Chapter Four.
Thor returned to the palace, waving off servants and messengers as they approached him. He heard only that Loki had not yet come back, worry pricking through him, but also a grim gratitude that he would have time to accomplish his two errands. The first was a trip back to the library, to copy the most important part of the prophecy onto paper and to replace the book from where he had taken it. A misplaced book would alarm Loki more than anything else. Copying the words is a longer endeavor than he expected, and he emerged from the library almost an hour later, moving quickly along mostly quiet halls. He stopped only one servant to enquire after his brother's presence, only to be told that Loki still had not arrived.
His concern grew. Loki's horse had been gone from the village stable before he had retrieved his own. Thor wondered if Loki had sensed him following behind and deviated, or if he had another course of action planned all along and Thor had missed it. One more stop to make, and if Loki still had not come back to the palace he would go out and search for him.
He pushed the heavy wooden door to the healing rooms open, stepping into the warmth and low candle light. A fire burned steadily behind a large desk covered in papers and books and bowls and vials, and behind the desk sat a young woman, marking papers with a pen and humming softly to herself.
"Hello, Freya." Thor greeted.
Startled, the young woman stands, placing a hand on her protruding stomach in regret of such a sudden movement. "Your highness," she greeted,
Thor grinned, despite himself. "It's a thousand degrees, in here, Freya, and you've got a fire going?"
"It's the baby. She'll be a sorceress, I'm sure of it, and her father's pleased as punch. Are you well, Thor? You're not injured, are you? Or are you looking for Rowen?"
"No, I'm not injured. And I'm here to see you, actually. Would you look at something for me?" He moved forward and handed her the parchment he'd copied Aldis' prophecy onto.
Freya took the paper and sat back down, absently rubbing the top of her pregnant stomach. She glanced up at him only once until she had read it twice through, alarm causing her brow to furrow.
"You've got the master of riddles wrapped around your finger. Why not ask him?"
"He's looking into...other angles."
Freya gave him a pointed look. "He doesn't know you're digging around with this, does he?" Her expression softened. "This is about him, isn't it?"
Thor swallowed. "Can you help? Is there anything to be done?"
"I'm a healer, not a sorcerer."
"You know some magic."
"That's like pointing someone at a dragon and telling them to fight it because they've seen a lizard. This is a prophecy, a curse that calls for blood. A specific shedding of blood, might I add."
"Ask Rowen, then, but discretely. Anything is better than nothing."
Freya reached over and squeezed his arm gently. "You can overcome anything, you know, don't look so sad. Loki will know what you've been up to if you carry that expression around. Is this copy exactly as the original was written?"
Thor nodded. "I saw her. She would tell me nothing else, only shouted about the blood of us both."
Freya made a sound of consideration and stood, wandering to a far table and selecting a glass vial. She returned to Thor and took his hand, holding the vial close under his wrist before slicing through the skin with a small knife. Thor hissed lowly, but did not jerk away. When the vial was almost full, Freya brushed her fingers over the cut, the small wound vanishing as if it had never been. She capped the vial.
"Blood is tangible. I can work with that."
"Thank you for the warning." Thor said dryly, rubbing his wrist.
She smiled beatifically. "Of course."
When he left the healing rooms, he wished he felt any more reassured.
Loki found himself returning his horse to the stable much later than he had originally anticipated. He could feel exhaustion pulling at every fiber of his being, but he didn't dare sleep. His dreams had never been particularly pleasant to begin with, but he knew that he would never be able to escape the images of the many ways that Thor might die if he did not come up with a plan to stop it.
He felt almost as if he were ghosting through the halls, no real destination ahead, as his mind worked in overload. There had to be a way around the whole fiasco. It seemed like a cruel irony if, after everything they had been through, everything were to end in heartache because of one old woman's words.
"Loki?"
The dark haired sorcerer turned, knowing the voice without laying eyes on the face. He felt his chest tighten at the sight of his brother, somehow looking just as tired as he felt and he knew that, in the end, he would do anything to keep Thor safe. No matter what it might cost him.
He started to greet his brother, but in one of those odd moments he sometimes had when faced with the fear of losing him, Loki found no words forthcoming. Thor approached him, slowly, and reached out to place his hands on Loki's upper arms. He squeezed gently and Loki could feel the warmth through the fabric of his shirt. The grave countenance exuding from his brother did little to ease the constriction in his chest.
