The Bargain

Chapter 56: Fifty-sixth Installment

Fifty-Sixth Installment: If I Fall

Thor ran to the huge doors of the fortress-like building Hel called home. His heart was racing in equal parts dread, hope, and anger. Just as he raised Mjölnir to strike them down and out of his way, they groaned open. He didn't waste time pondering as he sprinted inside, for a split second seeing a corridor in front of him. Then he blinked and he was inside a round room with a ceiling so high he almost couldn't see it in the darkness above.

There, standing in the center of four pedestals, was Hel. The guardian of the Underworld was tall but thin, far thinner than Loki. Her skin was deathly white, her hair lank black without luster or shine. Her face reminded of a skull with skin stretched tightly over it and no muscle. Her eyes were black without whites or pupils. And on all four pedestals were the Caskets. Including the Casket of Ancient Winters. Thor knew for a fact Odin would not have consented to give that to her and wondered how she'd gotten it.

Loki, came the immediate answer. Somehow he arranged it. When I took the Tesseract from the vault, perhaps.

She gave him a slight smile. "Welcome back, prince Odinson. I have found your stolen brother."

The anger evaporated behind a painful burst of hope, bringing Thor up short. "What?"

Finally turning to face him fully, Thor saw she had something cupped in her hands. He'd missed it before. It was a small vial of glowing green liquid. No, he amended. It was Loki's seiðr. The exact vial he'd given to Brokkr and Sindri in Nidavellir what felt like ages past.

"Where did you get that?" he demanded.

"Brokkr gave it to me, of course," Hel replied. "I thought to use it to locate Loki. It worked, and I confess I'm a little surprised. I was just on my way to take myself to Thanos' location. Would you like to accompany me?"

"Of course," Thor all but growled, striding toward her and gripping his Warhammer tighter. "This ends here and now."

"And us the unlikeliest of allies," she mused.

There was humor in the words, Thor was not deaf to that. He wasn't much in the mood for jest, and he knew it showed on his face. Hel said nothing more, releasing the vial of seiðr. It remained floating in the air before her as she turned to each Casket. They were all glowing already, but at a gesture from her the glare increased to nearly blinding force. Ribbons of light sprang from each one, reaching to the other Caskets. As soon as they were all connected, a beam flowed from each one right to Hel.

The keeper of souls held out her hands to Thor. "Do not let go. This is a rough way to travel, but it is far less conspicuous than the Bifrost."

Without hesitation, Thor hooked his hammer to his belt and took her hands. Loki's skin was always cool. Hers was cold as the grave. He had time to blink and the room was gone. For a brief, disorienting moment he had the nauseating impression he was floating in a void without a floor or gravity. Then it passed and he was standing on a rocky outcropping, the stones of which were casting off a very faint glow. Hel stood right beside him, the four Caskets floating in the air around them like a shield.

And there was Thanos. In the center of a group of stones that looked similar to Stonehenge on Midgard, the faintly illumined ground was stained with blood. And there too was Loki. Bound by shackles to a huge, upright stone, arms chained above his head, his naked body covered in deep, ragged wounds that were flowing gold as if they were miniature rivers in his very skin. His head was down, chin to chest, skin an unhealthy pallor, trembling visibly.

Thanos had whirled as soon as they appeared, so Thor had an eye blink to process all this. He needed not an iota longer. His muscles bunched, propelling him into a lunge with no conscious thought, face frozen in a scowl of pure, murderous rage. He threw himself at Thanos, Mjölnir crackling in his hand, the sound only fueling his anger. Thanos held up both hands, and a glimmering curtain of light appeared around the upright stones like a shield. The force of Thor's blow made it buckle, and he knew he'd need only one more to destroy it completely.