Page 16 of Loki

Besides, Sibyl hadn't mentioned Loki. She'd been dreaming about Thor.

"I suppose Thor himself materialised, carried you back here, and gave you his cloak as a souvenir so you'd know he was real?" Jorunn said, not sure whether to laugh, or begin to believe it. After all, if she'd really met Loki...was it such a stretch for Sibyl to encounter Thor?

"I don't remember," Sibyl said, looking bewildered. She climbed out of bed and looked down at her slippers, which she was still wearing under her coat. Sibyl never wore those to bed – even in subzero temperatures, she changed into a pair of pyjamas and bedsocks every night.

Sibyl pressed her lips together tightly, as if trying to stop them from trembling, and grabbed the cloak. "I'm going to the bathroom," she said.

What was she going to do with the cloak? Use it for toilet paper? Jorunn was afraid to ask, so instead, she said, "Don't hit your head again, then. Or I'll have to get Nik to help me carry you back here. I definitely couldn't do it myself."

Sibyl just nodded vaguely and stepped outside.

"Whoever owns this cloak, show yourself right now, or I'll burn it to ash," she said softly, as if she was afraid of who might respond.

Jorunn crept to the door of their tent, ready to jump to Sibyl's aid if Loki returned. After a moment's thought, she picked up the half empty aquavit bottle from last night. She'd smash it over Loki's head if she had to. Fair punishment for hurting Sibyl's head.

Footsteps crunched on the rocks outside. Sibyl's...or someone else's?

Then a man's deep voice said, "You appeared cold, mistress, and you had no cloak of your own, so I covered you with mine. I realise it is not fine enough for a lady like yourself, but it was all I had, and I am sworn to protect you in all things, even from something as mundane as the cold air."

Was this man for real? If he was, Sibyl would definitely be swooning about now. Even Jorunn was feeling a little misty.

"You can't be real. You can't be," Sibyl said.

The deep, sexy voice spoke again: "I assure you, mistress, I am Thor, your sworn protector, and both I and all I possess are at your service. Please, wear my cloak to keep you warm, until I can provide you with one that is far finer and more fitting for your station."

Yes. YES! Jorunn fist-pumped in triumph. If Thor was real, then so was Loki, and if she saw him again, she was definitely going to reconsider that hospitality thing. Hadn't Sibyl said something about a castle in the sky? She didn't need a whole castle, just a room with a big bed...

"You can't be Thor. You don't have a hammer," Sibyl said matter-of-factly, smashing Jorunn's fantasy into pieces.

A long pause. Then, "I seem to have mislaid it," he said. "I will find a suitable weapon before sunset on the morrow, so that I might better protect you" Another pause. "I will protect you, mistress. I swear it, from now until my last breath. If you could persuade the other witch to return my hammer, I would use it solely in your service."

Wait – there was a witch here, too? First Loki, now Thor...was the entire Norse pantheon here?

Shit. Jorunn sat down heavily on her bed, then had to lie down. This was definitely more than she'd signed up for.

FIFTEEN

Loki paced along the lakeshore, needing the space and the movement to think, but his mind was awhirl with so many thoughts, he wasn't sure what to think.

The thief was the servant of one of Erik's witches – a slip of a girl he'd never seen before, but Loki knew better than to measure magical power by size. Erik's Eastern witch Kun had been small, but he'd never known a witch that powerful.

Worse, this new witch had awakened Thor...and now the fool thought he was her protector. Which meant if Loki wanted to get to the thief, he had to get through Thor and a witch. Wonderful.

Loki should have been paying more attention to his surroundings, or he'd have noticed the juggernaut bearing down on him before it bowled him over, pinning him to the rocky ground.

"You stole my hammer! I know it was you! Return it at once!"

Ensorcelled Thor was one thing, but a second accusation of theft in one night? Loki had had enough. "I haven't touched your hammer," Loki snapped. "That thing's too big to be of use to anyone. Why you don't use an axe like a normal warrior..."

Of course, Thor would not ignore an insult to his weapon. "That was my father's weapon, made from a dying star. I've killed more men with it in a day than you have in your entire life. Just because you are too weak to lift it..."

Loki waited for Thor to finish the litany he'd heard a hundred times before. Thor might be enslaved by Erik and his witches, but he never forgot his weapon's history.

Finally, Thor finished with, "Tell me where you have hidden it, so we can both protect our new mistress together, as brothers in arms once more."

Gods. The spell had rotted Thor's brain. "I would rather die than serve that witch. I'm no traitor. I only wish I had taken your hammer, so that I might use it to knock some sense into you. We are Odin's men, not Erik's, no matter what spell that witch cast. You shouldn't be protecting her, you should be killing her, along with Erik and all his men."

Thor's eyes widened in horror. "No. Our mistress is not Erik's daughter, but a different witch. One far more powerful. She had a crown with a living star that glows. We must protect her," he said.

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