california 02 // loki's romanoff prelude

twenty-five // flames, pt. II

The ward was empty except for Anastasia. No nurses to silence, not even other patients.

It was the same ward Loki had spirit-walked to. The same cypress tree beside her bed, and she lay awake in that same white-sheet bed, sleep depriving her as usual, fingering the leaves and watching the New York streets speed past the window. She could have been his sister - dark hair, bony face, skin as pale as paper.

Amora laughed beside him, and Loki jumped. He had forgotten she was even there.

The little girl shot up in her bed and stared at them, with trembling eyelashes and wide eyes. She didn't say a word as Loki approached her bed and stared down at those wide eyes.

She was terrified of him. He could smell her terror as he towered over her.

'Who are you?' she asked, finally. Her voice squeaked a little, and Amora sniggered.

Loki felt sick, but he couldn't stop now. He pulled a dagger out of his sleeve. Anastasia shrank into her bedclothes.

'Who are you?' she said. She cried it out this time. 'Help, nurse! Sister Cathy-'

Loki slammed a hand against her mouth. She continued to scream under his palm. He felt her lips move in patterns against his skin; he felt her try to bite him; her sharp little teeth sink into his flesh. It hurt, but he kept his hand there, and flicked his wrists. Her flailing body immediately grew immobilised, but her eyes continued to stare up at him, terrified.

'You asked who I am,' whispered Loki. He removed his hand from her mouth. 'I'm a friend of your father's. You love your father. Don't you, Anastasia?' He knelt down so his head was at exactly the same level as hers. 'That time at Brighton pier? It's one of your happiest memories, isn't it, Asya?'

She couldn't talk, but her eyes said it all.

Loki straightened to his full height and tossed Amora the dagger. She caught it, her face excited. She really was beautiful, lit up in the gas lights shining in from the window.

'What's your plan?' she asked him, glancing coyly at him through the blonde waves of her hair. She moved closer to Anastasia, and let the dagger fall across the little girl's chest. Loki saw the dark eyes in the pale face widen, the tears flowing down the motionless cheeks.

'Don't, Amora.' When she raised her eyebrows, he said, 'I need your help with a spell. I'm broadcasting this image everywhere.'

'A ransom video?' Amora sounded impressed.

'Across that huge square in the centre of the city.'

'Times Square.' Amora leaned forwards, and her green eyes were full of approval. 'That's one way to draw Dreykov's attention. It's a good plan, if I say so myself.' She moved closer to him, and he should have backed away, but he was frozen to the spot. He stood stock-still as her hand - long-fingered, elegant, honey-coloured - stroked his cheek. He looked at her, and she was very beautiful. 'But you're missing something.'

'What's that?' Her lips were too close to his. With effort, he pulled away, and turned to look at the little girl, motionless as a corpse, in her bed.

'In order to carry out a spell that big,' Amora said, 'you'll need my help. Which means returning my powers to me.'

'I've realised that.'

'Oh? And what makes you trust me?'

Loki gestured with his hands in one of his most familiar spells. He had had so much practice with it over the past few months that it sprung from him now as easily as breathing.

The door to the ward burst into flames, and Amora jumped beside him. He knew that she, like him, could see the animals within the fire - in the twisting redness, there were snakes, there were lions, there were demons.