It took a few days before we had a breakthrough. The Templars were in the dark, they had no idea who the woman was or where Loki could be. Cedric told me that it wasn't much different on his side from the Illuminati. He had feelers out in the seedier parts of The Secret World, but it was a long time ago since Cedric had been a part of that dark underbelly.

I barely slept or ate, but until I knew where he was, I had no way of helping Loki.

And then help came from an unexpected place.

"Howdy kid, I think I may have found out where your runaway godling is being held." Boone's gravely voice was like sweet music to my ears.

That was where the good news ended, however.

There was an underground auction being held in a mansion near Triesen, in Liechtenstein. Highly illegal and highly exclusive, the rich and the powerful of the Secret World were to gather and bid on valuable Secret World assets. The sale of magical creatures was prohibited, but in illegal auctions like this one could bid and own their very own fairy, centaur or wendigo.

The highlight of this auction was rumoured to be a real living god, the exact nature to be yet announced.

The auction was to be held that same night.

I should have called Richard for help. I was certain backup would be provided and we'd storm the place with a team of highly trained soldiers. But I did not want to rescue Loki to just hand him back to the Templars again.

I could call Cedric, but it would get him into trouble with his superiors.

I had to do this by myself. I wanted to do this by myself. This was my mess, if I hadn't told Loki to leave this would never have happened.

"You can't do this by yourself," John Wolf said. Wolf and Boone had met me at the Agartha entrance. We were now overlooking the mansion from a distance. Through John's binoculars, I could see that the place was surrounded by high walls and guards with dogs were crawling all over the place. Huge searchlights were lighting up the area. I'm not very good at sneaking into places, not without Loki telling me what to do and when and where to hide.

"So what do we do now?" I asked. " I can't see any possible way of getting in there unnoticed."

"Neither could we," Boone grinned. "That's why we'll be walking right in through the door."

Not that long after I was being jostled by two guards down narrow stairs to the basement, hands tied behind my back and a collar around my neck.

No, it wasn't a basement, it was more like a dungeon. Cages lined the walls. In the dim light, I saw fairies huddled in a ball as if to shelter themselves, and a yeti who threw himself at the bars the moment we walked past him.

I struggled against my bonds, but they held tight. My Bee wasn't going to whisk me away and save me, I wasn't in mortal danger after all.

"A god and a Bee," one of the guards grinned, "we'll be making a fortune tonight! There's a lot of rich folks who'd kill to get their hands on either one of these, quite a few scientists too!"

I struggled again, trying to pull myself loose from his grip, but he grabbed me tighter.

"Ouch, you're hurting me!" I yelled at him. The guard just grinned and then, with a mean look on his face, shoved me into one of the cages.

Loki's eyes widened the moment he saw me. We were in the same cell, at least that was going my way.

"Took you long enough!" he hissed the moment the guards were out of earshot. "I've been leaving you breadcrumbs for ages, where have you been?"

"Hello, Sorcha! How nice to see you, Sorcha! Thank you for rescuing my cute Asgardian ass, Sorcha!" I hissed back.

"Rescue? You call this a rescue? You are bound and collared as much as I am! What sort of rescue is that?"

I had been working at my bonds behind my back. Wolf had shown me exactly how to undo them once I had found Loki. All I had to do was pull… right there! I held my free hands up in the air.

"You are not the only one who can come up with clever plans, you ungrateful, mouthy little… What are you wearing?" I interrupted myself.

Loki rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Not a word…" he warned.

"Is that…"

"Sorcha, not a word!" he interrupted me.

"Is that a Halloween costume?" I blurted out, unable to stop myself.

"I distinctly remember myself saying 'Not a word.' and yet here we are. I could not possibly have used smaller, easier to understand words, and it still seems to be beyond your understanding. Were you dropped on your head as a child?" Loki asked acerbically.

It was a Loki Halloween costume. A badly made one. The leather was fake, the fabric cheap nylon, and the metal parts were made of yellow plastic.

"How did they even find one that fits you?" I asked curiously, ignoring his insults. His words said one thing, but his eyes said another. He hadn't been sure I would come for him, and he was happy I had.

"It doesn't," Loki admitted, holding out his arms to show how his wrists and part of his upper arms were sticking out. "The trousers are the same, it is terribly uncomfortable. I think they thought I'd raise more money looking the part, although the quality of this suit is, quite frankly, insulting."

We looked at each other for a moment.

Loki started to smile apologetically.

I smiled back.

"You have a plan?" he asked.

