Chapter 11 – Heat

Loki and Sigyn had only followed the cave for a short distance before they turned a corner and the road diverged into three separate paths. The first continued to snake up sharply toward the sky. The second was level and the third curved toward the right. Loki studied their options with a frown, trying to decide which one to choose.

"We could...we could ask the Azimuth," Sigyn said quietly.

Loki shook his head. "Not yet," he answered in a low voice. "Hambli wouldn't have surrendered it so easily if he had any idea what it could do. I don't trust him. He might have spies following us even now. I don't want to use the crown until we reach the surface- unless we have no choice."

Sigyn bowed her head, accepting the decision. "This way, then..." she suggested, pointing toward the far left pathway. "Look! The walls are damp. I've seen it in the sea caves. It's groundwater seeping down from above."

Loki nodded and allowed Sigyn to lead the way. They were mostly silent as they walked, both from custom and from the continuing suspicion that they might be followed. Although his lips were still, Loki's mind was humming with activity. There were questions that he wanted to pose to the Azimuth- but information that he wished to demand of Sigyn as well. What had she been thinking, offering herself up as the prize in a game of chance? As soon as he knew they were alone, he intended to give her a thorough lecture for the stunt that she had pulled with Hambli. True, it had worked out okay in the end- but that didn't make up for the terror that she had put him through! He might expect such rash behavior from someone like his brother Thor, but certainly not from a girl like Sigyn...not that he had figured out exactly what sort of girl Sigyn was quite yet.

No matter how much thought he dedicated to the problem, Loki couldn't make sense of the girl. He was used to women like the Lady Sif and the Valkyeries: cold, tough warriors who demanded to be dealt with on the same terms as men, or women like Freya and his mother, who used their beauty and feminine charms to compel their men to protect and keep them. Sigyn was strong and soft: capable of driving a dagger through an Ettin's throat, but afraid to sleep alone. She was frustrating and confusing...and captivating.

Loki suppressed a groan when he recalled waking up that morning with her in his arms. When they laid down to sleep, there had been a proper distance between them. Sometime in the night, they had shifted, so that Sigyn's little body was pressed up tightly against his own. She had fitted perfectly: her head tucked under his chin, her back against his chest, her pert little bottom flush against his hips. The feel of her, the scent of her hair and the memory of her naked body when she washed in the cave had rendered him almost painfully aroused. In the groggy twilight between sleep and waking, Loki had been sorely tempted to act. As much as he despised Hambli for his perverted designs on Sigyn, Loki had to admit that the fantasies that raced through his mind in that morning were no less wicked and depraved. He wondered if part of his anger with the dwarf stemmed from the fact that the chieftain coveted something that Loki had started to think of as his own.

Uncomfortable with the direction of his thoughts, Loki tore his mind away. He tried to concentrate on the things that he wanted to ask the Azimuth, but as the hours slipped past, his eyes kept returning to Sigyn.

They continued climbing. The air turned colder. The water that had been dripping down the rock walls of the cavern was frozen. Icicles hung among the stalactites, virtually indistinguishable in the dark.

They stopped after a while to share their last two apples and a wedge of cheese that remained in Loki's pack. Unsurprisingly, Hambli had not honored his promise to provide provisions. All things considered considered, Loki supposed that they were lucky that their packs and cloaks had been returned. The cave was much too cold for the insubstantial dress Sigyn had worn to the feasting. She had her traveling robes pulled tightly around her shoulders. Loki frowned when he saw that she was shivering.

"Here." Loki took off his cape and offered it to her.

"I can't!" Sigyn protested. "You'll freeze."

"I never get cold," he countered - and meant it. Loki had always been strangely impervious to freezing weather. Of course, Asgard was never chilly. He had discovered the quirk by accident during mountain holidays as a child. The quality had come in quite handy during the snowball fights that he held with Thor. His older brother always commenced the battles with gusto, but couldn't tolerate the chill for long and was forced to surrender. Loki, on the other hand, could happily play among the drifts for hours.

Sigyn let him lay the cape around her shoulders. Loki was glad that she had accepted his help- and then disgusted with himself when the sight of the green velvet wound around her shoulders dragged his mind off track again, reminding him of when she had wrapped the cloth around her naked body to sleep.

