by S. E. Babin
He gently pushed me down onto it, brushed my knees open, and sat on the coffee table facing me. "Talk, woman," he growled softly.
"You don't want me to."
"Oh," he said with a grim smile. "I can't imagine that there's anything more I want you to do right now."
"You are going to hate it." I worried my bottom lip. "I mean really hate it."
"Freya," he growled. "Tell me what this is. I know you know."
"Ummm."
He let out a sigh and ran his hands through his hair. "I am not letting you leave this spot until you spill it. Whatever it is, it cannot be that bad." He shoved his arm in my face again. "Look at this. This is...bizarre. He's waiting for something." His gaze drifted down to the woman on my arm. "Waiting...for her," he said softly.
If his face were pale before, it became milk white once realization set in. "Freya. Are we?" He shook his head. "No. Impossible."
His green gaze met mine. "Neither one of us consented. We can't possibly be..."
"Married," I concluded for him.
He held my gaze. "Married," he echoed.
I didn't answer. I wasn't sure I had to. The emerald light on my palm grew brighter, encompassing both of us in its glow.
"We're bonded? This is a marital bond?" He looked up at the ceiling, his throat working as he tried to digest the news. "But how?"
"The Morrigan," I said.
Loki went still as stone. His head tilted back down to stare at me. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
"The Phantom Queen?" Loki's voice echoed stark disbelief.
"Aye."
He stood and stepped over my leg. "What the Hel does she care if we marry? On that note, what the Hel does she care if anyone marries?" Loki spun. "Have you spoken to her?"
"I have. She refuses to do anything about it. She says we will thank her."
He sank onto the recliner next to the couch. "This is insane," he muttered, but then he fell silent which really, really worried me. When he spoke again, my heart rebelled. "We are married," he drawled slowly as his gaze fell upon me once more. "You are my wife." A slow grin formed on his beautiful mouth. "This bond...it's strong. Stronger than anything I've ever seen. Holy Hel. We were meant to be together."
I raised a hand up. "Not so fast. Don't go getting any romantic ideals about any of this. I do not want to be married."
He chuckled. "Few people ever want to be married, little witch. It just sort of happens. People fall in love and want some kind of contract sealing everything. But this...there is a reason this happened to us. You were meant for me."
"I'm not going to fall into bed with you, Loki. Or even bring you a mug of ale. I'm looking for a way to break the bond."
Hurt flashed in his eyes before it was replaced with amusement. "I can assure you people greater than you and I have tried to look for an out when it comes to Morrigan's magic. I'll wait here while you regale me with examples of anyone successful at it."
I gnashed my teeth in annoyance. "I cannot be married."
"Why?"
"Because I never got divorced!"
"Technically, you did. The Morrigan must have been watching for awhile and saw her opportunity to bind us when I was swearing fealty."
"Odin will kill you."
Loki waved his hand. "Odin is no longer your husband. There are still laws we must obey, darling wife."
"Do not call me that."
"Oh ho," he chuckled. "I'm going to call you lots of things, my darling little sweet potato."
"Loki."
"My little jewel of the Nile. My fiery redheaded temptress. My rosy cheeked nymph -"
I threw a pillow at his face. "Shut up," I hissed. "We cannot tell anyone."
One dark eyebrow rose. "And why is that, my little rutabaga?"
"Because they still don't even know the bond with Odin is broken!"
"Sounds like a non-excuse to me. They're here with you because you left Odin. They don't give a shit about him and probably never did." He rubbed his fingers across the front of his shirt. "I, on the other hand, have made friends with a lot of the townspeople and they know me and trust me."
I noticed he didn't mention having those extra houses built in the early mornings.
"I would rather you didn't tell them."
