BOOK 3. Trapped in Asgard after Odin's apparent death, Anna chooses an unlikely ally in her attempt to find Loki. While the realm is sealed from the rest of the Nine Worlds, her strange dreams lead her to the one place she'd never expect.
To him...
Pain stabs through her forehead as Anna jolts upright, gasping for air, as she takes in her unfamiliar surroundings. The room is dark and warm, a single lamp burning in the corner, and she can feel smooth sheets beneath her palms.
Lifting her hand to her forehead, she closes her eyes for a moment. If only she could will herself back to sleep, back to Loki, but she knows it doesn't work that way. She'd tried many times, and many times she'd failed.
"Anna?"
A voice calls from behind the closed door. Opening a crack, Sigyn's blonde head pops into the room. Her blonde hair is illuminated by the light in the hallway like a halo around her head, and Anna can't quite make out her face because of it.
"I'm fine," she croaks, waving for her friend to enter the room. "I'm fine."
"Did you see him?"
Anna nods as Sigyn enters the room, perching on the side of the bed next to her. Reaching to the table next to her, she ignites the lamp next to them and bathes the room in brighter light. They're in some sort of room, likely above the tavern, given the sparse furnishings and strictly functional decor. The thought makes Anna lift her hand off the bed, remembering what the 'function' of these rooms is likely to be.
Sigyn nudges her with her elbow, "...and? What happened? Did he attack you again?"
"Not exactly," the brunette replies, and Sigyn grins. "He doesn't want me to go to my friends on Earth. Midgard, I mean. He doesn't trust them."
"He doesn't trust many people," Sigyn chuckles.
"True."
"Besides," the blonde continues. "We haven't many options. If he was back to himself, that must mean it's been a while since Thanos has tortured him, yes? We need to get to him before the Mad Titan comes back again."
Anna frowns, "And how are we going to do that? Is Amora going to help us?"
Sigyn stands, crossing the room to a small table where a piece of paper is spread over the surface, and taps her finger on it. Standing slowly, Anna hesitates for a moment while she regains her equilibrium before walking over to her friend. The paper is written in another language, one she doesn't recognize from her studies in Loki's chambers, and it's incredibly worn.
"What is it?" Anna asks.
Sigyn smiles, "A way out."
"And we trust Amora? I know Heimdall told us to come here, but I don't think she particularly cared for me. Especially after finding out who I am."
The blonde shrugs, "I think she liked you perhaps a bit more than you're comfortable with considering you're already a taken woman, but that's neither here nor there. Heimdall would not steer us wrong, and Amora will do anything for her sister. Of this, we can be certain."
"Okay then," Anna concedes. "What's the plan?"
"Ideally? You find Thor. We need his help to reopen the Bifrost, and he can help us find Loki," Sigyn replies.
"And if that doesn't work?"
She brushes a strand of hair away from her face, "Then you find your friends. I am no warrior, and you cannot defeat Thanos alone."
"What if we don't need to defeat him though?" Anna asks. "When I saw Loki, he was alone in the Void. I don't need to know how to find him, I need to be able to bring him back with me."
Sigyn shakes her head, "Your connection isn't enough. While it takes you to him, the bond is only taking you to him - and only your consciousness. Physically, you remain here, so even if it were reversed he would remain in the Void."
"Then how can I touch him? How is it real?"
"Your bond is strong, Anna, and that in itself is magic. However, there are limits to all forms of magic that even I do not understand," Sigyn tells her. "Right now, we need to focus on finding him. We can look into your bond once he's home."
She's right, and Anna knows it as she clenches her fists tightly. The last few months have been torture, albeit nowhere near as terrible as what Loki must've suffered, but she hates feeling so useless - so limited - in her ability to help him. To help herself. Even now, she is relying on the assistance of strangers to get her home so that she can find someone else who may or may not be willing to help her. It's an endless cycle, one that is increasingly frustrating.
"Okay then," Anna says, turning away from the paper to look at her friend. "I'm ready."
Sigyn scoffs, "What, now? You just woke up. You need to recover bef--"
"This is a spell, yes? Do it now. I'm tired of waiting. You said it yourself," the brunette reminds her. "We don't know when Thanos will return, which means we need to do this now. The sooner the better."
Beside her, Sigyn frowns. A wrinkle appears in her forehead as she considers Anna's words, until she throws her hands up in the air in resignation.
"Fine," Sigyn replies, earning a small smile from Anna. "We do this now."
It only takes a quarter of an hour for Sigyn to prepare everything she needs for the spell, leaving Anna to pace the small room nervously as she does so. She twists the knotted silver ring around her finger all the while, the familiar metal soothing her even as her thoughts rage. They aren't sure where she'll arrive on Earth, but her bracelet will allow her to contact Tony once she arrives. From there? Well, she's still working on that part of the plan.
"I'm ready," Sigyn announces, her hair frizzing slightly. Anna can see the sheen of sweat on her friend's forehead, and she hesitates for a moment before throwing her arms around Sigyn's shoulders.
The two embrace for a moment before releasing each other and smiling.
"Are you ready?" Sigyn asks Anna, who nods. "Good. This seidr will not be easy."
Exhaling, she steers Anna to a spot on the floor in the middle of the room. Sigyn hands her a bleached horse's skull before retrieving a knife and a single vial of thick, red liquid. She uses the blood to draw a symbol - a stave, Anna remembers - on the skull before sprinkling myrrh over it. Dipping her finger in the remnants of the blood, she lifts it to Anna's forehead and traces the same shape on her skin whilst murmuring the spell under her breath.
A tug behind Anna's navel jerks her forehead, and she stumbles briefly before straightening. Sigyn grimaces, still reciting the spell, and nods. This must be expected. She drops the now-empty vial on the table and turns back to Anna, who grits her teeth against the sound of crashing water rushing in her ears.
"Sigyn?" Anna asks loudly. "What now?"
"Now," the other woman replies, lifting a burning cluster of what appears to be sage and drawing another stave in the air. "You go."
In that moment, unlike her dreams or travels to visit Hela, Anna feels as if her entire body is being torn apart. A million needles pierce her skin, stabbing through her very core, and her lungs burn like fire as she opens her mouth in a silent cry of agony.
Then, in the blink of an eye, it's gone.
And so is Anna.
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