Chapter 21
"What happened here?" Fandral asked.
Everyone looked around them. They had expected barricades blocking the access to the halls and the Einherjar behind them. But there were no barricades. And no halls to speak of. The walls ran smoothly from corner to corner, and when they looked back at the stairs, they had disappeared.
"This looks like cousin Freyja's doing," Loki mused. "Was she still here?"
"She remained with Mother," said his brother. "You know she likes her visits long. Odr went back home with the girls the day after the coronation."
The group approached one of the walls and Thor bellowed to be given passage. Some moments passed when they could hear the shuffling of feet and murmur of excited voices. The illusion of the wall quivered and shifted until it faded, and they were met by a squad of Asgardian soldiers, their golden spears trained at them.
"Your Highness?" Their captain exclaimed, before ordering his soldiers to stand at ease and bowing to the Princes. "Your Highness! You are back, both of you! Our prayers have been heard at last!"
Thor let go of Loki and Sif and walked towards the captain, wincing slightly.
"Where is Commander Tyr?"
The captain's bright expression darkened slightly.
"We do not know, Your Highness. We know he took many refugees with him and many soldiers and that he's resisting somewhere in the city. Forgive my curiosity but, how did you know where was the only stair that could be used? We either blocked the others or tore them down to have less flanks to protect."
"We, uh, we knew, of course we knew," Thor nodded, while his friends looked at each other.
The captain then explained that, up until that moment, that service stair had been the only access to the floor, but with the barrier shrinking and that side of the tower falling outside the shield's radius, they had planned to change to the main staircase from that level on. He then assigned a soldier to escort them to the uppermost level, where the Queen and her retinue stayed.
On that level they had already vacated all the rooms, though they could see signs of them having being inhabited not long ago. Now only soldiers went to and fro, preparing for the inevitable withdrawal, but every one of them stopped what they were doing to salute the Princes.
When they arrived at the last level they could look inside the many rooms and chambers, filled with people from the Palace and from the city. Soon word spread that the Princes had come back and, while no one dared to step into the corridors, which had been strictly forbidden by the soldiers, the doors were filled with curious faces, full of hope and optimism. Volstagg couldn't resist it anymore and he approached each door, asking for his family. He didn't receive any answer, until they arrived near the stairs leading to Odin's Chamber, when a woman told him that his wife and children had gone with Commander Tyr.
The giant man's shoulders slumped.
"Don't worry, friend," Fandral slapped his back. "That means they are safe."
"Tyr is a great warrior," Hogun added, his normally stern tone softening. "They are well protected."
Volstagg nodded and sighed, closing his eyes and steeling himself. When he opened them, it was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he followed Thor in silence.
They finally arrived at the Antechamber, where their escort announced their arrival.
At the center of the room stood a circle of Vanir priestesses with Frigga presiding the rite, hands joined, eyes closed and heads looking upwards. A halo surrounded them and a strange humming filled the room, which was nothing but the voices of the sorceresses, renewing the spell with their energy.
In a corner at the other side of the room, furbished as an improvised resting place, other women sat quietly, some dozing off, some eating, and some in deep meditation.
The ones who were awake turned their heads towards the door as soon as it opened. One of them stood up and rushed to meet them, giving Thor a warm embrace.
"My dear cousins!" said Freyja, taking his hands. "We knew you would return!" she then turned to Loki and extended her hand to him. "And let me look at you! My poor darling, exiled to a minor world, but what is all that blood covering you? I won't let my Aunt see you like that."
With a blink of her blue eyes, all the blood splattering their armors went away, the burnt marks in Sif's shield disappeared, and their vestments now looked clean and polished. Then Freyja noticed Thor's injury, despite the Prince's best efforts to act is if it wasn't bothering him, and ordered her maids to tend to him.
"Thank you so much for helping the Princes return home, my dears," Freyja told Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. "But I'm afraid this is no place for warriors. You are welcome to rest here should you need it, but if you feel that your skills would better be used elsewhere you are free to come and go as you please."
The Warriors Three and Sif consulted with Thor, and they agreed that they wold go to strengthen the defenses through the Palace and take command where needed.
"I see Mother has left a capable steward in her place," Loki pointed out with a smile, while the others talked.
"I'll relieve your mother shortly," she said, her bright smile faltering for a moment. "We are taking turns to keep the shield up for as long as we can until someone can wield Gungnir," she squeezed his hands. "I hoped Thor would bring you with him, and here you are."
