50

How To Drive a Kidnapper Crazy

If anyone ever kidnapped me they would be begging to take me home soon afterwards! ~ Loki (as a child)

The coach exited the portal into the countryside of Svartalfheim as Adabiel looked out the window at the withered fields.

"Where shall we take them?" the guard asked, looking at Abby, Loki, and Rhiannon.

For a moment, Adabiel didn't answer, gazing at the sparse trees and the yellowed grass, Svartalfheim was slowly coming back from being devastated in the last war, but it took a long time and Adabiel thought the land would never be as it was, not even with magic to help it along.

He knew Thor or Odin would contact King Izarithon about the kidnapping, so he had to hide. After thinking for a few minutes, he smiled.

"We will take them to my winter home. It is up in the mountains," Adabiel said.

"But the Thunder God can fly."

"Yes, which will make him an easy target for my archers," he said with a smirk. "And the trails are too dangerous for Odin and his army."

"As you wish," the guard said and told the driver to head for Adabiel's castle, known as Darkholm.

Darkholm was set upon a mountain peak and there was only a single pass through the mountains to reach it.

The pass was surrounded by a high wall on one side and a long drop on the other side. Soldiers would have to walk single file through the pass which made using carts and horses impossible.

Darkholm itself was a dark and foreboding sight. The exterior was made from black stone with several large towers and the outer walls were patrolled by archers. Light from the windows caused an eerie glow at night and the front gate was made from dark wood. Skulls were placed on pikes along the top of the walls. A black stone bridge stretched over a long cavern and sharp stones rose from the bottom of the cavern.

There were fearsome stone carvings in the walls, of faces screaming and gargoyles leering. It was enough to give a stalwart soldier nightmares.

Red and black flags flapped in the wind from posts on the top of the towers and dead trees lined the courtyard. Gargoyle statues leered from the courtyard pillars.

~0~0~0~

Asgard:

Odin sat on the golden throne glaring at Adabiel's wives who huddled on the floor, sobbing.

"I will ask you again. Where did Adabiel take my son, my granddaughter, and their friend?" Odin growled. Frigga was glad he was no longer under the influence of his father as she placed her hand on his and he glanced at her.

"We don't know," Frensyn said. She was the oldest of Adabiel's wives and she hushed one of the younger wives.

"He left us," Henntral said. She was the second oldest wife and she sobbed into her hands.

"We're all going to die!" Anyanni bawled. She was the next to youngest wife and Frensyn hushed her.

Odin sat back as he looked at the women and sighed. He was not sure they were telling the truth, but his instincts said they were. He sensed they were terrified and believed he was going to harm them—just like their husband.

"Darling, they appear to be sincere," Frigga said while Thor and Balder stormed in the room and glared at the women.

"Have they said anything?!" Thor demanded.

"No. They claim they do not know," Odin replied.

"If you don't know exactly where they were taken, can you guess where he might take them?" Frigga queried. She sensed these women were frightened, and if she could convince them not to be afraid, they might prove valuable allies against their husband. "We promise that whatever you tell us is in confidence and your husband will never know."

"Do you swear by the Nine that we will be safe from his wrath?" Frensyn bargained.

"Are you afraid of your husband?" Frigga asked softly.

"Yes, Queen Frigga," answered Henntral. "He is cruel and we . . .have always been afraid of him. He rages like a bilgesnipe and the wives before us . . . have all died."

"Are you saying that . . . he has killed them?" Thor asked, frowning.

"Well . . . a few did die in childbirth but others . . . may not have," Anyanni said.

"Like the one who died recently?" pressed Odin.

"We don't know how Inyasha died," muttered Frensyn. "But it is possible. Lord Adabiel has always had a fierce temper and takes it out on us more often than not."

"Then why would you wish to go back to such a man?" Frigga asked.

"Where else can we go?" Anyanni asked.

"We could give you sanctuary here." Frigga insisted. "If you will help us retrieve our son, granddaughter, and my ward."

The abandoned wives exchanged glances with each other, then slowly stood and dried their eyes on their sleeves. They lifted their chins a notch and nodded. "Very well," Frensyn said. "It is clear to us that our husband—" she sneered the word."—has no loyalty to us so we do not have loyalty to him. We will help you if we can."

"I am tired of him harming children," Anyanni hissed. "He took my baby girl from me and sold her into slavery in Askterat. I will not let him harm any other children."

"Then you shall be granted sanctuary," Odin declared. "Now . . . do you know where Adabiel might have taken them?"

"Our best guess, sire, would be Darkholm, his fortress in the Black Shard Mountains."

"It is almost impregnable," added Henntral.

"Why is that?" Thor queried.

"The castle sits high on a bluff. It is surrounded by a gorge with a drop of over a hundred feet to rocks below," replied Henntral. "And there is only one pass in or out . . ."

The Asgardians listened gravely as the young wife described the fortress in detail.

~0~0~0~

Meanwhile, in Darkholm, a certain little God of Mischief was waking up in a dank and cold room with a single lamp that glowed with a feeble light.

Loki blinked and peered about, noting the unfamiliar surroundings. He was in a room that had dark gray stone walls and a wooden floor. Some dusty pallets were strewn about and there were two buckets, a towel and a pitcher on small table. On the floor next to him were Rhee and Abby. He glanced towards the door, it was one made of sturdy oak and had a small window up top with an iron grillwork on it.

