by Linsey Hall
“Loki.” The voice was ancient. Neither male nor female. He whirled, searching for it.
Seated in a throne of roots at the base of the tree sat a striking person. This was the one who threatened Sylvi.
Fear and rage welled within him, so great a force that the flame he normally controlled with precision burst from his hands. He directed it at Yggdrasil, an inferno meant to destroy. He cared not that he threatened a being upon which the earth relied. Or that it was a force so great that it could tear him apart.
Something huge crashed into his chest. Pain exploded within him as he was thrown off his feet and through the air. He crashed to the ground and gasped. His chest felt crushed.
He opened his eyes as a huge root wrapped around him like a giant snake. It lifted him into the air and brought him closer to the figure seated in the throne.
The androgynous form was tall and slender, draped in a green cloak that was created from the same leaves trembling on the branch above. An incredible sense of weariness, of lost will, radiated from the figure. It was visible in the posture—slumped and weary—but it was also a tangible sense upon the air. It reached out and touched Logan, sending a shivery sense of misery across his skin.
A crown of branches sat upon the figure’s head, partially covering hair the color of the tree’s bark. Yggdrasil’s skin was so pale as to be nearly transparent.
“You aren’t real,” Logan said. The pain in his chest was starting to diminish. As his mind cleared, the enormity of his situation hit him. There was no defeating Yggdrasil.
“But I am. I take a form that allows me to communicate with you. Were you a bird—your falcon, perhaps—I would appear as a bird. But since you are a man, I appear as a man. I take this form to help you understand.”
Logan could feel Yggdrasil’s disappointment and hopeless weariness. The feeling radiated from the figure, a cold blanket that wrapped around Logan’s heart. Yggdrasil lacked all hope and will.
“Why would one as great as you join forces with the Architect and the Retaliator?” Logan asked. Wasn’t Yggdrasil too powerful to need to align himself with the likes of them?
“They had what I needed. The Architect had a burning desire to create the greatest maze ever built and the Retaliator had the hatred and the heart required to fuel the creation. I found and recruited them for my own ends. But I didn’t expect you to get so far in destroying my labyrinth,” Yggdrasil said.
A spark of hope flared to life within Logan’s chest. Sylvi had succeeded?
Yggdrasil seemed to read his mind. “No. Your companion did not succeed. She destroyed but a small corner of my creation. It would take months for her to complete what she set out to do. Years, perhaps.”
Hope died a silent death within Logan’s chest. They’d failed. And Sylvi was likely doomed. The idea sent a wash of helpless rage through Logan that nearly sent him to his knees.
He couldn’t fight Yggdrasil. Perhaps he could bargain, but outright violence would get him nowhere, as he’d proven. Logan was powerful as a god, but nothing compared to Yggdrasil. If there was any infinite power in earth or all the afterworlds, it was the world tree. And he’d clearly earned the Being’s displeasure.
“Why build the labyrinth?” he asked. It must be related to the pain he felt radiating from Yggradsil. Even the being’s fine features were creased into lines of sadness.
“Isn’t it obvious? The gods have failed. They have become so obsessed with their own desires and lives that they have forgotten to shepherd the mortals in stewardship of the earth. You, Loki, were my last hope.” Yggdrasil’s disappointment crashed against Logan like waves against the shore.
“I?”
“You, who were born to challenge the gods, failed in your duty. For a time, your tricks did shake them and force them to realize they weren’t infallible. It should have reminded them of their duties, as well. And it did, for a time. But you were foolish and hasty and got yourself banished from Asgard. Once on earth, you hid from your duties.”
“I fought on the side of man!” He’d continued to fight oppressors as he had in Asgard, just on a different scale. Could Yggdrasil not see this?
“You interpreted your duty incorrectly. You were meant to fight on the side of man, but in Asgard. To shake the gods out of their self-obsessed stupor.”
“You are more obsessed with the gods than I was,” Logan said.
“You are my last disappointment, Loki.” The tone of Yggdrasil’s voice twisted something in Logan’s chest.
