Chapter 17 – Fire

"My lady, reconsider! There must be another way!" Grevis said fretfully.

"This is the only way!"Sigyn replied with a sigh. She had been going over her plan with the other wolf for days on end, but he continued to state objections.

"But the whistle-!"

"By the time the witch knows what we are doing, it will be too late to use it," Sigyn said firmly. "We'll lure her away from the house."

"But it's dangerous!"

"I'm not asking you to be there!" Sigyn couldn't resist the instinct to take on a menacing growl.

Grevis was undaunted. "You are the one who should not play a part in it, Your Highness! What if you were hurt…or killed?"

Sigyn pawed the snow, thoughtful for a moment before she added, "That will work as well."

Beside her, Fenrir whimpered for attention.

The cub had been her constant shadow since she had rescued him a few weeks before. At first, she expected him to die, since she had no way of obtaining milk, and he was very tiny. To her surprise and relief, he took instantly to meat. Rather than withering away, he was thriving. The little wolfling was already three times as large as when she had found him. At his current rate, Sigyn fully expected him to grow larger than her before winter came again.

For the time being, however, Fenrir was still a kinetic little bundle of curiosity and fur. He lacked the understanding of adult conversation, as well as the patience to sit quietly until they were done. He whined again. When he didn't get a response, he nipped at the pendant hung around Sigyn's neck.

If Sigyn were still human, she would have emitted a very long suffering sigh. As it was, she spared a moment to swipe her tongue across Fenrir's face and then gently nudge him in the direction of trailing branch on a nearby tree. A few blue leaves were bouncing in the wind. As she hoped, they instantly captured the puppy's attention, leaving Sigyn to finish her conversation in peace.

Grevis watched Sigyn's interaction with the youngster. Then, when he had her attention again, he made a final plea.

"Just be patient a little while longer!" He urged. "I'm certain that-"

"Don't you want it to be over?"

Grevis blinked at Sigyn's interruption. He was quiet for a long moment and finally dipped his head.

"Yes, Your Highness," he admitted at last. "I want it to be over…one way or another."

"Then you know what we must do."

A heavy silence fell between them. Sigyn turned her head away, focusing her attention on Fenrir's clumsy attempts to pounce on the swaying branch. She envied his innocence. He was completely unaware of what was about to come, of what had come before, and how much they had to lose.

"I will understand if the others don't wish to take the risk," Sigyn said. "They can hide in the dens on the far side of the forest. Even if the witch uses her whistle, it is too far to run to her before the danger is past."

Grevis stiffened his posture. If it were possible, the wolf looked offended. "We are warriors of the Nine Realms, my lady," he said, stiffly. "None of us will shy from the call of duty."

"Gather them then," Sigyn told him, anxious to strike while they both held their nerve. "We will move tonight."

Grevis tossed his head in agreement. "We will meet you on the ridge when the moon rises above the trees."

"Go now."

Sigyn watched the silver wolf disappear and then returned her attention to Fenrir. She tried calling to him and, when he failed to pay attention, finally picked him up by the scruff of his neck and carried him through the woods.

Her destination wasn't far away.

She shivered as the eerie howls and hoots of the creatures in Angrboda's pit carried through the darkness. Fenrir whimpered in fright, but she dropped him into the snow and licked his back until he was soothed. She nudged him into a hollowed out tree and left him to paw at beetles crawling between the roots while she hunted a rabbit for their evening meal.

Sigyn didn't manage more than a few bites of meat for herself. She laid the rest inside the tree trunk with Fenrir and then pushed him back into the darkness.

"You have to stay here, Fenrir," she said firmly.

The puppy didn't answer. He cocked his head to the side and stared up at her with his strange green eyes, but gave no indication that he understood.

"You'll be safe," Sigyn promised, reassuring herself, even if the cub could not understand her. "It will only take a minute…and then I'll be back to fetch you. You will get meet Loki soon- won't you like that?"

Fenrir quit paying attention. He curled up next the rabbit carcass. His ears flattened and his pink tongue curled as he yawned and then closed his eyes.

"Sleep well," Sigyn whispered tenderly. She watched him for a few moments before she remembered herself and went to work.

Sigyn hunted among the roots of the tree for stones to lay across the entrance. When she couldn't find enough, she began to dig in the hard dirt, using the soil to wall up Fenrir's hiding place. Unfortunately, the gouge in the soil and the pile of rocks was rather obvious, but she was more concerned with keeping the puppy inside- and out of mischief- than hiding him from passersby.

When she had done the best that she could manage, Sigyn trotted to the ridge overlooking the pit to wait for the others. It wasn't long before the pale crescent of moon began to climb the night sky, filling the forest with silvery light. One by one, the other wolves of her pack came to join her.

When everyone had gathered, Grevis walked to the center of the group. His kahalan was the strongest and so he explained the plan. The other wolves nodded their understanding and then followed Sigyn down the cliff to the pit. They skirted along the edge and then veered back into the forest where she led them to her find: a long hollowed out log that had fallen across the path.

Sigyn walked up to the tree and pressed her snout against the wood, demonstrating the technique that the other wolves had used to roll her into the lake on the first day of her transformation. The others took their place at her side and, acting together, they began to move it into place.