"What's wrong?" Loki asked, his voice sounding much more apprehensive than he had intended.
Thor shook his head, a few strands of blond hair slipping loose from the tie he'd pulled it back with. "I'm just glad to see you. I am glad that you are home."
"I've not been gone so long, have I? I was just doing some research in a nearby village." Loki said, trying to sound at ease. Thor, who had been doing a very good job of studying a spot somewhere on Loki's right shoulder finally met his brother's eyes, brow arched. A realization sparked in Loki's mind and he sighed.
"You know exactly where I've been, don't you?" the sorcerer murmured.
Thor nodded.
"Ah. You know why I've been away, too." Loki said, a statement more than a question.
Again, Thor nodded.
It all clicked into place, then. The presence he'd sensed at the back of his mind since he'd been in the library so many hours earlier and not thought to question, so preoccupied with his searching. That same presence never quite leaving him, all the way out to Aldis' cottage. A presence he knew as well as himself, one he was so used to having near that it would have been more strange if it had been absent. Thor had been shadowing him all along. He swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat, not knowing if he was more frustrated or grateful.
"I won't let this happen," he whispered. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Thor looked more troubled by these words than he had been before Loki had said them. Without warning he pulled the younger prince close, wrapping large arms around him so that he might never let go. "Nor I let anything happen to you, do you hear?" he answered, voice heavy with emotion.
Loki couldn't have responded verbally if he'd wanted to as Thor was nearly crushing him at this point, face buried in his dark hair and emotions rolling off of him in a way that few saw unless he was angry. It took a moment, but the sorcerer wormed one thin arm out from its locked position at his side and wrapped it around the larger Asgardian's neck. "I hear you," he managed, surprised to hear his own voice crack a bit.
Thor pulled back, eyes red from exhaustion and tears. "No foolish acts then? We'll figure this out together, won't we? That's the only way. Asgard needs us both."
Loki found himself chuckling at this. Life had been so much simpler when all he could feel for the blond was contempt. It had also been so very, very empty. "I fear that you might never forgive me if I don't agree to this now. I know how persistent you are."
Thor beamed. "Then it's settled."
"Whatever it is better be settled quickly, because the Allfather has been looking for you both for hours," Sif's voice drifted into the corridor. "Where in the nine realms have you two been?" She held up her hand as she saw Loki's quick and almost unreadable motion to Thor that caused him to shut his mouth and give his younger brother the lead to explain. "No. We don't have time for some beautifully woven story."
"Is something the matter?" Thor asked, brows knit together in genuine concern at her words.
"I don't know. Heimdal seems to think there is. He and your father are on the Bridge now and the Allfather commands both of your presence there."
"Then we won't keep him waiting," the crown prince answered firmly. He gave the briefest of glances to his brother, who nodded, and they fell into step towards the Rainbow Bridge.
Loki slowed his walk just enough to find himself next to Sif as she moved with her head held high and mission accomplished. She turned wary eyes to him and frowned at his most charming smile. "What?" she demanded irritably.
"So my stories are beautifully woven, are they?"
Sif let out a frustrated sound and rolled her eyes. "Yes, but only so much as to hide the foul stench of lies and deceit underneath." With that she stalked forward, leaving the brothers in her wake.
"You know," Loki drawled, watching the retreating goddess of war, "I think she may finally be warming up to me after all these years."
Thor snorted. "I think she's biding her time until she thinks of a suitable retaliation for her hair."
"That was years ago."
Thor gave him a pointed look as if to say that the time lapse mattered very little and Loki shrugged, hoping to find something worth taking their attention away from the looming prophecy at the end of the Bridge.
Heimdal and Odin stood at the entrance of the Bifrost, looking out across the abyss. Loki's thin lips twitched downward when he saw Aegir standing with them, watching just as intently as Odin did as the Gatekeeper spoke and pointed. They were murmuring amongst themselves, the Gatekeeper pointing into the distance. Odin seemed to follow, but the advisor only looked to be squinting into the abyss.
Loki, Sif, and Thor stopped just behind them, quiet as to let them continue the conversation.
