Part 3 of 4
Stretched out on his worn bed, Loki stared into the darkness behind his eyelids. His butler jacket thrown over the back of the only chair in the room, close to one of the walls full of aged photographs.
Countless pictures of "guests" from over the years. Even through the black and white you could tell the difference between their skin color, and all tied up in fear.
The only light came from the tiny flame from the oil lamp on the worn old desk. Splinters and broken pieces all over and if you put your hand on it you would feel it creak and shake.
A sly smile graced Loki's lips as he focused on his target.
It was only a matter of time now.
All his hard work would come to fruition.
He had Thor in his grasp, the fool was not even aware of dancing to his tune.
The party was in full swing.
Jane made her way through the mass of people, politely greeting those who called out to her as she searched for Thor. They had come down together but somewhere along the way they had gotten separated.
When she knew he wasn't on the lower levels, she made a quick decision to go take a look in his office. She even made sure to let Thor's secretary know to hold up everything until they returned.
With practiced ease she made her way to her destination.
As she stood waiting for the elevator to arrive she was surprise to notice the shadow stepping up next to her. Almost flinching when she realized someone was standing next to her.
"I'm sorry." she said, trying to convey her words honestly. "I didn't notice you coming closer."
"It's all right." the man replied with a smile.
Jane took a moment to look the man over, he was dressed in a butler suit and with black hair combed back. However it was the piercing eyes that stopped her. Looking away she was saved by the bell of the elevator.
Both of them stepped inside and pushed different buttons. The soft hum of the engine did little to distract Jane from the other who made her for some reason uncomfortable.
As they reached her stop, Jane had to fight the sigh she wanted to let out as she stepped out.
"You know already."
She turned around to see the man smirking at her from the opened doors which didn't seem to want to close.
"Excuse me?"
"About Thor." She wanted to deny it but some small part of her mind whispered to her otherwise. "You can't compete with me."
The doors closed before she could question or insult the man. She didn't know which she wanted.
Feeling apprehensive, Jane walked up to the closed door and knocked before opening it while softly calling Thor's name.
No one was there and that should have said enough to her but for some reason she stepped inside and started to look around. The only two items on the desk was a handwritten letter and an old envelope net to it.
Normally she would respect her boyfriend's privacy when it came to his work but the man from earlier made her uneasy and she reached for the open letter. It was a response of some kind.
It wasn't very long and Jane could see that it was not finished. Her worry grew as she looked at the old envelope. She had seen Thor with it many times. She had caught him more than once looking at it strangely, or his fingers trailing over it. He said it was just a contract that he inherited and she had left it at that.
Against her better judgment, Jane picked it up and carefully pulled out the letter and read it.
Thor stepped out from his private bathroom just two doors from his office. His fingers made sure that the gift box with his chosen engagement ring sat securely in his pocket.
The thought of proposing made him more nervous than he had anticipated.
That's why when the door to his office slammed open right in front of him, he couldn't understand why Jane was standing in front of him suddenly, an expression on her face he had never seen before.
The slap came without warning and caught Thor by surprise.
"You bastard." Jane yelled. "All this time you played me. Did you honestly think I wouldn't find out."
"What? Jane? What are you talking about?"
"This." She punched her hand up into the air and held up the crumpled old letter. "Contract my ass." and she pushed past him.
"Jane wait!" His breath caught in his throat as the elevator doors stood open and inside them stood Loki. His eyes focused on the man as he smiled at him before evaporating into thin air when Jane stepped right through him. It caused Thor to snap out of his stupor. "JANE." He called before taking of in a run toward the elevator, but it was already too late as the doors closed before he even came half-way.
There was a strange sound before metal scratched against metal, and the sound of something snapping echoed inside the elevator shaft. It didn't take long before there was an earth-quake inducing crash which caused the whole building to shake.
Thor screamed as he ran to the closed doors, yelling in vain hope that she could hear him. His fist banged the metal a few times before he took to the staircase and descended as fast as he could.
Loki was gasping as if in pain as he felt the air ripple into electricity. He arched and turned to his side in the narrow bed, arms wrapped around himself as he felt that same pain which had bound him to this wretched place.
The floor in the hotel started to crack as the walls groaned in pain. But Loki was not aware of it as he rolled off the bed and writhed across the floor as it felt like his body was being pulled apart.
Crashing through the door, Thor pushed his way through the remaining people before crashing against the elevator doors. "JANE!" he screamed. "Hang in there, you're going to be all right." for some reason he thought he could pry the doors open with his nails. "Jane answer me."
When the hands from security tried to pull him back, Thor was no longer aware of what he was doing. All he felt was the desperation of reaching Jane.
The painting ripped right across the founding Odinson's face as the paint behind it started to melt away to reveal his portrait. The injury to the painting ripped even more until it ate into the surrounding wall and looked more like the Odinson's skin was being ripped off in long pieces.
With another shudder, the table in Loki's room gave way and sent the oil lamp to the floor.
It didn't even take seconds before the fire was eating away at the walls and photographs.
Almost as if he was unaffected by the rising heat and clouding smoke, Loki finally lay unmoving. Like the dead waiting for their final rites until Loki's blood red eyes snapped open.
TBC