"Wait a minute. You're telling me you've never slept with any of your clients. Never?" My friend Hannah said as we both took our daily walk around the park near our apartment. I quirked an eyebrow at her comment and shook my head. My clients were special to me and I helped them out by healing wounds that received during various battles or even simple ones that they couldn't heal themselves. Though I met some decent men in my job, I never felt a deep connection with any of them.
I should mention that I was a healer to supernatural beings whether they were angels, demi-gods or the like. It was a natural ability I had acquired when I had turned sixteen and though my abilities were limited to supernatural beings, it was unbelievably strong and kept growing every day. I often feared there would be something dark attached to it but for the moment I used it to help those who needed it. It's how I met my best friend Hannah actually, who had an angel status, living among humans. She had been in a terrible battle between her kind and warlocks who wanted nothing but to wreak havoc among the Earth. I was called upon to heal her when a spear had been lodged into her leg, taking her out of the battle completely. Turns out, she had been assigned as my guardian angel and decided she should stick around in case something disastrous would happen to me.
Inevitably it did when I was captured by demons in order to heal those who would bring destruction to all those who inhabited the Earth and the Universe. Those who wanted everything to belong to them, to rule without order. I refused, of course, and the punishments I received left marks upon my skin and soul. A few days after my capture, Hannah and a group of her friends, rescued me before the demons could kill me on my refusal to do as they asked. Ironically, I couldn't heal my own wounds, forcing her to take care of them herself and ever since then our friendship blossomed.
"No, why should I? I simply heal people, not sleep with them. If I did, that would certainly send the wrong message. Besides, I haven't met one that I've connected with," I simply remarked, causing her to roll her eyes.
"Well, when's the last time you've had sex? Or any intimacy?" Hannah asked me. My face flushed as I became uncomfortable with the questions she was asking me. I shrugged my shoulders and thought about the last time any one had bothered to ask me out to even do those things. My mind could only go to a friend of mine that I had asked to be friends with benefits with and that ordeal had been just shy of a year ago.
"I don't know, a year maybe. What?" watching Hannah raise an eyebrow. "Don't give me that look. I don't get out much," I explained, knowing exactly what the expression meant. She let out frustrated sigh and ran her hands through her hair.
"Let me at least set you up with someone. Come on, Clara. We all need to have a little fun now and then," she suggested, sporting her puppy dog eyes. I shook my head, knowing exactly whom she meant. All she wanted to do was set me up with the other angels she hung around with and frankly every time I was invited to one of their parties, they gave the creeps. They were rude and so full of themselves that I knew that they'd never give me what I wanted from a partner. I longed for someone who would treat me right and who would love me for who I was.
"No, absolutely not. Your angel friends freak me out a little. And, anyway I'm waiting for that special someone to sweep me off my feet," I retorted. Hannah scrunched up her features and shrugged.
"Who knows when that'll be? Don't be afraid to be wild every once in a while. Not all the time. Just one every few months or so," Hannah complained, as I shook my head. Of course, she would object to the idea of true love. She feared that if she ever found someone worth living out eternity with, they would die and leave her alone. Or if she found herself falling in love with a human, she would grieve too much having outlived them. I didn't judge her for wanting to spend just a few months with someone just to move on to another person, so why was she judging me for wanting to find my soul mate.
"Okay, we're changing the subject now. I'm starting to feel a bit judged at the moment," I remarked, hoping she would drop the discussion of my love life. I had a history of falling for the wrong kind of people and I didn't want her setting me up with someone who would repeat the mistakes of the past. I picked up my pace, hoping that if we finished our daily walk, I'd get out of this discussion much faster.
"Fine, but you deserve to have some happiness at some point. So when was your last client? It's been a while right?" She commented surrendering at the thought of setting me up with someone. It had been a few months since the last client, a shape-shifter, had been healed. I didn't know if that was good news or not. It could be that not a lot of beings were getting hurt or that something disastrous was about to occur that would bring a lot of wounded in to heal.
"Yeah, it's probably due to less…Hannah, do you feel that? It's like the ground is humming," I began but all around the ground began to vibrate and I hadn't a clue what that might mean or where it was coming from.
"Uh…Clara? I think your services are needed. Look!" She replied, as she pointed upward to the sky. A giant column of light appeared and shot straight to the ground. When it disappeared, two men in armor were standing on the ground, strange markings left from the light. She immediately took a defensive posture, angling herself in front of me, protecting me from whatever threat they might pose.
