Fire - Part 2

Thor was in disbelief as skiffs, energy-bolts and fire-balls flew overhead and crashed into each other with a huge explosion. Everywhere Einherjar and citizens were fighting rebels and Eldjotnar.

Heimdall shouted, "Thor ! One of the rebels made a deal with Muspelheim, they invaded through a fire-portal. Fandral, Grundsol and Frigga are trying to fight their way out of the library ! One of the eldjotun just set it on fire." as he thrust his sword through a kneeling seven-foot eldjotun's heart.

Worried and angered, he threw Mjolnir over Heimdall's shoulder into the face of a charging eldjotun. As the hammer returned to him as quickly as he could he flew toward the library, dodging crashing skiffs, falling buildings and such. Forty, eight and nine-foot tall, Eldjotnar warriors surrounded the library, the white-hot fire flowing from their hands had started to melt the bottom of the walls.

'I don't see them. Have they escaped, are they still trapped and injured ?'

He summoned a storm and willed the lightning to snake from one warrior to the next...it stunned them for a second only. One of the Eldjotnar growled in annoyance, then he dove as a jet of flame rushed towards him. The flames leaping from the library sizzled and hissed as the rain hit, but refused to go out. 'Heimdall, you need to get Loki and the Jotnar, we cannot defeat the Eldjotnar and their fires alone. They could help Healer Eir and the others treat any burn victims as well.'

All he could do was hope that the Bifrost bridge would be clear and Heimdall could send someone quickly. Like the Jotnar would've burst into ice-like chunks if hit by Mjolnir, so the Eldjotnar did into lava-like ones as he smashed through orange-skinned chests and emerald-eyed heads. The rebels who'd been near-by had long since fled with golden-armoured Einherjar chasing after them.

Sandr and Sif rushed up to him as he landed in front of the library. Sandr exclaimed, "They have Daell ! One of those Eldjotnar grabbed him and took him to the palace as a hostage. Thor, you have to save him !"

Thor replied, "If you two can keep the rebels away from here after I free Mother and the others I will try. Skuld alone knows, but the Jotnar may be coming to help us."

Sif nodded, "We can do that." A group of Einherjar led by Olaf thundered up to stand in front of them. Sif barked, "Who do you serve ?" at them.

While they answered with Father's name, he spun on his heel and willed the rain to intensify as he spun Mjolnir around to make great gusts of wind. With the combined power of both the rain and wind the flames started to die down, but it wasn't nearly enough.

An illusion of Mother appeared, part of Mother's face, hair and her light-blue dress had turned black with ash. Mother looked relieved to see him unharmed and said, "Thor, the doors are too hot to touch. Also, most of us were wounded by the Eldjotnar who came through the flames. Still, Grundsol managed to blind them with the fire's light and we managed to kill them."

Ice crept around his feet before Laufey called, "Move aside, Odinson, the Jotnar are here."

He moved to the side and turned to see the ice thickening as quite a few of the Jotnar approached, Sif and Sandr also moved aside quickly. It was not hard to see why, most of the Jotnar were intimdating - either wounded or bleeding thick, blue-black blood - their eyes glowing eerily against the storm blackened sky.

First was Loki clad in a dark-green, black-edged kilt and wrist-gauntlets. A dark-blue welt spread width-wise across his collar-bones. The Crown Prince of Jotunheim carried Blodbita which was half-melted by an eldjotun. Second was Laufey in his dark-green/black kilt, shoulder armour, wrist-gauntlets and an ice-helmet holding the Casket of Ancient Winters. Laufey was bleeding dark-blue/black from a deep slash on his left-cheek and the side of his face. Beside them was an eight-foot some and hugely scarred jotun with black-hair. The strange jotun was also clad in a dark-green, black-edged kilt.

Arrayed behind Loki, Laufey and the stranger were the Jotnar Hailfalla and Issflod with the Royal Guards Ennsturm and Hailsturm. It was odd seeing Issflod's pinkish-red eyes when all the others had some shade of red.

'Maurr said Ennsturm and Hailsturm used to play with himself and Haust. Do they know something about what happened with Haust ? Could they help us find her after this ?'

Loki, Laufey and the stranger stopped in unison. Laufey raised the Casket before a stream of ice flowed from it freezing all the rain-drops it touched. The white-flames were exstingushed in a thick layer of ice that Laufey manuvered to cover the whole front of the library. Without any word being exchanged, Ennsturm and Hailsturm walked up to try to smash through the ice. It took them quite a few blows to do, so thick was it, like himself.

When the strange jotun approached him he tensed on instinct. Then he peered up, looking for something familiar in the jotun's fire-scarred face. Despite the, heh, giant height difference, the thick scar from the left-side of his hair line down to his lip and the patchy scars he saw Loki. Of course, with Loki's looking so much like Laufey, Sleipnir looked similar to Laufey as well. Mainly, it was the high-cheekbones, the eyes and the ears as Sleipnir leaned down. That was when he noticed some of Sleipnir's eye-brows were burnt-off.

Thor exclaimed, "Sleipnir !? Y-you're...a-a jotun and you're sane, again."

With simple familiarity, Sleipnir stated, "Hello, Uncle Thor."

Sleipnir's voice shocked him, he'd expected something soft like Loki's, instead, it was deep like a Jotunheim chasm.

His gaze moved from Loki's son to Loki himself and Laufey. While Laufey's face remained still as the ice he'd summoned, a proud grin had spread across Loki's own. 'H-how did this happened so fast ? What sort of magic could do this ? I-' Everything started to slide and then went black.