Chapter Twenty-One
FLASH.
Swooping through the pines, break-neck speed, following a winding deer trail.
The forest folded back, and a great clearing opened up, split by a meandering, ice-choked stream. Near the center of the clearing stood a towering oak, all alone—and blackened with death. It had been struck by lightning long ago, engulfed in flame…
Yet it stood, stone-hard, cold and dead, the heart of it throbbing with a hidden power; a secret deep within its bark…
FLASH.
Marina opened her eyes and shot into a sitting position.
And the next moment…
Thunder.
It shivered through the bedposts, trembled through Festning’s eaves.
She gasped, staring at the ceiling and gripping her covers. Her heart hammered as she searched through the darkness…
A soft, icy creak reached her hearing…
And the window to her left slowly swung open.
She sat frozen for a long moment. Then, she slowly crawled out of bed and crept toward the window, the terrible cold wafting in, nipping her feet and legs.
Outside, the moonlight coated everything in silver…
But dark, thick, snarling clouds moved to overtake that moon. And in the depths of the storm, lightning darted and danced.
Marina put her hands on the window frame, her breath catching as her mind raced. Quickly, she glanced down at the snow below…
Spun around, stripped off her nightgown, flung open the trunk and threw on a thick underdress, a woolen over-dress, boots, a scarf, and—
To her surprise, her hand met another long coat at the bottom of her trunk that hadn’t been there before. She snatched it up and pulled it on as well, reached into the pockets and found gloves, then charged toward the window.
She hesitated just a moment, then braced herself and jumped out.
Cold air hit her face.
She fell for a split second—
Then hit the snow. Sank up to mid-calf. She spun around, glanced back up at the playhouse-sized Festning…
Smiled briefly at it, turned and hurried off into the night, toward the rumble of that ethereal growling.
Her breath puffed in vapor around her head as she jogged onward, between the trees, toward the persistent sound of deep, electric crackling. Snow kicked out in front of her, sparkling in the moonlight. She had put her hood up, and now clutched the front of it with her right hand to keep it from flying back. The shadows of the trees flashed all around her, even as the clouds loomed closer and closer to the moon…
All at once, she burst out of the trees and onto the bank of a river. Panting, she stared up at the billowing black clouds that stretched like the wings of a dragon…
Movement caught her eye. She yanked her attention down…
And it caught on a lone figure standing just there, on her side of the river.
Six and a half feet tall, at least. Long, wild, sand-colored hair and beard, laced with the pearl of moonshine. Armor glittering with captured starlight, a heavy hammer hanging from his belt; dark trousers, rough boots sunk deep in snow. A stormy cloak spilling from his broad shoulders, clouding around his ankles, casting fog all around him in a smoky halo. Handsome and terrible, with a darkened brow, hard mouth, and luminous blue eyes that flashed a gaze across the distance between them.
Marina’s heart banged, and she instantly pushed her hood back and fell to one knee.
“Your Highness,” she managed—and her shaking voice carried through the silent night. “Mighty Thor. I beg you to have mercy and hear me.”
“I intend to hear you,” Thor rumbled—she felt in her bones. “When Traust told me that Bestemor of Festning had sent word at your command, I wondered who else might be your choice of companion here on Midgard.” Thor strode toward her, the storm seethed around his feet, and the air sparked. His dreadful eyes burned. “Who else but Loki, who murdered my brother.”
“I…I have another story to tell you,” Marina tried, staying on her knees in the snow, but daring to sit up and hold his gaze. Thor slowed to a stop, his brow frowning.
“A true story this time,” Marina added. “One that could save your brother’s life.”
Thor’s eyes flashed, a potent mix of anguish and rage searing across his face.
“What do you mean?” he growled. “I watched him die.”
Marina shifted, earnestly holding his gaze.
“When I came to visit you in Asgard,” she began. “Bird told me about the dreams he was having—dreams about being killed.”
Thor’s head twitched away, and his jaw tightened. Marina made herself go on.
