THE SERPENT'S TOOTH, Part 21

My body was steadily knitting itself back together. That hurt, but I'm relatively used to that kind of pain. It comes with being one of the Blood.

My two best and bravest samurai were badly injured. Off hand, I couldn't tell if Benjamin and Gant would survive. They'd both taken tremendous injuries during our battle against the Wendigo. Their kinds - Troll and Spider-Folk - heal quicker than most, but they don't regenerate with anything like the speed of a Blood.

Cyrus was down. Blaze was on his knees, holding Cyrus in his arms, and seemingly paralyzed by the situation. I couldn't tell if Cyrus was alive or dead, thanks to the powerful scent of fire and brimstone that emanated from Blaze.

At the moment, I thought it would be most unwise to approach Cyrus.

I was crouched next to Gant, doing my best to staunch his bleeding. Jessica was doing the same for Benjamin.

We needed help.

"Samantha!" I yelled. Samantha was busy trying to comfort her sister, but my tone seized her attention. I tossed her my coin pouch. Samantha caught it with one hand, without taking her eyes from me.

"Five buildings south of here," I told her, "I saw a sign for a healer. Bring them here. Offer them anything. Threaten them if you must."

Samantha gave me a jerky nod. She put her foot on a Wendigo's head, leaned over, and yanked loose the dagger she'd embedded in its eye. Then she dashed from the room with all the speed and grace of a deer. On the way, she vaulted over the flood of Troll and Wendigo blood that was pooled at the study's door.

Illyana joined me in attending to Gant. She was in her demonic form, and her dark-red eyes met mine. She shook her head in response to my unasked question.

"Healing magic is not in my nature," she said as she applied pressure to a deep wound in Gant's abdomen. "Besides, if you aren't the Sorcerer Supreme, casting magic is almost impossible in the Sanctum. Frankly, I'm surprised that even Loki could do magic in here. The wardings are that powerful"

That was as I'd suspected, but it was still disappointing.

"You know teleportational magic better than anyone I know," I said. "Thanks to Sophie, Loki has serious internal injuries. As badly hurt as he is, and carrying Sigmund, how far could Loki have gone?"

Illyana was silent for a moment as she considered my question.

"Even Loki has limits," Illyana replied slowly. "He apparently couldn't open a Bifrostian bridge within the Sanctum, which is how his kind usually apports, so instead he used raw magical power to meld with an external life energy - sunlight in this case. That's a Light Elf trick and not natural to Loki, so the odds are good that he's not an expert with that particular spell. Factor in his injuries and Loki probably didn't get very far. However, once he got outside, he could have summoned a bridge. Whether he could do that or not depends on how badly he's hurt."

Illyana glanced at Sophie. The girl had come back to her senses and was helping Jessica with Benjamin.

Sophie and her sister had done a lot of damage to Loki. He'd either missed their presence, or drastically underestimated them. In either case, Loki had paid a steep price for that mistake.

"When she gets going, Sophie's a deadly little thing," Illyana told me quietly.

"She's Creed," I replied shortly.

Illyana gave me a sideways look.

Over Illyana's shoulder, I saw Blaze carefully lay Cyrus down. For a long moment, he knelt next to Cyrus, the empty eye-sockets of his burning skull expressionlessly focused on the downed arch-mage.

Then the demon of vengeance gathered up the chain that was pooled on the floor next to him and inexorably got to his feet. It occurred to me that whatever spell Cyrus had cast to make Blaze more man than demon was no longer functioning.

Blaze had re-found his true purpose.

Before I could warn her away, Jessica dashed from Benjamin to Cyrus. She'd already shredded much of her skirt bandaging Benjamin. Squatting next to Cyrus, she began carefully examining the knife wound in his back. The wound location was high and centrally located - which was not good.

For just a moment, Blaze watched Jessica as she began treating the Sorcerer Supreme. I gathered my legs underneath me. If I had to intervene, I needed to be ready.

