COF 20

 It was a nice carriage, much finer than the one they had rode to town in, built of dark brown wood, with gold inlay framing the windows and the line of the ceiling. Inside the seats were thick plush cushions of deep purple, Lezard sinking gratefully against the soft material. Lenneth sat next to him, nervously peering out the window, looking for signs of Hel and her minions. Crowds of people rushed past the coach, heading away from the suburbs, desperate to escape the thick choking smoke that filled the air. That smoke made her nervous, although she knew it came from the damaged cottage, Lenneth kept expecting monsters to emerge from it at any moment. “Can’t this coach go any faster?!” She demanded, shutting the window close.

“The streets are packed…” Lezard replied, his eyes closed as he lay next to her. “Once he gets off the main roads, we should be able to move…”

Lenneth frowned. “That’s not good enough…”

“I’ve never known you to be the impatience sort.” He commented, opening an eye at her.

“I just want to get out of here…we’re too close to her…I can still feel her presence…” She crossed her arms over her chest, hands rubbing against her skin. “It’s dark and oppressive, and makes me feel like I can’t breathe.”

“Is she close by?” Lezard asked with some alarm, struggling to sit up. He winced, a cough emerged from his mouth bringing more blood on his lips. Lenneth’s expression twisted into concern, the girl shifting closer to him on the seat. She reached out, cupping his face in her hands, looking into his eyes grown dull with pain. “Lezard…what’s wrong with you? Why are you…choking on your own blood?!”

His eyelids lowered, but not before she caught a sight of guilt in them. “Lezard!” She bowed her head, resting her forehead against his. “Please…don’t keep secrets from me…not now…”

He opened his eyes, surprised to see her so close, but could barely muster a smile. Once he would have tried to kiss her, now he only sighed. “I would lie and say it’s nothing, but clearly you can see the truth…” He lifted up a weak hand, touching the back of her hair, a stroking motion that was more for his benefit than hers. “Perhaps…perhaps it was wrong of me to try and keep it from you.”

“Please…tell me…” urged Lenneth. She wouldn’t admonish him, not now when he was so weak and vulnerable.

Lezard let out a shuddery breath. “It’s this wound Hel inflicted on me…” Lenneth’s fingers flew to his lips, causing him to fall silent. “Don’t say her name.” Lenneth said, in response to his questioning look. “Just don’t…it’s safer this way…”

“Ah…of course…I should have realized it sooner…” Her fingers were still touching his mouth, trying to wipe away the blood, though all she succeeded in doing was staining her fingers red. “When she hit me with her attack…she did something to me…weakened my body somehow…I feel my magic fading…almost as though the spells are killing me bit by bit with each one I use…”

Her eyes were wide as she looked at him, two blue pools that reflected his pitiable appearance back to him. “You knew this, and yet you still risked using your magic?! Lezard! How could you!?” She looked like she wanted to slap him again, inwardly cursing his foolishness.

“I didn’t know it at first…it was a theory I developed when even a simple spell like prismatic missile, left me winded.” He hastened to explain.

“You used a lot of magic back at the cottage…” realized Lenneth. “Is…”

“I’m not going to die Lenneth.” interrupted Lezard. “I just need to rest a while…heal my wounds…”

“Is there anything I can do to help…” she asked earnestly.

“Hmm, yes…” He looked around. “I believe that many of these coaches carry a first aid kit on board…find it for me?”

“Of course.” nodded Lenneth. She stood up, peering under their seat, finding nothing. Lezard watched as she walked across the floor, to the adjoining seat, and felt under their cushions. Her hand brushed against a large rectangular box, and she grasped it, pulling out from under the chair. It was white, and had a large red cross on the center of it’s top. “Here it is…” She turned, seeing Lezard had sprawled out across the seat.

“See if there’s any medicine in there…a prime elixir should do just nicely…” suggested Lezard.

Lenneth nodded, pushing asides bandages and bottles, searching till she found the one correctly labeled as such. She approached him with the yellow bottle, twisting off it’s cap. Lezard raised his head, and she bent over him, an angel of mercy holding the bottle to his lips. He greedily gulped down the elixir, feeling the refreshing liquid travel down his throat, and into his body. Laughter bubbled up within him, the man imagining he could feel the medicine already working on his organs, healing them of the damage his own spells had done.