Great! I'm in the Dark Elf version of a dungeon! He thought and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He carefully stood and tried the door, but it wouldn't budge. He really hadn't expected it to. Then he tried all four walls to see if there was some hidden lever or other secretly disguised way out of the room. There were none.

Next, he tried to magically unlock the door, but found the door was charmed against unlocking spells. Sighing, he went to shift into a tiny creature, like a mouse or a bug, to scuttle beneath the door and get out that way, only to find that a cuff about his wrist made of some dark shiny metal made it impossible to shift.

"Nine Hells!" he muttered, and sat back down on the floor, chin in hand, thinking. If he wasn't able to escape this cell by regular means, he would need to come up with something innovative. Finally, he hit upon something that might work, but he needed the help of his companions to pull it off.

He glanced at the two girls and saw them beginning to stir. Rhee woke first from the enchantment, yawning and blinking. "Loki? Where are we?"

"In a room with a locked door. I would guess wherever Adabiel brought us."

Abby yawned and sat up. "I'm thirsty. Is there any water?"

Loki moved over to the pitcher on the table. He saw that it was full and sniffed it. The water seemed pure. He found a tin cup and poured some into it for Abby. "There's only one cup, so we'll need to share it for now."

Abby drank the water down. "Why do you think he took us?"

Loki shrugged. "I'm not sure. Unless it was to keep us from talking about the note we found on his desk."

"The one where it said he was going to take over Asgard?" Rhee clarified.

Loki nodded. "Yeah. He took the note from me and threw it away, and it shows he was working with someone. Probably someone who knows the palace and the way Asgard is run."

"You mean a traitor?" Abby sounded horrified.

"Maybe. Or someone who used to be a member of the court but got dismissed for some reason. Asgard has lots of enemies." Loki told them.

"What do we do now?" Rhiannon asked, her bottom lip quivering.

"Well, I can try and mindspeak my brothers," Loki said, and concentrated. "Tell them where we are."

But he felt no answering warmth in his head that signaled a connection. He sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't make a connection. They're too far away," the boy frowned.

"Then how will anyone find us?" Abby asked, troubled.

"Maybe it's up to us to escape. Or get Adabiel to let us go." Loki stated firmly. He was frightened too, but determined not to show it. He needed to be strong for the girls.

"How?" Rhiannon asked.

Loki's lips quirked up in a trademark smirk. "Adabiel thinks he's won. But he hasn't. We're going to make him wish his father never met his mother."

"What are you planning?" Abby queried.

"We're going to be the worst prisoners in history. And make him wish he never kidnapped us," Loki declared.

~0~0~0~

Odin, Thor, Balder, the Warriors Three, Sif and some other warriors mounted their war horses as Frigga stood with Sam and the rest of the children and Fenris scowled.

"I should be going with them," Fenris said.

"Don't you think I don't want to go?" Sleph asked. Odin had told him the pass would be too dangerous for him due to his eight legs and they watched as the horses headed off.

"I do too, but you heard Bestefar," Jorgy sighed. "Some of us have to remain here to protect the rest of the family. And in case something should happen to our grandfather and uncles."

"I know, Jormungander! It makes sense, but I don't have to like it!" Fenris grumbled. He lifted a hand in farewell as the king and his retinue rode off.

Thor noticed the anger on his father's face as they rode in silence and he prayed for Loki, Abby and Rhiannon's safety.

"I do not blame you," Odin said, glancing at his son.

"You already told me that, but I still should have done something," Thor said with a sigh.

"Then I might have lost a son," Odin said and Thor nodded.

"Father, what do you think Adabiel will offer for their release?" Balder asked.

"I have no doubt he will want Asgard."

"He will not have it," Thor growled.

"Fear not, Dear Friend," Fandral said with a grin. "Knowing that brother of yours, Adabiel will be begging for us to take them back."

"I pray you are right," Odin said and urged the horse to go faster.

Darkholm:

Loki held Rhiannon against his side when the cell door squeaked open and a guard walked inside. Abby and Loki gave him a scared look, Rhiannon didn't have to fake being scared, and the guard smirked.

"Let us go!" Loki shouted.

"Silence or I will take away the food!" the guard said as he showed them the tray. Loki admitted he was hungry as he sighed then nodded his head.

The guard placed the tray on the table. They rose and peered at the food as the guard crossed his arms over his chest and Loki smiled.

"Do you mind if we say grace?" Loki asked.

"Go ahead," the guard said. Loki had been teaching the girls the words to a song Aleta and Max would sing until Loki wanted to scream.

"This is the song that never ends...," Loki said as they started singing with him and the guard waited for the song to end. When they didn't stop, he scowled and glared at them.

"Will you please stop?!" he bellowed.

"But we have to finish or the Norns will be angry at us," Loki explained and the guard gritted his teeth, stalking out of the room after they started singing again.

Loki smirked as he continued to sing while he portioned out the bread, cheese, fruit, and some kind of salt pork.

The guard slammed the door as they giggled and started eating.

"That was fun," Rhiannon said, smiling. She nibbled her bread and cheese.

