Antenora (11)
Lair of Elakhet

Elsa didn't like what she just heard. "Speak with the dead?" An apprehensive chill crawled up her spine. "Do you plan to use black magic?"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Queen Elsa," Loki replied grimly. "For that, I will need several things." He turned to rest his inquiring gaze on Anna and Kristoff. "Do you still possess any of your daughter's belongings? I know she may not have much, since she hadn't been around for very long; perhaps even a baby blanket will do."

"We still keep a blanket in the castle," Anna softly replied. "Kristoff and I have used it for Henrik and Hilda, but it had been Lilly's first."

Loki nodded in satisfaction. "Good, it's important that we have at least that. Forgive me for asking another sensitive question, but where exactly did she die?"

"The cabin," Kristoff replied. "We lived in one near the castle, because we planned to raise our children near the forest before moving them inside to live royal lives. Why do you ask?"

"I'm asking these things because they would help us to find the prince, or at least the snake. Princess Anna, retrieve the blanket from the castle and meet the rest of us at the cabin." Loki directed his pointed glance at Kristoff next. "Lead the way."

Kristoff would've bristled at the notion of Loki ordering him and his wife around if it weren't for the dire circumstances. He hated to admit it, but Loki was the only one among them who knew what he was doing. He bit back the urge to spark an argument as he watched Loki bend down to acquire a fist-sized piece of snake skin. Then Kristoff turned and led them down a path in the woods to the cabin.

"I take it that your cabin has coal," Loki stated.

"Yes." Kristoff's response was terse. He figured that it was also important for whatever Loki had to do. Elsa too was at a loss over what exactly this method entailed. The queen supposed that she and Kristoff would find out soon enough.

Loki caught sight of the coal lumped near the stable. He picked up a large piece. "Show me where your daughter died. The exact spot, to the best of your memory."

"How could I forget, even if I wanted to?" Kristoff murmured.

Elsa watched with sadness as the ice harvester directed them inside the house and into Henrik and Hilda's bedroom.

"Anna gave birth to Lilly in here," Kristoff said. "I'm not sure why it'd matter to you, though."

"Oh, it's quite important, all right." Loki turned the piece of coal over and over in his hand. "Properly summoning the Myling requires summoning her over the site of her death."

Elsa exchanged a wide-eyed look of shock with Kristoff. "You're going to summon Lilly right here?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Loki's fingers stopped moving and the coal rested in the palm of his hand. "I have no other choice, Queen Elsa. That's why I have your sister bringing the medium to us."

"The medium?"

"Spirits who cannot rest in peace are wild and wayward beings. In order to summon them at your bidding, they must be rooted and tamed, so to speak, at the site of their death. The process is mediated by an object associated them while they lived, hence the term 'medium.' In this case, such an object would be the blanket."

"Then what's the snake skin for?" Kristoff demanded.

"When spirits interact or interfere with the living world, they leave an imprint that can only be seen through magic. With the spell I'm about to cast, we will see for sure if the Myling was involved with Henrik's second disappearance."

"Lilly," Kristoff said. "Her name is Lilly." He held his adamant gaze with Loki until the former prince of Asgard could no longer hold it.

Loki continued, "I'll perform a summoning ritual to make Lilly answer our questions. I won't deny that there's great risk in attempting such magic here. Step back and do not interfere." He sighed as he turned to Elsa and Kristoff. "Lilly will be summoned against her will, so it's likely she'd want to resist. I must be firm and commanding with her. I'll have to resort to force if I must, otherwise we will never find your son, Kristoff Bjorgman."

The heartbroken ice harvester set his jaw. "...Do what you have to. We need to rescue Henrik. Does Anna have to see this? I don't think she would be able to handle it."

"I agree," Elsa said softly. "We should-"

Just as they were speaking of her, the three of them heard a knock on the door. Kristoff remained with Loki while Elsa went to greet Anna.

The princess of Arendelle looked like she had wept on her way from the castle to the cabin. "I brought the blanket, just as Loki wanted. He needs it to find Henrik, doesn't he?"

Elsa nodded. She placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Anna, please return to the castle. You look like you really need some rest." She managed a small smile. "Don't worry...Loki, Kristoff, and I will see to it that we'll find Henrik again."

Anna sniffed and wiped at her eyes. "Okay. I trust you."

Elsa gave her a firm, loving hug before Anna mounted on Sven and headed back to Arendelle. The queen went back inside. Guided by years of studying magic, Loki busied himself with drawing a black circle on the wooden floor, filling the inside with a myriad of intersecting lines and shapes neither Elsa nor Kristoff could understand. He finished it off with etching ancient runes along the rim of the circle, then looked up to see Elsa had returned with the blanket in hand.

She expected him to take it; instead he said, "Go soak that in ice cold water before you give it to me."

