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In My Time of Dying

            Thor stood beside his teammates as they surveyed the damage from Loki’s latest attack. He hadn’t spotted his brother personally but knowing Loki sought something within made it obvious it was his handiwork. Thor kept his despair hidden lest he be forced to talk. As it was, he would hear nothing but disparaging words about Loki. His Midgardian allies did not know his brother as he did but then again, Thor wasn’t entirely sure he knew Loki anymore either. While many (most actually) thought Loki to be a lost cause Thor refused to believe his brother could not be saved.

            “They’re taking the last of the victims to the hospital now,” Stark told him and Thor turned his gaze to watch the final ambulance drive away.

            “Good,” Thor replied and couldn’t help the large sigh he let escape. “Loki is not here though.”

            “No and it doesn’t look like he actually ever was.”

            “Then what was the point of all this?” Captain Rogers asked, gesturing at the damage all around them. “Wanton destruction?”

            Thor shook his head, “No, this isn’t like Loki at all. Loki thinks strategically but there was no rhyme or reason for this.”

            “Well in any case, he didn’t get what he came for,” Stark replied, gesturing at the ruined bank. “At least, I don’t think he did.”

            “What of the people inside?”

            “Nine victims in total,” Romanoff reported. “All of them unconscious. We’ll know more once SHIELD doctors take a look at them.”

            Thor froze, “Did you say nine victims?”

            They all turned to regard him, “Yes.”

            “And they’re in a coma.”

            Again an affirmative, “What is it?”

            “Was there anything else?”

            Romanoff glanced at her notes. “According to the bank teller, before the explosion someone came into the bank ‘smelling like death’.” She frowned at him, “You’ve seen something like this before.”

            “I have, when Loki and I were much younger.” It can’t be back; Thor thought desperately, we killed it. Dread welled up within him because worse than the idea of the creature’s return was the idea of Loki using such forbidden magic for his own gain. It was not something he even wanted to comprehend.

* * *

            From across the way, hidden from prying eyes by his seiðr, a dark haired man with vibrant (currently) green eyes recalled the same incident.

* * *

            Several centuries ago

            “Loki!”

            Loki cringed at his brother’s yell and gave the Citadel’s librarian an apologetic look. If there was one word never to be used to describe Thor, it would be “quiet”. Loki doubted his brother even knew the meaning of the word. Thor was loud in everything he did. He called Loki’s name again and Loki had to fight the urge to sink under the table as the librarian’s glare deepened. Had they been on Asgard and not visiting their aunt and uncle on Vanaheim this wouldn’t have been an issue. Asgard’s librarians were used to Thor barreling through the stacks as he looked for his younger brother.

            “Lo—” Thor paused as his eyes finally landed on Loki. “There you are.”

            “Lower your voice Thor,” Loki admonished.

            “Why? There is no one here except for you.”

            Loki signed internally. Massaging his temples he said, “No one except for me, the librarians and the apprentices.”

            “Apprentices?” Thor looked around again and spotted several other scholars at a nearby table, all of whom were glaring at Thor as well. Thor had the decency to appear contrite. “Sorry.” Thor then leaned over the table Loki sat at. “I have some exciting news.”

            “So exciting you needed to interrupt my studies?”

            Very carefully, Thor moved the ancient seiðr text aside. “Yes, an adventure has been set before us.”

            Loki cocked an eyebrow. “What?” His brother never talked like that.

            Thor’s exuberant attitude dimmed. “Uncle has received reports of a creature attacking the outlying villages. Several people have gone missing. No bodies have been found but there has been a lot of blood in every location someone has disappeared. Uncle fears someone is attempting a dark ritual.”

            “And you offered our services?”

            “Well… One of the villages is Hogun’s.”

            “That changes things.” He may not get on too well with Thor’s friends but he would not wish any sort of ill upon them. “When was the latest attack and where was it?”

            “Yesterday, in Hogun’s village,” Thor pressed his lips together and Loki could read the distress in his brother’s expression. “His mother was taken.”

            Loki leaned back as his own distress washed through him. He could not imagine what the Vanir warrior had to be going through. Should something like that happen to his own mother…

            “Uncle Freyr has the details and father has already given his blessing in us going. Sif, Fandral and Volstagg have already headed to meet up with Hogun.”

            Loki most certainly needed more details but knowing Sif and the Idiots Three, not that he could blame Hogun for wanting to join the search, were going to be there complicated matters. Loki was not looking forward to dealing with their taunts.

            “You are one of the best trackers I know,” Thor said. “If anyone can find the creature and bring back the people it’s taken, it’s you.”

            Loki wasn’t entirely sure he believed that. Thor tended to resort to flattery when he wanted something. Loki wished just once his brother would complement him and mean it, not try playing to his ego.

            Were it not for the fact people were missing, Loki would have declined to help. “Where is Hogun’s village?”

            “Ravandal is at least a two days ride from here.”

            Rising from his seat, Loki gathered his books. He would need to gather as much information on the area and creature as he could before they set out. “Uncle is sending forces to Ravandal I take it.”

            Thor nodded and followed Loki from the library. “He is.” Thor smiled, his excitement returning. “Once we slay the beast and return the people, poets will talk of our heroics for centuries to come.”

            Loki couldn’t help rolling his eyes at his brother’s statement. People were missing, possibly dead, and his brother was speaking of renown.

            After dropping the books off in the rooms he’d been assigned, he followed his brother to where their father and uncle were preparing to hunt the creature.

            “I cannot thank you enough for your help,” Uncle Freyr said.

            “Think nothing of it,” replied their father. “You would do the same were the situation reversed.”

            “What is the creature?” Loki asked. “Thor gave me no details.”

            “Unfortunately the details themselves are vague. Some reports say the creature is man-shaped while other’s claim it to be a dragon,” Freyr replied.

            “Maybe it’s a shapeshifter,” Thor suggested.

            “While I wouldn’t discount the possibility, such a gift is rare.”

            Loki knew that to be true well enough. He was one of the rare ones with such an innate ability. He also thought such an explanation might be too easy. “We will have to do more investigating once we arrive.”

            Their father looked at them with one eyebrow raised. “I do not recall giving either of you permission to hunt the creature.”

            Loki cocked an eyebrow of his own at his brother. That had not been what Thor had told him earlier.

            “But father,” Thor cried, “the latest attack was at Hogun’s village. How can I not give my friend aid?”

            “You cannot,” his father agreed after a moment, “but you will not be going alone.”

            “Of course not,” Thor threw an arm around Loki’s shoulders, “Loki is coming with me as are Sif, Fandral and Volstagg.”

            “Then ready yourselves. You leave within the hour.”

* * *

            It took Loki no time at all to collect his supplies and horses had been made ready for both him and Thor. While his brother finished loading his supplies, Loki consulted with one of the books he had taken from the library. He was fortunate enough to find one about the lore of the region. He hoped to find some clue about the creature and what it may be doing.

            Thor let out a grunt as he secured the last item. “Sometimes I envy you,” his brother said, much to Loki’s shock. “I wish I had your ability to pack as tough I wasn’t bringing anything with me.”

            “I have packed only the essentials,” Loki replied. Loki had things secured to his horse but the heavy camping supplies he’d placed within the dimensional pocket he’d created. Loki was still quite proud of himself for such an achievement. Even his mother had not discovered how to do such a thing.

            Once everything was loaded they set out. With them was a contingent of Vanir warriors as well as a handful of their seiðrmar. One thing Loki enjoyed about his mother’s home Realm was their appreciation of mages. Seiðr craft wasn’t seen as strictly a woman’s trade.

            They traveled far on the first day and as they sat around the campfire, Loki consulted the book he had been searching through earlier in the day. He was so engrossed in his pursuit of the tome that he hadn’t realized Thor had come to sit beside him until a piece of salted meat was thrust in his face. He reared back, lest Thor somehow shove it up his nose. “You could have said something.” Loki said, feigning annoyance. He took the proffered food gratefully.

            “I did say something,” Thor replied. “Though you had your nose too deep into your book to notice. Have you found anything?”

            True annoyance flashed through Loki now. “Nothing which makes any sense. There is nothing in the regional lore to explain what is happening. I do think uncle is right to fear a dark ritual. Such things require a lot of blood and a sacrifice.”

            “No bodies have been found,” Thor pointed out. “It’s possible they may still be alive.”

            “It is possible and while I hope for that to be the case, we need to prepare for the possibility they aren’t, especially given the amount of blood found at each disappearance.”

            They fell silent. Loki continued to search through the tome until it was much too late to do so. He could easily have called forth witch-lights to read by but he knew he would need to be well rested for whatever was to come.

            Deciding to call it a night before it was his turn to keep watch; Loki put the tome away and lay upon his bedroll. The crackling of the campfire was soothing and Loki was asleep within minutes. Everyone rose early the next morning and they set out again just after the sun had begun to crest the horizon.

            The day followed along the same lines as the first. They made great progress in their travels and to Loki’s silent delight, Thor’s friends didn’t bother him at all but may have had to do with their worry over Hogun’s mother. While Loki would have preferred the circumstances to be different, he was more than enjoying not being subject to their bullying.

            They arrived in the village of Ravandal on the afternoon of the third day. Loki had to admit to a bit of disquiet seeing the normally stoic Vanir warrior so disheveled. The air around the village was eerie. The fear that was obvious in the citizens caused the hairs on Loki’s neck to rise. He saw Thor and his friends were similarly affected by the atmosphere.

            “Two more went missing last night,” Hogun reported in way of greeting.

            “Any indication of where they were taken?” Loki asked.

            “Tracks indicate they were taken into the woods,” said a man he didn’t recognize. “I am Caban, leader of this village.”

            “Thor,” Thor said, gripping the man’s arm in greeting, “my brother Loki and my friends Sif, Fandral and Volstagg.”

            “Having the Princes’ of Asgard and Asgard’s elite warriors here to help our village is most comforting,” replied Caban. The man’s dark eyes fell upon Loki. “It is especially comforting knowing such a skilled seiðrmar is at our disposal.”

            Loki pointedly ignored Sif’s eye roll. “Are there any similarities between the victims,” Loki asked.

            “They’re all missing,” Fandral said.

            Loki shot the blonde a look of annoyance. “Don’t be so dense. If this creature is taking people for some sort of ritual then there must be a pattern. Rituals, especially dark ones, are very specific in what they need to work.” He pulled a parchment his uncle had given him before their departure from his dimensional pocket. On it was the list of those already taken. The villages were all named as well and Loki’s eyebrows drew together as a pattern seemed to emerge right before his eyes. “The two taken last night, it was a man and a child, wasn’t it?”

            His words drew looks of surprise from those around him. “Yes,” answered Caban.

            Loki rolled the parchment up and caught the poorly hidden expressions of suspicion on Sif and the Warriors faces. “I need a map,” Loki declared. “One large enough to depict the surrounding villages.”

            “This way,” Caban said with a gesture.

            Thor slid up beside him. “What do you see?” he asked softly.

            “Something dark,” Loki replied just as softly. “Though I can’t say exactly what ritual this person plans on performing.”

            “So it’s not a creature?” There was a hint of disappointment in his brother’s voice.

            “I never said that. Some beasts are intelligent. You for example,” he teasingly added, “pass, though barely.”

            He was rewarded with Thor’s smile and a slight shove to his shoulder. “Shut up.”

            While the Vanir warriors who had accompanied them from the palace secured the perimeter of the village, Caban led them to a meeting hall. He motioned them over to a large table where a map of the region had been laid out. Loki compared the known kidnapping locations with the map, plotting out the days and sites. A frown creased his lips when he finished.

            “Everything seems to be centered around here,” he said, placing a finger on the map.

            Thor and the others examined the map as well. “That is the Weeping Wood,” Caban said grimly.

            “That doesn’t sound ominous at all,” Volstagg said.

            “Each of these villages is equidistant from that location,” Loki explained.

            “The Weeping Wood is not a place to be travelled lightly,” Caban said. “Many who have had the misfortune of wandering within are never heard from again.” The man ran a hand across his brow. “I had worried the woods would need to be searched. I have sent word for a guide, his name is Calder. He will meet you there.”

            That was good. If the woods were somehow enchanted, having a guide who could navigate them would be of great help.

            “Is that why it’s called the ‘Weeping Wood’,” asked Fandral, “because people don’t come back?”

            “That is not the forests original name,” Caban sighed, “but yes, that is why it now has that name.”

            “What was it called before?” Sif asked.

            “Dødsskogen.”

            “That is actually worse,” Thor said.

            Loki agreed. “Forest of Death” was a much worse name than “Weeping Wood”. They would have no choice but to enter it though. Loki just hoped they all came out alive in the end.

* * *

            Loki spent a good portion of the day and part of the night looking for more clues among what they already knew. He also delved deep into the history of the Weeping Wood. Contrary to what Caban had told them, even “Dødssogen” wasn’t the original name of the forest. The original name was Livets Skog, the “Forest of Life”. How it came to have its current name remained a mystery.

