We had returned to camp rather swiftly and safely. The aches and pains of my battle still pinged through my body. Elizabeth's taunts and words still rung in my ears. Various emotions filled my head. Fear, sorrow and anger were the most prominent emotions. Fear seeped into my mind like an ooze. Fear of dyeing because of this game. Fear of what I would have to do to win it. Sorrow for the people who she might already have killed. She talked like she has been doing that for quite a long time. Planning assassinations of people the moment she meets them. Lying better then I thought anyone could. The last emotion was by far the strongest. The moment that we reached camp I sat by the fire silently. I allowed the anger fester within myself until I could no longer stand it.

I rose up suddenly. "Fenrir, I want to talk to Loki."

"Why is that?"

"Because I'm angry and he is one I'm angry at. Now do you know how to summon him or not?"

"I do, but I suggest not talking to a god while angry Celt. Piece or not you shouldn't provoke a god."

"Wait... what did you just say?"

Twitch perked his head up. "He said 'Piece or not you shouldn't provoke a god.' "

"Piece? Fenrir, you knew about it, didn't you?"

"Knew about what, Celt?"

Fenrir remained still and emotionless. "He wants to know if I knew about the Game beforehand. Which I did."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"You never asked."

"Don't pull that crap on me. That only works for comedic situations where I didn't almost get killed by a psychopathic chick with a bird!" I shouted at Fenrir filled with anger.

"Celt, you shouldn't blame the wolf for not telling you something. It seems that even without the prior knowledge you did fine. So why should it change now?"

"Because, now I know that their are psychopaths that want to murder me for a wish upon a star!"

"Technically it's a wish upon a god or godlike being."

"Fenrir, just tell me how to summon your father before I shoot someone."

The massive wolf sighed and rose up. "Fine, but you face the wrath of my father. Leave the rest of us out of it."

"Fine."

For the next few minutes Fenrir showed me the summoning ritual for Loki. We grabbed various types of leaves from the forest and began to draw a summoning sign for him. The sign was a large circle with nine individual circles in side of it. The nine circles were then connected by lines that created an almost tree looking shape. A few more symbols were placed on the outside of the circle before Fenrir informed me that we were ready.

"There you go, Celt. Now just say the words I taught you and he should be summoned."

I nodded to Fenrir. "Loki, son of Fárbauti and Laufey, I summon thee to this place. By the will of Odin and the world tree, Yggdrasill, you shall heed this call. By my name..."

"I get it, you want to talk to me. You can stop with the chant." A feminine voice rung out from behind me.

I turned around to face a beautiful young women. Her face was smooth and so delicate looking. Her eyes were a dark brown that nothing could compare to. Black strands of hair swung infront of her face before she blew them away. She looked in perfect health and showed no sign of imperfection from what I could gain.

"I... who are you?"

"Please don't tell me, my own piece can't distinguish an illusion from a reality." Her voice changed to that of Loki's.

"I... what... uh, your a... girl?"

"You mortals and your preconceived notions of gender of gods. Do you honestly think that beings of nearly unknowable power aren't capable of turning into the opposite gender?"

"It's not that... It's more, why are you a girl?"

Loki crossed his arms and looked rather annoyed with me. "I was on a date. Which you interrupted by summoning me here. Now, please make this quick, I want to get back to seducing a mortal."

It took a moment to get over the fact that Loki was a girl. "That doesn't matter right now I suppose. What does matter is why you didn't tell me about this damn game?"

"You never a..."

I quickly interrupted him. "Don't you say 'You never asked', your son already said that and I won't let it slider twice. Now give me an actual answer!"

"Don't get pissy with me. The only reason you're alive at all is because of me."

"I was thrown into life threatening situations because of you."

"If it wasn't for my intervention then you would be playing a rather permanent game of hang man right about now."

"What does that mean?"

Loki shook his head disappointingly. "You don't really need me to tell you Celt. You were on the brink of breaking. The constant bullying and being ostracized by basically your entire world. If I didn't come in then you would have snapped like a twig."

"Like I'd believe the god of tricksters."

"God is the keyword there. If you don't believe then that's fine but it doesn't make it less true. With how things were going for you and how they would keep going. You would have finished that building's work."

"Well...uh... that still doesn't make up for you not telling me shit about this damn game!"

"I suppose it doesn't but let me ask you this, does it really matter?

I shocked for a moment. "Yes, it freaking matters!"

