Chapter 26

I awoke in the familiar surroundings and glanced around to find myself alone in bed. I got out and began to search for the others. As always, they were seated on the balcony, and Freyja rose to greet me.

“Welcome my love,” she said as she pulled me into a hug and kissed me soundly. “The others were letting me know of Loki’s plan. Unfortunately, it is the best chance of dealing with the threat to Entivala and Katie.”

“I know, but there are still a lot of unknowns,” I replied. “The last thing I want is them to be hurt.”

“Is it the unknown that is bothering you or that the idea came from Loki?” the beautiful goddess asked.

I gave a small nod, “That is part of it. I mean he was known as the god of mischief and deception.”

Freyja sighed, “That is true, but a lot has changed since coming here. Loki hasn’t really done anything disruptive, instead enjoying the leisurely life of a retired god. Part of why he was so mischievous is that he felt he was owed things that weren’t given to him. Here he was able to achieve what he wanted and thus had no reason to be upset anymore. He has made friends with old enemies, and gods of other pantheons. He has thanked Odin multiple times for the changes that happened and why he agreed to go. You can trust him my love, I promise on my honor that you can.”

I searched her eyes and only saw the genuine belief of her words and unfathomable love for me that lay within them.

I pulled her head to mine, “I will, my love. You know I worry about all of you, and with all that has happened, I have become wary of new people. I will try to do better and will heed the insights of my ladies.”

They all smiled, and we sat at the table to enjoy time together. Tonight once again was a night being together rather than the raw passion that we usually reverted to. What was the best part, was that it wasn’t just Katie, Amenthia, Entivala and Freyja, Cassandra was there as well. We made sure to focus time with Freyja and Cassandra so that they both knew how much we missed them. When our time began to draw near to return to the real world, we climbed into bed together. I allowed sleep to come to me, embraced by the women I loved.

I awoke wrapped in the arms of Enti and Amenthia. Katie was standing near a window glancing out. I pulled out of the tangled arms of my bed partners and went to give Katie a hug.

“There have been no attempts to come into the room from what I have seen, nor has there been any suspicious behavior that I could see,” She said as she continued to glance outside.

“Well let’s get the others up and we can get this started,” I said, giving her a kiss on the nose.

I gave her one last hug and then we went to wake the others. We found a guard waiting for us at the door and he guided us to the dining room to find Loki already waiting with a buffet of delicious foods waiting for us. We partook in the bounty of food in front of us, enjoying the time together. Loki was jovial and played the gracious host. When the meal was concluded we prepared ourselves. Enti and Katie would leave their weapons with us, to ensure that they would be grabbed. Loki’s minions would be lying in wait to follow and ensure that we knew exactly where they were going. I gave them both a kiss goodbye, as did Amenthia. As they left, I felt my heart sink and my worry begin to build, but I reminded myself of the plan. That my loved ones were confident in it and trusted that Freyja trusted Loki. We retired to his private chambers, and he gave us nearly minute by minute updates on how things were proceeding.

I thought he would get ravens or something, but instead he had something akin to a crystal ball that was showing us from various points of view. Constantly switching to give us the best view possible at any given moment. Based on the angles, I figured he was seeing through the eyes of various familiars.

Nothing happened for the first hour, with them perusing the various shops in the main marketplace. It seemed that Entivala was recognized by a few people despite how long she had been gone. Even Katie had a few people recognize her. Thankfully, they were pleasant encounters, and they continued looking around. It was near the end of the first hour that a guard suggested another area to try. This was one of the bought guards that Loki made sure was stationed with them. As they arrived at the suggested area, there was a commotion that pulled away some of the guards, but the ones that remained were loyal to the Giv’talita family. They guided them deeper and that is where they were led into the trap. As per the plan, they gave up with no fight and things proceeded as we hoped.

They were guided from the ambush point to a carriage that moved towards the outskirts of the capital. That area was very run down and looked to be either a slum or a storage district that had its upkeep ignored. The trees were healthy, while the buildings looked to be breaking down and rotting. They were pulled out of the carriage and pulled into a nearby warehouse. The view changed again, and we could see that there were a few men waiting in there, garbed in regal outfits.

“So it’s not just Giv’talita, but It’ithrop and Cin’tifa as well,” Loki muttered as he glanced at the ball. “They are the three strongest of the families and were the closest to the late king. Shall we hear what they have to say before we interrupt their little get together?”

“So we finally have the little bitch responsible for all of our problems,” the man in the middle said as he stepped forward. “You are quite pretty, but still, to think you caused all of this.”

“I didn’t cause anything, Erofad,” Entivala spat. “Your old friend did that, and he got what was coming to him. So did his obsessed pervert of a son.”

Erofad growled, “You need to watch your fucking mouth little girl when you speak to your betters, or else someone is gonna have to beat the insolence out of you.”

“Who is going to do it, you?” Katie said with a mocking laugh in her voice. “You never do anything for yourself, and I don’t see any of your lackeys here.”

“Ah, Kat’ilth’ana. The traitorous bitch herself,” boomed the large man to Erofad’s left. “I was surprised to see you show your face here after your betrayal.”

“Fuck off Rol’tand,” Katie replied, flipping the large man off. “I was caught and enslaved for my crimes. Your lackeys gave me incorrect information and you’re surprised it turned out bad. Besides what the fuck did you think would happen if I had brought her back. You still would be fighting amongst yourselves, and I bet I would have been killed instead of rewarded.”

