Chapter 13

Loki woke up to the feeling of being rocked backward and forward, backward and forward. He could hear the rumble of hooves below him and the wind whistling around him and his stomach rolled just as much as whatever was carrying him. What the blazes was going on? Where was he?

He focused on opening his eyes and it was like lifting two boulders. They opened slowly and almost immediately closed again. He fought with a body that was too tired to obey him and gradually he managed to get his eyes open for more than a few seconds. He took a deep breath and coughed and he felt the hard, furry surface he was resting against shift.

"Arust! Dakan! He's waking up!"

"Finally! Next time, don't give him so much!"

"I wasn't the one who made it so strong!"

"All of you, shut up!" An authoritarian voice cut through the din. "Right now, we've got him to take care of. Woooahh!"

Loki heard the veho snort as they were reined up and his stomach protested as he was jounced in the saddle. The man holding him dismounted and handed his reins to one of the other men.

None of this made sense. The last thing he could remember he had been in the temple, asleep in a bed that his body missed with every part of its being. How had he gotten here? Who were these men?

"All right, laddybuck," the one holding Loki told him. "Feel you can stand?"

Loki wrestled with his thoughts and tried to keep them straight. "Um...yes?"

Loki was placed on his feet and a moment later everything came back to him. He stared up at his captor in horror as the night around them closed in.

Someone saw his expression and Loki heard a curse. All of his boyhood nightmares of hideous and gnarled Frost Giants that kidnapped Asgardians and cooked them alive and then gnawed on their bones rushed back to him and the terror was too much for him to take. They were horrifying, every one of them! Some of them bore puckered scars, some of them had mouths full of crooked teeth and one of them had tusks and they were all bigger than any Jotuns he'd ever seen and... He screamed and called up his illusions as he turned and ran for his life. He heard plenty of cursing, one veho screamed in terror and tore off as the rest scattered, and then the pounding of booted feet as the men pursued him.

Dizziness hit and he stumbled, falling full-length on the scrubby ground. He regained his feet and scrabbled away on all fours as fast as he could, fighting to get upright again. A too-ambitious attempt set him sprawling and this time he landed in a thorn bush, scratching his face and hands.

The man who'd set him on his feet caught up to him. "Hold still, laddybuck! I'll get you out of there!"

The man reached into the bush for him, cursed as he scratched his hands, and carefully extricated Loki from the thorns. Gingerly he placed Loki in a battered heap on the ground at his feet. "You all right, lad?"

He was still horrendously dizzy from whatever poison they'd given him and the falling he'd just done had done nothing to help his equilibrium. His stomach was certainly protesting and demanding that he...oh, no. He sat up and turned just in time to be thoroughly sick. How long the retching lasted he didn't know, but when it was finished he sat on the ground just breathing and trying to quell the complaints that were coming at him from every corner of his body. "What did you do to me?"

"Just a little something to help you sleep," the man said, giving his back a sympathetic pat. "You'll feel better once you've had some water and maybe some food."

Loki groaned aloud at the thought of food. There was no way in this lifetime that he would ever want to swallow anything these people gave him. "Who are you?"

"Me, specifically, or all of us?"

"All of you," Loki said, carefully getting to his feet. "And why have you kidnapped me?"

The last thing Loki expected to hear as they gathered around him was laughter, but in the next moment, every single man started chuckling or laughing. The man with the tusks was laughing so much that the sound was more like a wheeze, rather than an audible laugh. The one who'd pulled him from the thornbush stepped forward and clapped him on the shoulder. "It's not a kidnapping, lad. It's an adoption."

Loki glared up at him. "Don't try to play me for a fool. If you take me home, then that will be the end of this. If you don't..."

"If we don't it will no doubt be horrific and so on and so on," another man broke in, coming over to stand in front of Loki. He came over and put both hands on Loki's shoulders. "Now, listen to me, all right? We've got you. We intend to keep you and you'll live with us from now on. You'll be treated like one of our own since you'll be one of our own. You can trust that we'll keep you safe, and warm, and well-fed, and in time, you'll settle in and be happy with us."

