41AN: There is a reason I marked this as an M rating. You have been warned, like in the previous chapter, still anxiety-inducing.
"RUN, VERNON, RUN!" Loki yelled out, pushing out his Chaos magic so Vernon would hear him.
~TLA~
"RUN, VERNON, RUN!" Vernon heard a voice that he recognized but could not place yell out to him from every direction.
"THUMN, THUMN. RATA, TATA, TAT."
"THUMN, THUMN. RATA, TATA, TAT." The drums of the Wild Hunt finally got into a constant swing.
"THUMN, THUMN. RATA, TATA, TAT."
"THUMN, THUMN. RATA, TATA, TAT."
"THUMN, THUMN. RATA, TATA, TAT."
"THUMN, THUMN. RATA, TATA, TAT."
"Oh, God, oh God, oh, God!" Vernon thought to himself as he ran through the woods and entered a meadow. "NO!" Vernon screamed. It was the same fucking meadow he had arrived in. He had to have run through miles of woods, crossed a stream once only to run into the same meadow he had left hours ago.
A blinding flash happened, and suddenly he has surrounded by men and women in armor, by giant blue men, by tiny men with swords and shields, axes and spears, by the wolves he seen earlier. The feeling of fear, utter fear, clawing at your throat, the painful beating of the heart, just pure FEAR. Vernon finally shat and pissed himself.
~tla~
"Oh, Vernon, that is disgusting!" Loki said dry heaving. He waved his hand, and the smell disappeared but not the messy stains on Vernon's trousers.
Odin pursed his lips, trying to hide his fury. He knew who this mortal that they hunted was, and Thor lied to him. It was apparent that Fenrir was leading the Wild Hunt as he was the one to step out and introduce the mortal to those who hunted him.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Gods and Goddesses, this mortal is the one who was tasked with caring for my infant brother, a three-year-old Demi-God. A three-year-old that he has killed twice, it is only with the help of Hel, the Norse Goddess of Death and her Grim Reapers, that baby Harald survived a second time," Fenrir said, stepping out, still naked, not that the Gods participating in the Wild Hunt would care.
"Vernon Dursley of number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, United Kingdom, Midgard, you are hereby accused, found guilty, and sentenced to the Wild Hunt…" Fenrir was stating before being interrupted.
"Don't I get to defend myself!" Vernon panted.
"Do you have a defense for murdering a child?" Loki snarled as he was being held back by Thor and Heracles.
"He was a FREAK! Not NATURAL!" Vernon yelled, trying to defend his actions, trying to make the strange crowd that surrounded him understand he was only doing the right thing.
All of Asgard booed as Vernon tried to defend himself against killing a child, an Asgardian child, one of their own!
"He was a Demi-God!" Fenrir and Loki yelled back at the same time.
"There are no such things as Gods!" Vernon yelled back, still panting with his hands on his knees but stood up as the crowd went silent.
A man with black hair, wearing black and grey camo army uniform with guns attached to his hips, pulled a sword, and he went from being a six-foot-something man into being a twelve-foot man, suddenly others were also growing to ten-twelve feet. The bent over the little man in the center of the clearing yelling their name, names he remembers from school; Ares, Hades, Artemis, Heracles, Thor, Loki, on and on it went. Vernon fell to the floor and laid in the fetal position as much as his massive body would allow him. "I think we broke him," Ares stated, shrinking down to his more comfortable size of six foot two inches.
Loki conjured a bucket of cold water and dumped it on Vernon. Vernon sat up, sputtering, and looked around with wide eyes, "for the crime of attempted murder of a Demi-God, you are hereby sentenced to the Wild Hunt. You are currently half-a-mile from a building with a door, a door that will lead you to the heart of London. If you can reach the door in the next hour and exit it. You can live. If you don't reach the door, you will die," Fenrir told Vernon, "by the way, the door is that way. Time to run again, Vernon," Fenrir stated as he pointed behind Vernon, the only direction Vernon hadn't tried.
"THUMN, THUMN. RATA, TATA, TAT." The drums started up again, urging Vernon to run.
"THUMN, THUMN. RATA, TATA, TAT."
"THUMN, THUMN. RATA, TATA, TAT."
"THUMN, THUMN. RATA, TATA, TAT."
