Warnings: None.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Note: Please go to YouTube and have the following link playing while you read this chapter: www .youtube watch?v=bxeoLhLdqnQ (take out the spaces and add the . COM at the end of youtube)

This is the sound I thought of when I wrote this story.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!

Many thanks to princesspomegranate who did the BETA work on this for me and suggested the inclusion of the above link. Her stories are awesome and should be read as well.


The biting, icy wind of Jotunheim whipped though his fir-lined cloak. Thor did not remember the realm being quite so cold the last time he had been here. Or perhaps it was because he had not ventured quite this far. He, the All-Father and two members of the royal guard had traveled here to seek out someone the Norns said might be of some help. Thor had noticed that the key word was might. If this Frost Giant was not willing to help, he really could lay no fault with them considering all the things that had happened.

Thor sighed.

Yes, he could see this going very well.


Jane closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She grabbed a nearby pillow and sandwiched her head between it and the one she was laying on. It didn't matter. She could still hear it.

Rap Tap Tap Tap Rap Tap Tap Tap

Why wouldn't the drumming stop? Her heart beat hard and wild in her chest. The star-burst birthmark, that had done no more than stain her skin her whole life, now burned cold on her hip. Her lungs felt tight. No matter where she went, she could not get away from it.

Rap Tap Tap Tap Rap Tap Tap Tap

It was driving her insane.

Her hand flung the pillow across the room. Ripping the sheets from her body as she scrambled to get out of the bed, Jane burst out of her room. The heavy wooden door slammed against the wall, sending an echoing boom down the empty torch-lit hall. Her eyes darted between left and right, tears blurring her vision. Of their own accord, her feet turned to the left and began running to find the sound.


"There," said Odin, his voice loud and strong over the wind, "just up ahead."

Thor looked up and could barely make out the object his father was seeing. It was a small entrance into the side of the craggy mountain, almost hidden in the snowdrifts except for the blue glow that could be seen flickering against the rock. The group spurred the horses on through the thick snow. Thor absently reached for his hammer only to be reminded once again that Odin had forced him to leave it in Asgard. His fingers twitched nervously. He did not like being on enemy territory unarmed. They reigned in their horses next to the entrance and dismounted.

"Remain outside," commanded Odin to the guards.

"Yes my king," they replied.

Thor fell into step beside his father as they walked into the cave. A low, blue fire burned without heat in the center of the cave, the room small and ceiling surprising low for somewhere they were suppose to meet a Frost Giant.

"Odin All-Father," rumbled a gravelly voice from across the room, "I was wondering when you would come to me."

Thor whipped around, his hand once again reaching for his absent weapon. A Frost Giant lay on a stone bed along the back wall. He wasn't as large as Thor had expected, in stature and width, his muscles more slight and features softer.

"Farbauti, it has been quite some time," replied Odin.

Thor's eyes widened.

A woman Frost Giant. He had never seen one and had actually begun to wonder if they even existed at all.

"You seek answers," she replied, her red eyes staring at the rough ceiling.

"For my son –"

"For my son," she interrupted with a growl.

"You are Loki's mother?" said Thor, taking in a quick breath.

"Farbauti was Laufey's wife," said Odin, not taking his eyes off the giantess, "A powerful sorceress. She was his mother."

"You will help us then?" asked Thor, feeling a sense of hope for the first time.

"Why should I help the thief and murderers of my people?" she sneered.

"Loki would be dead if Father had not taken him from the temple," snapped Thor, clenching his fist.

"A far better fate than the one you have left him to," she snapped back.

"Then you do know what ails him," said Odin calmly.

The woman was quiet for several minutes. The silence frustrated Thor but Odin held out his hand, stopping Thor from forcing the issue.

"You took a Jotun knowing nothing of our people," she sighed, sounding almost sad.

"Then please, tell me now," requested Odin.


Rap Tap Tap Tap Rap Tap Tap Tap

She raced down the dimly lit halls; unsure of where she was going, not meeting anyone along the way.

