Winter of Yggdrasil

Chapter 12

Kenna watched the battle with a pounding heart, fearing that at any moment someone she loved would fall. But Loki and Thor led the men with determination and Rowan fought alongside Olik. They moved easily together. A few men made the attempt to free their leader and rushed Kenna. She threw a protective wall in front of them, barely giving them any attention. Merek sidled his horse closer to hers and dragged the prisoner with him. Erin struggled against him suddenly, trying to escape into the mayhem. Merek sighed and looked at him, swinging to clobber him on the head with the butt of his sword. The man slumped with a choked groan.

Kenna had begun to relax when the fighting slowed. The opposing side began to realize they were losing as the royal armies ripped through them. A flag flew into the air and a horn sounded. Kenna breathed slowly, scanning the field for familiar faces. The battlefield was covered in blood and fallen bodies but everyone she knew was standing. She sighed and felt a sinking feeling. Chaos and war were hard things for her to handle; she hated to think that it had come to this. But this was probably only the beginning. Olik's voice sounded across to her and her head snapped up. She watched as Rowan crumpled to his knees.

"Rowan!" She screamed, her heels digging into Sliepnir. Sliepnir huffed and sprinted forward. She pulled him to a stop beside Olik and jumped down, sliding to her knees in front of Rowan. He lay in Olik's arms, shivering already. His eyes were closed and his breathing came out shuddered. Kenna shook his shoulder and tapped his cheek.

"Rowan? Rowan, look at me." She pleaded.

Olik shook his head. "He passed out. There are no deep wounds, I don't understand. I-I was with him. He's fine." He looked up at her, his brown eyes wide and tears gathering. "Can you help him? Please, Kenna, can you help him?"

Kenna opened Rowan's eyes and noted his pupils were dilated. He was heating up quickly and his pulse was jumpy. Sweat dampened his skin but whether from exertion or sickness, she couldn't tell. Her hands were unsteady with fear and her vision blurred as tears threatened. She wiped her eyes on her upper arm and shook her head.

"I don't know." She said quietly. A stabbing fear hit her. "I don't know. Why don't I know? I should, I should!" She shook her head again and looked for her father. Thor and Loki were busy calming everything down, getting things back in order. They were trying to figure out what to do about all this when Kenna called them.

"Daddy!" She screamed.

Loki spun around, seeing her kneeling by Rowan. He ran to her, staring at her glowing hands as they hovered over Rowan. She bit her lip and blinked rapidly.

"Something is wrong. The wound is not deep at all but he's dying. I...I can't."

Loki pulled her away and leaned over Rowan. He took his pulse. Rowan's heartbeat was far too fast. Kenna reached around Loki to touch Rowan's temples, delving quickly into the unconscious mind to find a memory, a symptom they couldn't see, a thought. They had to keep him breathing long enough to get him to the infirmary. Poison was the most likely. But how? When?

Hooves pounded the ground and Kenna looked up to see Merek dragging Erin behind him. Loki shot to his feet and grabbed the boy. "You brought a specialist with you."

Erin shook his head. "I know nothing of it. I cannot help him. Even if I could, I wouldn't."

A flash of silver cut his neck and Erin gasped, his bound hands flying to the cut as he stepped back. The offending dagger fell into the grass behind him. All eyes turned to Olik. His brown eyes were focused only on Erin, narrowed to small black slits.

"Bastard." He hissed, trembling as he pulled Rowan closer. He slid one arm behind Rowan's back and the other under his legs. He stood slowly. "Kenna..."