Vernon picked up his massive body, looked at the faces of those surrounding him, and took off running in the direction Fenrir pointed.
"Oh…you can tell I'm the son of the God of Mischief…" Fenrir smiled, "the door is the other way. He was feet from reaching it before I sent him back to the clearing," Fenrir laughed. "Chronos, Selene, thank you for coming and for adjusting time and the moon phase so my wolves can have some fun longer."
"You're welcome," came the smooth voice of Selene, the Greek Goddess of the Moon, as she drew her hand across Fenrir's face causing the wolf to surface fast.
Fenrir shifted to his wolf faster than he had ever and let out a giant, "AWRRROOOO!" signaling the start of the Wild Hunt.
Odin watched as the screen shifted from the clearing with the Gods and Goddesses to the man running. He stood up, and those nearest him became quiet and stood up until the entire hall was standing quietly, looking at the King. "Please, …stay…watch," Odin commanded before leaving the grand hall.
~TLA~
Hera, along with Nemesis, Athena, and Apollo, stood outside a house that looked like every other house in the area, but it was different. She and the other Goddesses and God could feel the Chaotic magic that was being created in the home. Waving towards the house, Hera silently requested Athena to approach the house. Athena entered the yard, quietly walking towards the house, Apollo a step behind her. With a flick, the door opened, and Athena entered with her spear at the ready. Apollo followed with a bow and arrow. Hera followed with a short sword, followed by Nemesis with a long sword. Feeling the magic coming from upstairs, the three ladies and Apollo walked up the stairs and stopped at a room that looked like a small dirty empty room, "come in ladies and sir," came a woman's voice from the empty room.
Frigga sat in a rocking chair near the circular fire pit in the room. The fire going cheerfully, giving a little bit of heat without being stifling. In her arms was a black-haired toddler, he mostly had his eyes closed, enjoying her arms, but occasionally, he would open his vivid green eyes and check that his Granny was still there. At the window sat one shieldmaiden, the other stood attention near the door. Frigga felt the arrival of the other Goddess queen, her two female bodyguards, and the warrior healer, "come in, ladies and sir," she called out quietly.
"Queen Frigga," Hera voiced as she, the two Goddesses, and God entered the room.
"Queen Hera," Frigga responded.
"Oh, he's a darling," Hera cooed as she sat on the couch closest to Frigga. Nemesis went to the window seat and started speaking quietly to Sandraudiga while Artemis took her position at the other side of the doorway from the Lady Sif. Apollo left the room and entered a room to the left where the Goddess Eir was currently. Harry, hearing a new voice in the room sat up and clung to his Granny, his head buried in her neck and hair, he slowly peeked at the new voice. A woman dressed as elegantly as his Granny, she had beautiful black hair with large curls styled to one side. He blinked his green eyes at her before hiding in his Granny's lighter strawberry blonde hair, "he's going to be powerful in chaos magic," Hera commented.
"My ladies, may we watch the Wild Hunt?" Sandraudiga asked, with Nemesis standing next to her.
"We are not here for your entertainment!" The Lady Sif snarled, irritated at the younger shieldmaiden.
Frigga held up her hand, "yes, Sandra. You may watch the Wild Hunt in that room," Frigga pointed towards Remus's suite, "please put up a silencing charm, I do not want Harry hearing his uncle, it will only frighten the poor babe." Hera nodded her approval to Nemesis silently. "Lady Sif, please do sit down and relax," Frigga sighed heavily.
"With all due respect, My Queen. I have a job to do. It is not relaxing," Lady Sif replied as she continued to stand at attending at the door. Athena nodded her agreement and took her place on the other side of the door.
Harry playing peek-a-boo with Hera, decided to brave the unknown and held his hands out to the other Queen. With a nod to Hera, Frigga giving her consent for Hera to hold the baby.
~TLA~
Odin paced in his rooms as he had the Wild Hunt on his private view screen. No one knew where his wife was, but he could guess. He wasn't going to interrupt Heimdall, everyone in Asgard, Olympus, and the Nine Realms was currently watching and would witness Odin's tantrum if he did that. No…Odin could wait until the Hunt was over.
~TLA~
"THUMN, THUMN. RATA, TATA, TAT."
