- Chapter 49 -

When Loki stiffened in Rhodey's arms and began to convulse Anthony pulled his hands away; his seidr fed back into his core and away from harming his wife. When she stilled for a moment and then convulsed again, Anthony knew this was more than his abilities could handle. That realization happened as Rhodey struggled to lay Loki down without hurting her. "I don't think I can …" his voice trailed off as he looked to his older brother. The nimp was his best solution.

Pushing his younger brother back, he issued a second order, "Stay there." Once his sister-in-law was down Rhodey instinctively lifted his right hand, mounted a powerful Orvaroddr Ward then placed his hand over her belly to cover her womb in it. It anchored to her swiftly so that he could turn his attention elsewhere. The bright pain signals traveling down her nerves were the first thing he dealt with; shutting them down like he shut down the opened blood vessels. The drawing sensation pulled his attention back to it. He reasoned that the strange sensation had a part in Loki not being able to be healed, so he tracked it down first. More seidr poured into his Healing Spell, lighting his runework. Rhodey worried a little more when he found her torso riddled with the razor-sharp shards. Blood was spreading from veins and organs alike. They were obliviously sailing along the crimson current and slicing through anything that crossed their paths. Another powerful Orvaroddr Ward mounted instantly so that he could anchor the ward around her brain. There was no damage there yet, and there wasn't going to be if he could stop it.

Even more seidr poured into his Healing Spell when he saw that her heart had several small holes and cuts. It was slowing down so Rhodey took control of it to make sure it didn't stop. The shards in her lungs had done bloody damage as well. His next step was taking control of all of her organs to keep them functioning through the injuries. The shards were difficult to grasp so he locked them safely in place with the soul song of stillness and went about trying to repair the damage before he dealt with them. Unfortunately, every time he tried to direct cellular growth it melted back into seidr when he released it. All the seidr converted violently then absorbed into the shards. Understanding hit him swiftly of what the shards were doing to his Healing Spell. When he went to see if he could withdraw the blazing shards they shined a little brighter and vibrated slightly with how much seidr they'd soaked up. They looked frighteningly unstable to him. In the end all Rhodey did was meticulously repair every injury done to her heart and lungs, then shut down every place she was bleeding from. Those repairs were purposefully held in place through his Healing Spell. His soul song of blessings flowed from him to ensure that the repairs didn't come undone.

Speaking evenly so as to keep his younger brother calm, Rhodey said, "Anthony, I need you to go get the portal stone. It would be better if we didn't move Loki. Go and bring Frey here."

"You can't heal her?!" worry moved through the younger man's thoughts.

"No. I can't. The shards are stopping me. We need him here," he scowled at his younger brother wasting time.

"But can't you .." Anthony started.

"Anthony! They look unstable. What can unstable things do?" Rhodey snapped.

"Explode. Melt down. Catch on fire." The words of well-known effects flowed swiftly out of his mouth. Anthony had firsthand experience with all of them.

"I've never seen this before. I'm not going to risk these doing more damage while they're still in her lungs! Now go get the PORTAL STONE!" He raised his voice to get his younger brother moving.

"Be right back," Anthony shouted over his shoulder, he was already up and running. His tennis shoes slid on the floor of the hallway when he stopped to open the bedroom door and almost hit it instead. Throwing the door open, he rushed to the walk-in closet on the far side of the room. There were drawers build into the walls of the closet. They slid out of their tracks easy enough in his search for the portal stone. Loki kept it somewhere in there. Her habit of dropping the box in the nearest convenient drawer after using it wasn't helping him. Three drawers pulled out and dumped later and he found the small wooden box the stone was stored it. It was snatched up off the floor. Anthony turned and ran. Rhodey was still bent over Loki when he got back. "Anything?!" Worry tightly laced his voice

"I can't see a way to get them out without causing new injuries," Rhodey's tone didn't betray his worry. "Don't worry. The baby is safe, and I've stabilized her. Get him here."

Prior to Anthony dropping the box he dumped the stone into his hand. His seidr flickered out of his core into the stone. It only took a second for it to have enough for the spell to activate. He placed the stone in between the living room and kitchen. Deep black fumes began pouring from the little stone. The misty mass wound its way around the stone then arched into an upward spiral. It always reminded Anthony of an angry serpent. More worry filtered through his thoughts. Can't move Loki, can't move Loki. May have to run and get a healer if Frey isn't there. It was a longer run than he was comfortable with. Since he hadn't learned inter-realm teleportation yet, line of sight teleportation was all he had. It left him without a quick way to get her help. I'll just use the nimp. The vaporous black spiraled into an oval. It grew swiftly until the animate jet mist solidified into a deep grey mirrored disc that rippled softly like water.

