A Game Of Love And Lies

Part 13

Althea

Nobody seemed to care that I was terrified of heights. Thor always teased me when I mentioned it. We were supposed to travel with the Bifrost to Asgard and meet Heimdall but I was not thrilled about it. I've seen him countless times travel with the rainbow lights and every time I watched him do it, I got nauseous.

We were standing in the desert outside the walls to avoid marking the city's grounds with the hieroglyphics the Bifrost leaves behind. I locked my arms around his neck and slammed my eyes shut. Thor snorted.

"Stop laughing and wrap your hands around me. If you drop me I will murder you!"

That only made him chuckle harder.

"Oh...I've missed you."

The sky opened and the colors surrounded us. My stomach dropped the moment I felt myself not touching solid ground. I clenched on to him so hard my nails left scars on his neck.

"You must see this, trust me."

I slightly opened my eyes still hesitant if I should. A riot of colors danced around me. I gazed at the view in awe. We were passing through shimmering stars that were scattered like moon dust in the universe. Planets all different sizes and shades.

Suddenly, Thor made a step forward, landing us on a shining platform. I had the impression that the magic would have ended with us reaching Asgard but I was so wrong. We were standing in a room mainly made out of pure gold. In the middle, a man resembling a God himself welcomed us. His bright eyes searching through my soul... Heimdall. Behind him, you could take a glimpse of the rainbow bridge and the Asgardian Palace. All this time I had been living in the wrong realm.

"Heimdall, this is Lady Althea."

He slowly nodded. His moves were so elegant he sent chills up my spine.

"She managed to see through Loki's eyes but we still do not know his exact location... She saw a city with skyscrapers and Loki entering a shop named Anguvardal."

The calm and expressionless man showed signs of concern.

"He went beyond our realms. You will find him in a city called Lastos on planet Valimar. Be extremely cautious. You will cross a lot of enemies of Asgard's that will find great pleasure slicing your throats."

"To Lastos then."

I did not expect us to leave so quickly. I was hoping of getting a chance to visit Asgard. I tried to protest against the idea of traveling again so soon but Thor did not pay any attention. He was determined to not let his brother get his way this time.

"If you do not want to travel with me now, you will have to do it on your own later."

He did not have to tell me twice. I waved at Heimdall and embraced Thor again in a hug. I feared that the trip down would be much worse.

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Weirdly, Lastos reminded me of New York. People always had places to be and walked right past us without giving us a second glance. A constant noise of talking and vehicles flying by. All kinds of smells from vendors and cheap perfumes. For a second I thought we ended up on earth. The only major difference being that all kinds of creatures lived here peacefully, most of them having no human features at all. We had no idea what to do next.

"Now what?"

"Let's start walking and maybe we will find something you recognize."

Everything was the spitting image of the building Loki had walked in. Colossal with a reflecting blue layer of glass to prevent us from peeping inside. We were trying to find a sign with the word Anguvardal written on it, among thousands of others. Thor overestimated my abilities. I was getting exhausted. I saw the same alien three times meaning we were probably going around in circles. The days here were shorter than what we were used to. If we could not find it during the day, we were definitely not going to find it in the middle of the night. We sat on what I assumed was an unusual bus stop. I was so sore from all the walking. All I wanted was water but where would I find it in a strange land like this one?

"Thor, remind me again why we can not just ask someone where it is?"

"Why would someone know where a random shop in a big city is?"

As a reflex to his stubbornness, I rolled my eyes.

"I see my brother already influenced you."

He was expecting me to get triggered with his remark but I almost smiled. I was conflicted on how I should react when I was going to see him. It had been days since our last encounter and on one hand, I had missed him, but on the other, I was mad at him.

A lady sat next to us. Great opportunity to ask someone if they knew where we should go. Thor saw that I was about to bother her and grabbed my arm.

"Yeah because your plan on just walking around worked wonderfully."

I jerked my arm away from his grip and turned to face the lady next to me. She was wearing an all-pink outfit with a huge hat and purse that matched her aesthetic. She reminded me of a housewife in the 50's. Her back straightened up and she was holding with both of her gloved hands her purse that was resting on her lap. I could not get a glimpse of her face from her oversized hat.

"Excuse me, ma'am..."

She turned to face me and revealed her foreign form. She had feline features something in between of a house cat and a tiger. I had never encountered non-humanistic extraterrestrials before so I tried to act as normal as possible.

"Do you know where I can find a shop named Anguvardal?"

She shook her head no. Not going to lie I got disappointed. I really wanted to hear what her voice sounded like or her accent. A gentleman in what seemed like an expensive suit was standing a few meters away waiting for the vehicle to appear.

"Sir, do you know where..."

"No."

That was kind of mean. Thor next to me having an idiotic grin on his face, glad he was right.

"I know where it is."

We both twisted our backs to view the person that spoke. The alien I saw three times in a few hours was seated on the sidewalk. He reminded me of an animal that I had forgotten its name. A rabbit maybe?

"Why should we trust you?"

"I have lived on these streets for years. I know everything about the city."

It was my turn to be wary. He looked adorable but I did not let that deceive me.

"Have you been following us?"

"Yes, yes I have."

"Why didn't you help us all this time?"

"I had to wait for you to get desperate."

Thor was getting irritated.

"What exactly do you want?"

"What do you think I want?"

He took out of his jacket an old can and shook it.

"I will give you information, you will give me money."

I really anticipated Thor to get angry but he just simply approached him and threw in the can a couple of silver coins. I stood up and followed him.

"What do you think I am? A fool?"

"Yes."

He wiggled his container harder making the two coins jiggle.

Thor sighed and got out of his pocket a golden one. Before he even tried to throw it in the can the small creature snatched it out of his hand. He bit it to make sure it was real and hid it in his clothing.

"It is about 20 minutes away from here. Get the A1 and get out in 5 stops."

Thor bent down to look at him in the eyes.

"If you have lied to us I will come back for my money."

"What makes you think I will still be here?"

I saw the bus approaching and grabbed his hand to make him hurry and forget about the alien. He sat next to me and crossed his arm. He acted like a little child that had lost in a fight.

"Feisty little rabbit wasn't he?"