Then Blaze reached with a skeletal hand down towards Jessica. She sensed that immediately and quickly looked up at the demon. But she and Blaze were so close...

"Johnny! No!" Illyana called out quickly.

Blaze paused with his hand still outstretched. For a second or two, some struggle seemed to consume him.

Then, without a word, Blaze turned and stalked towards the study door. The hot iron chain he used as a weapon dragged on the floor behind him, scorching the rugs. The links of the chain whispered and rustled against each other; a sound reminiscent of the buzz of an angry rattlesnake. As Blaze walked through the pool of blood at the door, the blood hissed and steamed.

Illyana closed her eyes after Blaze vanished.

"Be careful," Illyana whispered after him.


Within a minute or two, Samantha literally pushed a clearly terrified healer into the study. The healer was an elderly man, but he was wearing the dark purple cloak of House Drumm, so he was also a magician. He took a quick, shocked, look at the situation and then went to work.

"We have to get them out of here," the healer told us urgently. "I can't cast spells within the Sanctum."

"If we get them out the back entrance, will that be enough?" I asked.

"Yes," the healer and Illyana said simultaneously. Then they gave each other a surprised look.


Getting Benjamin and Cyrus out the backdoor was easy, but it took both Jessica and I to move Gant.

After we finally got Gant settled, he became semi-aware.

"Wa... t... fur... me..." Gant managed to somehow gasp out. His eyes were unfocused and one of his hands was groping for his weapon. Those were the first words he'd spoken since the end of the fight. I took it as a good sign that he could still speak.

Illyana smiled, and then leaned over and kissed Gant. Her lips left a perfect imprint in the blood smeared on his forehead.

"We'll be back, samurai," she promised Gant.

"Rest," I told him.

Jessica hurriedly joined Illyana and I as we re-entered the Sanctum. She immediately retrieved the axe. She'd left it embedded in a support pillar so she could help us move Gant.

Then we headed for the front door. Samantha and Sophie made to follow us.

"Stay," I told them. "Help the healer. Guard Benjamin and Gant."

The two girls didn't look happy with their orders, but nevertheless they obeyed.


Illyana, Jessica, and I exited from the front door of the Sanctum Sanctorum. A curious crowd waited outside, obviously attracted by the noise of the battle within. When they saw us, most of them immediately began backing away. Illyana and I were covered with blood and had gashes and tears in our clothes and armor. Illyana was still in demonic form and carrying her great sword. Although she was also blood-stained, Jessica was at least somewhat more presentable than Illyana or I. However, she was also carrying an ominously over-sized axe that radiated sheer menace.

The stench of the beasts that we'd killed hung over us. The three of us presented a bleak and deadly appearance, and we were obviously ready for war.

Illyana gave Jessica's weapon a dubious look. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked.

"What?" Jessica exclaimed as she looked at the weapon she was carrying.

"It's called Jarnbjorn," I said distractedly. I was sniffing the air, trying to catch Loki's scent.

Jessica gave her weapon a suspicious look. "This thing has a name?" she asked.

Illyana nodded. "Yes. It's the axe Thor wielded when he was young and not yet worthy of Mjolnir."

Jessica's eyes went wide.

"According to legend, it has some questionable magical enhancements," I warned. "Don't cut yourself with it."

I was still trying to sniff out Loki's scent, but I wasn't having any luck.

"Anything?" I asked Illyana. She had her own senses. They were different than mine.

"No," she responded shortly. Then she made a circular gesture with her left hand.

One of Illyana's circular white portals opened up in the middle of the street. Most of the remaining bystanders began fleeing the scene. A few onlookers - the proud, unwise, or just stupid - remained, but even they kept to the far side of the street.

Which was good, because a trio of Illyana's hunter-demons proceeded to exit the portal and slouch uneasily in the sunlight of our world.


