by Tim Law I have whispered those words before, in passionate moments when desire has overruled logic. Tonight, you believe we have taken playtime from the bedroom to the kitchen. Your naivety makes me smile. Tied to the table instead of the bed, I run my teaser across your flesh, only this time it is […]
by M. Belanger Sever the head with a single, swift strike. To hesitate brings shame to the family. Open the cavity and remove all organs. Offer these to the gods. They like their meat bloody. Dig a pit two handspans wider than the carcass in all directions. In the bottom, kindle a fire of sacred […]
by Weird Wilkins I always thought I’d die in battle… Now I lie here, the drifting snow slowly smothering my twisted form. My skin, blackened and wracked with weeping welts, sloughs in great hunks from my charred bones. I try to speak, to curse at the one who has wrought this upon me, but I […]
by Kai Delmas Gunnar breathed in the sea spray as if it were mead while they sailed through the storm. Midgard’s edge was surely close now. They had been sailing for weeks. Scales rippled in the choppy waves. “Jörmungandr!” Ivar roared from above, pointing. Finally, Gunnar thought, readying axe and shield. His companions joined him […]
by Tim Law You cut down my father, stole my sister away; leaving me a sword I couldn’t lift and a burning desire for revenge. Now you have returned, older, just as I am. You’ve grown weak, while I’ve the strength of my whole tribe. My son and daughter bear witness as I promise you […]
by Andrew Kurtz The rancorous stench of death emanating from the Viking longboat reached up to the Halls of Valhalla and Fenrir’s nostrils. The dead don’t always travel on land, but sea. The re-animated corpses of the Viking warriors, putrid flesh blanketed with maggots and worms, crew the ship littered with the bones of their […]
by Stephen Herczeg Dark skies greet me as I wake. Pain strikes my flesh. ‘Tis nothing compared to that of my friends, my comrades, my enemies. Dead, littering the battlefield, unmoving. I am the last one. The conqueror. Gold shimmers above the corpses. Their spirits stand as one. The great gates of Valhalla open. Silently, […]
by Kailey Alessi “Don’t touch me!” I back up, my knife comically small compared to the sword brandished by the invader. “You’re brave, girl.” The invader removes her helmet and blonde braids cascade down her shoulders. She glances at the cooling body of my father and grimaces. “I’m sorry.” “Don’t be. He was a worthless […]
by Martin Murray Oein awaited the Witch on the grounds where his slaughtered army lay. She promised him their return in exchange for his daughters. The Witch appeared from the shadows, her face the color of the moon. She took the girls’ hands, leading them towards the darkened woods; her purpose for his children, Oein […]
by Jameson Grey “This cur does not deserve the blood eagle,” Harald, the clan chief, declared. Having once witnessed the ritual, I considered him not tearing out my ribs and ripping out my lungs to be almost merciful. “I want a memento of my greatest victory,” Harald added. Still, I hoped my end would be […]