            As for any mention of a creature living within, there was nothing. Whatever this creature was, be it man or beast, was new to the wood. They would have to be on their guard. A new pattern he had noticed among the victims was their ages. They were all still relatively young. The youngest victim was only about two hundred years old.

            As the group saddled their horses Loki had a sense of dread wash over him. There were so many unknowns and he hated it. He would rather know what they were dealing with as opposed to going in blind as they were.

            With no option but to go as they were, Loki mounted his horse to begin their journey. Thor appeared exceptionally chipper though Loki could tell his brother was apprehensive. Even Thor could sense something was off about their mission. His brother was keeping up appearances for the benefit of the villagers.

            The weather was surprisingly good as they rode towards the Weeping Wood. It continued to hold for the next several days. Each night Loki would consult the map looking for any new possible targets for the creature. He wished he could consult Asgard’s library. If these people were being taken for a ritual, Asgard’s library was the place he would most likely find which one.

            Upon reaching the forest, they spotted a man dressed in light travelling clothing waiting for them along the forests edge. “You are the warriors from Asgard. I am Calder,” he introduced once they had dismounted. “I will be your guide through the wood.”

            “I am Thor,” his brother said as he gripped Calder’s arm. He then introduced the rest of their party. “Lord Caban said many who enter here are never heard from again.”

            “I learned to navigate these woods when I was but a child,” Calder replied. “Its reputation holds true but if you respect the forest you have a good chance of leaving it.”

            Loki retrieved the map to gauge their location. Even on the edge, Loki could sense something powerful within and it honestly made his skin crawl. There was evil within this forest though they had no choice but to enter if they were to retrieve those who had been taken. They had barely entered the tree line when it seemed as though night had fallen. Loki called forth a few witch-lights to help guide their way.

            Frandral glided up beside Loki. “What’s the matter,” the blond asked in a low voice, “afraid of the dark?”

            Loki glared at him. “It’s the middle of the day,” he reminded the warrior. “And yet,” Loki gestured around them and at the somewhat sparse canopy, “one would think night had fallen.”

            From his left he heard Sif growl, “Sorcerers,” with distain. Her voice was low enough so only Loki could hear. If Thor had been within earshot the word would never have passed her lips.

            “Loki,” Thor asked from a few paces ahead of them, “what could cause this?”

            “A curse,” Loki replied. “That would be the simplest explanation.”

            “Why would someone want to curse a forest?” Volstagg asked.

            “Why would anyone want to curse anything?” Fandral asked instead. “Magic is such an ugly way to fight. There is no finesse.”

            Loki met the blonde’s eye but refused to rise to the bait. He thought he may need to check his hearing when Thor said, “You’ve never truly seen Loki fight then.”

            It wasn’t necessarily a false statement. It had been quite a number of years since Loki had practiced in the training grounds with Sif and the Warriors present. It had even been some time since he’d trained with Thor present, let alone with Thor. Loki had been content to train by himself. He didn’t have to hear any of the other warriors demeaning him, which is why he generally practiced at night with no one around.

            “Magic and fighting go hand and hand on Vanaheim,” Calder said. “Though the mages generally perfect one over the other.”

            “Loki can do both,” Thor stated proudly. “He will be a very powerful seiðrmar someday. Maybe even the most powerful.”

            Something flashed within Calder’s eyes at Thor’s words but it disappeared far too quickly for Loki to gage the emotion. Hunger perhaps?

            “Have you scouted these woods recently?” Loki asked.

            “Only the outskirts,” Calder admitted. “I was not asked to investigate until the disappearances in Ravandal.”

            “Did anything stand out to you?” Thor inquired.

            “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

            Loki knew it would not be so simple. It wasn’t as though the creature taking the villagers was leaving signage for where it was going or what it was doing.

            He continually checked their map. Even with a guide, Loki did not want to risk becoming lost. As the sun began to set, the darkness of the forest only grew deeper. Torches were lit to help light their way. When it became too dark to travel, even with the aid of the torches, they stopped to set up camp for the night.

            They each took shifts to keep watch, rotating every couple of hours. When it was Loki’s turn, he reached out with his senses, looking for something in the ether to show them the way. All he could “see” was the darkness from earlier. In all honesty, the forest gave him the creeps.

            At one point he wandered around the campsite, in part to stretch his legs and also to patrol the area. As he was walking he thought he heard someone call his name. The voice was raspy but he thought he detected a hint of longing in it. With a shudder, he returned to where he had been sitting by the fire.

            When he was relieved, late, by Sif he lay in his bed roll waiting for sleep which did not want to come. His anxiety was not allowing him to relax. While the others could tell something was off about these woods, Loki could sense the evil within. It wanted something and he hoped they could find the missing villagers and make it out alive. The alternative was not something he wanted to even contemplate.

            The only indication of morning’s arrival was the slight lighting of their surroundings. The forest was much too quiet for Loki’s liking. He realized part of his unease came from the lack of any sort of animal or bird. The forest was, for all intents and purposes, void of life.

            After breaking camp, Calder continued to lead them on their way. Thor kept a quiet conversation with his friends and Loki did not feel any sort of jealousy that his brother paid him no attention.

            “You are training to be a seiðrmar, are you not?”

            Loki cursed his lack of focus. He had not realized Calder had come beside him until the older man spoke.

            “Yes,” he replied. “My mother has taught me a great deal.”

            “A fine sorceress she is,” Calder said with a nod of his head. “Powerful too. You have inherited your gift from her.”

            Loki’s heart swelled at the compliment but he was also wary of the man’s words. There was something about Calder which Loki could not quite put his finger on.

            “There are tracks here,” Thor called, pulling Loki from his musings.

            They gathered around where Thor indicated. There were indeed tracks but not any Loki recognized. The tracks were not humanoid, per se, but neither were they those of an animal. Whatever had made them was bipedal and large. Loki estimated from the size and gait for the creature to be at least twelve feet in height, maybe larger. For a fleeting moment he wondered if a Jötunn had somehow made its way to Vanaheim. It would explain the disappearances but not the lack of violence, blood at the scenes notwithstanding. The Jötnar were known for their cruelty after all.

            “They lead off in that direction,” Volstagg said.

            The group followed the tracks for a while, everyone alert to their surroundings. After a time, the tracks changed slightly, becoming deeper. “It was carrying something heavy,” said Thor.

            Loki did not like this one bit. He felt they were woefully unprepared for whatever they were sure to face. “We should plot our course then return for reinforcements,” Loki said.

            All he received for his words were looks of disbelief and barely contained scorn from Sif and the Warriors.

             “Only a coward would turn back now,” Sif scoffed.

            “And a fool would continue on with no knowledge of what we face,” he countered.

            “Sif’s right,” Thor said. “We can’t turn back now.”

            It took all of Loki’s willpower not to curl his lip at them. It was not too long ago his brother was defending him and now he was questioning Loki’s judgment. Worse, he agreed to Loki’s cowardice. Loki refused to show just how much that hurt.

            “Don’t worry, we’ll keep you safe,” Fandral offered.

            I don’t need your protection, Loki wanted to snap but he held his tongue. To fight with them would be a losing battle. Thor would inevitably side with whatever his sycophants wanted to do and vice versa. Thor only cared about Loki when it was convenient. A few well-placed platitudes and Loki returned like a dog to its master. Loki hated that he could not break himself of such weakness. Was he that desperate for approval?

            Yes, yes I am, he thought angrily.

            Seething silently, Loki followed behind. Their guide said nothing about the disagreement, clearly not caring one way or another. The only sounds for some time were the crunching of leaves beneath their feet before, “Loki.”

            Loki stopped and cast his gaze around for the source of the voice. It was raspy but he detected longing within it. There was desire in how it called his name. Finding nothing, he followed after the others. After only a few steps the voice called his name again. Loki cast out more witch-lights in the hope of spotting the owner of the voice.

            “What’s wrong now?” Sif demanded.

            “Did you not hear that?”

            They all looked at him with varying degrees of exasperation. Even Thor was beginning to look annoyed and that twisted something in Loki’s gut.

            “You’re hearing things now?” asked Fandral.

            “There was a voice. It said my name.”

            Thor wrapped an arm around Loki’s shoulders. Lowly he said, “If you are frightened—”

            Loki tore himself from his brother’s hold. “I’m not frightened,” he growled. He was, but he wasn’t about to admit to it. “There is something wrong in this forest. It’s not my fault your senses are too dull to recognize it.”

            “You always use magic as an excuse for why things are the way they are,” argued Sif. “Whatever this thing is, it’s not magical and it will be defeated by warriors not,” she waved a hand in his direction, “ergi.”

            Loki reared back as though she had physically struck him. “I am not ergi.” He turned to his brother, Thor would surely defend him now but instead, Thor’s gaze was turned away. Loki’s heart shattered. “You think me ergi?” he breathed.

            “No,” Thor hastily answered though his eyes never met Loki’s, “but… you…” Thor twisted his fingers in an uncharacteristic show of uncertainty. Even though he had complimented Loki’s fighting prowess only days before now he said, “You don’t fight the way a man should.”

            Heat prickled behind Loki’s eyes and his vision blurred but he refused to let the tears fall. He clamped his jaw shut so tightly the muscles began to ache. With a sharp nod of his head, he turned on his heel and put them behind him. He followed the tracks. It was too late to leave the forest now. Even tough Thor had hurt him, had shown he thought Loki a weakling who needed to be coddled, he couldn’t abandon them. Thor was an idiot and Loki wouldn’t disappoint their parents (any more than he’d obviously already had) by leaving Thor to face the threat alone. There were also innocent lives at stake and he refused to be responsible for their loss.

            “Loki,” Thor called, “Loki wait.”

            Thor grabbed his arm and Loki spun around, manifesting a dagger and pressing it against Thor’s throat, “Don’t touch me.”

            Thankfully Thor let him go and Loki sent the dagger away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Calder watching them. He, at least, was gracious enough not to comment on their argument. It was a small act but one Loki appreciated all the same.

            “We need to keep alert,” Calder said. “I believe we may be nearing its lair.”

            The group continued on in silence and eventually they came to a break in the trees. They were all surprised to find a rather large stone manor. A plume of white smoke could be seen escaping from the chimney.

            Volstagg was the first to break the silence. “Is there supposed to be someone living out here?”

            “No,” Calder replied, “but the tracks lead right up to it.”

            “So this creature lives…” Fandral trailed off momentarily. “…in luxury?”

            “Luxury” was a simple way of putting it. Even though the manor was relatively small all things considered, it was obviously built by someone of wealth. Loki would almost qualify it as a mansion, were it not in the middle of the woods. Everyone tightened their grip on their weapons before cautiously approaching the building.

            The heavy wooden door opened with barely any sound and the inside was lit up by a number of scones. The interior was extremely clean and for all intents and purposes appeared to be very inviting; Loki could sense something sinister underneath the appealing façade.

            “We should split up,” Thor said softly.

            That is a terrible idea, Loki thought.

            “Agreed,” Sif said. “I’ll go with Thor to check the back rooms.”

            “Volstagg and I will explore the upstairs,” added Fandral. “Hogun and Calder should explore the perimeter.”

            To Loki, Thor said, “We’ll let you know if we find anything.”

            “So I’m just to wait here?” Loki demanded.

            “Someone needs to be sure nothing passes these doors.”

            Loki narrowed his eyes at his brother. “What do you plan to do should you encounter any wards?”

            “We won’t,” Sif said. “There is nothing otherworldly here.”

            Yes, because a mansion in the middle of the forest was totally normal. The sense of evil had only increased upon their entrance and no matter what Loki said, it appeared Thor and the Idiots Four weren’t going to listen. Loki crossed his arms. “Fine, but don’t come crying to me when you get cursed.” All those words earned him were several eye rolls, which only increased Loki’s ire at them.

            They broke off and began their search. Loki waited in the foyer for only a few minutes before he too began to explore. He wasn’t going to simply sit around and wait for them to come back. Unlike the others he could see things with ethereal eyes. He kept his steps silent and his senses alert.

            The manor appeared lived in however there did not seem to be any occupants at present. If the victims had been brought here the questions remained, where were they and what exactly was it that brought them here?

            As Loki scanned the rooms, making sure to avoid where Sif and Thor were, he spotted something in the wooden flooring. There looked to be a soft light coming from beneath the wood. Loki searched around some more and found a trap door leading to what looked like a basement. A shiver ran through him from the waves of evil flowing out. For a moment, Loki thought about finding his brother and telling him of what he discovered but then he thought about what they had said to him and decided against it. He would prove to them that he was just as much a warrior as they were, more so in fact.

            The stairs creaked underneath his feet and at the bottom the flooring was a layer of stone. Loki cast his eyes around as in the ether the walls and ceiling were lit up with runes. Loki’s heart raced as he read the spell work all around him and he stumbled when his heel struck something soft. Loki caught himself and couldn’t hold back his gasp when he spotted nine motionless figures. They were the missing villagers!