Loki wanted to END this smug man, but something of Ahna's advice came back to him. Make them regret it! Very well, then, he would. For a moment, he contemplated throwing an absolute fit, but a fit would be over too quickly. No, he needed something that would take longer. A lot longer. Something that would really last. For a moment, he didn't know what to do, but then he had the most extraordinary flash of memory from his younger days. He'd been left with two guards while Odin spoke with the captain, and something had frightened him. He hadn't bawled out loud, but he could remember being sniffly and teary and that had driven the two men into frantic panicking, leaving them scrambling and trying everything they could to get him to stop. One man had tried making funny faces, the second man had stood on his head, and they quickly made fools of themselves in an effort to calm him. Both of them had seemed to be in agony the entire time Odin had been gone and Loki could remember one man saying that he would prefer eternal torment to dealing with a weepy child.

Yes, that would do. That would do nicely.

"No, I won't," Loki said, his voice small and tight. "I want to go home!"

"But we are going home," the same man assured him. "We live in the mountains, where you'll always be warm, and there will always be plenty to eat. You'll have ladies to mother you, men to teach you, and plenty of friends to learn with and keep you company. You'll be very happy there; I promise."

Loki felt himself shaking from all the tension he was under. Perfect. "No, I want to go home!" Should he use his illusions again to make his point? Something that would show how afraid he was?

The one facing him moved toward him, possibly to pick him up, and Loki spoke without thinking. A column of fire erupted between them and with it came chaos.

"What the blazes-!"

"Nobody said he was this gifted!"

"-and get the blasted veho back here!"

"Wait-no! Someone stop him! He's running!"

Loki was. He abandoned his plan to make them regret taking him and took the chance to run. As soon as they shielded their eyes he took to his heels, willing himself to stay on his feet and to get away. If it had been possible, he would have willed himself to fly, but as it was, he would have to trust his feet. Fleetingly a memory of all the footraces he'd run flitted through his mind and he focused on speed just as much as he had then. If he were fast enough, then it was possible that he- "Oof!"

Someone had taken him down in a tackle and pinned him. He screamed and tried to push them away, but they had too good a grip on him for him to get away. He could hear a babble of voices around him and one voice rose over the others, demanding "Bring that damn bottle now!"

They were going to drug him again. He redoubled his efforts and twisted like a snake, but his jaw was gripped and forced open and a small bottle forced between his teeth.

"How much do we give him?"

"It just has to touch his tongue!"

Something bitter touched his tongue, making him gag, and then then they let go. Loki sat up, still gagging and ready to commit murder. He took a breath, thought of a spell, and spoke. "Haaaaaaaahhh." He froze. What the blazes? "Haaaaahhhhahhhhhhhaaahhhh."

"Just a little something to keep you from using your magic while we're out in the wild," the man Loki thought of as the leader told him, giving him a clap on the shoulder. "We can't spare the time trying to keep that magic of yours under control now, can we? Would you like a sweetie to take away the taste?"

Loki's eyes looked green murder at the man, both for what he'd just done and for the offer of a sweetie as if Loki were nothing more than a sulky child. Oh, how he wished he had a knife!

"I'm Arust," the man said, grasping Loki's shoulder and turning him to face the rest of the men. "That's Dakan, you were riding with Talo, and the man bringing the veho back is Maral. You can trust us to watch after you while we're traveling, and we'll be home late tomorrow."

Loki looked at Arust and fought the urge to throw himself at his face and start punching. The most he could do with dignity was glare at him and allow all the contempt he felt for them to drip from his expression. Since his magic worked through words, he was effectively without his abilities until they did something to reverse...whatever it was they'd done to him.

"Should we go ahead and camp here, Arust?" Maral asked, still holding the reins for the veho.

"Might as well; we need to get the poor beasts calmer before we can think of going anywhere," Arust answered. "Usual duties, everyone."

They fanned out, with Maral forming a tie line for the veho, Dakan clearing a spot for a fire, and Talo gathered kindling. Arust stayed at their campsite, pulling things out of saddle bags and setting up a small camp kitchen. "You hungry, lad?"

