- Chapter 39 -
Shock swayed Frigga in her seat. She briefly heard the pained shock pouring out through her brother's seidr before shock numbed her own mind. Her vision narrowed down to Loki. His heartstring, Loki traded a heartstring. My son let the Dead Lord take a heartstring from him. She barely felt it as Odin put an arm around her and pulled her against him. She rested a hand against his chest. "His heartstring, his heartstring," she murmured. Frigga had never checked to see how many heartstrings Loki was born with because any handling of the heartstring could cause immense pain for a person, so much so that it could stop their heart. It was never something she ever considered as a possibility because it was a rare person who was born with more than one. Frigga shook lightly as she leaned against Odin. Little tears gathered in her eyes. She didn't notice as they spilled out over her cheeks.
The value of what Loki gave was well known to Frigga. She was a well-renowned mage herself. A mage's level of ability was determined by the amount of seidr they were gifted with. The seidr flowed through them like blood. Just as with blood, the loss of too much seidr was fatal to a mage. It was their heartstring that both connected them to their seidr and determined the quality of their seidr. The loss of a heartstring was a swift death. "He traded his heartstring for the souls of mortals," she whispered.
His boy bargained with the Dead Lord. Odin held his wife tightly. The beast within him was howling for Lord Hela's blood in retribution for this. He closed his eye and held Frigga a little tighter. Even if someone had two heartstrings the loss of one would still do irreparable damage to them. Loki knew this before he bargained, Odin knew it, and bargained anyway. My son, my son! What have I caused?! I didn't listen to you. I am sorry my son, I am sorry. It's too late now, what have I done? He closed his eye and curled slightly around his wife. It took a tremendous amount of effort not to simply drag her into his lap so that he could completely curl around her. This cannot be the truth! It cannot ...be …
Loki was all Thor could see, only his Little Brother. He was the little pitter-patter of footsteps behind Thor as they ran through the hallways of the palace as boys. He was the hand waiting to pull Thor up when he'd been knocked to the dirt in the sparring ring. It was Loki's magic that healed his wounds. His Little Brother's words were what soothed the humiliation of defeat as Master-At-Arms Tyr turned his back to pick up the fallen weapons. His Little Brother's precise aim with daggers and a bow were what felled any enemies before they could reach Thor, even when Thor yelled at him for taking his enemies. Loki was the steady hand on Thor's back while he whispered smooth strategies in Thor's ear that allowed him to woo any maid he desired. His Little Brother's proud smile eased his fears better during his coronation. It was all gone. Too far away to reach, yet closer than a knife in the heart.
"Thor, can Loki do that?" Director Fury asked. When he didn't get an answer, he looked back to Thor. He frowned when he saw Thor sitting in his seat with a stunned look on his face. There were tears dripping down his cheeks. "Thor?" He called a bit louder. "McCorrmick, pause it for a moment." He stood and walked past the other Asgardians. He didn't miss their looks of shock. He also noticed that Thor's father was trying to comfort his wife, although he was breathing slowly and deliberately himself, probably trying not to cry as well. Thor's mother looked the worst of all of them. The Director had seen emotional trauma too many times to miss the disorientation on her face. Thor's uncle was leaning forward on the table with his head in his hands, breathing slowly. He didn't seem surprised, only angry. The curious spy wanted to know what King Frey knew. Even the two silent Asgardians seemed moved by what Loki said. Both had watched silently, impassive until then. Whatever Loki said was obviously important. Director Fury had to find out why. He put a hand on Thor's shoulder and shook gently. "Thor?"
Thor felt a firm but gentle hand on his shoulder. It took him a moment to clear his eyes and see that the Director was standing beside him. He hadn't seen the Director walk over. "Yes?" he asked quietly. His voice was almost gone to the lump in his throat.
"Thor, can Loki do that? Take people's souls?" Director Fury asked him. That wasn't a possibility he wanted to contemplate.
"No, it's Lord Hela who can. She's the Dead Lord, Queen of Hel and Mistress of the Dead. She can move the souls of the dead if she desires," Thor said quietly.
"This thing Loki gave up. The heartstring. What is it? Why is it important?" the Director felt bad about asking Thor, he looked deeply aggrieved. Something very bad had just happened. Now he needed to know what.
"It is his life," Thor whispered. He cleared his throat and then spoke again. "The heartstring connects a mage to their seidr; that which allows them to practice magic. To remove a mage's heartstring is an instant death. It is a death so swift that they are dead before they fall to the ground."
"If it's an instant kill then how's Loki still alive?" the Director would press for answers so long as he was getting them.
"I don't know. Perhaps if Loki had two, then it might be possible that he could survive the loss of one. Although I cannot imagine the pain it caused my brother, or how he survived it," more tears ran down Thor's face as his voice grew thick with grief. "My Little Brother ..." Thor covered his eyes with one hand.
"Thor, just one more question, alright? The souls of our people, do you think that they're really in Asgard?" Director Fury asked.
"Yes, if the bargain was struck, then Lord Hela would have to uphold her end. Every mortal who died because of Loki's actions will be reborn in an Elder Realm," Thor looked back to him. More tears worked their way down his cheeks to drip onto his chest.
"I don't want to sound like I'm making light of the situation, but that sounds like an amazing deal for us humans," Bruce said. He took his glasses off and wiped them clean before putting them back on. The reaction of the Asgardians was unnerving.