“He asked me if I’d be willing to help him. I said yes. And then, when the snowstorm came, Hel came to my house.”
Thor’s attention returned to her instantly. Thunder snarled overhead.
“What did she want from you?” he demanded.
“She said Bird had left something at my house,” Marina answered. “I had no idea what she meant—and she tried to kill me. I ran from my house, out into the forest. Bird had given me Wishstones, and I used one of them to escape. And it took me to where Loki had been chained.”
Thor’s cloak stilled, his whole frame quieting as he listened with the intensity of white flame. Marina risked a breath.
“Loki told me that Hel and Fenris were after me, and if they caught me they’d kill me. He offered to help me stay safe from them—and he did. He has. And together, we are trying to find the stones that Bird left for me.”
“What stones?” Thor stepped even closer to her.
“We’ve found two so far,” Marina told him. “A golden one in a mountain, and a silver one in a pile of stones. When Loki looked at the golden one in the fire, it brought up memories of Bird and Odin together. Loki isn’t sure what they are—they might be Soul Splinters.” Her voice quieted. “Or he hopes…We both hope…that they are Soul-Anchors.”
Thor looked down at her, his countenance stormy and unreadable.
“And…why do you hope?”
“Because,” Marina said breathlessly. “If we can gather them all and then get his body from Helheim we can bring him back to life.”
Lightning cracked through the sky. Thunder muttered in answer.
“And why,” Thor gritted. “Would Loki want to do that?”
Marina gazed up at him, her heart sinking.
“I don’t know,” she confessed. “But Hel and Fenris found us once, and tried to convince him to abandon any idea of going back to Asgard and forget about finding the stones, so he could be with them again. He refused. Hel almost killed him.”
Thor drew in a deep breath and let out a long sigh, lowering his head, even as his jaw clenched again. Stillness fell for a long moment.
Then, Thor suddenly opened his eyes and looked up, past Marina.
She frowned, confused, and twisted to see…
Loki stood in the edge of the moonlight. He wore his coat, and held his long black bow in his hand.
He stared back at Thor. Eyes vivid as the sky. Eyebrows drawn together, lips parted. As if stricken in the middle of a breath, a word. Fixed on Thor.
No one moved or spoke.
The river rustled in the background, icy and absent.
Then, Loki sucked in a tense breath that echoed through the clearing.
“Thor,” he acknowledged, his lower lip trembling.
Thor inclined his head.
“Loki.”
“Fancy seeing you here,” Loki tried, bright pain crossing his features as he nervously shifted his grip on his bow. He breathed unsteadily, swallowed, and took half a step forward. “What…What brought you to this…cheerful corner of Midgard?”
“The Little Thing,” Thor gestured minutely to Marina. “She asked Bestemor to speak to Traust, and to bring me here.”
Loki’s eyes darted to Marina before returning to Thor.
“Why?”
“She asked for aid,” Thor replied. “So I
came, because Bestemor had sent the message. And Bestemor is never far from you.”
Loki swallowed again. Thor stayed just where he was, but lifted his chin.
“The Little Thing says you have found Bird’s Soul Anchors. And that you want to bring him home.”
Loki’s mouth worked for a moment before he managed to speak.
“I…Well, I believe…I think that’s what they are, yes,” he said. He gazed at Thor openly. “And I…Yes,” he whispered. “Yes.”
For a breathless moment, Thor remained still. Then, he strode forward, past Marina—and dew bloomed all over her sleeve as his cloak brushed her. His feet vibrated the frosty ground, his cape swelled and bannered like a thunderhead behind him—
And all at once he grabbed Loki by the front of his coat and shook him.
Thunder sliced the sky and shook the trees.
Marina leaped to her feet.
Loki dropped his bow, his hands flying up.
“You swear to me that this is the truth. That this is what you wish,” Thor snarled in Loki’s face. “To bring him home for his own sake—no one else’s, not even your own.” He shook Loki again, hard. “For his own sake.”
Loki, pale as death, his hands limply holding Thor’s wrists, stared straight back into that vicious face. A tear spilled down his cheek, fractured the starlight, and fell from his chin.
