by Audra Hart
“I can apparently sense your aura when you are under a hiding spell. I could sense this one too.” She says pointing at Elias. “But he was too stubborn to leave, even when I threatened to kick his ass for him.” Morna says with a chuckle. “Lucky for me he stayed with me. I would probably be toast if he hadn’t helped me with that Stone Coat cannibal from the Spirit Plane.”
“That creature did this to you?” Micah asked.
“Yes, and it might have killed me if Elias hadn’t bashed it in the head with a rock.” Morna laughs and absentmindedly reaches down to caress her growing belly. The head injury and the loss of blood are dragging her down towards unconsciousness quickly.
Brian, Micah, and George watch her intently and Micah asks, “The baby?”
“I think he’s fine,” says Elias, but we really need to get her to help. She lost a lot of blood and is still bleeding. Look at her legs and her arm. Her back is really shredded. She has a nasty concussion too. Has Luca made it back?”
“He hadn’t when we left. It took us quite a while to find you two. You are really deep into the forest here. We might not have been able to find you if George had not been with us. Let’s make a stretcher and haul her out on that. Maybe that won’t cause her too much pain,” says Micah thoughtfully. He pulls the sword from his sheath and starts hack off saplings to make a stretcher.
When Elias takes his dad’s sword and goes to help his brother, Brian leans down and looks Morna in the eyes. “Mo, did you try to hunt my son?”
“No Brian. I promise I didn’t. I wouldn’t do that.” Morna promises her old friend.
“Damn Morna, I was afraid I was going to have to find a way to kill you.” Brian says quietly, looking agonized.
Morna pats the hand of her friend and says, “I understand completely friend. No need to explain what you mean.”
Elias hears the last of their exchange and loses his temper. “What the hell is wrong with you Dad? Morna wouldn’t ever do that. She wouldn’t ever hurt me.”
Morna holds up her hand to quiet her godson. “Your dad is right. It was damned foolish for you to stay behind alone. After we killed that creature I might have tried to feed on you if I wasn’t so busted up. So don’t get bent out of shape at your father over his reaction. Mine would be exactly the same if the roles were reversed.”
“Morna, you had plenty of chances to feed on me and you didn’t do it. You won’t do it.” Elias declares impassionedly. “I know you, who you are. No matter what is going on with your body, you are still you!”
Morna looks at George. He hasn’t said a single word to this point. “Well brother? Have you decided whether or not you have to kill me?”
George ducks his face in shame and says, “Sorry Morna. I wasn’t planning on killing you, if I could keep from it. But I was going to wrap you in my binding cord.”
Morna is nearly unconscious by this point, but she rallies when she smells a familiar scent. “Luca?”
Her beloved mate is by her side instantly. “Right here, baby. He looks around the clearing quickly and looks back at his beloved. He quickly assesses her condition and says, “What the hell happened here? Is that a NA’YU’NUWI burning over there?”
Morna starts crying now and says, “Lucian, please take me away. I am so glad you are here. I almost turned on Kyle and my godsons. Take me where I can’t hurt anyone. Please baby…” she sobs brokenly and clutches at her mate with all her strength.
“Yeah it’s a NA’YU’NUWI. Someone led it to Morna. She killed it, but it messed her up really badly. We need to get her to Heimdall’s and heal her.” Says Elias quietly.
“Were you here Elias? When she fought that thing, were you here?” Luca asks in a controlled voice.
“Stop it Luca!” Morna hisses so low the others can’t make out what she‘s saying. “He was unarmed and trying to hide from me so that I wouldn’t feed on him. He did help me fight it the best he could.”
“What the hell happened while I was gone?” Luca demands.
Morna sighs and says, “Forget it for now, and take me to Heimdall’s. Please baby.”
Luca nods, kisses her forehead and picks her up gently in his arms. He looks at the other men in the clearing. “Follow along as fast as you can. I will need to know exactly what happened here when she is stable.”
Micah clears his throat and says, “Luca, carrying her might cause her more injury. We are building a stretcher for her.”
“I can carry her out smoothly enough that she won’t suffer any more injury.” Luca assures the worried young man, and takes off running so fast they don’t see him go.