"I don't know how much I like the souls of the dead being moved, but I have to admit, that's an incredibly generous thing for Loki to do," Steve added. It was moments like these when he found his faith tested the most. It wasn't that he ever found his faith wavering, but the idea of someone other than God handling the souls of the dead was a trying one. "Director, if what we're seeing are honest facts, then I don't think we can consider Loki an enemy anymore. I'm not sure what we should classify him as."
"Hm," was all Director Fury had to say as he returned to his chair. I still don't know what a heartstring is, just that it's important to magic users. I'll ask him more later. Thor didn't look well to him, none of the Asgardians did. What were those Chitauri schematics for? What was Stark doing? Was it all just cover? Is Loki an enemy?
"Sir?" Natasha asked. The Director's opinion was changing slowly, and he didn't want it to change. She always thought it was interesting to watch the Director's opinion change. It normally came with some swearing and a few cups of coffee that smelled suspiciously of booze.
"If what happened in Asgard was Loki covering his attack against an unknown enemy, then New Mexico, Germany, and New York all come into question as well. Were they cover as well?" Director Fury said as he sat. "What was Loki covering for?" What's an Inquiry to Enlightenment? I need to know that.
"The theft of the gem from the Chitauri leader?" Natasha said. She looked over to Clint. He was still sitting quietly, staring at his bow resting in his lap.
"I get the feeling there's more than just that. There were too many oddities in the invasion for the entire thing to be cover for a simple theft. There's more to it than that," Director Fury said. The Inquiry to Enlightenment probably what ties it all together. The after-action reports for the invasion had far too many questions for his liking. There hadn't been a way to get solid answers before. Loki was still alive, so he was going to pursue those answers.
Oh child, this is what you meant when you said they were beyond my reach. I would've gone to Niflheim within that week. I would've sought bloody retribution for this. I still might. Frey let the resignation and anger have their moment as he understood why Loki lied to him. Loki didn't want him to start a war he couldn't win. Lord Hela commanded the dead, and the dead couldn't be killed a second time. Grief and fear swiftly replaced the resignation. The damage was far worse than he knew if one heartstring was removed. He couldn't imagine what kind of irreversible damage that did. It was probably why the scars to her seidr core weren't healing. Frey's eyes widened some as he realized how important Anthony's care of Loki was. The urge to leave, to find her came swiftly and hit hard. Frey wrestled it aside. He couldn't leave yet. Why didn't she tell Anthony this? Why didn't she tell me?! He wanted to leave that little room. Frey needed to have her in the hands of his healers. She would stay there while he began contacting other healers across the Nine Realms to see if there was a way, any possible way, to heal an injury that extensive. There was none he knew of. There was an oppressive worry now that came with wondering what else she'd kept from him. He both hoped and dreaded to learn those things this day.
A heartstring? Sif was scowling at the floor. She had known for centuries that Loki was a very serious and very talented mage. It was a very unmanly thing to be. She also knew Loki to be a devious trickster. Of the two of them Loki was a mage first. If he said that he gave a heartstring, then she believed him. He wouldn't lie about that. He was devious and untrustworthy in everything else. She still didn't believe that Loki would be brave enough to engage an enemy alone to defend all Asgard. Loki was always cowardly. She could remember all the times she would hear his whiny voice as they were on an adventure. He would cry to Thor, "Brother, this is dangerous and foolhardy. There is a much safer way we could do this, if only you would ...". He'd always been such a coward. Sif hated him for that. His attempts on his own life were ample proof of his cowardice. Weren't they?
If Loki had the courage to trade a heartstring for mortal's souls... For him to give up so much for such little lives. It's utter madness! A terrible sinking feeling was spreading through Sif. Individual events were linking together in her mind creating an inescapable web. The picture it held was something she could never have imagined.
If Loki traded his heartstring for mortals, then he would have a strong reason to do so. He wouldn't do so on a whim; he wouldn't do so to undertake some trick. The cost would be too high. He's ever jealously guarded his seidr. One thought followed quickly to another. Sif glanced back to her Lord and Lady. They both seemed distraught. She was shocked to see the Lady Frigga's composure was completely broken. Her Lady looked terribly shaken. They believe this, Sif realized. They believe this to be truth. Was that truly a Norn? If Lord Odin and Lady Frigga both believe this, is this the truth? They aren't so easily fooled. As the events linked further and further in her mind they painted a picture of a man who was brave enough to defend his family even after they turned their backs on him. Sif had no delusions, no one in Asgard did. While Loki hadn't been disowned and was still Prince by title, the Royal Family had turned their backs to Loki. Well, she thought, Thor and the Lord Odin did. Lady Frigga never will, but her opinion isn't as important. Sif shook her head. This wasn't the little Prince she'd known for centuries. Did I ever honestly know him?
Displeasure and realization deepened Sif's scowl as she realized that she too didn't notice, as everyone else hadn't noticed, when Loki tried to take his own life. He hid it so thoroughly that she didn't even think it possible. If he successfully hid something so bloody, what else has he hidden? Chagrin and something akin to shame began to grow in her thoughts. Have I misjudged you all these years? As much as Sif hated it, the seed of doubt had been planted. It grew voraciously, its thorny vines spreading over everything in its path. As the doubt grew more vigorous questions began popping up like ugly flowers. If all his cowardly displays weren't cowardice, then what were they? If Loki wasn't a coward, then was all the venom and spite she'd pointed at him justified? If it wasn't justified, if Loki wasn't indeed a coward, then what kind of person was she to have behaved as she had? Could she trust her own judgment anymore? Have I wronged you?
Sif could hear her father's confident voice suddenly, If you've no trust or respect for yourself, then who can you have them for? Much to her irritation, it was no longer that simple.