“For his own sake,” Loki whispered.
Silence fell. Thor’s red-hot gaze bore through Loki’s, and his knuckles whitened. Loki did nothing—only stood, fingers resting on Thor’s bracers, motionless as stone.
Slowly, Thor’s iron grasp relaxed, and he let go.
Marina started breathing again.
“Show them to me,” Thor commanded, taking a step back. Marina carefully climbed to her feet, watching the two of them.
“The stones,” Thor clarified. “Let me see them.”
Loki swallowed, then nodded. He took off his gloves and put them in his pockets, then rubbed his hands together as if to warm them. Then, he lifted his right palm off his left…
And there in his left palm lay one gold stone and one silver. Their inner light beamed out against his skin, and danced across both Loki and Thor’s faces.
Marina started, and then hurried toward them.
“How…How did you…?” she asked Loki. “I never showed the silver one to you—you left before I could—”
“You put it on the mantel in your room,” Loki answered her, without looking at her. “When Festning folds, it enters my blood. I know everything inside it, and I can bring any of it outside if I want to.”
“It’s a clever trick,” Thor admitted in an absent mutter, intently studying the incandescent stones. Then, he held out his hand.
Loki’s fingers almost twitched shut, and fear filled his eyes, but Thor said nothing, just waited. So, gingerly, Loki tipped the stones into Thor’s hand. Thor roughly picked each of them up in his free hand, studying them, pressing them. Then, he held them back out to Loki.
“I believe you are right,” he said—his tone so different that it stunned Marina. Thor gently set the stones back in Loki’s hand. “I have seen a Soul Anchor before.”
“You have?” Loki said sharply. “When?”
“I was very young, out hunting alone,” Thor answered. “I met an Olympian musician on the road who wished to bring his wife back from the dead. He needed me to guide him through the mountains toward Helheim. He showed me her anchor. It was the color of obsidian, and felt much like this, only heavier.”
“Did it work?” Loki asked, his eyes suddenly sparking with emerald.
“No,” Thor shook his head.
Marina’s heart skipped a beat.
“Why not?” she gasped. Finally, Thor turned to regard her—and the storm had gone out from his countenance.
“Afterward, he told me that his adventure failed for two reasons,” he answered. “The first was that there was only one stone—and there cannot be. There must be many; one for each person she regarded most dear to her. And each stone must hold the memories of a deep regret. A time that she did harm to each person, and never repaired it. Those regrets had to be seen, and forgiven, before she could return.”
“And what was the second?” Loki asked, his voice low, his glance careful.
“He had no time to mend the mistake,” Thor replied heavily, turning back to Loki. “A body can only lie in Helheim for a very short time before it turns to dust.”
“Three days!” Marina cried faintly, looking at Loki. “That’s what Fenris said—that’s all we have left…”
Thunder growled again. Thor turned to face her, frowning.
“Do you know where another stone is?”
“I…yes,” she managed. Loki’s eyebrows went up, but Thor spoke first.
“Then let us go find it,” he said, pulling his hammer from his belt and hefting it. “Before my brother slips further from us.”
“Wait—you’re…” Loki stepped forward and held up a hand. “You’re coming with us?”
“That is not the question,” Thor answered back. “The question is…are you coming with us?”
Marina jumped. Loki’s mouth fell open.
“Are you…” Loki blinked, baffled. “Do you even know where you’re going?”
“No, but Little Thing does,” Thor pointed his hammer at her. Marina shifted uneasily.
“Yes, but—” Loki stammered.
“The quest is simple enough, is it not?” Thor asked. “Find the remaining stones and see into them to find the memories they hold, then forge on to Helheim to take Bird’s body.”
