Seven Times A Charm

Baldr remembered the gauntlets at breakfast.

It happened rather suddenly.

He had been sitting at the long table in the palace dining hall, listening to Lexander complain that Ignatius had somehow managed to empty an entire bowl of mashed fruit onto his tunic.

"I don't understand how he did that," Lexander said.

Lisbeth looked at him.

"You gave him the spoon."

"Yes."

"Then he used it as a spoon."

"Not quite."

Io looked down at Ignatius.

The little boy was happily chewing on the edge of his bib.

Seraphina, meanwhile, had somehow acquired a piece of toast.

She was holding it triumphantly.

Thor looked at her.

"Where did she get that?"

Nobody answered.

Shadow, sitting on Thor's shoulder, stared at the toast.

Seraphina stared back.

Then she smiled.

A tiny spark appeared at the tip of the toast.

Thor's eyes widened.

"Put that out."

Seraphina giggled.

The toast caught fire.

Io sighed.

"Seraphina."

The baby continued smiling.

Lexander immediately grabbed a cloth and smothered the flame.

"That's enough fire for breakfast."

Seraphina looked offended.

Ignatius reached toward the ruined toast.

A soft golden glow appeared around his fingers.

The burnt piece immediately returned to normal.

Everyone stared.

Baldr slowly put down his cup.

"I just remembered something."

Loki looked at him.

"That's usually how memories work."

Baldr ignored him.

"I found something."

Thor leaned forward.

"What?"

Baldr looked at her.

"Your gauntlets."

Thor froze.

"You jest, do you mean...?"

"Jarngreipr."

The dining room went silent.

Thor slowly stood.

"You found Jarngreipr?"

Baldr nodded.

"I found them years ago."

Thor stared at him.

"Where?"

Baldr smiled sheepishly.

"I may have forgotten to mention it."

Loki burst out laughing.

"You forgot the magical iron gloves of Thor?"

"I had a lot happening."

Thor pointed at him.

"Where are they?"

Baldr's smile disappeared.

"That's the problem."

The Watch gathered immediately.

Atreyu cleared the dining table and replaced the breakfast dishes with maps.

Mara brought writing materials.

Loki arrived carrying several books.

Baldr stood at the head of the table.

Thor brought crayons.

"Tell us everything," Atreyu said.

Baldr nodded.

"I found Jarngreipr during my travels in the northern mountains. They were hidden inside an abandoned temple."

Thor crossed her arms.

"Why didn't you bring them here?"

"I couldn't."

"Why?"

"They were being guarded."

"By what?"

Baldr hesitated.

"A giant."

Thor smiled.

"That sounds familiar."

"It wasn't particularly friendly."

"Giants rarely are."

Baldr continued.

"I couldn't defeat it at the time. I could barely escape."

"And the gauntlets?"

"Still there."

Loki leaned forward.

"Do you remember exactly where?"

"Yes."

"Can you lead us there?"

Baldr nodded.

"But there's something else."

Atreyu frowned.

"What?"

"The gauntlets aren't the only thing Surtr is looking for."

Thor's expression hardened.

"What do you mean?"

Baldr looked around the room.

"Now that the family is back together, Surtr knows the old armaments are becoming important again."

Loki slowly nodded.

"Of course."

Baldr pointed toward Thor.

"Mjolnir."

Thor nodded.

"Jarngreipr."

"Those are already within reach."

Baldr looked toward Loki.

"Your daggers."

Loki's expression changed.

"One of them."

"Exactly."

Atreyu looked confused.

"Your dagger has a twin?"

Loki shrugged.

"I've had a long life."

Mara rolled her eyes.

"Apparently."

Baldr continued.

"Surtr is trying to find the other one."

Loki became serious.

"If he gets it..."

"We don't know what happens," Baldr said.

"But we shouldn't let him find out."

The list grew quickly.

Atreyu wrote each item down.

Thor

Mjolnir

Jarngreipr

Megingjord

Loki

First dagger

Second dagger

Freya

Falcon cloak

Frigg

Distaff

Eski

Atreyu stared at the list.

"How many of these do we know the locations of?"

Baldr shook his head.

"Only Jarngreipr."

Loki sighed.

"Wonderful."

Mara looked at Thor.

"You have Mjolnir."

Thor nodded.

"And Jarngreipr."

"Apparently."

"Then the next target is Megingjord."

Thor smiled.

"My belt."

Baldr nodded.

"Your belt of power."

Thor cracked her knuckles.

"Then let's find it."

Atreyu raised an eyebrow.

"You're staying here."

Thor looked at him.

"No."

"You have two newborns in the palace."

"I know."

"And one of them is setting things on fire."

Thor glanced toward the nursery.

"Exactly why I should go."

Loki laughed.

"You're impossible."

Thor smiled.

"It’s part of my charm."

The nursery was becoming increasingly dangerous.

Seraphina had discovered that she could create fire.

This had been amusing for approximately twelve minutes.

