Cat and mouse (part 1) Revised version!

Chapter 44

I regained consciousness slowly, the first thing I noticed was it was bright.
To bright to be inside the castle.
I opened my eyes to see the sky.
As I regained most of my hearing I could hear screaming in the background and I realized I was being drug by my good leg across the grass in the garden.
I looked down to see an elf's back, he was walking, pulling me behind him.
I tilted my head backwards and from my upside down angle I could see an all out battle happening all around us.
Where was Thor?
Where was Loki?
He could be on the other side of the grounds for all I knew. Or dead.
My heart squeezed at that thought and I knew I needed to act before this monster took me back to wherever he had intended.
I pulled my free leg back and kicked the elf in the back of the shin. He made a sound of surprise and went to his knees.
I flailed like a mad woman and ripped my leg from his now loosened grasp.
A feral scream loosed itself from me and I jumped on his back tackling him to the ground and wrapped my arms around his throat, squeezing as hard as I could. He tried punching at me but I didn't feel it as the adrenaline to stay alive kept me from fully registering the hits. I squeezed harder and twisted and heard him choke. Tears welled in my eyes despite knowing this creature would have killed me without a second thought. I closed my eyes and a scream ripped itself from my throat again as I held on despite the nails of the elf digging into my arms.
The elf went limp and twitched a few times before falling completely limp. I felt my hair being grabbed and I was yanked off the now dead creature.
"Aren't you a fighter." Another elf said to me as I screamed and struggled.
"Where's Loki?" He holding me snarled into my face.
"Fuck you!" I yelled kicking at him.
"Humans." He spat distastefully.
"Why are you attacking us?" I asked through the pain in my scalp
"Don't play stupid, your master owes a debt and we're here to collect."
The elf grabbed my face and forced me to look at him
"So where is he?"
"I don't know."
He slammed the hilt of his sword into my ribs
"Where is Loki?" He asked again.
I opened my mouth to respond something nasty through the pain but the god himself materialized behind him looking murderous.
A long sword appeared in his hands and he moved to drive it into the elf's back.
The elf pivoted and the blade met open air.
"I'm right here." Loki snarled.
The elf pulled me into his chest and held his sword to my throat.
"Another step and I'll kill your little pet." He warned.
Loki glared at him and his eyes shifted down to me.
"Come with us, he wishes to speak to you."
"He'll have to catch me first." Loki said looking away from me.
"Then maybe we'll take your human to him and see if he enjoys her as much as you do."
Loki let out a snarl and took a step forward but the  sword pressed closer into my throat drawing a small bit of blood making him halt.
"Easy." Loki warned the elf and held his hands up.
"Let her go and I'll go with you."
"Your pet comes with." The elf said with a smile in his voice.
"I'm not a pet." I hissed and grabbed the blade, shoving it away from my throat just enough for loki to conjure a dagger and throw it past my ear, grazing it just slightly as it embedded into the elf's neck.
Loki grabbed my arm and yanked me roughly away from the now choking elf and transported us back into the palace. We were in the library.
He pulled me in the direction of a shelf and pulled on a candle stick making a door pop open. He shoved me inside and followed shutting the door behind him. It was dark inside the small concrete room and I huddled against myself.
A small green orb appeared casting a dim glow around the room.
I cradled my hands in my lap and tried not to think about the how bad they stung, I'd given Loki the opportunity to make the kill but grabbing an open blade had done some damage.
Loki finally turned to me looking angry.
"I thought you said you were going to you room." He snarled
"Really? That's what your mad about?" I asked glaring at him.
"I wouldn't have had to go searching for you if you went where you said you were going."
"How did you even find me?"
His face changed then.
"I saw you from the balcony being taken."
He said taking my hands and examining them and healing the cuts along my palms.
"Remind me not to get on your bad side." He tried to tease.
"I don't want to talk about it." I muttered still feeling the elf's life slipping away by my hands.
"You don't feel bad do you?" He asked surprised
I ripped my hands away from him.
"It was disgusting, feeling him dying, feeling him choke to death."
I wrapped my arms around myself and turned away.
"He would have taken you hostage, and you would have begged for death."
I suddenly remembered what the elves had said,
"They were looking for you."
Loki looked at me but didn't say anything.
"What did you do?" I accused taking a step forwards.
