The Jotun's Daughter

Chapter 29

"You got to be kidding. I swear I only drank a drop-I hate sweet coffee!" Nico sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. I had rushed to his room and shaken him awake, informing him that a Chitari replicator had been on the plane. I neglected to tell him what exactly it had been trying to do.

"Doesn't matter. This stuff is potent. You're lucky that you drank so little," I responded, dumping the cold coffee down the toilet. Nico had said that Coulson had came in to talk to him and had given it to him. It didn't take much to figure out who "Coulson" had been. Nico pushed past me, and washed his face with cold water; I caught a whiff of the smell of smoke as he did so.

"Have you been smoking?" I demanded, my eyes immediately searching the room for signs. But Nico didn't have a window, and there were no cigarette butts in the trash.

"Don't be stupid," He snapped, wiping his face with the towel. For a minute I heard myself just a few minutes ago, saying the exact same thing. Then I remembered our first encounter. This must have been the so called "Smell of Death" that Jase had been talking about. I wasn't sure why he had freaked out about it-it smelled like a campfire, which was the same smell that saturated the few good memories I had.

"We have to find the rest of the team," I snatched a black T-shirt off the desk and threw it at the male in the bathroom. It landed next to him on the rim of the sink, which wasn't what I was aiming for, but I was completely distracted. The anatomical skeletal tattoo lining the muscles in his back had some of the most beautifully detailed-not mention accurate-linework I'd ever seen; the lack of regard for any of the scars on his skin only added to the esthetic. Dark eyes caught mine in the mirror, and I turned away before he could see me blush. 

"Hurry up and get dressed. I'm going to look for the others. Meet me in the lobby in ten," I pushed open the door and got out of the room before he had a chance to respond, running straight into Jase. I knew his thoughts before they raced through his head as his eyes darted between our combined lack of clothing. I slashed at Jase's arm, pleased to see the blood rising from the thin line.

"Hey!" He hissed, and grabbed at the cut. I quickly filled him in on what had happened. With another glance at Nico, he agreed to help us look. I left in a hurry, searching the corridors for anyone, anything. I ran through the analog data and found that Coulson and May really had left; I assumed to go find pick up the hard drive. When Cammie had gotten in contact with me last night, letting me know that their mission was a success, he had nothing to say in response. I spotted Mack on the surveillance footage, unconscious against the wall. I mapped the area in my head and ran quickly. When I reached him, he was just regaining consciousness.

"There were so many of them, Kayla," He murmured. "More than last time. They hit me with a dart, and I just..."

"It's ok," I said quietly, "They didn't hurt Nico, Jase, May, Coulson, or me."

"What about... the others?" I spotted another dart embedded in his arm and yanked in out. His breath hitched, but he started to sit up straighter.

"I don't know yet," I replied. Suddenly, I heard a voice boom down the empty hallway, echoing loudly.

"Brother!"

"Thor! In here!" I yelled back. The big man appeared around the corner quickly.

"Have you seen Loki? My son?" He asked anxiously. He looked down at Mack, and helped him to his feet. 

"Jase is fine."

"I'm afraid that Loki may have been captured," He replied, brows furrowed.

"Kayla, they have tortured him before." He grasp my shoulders in both hands. "They cannot get to him again!" I was strong, but if he held onto me much longer, he was going to break my collarbone.