“You don’t need to worry. I like for women to pet me, and if she strokes me behind the ear, I’ll protect her forever.” His natural yellow eyes showed through the human brown, revealing his earnest delight.
“I don’t need you to fall in love with the dragon, just to contain her.”
“And if I do? I am extremely loyal.”
“Then you will have more of a problem than just being stuck back in time. You’ll also have a necromancer chasing after you.” It would cost all of her patience and pride to have to hurt her son like this, but it was for the greater good. They needed what only the dragon could provide, and Erich, her son, would have to suffer those consequences.
“Ah, I like complications. Plus, it will be like the old days when Jörmungandr was so small. I just had to tap him on the head and drag him back to your feet.”
“No, Fenrir. You are not to hunt the dragon or bite her. Just contain her.”
Fenrir’s hyena laugh echoed throughout the room. Sometimes she wasn’t sure if her brother was laughing at her, or with her. But the only thing that mattered was that he did what she said and stood strongly aligned with her.
Or there would be more than Lady Hel to pay.
With an ethereal walk, the Morrígan slid into Lady Hel’s throne room. Her ember-red hair piled high above her head, and her inhuman gaze biting.
“I say, Hel, I like what you’ve done with the place, but I’m sure you didn’t invite me here to access your décor.”
“No, dear friend. I’ve come to offer you something better than a cup of tea. What about a part of the nine worlds?”
Chapter 18
Sif
A piece of me just wanted to hit Thor with his hammer.
Ever since my arrival to Asgard, I’d been a great guest. I’d been watched, paraded around, and now ordered to accompany Thor on a task that had nothing to do with me, again, chilling the heck out.
“Oh, it’s for the best,” I muttered, mocking Freyja’s motherly voice. “I don’t like being told what to do.” I knew I was complaining but couldn’t help myself. I felt like nothing more than a tool in their godly arsenal, to be at their beck and call.
“Once we get to fighting, you’ll change your tune. There is nothing better to do than bash things.” Thor tapped his hammer on the side and nodded; it felt too soon to be hurrying off on some adventure with the god who’d been at the center of this whole mess.
I gave Thor the side-eye. Yes, the side-eye.
“Just because they are forcing me to go with you, doesn’t mean I’m making any promises that this will be a good trip.” I walked on this tightrope, eggshells even, but right now, I just wanted to jump down off said tightrope and stomp on the eggs. Interesting how what had been mere weeks ago, I would have wanted nothing more than to be with Thor and watch him save the world.
But with Loki, I learned that I could save the world myself.
Now, everything with Loki had gone up in smoke, and the one who’d played me for a fool wished to play my heart like a violin. Thor had arrived too late.
“Well, I do hope you won’t slam your axe in my back, and that is the most I can request when we head out,” Thor announced. He flexed, cracked a smile, and I frowned then chuckled. “At least I made you laugh.”
“You’re still alive, aren’t you?” I asked raising a brow. “My friend is missing and I am going to help find her. I worry that something may have happened.”
“Is that what has caused you to journey with us?”
“I will, of course, help find Njord, as I think these two things are connected. I did not say this before, but the Dark Elves—”
“You needn’t worry about them.”
I shook my head. He didn’t want to listen. I’d give him a chance, as I knew Njord was important, but so was Chi. I’d helped her get into this situation, and I had to help save her.
We traveled toward the Bifrost Bridge, and there Heimdall stood. He towered over me, and in his eyes, the cosmos seemed to swirl. He scowled.
I tried not to think of Loki standing there. Even with the passing of time, fury mixed with heartbreak. Those ocean blue eyes made me believe the world was my oyster; and even in a dystopian world, he could find a way to bring in some light. Fire.
My fire.
I shook my head to be rid of the thought. I should hate him, loathe him to be exact. But there was nothing in me that would make me not want to, once again, be in his near.
Thor was a god, but Loki? Loki was my god, one who I knew intimately.
I cleared my throat and tried not to remember how it felt when his hand stroked mine. How when he’d looked at me and saw me.
It had been too good to last, and then it hadn’t.
“Miss Sif,” Heimdall interrupted my thoughts. I must have had resting bitch face, as he’d never been so concerned. “Kara has also been waiting to join you two.”
“What a motley crew. I guess this is better than a band of pirates,” Kara chided.
“Pirate sounds, aargh,” I responded and laughed. “So, where are we heading, dear Prince?” I asked.
“To the southern border of Cascadia, where Njord was last seen,” Thor answered.
I didn’t think he usually liked to give status reports or talk in general about what he planned on doing, one way or another.
“Hmph.” I shrugged and followed Kara towards the gate.
It would be great to have a friendly face there, and my sparring partner was a good enough treat so I wouldn’t have to be completely alone with Thor.
“I promise not to throat punch him and bring back the beloved prince of Asgard safe and sound,” I said, then placed my hand over my heart.
“You know, you have this whole ‘me and you’ thing all wrong,” Thor said. “We are friendly, can be friendly. The cold shoulder isn’t necessary.”
