FLAME
She was uncertain what she should expect from this.
Frigga had not been surprised when word reached Odin that his two sons wished a private audience with him. Nor had she been taken aback when the Alfather summoned the Lady Sif as well to join them. The events of the last several months were evidence enough of the necessity of such a request.
What had surprised her was Odin's order to keep Sigyn under guard at all times. And, to add to her astonishment, it had been done at Loki's suggestion.
They met in one of the Antechambers of the most private area of the palace, a place that no one but the royal family had any business occupying. Here, they could speak openly and without fear of being overheard. Secrecy was vital.
It was not often that an enemy of Asgard was found within its inner circle . . .
Thor was clearly the spokesman for this council – and the mediator. Though Sif hardly paid Loki more than a glance since it began, Frigga could almost see the anger and resentment between the two of them. Her subtle hints and veiled insults only added to the dark atmosphere in the room.
Loki, however, had not said a word. He had stayed near the back of the room, leaning against one of the pillars, watching the others from the shadows with an indifferent expression.
"I thought this matter should be brought to someone's attention without delay," Thor was concluding. "Sigyn is still grieving, I realize that. But it has become clear – at least to myself and to Sif – that this mysterious and secretive behavior is far beyond anything that is typical even for her."
Odin looked passed him to the silent figure in the corner.
"Loki, I sense that there is a part of this tale you have yet to reveal."
All eyes turned to the God of Mischief. Loki's expression soured, but Frigga could tell by the way he shifted his weight from one foot to the other that he was indeed holding something back. After a long silence he finally spoke.
"Sigyn knew exactly what she was doing. She has been misleading us all."
"Sigyn would NEVER –" But Odin's upraised hand stilled Sif's words.
"How so? You know her better than even I. How is it possible that one who is incapable of deception could fool us all for so long?" Loki shrugged.
"I never said she was intentionally deceiving us. Her explanation that she did not remember where she had gone is quite true. But nevertheless, she still – in a way – lied."
"How can she lie and yet NOT lie?" Sif demanded angrily. Loki ignored her, choosing instead to lock eyes with Odin – the first time he had done so since coming to him with the others.
"Whether it was wise or not, I followed her last night. It took less than ten minutes to make her way down to the Weapons Vault – a place she claimed she had never been before."
"You spoke to her."
"Of course I did." A touch of sarcasm colored Loki's reply. "She gave me no explanation."
"She need not give an explanation to the likes of you," Sif muttered under her breath.
"Were you not saying only a few hours ago that I did not take enough interest in my wife's well-being?" Loki reminded her mockingly. "Really, Sif, what does it take to make you happy?"
"Nothing you say or do will ever satisfy me!" she snapped back.
"Ah, then I suppose you handled it better than I did? I heard all about it. I'm sure Sigyn was impressed by your overwhelming compassion."
"She did not know what she was saying!" Sif insisted, clenching her hands into fists.
"I rather think she did," Loki sneered nastily. "You cared nothing for her personally. All you wanted was to protect your precious Vault."
Sif's cheeks were flaming with anger.
"You're a . . . a li – !"
"Go on! Say it!" Loki hissed.
There was a deadly pause. It was clear that Sif wanted nothing more than to fling insults in Loki's face. But she suddenly seemed to choke on her own words . . . simply because to everyone in the room they would be obvious. So she satisfied herself with a short, vile curse under her breath and turned away.
But Frigga saw the smirk that Sif could not.
"Enough." Odin's firm voice brought everyone's attention back to him. "This petty bickering amongst yourselves is pointless. The true concern lies not with your differences but with Sigyn's behavior." He paused, silently reprimanding both of them for their childishness. "Now. Continue, Loki."
Loki only cast a brief glance at Sif before answering.
"Sigyn knew not only where the Vault was, but how to open it. She easily discovered how the lock opens and succeeded in overcoming the spell."
"You told her how, I suppose . . ." Sif's accusation was met with an icy stare.
"Sigyn was never told how the doors opened, nor even that she had been chosen long ago as one of those permitted access to it. There was no reason she should know. But apparently, someone did."
"You suspect someone made her do this, brother?" Thor asked quietly. There was a moment of grim hesitation, and Loki's expression grew almost worried.
"Something happened when I confronted her. It was as if she suddenly became someone else, someone threatening and with a power that she should never have had. Perhaps it was in her voice, or maybe in her eyes . . . but there was just something very wrong." He looked down at his hands. "Something that had happened only once before . . ."
