Disclaimer: I do not own Thor.
Acenath didn't have any trouble persuading Hagar to help with the plan, as Loki had predicted. Yet when Hagar left the empty kitchens with the platter of grapes, hidden vial, and an empty goblet, Acenath felt distinctly useless. She paced back and forth a few times on the hard stone floor, occasionally pausing to scratch at her matted hair. Maybe she could do something else, though. Maybe, just this once, she could be an instigator instead of a follower.
She bit a sack of powders off of a shelf in the pantry and started to run down the steps.
…...
Loki paused at the first window he came to. It was an open window on the stairwell of the third floor- one of the few in the castle.
The outlook was bleak. Hideous bone dry sand wafted endlessly. This is why Loki had settled in a cool green land. He couldn't stand the desert.
As he swiveled to start running up the few remaining flights, Loki felt the weight of the salamander relive itself off of his shoulder. He turned just in time to see Quadir land on the window sill.
"It'ssssss been funss," Quadir spat over his shoulder as he disappeared over the window frame. "But I'vessss gotss betters thingsss to doss."
Loki didn't even bother to look over the edge of the opening. He knew fire salamanders weren't creatures of their word, so the job he had designed to Quadir was more of a perk, really. He had actually expected the salamander to leave with a scream of "I'm freeeessss!" rather than the slightly cool-sounding lines he had actually delivered.
…..
"IDIOT! In what world does this cape look Black Black?" Kuthah sighed as he sat down and began to rub his temples. He knew he shouldn't have advertised for help in Misfits Monthly. You really had to search for good help. It was rare they just found you.
In the back of Kuthah's mind- the very back part that hadn't rotted itself away- he began to wonder when things became so bad. Was it when he had gotten the amulet? Or was it before that? These days the past all seemed to run together. He could faintly remember a time when he stood tall and proud, blond hair gelled back and leather boots firm beneath his feet. Now he was reduced to petty tokens to enhance his magical strength, and wearing black to seem more evil.
Once he had the halflings-blood, things would get better. The spell was to increase peace of mind and magic abilities. He was so close he could almost taste is. All he needed was to "swallow the blood of an Asgardian halfling" and "chew on the threads of the blackest cloak" and his mind would be at peace.
"Tartak, bleed the child. I will be back once I have gathered the correct cloak."
Kuthah stomped out the doors, swishing his cloak behind him.
…...
Loki's heart stopped beating.
It just... stopped.
When he had opened the door in a blast of showy-sparkly magic, he had expected to find Sven waiting and grinning.
Only... his son wasn't grinning. His eyes were wide as he stared into the pot that was collecting his blood, his eyes were wide as he looked as his father, and his eyes were wide as they glanced again at his bleeding arm.
No parent should have to o through something like that, nor should any child. Loki began to lose all sense of thought as the rage built in his body. He was going to kill them all. Acenath in the cellars, Quadir running through the sand, Hagar coming up the steps, the man bleeding his child, and the fellow in the cape standing behind him.
He would have killed them, if the pewter amulet hadn't touched the skin on his neck, causing all the magic building up in his system to backfire. He would have killed them, taken his children and gone home, telling the kids that some people deserved to die. They would be dead, if only he could explain to Darcy why Sven screamed at night and Sarai talked about unmoving bodies piled in a room. He couldn't hesitate now. Lovely Darcy might not approve, but their children deserved justice.
He would have slaughtered them, but in that instant, he lost his chance.
The runes on the amulet where written backward, reversing the effects of any Asgardian magic. Loki groaned a little as the magic overloaded his system and caused him to black out. He was aware that his body would reboot in a few moments, but those precious minutes would allow his enemy to bind him again.
He tried not to worry. Hagar was still coming up the steps.