“You just don’t get it. I don’t need a hero, Thor. You can save all of Asgard, but still, you couldn’t save me.” I nodded and waited for Heimdall to open the portal. So far everything had led from my worshipping Thor to seeing the god behind the myth.
Thor placed his hand on my shoulder, and I moved away. “Are you ready?”
“As much as I’ll ever be.”
Chapter 19
Lady Hel
In the winter garden, the black-and-white décor with pops of red continued, as stylized black gum trees rested in a state of permanent autumn red. These large trees sat under cathedral high ceilings, providing an opulent and stunning visual to the otherwise uniform and white design. White comfortable cushions rested on white chairs, before a table with a white tablecloth, and white bone china place settings. Tea time was to be a place of peace, and contemplation. With everything white, even the handles of the flatware bore the whitest of ivory, accented only by the goldish glint of the flatware’s metal.
In such a setting, Lady Hel sat and fingered the lace cuffs of her ombre black-and-white tea gown. She should have been overjoyed that her family was free, but that didn’t lessen the pain of her love, Harley, not being by her side. They would try to pit woman against woman, but this wasn’t such. It was a fight against the patriarchy.
She needed her tribe, and part of that sisterhood was Morrígan, her sister-in-law, and the Phantom Queen. She’d always been one who Hel could not only count on but share those thoughts that she couldn’t share with anyone else.
“For everything, we will need the key,” Morrígan said as she stirred her cup of tea in the delicate bone china cup. “Have you read the tea leaves?”
Hel remained quiet and listened to her sister-in-law. “You took your pain, your punishment and turned it into a kingdom, where you reign supreme. You need to channel that energy, that pain. Take back that power which the gods have attempted to take from you.”
“I can’t do it all.” Hel sighed.
“You don’t have to, and that is why I am here, to help. We are a tribe, united, and even those who might try to undo what we are creating are not for us.
You’ve always been versatile, strong even, and this will not change that at all.”
Hel placed her teacup down and stood to stare out of her window to the rolling fields populated by all sorts.
“I have always tried to be free in my prison, wanted despite their disregard. Life here was a walking contradiction, varying shades of light and dark, where love could still reign and be present. Death didn’t mean the end for me. It could be the beginning of something amazing. I created a heaven for those who embraced Hell.” She stared out of the large, open, picturesque window onto those gathered in the courtyard, dancing in a circle, celebrating something or another. Things shifted in those walls continuously, determined by the level in which the dead found themselves. Children might play, laugh, giggle and still feel love, while in another area, loved ones picnicked. On the other hand, there were those who suffered, due to their own insufferableness.
“And now times are changing. The gods have attacked it all. My kin, we’ve always tried to embrace all, make a bridge for everyone, but the gods were the ones who built a wall, separating themselves from us. Here, it doesn’t matter if you’re a dwarf from the south, north, east or west; male or female; they don’t behave entitled but celebrate this afterlife.”
“Are you on a spiritual journey, sister?”
Hel shook her head. “It would be easy if we were only talking about love and things of the heart, but I want Odin to kneel.”
And as of yet, it hadn’t happened. She’d failed in his submitting to her commands, but did she really think it would be so easy? She hadn’t won yet, but each battle had brought her closer to her goal.
For a moment, Hel imagined walking in the stars. She’d never been a part of it, the cosmos, only situated between the stars.
“Might that be a little trite? Think not of the past, but of the future. You know that the crown can do what you could not and raise Harley—with the power of the key. Consider gaining access, and then the rest will fall into place. You cannot appreciate the light without the darkness. Don’t desire to be anything but what you are—the Goddess of Death.”
Death did not discriminate based on genealogy, ancestors or socio-economic standards. Instead, it was that which all would meet, and she would greet them.
She mentally shook off her trepidation, pushed it away. To be the goddess of death meant to be the goddess of all who lived.
A crow cawed in the distance and flew through the open window into the chamber and took a seat on Morrígan’s shoulder. After a few moments, with the crow bowing, dancing, and vocalizing that which Hel didn’t understand, Morrígan turned her attention back to her.
“It would appear that my pet has indeed learned something that might perk you up,” Morrígan said.
“And what might that be?”
“The key is set to leave Asgard. And this time, we need to up the ante. She is getting help from those in Midgard, friends maybe who remain, and hope to thwart the elven rule. Let’s make an example and use one of them as bait.”
Lady Hel considered her options. Harley had always spoken about his friends and how much they meant to him, but there was one in Sif’s circle which she’d held on to tighter than the others: Chimanda, also called, Chi.
“Yes, I have the perfect person in mind who will draw the key out.”
“That is great. Notify the elf leader, Arma, and have her make haste. The quicker you take control of the key, the easier domination will fall into your grasp.
Morgana reached in between her cloak and retrieved the black and dulled silver massive book, then handed it to Lady Hel.
“The Book of Secrets?” Hel asked in awe.
“As passed between pantheons, and you need it more than I do. Therein you’ll find the secrets to resurrection. But beware. This will come with a huge price. Are you sure you wish to pay it?”
