**Chapter Ten**

-Loki's duo plan-

His eyes burned into mine. I wobbled under the intensity of the stare.

"I do not wish to repeat myself, mortal, but it looks as if you need it. What did you do to me?"

I gulped as my heart picked up momentum, rapping behind its cage of lungs. The loss of words made my tongue click, but painfully, I forced a response anyway.

"Uh, er, well . . . I fell into you, obviously. Did I mention that I could steal information by just a touch?" I laughed uncertainly. "It's how I got into this place. Wanna see again?" So far, my immediate response was staying cocky and in control. If he picked up even an ounce of fear, I'd be dog meat.

Surprisingly, Loki actually seemed slightly afraid when I touched his forehead. Of course, he didn't let me try again, thank God, but he shoved me so hard, I slammed my back into a tree and it even cracked a little. Or maybe that was my spine . . .

His eyes narrowed. "No, stay away from me. This is not good. I thought . . . Riley," he said. A thousand thoughts passed before his eyes, until his face turned undeniably impassive. "I need you to make a choice. Believe me when I say your answer will determine whether or not I allow you life." He bent down to pick up his spear, pointing it at my throat, his eyes never leaving mine.

"You've got my attention, what do you want?" My voice cracked.

He sighed, his hands tightening around the golden snake spear. Ruby red eyes gleamed on the snake. "Your eternal loyalty," he finally purred.

My eyes widened and my heart skipped. Was this guy delusional?

"But you were just trying to kill me! Now you're asking me out? What the heck?"

He laughed. "No, you mortals are all the same. I do not want your love or your body; I want your power, of course. I want you to join me and help me rid the realms of their absurd mistakes and faults, creating a new universe." He dropped his voice low and he ran the blade of his spear across my jaw.

"Join me, Riley. I know you understand me. You would have left me for dead a long time ago if you hated me. Face it, you like me. I owned your heart since the moment you first laid eyes on me."

"You lie."

"Do I? Because I think . . . " He stepped even closer. "Your heart is racing."

Damn you heart, for betraying your owner. But what was he saying? That I liked him? That he "owned my heart?" Whatever the heck that meant. He was wonko; totally bonkers.

I laughed a quiet, breathy laughter. "You're sicker than I thought. What kind of sick person would ever love you; the real you? Between your twisted personality and one heck of a temper, I wouldn't be surprised if you died alone."

He tapped the end of his spear against my heart, causing goose-bumps to litter my skin. "Then answer me this, mortal. What kind of sick person watches someone else sleep while smiling like a dazed child? You think I did not realize you were staring? How stupid do you think I am?"

My face flushed, but I didn't miss a beat.

"A lot more stupid than you think you are." I dropped down low suddenly, ducking under his legs and sprinting with all my strength towards Odin's tower. Following my previous plan, I was running for my life. "I'm sorry Freya; you'll just have to wait a little while longer," I whispered under my breath as I ran.

They say the worst thing you can do while running away from someone is look back and see if they're close behind. It only slows you down and can sometimes lead you to trip and be caught all over again. So taking a deep breath, I sprinted on, jumping over fallen branches and rocks and ignoring the desire to look behind me. When I came to the top of the clearing, I gasped as I caught the scene of everything happening around me. Buildings were being frozen and smashed and Frost Giants were absolutely everywhere. My chest tightened, but I continued with a purpose. For a moment, I actually thought that escaping and getting to Thor was actually possible. That was before I rammed into someone. I slipped and nearly killed myself as I hit the frozen ground. Without even seeing who it was, in case it was Loki, I got up and almost started sprinting again when I heard my name in that soft voice that either made me smile or cringe.

"Riley?"

I gasped and spun around, sighing with relief.

"Forseti!" I wrapped my arms around my friend, holding him close for a moment, until I remembered what was happening. "Oh, my God, Forseti! We need to run . . . Loki, he's . . . " I stopped and gasped for breath.

"Riley! Riley, breathe . . . breathe. Whatever is going on? I was resting and awakened to my house caving in on itself. There are Frost Giants everywhere! What on earth did I miss?" Already, I felt my stress and intense fear start to unravel. Forseti was alive. He was okay and awake. Even better.

Taking a deep breath, I sighed. "You missed everything, my friend; but not in a good way. Please, we'll talk later; I need to get to Odin's tower. Can you help me?" I asked.

He nodded, completely serious. "Here," he began, wrapping his arms around my waist and picking me up. "Let me carry you."

I had to admit, it was a little embarrassing at first, but as he began to pick up the pace and full out sprint towards the tower, I was relieved. The moment the tower came into view, I was even more relieved, knowing it was only a matter of time before we got to Thor and Eir. They had to know what was happening.

Forseti carried me to the front steps and put me down so we could both run them up, climbing towards the door. It was bolted shut. Not good.

"Thor! It's us! Open the doors! Thor!" I yelled at the door.
Forseti turned towards me. "Thor has returned?" he asked, clearly out of the ongoing loop.

"Yeah. Thor! Open up!" I pounded my tiny fists on the golden door. Still no answer. We needed an alternative. Somehow, we needed to get back inside and find Thor. He was the only one strong enough to fight off his maniacal brother.

"Got any ideas?" I asked Forseti.

He frowned in deep thought as he looked around the perimeter. His eyes lit up as an idea obviously came to mind. "Ah! That's it! Odin's secret entrance. He only told a few select people, including my father. Of course, he shared it with me. It is just a bit of a pain getting there. And with you being . . . " he broke off and shrugged.

Human. That's what he was going to say. With me being human. It was true, for the most part. But only because I couldn't get my other powers to work again. What triggered those things? I did it once, so why couldn't I do it again? Oh well, I could figure it out later. Now, the first priority was getting into the tower.

"I don't care. This is life or death, Forseti, we need to get inside. I'll do anything."

He seemed to grasp the seriousness of the situation, so he nodded. "Okay, I shall show you, but you have to promise me you will be careful."

"Of course!" I chirped.

"Oh, and one more thing. I hope you are not the slightest bit afraid of heights."

My spirits sank.

Darn.

/: Author's note: *does the wave* Ten chapters successfully posted on FF! Yaaaaaaaaay! Although rather sloppy and lacking a bunch 'o things, I feel proud anyway. Only thirty-eight more to go! Yay! Take that back, actually. Thirty-nine. And an epilogue or two. Whoops. Still happy, though! I really hope you liked! Really big chapter before, little bitty chapter now. The next one is rather normal sized, though, so don't worry. Most of my chapters stay in the 2,000-4,000 word range. Except CH9. That was crazy. 6,000! Possibly the longest chapter in my book. Take that back, I think there is one more that's like 8,000 words. O.o

Anyway, what do you think about Riley's abilities? Eh? Eh? They develop and evolve even more over time. It's a Traveler/Destroyer thing. And what about Loki? Evil? Or . . . seductively childishly evil? Or bird. I liked the bird. ;D He'll evolve and develop over time as well. It's only a five-hundred page book, peoples. Tehehe!

Thank you so much for reading and reviews are MORE than appreciated! I also take suggestions and critique! Even though I've written the whole book and I'm currently working on the sequel, it's all still good. Most frequently asked question is whether or not it'll be a trilogy. Answer: hell ya!