And here comes the setup!
Enjoy!
VVVVV
Wishing Well
Lokistoneverse
Connected with "The Keyhole."
VVVVV
The dusty step creaked underneath Jane's foot.
She stopped. Winced.
Loki, one step up, stopped as well, his hand tightening on hers. He glanced down at her. She could see only half of him in the icy moonlight that streamed in from the broken window up above—a stark, black, white and blue figure.
"There isn't anyone here," he whispered.
"Yeah…but it feels like there is," Jane breathed back. Loki's mouth tightened, and his glance shifted through the darkened, cobwebbed curve of the stairwell.
"Yes, it does."
"Why?" she wondered, still hushed.
He shook his head once.
"We will see." He tugged on her hand. "Come."
Together, they resumed their upward creep, listening to their too-loud footsteps on the warped wood, winding through the staircase until they reached a landing leading to a narrow corridor.
"I'm still amazed you got everybody else to wait outside," Jane took hold of Loki's hand with both of hers, pressing her shoulder to his arm. He felt warm in this chilly, damp house.
"Steven is not doing well as it is," Loki murmured, stepping forward into the darkness. "And with his injured ankle, Barton knows it is best that he keep watch out there instead of trying to climb. Natasha won't leave him. Thor won't leave Steven. Bruce would never be comfortable in here—and thankfully, Tony is able to keep him calm." Loki took a careful breath, narrowing his eyes at the hallway. "They would have all gotten in the way. And made a great deal of noise."
The two of them stepped carefully forward, the darkness swallowing them. Loki lifted his left hand and snapped his fingers.
A little orb of green light leaped to life and hovered above his palm. Shadows played across the stone walls, giving everything an eerie, ghost-like quality.
And then…
A door.
An old-fashioned door, with a large, old-fashioned lock.
Loki stopped. His fingers clamped on Jane's.
"There it is."
"Really?" Jane gasped, staring.
"Yes," he nodded, his eyes wide and fixed. "Yes, this is it."
Jane's heart started to pound fast. Together, they advanced on the door. Stared at the doorknob.
"Should I…?" Jane began. Loki nodded.
Jane reached out and gripped the cold, dusty metal. Twisted.
The latch noisily worked.
The door swung open.
She jumped back.
The hinges creaked. The door drifted away, revealing a small, empty, circular room.
"Hm," Loki mused. "I expected it to be locked."
"Is there…" Jane whispered. "Supposed to be something inside?"
Loki didn't answer. He stayed where he was, motionless, for several moments.
Finally, he stepped forward, just to the threshold. Jane followed.
"No further," he warned.
"Why?" Jane asked.
"Listen."
Jane did so. At first, nothing registered. Then…
A soft whisper. Like wind through bare branches.
Coming from the wooden floor.
And then a feeling possessed her. The unmistakable feeling of a gaping hole looming right in front of them.
"Do you have anything worthless in your pockets?" Loki asked, his gaze never leaving that strange, wooden floor. The orb of light wavered over his head.
"Um…" Jane used her right hand to probe into her pocket. "I…have a penny."
"Give it to me," he held out his left hand. She put the coin in his palm. He hefted it, frowning.
Then, he flicked it into the room.
It flashed through the air and met the floor.
Disappeared.
Jane mentally staggered at the absence of the tell-tale clink.
"Where did it go?" she cried.
"Sh."
"Sorry," she rasped, clapping a hand over her mouth.
"To Asgard," Loki answered. "I hope."
"Why? How did it do that?"
"I'm not certain," Loki shook his head. "I have heard tales…theories, but…" He glanced behind them, then met her eyes. "We had better hurry."
"Right," Jane said, reached up and pulled off her necklace.
The violet Lokistone, nestled in her grandmother's antique setting, twinkled at her, glowing with the depth and light of a thousand galaxies. She held it up by its chain, considering it for a moment. A pang darted through her heart.
"I'm sad to let it go."
"We do not need it anymore," Loki said, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "Not as much as they do."
"You're right," Jane nodded firmly, and handed it to him.
He gently held the pendant in his hand, gazing at it. His brow knitted.
He brought it to his lips, closed his eyes, and kissed it.
Then, he set it against the crook of his forefinger and the back of his thumb, and flicked it into the air.
It twirled, the chain twinkling and jingling all around it.
It fell.
And vanished through the floor.
Loki slipped his arm around Jane's waist and pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around him, and laid her head against the side of his chest. She felt him take a breath, and whisper earnestly.
"And may it not be too late."
To be continued in Frozen Heart
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