Then she discovered that she could create fire whenever she wanted.

The she discovered everyone would panic, even though she thought of fire as a friend.

Friend doesn’t hurt her, or her brother.

The first incident involved a blanket.

The second involved a wooden toy.

The third involved Lexander's paperwork.

The fourth involved one of Thor's training schedules.

Thor had been furious.

"That took me an hour."

Seraphina giggled.

Io picked up the baby.

"She's sorry."

Seraphina looked at Thor.

A tiny flame appeared above her hand.

Thor narrowed her eyes.

Seraphina immediately hid her hand behind Io.

Thor pointed.

"She knows exactly what she's doing."

Io laughed.

"She's a baby."

"She's a very clever baby."

"She gets that from her father."

Lexander looked up from the ruined paperwork.

"I am pretty clever, aren’t I?"

Ignatius was the opposite.

Whenever Seraphina burned something, Ignatius seemed to instinctively fix it.

One afternoon, Seraphina accidentally set a wooden toy on fire.

Io grabbed it.

"Ignatius."

The boy looked toward the flames.

His golden aura appeared.

The fire disappeared.

The toy was restored.

Io stared.

"So you're the repair department."

Ignatius smiled.

Lexander laughed.

"This is going to be convenient."

Seraphina babbled indignantly.

Io looked at her.

"You can't complain. You caused it."

Seraphina waved her arms.

A spark appeared.

Io immediately looked at her.

"No."

The spark vanished.

Lexander stared.

"Did she just listen?"

Io smiled.

"Apparently."

Thor looked impressed.

"Excellent discipline."

Loki shook his head.

"She's three weeks old."

"That’s arguably the most impressive part."

The twins were also developing different relationships with everyone.

Ignatius adored Lexander.

Whenever his father entered the room, he would immediately turn his head toward him.

Seraphina preferred Io.

She would settle almost instantly when her mother held her.

Both babies loved Lisbeth.

Lisbeth could make either of them smile simply by walking into the room.

Baldr was becoming fascinated by them.

He would sit beside their crib and tell them stories about their former lives.

"We have a very complicated family," he told them one evening.

Loki looked over.

"That's putting it mildly."

Baldr smiled.

"Your grandfather was a tyrant."

Lexander looked up.

"Hey."

Baldr laughed.

"Your grandmother is a goddess."

Lisbeth raised an eyebrow.

"Was."

"It’s still in there somewhere."

Lisbeth smiled.

"Keep going."

"Your big sister is terrifying."

Thor nodded.

"Correct."

"And big brother Loki..."

Baldr paused.

Loki smiled.

"Careful."

"...is Loki."

Everyone laughed.

The next morning, the Watch began planning the search for Megingjord.

Baldr drew a rough map.

"It was last seen near the western mountains."

Atreyu studied it.

"How long ago?"

"Several centuries."

Mara looked at him.

"That's not particularly useful."

"I know."

Loki leaned over the map.

"Do you remember anything else?"

"There was a temple."

"Of Thor?"

"Yes."

"Still standing?"

"I don't know."

Atreyu nodded.

"We'll send scouts."

Thor looked at him.

"I want to go."

Atreyu sighed.

"I knew you were going to say that."

"I have a vested interest."

"You're also guarding Io."

Thor looked toward the palace.

Then toward Io.

Then at the twins.

"I can do both."

Loki smiled.

"She means she will find a way to do both."

Atreyu nodded.

"Of course she will."

The search for the other dagger was more complicated.

Loki had no clear memory of where it had gone.

He knew only that he had carried it during one of his earlier lives.

Then it disappeared.

He had spent centuries occasionally looking for it.

Nothing.

Now, however, things were different.

He could feel something.

Not clearly.

Not enough to locate it.

But enough to know that it still existed.

"It's calling."

Mara frowned.

"Weapons call?"

"Certain magical ones do."

"Can you hear it?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what?"

Loki thought about it.

"I feel like I'm missing something."

Atreyu smiled.

"You are."

Loki glared at him.

"Not helpful."

Freya's falcon cloak was another priority.

Lisbeth listened carefully when Loki explained what it could do.

"It allowed Freya to take the form of a falcon."

Lisbeth nodded.

"And fly."

"Very quickly."

"Useful."

"Extremely."

Lisbeth looked toward the city.

"Do we know where it is?"

"No."

She sighed.

"Then we'll have to search."

Baldr nodded.

"And Frigg's artifacts."

Io looked over.

"My distaff."

Loki nodded.

"And Eski."

Io frowned.

"I remember the distaff."

"But not Eski?"

"Not clearly."

Baldr explained.

"Eski was important."

Io nodded.

"I remember."

Atreyu added both to the list.

"We find them."

Surtr was already moving.

That much was becoming clear.

The conspiracy beneath Concordia had revealed that several of his agents had been searching for artifacts.

Now the Watch knew why.

The armaments were not simply weapons.

They were pieces of the old family.

Symbols of identities that had survived death and reincarnation.

