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FANFICTION
THE RISE OF LOKI, GOD OF MISCHIEF
CHAPTER XVII : Dark Magic
[Loki is sent spying on Jotunheim to find out the truth about the threat of war against the Mountain Giants. Teaming up with a seiðr user, Eisa, she tells him something is following him since his arrival in Jotunheim. They go through the Crossway and facing his worst fears, deepest wounds and memories. They infiltrate the fortress of Utgard, they find out that the Giants want war more than ever and after killing the Mountain Giants' Prince and being cornered, jump off a cliff and are considered dead. Odin and Fornjótr both prepare themselves for the battle to come while Eisa and Loki are saved by Nixes, water spirits. The two make love during the night with the hoping promise that they would survive the battle against the Jotunns.]
Loki's nightmare startled him awake, covered in sweat and his heart beating against his chest in fear. He looked around, completely lost until he felt a hand on his chest, the touch reassuring him more than he would admit. He looked down and saw Eisa, hair a mess, staring at him with worry.
"Are you all right, Loki?" She asked.
He swallowed, sitting up and running a hand through his messy black hair.
"I will be," he answered, clenching his fists tightly.
He stared at the forest ground, steadying his heart while Eisa sat up as well, leaning against his back. One of her hands covered his while the other brushed his shoulder, as comforting as she could. She kissed his shoulder before resting her head on it. Loki remained still but his heart felt more peaceful and he relaxed ever so slightly under her touch.
"I'm here for you, Loki…" She said.
Loki closed his eyes and heard the singing of the morning birds. He sighed in annoyance, wanting to remain with Eisa a little while longer but knowing that they still had a long way to go to reach Sigrún.
He turned slightly towards her, putting his hand against her thigh and lifting it up ever so slightly before the warmth of his seiðr illuminated his fingers.
"What are you doing?" She asked, blinking slightly.
"Taking away my seed to avoid pregnancy, of course…" He answered, rolling his eyes.
"I already took care of that while you were sleeping," she said.
Loki glanced up at her, raising an eyebrow and after checking that indeed, she didn't have any of his seed, he grabbed his clothes and hers.
"We need to move," he announced.
Eisa gave a short nod. They dressed and started to walk again, this time, heading back towards the river. They walked next to it until they found a possible passage across the river with less current that allowed them to jump from rock to rock until they reached other side. They walked into the forest once again, but the dim light from the cloudy sky slowly turned darker and darker. The trees were higher, a green so dark it looked black.
"Something is wrong…" Loki murmured.
He listened to the sounds of the forest but he couldn't hear a single bird or animal. Even the wind seemed different, colder and heavier.
He stopped as Eisa turned towards him curiously.
"What do you hear?" Loki asked her.
She looked around the dark trees, listening carefully before shaking her auburn head.
"Nothing?"
"Exactly…" He whispered, "We need to get out of this forest as soon as possible, it's not safe here."
"It's just a forest," she answered.
Loki didn't respond, only looked around to find the path they had been following up until now but he couldn't find it among the dead leaves scattered on the ground.
"Stay here, don't move," he ordered before grabbing the nearest tree branch.
Despite his injuries, Loki climbed up the tree until he could see the mountains far away. Just as Eisa had described, there was a huge meadow where they had the chance to find Thor and Asgard's army. He turned around towards where they had come from and swallowed. He could see the river and the green forest at the bank on the other side, but where he was, there were only dark trees. A cold breeze made him shiver and thunder resonated in the sky before lightning illuminated the dark clouds – somehow, they looked even darker above the dark forest than anywhere else in Jotunheim.
Loki looked up, lips pursued in worry. His brother's thunder was loud and his lightning was a bright blue. But the lightning that just ran across the sky was silvery white, cold and threatening with a thunder that seemed to be the trigger for a cold rain to start falling.
He heard Eisa's faint voice calling for him and he looked down before starting to climb down the tree, joining the young woman on the ground.
"What did you see?" She asked, frowning lightly.
"A dark forest, and a storm above us," he answered, looking around suspiciously.
For a moment Loki wondered if it was an illusion, like in the labyrinth. The last time he had dealt with such illusions, he had seen his worst nightmares come to life. He didn't want to live this again. Loki shook his head to throw away the dark thoughts and realized he hadn't heard what Eisa had just told him.
"What?" He asked, swallowing hard despite himself.
"I just asked you if we should keep heading West or—"
Her voice was interrupted by the thunder, much louder than before while the rain came down colder and heavier in big drops that soaked them in a minute.
"Or if we should try to find a shelter from this storm?" She asked a little louder to cover the sound of the rain.
