Chapter 10
It was dark when Loki woke. The colourful hallucinations from the previous few days seemed to have completely faded away to nothingness and for just a moment, he enjoyed the peace and quiet of the night and of his mind. It had been a long time since he had woken without sufficient energy to immediately kick his mind into gear and get the cogs of scheming turning over.
The moment passed. Time to pick up where he left off. First things first, where was he? The same tree was above him, so he most likely hadn't been moved since he last woke. There was the flicker of stars through the branches. He'd need to move out from under the tree. He rolled slowly onto his side, wary of any potential injuries he may have obtained. He continued onto hands and knees, then stood slowly using the tree for support. He felt stiff and wobbled slightly unsteadily, but seemed to be none the worse for wear from his ordeal.
He cast his gaze around the area, taking in the girl who apparently had fallen asleep where she sat watch against the trunk of a similar tree to his. He caught himself smiling slightly. Guess he couldn't blame her if she had been keeping watch for the better part of three days.
He walked a small distance from their rest site, careful not to wake Fey as he left, until he stood beneath the vast expanse of this realm's sky. He took in the constellations above him, rotating them in his head. Vanaheim. He looked around. He didn't recognise the area – they must have landed in an uninhabited region since he could see no signs of civilisation. Basically the best place they could have ended up.
"Are you sure you didn't know where you were going?" he spoke to the forest.
The crunch of a leaf sounded behind him. He turned to Fey, not really surprised.
"What do you mean?" she looked him over warily, unsure if he was still unwell.
"We landed in an apparently uninhabited area of Vanaheim." He waved his hand to indicate their surroundings. "It is a realm with which we share a strong allegiance. It's pretty much the best place you could have dragged us and in my experience, things like this don't happen by accident. At least, not to me."
"I guess I have good luck." She shrugged. "How do we get back?"
He contemplated for a moment. "You said you used the Bifrost to get here."
She nodded.
"How did you manage that? Heimdall is not easily swayed, even by my tongue."
"What can I say? I have a way with people."
His eyes narrowed at her. "There's more, you can't hide it from me." He could practically see her rifling through numerous stories in her head and casting them aside.
"He's not a threat to us."
"What does he know?" Loki hissed through his teeth, eyes flashing dangerously in the dark forest.
"Hey, if you didn't go and get yourself captured and half killed I wouldn't have had to come and rescue your ungrateful royal behind, so don't you get mad at me!" Her eyes narrowed back at him.
Oh so that's how it was going to be. He drew himself up to his full height (possibly amplified slightly by some subconscious magic) and stalked towards the girl. She stood firm, unmoving.
"You think you can play with me?" he hissed dangerously. "You think you're on the same level?"
In the blink of an eye, he turned and threw his dagger over his shoulder at the real Fey he knew was there. A gasp of pain came as it sank into her shoulder and the Fey he had been talking to disappeared. Suddenly, Loki was there, pressing the girl's pocket knife to her own throat.
"Oh sure, I'm grateful for your help and all that. In fact I was just thinking to myself… maybe it's time I repaid my debt hmm?" The knife pressed into her skin, drawing a drop of blood.
She made an angry noise, twisting slightly in his hold. "This is how you treat me," she spat "after I spent days watching you writhe and scream like the tortured soul that you are? After I made sure you didn't bite off your own tongue, or hurl yourself off a cliff?"
He smiled sweetly. "I don't recall asking for your help." With that final word, he reached up and twisted the dagger out of her shoulder.
She screamed in pain and staggered forward, clutching a hand to her bloodied shoulder.
She looked up at him, victorious. "Go to hell."
He looked down and the dagger exploded in his hand. And then she was chasing him. He ducked behind a tree, but a flash of light and a loud crack later brought it crashing down. He struck out with her knife, but she parried it with a piece of branch and struck him in the chest with her open palm.
He stepped back behind more trees, his head spinning and breath coming shorter than he'd have liked. He was still suffering from … whatever had happened to him.
"So your game is hide and seek then? I should have known. But you should know I'm very good at seeking." She stepped around the tree and swung at him. He caught a glimpse of her face, grim and set, exhausted, but there was a slight sparkle in her eyes… wha –
Oof. She smacked him across the side of the head and kicked his feet out from under him. He was backed against the trunk of the tree and as the girl came forward again, Loki switched to last resort mode. He grabbed her arm and just thought FREEZE. He felt the chill flow through his body to his hands, the power making him tingle with both the thrill of it and disgust at the creature he was. He couldn't help but watch as his hand darkened around her pale arm. He looked up into her face and froze. She looked back at him calmly, unblinking. No pain. Another trap? He cast his eyes and mind around frantically, searching. No, nothing. Not a trap.
He let go, hand falling to his side. He watched her warily, thinking. Now, how was that possible?
She stood above him for a moment longer, then sat slowly, keeping silent.
He tossed around possibilities in his head, but there really weren't all that many. This was interesting indeed. "It appears you are more like me than I thought."
