The move to Jotunnhold took longer than planned.
As anyone who has ever converted a building or had major construction work done knows; it always takes twice as long and costs twice as much as you had originally estimated!
The silver lining was that Doc Lee's team had plenty of time to finish their work in the hold. Besides the room where they had found Loki's uncle, there were a few more rooms behind the cave-in.
To all our surprise, one of them was a portal room which contained three portals. One of those lead to a secret portal in the catacombs underneath the castle in Jotunnheim and was hidden there by clever magics, which is why Loki had never found it. The other two portals had collapsed into rubble, but whether that was done deliberately or simply caused by the ravages of time was hard to tell.
The other room contained stacks and stacks of Jotunn tablets, a veritable library far larger than any military building would ever possess. Loki spent a few days trying to read as many as he could, but as time went on he got more and more frustrated.
"There is no rhyme or reason to them! It is as if all the written materials ever created by the Jotunn race were thrown into one big pile!
Shopping lists, diplomatic treaties, romantic prose, works of fiction, training manuals, love letters, military reports... it will take me years to catalogue all of this!"
Loki surmised his uncle had tried to save as many tablets as he could and had brought them all to the hold to preserve as much of Jotunn culture as he could before taking his own life. It was an amazing insight into Jotunn culture and everyday life, but an enormous undertaking to sort out, catalogue and translate.
Doc Lee offered to lend Anthony Ryan, the language expert in his team, to help Loki. But the Jotunn written language was far more complicated than any language known on Midgard, and Anthony struggled to grasp even the basics. Loki was an impatient and indifferent teacher and was so hard on poor Anthony he was more of a hindrance than a help to him.
The young man didn't give up and doggedly tried to learn the ancient and alien language by himself.
Eventually, the day came when it was time to move. Doc Lee and most of his team, bar Anthony Ryan who was staying behind to study the tablets, had cleared out the day before. They had plenty of photos and video footage and Loki had graciously gifted them some of the weapons, armour, tools and other items to study. There was more than enough to keep the Doc and his Team busy for a long time.
"I'm almost going to miss him," Loki admitted. "It was so nice to have someone around to have an intelligent conversation with every now and again."
"Hey!" I said, feeling rather insulted, and I elbowed him in the ribs. Loki just giggled in reply.
Doc Lee was only a phone call away though, the two of them determined to keep a line of communication open to share their theories and findings.
The living quarters themselves were a marvel. Once inside it was hard to believe you were in a giant military compound underneath the ice and snow. The rooms were warm and cosy, decorated in an eclectic, almost bohemian, style that resulted from compromising between Loki's taste and mine. It right away felt like home, it felt like us.
The kitchen was all mine, with a huge cooker, a large wooden kitchen table with comfortable matching chairs and plenty of storage.
The sitting room had deep cushy chairs and sofas, a huge fireplace, and a state-of-the-art entertainment system.
The library was a work in progress, with big plush chairs and wall-to-wall bookcases reaching from the ceiling to the floor. Over the past year, Loki had collected up so many books that our little cottage had stacks of them everywhere. Now each of his and Jessie and mine's books had a home on the multitude of shelves, with plenty of room for more!
The music room, or auditorium as Loki called it, had excellent acoustics and was large enough to have a small stage and seats for an audience. Loki finally got his grand piano, to his great joy, and my Ludwig drumset proudly stood in the middle of the stage as a place of honour.
Jessie and Thor each had their own bedrooms, done up to their own tastes, Jessie's exactly the same as in our old home. Thor was delighted not to have to sleep amidst the musical instruments anymore!
There were three more guest rooms too, one of them taken up by Anthony Ryan for as long as he wanted to stay.
I won't describe our own bedroom, you'll just have to use your imagination a bit! All I will say is that Loki had a walk-in wardrobe big enough that would take even him years to fill and he got his huge bathtub in the en-suite bathroom which was large enough for him to stretch his long legs out in.
The bed itself was custom-made according to a design by Loki, with some rather specific requirements and unique features that made me hide in the kitchen when the workmen came to put it all together. There was no way I could look them in the eye knowing what they knew!
Leaving my little cottage was hard. I knew it was always going to be there for us if we ever wanted to go back, and it was only a few minutes away via Agartha, but pulling the door close felt like saying goodbye to an old friend for the last time.
I tried to hide my tears from Loki, but he noticed them anyway. He put down the cat carriers he was holding and took me into his arms. With a sob, I buried my face in his leather jacket. Loki gently stroked my hair, holding me tight. I was glad Jessie had already gone ahead with Thor and wasn't there to see me cry.
Once we settled down in our new home none of us had any regrets. The cottage had been so small with four adults and two cats, and the fights over who got to use the bathroom first in the morning were better left in the past.
Loki had one last surprise for us.
"Come, close your eyes, you'll love it!" he persuaded Jessie and me. We both looked at each other and hesitated, neither of us fond of surprises.
