Chapter Two

Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard and brother of Thor, stood in the tiny office, staring at the mortal woman who had managed to summon him. He had been minding his own business on Asgard, up to his usual mischief and causing chaos, when he had been surrounded by the familiar light of the Bifrost, and now he was here. The girl was looking very perplexed as she looked at him, trying to take in his appearance. As he had introduced himself she had dropped the trowel, but she still held something in her hands, and she glanced at it and then at him. She was very confused, but Loki did not have the patience to be dealing with mortals today.

"Who summons me to Midgard?" He repeated, for he knew that this was where he was. None of the other realms were as distinctly similar yet primitive compared to Asgard. He did know that he had been summoned, for that was the only reason he would have been pulled across the universe so suddenly, and this would require a powerful source of magic. Whilst waiting for the shocked girl to respond, he cast his eyes over his surroundings. The room was small, with shelves full of books and boxes, and he was a little curious as to why the table was covered in broken pottery. He was very annoyed to be honest, for he had been in the middle of laying a trap for his brother and the warriors three, the results of which would have been hilarious, and yet now he wasn't sure when he would finish it. The girl was still staring at him, and that was starting to get on his nerves too, so he stared back. The longer he looked at her the less convinced he was that she was a sorceress. Indeed, she was very young, no more than twenty he would guess, and wore some form of brown trousers and a short deep green tunic. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she seemed very much at home surrounded by books.

"Well?" He prompted after a moment, and she shook her head as she looked towards the door.

"I…" She uttered, before taking a deep breath. "I am…"

"Freya? Is everything alright?" A male voice came from behind the door. Loki tilted his head and regarded her curiously, for she certainly did not look like the goddess he knew.

"Everything's fine Professor!" She called, lying through her teeth. This answer seemed to satisfy the man, for they heard footsteps disappearing. "You are Loki of Asgard?" Freya asked him, completely sceptical.

"I am." He assured her. She placed the stone item in her hand down on the desk and then poked him. He glared at her, unused to being touched by strangers, whilst she muttered a quick apology.

"I don't believe it. This has got to be a joke… Or…" She shook her head. "Perhaps I spent too much time reading the legends. Perhaps this is a hallucination or…"

"I am quite real." He told her. "I am Loki of Asgard, and you have brought me to Midgard."

"You cannot be here." She decided after a moment. "Regardless of whether you are the infamous trickster or not, you cannot be here in this office." She had regained her nerve now, and she looked at him pointedly.

"Then release me and I will go." He said, for he knew that he could not leave without her permission, as annoying as that was. After all, mortals were truly beneath him, and were not worth the time of day. They were nothing compared to the other inhabitants of the Nine Realms. Indeed, he could not say that he had ever had to deal with a Midgardian before, and this one seemed entirely clueless.

"Release you?" She asked, one eyebrow raised. "Okay then. You are free to go." She said, gesturing towards the door.

"You wish me to go?"

"I do." Knowing he had little choice, he walked out into the corridor and waited, unable to return to Asgard until she undid her work.

Freya shook her head as she sat down in the desk chair and breathed a sigh of relief. She was certain that the young man claiming to be the Loki was just some student playing a trick on her, and that if she left him waiting in the corridor for long enough then he would get bored and disappear. His costume was rather convincing, for he had long black leather boots, tight trousers and a long green tunic on, topped with a coat of black and green. His eyes had been a vibrant emerald green, and his raven hair was short but well maintained. He had stated himself to be Loki Odinson though, and as far as Freya was aware, Odin had not been Loki's father. Shaking her head, she set about sketching the sceptre and hoped that he would be long gone by home time.

She barely gave another thought to the young man for the rest of the day, for she was focused on getting everything done. She had spoken with her professor about the finds, though had not forgotten to mention the inscription, and had then asked about the theories of the site. It was obvious that the village had been abandoned after the fire, but Caygill was beginning to believe that it had been attacked.

"There are too many artefacts for a normal abandoned site." He told her as they left the building together. "Which leads me to believe that the fire was the cause for abandonment, and that it may have been attacked."

"Who would attack a village?" Freya pondered, then shook her head. "I mean, there were lots of broken items…"

"The spreads of some particular things may be from ransacking… But I won't be able to prove it until everything is together and we get the reports back." He sighed as they reached the main door. "Those clouds don't look good."

"They don't." She agreed, for they were a very dark grey and looked like they would burst at any given moment. "I wonder who angered Thor…"

"I'll see you on Monday." Caygill smiled as he headed to his car. Freya meanwhile routed in her bag for an umbrella and then set off for her flat.

She was most of the way back when the heavens opened, and she cursed as the wind blew her umbrella inside out. Knowing that she was only two minutes away, she clutched her coat tightly and picked up her pace. A rumble of thunder echoed around the sky, and she sighed, for she hated thunder storms. She always had done, ever since she was a child. Her family had constantly teased her for it, as she had always been reading about the god of thunder yet could not stand the actual weather.

"Nearly home Freya… Just get back, have a warm shower, dry clothes and a cup of tea, and it will all blow over…" She assured herself, before having the strangest feeling that she was being watched. Turning a corner, she flinched as the sky was lit with lightning, and then broke into a run. She actively tried to avoid being outside in a storm, and this was the first time in about ten years that she had been caught out.

Her block of flats came into sight just a moment later, and she smiled ever so slightly as she reached the car park outside it. Reaching in her bag for her keys, she didn't look where she was going and then cursed as she hit the ground. She lay there, stunned, as pain flooded through her body and rain soaked her clothes. There was no curb or grid, and as she eased herself upwards she could not see anything that she could have fallen over. Another bout of thunder brought her to her feet, and that was when she spotted a very damp black cat sitting next to her handbag.

"Was it you I…?" She began, then winced as there was more lightning. "I can't say I recognise you puss." She leaned down to pick her bag up and saw no collar. "But you can't stay out here in this." The cat mewed as there was more thunder, and though damp, its tail was fluffed in fear. "Come on." She went to pick the creature up, but it hissed and swiped at her hand. Shaking her head, she made her way to the front door and opened it before looking back at the cat. "Your choice. You can stay out here in the rain or you can have some shelter until you're dry." The cat tilted its head, licked a paw, and then casually strode inside.

They were in her flat just a moment later, and she watched curiously as the cat sniffed the air cautiously. Every action was carefully calculated, and it jumped up onto the sofa, before hissing loudly at the ginger tom that was curled up asleep on one of the cushions. The ginger cat didn't move, too cosy and not phased by anything.

"Oh don't mind Thor. He's just old…" Freya said as she took off her coat. "He won't bother you if you don't bother him." The black cat looked at her, then hopped down onto the carpet and moved in front of the fireplace. Freya laughed, then nodded. "Yeah, I'll put the heating on."

The cat watched as she disappeared into another room, and then carefully sat by the fireplace, ears pricked and ready to run at any moment. The ginger tom looked up lazily, mewed, then went back to sleep. By the time Freya returned, now in dry clothes, the black cat was still sat by the fire.

"If you want warmth then you need the radiator over there." She told the creature, pointing towards the white panel on the wall. The cat looked at her curiously. "You look too well groomed to be stray, but no collar…" She took her phone from her pocket and took a photo. "I wonder where you've come from." Her only response was a mew, before the cat moved to the radiator. "Well, I'll see if I can find you a home. In the meantime you can stay here." She regarded the photo and then smiled. "You do have very green eyes, and raven fur… Reminds me of a guy I met today. Think I'll call you Loki for now. May as well keep with the theme." She grinned as she posted the picture online in an attempt to find the owner. "Here's hoping you don't get me into too much trouble."