Lenneth shook her head, not understanding the smile that crossed his face. She closed the bottle, pocketing it for future emergencies. She went to sit next to him, lifting up his head so that she could place it on her lap. He sighed, enjoying the coveted spot on her legs, eyes flying open in surprise as her fingers went to his hair, nervously playing with the chocolate brown strands.

They sat that way for some time, merely sitting in silence, listening to the sound of the horse’s hoofs on the cobbles. She was petting him, much like you would an animal, smoothing her palm over his head over and over, the touch lulling Lezard into a drowsy state. Lezard was almost asleep when the carriage driver’s voice came out over the speaking tube inside the coach. “We’re almost out of the city miss. Where to?”

Lenneth looked around in confusion, not understanding where the voice was coming from. Lezard chuckled, pointing at the ceiling, where the tube was attached. She spoke up hesitantly, “Please take the roads to the north.”

“North? But there’s hardly anything in that direction!” came the protest.

“Trust me, just keep heading north…we’ll get there eventually…” Lenneth responded.

“Okay…” the voice was doubtful. “You are the customer…and the customer is always right…” He didn’t sound like he believed in that saying one iota.

“We’re heading north?” Lezard asked with an arch of his eyebrows.

“Yes…what…what I seek is out there…” She replied, her hands still playing with his hair.

“And what is that?” He asked curious. He saw her glance nervously at the speaking tube, and shook his head. “I doubt he cares to eavesdrop on us.”

“How can you be sure?” She was still eyeing the tube, doubt evident on her face.

“I can cast a silence spell if you’re so worried.” Her hands abruptly tightened in his hair, and the wizard winced. “No! No magic! You can’t Lezard!”

“It was only a suggestion…one to put your mind at ease.” Lezard said, reaching back to touch her arm. Her fingers relaxed, but stayed still in his hair.

“Thank you but…” Lenneth chewed on her lower lip nervously, uncertainty in her eyes. “I’m not even sure I should be telling you this, let alone risking another human hearing about it.”

He reached up to touch her face, hands caressing her skin. “Trust in me Lenneth…tell me what’s on your mind.” She sighed, leaning into the touch, eyes closing as she considered her words. His fingers danced across her skin, touching her lips, stroking her cheek, a light pressure that left tingles in his wake.

“Trust…you make it sound so simple…so easy to do…” She reached up to touch the hand on her, opening troubled eyes to peer down at the man on her lap. “But how can I…?”

“How can you not?” He whispered, pulling his hand away from her. He went to sit up, half twisting on the seat to face her. “After all this time?”

“Trust has always been an issue for me…” She admitted. “I’ve been betrayed before in the past…by people I thought were my friends…” He was touching her again, fingers holding onto her chin, raising her face to meet his. He didn’t want her to hide her eyes from him, wanted her to open up to him in so many ways. Lezard wanted to tell her he would never betray her, never hurt her the way those others had, but he knew life was inconsistent, what was true today, might change tomorrow. So he merely looked at her, waiting for her to muster up the courage to tell him.

“It’s about the apples…” She spoke, watching his face carefully. “Idunn’s apples…”

“The curative?”

“No…the other apples.” She jerked her face out of his grip, falling against the door with a sigh. “I used to believe Odin would strike down any who would dare mention Idunn to a mortal…it’s hard to believe there’s not the crack of lightning in the sky right now…” Lenneth knew she was close to babbling, knew she was still close enough that she could turn him away before he learned of the truth. Perhaps his silence is what encouraged her to keep speaking, to impart the knowledge on him. “There is a woman…” She began, letting out a laugh. “A Goddess…banished from Valhalla by Odin. I think you can guess her name.”

“Idunn.”

“Yes.” Lenneth nodded gravely. “An earth Goddess of the third level, with a natural propensity for growing things. And among her garden, is a great treasure…a tree that grows golden apples.”