“So you built this prison, all because you were disappointed in me?”
Yggdrasil grunted, a dismissive sound that was laced with weariness.
“Because I was disappointed in all the gods. There is no point to you any longer. You’ve failed. Eternal damnation in the labyrinth is a fitting end, I think. We will start fresh from there, with new gods perhaps.”
“Not Sylvi,” Logan said. “Spare her.”
Surprise flared in Yggdrasil’s eyes. “You’ve used her in the past and discarded her. Yet now you ask to spare her?”
Hope flared in Logan’s chest. This was something that Yggdrasil didn’t understand. The world tree could see all, but it couldn’t understand the emotions or motivations that drove gods and mortals to act. “Please, spare her.”
“And spare you, too, I assume? I know how you fear death. How you fear being forgotten. I’ve watched you for a thousand years. You’ve consulted seers an astounding number of times, always hoping to cheat your fate and avoid Ragnarok.”
“Spare her,” he begged. He’d never before begged for anything. The thought would have horrified him. Yet for her, it was easy. “I’ll do anything.”
Curiosity gleamed in Yggdrasil’s eyes, pushing aside the weary disappointment that clouded them. The figure leaned forward. Dread and hope warred in Logan’s chest. “Your fear of death and being forgotten was one of my inspirations for the labyrinth. But what you’re saying now is unexpected. I offer you freedom from the labyrinth and from Ragnarok. If you take it, I keep Sylvi. She’ll be the first into the labyrinth, but not the last. Or, you could be the first into the labyrinth and spare her forever. You can escape your greatest fear or save your greatest desire. Freedom or Sylvi, but not both.”
“Save Sylvi,” he said instantly. “Free her and I’ll be the first to go into your damned labyrinth.”
All the other gods would eventually follow him in. With Yggdrasil’s knowledge and power behind the task, it wouldn’t take long to hunt down the earth-walking gods. He could just pluck them with his roots that extended all over the world, as he’d taken Logan. The afterworlds would follow shortly after.
Logan burned to fight Yggdrasil, to challenge the authority that made him think that he could choose this fate for hundreds—no, thousands—of gods.
Yet if he did, Sylvi would pay the price. Everything was much clearer when Sylvi was at risk.
“Save her,” he repeated.
Surprise flashed in Yggdrasil’s eyes. “Fine. It is done.”
Yggdrasil grasped Logan’s arm. The contact sent a chill through him before he felt himself being aetherwalked. The great tree disappeared and soon they were standing on the desert sands of Moloch.
The desolate weariness faded now that he was away from the world tree. It still radiated out from Yggdrasil, who stood near his side, but it was more bearable.
What was left of the cathedral-like portion of the labyrinth lay destroyed before him.
Horror chilled his skin as he looked upon a valley that had been hidden by the building. It stretched as far as the eye could see, filled with hundreds of miles of labyrinthine walls.
It was his fate. Imprisonment until Ragnarok and he was going to it like a lamb to slaughter. He’d run from it for so long, yet in the end, he’d embraced it. He pushed aside the fear and searched the area, hoping for a last sight of Sylvi before he was thrown to his doom. Even as his muscles strained to fight, to flee, his will subdued them. He wouldn’t flee as long as
his sacrifice would save Sylvi. No matter how great his powers, his will had always been the greatest.
Now, he turned it toward forcing himself into the labyrinth in hopes of saving Sylvi.
She stood only a dozen feet behind him, her arms held by two guards. She’d broken the spell linking her to the other prisoner and now wore her own form again. His heart ached for what could have been between them.
She caught sight of him and started struggling and yelling. “What’s going on? Let go of me!”
“To my great surprise, Loki has decided to embrace the fate he has fled from,” Yggdrasil said. “Loki has chosen to go into the labyrinth to spare you. He’ll be the first.”
The color drained from Sylvi’s face as her horrified gaze riveted to Yggdrasil.