The portal to Frey's office was open. Anthony cupped his hands in front of his mouth before bellowing as loud as he could into the darkness, "FREY! I need help!" He waited a moment before inhaling to yell again when Frey stepped through the portal.

.-.-.-.

Seeing this event was more enlightening the second time since Frey could see what happened before he arrived and how it was handled as well as the things he simply hadn't paid attention to when he lived the event. It pleased him to see Rhodes instantly begin handling this situation in an undisturbed fashion. There was even a small amount of amusement to be had from this brother-in-arms' irritated comment. Despite what he'd seen he still didn't believe that Anthony would allow himself to be tossed away from Loki when she was injured. The following Ascending and Descending Circles of Strength were formed with exacting precision. That was interesting to see. He didn't know his nephew-by-law was versed in that technique. It was useful knowledge to have, especially since Rhodes was so willing to lend his strength for Loki's care. Frey was even more pleased when he saw the powerful Orvaroddr Wards form under Rhodes' hand before they was applied to Loki. You moved swiftly to protect my unborn grandchild and Loki. He could do nothing other than approve of that. Ah, that was why I was called, not due to inability but caution. That was an excellent reason in Frey's mind. When Rhodes' runework lit he looked over it. It wasn't as filled in as his own runework. Some of the runes looked odd to him, as though they were strangely seated in the links. Seeing the beginning of what happened and knowing how it ended showed him a caution and care that pleased him greatly. Anthony had mentioned to him how Rhodes assisted in Loki's care from time to time. This let him feel much better about having a brother-in-arms involved as opposed to a healer. Anthony was still unskilled in healing while Rhodes' work was precise and controlled. Having another mage capable of healing near his beloved niece while she was away from him was a very pleasant thought, particularly since this brother-in-arms was so honorable and powerful. He's a good man.

Some Surprise tinged Director Fury's thoughts as he looked over Colonel Rhodes. His eyes widened an extra millimeter or two when the colonel lifted his hand and symbols made of garnet light appeared under it before he sunk those symbols into Loki. That's new, he thought. A small smile tugged at his lips. If the colonel could be taught to do that, other people could be taught to do it. He looked forward to it. He gave some thought to opening a new department for handling supernatural and occult people and incidents. There were more of them popping up every year.

The amount of Lilith's blood on the floor was making Clint was a little anxious. She was very pale and very still. Rhodey seemed to be handling it. He even shooed Tony off. The conflicted archer preferred for Rhodey to call 911 so trained EMTs could handle it. A moment of worrying passed before he took a deep breath and tried to set the worry aside again. He tried to refocus on the mission and taking in what information there was to be had. As much as he tried to look over the strange marks glowing on Rhodey's skin, his gaze kept drifting back to Lilith. She still wasn't moving.

When Frigga listened to Rhodes comment on Thor she was slightly incensed. It wasn't outweighed by her relief at seeing him dissuade a beast from attacking her son. There was no more irritation in her for this man. His defense of her son seemed honorable when she saw it. It was more honorable to her as she watched him attempt to save Loki's life while safeguarding her unborn grandchild. He argued for peace and life before while he actively worked for them in this recording. It genuinely looked like this half-blooded Dvergar had saved both of her children in just a few days. Frigga was wary though. Why an honorable mage would keep company with a beast whose ilk was known to be capriciously wrathful was a mystery.

The permanent portal stone was another mystery for the agitated Lady. She glanced to Odin as he glanced over to her. He too understood the significance of a that sort of portal stone. It was obvious that he had the same question in his mind as she did. How often do they go to Vanaheim? It was a peskier question now than it would've been before. If they went to Vanaheim so often then Frey had to know how poorly Stark treated Loki. Frigga came face to face again with how powerful Stark probably was. It wasn't certain yet; they hadn't seen his runework. Seeing that would give an irrefutable answer. Her brother was more than capable of moving some Midgardian, even a beastly one. Why he hadn't worried her. There were many things worrying her right then. All of them connected to Loki.

