The Verdant Prince

Chapter 27: Disorientation and Direction

I was the first that reached Loki's heaving body. Asmund followed after immediately, but instead of coming to inspect and help, he yanked me away from his body. I put my arms up to argue with Asmund but by the warning glint in his eyes, I knew better than to.

"Who are you?" Asmund barked, his blue flames licking up his arms and making the Prince's face even paler than before. Loki rested his elbows on his knees, struggling to catch his breath, as Asmund spoke, Loki glared at him through the dark tendrils of his hair.

"Prince Loki of Asgard, you fool," Loki hissed, slowly shifting enough to be able to stand. He did so shakily, his face paling further if it was at all possible. My mind urged me to reach forward to stabilize him, but my body would do anything but.

"How did you wake? Why did you awaken?" Asmund questioned, his fists pointing at Loki's face. Instead of smirking and playing it off as just another trick of his, Loki frowned a sudden tiredness to his normal royally mischievous manner.

"It was an illusion, a dream," Loki said sternly. Asmund gave him a doubtful look. Loki threw up his arms and rolled his eyes dramatically. "I create them, illusions. It's my specialty. I know an illusion when I see one, and it was not a nightmare. I only have nightmares. A peaceful nights sleep seemed off to me." Loki hissed lowly. "I snapped out of it as easily as I could create one, are you convinced now?" Loki finished, throwing his arms out wide. Asmund and I sighed in unison, relieved that we had one more to aid us.

"Do you know what is causing this?" I asked gently. Loki's eyes finally landed on mine, a soft lull to them. He looked slightly dazed as if the dream hadn't ended. Or perhaps, he didn't want it to end. He snapped out of it nearly as fast as it was there, however, his expression stern and concentrated.

"Djinns, or a descendant of them at least," Loki suggested. "Perhaps even a succubus, if we are lucky," Loki grumbled sarcastically, looking over his shoulder in paranoia.

"A succubus? I thought they were all into seducing," Asmund wondered, his lip rising in confusion. It made him look like a confused child again. Innocent.

"Most are, others feed off of joyful dreams, panic, confusion, whatever they're in the mood for draining," Loki said. He had moved towards us, slowly looking over each of the warriors, his expression darkening one after the other.

"Alright, so all we have to do is wake them up, right?" I asked. Even I knew that the situation would not be so simple. It was childish to even think it would be.

I felt rushed like we were talking fast and afraid. We could easily miss something with our minds darting to each subject and question like that. I took a deep breath and dug at my fingernails nervously. Panic would do us no good.

"I suppose, but if we wake them up, we also disturb the creature inside of them. It will draw them out into the open, and even I don't know how deadly they are," Loki murmured. His face suddenly slacks, a sudden realization setting in. Loki turned to look at us slowly, his hand gingerly reaching to his belt where his razor-sharp blade lay.

Asmund and I shifted in the eerie silence as Loki flitted his eyes back and forth between the two of us, as if waiting for us to realize our mistake.

"I woke up," Loki whispered, his eyes darting about. I peered at him in confusion, of course, he had woken up. I glanced to the side of me to Asmund, his face sunk to realization as well. "So did the creature."

Fear rippled down my spine, creating uneasy jerks in my fingers as I adjusted my blade in my clammy palms. Suddenly I didn't feel like it was just Amsund, Loki, and I. Someone else was here, and close, possibly observing our every move like a lion ready to strike. I swore that over the blatant beating of my heart, you could hear Asmund's and Loki's in the silence. Loud and rapid.