The Disorder (Book 1)

Chapter 28

The girl's name was Ah Lam. Loki said she was from the world of the dark elves, a planet called Nidavellir. In her homeland, they feed off the heat. Mostly the heat of fires (which explains all of the candles) and the lava that is in the volcanoes that they live in.

Along with their ability to absorb heat, they also have the power emit it at will. So, when Ah Lam brought Loki around to the back of the restaurant, they were faced with a strange lock that Aubrey had never seen before. There was a tube that looked about the size of a Pringles can and was hooked up to a digital screen with an intricate series of wires.

"Only a Dark Elf can unlock this door," Ah Lam said. "The key is a temperature, in this case 303, for March 2003, when we were banished here. See? I heat up my hand," she held up her hand, which started glowing vibrant orange, "and I put it in the tube, which measures the temperature." The digital screen lit up, numbers escalating until they reached 303. "Then you hold it for three seconds." The device beeped and a green light turned on, "Cool, huh?"

"Yeah, super cool. Now if we could hurry this up...?" Loki said impatiently.

"Right, sorry," she mumbled, wide-eyed once more. She moved to open the door, but paused. "But before we go in, you should know that my four cousins are probably in there with her. Oh, and my brother, but I think he is still in the front."

Loki smiled, "that's why we have you sweetheart. Just get them out of that room, and I will take care of the rest."

She paled, "Oh...kay." As Loki hid around the corner of the building, she took a deep breath and stepped inside.

From where Loki leaned against the wall, he couldn't hear much, only muffled voices. He heard shuffling and a door open and close, and he smiled to himself. Ah Lam was good, she must've already persuaded them to leave.

Loki snuck around the corner, peaking into the door, finding a strange room. Candles were stacked along three of the walls, along with tough leather robes and black rock masks that must've belonged to the family when they lived in Nidavellir. The fourth wall was covered by a curtain that probably hid more junk that they brought from their home world.

But these alien objects didn't hold either Aubrey or Loki's attention, instead they looked in the middle of the room, where a plastic table sat, surrounded by matching chairs. Laying on top of the table was Aubrey's body. It seemed as though her seizure was over and she now lay unconscious, facing up with her eyes closed and her mouth slack. Her hay-colored hair was spread across the smooth surface in untamed waves and spirals.

All in all, the room looked like it was prepared for some sacrificial ceremony, which did not comfort Aubrey in the least.

Loki crept to the middle of the room, finding Aubrey's backpack under the table. He slid the straps over his shoulders then moved his gaze to Aubrey's body. She found it strange to see herself from this perspective, she actually looked pretty pathetic. Her skin was covered with a layer of sweat and purple bruises. And did she really have that many pimples?

Loki chuckled to himself as he pulled her, ever so gently, into his arms. Looking around once more, he made his way back to the door, but was halted at the clearing of a throat.

Turning around, Loki saw who he assumed were Ah Lam's cousins emerge from behind the curtain.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the first one said, tilting his head and blinking his strange eyes.

Loki rolled his eyes, "and what is stopping me?"

The curtain moved again, revealing Ah Lam and her brother, whose hand was holding the gleaming blade of a knife to Ah Lam's throat.

"Don't move," he said while Ah Lam pleaded with her dark eyes that contrasted with her nervous, pasty white skin.

Laughing, Loki said, "go ahead, see if I care."

Loki, what the hell are you doing? She helped us! Aubrey mind-yelled at him.

Calm down, jeez. He won't hurt her, he's her brother, Loki reassured her.

So, you're calling his bluff?

Exactly.

The man looked frustrated, but then realization dawned on his face, "you think I won't do it." He laughed and the other four joined, "you know why we were banished from Nidavellir? We murdered the clan cheif. So, you think I'm not capable. Well let's just see." He pushed the blade a little further, and a trail of red ran down Ah Lam's neck and onto her shirt. Her lip quivered.

"Nah, I don't think you will. She's your sister." Loki challenged.

The man's face twisted, "not anymore." And his blade slid across her throat.

Aubrey's screamed NOOOOO! in Loki's head came out as a whispered "no" from Loki's lips as he watched Ah Lam's body fall to the floor.

Loki glanced back at the man, whose eyes were cold with murder.

"Heh," said Loki in a strangled voice as they closed in on him, "well you sure proved me wrong. So we're done now? Because I have places to be, people to see, ya know."

When their hands started to glow orange, Loki turned and sprinted out the door, barely dodging the glowing hands that were reaching for him.

Aubrey's body was a dead weight in his arms as he sprinted around the corner and down the street with the Dark Elves following close behind. Luckily, the cold temperature and drizzly weather slowed his pursuers down considerably, as they feed off of heat. Loki purposefully lead them through the wet splashes of cars to slow them down, and they were soon specks in the distance.

Laughing in triumph, he spotted an abandoned warehouse across the street. Aubrey would never know how he was somehow able kick the door in while still holding her body.

The inside was damp. A steady beat was given by water droplets falling from the holes in the roof to the hard surface of the concrete. The faint city lights streamed through the windows and onto the puddle covered floor. Broken glass littered the floor and reflected the small amount of light around the room.

Loki managed to find a dry, empty spot of the floor to set Aubrey, then he went back to the door, leaning it back up against the doorframe.

Spinning around, he returned to Aubrey. His knees hit the floor as he kneeled down beside her, straightening her legs and folding her hands over her stomach for her. He adjusted her head to a more comfortable position and gathered her hair and pulled it over her shoulder. Then he reached into his satchel, revealing the mysterious letter he wrote in Asgard and the somewhat squashed rose, sliding them under her hands.

He looked around, sighing. Ready? He thought to Aubrey.

Yes, she replied.

So Loki said, "alright, Hela. It's show time."

A/N:

Oh my gosh, next chapter is a big one! Are y'all ready? I am! Anyways... Another question, if Aubrey and Loki were animals, what would they be? Tell me what you think and vote if you are enjoying my story, please!