            Loki quickly checked them for signs of life. Thankfully they all lived but none awoke at his prodding. He had to inform the others of what he found. He went to retrace his steps only to be caught in a large hand and dragged him back with an inhuman roar. Loki kicked and called a dagger to him, stabbing out at his assailant. He couldn’t breathe for the stench of it. Whatever held him smelt of death.

            His heart froze in his chest when the sigils along the walls and ceiling flared and he saw the creature for the first time. It held the shape of a man but the flesh was rotting. One eye was missing and the other had whitened with death. “Amina,” the thing rasped with the same voice Loki had heard earlier. “Fortis amina.”

            Its mouth opened wider than should have been possible and Loki felt as though something was tugging at him. He screamed and struck out again. His blade struck true and the creature, the draugr for it could be nothing else, dropped him. It fell to the ground with a heavy thud while Loki tried to return his breathing to normal. Loki heard more footsteps and looked up just in time to see Thor and the others rushing towards him.

            “Loki,” Thor cried rushing to his brother’s side.

            “I found them,” Loki said between gasps. His throat hurt from where the creature had held him. “They’re alive but will not wake.”

            “Is that… a draugr?” Fandral asked with a mixture of amazement and fear.

            Sif toed at the corpse. “How did you manage to kill it?”

            The dagger in the head should have been her first clue but her inquiry was not entirely without merit. A draugr should have been much harder to kill.

            “Let’s get them out of here,” Thor said, helping Loki to his feet. Thor’s grip helped to keep Loki standing. “Are you alright brother?”

            Honestly, Loki wasn’t sure. He felt strange even though he couldn’t entirely pinpoint what it was that was off. “The runes, Thor there’s spell work here. We need to—” Loki broke off as his legs gave way and darkness claimed him.

* * *

            “Loki!” Thor cried as Loki collapsed. He caught his brother before he hit the ground and Thor’s heart nearly stopped at how limp his brother was. Loki had been speaking only moments ago and now Thor could barely detect his breath. Only the feel of Loki’s heart beneath his hand and the gentle wisps of air against his cheek assured Thor his brother still lived.

            He pulled Loki into his arms and adjusted his head to lie against his shoulder. Why hadn’t Loki stayed by the entrance? He should have listened and now who knew what his recklessness had gotten him into. Loki was too inexperienced a warrior and Thor should never have dragged him out here.

            “I will say something Loki was correct about,” Fandral said as they returned upstairs. “We should have brought along enough reinforcements to bring the villagers back with us should they be incapacitated.”

            “Too late now,” Volstagg said.

            “How will we get them back?”

            “I think I saw a cart outside,” Calder said. “We could lay them in there and pull it back.”

            “Cumbersome without horses but doable,” Sif said.

            Thor laid Loki on the floor so he could help to bring up the villagers. Hogun cradled his mother gently to him and Thor felt for his friend. Had the draugr done this to them as well? What purpose could it have had for these people? Thor had never heard of a draugr doing something like this.

            It took them more time than Thor wanted to gather the missing villagers from the basement and arrange them all in the cart so they weren’t simply piled on one another. Thor refused to place Loki in there too, opting to carry him instead. Fandral and Volstagg fashioned a harness to allow them to pull the cart much easier.

            They walked in silence for some time, Thor’s mind racing with what he would tell their parents. Loki had mentioned something about spell work but Thor hadn’t seen anything to indicate as such but that didn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t there. Thor wished he understood his brother’s craft more than he did.

            “He should have stayed where he was,” Sif said coming up to his side.

            Thor agreed and while he was afraid for his brother, he was also angry at Loki for not listening.

            “Have you considered,” Sif continued, “he’s faking because he wants to be dramatic and knows you’d carry him?”

            Thor skidded to a halt and nearly dropped Loki. “Are you mad?” he demanded, surprised she would even suggest such a thing.

            “Loki is a good actor and he isn’t above such things to gain your attention,” she replied.

            Thor couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Sure there were times when his little brother annoyed him and would use such tactics to garner Thor’s attention when he wished only to be with his friends but Loki had never gone so far as to fake a coma. However now that she had planted the idea in his mind…

            Thor stepped to the side of the path they were following and knelt down. He gestured for the others to continue on when they looked at him. He adjusted his grip on Loki and cupped his brother’s cheek. “Loki?” he inquired.

            No response came but Thor had expected as much. Just to be sure, he pinched the soft skin between Loki’s thumb and forefinger. Loki didn’t even flinch. Loki was a good actor but he wasn’t that good. With a sigh, Thor picked his brother back up and continued on.

            It took them several hours to reach the edge of the forest. The horses had continued to roam along the outskirts and it didn’t take them very long to wrangle them and attach the cart to one for the ride back to Ravandal. Thor kept Loki with him, securing him across his lap for the ride.

            Please wake up brother, Thor thought. Disappointment flared in Thor when Loki remained in his current state. “Have any of them stirred?” Thor asked, wondering if they all really suffered from the same condition.

            It was Calder who replied. “No but their breathing remains even. It looks as though they’re in a deep slumber.”

            Thor did not find that entirely reassuring.

            The journey back felt as though it was taking longer than the journey to and through the forest. They did what they could for the villagers, wetting their lips in an attempt to keep them hydrated. Thor did not know enough of the healing arts to attempt feeding them. With his luck they’d end up choking to death.

            When Ravandal finally was within sight Thor felt some sense of relief. They had found the missing villagers and the creature was disposed of. Now all of the creature’s victims would get help and they would awaken soon, Thor was sure of it.

            Thor was surprised but relieved when he saw his father standing beside Caban as they rode up upon the village. The feeling was short lived though as guilt and confusion quickly overrode it. His parents were going to kill him for not keeping Loki safe and as much as he was dreading that confrontation it did not explain the gathered forces he saw.

            As carefully as he could, Thor dismounted then made his way over to Caban and his father. Loki remained still within his grasp and Thor didn’t miss the way their father watched them.

            “We found the missing villagers,” Thor said without preamble. “A draugr attacked Loki and he has been in this state ever since, they all are. None of them will awaken.” Thor’s gaze swept across platoon. “What is going on?”

            “Thor,” his father said, “you have been gone for near a month. We were set to leave in search of you.”

            A month? No, they had only been gone a week, a week and a half tops.

            “Come this way,” Caban said before Thor’s thoughts could run away with themselves. Thor followed while the missing villagers were gathered by others and brought to the longhouse Caban was leading them too. Inside were several cots and Caban gestured to one, “Lay your brother there. Our healers are few but they will examine the prince and the others before your return to the Citadel.”

            Thor did as bid and stepped back while one of the healers examined Loki. He sensed his father’s approach. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I should have protected him.”

            “We will discuss such things later,” his father replied. “For now, tell me everything that happened.”

            After a breath, Thor told the story of their journey. He explained what they had found within the forest and how Loki had mentioned spell work before his current ailment had overcome him. “I swear father, we were gone no more than ten days.”

            It took several hours for each comatose patient to be examined. Once complete the elder woman shook her head in bafflement. “I can see no reason for their current state. They should all have awoken by now.”

            “There is no spell keeping them like this?” Thor asked.

            The woman gave him an apologetic look. “I’m afraid I’m not sensitive to such things. If there is a spell at play I would have no way of detecting it.”

            “We will leave for the Citadel as soon as possible,” his father said. “I have already sent word ahead and Lady Eir will be waiting for our arrival.”

            That news lightened Thor’s heart a little. Lady Eir would surely discover the nature of the ailment affecting them all and devise a cure. There was no greater healer in the Nine Realms than Lady Eir.

            Thor spent the ride to the Citadel almost in a daze. He would check on his brother whenever they stopped to rest and he waited for his father’s reprimand but it had yet to come. Even words of encouragement from his friends did nothing to brighten his mood. The only thing that would make Thor happy would be for Loki to wake up.

            They pulled through the gates to the Citadel and though Thor was nearly a man full grown, he felt like nothing more than a child when he spotted his mother among those awaiting their arrival. He dismounted and headed over to her, wanting nothing more than to hang his head in shame. He’d failed her when he failed to protect Loki. Unable to face her, he instead watched as Loki and the villagers were taken into the Citadel. Lady Eir monitored the transfer.

            “He didn’t listen,” Thor said, his words surprising him and tumbling from his lips of their own accord. “We told Loki to stay by the door and he didn’t listen.”

            “Now is not the time,” his mother replied. Her tone was gentle but Thor still caught the rebuke within it.

            She had a point. Thor still needed to determine how he was going to grovel to her and his father. He followed silently as they all entered the Citadel as well. It would be a while yet before Lady Eir concluded her examinations and told every one of her findings, if there were any. In the meantime Thor, Sif and the Warriors along with Calder needed to relay everything that happened once again. As the day wore on the families of the abducted villagers began to arrive.

            “Did Loki say what sort of spell work he saw?” asked his mother.

            “No,” Thor replied, “he lost consciousness within moments of him felling the draugr.” He looked askance at his parents, “Have you ever heard of a draugr doing something like this?”

            “I have not,” his father said. “It may have been guarding something within the manor you found but as to why it had taken the villagers… I can think of no purpose.” He turned his attention back to Thor. “Did you see nothing else when you were exploring the manor?”

            “Nothing out of the ordinary. The manor was well cared for, that much was obvious but… There were no occupants besides the draugr’s victims.”

            “Unless the owner was somehow controlling the draugr,” suggested Frigga. “If that is the case we still don’t know what the purpose of all this is.”

            “Everyone has been rescued,” Thor said. “Whatever was planned has been stopped now.”

            “I hope you’re right. Come; let’s see what Lady Eir has to say about your brother.”

* * *

            Loki awoke with a start. The last thing he remembered was being in the basement of the manor and being attacked by a draugr. He reached up and touched his neck, surprised to find no ache there. Looking around at his surroundings he realized he was no longer in the manor basement but back within the Citadel. When had they returned? If he had been injured to the point of having to be carried out he was never going to hear the end of it.

            Loki pushed back the blanket covering his legs and stood from the bed. He saw he’d been dressed in his sleepwear, a pair of loose dark brown pants and a dark green tunic. Well, he may have been embarrassed but at least he was comfortable.

            He was surprised to find the door to his rooms partially open and he frowned slightly as he stepped outside. He gave his surroundings another look; this was not the rooms he’d been assigned for their visit to Uncle Freyr and Aunt Gerðr but another part of the Citadel. Given the décor, he would wager he was within the Citadel’s healing halls. Had he been that badly injured?

            Movement caught his eye and he saw his parents and brother making their way towards him. His cheeks flamed with embarrassment; his mother had been called to his side from the countryside? Did everyone think him a child? Norns, he was going to kill his brother.

            Loki squared his shoulders, “Father, Mother, whatever Thor has told you—” He broke off abruptly when they not only ignored him but passed straight through him. No, no that couldn’t be right. He had most definitely not summoned a simulacrum and even if he had it should have dissolved at their touch. He hadn’t quite mastered keeping one even should the illusion be disturbed. He would though, given time but that was neither here nor there.

            He spun back around and followed them back into the room. There he saw himself lying in the large bed, blankets tucked up around his waist. What by the Nine was going on here?

            Lady Eir stepped over to his bedside. Loki had not even noticed her presence earlier. “He is stable for now,” Asgard’s lead healer reported. “He exhibits the same symptoms as the others. He is within a deep sleep which no amount of stimuli will wake him from.”

            “Did you detect any spell work? A curse perhaps?” his mother asked.

            Lady Eir shook her head. “Unfortunately no however I will continue to search but my recommendation would be to explore the manor where everyone was found. There’s more.”

            “More?” his father inquired.

            “Yes, during the course of my examinations of the other victims I noticed those who were taken first are beginning to show signs of deterioration.”

            “What does that mean?” Loki and Thor both asked though only Thor’s voice was heard among those Loki watched.

            “In short my prince, they’re dying.”

            Loki jerked back in surprise. He went to demand what she knew, not that she would actually hear him, when another voice drew his attention.

            “Help,” a female voice called, “someone please help me. Why will no one answer me?”

            “What now?” Loki ran out into the hallway and down the corridor to find a young woman frantically rushing back and forth between the nurses.

            “Somebody talk to me! Say something, please!” she continued.

            Loki recognized her as one of the people he’d found in the basement. “Hello,” he called.

            She spun to face him so quickly her red hair covered her face for a moment. Big blue eyes fell upon him. “Did you… Can you… You can see me?”

            “I can.”

            “Oh thank the Norns. I have been calling and calling and no one will answer me. They won’t even look at me.”

            “I don’t think they’ll be able to,” Loki replied as his own thoughts swirled at their current predicament. He did not like the conclusions he was coming to.

            “Where are we?”

            “We’re in the Citadel.”

            Her already wide eyes somehow grew even wider. “What am I doing here?”

            “What’s the last thing you remember?”

            She paused in thought for a moment. “I was in my kitchen preparing dinner. It was a night like any other but,” her brow furrowed, “then my home seemed overcome by the smell of death.” Her eyes widened in horror, “This… This thing burst through my door. It was monstrous and it… Am… Am I dead?”