Jessica gasped and lunged for the demons, her axe held high. I barely managed to grab her by the collar of her dress and yank her back. Jessica could be deadly aggressive when her blood was up.

Among the remnant of the watching crowd, two Blood - a pair of ronin sailors - extended their claws and put themselves between their fellow watchers and the demons. A Folk woman held her hands up, the fingers curled in an odd pattern. She was obviously readying a spell. A grizzled Wilder Redeye stepped off to the side, establishing a clear path of fire at the demons.

I held up a hand to stave off the bystanders. They restlessly obeyed.

The demons were vaguely doglike and humanoid at the same time. One of them was standing on its hind-legs, but the other two seemed more comfortable on all fours. They appeared to be composed of shadow. Their actual features - if they had any - were difficult to discern.

The three of them fell to their bellies and crawled to Illyana. Then the shadowy animal triangle of their muzzles extruded surprisingly long and pink tongues as they began to lick the cobblestones at Illyana's feet.

"Mistressss... command ussss," hissed the largest of the trio - the one who had been standing when they arrived.

"Loki of Asgard is nearby," Illyana ordered coldly. "Find him. Tell me where he is."

The three demons froze. The two smaller ones glanced at each other. The larger demon seemed to be searching for words.

Illyana kicked the largest hunter-demon in what passed for its snout. The demon's head recoiled backwards from the force of the blow. Shadowy blood dripped to the ground.

"Yesss, mistresss!" the demon responded miserably.

Then the three of them leaped into action, splitting up and vanishing into the shadows of the nearby buildings. If you watched carefully, you could see them appear in shadows further up and down the street as they somehow flitted unseen from darkness to darkness.

Jessica gulped.

Illyana gave me an irritated look. "I almost had to repeat myself. There will be excruciations all around when I return home."

Suddenly, there was a vast rumble. Everything shook - even the ground itself. Tiles and shingles were displaced from roofs and clattered to the street. Flower boxes and other building ornamentation also fell. Cracks appeared in building facades. The last of the onlookers scattered in all directions.

Dormammu was trying yet again to force his way into our plane of existence.

"Dammit!" Illyana fumed. Then she lifted her giant sword overhead, holding it by hilt and blade, and yelled out the same spell of forbiddence that I'd heard at least twice before.

The shuddering of the earth ceased.

"Dormammu is becoming a serious pain in the ass," Illyana warned me irritably.

"I didn't know you could do that," I said to her.

Illyana shrugged. "I certainly couldn't do it in the Sanctum Sanctorum. And I also couldn't summon my demons. The Sanctum is powerfully attuned to the Sorcerer Supreme, and others practice magic either with his permission or at their own peril."


Illyana retreated into the nearest shadow and waited. She seemed distracted - staring off into space. I assumed she was receiving reports from her hunters.

Jessica gave me an anxious look. I looked at her and shook my head, indicating that we should be patient.

"Found him," Illyana said eventually. Then she conjured one of her teleportational circles.

Jessica and I stood next to Illyana. It was then that I noticed that very little of Jessica's skirt was left - she'd used most of it for bandages. As a result, she was showing a spectacularly long and bare length of leg. She was also barefoot, apparently having kicked off her sandals back in the study, so she could better cling to the ceiling. Her short blonde hair was disarrayed. Her arms and hands were soaked with blood from the elbow down. A cut in her dress partially revealed the gentle under-curve of one of her breasts.

The sixth sense that tells a women when a man is looking at her went active, and Jessica glanced at me. There was a smear of blood on her cheek, a cut on her chin, and she was developing a nasty black-eye.

Her blue eyes met mine.

A surge of attraction moved through me like something alive. Which was both ridiculous and shameful given the fact two of my samurai were fighting for their lives, a child was in danger, we were hunting a god, and the fate of the Sorcerer Supreme hung in the balance...

"I renounce all claim to you," I told Jessica, almost without thinking. "Whatever debt you owed to the cell mistress, that she passed on to me, is settled. You are no longer obligated to serve and obey me. You may come and go as you will."

