Cliffhanger approaching. No, not this chapter. But it will be soon. And trust me when I say, you will know it when you see it. The chapter endings that have been referred to as "cliffies" in the reviews so far are nothing to compare to the one coming up. But don't fear. When I do post that cliffhanger, I will immediately follow it with the conclusion.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Loki stepped out from the void cautiously, his fingers straying instinctively close to the dagger hidden up his sleeve. He turned slowly on his heel and scanned the horizons. Come out, come out, wherever you are.
He heard a sword being unsheathed behind him, followed by a series of heavy footsteps in the snow. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the portal close behind the last of the soldiers. Thor came forward with his sword drawn, his brow furrowing in puzzlement. "Strange," he said quietly. "I thought they knew we were coming."
"I'll bet they do." Sif drew her sword as she and Odin joined the brothers. "This smells like a trap." She pursed her lips and turned to her team. "Ready your weapons," she ordered, "and stay on your guard."
Odin stroked his beard thoughtfully, his gaze trained on something in the foggy distance as Loki and Thor talked in low voices.
"I think Sif is right. This is no doubt their attempt to lure us into a false sense of security."
"I don't think so," Loki said. "It's too obvious, and that sort of tactic isn't consistent with my impressions of the General." He frowned. "Guerrilla warfare requires patience and subtlety. It's the sort of approach I would take if I were planning an invasion. The General is a different beast entirely. He's aggressive, easily angered, very determined, arrogant, impul-" He stopped cold in a flash of recognition, as if a set of tumblers in his mind were falling into place. "Wait a moment," he murmured, turning to look at his brother.
"What?"
Loki stared at Thor intently. "If you had a grudge against another realm," he said slowly, "and you had reason to believe they were planning an invasion, how would yourespond?"
"Brother, I think we've been in this scenario before," Thor laughed. "I wouldn't wait to be invaded, I would..." Loki raised an eyebrow significantly. Thor froze, as his train of thought caught up with Loki's. "No. No, they couldn't."
"You would what?" Sif demanded as Thor began pacing furiously, running a hand through his beard. "What would you do?"
"He would do exactly what he did before," Loki said flatly. "He would make the first move."
Sif went pale. "Oh, damn them," she hissed. "Damn them all to Niflheim." She sheathed her sword, turning to Odin for guidance. "What shall we do, All-Father?"
He gestured to Thor. "I am no longer the general of this army," he said. "The decision is not mine to make."
In unison, they all looked to Thor expectantly. He cleared his throat. "Lady Sif," he said, his voice regaining the commanding timbre it had taken on during his speech to the army, "take the Warriors Three and all of the soldiers back to Asgard. Fend off the invasion the best you can. If aggression fails, fall back. Defend Valhalla at all cost." He paused as she nodded, started to relay the orders to the soldiers. "And Lady Sif," he interrupted. She glanced at him. "Protect Jane and Darcy," he said quietly. "Don't let them get anywhere near the fight."
She nodded. "Understood." She scowled and began to bellow at the rest of the army. "There has been a change in plans," she shouted. "We return to Asgard. There is no time to explain the circumstances. Turn and ready yourselves for battle. To formations! Loki, the portal." She held her sword overhead and parted the soldiers like a sea as she strode towards the portal. "For Asgard!" The troops took up her rallying cry in a chorus of voices that vanished one by one as they stepped back into the multicolored chasm.
Thor returned his attention to Loki and Odin. "And what of our task, my son?" Odin asked.
"We must eliminate the threat at its source," Thor said. "The General and I may have much in common, but he is something that I am not: a coward. If we can find him at his palace and reason with him, then we can end this war before innocent blood is spilt. If he does not listen to reason..." He frowned. "Then we must destroy him before he destroys us. Loki, you know where the General resides. Which way?"
Loki pointed. "There," he said. "It's not far. Less than a mile away."
Thor nodded. "Good. Then let us end this." His scowl wavered. "I only hope that we are not too late...What if our soldiers are not enough? If they giants break through our defenses, they could kill everyone that took refuge in Valhalla. The children, the elderly."
"It will not come to that," Loki said firmly. "Our soldiers are far more capable and quick-witted than my blood relatives. And for all her antagonism, Sif is a natural leader and warrior."
"My son, you forget to mention one of Asgard's greatest defenses," Odin said, smiling slightly. "I daresay the women inside Valhalla's walls will put up quite a fight themselves."
Darcy sprinted headlong down the corridor towards the source of the din, her stomach clenching in fear every time a shriek echoed through the palace. She found the door to the Great Hall open and raced in anxiously, beginning instinctively her scan of the room for a familiar face. She found Jane alongside an older woman with curly hair trying to comfort a group of teary-eyed children huddled around a small table.