The freezing wind moved the trees almost violently around them, sending dead leaves in all directions while the pair felt an icy sensation down their spines. The hollow sound of the wind against the trees sounded more like a terrified scream than anything they'd ever heard and something else could be heard with the twisting blasts. A whisper, just like the murmur of magic and seiðr, but it felt more ancient, darker and sombre than the seiðr Loki used.
"If we try to move, we might get lost in the forest, Loki!" Eisa exclaimed, trying to keep her hair from whipping her face, "We need a shelter from this storm! It's dangerous!" She shouted.
Loki pursed his lips. He didn't like the idea of staying in those woods for too long, but the storm was too powerful for them to continue. If they tried to advance further, they'd be lost; same if they tried to go back towards the river. As long as this storm was raging, they wouldn't be able to do anything.
He finally gave a little nod and grabbed Eisa's arm to guide her, lifting up his other arm to cover his face from flying leaves and the whip of the icy rain.
His intention was to find some cave or trees under which they could hide without fear of being hit by lightning. He could barely see a thing through the rain and wind, the dark leaves hitting him constantly. Advancing was hard; it was like pushing against the wind, the latter trying to make them fall on the ground and into the mud.
Suddenly, Loki heard something. Dead wood cracking behind him. He looked into the darkness but he couldn't see anything. The wind howled and more leaves flew around him, the rain blinding him.
Loki clenched his jaw and kept walking. He was trying desperately to see where he was walking in the middle of this wood of pure darkness until Eisa grabbed his arm.
"There!" She screamed.
Loki turned around, trying to see through the heavy rain but he didn't see a thing, except shadows. Eisa started to walk towards whatever thing she had seen and suddenly, a cold, white lightning illuminated the sky. For a short moment, it gave a hollow light to everything around. The black trunks and dark green leaves were muddy brown and icy grey and Loki saw a little barn made of wood. It seemed quite old and not much solid. Loki shivered, because he was wondering what a barn would be doing in the middle of the woods?
Eisa was walking towards it and Loki almost lost her in the darkness and the storm.
"Wait!" Loki exclaimed, catching her arm.
She turned around, her hair whipping her face, raindrops rolling down it.
"We shouldn't go in there!" He yelled, not liking the idea of going into some construction that had come out of nowhere – especially when the 'nowhere' was this cold forest breathing dark magic.
"Where else do you want us to go?!" She shouted in return.
He was about to open his lips when a howling sound resonated all around them. They froze, staring at the trees surrounding them while the wind wailed coldly around them. They were soaking wet and despite their hearts hammering in their chests, an icy feeling ran up their spines. The howl they had just heard was nothing like anything they've ever heard, and it definitely wasn't the wind.
"A wolf?" Eisa asked hesitantly, her voice lower but he heard her miraculously.
"I don't plan to find out," he answered hurriedly, pulling her towards the barn.
"I thought we shouldn't go there?" She asked, shaking her head while they struggled against the wind and the mud.
"I'd rather go there than meet whatever thing is waiting for us hidden in the trees!" He retorted.
Once they arrived at the little barn, Loki had to throw his shoulder against the door several times to open it. He almost fell in the room, the wind so violent it slammed the door open with a sudden burst. Eisa tumbled into the little space, rain and leaves rushing in behind her while Loki pushed the door closed. He struggled a little before finally breathing of relief that he was inside someplace somewhat safe. At least safer than outside, what with this furious storm and that wild creature.
Loki looked around, seeing nothing but old, damp straw. No traces of any living animal coming here recently.
"I don't like it…" He muttered under his breath, clenching his jaw.
"It's still better than being slapped by rain drops and dead leaves outside," Eisa replied, wringing her hair.
He snorted, glancing at the door that kept budging from the wind. Thor often created storms when his emotions ran rampant, but never this violent. There was magic behind this rain and wind, and a magic Loki didn't like. The same kind of magic there had been in the Crossway and Labyrinth: a dark magic that sent cold shivers through your entire body, filled you with fear until your limbs were unable to move and your blood ran cold. Somehow, he feared that unlike the creatures and visions he had met in the Crossway, this time, in this forest, everything was awfully, terrifyingly real.
"Why are you so tense?"
Loki's head snapped towards Eisa who was at his side, her arms wrapped around his, watching him with an unreadable expression. He swallowed before sighing taking her hand in his.
"I'm just worried, that's all," he answered with pursed lips, brows furrowed slightly.
"It's normal to be worried, your father and brother might be risking their lives right now…" She said tenderly, her thumb brushing the skin on the back of his hand reassuringly.
"It's not just that, it's… this place. This forest, I don't like it…" He said with a dark and hard voice.
As if to confirm his words, a hollow scream resonated all around them. They threw a wary glance around them, wanting to make sure nothing could possibly come in the barn. It could have been the wind, the animal outside or something else…
"It… can't be the spy that followed you from Asgard to the Misty Mountains, right?" She asked worriedly.
