The walls groaned unhappily when most of the roof collapsed and for an instant, the Fel fire shrank away. Then the instant of hesitation passed and the Fel approached the debris curiously. It happily discovered it was edible and began to travel along the stone and metal while part of it continued to paw at the barrier Sefæra had erected. A third part of the fire split off and began to climb the walls to the hole in the ceiling, thinking it might have found a way past the shadowcaster blocking its passage.
"I have to seal it off," Sefæra said reluctantly.
"Loki's in there," Thor hissed.
"The Fel is spreading," Sefæra repeated. "Loki should have left when he had the chance instead of staying behind to look for his ring."
Thor looked like Sefæra had slapped him when he said that, but he stopped before he snapped an angry retort at her callousness. It was how she looked. She looked distressed and torn, but knew that she had to safeguard Asgard and all of its lives over the life of one person – even if that person was her commander.
"Step back, my prince," Sefæra ordered him flatly, trying not to let her emotions leech into her voice.
He looked at the ring Loki had given him, the red jewel pale and washed out from the presence of Fel. Loki was still there. The last time he had abandoned Loki he had watched him fall from Bifrost, and so much pain and death had happened as a result of that. Although he wasn't sure if Loki was still the little brother he had grown up with, Thor also wasn't sure he wasn't. He refused to leave him behind again.
Thor didn't look back. He started running towards the Fel. His thoughts went out to Mjölnir and his weapon came almost instantly. Its handle came to rest in his palm as he slipped through the gap Sefæra had left.
"H-hey!" Sefæra shouted. "Get back! You'll both be killed!"
Unsurprisingly, Thor ignored her. The heat from the Fel flames almost made him pass out, and the Fel that was not exploring or fighting Sefæra swayed away from Thor. When it recognized him as a very edible organic being it surged forward. He swung Mjölnir through the air and the Fel skittered backwards again by the force of the wind generated. Thor would swear the fire laughed, a hissing laugh reminiscent of a snake, and he fought an intense urge not to flee in the face of the Fel. An inanimate object should not laugh. He raised the collar of his shirt to his mouth, breathing through the cloth to try to filter the smoke.
"Thor!" Sefæra shouted again, trying to look inside in an effort to see either of her princes.
A small tongue of the fire took advantage of her distraction to leap past her barricade. Her eyes widened as the fire came at her but her shadow protected her. Instinctively, it lifted off the second dimension to stand in front of her, and the flame whacked it. It would find a way to burn it given enough time, but Sefæra had already learned how important it was to protect her shadow and she did not give it a chance. Sefæra could almost image it shrieked in frustration as she wrapped it in a ball of Ginnungagap's energy and tossed it back to the rest of its kin.
Her shadow hadn't returned to the ground and begun acting like a normal shadow again like it usually did, and pointed up. The shadow maintained its semblance to her and could evidently see something she could not. Sefæra focused her magic to her eyes allowing her vision to sharpen so she could see through the thick Fel smoke.
Then she saw what had alarmed her shadow so much. She hadn't seen it at first, but she now noticed the hole in the ceiling where her defenses did not reach. The Fel fire had found the chink and was starting to creep into the room above. If it got free of the room then it would race around uncontrollably.
Thor didn't realize the dire turn things had taken, turning this way and that in an attempt to see Loki through the fire and smoke. Much of the smoke was clinging to the roof, making it a little easier to breath. The Fel was cautious of Mjölnir and did not approach him carelessly again.
"Loki, Loki say something!" Thor called out, and took a step back as a few stones from the ceiling fell.
There was a creak from the support pillars of the ceiling that had not yet fallen, and Thor didn't think they'd stay up there much longer.
"Brother!"
Loki's eyes slowly came back into focus and he groaned. His head hurt and he was having a hard time breathing. For some reason he couldn't feel his legs. When his eyes finally focused he found himself face down on a floor strewn with pieces of stone and metal rubble. He didn't really understand what he was seeing until he say a tendril of green-yellow essence like fire creep along the floor in his line of sight.
"Fel," He whispered, confused as to why such a cursed magic would be here.
Then he remembered and he hissed, trying to sit up. Pain shot through his temples and he laid down again, breath shallow in an attempt to inhale as little smoke as possible. He turned his head to see that a support beam from the roof had collapsed on him, which was why he was having trouble breathing. The stone was hot to the touch when he pressed his palm against it although it might seem extra hot to him given his low tolerance to heat. There was certainly no way he was going to lift it on his own, and using magic in Fel was a bad idea.