They are nearly at Heimdall’s when Luca asks, “Morna, what do you mean you nearly turned on Kyle? Why were you hunting? Why was Kyle here in the park?”
“I don’t know why, but I suddenly had to hunt. The thirst was so strong, it was a compulsion I couldn’t resist. I stumbled across the boys here in the woods. I guess they were hiking. I started to… I wanted desperately to feed on them. But I stopped and told them to run. I don’t know how it is that I didn’t chase them down. Instinct was driving me to do just that. But I held back,” Morna says sounding like she’s being tortured.
“That foolish Elias sounds just like you have all these years insisting that I couldn’t ever turn on you. Did he really think just wanting to be able to control yourself would be enough?” Growls Luca in utter frustration.
“Baby, it’s been enough to keep you from killing anyone all these years, and kept me from killing them today. I have been right all along. I knew you wouldn’t hurt me. Elias knew I wouldn’t hurt him. But he did have enough sense to weave a hiding spell. But I could still sense him, even with the spell. I could sense his aura, his energy… something. Darling, I am so glad you came.” Having said that, she shuts her eyes and drifts off into unconsciousness.
Heimdall meets Luca at the door and leads him to a bedchamber. Two Asgardian healers are waiting and so is Guldfey. Luca nods at them all as he lies his mate on the bed. “She fought a NA’YU’NUWI. Before that she had an uncontrollable urge to feed. I don’t understand, she just fed last night.”
Heimdall gently moves Luca back so that the healers can start to work. “Sammy saw the battle. It was horrific. We have Sammy in stasis in the other room. She is in shock from what she saw. Did Morna attack anyone? Sammy saw her barely holding herself back from attacking Kyle and Bronwyn’s boys.”
“She didn’t attack anyone. She ordered them to run away. Elias stayed behind to keep an eye on her. She could detect his energy or aura, she’s not sure which. Whatever it was, she knew he was following her and still she didn’t try to feed on him.” Luca says as he roughly drags his hand through his hair away from his face. “What made her go out there without me? Breena said the compulsion she felt in Morna was overpowering. Breena said it made her want to drink blood.”
Guldfey comes up to Luca and gently takes his hand. “She’s going to be fine. Your wife and son both are strong. But she will need more blood, very soon.”
Heimdall turns toward the door, “I will send someone out into the park to hunt and drain the blood. I am also going to send someone to Midgard to burglarize a blood bank. O negative should be good?” He mutters to himself as he walks out the door.
Guldfey chuckles. “He loves all the children he causes to be born, but he loves Morna and Breena like they were actually his children. I am going to check on Sammy, but I think she will be fine in a little while. My daughter is a tough young lady. I think it was her devotion to your wife that caused her reaction to what she witnessed in her vision. That and her affection for that young Spell Weaver, Elias. Sometimes in visions, we see different scenarios. As seers, we are never certain which one actually happens.”
Luca is paying scant attention to Guldfey, he is too intent on watching his wife and listening to the healers as they work. He sees her stir and starts to walk toward her. Guldfey reaches out and stops him, “Lord Lucian, thank you again for saving Gullveig and me today. Val caught us off g
uard and would have destroyed us if you had not showed up. She seems to be very afraid of you and Morna for some reason.”
“I didn’t do anything. I just took out a few of her warriors. She could have attacked me, but she didn‘t for some reason,” Luca says softly. “Guldfey, I don’t want to be rude, but I need to go to my mate.”
Guldfey chuckles and says, “I am sorry. By all means, go to your wife.”
Luca walks over to the bed where the healers are working on Morna. “Lord Lucian, I am Mordir. We have healed the concussion and stopped all the bleeding that her own body hadn‘t already controlled. Now we need to reset the bones. We must break them again before we can do that. You might want to leave, she will experience the pain even though she is in stasis.”
Morna turns her head toward her mate and whispers, “Luca, protect them. Put me in a binding spell.”
Surth looks at Mordir in shock. “She shouldn’t be able to speak or move while in deep stasis. She shouldn’t be aware of anything going on around her.”
