Heart of a Mortal (Loki Romance)

Chapter 20

"I'd like to think so." He smiled. "Your Loki is dead. I've emerged stronger and wiser than the man you tried to make me. I suggest you submit to who I am now."

I shook my head. "Okay, fine. You're different. But I'm a little lost so how about we take a deep breath and just talk, okay? Can we do that?" I reached out to him, trying to calm him and understand.

He smacked my hand away. "Don't touch me."

I stepped back. Like a bolt of lightning, the strange look he had hit me. He was sick. Or possessed. Or high on something. He wasn't his usual pale color but his skin had turned a dull grey. Sweat beaded on his brows and his eyes... His bloodshot eyes had strange, tiny streaks of electric blue running through the irises. Was this some sort of Asgardian virus? Was he delusional because of a parasite?

"Okay." I whispered. "Okay, I'll leave you alone." Sick was one thing. Delusional was dangerous. I didn't know if it would make him violent.

He turned away. "And I am returning to Asgard." He said quietly. "The presence I told you about." I nodded though he wasn't looking. "It showed me something. A way home. A way to ensure that I get what is rightfully mine." He stared at his hands, seeming shocked by something. "I will have to leave you soon. Perhaps it is best that I am no longer the man you want. It will be easier to let me go." He walked out before I could say anything.

I wiped my eyes and fell back onto the bed. My head and back were no better after that. I was nauseous again but it felt more like fear rather than sickness this time. I cleaned the kitchen, carefully avoiding the way he watched me. His eyes never wavered and I wondered what he was thinking. I didn't dare ask. So I cleaned quickly and put the food away. Rummaging in the bathroom cabinet, I found a melatonin tablet and let it dissolve on my tongue before sliding under the sheets and closing my eyes.

I felt like I was falling. Like the ground had opened up and swallowed me and I was tumbling down its dark and shrinking throat. It stopped and I found myself in the grips of a dream unlike any other. Space spun slowly around me. I was on some sort of barren world, made of grey rock and a deafening silence. A creature stood before me, tall and grey, with bloody teeth and decaying skin. Its hooded head turned towards me.

"You are asleep." A voice boomed. But the creature was silent. "This is a dream. But what I am about to tell you is very much a part of reality. Do you understand?" I nodded slowly. "The boy is useful to me."

"Boy?" I tried, frowning.

"The Asgardian."

Shifting on my feet, looked around for the source of this condescending tone. I walked around the creature, feeling my skin crawl as it turned its blindfolded eyes to follow me. It hissed quietly. I backed away.

"Why can't I see you?"

"I do not wish you to."

I tried to smile with a confidence I felt sorely lacking. "Cowardice?" Loki had said there was a presence that could tap into his mind. If this was the same thing, what could he do to me even in my sleep? The voice laughed. "How is Loki useful to you?" I tried.

"He has a talent for chaos and yet can erect order so long as he has guidance. A realm as weak as yours would not be difficult to rule with the resources I provide."

I shook my head. "Loki's not ready for a throne. Earth doesn't need a ruler. And besides, he doesn't want to be one anymore. And what's this got to do with me?" So this was the presence that had shown him the way home. The way to power and corruption, and ultimately - I was sure - his demise.

The creature hummed, tilting its head. I could almost feel its eyes narrowing.

"You have softened him with your meddling." It said, its bloody mouth moving sharply. "You wish to change him."