"Should we sing louder?" Loki asked and they started singing louder and louder until they were nearly shouting.

"Shut up!" the guard shouted from the other side of the door and kicked the door hard with his foot.

"It's working!" the little Mischief God hissed.

After they had eaten, Loki taught Rhiannon and Abby Row Row Row Your Boat. They started singing that song and the guard balled his hands into fists.

"Row row row your boat gently down the stream . . ."

"May all the gods listen, I am going insane!" he snarled, holding his hands over his ears.

They switched to The Wheels on the Bus song.

"The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round . . ."

"Bloody damned brats!" the guard snarled a curse, feeling his head spin round and round, and stomped off. Their voices followed him as he ran up the stairs, nearly crashing into Adabiel.

"Where are you going?!" Adabiel demanded and the guard lowered his hands.

"Sire, forgive me, but I can't... They keep... If I have to listen to that singing, I will go crazy!"

"What singing?"

"The children are singing songs that never end! They go on forever about rowing boats and wheels on buses going round and round . . .!" the elf whimpered, looking like he had been stretched on the rack.

"I will deal with this!" his master snapped.

Adabiel stormed down the stairs and headed for the cell, but only heard silence. He peered through the window in the top of the door, he could just see Loki, Abby, and Rhiannon sitting on the floor, made a motion with his hand and stalked inside.

"I do not know what you are doing, but it will not work. I am wise to your tricks," Adabiel began, eyeing the three harshly.

"What tricks? We were just sitting here," Loki said innocently.

"Lies," Adabiel said as he slapped Loki's face and Rhiannon gasped. Loki held his hand to his burning cheek and Adabiel glared at him. "If I hear one more song, I will remove your tongues!"

Loki glared defiantly at him. Go on, you big bully! Hit me again! I've been hit worse!

Adabiel left the room then stopped when they started singing "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts."

"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts . . .doodly doo . . . here they are standing in a row . . ."

Adabiel bolted back into the cell, but by the time he did so the children were quiet again. They looked at him questioningly.

"What did I just tell you?!" he demanded.

"We're not singing," Loki answered.

"Maybe you're hearing things," Abby said.

"Yes, you were hearing things," Rhiannon agreed, trying not to giggle.

Adabiel ground his teeth. "I know what I heard! My hearing is excellent!"

"Sometimes when you're stressed your mind starts hearing things that aren't there," Abby replied.

"I am not crazy!" Adabiel snapped.

"You know, people who are crazy never think they are," Loki said in a conversational tone.

"How long have you been hearing voices?" Rhiannon asked.

"Silence!" Adabiel shouted. He was about to cast a muffling spell upon them when one of his guards yelled, "Sire! Strangers have been reported approaching the mountains! Come and see!"

Adabiel smiled evilly. "There will be no rescue for you! I'll be back!" he then slammed the door shut and it locked. He gestured for the old guard to leave. "Go help on the battlements. Send a replacement down. Someone who isn 't driven crazy by measly rotten brats."

The children all high-fived each other. "That was good. But now we need to step it up a notch."

"What do you have in mind?" Rhiannon asked. Loki glanced at the door, smirking, his green eyes shimmering with glee.

A new guard marched down the hall and stood outside the door, determined not to be driven away.

"Don't think you can scare me off by singing," the guard said. "I am tone deaf, so your singing will sound like screeching. Now, stay silent or I will show you what it means to screech!"

Bifrost:

Heimdall watched while the war party rode closer and he held the handle of his sword tightly in his hands.

"My King," he said with a nod.

"Open Bifrost," Odin said and Heimdall nodded. After he opened the interface, Heimdall watched the horses move by and the interface closed. Sighing, he shook his head and prayed for their safe return.

~0~0~0~

Upon hearing that declaration, Loki got a wicked idea and made a beckoning motion with his hands. Three pairs of bright red tap shoes appeared. The girls stared at the shoes and blinked in astonishment.

"Put these on," Loki whispered, putting on the shoes. Abby and Rhiannon put theirs on and stood up. "They're tap shoes. You can dance in them. Nate showed me on his tablet."

"Now what?" Abby asked. Loki showed them some moves. Soon loud tapping filled the cell and they laughed. The noise grew louder and louder as the guard glared at the door and frowned.

"What are you doing in there?!" he yelled, wrenching open the door and saw them tap dancing.

"Exercising!" Loki grinned and he tapped his way around the room, the shoes going clickety-clack on the wooden floor.

"It's fun!" Rhiannon said as she tapped her feet and the clickety-clack echoed in the tiny cell.

"You will stop right now!" the guard shouted over the noise then cupped his hands over his ears. The sound started drilling into his head, making it throb ceaselessly. He whimpered and tears formed in his eyes. "Please!"

"We'll stop when you let us go!" Abby said while moving her feet.

"Step in time! Step in time!" Loki chanted while dancing faster and faster. He had seen a show on Nate's phone where a man had done this same routine with a pretty lady holding a parasol.

"No more!" the guard said, wanting to run up and slam the little brat into a wall but the noise of the shoes made him feel like his head was going to burst. And his lord had ordered him not touch the children. He ran out of the cell and slammed the door behind him. He sprinted down the hallway then up the stairs and thought his ears were bleeding. He would rather be on latrine detail than have to guard those awful children.