            “That sort of depends,” Loki replied. He continued down the corridor and peeked into each room. He hadn’t had the chance to explore yet so it took a bit of time to locate the ward where the other victims were. Loki sensed the woman following him and when they finally did find the ward, Loki wasn’t at all surprised to find the other victims all trying to gain the attention of the healers tending to them.

            “What’s going on?” one man demanded.

            “I want my mama,” cried one of the children.

            The other’s voices clamored over one another, all of them asking questions none of them had the answer to. The women were attempting to calm the children while the men only seemed to become more riled up. Loki placed his fingers to his lips and whistled, loudly. That, at least, gained their attention.

            “You all need to calm—”

            “Calm?” the first man demanded. He pointed to the nearby room where one of their prone forms lay, “Don’t you tell me to calm, boy. We are dead! Our bodies lay in these rooms and you expect me to calm. Just who the Hel do you think you are?”

            “Enough,” one of the woman scolded, “you’re frightening the children.”

            “They should be frightened,” the man retorted.

            “We are not dead,” Loki said evenly.

            Throwing his arms wide, the man said, “It sure looks like it to me.”

            “Then you are a fool. Look around you, would the healers be tending to you the way they are if your body no longer lived?”

            “What’s your name son?” asked a second man.

            “Loki.”

            “Prince Loki?” the third woman asked.

            All of the adults focused their attention on him. He inclined his head, “I am. Are you Hogun’s mother?”

            “Yes, my name is Jornn,” she replied then turned to address the others. “We must do as the prince says and remain calm. Whatever has caused this will be discovered in time, I’m sure of it.”

            Loki only hoped they could determine the cause soon and find a way to fix it. If what Lady Eir said was true and their bodies were beginning to die, there was no telling just how long they had.

            Introductions were made and the girl Loki had met in the hall, Telka, stood over her body with a look of sadness. “So we’re going to die.”

            “No, not if we hold on,” Loki said determinately. “We only have to reunite with our bodies and wake up.” It sounded so simple but Loki knew it wouldn’t be.

* * *

            Thor was beyond restless. He needed to be doing something to help his brother but he had no idea what. He wanted to return to the manor and tear it apart looking for answers while at the same time he did not want to leave his brother’s side. His leg bounced from pent up energy as he watched his brother. Norns Loki was so still.

            His parents had gone to consult with his uncle and aunt, leaving Thor to his own devices. He still cursed himself for what had happened. It was his fault Loki was in his current state. He should have kept a better eye on him.

            Thor groaned and ran his hands through his hair. This was… not at all how things were supposed to go. They were supposed to defeat the beast, rescue the villagers then revel in their victory. Unable to remain sitting any longer, Thor practically leapt from the chair and stormed into the corridor. He had to do something even if he had no clue what that something would be.

            “He really does have the same ailment as the others.”

            Thor just barely held back his flinch at Sif’s voice. In the days since their encounter in the Weeping Wood he’d had mixed feelings towards the sheildmaiden. While he still valued her as a friend her words and accusations towards Loki left him feeling torn. Why hadn’t he defended his brother when she’d called him ergi? If anyone else had called Loki such Thor would have ripped their lungs out.

            “Yes,” he replied.

            “I’m sorry,” she said although she sounded anything but. How had he not seen the animosity held between her and Loki? How long had they disliked one another? “Hogun is with his mother. I’d come to see if you wanted to keep him company.”

            “I want to know what this is and how to fix it.” He regarded her silently for a moment. “Loki is not ergi,” he blurted.

            That seemed to catch her by surprise and she pressed her lips together before looking away. “You’re right; I should never have called him such.”

            Thor felt his breath catch in his throat. She was lying. Thor wasn’t sure how he knew but he did. She really did think of Loki like that. “You’re lying.”

            “He’s not a proper man.”

            “You’re not a proper woman,” Thor retorted. His mouth snapped shut so quick his teeth clicked. The words had come out of his mouth before he’d even had the chance to think them. Hurt flashed behind her eyes but the expression didn’t tug at Thor’s heart the way Loki’s had. If she were expecting an apology, Thor was in no rush to give it.

            He left her standing there and went to check on the other patients. The healers were working non-stop to understand the nature of their ailment and what was causing it. Thor felt it had something to do with the draugr and the manor. As much as he didn’t want to, they would have to go back to the manor. There had to be something there to explain all of this.

            As he stalked down the hallway an intense feeling of dread and cold overwhelmed him. Thor paused outside one of the rooms where the other villagers were and he could have sworn he heard someone whistle. Now I’m beginning to hear things, he thought.

            Thor wanted to do something to help and the idea which came to him was, quite frankly, one no one would expect from him. Turning on his heel he headed back towards Loki’s room. Brawn would do nothing for him right now so maybe he would try brain instead.

* * *

            The women had managed to calm the children enough for them to work their way through the halls. Loki was still trying to come up with a plan but with no true understanding of how their souls had been separated from their bodies he had no way of devising a way to return them. Whatever had caused this, it had to have something to do with the draugr and the spell work within the basement of the manor. Loki just wished he’d gotten the chance to get a better look at the spell. It might go a long way to allowing their bodies and souls to reconnect.

            Loki had taken the time to ask each of the villagers what they remembered about when they’d been taken. There were a number of similarities, the main of which it was the draugr that had taken them. None, however, remembered the journey to the manor nor anything else until their spirits had manifested within the Citadel.

            “None of this explains why you were taken or how our souls were pulled from our bodies,” Loki said.

            “You weren’t taken?” asked one of the men, Leif.

            Loki shook his head, “No. My brother and I and a group of warriors were sent out to locate you and the creature that took you.”

            “Then how are you like us?”

            “I don’t know.” Loki recalled the tugging sensation he’d had when he’d been caught within the draugr’s grasp. Had that been the catalyst for drawing his soul from his body?

            “What would a draugr even want with souls anyway?” asked a second man, Bjarke. “I’ve heard stories of them tormenting people but nothing like this.” He let out a sharp breath and folded his arms. “If only I had access to my books.”

            “Books?”

            Bjarke hummed. “I study such creatures to try understanding them. I’d been working on a spell to trap one when the damned thing attacked me.”

            Loki’s eyes momentarily widened. “You’re a Seiðrmar.”

            “I am.”

            “I was learning seiðr,” Telka said.

            “Me too,” added Embla, the third woman of the group.

            Loki glanced around the group. “Do all of you have some capability to wield seiðr?” The children wouldn’t know but among the adults, it was an affirmative. “Did the draugr speak to any of you?”

            Bjarke tapped a finger to his chin in thought. “Now that you mention it, it did say something. ‘Amina’ but I don’t know what it means.”

            Neither did Loki and for some reason All-Speak wasn’t translating it either.

            “What did it say to you?” asked Telka.

            “‘Fortis amina’,” Loki replied. “It sounded hungry when it said it.”

            “Not to change the subject,” said Jornn, “but has anyone seen Hakon?”

            Loki glanced around for the angry man from earlier. He hadn’t noticed the man had left their group. Loki didn’t think it a wise idea to remain split however before he could make any move, a blood curdling scream rang out throughout the halls. The children whimpered in fear while Loki exchanged looks with the adults. Upon silent agreement Loki, Bjarke and Leif raced to see what was happening.

            Outside of the room where Hakon’s body lay, the three of them skidded to a halt as they saw Hakon caught within the grasp of the draugr except, it wasn’t entirely like the creature Loki had placed a dagger into. It wasn’t as bulky and it gave off a greater sense of intelligence than the draugr from before.

            Hakon struggled in the creature’s grasp but was unable to break free. Loki wished he had a weapon or something, some way to help the man. He tried calling upon his seiðr but to no avail. It would not heed his call. The three watched in horror as the creature’s mouth opened wider than should have been possible. Hakon screamed again as he was sucked within the creature’s maw. In the room beyond, the healers frantically tried to revive Hakon but to no avail. The creature smacked its lips then turned to face them with a grin. They watched as dull eyes cleared and dead skin was replaced with new.

            “Delicious,” the creature said before it vanished in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

            Present

            Thor stood by as the SHIELD doctors examined each of the nine patients. They were all hooked up to several devices that monitored their vital signs and while Thor didn’t entirely understand what was being displayed, the atmosphere among the Midgardians told him it was not good. He knew it was only a matter of time before they began to die.

            “They’re all in a sort of coma,” Romanoff reported.  “The doctors can find no medical reason for their condition.”

            “Could it be a magical one?” asked Stark. “Also, why would Loki rob a bank?”

            Rogers looked over at Thor, “You know more about Loki’s magic than we do. Is that possible?”

            “It is possible magic is involved,” Thor answered after a moment, “but this is not something Loki would do.”

            “We’ve established he was after something in that bank.”

            Thor shook his head, “You don’t understand. What’s happened to these people, their souls have been separated from their bodies. It happened to Loki centuries ago and he would never use such arcane magic.”

            “You yourself said Loki isn’t the same person you grew up with anymore,” Stark pointed out, though not unkindly.

            “My brother has changed but I know for a fact he would never do this.” How he wished he could just speak to Loki. There was so much he still didn’t understand about where his brother had been during the year after he fell, let go, from the edge of the Rainbow Bridge or on his attack on Midgard. After Loki had escaped custody Thor had expected him to disappear again, instead he continued to cause chaos across the Realm.

            “We need to get a list of what was inside the bank. We know without the Tesseract or Scepter he can’t reactivate the portal device but what if he’s found another way to bring his army through?”

            This did not feel like Loki, even though Thor knew he’d had a hand in what had happened at the bank. The attack lacked the finesse Thor was used to seeing in Loki’s tactics. Come to think of it, his attack on Midgard with the Chitauri army lacked that same finesse. He couldn’t speak to his brother about what was happening but he could at least try to prevent any of these poor Midgardians from dying the same way those villagers had all those years ago.

* * *

            Past

            “Hakon’s dead.”

            Those words reverberated within Thor’s mind. One of the villagers had died while he’d been searching through the books in Loki’s room. He’d spent hours in there and had come out just as ignorant as before. It didn’t help that he had absolutely no idea which books to even begin searching through.

            “How?” Uncle Freyr asked.

            “I will have to conduct a new examination to try to determine the cause,” Lady Eir replied. “At the moment, I can see no reason for him to have died.”

            “What about the others?”

            “There is no change in their condition.”

            “And Loki?”

            “His condition remains the same as well.”

            Thor felt some relief at that. At least whatever had killed Hakon was not currently ailing Loki. Thor quietly slipped from the room and made for his brother’s chamber. He found his parents standing vigil at Loki’s bedside. Thor felt his stomach twist, were his parents aware of what had happened to the villager?

            “What is it?” Odin asked.

            Quickly, Thor relayed the news to them. Both of his parents looked ill at ease. “There has to be something we can do,” Thor said as he paced around the room.

            “Freyr plans to send mages back to the manor to see if the spell work Loki mentioned can be found and deciphered,” Frigga said. She held Loki’s hand, gently stroking the skin on the back of it. She looked to her husband, “His skin grows colder.”

            Something passed between his parents at his mother’s words but Thor had no idea what their expressions meant.

            “They will have to ride fast,” Odin said.

            “What about the time discrepancy?”

            “Hopefully the mages will find a way to remove it.” Odin sighed. “There are too many unknown factors and I do not want to leave anything to chance.” His single eye fell upon his youngest, before returning to his wife. “I will speak with Freyr about his plan. You know your brother will do everything in his power to aid Loki.”

            Speaking of his uncle, a light tapping on the door announced the Vanir’s presence. Much like his mother, Freyr had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. “I suppose Thor has told you of the death of one of the villagers.”

            “He has,” Frigga replied. She moved from her place at Loki’s bedside to stand before her twin. “You are sending mages to investigate the manor. I wish to be a part of that group.”

            “Sister—”

            “Brother—”

            Thor scratched at his beard to hide his smile. So that’s where he and Loki got that from.

            “—I will not allow my son to suffer the same fate. He’s already…” She pressed her lips together. “I won’t let him die,” she said with conviction.

            Freyr placed his hands on her shoulders. “I know you wish to see the spell work for yourself,” Freyr said gently, “but sister your place is here.”

            “Your brother is right,” Odin said, “which is why I will go instead.”

            “I’m not entirely sure that is wise either. I have been looking into the history of the Weeping Wood. I found something quite disturbing and I don’t want to risk either of you becoming lost within.”

            “What have you found?”

            “It appears this very thing has happened before. Nine victims over the course of several days, three men, three women, three children and each time they were all found dead but there was no mention of a manor in any of the records I pursued.”

            “How has no one noticed this before?”

            “Because the culling’s never happened twice in a row in the same place,” Freyr replied. “No one ever remembered the previous time it happened. The pattern itself remains the same except this time we found the victims before they perished. Previously they were never discovered before they died.”

            “We cannot remain here discussing what might be or what may have happened,” Frigga snapped. “My child lays there, a victim of this creature and unknown spell work and I refuse to simply stand by and wait for him to die. I refuse to watch my son enter Valhalla before I do.”