Loki threw her a strange look, recalling what they had heard from Fornjótr: the spy had caused his mission in the first place had followed him to the Misty Mountain, and then had lost his trail. The last time the spy had been heard of by the Jotunns was when he had gone back to Asgard to spy on the All-Father. Although, nothing proved that what the Jotunns had said during this meeting was the truth: they had known about Loki and Eisa's presence in the room after all. Maybe they had said that the spy was away from Jotunheim to trick them, maybe the spy had found their trail again and caught up.
It was unlikely, though – after all, they had entered a forest that breathed dark magic. If there was any danger, it was this forest and nothing else.
"I don't think so. Plus, Fornjótr doesn't care about the Asgardian spies sent after him anymore – they must think us dead. He would use his spy against Asgard directly."
"Which is another reason why you must find your family as soon as possible…" Eisa added with a low voice.
Loki's green eyes fell on her and he gave a short nod. She lowered her gaze, her fingers tightening slightly around the fabric of his still soaked clothes. He observed her a moment, trying to understand why she would look so… distraught…
"Eisa?" He asked, brows furrowed lightly.
She took a deep breath before looking up at him again, forcing a smile. Loki, however, wasn't fooled.
"I'm fine, I just… we should take off some clothes. We'll catch colds if we don't." She said, stepping away from him.
Loki observed her in silence as she turned around, taking off her soaked tunic. It fell on the dusty, straw-covered floor with a wet sound. She looked down at the cloth when it resonated with a clicking sound that had attracted Loki's attention too. Ignoring the fact that she was only wearing bandages around her breasts, he thought it must have been her dagger.
Eisa leaned down towards the wet piece of clothing, rummaging through it and taking out the hair stick made of gold and rubies he had offered her in Utgard. She smiled tenderly at the accessory and he couldn't help but smile as well, his heart just a little warmer and a little less scared upon seeing her soft expression.
"I haven't thanked you yet for this beautiful gift," she said, her green eyes lifting up to meet his.
"I didn't pay for it," he answered with a shrug and a mischievous smile, imagining the panic the Mountain Giant must have felt when he had realized he had been stolen.
"The intention is what matters…"
Eisa got up, advancing towards him slowly. Her bright emerald eyes stared into his watery green ones. Time seemed to stop as they stood in front of one another, only a few inches away from each other. They were so close their breaths mixed, driving them a little closer to madness.
"Is there any way I could thank you?" She whispered, hesitating just enough to show that her heart was beating faster in her chest.
Loki lifted up his fingers, brushing away a wet lock of auburn hair. His eyes looked at her entire face, stopping at her lips and the water drops still rolling down her skin. He looked back into her eyes, his tongue licking his lower lip.
"Entertain me," he said in a husky voice.
Eisa stopped breathing at his words but he pulled her against him, their lips crashing ferociously, their hearts suddenly bursting into flames and their bodies hot and wild. She didn't wait to kiss him back, her hands running through his raven hair, ruffling through the wet locks and giving him a wild and messy look. His teeth captured her lower lip while her head fell backwards, a delighted smile appearing.
The thunder roared as the Völva's nails scraped the skin of his shoulders and arms. Loki stopped breathing when her hands brushed his injured shoulder, making him step away. He growled in pain and glared at her, his annoyed gaze clashing with hers, which was apologetic despite the desire clouding her gaze.
Loki pushed her against a pile of straw. The young woman squealed at the sudden move while he stood above her and took off his armour and green tunic. She swallowed, her breath coming short as he leaned down on her, taking off the rest of their clothes quickly. He kissed her neck, biting and licking her while Eisa held onto his black hair almost desperately.
"You have a dangerous face, and an illegal taste, Loki…" She breathed, her hands cupping his cheeks to look into his eyes.
Loki gave a mischievous grin that made her heart miss a beat, his eyes shining in the low light of the barn while the storm was still raging outside. He kissed her, his teeth sucking on her lower lip as her head fell back and he went down on her body, his hands caressing her naked skin with the touch of a wild panther.
"I'll show you why I'm called Silvertongue…" He growled against her breasts, her smile only widening at the thought of the night waiting for them.
The thunder roared louder, the weather of the dark forest only increasing the feelings of black magic seeping in every particle of those woods. The forest was so dark that even after the rain had ceased and the morning had come, the difference couldn't be seen. The high trees were still casting a gloom over the sad dead leaves, the clouds still heavy with thunder and storms. No animal could be heard, no breathing; only a light and cold breeze was moving the wet leaves and branches.
Loki woke up in the pile of straw, straight ahead, his heart beating coldly in his chest after another nightmare. He swallowed, before realizing dreadfully that the barn was silent. Too silent: the only thing he could hear was his heart hammering in his chest. He turned around but as expected, Eisa wasn't here. He looked around, feeling slightly panicked when suddenly, the door opened and she came in.
