I don't really need many reviews but they are nice. I don't own any of Marvel's characters. I don't make any profit off of this. It's just for entertainment. Mine and hopefully yours too. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

When he saw her she was laughing with two of her friends as they walked along the busy streets of down town. Honestly, Loki would have never paid any attention to the mortal woman but his eyes were drawn to her energy. The brilliant glow around her was stronger than that of other mortals who had never practiced magick. Ordinary mortals did not have any glow that indicated magickal power. This fact alone would have drawn his attention but it was also the unique way that flecks of orange and green drifted in her energy glowing faintly like fireflies. Details like that were near impossible to fake and they let Loki know that it was her. But it could not be possible. No mortal could live as long as him.

It raised suspicion in his mind. Could S.H.I.E.L.D. have brought her back from the dead? Or had she found a spell which preserved her youth? These questions were quickly dismissed because he knew that Fury and his band of righteous spandex wearers had no conceivable way to know about the woman's connection to Loki.

As she disappeared out of his sight, Loki had already made up his mind to investigate. A new pet project would be good. He could use her potentially powerful energy to his advantage. Besides, smacking around the Avengers and repeatedly winning was hardly a challenge any more.

Ceciley pushed the play button on her answering machine and it dutifully produced her mother's voice.

"Honey, It's me. You've been ignoring my messages again. I want you to come home immediately. It's just too dangerous for you to be out there all by yourself."

Ceciley could not help rolling her eyes at that comment. The Chitauri had tried to invade over six months ago. The Avengers drove out the alien invaders and the city was being rebuilt and nearly normal again. But despite the fact the Earth had won the battle her mother kept calling every day demanding that she come back to the safety of Canada.

"...and don't forget to cast the home protection spell every month. I know you always put it off."

Again the young woman rolled her eyes and lazily fished around her fridge for the sandwich she had hidden in the back somewhere. Ceciley had never wanted to be a witch. Her mother, the imposing force that she was, was adamant that Ceciley learn the old ways and continue the family heritage.

Men of the family are given a cool pocket watch and the women had to learn spells for protection and healing. It was hardly fair in Ceciley's eyes and there were times when she wished that she had a normal family.

"...and remember to pay attention to Windershin. He will give you messages, so take heed of them. He will guide and protect you. Stop treating him like a menace."

Ceciley glared at the machine over her sandwich. Windershin was the cat her mother had forced her to take when she moved out. He was all black except for the patch of white on his chest and on his left front paw. He looked cute and cuddly but Ceciley was not fooled. He enjoyed opening the door to the fridge and pushing out all the contents so that there would be a mess for Ceciley to clean after work. He also decided that the only decent place to sleep is in her drawer of clothes. So she always had cat hair clinging to her clothes.

Every day after work Ceciley dreaded coming home to find what her little devil had been up to. One day she had come home and he was in the walls of the apartment! He had chewed his way through the drywall and had gotten stuck. So she had to break the wall to rescue him and her landlord had not been happy. Ceciley bet that if happened again they would be kicked out.

"Where are you, Windershin? Come on out. If you're stuck in the walls I swear I'll leave you there," Ceciley threatened as she left the kitchenette in search of her four-legged menace. Her apartment was just the right size for her and Windershin. It had a bedroom, a bathroom and a nice living area which connected to a balcony overlooking the street. She had fallen in love with the balcony when she came to inspect the apartment. Ceciley loved that she could sit outside and gaze at the stars and moon late at night. The apartment was warm and safe so Ceciley was willing to put up with the cranky landlord and nosey neighbours.

Her cat was in her bedroom sitting proudly on one of the many books that he had somehow managed to knock down from the shelf. He gazed at her with his deep golden eyes and gave a single meow as a greeting.

"So it's the bedroom today, huh? You know I can always put you up for adoption and tell Mom you ran away. Then I wouldn't have to put up with your nonsense," Ceciley said as she began to place the books neatly back on the shelf. Windershin watching her with a smug look just tilted his head slightly as if daring her to follow through with the plan. He waited patiently on the book until it was the last one on the floor.

Ceciley half expected some resistance from the stubborn cat but to her surprise he stepped gracefully off when she moved to pick it up.

"D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths," she read absentmindedly. Windershin rubbed up against her leg purring, rewarding his human pet with a rare display of affection.

Ceciley frowned as she leafed through the pages of the storybook. She had forgotten that this was even on her shelf. In the coloured pages there were comments she had written when she was younger. They were silly little comments, like best god or better in real life, all in her messy scrawl.

