Posting early because I have an early start tomorrow. Enjoy!
Theme song is "Cold Song" by Sting.
Chapter 82: Meddling
Tony cracked his knuckles loudly over the red leather-bound book. It sat on a small portable worktable, and the rest of the weapons testing room was empty. "All right, Jarvis, make an encrypted recording using one of SHIELD's preferred algorithms, clearance level 6. Let's see what we've got here."
"I have a bad feeling about this," said a wary voice, its owner coming to stand next to him.
He sighed. Almost empty. "Is that a premonition or a prediction, Dr. Bryardie? Hm? Or is it the force? Is your spidey-sense tingling?"
Rowena snorted, not sure Mr. Parker would appreciate keeping company with Obi-Wan Kenobi and friends. "No, Mr. Stark, as I have told you in the past, I am not clairvoyant, so I cannot predict the future. I can, however, feel uneasy like anyone else," she sniffed.
He turned to regard her with a doubtful lifted eyebrow. "Right, and you use tarot cards to play solitaire?"
She opened her mouth to explain that tarot cards and playing cards had the same origins and that therefore you could, in fact, play solitaire with them. At the last second, she felt his amusement, and realized he probably knew that as well and was just trying to get a rise of her. "I use them as an icebreaker and a projective introspection tool," she said instead.
"Riiiiight." He turned back to the book, and flipped it open, suppressing a shudder. It felt creepy. "So how does this Hocus Pocus stuff work anyway?"
Rowena closed her eyes and pressed her lips together for a moment. Why Director Fury thought that she and Tony were the best choices for this assignment was beyond her understanding. Of course, if one looked at it from purely a talent-based approach, it made sense. But she was seriously questioning his ability to choose teammates based on personality compatibility. Then again, he had chosen the Avengers, and that team, surprisingly, had worked.
"It is a book, I would suggest reading it," she ground out.
Tony feigned looking shocked. "A stunning breakthrough, Dr. Bryardie, your genius is astounding."
Rowena sighed and decided to be the adult. Someone had to. "If memory serves, that looks like Middle English," she gestured to the text on the first page. When he looked surprised, she shrugged. "I have a bachelor's degree in History, you know. With a minor in English."
Sensing the game was over, Tony nodded. "Late 14th or early 15th century, judging by the height of the ascenders."
She gave him an impressed look, and turned her head, trying to read the text. Middle English was never my forte... too close to Modern English, but a lot of the words have different meanings, and it was all changing so fast. Old English is better, it's pretty much an entire different language."
Tony squinted at the text. "I never liked Chaucer," he admitted. "Lacked depth."
She chuckled. "Since he was basically writing the pulp fiction of the day, that's not surprising. Did you study it in the original?"
"Nope. Never saw the point in studying a dead language," he admitted. "But you're right, it's close enough to Thor and Loki's way of babbling I should be able to figure it out." He made a gesture above the book, and a blue screen appeared over it, with a copy of the text. The words flickered as Jarvis sorted through the various potential translations of each. The simple words resolved the fastest, particles and pronouns sliding into place. The longer words had a variety of meanings, which Tony flipped through, rearranging the words as he went.
As he worked, Rowena wondered for perhaps the tenth time that day why Loki had not been chosen to join them in studying the grimoire, if not replace her altogether. He was far better and more experienced with magic, and got along with Tony well. She could only guess that Fury still didn't trust him enough, and she could be expected to act as a much-needed conscience in this endeavor.
But then, she hadn't seen Loki around since his brief meeting with her, in which she confirmed that his Anima Complex had more or less resolved. I feel very... complicated, he had complained. That's a good thing, she had reassured him, reality is rarely simple. She wondered where he was, now that he was free to come and go as he pleased. She hoped he would go visit his parents, but she doubted it strongly.
Tony seemed to have the page mostly translated. "At least the grammar looks like it hasn't changed much," he muttered. "There. How does this sound? Heirin lyeth allen secretes of the Univers, boughten at much Pryce and writt with Mine own Hande."
They exchanged a look, filled with a mixture of astonishment and curiosity. Rowena licked her lips and Tony rubbed his hands together. "Well, then, let's do some magic!" He flipped the page, and assisted the translation software along. It was learning quickly, though, and before long they could read it full speed.