"Look!"

Loki was grateful when the sound of Sigyn's voice snapped him back to attention. Her hand was extended forward. Loki strained his eyes to look in the direction that she was pointing. Far ahead and high above he could make out a pale glow. "That looks like daylight!" he exclaimed and started walking faster.

The trail was very steep and slick from ice. Their progress was slow, but they kept moving toward the light. The temperature dropped further and further as they climbed. As the light grew larger, they could make out the path ahead. Rather than stone, the walls of the tunnel now appeared to be made of solid ice. Wind whistled past the mouth of the cave, filling it with eerie whines and moans that echoed through the darkness.

The glow had faded considerably by the time they reached the small opening that led to the outside world. Loki assumed that night was falling, although it was impossible to tell with certainty. A storm was raging. Snow swirled through the air so thickly that he couldn't see anything beyond the mouth of the cave.

"Svartalfheim?" Sigyn asked uncertainly.

Loki shook his head. He didn't want to frighten his companion, but he felt a sinking certainty that he knew where they were.

"We'll stay here until the storm dies down," he told Sigyn. It would be suicide to venture out in the weather. At least they were sheltered from the relentless winds inside the cave.

Loki spread the green fire into a circle around them. It filled the cave with light- although the magic didn't offer any warmth.

Sigyn arranged her travelling cloak on the ground and then settled miserably onto the ice. Her teeth chattered as she fished through her pack in a futile search for something to eat.

Loki noticed that she was shivering again. "You really are freezing!" he exclaimed.

Sigyn shook her head. "Y-you sh-should t-t-take your cloak b-back..." Sigyn said through chattering teeth. "S-s-s-so c-cold."

"I'm fine," Loki insisted- and he was. The cold had not affected him in the slightest.

Sigyn, on the other hand, was miserable. She was also stubborn.

"N-no!" She tried to wriggle out of the cape, but her frigid fingers were too clumsy to obey.

Loki sighed.

"What about a compromise?" he suggested. Before she could answer, he tugged the velvet free from Sigyn and draped it over his own back. Then- despite knowing that he would regret it- he pulled Sigyn onto his lap.

Loki took it as an indication of how very numb Sigyn was that she didn't immediately try to move away. She was perfectly docile as he rubbed her arms and back and puffed his warm breath over her skin until the shivering began to subside and color returned to her cheeks. Even when she was still, Loki kept Sigyn locked in his arms, letting his uncanny warmth flow into her body.

He knew the exact moment that she started feeling better. Sigyn let out a gasp of shock and started to twist away, but Loki held her fast.

"We shouldn't-!" she exclaimed. "It isn't proper!"

"I believe that our options are disregarding propriety or letting you freeze to death," Loki said calmly. He readjusted the cape so that it blocked the bitter wind from their faces. "I'll take it quite personally if you say you prefer death...besides- I'm being a gentleman. My friend Fandral would insist that this sort of thing only works naked."

The color in Sigyn's cheeks deepened- this time from embarrassment. She squirmed on Loki's lap, earning a tortured groan. "Sigyn- sit still!" Loki commanded through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry!" she squeaked. Then, despite the instructions, she moved again, twisting toward him to meet his gaze. "I truly am sorry, Loki," she said quietly. "For everything...I never thanked you for saving me from that horrible dwarf."

Loki gave a dismissive snort. "As I recall you saved yourself...although, I'm still not certain how you did it." He frowned, deciding that it was finally time to ask his questions. "That was your voice that I heard, wasn't it? In the vault? You told me the answer to Hambli's riddle."

Sigyn nodded.

"You're a telepath?"

"Not exactly...at least, not in the way that you mean. It is called 'kahalan'- the mind-song. It was the first language of the Vanir- before the war, when we lived by the sea and didn't know the common tongue. It was images and emotions then, instead of words. Spoken language came much later...and even then, kahalan was what we used to sing fish into our nets and it was the voice that mothers used to speak to their children in the womb..."

Sigyn glanced at Loki's pack. "Some said that the Azimuth was merely a means of sharing kahalanwith the Norns and the great ones who shape the worlds and fates..."