Morna chuckles, “Another healer talking about what I shouldn’t be able to do.”
Luca chuckles too. “Sirs, my mate has an uncanny ability to be aware of her surroundings and even interact with them when she is unconscious. I am not surprised that she can do so while in stasis. She is right, I should put her in a binding spell before you do any more.”
Luca bends down and kisses his mate’s lips gently. “Be a good girl, my love. You know they are only trying to help.” Morna smiles and nods weakly. Luca kneels beside the bed and gently lies a restraining arm over her battered torso. “Lie still love. I wish Rinda was here to put you in a deeper state of relaxation, but she is protecting the children with Damian, Valliant and Vali.”
“Good!” Morna mumbles.
“Love, I am weaving the spell now. I will release it as soon as the bones have been reset. Hang in there, baby. It will be over soon.” He promises and kisses his beloved mate again. He quickly weaves the spell and nods to the healers. “Proceed. I won’t let her get loose.”
At that moment Heimdall returns with Odin and Thor in tow. Several other lesser ‘gods’ follow behind pushing some huge cylindrical device. “Is our girl misbehaving?”
“Not yet,” says Luca. “But they are going to reset the worst of those broken bones. She fears she might come up off of that bed and attack them for causing her pain if I don’t hold her in a binding spell.”
Thor throws his head back and roars in laughter. “And you are ready to hold her down in case the binding spell can’t hold her back? I hope she will meet me on the battlefield for a contest at arms when everything calms down around here. I am eager to try myself against this new and improved version of our Baby Girl. She is glorious!”
“She is indeed.” Luca agrees with the Thunder God. He kisses her cheek and everyone is amazed that she is able to smile and nuzzles into her mate.
Odin gasps and demands, “Why isn’t she in stasis?”
“She is, Milord,” Mordir clears his throat and says, “Lord Lucian, please keep that restraining arm there, what we are doing to her is excruciating.”
Luca looks over at the cylindrical device and asks, “What is that?”
“Odin’s personal healing chamber. He built it using the wisdom he gained when he gave up his eye. It brought him back after spending nine days hanging from a branch of Yggdrasil, the huge World-Tree, with that spear in his side. This is the chamber where he lies each year to rejuvenate.” Heimdall informs Luca.
Luca looks at the one-eyed All-Father. “You brought that here to heal my mate?”
“Yes, I did. Our Baby Girl must survive, she must be strong and healthy.” Odin says simply.
Luca bows his head to Odin, King of all Norse gods. “Thank you, Sir.”
Heimdall steps forward and says, “My servants have collected a pitcher of boar’s blood for her. And the others should be back with the O negative blood anytime. Do you think she will object to drinking the human blood?”
“I am not sure. But I don’t see why she would. I have stolen from blood banks when it wasn’t convenient for me to go hunt animals. But I steal the more common blood types. I wouldn’t want a human to suffer because I needed to feed.” Luca says as he watches his wife’s face as the healers work. They are well into the process of breaking the bones that have started healing improperly. Morna’s face clearly betrays how painful the process is. Luca gently strokes her cheek with his free hand. “I am sorry love. It shouldn’t be much longer.” He says looking at the healers meaningfully.
Surth swallows hard and nods his understanding at Luca. Mordir grins and continues working. “She’s very strong, Lord Lucian. The Lady Morna shall be fine before you know it.” Mordir assures him confidently.
Luca looks at Mordir, “Then why does she need Odin’s chamber?”
“Sir, she has a total of 28 fractures, many to her spine. Not counting the damage that was done to her legs. She has numerous internal injuries. Your spell around the uterus is the only thing that kept your child safe. I am not sure if she could have survived this anywhere but here in Asgard. I still don’t know what to do to keep the wounds from becoming infected. They are already putrefying from the filth of that creature.” Mordir says quietly.
“Clean the wounds well, and then I can treat those with my venom. When she fought the other one, I healed the wound with my venom. It’s painful as hell, but it heals rapidly and removes all traces of infection.” Luca closes his eyes, he dreads having to do that. He knows that the last time it was much more painful than she admitted to him, and this time there are many more wounds to treat.