"Clara O'Neal?" the greeted us, their eyes moving back and forth between the both of us to figure out who they were looking for. They settled on Hannah, but I stepped forward, waving to them both. One was much taller than his companion and I noticed dark circles under their eyes as they were suffering from sleep deprivation. Their expressions were not that of threatening demeanor but of distress, worry and sorrow. They removed their helmets and set them on the ground, the taller man revealing his short, light brown locks, hazel eyes meeting mine. His companion had lighter hair and his brown eyes focused on Hannah, who still had a defensive position.
"Yes. How can I help you?" I answered, noticing the raised eyebrows on both of their faces, like they couldn't quite believe at who I was. I placed my hand on my friend's arm, giving her cause to relax a little but she still kept her watch on them in case this was a trap and she needed to take action.
"Your services are required in Asgard. We've been sent to retrieve you," they answered, bowing before me. Asgard? I thought to myself, unsure if this was meant as a joke. From what I heard of Asgard, they had the best physicians in the universe. If they couldn't figure out what was wrong with their own people, then that was definitely a problem. But why come to me? I thought.
"Retrieve me? Who is it that's retrieving me? Under whose authority?" I asked, curiosity lingering in my voice.
"The King of Asgard, of course. Allfather Odin seems to believe your abilities are our only option to help one of our own. Please accompany us milady," the taller of the two men responded, extending a hand out to me. I hesitated, still not getting an answer to one of my questions. He must've sensed my unease because he stepped closer and knelt down before me, his companion doing the same. "My name is Noah and this is Josef. We mean you no harm. We only ask that you help us. He's my brother. Please…come with us," he told me, tears forming in his eyes, before they stood back up. I nodded and offered my hand. He took it and we walked towards the strange markings left on the ground.
"You better grab hold of me." Noah informed me, allowing me to wrap my arms around his waist. "Heimdall, bring us back," he called out. Another column of light surrounded us. As we flew upwards, I noticed we were travelling in space and in a few short moments, arrived into a golden dome of some sort. A man stood there upon our arrival, his golden eyes surveying me, his tall stature towering over all three of us.
"Welcome to Asgard Miss O'Neal. I am Heimdall, the sentry of Asgard. Allow me to…" he began until a nauseous feeling came over me. Evidently, the way to Asgard wasn't something I was used to and it wasn't until my feet touched the ground that the effects on me overwhelmed my senses.
"Just one second," I interrupted him as I turned and hurled, the force knocking me to my knees, sweat drenching my forehead. Once I was done retching, I pushed myself to my feet and closed my eyes, trying to relax my muscles and ease my senses back to normal.
"Are you all right?" Heimdall inquired, concern scrawled over his face when I turned back to him. I managed a smile and nodded.
"I'm fine. I don't think I'm used to the way we arrived here. It kind of made me feel weird and I don't think it settled on my stomach right. Now, where is the client I'm supposed to be helping," I answered, wiping sweat from my forehead.
"This way milady." He gestured to the exit of the dome, walking off the platform where he stood. "The man you're healing is named Erik. He was impaled with a sword during battle and rendered unconscious. He's been like this for a few days now, which is not normal for our kind. The wound itself doesn't seem to stop bleeding and our ladies can't seem to locate what ails him. Maybe you can," he informed me as we walked down a rainbow bridge, the two guards following behind Heimdall and me. The view was incredible. A sea that stretched out for miles and buildings that would bring cause architects on Earth to drool at the sight of them.
Ten minutes later, we arrived at what I assumed was the infirmary and entered, greeting a room full of people surrounding a man lying on a bed. A man dressed in green and gold attire caught my attention and for a brief moment he made eye contact with me before breaking it and focusing on an older man with a beard. I felt the sentry lean down to my ear. "That's Loki, Miss Clara. Be wary of him. He is the God of Mischief after all. The one standing beside him is his elder brother Thor. Allfather Odin and Queen Frigga are the ones standing closer to the bed," he whispered before alerting them all to my presence.
"Sire, this is Clara O"Neal. She's the woman I was telling you about a few days ago," he introduced me before exiting the room. Walking over to bed where the fallen warrior lay, I bent myself into a curtsy.
"Your majesty," I greeted both Odin and Frigga. "Forgive me, I do not know your customs but I do wish to help," I told them, noticing the scowl upon the Allfather's face.