Tony reached out to turn the page, and hesitated, looking to Rowena. She continued reading a few moments, and then nodded for him to continue. He smiled. "You're fast," he admitted.
"850 words per minute, on a good day," she said absently, already reading the next page.
He looked back down at the page and frowned. "What's this?" he tapped a section of text that was still flickering with translations. He flipped through the options, trying to find a pattern. "Gibberish," he shook his head.
"It might be a spell," Rowena had continued reading, and she held out a hand to stop him. "Put the words back in order," she suggested. "Middle English is in a transition between an inflected and synthetic structure, the order of the words might be crucial to the meaning, and therefore the success of the incantation."
Tony tapped the screen, and the words returned to their proper order. As they continued to flicker through the most likely translations, an idea occurred to him. "How come Pierce had to say his spells out loud, and Loki doesn't? Must have been a hell of an edge for Loki. Is it just because he was better?"
She pursed her lips together. "Loki has a more complete understanding of the spell. It's like the difference between putting together a piece of furniture according to the instructions or just doing it because you understand how furniture works."
"Who the hell uses the instructions?" Tony asked.
She laughed. "I have no idea. Insecure people, maybe?" She paused. "I never had to use words for my spells. Wouldn't have known them anyway, since I never got any real training."
"Maybe you and Loki can be study buddies. He said he was thinking he needed to learn some healing spells," Tony murmured, his concentration still on the translation. The words finally resolved. "Under the stone, above the sky. Coneflower, hellebore, chives. A moonlit lodestone hangs with no string, and June follows July in time," he read aloud.
They waited, breath held, but nothing happened. "What is this supposed to do, anyway?"
"It says, 'to protect against the tongues of foes.' Apparently it will stop people from talking about you behind your back," she guessed.
"Might I suggest, sir," Jarvis piped up, "that the incantation may need to be spoken in the original language?"
"Great idea, Jarvis, but neither of us speak Middle English," Tony rolled his eyes.
"Might I give it a try?" Jarvis suggested. Tony shrugged, so the AI butler spoke the words in a sonorous and dramatic voice. Still nothing happened.
"That was lovely, Jarvis, but I think you need to have a soul to do magic," she said apologetically. "If you could say it slowly so I could repeat it?"
"Of course, Dr. Bryardie." Jarvis fed her the spell a line at a time, but even when Rowena spoke the words with full intention, there was no effect.
"Maybe it's not an incantation," Tony swiped at the words suddenly, sorting them. "You mentioned instructions, and some of Pierce's spells had a physical aspect. This could be a list of ingredients, and June follows July a period of time, 11 months."
Rowena nodded. "That might make sense. Pierce's incantations were in Latin, right? This is still Middle English. It could be a potion instead."
"Well we don't have time for that right now," he said, and began flipping through the pages looking for Latin phrases. He found one, smoothing out the pages.
"Whoa, wait. We don't even know what that does," Rowena warned him.
"Sure we do," Tony grinned. "Says right here that it's a personal shield, probably like the one he used in the fight."
Rowena blinked rapidly. "You can read Latin? I thought you said there was no point in studying dead languages."
"I wanted to impress someone, I was trying to hire them," he asserted.
"Romanoff?" she laughed.
"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Tony scowled at her.
"Yeah, because she totally wasn't a plant trying to get into your company anyway," she teased.
"Whatever. This is Ecclesiastic Latin," he changed the subject, "Not Roman Latin."
"Well yeah," Rowena chose to allow herself to be distracted. "I doubt anyone spoke Roman Latin by that point, but pretty much everyone heard Latin at mass."
Tony folded his arms. "Seems a little blasphemous, doesn't it?"
"Partly that's the idea, but you have to remember that the transfiguration of the host into the actual, physical body of Christ is the closest thing to magic most people ever see," she explained. "It's been theorized that the words 'Hocus Pocus' are a corruption of 'hoc est corpus,' the words a priest says to actually effect the change. So Ecclesiastic Latin would naturally be the language of choice for incantations in that era."
