Page 15 of Thor

"What the actual fuck?"

SIXTEEN

She muttered many words Thor did not understand, interspersed with ones he did. Something about how someone must have catalogued the artefact before storing it properly, and she'd ask about it in the morning. She also said FUCK a lot, a word he thought he understood, but she did not appear the slightest bit interested in engaging in such an activity, so he decided to ask her about it later, when she did not appear so angry.

What he did gather was that there was a weapon she'd had in mind for him to wield, and it was not where she expected it to be.

No matter. While he would gladly accept whatever magical weapon she might provide, there were others buried in the ice that might serve. He would spend the day searching, and when night fell on the morrow, he would be properly armed to defend her.

She stormed back to her own tent, and Thor chose wisely to stay outside. An angry witch could curse him in ways he could not even imagine, and he would be a poor protector indeed if he provoked her ire so much that she turned him into a worm or a toad or some other lowly creature.

He waited until both she and her servant were asleep, before daring to venture away from her tent in search of a weapon. There had to be something buried in the ice he might use.

Thor had not taken three steps from the camp before he spotted a shadow moving down near the lake. There was something familiar about the way it moved...

In an instant, he was running along the lakeshore, tackling the shadow to the ground. "You stole my hammer! I know it was you! Return it at once!"

Loki struggled beneath him, but he could not throw Thor off. "I haven't touched your hammer. That thing's too big to be of use to anyone. Why you don't use an axe like a normal warrior..."

Thor shoved Loki deeper into the sand. "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...tell me where you have hidden it, so we can both protect our new mistress together, as brothers in arms once more."

Loki turned his head and spat on the ground. "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."

"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," Thor insisted.

"You sound like a fool. You do mean the girl who slipped on the ice, without the wit to wear proper boots or even a cloak against the cold? Whatever she's done to make you think she has power, you're wrong. It's a trick, I tell you, and the sooner you see through it, the sooner you will be free of her influence, as I am. You don't see me carrying her about the place, or standing outside in the cold outside her tent!"

Of course Loki had seen everything. He was their sneakiest scout, creeping about unseen. How he'd managed to miss Erik's men lying in wait for them on the plain below the pass, Thor still couldn't fathom.

But this argument wasn't about the past, but the present. And protecting the witch.

"If you seek to harm her, I will not allow it. Though you are my brother in arms, and the closest thing I have to a blood brother, I will cut you down where you stand before you can lay a hand on her," Thor warned him.

Loki sighed loudly. "Fine. You are under the witch's spell. You'll feel like even more of a fool when I find out how to break it. You always did have a soft spot for pretty women. Teaching your sister to fight was the most foolish thing you ever did, until today."

"Sif is now feasting in Valhalla, the best any warrior could hope for. Say one more word about Sif and it will be the last thing you ever say," Thor growled.

Loki rolled his eyes. "So now your sister is a better warrior than both of us put together. Happy now?"

Put like that, Thor could not help but laugh. "You might be right. She would be pleased to hear you say that." Grudgingly, he released his grip on Loki.

Loki clambered to his feet, shook out his cloak and dusted off his tunic. "So what are you going to do now?"

"You're going to help me search for a suitable weapon that I can use until I find my hammer again. Once I have that, I'm going to go back to watching over the witch, as I swore I would," Thor said smugly. "Then you may do as you wish."

"I can promise you I won't be serving some strange woman, no matter how pretty she is," Loki muttered.

Thor could only laugh. One day, Loki might meet a woman who would make him want to change all his ways. Until then, he could complain about them all he wanted. It was only a matter of time.

SEVENTEEN

When Sibyl awoke the next morning, she had a pounding headache and blood on her pillow to tell her last night definitely hadn't been a dream. Well, except for Thor, that is, who was nowhere to be seen.

Nor was Jorunn, who'd already made her bed and headed out for the day.

Sibyl struggled into a fresh set of thermals and her outer gear, before heading out to join the rest of the team.

"Is it true?" Lara greeted her as Sibyl entered the mess tent.

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