AUTHOR'S NOTE: The adventure finally begins! No more buildup, no more foreshadowing, from now on it's all danger and fun and steamy sex in the wilderness. We will soon reach new and exciting places and meet people that will become major characters in the story. Also we will soon cross paths again with Doom. All you Barbara/Doom shippers... ahem... there might be a treat in store!
I've replied to all reviews at the bottom, including those with accounts. Sorry, I didn't have time to answer personally through PM as I usually do!
Born to be a King
Chapter 8
Two spectators from distant worlds and from two far areas of the universe observed the departure of the two Asgardian travelers.
"How quaint" whispered the first, her face half hidden in shadow "he means to deter me. He hides my prize and takes what's mine far and away from me. But I will find you, son of Laufey. And I will claim my prize"
"It begins" declared the second; a king, watching the nearly indistinct beam of the bifrost somewhere far, far away on the west "alert the Inkeri. Have Stingadr bring him to me. Make sure he's unharmed"
The beam of the bifrost broke the skies, sending creatures scattering in all directions. It touched down on the large open plain and suddenly, two figures on horseback emerged. The horses neighed and rose on their hind legs, then at the signal from their riders, took off at full speed. Loki led the way and Barbara followed. In a flash, the bifrost closed, and the two riders disappeared into the thick jungle.
Not stopping to admire anything around them, they soon crossed the thicket and began their ascent towards the top of a high mountain. The horses broke through the thick vegetation, avoiding the massive trees. Once the mountain became too steep for them to continue, they stopped at a jagged cliff that protruded from the mountainside. Loki and Barbara dismounted and for the very first time, beheld the majesty and scope of the magnificent realm.
"By all the gods..." Loki breathed, unable to contain his amazement. Before them, the realm and the dense jungle that covered it seemed almost infinite. Two suns beamed down in perpendicular trajectories from West to East and North to South. In the bright sky, the silhouettes of other large planets and stars was almost invisible to the eye, but the dust of the nebula that surrounded the realm drifted like a shimmering dust that gave the sky a faint golden hue.
"Have you ever seen anything like this?" Barbara asked stupefied.
"Never" he replied, his eyes scanning the horizon.
"How are we supposed to find a city in all that? And the stones for that matter?"
"We trek East, just as Ragnar said. There is more than one realm, so the stones must be hidden and scattered through all of them. But we first need to find the city and their means of travel"
"So..." she said mischievously, understanding his words "... we're not here to scout, are we? We're here to infiltrate"
Loki simply smiled in response.
"How do you know that Doom hasn't already beaten us to it? It's been two years since he has possession of the gauntlet" she asked.
"Ragnar has kept a close watch on all interstellar activity on Earth. Since Thanos' fall, there has been none, but he detected disturbances in their atmosphere. Your metal friend is trying, and it will only be a matter of time before he joins us"
"Ahhh" Barbara sighed with delight "let the games begin"
"It was a brilliant idea, you going to see the Norns. Now we have all the time we need"
Barbara laughed. "I still can't believe Thor bought it. You ensured that Arik was safe and that we can travel undisturbed. I'm impressed. But how long do you think until Hela comes for our heads?"
"Not long" Loki said "Hela is only able to leave her realm when cosmic alignments occur. And when that happens, I will already have the gauntlet and the stones"
"When is the next alignment?"
"At the next moon's waxing" he replied quickly, walking back to the horses. Barbara's eyes went wide. That was only a little more than a month away.
Loki loosened the reins of the horses as their journey was about to continue on foot. As he worked, he looked at Barbara, who stood on the edge of the cliff looking out at the vastness of the realm. Little did she know that the lie he had told Thor was actually the truth. Well, at least half of it. Hela was coming for Arik, but she was also coming for her. He had no need of oracles to alert him to the incoming doom. He had known from the moment he rose within her when he bargained his life so he could bring her back from the dead. It had gone terribly wrong. He did not die, and thus, he had robbed Death of her payment.
Hela was coming to reclaim Barbara as her own and Arik was to be Loki's payment for cheating her. His only chance at beating the mistress of Death was to separate the two collaterals until he had the means to defeat her. Or a bounty in the number of lives large enough that could compensate for his debt.
Loki closed his eyes and sighed. The alignment was not in five weeks.
It was in less than a fortnight.
With cautious steps, they re-entered the jungle and began on their way. Barbara could only gawk at the beauty that surrounded her. Trees as tall as the highest towers in Asgard rose proudly to the heavens, robust and strong. The ground was covered by plush moss and thickly riddled with bushes and all manners of shrubs. The entire vegetation was bioluminescent, and she watched awestruck as everything they touched or brushed against illuminated in the half-darkness beneath the canopy. The sound was almost deafening as an unimaginable amount of creatures called out from around and above.
"Oh my!" she exclaimed when she caught sight of a small mammal scurrying away when she disturbed the bush under which he lay. It was scaly, with large beady eyes protruding from its head. It had a very large snout, and a long scraggly tail. It shrieked at her, revealing a nasty set of gnashing teeth before he ran off.
"Do you think any of them are edible?" she called out to Loki, who was busy studying the tree tops.
"Already hungry, my pet?"
"No, I just don't see any fruit trees or any animals that look like game" she shrugged "I hope I didn't bring all those spices for nothing. I don't want us to starve when our supplies run out"
Loki laughed, looking at the heavy bundles of bread, cheeses, nuts and dry fruit she had loaded on the horses, insisting that they needed it all.
"I'm sure we'll find something that will challenge your culinary skills" he teased "perhaps they have their own version of a hare, one scaly and prickly. Or a deer with poisonous antlers and with a hide so thick it will break a molar or two"
Appalled, she picked up a small pebble and threw it at his head, but he ducked just in time and the pebble flew past, hitting a large mound of moss. For a moment they laughed, until they felt the earth tremble beneath their feet and a hollow echo rumble in the air.