            “We have to find the manor again.”

            “I’ll go,” Thor said. “I know the way.”

            “The warriors who went with you have already volunteered to return,” Freyr said to Thor. “I would recommend you remain here as well.”

            As much as Thor wanted to protest he knew his uncle was right. Thor knew nothing of spell work and would only be in the way.

            “Brother, sister,” Freyr said turning to his parents, “if you were to leave and the worst should happen, you would both regret it for the rest of your lives.”

            Thor sucked in a breath. He couldn’t imagine what he would do if Loki died while he was gone. The very idea of Loki dying was one he refused to contemplate. His own gaze settled on his brother’s still form. The only sign of life within him was the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Loki still breathed but it was only a small comfort. How long did they have to cure his ailment before he suffered the same fate as Hakon?

            Bile rose in Thor’s throat at the thought and he excused himself. He nearly ran down the corridor in his attempt to escape the guilt which was slowly beginning to overwhelm him. He had dragged Loki with them on this mission. He had allowed this to happen. It should be him lying in the healing halls, not Loki.

            When he stopped, he found himself standing in front of one of the large bay windows overlooking the Citadel’s garden. Thor pressed his forehead against the cool glass and sighed. “I’m so sorry brother,” the breath from his words momentarily fogged up the glass. Thor allowed himself a few more deep breaths before he straightened. He gasped and spun around, hand reaching for his weapon before he stopped.

            “My apologies Prince Thor,” Calder said, hands held up in a nonthreatening manner, “I did not mean to startle you.”

            Thor glanced back at the window and frowned slightly. He could have sworn he’d seen the creature from the manor reflected in the glass. Now though, there was only Calder’s and his own. Thor rubbed his forehead; the stress was causing him to see things.

            “I’m the one who should apologize,” Thor said, dropping his hand. “I thought… never mind.”

            “How fares your brother?”

            “He is… the same,” and how Thor wished that weren’t so. “Are you leaving soon?” Calder had executed his obligation in taking them through the Weeping Wood. Thor hadn’t expected him to accompany them to the Citadel. He’d thought Calder would have left by now.

            “The King has asked that I advise him on all I know about the Weeping Wood,” replied Calder. “He wishes to be as informed as possible before he sends more troops inside.”

            A wise precaution and one Thor wished he had heeded when Loki had voiced his concerns. Why had he ignored Loki’s misgivings?

            “I will leave you to it then,” Calder said. “I will pray to the Norns for Prince Loki’s speedy recovery.”

            “Thank you.” Thor watched the man leave then turned back to gaze out the window. He focused on his reflection instead of the scenery outside, half expecting for his eyes to play tricks on him again.

            Thor wandered around lost in his thoughts for some time and would occasionally check on his brother and parents. At one point his parents had gone to confer with his uncle and aunt about what the next step concerning the Wood would be. Sif, Fandral and Volstagg had sought him out long enough to inform him they would be joining the party which would search the manor. Thor was grateful for their friendship even if Sif still showed some animosity towards Loki. Thor would have to deal with that later, once his brother had woken up.

            The sun had set and Thor stood gazing out of the window in Loki’s room. His parents had yet to return so Thor thought to keep Loki company. He spoke to his brother, hoping his voice would help draw Loki back to the waking world. He paused midsentence when a foul odor assaulted his senses.

            Thor turned away from the window to scan the room. Nothing appeared out of place and there was no explanation for what he smelled. A shiver ran up his spine at the sound of a moan and he couldn’t help the spike of fear when the door along the far wall creaked open.

            “Hello,” Thor called as he stepped around the bed.

            “Amina,” the voice rasped. “Amina.”

            He stiffened when through the door came a creature he had not seen before. It shared some of the characteristics with the draugr they’d encountered in the manor except this one had patches of healthy looking skin among the decay. Another difference between this creature and the other was this one did not have eyes. Sunken black holes were in the place where its eyes should have been.

            Its empty sockets turned in his direction and a toothy grin crossed its cracked lips. With a speed Thor never would have expected it to possess it ran across the room. Thor’s first instinct was to protect Loki however the creature was not going for his prone brother, it was rushing straight at him.

            All of a sudden Thor heard, “No!” right before he was forcefully pushed aside. He landed on the floor with a grunt and watched as the creature seemed to evaporate once it reached the place Thor had been standing.

            “Loki?” That had been Loki’s voice which had cried out. Had he awoken? Sitting up he saw Loki on the floor beside him. “Brother!” Thor exclaimed and reached for him but stopped when Loki gazed back towards the bed. Thor followed his brother’s gaze and saw… Loki was still in the bed exactly as when the last Thor had looked at him. Thor looked back at the Loki at his side. “Brother?” Was Loki casting an illusion?

            There was fear in his brother’s green eyes and all Thor wanted to do was take that fear away. Before Thor could do anything Loki’s form flickered once, twice before disappearing completely. That had not been at all like any of the illusions Loki had cast before. Thor rose and rushed over to the bed. “Loki?” he asked, gently shaking his brother’s shoulder. To his disappointment, there was no answer. There was, however, movement on the bedside table. A glass of water that had been set there earlier slid just the tiniest bit across the table. “Brother, was that you? If it was… move the glass again to the left.”

            He waited with bated breath, his heart in his throat and eyes focused solely on the glass. There was a moment of stillness and then, slowly, the glass shifted to the left. Thor didn’t understand why but he felt laughter bubble up inside of him. His brother, even incapacitated, was ever a genius. He leaned over to press a kiss to Loki’s forehead. Still partially leaning over Loki, Thor called, “Mother, Father!”

* * *

            Loki and the remaining villagers spent the remainder of the day going over what little they knew, which admittedly wasn’t much. He, Bjarke and Leif had told the women what they had seen concerning Hakon and the creature. They knew they had to be vigilant so no one else suffered the same fate. What Loki did know was that what they had seen had not been the same creature he had encountered in the manor. That draugr had lacked the intelligence of this new one.

            The group kept to the wing of the healing halls which housed the majority of their bodies. Loki, being a Prince of Asgard, had been given a room reserved for the royal family. While he did not want to split from the group he did want to know what was happening to his body. He was rather attached to it.

            Another thing Loki wished he could do, beyond return to his body, was consult the library for more information about the creature. While the others conversed among themselves Loki took to walking up and down the corridor, always being sure to keep the others in sight.

            Standing slightly apart from the group, Loki looked at one of the decorative tables which lined the corridor. He hadn’t known where the idea had come from but he decided if he could somehow manipulate objects as though he had a body then it might be possible for him to pursue the various tomes in the library. With one finger he poked at the vase only for his finger to go right through it. Loki pulled his hand back then glared at both his fingers and the vase.

            “What are you doing?”

            Loki turned at Jornn’s question. “I was trying to move it,” he said with a sigh. “I can create copies of myself, illusions really, but I’m working on a way to make them solid so I can interact with objects using simulacrum. I thought maybe I could take the same principle’s I’ve been working on and applying it to how we are now.”

            “What good would that do? We’re spirits now.”

            “I know but if I can somehow manipulate the objects around us then we might be able to give our families a message letting them know what’s happened to us and…” he lowered his tone, “and about the creature that’s hunting us.”

            Loki was not fool enough to think the creature was going to leave them be. It had consumed Hakon and Loki believed it would eventually return to consume them all as well. They had to return to their bodies before that could happen and if they could destroy the creature in the process, all the better.

            “My mother and brother are both seers. I wonder if it might be possible to connect with them.”

            “I don’t know enough about a witch’s power to say.”

            Unfortunately neither did Loki. He would have to remedy that once this was over. He knew he said Thor had the senses of a rock when it came to anything dealing with seiðr but he truly hoped it wasn’t so much that Thor was insensitive as opposed to not having an understanding of what that sensitivity meant.

            He glanced back to where the others had gathered. “I know we had decided against splitting up but I need to go to where my body is. My family is there and I cannot do anything concerning them from here.”

            “Allow one of us go to with you.”

            “I’ll be fine. The royal wing isn’t too far from here.”

            Jornn touched his arm. “Be safe.”

            With a nod, Loki turned and headed for his room. He could hear his brother’s voice the closer he got. Loki couldn’t help the tiny smile which graced his lips. Thor truly did not understand the concept of “quiet.” He entered his room and found his brother standing by the window and speaking of nonsense. He drew closer purposefully making as much noise as he could but Thor didn’t react at all. Loki waved a hand in front of Thor’s face, nothing. He tried yelling, whistling and hitting Thor to the same effect. Loki threw his hands up with a groan. “You really do have the senses of a rock,” he complained.

            Loki scratched the back of his head as he tried to think of something else to try. He froze at the same time Thor stopped speaking when the scent of death assaulted his senses. His brother scanned the room, “Hello?” Thor called.

            “Amina,” the raspy voice Loki recognized as belonging to the creature replied.

            It shuffled through the door and were Loki in his body he would have thought his heart had stopped. He was foolish for leaving the group, now the creature had found him and…

            The creature’s empty eye sockets never turned in Loki’s direction, instead remaining locked solely on Thor. Loki had no time to wonder what that even meant before the creature rushed at his brother. “No!” Loki cried, rushing forward as well. The closer the creature got to Thor, the more it looked like something was being pulled from him. Without thought, Loki slammed into his brother, knocking him to the ground. The golden aura that had begun to leave Thor returned within him and the creature disappeared in a black mist.

            “Loki?” Thor asked. “Brother?”

            To Loki’s shock, Thor was looking right at him. Loki looked back to the bed then back to Thor and realized his brother had followed his gaze. His brother glanced back and forth between Loki and his prone form a few times before Loki felt a shift in the air and then Thor rushed over to the bed. He shook Loki’s body, “Loki?”

            “I’m here Thor,” Loki replied but Thor didn’t seem to hear him. Thor had seen him and Loki had… Loki inhaled sharply; he had knocked Thor to the ground. He’d interacted with the world as though he was solid! Now he just needed to figure out how to do it again. Loki moved over to stand beside his brother and saw a glass of water on the table beside him. Loki concentrated, recalling the fear he’d felt when he saw the creature rushing at his brother. Carefully, he placed his fingers to the glass and pushed. To his delight, it slid a little ways across the table.

            Thor had not missed the glasses movement. “Brother, was that you? If it was… move the glass again to the left.”

            Again Loki concentrated and managed to push the glass as Thor had indicated. His brother’s expression lit up with excitement and Loki felt heat rising in his cheeks when Thor leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Now is not the time for sentiment,” he complained.

            Thor, obviously, did not hear him. Instead he yelled, “Mother, Father!”

            Their parents must have been close by because they came rushing into the room at Thor’s call. “Thor?” their mother inquired, her gaze reflecting worry at the scene before her. “What is it? Has something changed with Loki?”

            “I’ll fetch Lady Eir,” their father said.

            “No, wait!” Thor cried causing their father to pause. “There was something here. It looked sort of like the draugr we encountered in the manor but it was different. It tried to attack me but Loki… Loki pushed me out of the way. It disappeared right afterwards.”

            Their parents shared a look and Loki growled when their expressions reflected pity. “Thor,” their father began, “we wish Loki were hale as well—”

            “This isn’t that,” Thor interrupted. “He was here like, like one of his illusions but he managed to push me.”

            “Thor—”

            “He was here,” Thor insisted at the same time Loki cried, “I’m right here!”

            “You feel guilt at what happened at the manor,” their mother said placatingly, “and you wish Loki could somehow communicate through simulacrum but his seiðr does not work like that. He can’t cast illusions while in a coma.”

            “You aren’t listening—”

            “Now you know how I feel,” Loki quipped.

             “—Loki was here. I don’t know how, simulacrum, his spirit, something, but he was here.”

            Loki jerked, casting wide eyes upon his brother. He tuned out their conversation as “spirit” resonated through his mind. The gold aura around his brother had been his spirit and had the creature gotten to him, it would have drawn out Thor’s soul. The creature lived off of the spirits of others but it wasn’t only that, it was attracted to seiðr as well. It was the one commonality between Loki and the rest of the creature’s victims. Was it the more powerful the seiðr the stronger the soul?

            He had to inform the others. Loki gave his family one last look before rushing from the room. He’d been able to communicate with Thor which was a huge leap in progress. Bjarke, being a trained seiðrmar might have a better chance of communicating than the others. They would have to develop something other than simply moving objects. If they could devise that, they could figure out a way to kill the creature and finally be returned to their bodies.

* * *

            Present

            Thor walked briskly through the SHIELD medical facility, box tucked under one arm. He turned more than a few heads as he went but he honestly didn’t care what anyone thought about how he looked or what he planned to do. Entering the room with the nine victims, Thor found a spot in the center and promptly sat on the floor then began to remove the items from the box. The other Avengers had been remaining nearby to learn all they could about the victim’s condition and now they all looked at him the same way as the other SHIELD agents had on his way in.

            “Uh Point Break,” Stark inquired, “what’s with the Ouija board?”

            “It will help us to communicate with their souls,” Thor replied.