Rap Tap Tap Tap Rap Tap Tap Tap

She was going to find where that drumming was coming from.

Make. It. Stop.

Rap Tap Tap Tap Rap Tap Tap Tap

Her bare feet slapped against the smooth stone floor. Her robe fluttered behind her like a cape.

Rap Tap Tap Tap Rap Tap Tap Tap

Jane cut around a corner and her feet slid out from under her, sending her crashing to her knees. The pain burst through her legs but she paid it no mind as she scrambled back up onto her feet and began running again.

Rap Tap Tap Tap Rap Tap Tap Tap

The drumming was louder on this pitch-black hall. The steady rhythm was in her blood, bones, and mind. It pulsed through her body, originating in the mark. It shut out all other thought.

Find. The. Drums.


"Please," begged Thor feeling several years worth of panic begin to rise back up, "Please, he is my brother."

Her eyes continued to stare absently at the ceiling. She looked so frail for a Frost Giant. Her lips thinned and then twisted into a sneer. Thor's heart sank.

"Has he sired?"

Thor blinked in surprise.

"Pardon?"

"Has he sired any children?" she snapped.

"Um-"

"No," replied Odin.

"Bonded?"

"No," he replied again.

"Mated?"

Odin looked to Thor.

"Um… not to my knowledge," Thor answered, feeling surprisingly embarrassed, "He keeps quiet about many things."

"He is being driven into madness because he was suppose to take a mate nearly five hundred years ago when he came of age," she explained, "As a male's coming of age rite, Jotun men will search for their mate and then steal her away for a period of time, generally until the bond is sealed with the conception of a child. Women are few in our tribes and sometimes not all the men find mates. When this happens the families are forced to kill the man."

"What?" interrupted Thor, looking horrified.

Odin shot him a look, silencing him.

"Please continue," requested Odin.

The woman was quiet again for some time.

"If the man is not killed he will begin to go mad, slowly, until he attacks his family and then the tribe. I saw this happen many times after the war with Asgard. The number of females was greatly diminished in the war," she finished.

"Then in order to stop Loki's madness we need to find him a mate," said Thor with a nod.

"It is not so simple, Odinson," Farbauti snapped, her lips pulling back, showing her jagged teeth, "If just any woman would do, do you think he would be in his current state? A whole year is dedicated to searching for the mate. It is influenced by magic and only the man himself can understand why he chooses who he does."

"Then Loki can–"

"Oh I imagine he is far too gone for you to allow him to search on his own," she said with a bitter smile, "Does he hear the call to war yet?"

"He mutters about drumming," Thor replied, "But he has done that for years."

The woman suddenly shook with laughter. Chills rushed though Thor's body.

"Oh it is truly a wonder that Asgard has not burned to the ground," she grinned, "I see now who set the Bifrost on Jotunheim. Did he also rain down terror on that tiny realm Midgard?"

"How did you –"

"Sorceress," she continued to grin, "Sons of kings do not just go to war with the family and tribe. They make war with the whole kingdom. That is why he was left to die; too small, to sickly, to find a mate when the time came. Why waste a female on someone as small as him? But then you took him to your kingdom and suddenly the entire tree of Yggdrasil became his war path."

"If we do find his mate he can be saved. Is this correct?" asked the All-Father, his face grim.

Farbauti grinned that terrible smile once again.


RAP TAP TAP TAP RAP TAP TAP TAP

Jane carefully felt her way along the black hall. No torches burned here and the air was freezing. So much colder than any place she had been in Asgard.

But she pressed on.

The beat was almost physical now. She could taste it, smell it, and feel it in the stones of the walls and floor. The birthmark burned savagely, creeping across her skin and igniting a fire in her stomach.

RAP TAP TAP TAP RAP TAP TAP TAP

Find the drums. Find the drums.

Find the drummer. Find the drummer.

The surface of the wall turned to wood under her fingers. She flattened her palms against the smooth surface, sliding her hands over it. The door pulsed with the sound of the drumbeat.