Lezard frowned, “I do not wish to interrupt but…I have no need for money…I am well off that we don’t need to go treasure hunting.”

“The gold is not the apples true value…indeed you would be a fool to part with them.” Lenneth licked her lips, heart pounding in her ears. This was the big step, if she told him any more, it was the point of no return. “The apples..grant divinity with a single bite.” There, she had said it, and she watched as understanding dawned in Lezard’s eyes.

“A human could become a God with these apples?” He slid his glasses back up his nose, breathing increasing as he processed her words.

“Yes.”

“Heh…” He ran a hand through his hair, splaying his bangs messily across his eyes. He began to laugh, a smirk on his lips. “And we’re going there right now?” He laughed some more, wild with excitement. He ignored the serious look on her face, giddy with the thought of becoming a God.

“Yes…” She looked away from him, knowing she could not allow him to partake of the apple’s bounty. “Oh Lenneth, this is marvelous news!” She was startled when he grabbed her, hugging her tightly against his body. “You don’t know how much this means to me that you trusted me enough to tell me about the apples.” His hands were straying, one moving up to cup the back of her neck, to push her into a kiss she was not prepared for, and did not want. So excited was he, he did not notice her stiffening, did not heed her disinterest, kissing her hard and possessively.

They pulled apart when the carriage hit a bump in the road, Lenneth’s hand flying up to her mouth, fingers touching her lips. Lezard was moving in for another kiss, and she placed a hand on his chest. “Do you feel something?”

He chuckled, prepared to give her a list of the feelings she aroused in him, when he too became aware of it. “We’re…we’re going faster…” What had been a smooth ride was now bumpy, hitting rocks and pebbles, dipping down low in the ground, but still moving at a fast paced clip. Lenneth turned to the window, snapping it open. The country side scenery sped past them, going by as fast as carriage laden horse could move. She glanced downwards and saw the wheels spinning like mad, turning on their axle so fast that she imagined she could see sparks appearing. “What’s going on?!” demanded Lenneth, shouting up to the driver.

His voice came out harried, and he spoke in between yahs, whipping the horse faster and faster. “It’s some kind of monster miss! I ain’t never seen a beast like this before!” Panic was in the man’s voice, a hint of desperation as he spoke, wishing he had never taken this job.

Lenneth looked back, but saw nothing. “It’s on this side!” She heard Lezard shout, his window open too. She stepped away from her door, doing her best to not tip over as she half crawled across the seat towards Lezard’s side, pressing herself against the wizard’s back. She peered over his shoulder out the window, and saw it, a hell beast easily keeping up with the carriage, it’s paws pounding against the ground, leaving burnt foot prints in it’s wake.

It noticed Lenneth, and gave a vicious growl, haunches tensing as it leaped towards the window, snapping at the pair’s face. “Quick, close it!” She shrieked, falling backwards onto the seat.

“Wait, I can take care of it!” Lezard said confident, still by the window, but being careful to not lean his head too far out. “What kind of spell works best against this kind of creature…?”

“It’s from Nifleheim…so ice or holy would be best…but Lezard, you can’t!” She grabbed at his shoulder, trying to force him away from the window. He jerked away from her, shooting an annoyed look over his shoulder at the Valkyrie.

“Lay back down!” Lenneth snapped. “You’re in no condition to do anything!” She scowled, hands on her hips, staring at Lezard.

“I’ll be fine!”

“I don’t want you to take that risk!” She shouted.

“I have to!” Lezard insisted. “I’m our only hope!” She started to open her mouth to protest, when he placed a hand to her forehead. “Sleep!” He commanded. Caught unprepared, the Valkyrie had zero resistance to the spell. He caught her as she started to fall, laying her gently down on the cushioned seat. Lezard knew he would catch an earful when she woke up, but he didn’t care. He had to do this.

He dared risk poking his head out the window, and screamed, “Icicle Edge!” Three spears of ice appeared, sharp points aimed at the beast. It let out a yip, easily dodging the attack. It’s malevolent yellow eyes glared into Lezard’s, showing pure hatred towards the wizard. It’s mouth opened, flashing it’s many rows of teeth, even as it burped, a small fireball parting from it’s mouth. “Yowch!” Lezard watched as it inhaled, a searing flame issuing from the back of it’s throat.

