"Hey you three, the ferryman's here," Baldur's voice rang out from the other side of the door.

"Okay, we'll be there in a few minutes," I replied, pushing myself up on one arm. Leaning over, I kissed Shannon. "Wake up, sleeping beauty." When she blinked at me, I leaned over farther and nipped Elatha on the ear. "You too, handsome. Get your sexy, two-toned ass out of bed." As much as I'd prefer to keep my consorts in bed, I disentangled myself, rolled out and pulled on my clothes. Tedious not being able to simply conjure them onto my body.

Midnight eyelids rose, revealing stunning silver starburst eyes. A smile slowly grew on his full lips. "Are you talking about my ass or Shannon's heart-shaped ass? Pretty sure she has some red handprints on that gorgeous olive skin of hers, Loki."

Warmth bloomed in my chest, my smile widening as I watched Shannon climb out of bed. "Indeed, she does. It makes you just want to go take a bite out of it, doesn't it?"

Elatha agreed, and Shannon scowled at both of us, drawing our laughter.

With them dressing and gathering our packs, stuffed to overflowing with the tubers Shannon had grown, we were ready. I chewed on one, enjoying the slightly spicy flavour as we exited the palace and my brother led us up a series of rock ledges until we reached the rope ladder thrown down by the ferryman.

I sent Shannon, then Elatha, up the ladder, before climbing on to the boat myself. Baldur chatted with the tall, spindly fellow. Although he wore a dark grey cloak like Charon, his hood was thrown back with thin white hair braided back from his narrow face. Baldur asked about the man's wife, and the ferryman chortled as he told a tale about his wife's mishap trying to bake some special fruit pie that exploded when they ate it.

Relaxing while they talked, I let my mind drift along with the rocking waves. Uneventful, the long boat ride allowed me uninterrupted time to meditate. I focused my limited healing energy on repairing the bruise to my brain. By avoiding using my powers yesterday, the headache had backed off to only occasionally sending spikes through my eye. With my attention inward, it was clear I still had a pool of blood exerting pressure within my skull. I managed to break it up a bit so it would resorb faster, but the damn concussion was going to persist longer than I wanted it to—like a houseguest that drank all the mead and still wouldn't leave.

Early morning on the next day, we docked at a pier abutting a long, narrow grassland. A cliff rose behind the swaying grasses—the frozen plateau that was the home of Hecate and her creatures. Eying it with a twist in my stomach, I recalled Hades' complaints about her. Powerful enough to keep him well at bay and familiar with the havoc her creatures created when she released them on Midgard, I hoped we'd be able to pass by without drawing her notice.

For now, we walked along a stone path through the grasses to the left of the cliff, heading for Elysium. Baldur and Elatha led, continuing their discussion about unusual aspects of Baldur's island and contrasting it to Atlantean technology now compared to when Baldur was alive. I found it fascinating to listen to their conversation, as it was clear my brother had interacted with the Atlanteans a lot more than Thor or I had. Their cities on Midgard had still been on the surface of the oceans when Baldur died eight hundred years ago, by the Asgardian calendar.

As the crown prince, he'd travelled extensively, and was twice my current age when he'd died. My lips twitched when he referenced a beast that had been extinct on Midgard since before I was born. What would my brother make of the modern Midgard? Norns, it was going to be fun to find out.

"Did Baldur seriously just talk about riding woolly mammoths in races with his friends?" Shannon's eyes were wide as she walked beside me.

"Yes. My brother experienced the last ice age on Midgard, when the forces of Asgard pushed back the Niflheim invaders, that together with some of the Jotun races, tried to take part of the planet and enslave the mortals. You tease me about being old, darling, but he's ancient," I told her with a wink.

"I heard that!" Baldur said, turning with a golden eyebrow raised. "Talking behind my back, Loki?"

I laughed. "No Brother, not anything I wouldn't say to your face. Just giving Shannon a sense of your great antiquity."

Baldur snorted and waved a hand. "Don't let Father hear. If you are calling me ancient, what is he? A fossil?"

Shannon let out a hoot of laughter, then covered her mouth, eyes sparkling. "Oh my. Nope, I would not be brave enough to dare say something like that to Odin."

"Yeah, that would be a bad idea," I agreed, chuckling.

"Where is it we are heading?" Elatha asked, his eyes fixed further up the trail and not partaking in our banter.

"The Garden of the Gods, then through Elysium," Baldur said, pointing.

In the distance, bright flashes of red, green, silver, and blue sent spears of light outward. I'd heard about the beauty of this area, but I'd never seen it myself.

"Is that where the flashing lights come from? What causes those?" Elatha asked.

"Yes, it's an orchard where the trees produce gems instead of fruit," Baldur explained. "When the breeze moves the branches, the gems reflect the light. It's one of the most spectacular sights in Helheim."

