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Chapter Twenty-Nine: Payment
"What do you think Hel means to demand of us tomorrow?" Yeva asked anxiously.
She and Loki were standing in the dark chambers where they were to sleep that night. The chamber itself was cozy—if a room in Hel's hall could be described as such. The large bed was nestled in an alcove carved out of the dark stone walls. There was also a table with chairs in front of the fireplace. Still, she couldn't shake an uneasy feeling-a feeling that called to mind hunting in the forest, when suddenly the wind shifts and the world goes still. It was the moment when the prey was aware of the predator's presence, and the roles reversed. She shook her head.
Loki sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the purple quilt next to him. Yeva sat, content to have his solid form besides her once again.
"I do not know, but whatever it is, I am sure it will not be pleasant," he finally said.
Yeva sighed and let herself fall back onto the bed, arms thrown up around her head; she was so weary of war and uncertainty. All she wanted was to clear Loki's name and go home. Although home was hardly less trying that here—she didn't even technically have a home anymore. Thanks to Beowulf's treachery, the Western Woods had burned. You're High Queen now, you can call anywhere your home, she thought, though really, it wouldn't feel like home unless she was surrounded by forest greenery.
Loki leaned over her, one hand on either side of her head. Gently, he stoked her face. "I won't let her hurt you, Yeva. Or our child."
She smiled up at him, "I know. I shan't let her hurt any of us either."
In truth, uneasy though she was about her surroundings, she was not worried about what Hel would do to them. At least not yet. Surely in the morning it would be all she could think of, but right now Yeva simply wanted to enjoy being in Loki's company once more.
Loki's hand slipped down to her throat, his thumb stroking her collarbones. Slowly, he bent down, until his lips where a hair's breadth above hers. Impatiently, Yeva lifted her head to kiss him. She sighed as his cool lips met hers, breath and tongues mixing. He pressed himself down, coving her body with his and she ran her fingers through his dark hair. By the gods she had missed this, missed him. The press of his lean muscled body against hers, his hard breaths and smooth, pale skin. All Yeva wanted to do was rip his clothes off as his lips bruised the column of her neck.
"Loki," she sighed.
On one level she knew making love in the halls of Hel was probably not the best idea, but they had been parted for so long—and when they had parted she thought it had been for good. Yeva found she didn't have the energy to protest for propriety's sake once his long fingers curl through her hair and she felt the heat of his desire pressed against her hip. Without breaking their embrace, Yeva sat up, enjoying the feeling of his body shifting against hers. She tore at his clothes, desperate to feel his cool skin once more.
Soon they were bare of everything and Yeva stood before Loki, confident in her beauty. He was leaning back lazily on the bed, legs spread just enough to be obscene. One elegant hand slowly pumped his cock, as his eyes slid appreciatively over her body. With his other hand, he crooked his finger at her.
"Come here, lover."
Those three simple words were enough to drive her mad with desire. She could feel her heart beat faster as anticipation shot through her core. Fixing a sultry smirk to her lips, Yeva approached him slowly, crawling between his legs. Keeping her eyes trained on his, she took his free hand in hers and brought it to her lips. She sucked slowly on the finger he had beckoned her with, letting her tongue tease him with suggestions of what she might to do his member. She bent down a little, letting the soft curve of her beasts caress his cock.
"Oh, Yeva."
Loki groaned. He stopped pumping himself and cupped her breast instead, rolling the nipple between his long fingers. Intense jolts of pleasure raced through her chest, making her back arch.
He withdrew his fingers from her mouth before burying them in the fiery locks at the nape of her neck. With a gentle tug, he claimed her mouth with his. She could feel heat spreading throughout her body, making her ache deep between her thighs and high up in her breasts. She let herself fall into him, her hands exploring, relearning and remapping the contours of his chest.
"Take me, Loki. Make me yours again," she panted against his mouth.
She could feel the head of his manhood press against her wet lips, seeking entrance.
"You were always mine," he growled as he filled her, stretched her, her muscles deliciously tight after months away from him.
She gasped once he was fully inside of her, and gripped him tightly to her. Slowly, Loki sat up, and pulled her legs around his waist. Loki's mouth found hers again, eager and wanting. His teeth scrapped against her bottom lip, eliciting a moan. She could feel him thrusting, filling her again and again. Yeva move against him, rocking her hips in different rhythms—the slow gyrating of a figure eight, fast little circles.
Loki groaned in pleasure. "Yes, darling, that's it. Faster."
His hand slipped down to cup her ass, urging her to ride him harder. Yeva wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed his face to the hollow of her throat. Faster and faster, they moved together, a gentle rhythm that built and built, until their gloomy surrounding disappeared, faded into the melody of their joined breaths and gasps. Loki's touch was gentle and possessive, and as she felt her bliss begin to overwhelm her he found his release. Their cries mingled in the air as her body was wracked with pleasure, her nails digging into his smooth shoulders.