The horse reared up in fright of the fire, nearly tipping over the carriage as it raised up on it’s two hind legs. “I cannot control him much longer!” The carriage driver screamed, hands struggling with the reins. “We’ll be at the mercy of the beast when that happens!”

“Not if I can stop it…” muttered Lezard. “So…normal magic won’t work against you? Let’s see how you like one of the great spells!” He was grinding his teeth, rolling up his sleeves, in preparation for the spell. His aura flared up as he concentrated, and he shouted out the words. “Ye of detestable name and virtue! False apostle!” A shaking hand pointing out the window, just barely managing to avoid being bitten off by those deadly teeth. “Thou art bayed back to the abyss!” Sweat was poring down Lezard’s face, images wavering dizzily before him. “Seraphic Law!”

The sky seemed to darkened, and bolts of light shot down, hitting the ground in several places. Lezard weakly watched as the infernal beast began trying to dodge, easily sidestepping the first three beams. But then a burning hot beam of white struck him in the middle, and with a pained yelp, the hell dog flipped over, rear over head, tumbling along the ground right into the path of another beam. It’s body bounced up into the air, before coming down, only to be knocked up again and again as bolt after bolt pummeled mercilessly into it’s body.

Lezard gripped the sill of the window tightly, watching his spell wreck devastation on the beast’s body. At last the beams stopped raining down, and with a hushed breath, Lezard peered at the fallen foe. The carriage continued to move, the hell dog becoming an unmoving speck in the distance. “No match for me.” Lezard coughed, but was pleased to see no blood brought up from the action.

He staggered away from the window, dropping down to his knees. He looked at the slumbering Lenneth, reaching out with a hand to caress her face. “Normalize!” He ordered, lifting the spell of sleep from the girl. He watched as her eyelids fluttered open, a hand coming to her face. “Wha…what happened?” She asked drowsily. She looked at Lezard, seeing his pale face, and let out a groan.

“Damn it Lezard…” She began, and he placed his hand over her mouth. “Hush now Lenneth, we’re safe…the creature has been dispatched, and I am no worse for wear.”

“That was stupid of you and you know it!” Lenneth retorted, going to sit up. She chased away his hands, not wishing him to assist her in the movement. “How can you be so cavalier with your own life?! Have you become suicidal?!”

“Suicide is the farthest thing from my thoughts.” He told her, a small smile on his face. “Indeed I have much to live for. I won’t die before my time.” He wouldn’t die ever if he could get his hands on one of those apples she told him about.

“I wish you wouldn’t take such stupid risks.” She told him softly.

“Your concern is touching Lenneth.” Lezard replied. “It does my heart good to be reminded that you care for me.” He was pleased to see her flush, the girl shyly ducking down her eyes from his, unable to deny it.

“The carriage is slowing down…” Lenneth said, trying to change the conversation. He smiled, knowing what she was up to, but conceded to her wishes. “Yes it is…I think our driver has finally gotten the horse back under control…” He sighed. “A pity really, I would have the horse go as fast as can be, so we could reach our destination all the sooner.”

“I won’t work the poor beast into an early grave!” admonished Lenneth with a shake of her head. “We will get there when we get there. Besides…” She let out a heavy sounding sigh. “We have another problem.”

“Oh?” He arched an eyebrow.

“I’m not quite sure how we will reach our final destination. You see..the Forest of Spirits is not connected to any of the continents.”

“The Forest of Spirits…?” He chuckled, giving a wry shake of his head. “Of course, I should have guessed! Where else would a banished Goddess choose to dwell, than as close as possible to Yggdrasil.” He gave in to his laughter, causing Lenneth to ask what was so funny. “Fear not Lenneth…I am an old hand at sneaking into that ancient forest…”

———————————————————————————————————————————-

With a scream, Lucian found himself spit out onto the floor, his body bouncing slightly. He skidded to a halt against a heavy wooden table, the man letting out a groan at the pain he felt in his back. “Well, that was fun…” He muttered to himself sarcastically. Slowly he sat up, looking around the room. It looked very much like the vision he had seen in the Water Mirror of Lezard’s laboratory. Shapely legs appeared before his face, knee length boots of green on them.

