Fragments of your Soul (The Mirror Worlds Book 1) (56 page)

She gently put her arms around him. No sooner had she done so, he hugged her back and squeezed her almost desperately. He held her so tightly that the cut on her arm began to burn fiercely, but it was inconsequential. The only thing that mattered was that she could hold Loke and show him that she was there for him.

The sense of relief that had been missing for so long now came over Arvid so suddenly and with such overwhelming intensity that she was overcome with tears. She clung to Loke’s clothes and started to cry, while Loke stroked her hair with trembling hands and embraced her even more closely.

They were holding each other tightly until Arvid’s tears subsided and she could feel the tremors of her body slowly ebbing. She nestled her cheek against Loke’s shoulder and pulled her injured arm close. It was now hurting violently and had started getting numb. But it didn’t matter. Odin was alive and the boundaries between the worlds were still intact. The people of Jördendheim were safe, even if a dozen innocent men had fallen victim to Loke’s out-of-control wrath.

Eventually it was Frigg who made them part again.

“Odin returns,” she said. She was kneeling at the head of the bed and looked pale and worn out. “You better step aside.”

Arvid and Loke retreated to the foot of the bed, and Arvid grabbed Loke’s hand. “Whatever happens, I’ll stay with you,” she said softly.

He squeezed her hand, but didn’t reply. His gaze was fixed on the bed in front of them.

As Odin awoke, he sat up with a sudden jerk, so that Arvid and Loke winced in fright and Frigg let out a short cry. A moment later, however, she had already grabbed him by the shoulders. “Don’t worry, it’s all right,” she said hastily, while Odin’s gaze wildly drove through the room. “Please keep calm!”

“The oracle,” Odin uttered, “it warned me. What… what happened here?” His gaze suddenly fell on Arvid and Loke. As their eyes met, Arvid saw fear. “You,” he whispered, stunned.

“You don’t have to fear me,” Arvid said. She was surprised at how firm her voice sounded.

“She saved your life,” Frigg said urgently. She gently but firmly pressed Odin back into the pillows, but he immediately straightened up again and pushed her aside.

“What happened with the mercenaries?” he asked in disbelief.

“That was me,” Loke said, unmoved.

“One of the men in this room was a traitor and wanted your death,” said Frigg and looked at Odin seriously. There was not the slightest trace of uncertainty or doubt in her voice. “Loke… was ready to kill all the mercenaries. Arvid recognized the perpetrator and stopped him. Without her you’d be dead now.”

Odin stared at Frigg, then at Arvid. Finally, he sank back into the pillows with a loud groan. “The oracle was right,” he blurted out. “When I got to it, it didn’t say anything more than… that the prophecy is fulfilled at this moment.”

“What was the prophecy?” said Arvid.

Odin’s gaze again shifted in her direction. It was obvious that he struggled with himself, but after some hesitation he answered nonetheless. “It said when death reaches out after me, you will be standing over my lifeless body.” He moaned. “I was convinced that you would bring me death.”

Arvid felt Loke clutching her hand tighter. He squeezed it so hard it hurt, but when she looked at him, his face was as expressionless as before.

“So that’s the answer?” Arvid asked warily. “I was destined to save your life and to prevent the boundaries between the worlds from collapsing, but you have misinterpreted the prophecy? Are you always so hasty in speaking a death sentence?”

“I never wanted your death,” said Odin excitedly, but Arvid knew that was not true. Still, she forced herself to stay calm.

“You should be thankful that Loke was there to protect me,” she said, “otherwise no one would have been here to save your life.”

Odin’s face darkened, but he didn’t get to reply.

“Arvid needs a healer,” Loke said aloud. He turned around and pulled her with him, but Odin called him back. “Loke! As soon as your wife is aided, I wish to speak to you at once.”

Loke looked at him motionless and bowed his head. “As you wish.”

The center of Asgard was not as deserted as it had seemed at Arvid’s arrival. Some of the staff were present, but they had retired to their quarters, which lay further below. Loke gave Arvid to two healers before wordlessly disappearing to comply with Odin’s request.

Arvid was washed and wrapped in Asgardian clothes. One of the staff struggled with her matted hair. When she was finally finished, Arvid felt so weak and exhausted that she sank onto one of the cushioned loungers and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

It was Frigg who woke her the next morning. All gods had returned from the feast; most of them were gathered in the council chamber. After Arvid had eaten something Frigg led her outside on one of the many landscaped terraces from which the entire city could be overlooked. Only now Arvid did truly notice the true splendor of Asgard. Yes, it was a city of palaces, white, bright and radiant.

“Thank you for protecting Loke,” Arvid said, after they had stood there for a while, watching the sky slowly turning brighter. “Will he be punished anyway?”

