Consequences

18

A few days later, Sigyn decided she had to make her final plan, one that would take down the entire family and keep them from interfering with her plans for Loki. She had been watching them carefully, noting that in the last two days, the family had spent more time together in the gardens. She approached Loki and told him her plan.

Loki listened to the commands and was once again compelled to follow them. He created the illusion of grandeur and pride, but Sigyn insisted that he show his stitched-shut lips to show just who was in control of the silver-tongued prince. She would once again accompany him, this time acting along with him with her magic as well as having him execute everyone he loved.

They appeared in the garden while Frigga hosted tea. Freyja was absent, as she often was, and so was Amundr. Sigyn had not counted on the presence of the Jotun woman. She discounted her as a savage and gave Loki the command to strike.

Loki did, his blade piercing Frigga's heart, a blow to the head felling Odin, and Thor stabbed through the throat before anyone could summon the guard. Loki, once again forced to silence by spells as well as by his stitched-shut lips, could not believe what was happening. He fought against the magic, but nothing changed.

From a short distance, Sunny watched her illusion play out, her own body falling to Sigyn's magic as an illusionary Katja fought back valiantly, but ultimately fell to Loki's dagger.

In her head, Katja asked, "Now?"

"Not yet," she replied, "We need her to really be surprised when you appear. Possibly enough to drop her hold on him."

"Are they both real?"

"Yes, very real. Her pride won't let her miss this."

"Sunny, Loki's crying- this is killing him. We need to end this soon."

Sunny watched her mother fall in the courtyard as Angrboda rose up and charged Sigyn, "Now would be a good time, since I think all of us are dead."

Katja ran from the palace, her hatchet in one hand, sword in the other, screaming out a war cry that could have curdled any sane person's blood. It stopped Sigyn in her tracks and Angrboda used the moment to throw Sigyn onto the steps. Sigyn recovered quickly and tried to attack Katja, but Katja was still charging at Loki. He barely deflected the blow from her sword when she turned to throw her hatchet at Sigyn, sinking it into her shoulder, quickly returning to her fight against Loki.

Sunny carefully strung an arrow in her bow and aimed it at Sigyn's heart. She waited for the perfect moment as Angrboda grabbed her by the hair and flung her down the steps hard, enough for her magic to lose its grip on Loki so that he threw both his daggers into the ground and his illusion vanished as he dropped to his knees in despair, his face nearly touching the ground as his arms failed to better hold him up. Sunny let her arrow fly and it struck true. She strung another and fired it at Sigyn's neck. Just to be certain, she calmly strung a third and it pierced her skull. The bodies in the courtyard vanished. Sunny lightly leapt from her hiding place and approached Katja as Brynja ran down the stairs to Loki, calling his name.

Katja prodded Sigyn with her foot, "Is she dead?"

"If she's not, she never will be," Sunny replied. She turned to Angrboda, "Thank you for your help. I could not have found a clear shot without you."

Angrboda nodded, "Do you know if Freyja and Frigga were successful in entering her room?"

Sunny thought to Freyja and received a reply, "The room is on fire as we speak. Apparently Grandmother disguises rage quite well until she is given the opportunity to express it."