She fell silent for a moment before continuing. "Eventually, the old ways were mostly forgotten. It wasn't useful in dealing with the other realms. Kahalan can be taught to a non-Vanir, but only as a young child and even then with extreme difficulty. During the war, it began to fall out of use and disappeared almost entirely after the Vanir moved to Asgard. Now, only the very oldest of the Vanir are adept, but Grandfather taught me when I was young. He taught all of my sisters- although we only really ever used it to annoy one another. I'm out of practice. I almost didn't manage-"

"I understand how you spoke to me," Loki clarified, "But how did you know the answer to the riddle?"

"Kahalan isn't a language in the manner of speaking and listening. It's...it's like a connection between minds. When you heard my voice, you were really feeling what was in my mind. I did the same to Hambli. I joined our thoughts and saw his trick."

"You did it without his knowing?"

"Yes. Like I said, it was harder than I expected. For a moment-"

Sigyn kept speaking, but Loki was distracted by a sudden, horrifying thought, "Have you ever read my mind?"

"No!" she said quickly, and then moved to reassure him. "You'd be able to tell if I tried. I'm very clumsy. You would feel me trying to make the bond."

"The headaches," Loki said as the pieces fell into place. He remembered the sharp pain that had preceded Sigyn's message and the sudden onset of Hambli's hangover.

"Yes."

Loki was silent for a moment as he pondered what Sigyn had told him. "So...it wouldn't have mattered which riddle Hambli chose. You would have heard the answer in his mind."

"Well, that was my plan."

Loki's lips spread into a wide grin.

"What?" Sigyn demanded.

"You cheated!" Loki said gleefully. He couldn't contain a laugh at the indignant expression that instantly sprang to Sigyn's face.

"I did not! I merely...employed all available resources. The rules said that you couldn't use magic...there was nothing that prevented me from-"

"You cheated," Loki said again. He flashed Sigyn another smile, but then his expression became more serious. "It was still a crazy risk! Even if we guessed correctly, there was no assurance that Hambli would honor the bet. Whatever possessed you to try it?"

"It was the only way to get the Azimuth!"

"But why does that matter to you?" Loki asked. His tone was harsher than he intended. Sigyn flinched. Loki softened his voice before continuing. "I mean...why would you want to help me? I practically blackmailed you into coming along?"

"I-!" Sigyn started to speak, but clamped her mouth shut. There was a struggle on her face. Loki would have given anything to know kahalan at that moment, so that he could read the thoughts dancing behind Sigyn's eyes. For just a moment, he had the crazy notion that Sigyn was about to blurt out that she had done it for him- that she wanted to help him because she cared- but of course that was his overactive imagination.

Sigyn quickly regained control of her expression. Her lips twisted into a wry grin. "Practically blackmailed?" she asked in a sarcastic drawl.

Loki laughed sheepishly. Sigyn shifted again. This time, she laid her head against his shoulder. She closed her eyes. He thought she was asleep when she whispered:

"It's my adventure."

"What?" Loki wasn't certain that he had heard correctly.

"You asked why I cared about getting the Azimuth...it's because...because this is my adventure. I know it must sound silly to you, but...but I've spent so many years at Noatun, reading about the things that happened long ago, about warriors and sorcerers and quests...but I never thought that it would happen to me...and now that it has...I just thought...I thought, maybe now someone will tell my story someday... and 'it was too hard, so they headed home' isn't much of an ending."

"Oh, no- 'she spent the rest of eternity being molested by dwarves' is much more compelling, I agree," Loki fired back, but there wasn't any malice in his voice.

"I told you that you would think it was silly," Sigyn sighed. "I'm sure that you've had lots of adventures."

"I've had my share," Loki agreed. "Although- not as many as my brother." He couldn't prevent the note of bitterness that crept into his voice. "Father tends to send Thor for the quests and battles. Apparently my brother is brave and formidable and I'm...clever."

Sigyn raised her hand to Loki's cheek. "You're jealous of your brother?" she asked, surprising him with her bluntness.