Elsa didn't ask questions, despite a few that sprang in her head. She went ahead anyway and did as he had instructed. Only then Loki took the dripping wet blanket from her. Elsa and Kristoff stood by and watched as Loki folded the blanket up to a small square without wringing it dry. As he laid it right over the center of the circle he had drawn, water formed a small pool over the black lines.

"My apologies to you and Princess Anna...I will have to burn this blanket in the duration of my summoning spell."

Kristoff's eyes widened with alarm. "You're going to burn this house down along with it."

"No need to worry. I will cast a special kind of fire that shall consume only the items within the circle." Loki drew out the snake skin and placed it on top of the folded blanket.

"Why did you have me soak the blanket in water?" Elsa asked.

"The longer it burns, the more time I have to keep the Myling's presence grounded here." Loki gestured with his hand for the two of them to stand back. "It's tempting, but I urge you not to engage in conversation with Lilly when she appears. It's likely that she'll try to stall us with threats or lies, but it's my job to rein her in and give us the answers we need."

Elsa and Kristoff exchanged an apprehensive glance, but said nothing as they had no choice but to comply. Suddenly the room seemed to grow darker and colder as Loki sucked in a long, deep breath. He hovered his hands over the circle, and his voice lowered almost menacingly as he uttered a singsong string of unintelligible words. The chant sent chills through Elsa and Kristoff. A burst of heat suddenly purged through the cold. A ghastly-looking fire erupted from the summoning circle, flashing in different colors until it settled on a bright, eerie blue. The edges of the blanket curled up ever so slightly, but because of the water it did not burn. The snake skin made much more of a commotion, fraying in the heat and crackling like a death rattle. The sight and sound of it was just the clue Loki needed. Now he knew for sure that Lilly was behind it all, whether she'd tell the truth or not.

Loki continued to chant, then he rose his voice so that it rang with authority: "Restless spirit of the dead, you who lived and died over this spot, show yourself and do my bidding."

Elsa and Kristoff watched with frozen, terrified awe as a wraith materialized from within the fire, forming into the shape of a little girl with wild hair and even wilder eyes. Her glare seared with burning hatred as her eyes darted around the room, like that of a cornered beast.

"What do you want?" Lilly spat.

Loki didn't appear at all frightened by the sight. "Answer all of my questions, and I will leave you be. Were you responsible for Henrik's first disappearance?"

"Yes."

"Are you also behind his second disappearance?"

"Yes, and no."

Loki's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'll never tell you-aaaah!"

Loki tightened his hand into a fist to cut off the Myling's threat, as if strangling an unseen throat. Kristoff cringed and looked away as Lilly's spectral form contorted in agony. Elsa couldn't tear her gaze away. All she could do was watch with wide-eyed horror.

"Give me a clear answer, Myling," Loki snapped. "We don't have much time."

Lilly grimaced and replied in a voice seething with venomous malice, "Yes, I wanted him to disappear. After the first time, I realized I couldn't do it myself. This time...the second time, I had help."

"The snake. That's what you meant by a second time. How did you do it?"

"I can talk to the animals. They're my only friends in the forest."

"Where is the snake now? Did it eat Henrik?"

Elsa and Kristoff stiffened and held their breath at Loki's last question. The fire billowed and shuddered as Lilly laughed. "Maybe. Maybe not. I really don't know, since you made me come here. Not like I care."

Loki scowled and tightened his hand once more. Lilly instantly stopped grinning and screamed in pain. He clenched his jaw as he spared a glance at the circle. He was running out of time.

"Where can we find the snake? Tell me!"

She proved to be more tenacious than Loki had thought. Lilly seemed to overcome her pain as her face in the fire grew ugly with resentment and rebellion.

"Elakhet will kill you all."

Then Lilly writhed like an animal in its death throes. She threw back her head and emitted a reedy shriek. Elsa and Kristoff clapped hands over their ears. The fire went out in a fiery burst, then all was still quiet and still in the room. The fire had completely consumed the snake skin and blanket, leaving Loki's circle still intact on the floor. Loki lowered his hands and slumped, feeling exhausted from casting the spell. He never told Elsa or Kristoff that communing with the dead was anything but easy, even for an experienced magician like himself. The spell came with great risk and very slim chances. He felt very lucky that he managed to summon Lilly at will, even if only for a short time.

Elsa's voice was filled with concern. "Loki, are you all right?"

"I'll manage. This spell just takes a bit out of me." He bit back a groan as he exerted himself and rose to his feet. "She didn't tell us where we could find the snake. I can only assume that Elakhet is its name. Fortunately, I think it left enough of a trail for us to follow."

Kristoff didn't even know he had tears streaked on his cheeks until the summoning circle wavered and swam in his vision. He quickly dashed the back of his hand over his eyes. All he could manage was a pained, choked whisper, "Lilly..."

Elsa's heart went out to him. It must've been so hard to see his daughter in that state, consumed by so much turmoil and hate. Compassion for her distraught brother-in-law compelled her to hug him. "I'm sorry, Kristoff," she murmured. "I'm so sorry you had to see that."

