Tournament of Thieves

14

Skadi's receding footsteps faded away as Loki wrinkled his brow, still slumped against the wall. With a huff, he finished removing the battered shield from his back and pulled it out from behind him. Adjusting his position, the trickster stared down at the wounded mess his right leg had been transformed into.

Eydis the wolf's teeth had ripped through the flesh of Loki's thigh, making him wince as he examined it. Blood stained the shreds of his trousers, and a portion of the flesh had been stripped away by the wolf. What remained was quite a ragged mess.

Without any bandages, Loki didn't know how he could effectively treat the leg. He didn't have any water to clean it, either. For the first time since the contest started earlier today, Loki realized that he and Skadi didn't have enough supplies to last them any length of time. A couple days, at most. They would have to find Brisingamen sooner rather than later.

Easing himself up, pressing his hands against the wall for support, Loki managed to get himself up onto his feet, although he couldn't place much weight on his leg. Once standing, he slowly reached down and picked up his dented shield. A couple of adjustments to the straps and he was able to slip it over his arm to act as some sort of defense against attackers.

Having prepared himself so, Loki ran Skadi's words through his mind again. You have a choice to make here....become who you were born to be – a jotun, or you will die here as an Aesir. He needed to decide whether he was going to break his oath to Odin, or whether he would continue to keep the only promise – aside from his wedding vows – that he had never broken.

But before Loki could continue his deliberations, he heard a sound from down the passageway, from the direction in which he and Skadi had fled. Standing absolutely still and listening, he could determine the sound of heavy footsteps – and the soft pad of a canine's paws.

Who else could it be but Agmundr and Eydis?

With one hand steadying himself against the stone wall, Loki limped as quickly as he could in the direction Skadi had gone. He had no idea if the giant knew that the trickster he wanted to kill so badly was just a little bit in front of him. If he didn't know, Loki was resolved to keep it that way.

Loki hoped he would find Skadi, but as he turned a corner, all he found was two paths splitting off from the one he was on. Pausing for the briefest of seconds, Loki glanced back over his shoulder before surveying his two choices. The left path was a continuation of the current one, while the right wound away, deeper into darkness.

Loki tried to think of which path Skadi would have taken in her scouting trip. But with Agmundr behind him, he didn't want to spend much time dwelling on it. He glanced down each path. The continuation seemed the most obvious path that Skadi would have scouted out – but it was also where Agmundr would most likely go.

Hastily making a decision, Loki rashly chose the path that twisted away to the right. He limped into its narrow confines, finding solace in the darkness.

The path's twists and turns quickly took Loki out of sight of the main path. The dim light didn't allow him to see much of his surroundings; he had to keep his hand on the wall for the dual purpose of navigation and support.

Loki exhaled softly, his uptight muscles slightly relaxing on the belief that he had escaped the threat of battle. He slowed his quick pace, wincing at the throbbing pain in his leg.

As he took another step, his left foot landed on an uneven, bulky weave. His eyes widened in recognition as his right foot, slightly dragging along the ground, hit the edge of the net he had stepped on. He tripped, stumbling forward into the net. Into the trap.

As Loki landed on his stomach, the net jerked into the air. His body was folded backwards as the top of the net was yanked closed. With a snarled curse as fresh pain cut through his leg, Loki writhed as he tried to yank his shield arm out from where it was folded beneath his body.