Frigg smiled. Now that she had recovered, she looked radiant and beautiful. “I promised you that nothing would happen to him,” she said. “You saved my husband; I owed you this.”

Arvid nodded. “What Loke did was… horrible. It was wrong. Those men didn’t have to die. I can still hardly believe it.”

“As you said yourself, he was not in his right mind,” said Frigg. “Thanks to my gift I know more about Loke’s true nature than anyone else here in Asgard. He finds support and security in his anger and satisfaction in destruction, fear and chaos. That’s what makes him so dangerous. He is still below Odin, but Odin has already exceeded the zenith of his power. Loke hasn’t.”

“You know all this… and yet you protect him?” Arvid said incredulously.

“Do you know Loke’s personal prophecy, Arvid?”

“Yes,” Arvid said. “He is said to bring the downfall of this world. Do you think that is true?”

Frigg shrugged. “The oracle has never been wrong before. But whether it is foretold or not… it can’t be wrong to try to prevent this fate.”

“If you really believe in this prophecy… Wouldn’t it be better to ensure that Loke was held accountable and was imprisoned?”

Frigg laughed heartily. “Imprison Loke? He’s a shapeshifter and a master of illusion. Do you really think we would be able to keep him imprisoned for the rest of his life?”

“Probably not,” muttered Arvid.

“Certainly not. Fomenting Loke’s hatred would be the biggest mistake we could commit. Odin has already made this mistake… too many times. You see what it has led to, and no one knows what it will lead to in the future.” She gave Arvid a warm smile. “The best weapon against the madness of a man blinded by power is the love for his wife, so they say. Now, Loke may not be just a man, and yet it is also true for him. I’m glad he found you. Our husbands are not as different as you might think.”

Suddenly somewhere below them voices could be heard, soon joined by the sound of many steps and sporadic laughter. Arvid bent over the railing, but couldn’t see where the noise came from.

“The council meeting is over,” said Frigg, then she suddenly gasped and grimaced. Arvid instinctively grabbed her arm, but Frigg made a dismissive gesture. “I’m fine,” she said, but still went over to a stone bench and sat down with a sigh of relief. “The child… currently likes to hit me in the ribs,” she said, laughing. She looked so happy it made Arvid smile.

“When will it be born?” she asked.

“Very soon,” Frigg replied, “perhaps already in a few days.”

“It’s strange,” Arvid said thoughtfully, “knowing that I soon might be able to feel a child inside me, too. Right now… I almost can’t believe I’m actually carrying a new life.”

“You don’t believe me?”

Arvid smiled. “Yes, I do. You are not the first one that noticed.”

Frigg suddenly turned her head, and shortly afterwards steps could be heard. As Arvid turned around, she saw Loke approaching between the white columns, now washed, groomed and dressed in a magnificent purple tunic. Arvid took a deep breath. She remembered that she had thought that he looked like a prince in this form before, long before she had learned that he actually was one.

“Excuse me, Frigg,” she said, then she ran to meet Loke and threw herself into his arms. When he held her close, Arvid had to fight back tears again—only this time it was tears of joy.

“I love you,” she whispered. “I love you so much, Loke.”

He gently pushed her a bit away and kissed her so deeply and passionately that it made any declaration of love superfluous.

The Month of Storms

Through the Temple City flowed a narrow watercourse called Idr, but only above Immur’s Temple was it fortified so that you could safely sit close to the water. A few trees provided some cover, though that didn’t matter at the moment. It was still early morning. Only the faint sound of water and the singing of birds broke the silence. The few people who’d been on the road had better things to do than to look for gods.

“And you’re sure you don’t want to learn Dellakish?” said Arvid.

Nod laughed. “Yes, I think five languages are enough for now.” He threw another stone into the water, and they watched the greenish fish whizzing off. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone from Dellak in Karst.”

“Well, it’s pretty far away,” Arvid said thoughtfully. “Who knows, maybe I’ll try to learn it.”

“Perhaps one of the more common dwarven languages would be a better choice,” suggested Nod.

“Yes, perhaps. It will also be easier to find a teacher.”

“In the Ice Wastes certainly,” Nod said. “And you’re sure you want to return there? Not exactly a friendly environment.”

“There are places in the Ice Wastes that are not half as forbidding as you might think,” Arvid said. “And in a few years… there will be more green land again.”

Nod looked at her in amazement. “Really? Why?”

“I’ll… explain that another time. The humans of the Ice Wastes need me, and… Loke is far too restless to stay in one place for long anyway.”

“I see. How long will you stay in Asgard?”

“I don’t know,” confessed Arvid. “Not too long. The journey will be stressful enough.” She gently stroked her belly, which clearly became rounder now. Nod looked at it thoughtfully.