Loki heard someone shouting although he couldn't make out much. His ears were still ringing from the explosion and his head hurt. He wasn't in a position to be picky though. Fool on him for staying here instead of getting out of the Fel when he had the chance. Leaving would mean leaving his ring, and the energy stored inside, behind. Maybe he should have left instead of staying and then planned to come back after the fire to find his ring.
With effort, he snapped his fingers as he threw his hand up. A trail of green sparkles went up and exploded into a firework before being quickly absorbed by the fire. It didn't last long, but it was enough for Thor to see it. He dodged the flames, having recognized the emerald-tinted magic.
When he saw his brother he gulped and stopped. There was a line of Fel fire separating him from Loki but he could still see that Loki was pinned to the ground, struggling to free himself although it was obvious that he wasn't strong enough to move it. Some of the Fel fire had started to move along the pillar in his direction and judging from how frantic Loki looked it appeared he knew it.
"And he says I'm the one that always gets in impossible situations," Thor muttered as he took a few steps back.
He ran and jumped, barely clearing the Fel fire. His landing was skewed, but he managed to stay on his feet.
Loki drew his lips back in a wordless snarl at Thor's arrival. He wanted to tell Thor to make himself scarce, but it seemed he had swallowed too much smoke. His throat was burned too badly to speak. Then the vicious chill in his eyes dissolved and he suddenly looked very amused, resting his head on one hand.
Thor didn't understand why Loki suddenly looked amused until he pointed. He followed where Loki was pointing and realized a bit of Fel fire was eating at his red cloak. Quickly, he unclasped the cloth and threw it into the hungry fire where it was devoured. No ashes were left behind.
Truthfully, Thor was surprised Loki wasn't saying anything. Normally, he would use this chance to get in some scything comments. Was it the smoke? Thor felt guiltily pleased that Loki couldn't speak, whatever the reason. Loki's expression transitioned back into something akin to a death glare when Thor took a step closer to him.
"If you don't want me to help then I'll leave," Thor warned him.
Thor watched Loki draw his lips back from his teeth in a silent, feral snarl, but then he looked down. It seemed he had swallowed his pride for now, and a silent answer for Thor to stay and help. Relieved that Loki wasn't going to try to kill him right now, Thor took a closer look at the rubble.
"We don't really have time so I suggest you duck," Thor warned him and raised Mjölnir.
Loki's eyebrows shot up and he looked like he wanted to say something, but he stopped and ducked his head, covering it with his arms. Thor tightened his grip on Mjölnir's handle and swung at the pillar with an uppercut. There was no magic involved, merely brute strength, and it easily broke the pillar in two and sent it flying off Loki. It hit the barrier Sefæra had cloaked the area in and made it waver dangerously, almost tearing it. He felt a little guilty because he knew it would strain Sefæra, but that wasn't the most immediate problem.
The most immediate problem was the fire. Loki attempted to stand beside him, but fell back to the ground before he could stand completely. He hissed and put a hand to one of his legs, a perplexed look. Was his leg broken? Strange, it should have healed already. Thor couldn't imagine that his lifeforce was so low his wounds weren't healing.
Thor touched Loki's shoulder hesitantly and asked in a whisper, "Loki?"
One of Loki's hands snapped out and caught his wrist, breaking it with a sharp snap. His other hand punched Thor and landed solidly on his face. Thor stumbled backwards and fell, banging his head on the pillar and dropping Mjölnir. His head rang from the impact, and he sat up a little slower then he would have liked given the circumstances they were in.
Well, Loki might not be healing as fast as he should be but it seemed that his strength was the same as ever. Loki did not consider him family anymore. Thor should not have forgotten that. Head still spinning slightly, he stood and walked back to Loki, recalling Mjölnir to his hand as he did so. He saw Loki tense as if expecting an attack and Thor held up his hands in surrender that he had no intention of attacking him.
"We need to get out of here before we try to settle our differences," Thor warned him with a glance around the Fel flames.