“Yes, but Hel, Fenris and all of their wolves are on our trail!” Loki cried. “Fenris found us just hours ago—before that, Hel nearly tore me in half!” Loki strode toward him, gripping his injured arm. “We’ve been trying to hide from them and the sight of anyone in Asgard, I’ve not been using any loud magic for fear of attracting attention, and we’ve just managed to stay alive this long. Not to mention that you are talking about going into Helheim.” Loki pressed even closer to him, biting out his words. “You know as well as I do what lives in those passages. And according to the law laid down by your father, Hel owns Bird. She owns him. To get him back, we will have to break through several multi-tiered spells and steal him.”
“Aha. Then it seems you need to come along after all,” Thor said pointedly, giving him a look that almost resembled a smile. Loki stood up straight, gestured helplessly and tried to say something, but nothing came out.
“What about the wolves, and Fenris?” Marina asked.
Thor spun his hammer in his grip, then grasped it tight. Lightning snapped behind him, and his scorching gaze landed on her.
“I am not the kind to hide from anyone, or anything,” he growled. “If man, beast, Jotun or goblin crosses me I shall crush his bones. And if the underworld devises to keep me from laying hold of my brother again, I will bring Hel’s own mountain down upon her head.”
Alarmed, Marina looked over at Loki…
To find him gazing at Thor’s profile, his features softened, his hair and his eyes tinged with gold. And, just for a moment, the edge of his mouth curved up.
Thor turned his head, and gazed directly back at Loki.
Something passed between the two men in that moment. Something Marina could not decipher—but the air grew heavy with ghosts and memories, and light from another realm seemed to touch the edges of their hair and clothes.
“Why did you not to call to me?” Thor asked quietly. Loki’s eyebrows drew together.
“I…was afraid,” he murmured. And said no more.
Thor studied him a moment, then drew himself up and beckoned to
Marina. “Come. Tell me where you believe this one is. Loki, get your bow.”
Her legs going weak, Marina hurried up to him, scrambling words together.
“Erm…That way,” she pointed. “In a big clearing, by a river—there’s an oak tree that’s been burned, and it stands
by itself—”
“Yes,” Thor cut her off. “I saw it as I passed over.” He then reached down, and without any hesitation, slid his arm around Marina’s waist and snatched her up, yanking her against his huge, armored chest.
“Come, Loki,” Thor urged, holding Mjollnir straight out in front of him. Loki picked up his bow, slung it across his shoulders and strode back to them, reached out and grabbed Thor’s bracer, curling his fingers through the laces.
Static shot down Marina’s spine.
“Wait! What about flashy magic?” she yelped.
“You won’t find a lot of subtle tactics where Thor is involved,” Loki muttered.
“I prefer to accomplish something rather than dither with potions,” Thor answered, shifting his stance and looking into the sky.
“It isn’t dithering,” Loki shot back. “And at least it doesn’t get anyone’s nose broken.”
“No one who has given birth to a horse may have any say about what is and is not subtle,” Thor retorted.
Loki stared at him. Marina’s mouth opened in surprise—
BOOM.
A deafening bang slammed into the ground. Blinding light blazed down from the clouds and enveloped them. Marina screamed and screwed her eyes shut—the white scorched through her eyelids.
A blast of awful, chilling wind—
A lifting, a weightlessness…
And suddenly, they thudded onto their feet, on snowy ground.
Thor released her and she stumbled away, frantically rubbing at her eyes to try and clear them…
It took several moments for the dazzle to vanish, but when it did…
The stream beside her swirled and chattered its icy teeth. The moon shone down upon the great, wide clearing.
The skeletal oak, all blackened and dead, stood alone in its very center.
And once again, that hook lodged in Marina’s chest, and pulled her straight toward it.
Chapter Twenty -Two
Marina stood upon the threshold of Festning’s hearth room, leaning her shoulder against the doorframe, three stones pressing their heat in to the palm of her left hand.
Just minutes ago, she had stopped a mere foot from that scorched oak tree, and before she thought about it, she had put out her hand and it had passed through the blackened bark. She had almost jerked back—but then her fingers landed upon the hard edges of a warm stone. When she had grabbed it and pulled it out, the gem’s swirling sapphire depths had captivated her. It looked like someone had arrested every wrathful storm and rolling sea and hidden it inside.
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