I Want My Soul Back (GxG)

48. What about the child?

 I sneak my hand into Loki's; it's warm and comforting. She turns her gaze to me as she squeezes my hand. We are following the group of men and women to their compound. Most of us are going, including Diana. She seems scared, but Jacob is taking his commander's word seriously by protecting her. 

He is holding his machine gun tight in his hands as he is looking through every crack between bushes and trees to be aware of everything surrounding us. It's not easy to spot anything in this rain and fog. 

I watch Diana stumble in the mud, but Jacob managed to grab her underneath her arm to keep her up. 

"Be careful," He says, and she stands back up on her feet, putting her glasses back in place on her nose. She watches him with an awkward and embarrassing smile. I avoid looking at them as I almost wanted to giggle because they are both weird in each other's presence.

My mother decided to stay in the truck with her children and husband, but Ivar wanted to come along. He didn't want to stay put. 

Chris and Kelby are keeping guard on our backs or, in their words, watching our six. They make sure nothing is coming from the back to surprise us. 

Loki and I are in the front but keeping a certain distance from the group in front of us. We are not sure what to expect or what we are meeting but have to be extra careful. 

"We are almost there," The big man tells us as we walk through the last bushes until we see a few tents which we pass on our way. Women, men, and children gaze upon us with questioning and nervous eyes. 

We keep going through the maze of bonfires, tents, and people looking at us as we stop in front of a hut made out of grass and straw. It seems like this is more of a temporary place they have just settled in. It's not a big population, and I can't see many assets around them, like weapons, which makes me question if this is a trick to fool us. 

Loki watches me as if she is trying to read my mind. I meet her eyes and give her a confused face as I look around us. 

"Wait here," The man says; he goes into the hut, and the other man and woman split apart, going in each direction on their little village.  

We stand outside in the rain and cold, waiting for answers. We all look around, aware of every movement being made around us, but nobody seems to want to go on and attack us. The man comes back out, telling us to come inside, but leave our weapons behind. 

All of us find our way in, and we stand in front of a man with long, brown braided hair, resting on his lap. His eyes are as dark as night as he is staring at us intently, I thought at least, but his eyes are just at one person in this room.

"Loki, Loki, Loki," He says and breaths out deeply as he plays with his braid. He has a twisted smile upon his face as if he is enjoying this moment. I look at Loki; she seems just as confused as we do. 

"You have really made a reputation of yourself, haven't you," He says, getting up from his seat; he is a lot taller than I expected him to be. His muscles flexing as he is pacing back and forth in front of us.

"Do I know you?" Loki asks.

"Well, you might not remember me, but I remember you," He smiles, pointing his knife in her direction, which made me uneasy. 

"I remember your father," He says in disgust, eyes showing a lot of hatred. 

"Not a pleasant man he was," He grumbles, but Loki remains silent. 
"He kicked me out, his own brother as if I was Loki," He watches her ironically. 

"The god, of course," He waves his hand and chuckles to himself. I can feel the tension of Loki next to me.

"You are Tyr," Loki says with a deep breath. He claps his hands as an appulse to Loki for remembering his name.

"Yes, I am, the younger brother of Baldur," He smiles cheekily.

"He was an idiot," Tyr says as he rubs his beardy cheek.

"And very paranoid," He adds.

"If I remember correctly, I believe he had every right to be paranoid with you," Loki says, protecting her father. 

"Maybe, maybe," He shrugs as he points his finger at her.

"He was not suited to be a ruler, nor a king in any manner," He rolls his eyes in annoyance. 

"You just wanted his throne," Loki says, which made Tyr give her a hard look.

"Of course I did," He laughs insanely. 

"The things I could have done with that power would have been far greater than what your father did," He shakes his head. 

"Plunder and steal from the weak, destroying kingdoms that were not even worth a silversword. His vision was too small compared to mine," He says.  

"I knew that there was and is something far bigger out there. Something much bigger than you and I, unfortunately, that thing is now in your possession," He says, looking at all of us as if we are aware of the answer. He seems a bit surprised by the look on our faces. 

"You don't know, do you?" Tyr watches us, surprised.

"What do you mean?" Loki asks.  

"The child," He says in annoyance.

"What about the child?" Diana asks, coming forward, making a smile come upon his face. 

"Have you ever heard about the myth about Gods coming down to our world every so often?" He questions.

"That is just a myth," Loki sighs. 

"Are you sure about that?" He smiles at Loki. 

"This child is meant of great things," He adds.

"Believe me; I talked to a man who had a vision about this girl. I had her mother tracked down, she gave birth and unfortunately ran away with her daughter before I could snatch up the baby,"

"You had no right to take her," I blurt out in anger, and he smiles as he looks at me. 

"I know Freya, but still, she is destined to become the greatest warrior in the world, and I seek a higher power," Him saying my name surprised me. 

"I know who you are, Freya. I have had eyes and ears everywhere for the last twenty or so years," He shrugs as if it means nothing. 

"A higher power?" I question him. 

"That little girl is half a god, Freya; I don't care if I have a right or not; she is mine whether you like it or not,"