"What happened?" she stammered. "I heard a noise and something shook the castle."
The elder woman stood, glancing at Jane to silently tell her to remain with the children. She turned to Darcy. "We're under attack," she said in a low voice.
"What?" Darcy's eyes widened. "But how…" She clenched her fists in realization. "Loki?"
The woman nodded. "I expect he taught the frost giants how to create a passage between the worlds in his time as a double agent."
"To earn their trust," Darcy finished.
"Precisely."
Darcy sighed. "If we live through this, remind me to kill him. Or at least slap him very hard. Where's Lady Freya?"
The woman pointed towards the entrance of the palace. "Guarding the gate, I expect, with Heimdall."
Darcy nodded. "Thank you." And she hurried off, armor clattering loudly with every footstep. She scowled. She really needed to find women's armor, or at least something smaller than Size Thor.
Crack.
Thor raised his hand in warning to the others. Loki stopped dead in his tracks, hand dancing around the hidden dagger cagily. In sync with Thor and Odin, he looked all around for the source of the noise, to each side, behind them…
He wrinkled his nose. Something nearby smelled disgusting. Like animal skins and dried blood—and jotun.
He looked up. "We've got company," he hissed.
The three sprang into action as a group of frost giants leaped down from the icy ledge above. Thor took on five giants at once, eliminating them quickly with broad swings. Odin became locked in vicious combat with one of the more intelligent giants, turning the narrow canyon under the cliffs into a clanging din of metal striking metal, leaving Loki with…
Ten giants, he thought, calculating. Piece of cake. He closed his eyes and focused on a mental image of himself before a pair of opposite mirrors, reflection after reflection after reflection in an infinite chain of Lokis. He flicked his ring finger subtly, transferring his consciousness to a random projection, and opened his eyes.
The giants were comically perplexed. One of the giants, obviously the leader, hesitated for a moment before swinging wildly at a random Loki. The projection flickered translucent and the giant lost his balance, swaying violently as he tried not to fall down. His arms swung out for stability—his club striking two of the other giants in the head. With a sound like boulders crashing together, they fell to the ground.
Loki suppressed a laugh as the other giants looked at each other with wide, horrified gazes, clearly bewildered and unsure how to deal with the circumstances. If Loki wasn't so deeply worried about Asgard and Darcy, he would have been doubled over in hysterics at the looks on their stupid faces.
"Thor!"
Loki spun on his heel, ready to strike against whatever foe Odin was warning his brother against. He went pale. "Oh no," he murmured.
It was not a single opponent Odin was pointing at, but legions of them, stretched out over the vast plain outside the mouth of the canyon. Loki's stomach churned as he looked out over the sea of blue and scarlet. For once, he was inclined to take a leaf out of Thor's book and refer to the situation for what it truly was: madness.
His memory flashed back with a pang to the last time he talked to Darcy, to his promise. He pressed his lips together in a tight line. He'd just have to find a way to keep his oath.
"Archers, the left flank, on my mark! FIRE!"
Darcy watched in awe as a rain of arrows flew over her head towards the invading army of frost giants…and missed the mark entirely. Most of the arrows went wild, landing on rooftops or fields nearby. Even the shots that made it within the prescribed area failed to make their marks.
The woman shouting out orders closed her eyes, visibly irritated by her defense's incompetency. She shook it off, however, with a toss of her fiery red hair.
"Reload!" she cried. "Take aim! The front line!" She signaled with a drop of her arm. "Fire!"
Again the arrows bounced fruitlessly onto the ground, not a single shot managing to so much as glance any of the giants.
Unable to watch any longer, Darcy hurried forward. "Lady Freya!" she yelled. "Lady Freya, I must speak with you."
The red-haired woman turned to survey Darcy imperiously, her icy blue eyes taking in her ill-fitting armor with disdain. "Well, what do you want?" she said coldly. "Perhaps it has escaped your notice, but we're at war, and I'm trying to defend this palace from destruction."
"How's that working out for you?" Darcy pointed out.
Freya's eyes flashed. "If you have a better plan, mortal," she hissed, "by all means, share it."
"I do," Darcy said hurriedly. "I need to know where Loki's chambers are."
Freya looked taken aback for a brief moment, but she quickly caught herself and arched an eyebrow scornfully. "You don't know? I thought you of all the women in the palace ought to know where the Prince of Mischief sleeps."
Darcy blushed, but pressed on. "Just tell me where they are," she said.
Freya narrowed her eyes suspiciously, searching for some defect of Darcy's word choice or manner to comment on. Finding nothing, she rolled her eyes. "The South tower," she said flatly.
"Thank you," Darcy stammered.
As she left, she thought she heard Freya shout something behind her tauntingly, but she ignored it.
"Watch out for the booby traps."