Read Fatal Ties: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Lillim Callina Chronicles Book 7) for Free Online Page A

clucking noise because I was incredibly mature.
    “I am not scared, Dioscuri.” Hrym’s voice boomed across the deck of the ship like a cannon blast as a huge, bearded shape stepped out from the hatch leading below.
    He was both way bigger than I’d expected and way smaller. I’d expected him to be taller because he was a giant, but he only stood about twenty feet tall. Unfortunately, he was built like a frigging tank and while his torso was bare, his legs and arms were wrapped in enough steel chain to have strangled a blue whale. His arms were easily a couple feet in diameter, so he sort of reminded me of a super-sized iron dwarf from World of Warcraft.
    “Prove it. Accept my challenge,” I replied, taking a brazen step toward him because I was scared out of my gourd, and if I took even a second to think about what I was doing, I’d run away. Man, I really shouldn’t have gotten out of bed today.
    “I accept your challenge,” Hrym said. As he spoke, thunder crackled through the heavens. He craned his head toward the sky and snorted. “It seems the gods accept it as well. Maybe they think you’ll win.” He lumbered toward me, causing Vikings to scurry out of his way like frightened mice. He raised his huge hands in front of himself, clenching them into fists and then unclenching them.
    Both of those hands were nearly the size of me, and the only thing I could think was I was really glad this wasn’t an arm wrestling contest. Still, large didn’t mean strong per se. After all, my mom had been smaller than me and she could bench press a tractor.
    “Man, haven’t you heard about me?” I asked as I shifted into a two-handed, white-knuckled grip on my katana and dropped into a fighting stance. “I’m the star of this show. If I don’t win, it’d be pretty sad.”
    “Everyone is always the star of their own show,” Hrym said, gesturing at the Vikings surrounding us. “Each and every one of these people thought they were too important to die. Yet, they all stand upon the deck of Naglfar.”
    It was an excellent point, but I never let a little thing like logic stop me. Instead, I called upon my power and charged the huge giant before he could unsling the massive axe hanging from the leather loop on his hip. Because, you know, I was an attack first, think later kind of girl.

6
    S omething told me the Santa-bearded giant didn’t expect a five-foot-nothing girl to leap fifteen feet into the air and plant her fist right between his huge sapphire eyes, but that’s exactly what happened.
    Power rippled through my body, lending strength to the blow I’d never have been able to manage with my puny, atrophied muscles. Which was unfortunate because I’d been trying to kill him with a single punch. One Punch Man, I was not.
    Still, the satisfying crunch of his nose was like music to my ears as the giant lifted from his massive feet and flew backward. His body carved a furrow through the ranks of the Vikings that threw men and women in every direction like tinker toys. I almost felt bad for the ones reduced to bloody smears beneath him, but I consoled myself with the fact they were already dead and were mostly horrible people anyway.
    As Hrym looked up at me in surprise, I didn’t bother to hide the smile stretching my face to the limit.
    “That was just my regular punch,” I said as I landed hard on the deck of the ship. Sapphire energy crackled around me as I drew in another surge of energy from Isis. “Just wait until I use my Super Serious Punch.”
    The giant slammed into the mast with a thundering crash that caused the entire boat to sway drunkenly. I planted my feet into a wide stance in an effort to regain my balance and gripped my katana in my right hand. Blue sparks leapt from its surface as Isis lent me strength. Power surged up through me. It was time for one more attack, and this time, I’d finish it. He may have underestimated me to start with, but with each passing moment, that advantage would