“Who are you?” she whispered. No doubt she felt Yggdrasil’s power, but without the tree, she couldn’t place the figure.
“I am the voice of Yggdrasil.”
Her muscles sagged, hopelessness dawning on her face. She might not recognize Yggdrasil’s human form, but she recognized the name and the power. There was no fighting the world.
“I suppose I could let you say goodbye.” There was weariness in Yggdrasil’s voice.
“No!” Sylvi yelled.
Logan’s heart stuttered.
“No?” Yggdrasil asked.
“I’m going with him!” Sylvi struggled harder. She broke the grip of one of her captors, then swung her staff at the other. She was at Logan’s side a moment later, throwing herself into his arms.
As much as his heart soared and he wanted to clutch her to him, he couldn’t. He thrust her away. “No! You can’t. You’ll lose your mind.”
Sylvi whirled to Yggdrasil. “If he goes, I go.”
“So be it.” Yggdrasil’s voice was more weary than malicious. “You are a demigod, and as such, not as sensitive to the waters of the river Lethe. You will lose your mind more slowly than Loki. You’ll watch your love disappear before your eyes.”
The Ancient One waved a hand and Logan felt a great pressure at his back. He struggled against it, shouting, “No, Yggdrasil! We had a deal! She cannot do this!”
The Ancient One ignored him, pushing him forward along with Sylvi, past the ruined walls of the cathedral-like entrance and into an intact portion of the labyrinth. The broken space in the wall behind them closed immediately once they were inside.
Towering walls rose on all sides of them. There was no exit. They were at the edge of the labyrinth, but the wall was so high they couldn’t scale it without wings. Bright green vines climbed the stone, dripping flowers and perfume. His mind immediately felt slightly fogged, as if the waters of the river Lethe were already working upon him.
Sylvi gasped. He grabbed her and pulled her to him, hugging until she squirmed.
“What the hell did you just do? I tried to save you.” He shook his head, his mind already suffering the clouding effects of the labyrinth.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“You ass!” Sylvi hit Logan and pushed her way out of his arms. “You think that I would let you come in here alone after you sacrificed yourself for me? That I could walk away and enjoy life on the outside knowing that you’re suffering in here? We stand a better chance getting out of here together than alone, and I wasn’t about to leave you.”
She lunged into his arms and closed her eyes, desperately trying to aetherwalk them away. Nothing happened. She’d expected it, but it still made a sickening chill run through her. She clung to him harder.
“Fates, Sylvi, I don’t deserve you. I wish I’d never pushed you away all those years ago. It was a mistake.”
She could see that he truly meant it. He’d apologized before, but never admitted wrongdoing. And after the sacrifice he’d just tried to make, it was clear that he wanted her more than anything. If they could get out of here, he’d never push her away again.
“We’ve wasted so much time,” she said. Her throat threatened to close. “Eight hundred years.”
“We have to fight this,” he said. “There’s got to be an escape.”
Her mind already felt a bit foggy. Cold fear shivered over her skin. “It will have to be close to the exterior of the labyrinth. The more we move through the maze, the faster our memories will go.”
“I’ll try to shift into a falcon and scout the area.”
Sylvi nodded and sucked air into her failing lungs, trying to calm herself.
Concentration flashed across his features, but he didn’t change. “Nothing.”
No! There had to be a way out. It couldn’t end like this.
The heart of the Retaliator. She pulled it from her pocket, grateful that Yggdrasil hadn’t known she had it. Its heavy weight in her hand was a physical manifestation of her hope. She looked at Logan. “If this breaks the wall, we run for it and capture an overseer and force him to take us through the portal. Then I’ll aetherwalk us away.”
He grabbed her hand. “Be sure to direct it away from us so we don’t lose our memories faster. My mind already feels strange.”
She nodded, then attempted to enter the aether so that she could move away from him quickly to deploy the device. The aether was blocked to her. The labyrinth was neutralizing some—or all—of her powers.