Jessica was obviously surprised. "My lord, have I somehow displeased you?"

"No, Jessica. Your service has been exemplary. I hope you will stay with me."

Jessica nodded uncertainly.

Just before we teleported away, Illyana looked over her shoulder at me and smiled.

What I was beginning to feel for Jessica was simply too much. I could no longer allow our relationship to be one in which she was bound to my commands.


We ended up on the south side of Nyack. The scent of the river and the river-side docks is distinctive.

A filthy Nyack alleyway is an unsuitable place to find a Prince of Asgard.

Well... maybe not this particular prince.

Loki was sitting on the cobbled alley floor, with his back against a masonry wall. Sigmund was lying at his feet - however, I could tell that the boy was sleeping peacefully, rather than dead. One of Illyana's hunter-demons was also on the alley floor next to Loki, but it was definitely dead. Apparently the demon had made the mistake of approaching too close to its quarry, and Loki had broken its neck. However, in its death-throes, the demon had done additional injury to Loki. There were claw marks on his face, chest, and down the length of his left arm.

The part of Loki's face not covered with blood was wan and pale. He'd lost a considerable amount of blood - a great deal of it pooling beneath him. His life-blood was channeling into the gaps between the alleys cobblestones, forming a red, grid-like, pattern around where he lay.

The other two demons were snuffling and pacing back-and-forth at the mouth of the alley. Illyana sent them home as I carefully examined our surroundings with all of my senses. We were dealing with Loki, so nothing could be assumed to be as it appeared.

Jessica shifted her axe, carefully balancing its considerable weight in her two hands as she watched Loki intently.

"Wait here," I told Jessica and Illyana.

Neither looked particularly pleased with my words.

Then I stepped into the alley. A few paces later, I crouched down, with my forearms resting on my knees. The body of the demon was between Loki and I. I was very carefully just out of his reach. However, if I extended my claws, he was not out of mine.

Loki met my gaze. There was no fear in his eerie green eyes. Pain, but no fear.

Then he let out a wet-sounding cough. A trickle of fresh blood streamed down his chin. Loki was bleeding internally. And he was apparently too hurt to summon a means of escape.

The knives that Samantha and Sophie had embedded into Loki were gone. The wound from either one would have killed a Folk - and most Scatter or Wilder. Even a Blood would have been discomfited.

But Loki persevered. The knife wound in his throat was partially closed and no longer bleeding. In time, he might even recover.

"So, Prince Loki, have your plans met your expectations?" I asked.

Loki actually smiled at me. "James, son of James, and grandson of James, what would you say if I told you that my plans have been ninety percent successful?"

I shrugged. "I'd say you would be much better off if the remaining ten percent had worked out in your favor."

He nodded painfully. "Thanks to Odin's edict preventing congress with the mortal world, I am far more vulnerable on Midgard than was once the case. Those two little girls were a surprise. I knew they were present, but I discounted them."

Then he seemed to consider something. "They would make good guardians and companions for my Sigmund. Will you allow that?"

I felt myself smile. "I don't think I could prevent it. They are already friends. I think it is possible that Sigmund and Sophie are destined for each other."

"Which one is Sophie?"

"The hellcat who clawed her way up your back."

Loki sighed. "A vicious little creature."

"Can you actually die here, Loki?" I asked in honest curiosity. "Aren't you supposed to have a role in Ragnarok?"

Loki's expression turned malicious. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. Would it not be a great revenge on my adopted family if their great and grim prophecy turned out to be nothing more than a tale? My death here would prove that, wouldn't it?"

I just shrugged as another coughing fit seized Loki. Afterwards, he spat a mouthful of blood out onto the alley floor.

"You haven't asked about the successful part of my plan," Loki observed.

"No," I replied. "No, I haven't."

Loki seemed almost offended. "And why not?"

"I know what you were doing. And why."