After their breaths had slowed and muscles had relaxed, Yeva realized her face was wet with tears. Slowly, she disentangled her upper-body from his, though she stubbornly kept him inside of her. Loki smiled at her, and stroked her face, wiping a tear away with his thumb. She realized he had tears on his face as well. Leaning down, she kissed his cheeks.
Yeva awoke, her eyes snapping open with alertness and surge of energy bursting through her system. Where am I? Blindly, she reached for the blade that should have been under her pillow, but it was not there. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before opening them again. The ceiling above the bed was black, and the bed itself felt strange. The walls of the bed's alcove made her feel imprisoned, like an animal caged and waiting for slaughter. Slowly her memory of the last few days trickled back. Hel, she was in Hel. But with Loki and Thor.
With a sense of dread hanging over her thoughts like a shroud, she slowly swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood. The muscles of her legs and stomach ached in a delightful sort of way. Last night she and Loki had stolen a short reprieve from the dire situation they were in, but now reality came crashing back. Who was to say Hel would be at all willing to help them, and even if she did, what price would she exact?
Speaking of which, where was Loki? As she surveyed the small room, it was immediately apparent her husband was nowhere to be seen. Before she could work up sufficient worry, a small dark door in the far corner swung open and Loki walked in, evidently from a bathing chamber. His hair was still wet and brushed back, lending a severe look to the angles of his face.
"Morning, darling," he was smiling, though the tightness of his lips belied his nerves. "You know, for the most accursed of realms, the plumbing here isn't bad."
Yeva rolled her eyes at his flippant remark and began to make herself ready for the day as Loki did the same. Trust her capricious husband to find something to joke about in an abysmal situation. Still, she reasoned with herself, she had been through worse. Haven't I? When Beowulf had her in his clutches, she had been nearly catatonic with despair. Now she had Loki with her, and Thor. Neither would let anything go terribly wrong. And nor would she. Yeva took a deep breath and returned to dressing. Although, it was not as if Hel was known for dealing fairly. Truly, the goddess of death was an unknown player; she had allied herself with Laufey in his war against Asgard, after all.
As Yeva batted her hair back in place before the mirror, a bubble of hysteric laughter escaped her lips at the thought of the now dead Jotun King. She quickly slapped her hand over her mouth.
"Are you quite alright, Yeva?" Loki asked, pausing from lacing the front of his trousers.
She took a deep breath and shook her head; no need to worry him, "I'm fine…I was just thinking that…well, we're acting so domestic right now. Except, of course, for the fact that we are quite literally in Hel."
Loki raised an eyebrow, "you always were a rotten liar."
Another nervous titter of laughter escaped her, and Yeva quickly recovered her mouth. Had she finally lost her mind due to stress? Her chest fell impossibly tight and she struggled to suck in enough air to keep the room from spinning. She thought she might be sick again. Frantically, she cast her gaze about for a chamber pot, or something to throw up in. Before she could be well and truly ill, strong arms wrapped around her from behind and Loki's cool lips met her temple.
"It's alright, sweetheart. I'm here."
His voice was so soothing it almost made her feel worse. The anxiety in her chest tightened into a heavy little ball and Yeva struggled to swallow a sob. She could feel her heart hammering against his forearms, as if desperately trying to break free of her ribs.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I do not know what is wrong with me."
"Shhh," he murmured as he rubbed her arms. "No need to apologize."
She relaxed back against his body and tried to ease her stiff muscles. His cool strength helped her. They swayed together for a long moment, that for her life Yeva did not want it to end.
Loki cupped her cheek and gently turned her face to him. "Yeva, listen to me. Everything will be alright. I promise. No matter how dire the situation may seem before Hel's throne, today, I swear on Yggdrasil that it will be alright."
His emerald eyes bore into her own lighter ones, and slowly, Yeva nodded. The earnestness of his gaze convinced her of the truth behind his words. Slowly, Loki bent his head towards her. She eagerly leaned back to meet his lips with her own.
Their kiss only last a moment, but when they broke apart, she felt such a sense of calm she could almost believe there wouldn't be any other nasty surprises lurking in their near future.
Hel's great hall was unnervingly full with wicked souls, demons, and ghouls. They leered at the Asgardian trio from knots of threes and fours, from dark alcoves and recesses in the walls. Their whispers swirled through the smoky heights of the chamber, reverberating off of bone chandeliers and obsidian mirrors. Yeva had rather hoped that this would be a private affair, but, she supposed, the lure of visitors seeking Hel's aid was too delicious an opportunity for most of the undead to pass up.
