Tournament of Thieves

2

Loki marched in the middle of a group of heavily armed Aesir warriors. Before him was Thor, Mjolnir in hand. To his right and left sides, respectively, were Tyr, the one-handed god of war, and Hermod, one of the many sons of Odin. Behind him was Heimdall, the keeper of the Bifrost.

Loki, who hadn't walked for a thousand years, had been a little unsteady on his feet at first. After standing up, Loki had toppled over onto Sigyn, who had been lending him a supporting arm. They had both ended up on the floor of the cavern, while Thor had sighed, rolling his eyes, and pulled Loki to his feet. Sigyn had then taken a firmer hold on him, slipping her arm under his shoulders, and he had then managed to stagger to the entrance to the cave.

There, the fierce sunlight had blinded him. He had flung his free arm up over his eyes, shielding them from the brilliant rays. Sigyn had blinked for a few moments as her eyes adjusted, but the sun didn't have nearly the same effect on her as it did on Loki, who hadn't seen it for a thousand years.

Then, the three had started walking down the mountainside, to where Thor had left three horses. They rode back to where the Bifrost was waiting for them. As soon as they had entered Asgard via the magical bridge, Heimdall, Tyr, and Hermod had all fallen into step around him, and Sif had drawn a reluctant Sigyn away.

"It's been so long!" Thor's blonde wife had gushed.

Sigyn had initially resisted. "I need to stay with my husband."

Sif had shaken her head. "Trust me, sweetie, you'll be better off without him right now. You've been with him for the past thousand years; I'm sure both of you can use a break."

Loki had wanted to protest that he needed Sigyn, and he could see she had a similar objection forming on her lips, but then her expression became blank and she allowed Sif to lead her away.

A dull ache was forming inside Loki now, and he forgot to start planning his getaway for "just in case" until they were halfway to Gladsheim, Odin's hall.

Thor's in front of me, with his hammer, so there's no way I'll get away that way. Hermod: I bet the only reason he's been permitted the 'honor' of escorting such a dangerous guy like me is because of that trip he made down to Helheim, about a thousand years ago, to try to make a deal with Hel. But my daughter just doesn't budge, does she? I'd say just like her daddy, but she ended up more like Angrboda than me. Everyone knows I love a good deal.

Back on track. Anyway, I believe getting past Hermod will be easy. Tyr – piece of cake. The guy's only got one hand, due to Fenrir. Though he's pretty deadly with his remaining one, and he's still capable of a backhand with that stump of his. You can't afford any slipups in startling him. It's got to be quick.

Heimdall, then. He can see and hear basically everything. But he can't hear thoughts, so I'm good for now. Getting past him will be tricky, but not hard. I mean, I'm destined to kill the guy, right? Then again, he'll kill me with the last of his strength. Darn you, sons of Odin.

The doors of Gladsheim loomed before them right as Loki finished the analysis of his guards. Shaking his head, he silently berated himself. Back before his imprisonment, he would have had four escape plans in the space of that walk, not to mention he'd be working on the fifth. He was losing his touch.

Thor threw the doors open and the group marched inside. Odin, the Allfather, sat upon his throne. His one eye was fixed on the trickster.

Loki decided to speak first and therefore gain some control, however meager, over the situation. "Hello, brother," he called to Odin. "It's been a while."

His words caused everyone in the room to stiffen. The little reminder that Loki and Odin – although not biological brothers – had sworn an oath to be blood brothers seemed to make the hall ten degrees colder. All the occupants of Gladsheim, already on edge, grew more tense, and Loki saw some of the warriors reach for their weapons.

Oh, it was good to be back.

"Do you know why you're here?" Odin asked.

Loki shrugged. "Not exactly," he answered. "I assumed it was either something really good, or really bad. An absolution or an execution."

"Not an execution...yet," Odin said, standing. "A chance at absolution."

Surprise flashed in the trickster god's eyes before he quickly masked it. "You must be playing a joke on me. Trying to get me back, huh?"

Odin shook his head gravely. "Trust me, Loki, I never thought we'd ever have use of your – ahem, skills – again, but it turns out we do." Gesturing to the escort to fall back, Odin walked down to Loki and stood before him.

Silence reigned in Gladsheim as the two, Allfather and trickster, stood face to face, each measuring the other. Then Odin spoke, quietly and firmly.

"Brisingamen, Freya's treasured necklace, is gone," he said.

Loki looked at Odin skeptically. "Gone? I didn't take it."

Odin rolled his eyes. "I know you didn't take it. Someone else did. And he's already sent a message, saying he'll do whatever it takes to make Freya his. She's in hysterics over its getting stolen. She was eager to go to the thief to obtain it, but we wouldn't allow it. You know how she'll do anything for that necklace."

Loki nodded. Back when Freya had first bargained for the necklace, Odin had ordered him to follow her. Doing so had let him listen in on the deal she had made for it, and he found out some scandalous stuff was going on there, which Odin had been enraged to hear. He had ordered Freya, as penance, to start a war between two mortal kings using her beauty after Loki had stolen the necklace from her for Odin to use as leverage. Surprisingly, she had done it, in order to get Brisingamen back.

"I know," Loki responded.

"I want you to steal it back."

Loki jumped. "You want me to steal it back?" he demanded. "And you don't think that's not at all risky?"

"Of course I think it's risky," Odin growled. "Who are you to question the Allfather?"

"Just the guy who always does."

Odin sighed. "You'll have someone watching you, and Thor will be on your trail in a moment's notice if you don't do what you're supposed to."

"All right," Loki acknowledged. "Anything else?"

"You're not the only one who is seeking a pardon from Asgard."

Loki felt insulted. "Hey, did I come asking for forgiveness? No. You decided to give it to me."

"But you still need a pardon from us!" Odin shouted. "My point, Loki, is this: you are not the only one searching for Freya's necklace. For good or ill, there are others on this thief's trail. Some will use it to obtain Asgard's pardon while others will use it to further their own malicious ends. But we're authorizing you to find it and bring it back here."

"Where is the thief?" Loki asked.

Odin furrowed his brow. "We don't know. That's why we're sending you."

"But why can't you look for the thief from Hlidskjalf?" the trickster inquired. "Your throne can see practically everything. So why don't you –?"

"I can't find them from Hlidskjalf!" Odin bellowed. "You think I forgot to use the most vital asset we had? It didn't work, so we had to use Plan C."

"What was Plan B?" Loki asked, feeling insulted again.

"My ravens," Odin replied. "But Hugin and Munin couldn't find the thief, either. So we turned to you."

Loki nodded, still angry about the insult to his skills. As if ravens could do half the job I could. "Okay, when do I leave?"

"Now," Odin said. "I made the proclamation about the pardon earlier today, while Thor was retrieving you. So they've got a head start on you. You need to leave now."

"May I say goodbye to Sigyn first?" Loki requested. When Odin hesitated, looking like he was going to refuse, Loki added, "Please. It looks like I could be gone for a while."

Odin sighed. "All right, Loki. Thor will finish briefing you on this mission while you head back to his hall. I understand Sigyn's there."

Loki turned to walk away as Odin added, "Oh, and Loki?"

The trickster god stopped and glanced back at him. "What?"

"Don't fail."