Loki opened and closed his mouth several times. His instinct was to lash out and punish Sigyn for her audacious question, but he bit his tongue. Perhaps it was still wishful thinking on his part, but there was something about Sigyn that made him think that she really did care about his answer- and that she might understand. After all, she did have six sisters, and no one would accuse Freya of being an attentive parent.

Loki was still debating how to answer when an eerie howl rose over the whine of the wind and interrupted his thoughts.

Sigyn stiffened. "What was that?"

Before Loki could answer, another yowl carried through the storm.

"Wolves," he whispered, tightening his grip on Sigyn. "Don't worry- they won't come close to the fire."

He hoped that he was right.

The storm was abating. Through the remaining flurries, Loki could finally make out the landscape beyond the cave. Towering drifts surrounded the entrance, resembling frozen waves on a stormy sea. Beyond them, huge black trees, each as big around as a tower, spiked up out of the snow. They rose like columns, so tall and so close together that they looked like a solid wall. There was no underbrush, but even so it was impossible to peer more than a little ways into the wood.

Loki was scanning the sight when he noted something even more sinister. From the corner of his eye he saw a silvery figure lurking near the outermost edge of the fire. It was a wolf. It appeared normal in all respects, except for its size. Even on all fours, it was easily the height of a man and its body was wide as a horse.

Loki held his breath as the animal turned toward him. The magical green flames flashed in its amber eyes. For a heart-stopping second, Loki caught its gaze. The wolf barred its teeth and hunkered back on its haunches. Very slowly, Loki reached for his sword- but before the animal could spring forward, a sharp yip carried through the darkness. The wolf stopped to sniff the air. He returned the cry, and then disappeared into the woods.

It was several seconds before either of the travelers dared to breathe, much less speak. It was Sigyn who broke the silence first.

"They don't have wolves like that in Svartalfheim," she said in a tone that was begging for contradiction.

"No," Loki agreed. "I don't think we're in Svartalfheim anymore."

"What are we going to do?" Sigyn asked in a frightened whisper. "We can't fight wolves like that! What if there are more?"

"I don't know," Loki answered. He looked down at his sword, and then shifted his attention to the traveling pack instead. "But...I may have an idea of how to find out."

Sigyn sucked in her breath as Loki reached into the bag and retrieved the Azimuth. Its pale blue glow reflected on the snowy walls of the cave. He turned it over in his hands, running his fingers over its smooth facets. He frowned briefly when he encountered a rough gouge where a piece of the crystal was missing, but then he reached into his pack again. He retrieved the pouch that had been delivered outside of his door in Asgard and shook out the small shard that had set their quest in motion.

Loki held the shimmering piece of crystal up against the crown. He smiled to discover that it was a perfect fit. He held the chip in place for just a moment, and then gasped as it seemed to melt back into place.

"Try my piece!" Sigyn said, excited. She took the chain off of her neck and offered it to Loki. He turned the crown over in his hands- but couldn't discover any place that the chunk might go.

Sigyn rubbed her pendant against the crown, hoping that the magic of the object would show them where it belonged, but nothing happened.

"It doesn't fit," Loki said apologetically.

Sigyn's featured crumpled with disappointment. "I always thought...grandfather said...well...I suppose I was wrong."

Loki squeezed her hand in silent sympathy, but then he returned his attention to the crown. He took a deep breath, and then set it on his head.

He wasn't certain what was supposed to happen. He half-expected to feel a tingling, or hear voices, or for the crown to become heavy with all of King Salkin's old wisdom- but he didn't feel anything at first. He looked to Sigyn for guidance.

"Try just asking a question," she said anxiously.

Loki nodded. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to concentrate as he said aloud. "How do we get past the wolves?"

At first, nothing happened. Loki was about to decide that it hadn't worked, when the glow of the crown intensified. He felt a voice inside his head- without any pain this time.

"You are in the Lady's wood. The wolves are under her power. They will not harm you."

Loki repeated the answer aloud.

Sigyn's eyes grew wide. "Which lady?" she asked. "And where do we go next?"

Loki decided to ask the second question. Once again, there was a pause, then a glow and, finally, an answer:

"Walk forward into the wood. You will find a short path. At the end of the path you will reach the Lady's cottage. Go now, before the storm begins again."

