Winter of Yggdrasil

Chapter 18

Agonized screams split the air around the King's royal chambers. Ebony paced the hall nervously, biting her nails. Kenna sat against the wall and winced as another scream came through the doors. Katarina was undergoing the frankly frightening transformation into an Aesir.

Kenna looked up at her mother. "How is that not dangerous to the baby?"

Ebony shrugged. "Eir says that the mother's body absorbs the pain and filters it. It's... pretty awful the first time. The rest of the treatments aren't as terrible." She winced and looked at the door as another scream came and went. "I just wish I could help her. Loki says all he can do is make her sleep but she's afraid to."

Kenna frowned at the floor, an idea rattling in her mind. She stood. "I think I can." She opened the door and went to Kat's side. Thor looked up at her in confusion. His eyes were tired and their normal blue appeared diminished. He gripped his wife's hand tightly and looked down at her, appearing just as agonized as she.

Kenna closed her eyes placed her hand over Kat's forehead. She sighed through her nose. Her muscles relaxed slowly; her heartbeat slowed. She thought of silence and calm. Of the quiet after a storm and the warmth of a winter fire. Starlight and sunsets hovered in her mind's eye. A mother's soft hum and the feeling of gentle arms encircling her.

When she opened her eyes, Katarina's tense face had eased. Her breath escaped in a soft, even rhythm. Her back lost its arch and the sweat on her brow began to dry. The hand that held Thor's relaxed slowly. Thor smiled up at Kenna.

"Thank you." He murmured.

Kenna nodded and took the seat behind her, resolved to stay and help them both through the next few days.

.......................

Kenna sat on the steps of the royal dais, exhausted after a dance with Rowan. Kat fidgeted in her seat, looking around at the party around her. She had been officially named the Goddess of good cheer and drink. And, annoyingly, she couldn't join the celebration. Ebony brought her a non-alcoholic drink and sat next to her.

"How's it feel?"

Kat shrugged. "I'm used to it now."

Ebony chuckled. "Yeah it wears off kind of fast."

Marci jumped up onto the dias and grinned. "Bet you have more stamina though." Ebony rolled her eyes as the two danced suggestively. She met Kenna's eyes and shook her head. Kenna laughed softly. Kat looked around to find Thor leaning against a wall and grinning down at Garik. The young boy talked animatedly, his eyes shining as he talked to his hero.  Loki walked by and Garik grabbed him, pulling him into the conversation. The older men laughed with him and his smile only grew wider.

Loki eventually walked away and bent his head to talk to Sigyn. Kat turned her eyes back to her husband just as a shout gave the celebration pause. Garik fell to his knees as Thor's huge body slumped and crashed to the ground. Kat stood, her heart hammering in her chest. Loki turned and ran to his brother, pulling his son away. Garik struggled against his father.

"Uncle Thor!" He cried. Kenna and Ebony followed Katarina through the crowd. Kat fell to her knees beside him, looking her husband over. She wiped her eyes and shook him.

"Thor?" She slapped his cheek lightly, trying to wake him. "Thor? Thor!" Loki tugged her away, ignoring her protests. He bent to listen close to his chest, straightening to announce in a relieved voice that he was breathing. Some of the men helped to pick Thor up. Loki moved to help and direct them towards Thor's rooms when someone grabbed him.

"You were the last one to talk to him. You did this, didn't you?!" A senator accused.

Loki wrenched away from the man and glared at him. "Yes, I poisoned my brother and now I'm going to save him. How exactly does that benefit me and my oh-so-evil agenda?" He began to turn away when another man spoke up.

"Aye, he's always wanted what Thor has."

He looked at Kat, caring only that she believe he was not at fault. She wiped her eyes and nodded to him. Garik wrenched from his mother's grasp and stood in front of Loki.

"Stay away! Dad would never do that! He loves Uncle Thor and Uncle Thor loves him. It's one of you!" He turned on the first man. "You accused first. Who says you're not trying to divert the blame? You came up to Uncle Thor. The poison could have been working all this time."

Loki took their outrage as his cue to slip away.
He motioned to the guards as he left the room. "Protect the rest of them. No one leaves. Understand?" They nodded and he swept out of the room, calling for Kenna to follow him.

Kenna hurried to keep up with her father's long strides. "What do we do?"

"What we always do. Diagnose and treat. We try to keep this as professional as possible. Too much emotion, too many mistakes. Understand?" She nodded. "Someone should have fetched Eir."

The door was kicked open and Thor was placed on his bed. Loki bent over the bed and opened his brother's eyes, studying the pupils. A hand grabbed him suddenly and pulled him away. Loki's head whipped around to see who was intruding. Kenna pointed to Thor's mouth.

"What is that?" She asked quietly, her eyes wide. Thick, black vapor escaped the king's mouth as he exhaled. Loki bent forward to sniff it. He reared back and covered his nose.

"Everybody out!" He turned Kenna forcefully and pushed her from her from the room. The door slammed behind him. He turned quickly, stretching his hands out and sealing the door with ice. "Quarantine this hall until we can conclude that it is not contagious."

"But it would have to be a poison!" One of the men said.

Kenna shook her head. "A bacteria used as a poison? It would spread..."

"If it is contagious, it would have gotten to Kat."

"She may have infected Mom who would have infected you. And then me, Rowan, Merek." Her eyes widened. "They're picking us off one by one and placing the blame where there is already tension. That's what Kat said!" Her voice rose as she went through it in her head. "What if it's not Erin? What if that's only a distraction?!"

"Right now, we worry about Thor. I will gather Eir and her helpers. You check Katarina and your mother and be sure they haven't been infected." He broke into a run, heading for the infirmary. "Check Garik too!" He shouted.

Kenna turned the other way and hurried to Loki's chambers where the others were waiting. She threw the door open. "With me! We're quarantining the hall. Quickly, come!"

Ebony and Garik followed without a word. Katarina stopped in the hallway. "What about Thor? What's happening?"

"We don't know." Kenna shook her head and took Kat's hand. "Come on! I don't know how fast it will spread and I need to be sure you haven't been infected."

"We're going to die." Kat murmured, her face pale and eyes wide. Kenna dragged her away.

"No we're not. Now come on."