"Yes!" Loki said as he gave the girls a high five and they laughed. "Another one bites the dust!"

~0~0~0~

The wind blew through their hair as Odin led the way to the pass. Frensyn's directions were perfect. Darkholm rose above them as Odin looked up at the dark towers, his breath curling like a wreath about his face. He wondered where Loki was in the foretress and prayed Adabiel had not harmed the children.

"Do you wish me to fly up and do some scouting?" Thor asked.

"No. They might have archers or worse," Odin said with a shake of his head.

"I could send up a lightning bolt."

"That will alert them to our presence."

Hogun had been looking at the dark rocks when he swore he saw something cut into the the stone and blinked.

"My king, I think I found a cave," he cried excitedly and Odin rode his horse over to investigate.

"Let's see if it's the one we were told about," the king said.

~0~0~0~

Inside the fortress, Adabiel stalked into the cell, his fists clenched. Two of his guards had now been driven away by these wretched children! It was not to be borne. "You will stop whatever you are doing immediately, you pestilential brats! Or I will use this on you!" He shook a short whip at them.

Loki swallowed. Then he recalled his new plan and spoke up. "You know, if you keep getting so agitated you could develop a nervous allergy. Like the time when my mother's maid got one because she fretted so much about her husband coming home. She broke out in these big red hives."

As he spoke, he made a certain rune sign behind his back.

"It was so awful! I thought she was going to die from scratching herself!" Loki declared with relish.

"Shut up!" Adabiel snapped. He felt his nose start to twitch. Then an itch crawled up his back.

Ignore it, he told himself. It's not really itchy.

Suddenly he felt his skin erupt with a red rash with raised bumps all over.

Rhiannon gasped. "Oh, dear!"

"I think it's happening to you too!" Abby remarked.

Adabiel swore and Loki tisked, "Such language! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"I can swear if I want to!" Adabiel snapped sounding like a child.

Loki shook his finger at the Dark Elf chidingly. "Naughty, naughty! You'd be getting your mouth washed out with soap if my mother heard you."

"If anybody's mother heard!" Rhiannon added.

"Shut up! Shut up!" Adabiel howled and began scratching himself frantically, the whip falling from his grasp.

But the more he scratched, the more he itched.

"Better stop that," Rhiannon warned. "You could spread it."

"Yeah, like down there," Loki indicated Adabiel's crotch. No sooner were the words out of his mouth then Adabiel yelled and began scratching there too.

"Gross!" Abby shrilled. "He has crabs!"

"See what happens when you get all excited?" Loki smirked.

"You . . . will . . . pay . . . " the dark elf cried, still scratching. "As soon . . . as I . . .bloody f&^%# brats . . .!"

Adabiel hobbled out of the room, nearly driven crazy by the burning rash, slamming the door and cursing a blue streak.

"By the Nine! Who knew he knew that many swear words?" Loki chuckled.

"He swears worse than my father," Rhiannon remarked.

Loki laughed.

"Did you make him get that rash?" Abby queried.

Loki nodded. "And he'll be awhile getting rid of it."

The three settled down on the musty pallets and some new guards approached the cell.

They had their ears stuffed with cotton batting.

But Loki knew how to get around that. He turned the tray upside down and began to drum on it, singing a wordless song, that kept repeating the same phrase over and over. "Oh wee oh—yoh! Oh wee oh—yoh!" It was from another popular children's movie that he had watched with Lucy.

The girls joined in.

After about five minutes of listening to that, even muffled, the guards' heads began to ache.

Sensing he was getting to them, Loki whispered, "Let's sing Bingo!"

That was another song Aleta and Max had taught him. It was one they said drove their brothers and sisters crazy.

"There was a farmer who had a dog, and Bingo was his name-o!" Loki warbled. He put on a tap shoe and began banging out the rhythm while he sang. "B-I-N-G-O! B-I-N-G-O! And Bingo was his name-o!"

Then the girls began to sing along and soon they were all tapping out the rhythm and yelling, "B-I-N-G-O!"

The two guards covered their ears and sweat began to trickle down their faces.

"Shut up! No more Bingo!" yelled one.

This only prompted Loki to sing louder.

Ten minutes later, the guards broke and ran.

They found Adabiel in his chambers, his servant applying some sticky goop to the hives all over him. "What the Hel do you want?" he demanded.

"Please, my lord! I can't take it! No more Bingo!" sobbed a guard.

"Who the Hel is Bingo?" Adabiel snapped.

"The farmer's dog!" the second guard bawled. "B-I-N-G-O! Oh, Darkness help me, now I'M singing it!"

"Get out, you imbeciles!" Adabiel ordered. "May all the gods listen, I am surrounded by idiots!" Then he yelped as the servant rubbed a bit too hard. "Watch what you're doing, you dumbass! That's tender!"

"Sorry, my lord!" the servant apologized, cringing.

"It's still itching!" Adabiel growled, vowing to beat the spit out of the children next time they acted up.

~0~0~0~

The crack in the wall of the mountain had led to a large cave and Odin had ordered them to enter it. Volstagg lit some torches. The darkness surrounded them as the horses whickered and snorted. Water dripped down the walls while the wind blew through their hair and the path sloped upward.