Loki tssked silently, but tipped is head in agreement. He tried to stand but his injured leg buckled. Thor grabbed one of his arms to keep him from falling again and Loki drew a dagger. There was a moment where Thor froze, expecting Loki to strike at him again despite the threat of the Fel. Then Loki lowered his dagger.
Thor exhaled, relieved. Despite the fact that it looked like he was seething, Loki didn't try to attack him as Thor helped him stand. He favored his left leg, keeping his weight off it. Honestly, Loki thought waspily, he was as helpless as a human. The Fel flames had crept closer in the interim and Thor swung at them again, creating a gust strong enough to push them back a pace.
Thor kept as good a grip as he could on Loki and started walking. Loki's step faltered, and he leaned against Thor, letting him support him. He didn't weigh much. Although Loki didn't strike at him, Thor noticed that Loki still held the dagger in his hand.
Sefæra glanced down the hallway behind her, surprised that it remained so quiet. Enough time had passed for Odin and the others to sound the alarm that they had a fire and send help, yet it remained silent. Where was everyone? Was something else going on that she didn't know about?
"Sef!" Thor shouted.
Sefæra was able to easily hear his shout over the deceptively quiet Fel flames, and ordered her shadow softly to, "help them."
Her shadow distorted and separated from her body, gliding across the surface of the ground. When it reached Thor and Loki it rose off the ground like a half-shell. Linked with Ginnungagap through Sefæra as it was, it was able to shield them until they were past the Fel. Thor was relieved again that of all the mages which could have been present it was Sefæra who was here, although he was a bit unnerved when he saw Sefæra standing there without casting a shadow on the ground.
Part of her shadow swiped at the Fel when a few embers tried to cling to the princes, and the flames backed up, sulking. Sefæra's shadow dissolved back to the ground and rejoined with her body once the princes were safe, allowing her to see the extent of their injuries. Thor was fine, but Loki didn't seem to be able to walk.
There were a few seconds where Sefæra stood there, hesitating. Her shadow tugged at the leg of her pants, reminding her that the Fel was creeping out of the room. She couldn't let it spread. Reluctantly, she turned her back on the princes – hoping they wouldn't try to kill each other while she was distracted – and focused on the task at hand. Any other lifeforces that had remained inside were gone now, and Sefæra encapsulated the entire area in the void's empty energy, setting it in place.
Once she was sure it was finally secure she turned away and looked at the princes. Both had collapsed onto the floor, coughing. They were covered in a generous amount of dust and dried blood was running down Loki's temple. Neither had any ash on them though as Fel fire burned so hot that ash was not left.
Loki returned the dagger into his sleeve and leaned forward, running his fingers across the injury on his left leg. He winced, clenching his teeth, when he felt a break in the tibia. It wasn't healing. It wasn't healing. He didn't have enough lifeforce left to quicken the healing of the break. Instead of healing in a few seconds as it should, the wound just sat there.
It was almost like he was a human, the wound healing so slowly. Loki stared at the injured leg, swallowing and feeling pain from the action from his burned throat. He was healing at the rate of a human. That meant he could be killed as easily as a human could and that made him very mortal indeed.
"Thor?" Sefæra asked.
"I'm fine enough," Thor dismissed her, looking at the Fel flames.
The void's energy blocked the sound of the Fel but Thor could see it writhing and thrashing inside as it struggled to free itself. It was almost as if the fire knew it was trapped.
Sefæra knelt by Loki's side instead, shocked by how dim and small his normally vibrant aura was. It had passed critical levels some time ago. She let the charm that let her see his aura fade and set her hand on Loki's injured leg. The wound was not healing at the rate it should be. That fact did not escape her, nor did its implications.
The Fel would burn itself out now so Sefæra thought she could spare Loki some magic. It was little wonder he had risked staying behind to search for his ring and the energy it contained with his Seidr so low. Loki didn't look up from the now healed leg as Sefæra rested her hand on Loki's cheek, her fingers brushing against his temple. It took more of her Seidr then she cared to admit to partially stabilize him.
While she was dosing him she brushed across his mind. *We're all ready to go, my prince, if you need us. All of us.*
Then she lowered her hand before Loki could respond. Loki slowly raised his eyes to hers, confusion lighting his eyes. The Raven Blades were still loyal to him? How… how was that possible?
