Loki: Storm of Swords

Chapter 46 - The Mischief Maker Meets the Devil

Oberyn Martell wanted to go with Loki to confront the Lord of Light. However, the God of Mischief refused to bring anybody with him to the initial confrontation. He even told Sansa she had to remain. "I will be by your side when you face him! You think I'm an idiot and will let you do this alone?" Sansa hissed as Loki adjusted the saddle on Rhaegal. Loki gave her a look, half annoyed, and half concerned. 

"Sansa!" he said, grabbing her face and pulling her close. "I am the only person who has a quarter of the power needed to fight him. When the time comes to actually kill him, I will need Thor and the gods know who else. You might have magic, my love, but you are not strong enough to take on a demon of Surtur's magnitude." Sansa glared at him, her hands resting on his. Oberyn Martell stood off to the side with Bronn, watching the couple.

"Don't you want to go with him?" Oberyn asked, leaning in closer to the sells-sword.

"Not really," Bronn answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Oberyn raised his eyebrow at him.  "Even if he dies, I'll still have the missus to pay my bills."

"Pretend to be cold all you want, Bronn. But I know that you care about him," the Martell said as he punched the manservant in the shoulder. Bronn tried to ignore him as he watched his master continue to argue with his lady. He was lying of course, but he was not about to tell the Martell prince that. 

"I can't lose you, Loki. I hope you realize that," Sansa said as she rested her chin on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. Loki ran his fingers through her red hair.

"I know, my love. And I can't lose you. That's why I must leave you here. I want you to make sure that the Martells are ready to leave Dorne if things don't go the way they're supposed to go. I already spoke with Doran and Oberyn. They understand that if I can't gauge Surtur's predictability, they must flee or burn," Loki explained. 

"I don't want to leave you behind," Sansa whispered, her lips hovering right behind Loki's ear. He shivered a little bit, always marveling that even six years of marriage had not quelled his lust for this woman.

"And neither do I. But, there's some saying about duty and honor, so, my hands are tied," he teased. 

"There's also a part about family in that saying," Sansa reminded and Loki touched his forehead to hers.

"Don't tempt me." He kissed her and when he pulled away, they smiled at each other. "I'll be back."

"You'd better be," Sansa warned. They parted from each other and Loki swung into Rhaegal's saddle, grabbing the reigns. 

"Okay, Rhaegal. Ta meg til å møte denne lysets Herre (Alright, Rhaegal. Take me to meet this Lord of Light)," he whispered into his mount's ear. Rhaegal shook his head a little and started to spread his wings. Sansa, Oberyn and Bronn took several steps back as the dragon took off running then sprang into the air. Loki steered him in the direction of the desert lands away from Sunspear. From his height in the air, Loki could see the fiery pit, the chasm to hell. Unless it was a pathway between Muspelheim and Westeros. Always a possibility. "Damn it! And Sansa and I just wanted to live happily ever after," he commented sarcastically as Rhaegal took him closer. "Lett, gutt. Forsiktig. Jeg frykter at brannen kan brenne enda varmere enn din (Easy, boy. Careful. I fear this fire might burn even hotter than yours)," Loki said. Rhaegal snorted, having taken offense to that. They began their descent and Loki could feel the heat wafting up towards him. A few drops of sweat slid from his hairline down his face. Loki wiped them away as Rhaegal landed and knelt down, extending one of his wings so Loki could dismount. Loki slid down, patting the dragon's scales. Rhaegal straightened up when Loki was a few feet in front of him and stretched his wings. He followed behind Loki, his master's only backup. Loki got within thirty yards of the gaping crack and stopped. The heat was a little too much. He shifted his skin so that he was in his Jotun form. "Hold deg tilbake, Rhaegal. Jeg må gjøre dette alene (Hold back, Rhaegal. I must do this on my own)," Loki commanded. The dragon 'frowned' at him, but obeyed and stopped following him. Loki conjured up his spear and slammed it on the ground. "Come forth, Surtur! Or are you too much of a coward to finally show your face?!" Loki challenged. He slammed his spear on the ground again. The waves of heat from the chasm increased and some lava came spewing from its depths. Loki narrowed his eyes and kept watching. Suddenly, the crack widened and there was a mighty roar from below and the ground shook. Loki took a few steps back and Rhaegal roared. That was when a large hand sprang up and grabbed the ground. Another one came out, but that one was holding a mighty sword. Then, a skull-like head, with flaming horns appeared and the Lord of Light, or Surtur or Muspelheim, crawled out. He stood up before Loki, gazing down at the God of Mischief. He chuckled and heaved his sword to his shoulder. He was at least twenty feet tall, but Loki knew he could get taller. 