The drums were a constant in Vernon's new life. Constantly beating. Beating rhythmically to the beat of his heart. Beating rhythmically to the panting of his breath. Vernon felt like he had been running for years, running in circles. He no longer knew which way to go. Back at the clearing. Back at the stream. Vernon felt nothing be fear and loss. He stopped to bend over, his hands on his knees as he puked.
"THUMN, THUMN. RATA, TATA, TAT."
"THUMN, THUMN. RATA, TATA, TAT."
"THUMN, THUMN. RATA, TATA, TAT."
Vernon took deep breaths in through his nose and exhaled them through his mouth to try and catch his breaths and slow his heart rate. He could hear the drums in the distance and getting closer, but the cold bubbling water of the steam in front of him was too much for his dry swollen tongue and mouth; if only they would let him drink this time around.
Bending over, he put his lips to the water, taking huge cheek bulging gulps of water he then forced painfully down his throat. He couldn't control himself at first, his body desperate, sucking in the precious liquid. Slowly he regained control over his body and stood in the creek shaking. He stood still too long. "AHHHH!" Vernon screamed.
He felt the thick meat of his left calf part from the short sword the goblin clutched. It didn't cause him pain; he had too much adrenaline flowing to be in pain. Regardless he bolted like a frightened rabbit, running through the stream to the opposite bank through some bushes and into the densely packed forest trees. He knew the cut was a good one, but just how bad it was he couldn't tell. The drumming was louder, closer—time to run again. Constantly running.
The cold water and adrenaline dampened the pain of the wound. Having been standing in the creek, he couldn't tell how bad it was bleeding, water, blood, it felt the same; wet. He didn't dare stop for a moment to lift his trouser leg and check it. He had to keep moving or die.
A giant blue…giant stepped out from behind a tree and took a lazy swing with a massive ax and left a cut on his right arm. Vernon dashed away in a different direction. Another…being poked him in the side with what looked like a knife on a long pole. He again changed course and kept running.
"So, what are we doing here? Lingchi?" Ares asked as he watched at the Goblins, Dwarves, wolves, and giants take swings at Vernon.
"Lingchi?" Thor boomed.
"Lingchi is death by a thousand cuts," Hel responded to Thor's question.
"Hmmm…" Loki hummed, "We should blood eagle him."
"Father…" Hel sighed. "Harry is alive. Grandmother and Eir saved him."
"I DON'T CARE!" Loki screamed, "He tried to kill my son! TWICE! He should suffer for eternity!"
"Oh, don't worry, father." Hel grinned at her father, the putrid side of her face giving him a macabre smile, "I have plans for him when I drag him to Nifheimr."
"Hmmm…I hope it includes the blood eagle," Loki whined to his daughter as she rolled her eyes.
"The blood eagle is a myth. No one has ever actually done a blood eagle," Hel responded to her father's whining.
"Still, it would be a great way to punish the child killer," Loki huffed.
"I'm not blood eagling, Vernon. We are Gods, not Barbarians!" Hel yelled before stepping into her portal and disappearing.
"Send him to Tartarus, and I'll blood eagle him," Hades said, looking at Loki as he stood with his arm draped over Ares casually as he kept up a constant flick of Ares's ear in annoyance.
"No way, Hel would hurt me if I sent him anywhere but Nifheimr," Loki said, looking around to see if Hel was invisible and spying on him.
"Yes, by the way…is Hel single?" Ares asked, his eyes widening as Loki looked at him with fury in his eyes.
"Are you hitting on my teenage daughter?" Loki purred dangerously.
"Nope, nope. Not at all," Ares said before he too opened his own portal and disappeared hearing Hades, Heracles, and Thor laughing at him.
~tla~
Soon Vernon's breath became labored, his lungs burned, his side started to ache, and the water that he had just drank now felt like a swinging weighted pendulum in his stomach. The pain and fatigue increasingly spread throughout his body he started to listen to the small voice inside his head that quietly asked over and over, "would stopping really be so bad? The pain couldn't be worse than what he was causing himself by running, so just quit." Vernon started to slow and stumble through the underbrush and low hanging branches. Too fatigued to notice what surrounded and herded him but when one of the flickering shadows pulled steel against his flesh opening another new cut, he forgot about stopping and just ran faster. Ran as swiftly as he could.