It was a long time before Thor was able to find his voice.
"Are you referring to our journey to Muspelheim?" he whispered. Loki nodded.
"The feelings were identical." Both men exchanged a glance and then looked up at Odin.
Though none would speak it aloud, everyone in that room understood what Loki was trying to say. Sigyn had once undergone the terrifying experience of an outside force using her as an instrument of destruction. At the time it had seemed as if that entity – whatever it had been – had been removed or expelled. Thor and Loki, however, had not seemed sure.
But only Frigga had known the truth . . . and it pained her to remain silent all these years.
"I believe it is plain to us all what must be done. Through no fault of her own, Sigyn can no longer be trusted. But until we know for certain who or what it is that is controlling her, we can do nothing to help her. Ensure that she learns no more than she already does. And as far as the rest of Asgard is concerned, this gathering never took place."
While Odin was still speaking, Frigga heard movement in the corridor outside. After just a few moments, she identified it as the sharp, hurried sound of footsteps; someone was all but running down the passage outside. A cold feeling of dread washed over her as a sudden premonition struck her. Please say it isn't true . . .
All conversation died away as the others heard it, too. A moment later, the bronze doors were pushed open, and a palace guard hurriedly stepped forward and saluted.
"Yes, what is it?" Odin called sharply. Frigga could hear the same dread in his voice that she felt in her heart. Something was about to go terribly wrong . . .
"Alfather, the Lady Sigyn has gone missing."
Thor and Sif exchanged a startled look, and Loki pushed away from his column in sudden alarm. Odin rose from his place and fixed the guard with a stern, penetrating stare. Frigga shut her eyes, feeling as if her heart had been torn in two. I was not wrong, she wept. Not Sigyn. It cannot be happening to Sigyn . . .
"I gave orders that she was not to walk this palace unescorted," Odin replied, just the threat of thunder in his voice. The guard quickly looked at the ground, terrified to look the Alfather in the eye.
"And they were carried out, Your Highness," he promised. "But she somehow eluded our patrols and disappeared somewhere in the palace. We have been searching for her since we realized she was gone, but –"
Loki had sprinted for the doors before the guard even finished his sentence, Thor and Sif not far behind.
"Double your patrol," Odin barked. "Send your men to the lower passages and have them begin their search there. Do so immediately!"
As the guard rushed away, following in their children's steps, Odin turned to Frigga.
"There is only one place she would go," he murmured. Frigga nodded, striving to calm her beating heart.
"Or the only place HE would take her," she whispered.
Silence filled the room. Odin had fixed her with a sharp penetrating stare. But she couldn't help but notice how his right hand trembled just slightly as he held Gungnir.
"You are certain now." It was not a question. Frightened tears were welling up in her eyes as quickly as her despair clutched her heart.
"I know now I was not mistaken. It cannot be anyone else."
Odin's good eye was narrowed in thought, in anger . . . and in sorrowful resolution. He could see as well as she could that monumental events were taking shape deep in the vaults below the palace. But he, unlike his sons, knew what the consequences would be . . . and what must now be done to prevent them.
"Stay here," he said sternly. "There is nothing you can do, either to help Sigyn or to stop HIM."
"What will you do?" Frigga cried, suddenly fearing the look in his eye. Odin shook his head sadly.
"I will do what must be done to save Asgard."
"Not Sigyn!" she begged. "Please, do not harm her -!"
"If HE gains what HE seeks to accomplish, it will be the end of us all. I do not wish to harm her . . . but neither can I allow her to continue to be used as a puppet of HIS destruction."
"But if she is lost, then so is my son! And Asgard will be beyond saving."
"Frigga, Sigyn cannot fight against the powers that now control her!" he answered. "HE has been manipulating her and feeding off of her spirit and life for two years now! It is a burden and a weariness that is far beyond anything she can withstand! You heard Loki's account; HE had nearly overshadowed her then . . . and by this time the Sigyn we once knew is no longer the Sigyn that now seeks the Weapons Vault." He sighed, seeming to suddenly shrink in size and power. "I must now do what is necessary to ensure the safety of Asgard and the protection of the Nine Realms."
Frigga turned away, unable to bear looking upon the man who was to be Asgard's defender . . . and Sigyn's destroyer.
"Do Thor and Loki know?" she murmured. Odin hesitated.