"Well, well! The infamous God of Mischief and Chaos has come to greet me! You really shouldn't have," Surtur told him.

"I know I shouldn't have, but... I'm known for doing what I'm not supposed to," Loki rejoined. Surtur bellowed and stooped down to look at him.

"You know I wanted you to join me before? I wanted you to come to me of your own free will and use your superior intellect in my master plans," Surtur said and Loki nodded.

"I know. Your Red Priestess... oh, what was her name? Oh! That's right! Melisandre, she said that. But then she tried to harm the woman I love, and that pissed me off. That's when I told her to tell you not to let the door hit you in the ass on the way out," Loki said calmly in return. 

"She was a perfect servant. A little headstrong when it came to you, but she did my bidding. And you killed her," Surtur reminded and Loki nodded.

"Yes! I killed her. And I'm glad I did. She was getting too close to people I care about, and I had to nip the problem in the bud," Loki commented as he began to pace before Surtur. 

"Ah! That's right! She not only made an attempt against your beautiful wife, she also had her eyes set on turning that one Stark into a sacrifice for me. You know the one I speak of... Jon Stark. Or is he?" Surtur posed and Loki stopped.

"What do you mean? Of course he's a Stark; he's Eddard Stark's son," Loki defended. He knew how Jon hated anybody speaking of his previous position as a bastard, and he always defended him. 

"Is he? Ha! It would seem you need to be educated, little mischief maker. Not just about his past, but about your own as well," Surtur teased. Loki stilled at this. Rhaegal sensed his master's discomfort and spouted fire at Surtur. The Lord of Light's eyes alighted on the dragon and he grinned. "That should be a giveaway in and of itself. The next time you see the bastard, have him touch the third dragon."

"Cease your riddles, demon! You have come here to conquer this world, and I am sworn to defend what I worked so hard to build. You know I must stop you?" Loki challenged, leveling his spear at the Fire Giant. 

"Of course. But you will die trying, Frost Giant. And I will kill the Odinson as well. And I will let my right hand have his way with your family, and the Dragon Queen will surrender her throne, whether she be alive or dead. This world will bow to me! I have bided my time for centuries. You really think I'll let a youngster like you stop my plans?" Surtur queried.

"Do you really think I'll stand by and let you burn everything I care about? You must be as dense as you appear. By the way... you have a uni-brow," Loki taunted. Surtur roared at this insult and swung his sword. Loki summoned the Casket of Ancient Winters and unleashed its power. Surtur's sword was not destroyed, but it was blocked by a wall of ice. The Fire Giant bellowed and created a fire ball in the palm of his hand. He hurled it at the wall and it melted. However, Loki was not standing there anymore. Surtur turned his head just as Loki appeared behind him. Loki froze his spear and tried to drive it into Surtur's head, right behind his ear. The Fire Giant conjured up fire on the tips of his fingers, and batted them in Loki's direction. Loki was barely able to teleport out of the way in time. His cloak was singed, and he removed it. Suddenly, Surtur's sword came his way, and Loki summoned the Casket again. The power of the two collided and created a whirlwind if fire and ice. Loki was knocked back and Surtur was sent stumbling a few paces. When Loki looked around, the ground was black and ragged, like lava after having met ice cold water. Rhaegal had retreated to avoid the icy blast, but he returned to his master's side, nudging Loki with his snout. "Jeg har det bra, Rhaegal. Det går bra med meg. Nå ... hvor er fienden min? (I'm alright, Rhaegal. I'm alright. Now... where is my foe?)" Loki asked. The dragon swung its head around and Loki followed the gesture. "No... not Sunspear!" Loki cried. He banished his spear and the Casket to the Nether Realm and leapt onto Rhaegal's back. "Fly! Fly som om verdens ende var snapping på halen din! (Fly! Fly as if the end of the world was snapping at your tail)" Loki commanded and Rhaegal quickly took to the sky. Thor, I'm not one to ask you for help. But, I must now. Come to Sunspear! Surtur has risen!