"Father, let me fly ahead and see where this path goes," Thor said. Nodding, Odin watched while Thor used Mjolnir to fly ahead. He used some ball lightning to light up the tunnel as he soared through the darkness then he saw what appeared to be an exit and he carefully landed just before it. Pushing back a tapestry, he saw an empty passageway with torches in gold holders lining the walls and he smiled. He flew back to Odin, triumphant

"Report," Odin demanded.

"There is an entrance into the castle in this direction." Thor said, pointing into the darkness and Odin nodded.

"How large? Can the horses fit?" the king queried.

"No. We will need to have someone wait in the cavern with them."

"Very well." Odin nodded at a soldier. "Stay here. Make sure no one tries to come through."

"Yes, My King." The soldier took the reins of the horses.

"If we don't return in fifteen minutes, call Bifrost and bring the horses home."

"Understood, Sire."

Thor led the rest onward, the ball lightning glistening upon the path.

~0~0~0~

Adabiel strode down to the dungeons, his whip gripped tightly in one hand. He was still itchy as he fought the urge to scratch and placed his hand on the handle of the door.

"Stand away from the door!" he shouted before opening it. Loki, Abby, and Rhiannon were sitting on the pallets and he gave them an icy glare.

"How's the rash?" Loki asked, smiling.

"Still feeling itchy?" Abby asked.

"Silence or you will feel the sting of this whip!" Adabiel said, waving the whip at them.

"Do you think he's feeling the side effect with the rash?" Rhiannon wondered.

"Maybe," Loki said, casting the runes behind his back. "His stomach must be turning over."

"What side effect?" the Dark Elf spat. "I swear, I am going to make you all scream-!" He advanced upon the children, whip raised.

Suddenly, Adabiel felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He grunted and bile rose in his throat. He took a few deep breaths to calm down as he glared at them and waved the whip menacingly. "I have gone easy on you till now but if you put one toe out of line I shall flog you raw, ransom or no!"

"If you hurt us, my father will not pay the ransom," Loki pointed out, praying the spell worked swiftly.

"No! I will not…!" Adabiel shouted as the bile built and he cupped his mouth with his hand. He bolted out the door, shutting it with a clang, then vomited on the floor. He gagged until he started dry heaving and pounded the floor with his fist. He tried to get to his feet as dizziness roared through his head and he placed his hand against the wall.

"Great green globs of greasy, gooey gopher guts…," the kids started singing in loud voices as he scrambled down the hallway and felt his stomach gurgling.

Inwardly he wished Loki and the girls in the deepest coldest pit of Hel. He would send them there as soon as he got control over his stomach, he vowed.

~0~0~0~

Thor peered into the passageway as he nodded and entered it. Some of the guards followed, holding their weapons tightly in their hands. The torchlight lit the gloomy corridor and they came to stone stairs leading upwards. Odin crept up the stairs, Balder and Thor were close behind him as they went up and up until they came to a wooden door. Odin cautiously opened it.

~0~0~0~

Loki gazed at the locked door as he tried to figure out how to get it open when Rhiannon touched his shoulder and Loki turned to look at her.

"They're coming," she said in a reassuring voice and Loki nodded. Abby had been thinking about how they could escape as she sighed and looked at her hands.

"I know you're making him sick, but what if we got sick?" Abby asked.

"What?" Loki asked.

"He wants us alive, right? If we got really hurt or sick, he would have to take us out of here."

"Yeah, but how?!" Rhiannon asked.

"A bad lady..."

Abby didn't know why, but she had a fuzzy image of a red lady teaching her how to use her powers to hurt people instead of healing them and she shook her head.

"A bad lady taught me how to use my healing power to hurt people. Really hurt them."

"No. You shouldn't have to use your healing power that way," Loki argued. He walked to sit next to Abby and slid his arm around her.

"Then how are we going to get out of here?" she asked, placing her head on his shoulder.

"We just keep doing what we're doing. Sooner or later, he is going to let us go. Or my father and brothers will make him."

"So what prank will you pull now?" Abby asked.

"What if we made it so they all had to leave?" Rhiannon suggested.

"How?" Loki asked.

"Well, if the whole castle was infested with vermin-like spiders, or mice, or fleas, we would all have to leave," Rhiannon said. "Can you do something like that? Call some spiders and mice and fleas?"

"I can, you clever girl!" Loki giggled. "I wouldn't even need to use magic. I can just speak to whatever animal is around here."

"You can?" Abby sounded impressed.

"Yes. I always have been able to," he replied.

"Then do it!" Rhiannon said.

Loki made a soft squeaking noise, like a mouse calling another mouse. Suddenly a pink nose and whiskers appeared from a crack down by the corner of the wall. Loki squeaked again. "Come, friend mouse!"

The little white mouse scampered out of the hole as he held his hand out and the mouse ran onto his palm. He lifted the small rodent up and it peered at him from tiny beady black eyes.

"Who are you?" the mouse squeaked.

"I am Loki, Prince of Asgard." Loki squeaked.

"Why did you call me?"

"We are being held here against our will and wish your help in escaping."

"How may I help?"