"Here I am, indeed."
Freya held his gaze for a moment.
"You have changed," she said. It wasn't an accusation, but a musing said aloud. "There is a sadness now about you two."
He chuckled, ready to weave a story, but then she caressed his cheek. Sweet Freyja, she could sense every emotion from those surrounding her. Of all his family, she was the hardest to fool, but she often had the good sense of not betraying anything to others. Whatever she perceived in other people, she tried using it to help them, or she kept the knowledge to herself.
"And there is pain in you," Freyja frowned.
"I don't think this is the time for-"
"I know, darling, please forgive me. We have much to do, and I think it's time for the Queen to take a rest."
She turned around and went to the other women, her golden mane trailing behind like a veil, her feet so light she looked as if she danced when she moved.
Those in meditation opened their eyes and those sleeping were roused. All stood up and slowly trailed to form a circle around the acting sorceresses. The newcomers joined hands and started to intone the same humming incantation. As if it was a dance, the newcomers raised their joined hands and stepped forward, just in time for the old circle to let go of their companions' hands and take a step back.
Two handmaids rushed to the Queen's side to support her while the other sorceresses, showing various degrees of tiredness, gingerly walked towards the resting corner where they took seats or lain down. No one noticed the Princes until Frigga had been seated and cast a glance around the room.
She covered her mouth so as not to raise her voice and disturb the spell. Thor and Loki walked to her, happy to see her safe and sound.
"Oh, my prayers have been heard," Frigga said, trying to stand up. Her strength failed and she nearly fell, but her sons' arms were already supporting her. "Bless you, my children. Let me rest but a moment, and let me look at you," she said, taking Loki's hand.
Loki knelt at her side, Thor following suit, but Frigga's green eyes were fixed on her youngest child.
"Much has changed in you," she said, caressing his cheek. "Who weaved that spell around you? It's a very powerful protection."
"She goes by the name of 'Sorcerer Supreme' in Midgard," he said.
"You will tell me everything that has happened when this is over," she said, trying to stand up again. This time supported by her sons. "Time is short and we mustn't tarry."
She led them to Odin's Chamber, where no one but the royal family and a very small number of servants could enter. To any intruder, Odin lain on a gigantic bed gilded in gold, but it was actually a stasis chamber where he could regenerate his energy. Huginn and Muninn, his ever-watchful crows, would have sat at a perch over him, but no one had seen them since the Allfather entered into the Odinsleep. Above said perch, mounted on the wall, sat Gungnir, Odin's spear.
Frigga let go of Thor's arm and walked past the bed, towards the opposite wall. She lifted the spear on her hands and walked back to them using it as a cane.
"You will have to work together," she said.
The brothers looked at each other. Thor hadn't trained to control his powers and the source of Loki's mystical energy was a mystery. If Gungnir had been attuned to channel only the Odinforce the results could be catastrophic.
"Are you sure?" Loki asked.
"Thor's magic is not strong enough," she smiled. "But you can help him direct and amplify his energy."
Seeing that she didn't seen to understand their concern, Thor decided to speak up.
"He knows everything, Mother."
Her smile faltered, still gazing at her younger son.
"He broke the Allfather's seal," Thor elaborated. "Then his magic went wild as you predicted and his true nature was revealed. But no one saw it, that I made sure of."
She chuckled mirthlessly, closing her eyes briefly.
"It was only a matter of time," she took his younger son's hand. "I suppose you will have many questions."
Loki squeezed her hand.
"For now I only want to know if my Jötun blood will interfere."
The Queen shook her head.
"Magic follows many paths," she explained. "And the Odinforce is no exception. I know Thor's training didn't yield the expected results, and he will have to correct that when everything is solved, but for now you are going to help him guide his energy. Have no fear, my son, there is far more than Jötun blood in your veins," she touched his cheek. "Ever since Odin put you in my arms I knew you would be a powerful magician, and I'm not the only one who saw it."
The words of the Sorceress Supreme came back to him.
Crossroads...
"Then you know my power can go either way. I could be a savior or a destroyer all the same."
She frowned a bit, but then her gesture softened with a smile.
"Wanton destruction is not in your nature," she said. "Mischievous as you have always been, there has never been a desire to harm the innocent. I don't know what that Sorcerer Supreme might have told you, but I am Frigga, Queen of the Aesir, and your Mother, and I mastered these arts long before Midgardians looked up at the stars and started numbering the days and months."
