Page 16 of Thor

That she'd had a hallucination so hot, she'd even dreamed about him? No way was Sibyl admitting to that. They'd all think she was crazy.

"Is what true?" Sibyl asked wearily, heading straight for the coffee pot. She needed two cups before she'd be good for anything today.

"That you tripped and fell on the way to the bathroom last night, hit your head and don't remember how you got back to your tent," Jorunn said. She stared studiously at the ground. "I told them. I was worried about you. Especially when I couldn't wake you up this morning."

Maybe hitting her head explained the hallucinations, too. Well, just one hallucination. His Norse Hotness.

Sibyl sighed. "Yes. I think there's blood in my hair, and I'd give my eyeteeth for a proper shower right now."

Karl bustled in. "Well, with a possible concussion, safety procedures say you might just get that shower sooner than you think. When Jakop arrives with the packhorses tomorrow, you'll be headed back to civilisation with him, and you're not to come back until you get the all clear from a doctor. Safety first."

Sibyl put down her coffee cup. "I can't just leave! This is my PhD project. I have to keep working. We need to revisit the site where we found the hammer and see what else might be there."

"As I told you last night, with snow forecast for this morning, and a cold snap forecast after that, it won't be practical to investigate that site for some months, until more of the ice has melted. Plenty of time for you to go back to town, get checked out, and return." Karl shook his head. "You're not allowed back at work until I see a doctor's certificate declaring you fit for work."

Jorunn poured herself a cup of coffee. "I don't know what you're complaining about. A couple days off, then a nice horse ride over the mountains back to town, where you'll have a hot shower, heating and a real bed, plus the whole lab facility to yourself, alone with Thor's hammer, where you'll be able to run every test you can think of. If the news crews get a hold of the story, you might even hit the news in Australia. That hammer is a significant find all on its own, and the news cameras will lap it up, it's so shiny and all."

Sibyl's eyes darted to the tray where the hammer had been last night. It was still gone. "Wait, the hammer's going back to town, too?"

Lara nodded. "Nik did all the paperwork and packed it up for you last night. He must really like you, to have done all that. All our finds to date are being sent back to the lab for safekeeping. One of the perks of having a regular supply run. The donkeys come here with full packs, but there's plenty of space to take whatever we need back to town with them. This is better for everyone."

Sibyl was torn. On the one hand, she wanted to be here, where she just knew there was more to find. On the other hand, if she could just x-ray the hammer, and use the internet connection in town to research what other non-destructive testing she could do on it, plus get something to stop her head from feeling like she'd been on the biggest bender ever...maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"Can you pick up some chocolate while you're in town? I'm nearly out and there's no way I'll make it through the rest of the season without chocolate," Jorunn wheedled.

An entire archaeological dig without chocolate? Even Sibyl didn't want to imagine that. "Sure. I guess I'll have nothing better to do while I'm there," she said. She should probably pick up some more chocolate for herself, too, while she was at it.

EIGHTEEN

Whatever the witch Astrid had done to him, Thor could no longer tolerate sunlight, so it was with great reluctance that Thor was forced to take refuge in the icy rocks beneath her tent, instead of standing tall outside of it. That didn't mean his watch had ended. No, the spell the witch had cast had banished his need for sleep and even sustenance, allowing him to remain on guard for as long as his new mistress needed him.

She no longer wore her glowing star crown in daylight, and even when the snow started to fall, she did not wear a cloak. Instead, she fastened a sort of short hooded tunic around her, and pulled the hood up to cover her hair. Thor longed to offer her his own heavy cloak again, but he didn't dare venture into the sunlight.

At least he had the reassurance of knowing she was not cold, despite her strange choice of dress.

He paid little attention to the sturdy donkeys when they arrived or as they were unloaded, but when they made preparations to depart and his mistress climbed upon the back of one, Thor could focus on nothing else.

She was leaving?

What did she expect him to do, with her gone?

He slipped through ice and rock, until he lay directly beneath his mistress's mount.

"What are your orders, mistress?" he whispered, so none but she could hear him.

Her and the skittish creature she sat upon, as the donkey shied and danced about, threatening to unseat her.

She was so busy trying to stay on the donkey's back, she did not reply, and Thor was forced to watch, helpless to assist her, as she calmed the creature. Thor couldn't help but admire her skill. He preferred goats to horses – it took far more to spook a goat, and a spooked goat was more likely to headbutt whatever had startled it, instead of bolting.

He dared not speak to her again while her mount was near, which gave him his answer: he must watch over her as closely as he dared, which meant following her to her destination, as best he could.

Luckily, the ground was frozen for miles in every direction, a mix of ice and rock that permitted him to slide through it like a hot knife through butter. He would follow the witch and hope that by journey's end, he had earned her trust enough to learn her name.

But first, he needed to find a weapon, in case he needed to defend her...

Oh, but the donkeys were leaving.

No matter. He would find something along the way, he was sure of it. There were more secrets hidden under the ice than even he knew, even with the curious abilities the curse had granted him.

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