“You let go of my hand too soon.” He glanced up, seeing Freya with her hands on her hips, a perturbed expression on her face. “You’re lucky we didn’t get separated. Who knows where the mirror would have dumped you.”

“I can’t believe that worked.” Hrist said, hands on her stomach, as she felt to make sure she was all there. “I was sure we’d end up scattered into a million particles…or worse…”

“There’s something worse than being rendered into tiny pieces?” Lucian said, a bit of hysteria in his voice at the thought. Hrist looked at him as though he was stupid, and chose not to respond. “Well…” She said, turning her attention to Freya. “Now what?!”

Freya looked around the room, seeing the large containers of green fluid that housed various homunculus. Hrist noticed them too, and drew her sword. With a savage cry, she strode forward, slashing at the containers, one by one, causing them to break open. The Fertility Goddess took to the air, avoiding the sticky liquid that gushed out onto the floor. Lucian let out a cry of disgust as his pants got soaked, the einherjar quickly leaping to his feet. “What do you think you’re doing?!” demanded Lucian, as Hrist began attacking the bodies, hacking off limbs.

“Destroying these filthy abominations!” She announced. “I won’t have him building an army of these things or using them to entrap more of my fellow Aesir!”

“They’re not alive Lucian…they have no soul…” Freya explained, trying to calm the youth down. “They’re empty vessels…” It did little to ease his mind, the einherjar seeing it as a desecration of the dead. He turned away, not wishing to witness the savagery in which Hrist took to her self appointed task.

Instead he walked around the lab, touching the stone slabs, feeling the hardness underneath his skin. “This is where Lenneth woke up.” He said, noting the many blood stains on the surface. He looked around in disdain, seeing the freakish creatures that lay on other slabs, their insides spilled open for all to see.

“Where are you going?” asked Freya, watching as he strode toward the door.

“To explore…maybe they’re still here.” Lucian replied.

“Ha! You heard Hel…they’re on the move…Even she doesn’t know where they are.” Hrist answered, looking up from the bodies.

“But maybe there’s some sort of clue…” Lucian said, hand hovering over the door handle. He was surprised when the door opened of it’s own accord, a large green creature, that was vaguely man shaped appearing in the doorway. Dull eyes looked into the room, seeing the einherjar and the two Goddess. “Master not here?”

With a growl, Lucian overcame his shock, grabbing at the ogre’s arms. He pulled, struggling with the homunculus’ vast size, but managed to fling him into the room. He crashed into a table, the wood cleaving in two beneath his back. With a growl, the creature started to get up, and found the point of Hrist’s blade at his throat. “You! Tell us where your master is?!”

He cocked his head to the size, inadvertently drawing his own blood as he considered the Valkyrie’s words. “Master take girl…Master leave…”

“We know that! But where?!” demanded Hrist, pressing her blade in deeper against his adam’s apple. The homunclous just looked at her, frowning. “You girl too…” He said, recognizing the resemblance the Valkyrie shared with Lenneth. “Hair different though.”

“This is getting us nowhere…” growled Hrist, arm tensing up.

“Don’t kill him!” Freya said, grabbing at her arm. Hrist spared a glance over her shoulder at Freya, looking like she thought the Goddess had gone nuts. “He is an it, not deserving to draw breath any longer!”

“I just think you’re being too hasty.” Freya explained. “Let’s tie him up for now…maybe his memory will come back when he gets hungry enough.” Lucian was hardly surprised to find rope in the wizard’s laboratory, the man approaching the homunculus. Hrist kept the creature still with her blade, and Lucian went to tie his hands behind his back, making the knots extra tight.

“This is a waste of time…” Hrist said, reluctant to put away her blade. “They’re not here, and we have no way of knowing where they could be.”

“True…but what can we do with the water mirror broken…” Lucian sighed, hating to agree with the dark Valkryie.

“You should go back to Valhalla.” Freya said, causing both to look at her with some surprise. “No sense letting Odin think you’re a traitor.”