"My sentry, Heimdall believes your abilities far outrank the skills of my own physicians here. You are quite young. Younger than I previously thought. Prove to me you can heal this man. I'd like to see just how powerful you really are. Despite your age and your mortality," he commanded, the last sentence filled with an annoyed tone. I simply nodded and turned my attention on Erik. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I used my hands, my power, to scan the warrior's body to see and feel what was ailing him. I even pressed on the wound to see if there was anything in the blood that was stopping it from clotting. A tiny shard of glass grasped my attention; I knew what had to be done.
"God of…mischief," I mumbled to myself, stealing a glance at Loki, who was picking at his left hand either from nervousness or boredom, I didn't know which. Pushing myself from the bed, I walked towards him and, taking his hand in mine pulled him towards the warrior. We hadn't made in three feet before he yanked his hands from mine, halting me in my tracks.
"Milady…I can't. Perhaps my brother would be a better option if you want assistance. I doubt my skills are worth using in this manner," he told me, sadness flickering over his features before vanishing in an instant. I shook my head and took his hands in mine once more.
"I chose you specifically for this purpose. You're good at accessing memories correct? It is precisely that reason why I chose you instead of your brother," I explained. His brows furrowed in confusion and he averted his eyes away from mine. He refocused his gaze on Erik, confusion gone, replaced with hurt at what I was asking of him. He didn't know that I wasn't using him for malicious intentions, but instead for accessing a memory for distraction.
"Clara, maybe using Loki to manipulate-," Frigga began but I held up a finger, silencing her.
"Ah, but I'm not asking him to manipulate memories. I'm asking him to access a pleasant one and to hold Erik down if need be," I interrupted, pleased as a look of surprise flashed across her face as she glanced at her son. Realization dawned on her then, a smile slowly spreading across her face at the thought. Loki whipped his head back to look at me, his expression full of disbelief.
"Hold…Hold him down? What for?" Odin questioned, anger and confusion contorting his features. I chuckled. In a few minutes I had managed to confuse the Asgardians with the options that I had figured out the moment I saw the shard of glass.
"What I'm about to do is going to be extremely painful to your warrior Erik. I have to reach down inside the wound to extract the root of the problem, which by the way is the shards of the glass circulating in his system." I informed him, showing him the one piece that I had pulled out of the wound by just pressing down on it. "The memory should distract him enough to do my job but if it doesn't, I'm going to need Loki to keep him from thrashing around or there will be even more damage," I explained, raising the eyebrows of the queen and the physicians in the room.
"It would be unwise to involve Loki in this manner. Perhaps…" the Allfather began, that same scowl from before returning to his face, his eyes narrowing at me. The anger I had struggled to contain flared up inside of me and I let go of the prince and crossed my arms.
"Perhaps if you would wipe that scowl from your face and let me do my work. You're the one who wanted my help correct? You wanted to see how powerful I am right? If I don't do this now, that man will surely die. Your physicians couldn't help him. I can. Why don't you go do your kingly duties and let me help him," I snapped, registering the shocked looks all around the room. I instantly regretted my tone and let out sigh.
"I'm sorry. Do forgive me. I meant no disrespect," I stated, softening my voice. I watched as Odin attempted to change his expression as he let out an exasperated sigh.
"Very well. The prince…" he started to say but I shook my head, cutting him off. I wasn't lying about needing Loki for the first part of the healing process and I didn't care if Odin was the king; I would not let him remove him from my side.
"Loki stays. He's essential to this part. Don't worry. I'll see to it that no mischief takes place. Even if I have to punish him myself," I informed him, eliciting a grunt of disapproval from the gruff man and a smile grace the face of the queen. They turned and exited the infirmary as well as the others, the physicians returning to their own tasks and Thor following his parents out of the room. Loki and I were left to our own devices and I returned my gaze to Erik.
I pulled Loki to my side and straddled the warrior. Gesturing to Loki to sit behind me, I placed one of his hands to Erik's temple and the other to his shoulder. "I'm sorry," I whispered, before nodding to Loki to access Erik's memories and pull out one that would distract him from the pain. I thrust my hand into the wound and began to feel around for the remaining glass shards. As I did so, Erik began slightly shifting around but nothing too serious for the moment. Pulling my hand out to examine what I gathered, I only discovered that there was nothing but blood on my hands.