She swallowed hard and walked several feet away from him and faced the long corridor. Fat green vines snaked along the ground and clung to the stone walls that rose more than a hundred feet in the air. She forced all her magic toward the wall a dozen yards away from them. The heart vibrated in her hands and the wind shrieked forward.
The external wall began to crumble. Elation soared in her chest and she strained to force more power toward the destruction. Stones tumbled and crashed to the ground. Just as she thought that they would be able to climb over the rubble, the fat vines that snaked along the ground surged up, hauling the stones back into place. They tumbled over each other, rising toward the sky with enormous boulders entwined in their green arms.
The eerie sight was over in seconds. The wall was rebuilt.
Her arms fell to her sides. The wind died.
A harsh sob broke from her chest.
Logan gripped her upper arms and ordered, “Climb the walls.”
She sucked in a shuddering breath and grasped at the confidence in his voice like a lifeline. They turned toward the walls and gripped the fat green vines that snaked their way up the stone. They looked sturdy, but as soon as either of them put any weight on the vines, they broke, water spilling from inside their twisted stalks.
Sylvi stumbled back.
“Shit. Oh shit.” Air heaved in and out of her lungs but she couldn’t get enough. She was going to pass out right here. This was the end of her life. Gone were her friends and gone would be Logan. It was all over in such a torturous way.
There was truly no way out.
Logan gripped her upper arms and leaned his head down to hers. “Breathe, Sylvi. Breathe. We will find a way out of here.”
Sylvi gulped air, trying to calm herself as she racked her brain. There was a way out. There had to be. If only she could get some quiet to think, away from the miserable rushing river that flowed nearby.
The river Lethe. The plants that padded the ground beneath their feet and climbed the walls around them were so rich and thick that they must have an uninterrupted supply of the water. The air was humid despite the fact that the labyrinth had been built in the desert. They were sucking the river Lethe into their lungs, speeding their memory loss. If only the portal to Hades never existed.
That was it. “We have to escape through the portal to Hades.”
“What?”
“It’s the only way. There are no exits and any magic that could help us escape has been neutralized by the labyrinth. The portal is the only way out.”
“We’ll never make it through the labyrinth before we lose our memories.” His voice and gaze were grim. “My mind is already foggy.”
Fear pierced her heart with little claws. Her head felt
a little off too. A cold shiver ran up her arms. “It can’t happen so quickly. You remember things.” He had to. She couldn’t accept that they might not make it. “Where did we meet?”
“We met at…” Horror flashed in his eyes. “In Asgard. I know it was in Asgard. But…”
“The Great Hall,” she said. Fear shivered through her. She remembered it, though only vaguely. There were blank spots in her memory, but she was certain she’d once remembered every instant of that night. She’d played it over in her head so much that she should have been able to see it like it had happened a moment ago.
Yet it was disappearing. Logan forgot more quickly than she did, so he’d already lost it. She’d picked the memory almost randomly, but the fact that he’d actually forgotten it terrified her.
She wished desperately that she would lose her memory at the same speed he would. To watch his memory of her disappear would crush her. To watch the light dim from his eyes would tear out her heart.
Did it even matter that they’d finally found their way to each other? That she’d accepted it was possible?
Yes. Even if she only had him for a few hours.
He pulled her into his arms roughly, squeezing the breath from her.
The chill on her skin wouldn’t go away. They were trapped and the clock was ticking. He was right. There was no way they would make it to the portal before they lost their memories. The distance was too great and the labyrinth was neutralizing their magic.
She needed more power—a way to fuel her magic. If she could enter the aether, they could move so much faster. Maybe fast enough to make it out with some of their memory intact.
She pulled back from his arms. “Kiss me.”
His eyes heated with longing and he pressed a quick, hard kiss to her lips, then pulled away and said, “We don’t have time.”
She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and said, “I think we have to make time. If we can give my magic more power, maybe I can use it to enter the aether and we’ll be able to make it to the portal before we lose our memories. Time won’t go faster, moving fast won’t make us lose our minds any quicker.”