"You found them!" Volstagg bellowed as he joined in, looking out of breath from the running about and looking for the two princes. He received glares for his words and quickly hushed at the site of the Allfather and Gatekeeper in serious conversation.
"I've never seen anything like it," Heimdal was saying, worry lacing his booming voice.
"Nor have I, though that may be excused to the fact that so very few may travel the between and through the branches of Yggdrasil without the help of the Bifrost," Odin answered grimly. "It shows a level of magic that only a handful of sorcerers have mastered in the length of existence."
"Father," Thor ventured, "what is it?"
Odin glanced back to his sons and their friends, face drawn with concern. "Heimdal has found tears in the realms."
"What would cause that?" the crowned prince continued, inching forward to see what his father and the Gatekeeper saw. He saw nothing and then turned to his father.
"Someone trying to travel without the use of the Bifrost," Aegir growled, his voice holding accusation and his eyes glaring directly at the younger prince of Asgard.
Loki stiffened. "If you have something to say, old man, by all means, say it openly."
"Enough," Odin sighed. "Loki, I am not blind to your rare ability to travel without the use of the Bifrost."
Green eyes looked out into the distance, noting the slight fluctuation. He thought to the many times that he had slipped through the branches, managing a feat that had surely taken much from the Allfather when he had sent Thor through. Loki was capable of moving in that manner with great ease. The only time he had found any resistance had been their travel to the Vale and the sudden change in number of people he had brought with him. His eyes latched onto the glint in the distance and he frowned deeply. "Father-"
"I do not know what caused this, Loki, but-"
"Why do you shield him, Allfather?" Aegir growled out. "He is the only one who is able to-"
"I do not believe that my son would purposefully cause harm to Asgard."
"No, he would simply outwit his elder brother out of his crown and then move to conquer Midgard. Forgive me, my lord, but if that force moves through the tear, we do not know what it is that we will be fighting! If your... son... has anything to do with it, we should know of it now. After all, it would not be the first time he had brought enemies into our land. Not even the second."
"And have you committed no crimes? No past indiscretions from which you have moved forward? Or has your holiness always been with you?" Loki growled.
"I certainly have never done anything with such carelessness that it would leave a hundred doors for every enemy as Asgard to enter through. You take such pride in your skills as a sorcerer, don't you? Drove every great court sorcerer to tears and frustration because you were better, always better, and you did not see this trail behind you?" Aegir retorted.
"Be silent!"
The command echoed, the force of it strengthened by both Odin and Thor issuing the words simultaneously. Aegir dropped his gaze to hide the glowering expression on his face and Loki stalked away, Heimdall moving with him. Loki could see it, the threads that would soon unravel. Heimdall stood at his shoulder and the young prince drew in a controlled breath.
"It is possible, is it not? I have opened a hundred doors thinking only of walking through them and gave no thought to what might follow." Loki murmured so only the Gatekeeper could hear.
Heimdall glanced down at him. "It is possible. It is at this point inevitable. There would be no way of knowing that the doors you walked through remained open. As the Allfather said, it is a very gifted sorcerer who can manage such a feat."
"You are certain something -someone- is coming through?"
"Yes."
Loki clenched and unclenched his fists, rolling his knuckles and letting energy flow between them. "We can seal them. How much time do we have?"
A cry went up just outside.
Heimdall grimaced. "Not enough."
A tenseness filled the air and Aegir's eyes grew wide as he shrank back. He never intended to be there when fighting actually broke out.
"I may not be able to see the tear, but I can feel the change," Thor said lowly, feeling his brother step to his side. He waited a moment before risking a glance and then following the wide, green gaze to where it stared. Out in the distance he could see movement over the abyss. He never could see the point from which it started, but the movement itself was becoming impossible to ignore. "They're coming."
"There will be no time to send for help," Odin murmured, holding his staff in his hand.
"They'll see the attack from the towers and send reinforcements," Aegir answered, desperation in his voice sounding as if he were trying to convince himself as well.
Loki stepped out, eyes still fixated. "They won't make it in time." In his hand, almost out of habit, a long staff grew and solidified into a weapon. He could almost hear the prophecy in the distance, but decided that was the howling of the oncoming scouts. There would be more to follow. He had never meant for this to happen, or had even known it could have.
