Chapter 8
1) find Mrs. Gerard and Damien; get them somewhere safe
2) try not to get caught by Loki and Taroc
3) resist the urge to go back to Asgard
The list ran through my head over and over again. I tried not to focus on the last one. I truly did. But I felt as though my heart was being wrenched between worlds. I couldn't even think of a place to hide the Gerards. The only really safe place would be Asgard, but I didn't know how to get back. And if I did, I might not be wanted there anymore. People most likely thought of me as a frost giant monster.
I'm half-human. It didn't seem realistic. My foot struck a thick branch on the ground and I almost stumbled. Mortal.
I paused for a moment and put both hands on my staff. Traces of power were still shimmering under the surface. I snatched that power up and tried to locate the Gerards. An image rushed into my brain of a short building with lights that glowed in several different colors. The lights were twisted to form the words Timber River Hotel.
The image ended, but my memory retained it. I took off toward the nearest city, trying to discard anything on my attire that would seem foreign to the people there. Eventually all I had was my black boots and pants and a dark green shirt. I couldn't get rid of my staff, though—I still had need of it, so I kept it with me. It wouldn't seem too odd, I hoped.
I entered the city quickly and was extremely relieved to find that it was, in fact, merely a small town. In no time, I had located the Timber River Hotel building.
I dropped my staff and, bursting through the doors, ran directly to the only person in the room. She sat behind a large desk and looked up slowly with a bored expression on her wrinkled face. "What can I do for you, sweetie?" she drawled, tossing her long gray hair behind her.
Respectfully, I said, "May I know if an older lady and her son came in earlier?"
"Yeah, sure. What about 'em?"
I hurriedly thought up an explanation. "They told me to meet them here, and I'm late."
"They just went up. Rooms 104 and 105." She turned back to her book, ignoring me.
I thanked her—though it fell on deaf ears—and dashed up the staircase to find the Gerards. The doors were numbered, so I easily found their room. I knocked on the one numbered 104 first.
It was answered immediately by Damien. "Hey." He grinned crookedly. I recognized that grin from when I had smiled. It seemed like a long time since I'd smiled like he did. Amazing how alike our smiles were.
"Come with me," I commanded and went to the next room. Mrs. Gerard answered it and admitted us in after battering me down with questions.
With as few words as possible, I explained what was going on. The entire truth. Damien clearly didn't believe me at first, but Mrs. Gerards confirmed that what I said was true.
"So you're my sister?" he asked me, mouth gaping.
"Half-sister," I admitted.
"And your father is Loki? Wasn't he the guy that had that army of aliens?"
"Yes. Now I have less than twenty-four hours to get you two to safety and I do not know what to do. Is there anywhere you could go that Loki would not expect? Besides Asgard?"
"Um…" Both of them thought hard. Meanwhile, I rubbed my aching forehead. My headache was getting worse and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Had I been on Asgard, I could have found the right plant to soothe the pain, but I wasn't on Asgard. I most likely would never set foot in Asgard again.
"Dawn—I mean, Miett—we could go to my father's resort house up in Alaska. Loki doesn't know of it. I never told him," Mrs. Gerard stated. "We could be there in the next couple of days."
I groaned, my fingers digging into my forehead. "No, we don't have two days. We have less than twenty-four hours. Is there any way quicker?" The pain was starting to spike with an unnatural beat. My vision started to go white around the edges.
"We could take a plane, but I don't have that much money…"
Mrs. Gerard's voice faded as everything went stark-white and I pitched forward, unable to stop myself.
Unconsciousness took me.
"My liege."
Thor turned suddenly at the words. "Yes?"
"Heimdall has found the Lady Miett's position on Earth."
The Asgardian king rushed past the warrior who had brought him the news and sprinted the whole way to the Bifrost.
Heimdall stood in front of the Bifrost as always and, before Thor could speak, calmly said, "I can send you directly to where she is."
"Yes, yes. Hurry!" Thor ordered, moving into position to be transported.
A matter of minutes later, Thor was standing in front of a hotel, gently picking up a golden staff that had been tossed haphazardly on the sidewalk.
A matter of seconds later, he was standing in an empty hotel room, where his adopted daughter had been just a few minutes before.