He sobered and sat up straight. "Freya, I've been trying to get you to see me, really see me for thousands of years. Do you really think when handed an opportunity like this, free of charge, that I will restrain myself from screaming it in the streets? You are my wife now, for better or worse and whatever it entails, and though you might not love me now, I can see in your eyes that you will. You are unsure. You are afraid. You are worried. And you feel trapped. All of that is okay. Because with me you can feel however you want to and I will stand by you and teach you that your feelings are valid...simply because they're your feelings. But they are not real when you are with me. I will value you. I will love you. I will cherish you. I will embrace whatever you want to learn. Wherever you want to go and however you want to go there. I will join my magic with yours. I will give you children if you wish. But the most important thing here, Freya, is that I will teach you that it is okay to love me." Without reaching out to touch me or even waiting to hear what I would say, Loki stood and walked out the door.
I put my head in my hands and cried.
11
After a good, emotional meltdown, I composed myself enough to pull out the pendulum. I studied it for a moment but could see no real signs of magic within it. I held it in my hand and walked out the door. I thought initially about asking him to come with me, but after what he said to me a few minutes ago, I was too shaken to spend any more time in his company for awhile because I believed him. I knew I cared about him. That was never the issue. How I cared about him was the issue. And could I care about him after so living for so long with a man who never seemed to care all that much about my existence unless I was gone?
Everything was so confusing.
The pendulum turned cold as soon as I hit the sidewalk and turned right. I paused, turned around, and began to walk the opposite way. The pendulum warmed again but didn't grow any hotter as I walked. I studied row after row of empty establishments wondering what kind of business would come up as time went on. One of them would be Griselda's, and I'm sure at least a few would be restaurants. I would grant them the opportunity to change the building's appearance as time went on, but for now everything looked the same.
I kept walking and waved to people as I saw them out and about. Everyone looked calm. Some even looked happy. There wasn't that automatic sense of palpable fear there was in Asgard. Odin rarely walked among his people, but he had watchers, so the subjects there felt like they were being watched all the time. Because they were. If his spies caught people sowing anything he could remotely perceive as dissension, they would be removed, never to be seen again. I couldn't even remember the number of times a whisper or two would get back to me and I would be at a widow's house consoling her and cooking a meal for her children.
Odin was a douchebag. I was better off here. We all were.
I kept walking. Every once in awhile I would try to turn down a side street, but the pendulum would grow cold immediately, so I would get right back on the straight line.
After a forty-five minute walk, the pendulum grew hot right at the edge of the town's magic barrier.
"Well. Crap." What was I supposed to do now? The magic used had not come from Midgard. I could almost guarantee it.
If I left the borders here I would be vulnerable. I looked around and could only see the forest in front of me. I knew it was an illusion though. If any one of the town's people tried to step through, they wouldn't be able to.
I dug my rarely used cell out of my back pocket. I carried it everywhere but almost never used it. Eyra had set it up for me and put her, another Valkyrie named Trin, Griselda and Odin on speed dial. I'd have to figure out how to delete him now, but I'd worry about it later.
&nb
sp; Eyra picked up on the the fourth ring with a yawn and a bark of, "What?"
"It's Freya," I said too loudly in the receiver.
Eyra always got onto me about this. She'd tell me to speak in a normal tone of voice, but I couldn't imagine how a normal tone would be able to travel properly through such a tiny speaker. Then Eyra would roll her eyes and tell me it was like magic. But I didn't believe her. There was nothing magical about this tiny little box. It was some weird human tech and I didn't trust it.
"Keep your voice down. I got a man here."
"Oh Gods," I whispered, more to myself than her. "Please don't tell me."
'Oh yes," she said with deep satisfaction. "Your dwarf might be late to work."
I let out a disgusted snort. "I hate to interrupt your post coital bliss, but I think I need some help." I quickly explained what I was doing and though she grumbled, I could hear her getting out of bed.
I could also hear her rumbling sweet nothings to my hairy chef, but I did my best to ignore those.
"I'll be there in ten," she barked and hung up.
She used her wings a lot more than I did. I was gifted flight by the Valkyries, but I always felt more solid on two feet than I did in the air, so I usually walked everywhere I went. Eyra, on the other hand, was born to fly and fly she did. The only time I really saw her on solid ground was when she was drinking my beer. Or hitting on grumpy dwarves.