"Oh, will you just trust me, you know me by now!" Loki grumbled.
"That's the problem," Jessie explained, "we never know what to expect with you!"
"If you knew what to expect, it wouldn't be a surprise," Loki argued, not unreasonable.
He rolled his eyes as he saw we were still hesitating.
"I am completely wasted on the two of you sometimes, I'm certain other families would be delighted with someone who put effort into surprising and amazing them on regular occasions!"
All his grumbling was for nothing though, because once he led us into the space he had been keeping a secret for us we both were suitably surprised, amazed and astounded.
In the years to follow Loki always referred to it simply as the 'study', but it was so far more than that. Both my computer and Jessie's were there, internet connection and all, and Loki had his own desk with his own laptop, but that was just the start of it.
The rest of it could be best described as 'what you'd get if professor Snape's potion room and the laboratory of doctor Frankenstein had a baby'.
There were shelves along the wall, stocked with potions, ingredients, books and magical items and workbenches with various apparatus and tools of which I couldn't even begin to guess what use they could have.
The furniture, as everywhere else, was big and comfortable and the room was warm and homely.
"What is all this?" I asked in surprise as I looked around curiously.
"There was never any room for it in our cottage, but I have always loved to tinker. To create potions and poisons, to find what makes magic artefacts work, take them apart and put them together again," Loki smiled happily as he looked around.
"See it as a hobby room. You'll have your video games, I'll have my alchemy and magical artificing."
I noticed Laufey's staff on one of the workbenches.
Once Loki finally had time to take a good look at the staff, he had been angry and disappointed. After everything we had been through to get it, the gem on the staff turned out to have cracked a long time ago and the staff was unusable.
My suggestion of putting a different gem on it had been met with scorn, however, I understood Loki's vitriol was caused by his frustration with the staff and not with me. Whatever the staff was meant to have done, it was without power now.
The fact that it was here in Loki's workshop meant he hadn't given up hope on repairing it and knowing my husband he'd find a way eventually.
The days turned into weeks as we settled into Jotunnhold. Any missions I was assigned were easily taken care of between the three of us. Thor spent a lot of time practising and training with the Templars, Jessie was busy at university, and between the Jotunn tablets, his workshop and the library Loki was rarely bored. And if he was, he'd made us all get dressed and travel to Agartha with him to wherever took his fancy at that moment.
Anthony Ryan was a quiet houseguest, and while I tried to involve him in our family meals and activities, he politely declined and mainly kept to himself, not wanting to be a burden.
"Hey, remember when you said that if I ever needed anything, all I'd have to do was give you a call?"
It was Carter on the phone. Carter was the young student I had met at Kingsmouth Academy on Solomon Island, back when I was trying to stop Loki before he could release the Dreamer buried under the island and cause the destruction of reality as we know it.
Carter was a Bee, like me, but had been naturally magically gifted long before that. Carter was psychokinetic at birth, and her parents quickly realised she was different. With no one to teach her how to control her powers, they began to manifest at seemingly random times. Matters only became worse when she started attending school and her powers became a danger to those around her.
Carter did not escape the notice of the various factions within the Secret World, but it was the Illuminati who approached her first and offered to pay for Carter's education and appoint magically trained staff to keep her and those around her safe.
Carter's parents realised they could not provide the care and training their daughter needed, and after talking it through with Carter herself, decided to accept the Illuminati's offer.
Eventually, Carter was sent to Solomon Island's Innsmouth Academy, where the Illuminati provided education in everything magical and mystical for those naturally inclined.
Innsmouth Academy was the island's only school and, as it was private, most of the island's children had to commute to the mainland just to get schooling.
Despite this, she quickly made friends with Danny Dufresne. Being a huge superhero fan and video game nerd, Danny was not scared of her but excited to learn of her powers.
The Islanders had been infected with a dormant string of the Filth by the fog that had rolled in from the sea. It didn't seem to affect them much, but the organisations feared the dormant strain could become active at any moment and had quarantined the inhabitants on the island until a cure could be found.
Carter had not been infected because her Bee had made her resistant to the Filth, but stayed on the island anyway to finish her education.
She, Danny and Kyra Dexter, daughter of the island's medicine woman Ami, were the only children to have survived the zombie invasion on the island, and thus the three had become good friends. Over time, Carter and Danny had grown into something more.
Last year Carter finished High School with flying colours and applied to Oxford Occult University, where she had been promptly accepted. Not being a host to the dormant strain she had been allowed to leave the island and start her academic education.
While I had kept in touch with the other people on the island, and Loki, Thor and I visited regularly to maintain the wards and make sure the Dreamer was still locked up securely in the Gaia Engine, I'll admit I hadn't spoken to Carter in a while.
"Of course, I remember promising that. What can I do to help you?"