His stomach was still complaining about its recent treatment and Loki shook his head. Even if he were hungry, he wouldn't touch anything they gave him. He knew that they couldn't be trusted not to drug him just to keep him compliant.

"Thirsty?" Arust pressed, holding out a waterskin. "It's just water."

Sure, it was. And he was king of Midgard. He shook his head again.

Arust placed the waterskin in the grass beside Loki. "In case you change your mind. Would you like to help me put the meal together?"

Only if I can add some hemlock to the food, Loki thought darkly. He shook his head again and pulled his cloak tightly around himself. It was thick and warm and it was a bit of home that he could carry with him. Farbauti had done the tanglewood embroidery on the edges herself and presented it to him the night before Midsummer. He ran his fingers along the edge and paused with some dismay as he found a place where the stitches had loosened and stray threads now dangled free. It was probably that damned thornbush that had done it. Idly he looked the threads over and sighed. Perhaps Farbauti could fix it.

A sudden loud yowl off to his left and behind him drove him to his feet and he looked around. That sounded familiar...was it a mountaincat?

"Just a mountaincat," Arust said, unwrapping some packets. "It's too far away to get to you, so don't worry."

Loki didn't find that any comfort at all since it was still out there somewhere and most likely hungry. This time, he didn't have Ahna and a pierce-whistle to drive the thing away. If only she were here...thoughts of her made him think. How had these men gotten into the temple to steal him? He should have been safe there. He sank back onto the grass and let his thoughts run. Ahna and Brother Voral had shown him where to rest...should he have been more suspicious, especially after her warnings. Still, he was sure that Ahna could be trusted. What about Brother Voral? He was a bit vague, of course, but he seemed kind, and it was clear that he adored Loki. Loki shook his head. No, he couldn't see Brother Voral letting those men inside, unless there was something he didn't know.

Camp was set up quickly and in short order there was a pot of water boiling over the fire. Arust crouched down next to the fire and took out one of the packets he'd unwrapped. He opened the packet and broke a dark block of something into the water and began to stir it with a wooden spoon. Shortly a savory smell filled the air and Loki felt his mouth water. How long had it been since he'd eaten?

"I can hear that little belly rumbling all the way over here," Arust said as the rest of the men pulled out bowls and spoons. "Come have something to eat."

Loki stared at him and barely resisted the urge to throw a rock at him. Little belly? Nope. There was no way he was eating now. He was trying to hold on to his dignity with tooth and claw, but hold on he would. Dignity did not mean sitting down with his captors and having a meal. After all, it wasn't like they could sit down and have a nice chat after what they'd done.

They let him sit there for almost a quarter hour before Arust got up and went over to him and held out a bowl. "Are you sure you don't want anything to eat? Just try a little."

He won't leave me alone until I try something, Loki reasoned as he lifted the spoon out of the bowl and took a cautious mouthful. He chewed, swallowed, and gagged as the full taste-and heat!-hit him. A second later he vomited, but this time it was all over Arust's boots. He coughed and gagged again and grabbed the waterskin, quickly taking a drink to rinse his mouth. There had been so much spice in that food that his lips had gone numb! Loki shot Arust a dark look as Arust cursed and cleaned off his boots while the other men started laughing.

"And what's so funny?" Arust demanded once his footwear was cleaned.

"That look he gave you!" Dakan wheezed. "He looked as if he were sure you were trying to poison him!"

I'd like to poison him, Loki thought savagely as he took another drink. His mouth was still on fire! The fact that he'd gotten some measure of revenge by vomiting on Arust's shoes did little to make him feel better.

Arust tried his best to salvage the situation. "You're probably not used to our food yet, are you? I've heard that Asgardian food is...not as seasoned?"

"Hhaaaaaaaaahhh," Loki snapped. He did not feel like taking part in a one-sided conversation with this son of an ox and bilgesnipe.

Maral dug around in one of the saddlebags and unwrapped another parcel. "Perhaps you'd like some bread instead? There's no seasoning in it aside from salt."

