p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="08b4fe942a36a402ee05d1412cd724b9"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"New York, 1976/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f97f7087331a8667e6bfe858d1da72e3"The night was raging at Club Valhalla, the pounding music filling the room, reaching even the manager in his perch high above the dance floor. It felt almost as if it was seeping through his skin, into his bones. He paced the length of his office, glancing occasionally through the glass wall at the swirling mass of bodies below. Young mortals, intoxicated with alcohol and the raw energy of life, gyrated wildly, the lights flashing off their bright shimmering clothes. It was a rainbow down there. A pulsing, living snapshot of pure unbridled abandon to pleasure./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="488b3f1549ce6b2c00e038d01035085f"He was beginning to hate it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a39443344373da42f8688ff6796fe59b"When he first came to Midgard, it was out of sheer boredom. Boredom and the need to put a little distance between him and his older brother. Thor cared for little beyond training and fighting, pastimes that quickly lost their appeal for a younger, smaller sibling. It had become stifling, living in his brother's shadow, and so he had requested the opportunity to come to Midgard, to observe the mortals as if he was one of them. Truthfully, he hadn't thought his father would agree; at most he'd expected to spend a few weeks in Midgard before Odin called him home. But it had been months. Perhaps his father had forgotten he even existed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fa765e2ee12c3de68cb1e534413d1d3f"Loki sighed, stopping to face the window, his hands loosely clasped behind him. He had acquired this nightclub because he enjoyed the chaos of it, the way these young mortals gave themselves over to the dancing and to each other every night, with no thought of tomorrow. Lately he'd begun to feel they gave no thought to anything. Their lives seemed so...temporary./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9a4e7d63a48a35631139d4a0c8b6f57f"He idly scanned the room below, his mind a million miles away. At first he barely noticed the newest arrivals to the club, a group of young women in short skirts and shiny, thigh-high boots, looking eerily similar to those crowding the room already. They huddled together at the edge of the dance floor for a moment before making their way into the crush of people. All but one. Her companions grabbed her arms and tried to pull her along with them, but she shook her head, waving them off. As they wandered into the crowd, she took a seat at one of the small tables that edged the dance floor and pulled something from her bag, a curtain of dark hair falling across her face as she bent forward./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="af783156d1802a834f65e352577ee94a"Loki frowned, taking a step closer to the window. What was she doing? She couldn't possibly be...He smiled faintly. It was the first time he'd ever seen anyone come to this club and just read. He wondered what the book was, and in the next instant, why he really cared. He took a step back. Of course he didn't care, it was probably one of those ridiculous romance novels girls on Midgard were so fond of. He spun away from the window, his fingers ruffling through the papers that littered the top of his desk. Finally his hand stilled and he sighed in annoyance. He glanced back at the window./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ab1b7a782f464e83bb2350bc803097c5"It was curiosity, that was all. Or so he told himself as he strode down to the dance floor, the music hitting him like a physical assault. He made his way through the squirming, sweaty bodies to the bar, where he had a good view of the girl's table a few feet away. She was absorbed in her book, chin resting on one hand, and he was close enough now to read the cover. There was no photo of a muscular, barely clothed man as he'd been expecting./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c21cd4c3a1bf3c4e6dbe963b9af2c51f""Hey, boss, is there a problem?" The bartender, a young man with hair in a slicked-back ponytail was at his elbow, wiping a glass and frowning slightly. Loki rarely ventured out of his office during business hours unless it was to fire someone./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9558bb7443ba878d8a2e235f9be85427"He smiled. "Not at all. Do you see that girl over there reading?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7ca8da34e2e30d66967f169f5a5e8bd1"The bartender glanced over and then nodded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ada00e0961e8c901685f993658043cb9""I would like you to take her a glass of pinot, compliments of the house." The young man moved off, but Loki stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Do not point me out to her."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cb505b79ef88ba39e246589ca84ff619"He watched as the bartender filled a glass and headed to the girl's table. She raised her head, frowning, and although Loki was too far away to hear them, he could tell she was trying to refuse the offer. The bartender replied, and her eyes shot immediately to the glass-walled office above. Then she shrugged, taking a sip from the glass before going back to her book. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e5e14cbad7d2c4ba703911b464cbf3f1"He waited a few minutes more before slowly moving toward her table. As he looped around behind her chair he leaned down, his voice low against her ear./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1dc785e4a0b757d3b3dd799cccdca787""Most people come here to dance."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d5717e9eba1b14b6fedeeed307dd8b57"He watched her while moving around the table. She met his gaze coolly, holding her place in the book, apparently expecting just another momentary distraction. Loki spread his fingertips on the table in front of her, leaning in slightly./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9643495d44eea41b2b694ddf551c56cf""You are the first, in fact, to come to read Homer."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c4c93823b07aca53b6271330d72fd197"Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she smiled. "Maybe that's what's wrong with the world."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6cf38a76106e6b7a4cafd6a20db0c8c6"Her eyes were large, luminous, a deep and dusky blue, and Loki found himself staring a little longer than he intended. He straightened./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="bb3704690fd38acd41d02d3cc139e4ff""So you are here to start a revolution then?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9e19dd941634a5c57da388bfc4e23320"She chuckled. "No, I'm here because my friends insisted. These places...they're not really my kind of thing."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0e37b408efe0e153eeea3fd75fa6fb7c""Really? You do not enjoy the total abandon, the rush of freedom?" He smiled a little as he spoke, but her face was serious./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="36de2990bdbeab90fd33f679f5337aef""Freedom is life's great lie." They stared at each other for a moment longer, and then she smiled. "Sorry. I'm told I get a little too philosophical at times."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9d9856e8189479d529acdac5fc30f378"Loki shook his head. "No, that is quite alright. em style="box-sizing: border-box;"I /emam sorry that you do not find my place more stimulating."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="36ef4d93982ea2c2ed48b45a587a0fe6"He enjoyed the startled look in her eyes as they moved between his face and the glass of wine on the table. Still, her finger remained firmly planted between the pages of her book and Loki made a swift and slightly irrational decision. He would not leave until he'd made her put that maddening thing em style="box-sizing: border-box;"down/em./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="85f2275b5d3e7985d92ed1acaa5ff08b""em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Your/em place?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="497f0f075b2feef61b584eb45ad8bd9a"He nodded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3171ea9b96175b13f517f8e777b135ba""Thank you for the wine, then, Mr..."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3c58c46e2930d5d9360a1e9a27587d54""Loki."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1178ea0c2ba1e1c7e48c75565abfeeb0"Her eyebrows rose. "The Norse god of mischief? What a surprise to find you running a nightclub in Chelsea." She tilted her head slightly. "Although I suppose the name should have given it away."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5a7dbbecd190604db54aef1201c5cc05"He smiled, and em style="box-sizing: border-box;"finally/em she closed her book and set it aside. She gestured at the chair beside him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="dce778f85e3d454a4a8590784b36cbfa""Would you care to join me, em style="box-sizing: border-box;"my lord/em?" A teasing smile danced at the corners of her mouth. "I'm Rona."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8d35f7259788a8039379d5795c8841fd"He hesitated for an instant before sliding into the chair. "Rona? That's Norse as well."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a9fffb4d64019d7aa81d351f706d6fb6""I know." She shrugged. "My parents enjoyed Nordic culture."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e72ad1d9190df121358e815fb7a9d506""Do you know what it means?" When she shook her head, Loki leaned forward. "Rules with counsel."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c2598d5544dd6545923126a33f60ed3a"She contemplated that for a moment, head tilted slightly, eyes never leaving his face. "Well, it sounds like my parents expected big things for me."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="69bd4bbf76f7854f0d386963109f7e9e"He sighed, looking away. "Or em style="box-sizing: border-box;"from/em you. Who can know with parents?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="62ac34bc9055382e6b18cd0ba5c93cc7"He was beginning to wish he'd stayed in his office. Somehow she was getting in his head, lowering his guard. Her eyes were playing tricks on him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b28382458eec814ce2438009b3ad121a"She looked away, frowning, her brow slightly creased. "So we know why I'm here."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="21cfe7c41a38bd054d361e1ec64b4dd8"Her eyes met his, and he felt an unaccustomed jolt. He sucked a breath in through his teeth as she leaned toward him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="20db260662cb892f386aa633bbf2ffd6""But why are em style="box-sizing: border-box;"you/em?