Sefæra gave him a small smile. Her shadow came off the floor just enough to tug at the hem of her pants again, indicating there was something else going on she should know about. She looked down and the shadow stretched itself so it was pointing down the hall away from the fire, not even attempting to match Sefæra's form as a shadow should do.
*Sef!* Someone shouted to her telepathically.
*Myrit?* Sefæra responded, recognizing the speaker. *What is it?*
A red-tailed hawk came into view, beating its wings against the too still air to maintain its flight. Whilst in his animal form, Myrit was a powerful telepath.
*You are here,* Myrit said, relief seeping into his mental voice, *good. Jaro said you were.*
The hawk screeched to a halt, its forward momentum dropping to nil as it looked at the contained Fel fire.
Beating his wings to hover, Myrit demanded. *There was a bomb here to?*
Thor and Loki weren't able to hear the conversation, but Sefæra felt her blood run cold at Myrit's indication.
"No way," she whispered aloud. "What do you mean by 'here to?' Is there another bomb?"
Thor's breath hissed between his teeth when he heard Sefæra say that. There was another bomb? That meant there was another Fel fire!
*H-healer's ward,* Myrit stuttered as if he had a hard time stringing the syllables together.
Sefæra stared at the hawk and then whispered, "The patients."
*They weren't able to evacuate very many,* Myrit reluctantly told her, *and they need help keeping the fire from spreading.*
Patients, Thor repeated to himself stupidly. The only real patients were… were… in the healer's ward. You didn't go around bombing enemy medical bases, especially not with Fel. It was an unspoken rule of war. Those that were no longer a threat and if one side attacked medical facilities then those attacked would retaliate and destroy the first group's medics as well. Thus, both factions would lose their medical centers, and the wounded would die on both sides.
These were Celestials they were at war against though, Thor reminded himself grimly. Considering what they had done in the last war, Thor shouldn't be surprised. Yet, stupidly, he was.
"I'm coming," he heard Sefæra promise Myrit. "Come down here. I'll use your energy to teleport."
She held out her arm and the hawk flew over and landed on her forearm, much like a normal hawk would return to its master. Sefæra thought about the large dose of energy she had just given Loki, silently lamenting how it had weakened her. She would be wishing very soon she still had the extra Seidr, she just knew it. The thought of taking the dose of lifeforce back from Loki never crossed her mind.
"Stay alive you two," Sefæra ordered the princes.
Then she drew from Myrit's lifeforce and both of them vanished in a flurry of sparkles as they teleported to the new problem spot. Loki was still processing Sef's dose and the knowledge that the Ravens were with him after all. The fact that there had been a second bomb hadn't even reached him yet.
Thor felt the urge to run after them towards the ward and do what he could to help, however little that may be. Yet he didn't move his feet. Some part of him was warning not to just run off and leave Loki behind. He was no mage and even if he was, he couldn't help Sefæra draw from Ginnungagap. Mjölnir wouldn't intimidate a large blaze. He could do no good there.
So instead of leaving, though it killed him not to try to help, Thor turned back to Loki.
"Come on," Thor ordered his brother. "We need to get you out of the palace in the confusion."
"We?" Loki inquired tartly.
His eyes lit up when he spoke. Evidently, the surge of magic had healed his throat as well as his leg. Thor was a little less happy that Loki could talk, but helped him stand. Loki tore his arm from Thor's grip, swaying. Again, Thor stabilized him.
"That dose you got hasn't set in yet," Thor told Loki firmly, recalling what Loki had taught him about magic. "Until it does, you won't even be able to walk. Given that there are probably going to be Star Guard or others coming here shortly, you might consider letting me help you."
"I don't need the help of an Asgardian," Loki informed Thor none too cordially.
Thor remembered all the adventures and misadventures they had gotten into as children.
"You used to," he said softly.
Loki smirked, lips twisting into a sneer that exposed his sharpened canines.
"That was a phase," Loki assured him confidently, "one I've outgrown Odinson. You were of some use to me so I'll let you go unchallenged this time. Don't expect it to go that way the next time we cross paths."
Then he turned on his heel and walked away. His steps were unsteady and he kept one hand on the wall for support, but he managed to walk. Thor watched his progress, heart heavy. While Loki was letting him life, Thor still hadn't seen much indication that Loki was still the brother he had grown up with. In fact, he didn't think he'd seen any at all.
Yeah, that could have gone better in so many ways.