He didn't respond.
"Why are they here? What did you do?" I yelled shoving him.
"It's not what I did, it's what I've done." He said finally.
I stared at him confused at his words.
'We're here to collect his debt'
"Are they..are they here because of New York?" I gasped.
"There are innocent people being killed out there!" I yelled pointing at the door to the hidden space.
He turned to look at me but his face was stone.
"I can't protect them. But I can protect you."
"You're a fucking coward."
"You don't know what your talking about. You only know a piece of the puzzle." He seethed at me.
"Then tell me!"
"I cant!"
"Then go out there and protect your people!" I yelled shoving him again
"I protected you." He snapped as if that were enough.
"I could have let them take you, then all my problems would be solved." He said grabbing my wrist and holding it up, showing me the still faint glow on the bracelet.
"But I think it would have haunted me for the rest of my life."
I opened my mouth but he quieted me when his hand came up like it was going to brush my cheek but the touch never came.
"Tell me what's going on." I said grabbing his hand with mine.
"If I tell you, I'd be putting you in danger. You
already know to much." He sighed
"Then I'm already in danger."
He stiffened
"Don't say that."
"I put myself in danger the second I decided to help save your life. The least you could do is be honest with me." I said yanking my hands away from him.
"I can't."
I growled in frustration and eyed the door.
"We're safe in here, no threats can come in." He said thinking I was afraid.
But can people go out?
I shoved past him and went to push the door open but Loki grabbed the back of my shirt and hauled me backwards.
"My job is to protect people and I'm not going to sit here and hide with you!"
"You'll get yourself killed." He said putting more weight on me.
"At least I'll take a few of them with me."
"Don't be stupid." He growled.
"Better stupid then a coward." I said shoving him as hard as I could and going for the door.
His arms circled my waist and whirled me around shoving me into the wall blocking me in.
"You're going to stay here where I can protect us." He said trying to force me to listen.
"I don't want you to protect me."
"Of course you don't, but I have to." He said sounding strangled.
His eyes begged me to concede and I felt my chest tighten at the raw look in his eyes.
His walls were so far up that I realized I might not ever brake them down.
"I want to help you. You can trust me." I promised.
I realized that he looked terrified, he was terrified of the elves out there, terrified of..me.
I took a slow breath in and leaned into him pressing my lips against his.
"You can trust me." I said against his lips, praying for him to believe the words.
He let me kiss him gently for a moment before he let my hands go and wrapped one arm around my waist and knotted one in my hair.
This kiss wasn't the same as the others, this one was a passion that was full of emotion not lust.
I pulled away and cupped his face
"Trust me."
"Just stop talking." He grunted and bit my lip before his lips found mine again.
I knew he was just trying to get me to shut up but I couldn't help but kiss him back, not when his heart was as close to the surface as it was right now.
He'd saved me, he'd come back for me. He fought for me.
Loud banging interrupted us. I jumped in surprise and Loki shoved me behind him.
"Loki! Come out I know you're in there!"
It was Thor.
Loki growled and recalled his magic and opened the door to the hidden space in the books. Thor snarled and grabbed Loki by his armor and threw him to the ground then picked him back up by his neck.
"You bastard, you've been dealing with the dark elves."
I ran out of the space after Thor and grabbed his large arm.
"Stop!"
"Our people slaughtered because of you!" He roared.
"Thor stop it!" I yelled trying to get him to drop Loki.
"I should have let them kill you when I had the chance."
"They're here because of New York! They're trying to collect him for not holding up his end of the deal!" I yelled prying his fingers from Loki's armor.
He fell to his knees and took a large breath in while looking up at his furious brother.
"How do you know that?" Thor boomed at me.
"If that's true why would he hide like a coward?" He said pointing the words at his brother.
"He was protecting me! He was getting me away from the fight, I was being taken." I said stepping in front of the god of mischief like a barrier between them.
I glanced down at Loki and saw something I wished I could unsee in his eyes.
Something close to unbridled adoration for protecting him, it probably didn't happen often.
"The dark elves were who he was working with during New York." I said spilling his secrets.
Thor looked between us and I could tell he was fighting to calm down.
"They will be back. And when they do they're going to slaughter everyone here to find you."
Loki stood up and his voice was calm.
"Then we make sure they know I won't be here."