And Surtr knew that if the family recovered them first, they would become far more dangerous.

So the race had begun.

The Watch would search for the armaments.

Surtr would search for them too.

Whoever found them first would gain another piece of the old world.

That evening, Thor sat in the nursery with Shadow on her shoulder.

Ignatius slept peacefully.

Seraphina was awake.

She stared at Thor.

Thor stared back.

"You're going to be a warrior."

Seraphina blinked.

"Don't listen to her," Io called from the bed.

Thor ignored her.

"You'll learn to fight."

Io sighed.

"Thor."

"Eventually."

"She's barely old enough to hold her head up."

"Then we'll wait."

"How long?"

Thor thought.

"Several weeks."

Io laughed.

"That isn't reassuring."

Thor smiled.

She gently touched Seraphina's tiny hand.

The baby grabbed one of Thor's fingers.

Thor's expression softened.

"You're going to be strong."

Seraphina smiled.

A tiny flame appeared.

Thor's eyes widened.

"Very strong."

Ignatius stirred.

Golden light appeared around him.

The flame vanished.

The room went quiet.

Thor looked at the twins.

"They really are opposites."

Io smiled.

"The prophecy."

"The destroyer and the healer."

Io looked at her children.

"I don't want them to think that's all they are."

Thor nodded.

"They'll be more than that."

Later that night, Lexander found Io awake.

"You should sleep."

"So should you."

"I was checking on you."

"I was checking on them."

They looked toward the cribs.

Ignatius slept peacefully.

Seraphina had one hand outside her blanket.

Lexander smiled.

"They're growing quickly."

Io nodded.

"Too quickly."

"You said that yesterday."

"And I'll say it tomorrow."

Lexander sat beside her.

"You've been through a lot."

"So have you."

He looked at the twins.

"I keep thinking about how close we came to losing them."

Io took his hand.

"But we didn't."

"No."

She smiled.

"And now we have a son who fixes everything his sister burns."

Lexander laughed.

"And a daughter who seems determined to burn everything."

"Sounds like our family."

He kissed her forehead.

"Probably."

Before dawn, Baldr returned to the Watch room.

He placed a final map on the table.

"I remembered something else."

Atreyu looked up.

"What?"

"The temple where I found Jarngreipr."

Loki leaned forward.

"What about it?"

Baldr pointed to a symbol carved into the map.

"This wasn't just a temple to Thor."

"What was it?"

"A vault."

Mara frowned.

"For what?"

Baldr looked at the list of armaments.

"I think it may have been used to store the old family's weapons."

The room went silent.

Loki slowly smiled.

"Then maybe we don't have to search the entire world."

Atreyu stared at the map.

"You think the others could be there?"

"I think some of them might be."

Thor entered.

"Then we're going."

Atreyu looked at her.

"You're staying with Io."

Thor crossed her arms.

"I'm going."

Atreyu sighed.

Mara smiled.

"Let her go."

Atreyu looked at her.

"Why?"

"Because if we tell her no, she'll probably follow us anyway."

Thor smiled.

"Correct."

Loki nodded.

"She's got a point."

Atreyu looked at all of them.

"Fine."

Thor smiled.

"But we're not leaving Io unprotected."

Aurethar's enormous head appeared in the doorway.

"You won't."

Thor looked at him.

"You heard all that?"

"I hear everything."

Loki muttered:

"That explains a lot."

By sunrise, preparations were underway.

The Watch would travel north.

They would search the old vault.

They would recover Jarngreipr.

Then they would search for Megingjord.

If the vault contained more of the old armaments, they would recover those too.

Because now the stakes were clear.

Surtr wasn't simply trying to destroy Concordia.

He was trying to prevent the family from becoming whole.

And every weapon they recovered made that more difficult.

Thor already possessed Mjolnir.

Soon, she would have Jarngreipr.

Loki had one dagger.

Somewhere, the other waited.

Freya's falcon cloak was somewhere in the world.

Frigg's distaff and Eski were waiting to be found.

And Megingjord was somewhere beyond the mountains.

Meanwhile, in the nursery, Seraphina woke.

She stretched.

A tiny flame appeared above her crib.

Ignatius opened his eyes.

Golden light surrounded him.

Seraphina's flame accidentally caught the edge of a blanket.

Io immediately sat up.

"Seraphina!"

The little girl looked surprised.

Ignatius's healing light spread across the blanket.

The fire disappeared.

The blanket repaired itself.

Lexander stared.

Then he laughed.

Io dropped back against her pillows.

"Those two are going to give me gray hair."

Lexander smiled.

"You’ll look beautiful with gray hair."

She looked at him.

"That was a dangerous thing to say."

"I know."

Seraphina giggled.

Ignatius smiled.

And somewhere far beyond Concordia, Surtr felt the ancient armaments beginning to awaken.

The family was gathering.

The children had been born.

The First Flame had chosen its heirs.

Now the old weapons were beginning to return.

And the race had begun.

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