When part of the skaerevefer-glass statue shattered under Loki's arm Odin worried. Fragments of the glass could do serious harm to anyone and even worse to someone who was already weakened and with child. Stark making a clumsy attempt at handling the situation didn't settle his nerves. Having Rhodes take over the healing didn't set him at ease since his child was still unconscious on the floor. It did make him feel better to see Orvaroddr Wards placed around Loki's head and the babe. What pleased him was Rhodes' humility in swiftly calling for aid when faced with an unknown situation. It sounded to Odin like the Dvergar might have handled this without Frey had he known what skaerevefer-glass was. That it was concern for Loki's wellbeing motivating him to call for aid, not clumsy inability as with Stark, spoke to the honor he'd seen previously from Rhodes. You've worked to preserve the lives of my children and grandchildren. You seem truly honorable, Dvergar. How did you come to be the associate of a beast? That's very odd. As is that. His eyebrow arched at the sight of a permanent portal stone. It both surprised and encouraged Odin. That type of stone was a clear sign that they traveled to Vanaheim often which meant that Frey knew a great deal more than he was saying. A little frown chased across his lips. Getting the information might be difficult, though well worth the effort since it was about Loki. He needed to know what happened to his son. More than anything he needed to know how to get to his son. As little as he liked it, Frey was the one who had that information. So, to his brother-by-law he would have to go.

.-.-.-.

"Anthony? What's the matter?" Frey asked. Instantly he noticed several things. The powerful thrum of a dwarven mage's seidr core was pronounced in the room. This man's core felt nearly as powerful and aggressive as Anthony's. His Healing Spell was forceful. His eyes narrowed. Only family was allowed in the house, he wanted to know why there was a mage from Nidavellir there. At the same time, he noticed Loki lying on the floor, covered in blood. An open wound in her arm gaped at him. The Dvergar bent over Loki was trying to heal her. He moved swiftly towards them.

"I tried to heal it, but I couldn't. Something's wrong with the glass," Tony said as he went quickly to his wife. Desperation colored his voice. He knelt down beside Loki's head and ran a hand through her hair. She was barely breathing. "I don't know why it won't heal." What he didn't know was why he hadn't insisted on taking her down to the tank so he could use the nimp. His older brother didn't like using it though.

"Tony, hush," Rhodey's steely voice caught everyone's attention while his attention didn't wander from Loki. "I have her stabilized. Loki has slivers of skaerevefer-glass throughout her torso. They've absorbed enough seidr to look unstable. I don't know why the glass is doing that or how to get them out without causing more injuries." The older man looked to the pale monarch as he knelt down on Loki's other side. "Do you know how to get them out without further injuring her?"

Skaerevefer? Oh, no, no! "Ripping them out is the only way," Frey said quietly. It was sickening to know that he needed to hurt his beloved niece before he could begin healing her. If even the smallest piece was left in Loki's body, then the potency of the spell would be negated by the skaerevefer's diluting effect. The wounds wouldn't heal. Heartache began misting over his eyes at the thought of hurting Loki. There was nothing else to do. Frey formed his Healing Spell and tried to cover Loki in it. The dwarven mage's seidr was too powerful to get through easily.

This was less than ideal, it was, "Unfortunate." Rhodey wished he'd known sooner; he could have been healing her minutes ago. If this was what needed to happen then, "I'll do it. I need a pair of Ascending Circles of Strength from you for me to handle over control." His seidr surrounded the shards with his seidr as tightly as he could with the drawing sensation still active. Gripping them tightly, he pulled all of them from his sister-in-law's body. The red mist that came up with them settled quickly with no successive blood flow. He shut that down as well.

Before Frey could object dozens of bloody slivers flew up out of Loki's body. They stopped at the other mage's eye level for less than a second, in which he noticed the irate look in the Dvergar's eyes, before the shards were consumed in a contained explosion of brilliant garnet flames. Instinct bid him lean back from the sudden explosion, but there was no heat. These flames were cold. He didn't know what to think of the gossamer flakes of ash drifting down over Loki, landing on her like tiny individual regenerative weaves. However, when the mage across from him lifted his hands Frey placed his under them, on his beloved niece. More seidr unfurled to immediately form into an Ascending Circle of Strength over each of his hands. The dwarven mage formed Descending Circles of Strength and perfectly aligned them. Even more seidr unfurled from his core to light a sunny runework on his skin. It went into his Healing Spell. Working wordlessly through the circles the two of them switched their seidrs' places in the healing. Frey even appreciated that all of the places where this mage was holding injuries closed were pointed out to him so that he could take over them. This was more than handing over control, this was a silent report on what was done to heal Loki when he wasn't there. The entire process moved along swiftly in an orderly and controlled fashion which was also appreciated. The last thing that the Dvergar pointed out to him was the Loki was with child again and that there were two powerful Orvaroddr Wards protecting his unborn grandbabe and Loki's brain. Those were immensely welcome. Frey's irritation with someone other than family being in the house lessoned greatly as he saw the attention and care this man applied to the lethal wounds in his beloved niece's heart and lungs. These life threatening injuries were almost completely healed.

