Chapter Forty-Three - A Little Luck

Cami managed to hold it together while Jorn, Mahlora and Frigga poked and prodded her magic. She was relieved that no one had produced a blood blade, but now the trio stood around Loki's table referencing old books and speaking with grave tones in Elven. The queen pulled Loki aside as soon as he cleared the doorway, showing him the books while the Elves explained their findings.

"This isn't fair!" Cami sat on the bed, clutching a pillow to her front. "You're purposely leaving me in the dark. When do I get to find out what is happening?"

Four sets of eyes shifted to gaze at her, all looking concerned.

The bedroom door opened again, this time admitting Clint, Natasha and Maria. Cami swore under her breath because the presence of Commander Hill had to mean she was in serious trouble.

Of course, the new arrivals were eager to hear the diagnosis too. Maria stated that she had important things to do and requested that they bring her up to speed.

"The curses came back," Frigga said.

"Jahla cursed her again?" Clint asked with instant anger.

"No," Jorn answered. He searched for more words, but looked to Frigga or Loki to explain for him.

Loki said, "We've discovered that Cami is an adaptive mage. She can access the energy around her, store and alter it for her own purposes. Unfortunately, once she takes in this energy, whether it is magical or not, it becomes part of her."

Cami's chest ached. "You're saying that I'm always going to be cursed."

"In a way," Loki said, his expression saddening.

"Jahla must have recognized the threat you represented," Frigga said. "Your power is very rare."

Natasha asked, "Removing the curses again won't help at all?"

"They would return," Jorn insisted, "and the ritual is not safe for her child."

Maria's eyes narrowed. "She's pregnant?"

Loki stared down Maria's glare. "Yes, she is. Jahla put a curse on Cami to increase the chance of her conceiving. It is my determination that Bad Loki needs the baby to fulfill Hel's wish to leave Niflheim."

"I don't get it," Clint said, not sounding nearly as angry as he should.

"I think Hel intends to replace the baby's soul with her own."

A noticeable silence fell on the group as they exchanged worried glances. Clint promised, "I'm not going to let that happen."

Natasha asked, "Will the bad luck affect the baby?"

"It is difficult to know for sure," Frigga said. "This is not a normal pregnancy. The curse accelerates the baby's development."

"I don't need to hear anything else," Maria said with exasperation. "S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't going to graduate a pregnant trainee who is a habitual underachiever and cursed with bad luck. She's done."

"Now wait a sec," Clint challenged. "Aren't you being a little judgmental? This isn't all her fault."

"Save me the sob story. She chose to get involved with Loki. Plus, she has always been a liability; and we're not going to forgive her screw-ups any longer."

Cami buried her face in the pillow so she didn't have to see their expressions or let them see her as she took in this onslaught of terrible news. Her magic sensed the communicators her teammates and Hill wore; and it was tempting to send a vengeful pulse Maria's way, just to see what would happen.

"She's improved a lot. Give her a chance to work out the issues," Clint begged.

"No. I won't waste more time and resources on a bad bet."

A moment later the bedroom door shut with a loud bang, making Cami wonder if it was Hill or her brother that slammed it.

"We'll talk to Fury. Maria—" Natasha began to say when Clint cut her off.

"I know she's your buddy, but you could have jumped in to try and change her mind. Help us out here!"

Cami sat up to take in a deep breath, which did nothing to ease her pain. She saw Natasha's frame stiffen.

"How dare you," Natasha muttered, her lip trembling. "How dare you say that I don't help you, Cami or Loki."

Clint realized his mistake. He reached for her, a deep regret weighing down his features. "Nat, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

Natasha stepped away, choosing to avoid his touch and avert her gaze as she tugged open the door and hurried out.

Clint turned back to the others, folding his arms with a soft chuff. "We're under a lot of stress and haven't been sleeping well."

"Go after her," Loki urged. "I'll stay with Cami."

With the wedding ceremony planned for that very night, Cami felt sick with apprehension as Clint left. "I think I've been cursed my whole life," she said, acting pitiful and dramatic because, of course, it would be her fault if Clint and Natasha broke up.

Loki came over to comfort her while the others continued to collaborate over the books. He settled on the bed at her side, saying, "You must be so disappointed."

The truth hurt. It took effort to not cry as she admitted, "I figured I wasn't graduating as soon as Fury sent me away. I don't blame him. I suck at being a field agent."

He started to disagree, but Cami shook her head, silencing him with her look. She had a lifetime of bad luck ahead of her, if it didn't prove fatal. Why feign optimism?

"We'll address each problem in turn." His arm curled around her. "Don't worry, my dear. You and the baby will be alright."

Cami's tone lacked encouragement as she said, "Maybe if we invest in a hoard of lucky charms."