"No. I am certain they suspected something like this, but they cannot know that it is HIM. Perhaps . . . perhaps it is better they did not know."
"It matters little now," she answered sadly.
Odin fell silent. There was so obviously nothing else to be said that all speech now seemed useless. After a moment or two, Frigga heard him sigh and turn away.
And she could do little more than burry her face in her hands and sob.
There were times when Odin wished the burden of the throne had fallen to anyone else.
He was certain Loki knew a small part of what it meant to be King of Asgard, Thor even more so. His eldest son had defended Asgard and the Nine Realms from evil time and again, and Odin knew he had grasped the concept of humility and wisdom, the virtue of putting others before one's own well-being. Loki, while he had numerous missteps in the past, was also beginning to realize that being king was more than being above everyone else. It meant being the first in the charge, and the last in the retreat. It meant considering how events and actions would shape the lives of those one protected. But if there was one thing neither of them yet understood, it was the meaning of true sacrifice. How the good of the many outweighed the good of the one.
Nor could they imagine the pain that always came with it.
Odin had no wish to harm Sigyn. Indeed he felt if that was what it came to he would rather he be destroyed in the process. Long before she and Loki wed, he had welcomed her into his household as if she were his own daughter; he had watched her grow from a shy, frightened little girl barely 400 years old, into a stately, confident, kind-hearted woman. She had been a blessing both to him and to Loki, bringing his son back from the brink of madness so many years ago.
Sigyn held a piece of his heart . . . and that piece was being torn away from him.
He hurried through the palace corridors, following the path his sons and Sif would have taken to intercept Sigyn. He paid no heed to his subjects around him, pressing themselves aside for him and kneeling in respect. If he wished to save these innocent lives, speed was of the essence. By the time he arrived at the Vault, guards had flooded the passageway to take up positions on either side of the doors.
And they were wide open.
He crossed the threshold and took in the whole scene at a glance. Thor, Loki, and Sif had halted a few steps below him, their postures stiff and tense, as if they had been stunned and held in place. Three pairs of eyes were locked straight ahead, in the dark recesses of the dimly-lit Vault. Every artifact was still in its place, but midway down the short corridor, Odin could see a black shape just visible against the torchlight. Sigyn had paused before one particular relic, and she seemed to have been eyeing it intensely before she was interrupted.
But her hands were still reaching for it . . .
"STOP!" he bellowed. His voice cracked over the stone walls like a thunderclap. The three on the steps below started horribly at his voice, whirling around to face him. In a glance, Odin saw confusion, anger . . . and terror. But he could not spare them more than that one glance. His eyes were fixed on the figure below.
Sigyn's hands stayed where they were, poised over the relic as if they had been turned to stone. But her head slowly turned to look up at him . . . and Odin himself fought to keep the fear from showing in his eye. He now understood a part of what Thor and Loki had described when they returned from Muspelheim all those years ago.
"So," he said quietly, slowly stepping down passed the others, "that was your whole purpose from the beginning. To return to Asgard . . . and retrieve the Eternal Flame."
Sigyn – HE – smiled wickedly. HE did not seem the least surprised or concerned by Odin's presence.
"I was wondering how long it was going to take you to discover that, Alfather."
"You have been here all this time."
That smile broadened.
"Biding my time, weakening her, learning all I could. Though I must admit I did not expect she would resist for this long. You of all people know how I loathe waiting."
"Why Sigyn?" Odin demanded. He was now one step up from the base of the stairs, standing between his children and this demon before him.
A wicked laugh, and a flash of fire in those black eyes.
"What better way to disguise yourself than to use the body of a woman? No one would have known to suspect her of any deception or danger. It would have been better for her if she had simply done what she was told long ago. I would not have had to resort to such . . . extreme measures."
"You would not have released her even if she had. You simply would have killed her sooner."
"Ah, once again you see through my ploys. The Alfather's sword still has edge to it."
"Release her."
The air in the room suddenly seemed as if it was on fire. An oppressive feeling of rage and danger seemed to flow out of Sigyn's body and spill over them all. Gungnir came alive in Odin's hands as he readied himself for the inevitable.
"You will not make demands of me, Odin Alfather!" HE bellowed. "Asgard's time of reckoning has come, and I shall be the one to raze this city to the ground!"
"So be it, old foe."
Gungnir vibrated in his hand, ready to strike.
"So be it . . . SURTUR."