Resting his forehead on hers, Tony leaned over his wife. She was too still. His inability to begin handling this himself let the fear coil in his chest tightly. His eyes closed and he put a hand on the top of Loki's head. Only because it was his older brother and Frey handling the situation was he able to wait. He trusted both of them with Loki.

Once the King had complete control of the situation and all of what Rhodey did was pointed out he closed his Descending Circles of Strength. The nimp flashed through his mind. The desire to use it was whispering out through Anthony's seidr. A little disgust edged his thoughts. We don't need that filth. His unfolded seidr mounted into a Calm Heart Spell next which was released into his younger brother's chest before his seidr stowed back into his core. His soul songs remained for the moment.

The first thing Frey did was to closely examine the places where healing was done but destabilized by the skaerevefer-glass. The Dvergar held them closed so he needed to know how well it was done. If the flesh was just mashed together then he was going to have to remove the tissue around those areas and regrow all of it. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the patches were perfectly functional. The flesh was knit back together with directed cellular regeneration then held together carefully. It was all healing swiftly now that the shards were gone. All Frey needed to do was solidify the places with a little more of his seidr. Her body would replace those fleshy patches in time. That was fine since the quality of work guaranteed that they'd be replaced with ordinary tissue. There would be no scars from this. As soon as all of the places were solidified her heart and lungs began functioning properly on their own.

Next he took a quick survey of the places where he could feel injuries. Deep gashes, heavy blood loss, severed veins and tendons, cuts in the bone of the left upper arm and elbow and a clean break in each bone in both of her forearms were the initial injuries. Numerous internal cuts and punctures came after those. Internal bleeding came on their heels. Frey was grateful again when he looked carefully over his unborn grandchild and found the little one to be safe and unharmed behind the ward. The barrier ensured that no danger approached the babe. His attention moved to the nerve blocks he took over from the Dvergar. They were blunting the pain Loki would've felt. They were tightly controlled and efficient. His beloved niece was in no pain. That was when he noticed how little seidr she had left. The wounds were fresh, so it didn't seem like Anthony and the Dvergar waited long before calling to him for assistance. The slivers of skaerevefer-glass were many but didn't seem like they'd drained so much of her seidr. It was suspicious, though not suspicious enough for him to stop healing Loki to ask about it.

Following his survey Frey looked towards the blood that was free floating near the internal injuries. That blood that was no longer useable was discarded. Any that was still useable was cleaned and guided back to her veins as he closed the holes in them by prompting directed cellular regeneration in the injured tissues. The torn flesh knit itself back together. The rest of the cuts held shut in her lungs solidified while the ones in her abdomen closed quickly. Frey turned his attention to the wound in her arm. Severed tendons were pulled back into place and reattached to bone with more cellular regeneration. He moved his attention to the cuts and scrapes along her bones then. More directed cellular regeneration was prompted to fill in those cuts with new bone growth, which was depressingly porous. The clean breaks were knit back together without leaving any scars behind to betray his work. He glared for a moment at the other stubborn scars on her bones before leaving them be. Her seidr core still wouldn't let him remove them. In preparation for ending the healing Frey ensured that her blood vessels were properly aligned, connected and unobstructed. Fresh skin closed over the wounds leaving nothing but pale flesh as a reminder. All he had left to do was ensure that her nerves were functioning accurately then he could release his hold on them, clean the blood from his beloved niece and thank the Dvergar for his attention to Loki. To that end he sent an extensive sensing pulse through her entire nervous system instead of just the local area around her arm.

An alarming dullness coming from the nerves traveling to and from her head made a pronounced appearance. Frey followed those nerves to the source of the dullness and was aghast at what he found. Her eyes, no! This cannot be! The nerves in her eyes were almost entirely deadened. The tips were beginning to wither away. There were only a few left that kept blood flowing through them. The small cones and rods in her eyes were all withered away to nothing. The viscous lens at the center of each iris were totally clouded over. Their ability to be used was utterly destroyed. Even the color in her irises was drained away. There was nothing he could do. Every important part of her eyes was withered. Much of it looked like old burn scarring. It all made him want to cry. His beloved niece had another injury that he couldn't heal.

For a moment, he was tempted to push more seidr into his Healing Spell to strengthen it. If he could strengthen it enough, then he could regenerate the damage done. He stopped himself before he did it. He already knew how her seidr core would react if he tried to regrow something lost. It attacked him every time he tried and would do so again. There could be no regrowing of lost limbs for those with a seidr core. The core itself wouldn't allow it. Frey pushed back the urge to cry again. How did this happen? He was going to need answers for this, and possibly blood if negligence or malice was at play.