"Boone and Wolf should be coming for us soon. They brought me in as a captive pretending to want to sell me for the auction. It was the only way we could see of getting in, the place is a fortress. They are trying to find a way to get the bracelet and then they'll sneak in here and we'll have to find a way out."

"You trust them?"

I nodded. Loki sat up a bit and spread the cheap nylon cape he was wearing out a bit further on the filthy floor, patting it invitingly. I sat down next to him. I looked up at him, my heart aching. I had missed him so much, and it was hard to believe he was sitting right next to me.

But he wasn't mine anymore, was he?

Loki wasn't looking at me. He was looking at his hands as he was rubbing them together, dry washing them, as he often did when he was nervous or if something troubled him.

I leaned my head against his shoulder.

Loki inhaled and stopped breathing for a moment, his hands suddenly still. Then he put his arm around me and pulled me closer, his lips gently brushing the top of my head.

It felt so good, it felt so familiar. Even in this horrible place it just felt right. My heart soared. I looked up at Loki and saw my own feelings reflected in his eyes. He still cared for me! He still wanted me!

We were going to be alright!

I ran my hands through Loki's hair as I pulled his head down a bit, my fingers gently caressing the back of his neck as he wrapped his other arm around me as well. He gasped softly and closed his eyes as our lips met, his hand caressing my skin as it slid underneath my shirt.

For a moment we were completely lost in each other, the world disappearing around us.

But this wasn't the place nor the time, and we both knew it. Regretfully we untangled ourselves from our embrace, although we kept hold of each other's hand, our fingers intertwined.

"We, eh, we should probably talk a bit about who we are up against," Loki said after a moment, his voice husky. He cleared his throat.

"What do you already know?"

"Not much," I admitted. "I didn't have much prep time, I only found out where you were being held today."

"You've seen the woman with the white hair?" I nodded, looking up at him. Having eyes that blue should be illegal, I thought idly to myself. Loki smiled as if he could see what I saw thinking. Maybe he could, I never know with him.

"Pay attention, my dear, this is important." he chided gently.

"The woman is named Halja, and she is the daughter of Hel."

"A daughter of hell? As in a demon?" I asked.

"No, as in the daughter of Hel, the goddess of Death. Her father was mortal and she was raised by him, but her mother took interest in her a few centuries ago. She is extremely dangerous, and possibly a match even for you.

Halja and I are old… sometimes friends, sometimes enemies."

"Frenemies?" I offered.

Loki frowned. "I hate that word. But yes, it's probably an apt description. Frenemies, with benefits."

Oh.

I could feel myself tensing up. Of course, in the classic words of Ross from Friends, "we were on a break". But still, I could feel the jealousy rise up within me.

"Are you… are you jealous right now?" Loki frowned but the tiniest smile played around the corner of his lips. Jerk. I looked away.

Loki lifted my chin with his finger.

"Not this time, you silly woman. Only in the past. Nothing happened."

Oh.

I couldn't hide the huge grin that was spreading on my face. Loki shook his head: "That is what you are worried about right now? We're about to be sold as chattel at an auction, but you are concerned I might have hooked up with an old lover?"

I just grinned at him. Let him mock me, I didn't care.

Loki chuckled and shook his head, then he turned serious again.

"Halja is dangerous, and she will not let us go without a fight. This is too big a paycheck for her, and she's worked too long at this.

The robberies were purely a way to show off my skills to the highest bidder. The money she made was just a bonus.

She will fight with a sword and with her magic, which is granted to her by her mother. I think our best bet right now would be to get out of here before she notices. I'd rather not fight Halja if we can avoid it."

I looked at the stairs. I had hoped we'd be out of here by now, but there was no sign from either Boone or Wolf. I just hoped they hadn't been captured.

I looked up at Loki. At least we were together.

Suddenly there were loud footsteps coming down the stairs, and Boone came practically rolling down them. He was waving the bracelet in his hand. In his other hand, he had the keys to the cage.

"Come on kids, time to absquatulate!"

He removed my collar first, and then Loki's. "Don't you try none of your tricks on me now!" he warned Loki as he did so. Loki merely held up his hands.

"There's something happening outside, we have to go!" Wolf came racing down the stairs.

Loki took the keys from Boone. "Perhaps we should create a bit of a distraction first!"

He opened the door to the fairy cage, and then let several of the other caged magic folk out as well. He stopped before the yeti cage and hesitated, then began to communicate in a series of howls and moans. The yeti howled back, first sounding angry, but after a while ending in a hauntingly sad moan.

"Loki speaks Yeti?" Wolf asked me.