"Can you call all your siblings and cousins and have them infest the castle?" he asked. "And if you see any spiders or fleas or ants can you tell them to join you?" he asked.

"Yes, I can!" the little mouse said with a nod. "Would you like the lice and maggots to attack as well?"

"Yes!"

"We don't like the master of the castle," the rodent said. "He is cruel and has killed many of us and even his own kind. He disturbs the Balance of Nature."

"We don't like him either."

"There was one who used to feed us. Her name was Inyasha. He found out and hurt her. We bit at his toes to make him stop, but he ran."

"He will pay for that," Loki promised then placed the mouse on the floor. The mouse vanished into the hole and Loki went to sit next to Abby.

"Do you think this will work?" Abby asked. A loud squeaking came from the walls as Loki smiled and hugged her.

~0~0~0~

Odin led the way down the hallway when several large rats ran by him and he frowned.

"Where did all these rats come from?" Balder asked.

"Never mind that," Sif said as she pointed to the spiders crawling on the walls and the ceiling and maggots started oozing out of the cracks in the walls.

"Disgusting," Fandral said, scrunching up his face.

"You would think he would keep a better house," Hogun muttered and Volstagg nodded. They walked down the hallway when they heard shouting and saw several of the Dark Elves trying to kill the rats

Adabiel was in the middle of swallowing a drink to calm his burbling gut when a mouse scurried by his foot.

Growling, he tossed the goblet at the mouse, but missed and several more mice raced into the room.

"What the Hel?!" he shouted and stood up.

"Sire! We're under siege!" the guard shouted, running into the room and he had several spiders in his hair.

"I can see that!"

"No, not the vermin! One of the guards saw Odin and a small army in the hallway!"

The Dark Elf swore viciously. "Blast that meddling fool to Hel!"

He sprinted from the room when several Dark Elves ran by him and rats chased after them.

"Stand your ground, you dumasses!" he shouted then removed the sword from the guard next to him. As he raced down the hall he heard a loud roar of thunder.

"Wonderful," he growled, hurrying towards the prison cell.

Loki heard the thunder boom as the cell shook. Dust rained down on them.

"Thunder!" Rhiannon cried joyfully.

"Thor!" he shouted as he ran for the door and started pounding on it.

Brother, where are you?! Thor sent as Loki smiled and tried hard not to cry.

We are in the dungeon, Loki sent and wiped the tears away.

Are you all right, My Son?! Odin sent and Loki's lip started quivering.

We're fine, Father.

Stay where you are. We will release you as soon as we find Adabiel, Balder sent.

Stay where we are?! Gee, why didn't I think of that?! Loki sent and heard Thor and Balder laughing in his head. He turned as he looked at the girls and they gave him a puzzled look.

"They're here!" he said in an eerie voice.

"Who?" Abby asked.

"My father and the others."

The girls ran and hugged him and he blinked the tears from his eyes.

~0~0~0~

The tramp of booted feet alerted Adabiel to the presence of the invaders close by. His hand tightened upon his sword and he had a spell of fire upon his lips. Just then Odin and Thor rounded the corner, Odin holding Gungnir and Thor readying Mjolnir.

"How dare you invade my home!" Adabiel cried. He gestured and a fireball bloomed in his hand.

But Thor called rain and snuffed it out. "How dare you kidnap my brother, niece, and his betrothed?"

"Traitor!" Odin boomed. "Surrender and perhaps we will not kill you. Fight and you will end up decorating Gungnir!"

"I will see you in Hel first!" the Dark Elf spat and then he lunged, attacking Odin with his long sword. As he did so he wondered how his carefully laid plans had fallen into ruin. Darkness take that little Trickster brat! I should have killed him when I had the chance!

Despite his advanced age, Odin was still quick enough to parry Adabiel's rush. He blocked the thrust with Gungnir's haft, then countered by spinning the spear and stabbing it into Adabiel's side.

There was a gush of crimson and the Dark Elf fell backwards, gasping.

"Gungnir never misses its mark," Thor stated.

Adabiel held a hand to his side. He could feel blood flowing between his fingers and he cursed softly and muttered a spell to halt the bleeding. Then he conjured a bright light and threw it in the faces of his enemies.

"Ahhh!" Fandral yelped. "Can't see!"

Adabiel grinned and lifted a dagger, going to stab the vulnerable warriors in their vitals, a favorite tactic of his.

But Odin, used to being blind in one eye, was not as hampered by the fact that he could not see his opponent.

He used his acute hearing to pinpoint where his enemy was, hearing his breathing and the slight scrape of his boots against the stone. Then he hefted the Black Spear and hurled it at the Dark Elf.

Adabiel was about to thrust his dagger home in Thor's abdomen when Gungnir found its mark, right in Adabiel's sternum. The Dark Elf fell with a cry and lay still.

"Is he dead?" Balder queried.

Thor knelt beside the stricken elf. "No. He's alive. For now."

"We need information from him," Odin said. "Pick him up and take him with us. Now let's go find Loki and the girls."

Volstagg snagged a passing Dark Elf servant and scared him into telling them where the dungeons were. They raced down a level and found the cell where the children were being kept. Two guards stood nervously before it, glancing about for rats and spiders.