Since every bit of damage from the skaerevefer was repaired, Frey decided that it was safe to withdraw. The wards couldn't be broken without injuring Loki so left them. They certainly weren't doing any harm and were set to break down in a few hours on their own. Frey checked again that his grandchild was well before finally withdrawing his Healing Spell from Loki. His seidr furled back to his core.

The King extracting his seidr from Loki was what Rhodey was waiting for. Unfolding his seidr, he mounted a Restoration Spell. Steamy seidr released to flow around them in currents. The garnet currents vaporized the blood then sucked up the crimson mist. The overturned table was righted before the toys were steam cleaned and gathered into a pile on the sofa. Everything and everyone in the area was tidy a minute later. Rhodey's spell returned to him to be broken down into seidr and stowed back in his core. The quiet distress in the pale monarch's seidr combined with a growing look of shock on his face told him what was just found. It was a response he understood. He nodded once then stood silently and backed away to give Loki's uncle some space.

The powerful Restoration Spell swept over them like a shimmering bloody fog. Part of Frey wanted to be glad that the blood was cleaned from Loki. He couldn't take his eyes from her face. Her eyes were still closed, but he knew what was under her eyelids; knew exactly what wasn't there that should be. He stared openly in dismay at Loki's eyes. Little goosebumps prickled at his skin. He gently touched her face.

Loki was unconscious and close, so Tony pulled her into his lap. Flaring out his seidr to his older brother, it whispered, Thank you. A second later, "Thank you, Frey." It was obvious by Frey's reaction that he'd seen what was wrong with Loki's eyes. This couldn't be hidden anymore.

"Her eyes, what happened?" shock stuttered Frey's words.

Frey's horrified gaze was more than he could meet. Tony gathered Loki to him and stood. A little grimace crossed his face that this was how Loki's uncle found out. It wasn't supposed to be this way. "Let me get her into the tank, then we'll talk." Turning, he walked down to the medical lab with Frey close behind.

.-.-.-.

Turning, Frey walked back to his seat. Seeing it again was unpleasant but enlightening for a new reason. In a strange way, he was glad that this brother-in-arms removed the skaerevefer-glass shards from Loki. Just the thought of harming one of his family was sickening. Thankfully, he was spared that foul action yet allowed to heal Loki. When he sat back in his seat he thought it was odd that the recording lingered on Rhodes while he and Anthony went down the stairs. He only wondered for a moment what they were supposed to see when Rhodes called after them, "I'll handle the shards and get the toys cleaned and put away, Tony." The Dvergar went over to the metal bin and scowled down into it.

"Jarvis, who put that statue on the table," he asked the construct quietly. A few feet away the portal finally dissipated into black smoke that was sucked back into the stone.

"Madam did, Colonel Rhodes," the construct's voice was equally quiet. Anthony's construct seemed almost embarrassed by what it had to report. Frey was glad to know who was responsible since he didn't believe that Anthony would reveal that to him.

"Hm," was all the response the construct received from Rhodes before another contained explosion of frigid garnet flames detonated in the metal bin. Everything within was incinerated while the bin itself was unharmed. The Dvergar looked over to where Loki fell with an irritated expression on his face. Frey smirked hard when he heard, "I'll have to discuss that with her." The dwarven mage's tone of voice carried the same honorable disapproval and certainty of chastisement as it had when he took Anthony to task. Ordinarily he didn't care for anyone but himself, his sister and sometimes her husband disciplining Loki and Thor. Strange satisfaction edged his thoughts at finding someone else that he might not mind disciplining either of them. That such an ethical scolding might fall on her for injuring herself and endangering his grandchild added a little righteousness to his thoughts. Oh my dear, you might deserve admonishing from an honorable mage for such a dangerous decision. You're going to get an admonishment from me. This was foolish, my dear. We will have words over it.

Honor and wrath found a comfortable equilibrium in his mind. Frey smiled at that. Only Loki seemed capable of provoking comfortably diverging emotions. Frigga turned to watch him for a moment. "Yes, sweetling?" he asked quietly. She smiled kindly at him, there was so much love in her eyes. It warmed him to see.

"Thank you," she said quietly before she turned back around. Frigga was so grateful that Frey was there for Loki again, when she hadn't been. Most of the rest of her anger with him slid away. The only thorns in her side were what Loki told him and how that might lead to an Inquiry to Enlightenment, and Loki's current living circumstances. Frey tolerated them for a reason, but she didn't know what it was. The mysteries around her son were displeasing her.