The work was painfully slow. Even acting in concert, the wolves had barely enough strength to move the massive log. They pushed and struggled for more than an hour before the path started to slope and the log began to roll on its own.

Sigyn yipped in warning as the tree began to pick up speed.

"Get out ahead of it!" she cried, but it was too late. The trail dipped sharply and the log barreled out of control.

Sigyn held her breath as the tree hurtled toward the pit. It smashed against Angrboda's lean-to and then jack-knifed into the void.

A howl of frustration rose in Sigyn's throat. It had taken weeks to find the log and prepare it for their purposes. Who knew how much longer it would be before she could find another? Sigyn was about to declare the experiment a failure and send the others away when one of the wolves at the edge of their group fell back in a crouch and barred his teeth.

She glanced up to see what was the matter and then froze.

The plan had worked after all. The log had landed against the wall of the pit, and one of the monsters used it as a ladder to scramble out.

The wolves retreated to the top of the ridge before they dared to turn around and watch.

There wasn't any name for the abomination that climbed out of the ground. It was as red as blood, with a long, sinewy body, six legs and a spiked tail. Behind it, a small blue creature with spindly legs and razor-sharp claws staggered onto the snow, and that was followed by an enormous serpent which might have been the one Sigyn saw before- only it was now four lengths of a man!

A few of the wolves bolted in fright, but Sigyn held her ground, watching as three more monsters crawled their way to freedom. But then something happened that she did not expect. From her vantage point high above, she saw a giant, man-like creature take the tree trunk in his grasp. He lifted it as though it weighed nothing at all and swung it like a club. A cry of consternation went up in the hole as the crude weapon crashed into scales and flesh. A few of the creatures went flying, bloody and crushed, and then he swung the tree again.

The wood smashed against the heavy iron chain which held down a motley dragon. The ancient metal groaned and then snapped as the creature beat its atrophied wings in a bid to escape. The broken shackle clanged against the rock wall and the dragon found just enough power to rise up out of its cage.

The dragon teetered on the edge of the chasm. It looked so frail and ragged that Sigyn thought it might fall back in- but the taste of freedom seemed to give it strength. It reared back its scaly head and breathed a plume of fire into the trees.

The leathery blue leaves of the great trees resisted the first assault, but a second puff of flames caused them to smolder. The remaining wolves began to scatter in earnest as the canopy began to ignite. Sigyn acted on instinct, following her body's impulse to simply get away. She ran for several minutes before she realized that she had to turn back.

"Fenrir!" Sigyn cried out, remembering that she had left the puppy tucked in the trunk of a tree. He was trapped and would surely be roasted alive if she didn't go back to save him.

"Leave him!" Grevis pleaded, but Sigyn didn't listen. She wheeled around and headed back to the ridge.

Fire was uncommon in the Ironwood and it spread quickly. Sigyn tried to go back the way that she had come but a wall of flames blocked her path. She looped around headed toward the stream, hoping that the water would stem the progress of the flames. She hopped onto the path that followed the course, and continued half a mile before she skidded to a stop. The path was blocked by one of the monsters. Behind him was a man.

No, not just a man! Sigyn's heart beat faster as she placed the face. It was Loki!

She cried out his name through the kahalan- but she managed it just a moment too late. Loki had already spied her and- from his actions- misread her approach as an attack! The silver whistle was at his lips. Sigyn wanted to bound forward to his side, but her body was beholden to the witch's magic and the whistle's command to fight the monster instead.

"No! Please!" Sigyn forced the words out, even as she advanced on the beast, teeth barred. It was the first monster that escaped. It held its scarlet body to the ground and menaced her with its long, barbed tail.

"Loki, it's me! Don't make me do this!" Sigyn's skill in kahalan had improved enough to send the message, even though she was no longer in control.

The monster attacked. It cracked its tail like a whip, landing a blow against Sigyn's ribs. She howled in pain and backed away, but the magic propelled her forward again. She pounced and snarled.

"Loki! Please! It's me!"

"Sigyn?" the word was almost a whisper, but the magical grip on Sigyn's muscles suddenly released. She slumped to the ground and barely missed another vicious lash of the creature's deadly tail.

"Run!" she called out to Loki, sprinting past him. She hoped that he would follow. She was only a few steps from Fenrir's tree. It was caught between the monster and the flames.

She glanced backwards and saw that the monster was advancing on Loki now that she was gone. She felt a flicker concern as the beast arched its tail to strike, but there were two quick flashes of green light and Loki's throwing knives took the creature to the ground.

Sigyn started digging. She could hear Fenrir crying behind the stones.

"Don't worry!" she called out. "I almost have you!"

"Sigyn!" Loki knelt in the snow beside her. "What are you doing?"

There wasn't time to explain. "Angrboda did this," Sigyn said, "You have to get back to Asgard. Hurry! The monsters are loose and the fire is spreading. Bring back help! You have to tell them-"

"STOP!"

Loki and Sigyn stiffened as Angrboda's voice boomed through the clearing.

They both looked up to see the witch gliding along the path, flanked by the black wolf and his companions. She moved very carefully toward Loki.