“What about you?” asked Hrist.

“I’m not going back…I can’t…Besides…” She tried to give a non caring shrug of her shoulders, but her green eyes were filled with pain. “The ripples in the water mirror will alert him to the fact someone used it…”

“He wouldn’t suspect you Freya…” Hrist said.

“Wouldn’t he? No…I am not that great of an actress…I can’t return…I can’t go back to pretending to know nothing, to not know what he is doing with Hel.” She gave a fierce shake of her head. “No…I will stay behind…give him another target to distract him from Lenneth…”

“I’m staying with you.” announced Lucian.

“It’ll be dangerous.” Freya replied.

“Can’t be anymore dangerous than staying in Valhalla while that madman is in charge.” Lucian retorted, flashing her a wide grin.

Freya shook her head, blonde hair falling forward. His smile was infectious, and she couldn’t help but grin back. “Thank you Lucian, it’s good to not have to do this alone.”

“What about me?” demanded Hrist. “I certainly don’t want to go back to being his loyal dog, even in pretense.”

“You’ll have to…for now.” Freya told her. “Let me explain.” She held up a hand, Hrist falling silent. “They want to attack Asgard…they think to weaken our troops by fighting Brahms first…you must do everything you can to see that that does not happen…that our troops are ready for war…but against Nifelheim. Train them Hrist, make them faster, more brilliant with the blade than ever before…”

Hrist let out a sigh. It seemed she would have to decide which sister to save. “Silmeria’s rescue will have to wait…”

“I’m sorry…” Freya said, truly meaning it. “I hate to have to ask you this…”

“Um…” Lucian looked nervous as he approached the Valkyrie. “I know you don’t like humans very much but…there are some up in Asgard who also suspect Odin. They would make fine allies for you…in case you need them…”

“And just who are these mortals?” Hrist asked, not really caring.

“A mage named Mystina, and two warriors…a Draconian named Aeila, and a beserker who answers to the name Arngrim.” supplied Lucian. Hrist’s eyes widened, recognizing the name. “Arngrim you say…” Something very much like a smile crossed her face, before it disappeared brief enough to make Lucian wonder if he had imagined it.

“They could be our liaisons.” Freya decided. “If you need to get in contact with us, send one of them down.”

“…” Hrist was silent, considering this. “Very well. I shall go forthwith. Good luck to you…both of you.” She nodded gruffly at Lucian, and then with a shimmer and the sound of bells, was gone.

“You sure about this?” Lucian asked once they were alone. “It’s not too late to go back as well.”

“No Lucian…I’ve made my choice…much as Odin has made his.” She turned from his eyes, not liking the pity she saw in them. “Come…let us see just where Lenneth has spent her last few weeks here on Midgard.” She headed towards the door, still floating over the wet floor. Lucian followed, his boots squeaking wetly.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

When confronted with a broken treasure, a person can go through many reactions. Sadness, dismay, anger…rarely if ever would a person express satisfaction at seeing it rendered obsolete. But it was with grim satisfaction that Odin viewed the broken Water Mirror, stroking his chin as he eyed the frozen picture of Lezard and his lab. “Of course…” He mused out loud to his comely companion. “This does set us back some.”

“But isn’t a relief to see your fail-safe is in place and working?” Hel asked. “Whoever dared try to sneak a glimpse in the mirror has failed to learn the truth behind Lezard’s surge in power.”

“Yes, it was quite ingenious of me to think of this.” Odin said proudly.

“Oh?” Hel said dismally, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow at him. “Funny, I recall suggesting you tamper with the mirror.”

“Nonsense, I’m sure I came up with the idea long before you did.” He told her, not wanting to share credit with the Goddess.

“Yes my Lord.” She said humoring him with a roll of her eyes. “But still…” She approached the mirror, caressing it’s frozen surface with her hand. “I wonder who had the gall to sneak in here and do this?”

“Probably someone who those pesky einherjar shot their mouth off to.” Odin frowned, looking at Lezard’s back. “After all, they didn’t try to look in on Brahms.”

