Chapter 11 #2
He barked another laugh that echoed. “Egotistical asses. But! Egotistical asses who are the wisest among men.”
“So you don’t think they made a mistake choosing me to wield you?”
His pause made her uneasy. “To be quite frank, at first, certainly I wondered why they’d chosen someone so seemingly random. But after learning about you, about your character, I had no doubts. I trust the gods and their wisdom without question.”
“I wish I had your faith in people I can’t even see.”
“Have faith in me, Dominique. In us as a team. Have faith I will always be your side, in the thick of battle and the quiet of peace.”
She swallowed hard, fighting tears. “Then I’ll do my best to do the same, MC. Promise.”
“Now, enjoy your bath. There is much for you to absorb before your meeting with Heimdall. A quiet mind is essential when hearing the messages from a god such as himself.”
“Got it. Lemme get right on a quiet mind.”
Sinking lower into the water, she held her breath and let it envelop her until she was completely under the surface and tried to quiet her mind.
Still, she couldn’t help but fret over what Heimdall wanted to tell them…
But if he looked like Idris Elba, maybe it would ease that fretting.
* * *
“Oh, Dom, you look stunning!” Marty crowed, when she entered yet another big room with a table the length of a football field, dressed with wooden bowls filled with flowers and fruit.
More arched windows than she could count, ornate with flowers and greenery, graced the room. Staff shuffled in and out, dressed in the customary tunics the men of Asgard wore, dropping off heaping plates of food.
Dom blushed. She had to admit, having Sigrid and crew pick out this beautiful toga-like dress in lavender with a wide gold belt had considerably calmed her. At least she looked the part.
As they wove delicate flowers and lavender and cream ribbons into her braided hair, they spoke softly, telling her all about their lives in Asgard, about their children, husbands, families. They laughed and shared, easing her fears about not fitting in.
When they were done, and they showed her what they’d accomplished, she gasped. She felt like a princess straight out of a Disney movie. Thanking them profusely, Dom hugged them all in gratitude.
Grabbing Marty’s hands, she said, “You too!” Then she caught sight of Wanda and Nina. “You all look gorgeous!”
Nina flipped her the bird, but she smiled. “Fuck you, Mini-Warrior. This dress is bullshit,” she groused, lifting either side of her lemon-colored dress in disgust.
“And it’s yellow,” Sigrid chirped with a giggle, as she floated out of the grand room.
But no one could deny, Nina was positively gorgeous. The color accentuated her olive skin and her raven hair, also braided, with loose pieces flowing down her back in soft curls.
Dom gave her a nudge. “I know you hate the color, but it’s kinda perfect for you. Sorry not sorry.”
Wanda laughed out loud. “We keep telling her the same thing.”
“And you two!” Dom exclaimed. “Look at you both!”
Wanda wore a gorgeous moss-green gown with gold trim, her typical updo laced with gold ribbon and pale pink flowers. Marty was in sapphire, her blonde locks falling in bouncy curls down her back, her eyes made bluer by the soft chiffon fabric.
“How are you feeling, honey?” Wanda asked, wrapping an arm around her waist. “You look refreshed.”
With a deep breath, Dom nodded as she set MC on the long table. “I’m still worried about why we’ve been summoned, but I feel better about actually being here. I learned a lot about Asgard from Sigrid and gang. It was helpful.”
Wanda squeezed her waist. “I’m so glad you’re feeling better. So let’s see what’s next—together, yes?”
Nodding with more confidence than she felt, Dom agreed. “Yes.”
Just then, Harvey entered the room, tall and strong in a tunic and breeches, his dirty-blond hair slicked back, his form filling up the space.
Their eyes met from across the room, above the heads of the staff and the ladies, their gazes locking together. Something deep inside her jolted awake, reaching into her deepest depths and grabbing hold, almost knocking her feet out from under her.
He waved and smiled, warm, reassuring, with a hint of something Dom couldn’t pinpoint, but it held her in its grip—mesmerized.
But quite suddenly, the atmosphere in the room literally changed. The magic of Harvey’s glance evaporated, leaving her only with a feeling of dread Dom couldn’t explain.
Until she saw it. Out of the corner of her eye. Something long. Something weaving in and out of the large planters with tropical trees until it was on the long table.
Instantly, words flashed in her head. Like a neon sign, ticking on and off, blinking.
Enemy.
Serpent.
Poisonous.
With nary a though, without a single hesitation, Dom bellowed, “Hammer!”
MC landed in her palm with a thud but she held tight, her grip steady and sure. And then she ran, almost as if someone else had taken over her body.
Dom rushed forward, launching herself to the tabletop as though springs had been implanted in her ballet slippers.
Digging her heels into the wood, she raised MC high above her head, oblivious to the screams of the people in the room, oblivious to Nina, Marty and Wanda following her lead by joining her atop the table.
And then she began to swing, just like MC had taught her, the sizzle and crackle of energy shooting along her arms, the power of his existence in her palm energizing her. Dom let MC crash to the table with a rumble of power, leaving behind an enormous gash.
Bowls scattered, pieces of the gorgeous flowers spit upward in the air, wood soared over her head, but she kept swinging until her arm felt like it might fall off.
“Stop it before it coils, Dominique! You must stop it!” MC commanded.
Coils?
What did that mean?
Does it matter what it means, Dominique? Stop it.
She saw the enormous serpent come toward her, her eyes widening at its teeth when it opened its mouth wide, roaring a high-pitched squeal of rage as she managed to hack off a piece of its tail.
Nina was at the other end of the table in a flash, wrapping her hands around the end of this ghoulish snake, lifting it high in the air, bellowing, “Motherfucker!” and preparing to toss it, when it thrashed against her grip, sending her flying.
“Nina!” Dom screamed, enraged as she saw her new friend land in a heap on the far side of the room.
The flood of fury, the rush of adrenaline she’d only experienced that one time when the women had first come to see her at her townhouse, came on full speed, drenching her with seething rage at seeing Nina crumpled on the floor.
And then the serpent was coming at her once more, roaring, screaming a heinous shriek of irate anguish, slithering, its skin scraping the table.
As it rose up, mottled and green, saliva dripping from its talon-like teeth, Dom ran toward it head-on, with zero time for fear, MC held high in her hands and a battle cry slipping from her lips.
“Thoooor!”
The next flash of a moment was vague, but Dom briefly remembered seeing Harvey leap to the table, his wide body sheltering her from behind, his hands steadying her grip on MC as she took one last whack at the snake, aiming for its bulbous head.
It all happened so fast, the gush of fluid seeping from the serpent when she took a powerful jab at his head, the scream of the people around her, to whom she’d been previously oblivious—and the fact that for the tiniest of seconds, Harvey held MC in his hands.
That, she was not oblivious to.