            Banner pinched the bridge of his nose. “Thor you can’t… The whole idea of splitting a person’s soul from their body is nothing but science fiction. Ouija boards don’t work.”

            Thor paused long enough to glance up at the scientist. “Your understanding of what science is and mine are not the same. I have seen this work before when Loki’s spirit had been separated from his body. Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it can’t happen.”

            “All right, so, let’s say for the sake of argument,” Stark said and sat opposite Thor at the board, “their bodies and souls have been separated, how do you know their souls are here?

            “I don’t,” Thor admitted, “however the last time this happened the souls of the victims remained nearby their bodies.”

            “Would they even know how to use the board?”

            “That I cannot say but it doesn’t hurt to try.”

            “What the hell,” Barton said, taking a seat on the floor as well.

            They sat as many as they could around the board. Thor, Stark, Barton and Romanoff each placed their fingers upon the planchette. “This is ridiculous,” Stark muttered. “So any spirits around?” he asked the room at large.

            Thor waited patiently while the Midgardians glanced around the room and back and forth amongst themselves. Beneath his fingers, the planchette began to move.

            “You’re doing that,” Barton said.

            Thor lifted his fingers away. The pointer continued to move and Thor couldn’t help his smile. “I am doing nothing.”

            Stark, Barton and Romanoff all removed their fingers as well. They watched the planchette land on “yes.”

            “Are you one of the victims?” Romanoff asked. Again, the pointer moved over “yes”. “What’s your name?”

            This time the word M-A-R-Y was spelled out. Rogers went to each of the women and looked at their records. “Mary Campbell,” he read at the foot of the bed of a blonde woman.

            “Are the others with you?” Barton asked.

            “Yes,” the planchette replied.

            Thor pulled a photograph from his pocket. Even though Loki continued to wreak havoc on Midgard, Stark had been kind enough to gift Thor with a photograph of him. Thor held it up, “Was he the one who did this to you?”

            A beat then the planchette moved to, “No.”

            The wave of relief which washed over Thor at the answer surprised him.

            “Can you tell us who did?” asked Romanoff.

            V-I-C-T-I-M

            “‘Victim’?” asked Rogers. “What does that mean?”

            They all exchanged confused looks. The planchette began to move swiftly across the board. “Someone grab a pen and paper.”

            Over and over the pointer moved across the letters, spelling out something too quickly for them to get down all at once. The process repeated itself until they finally saw M-A-N-I-N-P-I-C-T-U-R-E-V-I-C-T-I-M.

            “Whatever that is, it’s not a word,” Barton said.

            “No, they’re multiple words,” Stark corrected. He drew a line down between some of the letters. “‘Man in picture victim’,” he read. He looked up at them. “So Loki didn’t do any of this? We know he wanted something stored in that bank. Actually, the inventory finally came in.” He rose from the floor and began typing something on a nearby computer. “These two things can’t be a coincidence.” He pursued the information, muttering something that sounded like, “boring, boring, cliché,” before he stopped. “Okay so one thing was taken from the bank, some kind of pendant that looks like it belongs in a museum.”

            Thor looked back to the board and watched the pointer move again. This time it spelled out M-O-N-S-T-E-R and Thor felt his blood freeze. His mind went back to the creature on Vanaheim and he had to swallow back the bile which rose in his throat. “Does it look like an undead creature with no eyes?”

            “What?”

            “The monster,” Thor clarified, his eyes never leaving the board. Please say no, he prayed, please say no.

            The pointer landed on “yes”.

* * *

            Past

            “I did it,” Loki said as soon as he met up with the villagers. Even though their situation was dire he couldn’t help his smile or sense of accomplishment. “I managed to move an object.”

            “That’s wonderful your highness,” replied Jornn.

            Loki wished he could truly savor his achievement. “I think the creature is after more than just souls.”

            “What do you mean?” Telka asked.

            He looked to Bjarke. “I think it wants our seiðr as well. It tried to do to Thor what it did to us.”

            “But Prince Thor doesn’t practice seiðr,” said Leif.

            “His lightning,” Bjarke said. “Prince Thor may not practice the craft the way a seiðrmar would but his lightning is his form of seiðr.”

            Loki was glad someone else had come to that conclusion. What many in Asgard didn’t know, or chose not to believe, was that their power came from seiðr. His father was an accomplished seiðrmar in his own right. The difference between Odin and Loki was no one would dare to ever call the Allfather ergi.

            “How can we use this information to our advantage?” asked Leif.

            “We keep it hungry,” Jornn said.

            They all looked to the woman, “How?”

            “We’ve been remaining close to our bodies. This thing clearly knows where we are and based upon what you told us when it took Hakon, it isn’t in any rush to feed. It’s playing with its food.”

            The child clutching Jornn’s skirts let out a tiny sob. “I don’t wanna be food,” she cried.

            Loki knelt down beside the girl. “What is your name?”

            She sniffled, “Inge.”

            “Hello Inge, my name is Loki and neither I nor anyone else here will let the monster take you.”

            “He is a prince,” Telka told her, “and princes always slay the monster.”

            “You’re really a prince,” asked the other little girl, Selby.

            “Who’s your papa?” the last child, a boy by the name of Unn, asked.

            “Odin,” Loki replied.

            All three children gaped at him. “Your papa is the Allpapa?”

            Loki had to fight back laughter. “Allpapa” was one he was going to have to tell Thor about. The title also made his father sound like a puppy and now, because clearly his mind was far too stressed and looking for an outlet, Loki had an image of his father as a small dog with a cape, helm and eye patch.

            Bjarke’s voice drew Loki from his thoughts. “What do you have in mind?” he inquired of Jornn.

            “We will need to keep the children safe,” she replied. “Telka, Embla and I will make that our duty. His Highness has already confirmed it is possible for us to interact with people and objects even while we are like this.” To Bjarke she said, “You are a seiðrmar, you may have the best chance of learning how to do so also and the both of you can teach Leif.”

            “What I really need is to see the spell work from inside the manor,” Loki said. “I’m certain what was written there holds the key to returning us to our bodies.”

            “And the creature?” Embla asked.

            “It’s like Jornn said, we starve it.”

* * *

            Days passed with, surprisingly, no further incident. The creature hadn’t returned to claim another soul but that didn’t mean anyone let their guard down. Loki returned to his room quite often since that’s where Thor would attempt to communicate with him. His brother never tried anything when either of their parents were present, which Loki was dismayed to see wasn’t all that often. In fact, they had both left the Citadel. He knew he was a low priority for them but to have been abandoned by them hurt.

            “Loki, are you here?” Thor inquired. “If you are knock something over.”

            Loki obediently tipped over a small trinket. It rolled across the table but stopped short of falling off.

            Thor smiled. “I want to try something.” He sat on the floor and unrolled a large parchment.

            Loki frowned when he saw individual runes spaced out upon it. Thor took a few items to hold the corners down then placed a small looking glass atop it. He sat across from Thor and waited for an explanation.

            “You can move things so I thought, maybe, since you can’t speak or I just can’t hear you that you could, I don’t know, spell everything out on this.”

            Loki stared slack-jawed at Thor. He looked back at the parchment and finally recognized it was his brother’s terrible handwriting scratched out upon it. “That’s actually a good idea,” Loki said, “and right now I’m glad you can’t hear me because,” he placed his fingers upon the looking glass, “I will never admit to such to your face.” He slowly spelled out a greeting to his brother.

            Thor let out a whoop of excitement, his smile only seeming to grow. “It’s so good to hear from you. It hasn’t been the same without you, Loki.”

            “Of course it hasn’t.”

            “Are you all right?” Thor questioned. “You’re not hurt are you? Are the other villagers with you as well? What happened in the manor?”

            “One question at a time Thor,” Loki groused. Slowly he spelled out his reply; yes he was well all things considered. Yes, the villagers were with him and unfortunately, he didn’t remember everything that had happened in the manor. He remembered being attacked by the draugr then the next he knew he was waking up as a spirit.

            Thor’s expression darkened when Loki informed him the creature was in the Citadel. “It’s the thing that attacked me isn’t it? Is it after you?” Thor asked worriedly.

            Loki paused before answering. He didn’t want to worry his brother needlessly but it wasn’t just his life at stake. “Yes,” Loki replied through the pointer.

            Thor cursed. “It killed Hakon, didn’t it?”

            Loki replied in the affirmative as well as detailing exactly how the creature had done so. The color drained from Thor’s face and his gaze rose to the space across from him. Were Loki visible to him he would be looking right at him. “It… it ate his soul?” Thor shuddered, falling forward to cover his face with his hands. “I don’t know how to help you brother,” Thor moaned. “Mother and father…”

            “I know, they had other things to attend to,” Loki said when Thor paused.

            His brother breathed deep and sat back up again. “Mother and Father did not heed Uncle’s advice and instead went in search of the manor. They know more about magic than I but… I don’t know what to do and I hate feeling helpless.”

            Their parents went in search of the manor? They were looking for a way to help him? Loki couldn’t understand why. He was the second, lesser, prince. Thor was the heir and Loki was the spare. He knew, logically, his parents cared for him, loved him even, but he wasn’t as important to the line of succession as Thor. They could afford to lose him.

            Loki forced those thoughts aside. “What about my books?” Loki inquired through the parchment.

            “Your books?” Thor asked. “What? Oh.” He rose and Loki waited while Thor rummaged around through the chest at the foot of the bed. From it Thor pulled out several large tomes. “I tried looking through these but I had no idea what I was even looking for.”

            The image of his brother at a desk with several tomes laid out before him was not one Loki could easily imagine. Loki himself had been known to fall asleep at his desk, books and papers strewn about. He was lucky he’d yet to spill ink or drool all over his work.

            “Do you think the answers could be in here?”

            “I don’t know but I have to try.”

            Through much trial and error, Loki directed Thor to open various tomes and turn pages as needed. It was tedious work, especially when Loki himself wasn’t entirely sure what he was looking for. Everything they read concerning the draugr was nothing like what they had encountered, with the exception of the creature being dead.

            Loki fell back against the floor, frustration rising with each dead end. “I need to see—” He stopped abruptly at the sound of a scream. Thor spun towards the door as well and together they both raced from the room. The scream came again prompting them to move faster. Loki stopped, a sick feeling forming in the pit of his stomach, when his eyes landed upon the softly glowing runes written along the walls. He recognized them as the same as what had been written in the manor. “Thor, wait!” Loki cried even though his brother couldn’t hear him.

            The next scream cut off abruptly and they came upon the source just in time to see Embla be consumed by the creature. Fear gripped Loki’s heart when once more the creature turned to regard them with its rotting smile. They watched as life seemed to replace the creature’s dead flesh. Two glowing yellow eyes regarded them. With a speed neither of them expected, it was across the room and before them before either of them could react.

            It’s going to take me, Loki thought.

            The creature’s glowing yellow eyes swiveled back and forth. “You two will make an excellent meal.”

            Loki instinctively tried to call his magic and weapons to him but to no avail. The creature gripped his arm and Loki let out a cry at the biting cold of its touch.

            “Loki!” Thor cried. He swung out, striking the creature and let out his own cry of shock when the creature didn’t even flinch. It wrapped a hand around Thor’s neck.

            “Thor, Prince of Asgard and God of Thunder, you carry a great power in you but,” those grotesque yellow eyes turned to regard Loki, “it is the younger brother which will make me infinite. You cannot see it, can you?” it asked Loki. “What you really are.”

            Thor screamed with rage and there followed a blast of lightning from his hands. The creature cried out in pain, dropping the brothers. The scent of burnt, decaying flesh assaulted them.

            “I only have to bide my time,” the creature rasped, holding its burnt hand close to its chest. “The body will soon die and then the soul will be mine.” It disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

            Both brothers were breathing hard and they turned to each other. “I can see you,” Thor said. He reached for Loki but paused. “You’ll disappear again if I try to touch you, won’t you?”

            “I don’t know,” Loki said.

            “I can hear you now too.”

            “We don’t know how long this will last,” Loki said quickly. “The spell work I saw at the manor was written on these walls. I think we brought the creature back with us. We have to find some way to kill it.”

            “How do you kill the undead?”

            “I don’t know and,” Loki threw his arms out, “like this I’m powerless. I can’t— My seiðr won’t answer my call.”

            “What about the spell work? Can you read it?”

            Loki looked about the hallway where the spell work was beginning to fade. “It’s almost gone,” Loki told Thor. “You have to inform Uncle Freyr and Aunt Gerðr. They’re both powerful seiðrmar, I’m sure it will try going after them as well. It wants more than just our souls it wants—” Loki felt something in his spirit shift and then Thor was reaching forward. Loki stepped back when Thor’s hand went through his chest.

            “Loki? Loki I can’t… Are you still here?”

            Loki groaned, inhaled then screamed out his frustration.

* * *

            Odin lowered the map and cast his eye out across the Weeping Wood. Sunlight shone in through the canopy and birdsong filled the air.

            “Are we in the correct location?” his wife asked.