RAP TAP TAP TAP RAP TAP TAP TAP

Jane's hand hit an icy round piece of metal, her fingers circling around it. She turned the knob, meeting resistance at first but it quickly gave way. The room was nearly as black as the hall; the only light source were three shafts of moonlight coming from the narrow windows on the opposite side of the room.

RAP TAP TAP TAP RAP TAP TAP TAP

The drumming was louder in the room, if that was even possible, and she stepped inside. The door slammed shut behind her, echoing through the room; but she didn't flinch. The air was arctic. Her breath came out in soft, foggy puffs.

"They have sent a maiden," purred a low, seductive voice from behind her, cold breath moving her hair, "Hoping that she will calm the monster."

"Are you the drummer?" she asked, feeling as if her voice, her body, were no longer her own.

"You hear it too," he said, a hind of surprise in his voice.

Suddenly he was in front of her. Hair that blended with the blackness of the room hung over his shoulders. Azure skin with hints of lighter marks that she could not completely make out in the dim light. Bright, wild, almost feverish red eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness. His lips stretched in a crazed smile, showing jagged, sharp teeth. His pants were shredded and barely hanging on his body, his chest shirtless. Some hint of her former self knew that she should be surprised and scared at what she saw, but the blood hammering in her veins and the tightening in her stomach wouldn't allow it.

"Are you the drummer?" she repeated.

"Yes," he hissed, his eyes narrowing and lips twisting into a snarl, "I am the drummer and you are the mouse thrown in with the snake. I will tear you apart until there is nothing left to be found."

She blinked.

Her head and body crashed back against the solid wood door. The air forced from her lungs. His teeth sunk into the tender flesh of her throat.


"What is your plan All-Father? To present every maiden in the Nine Realms to him, allowing him to tear them apart one by one until he finds his mate? He is far too embedded in the war call to see anyone as anything other than something to kill. Even if the fates were on your side and you do find his mate he will be more willing to kill her than bed her," she explained still smiling.

Thor felt his heart plummet and his stomach twist in painful knots. How he wished he had known this years ago.

"You may have made him appear Ӕsir but the blood that runs through his veins is Jotun and no glamour magic can change that," Farbauti said, the smile fading from her face, "Return to your realm. Put him and the realms out of danger. It will be more kind as such. I do not think you will wish to see what he will do to himself if you allow this to carry on for too much longer."

"Fath–" began Thor, feeling panic bubbling up.

The All-father raised his hand to stop his son.

"Thank you Farbauti. We will leave you to your peace," said Odin before turning to leave.

"No," called out Thor, "His mate, does she have to be Jotun or can she be from any of the Nine Realms?"

"Convinced that you can find her, Odinson?" she smirked.

"Yes, he is my brother, I will not stop searching if it will bring him back to me. I just need to know where to search."

"Very well; she does not have to be Jotun."

"So–"

"Thor," sternly interrupted the All-Father, "We are leaving."

"Thank you," Thor said quickly, before turning to join his father.

"One final thing," she called out, "If you do happen to find his mate, do not disturb him while he is with her. He will not act rationally. You must wait until he decides to emerge from hiding."

Odin gave a short nod and exited the cave with Thor on his heels.

"I will gather supplies and begin the search as soon as we return," began Thor catching up to his father.

"That will not be necessary," replied Odin.

"Please tell me you are not considering killing him!" he sputtered.

"This is not a decision I make lightly, son," he replied climbing on the back of his horse, "He is a danger to all the realms and himself. It is for his own good."

"But she could be lying!" he rumbled, swiftly mounting his animal and riding up beside Odin, "Why would she tell us anything but falsehoods?"

"Because she is dead," answered Odin.

Thor's head kicked back, his eyes wide. He turned back and saw that the light in the cave entrance was now gone, the dark crevices now blending into one another. He swallowed hard and questioned if there had ever been a light. Thor turned back around and swiftly caught back up with his father.


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