There was no doubt. Harley must rise.
Chapter 20
Sif
We stood on top of a six-story building overlooking the James River. Loose gravel rested beneath our feet; I stared at the flood-ravaged city. It was unusually quiet. Not even a bird squawked; no noise remained but that of the rousing water moving from the flooding river. Even more, no evidence of human survivors called forth. There were no cries for help or even cries of pain, just silence. Dead silence.
Green vines and growth snaked through any and every crevice, as if growing on fast forward. I’d not been this far south during my patrols. Nothing could have prepared me to see this damage. It was ‘Hurricane Katrina meets Haiti earthquake’ devastating. What the mighty water hadn’t destroyed an earthquake must have, as buildings rested on their sides, toppled over and, even once-towering statues of Confederate heroes were felled by the gods’ war. For that must be what this truly was. The scene before me couldn’t be the result of anything else.
It felt like I’d stepped into a sci-fi fantasy movie. I was waiting for Will Smith to come and rain down the terror of democracy, but no one came. Instead, what remained was a foreboding sense of terror. Blown out glass windows, that should have been shatterproof, mixed with twisted building frames and ruins, where a high rise had been hit by an explosion or two.
Even when the Dark Elves had been active here, these streets still had human life, people of different classes moving around each other; some struggling to survive while others thrived.
From our vantage point, unlike within the borders accepted by the Dark Elves, this place was desolate. No life, just cracked concrete, spouts of green mixing with untamed water; I turned at the sound of gravel crunching behind us.
We weren’t alone. A lone woman kneeled before Thor, her gaze cast on his boots.
“I am Gi,” she said, her hands palm up. “I received word that I should guide you through these parts.”
Kara nodded and walked around the woman, over to the other side of the roof.
Unlike what I’d known before, this Gi, couldn’t be more than sixteen, with black paint smeared over and around her brown eyes. She was unkempt, dressed in a combination of grunge and punk, combining a black-and-camouflage cotton hoodie over her closely shorn hair with dirty black boots, metal spikes, and a modified machine gun slung over her shoulder. “It’s very dangerous out here, my lord.”
“Please rise, dear,” Thor said.
She stared at Thor with so much adoration, and usually, I wouldn’t be one who cared that much, but I couldn’t stop my grimace.
Her shifty eyes glanced my way, and I felt like she could betray us at any moment.
“How do we know you are our escort?” I asked aloud.
Her face crinkled in a smile that softened. “Because here, you will not find many willing to help the gods when they are the ones who did this.” She waved her hand signaling that she meant what appeared as ruins from the apocalypse.
“All of this? Where are the people?” I asked.
Thor shook his head. “I didn’t arrive in time.” I watched the pain cross his face, and I tried to quash my sympathy and rising anger. My vision blurred from unshed tears. For once, common ground. I understood his regret.
Tears wouldn’t solve anything, though. They’d slide down my cheeks but not wash away the tragedy in which I’d been a silent contributor.
We were fighting a war and not thinking of the victims, those who had not yet received their glory. How much would it take for us to rise, to embrace the glory that has failed us all? Debris floated on the water, evidence of the lives once existed. My throat closed up. The debris held not only building materials, but baby dolls. Adults and children had perished because of me.
I’d feared losing everything, and standing in this place, my city, I’d never felt such sorrow. And these were my people. We were united by a common experience, a love of cornbread, sweet tea and collard greens, a southern dialect, and a southern sun that still burned my black skin.
“Come,” Gi said. “We only have a few more hours of sunlight to make it to the base. There are many here who will do any
thing to make the gods pay; the bounty on the heads of anyone who goes against the revolution is high. The conclave met and decided the new laws, once the government toppled; it was on the remaining survivors to come up with a solution.”
“And what solution could it be?” I asked. All I saw was desolation, destruction.
“There are those who didn’t agree with the conclave, resulting in different factions. Like neighborhood gangs with their invisible borders, so are the survivors living outside of the elven stronghold.”
“Gi, what happened?” I asked.
She laughed; a laugh that lacked humor or honesty. “You don’t know?”
I shook my head.
“Simple: a flood-hit—”
“Yes, I know about the waters that rose and receded.”
“But that wasn’t how it began. The Dark Elves came first with the promise of peace, but it was just a lie. Soon, it rained terror; war, dust, concrete. And the ruling party, they screwed us over.”
“How? We had inalienable rights? We had checks and balances,” I cried.
“Until they disappeared. It didn’t happen overnight, but one rule and law was broken to be replaced by another. The American dream unraveled and we all descended into totalitarianism. The elves ruled with an iron fist.”
I rubbed my temples. My life back then had been so simple. People had always bickered, and it didn’t matter on which side of the political aisle they were on. It was part of what made this place great: we could all be accepted. “How?”
“Both sides fell for the drivel, following the lies of their party lines, and until the bombs hit, no one believed that their party would do it. It wasn’t until after the smoke cleared and we found that the government had fallen, and the Dark Elves took their place.”
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