Mist

up now that she knew what her joining with Mist made her capable of.

“You lost yourself in the magic,” he said, “as I lost myself to the beast. You forced Loki to retreat, but you were unprepared to handle the unleashed potency of your abilities.”

“Is that what gave me this pounding headache?” she asked, her voice rough with a brave attempt at humor. “Or was it the kiss?”

Dainn could never forget the look on her face and how she had laughed when Loki had called him her lover. “I am sorry,” he said, staring at the pavement between his feet. “It was necessary to shake you out of your fugue state.”

“I guess it worked.” She probed her lower lip with a fingertip. “Did the beast come back then? You said that strong emotions . . . I mean—”

“By then it was under my control again.”

“Well, now I know you were lying when you suggested I wouldn’t pay a price for magic.”

“I had no idea what that price would be,” Dainn said.

She looked up at the sun as if it were some foreign object instead of a tool she had used in her battle with Loki. “I guess I’d better keep you around to tell me what I do next time I ‘lose myself in the magic.’ Just don’t try that particular tactic again, okay? It isn’t good for either one of us.”

“No,” Dainn said, closing his eyes.

Mist sighed. “What did happen with Freya? I felt her for a short time, and then she was gone.”

“She still lacked the physical presence to fight Loki effectively, regardless of her desire to protect you. He was able to send her away.”

“I hope she makes a little more progress soon. I don’t think I can keep this up much longer. Dainn, look at me.”

He obeyed her, and she gazed out of eyes as bruised as her body had been. “There’s one more thing I need to know. Before I stopped Loki, you bargained for my life.”

So, Dainn thought, it was to come at last. “Yes,” he said.

“You would have traded—” Her throat worked. “The things he said to you—”

“As if we had been lovers.”

She pressed her lips together, refusing to continue. Forcing him to tell her.

“We were,” he said harshly. “When he convinced me he was Freya in order to use me against the Aesir. He took on her shape. He learned my weaknesses and how to manipulate me. When I discovered his tricks, it was too late.”

“Then you did love Freya. Who you thought was Freya.”

“I believed I did.”

“You turned on him, but he . . .” She glanced at Dainn with an almost helpless expression. “He wants you back. He . . . feels something for you.”

“No. It is only submission he desires. He would have done the same to you if he had taken you.”

“And you’d have chosen that for me instead of an honorable death?”

“I had hoped—” He broke off, well knowing he could never tell Mist of his bargain to teach Loki the Alfar magic. He knew it could no longer be considered in effect. “You are too important to this world, Mist. I would go to Laufeyson again if I thought it would save Midgard.”

“Forget it.” She hopped off the motorcycle and strode to stand over him. “You hate him. You hate what he did to you. I’d never let you make that sacrifice. Not even for Midgard.”

“Perhaps it is not your choice.”

She turned and marched to the edge of the pier, glaring down into the cold gray water. “The beast is just waiting for another go at Loki. You have to stay away from him. You have to avoid any violence if you want to stay sane and not hurt innocent people. That means leaving the fighting to me, no matter what kind it is.”

“Would you not be better off without me?” he asked softly.

“Quit it with the whining,” she snapped. “You still have to teach me, remember?” She brushed a tendril of hair away from her lips. “Or is that too dangerous, too?”

Water slapped against the nearest piling, reminding Dainn of the small sea-magic he had used to send Loki his message. She was right. Even that could become deadly now.

“I can only know what is safe through trial and error,” he said, staring out at the increasing turbulence of water and sky.

She must have heard the despair in his voice, for she crouched near him again and reached out as if she might touch him. She didn’t.

“We’ll just have to be very careful,” she said.

“And you must set aside the Vanir magic for the time being. Once you have gained complete mastery of the Galdr, you will be ready to try it again.”

“But it worked, Dainn. I got rid of those Jotunar in the gym. I stopped Loki.”

And somehow, Dainn thought, it had given Freya full and apparently permanent access to Mist before Dainn had believed it possible. It had opened Mist’s mind, shattering all her unconscious defenses.

As long as Mist avoided such magic, Freya might be held at bay until Mist’s defenses were fully restored again. But when next the Lady spoke to him-—and she would undoubtedly do so very soon— she would have many questions. She was unlikely to have forgotten the kiss, and how it had restored Mist to her body. Unless he could convince Freya he’d had a very good reason . . .

Such worries were pointless now. There was no going back. There hadn’t been since he had chosen Mist over her mother.

“Your talent with the Runes can be developed to a level almost as powerful as the elemental magic you used today,” he said, “and with far less risk.”

“But—”

“Do you wish to lose your mind?”

Her face relaxed, and Dainn knew she was more relieved than she would ever admit. “Then we’re pretty much back where we started. Except now Loki knows I have power of my own.”

“No. I am certain his beliefs in that regard have not changed.”

“And Freya? She came when I called her, but I still can’t hear her.”

“She will contact me again when she is ready.”

“What did Loki mean when he said she’d never cared for anything or anyone she couldn’t use for her benefit or pleasure?” she asked. “I know she ignored me in Asgard, but—”

“Can you still doubt that Loki would employ any lie to increase his advantage, physical or psychological?” Dainn said. “Would he not try to plant suspicions in your mind at every turn?”

She met his gaze. “Did Freya think the beast would be a weapon for her all along?”

“I cannot believe so.”

“And what about this Eitr stuff Loki mentioned?”

Dainn had known he would have to explain about the game sooner or later, but now he could risk only part of the truth. “It is a particular power Freya is holding in reserve,” he said, “but she cannot risk spending it until there is no other choice. The price for wielding it could destroy Midgard. We must hope its use never becomes necessary.”

They both fell silent, intently studying everything but each other. A light snow began to fall, settling on Mist’s fair hair and lingering there like dew on ripe wheat. “At least we have Gungnir back,” she said after a long interval. “Where did you find it?”

“In a knife block.”

“And Loki’s supposed to be the clever one.”

“Cleverness does not preclude stupidity.” He shifted his weight, stretching cramped, aching muscles. “There is more to discuss, but perhaps we should be returning to the loft.”

She glanced toward the street, clogged with sluggish traffic as commuters struggled to negotiate icy pavement. “You’re right,” she said, sensible and pragmatic again. “I need to make sure the kids are safe. And Tashiro—”

“Vali said he would be no trouble.”