Chapter Twenty-Three

Far above the group, the twin suns beat down. One dwarfed the other, and it had almost reached the noon peak. Slowly it climbed. The cry of a massive bird screeched through the air as they spoke.

Paige turned from the others. Without hesitation, she made her way the few feet back to the cathedral entrance. A handful of Asgardians moved out of her way as she stalked forward. Their frantic movements betrayed their fear. She paused for a moment, noticing it.

"Paige!" warned Steve.

She turned back to him. Pointing inside the cathedral she spoke fiercely in return. The golden and white statue still stood in the shade, lit only by the occasional rays of light breaking through the ceiling when cloud cover split. "This place knows who and what I am. I intend to find out both."

Thor hesitated. "The cathedrals of the Vanir are fraught with danger. Do not go in alone!"

"I've already been in. That was the light show," Paige explained. "If you don't want me to go in alone, then someone should come with me."

As she went inside, Clint huffed. He folded his arms. Glancing back at Thor, Steve, Tony, and Sif, he waited for them to go inside. When they didn't move, he laughed. "You're not going in?"

"We've been warned against the magic of the Vanir since my earliest memories," Thor explained.

Clint laughed from both stress and amusement, a strange combination he was quite familiar with. He turned back to the Cathedral. Closing his eyes and cursing internally, he followed her. "Someone has to make sure she doesn't kill herself," he shouted to them from the entrance. The inside looked the same as it had before the fight. Nothing had been damaged. He walked up next to Paige at the foot of the statue. "So. Are you going to become a glowstick again, Pea, or...?"

She spared him a single, sarcastic glance. "Are you here to stop me? Personally I'd have sent Thor. Or at least Captain America."

"What, don't think an orphan Carnie could bring you in...again?"

"Please." She walked around the statue towards the back of the towering structure. Amidst the vines and hanging moss, she saw shattered stained glass windows between arches. Between the floor windows and the first row suspended above, a thick marble decoration circled the tower. Scrolling runes had been inscribed into it.

"Thor, come here," Paige called back. "Unless you're scared, then send Sif."

Within a few moments, Thor, Steve, and Tony all joined them. Tony left his armor outside in Sentry Mode. They all looked where Paige pointed as she asked Thor to translate the runes.

He looked at them quickly. His face paled. After a brief hesitation, he agreed to translate them. "It says 'Let the golden rays of Aldrnari give strength and guidance to the promised weapon. Reclamation is at hand."

No one spoke. Paige looked back at the sun statue. Her gaze then darted back and forth between Thor and the runes.

Weapon.

Her breath hitched. She took a step back. Around her, once hidden in the stained glass windows and at either end of the runic prophecy, a rune symbol like a strange 'S' or capital 'E' began to glow gold. The world started to spin.

Clint, next to Paige, reached out and grabbed her as he saw her teetering. To his immense relief, nothing happened. None of the Avengers saw the golden runes as Clint lowered an unconscious Paige to the ground.

"What is that supposed to mean," Tony asked immediately. He looked at Steve. "What happened? Why did she say this had answers?"

Steve explained the handprint, the statue, and golden light. He also told them about the massive dark elf she had burned to death. "Thor, Sif said something about Vanir being able to tell the future?"

Thor still hadn't torn his gaze from the runes. But as Tony asked about it as well, he turned to them. "So it is said. That is one reason they grew so powerful, before our people stopped them." He turned to Paige.

Clint knelt beside her, checking her pulse. "She's just out cold."

Tony knelt on her other side and held up her right hand. The glove she'd been wearing had burned off in the fight with the dark elves. On the top of her hand, located at the side of her wrist, a tiny version of the glowing runes she had seen had been branded into her skin. He turned to Thor. "What the hell is this?"

"A rune we call Sol, in honor of the sun." Thor looked around. He observed the sculpture with the sun and looked up at the runes again. "Aldrnari, meaning Fire, is the name for their brightest sun here."

"From the prophecy," Steve said with a nod. "Thor what do you know of a Reclamation?"

He shook his head. "Nothing! I have heard nothing that would guide me in this riddle."

"Look, she's completely out. I'm tired. If you didn't know, I'm just a human with a bow," rambled Clint as he stood from Paige's side. "Far be it from me to make a plan, but I suggest we take her back to Asgard. Clearly no one here knows what to do."

Tony snorted. "Wow. There's a first time for everything." He turned to the others. "Clint's right."

With a roll of his eyes, Clint put his hands on his hips and turned to Steve and Thor. With them both in agreement, Steve picked Paige up and they joined Sif and the Asgardian warriors outside. As soon as they had left the Cathedral, a shimmering golden film covered every inch of it.

"Guess we aren't going back in there," Clint muttered. His head hurt. His muscles ached. All Clint wanted was a bath and a nap. So much magic made him uncomfortable, and Natasha wasn't anywhere nearby to help him with it. A yawn escaped him unbidden. He busied himself picking up all the arrows that hadn't broken.

Thor looked back at the cathedral. "No. Not yet." Then he turned to Clint and grinned. "Come, Barton. Where's your sense of adventure!"

"It died when the girl I agreed to watch over for my boss turned gold and got labeled a weapon for a reclamation."

Thor just laughed.

The team, surrounded by Asgardian soldiers, started back towards their entry point. They had Tony fly off and find the other teams, ordering them to return as well. By now, Aldrnari had passed its zenith. Clouds began to cover the sky. Soon, a greyness fell. As they finally reached the area where the Bifrost had left them, the clouds opened and rain poured down.