Loki looked up from his book as he heard my reply to Carter, and raised an eyebrow. I mouthed Carter's name at him as an explanation, and he nodded, pulled me a bit closer and put his ear against my phone so he could listen to what was being said. I rolled my eyes but didn't object.
"I know it sounds stupid and it's something I should really be solving myself because it's all part of being grown-up and being a responsible adult but I've written so many e-mails and letters and I've only been getting rejections!"
Carter was practically in tears, I could hear it in her voice.
"Okay, I'm going to need a bit more than that," I wasn't sure what she meant. "What are you applying for?"
"I need to do an internship, get some work experience, and of course, it needs to be within the Secret World, but everyone seems to know about the island and the moment they find out I'm from there I get rejected. They are all afraid I might be infected with the Filth too," Carter said miserably.
"And I thought perhaps you knew of a place where I could apply, put in a good word for me?"
"Of course, sweetheart, I'll make a few phone calls," I promised promptly. "Leave it with me, I'll find you a place in no time."
It was a promise that was easier made than kept.
Richard told me the Templars had already accepted as many interns as the organisation was willing to take, and as much as he regretted it, there wasn't much he could do to help. The others I rang gave me a similar story.
Loki had left the sitting room once I started making my calls, and phone in hand I wandered around to see where he had disappeared off to. I found him in the study. The moment I walked in he turned his laptop slightly as if he didn't want me to see what he was up to. I frowned, but whatever he was up to now, it could wait.
I kept making phone calls to anyone I could think of but soon realised I was going to have a hard time keeping my promise to Carter. I was having as little luck as she had to secure her a place.
Loki was typing away busily, ignoring me while I paced the study, turning his laptop whenever I got too close.
"Can't you at least make a few phone calls, don't you know someone who might be able to help? The least you can do is help out a bit, it's because of your mad world-destroying scheme she's in this position in the first place!" I sniped angrily, my frustration at having made a promise I wouldn't be able to keep getting the better of me.
Loki raised his eyebrows. "Ouch," he said softly.
I immediately regretted my words. "Sorry, that was mean. I know you'd change things if you could," I apologised.
"Yes, it was mean," Loki frowned. "Especially since I was just about to tell you to ring Carter and tell her I have a place for her if she wants it."
"What? How did you do that?" I walked over as Loki turned his laptop towards me.
On the screen was the homepage of something called 'The Jotunn Foundation', an organisation dedicated to the study and research of ancient artefacts and magical races. There were links leading to company information, a mission statement, contact information and customer testimonials.
"Who are they?" I was confused, I'd never heard of them before.
"They are us," Loki grinned. "We've been in the business for the last fifty-seven years, are suitably reputable and come highly recommended by our business partners."
"Is this one of your old scams?" I asked suspiciously.
"No, I just set it up," Loki admitted. "Never mind the logo, it's a bit amateurish, I'll spruce it up. And I'm not keen on the font but I'll change that too."
"Won't they find out? You can't get Carter in trouble like that, she'll lose her scholarship!"
"Who do you think you're talking to? Darling, I used to do this for a living, they'll never find out!
The site is just the beginning, give me the rest of the night and Oxford Occult will be convinced we've always been part of the Secret World."
I hesitated for a moment, not wanting to get Carter in trouble. Loki gave me his most winning smile.
"But won't they know when she's not learning anything while staying here?" I still wasn't convinced.
"Hey! Who says she won't learn anything? I'm a thousand-year-old god and one of the most powerful sorcerers the realms have ever seen! I can teach her things mortals could only ever dream of!
Besides that, other companies will just have her fetch coffee and make photocopies anyway. She'll learn more here than with them."
There wasn't much arguing with that, but that didn't mean I couldn't find something else to argue about.
"You aren't the most patient of teachers," I pointed out.
"I taught you plenty, didn't I?" Loki shrugged.
"That's different. I'm used to your sharp tongue. Besides that, you're always nicer to me than to anyone else. She's a young girl and she's been through a lot."
"I'll be nice, I can be nice if I want to. I'm never sharp with Jessie, am I?"
I knew when I was defeated.
"I'll give Carter a call and see if she'll agree to it," I smiled.
Carter was over the moon, delighted to have found a place and to be spending time with us to boot.
Loki looked at me after I hang up the phone, and pulled me onto his lap.
"What do you say?"
"Thank you, Loki."
"And what else?" he gave a small smile.
"Sorry for being mean to you," I apologised again.
"And what else?"
"What do you mean, what else? Isn't that enough?"
"Oh no, I want more! What else?" His smile became wider and his eyes began to twinkle. His hand slowly slid under my shirt and undid my bra clasps.
"And if you carry me up to the bedroom I'll show you how sorry I really am?" I offered with a grin.
"And suddenly I find myself to be a forgiving god!" Loki exclaimed as he lifted me up and threw me over his shoulder as he carried me to the bedroom, ignoring my indignant squeals at being carried off like a bag of potatoes.