As they approached Hel's throne, the noise in the room receded, until Yeva could only hear their footsteps and breathing. How disconcerting it was, she thought, to realize that in a room full of people, only the three of them needed to breathe. Hel was waiting for them at the foot of the dais. Next to her, a skeletal wraith stood, a silver bowl clutched in its hands. A few more attendants stood off to the side. Hel smiled at them.
"Still here? Good. I was hoping you would stay to enjoy my hospitality," she said sweetly. Without waiting for them to reply, she continued, "now to business. You wish to speak with Baldur, yes?"
They all nodded, though Hel's eye was fixed on Thor.
"Good. Each of you may ask one question of the shade. He will not answer to more. After you've collected the information you need, then we will discuss my terms of payment. Is that agreeable, Prince of Asgard?"
Thor hesitated to answer her, instead glancing sideways at his companions. Yeva nodded—she doubted Hel would give them a better offer. After a moment, Thor nodded as well.
"They are, Queen Hel."
Their ghastly hostess snorted at his courtesy and turned to collect a number of ingredients from the attendants behind her. Chanting an incantation in a language Yeva could not understand, let alone recognize, Hel threw a handful of objects into the bowl which caused a violent eruption of black smoke. The wraith dropped the bowl, though if it was part of the ritual or out of shock at the sudden activity, Yeva could not say. The column of plums slowly wound their way back to the bowl, where it sat, slightly askew, on the floor. As they swirled downward, a shape began to take form.
Baldur's shade was different than Sigyn's had been. Whereas she had seemed washed out, nothing more than a faded memory of her former self, Baldur appeared vibrant, positively reverberating with anger and rage. He looked much like Yeva remembered, though in truth, she hadn't paid much attention to him when he was alive. His eyes, perhaps, were more red than gold now, and blood stained his lips and chin. He glowered at them, though she could not have said if it was because they were recognized and unwelcome, or if the method of transportation had been particularly painful.
"Baldur, formerly of the House of Odin, you are summoned by your Queen, Hel of the Underwold, Lady of Death, to answer a question from each of these mortals. You must speak truth, by my binding, by my bidding, or your soul shall suffer be torn asunder and spread across the Nine Realms, never to find peace again. Speak your word and be bound by oath." As she spoke, pools of red smoke dripped from her lips, and slithered through the air to dance and swirl around Baldur's head.
"Aye," the shade croaked.
Immediately, the red drops converged on him, casting his face into a hellish light, before sinking under his skin. Hel motioned for them to begin, and Loki stepped forward.
"Baldur, is it true that you plotted with Laufey to overthrow Odin?" He asked, his voice low and calculated.
Baldur regarded Loki coolly for a moment. As the seconds slid by Yeva was unsure if he would answer, for all of Hel's commands.
"Yes," he finally croaked. "And you stabbed me in the back for it, like a coward."
His words elicited a hiss from the assemblage.
Loki glowered, "if I had stabbed in the belly, the world would thinking me no less brave."
Yeva placed a hand on Loki's arm to caution him; now was no time to lose his temper.
"Kinssssslayer," Bladur hissed. "I can't wait to met you here in a few centuries."
"You're no kin of mine," Loki spat, chaffing at Yeva's touch.
"Boys, boys," Hel purred, voice raised about the jeering din of the audience chamber. "Play nice or I shall deduct a question." She turned to Yeva. "Your turn, nymphet."
Yeva tried not to glare at Hel for calling her a nymph. Frowning, she thought hard on the best phrasing for her question. The way Baldur had answered Loki's query left room for doubt. Odin could easily argue her husband's involvement in Baldur's scheme based on the shade's subtle accusation of betrayal.
"Is it true that you framed Loki for your own actions of rebellion against the Allfather, though he was innocent?"
Baldur laughed, though it quickly turned into a hacking cough, a spray of blood welling up from his lips. "True, though you can hardly call that jotun bastard innocent!"
Yeva bristled at the insult and could feel Loki go tense as he stood at her side. She didn't imagine the implication of the way Baldur was twisting words was lost on Loki, or Thor. This was a disaster. The shades of the dead should not be so malicious—all her lessons on religion and the afterlife had led her to believe so anyway. But then, she supposed, Baldur was no ordinary shade. He was a wicked spirit, born out of malice, treachery, and hatred.
Yeva slowly slid her eyes to Thor, and tried to discern what was going on in his mind. Did he think Loki guilty of collaborating with Baldur? It was impossible to tell; the blond prince's face was impassive, though she could see thunder brewing in his eyes. She held her breath; Thor was smarter that most were willing to give him credit for, including Loki.
Silence in the hall stretched on, until finally, Thor spoke, "why did you forsake your bonds of kinship and loyalty to the House of Odin, cousin?"