"Then we'll have to hold them here," Thor announced, holding Mjolnir firmly in his grasp.
If they had expected the enemy that was coming to appear in one tear before appearing in another, they were wildly surprised when all the tears opened at once, suddenly surrounded dozens of warriors they could have never anticipated. Thor and Loki moved to be back to back, both realizing they were hopelessly outnumbered.
"Who are you? What do you want here?" Thor demanded.
None of the men answered, merely stood, weapons poised to strike at any moment. Loki's lip curled in a sneer as he looked among them, faces vaguely resembling those he had seen before. Faces that seemed familiar to all of them.
"I know this presence. It has been many years since you and your brethren were banished from here." Loki said, addressing empty space.
Several feet away from where the Asgardian princes stood, a final figure pulled together out of emptiness. He stood taller than the others, a long scarlet and gold cloak falling over his dark clothing. In the center of his chest lay three oval gems that formed a circle. Each gem was a different color. He leaned on a tall staff, gloved hand gripping it tightly. Once he might have been handsome, now his face was drawn and haunted, but his dark eyes were burning with determination and hatred.
"That perhaps is something that we will have in common when they tell this new history in the new generation. Where one was banished from Asgard and failed a triumphant return, the other succeeded." he said.
Loki smiled. "I was never actually banished from Asgard."
"That would be me." Thor said with a dangerous smile of his own.
"Ah. It is so hard to tell a story of one of you without telling the story of the other. Loki. Thor. Allfather."
Odin's eyes narrowed. "Magnir. How did you escape your dimension?"
Magnir waved a hand towards Loki. "All the lovely little trails your would be son left behind. After all, all roads do lead to home. And after all, this Asgard is merely the home we have been so longing for."
Thor glanced at Loki. "Who are these men?"
"Who better to take over our home? They are Asgardian warriors, from the other side of Asgard."
"From Ringsfjord." Thor clarified.
"Yes, I have brought them with me from Ringsfjord." Magnir said. He arched a dark eyebrow. "Unfortunately for you, banishing just isn't what it used to be."
"Tell us what you want, Magnir. There is no need for bloodshed."
Magnir's eyes flashed and all his warriors seemingly moved closer to their targets even though no foot left the ground. "There is a need for bloodshed. Would not Thor seek vengeance for his fallen brother? Has he not done so? Would not Loki weave his magic into the teeth of death if one drop of Thor's precious blood is spilt? Word has reached me, even so far away as I was. The stories have slid into my ears. It makes me sick. I have lost three brothers and a part of my magic that was just as close to me. There is a need for bloodshed, Odin, and your line will be no more. Asgard will always be mine, but now it will be mine from the throne."
He lifted his staff and every weapon present shifted.
"Get ready," Loki breathed.
The staff dropped.
Pieces of the bridge shattered upward in the same instant that the warriors attacked. Thor swung out first, Mjolnir in hand and slamming into his opponents. Loki gripped his staff firmly in his hand, ready for the warriors that seemed to decend. Sif and Volstagg joined in, throwing all of their talent for battle behind their attacks. Odin watched, single eye narrowed at Magnir. The banished Asgardian only smirked as if he knew the outcome already.
There were more enemy warriors than they could count against their six that could fight fight. True, it was likely that the skirmish would be seen from the palace, but no one could possibly get there in time. Each knew that it up to them to keep these invaders from taking their home.
It took a moment for Loki to realize they had worked him away from his brother. Each villain that he slayed would be replaced by at least two more and he was growing weary of it already. Magnir had barely moved, watching instead as the princely brothers, Lady Sif, and the loan representative of the Warriors Three fought their way through the masses. Heimdal stayed close to his king's side, though he was hardly needed as the Allfather showed his own talents as many of Magnir's men were thrown back in a blow from his staff.
"I've heard great things about you in somewhat recent times," Magnir's voice was suddenly in Loki's ear. The dark haired prince barely had time to raise his staff to perry as his enemy brought his own down in a smooth motion, barely looking as if he had put effort into the movement at all. There was strength there as Loki rarely saw, and he was being pushed back by it. "I hear that you've commanded great armies and led them to glorious battles, and yet you are content now to bow down to your dolt of a brother." He swung out, barely missing the dark haired sorcerer as he rabbitted, landing himself only feet away and leaving his double to take the blow.