Loki cocked his head. "Really? You're not exactly the most intelligent foe I've ever gamed with..."

Loki liked to hear himself talk and it could definitely become wearisome.

"You wanted to control the melding of Stephen and Sigmund's spirits," I interrupted brusquely. "It couldn't be allowed to happen on the schedule that House Strange desired. It had to happen earlier. It needed to be interrupted at just the right time. You wanted the melding of Stephen and Sigmund to favor Sigmund as much as possible. You wanted the next Sorcerer Supreme to be more a child of your blood than anything else."

Loki just smiled at me. I had the impression he was pleasantly surprised. I was reminded of a father training a very young son, who had just been momentarily wrong-footed by a wildly unconventional claw-attack.

"House Strange will know," I told Loki. "The other houses of the College will also grasp the truth."

Loki's grin revealed blood-stained teeth. "Then they have a choice, don't they, James? They can have the most effective Sorcerer Supreme possible - or a purer, but far less capable, Sorcerer Supreme. Which do you think the Houses will pick? Remember, that position was already killing the best sorcerer of this generation."

In the game of castle - what is called "chess" by the Folk - there is a situation that the Folk call a "fork", but the Blood call "two claws". A player is left with a choice between two unfavorable moves, but he has no choice but to select one of them. Loki had been doing that to me for some time now. It was almost a relief to see that someone else would soon be in the same situation.

My eyes wandered to Sigmund. The boy was still sleeping peacefully.

There was, of course, another option I could take...

Loki sensed what I was thinking.

"Are you willing to have Jessica know that you murdered the boy?" he asked quickly. "Do you want those two lovely girls - Sophie and whats-her-name - to know that as well? Can you sacrifice their affection for you? And what of your family back home? Can you surrender so much of your soul after having just re-discovered it?"

My gaze returned to Loki. "I've done worse, Loki," I told him bleakly.

That wasn't what Loki wanted to hear, so he kept talking. "James, how do you know that the last of my blood will be a monster, or my servant, or both? Is it not possible that he will be his own man? Perhaps I just don't want Sigmund to the creature of those half-mad poseurs and simpletons who make up House Strange?"

I shook my head. "Loki, if that's what this is about then you are a damned idiot. You've near killed yourself because you assumed that the mages of the College wanted a slave instead of a leader."

Loki seemed to consider that. Then his face hardened. "The mages of House Strange love power and position - just like everyone else. You're being naive, James. And that's an incredible thing for a man of your age."

"And you're being blindly cynical, Loki. And that's an incredible thing for a god of your age."

That actually make Loki laugh. It ended in another fit of coughing.

"I'm taking Sigmund," I informed Loki once he was done.

Loki nodded. "Of course you are."

Keeping a careful eye on Loki, I gathered the boy in my arms and got to my feet.

"Would you hold him close to me? I like to kiss him goodbye," Loki asked. His eyes radiated the sincerity and loss of a someone facing their end.

I laughed as I backed away. "Hell, no," I told Loki.

The god of lies, mischief, and treachery nodded in pleased approval.

Back at the mouth of the alley, Illyana and Jessica were waiting for me. They looked relieved.

"Loki?" I called just before we walked away. I wasn't sure why I felt the need to speak, but...

Loki looked at me.

"I think you missed something," I informed him.

An amused expression crossed Loki's face.

"Something has occurred to me," I told him, "You thought you were merely scheming against a handful of mortals, but perhaps you were wrong. Perhaps you were actually also plotting against the spirits of the Old One and Ancient Strange - the greatest hunter and the greatest mage of this world. And they both get testy when outsiders interfere too much with our mortal realm."

Loki's eyes narrowed.

Beside me, an intrigued look appeared on Illyana's face. Jessica's expression didn't change. She wasn't a very metaphysical soul, and was really just waiting for the order to kill Loki.