"I AM NOT YOUR COUSIN," the redness of Baldur's eyes flamed bright and it seemed his skin cracked with hidden fire. The room filled with his fire; the walls flickered with it and wraiths shrank back before its fury. "I was your brother in blood, if not in name."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the black smoke that had summoned him began to rise, lapping at his feet and climbing every higher. Before another word could leave his mouth, Balder was sucked back down into the abyss.
The look on Thor's face was a mix of stunned confusion and pain. She could hardly imagine what he was thinking. Yeva turned her gaze to Loki, but all his face showed was disinterested. She thought perhaps, though, he was masking his sense of relief. Certainly she felt relieved. With that confession, there was little chance Thor would think Loki had helped Baldur willingly. Which mean there was little chance Odin would renege on his promise to leave them in peace. She glanced again at Thor; at least she hoped he would not doubt Loki's innocence.
Before she could speak to either of her companions, Hel claimed their attention.
"Well, I do hope that was sufficient for your needs. Now, payment." Hel turned her eye upon each of them individually. For her part, Yeva did not shudder, though she could see maggots wriggling behind the goddess' empty eye socket. The hall had grown deadly quite again, as everyone strained to hear what their mistress would demand. Yeva struggled to control the knot of apprehension that was wriggling in her stomach.
"That journey has, no doubt, damaged dear Baldur's soul terribly. He certainly is in delicious agony right now. I think it is only fair to trade one of your souls for the price."
The entire chamber erupted in laughter, high and malicious. As her hopes sank, Yeva wondered if the denizens of the underworld had known all along that Hel would demand this of them.
"That is no fair trade, witch!" Thor boomed, hand grasping for Mjolnir's handle, though of course he had not brought his weapon into the hall, "Baldur was already dead, we have taken no soul from you."
"Oh, but he will be out of commission for quite some time. I promise to give you back once I'm done," Hel wink. "I just need someone to play with, while he heals."
"Allfather knows how long that will be," Yeva interjected, aghast.
Hel turned her gaze to Yeva and smiled as sweetly as a half rotting corpse could. "Oh my dear, but you have the key to the entire problem. Four souls entered my kingdom unbidden. I could let the three grown ones go. No one would be the wiser!"
Yeva instinctively took a step back and twisted her lips into a snarl. She understood exactly what Hel was suggesting and she'd be damned if she allowed it.
"Take me."
Loki's voice was so quite, Yeva was not entirely sure she had actually heard him. She spun to look at Loki. His expression was blank, but his eyes revealed a deep buried pain when he met her own.
"You can't," her brain flew in a million different directions, anger, fear, panic all competing for control over her. "Everything we've done was to clear you name. You can't throw it all away!"
"Yevanna," Thor murmured, placing a hand on her should. "He has to. We need to bring back the testimony and clear his name."
"No! That's utter stupidity. What is the point of clearing his name if he is locked in Hel's dungeon?!"
"Brother," Loki nodded once to Thor, and it seemed to Yeva that more than could ever have been said was conveyed in that one word.
Loki turned to Hel. "I will play the blood price for Baldur. You may have my soul."
"Nooo!" Yeva's shriek was too late to stop what happened.
Hel cackled with delight. A bright bolt of red light snaked out towards Loki from her fingers and his body was lifted from the ground. Limbs writhed and contorted in what could only be excruciating pain.
Maddened with horror, Yeva threw herself at Hel, ready to claw the other woman's one eye out. As soon as she moved, Hel waved her other hand, and the legions assembled in the chamber converged on them.
"Attack them! Rip them to shreds! The little elf-bitch broke guest-rite!" the queen of the damned shrieked.
The women tumbled onto the floor, a flail of hair, clothing and limbs. Yeva tore at every inch of flesh and bone she could reach, ready to rip Hel's throat out with her bare hands. She greatly regretted not having a weapon on her.
As the masses of the dead reached them, Thor grabbed her around the waist and forcibly pulled her from their once hostess. He raised his hand; through the darkness of the hall Mjolnir soared through the air, a streak of lightening in the night. As soon as Thor caught his hammer, a bright column of light erupted and the two of them were propelled through the roof and into the sky.
After my semester long hiatus, I'm back! This is the second to last chapter (plus epilogue). I'm sorry this is short compared to what I usually write. I think it's just an accident of the story winding down, and, also, had to leave the ending where it was. ;-)
I just want to say thank you to everyone who has stuck with me over the last two (?) years. I really appreciated how much people seem to genuinely enjoy this story. Reading your comments, PMs, reviews, and the alerts that you've liked me or this story honestly made my day brighter.
Comments, constructive criticism, and questions? Review or PM.