Frigga's gaze shot up from the book in her arms to Loki and Cami. Her features brightening with surprise and inspiration. "A blessing," she said, as if they should have all be thinking the same. "We'll bless you with good luck. Your magic should absorb it just as it did the bad."

Jorn was equally excited by the plan and translated for Mahlora who was soon smiling.

"You know how to do this?" Loki asked his mother.

"In fact, I do."

Natasha was speaking with Phil Coulson in the dining room when Clint found her. Taking a cue from Phil's quick glance in his direction, Clint waited in the doorway for them to finish.

After a bit, Coulson embraced Natasha then stepped away to address Clint. "I heard about Agent Rodriguez," he said in a soft, regretful tone. "I'm sorry you had to do that."

Coulson would often start a conversation with something poignant and unexpected. Clint didn't want to discuss details. It was going to take time to come to terms with Marcus's death, especially so soon after Brandon.

"Me too," he said simply then cocked his head toward Natasha. "Think it's safe for me to go over there?"

"Yes, but give me a minute of your time first."

Natasha avoided his gaze, so Clint focused on Coulson, open to his tidbits of wisdom.

"I realize I don't know all the facts, but I've seen your sister's file. She has a lot of potential."

"She can't pass combat training, Phil, and now she's pregnant."

"I have members of my team that aren't combat trained," Phil said, undeterred. "From what I hear, Cami has great instincts and can easily build rapport with people. More than one of her instructors praised her never-say-die attitude. She also has a natural affinity with technology that impressed Banner and Stark, of all people."

"Hill doesn't see it that way. Cami's had discipline problems and the situation just spiraled with everything that's going on."

"I could harp all day on yours and Natasha's abilities. Even Half Loki is pretty damn impressive," he said with a thoughtful frown. "I truly believe that the Mischief Makers would have raised the bar of excellence within the agency."

"Not that I don't appreciate your compliments," Clint said, "but where is this going?"

"Cami put the team together. She recognized that you and Natasha had the best chance of relating to Loki because of your shady pasts. Fury admitted that it was a great insight."

"She wanted my attention and to save Loki from prison."

"Neither are bad things."

Though none of this sounded like criticism exactly, Clint was tensing. "She's just a sensitive kid. It was dumb luck that Loki came to us in the condition he did."

Phil didn't respond, but the way his head lowered, his mouth pursed and the soft heave of his chest as he took in a breath told Clint that he'd just failed some sort of test.

"I'd better check in with my people," Phil said and moved past Clint to return to the command center.

Clint puzzled as Natasha approached and pulled him to her. He wanted to think through the talk with Coulson, but focused on her.

"Poor Marcus," Natasha said. She was still wiping tears when she asked, "Are you okay?"

"Not so much, I guess, but I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." His fingers kneaded at the tension in her shoulders as they held each other.

"I'm almost over it," she said, offering a forced smile as he leaned in to tenderly kiss her. "Did you get mad at anyone else?" she asked with care. "You know, with Cami being pregnant and all?"

Clint chuckled and shook his head, understanding her concern. "No, I saw the kid in a vision days ago. So, it wasn't such a surprise, I guess. Otherwise, I probably would have gone ballistic."

Natasha's eyes lit up with expectation.

"Oh no. Not going to say a single word more." He said, "What we do affects the future. I probably never should have shared the other visions with you."

"I'm glad you did. I don't want there to be secrets between us."

Though he agreed, Clint distracted himself by openly admiring her form as she pulled him out of the dining room and into the command center to listen in on the team's planning.

Those collected were looking over video footage that their scouts and Fitz's drones had captured of the enemy's activities outside the Jotun capital. As they watched, Rosner and King Odin identified the mages, who were all considered powerful spellcasters of varying types.

"They are preparing rituals," Odin said. He named off the elements as he spotted them. "Circles of protection, power stones…" He hesitated as the scene changed to show a towering portal open up in a turbulent swirl of dark purple and black energy.

"Shadow portals," Thor said. "Are they moving an army or summoning it?"

"Both, I assume." Odin turned to Maria and Thor. "It is time to move our forces as well."

Clint planned his path through the crowd to Maria to get his orders, but as soon as he took a step, Natasha tightened her grip on his hand and resisted the forward motion. He turned back to her, but she didn't explain, just guided him toward the corridor.

"What's up?" he asked, hesitantly allowing her to drag him along. "You heard Odin, we've got to go."

"No," she said simply, choosing to stay quiet until they slipped through Loki's sitting room, meeting up with Frigga and Igus who were also returning, and continued into the bedroom to find Loki and Cami still with Jorn and Mahlora.