Loki told Sigyn what he had learned and then he moved to obey. He carefully returned the Azimuth to his pack and rose to his feet.

The wind had calmed, and it was slightly warmer than it had been before. Loki worried about Sigyn, but knew that he couldn't leave her in the cave alone. He took her hand as they walked to the mouth of the cave.

A wolf howled nearby.

Sigyn balked. Her terrified eyes looked at Loki's face. "Are you sure of what the Azimuth said? Do you think that we can trust it?"

"We don't have any choice."

Sigyn nodded and steeled herself, then she took Loki's hand again. Together, they stepped into the snow.

The drifts were even deeper than he had feared. In places, they snow was up to his knees. It was impossible for Sigyn to wade through in her dress. In the end, he carried her most of the way. After a struggle, they made it to the trees where the high canopy of blue leaves had prevented most of the snow from touching the ground.

Loki could hear the wolves circling around them in the darkness. Occasionally, he would catch a flash of fur from the corner of his eyes and his hand tensed on the blade of the sword, but the animals didn't attack. The Azimuth seemed to have spoken truly. They hadn't walked very far through the woods before they came upon a narrow path. They followed it up a small hill and around a bend. Then, just as the crown predicted, Loki spied a snug little cottage sitting next to a frozen stream.

"The Lady's house!" Sigyn exclaimed, tugging him forward.

Loki's features echoed Sigyn's relief. He was half afraid that the welcoming little house was an illusion. It looked too good to be true. It was a tidy little structure fashioned of bright gray stone with a pointed slate roof. A decorative garland of pine boughs and holly was hung on the red front door. A cheerful puff of smoke was rising out of the chimney and lights were burning brightly in the windows.

"We're safe!" Sigyn cried when they had almost reached the cottage. She stopped for a moment and flung her arms around Loki's neck in relief. Without thinking, his own arms slipped around her waist. He met her eyes. Then, they both froze.

Loki expected Sigyn to pull away. If she didn't, he knew that he should- but his body refused to obey. Very slowly, Sigyn closed her eyes. She lifted her chin toward him, offering her lips. A shiver ran through Loki's body as he felt the gentle puff of her breath against his skin. One of his hands moved up her back, pressing her against his chest as his mouth drifted down toward hers. Time seemed to stand still as they moved closer...closer...

A loud sound caused them both to jump apart.

Loki swung around, his hand on his sword, but faltered in surprise at the sight which met his eyes.

The front door of the cottage was flung open. A woman was standing on the threshold.

At first, Loki could not make out the lady's appearance, but as she stepped toward them, the moon came out from behind a cloud. Silvery light illuminated the stranger's her features and Loki sucked in his breath at the sight of the most beautiful woman he had ever known.

The lady's skin was as white and unblemished as the fresh fallen snow. Her hair was black as coal. It fell in inky rivers around her narrow shoulders and her large, pert breasts. Her face was delicate, but striking. Midnight blue eyes were set above a small, straight nose, blood red lips and pearly teeth. She moved as though she were dancing, stepping over the snow with impossible grace.

The woman spared a small nod to Sigyn, but her glittering eyes were locked on Loki's face. "You have found me at last, Loki Odinsson," she said in a musical voice. "I have waited so long for you to come."

Loki was almost too dazzled to answer, but finally found his voice. "I fear you have the advantage over me, my Lady. I did not know that I was expected, or I would have traveled this way much sooner- and I regret that I do not know your name."

The woman laughed as though his answer pleased her.

"Do not apologize, my prince. I saw your coming in the threads before they were spun...and I saw other things as well- but you will learn them all in time. For now I will offer greetings and shelter in my humble house."

The woman made a deep curtsy and then gestured the Prince toward the cottage.

"I am Angrboda . Welcome to the Iron Wood."

A/N: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

(But seriously- thank you again to everyone who reviewed. A lot of new people seemed to join the story (or at least start commenting) with Chapter 10. Welcome! I look forward to your comments and questions. It helps me immeasurably in figuring out what is working and what is not.

I hope that the explanation of the kahalan wasn't too cheesy...I hinted at the ability way back in Chapter 2, but I think most people missed it. Hopefully I can fix that when/if I rewrite the story someday!)