After a few minutes he opens his eyes, Morna is looking at him with a small smile on her face. “It’s okay, Luca.” She whispers lovingly.
“It will be soon, my love. The healers are finished setting the broken bones.” he assures her with a smile he doesn’t really feel. “You promise to be good while I go milk some venom to treat the wounds?”
Morna smiles at him, and he says, “I hope that is a yes, my love. I will be right back.” Luca leans in and kisses her gently and then looks at Mordir and Surth. I kept the binding spell on her. I will back shortly. But I think the Thunder God and the King of the God’s can protect you if needed.
Odin chuckles and murmurs, “Perhaps.”
After he leaves, Morna looks at Heimdall and asks, “How did that thing get into Asgard?”
“Your sister,” grunts Thor. “I went out to stop her when she arrived at Vanaheim. Six of my men deserted my garrison and joined her. I found out that she has been coming around the last six months and leading my men away from their posts and engaging in sex with them. I am sure she learned of some weakness in our defenses from her dalliances with them.”
Heimdall grunts, “Excuse me Thunder God, but she was talking to me. Heimdall turns his attention to Morna. Gullveig felt her arrive this morning. She should have notified me. Guldfey went with Gullveig to confront her. They got there before Thor and his men. Unfortunately, they were captured by her warriors and were put in some kind of stasis or holding spell. Valgullveig is so versed in so many different types of magic that she is a dangerous foe.”
When Luca arrived to check on Gullveig he destroyed eight of her warriors and distracted them enough that Guldfey and Gullveig were able to escape. We aren’t sure how Valgullveig got away. No one realized that the NA’YU’NUWI had entered the realm. I am sorry Morna, I should have seen it. But I was distracted by events in Vanaheim. We owe you a huge debt of gratitude. If that creature had gotten loose here in Asgard it would have killed many people.”
“Nothing to apologize for Heimdall. Like you said, my sister is a dangerous foe. I do need to talk to Gullveig as soon as possible. I don’t understand why I needed to feed again so quickly. The thirst was so strong it was a compulsion I couldn’t ignore. I was so crazed I could not weave any spells. I couldn’t use the iron-lion spell. That’s why my body got so beat up.” Morna admits.
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nbsp; Luca returns at that moment and says, “I thought that might have been the case.” He looks at the healers. “Can she sit up yet? I want her to drink this. It will probably help her heal faster.”
“Yes, we have done all that we can do for her until she rests in the healing chamber.” Says Mordir. “The blood is what she needs now.”
“But I am not craving blood.” Morna insists.
“Love, please cooperate. We are all trying to help.” Luca says coaxingly.
“Luca, Elias brought a boar and a deer to me. I fed well.” Morna assures him. “I am not trying to be stubborn. I am just full at the moment.” Morna sees that Luca doesn’t look like he will back down so she takes the cup from him and sips. She is surprised that it does seem to hit the spot. “Speaking of Elias, has he not made it back yet?”
“He and the others are here, just outside this chamber.” Luca assures her. “Everyone is well. Please don’t worry about them.”
“I am not worried about them. They are grown men. I want my regular doctors in here with me.” Morna says blandly. “The others are still with the children, right?”
“Yes Morna, our children are safe.” Luca assures him.
Luca notices that Odin raises an eyebrow at this exchange, but remains silent.
Surth starts to protest about the other healers joining them, but Mordir wisely intervenes. “I would welcome the input of the young healers. Please send them in.”
Heimdall goes and gets the other healers from the corridor. Morna smiles happily when she sees they are all okay. Elias is vastly relieved to see that she is able to sit up. As he draws closer, he wrinkles his nose, “More blood Morna? Craving again?”
“No, it’s just a precautionary measure. I am fine. I am sure the baby is fine or Luca would have said something by now.” Morna assures them.
Elias nods at the Asgardian healers. “Sirs, do you mind if we look her over quickly?”
“Not at all,” Mordir assures him. “We are going to let Sir Luca treat the wounds with his venom and then she will lie a while in Odin’s healing chamber. She should be good as new after a few hours in there.”