“May I… put my hand on it?”

“Of course, go ahead,” Arvid said with a smile. “But there is nothing to feel yet.”

A little hesitantly Nod stretched out a hand, but only touched her fleetingly.

Arvid laughed. “A little harder.” She pressed his hand against her belly, whereupon Nod blushed and looked rather embarrassed.

“Stay away from my wife!” a sharp voice rang out behind them. Nod jerked so violently that he nearly fell off the wall, then got up hastily and with unsteady movements. “Forgive me! I didn’t want to…”

“Loke!” Arvid said sternly.

Her husband stood behind them and looked at her in amusement. “Oh, come on,” he said then, laughing, “I just wanted to scare him.”

He nudged Nod so firmly he let out a small gasp, then he held out his hand for Arvid. She let him pull her to her feet and lovingly stroked a strand of blond hair from his forehead. “Is it time?”

Loke nodded and looked at her with attentive, blue eyes. “The council meeting begins in three hours. I’d rather not rush you up the whole bunch of stairs.”

“Well, then… I better say goodbye,” said Nod. He looked down, cheeks still flushed. “It’s about time I’m on my way anyway.”

“It’s a pity we didn’t have more time,” sighed Arvid. She stepped up to Nod and hugged him. “We’ll visit you soon,” she promised.

He held her close. “I’m looking forward to seeing how big your belly is when we meet next time,” he said, then he turned to Loke and bowed his head. Loke returned the greeting just as silently. As Nod turned away, Loke gave a little cough and made him stop again.

“Thanks,” Loke said, “for looking after Arvid when I couldn’t.”

Nod didn’t reply. He smiled briefly, nodded at Loke again, then he finally turned around and left.

The Month of the Dying Fire
324

The evening before their departure from Asgard Arvid was standing on the terrace, which belonged to Loke’s house, for a long time. It was relatively small, probably because Loke didn’t care to stay in Asgard for more than a few weeks at a time. However, the accompanying terrace was by far the largest of the city and overgrown with plants. “Sometimes birds nest here, and in summer lightning bugs sit in the grass,” he had told her. “Winters are bleak; there are no animals. Not even the wolves’ howl can be heard.”

Arvid thought about her mother and wondered what she was doing right now. Was she well? In the Light World years had passed since Arvid’s disappearance. She had probably become a photo in the hallway, next to her father’s. The thought hurt. It would take years before she overcame the loss of her home. Nevertheless, she felt that she had made the right decision. As the first human princess of Isvirndjellen she now had a responsibility toward this realm and the humans living there—and maybe soon toward a child, who would be part of both peoples.

That night they made love on the big bed. They did it slowly and tenderly, for they had all the time in the world. Arvid had rarely felt so close to Loke. He had become so familiar to her, and yet there were still thousands of sides she didn’t know, a thousand forms she had not seen him in, a thousand fragments of his soul she had not yet cut herself on. She could look into his eyes and see the being she loved, but at the same time she knew she was standing in the eye of an ever-changing storm. But it was the place where she wanted to be, the place she had chosen herself.

Later, when they lay next to each other, exhausted and filled with a pleasant languor, Loke tenderly ran his hand over the bulge below her navel. Whenever he did that, she couldn’t help but wonder if everything would go well. They didn’t talk about it, and knew that very few children of a giant and a human survived. Arvid had decided to think about it as little as possible. If this pregnancy was to end tomorrow and her child died, she wanted to at least have enjoyed every single day of this unexpected luck.

Arvid gently stroked Loke’s arm. Her fingertips traced the fine silvery lines of the scars that had healed significantly faster than her own. Where Loke’s skin was already smooth and healthy again, Arvid still exhibited a strong redness.

“How long will the runes hold?” she asked absently.

“If I wanted, they could be faded after about a year,” Loke said. “But I don’t want that. I want them to stay.”

Arvid looked at him in surprise. “Why? Isn’t that an enormous risk for you?”

“Do you think so?”

“Well… I’m not nearly as powerful as you,” Arvid said. “Many would have a walk-over with me. If someone wanted your death…”

“My goodness, who would ever wish me dead?” he asked sarcastically. “Me, the noblest, purest and most humble of all creatures…”

“Oh, come on already!” Arvid said, laughing. “I mean it.”

Loke leaned over her. “You underestimate your own power,” he said. “Besides, the runes are also for your own protection.”

“Protection from what?”

Loke didn’t answer immediately. He took her hand and gently kissed her fingers. “From me,” he said seriously. “From the monster I can become. There may come a day where you have to keep me from a stupid mistake again.”

For a long time Arvid looked at him in silence, then she nodded. She ran her hand through his hair and let the interwoven beads slip through her fingers. “I’ll be there,” she promised.