They looked at each other, then Barbara's eyes went wide upon seeing something behind her husband. Seeing her reaction, he cautiously turned his head and his own reaction mirrored hers when he saw the mound of moss begin to move. Suddenly, it rose on six strong, big legs, and from the mossy shell that covered it emerged the monstrous, gigantic and terrifying animal. Covered in scales and with four eyes atop his block head, he roared, spraying slimy drool everywhere and revealing four rows of sharp, deadly, dagger-sized teeth.
"Release your horse..." Loki whispered, barely above a breath "... and run"
Immediately she obeyed, and letting go of Twilight's reins, she took off in the thick greenery with Loki right behind her.
"Oh shit, oh shit, OH SHIT!" she yelled, looking back and seeing the massive creature right on their heels. She waved her hand, and a tree became uprooted, falling with powerful force right in front of the beast. It halted in its steps and tripped on the huge log, sending it stumbling and tumbling on the ground. Loki and Barbara stopped and looked back to see the creature lying on its side, grunting and kicking its legs. But just then, it quickly straightened and rose again, scratching the ground beneath him with his large claws.
"I think you just made it angry" Loki said. Then they both gasped when it kicked the fallen tree, sending it flying in their direction. Loki grabbed Barbara and shielded them from impact by hiding behind a large tree. The log hit the ground then bounced off, tumbling out of sight until finally, they heard a splash.
"Water. Make for it" Loki instructed, and they took off once more. The creature began chasing them again as they followed the trail of the fallen tree. Soon, they reached the wide river.
"Loki!" Barbara gasped desperately when she saw the rapid current that churned in the river.
"We have no choice" he said, pushing the tree trunk further into the river.
He hopped on the tree, then pulled Barbara onto it. The makeshift canoe set off in the churning water just as the creature reached the shore. It stomped and roared angrily... then jumped in after them.
"Fuck!" Loki groaned. Soon, its massive weight overwhelmed it and the creature struggled to catch up. The tree trunk sailed on the rapid waters, picking up speed. The beast that had been chasing them managed to climb onto some rocks and reached the river bank, then set off back into the jungle. Loki and Barbara sighed in relief, but then the waters began to slow down. They turned their heads to look ahead just as the distant sound of roaring began to be heard. The current became less forceful until it finally became still and the log began to sail smoothly. It sailed straight, following the course of the river...
That suddenly plunged off into a huge waterfall.
The two log riders were too stunned for words.
"Lo... Lo... Lokiiii..." Barbara stuttered, watching their makeshift barge sail closer and closer to the edge.
Grabbing her arm, he pulled them into the deep waters. Desperately, they swam towards shore but by then the current had picked up again, and any effort was futile. The more they swam, the faster they were getting to the edge. Again and again they went under, only to resume their kicking and flailing when they broke the surface. Then suddenly, they hit a wall of rocks.
Barbara screamed when she realized they had reached the edge of the waterfall. The force of the water as it plunged off nearly knocked the air out of her lungs as she struggled to hold on to the rocks that were the only thing keeping her from going over the edge. Loki took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him.
"Listen to me, we have to jump!"
"NOOOO!" she screamed in panic, grabbing onto him.
"We have to!" he yelled "the drop is no more than fifty fathoms. We'll make it!"
"No... please no... please Loki... no... no... rocks on the bottom... I can't... I CAN'T!"
"Trust me" he said, shaking her and forcing her to look at him. "Trust me" he emphasized.
She looked into his eyes, and for a second, she could no longer hear the roar of the waterfall, feel the almost bone-breaking force of the water slamming them onto the rocks. She could only hear his voice, and it was telling her to trust him.
"I trust you" she panted.
"Good. We'll do it together. Now climb"
Using all her strength, she forced her limbs to move. She rose above the water and then she was looking straight down at the dizzying drop. Below, the water created a thick cloud of mist that rose higher than the waterfall itself, indicating the magnitude of the force with which the water hit the bottom.
"Don't look down" Loki said, and taking her hand, helped her to stand with him. He took one look down into the drop, and steeled himself. He held her hand tighter.
"We'll make it" he reassured her again "on three. One..."
Barbara closed her eyes.
"...two... take a deep breath..."
Barbara breathed deep.
"... three"
Then together, Loki and Barbara jumped.
End of Chapter 8
AUTHOR'S NOTE #2: 50 fathoms (or faðmr as they called it in old Norse times) equals 300 feet. That's a drop higher than the Iguazu falls. Yikes!
Responses to reviews:
CLTex: Thanks Christi! I've been dying to get to this part of the story too! Hope you're doing great!
DoctorLokiLove: I'm so happy for you! I also read your review on the last chapter of "Daddy Loki". I'm so sorry that happened with your grandma but at least you're very happy to be out of Colorado. I hope you have a great time in Seattle!
Forbidden Moons: How Barbara will handle that 'white lie' is something that will come back up in future chapters, so watch out for it! ;-) Thanks Seraphina! Blessings!
Guest: Yes, poor Arik. I hope he'll be ok ;-) Thanks!
LisaF: Clue? I don't see now clue ehehehehehe. Thank you girl!
tuckerjnp1: I'm so glad you enjoyed my writing. Welcome to the Lokara journey! :)
Guest: Thank you kindly for your sweet words. I really appreciate them! I hope you enjoy this story too!
Anon: Queen of plot twists? I like that title! lol And yes, some major shit will hit the fan. Hang on to your panties, it's going to be a bumpy ride! lol Thanks!