He ran till his legs burned, his heart, felt as if it beat it's last with each heartbeat, and it felt as he had two boulders grinding against each other in his insides. His mind was foggy with pain and fatigue; he stumbled more than he ran, and that tiny voice had returned, pleading its case for him to stop and rest. As he started to listen to the voice's pleading, a snarl and growl, followed by crushing pain in his right calf, the previously unwounded one, jerking him to a stumbling halt.
It wasn't the punctures from the wolf's teeth that caused the most pain but the crushing of the muscles in his lower leg that sent waves of agony up his leg into his chest where it sat as a weight against his lungs. Vernon screamed again. The newness and intensity of the bite enough to induce him to break into a hobbling run. He just wasn't quite ready to lay down and quit just yet.
~tla~
"Are you messing with the time?" Loki asked his son Fenrir.
Fenrir just gave a wolfie smile as he was currently in his massive wolf form.
"Yes, father, he is, or rather Chronos is also attending the Wild Hunt," Hel said as she stepped out of a portal behind her father, making him jump in fear. The rest of the Gods and Goddesses snickered.
"For Vernon, three days and…nights will have passed for every hour…he is being chased," the God of Time Chronos said as he aged from a toddler to an adult to an old man, and back again. His voice changing along with his body as he spoke to Loki.
Loki just blinked at him, "Does that happen constantly? Do you ever get laid?" Hel slapped him on the back of his head before she disappeared again.
Hobbling-running Vernon kept the mental mantra running silently in his head as he pressed on forward, "die, die, die, please let me die! Kill me, you fucks!" he chanted over and over in step to his hobbling.
Eventually, he succumbed to his pain, blood loss, wounds, fatigue, and his body just crumpled to a stop. He woke up later, face down in a patch of dense clover. He shhlocked, shhlocked, his tongue against the roof of his mouth. First, to work up some moister back into his mouth and push out the dry white film that coated his tongue.
"I'm alive," he thought to himself after he returned to full consciousness, "FUCK!" Vernon screamed. Trying to stand up, Vernon fell over several times, looking around him he noticed a thick branch on the ground, and he was able to use it to help himself stand up. Looking around, Vernon finally noticed that he was less than 100 feet from the door that the enormous FREAK, the werewolf, had mentioned. He was almost free!
~TLA~
"KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK" Came from the door to Harry's Bedroom. Lady Sif readied her sword, Athena mirroring her.
"Come in," Frigga called out quietly, waving her hand at the two ladies at the door to stand down.
"How is Harry?" Petunia asked nervously as she held a large bag in one hand. She could see that Harry was asleep in his grandmother's arms, his little mouth hanging open, one hand clenching a handful of his grandmother's hair.
"He is doing better. He will be terrified of Vernon…if Vernon returns. I do hope you updated your husband's life insurance." Frigga cruelly replied.
"I did," Petunia whispered. "Are they going to kill him?"
"More than likely," Hera responded.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Petunia asked, stiffly seeing the black-haired beauty sitting near Queen Frigga.
"I, mortal. Am Queen Hera of Olympus. Greco-Roman Goddess of Marriage and Family." Hera responded, her eyes flashing multiple colors in ire."
"My Lady," Nemesis came out of Remus's room, where she had been watching the Wild Hunt. "This mortal wants revenge on her husband. Revenge for bringing strife into their home. Revenger for attacking her sister's son. But mostly revenge for cheating with his secretary."
"Humm…" Hera said, tapping her pointer finger on her lips, "Nemesis, as Goddess of Revenge, I think you should help this mortal."
"However, that would leave me with two shieldmaidens and you only with one." Frigga joined in, "Sandraudiga, you will go with Nemesis and Petunia."
"Excellent choice, now we have equal numbers again," Hera said, clapping her hands.
"My Lady? May Apollo and I see the baby now that he is sleeping, we want to run some diagnostics on him," Eir asked as she and Apollo came into the room from where they had been consulting in Harry's bedroom.
"Oh, yes, you may," Frigga responded, handing Harry to Eir. "Sandra…" Frigga crooked her finger at the shieldmaiden and whispered to her.
AN: One chapter left!