Beyond the door lay a cavernous area. There were holes high up in the walls through which daylight came in, thin beams of light that did nothing to illuminate the area around them, merely deepening the dark shadows that permeated the cave.

"It wasn't like this before. There were tables and benches and huge caskets filled with ale and mead. There was a stage for dancing, and playing music, and there were torches and braziers everywhere. It was bright, merry and festive!"

Thor's voice sounded so sad I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

There was nothing festive about the cave. The sensation of evil around us was like a thick miasma all around us. I readied my magic, but there was no sight of what lay in wait for us, dragon or otherwise.

"Well, there is not much we can do here, let's just reseal the door and leave, shall we?" Loki's voice was thin and brittle.

"I'm not leaving until we cleanse this place," Thor barked back.

"This feels nothing like the dragon's nest we stole the egg from, Thor! Don't you sense it? I have seen and done terrible things, dark, unholy, heinous deeds that would rattle you to your very core if only you knew, and even I have never encountered its like!

Let's leave! Before one of us loses our lives, Thor! None of us is immortal, or have you forgotten that fact?"

Loki sounded genuinely scared. And after almost losing me to the curse, who could blame him.

"Loki is right. Let's reseal this place and leave," I agreed with Loki. "I'm not willing to lose either of you here today. We can come back with reinforcements later if you really want to, but it isn't wise to go on."

Thor stepped forward, Mjolnir raised high. Bolts of lightning sparked from the hammer as he bellowed:

"My name is Thor, son of Odin, Prince of Asgard, god of Thunder! And you trespass on my holy sanctum! Show yourself, so I can defeat you and cleanse this place!"

"The bull-headed oaf! Ready yourself," Loki warned me as his eyes glowed green. I was already gathering my own magic, drawing in as much anima as I could.

"So the godling has returned?"

It wasn't so much a voice as a sensation echoing in my head.

In the darkness ahead of us, two huge blueish green glowing orbs came to life, an unnatural, unholy glow that sent shivers down my spine.

"Oh, shit, ohshitohshitohshit…" Loki whispered next to me.

"It is my territory that you are trespassing on, little mewling whelp,"

the condescending voice spoke in our heads almost conversationally.

"RUN!" Loki bellowed and grabbed my hand, dragging me towards the doors. They slammed shut in front of us.

"Thor Odinson runs from no man!" Thor thundered as he stood his ground.

"Foolish princeling! I am no man!"

And slowly, with the clicking sound of bone on rock, the dragon moved closer towards us.

If it once had been alive, it had been a long time ago, because nothing but bone remained. Held together by the sheer force of its will and its magic, the dragon spread its boney wings.

It stood at least 10 feet high, with a wingspan of 30 feet. Its huge head hung in the air above Thor, with teeth bigger than Thor's arms. It was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen in my life.

Thor threw Mjolnir at its huge head, but the hammer merely bounced off.

"Thor, it is a dracolich, you can't fight it!" Loki warned.

Thor merely threw his hammer again, at the wings this time.

"Sorcha, there are things more powerful than gods," Loki whispered to me urgently. "I need you and Thor to keep the bone dragon occupied long enough for me to open the doors. Can you do that?"

I nodded and ran to the side of the cave, gathering anima as I ran. My heart was beating rapidly in my chest. My Bee would save me, I had no doubt of that, but I couldn't lose Thor or Loki!

I closed my eyes for a second and concentrated as much as I could on focussing my power, then I unleashed my magic. A barrage of fire, ice and lightning hit the dracolich's side, causing it to roar with an unearthly wail.

It turned around quickly and started making its way in my direction, but I was already running further into the cave. I needed to lure it away from Loki.

"Use your lightning, Thor!" I yelled as I ran.

Thor had gotten knocked down by the dragon just before my magic hit it, and he scrambled to his feet, lightning flashing in his eyes and around his hands.

My magic hit the dragon from the front at the same time Thor's lightning hit it from the back.

Again it bellowed, more in anger than in pain. Its huge tail swiped at Thor who dropped and rolled away just in time.

"Who are you? What are you? You are no mere mortal!

