Time in Flames (Book 1)

Chapter 15: Do You Trust Me?

An arrow flew past Estrid's ear, grazing her earlobe as it embedded itself inside a nearby tree. Glaring, she looked at Frandal who laughed uncomfortably as he went back to dealing with the bandits. Rolling her eyes, Estrid spun around her obsidian spear, slicing into anyone who dared to get near her.

A crudely armored man flew over her head, landing on his back a few feet away. Looking at where he had flown from, Estrid saw Thor bashing any of the thieves before they could land a blow. The man tried to get up from his spot only for her to throw her spear into his chest. He screamed in pain before immediately falling limp to the forest floor.

"Does anyone have a bright idea that will help us get out of this mess?" She yelled to her friends, her eyes lighting up a deep purple as she scanned the area.

"Not getting killed would be a start!" Frandal said from afar.

Estrid growled enraged before her eyes caught some honeysuckle growing on a nearby tree. With hands glowing a deep purple, she brought the plant to life, unraveling it from its grasp around the tree. The vines swayed in the air like a snake as she moved them towards her, giving Estrid some time to summon her spear. Her weapon raced towards her, landing in her outstretched hand as the honeysuckle began to encompass the area. But before she could lock onto one of her adversaries, something clamped down around her throat making her gurgle in both pain and surprise. Her hands immediately shot up to her throat to feel nothing wrapped around her neck.

It was seidr.

Estrid felt herself being forced into the air, causing her to drop her spear as she grasped her throat, trying to escape. Her eyes grew wide as a deep blue seidr pattern enveloped her form. The clamp slowly began to grow tighter, cutting off her airway as she squeaked desperately for help. Estrid's eyes began to roll towards the back of her head as she began to lose consciousness.

"ESTRID NO!" A voice yelled from a few feet away.

Moments later she was back upon the ground with air filling her lungs. Coughing for oxygen, she rubbed her neck as she slowly lifted her head. Loki was approaching quickly, his hands encased in a deep green seidr trail. Rage filled the trickster's face as he glared at something behind her.

Slowly turning her head, Estrid could make out the figure of a woman encased within Loki's magic.

"Lady Estrid!" Thor's voice said as hands helped her back onto her feet.

Looking up, she saw the deep blue eyes of the Thunderer looking down upon her with concern.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Estrid nodded as she rubbed her trachea. Delirium still clouded her judgement. But a scream quickly flooded her senses back to consciousness. Turning towards her assailant, Estrid could see the woman's body being lifted into the air, the seidr contorting her form. Her eyes grew wide.

Loki was going to brutally murder the witch for trying to kill her. There wasn't enough time to stop him.

Without missing a beat, she threw herself forward past Thor, calling her spear into her hand once more. Once she had the obsidian blades in her hand, she thrust it toward the trickster, missing him by meters but gaining his attention. The weapon embedded itself in a nearby tree trunk. He jumped as his gaze turned toward her, shock in his deep green orbs.

The woman fell back to the earth, the connection cut, and landed with a thud on the ground.

"Stop..." She said, her voice incredibly hoarse from almost having her trachea snapped.

Returning her gaze back to the woman on the ground, she pointed towards the witch.

"Bind her...take her-take her to Odin. She will tell him...what he wants..." She rasped, putting a palm on her throat.