I sat down on the soft forest floor and waited for her. I leaned against a large birch tree, one of my favorites, and tilted my head up to the sky. It was a pretty day, the sky a brilliant light blue with just the smallest smattering of cloud cover, but the temps were cool so my sweater was still comfortable. I didn't want to go to the trouble of creating an atmosphere, so we were at the mercy of Virginia. Whatever the weather was in Abingdon, we experienced the same. It was September now, so the trees were turning fully orange and red and most of the leaves were beginning to drop. It was my favorite time of the year.
My eyes widened. We needed a coffee shop! Odin despised coffee down to the tiniest hairs on his chin so it was forbidden. Loki, the gods bless him, would occasionally sneak me in a bag from his travels on Earth, but I couldn't brew it in the palace because the scent was so strong. I'd smuggle it out and take it to Griselda's and even though I tried my best not to, I would be out of it less than two weeks later because I just couldn't help it. No matter how much Loki smuggled in, I went through it like a toddler in a candy store. I had no impulse control. But if we had a store here we could source coffee in. The first true smile of the day slid onto my face.
Now I just had to figure out who had enough of an interest in coffee who wanted to run a store here.
The flap of wings above me alerted me to Eyra's presence. I stood and brushed the dirt from my pants.
Eyra touched down looking mussed and sleepy, though I was relieved to see she was wearing pants.
"Busy night?" I chirped.
She gave me an enigmatic smile but chose to say nothing. It was entirely unlike her, but I let it go. I didn’t want to hear the details anyway. She held out her hand. "Show me the magical stone," she said in her lilting accent.
I dumped it into her hand. She held it up by the chain and let the stone twirl in the sunlight. "Clever," she murmured. "Griselda did this?"
I nodded.
"She's smart. No one can trace this back to you." She nodded to the barrier. "So whoever this is waits outside of the town?"
"Yes, but I don't know where. As soon as I step out I become traceable."
Eyra stared through the illusionary forest, a grim expression on her face. "Okay. I'll stay with you. We can transport back to Valhalla if things get dicey."
No gods were allowed in the sacred and hallowed halls. Only the Valkyries and myself with the embedded token in my skin, gifted to me after I'd protected the Valkyries during an invasion. No men, save for the souls of the battle slain, were allowed in. And very few women other than the Valkyries. It was an honor I did my best to never abuse.
"Ready?" she asked.
I shook my head. "No."
"Good. Being scared means you're alive." She took me by the arm. "Let's go."
We stepped through the barrier and into the town of Abingdon. Specifically on the very outskirts of the forest so we wouldn't give any humans a heart attack if we suddenly appeared right in front of them.
"I don't see anyone waiting," Eyra whispered. "What is the charm telling you?"
It had grown cold in the palm of my hand. "Whoever it is isn't here."
A low curse came from her. "Should we try Asgard?"
"Ugh. I wish we didn't have to," I said.
"You do know that the person you seek is most likely there, don't you?" She gave me the side-eye. "I'd always assumed your paranoia would lead you to the most obvious conclusion."
"He shouldn't be able to track where I'm at."
Eyra sighed. "How many people have you trusted with this secret?"
"Not many."
Eyra peered out through the blanket of trees. "Then you start there and work your way through the people who know before you look to others."
"You make it sound so simple."
"It is simple. It's always the one we least expect."
I gave her a hard look and she grinned at me. "Except me. I'm solid. Plus I have a crush on your dwarf and I need you as my friend so I can stay close to him."
"Maybe you want to take me out so he will come to you in grief."
We both snort-laughed at that one because the only grieving Gravelbeard would be doing was over his paycheck when he realized I wouldn't be there to dole it out. The dwarf quickly figured out he liked cash even more than using my television in the palace. I had no idea what he was doing with the money, but he was already asking when he would get his second paycheck and we hadn't even been here a week.
Eyra stepped out and motioned for me to follow. "Head into the regular pub you’d usually find me at in Asgard. Specifically the one with the darker cellar."