He made a mental note, titled 'Catholic - true believer' in his extensive file of character flaws for the good doctor, but chose not to bring it, and all the delightful contradictions it caused with the other notes, up until another time. "Ok, makes sense." And without further ado, he read the spell aloud. Nothing seemed to change. "Well?"
Rowena looked unimpressed. "If you're asking if you have a shield now, the answer is no, unless you count your habit of offending people on first meeting them so as to prevent them from ever getting close," she jabbed.
"Save it for the couch, Freud," Tony growled.
"Jung," she corrected.
"Whatever. You got a better idea?" he snapped.
She raised her eyebrows. "Yes, I do. But you won't like it."
He scoffed and stepped away from the work table. "Be my guest."
Taking his place, she swiped the blue holographic screen out of the way so she could pick up the grimoire. The moment she touched it, though, she jerked her hands back, as if she had been burned.
"What?" Tony asked, as she stared at the book, aghast.
"When you opened the book, did you feel anything?" she asked, still holding her hands close to her chest.
"Kinda gave me the willies. But I figure the cover was probably made of human skin, or something like that," he admitted.
Carefully, touching the book as little as possible, she shut the cover and examined the leather closely. "Well, the grain is fine enough. What made you think of it?"
"There was a Disney movie that had a spell book bound in human skin," he put in.
"Seriously?" she gave him an incredulous look.
He shrugged. "It was the 90's. But on a more serious note, I've been to the Holocaust museum in DC, and they have these..." he trailed off, grimacing. "They have things made out of human skin. It looks like that, except not red."
"The red is a dye, probably carmine," she suggested. Bracing herself, she touched the cover, and visibly shuddered. "I don't know, though. I've had the privilege of handling first-class relics which, granted, have the benefit of being holy instead of evil but this..." she pulled her hand back and wiped it on her pants leg. "It feels like it's still alive. Like it's a living, breathing person. And not a terribly nice one, either."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Do you need me to do it?" he held out a hand.
She pursed her lips. "No, it has to be me for it to work." Taking a deep breath, she moved the book so it stood on its spine, and then let it fall open to a random page. She stared down at it a moment, then moved aside for Tony to look. "What is this spell?"
He looked over the paragraph of Latin words. "Looks like some kind of summoning spell."
Rowena grinned. "This, I can do. What does it summon?"
"Doesn't say." He gestured for the screen to return, translating the Middle English text surrounding the spell. "Anything you want, seems like."
She tapped her lips, trying to think of a spirit that wouldn't be irritated by her calling it for experimental purposes. Settling on one who would think it was a good joke, she called their essence to mind. "Ok, read me the spell, one line at a time, and I'll do it."
Tony shook his head, but stepped up and began to read.
On the other side of the world, Loki woke in the semi-darkness. He frowned, and carefully withdrawing his arm from below Natasha's neck, he sat up.
"What is it?" she breathed, coming awake all at once, but remaining still.
"I'm not sure," he murmured.
He turned back to see that Drifa and Ulfir had appeared in the alcove. Drifa padded over to Loki's side of the bed and sat, ears facing forward, as if waiting for instructions. Ulfir, on the other hand, stood frozen just outside the alcove, his hackles slowly rising. Before long, a low growl emitted from his throat.
Natasha sat up as well. "Loki?" she asked, a request in her tone.
A moment later they were fully dressed, he in the more practical, pared-down version of his armor and she in her Black Widow suit. She nodded her thanks. "What's got them on edge?" she asked, keeping her voice quiet and level.
"Can you not feel it?" he breathed, and his tone scared her more than anything else. It was more like the Loki she had first met than the one she had come to love. The hair on the back of her neck started to rise, and it took her a moment to realize it was not the manic glee on his face that caused it.
"What is that?" she asked.
"Magic," the single word held a world of fascination and obsession. She could see in him the near-fanatical devotion that had driven him to excel in a field that his people held in little esteem. "Someone has performed a very powerful, open-ended spell."
She frowned. "Why would someone do that here? I doubt there are many sorcerers down here."
He shook his head. "It's not nearby. This kind of spell, it folds space to bring something from one place to another... or someone."
She watched his face as it went through a series of expressions: recognition, confusion, anger.
"Stay here," he ordered, rising from the bed.
