Please, all I ask is that we try this. I cannot do it without all of your help. If we don't try, we'd be giving up. If we cannot kill him, we can at least make it impossible for him to harm mortals."

Davyn sighed and looked at the rest of the men around him. They all stared at the woman with an expectant expression. They believed in her, the gods, and her plan. "Vegeir, what is your opinion in all of this?"

Vegeir stared down at all the mortals, shifting his weight on his wings and adjusting his feet on the stone ledge he remained perched on. He had listened well to what the slayer had explained and what she described. The plan did sound mad, yet it sounded plausible. There was a slim chance it could work, and a chance was all they needed.

"I believe we should put our faith into the gods and our slayer."

Davyn sighed again but nodded. The ancient ally of the priests had spoken, a decision had been made. Libelle returned her gaze to all the men, each one making eye contact with her and nodding. Another burst of wind sent a shiver through the mortals. The sun was hidden behind the thick clouds above them, but it was nearing dusk. The temperatures would fall quickly as soon as the sun had set.

"We should discuss when this will all take place, let us move inside and we can talk about this further," Davyn said, motioning for the other priests to move indoors. Their footsteps crunched across the snow as they walked towards the temple. They all paused a moment when the dragon behind them stirred and a low growl rumbled from his throat. He spread his wings and raised up onto his hind legs, his neck arching upwards towards the sky.

"There is no time. Prepare yourselves," Vegeir ordered.

The priests stood in line next to one another, looking slightly puzzled at Vegeir's rare display of anger. His threatening appearance was not common to their view or opinion of him, he was always seen as a calm dragon with no will to harm. Libelle drew her sword and tossed the light scroll to Davyn who clumsily caught it. She stood wide, sinking her feet into the snow and trying to find solid ground beneath her. She sensed the ominous presence that Vegeir had, and they both stared into the thick fog above them.

"Show yourself, brother," Vegeir said coolly.

Libelle glanced over her shoulder to them. "Be prepared to open that scroll and begin praying, I need all four of your voices. Don't worry, I can do this with your help. We can do this."

Olief nodded, giving her a mild bow. Jolgeir and Kirk looked at Davyn who took a deep breath. They waited only one more moment before the black devil emerged from the thick fog with a loud roar. He stayed hovering above them, his large black wings beating the snow into the air and sending chilling winds all around.

Eskil was considerably larger than his brother, Vegeir. His ebony scales were in finer condition with light reflecting off them, and his wings were strong and not tattered. His eyes were a vibrant gold and blazing as he looked over the gathered mortals and traitorous dragon. His nostrils flared as his lip curled once again into a menacing smile.

"Look at this,all of my prey has gathered here. You will all be so easy to devour."