“Whoever they are, they’ll need to be disposed of.” Hel added. “We can’t have them running around knowing the truth.”

“Yes…too many loose ends make for a sloppy business…” Odin shook his head. “I can’t have my mirror staying broken. It’s far too inconvenient.”

“You’re worrying about a mirror at a time like this?!” demanded Hel in disbelief.

“It’s not just any mirror…You would appreciate it more, if you had the access to it I had.” He smiled fondly at the mirror. “If it was working, we’d already know just who used it last…as you can see by the ripples over here…” He touched the side that showed empty laboratory. “They escaped just minutes before we entered the room.”

“Then that means…they might have heard us speaking!” Hel exclaimed, now more anxious than ever to kill whoever the intruders were.

“Yes.”

“So fix it!” She ordered with an imperious wave at him. Odin sighed. “I’m afraid I’m not very good at fixing things I break.” He shook his head. “No…this will require the work of specialists…The elves are quite good at repairing artifacts. I will simply have Freya bring one here.” He frowned.

“What’s wrong now?” Hel asked, carefully watching his facial expressions.

“It’s funny…I can’t sense her anywhere on Asgard…”

“Is that odd?” Hel asked.

“Very.” Odin replied.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————

Lucian looked around the bedroom, taking in the opulence of it’s decorations and furniture. Burgundy blankets decorated the walls, covering the windows and stone, trying to keep out the cold air that would have been blowing through out the round room. He felt along the wall, lifting up blankets as he found the source of the cold, a window with thick black bars.

“It would seem Lenneth had everything she could have ever wanted here…” Freya commented, from where she sat on the grand four poster bed.

“Yes…except her freedom…” Lucian said, letting the blanket fall back over the window. He wandered over to the vanity, touching the items that lay scattered on it’s top. He picked up a brush, finding long strands of platinum hair trapped in the bristles. He sighed, it was one of the only signs that Lenneth had been here. A discarded dress lay over the back of one chair, and he picked it up, placing it to his nose. He inhaled, and faintly he could smell her, but the scent was different, another one over laid on top of hers, musky and masculine.

With an angry snort, Lucian tossed the dress onto the floor, stomping it flat with his feet. Freya watched from where she sat, her expression hidden by the gauzy curtains that hung down from it’s top rails, making a protective covering around the bed.

Lucian panted slightly, having gotten worked up over smelling Lezard’s scent mingled so freely with Lenneth’s. He knew that to do that he had to have spent a lot of time around her, touching her…holding her…Lucian thought he saw red, and wished it was Lezard’s body he stomped on.

“We’re not going to find anything here.” Freya said. “I can sense only monsters on the lower floors…the rooms on this one are empty, except for you and I…and that creature he created.”

“Bastard.” muttered Lucian, fists clenched. “I bet he thinks he’s so smart taking her.”

“He probably does.” agreed Freya. “We will just have to be smarter.”

“But how? What can we do? Where can we go next?” He asked, turning to look at her. She rose from the bed, stretching slightly. “I have a few ideas.” She told him.

“Can you use your powers to track them?” asked Lucian eagerly.

She sighed, shaking her head no. “Unfortunately no. Even Odin, as powerful as he is, can’t be all knowing without the Water Mirror functioning.”

Lucian’s face drooped down into sadness. “Then what…?”

“It’s true that it’s important we find Lenneth as soon as possible, but is it not also imperative we restore her to her Godhood?” asked Freya. Lucian nodded, and she smiled at him. “Well I think we should go and retrieve that which will make her a Goddess again.”

“And that is?” Lucian asked.

Freya smiled mysteriously at him. “You will see.” She held out her hand to him. “Come Lucian…are you ready to leave this place?” The einherjar gave one last look around the room, knowing there were no answers to be found here. “Yes…I’m ready.” He said, stepping close to her.

“Then let us be off!” And once again the sound of Gods teleporting rang through out Lezard’s tower, the air shimmering around the pair as they disappeared from sight.

—————————————————————————————————————–

T.B.C.

Just a little note, the Gods can say other God’s names without fear of calling their attention. It’s only the mortals that have to worry about saying their names.

—-Michelle