"You brought me into this," I continued, "but who brought a Spider assassin to my side? Who put Thor's axe - the edge we needed to win against the Wendigo - into her hands? Who brought Samantha and Sophie - now the friends and big-sisters of Sigmund, as well as the ones who laid you low - onto the game board? Who brought Illyana back from her lonely realm and involved her in all of this? Who made sure that Sigmund will now be surrounded by people who care about him as he grows up?"

"Follow the chain, Loki. An unlikely trio of Black Widows encounter the one man who can pry them from the grip of their crazed mistress. An amulet found on a battlefield brings the Demon Mistress back to the world of her birth. Then a sign sends us here. Doesn't that all seem fit together rather neatly?"

You could almost see Loki's mind work as he began back-tracking through recent events. He was looking for any patterns that might reveal interference in his designs.

Judging by the expression on his face, he was finding them.

"I will consider what you have said," Loki said slowly.

"Now, if you will excuse me, Prince of Asgard," I said. "I have two badly injured samurai to see to - I hope they will live. And I also need to determine if you have murdered Cyrus or merely crippled him."

Still distracted, Loki nodded his head. "You have my permission to withdraw," he said distantly. His mind was elsewhere.

Then we walked away, leaving Loki behind us. Jessica was looking at me in complete puzzlement.

"There's no need," I told her.

"Yes, my Lord," she replied. She didn't really understand, but I suppose from her point of view orders were orders.

"Did you really believe what you said?" Illyana asked. "That business about Ancient Strange and the Old One acting against Loki?"

By now she was back in human form.

"Yes," I told Illyana.

Illyana seemed to consider that. "If so, why did I have to be a part of this?" she asked.

I was about to make a suggestion when we were interrupted.

"Oh..." Jessica said suddenly. It was a warning.

Down the street, we could see Blaze approaching. He didn't react to us as we passed. Blaze really wasn't Blaze any longer. Or perhaps he had actually returned to what he really was.

Illyana looked away.

We turned the corner just as Blaze entered Loki's alleyway.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a Spider-Folk attached to the upper portion of a high wall, just across the street. He'd probably jumped up there when he saw Blaze approaching. As I looked at him, his gaze seemed to focus on us. Than he started in surprise.

Jessica was carefully watching behind us and didn't notice him.

Suddenly, Sigmund stirred in my arms.

"Illyana..." he said quietly. His eyes were open.

Illyana wiped her eyes and looked down at Sigmund.

"Illyana," Sigmund repeated. Now there was a gentle smile on his face. His expression was a peculiar combination of something you might see on both a boy and an older man.

"I need your help," Sigmund continued. Then he reached out his hand. Illyana automatically took it in hers.

"Stephen?" Illyana asked.

Sigmund shook his head. "No. Not really. But he would like a favor."

"What does he want?" Illyana asked.

"A few hundred years of your life," Sigmund said. "As an apprentice, I'll need a master. And someone must take Cyrus' place. Dormammu and everything else like him must be kept at bay. And my great-great-grandfather's plans for me can't be allowed to succeed. He's something of a jackass."

"Hail, Lady Sorceress," Sigmund added. Than he peacefully closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

A stunned expression was on Illyana's face.

"Hail, Lady Sorceress," Jessica said with a polite curtsey towards Illyana. Honestly, you haven't lived until you've seen a lovely young lady in a shredded dress curtsey while carrying a brutal weapon that was almost as big as herself.

"Remember when I said that you would have made a marvelous Sorcerer Supreme?" I told Illyana. Really, it was hard not be smug.

"Absolutely not," Illyana replied sharply. "That is not going to happen!"

"We'll see," I suggested calmly, "but doesn't 'Sorceress Supreme' have a ring to it?"

"Bozhe moi," Illyana whispered.

Once again, I glanced down at Sigmund.

"How sharper..." I said half to myself.

"What?" Jessica asked.

"Something an ancient poet once said: 'How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child.'"

In my judgement, Loki's plan had been less successful than he'd thought.