Evolution

Chapter 17

Loki awoke very late the next morning; he stared at the ceiling and spoke to no one in particular, "Am I dead? No...I hurt too much to be dead." He heard movement to his left and turned his head to see Halifrey approach his bedside, "It's unlikely you'd be here if I were dead." As he was turning back and struggling to sit up, he noticed his very ruined shirt, "And I'm fairly certain the dead don't wake up covered in blood." He brushed his hair back from his face and the herbs fell free, tumbling to his chest where he noticed one of the other sprigs. He picked it up, curious.

Halifrey chuckled, "No, Loki, you are not dead. You should be, by every law of nature, but you are not."

"Did your healers do this work?" Loki asked, studying the herbs.

Halifrey shook his head, "No, our healers could not have repaired you, as damaged as you were. This was magic, pure and dangerous."

Loki put the pieces together, "Brynja."

"Yes, Brynja. I have never seen someone work the way she does, nor has Bel. She is quite skilled."

"Where is she?"

Halifrey sighed, "In her room, I suppose. I have been sitting beside your bed all night. She was quite weak when she left. Whatever magic she used, she said it was as likely to kill her as it was to fail and leave you dead, which was quite a large probability. You are lucky to be alive. I do not know if she has been so fortunate."

Loki nearly jumped from the bed and dropped to his knees as his legs failed him, "Oh, god, I hope... The last things I said to her were quite unkind..."

"And yet she still came to your aid. Had she not told Bel where you were and kept an eye on you before and during the fight, working her magic to keep you from being killed on the plain, you would have had no hope of survival. You would have bled to death, your body freezing to the ground while you were pelted with ice and rocks, every jerk reaction to each strike tearing your body from the frozen ground, ripping you open a little farther. Keep in your mind that Brynja saved you from that, even with whatever you said to her before." Halifrey stopped him as Loki struggled to his feet and walked towards the door, "Do take a moment to bathe before you see her- your clothing reeks of blood and while the scent alone may wake her, if she is alive she will appreciate seeing you before she smells you."

Loki grabbed clothes from his wardrobe and walked quickly to the bathroom, nearly collapsing into the tub when he arrived. He was still far too weak to move as fast as he had and his body forced him to slow down. He bathed carefully, noting every bruise and scratch. He ran his fingers over his stomach, only a light pink indent where he knew he had been stabbed deeply, likely fatally, the blade having ripped up into his rib cage as his attacker had lifted him off the ground before throwing him aside. His head still hurt from where the chunks of ice had hit him and he found those bruises as he rinsed his hair. He took his time leaving the tub, hoping he would be more steady after having bathed. He was not. He dressed, leaving this ruined clothes in a heap in the corner of the bathroom, and then slowly walked the halls to Brynja's room, fighting the urge to run.

He knocked on her door; Bel answered, "You survived the night. That was unexpected. Do come in."

Loki entered and saw Brynja crumpled on the bed, "Is she...?"

"I do not know. I cannot touch her without hurting her. If she is breathing, it is so shallowly that I cannot detect it," Bel saw Loki's face fall, "Perhaps it would be best if I leave you to keep vigil."

"Yes, thank you," he said quietly. After Bel left, he approached her bed, "Good god, Bryn, what have you done?" He brought the chair from her desk over and sat beside her. He checked for a pulse and found a very weak one. She was breathing, but shallowly. He stroked her hair, and noticed her hands were smudged with his blood. "What Witchery is worth doing that would kill the witch?" he asked. He answered himself after a moment of silence, "Of course you'd say that if it saves a friend, it's worth the odds, wouldn't you? And how many of those have I had in my life?" He broke down, begging her to wake up. She did not. He crawled onto the bed next to her and curled around her, "Please, Bryn, I'm so sorry..."