Ceciley knew for a fact that this was not a coincidence. Windershin had just given her a message. Well, it was more of a riddle because messages were supposed to be clear and make sense, not leave you confused. Why would Windershin point out a book of myths? What could that possible have to do with anything? She just sighed as she shut the book and put it on her desk.

"I really hate being a witch," Ceciley mumbled to herself.

Impeccably dressed in Midgard fashion, Loki was the last patron in the cafe facing the apartment where the witch resided. The employees were sending, what they probably considered, evil glares his way. Loki just sipped his cappuccino and ignored them. He was hoping for the witch to step out on to one of the balconies the apartment so he could at least have a clue as to which floor she was on. The list of names next to the intercom held none that matched hers so Loki had been forced to wait and watch.

However the employees of the cafe had informed him that they were closed and that he had to vacate the premise. Loki sneered at the thought of bending to the demands of a mortal but incinerating them would draw attention to him and tonight he was incognito.

"Finally," he muttered under his breath as the witch stepped out on to the balcony of the third floor, her gazed fixed on the starry sky. Loki exited the cafe knowing this night would be entertaining.

Loki was sure that the witch would be sleeping now. It was laughably easy for him to teleport into her quaint apartment. There were no magical charms that he could detect protecting the home. So he wandered the living room silently searching for jewellery or clothing. For the spell he wanted to do he would need a personal belonging that she would wear freely. She had power but she clearly had not trained or shaped it to her will, even after all these years.

His sharp green eyes noticed a faint glow of gold and red as he passed the bathroom. Just as his fingers were going to make contact with the object he felt a rush of energy hit him. He had tripped a magical charm. He retreat to the living room and planned depart in a puff of smoke but suddenly all the lights were on.

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my home?" He heard her demand from behind him. From the reflection of the sliding glass door, he could see her standing ominously behind him with a bat. In an instant he knew that it would be more fun to stay a bit longer. Loki turned to face her. He eyes narrowed for a beat before he gave a charming smile.

"Loki Odinson," he offered with a slight nod, " I was simply admiring your dwelling." He was calm and unflappable. Even though there was a charm trying to slow down his movements, Loki stilled moved easily over to one of the bookshelves lining the wall and ran a finger along the wood. Then he studied his finger for any traces of dirt as if he really came to judge her house keeping. Loki was hardly concerned with the threat of being hit by a bat. A mortal weapon barely compared to a blow from Thor's hammer.

"Get. Out." She ground out. This time Loki felt a push of magic trying to force him on to the balcony. Any mortal who would have been in Loki's position would have probably run away in terror. But he was the master of magic and his energy cocooned around him protectively. Her attempts at magic were crude and Loki realized he would have much polishing to do if she were to be of any use.

Loki flashed her a smile with teeth and nodded his head.

"Of course. A lady needs her rest. Then you can regain your..."- his eyes scanned her from head to toe -"beauty. Good night." And he was gone. The only indication that he was there was the tendril of green smoke which curled around in the air once before vanishing.

After the shock of someone breaking into her house, Ceciley could hardly fall back a sleep. She sat numbly on her bed, clutching a pillow to her chest and replaying the event over in her head trying to find some clues. Anything to make sense out of the ordeal.

He had magic. She also got the distinct impression that he knew her. When she had demanded that he identify himself, he had given her a contemptuous look. Like, how dare she forget who he was? Throughout her life her mother had introduced her to many magic wielders but that was a long time ago and she had never been close with a single one of them. Ceciley tried to distance herself from any form of magic. She just wanted to be normal.

This Loki character was definitely not normal. His eyes had dark bags under them giving him a haunted, almost crazed expression. Even when he had flashed her a smile meant to soothe her worries, Ceciley recognized it as more of a predatory expression. He was a starved wolf reassuring a sheep that he would bring no harm.

Her fingers squeezed the pillow even harder. This was bad. Really bad. He had powerful magic and he could come into her house whenever he wanted. Ceciley didn't really want to know why he would want to be in her house. She just knew that it was a bad idea to have him able to pop in whenever he wanted.

Windershin meowed impatiently, interrupting Ceciley's thoughts. He was sitting on the book of Norse mythology and watching her intently. Sighing she reached for the book. She once again flipped through the pages, this time processing the stories being told. Her fingers flipped to a page with 'Loki' in the header. Ceciley froze. She felt like she had been struck by lightning. She remembered the colossal gold buildings and a dark haired boy with the mischievous smile. Again Windershin meowed and Ceciley gladly followed her cat to the small broom closet. Inside a cardboard box labelled 'My Life' sat in the back. It was the box that held all of her diaries. Ever since she was able to write she had wanted to be a journalist, so she had chronicled everything that had happened in her bizarre childhood, including her trip to Asgard.