As we got closer, it was hard on the eyes and I found myself squinting against the colourful glare. There was no doubt it was beautiful, with the green leaves of the trees contrasting against the clusters of rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds, like a mix of grape varieties all on the same vines. Some of the flashes made it through my narrowed lashes, the intensity spearing into my brain and my head began to pound, despite the rest on the ferry.

Shannon, too, had her eyes almost closed, lagging beside me as if unwilling to move forward. Elatha had a hand up, touching the gems on the nearest tree with a fingertip, when Shannon tripped and I lunged to stop her forward fall.

I caught her around the waist. "Shannon? Shannon!" She didn't answer, and I rolled her weight onto my left forearm, then scooped her into my arms.

Elatha dashed to my side to help me.

Gently, he patted her face, but she didn't respond.

"Shannon? Shannon, answer me," I tried using our bond.

"Can't... trees... energy." The words were a bare whisper of sound.

"We have to get her away from the trees," Elatha said, looking around. "The water. Let me take her into the ocean."

Spinning, we ran for the beach. Every stride jarred my aching head, but I didn't care. I cradled her in my arms, running as fast as I could. Fury and fear combined to lend speed to my legs, even as I cursed the inability to teleport. The fifteen minute run seemed to take fifteen months before I passed her to Elatha at the water's edge.

Not hesitating, he walked deep enough to immerse them both, and Shannon's eyes fluttered open. Following them in, I cupped her face as Elatha and I peered down at her.

"Shannon, are you okay?" I asked. Her pupils were still responsive and even in size, but she was pale. Far paler than usual for her skin tone.

She gave a wan smile, blinking slowly. "Yes... I'm sorry. I just got so tired all of a sudden as we got close to the orchard. Those trees seemed to be draining my energy."

I looked back towards shore, meeting Baldur's concerned expression. "We can't go through the orchard. Those trees will kill Shannon. Can we take the beach past it?"

Behind me, I heard Elatha giving Shannon one of our high energy bars.

Baldur nodded. "Yes, it stays shallow and easy to navigate for the entire stretch between here and the outlet of the Archeron. It's going to take us at least three hours, maybe four, to get past the entirety of the orchard, but we should be able to rest at one of the oceanside pavilions on the other side. There are no trees around them. Just flowering plants and grasses."

"I'll walk through the water, keeping Shannon in contact with it to help provide her with some energy, while you two walk on the beach," Elatha said as he pressed Shannon to eat a second bar. "It will slow us down a bit, but I think it's worth it for the benefit it will give her."

"Agreed," I said. It would also give Elatha a boost, which was an important consideration with him expending energy carrying Shannon.

I waded back to shore and expended a brief bit of pyrokinesis to dry my clothes, gritting my teeth at the sudden spike of pain lancing through my head. Not in the mood to talk with the renewed migraine pounding with every step, it was a quiet trip until we reached a white marble structure with a series of pillars, arched windows, and a green roof. Gold decorated the trim, reflecting the late afternoon sunlight.

We'd passed the last of the gem trees twenty minutes prior, although there were tall bushes with purple clusters of flowers. Would these shrubs cause Shannon difficulty? Or was it just the trees? She didn't get energy from all plants back home, just trees, so I hoped it made a difference.

"We can rest here," Baldur said, gesturing to a door between two pillars.

"Elatha, bring Shannon closer to one of these purple shrubs. I want to know if they affect her, or if it's safe for her to rest here," I said, walking to stand by one near the door to the building.

"Put me down. I can walk," Shannon said.

Although she'd protested, saying she was fine after she'd eaten the energy bars, Elatha had ignored her and continued to carry her. He did the same now, meeting my eyes and shaking his head, lips pressed together. I covered my smile with my hand. Yes, our goddess could be a handful when she wanted to be.

"What do you feel?" I asked her when Elatha stood beside me with her cradled in his arms.

"Lazy and foolish," Shannon said, snorting and crossing her arms.

Elatha sighed. "Shannon, we love you. Stop protesting that we want to take care of you when you literally collapsed."

"I know. I'm sorry. It's not that I'm not grateful or appreciative, but I feel like a burden," she said quietly with her eyes downcast.

I put my finger under chin, rising it to get her to meet my gaze, then I leaned in and kissed her in a light press of lips. "You aren't a burden, darling. Trust I'll tell you if you ever do become one."

"To answer your question, no, I don't feel any drain from the bush," she said, lips still turned down in a frown.

"Good. Let's join Baldur, eat some tubers, and get some rest. We'll head to Youdu, Hades' city and location of his palace, first thing tomorrow when the light of day will make it slightly safer," I said, guiding them both into the building.

At least, I hoped it would be safer. Hellhounds and other nastier creatures roamed the streets. The souls living there were either slaves, doing penance by serving Hades and other immortals living in Youdu, or mortal souls that had acquired a measure of status from Hades. It was a miserable, foul city where you were either predator or prey... and I was going to be damned sure we weren't prey.