Natasha asked Loki directly, "Why isn't Jahla with them?" Loki looked confused, so Natasha explained. "Bad Loki and his mages are opening portals around the Jotun capital. We've got tons of video footage, but there's no sign of Jahla. Is he hiding her?"

"Possibly. He does have other plans for her power."

"Ashaunti told us that the rescued kids were from the hunters' village that was destroyed," Natasha informed the group. "You want to bet that Jahla is out there somewhere?"

Loki pondered the idea. "It makes sense. That village is the closest to the crossing into Alfheim. Jahla was probably born there and escaped into the caves when she ran away as a child."

"How much trouble can she be for us if she's hiding?" Cami asked and Clint wondered too.

"Hard to say," Loki admitted.

"We don't even know that she's out there at all," Clint said. He doubted he could convince Odin or Hill to allow an excursion to check with the current situation.

"Bad Loki went through a lot of trouble to hold those children prisoner and destroy the village," Natasha said. "It seems to me that he's got something to protect."

This comment reminded Clint of Loki's grimoire. "By-the-way," he asked Loki, "what is the Master's Rule? I saw a reference to it hidden by magic in your spellbook."

Again Loki looked confused.

Frigga said, "I have the scholars searching the city and palace libraries." She gestured to the partly bare shelves behind her. "No mention of a Master's Rule has been found, though it was during this search that we uncovered the mystery of Cami's magic."

Loki got up from the bed, pacing as he tried to remember. "I should know every word of that book."

"Maybe you're still missing some memories," Cami suggested. "Bad Loki isn't going to take any chances. He even hid the book under your bed remember?"

"I'm going to get it," Natasha said, heading for the door. "I'm pretty sure it's still in the workshop."

"Why didn't he just destroy the spellbook?" Clint asked.

"Perhaps he couldn't," Frigga said, setting out various items that she and Igus had brought back with them. "He was conjured by shadow magic from that book."

"Yes, he was," Loki affirmed, "but he was also altered by Jahla's magic."

When Natasha walked in with the grimoire, Loki took the large volume, laying it out along his left arm while he opened it with his free hand. "I think I know what's going on." He held up the book, indicating an entire page of only script at the front.

Clint examined the script, realizing it was a note from the author.

"I doubt what you saw refers to one of the mystical Rules of the Cosmos," Loki said. "This grimoire was handwritten by a very old and eccentric shadow mage. He mentions rules and guidelines his own master past down to him about shadow magic. Unfortunately, he doesn't include them here, but if I recall from his memoirs..."

Loki let Clint take the book from him as he paced the length of the room and even stepped out on his balcony to lean against the railing and think.

The rest of them watched the queen mix ingredients in a thick bowl dusted in a white powder.

"Frigga thinks she can bless me with good luck," Cami said to Clint and Natasha, wrinkling her nose as the queen added a few drops of acrid oil to the bowl.

"I blessed both Loki and Thor before their first skirmish away from Asgard," Frigga said. "They were so young, and I worried a great deal."

"Younger than me?" Cami asked.

"Oh no," Frigga said. "Thor was at least ninety."

Clint smiled at Cami, enjoying the reminder of how very different Asgardians could be from Humans. His, Cami's and Natasha's ages combined still weren't quite that old.

Frigga gave the bowl a final mixing. She then dipped her fingers into the liquid, muttering strange words as she drew symbols on Cami's forehead and cheeks that shimmered before soaking into her skin.

"We'll wait a few minutes," the queen said. "It's an extra potent dose. I believe you should start to feel much better." Frigga stepped around to Clint, dipping her fingers into the bowl once again. "You're next."

Clint put his hands up and backed away. "I don't think so," he said. "I make my own luck, your majesty, and it smells terrible."

Natasha gave him a painful poke to the side. Her eyes threatened worse if he didn't comply.

Clint let the queen wipe the liquid on his face, feeling it tingle, warm and then drain all the tension out of his features. The headache that he'd been ignoring eased away as Frigga also blessed Natasha.

"How long can we expect this to last?" Clint asked.

"Several hours."

Loki looked confounded as he sauntered in. "It's so simple."

The group turned his way.

"Jahla gave the double flesh, blood and bone, but at his core he must be an illusion. Even Hel called him a shadow the last time I was in Niflheim."

Clint prompted, "And? What does that mean?

"If he's partly illusion, I am still considered one of his creators. A creator controls the creation—not the other way around. Therefore, Jahla and I can take his powers away if we work together."

Natasha asked, "Think we'll get Jahla to play along?"

"She'll cooperate," Clint said, feeling confident. Or I'll convince her, he thought.

Loki let Frigga bless him too, his expression turning sly as he said, "Let us make a little mischief."