Page 47 of Wild Hunt
I stood, carefully surveying my surroundings, trying to get a read on the energy. There was something decidedly familiar about it, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. The only sound was the gray grass rustling around me, until I heard an equally familiar moan.
“Loki?” I asked, turning to face the other god, who was holding his head as he tried to sit up. He acted like he was nursing a serious hangover, and considering that we had no idea what they’d put in that brew, he probably was. “How the fuck did you get here?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” he muttered, stumbling toward me. He looked around, squinting. “Is this your subconscious or mine?”
“I have no idea,” I sighed.
“Maybe it’s the link,” he mused. “We’re bound together. Maybe we share the same collective unconscious.”
“If that’s true, then where is Fenrir?”
Loki opened his mouth to answer, but his face went blank all of a sudden as he stared at something behind me. “Think I found him,” he croaked.
I turned to find Fenrir’s monstrous wolf form loping toward us, his teeth bared as he growled.
Shit.
I’d been worried about him taking the potion from the beginning, but it wasn’t like I had time to talk him out of it. For all I knew, we were trapped inhissubconscious.
“Easy,” I said, holding out my hand.
The beast stopped and sniffed the air, his black fur still bristling. Recognition came into his golden eyes and he approached with a less menacing gait.
“What’s with the hell form?” Loki asked, keeping his distance.
Fenrir chuffed at him in irritation.
“In English?” Loki challenged.
More blank staring.
“I don’t think he can communicate telepathically,” I commented, studying the wolf curiously. “Must be something about this place.”
“Alright, it’s not funny, shift back so we can figure out where the fuck we are and how to get out,” Loki snapped.
Fenrir just stared at him.
“I don’t think he can,” I said. “I think he’s stuck as a hellhound.”
“Of fucking course he is,” Loki muttered, stalking off in the other direction. He put a hand on his head and looked out at the empty expanse beyond us. “What the hell are we supposed to do?”
“We go deeper in until we figure it out,” I answered, starting off in the direction I felt inexplicably pulled in, even though there was nothing about the landscape to differentiate it.
“How do you know where we’re going?” Loki demanded, struggling to keep up.
“I just know,” I admitted. “It’s a feeling.”
“Great,” he ranted. “We’re stuck in lala land and the only guide we have is a feeling.”
I ignored him and kept walking. Fenrir loped alongside us, scanning the horizon for threats. Whatever this place was, I doubted it would stay calm for long.
The further we traveled, the higher the cliffs grew. We were no longer in an open field, and the sky itself seemed to have darkened.
“You’re sure this isn’t the Underworld?” Loki asked warily.
“Even the Underworld isn’t this bleak,” I answered.
He shuddered.
