Twisted [Degenerate Series, Book 1][Blackfrost] ✔️

Chapter 18

I changed after Natasha left and crashed on my bed mere minutes afterward. Everything about what just happened had wiped every ounce of energy of my mortal body away.

I was asleep in seconds, trying to ignore the horrible, throbbing pain in my heart and side. When I fell asleep, I began to dream.

I woke up, but I wasn't in my bed. I was in a large room, all white, almost blinding. The light hurt my eyes. I realized that my arms were spread like a bird, and my legs were spread, too, making my body almost appear to be a big X. I saw that my arms and legs were chained to a large vertical stone slab in the center of the room. And I was tired. So, so tired.

I also heard a muffled scream, as if someone was holding back a shout by clenching their teeth.

The last thing I felt was a horrible, throbbing pain in my back. It felt like my flesh was being burned away. It smelled like my flesh was being burned away.

Suddenly, the chains broke away and I fell forward onto the floor. The pain in my back vanished, as did the room around me.

I was no longer lying on the floor either. No. I was sitting on a metal table, and the white-eyed creatures were surrounding me.

I felt the blinding pain from the black sword spreading through my body. This wasn't a dream, I realized. It was a memory.

I continued to yell in pain, watching as every vein in my body became a dark black color, spreading up my chest and my neck, spreading onto my face before they slowly faded away. The pain, though, did not go away.

I was having a hard time breathing normally. Alright, Loki, I told myself, suck it up. This isn't that bad. But it was. It was horrible. It was the worst pain I had ever felt in my life. I was wheezing, struggling to get a good breath. The main creature, the blonde one wearing all black clothing, grabbed my hair and twisted my head to look at him.

"We as a whole need your help, Loki Laufeyson." He indicated all of the dozens of creatures surrounding the room. The way he said my name was just creepy. I shuddered. "We need you to retrieve something for us. Something your friends stole from us." Friends? What friends? I was trying to let his words distract me from the pain. "Tony Stark took our pendant many years ago. Our source of power and strength. Our Havbølger. We want it back. Now." I wanted to tell him that Tony Stark was far from my friend, but I had no strength left.

"Havbølger?" I recognized the word. I translated in my head. Ocean waves. Everything came flooding to me in one second. The black sword, glowing. It couldn't be. Hemmelighetsverden. The sword of secrets. So that was why the creature said the sword would keep me from telling others what had happened to me tonight.

The sword, I knew, was enchanted with ancient magic. It was enchanted by touch, and belonged to the demons of Hel and death. It prevented victims from telling any secrets that must be kept confidential. I wanted to slap myself. What had I gotten myself into?

"You recognize it?" The creature asked. "You recognize the name?"

I felt myself nod. It was a necklace, of sorts, I knew this. Havbølger, specifically, was for the demons of the sea. There were demons in every realm, and they resided all throughout each realm. The demons were not meant to be created, and were extremely dangerous, wishing death upon all of the nine realms. The creatures typically kept hidden so not to be destroyed by gods. The pendants, such as Havbølger, were the life and power sources of the demons. If all of the pendants for each of the demons came together, the destruction of the nine realms would be instant.

Each group of demons possessed a pendant representing their realm. These demons, the demons of Midgard and the oceans, had Havbølger, ocean waves.