He said nothing, but returned the hug out of silent gratitude.

Loki pretended not to notice the show of affection between the two. "Are we going to find the prince now?" he asked gruffly.

"Of course," Elsa replied. "But first, we have to go back to Arendelle so I can give something to Kristoff."

The ice harvester looked to her with surprise. "You have something for me?"

It had been a very long time since Elsa last visited where her family had stored valuable heirlooms. Most of them were weapons and armor from past kings. Fortunately, Elsa had yet for any personal use of them. But she didn't come here to equip herself. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for: a longsword hung lengthwise at the end of the hall. With great care she took it down and with both hands, Elsa extended the blade to Kristoff, who had been standing behind her in awe.

"This sword is called Snowfall," the queen said. "It has been in the royal family for centuries. It's mine by birthright, but you might have better use for it than I do. Please accept this."

Kristoff took Snowfall with grim silence. With a single hand he hefted it with ease. He looked very much a warrior, most of all a father determined to find his son.

"Thank you, Elsa. We'll get Henrik back...I'll stake my life on that." He looked away and his voice, so strong and resolute before, now wavered. "If I return without my only son, I'll never forgive myself."

Anna took baby Hilda with her to the church to pray for her family's safety while Elsa, Loki, and Kristoff set out to rescue Henrik.

Of course, Loki led the way. Elsa felt unnaturally lightweight and naked without her cape. In the dense woods, and wherever the snake lurked, it would only hinder her. Elsa positioned herself between the two men, with Loki pushed ahead from the front, and Kristoff guarding her from behind. The sunlight waned as the trio ventured farther into the woods. Loki continued to follow the patchwork trail of snake skin. Some of it was harder to see among the dense undergrowth and dim light; nevertheless he still felt that he had a good lead.

Kristoff quietly broke the tense silence among them: "Now that Lilly had mentioned the name earlier, I've heard of Elakhet. Take my word with a grain of salt, but if memory serves me right, it's a huge snake in the marshes that spawned the old legends of the Midgard serpent."

Elsa glanced back at him. "Are you referring to the serpent that's so large that it surrounds the entire world and bites down on its tail?"

Loki snorted. "You mortals and your exaggerations. Contrary to your hilariously farfetched stories, this snake in question is far smaller than your world-long version. Granted, it's larger than the average snake, but nothing frighteningly colossal."

"That's comforting," Elsa remarked wryly.

The three of them fell silent as they no longer felt the warmth of the sun on their backs. Tendrils of mist began to undulate at their feet, gradually growing into a thick fog that obscured much of their vision except for the ominously tall, gaunt tree trunks looming over their heads. Elsa definitely didn't like the looks of this place. Instead of getting colder from lack of sunlight, the air grew stuffier and oddly warmer.

'We must be in the marshes now,' she thought.

It became harder and harder to tread ground. Even with boots on, the trio had to trudge through mud that pulled and latched onto their soles. A small ball of magic-born fire erupted from Loki's hand, and he held it aloft like a torch to light the way.

Elsa heard an odd-sounding hollow crunch under her foot. She wished she hadn't looked down. It was a human corpse, preserved by the bog and discolored with undisturbed decay. Her stomach lurched. She tore her eyes away from the face's ghastly smile. Kristoff swallowed hard. The sound of sliding metal against leather rang in the eerily silent marshes as he unsheathed Snowfall.

Due to the mud and thick, tangled bushes of reeds, Loki couldn't find any more snake skin to follow. Despite this, he had a hunch that they were even closer to where Elakhet could be hiding. Marshes were havens for snakes. He just had to find the hole where it would make its nest.

A sharp, crunching sound shattered the silence as Kristoff stumbled and lurched back. He caught himself upright at the last minute and bit back a curse. One of his feet had lodged itself in a knee-deep hole.

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Good job, ice harvester. Looks like we've found Elakhet's lair."

"And how do you know that?" Kristoff asked, still shaken by the sudden trip.

The exiled prince of Asgard made his point with a nudge of his foot and upturning the bones of various animals. The macabre sight made Elsa even more tense.

"What if we're too late?" she asked in a shaky whisper. "What if during the time we spent summoning Lilly, that snake would've already-"

"Don't even think about that," Kristoff said in a sharp voice. "We came this far, and along the way all we saw was molted skin and no blood."

Loki nodded. "If Elakhet were to consume the boy right where it found him, it would have to rest for hours digesting. Such a process would leave it vulnerable and unable to move. Snakes are picky over where they choose to eat."

"Right, the snake would have to move Henrik back to its lair," Kristoff quickly agreed. He clutched Snowfall tighter. "There's still hope that Henrik could be alive, somehow."

Elsa stared down the hole. "I pray that we're not too late."

There was only one way to find out. The determined conviction to rescue Henrik banished any thoughts of fear or hesitation that'd creep into their minds. Without second thoughts, they entered the lair of the snake.