"Loki!" She exclaimed, seeing him awake.
He wanted to appear severe and tense but failed, his muscles relaxing ever so slightly at seeing her safe and sound.
"Eisa, where were you?" He hissed, looking furious.
She seemed a little hesitant, not expecting him to be in such a terrible mood so early. She closed the door, giving a slight shrug before advancing towards him, falling onto the straw at his side. She was lying on her side, her weight on her right arm and looked up at him. He remained still, staring down at her in a nonchalant way, still slightly annoyed that she would wander off without warning him.
"The clothes are still a little wet, but it's bearable. The storm is over for now, but I think it'll rain again soon. Also, I tried to find something to eat, like chestnuts or something, but I couldn't find anything."
He threw her a disbelieving look, lips parted in shock and irritation.
"You went outside? In this forest?!"
"No, I went to Asgard's Sunday Market." She answered with a straight face.
He gave her a hard look and she rolled her eyes, throwing her hands in the air.
"Of course I went out in the forest! Where else could I possibly go?" She exclaimed, shaking her head slightly.
"This place is dangerous! I can't believe you were reckless enough to go outside, alone, for some chestnuts! What did you even expect to find anyway? The only chestnuts you could possibly find are those that even Ratatoskr wouldn't want!" Loki exclaimed, grabbing his tunic and throwing it over his head, "It was foolish and stupid! Even Thor wouldn't make such an idiotic mistake!"
"I was hungry!" She replied loudly, sitting up next to him.
"Then you should have—"
"And I didn't want to wake you up!" She cut in, throwing him a hard look.
He looked back at her, lips tight with a mix of feelings he couldn't quite understand: disbelief, annoyance, worry… Eisa swallowed and looked back at her hands for a moment, guilt washing over her when she realized that she had worried him. She then glanced back up, stumbling on her words.
"Y-you have so little sleep… You needed it…" She murmured nervously.
Loki sighed lightly, staring at her before his hands reached for hers. She stopped her anxious moves immediately and looked at him again.
"Thank you for that, but you should have woken me up. I don't like this place and I don't like knowing you alone in those woods…" He said in a soft voice, which was unfamiliar to her, "Don't wander off like that again." He ordered, his tone still caring but a little harder.
"Promise…" Eisa answered with a little smile.
Her hand reached up and she ruffled through his still messy black hair, pulling away some straw. She kept it between her thumb and forefinger, twirling it around and staring at the Prince mischievously. He stared at the straw and her smile for a moment before chuckling as well.
"Let's try to get out of this dark forest before the storm starts again…" He said, reaching for his boots.
"Your orders are mine to follow, Your Highness," she answered with a slight shrug, getting up in the same time as him.
Eisa was about to wait for Loki to finish putting his clothes on at the door when he reached in his pockets, smirking to himself.
"Eisa," he called.
She turned around right when he threw a little packet filled with chestnuts at her. She smiled at him before laughing joyfully.
"I'll wait for you at the door. Hurry up before I eat all of these!" She exclaimed, opening the door and waiting just in front of it.
Loki chuckled to himself, watching her silhouette leaning against the doorframe from the corner of his eye. Once he was done putting on his protection and his jacket, he took a step towards the door when his gaze was attracted to something shining on the ground in the straw. He turned around, bending down and ignoring the rustling sound of leaves outside – probably from the wind. He pushed away some straw and pouted slightly upon seeing the golden hair stick.
"What an idiotic girl…" He murmured to himself, smiling lightly.
Loki picked the accessory up and got up, turning around to exit the barn. He stepped outside and looked around, but didn't see Eisa anywhere.
"Eisa?" He called, clicking his tongue in irritation that she had wandered off again, "Eisa, you forgot your hair stick in the barn," he said, looking around.
He heard the wind shaking the leaves and froze, his entire body tensing as his heart started beating nervously.
"Eisa…?" He called again, walking forward hesitantly.
He walked all around the barn, looking in every direction, his breathing coming short and fearful.
"Eisa!" He called frantically, staring at the endless woods with wide eyes.
He froze again when he saw the packet of chestnuts at his feet, half of them on the ground. His face paled and he looked back up again, taking in a shaky breath and trying to ignore the panicked beating of his heart and the trembling of his hands.
"Eisa!" He shouted, hoping he would hear something, anything.
The only answer he received was the heavy silence of the dark forest, interrupted by the wind shaking the leaves and birds croaking and flying away.
In this chapter, I mention Ratatoskr who is, in Norse mythology, a squirrel who runs from the bottom to the top of Yggdrasil, spreading rumours and stories.
NEXT CHAPTER : BEWARE OF IRON WOOD...
It might come, not next week, but next week-end.
Yours Truly,
May