She got up too, giving him a challenging look.
He sighed. "If I'm wrong, if the threat is nearby, I will need you to activate the Aerie's defenses."
"But that's upstairs," she frowned, realizing that by here he meant the Aerie. "Where are you going?"
He looked grim. "If I'm right, New York." With that, he reached out a hand as if to grasp something, and disappeared.
"Does it usually do this?" Tony shouted over the noise of the energy swirling around the room.
"No!" Rowena shouted back, irritated. Her long hair whipped around her wildly.
Tony looked from the strange lights to her face. She was starting to look tired. "I think we should abort this particular mission, Doc," he said warily.
She shot him a vaguely panicked look, and when she spoke he almost couldn't hear her. "I already tried!"
And then, suddenly, it was quiet. He could see Rowena was probably going to collapse, but before he could reach her someone beat him to it.
"What in the nine realms did you think you were doing?" Loki chided her.
She frowned at him, and extricated herself from his arms. "You are not who I was summoning."
"You weren't summoning anyone, Rowena. You made an open-ended summons. Any being with the ability to close the spell could have come here! Fortunately it seems that anyone capable in this realm probably regarded it as being a trap, because that is the only conceivable reason someone would expend that much energy to do something so idiotically dangerous!" He did not quite shout, but his voice was sharp and scornful.
She blanched, and then looked sheepish. "Ok, not my best moment. But it wasn't that much energy," she argued.
Loki just stared at her. "You really have no idea what you are, do you?"
"I-what?" she blinked rapidly.
"And you," Loki rounded on Tony, who was slowly backing for the door. "I would expect something this foolhardy from you, but what I fail to grasp is why I was not even consulted before you began?"
Tony held up both hands in a placating gesture. "Fury made it sound like you were gonna be pretty busy down in Antarctica, and then I hear Natasha's gone South, too, so I figured you wouldn't be back any time soon," he said suggestively.
The corner of Loki's mouth twitched in appreciation of the double entendre. "That was the plan. But why not wait, all the same? Surely there was some other project that demanded your attention just as much as doing precisely what I said not to do?"
"Er... Fury said..." Tony looked a little confused himself.
"Oh, yes, I imagine Director Fury had all kinds of very sound and logical reasons not to include me in this little project. He's had practice, after all. Do you ever wonder how he convinced Eric Selvig not to include you in Phase Two?" Loki sneered.
That seemed to get through to him. Tony looked from Loki to Rowena and swallowed. "Not if you sucked it out of his head," he grumbled, but it was a little too delayed to be an effective comeback.
"And what was it that was so important to find out that you risked your lives and countless others?" he swept towards the open grimoire.
"We were... trying to figure out how it works," Rowena answered lamely.
Loki closed his eyes. They could have just asked him. "Shall I demonstrate?" He glanced over the spell. "See this gap here?" he tapped the page. "This is where you are supposed to insert the name of the one you wish to summon, like so:" Holding out his hands in front of him, Loki spoke the words of the spell. Amongst the Latin was a familiar string of Russian, and when he finished, Natasha was standing before them, looking surprised but not startled.
"Well that was interesting," she commented.
"Hello darling, haven't seen you in ages," he joked absently. Most of his attention, however, was still focused on the book, a small frown creasing his forehead.
"What's going on?" Natasha asked.
Loki closed the grimoire and put his hand on the cover. "Mr. Stark and Dr. Bryardie decided to perform a little experiment on this incredibly dangerous artifact we just recovered... without me," he drawled.
Natasha raised her eyebrows and shot Tony a look. "I thought you were supposed to be intelligent," she drawled.
Before he could retort, Loki continued. "What they are is incredibly lucky. And yet somehow they managed to miss the most important thing in this book, something which you, Rowena should have noticed right away."
Rowena frowned. "What's that?"
Loki smiled dangerously and rapped his knuckles on the cover, almost like he was knocking. "I believe the proper question is... who?"
A/N: OMG you guys, the next chapter is the LAST ONE. I don't know how soon I'll get it done because I'll be very busy this weekend, but it should be next Saturday at the latest! I'm excited and sad at the same time.
Thank you for all of your kind reviews, they have really helped me through this last mile of the marathon!