The dracolich aimed its ire at me, realising I was as much a threat, or perhaps an even bigger threat than Thor. Its mouth opened wide, and a wave of ghostly blue-green fire washed over me. I tried to dodge but it grazed my back as I screamed in pain.

Thor's lightning struck it from all sides, as Thor tried to climb on top of the bone dragon itself, hoping to do more damage that way. I could not see Loki in the gloom of the cave, all I could do was hope he'd hurry up with opening that door.

I gathered a globe of blood and healed myself as the dragon snapped at the god climbing on its back. Not daring to cast my magic while Thor was mounting the dragon, I gathered my magic and held it instead.

The dracolich stopped snapping at Thor, furled its wings and rolled on its back, the weight of the bones nearly crushing Thor underneath him.

"Thor!" I yelled, hoping for a sign that the blond giant was okay, but to my dismay, Thor didn't answer. Slowly he began to crawl away, unable to stand.

I gathered my blood magic again, healing Thor this time. I was starting to feel woozy.

Little Jotunn, did you think I hadn't noticed you?

The dracolich moved back toward the doors. I ran as fast as I could, but couldn't get to Loki in time and watched in horror as the big tail sent him flying and he landed with a crack against the cavern wall.

The last time I had felt this much out of my depth was the first time I had encountered Loki. I couldn't see how we were supposed to win this. We were barely doing any damage to the undead dragon. Loki had been right, we should have run when we got the chance.

I would be fine, but how was I going to get Thor and Loki out of this?

Thor was going at the dracolich with everything he had, while I gathered another globe of blood, ignoring the black dots in front of my eyes, and healed Loki's broken bones.

"Thank you, darling," he said softly.

"Can you open the doors?" I asked him.

Loki shook his head. "It takes too long, I can't do it without him noticing."

He took my hand in his and put the Friezegem in it.

"Take this, and use it. You are the only one of us who stands a chance. Thor and I will distract it."

Loki summoned his daggers and ran at the dracolich, while I began to gather my anima, this time through the gem. It felt amazing as if I was alive for the very first time! The amount of Anima I could pull in was staggering, despite my weariness. I had never held this much anima before.

"Loki! Don't use your daggers, try to distract it with your magic," Thor bellowed.

"My illusions do nothing," Loki barked back, "it doesn't have eyes and its will is too strong! See for yourself!

To prove his point, an illusion of Thor, Loki and myself dancing the Macarena appeared in front of the dragon who walked straight through it, lashing out with a boney claw at Loki.

Even with the large amount of anima I was holding, I wasn't certain I could kill the dragon, or if an undead dragon even could be killed.

I aimed at the doors instead, blasting them with all my might. A huge beam of elemental magic streamed from my hands, blasting the doors wide open.

"Run!" I bellowed at Loki and Thor, "I'll hold it off while you collapse the cave behind you!"

Loki had barely dodged the claws that came raking at him.

"I am not leaving you!" he yelled.

"Go! I'll revive outside the cave, I'll be fine!"

Thor hesitated as well, he wasn't keen on leaving me to die alone either.

"Go! This is not your choice to make!" I barked at both of them, gathering as much anima as I could through the Friezegem.

Loki grabbed Thor by the arm and pulled him towards the doors.

"Use this, it is a less painful death than dragon fire," Loki handed me one of his daggers as he ran past. "And you'd better be reviving outside or I will come for you!"

"We both will!" Thor threw another lightning bolt behind him at the dragon and then ran through the door.

"Child of Gaia, I see what you are now! Do you truly believe yourself a match for me?"

Instead of aiming at the dracolich, I aimed at the rocky ground below it. A thick sheet of ice formed underneath the dragon, its boney claws slipping and sliding underneath it. I smiled in grim satisfaction as I watched the dragon scramble to regain its balance, that should buy Loki and Thor some time!

Behind me, there was a loud rumbling as Thor presumably caused a cave-in with Mjolnir, meaning the dracolich would have no way out.

"I don't need to be a match for you, I just need to make sure you will never leave this place!" I yelled as I gathered my anima again.