"Don't waste your breath on me," Loki growled out, releasing a magical attack that forced Magnir to shield himself. "I would gladly lay my life down for Thor's."
"Would you now? That's not what I hear."
They met between them again, staff's locked and magic blazing between them. They did not part until Magnir gave a hard shove, sending the younger prince of Asgard tumbling back. Loki sat down hard, green eyes widening a fraction as he and his enemy both saw the brief opening.
Magnir would have taken it, too, if Mjolnir hadn't sailed through the open air to defend its owner's younger brother. The hammer, steady and true, would have hit him had he not raised a hand and caught it.
It was as if time stood still for a moment. Every eye that had been on the battle stared openly, watching as the intruder gripped the hammer that should have only been worthy of its power. Loki barely phased out before the attack came, charring the ground where he had been. He was running now, barely able to stay one step ahead of the attacks.
Magnir's staff hovered near him, magic keeping it aloft as he gripped Mjolnir in one hand and aiming attacks at Loki. Thor had immediately been overtaken by three warriors as soon as his hammer was out of hand and clearly not returning, and he allowed himself a moment to relish the feel of cartilage breaking under his fist, of bone giving way and blood bursting forth. He knocked down three, then five, then seven, his rage growing and not diminishing with every one fallen. Thor looked up, eyes searching for Loki. Just as he spotted his brother appearing, one of the warriors stepped in with a swing that caught Loki off guard. The man was easily ended by his brother, but the delay was enough to cost him. Magnir aimed Mjolnir and let the hammer fly. Thor tried to call for it, but felt the magic overpowering his call. He ran.
Loki heard the pounding of feet and the surge of magic behind him and turned to see his brother's hammer coming for his head. He braced himself, bringing up a barrier he wasn't certain would stand against Mjolnir. Thor jumped in front of him and Loki's breath caught in his throat. The hammer struck Thor, forcing him back so far that Loki had to put his hands up to meet his brother's back. Thor grunted, turning the hammer and taking it by the handle.
"Are you alright?" Loki demanded.
Thor turned to him, confident smile in place. "Of course. It is my weapon, is it not?"
The knife struck without warning, catching the crown prince in the side. He gave a low grunt of pain, pulling the bloodied weapon from his armor. He glanced down at it and saw a replica of one of the small throwing knives that his brother used.
"Thor!" Loki hissed, thin hand coming up to produce a barrier that would block several more that followed.
"Bastard thinks to play tricks on us," Throw growled, hand pressed firmly against the wound. It hurt like hell, but he had certainly had worse.
"Then we won't let him," the younger prince answered with a meaningful glint in his eyes. "Let's finish this."
Thor grinned broadly. "Stealing my words now, little brother."
The trickster rolled his eyes. "Let us hope not."
Their movements were sudden and direct as they turned back to the battle, fierce as ever. Loki ducked and left dopplegangers in his wake, watching as those that would have taken his head found only an illusion instead. He let himself fade outward, releasing multiple replicas and sending the warriors chasing after each one. When he had them where he wanted, he swung out, small shards of ice as sharp as the knives hitting their targets and bringing them to the ground easily.
He'd lost site of Thor in it all. He could hear Volstagg some way away and Heimdal seemed close to the Allfather still. It was strange, Loki thought briefly, how as a child he had always assumed his father could end a battle so very quickly. He had thought that the aging king's power was limitless. As more warriors seemed to fill the small area, pushing the Asgardians back into the Bifrost machine, it seemed as if they would be overwhelmed.
Loki managed to fade out just as a bolt of magic hit the double. He reappeared with wide eyes, barely dodging a second, third, and fourth attack. They needed the upper hand somehow. It was as if Magnir was toying with them, leading them where he wanted just as Loki had used the doubles to lead his enemies moments before to their deaths.
Magnir caught his eyes briefly and the shot was off. It was not a difficult task to dodge that particular attack, but as Loki landed just feet away he could hear the cry go up over the sound of raging battle, cut short. He knew the voice and he turned, his brother's name on his lips. A sickening cold settled deep within him as he saw the blond prince collapse, having been thrown back by the blow, just behind where he had stood a moment before.
TBC