Loki shook his head and turned away, looking back the way they'd come. He was a good tracker and it was fully possible that he could find his way back on his own. How far had they come? How long had they been traveling? Was it something he could walk in a night? Well, he supposed he could steal a veho, but could he do that without them hearing him? It might be safer to just walk away once they were asleep.

"That's enough of that," Arust said firmly, scooping Loki up and putting him over his shoulder. "You don't have to eat if you don't want to, but turning your back like that is disrespectful, so you're going to come and sit with us and face us. If you keep this up, you're going to be very unhappy." So saying, he plopped Loki down right between Talo and Dakan.

Loki drew his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them. He stared into the fire and willed himself to be patient. He only had to wait until they were asleep, and then he would be able to slip away.

Staring at the fire and listening to the sounds it made were so relaxing that he started to doze a bit and he jerked up with a start when his captors got up to clean up after the meal. In minutes, dishes were clean, the fire was banked, a watch rotation set up, and cloaks were wrapped around tired bodies. Arust was spreading out a thick blanket on the ground near the fire and before Loki knew what he was about, Arust had plucked him up and placed him on it. "This is where you'll sleep. Do you need to relieve yourself before you do?"

Quiet urges his body had been sending him for the last few minutes reasserted themselves, and he nodded. Arust escorted him to the area set up as a necessary so Loki could take care of the needful. Once he was done he washed his hands with water from the waterskin and a cake of soap they'd provided. It was harsh and gritty, but at least it got his hands clean. He dried his hands on a fold of his cloak and returned to the blanket. He dropped down on it and stretched out on his side facing the fire, and a moment later Arust handed him a saddlebag to use as a head rest. A moment after that Maral came over to them and covered him with a heavy blanket. Once it was on he was warmer, but it was still cold. They were out in the foothills of the mountains and it was as if every wind on the planet had decided to drop in on them and howl for a while.

"Get some rest, lad," Arust said, laying down close behind Loki. "We've a long way to go in the morning."

Loki was about to move away from Arust, but then he realized that he was a great deal warmer with that hulk just behind him. The man was acting as a heat block, ensuring that the heat from the fire concentrated around Loki. Oh, it was nice. Very nice. Nice and warm!

He told himself to stay awake and that he mustn't go to sleep, but the next thing he knew he was opening his eyes in the pre-dawn light. How had he slept so deeply and for so long? How could he have been so stupid!

"Morning, lad," Arust said, pulling the blanket off of him. "Time to go."

Chill rushed in and surrounded Loki, making him curl up in a ball and shiver. He'd only just woken up and already his teeth were chattering! Why was Jotunheim so blasted cold all the time!

Arust picked him up and put him on his feet. "Come on, lad. Once you move around a bit you'll be warmer. Hurry and take care of the necessary; we're heading out in a few minutes."

Loki did as he was advised and looked around. As he'd remembered, they were in the foothills, and the ground was sloping a bit behind them. That must have been the way they'd come...Hands snatched him up as soon as he'd finished washing his hands and he found himself glaring at Arust. "I can hear what you're thinking. Do you know how long it was after we took you before you woke up?"

Of course he wouldn't know that! He glared and shook his head.

"You were out two days. The cider we slipped you was very strong, so you were dead asleep for two days. There's no one better than we are at moving quickly, so we've gone further than you could travel in a week on foot. A mountaincat would find you long before you found a way back to the city. Do you understand? If you try to run, you'll be taking your life in your hands, little one."

His temper snapped. One moment, he was hanging limply in Arust's hands and the next, he was trying to tear his eyes out, screaming at the tops of his lungs. "Hhaaaaaahhh! Hhhhaaahhaaaaaaahhhh! HHHAAAAHHAHHHAHHHHAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Arust merely laughed and held him out at arm's length. "I can see that life's going to be very interesting with you around, little prince!"

The words brought back the memory of his first encounter with Laufey and the next thing he knew, the breath in his chest hitched and his throat closed. Tears stung his eyes and all the fight went out of him. He was far from his home on Jotunheim, even farther from his home on Asgard, and he had never felt so alone in his life.