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f97f7087331a8667e6bfe858d1da72e3"The night was raging at Club Valhalla, the pounding music filling the room, reaching even the manager in his perch high above the dance floor. It felt almost as if it was seeping through his skin, into his bones. He paced the length of his office, glancing occasionally through the glass wall at the swirling mass of bodies below. Young mortals, intoxicated with alcohol and the raw energy of life, gyrated wildly, the lights flashing off their bright shimmering clothes. It was a rainbow down there. A pulsing, living snapshot of pure unbridled abandon to pleasure./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="488b3f1549ce6b2c00e038d01035085f"He was beginning to hate it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a39443344373da42f8688ff6796fe59b"When he first came to Midgard, it was out of sheer boredom. Boredom and the need to put a little distance between him and his older brother. Thor cared for little beyond training and fighting, pastimes that quickly lost their appeal for a younger, smaller sibling. It had become stifling, living in his brother's shadow, and so he had requested the opportunity to come to Midgard, to observe the mortals as if he was one of them. Truthfully, he hadn't thought his father would agree; at most he'd expected to spend a few weeks in Midgard before Odin called him home. But it had been months. Perhaps his father had forgotten he even existed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fa765e2ee12c3de68cb1e534413d1d3f"Loki sighed, stopping to face the window, his hands loosely clasped behind him. He had acquired this nightclub because he enjoyed the chaos of it, the way these young mortals gave themselves over to the dancing and to each other every night, with no thought of tomorrow. Lately he'd begun to feel they gave no thought to anything. Their lives seemed so...temporary./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9a4e7d63a48a35631139d4a0c8b6f57f"He idly scanned the room below, his mind a million miles away. At first he barely noticed the newest arrivals to the club, a group of young women in short skirts and shiny, thigh-high boots, looking eerily similar to those crowding the room already. They huddled together at the edge of the dance floor for a moment before making their way into the crush of people. All but one. Her companions grabbed her arms and tried to pull her along with them, but she shook her head, waving them off. As they wandered into the crowd, she took a seat at one of the small tables that edged the dance floor and pulled something from her bag, a curtain of dark hair falling across her face as she bent forward./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="af783156d1802a834f65e352577ee94a"Loki frowned, taking a step closer to the window. What was she doing? She couldn't possibly be...He smiled faintly. It was the first time he'd ever seen anyone come to this club and just read. He wondered what the book was, and in the next instant, why he really cared. He took a step back. Of course he didn't care, it was probably one of those ridiculous romance novels girls on Midgard were so fond of. He spun away from the window, his fingers ruffling through the papers that littered the top of his desk. Finally his hand stilled and he sighed in annoyance. He glanced back at the window./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ab1b7a782f464e83bb2350bc803097c5"It was curiosity, that was all. Or so he told himself as he strode down to the dance floor, the music hitting him like a physical assault. He made his way through the squirming, sweaty bodies to the bar, where he had a good view of the girl's table a few feet away. She was absorbed in her book, chin resting on one hand, and he was close enough now to read the cover. There was no photo of a muscular, barely clothed man as he'd been expecting./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c21cd4c3a1bf3c4e6dbe963b9af2c51f""Hey, boss, is there a problem?" The bartender, a young man with hair in a slicked-back ponytail was at his elbow, wiping a glass and frowning slightly. Loki rarely ventured out of his office during business hours unless it was to fire someone./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9558bb7443ba878d8a2e235f9be85427"He smiled. "Not at all. Do you see that girl over there reading?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7ca8da34e2e30d66967f169f5a5e8bd1"The bartender glanced over and then nodded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ada00e0961e8c901685f993658043cb9""I would like you to take her a glass of pinot, compliments of the house." The young man moved off, but Loki stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Do not point me out to her."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cb505b79ef88ba39e246589ca84ff619"He watched as the bartender filled a glass and headed to the girl's table. She raised her head, frowning, and although Loki was too far away to hear them, he could tell she was trying to refuse the offer. The bartender replied, and her eyes shot immediately to the glass-walled office above. Then she shrugged, taking a sip from the glass before going back to her book. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e5e14cbad7d2c4ba703911b464cbf3f1"He waited a few minutes more before slowly moving toward her table. As he looped around behind her chair he leaned down, his voice low against her ear./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1dc785e4a0b757d3b3dd799cccdca787""Most people come here to dance."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d5717e9eba1b14b6fedeeed307dd8b57"He watched her while moving around the table. She met his gaze coolly, holding her place in the book, apparently expecting just another momentary distraction. Loki spread his fingertips on the table in front of her, leaning in slightly./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9643495d44eea41b2b694ddf551c56cf""You are the first, in fact, to come to read Homer."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c4c93823b07aca53b6271330d72fd197"Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she smiled. "Maybe that's what's wrong with the world."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6cf38a76106e6b7a4cafd6a20db0c8c6"Her eyes were large, luminous, a deep and dusky blue, and Loki found himself staring a little longer than he intended. He straightened./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="bb3704690fd38acd41d02d3cc139e4ff""So you are here to start a revolution then?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9e19dd941634a5c57da388bfc4e23320"She chuckled. "No, I'm here because my friends insisted. These places...they're not really my kind of thing."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0e37b408efe0e153eeea3fd75fa6fb7c""Really? You do not enjoy the total abandon, the rush of freedom?" He smiled a little as he spoke, but her face was serious./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="36de2990bdbeab90fd33f679f5337aef""Freedom is life's great lie." They stared at each other for a moment longer, and then she smiled. "Sorry. I'm told I get a little too philosophical at times."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9d9856e8189479d529acdac5fc30f378"Loki shook his head. "No, that is quite alright. em style="box-sizing: border-box;"I /emam sorry that you do not find my place more stimulating."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="36ef4d93982ea2c2ed48b45a587a0fe6"He enjoyed the startled look in her eyes as they moved between his face and the glass of wine on the table. Still, her finger remained firmly planted between the pages of her book and Loki made a swift and slightly irrational decision. He would not leave until he'd made her put that maddening thing em style="box-sizing: border-box;"down/em./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="85f2275b5d3e7985d92ed1acaa5ff08b""em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Your/em place?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="497f0f075b2feef61b584eb45ad8bd9a"He nodded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3171ea9b96175b13f517f8e777b135ba""Thank you for the wine, then, Mr..."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3c58c46e2930d5d9360a1e9a27587d54""Loki."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1178ea0c2ba1e1c7e48c75565abfeeb0"Her eyebrows rose. "The Norse god of mischief? What a surprise to find you running a nightclub in Chelsea." She tilted her head slightly. "Although I suppose the name should have given it away."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5a7dbbecd190604db54aef1201c5cc05"He smiled, and em style="box-sizing: border-box;"finally/em she closed her book and set it aside. She gestured at the chair beside him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="dce778f85e3d454a4a8590784b36cbfa""Would you care to join me, em style="box-sizing: border-box;"my lord/em?" A teasing smile danced at the corners of her mouth. "I'm Rona."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8d35f7259788a8039379d5795c8841fd"He hesitated for an instant before sliding into the chair. "Rona? That's Norse as well."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a9fffb4d64019d7aa81d351f706d6fb6""I know." She shrugged. "My parents enjoyed Nordic culture."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e72ad1d9190df121358e815fb7a9d506""Do you know what it means?" When she shook her head, Loki leaned forward. "Rules with counsel."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c2598d5544dd6545923126a33f60ed3a"She contemplated that for a moment, head tilted slightly, eyes never leaving his face. "Well, it sounds like my parents expected big things for me."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="69bd4bbf76f7854f0d386963109f7e9e"He sighed, looking away. "Or em style="box-sizing: border-box;"from/em you. Who can know with parents?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="62ac34bc9055382e6b18cd0ba5c93cc7"He was beginning to wish he'd stayed in his office. Somehow she was getting in his head, lowering his guard. Her eyes were playing tricks on him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b28382458eec814ce2438009b3ad121a"She looked away, frowning, her brow slightly creased. "So we know why I'm here."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="21cfe7c41a38bd054d361e1ec64b4dd8"Her eyes met his, and he felt an unaccustomed jolt. He sucked a breath in through his teeth as she leaned toward him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="20db260662cb892f386aa633bbf2ffd6""But why are em style="box-sizing: border-box;"you/em?"/p