I knew the place she spoke of. And I knew that Eyra kept several stashes of clothing there. "Use no magic," she cautioned me. She shot up in the air and straight into the heavens.
With a whispered breath, I teleported into Asgard, my heart in my throat.
The bar smelled the same as it had before I left. No surprise there. Beer and ale were constants in the ever-shifting world. The floor was sticky underneath me as I crouched down behind a massive vat of ale. I quickly pulled up one of the old wooden floorboards and pulled out a muslin bag filled with extra clothes. I dressed in a hurry and pulled my boots back on. I pulled my hair back while wishing I'd had the foresight to change my hair color before I'd come back here. The red of my hair was a beacon to those who knew me. Perhaps I could ask Eyra to change it once she arrived. Using magic right now would be inadvisable. I secured it in a low ponytail behind my neck and pulled the hood of the cloak over my head obscuring most of my face.
Then I waited for Eyra.
The noises outside of the door were familiar. People arguing and fighting, the clink of dishes and the hum of a busy establishment gave me a moment of sadness. But I had those things in the new place. And I would continue to have them as long as we figured out what happened to Sig.
The beating of wings outside the door made me sigh with relief. Eyra slipped in, took one look at me and snorted. "Pull your hood down," she demanded.
I did and she touched my hair briefly. When she pulled away, she showed me a strand of hair.
"Blonde? Did you have to make me blonde?"
"Yep. Blondes have more fun. I'm going to take you out of here, but you need to be careful not to act suspicious. Keep your hood off. I'll cast a lookaway spell on us. People will see both of us walk out of here but they won't remember much about it. Walk straight behind me and don't speak to anyone. And for the love of the gods, don't stop. Got it?"
I nodded. "Hood down. Mouth shut. Keep walking."
"See? That's why I like y
ou. Good at directions." She shoved me gently in the direction of the door.
Eyra walked out first and I stepped right behind her. She walked boldly but not too fast. Eyra waved at a few people who noticed her, but their eyes seemed to skim right over me. There were a couple of people whose gazes lingered a little too long for comfort.
"Don't make eye contact," Eyra murmured under her breath. When she stopped at the massive wooden doors, she pushed me in front of her, opened them and then hissed at me to get out. As soon as we were on the front steps, she let out a deep breath. "There were some pretty powerful people in there." She looked up and down both sides of the street. "We need to move before they figure out what just happened."
I pulled the stone out of my pocket. When I turned left, the stone heated. I motioned for her to follow. "This way." The stone led us along a winding path complete with shops and restaurants until we finally stopped at a place I knew well.
"Apothecary Lane," I read.
Eyra shook her head. "Are we surprised?"
"Not even a little."
Apothecary Lane was something of a legend, even in Asgard. Though Odin didn't like low magic and abolished its practice, this shop was somehow able to remain standing. The magic surrounding it was...weird. I'd never liked it too much, but I also wasn't one to destroy someone's business due to my own personal dislike. They claimed to sell culinary herbs. And they did. But there was something about this place that struck me as a little off. I'd heard from Griselda and the other witches that some dark dealings occurred in the back of the place every once in a while, but I'd never been able to catch them.
"I can't go in," I told Eyra. "They'll recognize me."
She nodded. "I'm not sure I should either, but I'll risk it. One can never have enough basil and thyme, right?"
"If you think you can find anything out." I pushed the stone into her palm. "Take this. It's a lot warmer than it was before, so this should be the place. I'm not sure what else it will do once you get closer."
"Hopefully not shriek an alarm," she said, though she tucked it into her pocket anyway. Eyra gave me a little wave and went into the store. I stepped around to the side of it, inside of an alleyway away from windows and prying eyes. The air was cooler here and the light less prevalent. If someone I knew happened upon me, it was possible they wouldn't recognize me. I dared not use any magic here. In fact, it was probable Odin already knew I was here. Whatever Eyra was doing in there had to be quick. Otherwise I would have to abandon her if I felt like there was even a hint of palace security coming my way.