I didn't have to worry about Loki and Thor anymore now that they were gone. Instead of aiming at the undead dragon, I aimed at the ceiling of the cave. First fire, hot enough to make the stone glow red, then ice to cool it down and crack it.

Foolish mortal, you have doomed us both!

As the cave and the cliffs above it collapsed onto both of us, I plunged the dagger into my chest rather than be crushed to death. With my dying breath, I just hoped the Bees would whisk me away and I'd revive outside, or else I would be stuck in this cave forever.

"Foolish girl, breathe!" Loki's voice was frantic. "You infuriating woman, don't you dare die on me!"

"I think she's breathing! Loki, Is she breathing?" Thor asked worriedly.

I drew in a huge breath. "I'm okay, I'm okay!"

I sat up and hugged Loki. "I'm okay love, I promise! You've seen me die before, you've stabbed me to death five times during our first mission alone! I'm okay!"

Loki just held me tight, his face buried in my hair.

"What just happened?" Anna asked.

"Sorcha just killed herself to save us, but she's okay now," Thor explained matter-of-factly.

"That will never be a normal sentence to me," Anna admitted, her round eyes huge in her pale face. The lack of at least one "fascinating" showed how shaken she truly was.

I slipped the Friezegem back into Loki's pocket, ran my fingers through his hair and kissed him. He hungrily kissed me back, for a moment forgetting we weren't alone.

After a few moments, Thor gave a polite cough. We both gasped for breath as our lips parted.

"I'm okay, really," I promised again and smiled.

After a moment Loki smiled back, a thin smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I'm not certain watching you die will ever be the same," he admitted.

"I can't promise it will never happen again, "I said, gently running a finger past his cheek.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it." Loki helped me to my feet.

We were in the field in front of the cliffs, near the copse of trees where the Agartha portal was.

Thor and Loki had to save Anna on their way out. Anna had slipped back into the cave to study the murals the moment she was certain we wouldn't notice, and Thor had slung her over his shoulders and carried her out like a bag of potatoes, running as fast as he could to try and escape the cave-in.

Behind us the cliff was still collapsing, occasionally rumbling as another part crumbled.

"Fascinating! The sheer destruction…" Anna said with awe in her voice. "So that is what gods are capable of!"

"It wasn't us," Loki was quick to explain to her, "we ran. That was all my darling betrothed."

I smiled at him, I could hear the pride in his voice. And I loved it when he called me his 'betrothed', it was so wonderfully 'Jane Austin'!

"Fascinating!" Anna said again.

"Is the dragon dead? Deader?" I corrected myself, as technically speaking it had already been dead before.

Loki just shook his head. "I don't know. Let me scry…"

His eyes glowed green and a frown of concentration appeared on his face as he used his magic to see in the distance.

"Beyond the occasional aftershock from the cave-in I sense no other movement, and I don't sense an evil presence anymore either. I think it is safe to assume it is…" Loki winced as he used the word, "deader."

"Does that mean I can consecrate the place and make it my own again?" Thor asked eagerly.

Loki looked at his brother, shaking his head in disbelief. He shook his head again, as if speechless and cast his eyes to the sky.

"Norns grant me patience," he beseeched.

"Can I make it my own again… Thor! The whole cliff has caved in! There is no "Place of Power! There is no 'place'! It's a huge pile of rocks! With a dracolich buried underneath it!" Loki snapped at Thor.

"Yes, I thought as much," Thor admitted morosely. "And I've held some great parties there too! I'll miss it."

The dracolich had drained the anima from the site purely by existing, it was impossible to tell how much the place had been affected by the waning of magic. We were all tired, battered, dusty and dirty. It was time to go home.

Loki and I were both drained by the excessive amount of anima we had expended that day, and we decided to call it a night earlier than usual. I was already snuggled up in bed, reading, while Loki had a shower.

He came into the room, shirtless, still drying his hair with a towel. I put my book away and smiled, admiring the view.

Loki smiled back. There were black circles under his eyes, and his face was pale.

"Loki, what was that magic you used to open those doors?" I asked. I was worried about him, it was unlike anything I had ever seen him do before.