"What are you doing, my love?" she said, but without as much sweetness as usual. "The woods aren't safe tonight. Some of my pets have escaped. Give me the whistle and we-"

"Never!" Loki hissed back. He raised the whistle to his lips and blew hard.

ATTACK!

Loki commanded the wolves to obey him. He seemed to have forgotten that Sigyn was just as beholden to the charm as the rest. The beasts fell upon the sorceress and Sigyn joined in the scrum. She clamped her jaw around a slim white ankle and bit hard, gratified to taste warm blood. Angrboda's shrieked in fury as the wolves dragged her to the ground, but before they could subdue her completely, there was a flash of blue light as Angrboda transformed back into a giant.

Loki staggered back in shock and horror as he saw his lover in her true form.

With her massive size and strength, the frost giant was a ready match for the wolves. She shook them off of her neck and arms with ease and then grabbed Sigyn by the fur on her back.

"Little fool!" she roared with malice and then flung the white wolf against a tree with all her might.

Sigyn slammed hard against the trunk. There was a loud snapping sound, but she didn't feel any pain. She didn't even feel the snow beneath her fur as she slumped to the ground in a boneless heap. Her vision was dim and blurry. It was as if she was standing outside of her body as she watched the rest of the scene unfold.

Angrboda lumbered toward Loki, forcing him back toward the wall of flame.

"Give me the whistle!" she demanded.

"No!" he called back in defiance. Loki dug the Azimuth out of his pack and held it to his side. "Stand back!" he told her. "Stand back or I'll smash it!"

Angrboda's long, jagged teeth gleamed in the moonlight as she laughed. "Do you really think that I care?" she hissed.

A bolt of blue ice shot from her hands, shattering the crown into a million pieces. Glittering shards grazed Loki's skin before landing to glitter among the ice.

"God of lies…" the giantess smirked in derision. "You were the easiest to deceive of all!" She gave Loki another terrible smile, her voice silky as she continued to ease forward. "You know that I was fond of you though." She purred."We could have ruled together."

"No!" Loki shook his head firmly, as though he was ridding his mind of her words. He took another step backwards, so close to the fire that the flames singed the cloth of his cloak and then blew the whistle again.

The wolves that could still move rallied. A few of Sigyn's pack had managed to circle back by now and they all attacked en masse. They jumped onto the giantess's back. She struggled for a moment before she forced them off again.

"You can't have them fight me forever!" she taunted, stepping free.

"No," Loki admitted, "But they won't have to." He lifted one of his hands. A ball of green fire grew in his palm and he smirked, threatening the witch with his magic. Angrboda's eyes widened in confusion, but then her gaze hardened. She didn't wait to see what he was about to do.

Angrboda lunged forward.

Sigyn caught her breath and braced herself to watch the giant tackle Loki into the fire, but that didn't happen. At the last possible instant, Loki's body dissolved into a cloud of sparkles. Without any obstacle in her path, the sorceress tumbled headfirst into the blaze.

Angrboda howled in pain and fury as her long, matted locks caught flame and the inferno scarred her skin. She tried to stumble out of the fire, but Loki raised the whistle again. The wolves barred every attempt to escape. The witch roared and thrashed as her body burned, but there wasn't any way escape. With a final curse, she slumped to the ground and her body dissolved into a swirl of ash.

For a moment, the only sound in the clearing was the hiss and pop of burning wood, but the silence was quickly broken by Loki's voice.

"Sigyn? Sigyn!"

She tried to turn toward Loki's approach, but her body refused to move. Fenrir was lapping her face. Sigyn smiled when she saw that he was safe. His fur was dirty and singed, but he appeared in good spirits. The puppy growled as Loki's footsteps approached and then yipped in consternation as he was shoved aside.

Loki knelt in the snow beside Sigyn and his fingers brushed her face. From the corner of her eye, she saw that he was holding a woman's hand. My hand? Sigyn wondered, but she couldn't feel her fingertips. She couldn't feel anything but the wind on her face and the temptation to succumb to the darkness again.

"Sigyn! Talk to me!" Loki's voice was raw. There was a look of agitation in his bright green eyes that she had never seen before.

She wanted to answer. She tried to speak, but her mouth would not obey. She used her mind instead.

"I love you Loki," she sent through kahalan, and then she closed her eyes.

"What's happening?" Loki's voice seemed muffled and distant. Sigyn felt as if she was moving away. "I don't understand! Why did she turn back before the others? Why isn't she moving?"

The last sound to reach Sigyn's ears was a voice that had been silent for seven hundred years.

"She's dying," Grevis said.

Then everything faded to black.

A/N- I was going to wait a few days to post this...but I was just too darn excited to have it done! I hope you don't mind the quick update ;)

Thank you again for your reviews. I know that I harp about it all the time and that it is a pain to log in and click all of the buttons, but those of you who write know how important that feedback is to keep your motivation high, especially when you are writing a really long story like this. If you have enjoyed it, please drop me a little note? My personal goal when starting off was for 200 reviews, but I fear that I am going to fall a little short. For those of you who have asked questions- I will respond to them in the Author's note at the very end if they aren't covered by the story.

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