The third man quietly responded, “If she had been brought back, we could have made an example out of her, to keep the smaller nobles in line. Then we could have created a triumvirate to rule with us in power. We had a deal, but then the others jumped in and started the in fighting. Our alliance crumbled, and now we have suffered great losses from each other and the rest of our enemies. None of us has the strength to take control, and with Loki here it is now impossible.”

“So why are we here Itver’as?” Entivala asked, irritated by their mere presence. “What is with the shackles?”

“Good question,” Erofad responded with an arrogant smirk. “We are here to exact our revenge, to make up for all the shit your choices cost us. Those shackles will keep you from accessing your mana, rendering you unable to use your magic against us.”

Entivala turned to Katie and said in a mocking tone, “Oh no Katie, whatever will we do? How will we ever get out of this?”

Erofad became angrier and I saw him approaching Enti, but the next minute I was in front of him, and I beat him to the punch. Literally. Before he could register what happened, my fist connected with his nose to create a beautiful, sickening crunch sound. He staggered back and his cohorts moved to leave only to find Loki standing there with his arms crossed in irritation.

Loki’s eyes narrowed, “You three have been a pain in my ass for some time now, but thanks to your little monologue I have all that I need to justify what will happen next.”

With a snap of his fingers we were back in the throne room, however many others were present that I didn’t recognize.

“Father, what are we doing here?” a young woman yelled. “I was at the estate and now I am here!”

“SHUT UP ITH’OVEL!” Erofad spat, startling the woman. “This is not the time for your asinine prattle.”

“I am sure you are all wondering what you are doing here,” Loki called out over the cacophony of voices. “Well, Erofad, Rol’tand and Itver’as here tried to get Kat’ilth’ana to kidnap Entivala. She would then be paraded around and executed, followed by the death of Kat’ilth’ana. All because they bet on the wrong horse, causing their world of excess and vanity to come crashing down. Now that they can’t gain power, thanks to me being regent here, so they wanted to at least make these two women to suffer. Forgetting that it is a crime to do such a thing to an active adventurer unless an actual provable crime was committed the adventurer or adventurers in question. Even then, it would be up to the council to punish them no someone like you three. So the real question is what do I do with you.”

“We don’t recognize your authority here!” Erofad exclaimed arrogantly. “We are a sovereign nation and thus we govern by our own rule of law.”

Loki’s eyes narrowed, “You are a sovereign nation? How exactly does that work? The gods literally created this world atom by atom, including the creatures and beings that reside within it. Your existence in this world was a direct result of our power, influence, and control. The magic you use is fueled by the essence of our very godhood! So how exactly do you think you are sovereign of us? Because of your wealth? Because we left you to grow and build your civilization without our direct influence?”

Loki’s eyes began to glow sickly green, and a dark smile appeared on his face. Guards appeared behind the trio and their families, quickly restraining them all. He snapped his fingers, and we were all transported somewhere else. In front of us was a vast estate, much larger and grander than Entivala’s family.

“This is a very nice place you have here Erofad,” Loki sneered as he glanced at the visage before us. “While this isn’t your only property, this is the place in which you are your pathetic family currently reside.”

He snapped his fingers again and the entire estate went up in flames. Silky green flames erupted everywhere, creating an inferno of heat that engulfed the entire estate in but an instant. Since all of it was wood, nothing was spared, even the tree the estate had been grown out of had been caught aflame.

Gesturing at the burning visage, Loki said, “Now we are here so you can see this, but my little minions are also present at all the properties you have that are known and the ones that aren’t to the public. You have quite a bit of wealth stashed in those places ... well you did at least.”

It took a few moments before Erofad to realize what he meant, and the elf began to lose his shit. It was kind of great to see, given all he tried to do. He screamed and cursed as he tried to break free of the guards restraining him.

“What’s a matter Erofad?” Loki asked with a sneer. “What happened to all that bravado you had only a moment ago? I thought you were sovereign from the gods? I guess not.”

“You destroyed everything!” Erofad screamed in frustration and rage. “My family spent generations building all that wealth!”

“So?” Loki asked with a bored look on his face. “What did that get you in the end? Nothing. It made you arrogant, believing that you were better than everyone else, even the gods! Now you know that the power you had wasn’t really power, but don’t worry that isn’t all I have in store for you. You will be joining the former king and prince in their exile, though not on the same floor of course. Don’t worry your co-conspirators will also be joining you in exile. The real question is what to do with your families, not all of them were in on your little schemes, but not many were happy to help you hurt and exploit people. Your daughter Ith’ovel is innocent of all of this mess, as is Rol’tand’s little boy. Since the boy is too young, and can’t be apart from his mother, he will join her in exile. To keep him safe, she will be placed on the fourth floor, which will keep them protected from reprisals from their enemies. When he is old enough to join a pact house or find a vocation, we will revisit on whether or not she will remain on the forth floor.”

“I don’t want to go to the dungeon,” Ith’ovel whined. “I don’t care about the money or any of that.”

Loki gave her an appraising glance and said, “That is fine we will figure out what to do with you at a later date. As I said, you were innocent of what happened, and I didn’t plan on sending you there. If you don’t want to join a pact house, we can work to find a passion for you to pursue without the interference of your family. First, I have one last matter to attend to.”