            He held the map up again. “According to this, yes but…”

            “This is the right location, your Majesties,” Fandral said. The blonde appeared just as baffled as the rest of them. “This forest is nothing like the last time we were here.”

            “If there was a structure here it has long rotted away,” Volstagg said, trudging back towards them. “I saw parts of a foundation over that way,” he pointed just north of them, “but nothing more.”

            “Show us,” Odin said. He and Frigga followed Volstagg over to where a line of large rocks lay. From their formation it was clear they had once been part of a structure.

            They continued to poke around the ruins looking for any clues as to what the creature was and what had caused Loki and the villagers to be in their current state. “Do you sense anything?” he asked his wife.

            “No,” she sighed. “Not even a remnant.”

            His senses were telling him the same thing. Whatever had been here before was long gone now. There had to be a clue here somewhere. The Norns could not be so cruel as to take their son away from them. Odin refused to believe Loki would die when he had survived so much all ready. He recalled the desolation on Jötunheim and how the cry of one tiny baby had changed the course of his life forever. Would the Norns punish him now for his past transgressions upon Yggdrasil by snatching Loki’s life away so callously?

            Of course they would, he thought angrily. Looking up through the canopy he made a silent vow. You cannot have him. Loki is our child, my child and if you think my conquests were terrible then you should beware my wrath.

            “Majesties,” Sif called, “there seems to be something buried over here.”

            Together he and Frigga along with the two Warriors gathered around Sif. Dirt covered her fingers from where she was digging. With a grunt, she pulled something small and white from the ground. Wiping the dirt away they realized it was a skull. Odin inhaled sharply and he heard Frigga gasp at the waves of pure evil which emanated from the skull.

            “There is something etched into the bone,” Sif said. She shook her head. “I’m unable to make out what it says.”

            Odin took the bone from her. The runes were obscure and appeared to be nothing but gibberish. The only thing which resembled a word was Bǫlverkr and even that wasn’t so much a word as a name. “Frigga,” he held the skull out to her, “what do you make of this?”

            She took the skull from him and turned it over in her hands, inspecting the runes. Her eyes widened with fear, “No.” Her fingers ran over a set of ruins and Odin felt his blood turn to ice when the runes shifted to form a new word: ᛚᛟᚲᛁ. His wife’s expression then shifted to anger. “No, you cannot have him.” Frigga turned and smashed the skull against the remains of the foundation.

            “What is that?” he demanded.

            “We have to return to the Citadel,” she said, “now.”

            Odin grabbed her arm as she turned to storm from the forest. “Frigga, tell me what that meant.”

            “Bǫlverkr,” she spat the name like a curse, “was once a mage of great renown on Vanaheim. His name has been erased from our history to all except the noble houses.”

            “Why?”

            “He grew ill at a young age with a type of cancer that ate away his seiðr. He began to experiment with the dark arts as a means to extending his life. His body died but not before he discovered a means reanimating it.”

            “The draugr?” Volstagg asked.

            “No one knows the exact method of how he did it but he would somehow absorb another’s power and life force as his own. He became the undead and no form of weapon or magic could send him to the afterlife. He was eventually sealed within a cave engraved with heavy warding to keep him within. He must have escaped somehow.”

            A horrible realization dawned on Odin. “The villagers who were taken, they all either practiced seiðrcraft or came from lineages who did.” And now it was after Loki. He cast his eye skyward, “Heimdall!”

* * *

            “Prince Thor.”

            Loki remained by his brother’s side and they both stopped at the call of Thor’s name. They turned to the owner of the voice. “Calder,” Thor said in greeting.

            “I’d heard another of the poor villagers has been lost. I wanted to see how your brother fares and if there has been any progress in curing him of his ailment.”

            “The healers are still searching for a cure,” Thor replied.

            A loud boom from outside drew their attention and the corridor was temporarily lit up with the swirling lights of the Bifröst. Was someone else coming from Asgard to help? When the lights faded their parents along with Sif and the Warriors were revealed. Why had they used Bifröst?

            Calder frowned, “I suppose that method never occurred to me.”

            Thor was just as confused as Loki by that statement. “Method?” asked Thor.

            Calder sighed and when he turned his head Loki saw his grey eyes had turned yellow. Loki gasped and took a step back when those yellow eyes fell on him. The stench of death permeated the corridor.

            “It’s you,” Loki said.

            Thor stepped away from the man as well. “You’re the draugr.”

            Shrugging Calder said, “I suppose I could be classified as a draugr but I’m really not. I only use them to collect my meals. Speaking of which,” he licked his lips, “you, Prince Loki, are going to be a delicacy.”

            “Run Loki,” Thor cried.

            Where could Loki run? He had no access to his power and no way to defend himself. Sure, he could move objects but that ability wasn’t going to help him now. Doing as Thor bid, he bolted away from Calder.

            Several screams emanated down the corridor and Loki saw many of the healers fleeing the healing halls. Loki covered his nose at the overpowering scent of decay. From the rooms shuffled the bodies of Hakon and Embla. Heavy boot falls told him Thor was right behind him.

            Panic seemed to overcome the halls although Lady Eir’s calm demeanor helped to keep the chaos from spreading. Several Vanir guards arrived along with Freyr and Gerðr were trying to control the chaos. “Uncle, Aunt,” Thor cried, “it’s—” he was cut off abruptly when Hakon’s corpse lunged at him.

            The walls fairly lit up with runes, giving the corridor a sickly yellow glow. The heavy doors slammed shut of their own accord and those who tried to open them found they would not budge. Several more of the undead manifested to attack the living.

            “So many tasty choices,” Calder crooned as he surveyed the chaos, “and a king and queen to boot.”

            Thor screamed and the air became charged, the lightning emanating from his body causing the white of it to push back the sickly yellow. Loki felt his spirit shift just as Mjölnir came crashing through a set of heavy oak doors.

            “Do you realize who you are dealing with?” Freyr demanded.

            Calder grinned, “Lunch, dinner and desert.” The smile was wiped from his face when the corpse of Hakon slammed into him. The corpse moaned and Loki saw Thor bring Mjölnir to bear, lightning flashing across the hammerhead.

            “You will pay for what you have done,” Thor growled.

            Calder pushed the corpse away from him and stood. “You can’t defeat me,” he said. “You can’t kill death.”

            “You are not death,” his father’s voice roared from the corridor. He and Frigga rushed into the fray. “You can be killed.”

            “Many have tried but none have succeeded these past thousands of years Odin-King.” His yellow eyes narrowed, “Not even one who commanded the goddess herself.”

            “You are an abomination Bǫlverkr,” his mother yelled, causing Calder to snarl in her direction. “You have poisoned yourself with the dark arts and have become something even the Norns would scorn.”

            Something about the name resonated with his aunt and uncle but Loki had no time to ponder what it meant. Calder’s features slowly began to decay as his rage took over. “Kill the bodies,” he ordered the two corpses. A grotesque smile spread across his lips again. “With no bodies, their souls will have no place to go but with me.”

            A short sword manifested in his mother’s hands and she rushed to intercept the two corpses. Loki called to his brother then turned and ran for the open healing chamber, his brother hot on his heels. “We have to hurry.” He gestured to a table containing various sized bottles. “Get an empty container.”

            Thor did as he bid. “How big?” he asked, holding up a couple of the glass bottles.

            Loki pointed to the one in his left hand. “That one, now help me find the ingredients.” Loki rattled off what they would need and Thor obediently went from cupboard to cupboard gathering the items. “Pour each of them into that bottle,” Loki instructed.

            “How much?” asked Thor.

            “All of it,” Loki replied, glancing back towards the hallway. “Now take a rag and put about half of it in then light the other half. Throw it at him and it will dispel the magic keeping him alive.”

            Thor grabbed a rag and shoved part of it into the bottle then used a nearby scone to ignite the exposed end. They rushed back out into the corridor. “Hey!” Loki called.

            His cry drew everyone’s attention. Thor let the bottle fly and it arched through the air to explode upon impact with Calder. Calder screamed as his body was engulfed in flames. As quickly as his body had ignited the fire quickly ravaged him, turning his body to ash. The same sensation Loki felt when he’d first encountered Calder’s draugr in the manor overcame Loki again. His vision blackened for only a moment before he was gasping and sitting up in his bed.

            Loki continued to try and bring his breathing under control when the door to his room burst open to admit his brother and their parents. “Loki,” his mother cried with clear happiness and relief in her voice.

            He had just barely pushed back the blankets when his father swiftly crossed the room and pulled Loki into a near bone crushing hug. Loki was too stunned to do anything but sit there and blink. “Father?”

            His father pulled back, one calloused hand coming up to cup his cheek. “My boy,” his singular eye glistened and Loki had no idea what to make of any of it. “We were so worried.”

            “Why?” the word was past his lips before Loki could stop it.

            “Why? What do you mean why?” his mother asked, embracing Loki as well.

            Loki frowned. Something important had happened but whatever recollection Loki had of it was fading fast. “You act as though I was at Death’s door.” His frown deepened. “When did we return to the Citadel?”

            His family all exchanged concerned glances. “You don’t remember anything?” Thor asked.

            “I remember searching the manor and being attacked by what looked to be a draugr but,” he shook his head, “nothing after that.”

            “You were afflicted with the same ailment as the villagers,” his mother said, running her fingers through his hair. There was something haunted in her smile now, “but you are well again.” She embraced him once more, “We were so frightened for you. If we had lost you…” she and Odin’s grip tightened, “we could not bear to lose you.”

            Loki closed his eyes and held them just as tightly. It had been too long since he’d felt their embrace. Why had he ever started to shy away from affection? Why did he start to deny a loving touch? One was never too old for a parent’s love and Loki took the time to bask in it.

* * *

            It wasn’t until centuries later after he fell from (let go of) Bifröst that the memories of his ordeal returned.

* * *

            Present

            The first of the nine victims died within hours of them making contact through the spirit board. The scent of death was their only warning before the first victim flat lined. Thor knew instantly what, or rather who, was behind the death. The SHIELD facility went into high alert when a being made of rotting flesh began to stalk the corridors.

            Thor and the others rushed to intercept the creature. They heard the dull thud of a body hitting the floor and saw a SHIELD agent’s lifeless eyes staring back at them while the creature ambled on its way.

            “Calder!”

            The creature stopped and turned, rotting flesh peeling in places along its face. The single clear yellow eye landed on him. Beside him, the Avengers recoiled when Calder smiled, lips splitting open along one side of his face to reveal missing teeth.

            “Thor,” Calder rasped. “One that got away.”

            “How are you alive?”

            Calder shrugged, flesh seeming to scrape along bone. “Technically, I’m not but if you mean, how did I survive our last encounter then that’s easy. I let you all think you had destroyed me when in fact I was simply biding my time.”

            “Biding your time?”

            “A lot can be revealed about a person by their soul, even some things which that person may not even be aware of. Your brother,” the smile spread, “the Fates were so kind to return him to me. They knew I was meant for infinity.”

            Thor gripped Mjölnir’s handle tighter and lightning arched across her head. “What are you talking about?”

            Calder laughed, “You really are clueless, aren’t you. Your father had no idea what he picked up when he took your brother from Jötunheim. Oh yes,” he continued when Thor couldn’t contain his shock, “I know all about Loki’s origins but I also know something else about the boy that I discovered back then, when I was going to consume his soul. Your brother has the ability to wield, no to be, the most powerful being in the universe and I plan to take that power for my own. Why do you think I sent him here in the first place?” Calder’s yellow eye shifted to the Man of Iron. “You carry a part of the infinite within you.” His eyes tracked the rest of the Avengers, “You have all come into contact with that very same piece of infinity.” He licked his lips. “I will enjoy consuming your souls.”

            “Yeah, not gonna happen,” Iron Man said. “I like my soul right where it is, thanks much.”

            Calder shrugged, “Oh well. I’ve mostly gotten what I came for anyway. Midgardian souls are so fleeting but they will sustain me for the time being.” His body seemed to dissolve, becoming little more than black smoke. “Until next time, Thunder God.” His laughter echoed throughout the corridor and faded with the smoke.

            Barton moved over to the prone SHIELD agent to check for life even though Thor knew he wouldn’t find any. Their communicators beeped and Rogers pressed a finger to his ear, “Yeah.”

            “They’re dead,” Banner said.

            “What?”

            “The bank victims, they’re all dead.”

* * *

            Blood dripped from his fingers, leaving little droplets as he walked and his bare feet left bloody footprints on the floor. He knew he did not have much time but he would do what he’d come to do, one way or another. His sole focus was simply on making it to the end of the hallway. With one hand he wiped away the blood which ran into his eyes and the other held tightly to the pendant he’d stolen.

            A quick flick of his fingers forced the doors at the end of the corridor to open. He was aware of the various occupants of the room but his eyes remained focused upon one individual, though it seemed his presence went unnoticed at first. It did not remain that way for long and he became all too aware of Thor’s Midgardian shieldbrothers moving into defensive positions. Loki paid them no mind; they could do whatever they wanted with him once he’d completed his task. He held up the hand with the chain wrapped around it, the pendant dangling from his fingers. “Take it.”