She called Thor to their side and offered Gungnir to him, then she took Loki's hand and put it in the weapon below Thor's.
"As it should be, so be it," she pronounced. "Now go to the Antechamber and stand in the center."
They did as instructed, but before they stepped into the circle of priestesses, Frigga gave each a small phial for them to drink. Knowing what it was, Loki drank it right away, but Thor eyed it suspiciously.
"This will restore your energy," Frigga said. "We use it in our lessons, when the pupil becomes too tired."
The eldest prince shrugged and drank it in one gulp, expecting it to have a horrid taste, but finding it was like drinking water.
With no time to lose, they went to the center of the casting circle without disturbing the priestesses and held Gungnir as they had been told.
"I don't even know where to start," Thor murmured.
"Think about casting your lightning," Loki explained, his mind racing to find the words to explain the process. He had studied it as part of his training, but never suspected that he would have to take part in it someday. "Your energy will be amplified by Gungnir. Don't fight it, but don't let it dominate you. I'll help you find the balance and redirect the power. The most important thing is that you shouldn't fight me either. A clash of wills could have fatal consequences."
"Will it hurt you?"
"No. We will be part of the same incantation. My energy will join the spell too. Ready?"
Thor nodded and closed his eyes, concentrating. Loki did the same, and felt the power building up. It wasn't theirs at first, but the spell of Freyja and the other priestesses. Then Thor mustered his powers.
The jolt of magical energy was akin to the breaking of the Allfather's seal, but this time the intensity kept growing at an alarming speed. Loki braced himself to the spear with both hands and withstood the unrelenting tide.
xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx
In his mind's eye, Loki saw Thor walking amidst a snowstorm in an iced wasteland where the sky and the ground bore the same pale grey. The magician was fighting against the storm too, trying to reach his older brother before both were swallowed by it.
Loki called his name, but the howling wind drowned his voice. He had no other choice but to press forward in search of his brother. Little by little he advanced, at times losing sight of Thor when a blast of wind and sleet would blind him. He put all his effort on not being carried away by the tempest, when he saw ahead his brother's bright red cape, billowing furiously. Around Thor wisps of magical energy coiled and danced, unaffected by the weather; soon Loki saw that the source of that power was Gungnir, standing erect and unmovable in that space, with Thor holding on to it, trying desperately to control its power.
As he approached his brother, Loki looked ahead and, among the snow and the sleet, in the undistinguishable horizon, he thought he could see a shadow looming over them, big as a mountain. It was nearly imperceptible at first, but as time passed it became more distinct, yet more ambiguous at the same time. He couldn't tell if it was the shape of an animal or a man, but a sense of dread overwhelmed him from a memory he would rather forget, and he pressed forward with far more urgency.
His brother was almost at arm's reach when Loki saw the shadow moving, as if trying to reach forward. Then a golden spark flashed in the sky and the shadow seemed to recoil.
He reached forward and clutched at Thor's arm. His brother let go of the spear for a moment and dragged him to his side until both could grab Gungnir.
"Control the storm!" Loki yelled. "It's raw power amplified by Gungnir. Control it or it will swallow us both!"
"Where is it coming from?"
"It's your own power! Don't let it dominate you! You are its source, its vessel, without you its nothing! Let it flow through you, don't fight it! Control it!"
Thor closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate. Behind him, Loki heard the wind carrying a voice with it, a distant howling full of rage and longing, and hunger. The fear returned, an uncontrollable, primordial impulse he had to fight with all his willpower.
His brother gave our a scream as the tempest raged around them. Loki closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to divert his senses to Gungnir. He felt Thor's will, powerful, indomitable, the rage of a Berserkr. Little by little he noticed the wind changing direction to form a hurricane around them. Snow gave way to clouds, and lightning crackled and jumped around them. It gained momentum until Thor opened his eyes, glowing with magic energy as the storm raged through him. The hurricane then was absorbed into Gungnir, and a blast of blue light exploded from it, blinding both brothers.
When Loki opened his eyes he saw his brother, sweat running down his brow, spent, but smiling.
They were still inside the Antechamber. The priestesses had stopped their chanting and the room was silent. The brothers looked around to see everyone standing in mute wonder at them.
"The shield is up again," said Frigga. "The Palace is safe."
"Time to regroup, then," answered Thor, smiling ferociously.