"Why? What would you have done differently? Would you have avoided any chess piece at all costs, because that is practically impossible. You would be found eventually and it would just be a mercy killing for someone so pathetic. "

I took a step forward in defiance. "I'm not pathetic!"

"Well, not now anyway but frankly you would be if you tried to hide like a little child."

"Well, I might not be able to hide but maybe I could..."

"Could what? Kill them? Do you honestly think you could even attempt that after getting your ass shot out a window by the poster boy for angst weekly, nearly decapitated by bounty hunter, almost becoming a statue and having the ever loving shit beat out of you? And besides, could you even handle having that much blood on your hands?"

"Of course, I can handle it!"

"Oh really? Is that why you hide behind a mask of abrasiveness and lies? Because you can handle it? Kid, you can't even handle the puddle of blood you have on your hands. Let alone the ocean that you would have to spill to kill the others."

"I am perfectly fine killing! I've done it before and I can do it again!"

"And now you are blatantly lying to me and yourself."

"I am not!"

Loki sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I am not going to get into a 'am not, are so' fight with you. I am a trickster god, and I can see when mortals try to lie to me. Celt, Adam, Craig, or whatever the hell you call yourself, your not a killer. Your a kid in Disney Land realizing that the commercials were bullshit."

"If I am just a kid then why did you pick me? I mean there has to be a reason for you putting a piece into this game. So why not a professional killer can actually win you the game."

"Honestly, it was just luck. I was going to meet another person at that café and get him to become my chess piece. You just happen to be there and you were the only one to answer my questions at all. So I ditched the other guy and threw my chips in with you."

I stood there a bit shocked at what he said. "So, you threw me into a death match because I answered your questions..."

"Yes, that is basically the reason."

"I think I've developed a hate for both you and Lady Luck."

"Careful with what you say, you never know who you might offend. Now, if you're done being a bratty child, then I must going. My date is probably freaking out that I randomly bursted into flames."

All I could really muster to say after all the shock was, "Kay..."

"Oh, and Fenrir, I'm calling a family meeting soon about the whole you being ridden around like a pack mule thing."

"A family meeting?"

Loki didn't reply but merely smiled as he vanished into thin air. The summoning sign had disappeared along with the all of the ingredients. There was silence before Owl broke it.

"Well that went better then expected."

"What do you mean?" Twitch questioned.

"I didn't think Celt would let off easy for summoning a god like him when angry."

"It is strange for my father only to give him something like that. Usually, he would either abandon you because his toy 'broke' or he would simply play some trick on you to teach you a lesson. He almost never gives the message straight."

"Sound like some kind of parenting technique."

"The portion that mortals call the 'talk' was quite awkward and interesting."

I looked back at my group. "Wait, was that Loki's letting me off easy?"

"Yes."

"So giving me the third degree was getting off easy for him."

"Better then getting third degree burns."

"Um... Celt, are you done being angry?"

"Yah! Do we need to summon up another god for you?"

"I know a summoning incantation to summon my sister."

"No, no ,no , I'm good. I just needed to get that bullshit off my shoulders. Though I do want to punch Loki in his non gender specific face..."

A wolfy howl resonated from Fenrir. "As do most gods in Asgard! If you managed to do it, I'm sure they were reserve a seat in Valhalla for you!"

"I'd love to be there when it happens."

"I wouldn't... I frankly like keeping my life."

Getting over my emotions after attempting to throw them on Loki, I quickly run back to my seat by Twitch. "Twitch, come on! Your too scared! The next time we have a psychopathic killer come after us, you will be the one we throw at them."

"Wait what?"

"I second the motion! Twitch, would make a fine warrior for the halls of Valhalla!"

"I third the motion!"

"Motion passed! Twitch is now the next warrior of our battle!"

Laughter resonated from all of us except Twitch who hurriedly tried to quell the idea of him having to fight. The jokes and conversations continued on for quite sometime. Yet, the words Loki said to be stuck like Glue. Would I kill to get back my arm? Better yet, will I have to? Even with those thoughts I refused to let it show. I continued to laugh with group and tell stories with them. Twitch was nearly frozen in fear after Fenrir's first story about the dragon Fafnir and his greed. Owl told stories of some of his greatest hunts. I attempted to share some old horror stories that I usually heard. Twitch was far to scared to even speak let alone tell a story. By the end of the night I had almost forgotten everything that had happened. My anger had vanished along with the rest of the emotions due to the fun with my companions. Yet there was something scratching at my mind more then anything. More then the moral dilemma I might face in the future. One thought that occurred to me was. What did Loki mean by a family meeting?

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