Groaning in annoyance, I thrust my hand back in and as I suspected, the pain became so unbearable that Erik started to writhe around and screamed out in pain, causing Loki to press down on his shoulders, removing his hand from his temple to restrain him even more. I felt his breath against my neck, my breath hitching in my throat, and closed my eyes to concentrate on the task at hand. Accessing my telekinetic abilities, I flexed my hand and pulled the shards to my hand, slowly pulling out of the wound as they formed to create a glass ball.
"How are you doing that? How can there be so many pieces?" Loki asked me, his voice rumbling in my ear, removing his hands as Erik ceased his erratic movements and started breathing heavily from the pain.
"Years of practice. As for the amount of shards, the sword must have had some sort of exploding mechanism that released these into his body. The more he moved, the more they did, causing extensive damage. That's why he kept bleeding. They lodged into various parts of his body and cut into him," I replied, the last shard completing the shape. I handed him the orb, our hands brushing slightly, eliciting a gasp from me as what felt like an electric current ran up my arm. He must have felt it as well because his fingers lingered over mine for a moment before he withdrew from my touch, placing the orb on the nearby table.
"You know, I've never met anyone who has spoken to my father like you did before. It was a nice change to things around here," Loki whispered in my ear, his lips barely grazing my skin, causing me to shiver. I heard him chuckle and slowly pull me closer.
"I…uh…don't like being looked down upon. I've had…it happen in the past," I whispered, not trusting my voice if I spoke normally. A tingly sensation coursed its way through my body as he continued to hold me close.
"You're human. He deems mortals unworthy on Asgard. You're different though. This power, this ability of yours piques his interest and I daresay my own," he continued, his hands gently brushing up my arms to my neck, before he placed a gentle kiss on my jaw. He turned my face to his then, our lips barely touching. His eyes met mine and I was aware that we were both breathing heavily, tension filling the space between us. He leaned down and closed the distance, kissing me sweetly, almost hungrily.
I kissed him back before realizing what was happening and pulled back from him, standing up and putting more distance between us, noting the mischievous grin grace his face. "Don't turn that charm of yours on me. I don't know what you want or what game you're playing at but I will not be taken advantage of. I appreciated your help today. As for your comment about my mortality, it's not an excuse to judge me so harshly. You don't know me, or any of us. If any of you bothered to get to know us, maybe you'd be surprised of how worthy some of us would turn out to be in our own way," I retorted, watching as the grin slowly fade away, replaced by…regret, I wasn't sure as it disappeared instantly.
Loki got off the bed, allowing me to return to the warrior's side and heal the still gaping wound. He watched as it closed completely before taking a step towards me, grasping my hand in his. I didn't dare look at him, ashamed that I almost let him play his game with me. I couldn't deny that there was something between us. I felt it as soon as I first saw him, but I wasn't sure if he felt the same. He might have been able to sense it and was now attempting to use that feeling against me in order to…
What? He's only known you a few minutes. What could he possibly use this feeling for? I thought to myself. If he wasn't using me for malicious intent, then why did he bother an attempt to seduce me? Unless…
No. Don't be absurd. He couldn't possibly want me, another thought played out in my head.
"Forgive me. I needed to see what you would do if I…"He apologized, unsure what to say to excuse his actions. I looked up at him and saw a look of…guilt? Regret? Acknowledging the silence as my response, he turned away and headed to the doors of the infirmary. Was he really apologizing to me? That wasn't a play at my emotions. I can't help but feel wary of him but…there's something about him I can't quite place my finger on, I thought to myself. He hesitated before leaving and spoke again.
"One last thing. You chose me to help when you could have asked my mother. She's capable of doing the same things but instead you came directly to me. Why? You knew I'm the God of Mischief. So why choose me?" he commented, angling his head slightly so I could hear him.
"Because I think there's more to you than being the God of Mischief. I don't know; I have a feeling that there's something inside you that no one else sees or something you don't want any one to see," I responded, watching as he tensed up, waiting to see how he'd react. Loki turned and in a few long strides came closer to me, mere inches separating us.
"What makes you sure? You and I haven't known each other very long. Perhaps you've come to your own judgments about my character. Or maybe someone else has convinced you that I'm nothing more than a scoundrel who manipulates everyone around me. How can you be so sure I'm not manipulating you now hmmm? I could kiss you again how about that? Make you long after me and break your heart in a matter of minutes. Answer me!" he growled, his expression filled with anger.