They gaped when they saw Thor, Odin, and the other rescuers.

"May the Darkness have mercy!" gasped one, throwing down his weapons.

"What are you doing, Kalik?" cried his companion.

"Surrendering," snapped the other elf. "No way am I dying today. Adabiel was crazy to steal those three in the first place. They've been nothing but trouble. I will be glad to see the back of them."

Thor and Balder grinned at each other.

"That's our Loki!" Volstagg chuckled.

"You should beat that brat more often," growled the other Dark Elf, then shrank away when Odin glared fiercely at him. "He is enough to try the patience of the Norns themselves!"

"Mind your tongue or else I will beat you!" the Allfather spat. "Now open this door!"

Kalik unocked the door and backed away, allowing the Asgardians to go inside.

Thor was the first one inside. "Loki!" he cried, and knelt with his arms out.

Loki ran into his big brother's embrace, grinning. "Thor! You took long enough getting here! I was about to sing another song to drive them crazy."

The Thunder God's laughter echoed around the room as he hugged Loki so hard the boy gasped. "I missed you, Little Mischief!"

Odin appeared next, and he went and hugged Abby and Rhiannon, stroking their hair and asking if everything was all right.

"We are fine," Abby murmured. "Adabiel didn't have a chance to hurt us."

"But he slapped Loki," Rhiannon put in.

Odin scowled. "He has paid for that," the old warrior said gruffly.

Loki found himself hugged by Balder next and then they heard a little voice from the next cell calling, "W-wait! P-Please! C-Can you l-let me out t-too? B-before I st-st-arve?"

Volstagg went to the cell across from Loki's and tore the door from its hinges. Inside he found a young elven boy, with soft white hair tied in a tail and wearing a velvet tunic and breeches of blue and black. He wore patched boots and shrank away from the large warrior when he entered the cell.

"Well, come on then, lad! Before you become a permanent resident!"

"I-I-yes, sir!" the child stuttered, his violet eyes wide in his pixie face.

"Who are you?" Sif asked kindly.

"I'm M-Malek Thornvallir," the boy replied, doing his best to not stammer. "I . . . am cousin to L-Lord Ad-dabiel."

"You're Adabiel's cousin?" Sif exclaimed.

"What were you doing in the dungeon, lad?" Volstagg queried.

"The L-Lord . . . put me here . . . because I . . . disobeyed him," Malek admitted. "I . . . he caught me t-trying to sneak a k-key to the prisoners. So . . . he locked me up."

"Well, you're free now," Fandral said, and went to clap the boy on the back.

To his shock the child flinched away and cried out.

"What's the matter?" the handsome warrior asked.

"Ad-d-abiel . . .he . . . whipped me before he . . ." Malek whimpered.

"Oh Norns! You poor child!" Sif murmured. "Come here. We will get your back tended after we leave this place."

"I-I can come with you?" Malek asked, his eyes shining.

"I would not leave a flea in this place, much less a child," Sif snapped. "Where are your parents?"

"D-Dead a year past," Malek answered.

"That settles it then," Sif stated. "You're coming back with us."

"B-But my l-lord . . ." began Malek fearfully.

"Your lord is mortally wounded," Hogun said bluntly. "So you are free of him."

Malek's smile brightened. Then he looked beyond the warriors and Sif and saw Odin hugging Loki. "That—that is the Allfather!" the boy said in awe.

"Yes, we know!" Fandral chuckled. "We are part of his elite guard."

Then Malek saw Abby and Rhiannon. "G-greetings!"

"Who are you?" Abby asked.

"M-Malek," stammered the boy.

"He's Adabiel's cousin. He was locked down here too," Volstagg informed her. "But we're taking him with us, lass."

Loki looked over at the boy. "Hello, I'm Loki. This is Abby and Rhiannon."

Sif looked at Abby and recalled something. "Princess, you're a Healer. Can you heal Malek's back?"

"Yes," Abby said and came beside Malek. She took the boy's hand and her healing magic flowed into him, mending his poor back in seconds.

Malek stared at the girl with something akin to worship in his dark eyes. "Thank you, Princess."

"You're welcome," Abby said quietly. She went back and stood beside Thor.

Odin put his arm around Loki and then beckoned to Abby. He took the children a little ways from the others and then knelt and said quietly, "I want you two to know that Adabiel is mortally wounded. But Abby can heal him enough so we can question him . . . if she so desires. But the choice must be up to you, child." He looked at Abby earnestly. "I know that Adabiel is a wicked person and he hurt you all. However, hatred hurts you worse than it does the person you hate, because it poisons your spirit. But still, you must decide for yourself what to do."

"I . . . I'll think about it." Abby said, eyeing Loki.

Odin nodded and rose, allowing them some time and space.

"What would you do?" Abby asked her father. "Would you heal him?"

"Well . . ." Loki thought for a long moment.

He knew that his father was right. Somehow deep within his heart he knew that the hatred one held for an enemy would eventually cause your own heart to wither and dry up, like a plum in the sun, until you became bitter and hard. He didn't want that to happen to gentle Abby. So he went and took her hands in his and gazed into her bright green eyes, so like his own.

"You should heal him. My father is right. We need whatever information he has, so we can save Asgard. But also because you don't want your heart to become bitter. Then you end up like Adabiel."

