Stolen Relic ~ A Loki Fanfic

Chapter Twenty-Four

Happy Reading!!

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Loki lifted his chin watching as stars and whole galaxies blazed past them. He never tired of the beauty of the bifrost, but this was no casual trip. He would have to be ready to fight the second they landed. The power surrounding him thrummed through his veins and called out to his own.

They slammed to a stop, landing hard on their feet. Loki grunted and quickly the light vanished, leaving his night vision only seconds to adapt to the dim and bleak landscape of Jotunheim. The bifrost certainly wasn't a subtle entrance. Every Frost Giant for miles would know they had arrived. Loki would have preferred more tact so they could get their bearings, but the others were grinning excitedly as they gawked at the forbidden landscape.

Heimdal had dropped them on the edge of a cliff. All around them was a vast ice field with the towering ruins of what must have been an ancient city, long ago destroyed by war with Asgard. Loki swallowed, it was his father's army who had left this land in ruins. It reminded him sharply of Alfheim. There was a deafening silence to the place, like the emptiness had weight, had eyes.

"We shouldn't be here," Hogun muttered. The stoic warrior spoke so little that his grave warning seemed all the more ominous.

"Let's move," Thor said grimly, ignoring his friend's warning. He stepped forward to lead the way across the ice field.

The icy wind whipped and bit through their armor. It wasn't snowing exactly but ice pellets were blown across the landscape and struck their exposed skin, leaving it feeling raw in the cold. Asgardians were one of the toughest species in the galaxy, but the cold of Jotenheim went deep into even their bones. It was as cold as the deepest reaches of space and only Loki didn't notice.

"Where are they?" Sif asked uneasily. Her dark eyes flickered over the large ice cliffs that surrounded them as she settled her cloak tighter around her shoulders to block the biting wind.

"Hiding," Thor snapped. "As cowards always do."

Loki glanced around them as he followed his brother. He did not feel as though the frost giants were hiding from them. Instead it felt like they were being watched from all sides. His instincts prickled and told him they were surrounded. An avalanche of ice fell in the distance and it sounded like thunder. Loki felt it tremble through the ground. The ice in Jotenheim felt like a living, breathing thing beneath his feet and his magic tingled through his fingers unbidden. The others looked frozen, wrapping their arms around themselves, but he barely noticed the cold. Instead he found himself strangely fascinated by the ice. There was magic here and it sang to him. His fingers tingled to reach out and touch the living ice, but he stopped himself before he would indulge his curiosity. He closed his hands into fists, forcing his magic back down.

Thor led the way to the only structure remaining. It reminded Loki sharply of the skeletal remains of the palace on Alfheim. This land had been devastated by war. War with the All Father left behind nothing but ruins. They stepped through the large gate of the structure. Ice and snow clung to every surface but instead of being pristine and white it was black, grey and harsh. It reminded him of old bones.

"You've come a long way to die Asgardians," a powerful voice rumbled through the ruins.

"I am Thor Odinson!" Thor shouted, undeterred.

"We know who you are," the voice responded in a bored tone. The speaker was clearly unimpressed by the Asgardians appearance in his realms. There was a shift of movement in the shadows and they saw Laufey, sitting on his throne of ice and stone.