"Don't ask me that, please," Loki sighed. He hung the towel over the radiator and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Don't ask me questions when you don't really want the answer."

"But I do want the answer," I said. "I'm worried about you."

"It's a bit too late to worry now, darling," Loki admitted. "What was done was done a long time ago."

He took my hand in his.

"You don't want to know the answer, and I don't want to be the one to tell you. Let it rest."

I set my jaw stubbornly. Loki sighed, knowing me well enough to know I wasn't going to let it lie.

"Look, when I first found out who I truly was, what I truly was, I was hurt and I was angry. And it is far easier to feel anger than pain, so I fed that anger and turned it into hatred.

I was young, and I was arrogant. I had been raised a prince amongst gods and thought myself superior to anyone else. And I aligned myself with forces beyond anything you can imagine, thinking I was better than them, stronger than them, that I would be able to take advantage of them.

I was quickly disabused of that notion, stripped of my hubris, left with nothing but scars and wounds that won't heal."

Loki's eyes glowed green, and the scars that he hid with his magic appeared on his alabaster skin. I reached out, my heart aching at the sight of them, and places my hand against his chest, gently caressing his skin.

"My wounds and scars run deeper than that, deeper than meets the eye," Loki confessed, a haunted look in his blue eyes as he refused to meet my gaze.

"No matter what I do, no matter how I live my life, Valhalla won't await me once I die. I have destined myself for far worse and nothing will ever change that.

I never claimed to have been a good person, I never pretended I was, not with you. But the things I've done, the depths I sunk to, the sins I've committed…" his eyes met mine, dark and ancient, and I shivered.

"You do not wish to meet my demons, my love, you do not wish to learn the full extent of the darkness that lies within me, that I fight every day I'm with you."

"Then let me be your light in the dark," I whispered, "let me help you!"

"You are, and you do!" Loki said emphatically. "But it will come at a price, a price I fear you will have to pay. Thor, Anna, Richard… they aren't wrong! They see what you can't see, what you refuse to see! I will drag you down with me, I will hurt you, I will break you, I will betray you!"

"That is a choice you make!" I was frightened, frightened by his intensity, frightened by the truth I saw in his eyes.

"Is it?" Loki asked bitterly. "Is it? Do I still have a choice? I am tarnished and scarred, ruined and broken, tired and weak. If I was stronger, I would have left you a long time ago. I would have left you and saved that light that burns so brightly inside of you. I tried, heaven knows I tried."

"Loki…" I reached out to him, wanting to hold him, as much to comfort him as to stop him from saying the things he was saying right now.

"But I am bound to you now, tied in the web you wove with your love, your kindness and your empathy, and no matter how hard I try to untangle myself, I am well and truly snared.

And you, my darling…" he stroked my cheek so gently it was barely a touch, "you are going to have to be strong enough for both of us. Because I can't save us, I can't even save myself."

I didn't want to hear what Loki was saying, didn't want to hear the honesty in his voice, see the truth in his eyes. I loved him, and he loved me, and that was enough. It had to be enough. If it was enough for everyone else, it had to be enough for us too!

I kissed him, his eyes, his cheeks, his brow, his lips. I pulled him on top of me, barely giving him a chance to breathe, to think. I didn't want to hear any more about wounds and scars and darkness, about all the things he had said. I wanted to forget, and I wanted him to forget as well. We were both tired, but I knew him well enough to know how to entice him, arouse him, and it wasn't long before I could feel his body respond.

Soon, all thoughts of darkness and betrayal left both our minds.

Afterwards, I held Loki in my arms, gently caressing his back, listening to the sound of his breathing as for the first time in ages he well and truly slept. A deep, wholesome sleep, that I hoped would refresh him and banish the dark thoughts from his mind.

But despite being bone-tired myself, I couldn't sleep.

"I will drag you down with me, I will hurt you, I will break you, I will betray you!"

Over and over again, Loki's words echoed in my mind like a prophecy, a promise of worse yet to come. And no matter how I tried, I couldn't get them out of my mind.