Abby gave him a gamine smile. "Then I'll do it, Loki."

They approached Odin and told him they would heal Adabiel if possible. The old king looked glad and led them to where Adabiel was lying on the floor. He was pale and his tunic was sticky with drying blood. His dark eyes were glazed with pain.

"What . . . do you . . . want?" he hissed. "Come to gloat, Trickster?"

Loki looked down at the wounded elf and suddenly Adabiel seemed more pathetic than wicked. "No. We can heal you . . . maybe. In exchange for something."

"What?" sneered the elf.

"You tell us who wrote to you and offered you the throne of Asgard," Loki said softly.

"What if I don't?" Adabiel coughed, blood flecking his lips.

Loki shrugged. "Then you're going to go to Hel."

"But if you help us, we may be able to save you," Abby encouraged.

The Dark Elf grimaced. He knew he was in no shape to bargain. "Always . . . you seem to have the upper hand, brat . . ." He took a deep breath, knowing he risked Amora's wrath if he told. But a sudden pain made him gasp. To Hel with it! He thought suddenly. The sorceress had promised him wealth and rulership and she had reneged on both promises. He owed her nothing. "Fine! The one who wrote the letter . . . was a sorceress called Amora."

Loki's eyes widened. "Amora? The Enchantress?"

Adabiel nodded. "The same. She claimed to know all of you well."

Loki scowled. "She does. Because once, long ago, she was betrothed to my brother. Until Thor rejected her once he found out her beauty was only skin deep and she was cruel and cold."

"And she wanted you to take over Asgard?" Abby prompted.

"Yes. She . . . also wanted me to . . . kill Loki and . . . crush Thor," Adabiel revealed.

Abby drew away, glaring at the elf.

Loki put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. "Remember?"

Abby took a deep breath. "You would have done it?"

Adabiel nodded. "If it gained me a throne, yes. Why should he have everything? He's nothing more than a cast-off half-breed prince!" The elf spat.

Abby's eyes narrowed. "Why, you're jealous! Because Loki is a prince and you're not!"

The elf coughed suddenly, holding his side. "Like you give a damn! Just get on with it, girl!"

Abby sniffed and then placed her small hand on Adabiel's shoulder. "I'm not doing this for you. But because I don't wish to become like you—all cold and bitter and shriveled inside." Then she let her power flow into him.

It slowly began to mend the huge wound in his side. Adabiel closed his eyes and drifted. Her words stung, yet he did not know why. Once he had been the favored son of a Dark Elf Ambassador. Cosseted because of a deathbed promise his father had made to his mother, he had grown selfish and proud. Until he had met Loki as a boy and the bloody Trickster prince had shown him that even an Ambassador's son was not above the law, leading to his father publically humiliating him by switching him in front of the entire hall. Ever since then, the young elf had hated Loki and vowed someday to have his revenge.

Yet his revenge had proven unsatisfying and hollow, and suddenly Adabiel realized he had spent his whole life being a prisoner of hatred and bitterness and now he had naught to show for it. His wives hated him, and he had no son to follow him. The girl children they had borne him he had gotten rid of and now, as Death came to claim him, he was alone and scared.

He opened his eyes and gazed at Loki—the prince he had hated since he was a boy, and the daughter Loki could not remember yet who still adored him, and he envied them fiercely. That will never be me. I have thrown away all of my tomorrows to sip from the bitter cup of hate. I will die alone and unmourned, my name a curse on the lips of the living.

Loki's eyes met his, and some unnamed sympathy rose within the young boy. "Let it go," he murmured. "And you will be free."

"What good would it do?"

"Much for you," Loki replied evenly. He gazed at his enemy and thought the proud elf was no longer terrifying, but pathetic, a shadow that lay withering in the sunlight.

Adabiel bit his lip. "Very well . . . Prince of Asgard," he said and for once there was no rancor in his tone. "I will." Then he took a deep breath, let it out . . . and closed his eyes, feeling at peace.

"May the Norns have mercy upon you," Loki sighed, his hand grazing the other's. "And end this wretched strife for all eternity."

Abby followed suit, placing her hand atop Loki's. "The Norns listen, I've done what I can. But . . . it might not be enough. His body was badly damaged. Those wounds were fatal. Anyone else would have died before now."

Loki squeezed her fingers. "It's okay. Come, let's tell Father."

They went to tell Odin what they had learned. The king listened gravely, then hugged them both and said he was proud of them. Both children felt ten feet tall at the praise.

"Pick up Adabiel," the king ordered. "We are leaving."

But the soldier who bent to pick up the Dark Elf froze. "Sire . . . I am afraid he has passed on."

"He's dead?" Balder asked, astonished. "But I thought he was healed!"

"I couldn't heal everything, Uncle Balder," Abby corrected.

"Well, the Norns weave as they will," Odin sighed. "Let us leave him here, and tell his people to burn him. We must get back to Asgard. I don't trust Amora not to do something while I am gone." He put an arm about Loki and raised Gungnir to the sky. "Heimdall, open Bifrost!"

Now that is how you drive a kidnapper crazy! Loki thought in triumph before Bifrost's rainbowed light teleported him away.