Loki's Daughter, Mortem and Mischief

Chaptet Thirty Three

Run.

My feet slammed against the marble floors, racing as fast as they could carry me to Grimnir. The high heels that my toes had once been crammed into were lost in the maze of hallways in the place. The hem of my dress was tattered and ripped as beads and jewels left a trail of breadcrumbs behind me. But I didn't care, not one bit. I had only one thing on my mind and one thing only. I needed to get Grimnir, to warn him-to protect him.

No one had to get hurt, no one had to get in my way. As long as I could run faster, run faster than my father and than Mobius. Then, everything would be okay. I would have enough time to warn Grimnir and somehow get him out of here. But that only assured if my feet could carry me faster than the two grown men that trailed behind me.

"Hela!" my father bellowed from behind me, his voice was ragged and breathy. I could hear his heels clicking upon the marble floors as he ran, close but not too close.

I didn't dare look behind me, too afraid I would lose my momentum as I turned sharp corners. God Dammit, I thought to myself as we ran. Mobius had so conveniently lead me as far away from the ballroom as possible, as far away from Grimnir as he could manage. There was nearly a whole two miles between me and Grimnir.

"Kiddo! You gotta stop!" Mobius yelled, his voice was far behind me-farther than even my father. It gave me confidence to go even faster as I was clearly more than outrunning the Time Agent. The real race stood now between my father and I.

"Hela!" My Father's voice was nearly a scream now, his voice was begging me to halt. But of course-like the good duaghter I was-I disobeyed and continued forward. I knew there was no point in baragaining, the look on their faces told me they were only to accept one answer from me. And I wasn't in the mood to comply.

I heard his heels screech to a stop behind me just as an array of illusions began to surround me. About a dozen mirror image's of my father encircled me, trapping me within them. Though they were no more than magic as my father was still yards behind, they were all more than solid-forcing me to stop.

I screamed in frustration as I tried to squeeze through and break the wall they had formed around me. But with every ounce of force I attempted, they shoved me back into the center. Their eyes glared at me, lifeless yet full of disappointment.

"Hela," my father called as he walked towards us, "I just need to talk to you! You're making the wrong choice!"

"No!" I screamed in reply, I lit my hands up, green flames traveled up from my palms and encircles my arms. I stretched my neck before looking to the illusions that stood before me. With one small concentration of power, the men crumpled and burned before they were simply whisked away with the wind. As soon as I saw my clearing, I bolted-running just as fast as I was before.

But, I made a mistake. I looked behind me to see where my father was, but as I met his eyes-he flicked his hand upwards. Before I had time to stop myself and battle my own inertia, a giant brick wall erupted right in front of me. I hit against it with full force, immediately falling to the floor.

Blood filled my mouth, I nearly choked on it as it welled up from beneath my aching teeth. My cheek became red hot with pain as the scrapes began to bleed. Though stars seemed to circle around me head, I pressed against the floor as I picked myself up. The wall crumbled into nothing as my father walked ever closer, now he was just a yard away.

I stumbled back, shaking my head as I looked at him. Blood slipped from the corner of my mouth and instantly, my father's face grew white. "Oh, darling," he breathed, quickening his pace, "Bunny, I'm sorry-"

"Leave me alone," I hissed, spitting the blood from my mouth. I wiped my face with my sleeve, staining it a dark crimson red. I hardly cared about the pain that swam through me, I was only focused on going forward.

My father attempted to reach out for me but I quickly dodged his hand and behn my sprint once more. My head was reeling and I could hardly see straight, but I suppressed it all.

"Odin, far-wanderer, grant me wisdom, courage, and victory. Friend...Hela, grant me your strength. And both be with me," I mumbled as I ran. It was a hopeless prayer but I was willing to try anything. I didn't want anyone to get hurt, not Grimnir and certainly not my father-not even Mobius. I just needed strength, for my muscles to work hard enough to get me to where I needed to be.

But perhaps, praying was just bad luck as seconds later I was stopped once more. Blood seeped now from both my nose and mouth, leaving now just enough liquid for me to slip and fall. I hit the marble ground once again as my feet flew out from under me. My head throbbed as it met the floor, I scrambled desperately to get up and keep going. But as I came to my senses and just as my eyes began to focus, my vision faded to black.

I felt as though if I just concentrated hard enough, tried my best to see through the only blackness-the blindness would all dissipate. My father's magic, no doubt. I knew this feeling well, his control over me was just as suffocating as it had always been. I grit my teeth, trying to hold my ground and use the senses I had left to the best of ability,

One set of steps sounded in the otherwise quiet hallway, the sound of the festivities were still far away. I knew through the gait alone, my only threat was still my father.

"I don't want to hurt you," I repeated for what felt  like the tenth time. I frantically spun, trying to gage my direction. But, the echoing of every noise made it nearly impossible.

"You need to back down," his voice rang out from the darkness, bouncing off of every wall. I scoffed. "Not happening," I retorted, spitting out a mouthfull of blood. I could nearly hear the face of disgust he made.

"The TVA is a force greater than both you and me, you can't win here," My Father added. The darkness that shrouded my eyes parted for a second, and soon the only thing I could see was my Father and I. It was as if we stood in a room of pure black.

"I can and I will," I stated firmly, trying to stand as tall as possible despite my pounding head. Truly, I believed myself when I said that. Nothing was going to stop me. I didn't know what I could do in the long run, that could wait for later. But at that moment, I simply needed to get Grimnir out of here-warn him too.

"Have I truly raised you to be so arrogant?" he asked, it seemed to be more of a question for himself. His voice was full of pain and disappointment, but I could do little more than laugh.

"This isn't about you," I said. All the while, O was concentrating as hard as possibly on what I could see. If I just focused hard enough, pushed past the barrier that my Father had cast in my mind-I could see and then, I could run.

"You're right," he agreed as he slipped his hands into his pockets. I could scream simply by the look on his face. That damn condescending look. It was the same face he put on when I would fail to do my chores, or have too much attitude with him, or even take one too many cookies from the jar. It made me sick. "This is about you, as queen, as my daughter, and making the right decision."

I glared at him and wiped my nose. My vision was slowly coming in, I was just able to see the hallway in waves. Like ripples in a lake, vision was going in and out.

"I don't want to hurt you," I said one more time as my fists began to light up. He sighed, tightly squeezing his eyes. "With how much you're saying that, I'm beginning to think you're lying."

And maybe, just maybe...I was