Heart of a Mortal (Loki Romance)

Chapter 17

Part 3: The Storm

Loki's POV

Ebony woke up at her usual ungodly hour and rolled over me, slipping out of bed and into the bathroom. I sighed and buried my face in the pillow, smiling as the smell of her lingered around me. Opening one eye, I watched her pack a bag.

"Coming?" She asked, pulling on a pair of shorts.

"I suppose." I said, stretching.

"Bagels?" She asked, leaving the room.

She'd taken to introducing me to something new every week. Bagels were at the moment my favorite. I nodded and asked for that one with all the little seeds.

"Poppy." She said. I pulled on some clothes, very much used to the Midgardian way of dressing now. She was slipping the food into the toaster when I came out. "Brush your teeth and then you can have a morning kiss."

"My orange juice will taste bad."

"Suck it up." She smiled, pointing to the bathroom. I sighed and obeyed, returning to see her pouring something else. "Grapefruit lemonade. The nectar of the gods. Mrs. Gear makes it." She smiled. Mrs. Gear was an elderly lady living somewhere in the area. Ebony went to visit her from time to time. Apparently, her family had owned this land and she had sold the house to Ebony. The infernal woman had taken a liking to poking me and telling me I was too skinny for a man of my appetite. I only visited because I liked her cookies.

I sipped the juice, staring at the pitcher. Ebony grinned and slid it over to me. I poured more and smiled at her, biting into my bagel.

She picked at hers, seeming cautious about whatever she wanted to say. "Robin wants to come visit. He misses bickering with you."

"He wants to come see if I'm beating you. If there's anything he misses it's your arse. Which I don't blame him for." I looked at her from under my brows, wondering where this was going exactly.

She laughed and stood, deciding to put her bagel in a bag and take it with her. "He said he could just come for two days and sleep on the couch. We wouldn't know he was here."

I paused. Had she actually allowed him to come? That inconsiderate child? "And what did you say?" I asked cautiously, sipping my juice. She took my empty plate.

"I told him we liked our privacy and didn't want to give up our favorite nighttime activity just so he could get some sleep. He hung up. I haven't heard from him."

I laughed. Ebony had allowed me into her bed again, a few nights after we returned from the mountains. I had intended to respect her wishes, to give her distance and patience. She had decided... otherwise. I could not complain, after all nights with her were a gift more valuable than the riches I knew on Asgard, and more heady than the strongest mead. Besides that, she was beautiful - better even than waking up to the sunrises I missed so much back home.  

Turning my thoughts away from our "favorite activity" as she so aptly put it, I reminded myself there was time for more of that later and stood, pulling on my shoes and waiting by the door. She grabbed her bag and we got in the truck. It was a fifteen minute drive to her usual spot. To be honest, it wasn't much. A small clearing with a large rock formation in the middle. Most of it was covered in moss but she liked it that way. She climbed out of the truck and grabbed her bag, climbing up to the top of the formation. She smiled down at me and then sat, pulling out her music and notebooks. I watched her as she looked around, listening to her new favorite artist.

She looked down at her notebook and began to write, lost in her thoughts. Her mornings were dedicated to her own attempts at writing a book. When we returned home, she would work. I leaned back against the truck and watched her. I loved to see the changes in her as she went through her story. She was working on the death of an important character at the moment, she'd filled me in yesterday but hadn't finished the scene. I watched as she frowned and tapped her cheek. She changed her song, no doubt to something reminding her of a battle or of mourning. She dove back into her work, writing swiftly.

I turned, feeling something pull at me mentally. Frowning, I traced it in the direction of the crater. I climbed onto Eb's rock and grabbed a snack, jumping down and walking into the trees.

"I want to visit the crater." I called.

"Mmmkay," she replied absently. "Bye."

I had visited the crater a number of times, often to think about what I would do if Odin repaired the rainbow bridge and sent for me. I would looked up and wonder if Heimdall was watching and if he had notified Odin of my survival by now. I wondered if they were monitoring me. Today felt different. It felt like something was waiting to happen. Curious and nervous, I followed the feeling to the crater. Sitting down, I waited.

Loki...

I sat up straighter, looking around.

Loki...

Someone from another realm called out to me. It was certainly not Asgard, this wasn't a familiar feeling. I felt a shiver run through me and the voice seemed to tap my shoulder. I closed my eyes, letting it take me in. Opening them, I found myself faced with a blind creature. He was formed as a man but was some creature I had never heard of. A black cloth ran over his head and folded over his eyes. He stood in front of a large boulder and I looked around to find my consciousness on a barren rock, a meteor no doubt.

I returned my gaze to the figure. It had some kind of gold framing over its bloody mouth. Its skin was a pale, death-like grey. Disgusting. The thing walked towards me, as though it could see me perfectly. Loki...

Whatever the voice was, it wasn't this thing. It was elsewhere on this empty rock. This creature before me seemed to be a messenger or a stand in. Unimportant, really. I waited for it to say its piece.

"You are soft, Asgardian." It spoke. Its voice hissed and echoed. I tilted my head to the side, refusing to speak until I knew who I was dealing with. "The woman has softened you. Yet, my master believes you will be of use to him. He watched you as you fell through the void. He saw your pain, your hatred. But you are not ready. We will return."

"For what? What do you want?" I ventured.

"A holder of great power. In exchange, he can promise you Midgard."

I felt a flicker of interest followed by disgust. What would I do with Midgard? I didn't want the throne anymore; I only wanted some peace. I hid my thoughts well though. I remembered this presence now. It had followed me through the void but the feeling had left me on Midgard. So finally it was revealing itself? "Then I await your return, eagerly." I bowed my head and stepped back, returning to the familiar realm I now called home. I looked around, feeling shivers run through me. My heart was pounding. I still wasn't alone. The wind whipped up and groaned through the trees. The tops bowed low, as though turning to watch me. I looked around frantically, breathing in short gasps as fear seized me by the heart.

That power. It wasn't a passive, dormant pull as mine was when I wasn't using it. It was active, malevolent, ruthless. The bearer of such power was not one to be trifled with. I would have to tread lightly. Turning suddenly, I found myself face to face with the blinded creature again. But this time he truly was in front of me, this was no projection. He advanced quickly and grabbed me by the shoulders. I started to pull away but something stronger than him held me. Heat bloomed in the back of my head and I arched away with a cry of pain. I tried to fight as something ripped through my mind, setting something there in the darkness before everything left me. I groaned quietly, feeling the pain recede along with my awareness of reality.

The ground rushed up to meet me and the creature began to walk away. I collapsed into the dirt, trying in vain to push myself up. Ebony was still out here, she was alone. Would he go after her?

The darkness wrapped around me and snuffed out any last thought.

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Quick explantation, there used to be a short sex scene in Ch. 14. It's been removed, for personal reasons (you really didn't miss anything). I'm trying to make sure it's clear that it happened, but let me know if it's not so I can revisit. Anyway, think of this chapter as the prologue to the Avengers plot!