            Thor’s wide blue eyes regarded him with horror. “Loki?” Thor asked.

            “Take it, please,” Loki said, locking his knees to keep from falling. “There isn’t much time.” He gestured to the comatose Midgardians, “You know what he’ll do to them.”

            “What he’s already done to them. They’re dead.”

            Then Loki may already be too late.

            Thor slowly approached Loki and his eyes reflected several emotions as he took in Loki’s bloody state. “What is this? What happened to you?”

            He ignored his brother’s questions. “You have to take the pendant. He wants it so he can find them.”

            “Find what?” Alarm flashed across Thor’s expression. “Loki!”

            Loki’s legs gave out but Thor caught him before he could fall. Thor’s arms wrapped around him and he allowed the safety of the embrace to wash over him. Thor lowered them both to the ground and Loki couldn’t stop his gasp when Thor’s hand came into contact with the wounds on his back. He felt Thor carefully lift the back of his tunic to reveal several deep cuts, tears and welts marring the skin.

            “Those look like they were made by a whip,” someone said.

            “Cat o’ nine tails to be exact,” Loki replied. He laid his head against Thor’s arm. He winced and couldn’t stop the whimper that escaped when he felt someone beginning to clean his wounds. He turned his head just enough to see Banner tending to him. “You don’t have to do that.”

            “I’m a doctor,” Banner replied. “While I’m not a medical doctor I still know if this isn’t taken care of infection will set in.”

            Loki forced himself to sit up and he held out the pendant to Thor again. “You have to take this.”

            “Not until you tell me what’s going on,” Thor said.

            “That’s the necklace that was stolen from the bank,” said Stark.

            “It’s the Pendant of Infinity,” Loki explained. “He wants to use this to gather them all and make himself more than just a god. The Midgardian’s here are simply a means to an end.” He tipped his head so he could see Thor. “He plans a darker ritual.” He held up his hand again and he could feel the darkness creeping along his vision. Loki was not sure how much longer he would remain conscious. It was surprising he had remained conscious as long as he had, given the amount of blood he had lost. His eyes slid closed. “Take it…”

            When he opened his eyes some time later he saw he was no longer on the floor. Instead he lay in a hospital bed, his wounds tended to and the blood washed away. No sooner had he sat up than the door opened to reveal Thor, Thor’s shieldbrothers and… and his parents. His family moved swiftly to his side. “How are you feeling?” Thor asked.

            “Physically the pain is gone. Mentally, I’m exhausted.” He glanced at his mother and father, “What are you doing here?”

            “Your brother informed us you had finally been found,” his mother said. “We came the moment we heard.”

            “What is going on Loki?” his father asked.

            “Where would you like me to begin?”

            “What’s the point of stealing the necklace if you were just going to give it back to us?” Stark asked first. “What’s so important about it?”

            Loki regarded the Midgardians. “I didn’t covet the pendant. There is,” he sighed deeply, “much more going on with, not just these events, but everything since I first arrived here.”

            “Does it have to do with were you that year you were gone?” Thor asked.

            Loki’s throat closed and he gave Thor a watery smile. “Yes.” He took a moment to calm his swirling emotions and looked away from them all. “When I let go of Gungnir I fully intended to end my life. I thought death would be preferable to living…” His right hand kneaded the palm of his left, “Living with that knowledge. I thought, surely, the Void would consume me but instead it sent me to a desolate world, one filled with the profane. It wasn’t until I was taken to the master of that world that my memories of Vanaheim and Calder returned.”

            “The master of that world, it was Calder, wasn’t it?” Thor asked and Loki nodded. “He was here. He completed the ritual this time,” Thor told him. “The victims from the bank are all dead and he took some of the SHIELD agents while he was here.” Thor slipped his hand in between Loki’s, forcing Loki to stop aggravating the skin. “You said you remember what happened during the time your soul was separated?”

            “Yes,” Loki replied. “He unlocked those memories for me.”

            “I thought we killed him.”

            “The concoction you threw at him was meant to destroy him, yes, by removing the darkness which kept him alive but instead it banished him out beyond Yggdrasil. He bided his time, consuming what souls he could to survive. One of those souls belonged to a Titan and that sustained him for a long time. He was the one who sent me here for the Tesseract.” He paused as he sensed something else, “You have the Scepter here.”

            “What did he hope to gain by conquering Earth?” Rogers asked instead.

            Loki ignored his question and asked his brother, “Do you remember what Calder said about how I would be the one to grant him infinity?”

            “Yes,” Thor replied. “Do you know what he meant by that?”

            “At the time I didn’t but I do now… Calder isn’t what we thought he was. He’s something much darker than a dragur.”

            “What is he then?” prompted his father.

            Loki pressed his lips together and curled on himself a little as his back began to ache. “I can’t stay here.”

            “Loki—”

            “No, Thor, you don’t understand.” He flung back the blanket covering his legs and stood, much to everyone’s protestations. “He wants the Pendant of Infinity, that’s why he sent forces to the bank.”

            “The Pendant of Infinity?” his mother asked. “If he could learn to wield that then he could find the Infinity Stones.”

            “I know that’s why I took it from him and brought it back here. Calder wants the Stones and he wanted me to gather them for him since he knew they would come to me. I’m a fulcrum, an instrument of Fate. I can’t— I won’t be the reason the universe is destroyed.”

            “Whoa, whoa,” Stark interjected. “Who said anything about destroying the universe?”

            Loki continued as though he hadn’t been interrupted. “What you saw earlier, that wasn’t actually Calder, he used my ability to create simulacrum to manifest himself here.”

            “That’s not possible,” Thor said.

            “It is,” ripples of pain spread out across his back and he felt bones shifting. He’d remained far longer than he should have. If only his brother had just taken the damn pendant and hidden it, instead Loki’s body had failed him and now he was stuck in a building with two items Calder coveted. He cried out in pain, falling to the ground as something ripped his back open from the inside.

            Blood pooled around him. Loki coughed, more blood spilling from his mouth as a pair of arms spread out from the wound in his back.

            “What in the holy hell is that!” one of the Midgardians yelled.

            The stench of death assaulted his nose, nearly choking him just as badly as the blood caught in his throat. Loki felt the being shift as it slowly pulled itself from within him. Tears blurred his vision but through his tear filled eyes he could see the horror reflected in everyone’s expressions. “I’m s-sorry,” he choked, “I c-c-couldn’t…”

            “Now, now, now enough of that,” Calder said, running his bony fingers though Loki’s hair. Those fingers then gripped his hair and pulled his head up. “There is no need to apologize. You fought quite well little prince. I have to say, I am surprised you managed to hold me back as long as you had but,” Calder smacked his lips, “those tasty Midgardians gave me just enough power to force your hand.”

            Calder shifted again and Loki screamed. There was one last sickening sound of flesh ripping before the pain abruptly shifted and Loki collapsed. He saw Calder step over him. He reached weakly for his seiðr, hoping to banish the being once more. His seiðr didn’t answer his call though; instead it was focused entirely on keeping him alive.

            “How is this possible?” demanded Odin.

            “I planted a little bug into him after I first separated his body and soul. I will say I did want to consume his soul back then but once I learned the secret the Fates had hidden there, I thought it better to keep him around. Do you know what he is Odin-King?”

            “He’s my son,” proclaimed Odin.

            “Is he though?”

            “Say whatever you like but it matters not where he was born,” Frigga growled. “You will pay for what you have done to him.” Her eyes found his and then she gripped her husband’s arm.

            Lighting suddenly struck Calder but all he did was turn his head. The scent of burnt flesh filled the room. “That won’t work this time.”

            Calder stalked towards them and Loki saw runes slowly beginning to fill the walls. Calder was planning on consuming their souls! He looked up and met the eyes of his family. Thor’s hands tightened into fists. “I’m not one to give up easily.”

            “I should hope not,” Calder said. “Souls are so much tastier when they fight back.”

            Loki dipped his fingers into the pool of blood beneath him and used it to begin drawing his own symbols on the floor. When he was satisfied with the sigil he called, “Calder.”

            The monster tipped his head slightly in Loki’s direction. “Be patient boy, I’ll come back to you soon enough.”

            “You should have killed me before,” Loki said. “You read the secrets of my soul but, the second you forced yourself in me, I knew the secrets of yours. I know how to kill you.”

            Calder spun around, yellow eyes going wide when he spotted the bloody sigil. “What!”

            “I’ll see you in Hel monster.” Loki slammed his hand down upon the sigil, power radiating out from the contact.

            “No!” Calder screamed only for his cry to break off as his body began to twitch. His joints contorted themselves unnaturally, making a sickening crunch every time they moved. His body seemed to light up within and flames erupted from his eyes and mouth. They all had to look away from the intensity of the light which emanated from his body.

            With one last, final, sizzle the light faded and the corpse of Calder the Dragur fell to the ground. Loki only had a moment to savor his victory before he too collapsed.

* * *

            The sunlight shown down upon the garden though the canopy of the tree at his back kept him pleasantly shaded. Loki turned the final page of the book in his lap and felt a smile form as he closed the book. It had been some time since he’d been able to enjoy a good book. He set it aside and made a note to pick up the next in the series. Actually, he should invest in the next several books in the series given how quickly he was finishing them.

            “There you are.”

            Loki glanced up and saw his mother approach. He picked his book back up as she sat beside him. “Hello mother.”

            “Hello my darling. How are you feeling today?”

            “Free,” Loki replied. After he’d recovered from his injuries he had spent many hours telling the tale of what had happened to him and how he’d been forced to create such havoc on Midgard. While the Midgardian authorities had been somewhat reluctant at first to believe him, the security footage with Calder admitting he’d been the one controlling Loki had gone a long way in making things right.

            “Your brother was looking for you. I think he wants you to go with him to Midgard.”

            Loki chuckled and leaned so that his head came to rest on his mother’s shoulder. “I may take him up on his offer,” Loki said. He held up his book, “I’ve finished this one and need more.”

            She chuckled softly. “I don’t think spending hours within a bookstore is what your brother has in mind.”

            “Well he’s just going to have to suffer,” Loki said. “If he wants me to go to Midgard we need to take time to do something I want to do too.”

            “Your father was looking for you as well.”

            Loki’s smile faded. He knew he and his father needed to speak; especially about what had happened in the Vault and the events following there afterwards but Loki was having a hard time broaching the subject. Even his father seemed to have difficulty bringing it up. Neither of them quite knew where they stood with one another. “I do need to talk to him, don’t I?”

            She pressed a kiss to the crown of his head. “You do but you mustn’t rush it. Your father and I failed you when we kept the truth of your birth from you. We thought to protect you when instead we ended up doing more harm than good.”

            “I think I understand now why you didn’t tell me. It doesn’t make it hurt any less but, I think if I was in your place, I might have done the same thing.”

            Another kiss was pressed to his head. “I—”

            “Loki!”

            Loki felt laughter bubble up within him and he chuckled at his brother’s call of his name. “He still hasn’t grasped the meaning of ‘quiet’ has he?”

            Frigga laughed too. “No, no he hasn’t.”

            “Loki! Lo— Oh, there you are,” Thor said as he spotted them. “Are you just about ready?”

            “Ready?”

            “For our trip to Midgard,” Thor said, collapsing on the ground beside him. “There’s so much I want to show you.”

            “I have been to Midgard before, more times than you if I recall.”

            “Okay, yes, but,” Thor rolled over and placed his chin on Loki’s thigh, “we haven’t had an adventure there in decades.”

            “That thing in ‘71 doesn’t count.”

            Thor paused, “I know that. I wasn’t there.”

            “It was your idea though.”

            “What are you two talking about?” asked Frigga.

            The brother’s shared a look and Loki felt heat rise in his cheeks. “Nothing of import.”

            She gave them a dry look. “‘Nothing of import’ usually means there was quite a bit of mischief had. What did you do?”

            “It was Thor’s idea.”

            Frigga raised an eyebrow at them, clearly unconvinced, “Uh huh.”

            Thor jumped up and pulled Loki with him. “Well mother,” he leaned down to kiss her cheek, “Loki and I have to go. We’ll see you later. Good bye, love you!”

            Loki couldn’t stop his laughter as Thor dragged him through the garden. “You know she’s not going to stop prying until she gets the truth, right?”

            Thor winced. “Did you have to bring it up?”

            Loki spun to walk backwards, his hands clasped behind his back. “I haven’t been caught yet and besides, it ended up being an investment that paid off handsomely. We’ll go to Midgard and I know just the place I want to visit.”

            A short while later, Loki picked up a basket and placed it on his arm. New adventures awaited him but, at the moment, the most priceless part of his day was the look on his brother’s face. He swore Thor’s eye twitched as he took in the rows upon rows of books.

            “This was not what I had in mind when I said we’d have an adventure on Midgard,” Thor said.

            “I won’t be long, I promise.” Loki stepped further into the Barnes & Noble. “A few hours at most.”

            Thor’s high pitched squeak of, “Hours,” was totally worth the trip.