"Go ahead, kiss me then. Would that make you feel better? You're so good at pushing others away that you don't let anyone under that skin of yours. I try not to make judgments until I've gotten to know someone and I refuse to let others make them for me. What could you possibly want out of me that would benefit you in any way at this moment? There's more to you than just this, what you want everyone see. But see, it's what inside your heart that I want to explore," I retorted, jabbing him in the chest with my finger. His eyes flickered down to my finger before returning my gaze, the anger replaced with something resembling passion and hunger. His eyes had darkened and he slowly moved them down to look at my lips, tilting his head as if he meant to do as I asked.
A groan of pain stopped him from closing the distance and we both turned to see Erik, struggling to sit up on the bed. He looked at us with confusion as if he didn't know what was happening around him.
"What happened? How long have I been out? Who are you?" he inquired, trying to piece everything together. At the same time, a physician walked out into the room and gasped when she saw Erik sitting up and conscious.
"Send for my father. He will want to see this," Loki ordered, turning his attention to her before stepping back a few feet, whether it was to put distance between us as a precaution or to prevent any recklessness.
"Can I get some water please?" he asked me, rubbing his neck absent-mindedly. I nodded and tried to find a glass or anything to fill with water. Loki, laughing at my struggle, walked to a cabinet on the other side of the room and pulled out a glass. He handed it to me, gesturing to a sink across from Erik's bed that I could get water from. I filled it and handed the glass to Erik, who drank from it slowly, his gaze flickering from both Loki and me with puzzlement. A few minutes later, Odin burst through the infirmary doors and looked at Erik with amazement that he was awake.
"Erik, how do you feel?" he asked him, half-expecting him to fall over and die that instant.
"I feel fine. Although, I still feel a little pain in my stomach, but it's not overbearing. Sire, who is this woman? She was here when I woke up," Erik replied, rubbing his abdomen.
"Her name is Clara and she's the one who healed you. You were out for five days and we couldn't figure out why, so I sent for her, hoping she would provide some answers to your ailment," the Allfather remarked, gesturing to me, still baffled as to how I healed his warrior. I walked over to the table beside the bed and held up the glass orb for all to see.
"This is what was inside his body. I suspect, which I shared with Loki, that the sword had some sort of exploding mechanism within its make that released tiny shards of glass throughout his system. As they circulated through his system, the movement he made only made matters worse, cutting him open in various places. You wouldn't have noticed them because of their transparency. They would have blended in with the blood, escaping the usual scans. My ability however, allows me to feel for imperfections in the skin or in the blood," I explained.
"He's still in pain though. How do you explain that?" Odin inquired, a shadow of doubt clouding his features.
"Not uncommon. The wound was a great one and he will still be sore for a few days. It's nothing to worry about. I may be able to heal but I can't take soreness away," I commented. "You should also thank Loki. He helped as well though the distraction technique didn't help much but he prevented any further damage from occurring," I continued, my gaze turning to the prince.
"Interesting. Might I offer you something in return? Perhaps you'd like to stay and work alongside our ladies? Your power still makes me a curious man and I'd like to see how much more you are capable of," Odin responded, shocking me with what he was telling me. I simply nodded and he ordered me to follow him out of the infirmary and to a spare room where I'd be staying as I did my work.
"Might I have a word with our new guest father?" Loki asked, receiving a nod from the exhausted man. Once Odin was out of earshot, Loki pushed me inside my room and turned me so that my back was against a wall.
"What is it my prince? Did I get under your skin earlier?" I questioned him, sarcasm dripping from words. I wasn't going to let him intimidate me but I was curious to what he had to say.
"You're walking a dangerous line here. I don't know what your plan is but don't expect me to get close to you. Though…I wouldn't mind having a little taste of you every now and then," he said, his voice low and inviting, his hands drifting up my arms as he pressed his body closer to mine.
"Oh, sweetie. We'll see about that. As for how I taste…well, I can assure you it's not sweet," I whispered in his ear, before I pushed him off of me, stunning him. "If you would please leave. I'd like to take a shower and go to bed," I continued, showing Loki the door. He huffed and exited my room, watching as I closed it behind me, locking it before going into the washroom to take a shower. Letting the hot water run over my skin, I formed a plan to find out how much there was to the mischievous prince. I didn't realize how much of my heart I'd end up giving to him and how much he would in turn give to me.