The Last Shifter (a Loki romance)

Chapter 141

There was no sign of Thor or Loki on Asgard. According to Heimdall, Hela had declared them both dead when she arrived. She had then gone on to murder Fandral and Volstagg as well as decimate the Asgardian army–along with Hogun. With Sif gone, travelling elsewhere, Heimdall and I were the only real leaders left on Asgard. For the sake of the people, we put our differences aside and worked together.

Hela wasn't the only problem either. Somehow, she had resurrected Asgardian soldiers who had been dead for thousands of years. They were truly awful to look at, their armor rusted so horribly that it was black, not to mention the sickly green glow in their eyesockets and ribcages. The streets were crawling with the zombies before we could get anyone out. The only upside was that we'd managed to avoid getting spotted.

Night had since fallen, and Heimdall and I had taken shelter in the forest. But even this far out, the occasional zombie still managed to stumble upon us.

"We need to get the people to shelter." They were the first words either of us had spoken since I'd arrived, "Somewhere outside the city."

"There is one place. Deep in the mountains, but it is the lair of a deadly dragon."

"Kaylinth? He's moved on, I think. I haven't heard from him in years." A deep rumbling came from Heimdall, and after a few moments, I realized he was laughing.

"Why, with all that I know about you, does it still come as a surprise that you are on speaking terms with the deadliest creature on Asgard?" I couldn't hold back a snigger of my own at that.

"It was pure coincidence, actually. We had a...mutual friend." And his three hatchlings had imprinted on Loki and myself.

"I see."

"Anyway," I brought myself back to the issue at hand, "I don't know how to access those tunnels on foot." Flying people in as a dragon was out of the question, there was too big a risk that Hela would see me.

"Those tunnels were once a place of safety for Asgardians, back during the wars. Very few still remember their existence, but I do."

"So what's the plan?" I asked, "Sneak people out of the city in small groups? What happens when Hela discovers their location? We'll be cornered." But I couldn't come up with a better solution; the Bifrost was too easy to guard. We would get away with one trip there, maybe two, before it became impossible.

"We cannot afford to worry about that right now. Get some rest. I will take the first watch tonight." I didn't like that he'd shut me down like that, but he was right. As I laid down, I reached through the Bond to Loki. I could feel him still, but he was too far away to communicate with. I rolled over on the hard ground, trying to get comfortable. We had work to do.

Over the next two weeks, Heimdall and I did what we could. The first couple days were the most stressful, sneaking back into the city, going from residence to residence trying to get people to trusts us, to come with us. As more time passed, and Hela's restrictions on peoples' movements became increasingly harsh, they were more willing to follow us deep into the mountains. Several proactive people had also formed a resistance against Hela and her rule, and we began using them to send messages. One of them would come meet us somewhere outside the city and arrange a distraction so we could get a large group or family away safely. Others made a run for it on their own. After finding the bodies of several people who failed to evade the zombies, I'd taken to having a couple clones patrol the woods and take any strays to safety.

The entrance to the stronghold was actually very well-hidden, and once Heimdall showed me where it was, I felt better about not stumbling across it on my own. It was situated between a pair of mountains and was only accessible through a mile-long hike on a ledge that was maybe a foot and a half wide, at an elevation that was almost constantly shrouded in mist.