For we once so loved the world by HowlingDarkness95

Chapter 33

Percy stared at the blade that was lodged in the stone where his neck had been mere seconds ago, his eyes growing wide at the cracks in the stone that surrounded the blade. The force with which the blade was thrown had allowed it to sink into hard rock to almost half the blade's length, cracking the solid structure. Percy gaped, that throw, if he hadn't thrown himself to the ground, would have taken his head clean off. He noticed the shimmering green shield above him a millisecond later, and he turned around, watching Loki crouch over him, his arm stretched out as if to block something. His gaze dropped to the ground, spying fragments of wood and metal on the ground from where the other weapon shattered upon impact against the shield Loki had thrown up.

The two of them glanced at each other then hastily scrambled up, Loki pushing Percy forward, out of the meager shelter. He was attacked almost instantly, but without the limitations of the enclosed space of the 'shelter', he had more room to maneuver and dodge the weapons thrown at them. Percy stumbled backwards, narrowly avoiding a downward strike by a draugr that had suddenly appeared in front of him. He bent low, regaining his footing and with a flick of his wrist, the moisture from the rocks coiled around his hand and condensed into a crude dagger made of ice. He shifted to the left, dodging the draugr's attempt at cutting him in two and brought his hand up, the icy blade slicing through rotting flesh and bone easily, severing the arm of the corpse. Said corpse merely turned blank eyes – eye, he amended, seeing the hollow eye socket – to him, no flicker of pain coloring its features as it thrust its other arm forward. Percy ducked under the slash and slammed his foot into the draugr's gut, making it double over.

He brought his hand down hard on the corpse's back, the loud crack of the backbone breaking making him wince. He backed away as the draugr collapsed bonelessly to the ground, the brief flash of triumph replaced by horror as the skin of its back rippled and stretched, the sound of bones snapping into place echoing across the plain. Percy watched in undisguised horror and disgust as the draugr stood up again, its backbone aligning into position as it became vertical. He only had time to gape when the draugr vanished, appearing right in front of him, its weapon sinking straight into his abdomen, the pain hitting him a few seconds later. He gasped and bent over the weapon lodged in his body, not noticing when the draugr released its hold on the hilt and he collapsed to the ground. The last thing he heard was an enraged yell and the feeling of heat licking his face before the world went black.

Loki quickly pushed Percy out of the meager shelter and out of the way of several daggers. He threw up a shield, the blades bouncing off it harmlessly, warping the seidr and throwing it forward in a blast. He dived forward, rolling in between the legs of one draugr who had appeared in front of said shelter, his trusty dagger coming up to slice through the spine of the corpse, sending it to the floor. He flicked his hand absently, the draugr consumed in flames almost immediately. Loki didn't pay it any attention though, focused on keeping his head on his shoulders and on Percy, who was on the periphery of his senses. The most dangerous ability the draugr had was their speed, once you were able to counter that, they were easy prey. Having no intelligent mind made for mindless, head-on attacks. Much like what Thor used to do.

Seconds later, he used the same head-on attack he so disapproved of and charged the draugar, slamming his shoulder into the midsection of the one standing closest to him. Its arms flailed around, hitting the others as they were knocked over like bowling pins. Loki took advantage of their close proximity to each other and slapped a fire-coated hand on the draugr's chest, a putrid smell assaulting his nose as the flesh burned and peeled back.

He heard a loud crack and whirled around to see Percy facing off with a draugr, the latter dropping down as its back was broken. His eyes widened as Percy relaxed, his mouth open to warn the boy but everything happened in a blur after that. The draugr's back repaired itself and it lurched upright, vanishing in a split second.