"To be honest, I'm not certain if there is a language he doesn't speak," I admitted to him.

Loki let the yeti out as well, who bounded on all fours up the stairs.

"Time to go," he said, leading the way.

There were hardly any guards in the building, and for a moment it looked like we'd be able to sneak out unnoticed. Then a beam of pure ice hit me in the back.

"Run," Loki yelled at Boone and Wolf, while he himself turned around to fight. I scrambled back to my feet, reading my own magic.

Halja was standing in the hallway, a greatsword made of bone and ice in her hands. She pointed it at Loki.

"Oh, Loki, you didn't think I'd just let you and your pet Bee get away that easily, do you?"

"Put down the sword and walk away, Halja, and you might still escape with your life." Loki had a dagger ready in each hand.

Halja just laughed.

I began to gather my anima, readying myself as I levitated in the air. Icy cold skeletal hands reached out from the ground below me, pulling me down, interrupting my concentration and my spell. Halja aimed her sword from me to Loki and blocked the dagger that came flying toward her.

I summoned Mjolnir, but she caught it in one hand, where it held still for a moment and then disappeared.

Loki had summoned multiple illusions of himself, but Halja shattered them one by one as she swung her greatsword around her.

It gave me time to cast my spell again, fire, ice and lightning barraging her as I levitated in the air. Halja slid backwards through the hallway as the sheer force of the elements hit her.

Balls of fire came flying past her as Wolf stood beside me, his magical device in his hand. Loki's second dagger hit her in her face, leaving a large bleeding gash above her eyes.

"Templars are in the courtyard," Wolf warned.

Halja seemed to be getting the same news through her earpiece. She hesitated for a second, then created a wall of bone and ice between us with her sword and ran. I melted the ice by tossing fireballs at the wall, but Halja had disappeared from the hallway.

"Did you bring the Templars?" Loki asked incredulously.

"Of course not," I answered. "They can't find you here Loki, you have to run!"

Loki looked at me and hesitated.

"Go," I said again, "I'll keep them off. And let me know where you are this time."

Loki hesitated for one more moment, then nodded and ran.

"Sorcha? What are you doing here?" Matt asked in surprise as he came running into the hallway followed by several men in red and white. He waved them on to search the rest of the mansion.

"I could ask you the same thing," I said, trying to stall.

"We have been leading a task force to put a stop to these auctions for months. When we heard there was an unusual activity I decided to take action and enter with my men before everyone could escape."

He looked at me in confusion. "Why on earth are you here? Oh, wait a minute… those rumours about a god being the main attraction this night, they didn't happen to be true, did they?"

I kept my face carefully straight, or at least I hoped I was.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," I said innocently.

Matt was about to say something, but held up his finger and talked into his headpiece instead.

"Really? Somehow that doesn't surprise me. And you'll never guess which one of our friends I just ran into? How did you guess! And Boone and Wolf are here as well."

Matt grinned at me.

"Calinda says hi, and that if you're quick you might still be able to catch up with Loki. He's hotwiring a car at the back entrance."

It was my turn to look at Matt in surprise. He was just going to let me go after Loki?

"Go. As far as we're concerned neither of you was ever here. Just keep him out of trouble this time!"

I was already running.

"Thanks, Matt, I owe you one!" I yelled back over my shoulder.

I could see a car driving away as I stepped out of the back entrance. I waved at Calinda but didn't waste my breath on a greeting. I can run fast, but I can't catch up with a car. I was going to try anyway.

Loki must have seen me sprinting after him. Instead of stopping, he merely slowed down to my speed and rolled the window on the passenger side open.

"I'm coming with you!" I said breathlessly.

"Is there anything I could possibly say to dissuade you of that notion?"

"No, not really," I grinned.

Loki sighed and threw the door on the passenger side open. I hopped in, falling ungracefully with my face into my lap.

"An interesting idea, but perhaps now might not be the right time," Loki grinned.

I sat up, closed the car door and put on my seatbelt. I knew my face was bright red. I hoped he thought it would be from running.

"I am more than willing to accommodate that thought later though," Loki continued with a wink and a cheeky smile.

He was driving like a maniac, weaving in and out of traffic.

"Just keep your eyes on the road will you?" I muttered, still rather breathless.

"Where are we going anyway?"

Loki swerved again, almost hitting a truck as we veered onto the wrong side of the road. He steered the car back to the right side again and slowed down a bit.

Loki took a deep breath, and then looked at me.

"Darling, how would you like to come along and meet my grandmother?"